Steve Armstrong (pun, we suspect, completely intended)(Paul Satterfield) was a fighter on earth, but he quit when the organized mayhem of the Arena replaced the true sport of boxing. He's stuck on the station working as a busboy - until a fish-faced pro fighter takes him on in a bar brawl and gets soundly trounced. Out of work, homeless, he moves in with his equally out-of-work companion, Shorty (Hamilton Camp). The pro fighter's manager, Quinn (Claudia Christian), and her two trainers show up in the underdeck community called The Tubes looking to teach Steve a lesson. Instead, she ends up offering him a contract, which he nobly refuses.
Nobility, however, falls victim to expediency and friendship when Shorty's life is threatened. He owes Rogor some money, and the big-time hood is prepared to take it out in flesh. Steve signs on with Quinn and pays Shorty's debt with an advance. In short order, he's the new star of the sport, especially among the humanoids; and, inevitably, he rises to where he must face Rogor's vicious champion, Horn.
Think Rocky II meets Return of the Jedi. No one is ever going to consider this neat little space opera anything other than what it is. Nevertheless, Director Peter Manoogian and writers Danny Milson and Paul DeMeo obviously cared enough to make it as entertaining as possible. Instead of falling back on good vs. evil stereotypes, they offer characters who are a very real mix of both. As Rogor, Marc Alaimo is sinister and arrogant rather than a screaming psychotic-Gul Dukat as the Godfather. Shari Shattuck as Jade, the sexy lounge singer Rogor uses to try and kill Steve the night before the championship bout, has a hard shell with a tiny soft center where her conscience lies waiting. Even Hamilton Camp, whose four-armed Nebulan is a prime candidate for overacting, stays away from the ham platter. Nor does the ever-versatile Armin Shimerman disappoint- his Weezil makes Quark look like an amateur; and Claudia Christian manages to be the girl-waiting-for-the-hero-to-come-to-his-senses without turning into a joke.
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