Elsewhere, I have read the speculation that Marina's muteness was the result of Titan putting a curse on her race--namely "If any of you ever speak again, I'll destroy you all."

Surely Titan would have boasted to Troy in the pilot episode of how he had silenced an entire race merely by threatening them, but he didn't. His statement regarding Marina was that "her people have no words." In the second episode, Troy speculated that Marina's people communicated telepathically, which seems reasonable. This episode makes it clear that Marina is NOT silent by choice. When she's brought to the "professor's" office and he says that he thinks that he can help her if she stays there with him, Marina appears very happy at the prospect and does not hesitate to stay.

BTW, why didn't it ever occur to them to have Marina (and the others) taught sign language, instead of playing charades every time Marina had something to say? Also, when the series was run on Sci Fi, one episode (can't remember which) had a note, either by Marina or for Marina. I remember wondering just when she had learned to read and write English. Then I wondered why, if she could read and write, why they didn't simply provide her with a pad and pen to carry around?

This might explain why she looked so melancholy all the time. To understand what people were saying, yet unable to make herself understood must have been horribly frustrating.

>>Elsewhere, I have read the speculation that Marina's muteness was the result of Titan putting a curse on her race--namely "If any of you ever speak again, I'll destroy you all."

This comes from the TV21 Marina strips, which followed Marina, Aphony and Barinth as they survived Titan's attack that destroyed the original Pacifica. Over the course of the story, they encounter other survivors and begin to rebuild Pacifica. In the final episode of the original Marina strip, Titan returned and, wanting to make them suffer a lot this time, placed a curse on them that would cause the death of a Pacifican whenever either of them spoke. Aphony carried on talking and Barinth promptly died, and it was unclear from what, so they remained silent rather than risk more deaths.

I liked Barinth.

The thought transference idea turned up in the first episode of the revamped Marina strip. I'm pretty sure the audio album 'Marina Speaks' contradicted all that, though.

No, Marina Speaks didn't contradict TV21. Much of the final episode of the first Marina strip is repeated word for word on Marina Speaks. And I don't think Countdown contradicted it either, maybe Marina was just going to go along with the idea to please Troy.

If Titan is capable of making such a curse, why didn't he just curse the WASPs and have done with them?

It seemed to be only Marina, Aphony and Barinth who were afflicted. In the comic strip, they're the only Pacificans present, and on the audio there's a sort of electronic humming noise. I believe the other Pacificans could speak, just not Aphony and Marina.

So to do all the WASPs would have taken a while.