Episode:Learning Curve, Part One

This article is written from the Real World perspective

◄ "Learning Curve, Part One" ►
Series	Silver Surfer
Release Date	March 7, 1998
Episode Number	5 (Overall)
Writer	Larry Brody Jeffrey Knokey Andrea Lawrence
Director	Roy Allen Smith
86 images More information Guest Stars Colin Fox (Uatu) Cedric Smith (Mentor) Norm Spencer (Drax) Howard Jerome (Geatar) Jennifer Dale (Nebula) Camilla Scott (Shalla-Bal) Robert Bockstael (Pip) John Neville (Eternity) Elizabeth Shepherd (Infinity)

Silver Surfer and his new ally Pip the Troll encounter two beings looking for the Universal Library, a collection of all the knowledge that has been amassed by the mysterious Watchers. Hoping to find his lost world with the information, the group sets out but encounters a dangerous pirate crew and a deadly journey. Meanwhile, far greater forces are preparing for a coming terrible event.

Story

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A star burns brightly in space. A planet and asteroid float nearby.

The Watcher appears nearby. He floats around on an asteroid looking out over the cosmos. He explains that eons ago there was a race called the Watchers, calling them unique in their total dedication to the gathering of knowledge from everywhere in the universe.

He looks out over to another nearby star. He continues saying that the Watchers stored what they learned on their home planet, calling it the Universal Library. He says that the civilization perished as all great civilizations do. He notes that only one remains.

A large planet moves near the star. The Watcher explains before the end his people left behind several beacons to be used as guides to their planet so others could reclaim the knowledge left behind. He explains that his people deemed only the most dedicated worthy enough for that information, so finding one is not easy.

On the planet, a man walks across the jagged landscape using a walking stick. He reaches an area with numerous helmets on spikes. He walks down the slope but slips and falls down.

The Watcher explains that entire lifetimes have been wasted in the fruitless pursuit of the Library.

The man slides down to the edge of a cliff and tumbles off. He gasps in horror as he falls towards the jagged rocks below.

Suddenly, a large green man swoops out of the air, grabs him, and flies off. The enormous man lands and asks the other, Mentor, if he is alright. Mentor calls the first man, Drax, his friend and asks how he could not be since they are so close to success.

They hear crashing around them and look about. Large creatures appear out of the rocks surrounding them. They rise above both men and roar. The two turn to see more rising behind them.

The creatures close in on Mentor and Drax. Mentor looks calm as one approaches then points to a shining light in the distance. Mentor smiles as Drax looks on.

Watcher explains that despite the adversity some special individuals are able to reap the rewards.

Later, Mentor and Drax follow the creatures as they hike over a narrow bridge. They approach a large structure with a crystal on top. Mentor recognizes it as a beacon and tells Drax that the legends are true.

Drax tells Mentor that he feels this is a trap. The elderly man retorts that it obviously is, but that shouldn't stop them from wanting the bait.

Mentor walks over to the crystal and grabs it. One creature watches and nudges the other. Suddenly, throwing star-like rocks fly through the air towards Mentor. He turns and is horrified.

Drax flies up and protects Mentor, taking the hits effortlessly. He grabs Mentor and flies up. The creatures watch as Drax flies past them and back towards the beacon. He grabs the crystal and flies off.

The creatures continue to fire up in the air at them. Several hits bounce off Drax. Just then, the two of them disappear in a flash of light.

High above the planet, a beam of light moves towards a hovering red ship.

Nearby, a blue ship rises up. A man explains to the captain that Mentor and Drax are returning to their ship. A woman walks up behind the man at the console demanding to know what Mentor is carrying.

The man turns to say he cannot get a reading. The woman says he would if the readings could see like she does. She opens her mechanical eye.

The display of Mentor's ship changes to a schematic readout and zooms in on the front. It then shows Mentor and Drax holding the beacon's crystal. The woman grows excited as that was the reason she was tracking the "old coot."

She walks forward ordering the others to get it. The man turns and activates the console.

In his ship, Mentor grows excited at having found the beacon at last after several years.

The blue ship rises to meet the red one. It fires a beam.

Inside, Drax and Mentor are shocked when the beam hits the ship and the crystal disappears. Drax runs to the display and points out the ship. Mentor recognizes it as the ship of Nebula.

Drax runs to a hatch saying they have come too far to let that pirate take their reward. He says he will deal with them as the door closes.

The beam retracts to Nebula's ship. Drax leaves Mentor's ship and races past the planet towards Nebula's vessel. However, he is stopped dead in his tracks with a high-pitched whine.

Mentor cries out for Drax. He notes this is happening again.

Drax fights off the pain and flies on.

Sitting down, Nebula looks at the crystal then hits a button on the console.

Outside, the guns fire at Drax. He is hit and flies back. Mentor's ship continues forward despite the barrage. However, blast hits the front and it starts tumbling backwards.

An explosion knocks Mentor backwards.

Drax floats near the ship as flames pour out.

Nebula's ship stops firing and flies off. It races away from the planet, opens a wormhole, and disappears.

Drax and Mentor's ship float aimlessly through space.

Elsewhere, numerous ships approach a station.

Inside, Silver Surfer looks around at the various kinds of people there holding his board above his head. He finds it strange that the last time he was there everyone reacted negatively towards him but now they accept him as one of their own.

As he walks down the streets he wonders if he no longer bears the stigma of having served Galactus. He wonders if he can find news here.

Just then, he sees Shalla-Bal walk out of a store. He lets of the board and approaches her. She drops her items recognizing him as Norrin Radd.

The two embrace and kiss. He wonders if he really found her. She says it is really him. Silver Surfer asks how she is there instead of lost with Zenn-La. She explains she came searching for him as she could not go on without being together.

Just then, they hear a loud crashing noise. They turn to see the station being destroyed by one of the tentacles of Galactus. Alarms blare throughout the station. One tentacle comes down trapping his board.

The two run off when they see Galactus rising nearby. Silver Surfer shields Shalla-Bal and fires at his former master. However, the attacks do nothing as the giant laughs. More tentacles emerge from his chest.

Silver Surfer explains he will fight for her even though it would mean his own destruction.

On an asteroid somewhere, Pip watches Silver Surfer pound the ground as he wakes from his dream. Pip goes to him to try to calm him down.

Silver Surfer looks at him with glowing eyes. Pip ducks just as Silver Surfer destroys a rock behind him.

Pip cowers to the ground as Silver Surfer claims he has nothing to hide from. Pip retorts that he wasn't hiding, just checking the fertility of the soil. He picks up some dirt and lets it drop.

Pip gets up and brushes himself off. He jokes that if he knew Silver Surfer was such a bad sleeper he never would have come along. Silver Surfer looks out into space noting it is the same nightmare over and over again. He wonders if he will be haunted by this until he finds Zenn-La.

An asteroid floats by as the two look at each other. Nearby, Drax and Mentor's ship float closer towards them. The ship and Drax float aimlessly.

Pip asks Silver Surfer if there is anything he can do. Silver Surfer responds he can keep his eyes open. Pip then points out Drax and the ship.

Silver Surfer grabs Pip and flies away. The ship hits the asteroid destroying it.

Drax falls to a nearby moon and crashes soon followed by the damaged ship. As they dust clears, two large craters are made by their impact.

Silver Surfer looks down and sees Mentor in the debris. He races down with Pip wondering where they are going, holding onto the board for his life. Silver Surfer explains he has seen too much tragedy to ignore another's plight.

As they near the ground, Pip notes it is just his luck to be stuck with an interstellar samaritan. They stop near Mentor and Pip leaps off.

Silver Surfer raises his hand and his entire body glows. All of the rocks are lifted off of Mentor and he piles them up nearby. Silver Surfer steps to the ground and walks towards Mentor.

Pip steps out of a crevice rubbing his butt. Behind him, Drax punches his way through the rocks frightening the troll.

Drax looks around to see Silver Surfer standing over the unconscious Mentor. He cries out, picks up a rock, and throws it at Silver Surfer. Pip ducks as Silver Surfer destroys the rock with a blast.

Drax flies forward but Silver Surfer moves to the side dodging the attack. Drax gets his fist stuck in the rocks near Pip who flees in terror.

Drax flies forward again and this time Silver Surfer braces himself. Drax connects forcing Silver Surfer back, digging up rocks behind him. The two struggle against each other as Pip cowers nearby.

The energies from the struggle produce a bright light around the area. Drax begins to push Silver Surfer back but the cosmic rider flashes his eyes and fires them.

Pip notes the surrounding energy dissipating and looks up just as Drax comes crashing down on top of him.

Mentor soon wakes. He sits up rubbing his head. He sees Silver Surfer offering his hand and takes it. Mentor is astonished to see Silver Surfer and, as Pip rises from the rubble, a Kree slave troll.

Pip retorts he is no slave and is showing Silver Surfer around. Drax rises behind him admitting to Mentor that he failed and apologizes. Mentor responds that he couldn't help it.

Turning towards Silver Surfer, he introduces himself as a tired old scholar. Drax walks up and Mentor introduces him saying he is eternally young.

Drax lifts his face up revealing a mechanical skull underneath. Mentor explains he is an android though his brain is organic and subject to lapses. Drax lowers his face.

Mentor apologizes for problems he might have caused. Silver Surfer brings his board close and says no harm was done. He notes it is not every day that he finds beings spinning through space and wonders how it happened.

Drax explains it was Nebula. Pip starts laughing and Mentor asks if he knows her. Pip explains he has been around and guesses they had something she wanted.

Mentor explains he had an idea of a world where he could obtain something. He crouches down and they watch him draw the crystal. Silver Surfer floats over and Mentor asks if he has ever heard of the Universal Library.

He looks down at the crystal in the sand.

Later, Silver Surfer leads the ship through space. He explains that a mixed blessing from Galactus is the ability to detect powerful energy sources. He looks around and finds a trail through the cosmos. He orders them to follow him.

Mentor notes that after spending centuries wandering through the cosmos searching for the knowledge of the Watchers, nothing could keep him from following.

As Silver Surfer leads the ship, he thinks to himself that while the people of Zenn-La have a great sense of the human spirit there was much did they did not know. He acknowledges that he had never before knew of a Universal Library nor that there was once more than one Watcher.

He notes that the Watcher he has met was unable to find his home planet. However, he feels hope that the library will show him the way.

Elsewhere, Nebula's ship sails through the cosmos.

A man inside complains that a bunch of lights are taking them across the universe just so they can go to a library. Several men ready weapons.

One walks up a flight of stairs and addresses Nebula asking if she is sure about this. Nebula swivels in her chair to face him. She sees several men raising their arms and agreeing he has a point.

The man looks back at the approaching mob. Nebula thinks for a second then walks over. As he turns back to face her she kicks him off the stairs to the ground below.

She addresses them all calling them lowlife, bottom of the barrel, and dregs of pseudo-sentient life. She walks amongst them reminding them they have been on more missions together than they can count. She points at one saying if they could count.

She pats him on the chin asking if she has ever let them down. She looks at the pirates who are all shocked. The man from the scanner approaches explaining that the others are confused as they know plunder not education.

Nebula explains to the man, Geatar, that plunder is what they will get. The ship continues moving past an asteroid.

Nebula explains to the crew that knowledge is power and power is profit. She walks past the beacon asking how big the profit will be once they acquire all the knowledge in the universe.

One pirate whispers to another that he never thought of that. One walks up to the railing on an upper level while another says she has a point. More pirates begin moving towards her side. The one who addressed her earlier says he was always proud to be part of her crew.

Just then, the crystal begins glowing. Pirates move away from the crystal.

As the ship moves forward, Nebula tells them to brace themselves saying they are about to get their library card punched. The ship enters a wormhole.

Elsewhere, a wormhole opens up. Silver Surfer and Mentor's ship leave. Silver Surfer stops as he wonders how this can be. He claims that the energy he followed led to this point in space but looks around finding nothing.

Inside the ship, sensors go off. Mentor says he cannot find a sign of the beacon either. He wonders if they have really come to the end of the road.

Silver Surfer reasons that if they had then Nebula would still be there. He looks around and sees the open wormhole. He realizes it is a plasma jump, knowing that in all his time with Galactus he only encountered this once before.

Silver Surfer flies over to it. He explains that the one he saw was a doorway for instantaneous transport to a star system millions of lightyears away. He approaches it realizing this one is so small.

Mentor explains that his research indicates the beacon would open the jump to allow a ship to pass through. Silver Surfer realizes that without it he must perform that duty.

His eyes glow and he fires them at the jump. The jump expands and soon sucks in Silver Surfer. He realizes that it latched onto his Power Cosmic and he has never felt anything like this.

Silver Surfer tumbles inside. He wonders if the jump is feeding on his very being. Soon, his body begins "oozing" outwards.

Back at the ship, Drax flies out towards Silver Surfer. Pip pleads with him to hurry.

As Silver Surfer spins around, he cries out that the pain is too much and it feels as if he is being ripped apart. He struggles to reach his board but it escapes his grasp.

Drax flies to the edge of the jump with Pip on his back. Drax says that if he destroys the jump then they may never get to the library.

Inside the ship, alarms blare. Mentor explains that the two of them have already taken numerous chances. He would rather save Silver Surfer and fail in their mission than to succeed at the cost of his life.

Pip then asks what he is waiting for and Drax says nothing. Pip fires his gun while Drax blasts from his hands at the jump.

Losing himself

Silver Surfer tumbles around. He does not know how much longer he can fight this as his essence is drifting away. His body seems to dissolve more and more. He realizes that instead of stopping the jump, Drax's blasts are causing it to grow.

He notes that the jump is sucking up all the energy it can. He compares it to Galactus, always demanding more. He then remembers that on Zenn-La they were taught that peace comes to those who walk with the wind not against.

Silver Surfer suddenly stops his tumbling. He claims that if the jump wants him then it will have him. He fires a massive blast of energy from his body.

The jump expands knocking Drax and Pip back. Silver Surfer suddenly materializes near him and grabs his wrists. Pip jokes that this doesn't mean they are going steady.

Silver Surfer tells Drax and Mentor that he does not know how long the jump will stay open and they must hurry through.

Mentor agrees and moves forward. He sees Drax on the monitors hanging onto the ship.

Silver Surfer explains that he and Pip will meet them on the other side. He then calls his board. The board struggles to free itself from the jump then flies at him. The two get on and race forward.

Drax enters the ship and the side hatch closes behind him. Silver Surfer and Pip race past the ship through the jump.

Drax enters the cockpit and smiles at Mentor. Mentor then moves the ship forward through the jump.

Inside, Silver Surfer struggles to keep himself and Pip steady through the swirl of energy.

Behind them, Mentor's ship tears itself through walls of energy.

Inside, the cockpit controls start shorting out. Drax grabs a lever and struggles to pull it back. When it finally gives, the ship rights itself and moves forward. The engines begin to spark.

Silver Surfer and Pip finally reach the other opening, but a massive ball of energy forms to block their way. Silver Surfer grabs Pip to protect him as they go through it and escape.

Back in normal space, Silver Surfer leaves the jump with his entire body smoking. They are followed by Mentor's ship. Silver Surfer stands and Pip looks at his smoking suit.

Pip looks around then sees the face of the Watcher. He asks if that is his friend. He then notices several more faces and asks if they are him. Silver Surfer and the ship sail past two rows of the Watcher's enormous figures.

Mentor tells Drax that the rumors of the Watchers's demise were exaggerated. He then realizes that the sensors show they are merely images and not living beings.

Pip asks Silver Surfer what they are for, thinking they are roadsigns. When his friend doesn't respond, he turns and finds Silver Surfer's color to be darker. Silver Surfer reaches up calling Shalla-Bal's name.

Silver Surfer collapses to his board. Pip calls out to him.

Later, Mentor's ship sails past the continuing rows of Watchers.

Inside, Drax says he fears for Silver Surfer as he doesn't have good color. Silver Surfer lies on the ship's floor surrounded by the others. Mentor says it is ironic that this should be a moment of victory not despair.

Mentor waves a device over Silver Surfer. He says that the Universal Library is finally within their grasp. However, the person responsible for getting them there may have paid the ultimate price. He notes that the internal energy level of Silver Surfer is so low ie cannot be measured. He has no idea how to increase it.

The ship continues moving past the images of the Watchers.

The nearby star suddenly flares up. The flare moves towards the ship.

Inside, the entire ship is lit with red light. Drax notes that Pip is unusually quiet. Pip says he is doing something he never has before, pray. He has his eyes closed and hands together as a tear streams down his face. A figure of a Watcher passes by the window outside.

Suddenly, Silver Surfer's color returns and the ship returns to normal lighting. Mentor is surprised to see energy readings on his scanner. Silver Surfer struggles to sit up and looks around. He notes that the last time he got this much attention his world was coming to an end. He trusts that things are not so bad now.

The four stand and Pip grows excited noting how his color has returned and he is shiny once again. Silver Surfer walks to the window and sees the Watchers. He notes to Mentor that they successfully made it through the plasma jump.

He walks off saying it is time to find the answers they seek. However, he suddenly collapses and Drax catches him. Drax tells him to take it easy. Mentor says it isn't much but offers him a ride.

As the ship continues on, Mentor feels as though the Watchers are welcoming them after all their difficult journeys. Pip asks if they are protecting their turf. Silver Surfer believes they are safe, reasoning that if they are like the surviving Watcher then they would never interfere with the events of the universe.

Mentor notes they have seen no sign of Nebula. He theorizes she is already there. Drax interrupts pointing out a large structure ahead that must be their destination. A large pointed structure lies ahead at the end of the rows of Watchers.

Just then, a beam of light erupts from the structure hitting the ship. The people inside are rocked by the energies. The people inside are shocked as they are shown images of spiral galaxies and objects heading towards them. Drax sees an enormous outline of Galactus forming from fire.

They are shown flashes of water on some unknown world and the sea life underneath. More images begin flashing faster and faster. They see numerous species, planets, and events. Each flash grows faster than the last overwhelming them.

Pip wonders what this is. Silver Surfer realizes it is coming from the planet. Mentor theorizes that this can only be one thing, all the sights and sounds that the Watchers ever recorded. He realizes this is the Universal Library and they have done it.

Drax wonders where the order is. Pip falls to his knees begging it to stop. Mentor realizes that this is not just a library but an assault.

Eventually, the ship moves past the images of the Watchers and towards the Library. Silver Surfer asks for Drax's assistance. He says they must protect the ship. However, he turns and sees Drax collapse.

The ship continues to hurdle through space.

High above the rows of Watchers and the Universal Library, a female voice calls out to the last remaining Watcher. The Watcher appears and asks who calls to him.

The cosmic man appears and asks if he knows Eternity. The cosmic woman appears and he introduces her as his sister Infinity. The Watcher states that of course he knows of the living representations of time and space.

He asks what brings them to his ancestral home. Eternity explains that a crisis is approaching that will threaten them all. Infinity states that her brother believes Silver Surfer can resolve it. However, she expresses her doubts.

In her eye appears the image of Mentor's ship caught in the energy beam. She states that his obsessive search for Zenn-La may mean the end of not only himself but the universe as well.

Inside the ship, Silver Surfer stands shocked as the ship is pulled forward.

To be continued...

Quotes

"Eons ago, there lived a race called the Watchers, unique in its total dedication to the gathering of knowledge from everywhere in the universe. The Watchers stored what they learned on their home planet, and renamed it the Universal Library. Eventually this noble culture perished as even the greatest civilizations may. And now, only one of its kind remains."

-Uatu

"Are you alright, Mentor?"
"Ah, Drax, old friend. How could I not be with success so close at hand?"

-Drax and Mentor, first lines

"Mentor, this feels like a trap."
"Of course it's a trap. But that shouldn't keep us from desiring the bait."

-Drax and Mentor

"Instruments show Mentor and Drax returning to the ship, Captain."
"What's Mentor carrying?"
"I don't get a reading."
"You would if your instruments saw the way I do."

-Geatar and Nebula, first lines

"We've come much too far for that pirate to take the prize now."

-Drax

"Strange. When last I was at this landing its people reacted bitterly towards me. Now I'm accepted for who I am. Can it be that I no longer bear the stigma having served the dreaded Galactus?"

-Dream Silver Surfer

"Shalla-Bal?"
"Norrin Radd?" [The two hug] "Oh, Norrin."
"Have I truly found you?"
"It is really you."
"How-how-how do you come to be here instead of on lost Zenn-La?"
"I came searching for you, Norrin. I could not go on unless we were together."

-Dream Silver Surfer and Shalla-Bal

"NO! I will fight for this woman, Galactus! I will fight though it mean my own destruction."

-Silver Surfer waking from his dream

"You have nothing to hide from, Pip."
"I wasn't hiding. I was checking the fertility of the soil."

-Silver Surfer and Pip

"If youda told me you're such a bad sleeper, I never woulda booked this trip."
"It is that same nightmare, over and over. Am I to be haunted by this until I find Zenn-La?"

-Pip and Silver Surfer

"Just my luck, out on the town with an interstellar samaritan."

-Pip

"The tired old scholar before you is Mentor. And this eternally young specimen is Drax."

-Mentor

"One of the mixed blessings bestowed upon me by Galactus is the ability to detect powerful energy sources."

-Silver Surfer

"Although Zenn-La maintain a heightened sense of the human spirit, still was there much we did not know about other matters. Until this day, I was ignorant of the Universal Library and of the fact that there was once more than one Watcher. The remaining Watcher was unable to tell me where Zenn-La could be found. But now I feel new hope that the ancient library of his people will provide me a way to locate my home."

-Silver Surfer

"Listen up you lowlife, bottom of the barrel, dregs of pseudo-sentient life. We have been on more missions together than you can count, if you could count, and have I ever let you gobs down?"

-Nebula

"Knowledge is power, and power is profit."

-Nebula

"Brace yourselves, boys. Looks like we're about to get our library card punched."

-Nebula

"Mentor, if I destroy this jump we may never get to the Universal Library."
"We've taken more than our share of chances already, my old friend. I'd rather save the Silver Surfer and fail in our quest than succeed at the cost of his life."

-Drax and Mentor

"On Zenn-La, we were taught that peace comes to those who walk with the wind, not against it."

-Silver Surfer

[Silver Surfer grabs Pip's wrists] "This don't mean we're going steady."

-Pip

"I'd say the rumors of the demise of the Watcher's civilization were greatly exaggerated."

-Mentor, paraphrasing Mark Twain

"The last time I was the object of such close attention my world almost came to an end. I trust that this situation is not quite so dire."

-Silver Surfer

"Remarkable. It's as though the Watchers are welcoming us after all our travail."

-Mentor

"There is only one thing this can be, the sight and sound of all the Watchers ever recorded. Gentlemen, we have done it! We found the Universal Library."

-Mentor

"Did I say this was a library? It's an assault!"

-Mentor

"Watcher, we know you are there."
"Who calls the Watcher?"
"Do you not know Eternity? And my sweet sister Infinity?"
"How could I not know the living representations of time and space? What brings you to my ancestral home?"
"A crisis is on the horizon, Watcher. One that threatens us all."
"My brother believes that the Silver Surfer will be able to resolve it. I, however, have grave doubts. The Surfer's obsessive search for Zenn-La may mean not only his own end but that of the universe as well."

-Infinity, Uatu, and Eternity

Trivia

• Nebula moves her hand into the Vulcan salute to attack Drax.
• A member of the Nova Corps is a member of Nebula's crew.
• During the attempted mutiny aboard Nebula's ship, several men are holding rifles.
• "Knowledge is power" is a phrase commonly attributed to Sir Francis Bacon, though is not in any of his works.
• One of Nebula's crew bears a resemblance to Rom the Spaceknight.
• Mentor's line about the rumors of the Watcher's demise being exaggerated comes from Mark Twain.
• The Universal Library has three stars.
• Shots from the Universal Library's flashes include a spiral galaxy, three balls of energy heading towards a galaxy, an asteroid floating with a galaxy in the background (reused footage), a swirl of energy in the shape of Galactus (possibly his origin), a sun rising or setting over a cave, waves crashing against sea cliffs, underwater life, dinosaur-like creatures, three-eyed aliens, a caveman, a sea woman, planets with fiery tendrils coming out (reused footage), Skrulls on their homeworld (reused footage), an asteroid blowing up (reused footage), a green ogre-like alien, a single dinosaur-like creature, an alien city, data on a solar system, aliens that resemble the Easter Island heads, two whales swimming past an image of DNA, a ringed planet, the homeworld of Lord Glenn (reused footage), Ego covered in ice (reused footage), Kree space ships approaching a planet (reused footage), aliens carrying spears through water (reused footage), Kree on small ships flying around a city (reused footage), Lord Glenn's space probes (reused footage), Zenn-La with its sun behind it (reused footage), the landing platform on Zenn-La, red desert creatures carrying rifles (reused footage), a swirl of energy near a moon, Infinity (reused footage), Kree flying through a city (reused footage), a space ship, a comet flying by a space station, Galactus standing in space, one of the Watchers, aliens reacting to Galactus (resued footage), a satellite floating over Lord Glenn's planet (reused footage), animals including a sheep-like creature walking around, a solar system (reused footage), the surface of Lord Glenn's planet, a star exploding and consuming a planet, another ringed planet (reused footage), Ego's surface (reused footage), Lord Glenn's world (reused footage), frozen Ego (reused footage), tree-like creatures (reused footage), clouds over Zenn-La (reused footage), Zenn-La's surface (reused footage), the bridge of Lord Glenn's ship (reused footage), a volcano erupting (reused footage), and a moon exploding. Many of these shots are just a few frames long, too long to be merely subliminal but quick enough to be difficult to tell.

Goofs

• Silver Surfer flashes before Drax contacts with him.
• The video from Mentor's ship of Silver Surfer is from an angle it couldn't get as it's just reused footage.
• Silver Surfer states that the people of Zenn-La have a heightened sense of the human spirit. Except that a human is a species from Earth and he should be using a similar term for those from his planet.
• The speed that Mentor's ship goes past the images of the Watchers changes from shot to shot.
• Numerous shots during the flashes of images are reused footage from "The Origin of the Silver Surfer, Part One", "The Origin of the Silver Surfer, Part Two", and "The Planet of Dr. Moreau".
• One shot of Pip during the Universal Library flashes shows him standing in the ship but with space for the background.
• When Silver Surfer asks Drax for help they are out of the rows of Watchers but in the following shot they are once again moving by them.
• In the last shot that zooms in on Silver Surfer, there is an obvious jump and change in animation as the "camera" enters the ship.

Continuity

• Uatu last appeared in "The Origin of the Silver Surfer, Part Three".
• First appearance of Mentor, Drax, Gaetar, and Nebula.
• The first of two Shalla-Bal fake outs, the other being in "Return to Zenn-La".
• Silver Surfer references when Husserl, Kalek, and Shalla-Bal helped him during the Galactus attack in "The Origin of the Silver Surfer, Part One".
• Eternity and Infinity are named.

Cast

Main Actor	Role(s)
Paul Essiembre	Silver Surfer/Norrin Radd
Camilla Scott	Shalla-Bal
James Blendick	Galactus
Colin Fox	Watcher
Robert Bockstael	Pip the Troll
Jennifer Dale	Nebula
John Neville	Eternity
Elizabeth Shepherd	Infinity
Cedric Smith	Mentor
Norm Spencer	Drax
Howard Jerome	Geatar
Unknown	Nebula's Crew

Colin Fox takes over as the voice of Uatu the Watcher from Denis Akiyama starting with this episode.

Many actors on the series also appeared on X-Men. Shalla-Bal actress Camilla Scott was Lilandra. Pip actor Robert Bockstael was Ka-Zar and Sauron. Nebula actress Jennifer Dale was Mystique, Domino, and Aurora. Mentor actor Cedric Smith was Professor X, Zebediah Killgrave, and Red Skull. Drax actor Norm Spencer was Cyclops.

Background

This is the only multi-part episode outside of the three-part premiere. The finale, "The End of Eternity", was intended as the first of a two-part but the second season was never made to follow the cliffhanger ending.

The crystal creatures at the beginning use the Tyrannosaurus Rex cry from Jurassic Park. That itself was a mix of a baby elephant, tiger, and alligator.

The idea that Uatu is the last remaining Watcher is original to Silver Surfer. In the comics, his species is alive and well. In fact, when he does interfere the others have put him on trial and stripped him of his powers.

The concept of the Universal Library comes from the Ultimate Machine that was in Tales to Astonish #73 and #74. In those issues, Leader learns of the Watchers and the Ultimate Machine, a collection of all knowledge in the universe, on their home planet. Leader tricked Hulk into bringing it to him. Uatu allowed him to take it and Hulk brought it to Earth. Leader used it but it overwhelmed his mind with information apparently killing him, though he was later revived. Hulk used it and fought through the pain and learned that Rick Jones was in trouble. Uatu then took it back to his planet.

Originally aired March 7th, 1998.

Reception

"Arsenal" of Marvel Animation Age called the series' influence by Jack Kirby both an asset and problem. He felt the series' look crackled with energy but did not move well. He claimed the backgrounds were too complex, overwhelming the eye and becoming hard to focus. He also felt the combination of computer and traditional animation was jarring. He claimed the animation and scripts aimed high but fell short. He felt they were rough, lacking timing, and rushed or dragged at bad times. He called Pip an unfunny comic relief. He noted the story was almost as bold as the origin premiere, with several cameos shoved in each vying for screentime. He felt the story was good but the characters were not interesting enough to care about. He decried Silver Surfer's constant monologues and stilted dialogue. He noted that several characters spoke in a Shakespearean fashion while others were "groundlings" claiming that neither helped the audience and wished they found a happy medium. He thought that Nebula was the most interesting part of the episodes calling her menacing. "Rough animation and a stilted script hamper an interesting story. This holds true not just for this episode but most of the series."

The episode has an 8.1 on TV.com and 7.6 on the Internet Movie Database.

External Links

• Marvel Animation Age
• TV.com
• Internet Movie Database
• Marvel Database