SEASON ONE EPISODES
Written by Thania St. John
Directed by Michael Katleman
Guest Stars:
Adam Baldwin (Scott Cooper), Robert Picardo (The VR Engineer), Louise Fletcher (Nora Bloom), David McCallum (Dr.Joseph Bloom), Kimberly Cullum (Young Samantha Bloom), Stephen Mills (The Committee's Agent), Kaci Williams (Young Sydney Bloom), Mathew Koruba (Young Duncan), and Gammy Singer (Nurse Jackie)
Synopsis:
Sydney Bloom accidentally finds out that she is capable of accessing VR.5: Virtual Sensory Reality and probing into other people's subconscious minds. Soon, she realises that the co-worker to whom she is attracted to is actually a serial killer. Sydney, who is unsure of her new found capabilities introducing herself to Dr.Frank Morgan, a professor in VR field. After fail in convincing Sydney to stop accessing VR.5, Dr.Morgan introduces Sydney to a secret organisation called 'the Committee'.
Written by Eric Blakeney
Directed by Michael Katleman
Guest Stars:
Elya Baskin (Dr.Zoloft), Tom Towles (Shepard), Nicholas Cascom, Erik Avari, Aaron Michael Metchik (Stuart Fischer), Kate Zentall (Mrs.Fischer), Danny Goldring (Traxell), Jason Azikiew, and Cully Fredrickson
Synopsis:
Sydney is assigned by the Committee to help Dr.Morgan and researchers at the Parkens-Hart Security to find the hiding place of a teenage genius who has run away with a top secret project. The assignment is made complicated by the fact that the teenage genius is capable of reading Sydney's subconscious mind and using it to disturb her emotion.
Written by John Sacret Young
Directed by John Sacret Young
Guest Stars:
Coleen Flynn (Janine Messersmith), Willie Garson (The Pervert Guy), David McCallum (Dr.Joseph Bloom), Kimberly Cullum (Young Samantha Bloom), and Kaci Williams (Young Sydney Bloom)
Synopsis:
Sydney decides to teach Janine, a TelCal employer who steals money from other people's wages, that a crime does not pay. In the process, however, she finds out that anything in her subconscious, including Dr.Morgan, can be pulled into her VR fantasy. At the same time, Sydney also struggles to overcome her haunting childhood memory.
Written by Thania St. John
Directed by Rob Bowman
Guest Stars:
George DeLoy (Jackson Boothe), Carl Strano (Mr.Spire), Louis Turenne (Larry Oldman), Jessica Hendra (Megan Fellows), Peter Spellos (Albert.Jr Fellows), Shane Sweet (Albert.Sr Fellows), Sandra Reinhardt (Monique Fellows), Bethany Clifton, Wendy Westbrook, Louise Fletcher (Nora Bloom), David McCallum (Dr.Joseph Bloom), Kimberly Cullum (Young Samantha Bloom)
Synopsis:
Sydney is given her next assignment: to help Jackson Boothe, a troubled committee employee, to go back to work. Meanwhile, Dr.Morgan realises that Sydney's involvement with the Committee starts to endanger her own life and therefore tries to get her out of the Committee, unsuccessfully. Sydney, soon finds Boothe is a professional assassin who often hired by the Committee. On one night, Botthe assassinates Dr.Morgan who tries to tell Sydney about her father's work with the Committee.
Written by John Sacret Young and Thania St. John
Directed by D.J Caruso
Guest Stars:
Dan O'Herlihy (Dr.Hunnicut), George DeLoy (Jackson Boothe), Louise Fletcher (Nora Bloom), David McCallum (Dr.Joseph Bloom), Kimberly Cullum (Young Samantha Bloom), Kaci Williams (Young Sydney Bloom), Matthew Koruba (Young Duncan)
Synopsis:
After Morgan's funeral, the grief Sydney smashes all of her computers and blames herself for his death. Later on, however, she finds out that the computers have been replaced with a new ones and a new contact, Oliver Sampson, has been assigned to watch her. Oliver pushes Sydney to find Jackson Boothe and lead him back to the Committee. Sydney, who is suspicious of the Committee's involvement with Morgan's death, conducts her own investigation on her father's journal and the whereabouts of Morgan's body. She discovers that Morgan is not dead but has been imprisoned by the Committee in a cryogenic caster marked "5D".
6. "Escape"
Written by Thania St. John and John Sacret Young
Directed by Jim Charleston
Guest Stars:
David Selburg, Aileen Fitzpatrick, Dayton Callie, Robert Kempf
Synopsis:
Through VR.5, Sydney asks Duncan to save her life after she was kidnapped by some members of the Committee. While trying to find out her whereabouts, Duncan discovers that he, too, is capable of accessing VR.5.
7. "Facing The Fire"
Written by Jeannine Renshaw
Directed by Lorraine Senna Ferrara
Guest Stars:
Shirley Knight (Margo Hirsch), Frank Converse (General Jackson), Neal McDonough (Lance Jakcson), Blair Renshaw (Aircraft Mechanic), Kevin Carr, Richie Fenner
Synopsis:
Sydney is assigned to help a disturbed test-pilot in a psychiatric hospital. She, however, accidentally plants what maybe her own memories of child abuse into the pilot's subconscious memories. Sydney also finds out that her father was a member of the Committee
8. "Simon's Choice"
Written by Toni Graphia
Directed by Steve Dubin
Guest Stars:
Robert Davi (Simon Buchanan), Dustin Nguyen (Ky Buchanan), David Brisbin, Jack Rader, William Newman, Robert Phelan, Endre Hules, Edmund L. Shaff, Westin Blakeney, Benjamin Jurand, Yuan Gee Wong, and Kaci Williams (Young Sydney Bloom)
Synopsis:
Sydney unwittingly accepts her next assignment: Simon Buchanan, a traitor that is scheduled for an execution. While probing into his subconscious, Sydney has to confront her own anger towards her father.
9. "Send Me an Angel"
Written by Naomi Jenzen and Jeannine Renshaw
Directed by Jim Charleston
Guest Stars:
Armelia McQueen, Barbara K.Whinney, William Forward, Jamie Renee Smith (Rebecca), Stephen Mills (The Committee Agent), Kenneth Robert Shippy, Gammy Singer (Nurse Jackie), and Tracey Needham (Samantha Bloom)
Synopsis:
Despite Oliver's disagreement, Sydney decides to take some time off to visit her old family house. She discovers that many people believe that the house is inhabited by ghosts after it was burned mysteriously. Sydney then remembers that as a child, Duncan, Samantha, and herself used to play in Dr.Bloom's secret laboratory. Together with Duncan, she manages to find the laboratory but later are forced to vacate the house when once again a fire burns the house.
10. "Control Freak"
Written by Naomi Jenzen
Directed by Michael Katleman
Guest Stars:
Markus Flanagan (Kyle Jarvis), Tom Mardirosian (Ed Paterson), Stephen Root, Richard Penn, Carol Kiernan, Frank Whiteman, Johnny Morn, Cynthia Avila (Matilda)
Synopsis:
When a man named Kyle Jarvis holding hostages in an airport control tower, Sydney is assigned to probe his subconscious mind and find out the motives and background of the man. Through his subconscious, Sydney finds out that the Committee once attempted to assassinate Oliver Sampson.
Written by Jacquelyn Blain
Directed by John Sacret Young
Guest Stars:
Markie Post (Alexis Miller), Jeannine Renshaw (Screaming Woman/Decoy man's daughter), Kathleen Misko, Mark Phelan, David McCallum (Dr.Joseph Bloom), and Tracey Needham (Samantha Bloom)
Synopsis:
Sydney is given her next assignment which turns out to be Alexis Miller, Oliver's previous lover. Alex turns out to have multiple personalities disorder and one of those personalites is Samantha's, Sydney's late sisters. Later on, from Alex subconscious, Sydney discovers that her father and her sister are probably still alive.
Written by Jeannine Renshaw, Thania St.John, John Shirley, and John Sacret Young
Directed by Michael Katleman
Guest Stars:
Will Patton (Dr.Frank Morgan), Tracey Needham (Samantha Bloom), David McCallum (Dr.Joseph Bloom), Penn Jillette (Mr.Kravitz), Billy Burke (Marco), Arthur Greer, Ray Laska, Zack Cherry, Vien Hong, John Tabler
Synopsis:
Duncan awakes in another universe or so he thinks, and finds out that Sydney is dead, Samantha is alive and wants to kick him out of her apartment, and other things in his life are turns upside down. He finds out that Samantha is working for the Committee, reluctantly, and Oliver is her nasty contact. Duncan who is confused of his whereabouts decides to seek help from Dr.Frank Morgan who turns out to be alive and well in this universe. Duncan finally realises that the whole events is a VR scenario engineered by Dr.Bloom to test Duncan's loyalty to Sydney and Samantha.
Written by Thania St.John
Directed by Deborah Reinisch
Guest Stars:
Tracey Needham (Samantha Bloom), Turhan Bey (Abernathy), Stephen Mills (The Committee Agent), Gammy Singer (Nurse Jackie), David McCallum (Dr.Joseph Bloom), Louise Fletcher (Nora Bloom), Kimberly Cullum (Young Samantha Bloom), Kaci Williams (Young Sydney Bloom), Matthew Koruba (Young Duncan)
Synopsis:
In the middle of the night, Oliver abrubtly awakens Sydney and tells her that he is ordered to kill her and therefore they must run away from the Committee. Before Sydney, Oliver, and Duncan leave the airport, however, Sydney sees Samantha and decides to chase her. Samantha later on tells her that their father is still alive and that they've been running away from the Committee. Meanwhile, Oliver discovers that what he previously thought as his guardian turns out to be a traitor. They all are reunited inside the Bloom's house and Sydney decides to rescue her mother from her coma by using VR.7. She succeeded in bringing her mother out of the labyrinth but unfortunately, her own mind is now the one that is trapped inside VR.7. Sydney is last seen laying in a table while her friends horrifiedly stared at her lifeless body.
Which episode is the best?
There will never be a definite answer to this. It depends on your own personal choice, the appearance of your favourite character, how do you like the episode to be (funny? scarry? confusing? emotional?). Some people will say that they all good. But some are definetely better than others. In my opinion, here are the list of the episodes, from the best to the alright ones:
01."Sisters"
02."Pilot"
03."Reunion"
04."Love and Death"
05."5D"
06."Send Me an Angel"
07."The Many Faces of Alex"
08."Escape"
09."Dr.Strangechild"
10."Control Freak"
11."Parralel Lives"
12."Simon's Choice"
13."Facing The Fire"
If you ask me why I choose "Sisters" as the number one, I would say because it's the most original and different episode. It is the only episode with no conspiracy stuff whatsoever and it is a nice break to the usually tense episodes of VR.5.