What was this 90’s cartoon from Marvel Entertainment and Saban Entertainment? What is Silver Surfer about? Who stars in Silver Surfer Season 1, Episode 5?
If you missed the other Silver Surfer episodes then head here:
- Silver Surfer Season 1, Episode 1: Recap and Review
- Silver Surfer Season 1, Episode 2: Recap and Review
- Silver Surfer Season 1, Episode 3: Recap and Review
- Silver Surfer Season 1, Episode 4: Recap and Review
This is a review and recap for “Silver Surfer” – Season 1 Episode 5, “Learning Curve (Part 1).”
Viewer beware – Spoilers below!
Silver Surfer Season 1, Episode 5: Recap
We learn a quick history of the people known as ‘Watchers’, how they stored all knowledge on their home planet and renamed it the ‘Universal Library’ and also that their culture died and only Uatu remains. We also learn that the Watchers wanted any worthy to be able to claim theory knowledge, and so left beacons behind to lead seekers to their home world.
On a planet of sharp, pointed crystals we find a man apparently named ‘Mentor’ as he travels the surface. A slip causes him to fall towards certain doom, only for him to be saved by a muscular and green-skinned man named Drax. It seems they are seeking the beacons of the Watchers as Mentor notes how close they are to success.
They are then beset by massive monsters seemingly made of crystal that explode from the earth and make sounds like velociraptors in Jurassic Park. Rather than attack the crystal creatures decide they’d much rather help the duo find what they seek.
Both Drax and Mentor are fairly confident that it’s a trap, one the creatures seem a bit smug about, but Mentor still wants that beacon. Touching it triggers the trap, more literally than I expected, and sharp crystal stars fire off and are only stopped by Drax’s abs. Drax then scoops up Mentor and uses his powers of flight to also grab the crystal and fly away, before they teleport away completely.
Aboard a ship the duo are watched by the cyborg Nebula, who also seeks the beacon and decides she’d rather steal it from them. This turns out to be really simple, for while Drax and Mentor admire the beacon aboard their ship, Nebula steals it with a ray. Drax decides he’ll get it back. Drax doesn’t do a good job.
Silver Surfer is back upon the space station from last episode and everybody seems to have forgotten how much they didn’t like him. As he walks along carrying his board above his head, which just looks weird, he runs into Shalla-Bal leaving a shop. Literally, she just happens to be leaving a shop with some food. Turns out she went looking for him. Then Galactus attacks and we learn it was just a dream, which explains the lack of Pip.
Drax and the ship crash where they are and Surfer decides to act the hero, to Pip’s dismay. Drax isn’t so appreciative of seeing Surfer standing over Mentor so, naturally, a fight breaks out. Mentor makes introductions and reveals Drax is an android (and that his face slides back to show his robot face beneath for some reason). Mentor explains what they were up to and how they were robbed, so Surfer decides to guide them to their stolen beacon. Mostly because he thinks the Universal Library will lead him to Zenn-La.
Nebula’s crew questions going to a library and so she brings them in line with violence and a speech. They make a jump after their plunder, and our band of heroes are on their tail (even if they waste time talking about everything going on). Surfer tries to make the portal Nebula used bigger, and it starts feeding on his power cosmic. Thankfully Drax is better at saving people than he is at attacking ships. Surfer gets real messy looking, but then another teaching of Zenn-La saves the day.
After a bit of a bumpy ride our heroes make it through the portal and get to the other side, where they are greeted by massive images of various Watchers. Surfer speaks some gibberish, mentions Shalla-Bal, and then passes out. Everybody is really worried that this might be the end of the Surfer, Pip even prays, but a solar flare brings him back even if he’s still weak.
Concerned by the lack of any sign of Nebula they continue on towards what they assume to be their destination, a massive crystal. They’re hit by a beam and are struck by a series of visions showing things like galaxies, a Galactus seemingly made of energy, and the origin of life on several planets. The information, everything the Watchers had collected, proves too much for the minds of Pip and Mentor, so it is up to Surfer and Drax to save them. Then Drax also succumbs.
The two cosmic entities from last episode call upon Uatu the Watcher and are fully revealed to be Eternity (the brother) and Infinity (the sister). Eternity and Infinity warn Uatu that disaster is on the horizon, and that Surfer’s search for Zenn-La may cause the end of the universe.
And then we get a ‘To be continued…’
Silver Surfer Season 1, Episode 5: Review
This episode probably has, in my opinion, the best pacing of any episode so far. It sticks to the story it is telling, never taking us elsewhere to set up things for later, and keeps pushing itself forward. There are some moments where the momentum lags a little bit, but seem common for the series (likely for various reasons) so I’m not judging it too harshly for it.
We get some nice introductions for new characters to the series, especially names that a lot of people these days will likely know with Drax and Nebula. Though it should be noted that if you are first coming to this series now after being familiar with the MCU you may find both of these characters a little different to what you know, though Nebula is certainly far closer to her MCU counterpart than Drax is.
I do like the basic premise of Silver Surfer and Pip teaming up with other characters in a quest of sorts, particularly in a sort of race to the prize against a foe like Nebula. I feel this episode cements that Silver Surfer is more akin to Star Wars than Star Trek, in regards to it being more influenced by fantasy than sci-fi (as much of Marvel cosmic is). However, the truth is that Silver Surfer carries more hallmarks of East-Asian legends, particularly when you take into account the spiritual teachings of Zenn-La and the characterisation of Silver Surfer himself.
I feel the animation in this episode was also a little stronger as well, perhaps in part because we saw more new places and peoples instead of clips from previous episodes. The design of the crystal creatures was well done, and there was something enjoyable about the varying designs of the different Watchers. I particularly liked the way the voyage through the plasma jump was animated, and the rather disturbing and borderline body horror effect upon Silver Surfer when he was initially trapped within it.
Who are the Silver Surfer Voice Actors?
The voice actors who appear in this episode of Silver Surfer include:
- Paul Essiembre as Norrin Radd /Silver Surfer
- James Blendick as Galactus
- Colin Fox as Uatu/The Watcher
- Camilla Scott as Shalla-Bal
- John Neville as Eternity
- Elizabeth Shepherd as Infinity
- Robert Bockstael as Pip the Troll
- Cedric Smith as Mentor
- Jennifer Dale as Nebula
- Norm Spencer as Drax
- Howard Jerome as Geatar
What did you think of this Episode?
Did you enjoy this episode? What did you think about our introductions to Mentor, Drax, and Nebula?
Let us know on social media.
