premiere air date: September 23, 2001
summary: "Heavy Metal Queen" starts with the introduction of V.T., a female
truck driver in space. Tough, self-assured, capable, lover of heavy metal, with
decided disdain for bounty hunters, she is know only by her initials. On Bebop's
end, Spike, Faye and Jet are working as a team to capture a bounty head, Decker.
Thanks to an "exclusive" tip, Spike is waiting for Decker in a bar along with
every other bounty hunter in town; Faye is in the equally absurd position of waiting
for the bounty head in a kid's ice cream parlor. Spike "introduces" himself to
V.T. by helping her smack down some of the uppity bounty hunters in the bar during
a very funny fight scene. The story of this episode revolves not so much around
trying to catch the bounty as it does the character of V.T., and how she and Spike
relate. She plays at disliking him when she finds out he's a bounty hunter, but
in her heart (like all the rest of us) she has an affection for him, the way you
would a cool, mangy stray cat that just won't leave you alone. Another thing I
love about this episode is the view of Spike, Jet and Faye's home life. Spike
and Faye are like a couple of rebellious siblings, and Jet is like a nagging mom
who always has to clean up after them. Over all it's a cute episode.
rating: B++