It's worth noting that while humans have been driven underground by the "baileys" for "as long as anyone can remember", bars and health drinks are still an integral part of society, as this marks the third episode in a row where a bar or club has played a part in the proceedings. I suppose the despair over having lost the surface of our planet has turned humanity into a load of binge drinkers. For some reason, all glassware from the future is actually day-glo plastic, possibly rummaged from a giant dollar store.

Episode 5 moves us further into the mythos of the world of Cleopatra 2525 (hereafter refered to as C2525). We had established a bit of the backstory in the very first episode, at which point the writers decided to abandon that track for a few episodes. It's nice to see that the writers did, occasionally, try to make this into a not totally unwatchable series.

So, to catch us up, Cleopatra has been more or less integrated into Hel's team, but she hasn't been given the whole wrist-blaster/web-shooter/enterprise sheild generator. To be honest, I can't say I entirely blame Hel for this decision, as Cleo seems likely to blow her own fool head off. While watching the girls down a health drink at a local bar, we're quickly introduced to a new type of betrayer, which Sarge recognizes as a person who lived in her village. The fact that this person hasn't aged since Sarge was a child is our tipoff to the fact that this, is in fact, a betrayer.

Look, I can't really critize the action sequences on the show. It's a low budget show, and you just have to deal with it. That aside, do we really need over 3 minutes of low budget action shots? This is the kind of stuff that would make Gene Roddenberry's:Andromeda look like Battlestar Galactica.

After destroying this newer, tougher betrayer with their wrist blasters, VOICE gives the girls a mission to find out how the baileys create and control the betrayers. I'm surprised that since the baileys have been ruling the surface for 'as long as anyone can remember', nobody's tried that before. Also, didn't the old generation of betrayer take special bailey weaponry to destroy? I suppose the special captured weapon could have been integrated into the web-blaster-shooter-ray-gun, but it'd be nice if the writers mentioned that.

So, on the surface, we've got special tinted lenses and bug eyed goggles which Jennifer Sky manages to pull off. Unfortunately, she doesn't pull off the "Dutch boy paint" haircut.

Mythology update. The baileys may control the surface, but some humans still live there. We're introduced to the 'dwarks', who are humans that live on the surface. The baileys tolerate them as they harvest their guts for the biological elements of the baileys (baileys are partially cyborg). The baileys also use the dwarks as models for betrayers. Got all that?

So, the dwarks have their next sacrificial victim for the baileys ready to go, and after a little flashback magic, we now know that the next victim is none other than Sarge's sister. Hel offers to provide cover, and Sarge needs little prompting to run out and rescue her sister.

Quick aside, they could at least give Cleo a wrist band with shields. That'd only make sense.

The ensuing battle with and escape from the bailey features the worst, bar none, running-from-an-explosion ever to be shown in first run syndication.

So, the mission now in tatters, the girls decide to substitute Sarge for her sister, and offer Sarge to the baileys. We also get an X-Files, Star Wars, and Star Trek reference in the span of 45 seconds. These writers, they don't miss a trick.

Another battle with some bailey drones, and we're back at the dwark village where Cleo uses Vulcan wisdom (really) to convince the village elders to allow Sarge to be the next sacrifice to the baileys.

And, just in case we're keeping score, we've got a Battlestar Galactica reference. This all goes down while trying to convince Sarge's sister that the baileys aren't benevolent aliens from another world come to take lucky dwarks to their home planet. Needless to say, this shit doesn't sit right with the sister, and she won't buy that story.

So, we've got sarge on the sacrificial patio table, and we get a Close Encounters of the Third Kind reference. Sarge is then beamed up to a bailey, and wait, she's not. Her sister jumps in and ruins the whole thing, by betraying her sister to the baileys. Her sister, it seems, ain't down with not being the chosen one. As she's about to be beamed up, Cleo jumps in and tries to pull her out of the magical beam and they're both beamed up.

Mercifully, the episode ends here. Unfortunately, I've got 17 more episodes of the series to go.