In a nutshell: Brody is amazed when his long-dead mother returns from cryogenic suspension and must solve the mystery of her original 'murder' to find out who is trying to kill her again now, while attempting to persuade her to go back into storage before she can die a second time.

Well, I'm in two minds about this story. On the one hand it is an excellent piece of television, of a higher standard than the usual season two fare. But on the other, there is very little Ortiz to focus on. So, first of all: the story. Okay, it's dated now (putting the woman into cryo in 1999 – they should have put the whole series further ahead in time to begin with), but the plot works well, with enough tension to keep the viewer hooked. And we get some fantastic back-story for Brody, learning a lot about how he became the man he is today. And it all fits so well with his character.

The story starts at some scientific laboratory with a woman checking on rows and rows of what we learn are cryogenic chambers. An anomaly with one worries her, so she calls her superior, the Evil Doctor. Apparently, the pod shut down three days ago, and human tissue would have deteriorated after two, so she is clearly expecting a big mess inside. She seems more worried about that than the actual loss of the person. Plus, three days seems a long time to me: shouldn't someone have noticed the problem sooner? Or do they not feel the need to check on the chambers that regularly? Anyway, the woman opens the pod and it is empty.

Dr Evil (can't remember the guy's name, sorry) panics on learning the identity of the person from the pod (who was apparently frozen way back in October 1999) and summons the patient's personal physician. This private doctor is apparently the one who reanimated the patient, but Dr Evil protests that he should have been asked for authorisation, and I can see his point here: how did the Private Doctor get his patient reanimated without the staff at the facility knowing? Dr Evil also argues that 'Certain People' have reasons not to want this particular patient reanimated. Very suspicious. He then attacks the Private Doctor, and locks him in the cryo chamber. There is then a very effective shot of the Private Doctor desperately scrabbling at the door trying to get out, and screaming silently behind the door as gas enters the chamber. This guy is never mentioned again, so I can't help wondering if his murder/disappearance (?) is ever discovered. Probably not, on the evidence of the way this place is run.

After the credits, we find ourselves in a bar, on shore. The location isn't named, but the seaQuest crew (some of them, at least) are on liberty and the barman seems to know them well, so 'm guessing this is Pearl Harbour – isn't that where they usually go to dry dock? We see Lucas (trying to persuade the barman to serve him alcohol), O'Neill and Piccolo, all enjoying a drink. Ortiz and Ford must have drawn the short straw and been left to man the boat. Apparently, it is Brody's birthday and they brought him here to celebrate, but are due to ship out again at midnight – and time is almost up. Sounds like Cinderella.

Brody is in rapt conversation with a young woman, much to their amusement and they comment that they thought all the local women were on to him by now. Ah, character info: Brody the Attempted Womaniser. This is very nearly continuity from 'Vapors' where we saw him, Ford and Ortiz on the prowl for women while on liberty. The barman comments that she is new, and that Brody is the first guy she has ever paid attention to, which left me wondering how long she had been sitting alone in this bar, and why. Meanwhile at the bar, a Menacing Man in black leather is watching, and uses the vid-phone to tell someone that he has 'found Brody'. This later proves to be more wonderful misdirection, as the viewer immediately assumes that he means 'our' Brody, but it turns out not to be the case.

Over at their table, Brody is telling the Mystery Woman all about himself, and she seems fascinated. She agrees to a dance, at which point the others start to worry about being due back to the boat. Not wanting to go AWOL, Piccolo goes over and interrupts Brody, who has the keys to the car – apparently the only reason they don't just leave him to it, and it's interesting that it is Piccolo who is most concerned about going AWOL rather than the strait-laced O'Neill. Brody persuades the Mystery Woman to accept a ride with them, but then she runs off, leaving him puzzled.

Back on the boat, Ford meets them at the launch bay, sounding mightily pissed off because they are late … but can't keep it up and admits in a more genial tone that they are in luck. Their departure has been delayed because they've been asked to transport some scientists someplace – this information about the hold-up is just thrown into the conversation most casually, but is later proves to be an important piece of information. Brody takes advantage of this delay to rush back out in search of his Mystery Woman, which seems rather like obsessive behaviour to me.

In his quarters, Captain Bridger is in conversation (by vid-phone) with General Thomas about the scientists coming aboard. Thomas asks Bridger to take them as a favour to himself, and Bridger agrees – being rewarded for the inconvenience with the funding for some scientific equipment they apparently want badly. Take note: General Thomas forcing these scientists upon them is an important detail that doesn't appear that way upon first watching. Cleverly done by the writers. What a shame they aren't always that good.

Rather surprisingly, Brody finds the Mystery Woman easily enough, as she is just sitting around by the wharf looking lost and unhappy. He manages to get her to talk to him, but she is unwilling to discuss much, making him even more frustrated and confused. He admits that he is drawn to her in a way he can't explain, but she tells him her life is too complicated and not to get involved. Meanwhile behind them, the Menacing Man is watching still, and produces a rather large gun. Brody gives up on the Mystery Woman and turns to walk away … but sees the Menacing Man and his gun, and rushes back to the Mystery Woman in time to get her under cover as the shots go off. He then takes off in pursuit of the fleeing Menacing Man and fights him, but he gets away. Brody returns to the Mystery Woman, who is frightened and confused about the attack on her life. And then both he and the viewers get a huge shock, as she reveals that she is his mother, calling him, 'My Little Man'. (Ah … so the Menacing Man was after the other Brody all along).

On the boat, Ford still seems extremely pissed off as the scientists (three of them, who don't seem to have met before) bring all kinds of equipment on board with them. But then Bridger tells him about the equipment they are getting in return, and all of a sudden he can't do enough for the visitors. But hang on a minute – since when has Ford been so keen on scientific research? He certainly wasn't in the first series. Remember his squabbles with Westphalen over military versus scientific equipment, most notably in the pilot? He sure has changed his tune.

We next find that Brody has snuck his newly discovered mother (Alison Brody) onto the boat, as he passes Ford with an arm full of laundry – a woman's bra top of the pile. Surely a crack security chief should know better than that and conceal the evidence? Anyway, Ford doesn't query it, which struck me as odd, or is this typical behaviour from Brody? In Brody's quarters, Alison is shocked to see blood on Brody's shirt, but he tells her it isn't his – it belongs to the Menacing Man with the gun, and he plans to get it analysed to find out who he is.

They have a touching (and expositional) little talk about Alison's parents, who raised the young Jimmy after her death and spoiled him rotten, which explains a lot about his character. Brody admits that he misses them, thus telling us that they are both now dead. When he asks about his father, Alison confirms what her parents told him – she was artificially inseminated, because she wanted a child without being tied down to a relationship. She must have been very young when she made this decision if he was three when she died, as she still seems very young now. She also confirms that being woken up now was her choice, made without telling anyone before she went in – she wanted to see her Little Man as an adult, not wake up after 100 years not knowing anyone. So she sought him out, but then was worried that she had no right to walk back into his life after so long and so ran away.

Although Brody is not my favourite character, Edward Kerr does a great job in this episode of showing the vulnerable side to the brash career naval man. I thought the bit where he asked about his father despite already knowing about the sperm bank was very telling – that despite knowing his origins, he had always nurtured a lingering hope that he had a father out there, indicating that Alison's decision to go it alone in this manner was perhaps rather selfish, robbing her child of ever being able to know his father.

Brody goes to O'Neill with the blood sample and asks for his help analysing it. Why? O'Neill is a linguistics and communications expert, not a scientist. This seems very strange to me. At least when Piccolo wanted scientific help he had the sense to go to Lucas (and then by default Dr Smith). Maybe this is a sign of crew relations: Brody goes to O'Neill because he considers him a friend? After all, O'Neill was at his birthday bash, although I don't recall ever seeing them interact before, and we didn't actually see them interacting there, either. And it could be that he doesn't know Lucas well enough to ask him for help? Or maybe he considers Lucas too much of a kid to confide in? And perhaps he is still too spooked about Dr Smith's psychic abilities to go to her? It's a shame we don't know the answers to any of these questions – it would be nice to know a bit more about the crew dynamics.

Anyway, Alison goes to take a shower, and the scriptwriters did well here, remembering that she should be confused by 20-odd years of technological advances. SeaQuest is fitted with ion showers, to save on water, which makes sense, and Alison doesn't know what to make of them. She meets Lonnie, who helps her get a 'real' shower of water as they are still connected to the mainland, and is puzzled by her name, but Alison doesn't admit her relationship to Brody, and Lonnie doesn't ask any further.

Henderson doesn't seem surprised to see a stranger in the shower, so maybe seaQuest was picking up new crew while in dock. Or is this a sign that with over 200 people on board they don't all recognise one another by sight?

In the shower Alison has a flashback of being at a river with a friend … something about the memory terrifies her, and she rushes back to Jim's quarters. There, she tries to get the memory out before it fades, but is left frustrated by her inability to remember the details, while Brody hovers helplessly. The door is wide open, and Ford comes in – finding Brody alone in his quarters with a young woman clad only in a towel. Ford rather severely points out that non-coms – even dry ones – are not permitted in officer's quarters. Ooh, don't tell anyone, but Ford has a sense of humour – that was very nearly a joke! And Ford doesn't know all the non-coms by sight, either, then. Brody tells him that she isn't a non-com, she's his mother, at which Ford looks suitably flabberghasted, and at that moment, Alison collapses.

In Med Bay, we learn from Dr Smith that the virus that killed Alison back in 1999 – leaving her three year old son to be raised by her parents – has reactivated, and there isn't much that Smith can do to slow the advance as there is still no cure. Last time, it took only two days for Alison to slide into a coma and die; this time around, she has got an assassin on her trail, as well. Brody is great here, looking lost and helpless, not knowing what to do, while Bridger, Ford and Smith are suitably sympathetic and promise to help find out what is going on. Smith tells Brody to get something to eat, but Ford soon finds him back at Alison's bedside – an untouched apple the only meal he has found. He tells Ford something about his emotional turmoil, admitting that he hasn't even thought about his mother in years. Ford points out that she died when he was only three years old, so that's only natural.

I've said before that the relationship between Ford and Brody is interesting: each appears to be probably the closest thing the other has to a real friend on board, however well they get on with other crewmembers, and their professional rivalry only adds to that. And its nice to see another crewmember caring about what Brody is going through. It would be interesting to know that ship's business is going on as usual though – and just why are they still hooked up to the land? Shouldn't they have departed once the scientists were on board? The season one days of having more than one plot strand at a time seem long gone.

Down at the sea deck, Lucas is working on something with Darwin and the visiting scientists. Henderson arrives with a message for one of them, and comes off as very professional here with no trace of her usual flirtatiousness. Before he can leave, Lucas calls the scientist back with a question about some project of other that a friend of his is interested in – but it is clear that the man's answer leaves Lucas puzzled. He implies to Henderson that the man clearly had no idea what he was talking about. And I was left with no idea whether Lucas was asking a genuine question, or trying something to confirm suspicions he already had that this guy wasn't genuine.

In Med Bay, we then see the same Evil Scientist injecting something into a drip attached to Alison (interesting glimpse of seaQuest medicine – they still use drips).
At that moment the cavalry arrives in the shape of Ortiz and Piccolo, both armed, and Ortiz orders him away from the bed. The Evil Scientist shoots at them, and as they duck, he makes a run for it. While Ortiz charges after him, Piccolo hesitates for a second by Alison, but Henderson appears to take care of her so Piccolo joins the chase.

Hang on a second. Why is Henderson taking care of Alison? She isn't a doctor, or a nurse – there has never been any mention of her having any medical knowledge at all. And this is Med Bay, so surely there should be some medical staff around, even if Smith is off duty. And hang on again, why are Ortiz (senior non-com and bridge crew) and Piccolo (seaman and ex-con) doing this? After all, we know that the boat has a full complement of security staff who presumably don't get all that much to do beyond training as a rule. Plus, it is their chief's mother who is threatened. Surely they should be doing this?

Not that I'm complaining, mind, as the chase works well.
Ortiz looks fantastic as he and Piccolo pursue the Evil Assassin through the corridors, but the hunt ends when Evil Assassin comes across Lucas and takes him hostage, demanding a launch. Why Lucas, as opposed to the Random Extras he flung out of his way while running? Ah, because he is Regular Cast. The frustrated hunters follow him as he hauls Lucas to the launch bay, pushing the teenager down a ladder into the airlock – where Dagwood is cleaning up, no doubt for reasons of his own. Immensely relieved, Lucas rushes behind Dagwood for protection.

Now hang on, yet again. I know that Dagwood is a GELF, and immensely strong, designed as the perfect soldier and all that, but it still strikes me as outrageously cowardly behaviour to dive behind someone else for protection when you've got a gunman on your tail, instead of yelling a warning. This is interesting characterisation for Lucas, and a rather negative one at that. Still, Dagwood rushes the Evil Assassin, disarms him, and flings him back up the ladder to the waiting guards, who haul him off to (presumably) the brig.

In the brig, the Evil Assassin is infuriatingly calm, refusing to name the person who hired him and smugly confidant that he won't be jailed. Smith reveals that the blood sample Brody got from the Menacing Man was full of false nucleotides, just like that of the Evil Assassin – this artificial additive makes it impossible to get a DNA identification. Ford protests that that is against the law, but Bridger points out that that would only affect people interested in doing things by the book. This is a characterisation of these two seen time and time again. Ford is a strictly by-the-book man, and finds it difficult to think 'outside the envelope'. In my opinion, that makes him a rather limited officer. Bridger, on the other hand, is far more unorthodox and therefore able to think of possibilities that don't occur to Ford. Which makes him an excellent captain, if something of a maverick – and that, of course, is one of the reasons that the UEO dragged him out of retirement in the first place.

Alison is running out of time, but is willing to endure dying a second time because she is desperate to find out what happened, why she is being targeted like this. But her memory is still recovering from cryogenic suspension, making it seem impossible. She is persuaded to let Wendy do a mind link of some sort, and as if by magic they seem to have technology that enables them to get computer images from her mind. On Lucas's computer, we see Alison and the three-year old Jimmy at the river with Alison's friend and her boyfriend, enjoying a fun day out. Annoyingly, the images aren't through Alison's eyes – surely if this is her memory we shouldn't be actually seeing her face? We should see what she was seeing. The 'memory footage' is all very vague, but apparently she sees her friend being killed by the boyfriend – clearly this murder is what the attempts on Alison are trying to cover up. However, the experience leaves her shaken and agitated, and Lucas doesn't have a clear image of the man to identify him.

General Thomas is extremely unhappy about this unauthorised investigation, which he has somehow learned of, but agrees to help, telling Brody to get his mother to a UEO safe house and medical attention. She is transported by helicopter to hospital, Ford and Brody going with her.

On seaQuest, Lucas is working hard trying to enhance the images from the mind scan. Piccolo comes in holding a large hotdog, takes a large bite out of it and puts it on top of Lucas' computer. When Lucas protests, Piccolo tells him it is for him. I like the way these two interact, as they are a study in opposites in many ways. Then there's a nice bit of continuity as they discuss how odd it is, Brody's mother being so young, and refer to the time when Piccolo's mother took drugs to make herself look just as young, in Vapors, and how weird it was for both of them. I love it when characters remember things that have happened in previous episodes.

At the hospital, Brody is sitting with a sleeping Alison when Ortiz (looking fabulous in rarely seen casual wear – slacks and green t-shirt) pops his head around the door, followed by the rest of him. This oh-so casual method of entry is typical of Ortiz, who tends towards informality. Ortiz hands Brody a PAL and they have a brief chat. Dagwood is with him, carrying a wilting bunch of handpicked flowers. When Dagwood can't understand Alison being so young, the two guys exchange a wordless glance, silently agreeing with one another about the futility of trying to explain this to the GELF.

Ortiz is really good with Brody here: he's sympathetic, but keeps it light. He might have missed Brody's birthday bash, but again we are seeing that Brody's friends care about his emotional turmoil. Interesting that it is Ford and Ortiz who make these visits – both missed the birthday shindig, but these are the two who spent a liberty with him in Vapors. And we get a rare snippet of background information for Ortiz here when he comments that he kind of knows a little of what Brody is going through as he has an aunt down in Hialeah in cryogenic suspension: he mentions the weirdness of it, like a never-ending wake. Dead, but not dead. That sounds weird enough to me. When Brody asks about his family, guessing (accurately) that it must be big, he agrees – big and tight-knit, and jokes that you don't leave a Cuban family unless you absolutely have to: cryo is major business down there.

Is it just me or did Brody look a little wistful at the thought of such a big, close family? After all, he has got no one in the world except his mother, who is dying again. Anyway, Ortiz then leaves, telling Brody to get some rest. Oh, and he looks fabulous leaving – all broad shoulders, slim waist, and nice butt! Dagwood then asks Brody why people keep telling him what to do, and Brody says he supposes it is because they care. He then has to call Dagwood back to get the flowers off him.
Dagwood and his awkward interpersonal skills really grates with me; I can't take to the character at all. The truly appalling outfits they put him in just add to this – they seem to go out of their way to make him look and act like a big, thick, lumbering ox.

Back on seaQuest, Lucas is still working on the resolution of the image from Alison's mind scan. Running out of ideas, he absent-mindedly picks up the half-eaten hotdog Piccolo left him … but then realises what he is doing before biting, and throws it in the bin. Nice throwaway moment. However, Lucas's character is long established as the computer genius who loves nothing better than a technical problem to solve. So, talking to himself like a true madman, he decides to try one last computation – and it works. The image starts to resolve itself into a recognisable face. He quickly summons Bridger and Ford, who gasp in amazement at the picture – it is General Thomas! Shock, horror – after all, it was only Thomas who held them up to get the Evil Assassin aboard posing as a scientist. I can only assume that he was guessing Alison would make her way to her son.

Bridger gets straight on the PAL to Brody, who is sleeping on a bench in the hospital – and note, Brody isn't actually told anything about General Thomas. He is asked where his mother is, tells Bridger she is asleep, and goes into her room to find her gone and a helicopter outside preparing to take off. This is important to note, because from this point on, Brody acts as though he knows everything. The question is, how? Anyway, Brody shuts off his PAL, and O'Neill is unable to get him back. Bridger and co. fume, and wonder what to do next.

We see General Thomas and the Evil Doctor from the opening sequence with the still sleeping Alison in the helicopter. It is clear that the Evil Doctor has a hold over Thomas, and we quickly learn what it is in a conversational moment of exposition. Twenty-two years ago, a young and drunken Thomas killed his girlfriend accidentally. At the time, his father had ambitions for the White House, and the young Thomas was a disreputable embarrassment to him, and dreaded the consequences of his actions. So instead of going to the police, he went to his friend, the Evil Doctor, and asked him to make it go away. The Evil Doctor gave Alison eye drops containing the deadly virus that killed her, and thus the murder was covered up … until now, when Alison's reanimation and reviving memories have brought the whole thing out into the open.

Oh, and Thomas claims to have done his best to pave the way for Alison's son, prompting the Evil Doctor to sneer, "don't try to take credit for Brody". That's an interesting point in terms of Brody's career. Was his rise through the ranks all credit to him, or due in part at least to subtle sponsorship? After all, he isn't all that bright.

I must admit, although the plot hangs together pretty well on the whole, I got a bit bogged down in detail at this point – detail that doesn't always bear close scrutiny. Firstly, if Alison died 22 years ago in 1999, and Brody was three at the time, that only makes him 25 now – very young to be a lieutenant and chief of security (and several years younger than the actor).

Also, I don't get the sequence of events. Alison took her young son on a picnic with her friend and his boyfriend, only to witness her friend's murder (or manslaughter). Why didn't the young Thomas silence her on the spot? Why didn't she go straight to the police? The 'kind stranger' happening by that night to give her eye drops doesn't quite work: why would she need eye drops? Why would she trust a stranger to give her them? Why hadn't she gone to the police before he arrived? And even after being infected, she could still have told her story to the police, surely? It was two whole days before she went into the coma and died. I mean, if she was rational enough to arrange reanimation with her own doctor (and why 22 years? Why not a round number like 20 or 25?), then surely she was rational enough to tell someone her friend had been killed? Did the friend's family not miss her until much later? The scriptwriters needed to tighten up a bit here to get the story straight.

Whatever, Alison is taken to the very posh mansion where General Thomas apparently lives, guarded by his own private army. Brody has managed to hitch a ride on the helicopter, hanging on underneath it using some kind of grapnel attached to his belt – and very handy it is that he just happened to have that on him. He activates his PAL just long enough to attract the attention of a guard, knock him out and take his gun, and then he turns it off again.

On seaQuest, those few seconds the PAL was on turn out to be enough for O'Neill and Henderson between them to get a trace. Presumably Brody must have done it on purpose, as there were other ways of attracting attention. In which case why didn't he stop to call in and explain what he was doing, and get the full story?

Back at the mansion Brody displays his athleticism by climbing up the wall onto the roof; he is spotted, though, and although the guard that shoots at him misses, his presence has been betrayed. No matter, he is a man on a mission.

Inside, Thomas is panicking and the Evil Doctor is trying to calm him down. Spotting Brody on a monitor (the mansion seems to be crawling with security cameras so its amazing they didn't see him coming in) he produces a gun, much to the horror of Thomas, who protests that he can't kill a lieutenant in his own army. Navy, actually. Evil Doctor points out that Brody came here to kill him (which isn't really true –technically he only came here to rescue Alison), and sends him off to check on Alison. It is never made clear just what they intended to do with Alison, or how they expected to get away with it, as so many people knew about her. Maybe we are meant to assume that they haven't thought that far ahead, and are just panicking. Just then, Brody rips out all the fuses, so the entire mansion loses power – lights, cameras, the works.

I'm still wondering if Brody even knows whose mansion he has come to, if he knows that General Thomas is the man behind it all. Was he able to hear the conversation inside the helicopter while he was strapped beneath? It seems unlikely, but for him to know what is going on he must have.

And, at just the right moment, Ford and Ortiz (in gratuitous tank tops both, and looking great) burst in with a large security squad and split up, each taking a team in opposite directions. Of course, it had to be these two: Brody the Chief of Security is AWOL. But, while I love seeing Ortiz in action, it still bothers me that a bridge officer specialising in sonar and sensors gets sent on security duty so often. Talk about being multi-talented. Ford's presence makes a bit more sense: it's entirely possible that before becoming XO he might have worked in security, as he doesn't seem particularly expert at anything else. He never seems to have all that much to do on the bridge, but one can only assume that he must have served some function before becoming first officer.

Alison wakes just as General Thomas enters the room she is in, and sees him for the first time, letting out a cry of surprise and fright as she recognises him at once, despite his being 22 years older. He claps a hand over her mouth and bustles her out through the French windows at gunpoint – but Brody has heard the cry and heads in that direction.

Meanwhile, the seaQuest team are moving through the building. Evil Doctor takes a pot shot at Ford, who has to duck behind a door to escape, and rushes downstairs … straight into Ortiz, who apprehends him at gunpoint, and looks very sexy doing it. Ford, chasing the Evil Doctor downstairs very much on the back foot, is now able to disarm him (and I hope he's grateful to Ortiz for helping him out here). I wonder what kind of charge those guns use? I don't think Crocker's stun guns used in The Regulator have ever been seen again?

Outside, Thomas drags Alison to a small boat, and starts to cast off, muttering about how she has ruined his life. I actually think it is more like the other way around: he robbed her of her life, and her son of his mother. Right on cue, Brody appears, aiming his gun at Thomas, who aims his in turn at Alison. Stalemate. Thomas has the upper hand, however – not only does he have a hostage, but he is Brody's commanding officer. Clearly not knowing what do to, Brody starts to lower his gun … and Piccolo erupts out of the water to disarm Thomas, just in time. How useful those gills of his are. Ortiz, Ford and co. come rushing over, and Ortiz takes charge of Thomas while Ford contacts Bridger to tell him they have the general. Everyone looks grim – it is a nasty business all round, finding out that a trusted superior officer has such a murky past, and is still prepared to go to such lengths to cover up.

Postscript: Alison is preparing to return to cryogenic suspension, Brody having talked her into it, although she had earlier said she didn't want to. She tells him that this time she knows what she has got to come back to, and that she is proud of him, in a surprisingly touching scene that works well.

The final scene is Brody leaving a yellow rose on the cryogenic chamber housing his mother.

Overall: a very good, strong Brody-centric episode. Apart from one or two details, the storyline works well, and the background given to Brody fits his character well. Also, seeing the way he reacts to the situation makes the character far more sympathetic than he usually is, and makes the viewer warm to him. I also liked the way he interacted with his impossibly young mother, who seemed even younger than him (and he is only meant to be 25 judging by the dates given here, several years younger than the actor, and surely rather young for his rank and experience). The actors made the whole thing believable.