When I got to PK Tech Girl in my original viewing of the series, this was the point that I realized I was getting hooked on the series. Written by Nan Hagan, it was first broadcast on 16 April, 1999.

Moya discovers a massive derelict Peacekeeper battleship that has been lost for a hundred cycles, the Zelbinion. It has a history with one of the crew, Rygel (voiced by Jonathan Hardy) was first held and tortured there over a hundred cycles ago by Captain Durka (David Wheeler). He will need to confront his ghosts.

When Crichton (Ben Browder) and Aeryn (Claudia Black) explore the craft they discover that one of Crais’ (Lani John Tupu) crew is aboard, looking to recover any lost tech or data. Gilina (Alyssa-Jane Cook) is alone, the sole survivor after her tech team ran afoul of Sheyang scavengers that were looking to pillage the Zelbinion’s remains.

When the Sheyang return, D’Argo (Anthony Simcoe) with coaching from Zhaan (Virginia Hey) faces off against them.

As Gilina and Crichton work to get the Zelbinion shield generator worker to protect themselves from the Sheyang, their attraction to one another grows. And it’s something that both Aeryn and Crichton are going to have to deal with.

Unfortunately, to survive, they are going to have to call Crais in, and Gilina will have to leave. I love how this relationship is handled, and how it grounds the series and the characters emotionally. There’s real heart in the scenes between Crichton and Gilina.

And I realized the first time through the series, that this was the point where I had to know what happened to all the characters, and would follow them wherever the stories took them.

That Old Black Magic is a little silly, especially coming on the heels of PK Tech Girl. Written by Richard Manning it was first broadcast on 11 June, 1999.

Crichton has a strange encounter which sees his spirit captured by Maldis (Chris Haywood) an… evil sorcerer. Maldis is a being who lives on hate and conflict. And he can definitely sense it between Crichton and Crais.

Maldis brings Crais’ spirit into the fray, just after the Peacekeeper commander has received orders to stop his search for Crichton.

Maldis’ anger for Crichton, caused by his brother’s death, drives a chase that Maldis is thriving on.

Can Crichton get through to Crais or will the Peacekeeper’s hatred drive his insanity to kill Crichton once and for all?

While the crew recovers Crichton’s body, they try to find a way to restore his spirit? soul? But that may mean that Zhaan may have to embrace some of her darker aspects and powers, with some mentoring from Shaman Liko (Grant Bowler).

No one is ready for the choices they will make, and Crais is only more determined now to hunt Crichton down. Things aren’t going to be easy for Crichton and company, but I’m in for the long haul!