- The Palindrome Reversal Palindrome
Infobox Television episode
Title = The Palindrome Reversal Palindrome
Series = The Middleman
Season = 1
Episode = 12
Airdate =September 1 ,2008
Writer =Jordan Rosenberg
Previous = The Clotharian Contamination Protocol
Episode list =List of The Middleman episodes "The Palindrome Reversal Palindrome" is an episode of "The Middleman". It is the final episode of the first season.
Overview: Wendy is transported to a bleak alternate universe where she finds atypical versions of Noser, Lacey and the Middleman. She seeks help from them as she tries to find a way out of the strange place.Plot
When The Middleman and Wendy investigate a series of strange thefts, a supervillain named The Palindrome opens a portal that sucks Wendy to a bleak alternate universe, run by the ironfisted Fatboy Industries.
Pop Culture References
* This episode makes references to
Escape from New York andEscape from L.A. . The alternate universe version of the Middleman bears striking resemblance to the main characterSnake Plissken from those movies, appearing with an eye patch, long hair and facial hair. There's a reference to "1997 Plissken Drive" (the original movie was set in 1997).
* There are also references to an episode from the originalStar Trek series,Mirror, Mirror (Star Trek) , where Enterprise crew members are accidentally transported to a brutal mirror universe. The Fatboy Industries emblem with a dagger through it resembles theTerran Empire symbol with a sword through the Earth. The villain leaves clues written on small mirrors. There's even explicit mention of Star Trek, as the series from the sixties starring "the greatGeorge Takei ".
* When Wendy is in trouble and the alternate universe version of Pip drives by to rescue her, he yells "Come with me if you want to live!", a recurring line from theTerminator franchise.
* The stolen dolls' eyes are made of fictional substance "polydichloric euthimal", originally featured in the movieOutland as an hallucinogen, and later as an explosive in .
* Besides polydichloric euthimal, the device used to open the inter-universal portal uses a beryllium sphere (a refence to both The Shadow andGalaxy Quest ) and an oscillation overthruster (a reference toThe Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension ).
* Also, a reference to Elle Driver from Quentin Tarintino's Kill Bill is made when the alternate Middleman explains the origin of his eypatch; it was was snatched out by Sensei Ping.Production Notes
* The prop used for the Phased Polaron Cannon is the same prop used for the Freeze Ray in "
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog "External Links
[http://www.tv.com/the-middleman/the-palindrome-reversal-palindrome/episode/1216223/summary.html Episode Summary at TV.com]
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