Sanctuary

Nubbins

Season 1, Episode 6, Aired 11/7/08

Episode Summary

Magnus and her team retrieve two very different species of abnormals from a doomed ship. Because the two species share a nearly invisible "cloaking" ability, the larger is perceived to be the vicious predator who killed the crew - while the small, cute "furballs", who have an almost aphrodisiacal quality, are taken to be the prey. But, of course, all may not be as it seemsmoreless

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Cast & Crew

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Amanda Tapping

Dr. Helen Magnus
Robin Dunne

Dr. Will Zimmerman
Emilie Ullerup

Ashley Magnus

Fan Episode Reviews (5)

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When the team arrives on a boat in San Fransisco harbor, they find the crew dead including the hunter who brought these cute little furry creatures called Nubbins and a predator that specifically stalks them from South America.moreless

9.0

"Superb"

By jyarter, Nov 16, 2011 Report Abuse

You know I like cats and dogs myself, but even the cute little ones would become dangerous if they multiplied like these little guys do. Like anything else a hive of bees and a human or Parana's and a cow. The many will defeat the one if there are too many for the one to deal with. That kept going through my mind the first time I saw this episode.

Luckily with the team intuition about the cold and Sophie specific gift they eventually manage to subdue the little buggers. Whew... could you imagine? Death by Nubbins. What a way to go.

Boy they are sure lucky Henry has the systems working as well as they do. How many episodes have these state of the art systems and equipment failed because these people are dealing with the unknown?

A pretty good episode that sort of highlights some of the funny but weird things the Sanctuary must deal with on a day to day basis. I loved the Will and Ashley scene earlier in the episode. That was one of her better scenes of this season. Overall just a fun and fast paced episode. Thanks for reading...moreless

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The trouble with Nubbins

7.5

"Good"

By AegisAtreyu, Nov 16, 2011 Report Abuse

It had been a few months since I saw the first few episodes but after watching last weeks I got back into it. It feels much more like a tv show now but still has a few stumbling blocks to get over. The first of which is originality. Last episode played on the basic premise of 'The Thing' and this incorporates 4 references which are: Gremlins; Critters; Star Trek (tribbles); and Furbies (the 1990s toy). The last two in particular.

The set up is that they find these creatures who look like Furbies and they end up breeding at a rate of Knots. At the same time they take in a predator. Now it doesn't take a brain scientist to work out what the connection is between them. Your slightly thrown off the scent by the fact that both can camouflage themselves, making them almost invisible, but not quite. Whether this camouflage indicates that the predator has evolved from them isn't explained. I liked this fact though gives it a bit of ambiguity. The sexual attraction effect of the creatures wasn't played with enough though.

More interesting is the introduction of an empathic character 'Sophie' who I hope comes back. It shows that the abnormal aspect could be something that is altogether harmless to others. Plus the character was really sympathetic. Without her they wouldn't have found out the Nubbins aversion to cold and that is a good thing.

Henry was great in this episode as well as he had an allergy to the creatures. He's clearly used for comic relief as a character but that doesn't mean he has no depth. I look forward to seeing how the character progresses if he does.

So not particularly original but enjoyable none the less. I'll be watching now that I've got back into it.moreless

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Nubbins

9.0

"Superb"

By TrueTvWatcher, Apr 04, 2011 Report Abuse

Nubbins was a really superb and fun episode of Sanctuary as Helen and the gang deal with two new abnormals who may not be all they appear. I enjoyed watching this episode because there was a lot of character driven scenes, interesting story lines, and one of the abnormal species reminded me of critters. It was interesting to see the characters play with attraction to each other under the affect of abnormals scents. It was also cool to see the other story with the girl whose grandfather wanted Dr. Magnus to perform the autopsy on him as he thought he may be an abnormal. Will disovers the girl has the abilities and she helps the gang. I thought this was a touching side story. I look forward to watching the next episode of Sanctuary!!!!!moreless

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A really good and cute episode

9.2

"Superb"

By Parricida, Nov 09, 2008 Report Abuse

Wow.. I was somehow wondering if they always have the feeling they are able make have better storylines but will they ever have any - this episode was very positive surprise. It all started like one creepy episode should but they way it turned out to be totally different, transforming thought the whole time, playing with it's zarn, having some fun, some deep thoughts, excitement, horror and cat-mouse play...

Ok.. the best part of this episode was the nubbins.. They really looked cute and I love how Ashley was so adored by them.. I think that really made Ashley's char look more like human.. more as a young adult.. rather than the image she has had in all the previous episodes.

And that woman they had there.. Sophie - the way she took it all, it was well portrayed. I think they really had great writing in this episode and the whole excitement the second half of the episode had - hot to catch them, how to control that.. Overall, I think, one of the best episodes so far.moreless

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Dr. Magnus, Will and Ashley have their hands with the Nubbins, flesh creatures who multiply like crazy and eat anything around them.

10

"Perfect"

By marvelfan89, Nov 09, 2008 Report Abuse

"Predator 3 Nubbins 0" LOL!!!

Hilarious episode!! Loved it!!! I think this probably the funniest episode they've done. Other episodes have had some bits of comedy but so far it's been mostly geared to be a serious sci-fi show.

Anyways, the team finds a crew of dead people apparently trying to transport these "Nubbins" and a creature which is reference as "Predator". Actually the crew members have appeared to be in the words of Ashley "weren't just killed but they were devoured".
The culprit seems to be these fury rodents called Nubbins which look like a cross between an owl and rats. They reciprocate like crazy and eat like crazy. They literally eat anything.

Dr. Magnus and others decide to quarantine the Nubbins and Predator for studying. Ashley doesn't use common use as she takes one of them Nubbins to be her pet. Soon it escapes and eats his way in to where the other Nubbins are. As you can guess the Nubbins escape and munch anything in their way.

The Nubbins also have this strange aura which makes people who have contact with them woozy and sometimes feeling a bit frisky with each other. Ashley makes a pass for Will.

Early on when Ashley is talking to Henry she asks if she would like "to squeeze my Nubbins". LOL Of course Henry was thinking of Nubbins of any sort if you get my drift.

Anyhow, the team also meets Sophie which I believe was the granddaughter of one the crew members killed. She also has inherited some sort of empathic ability where she can feel other abnormals. The team decide to use the Predator to kill the Nubbins via computer surveillance. I know Ashley felt a bond with the Nubbins but in the end the team had no choice to go this route. The Nubbins's appetite has led to several power failures in the Sanctuary so this had to be done. We do get a happy ending of sorts near the end for these fury rodents so everything eliminates itself.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- If the Nubbins appear familiar, here are a few not-so-distant mass media relatives: Star Trek: The insatiable appetite, mass reproduction and "petability" that the Nubbins exhibit bare an eerie similarity to the Tribbles from Star Trek's The Trouble With Tribbles (1967). Gremlins: The incredible appetite and mass reproduction tendencies are also reminiscent of the Mogwai from the Gremlins movies (1984-1990) - sans the stereotypical and evil behavior. Furby: The Nubbins also somewhat resemble the Furby toy robots from Tiger Electronics which became a huge fad in 1998 and were later reintroduced as Emoto-Tronic Furbies in 2005. Edit
Notes
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- Original International Air Dates
  Canada : November 7, 2008 on Space
  U.K. : November 10, 2008 on ITV4
  Australia : June 25, 2009 on Sci Fi Australia
  Czech Republic: September 7, 2009 on AXN
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Quotes
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- Helen: Tranquilizer rounds only. Ashley: You sure? Helen: Eric paid with his life to bring this creature back, we owe it to him to preserve it. Ashley: We owe it to him to kill it. Edit
- Ashley: Henry! Have you had a chance to check out my Nubbins? Henry (appears confused): Oh, you mean the … No, but I would like to. (the creatures turn transparent when Henry approaches) Ashley: Hey … Oh, guys, come on, there's nothing to be afraid of. Henry (sneezes): Oh, man, I think I'm allergic. Ashley: Well, you better get used to them, they're the coolest thing we ever brought back. (the Nubbins rematerialize) Henry: Hey … huh, I gotta admit, your nubbins are pretty amazing. Ashley: Don't you just wanna squeeze them? (Henry looks pained) Edit
- Helen: We have a rather odd situation on our hands. Will (in a slight British accent): Isn't "rather odd" sort of your stock in trade? Edit
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