Change Your Image
evilcritic
Reviews
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008)
First impressions from the pilot
I had a chance to catch this pilot yesterday and being a die-hard T2 fan i was very impressed.
Firstly the pilot does dissolve the continuity of T3 almost instantly, yet does it in a way that shows exactly how that film could have been better (for the record, I did enjoy T3 tho). Headey does a first rate job as Sarah, capturing the "weight-of-the-world" angle of the character extremely well despite looking at least ten years too young for the part. Dekker does a decent job as John but is given very little to do in the pilot, that is somewhat counteracted however by hints of what's to come for the character - a look into exactly what sort of life he has in store as far as the real world goes. Summer Glau meanwhile steals the show as Cameron (terrible in-joke with that name by the way), playing the new Terminator as oddly lovable yet traditionally stone-faced simultaneously and even managed to deliver the classic line "Come with me if you want to live" in a matter befitting a good old fashioned cheer.
The storyline is very good if a tad more traditionally sci-fi than we're used to with this franchise - going to so far as to include actual time travel. Although it's a stretch to include this, it doesn't feel particularly forced and works rather well as the device for setting up a series (as well as clearing up the chronology finally, should T3 ever be worked into the continuity again). It is also worthy of note that the pilot i saw included the scenes now stated as being rewritten for the premiere in January (the school shootout). A great sequence in the pilot i saw, I don't think their alteration will really hurt the finished pilot too much.
A first rate pilot for what i hope will be an extremely good series.
Serenity (2005)
Don't even try to stop this signal!
Reviewing Serenity to someone who's completely unfamiliar with Joss Whedon's short-lived series "Firefly" is essentially like trying to describe the taste of Pepsi to a new-born child. A witty comedy-ridden action-thriller series set in a futuristic space-western, Firefly followed the exploits of a Firefly-class vessel named Serenity. It's crew a band of guns for hire, smugglers and thieves who took in a pair of fugitives on the run from the evil Alliance. Sound a lot like Star Wars? Nah, it's a whole new ballgame.
Six months after the events of the Firefly episode "Objects In Space", the crew of Serenity have fallen on harder times than ever. Their continued protection of River and Simon has started to severely affect their income and after a particularly hair-raising encounter with the Reavers (think Space-cannibals), the Tam's take their leave of Serenity.
But when River's abilities begin to advance quicker than ever and an Alliance assassin begins to track her, it's up to Captain Mal Reynolds and the rest of the Serenity crew to get to the bottom of the Alliance's interest in young River once and for all.
Simply put, Serenity is incredible. A film that truly pulls off the balancing act of being funny, intelligent, exciting and in parts even quite tragic, Writer/Director Joss Whedon has crafted a true winner.
Non-fans of Firefly can expect a Star Wars/Indiana Jones-esquire roller-coaster that takes an admittedly clichéd concept and works it into part of an elaborately made sci-fi/mystery/thriller without equal. Firefly fans however can expect not just the same, but also both the perfect swansong to a fantastic series AND the set-up for could be the greatest franchise sci-fi has seen since y'know what.
Each performance is subtley brilliant although some may complain that several of the supporting characters are criminally underused. Having said that though, this is Nathan Fillion's film. Halfway between being a typical Whedon character and a sort of Indiana Jones/Han Solo hybrid, Captain Malcolm Reynolds is quite a close contender for one of sci-fi's all time greatest characters. Hardened by the Alliance's continued threat, Reynolds is not the captain we left off from in Firefly, this new Reynolds is tougher and more willing to sacrifice an innocent if it means protecting his crew (or "me and mine" as he would phrase it). Fillion delivers a performance that simply HAS to evoke Harrison Ford comparisons with all of his own subtle nuances and best of all - his ingenious way of taking a beating.
The SFX are as good as they ever were on Firefly, and although the franchise has now transitioned up to the big screen it was nice to find that the Western-score had been kept.
Whedon surprisingly is quite a slick yet intense director, it's quite evident from Serenity that he obviously can handle a project of this scale. Having said that however, there are at least five very badly executed camera pushes throughout the film that although not quite as bad as any of George Lucas's work, are still a little cringeworthy. But anyone familiar with the Whedonverse knows that his strength lies not in his directing but in his writing. Serenity proudly boasts what can only be referred to as one of the best scripts written for any film in the last two decades. Every line is golden. From Kaylee's remark on her "nethers" to Mal's utterly fantastic delivery of "I aim to misbehave", the script is superb and any comedy director worth his salt should honestly give Adam Baldwin a starring vehicle for his quite evident fun with most of the funniest lines.
The look of the film is quite unique as well. Although it follows the look of the series quite well, it adds an epic-depth to it that really does draw one into the piece. Serenity IS a real ship in this incarnation as opposed to a set. That kitchen IS a kitchen. The cockpit
you get the idea. The conversion of TV shows to the big screen always tries to up the ante with it's look and more often than not fails (stand up Chris Carter, you know you torched The X-Files with that film
). In this era of cinematic television, it's nice to see one true visual success.
Although non-fans can enjoy Serenity, ultimately a fan who knows the series (and the comics that fill in the TV-to-movie void) quite well will enjoy it with a different level of depth. I saw this film with four friends, only one of whom had seen the show besides me and yet shockingly all five of us loved it beyond repair.
See this film, see it right gorran now!
I'm with Busey (2003)
Reality TV finally spawns real genius
After years of producing endless fly-on-the-wall crap, Reality TV has finally produced something worth seeing in the form of I'm With Busey.
The premise is simple : Adam De La Pena is a comedy writer who grew up worshiping Gary Busey. So Busey takes young Adam under his wing and shows him life and the world through the eyes of Busey.
Admittedly the initial appeal of the program hinges largely on well you know Gary Busey. If like me you thought he was the high point of Point Break, then the show simply suckers you in and doesn't let up. On the other hand I initially caught the program with a friend of mine who had no idea whatsoever who Busey was and simply found him entertaining as hell. The truth is that simple - Busey is clinically insane. Not in a threatening-to-humanity sort of way, but in a Doctor-Cox-from-Scrubs sort of a way. The man is not only funny, violent, arrogant, interfering, impulsive, brash, rude and childlike, but he somehow manages to be most of these things at the same time. Don't let this fool you into thinking he's evil or anything, he's not - he's just funny as hell to see going through his motions.
To add more humour to the mix, Adam De La Pena is the polar opposite of Busey. He lives constantly in fear of anything even remotely risky and as such becomes the witless foil for old Busey on many many occasions.
Busey shows Adam a lot of different aspects of life through his eyes - dating ("Adam, tell her 'I like your scent'"), technology ("One day technology's gonna be developed that can kill your mother"), death ("You're not gonna be conscious when you die, so what's to be afraid of?"). From cooking roadkill, to absurd poetry, breaking up childhood friendships, making an enemy of Andy Dick, the show never lets up. The sight of Busey physically assaulting an organic vegetable delivery man is positively the funniest thing you'll see in years.
There is some talk of the show being more scripted than reality-based and although I agree that the final episode of the series (featuring Andy Dick) just screams "set up" the rest of the episodes are simply too insidiously twisted and darkly comical to be scripted. If De La Pena HAD legitimately scripted the show then quite frankly he'd be one of the best comedy writers in the business and he'd be an idiot for not admitting it.
Good show, good "characters" and more importantly good Busey.
Stargate SG-1 (1997)
SPOILER WARNING - Dr Frasier
Okay, so I've been a massive fan of the whole Stargate franchise since the movie in '94 (even have the Gate address for Earth tattooed on my arm) but the following just HAS to be said. Does anyone else think that Frasier's up and coming death is a really bad idea? It's bad enough Teryl Rothery hasn't had a name on the regular credits all these years, but to kill her in a non arc-intensive mid-season two-parter? That's almost as off-handed as Daniel's death. Shouldn't the death of regular or even recurring characters be relevant to the ongoing story arcs of the show? Looking back on the last few seasons, the SG-1 crew don't exactly have a sparkling record when it comes to writing out characters - Martouf's death being one of the worst offenders. Now throw in Daniel, Share, Drey'Auc and Fraiser and it really does look grim. It amazes me somehow that only the bad guys ever get the dramatic and well thought-out deaths (Hathor in the cryo-tank, Apophis crashing into a planet, Ra being nuked, Heru-ur being set-up - Col Simmons is the only real exception to the rule, his death was lame) but the heroes don't. I mean, if Richard Dean Anderson ever leaves the show (which would probably be the last nail in the coffin for me) can you even imagine how they'd off O'Neill? I think the odds go in equal favour of either a) O'Neill contracts intergalactic syphilis from boning the latest offworld-babe-of-the-week and dies in the infirmary while grabbing his crotch in agony, or b) O'Neill dies off-screen in a freak Minnesota fishing trip accident involving a ZAT and a 3 foot long bass. Neither would totally shock me. Interesting how Jonas wasn't written out entirely in Daniel's return, shows at least a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
Now and Again (1999)
An outstanding work of television
I caught Now & Again during it's first run on the UK Sci-Fi Channel in early 2001 and I was nothing short of blown away. My enthusiasm for the show was dulled only by the knowledge that it had already been cancelled stateside - another brilliant exec's move no doubt. That aside, Now & Again still remains a high point for television sci-fi drama.
To synopsise the plot :
Michael Wiseman (played somewhat appropriately by John Goodman) is a 45 year old insurance salesman with a happy marriage and a content - if somewhat typical - teenage daughter. After being passed over for a big promotion - and drinking away his sorrows afterwards - Michael is killed when he is accidently knocked into the path of an oncoming subway train.
Michael awakens to find himself before US Government scientist Dr Theodore Morris (played to unbelievable perfection by 24's Dennis Haysbert). Morris offers Michael a choice - he can either rest in peace, or he can become a part of the greatest government experiment in history. Since World War 2, Morris tells him, the government has spent billions on trying to create the perfect artificial human being. Now after three billion dollars of research, they've succeeded - the catch? They need a live human brain to transplant into it. Seeing it as his only chance to live, Michael accepts - and the fun begins...
Michael reawakens again to find himself in the body of an artificially created 26 year old man (now played excellently by Dark Skies' Eric Close) - the perfect human specimin, with (as Morris phrases it) the strength of Superman, the speed of Michael Jordan (he can run with a landspeed of approximately 30mph) and the grace of Fred Astaire (that one is never explained!). Assigned to undertake covert operations for the government under the watchful eye of Morris (or "Doc" as Michael names him), Michael begins his new life - taking down terrorists bent on unleashing nerve gas, fishing out government traitors and testing experimental technologies.
It's a good arrangement for all involved - but with one minor glitch : under penalty of death, Michael can never make contact with his wife, his daughter or anyone from his former life. They must believe that Michael Wiseman is dead. Along the way though, Michael's path crosses with his wife Lisa - forming an attraction between the two and creating no end of problems for the doc, who would like nothing more than keep them apart.
Although this sounds a fair bit like The Six Million Dollar Man (or in this case, The Three Billion Dollar Man), it's surprisingly fresh. Now & Again began with a three part pilot that laid the scene perfectly. Episode 1 showed us Wiseman's origins - his accident and resurrection, while Episode 2 showed both how Wiseman's abilities actually worked and how his loved ones had moved on since his death. Episode 3 is the launchpad for Michael's first proper mission, the first episode to really demonstrate the shape of things to come.
Episode 3 - entitled "Over Easy" - sets up the standard in that Now & Again manages to maintain the perfect formula. Although not every one of the 19 episodes that follow the pilot trilogy contain villains or a central bad guy, the show manages to combine aspects of science fiction, drama, suspense and a high level of comedy to a perfect ratio. There are no "comedy episodes", no "thriller episodes", each one contains the same perfect balance - one of the show's two biggest strengths.
The show's other - and rankly, biggest strength - is it's cast. Prior to Now & Again, I had seen every single cast member in another movie or show and despite Eric Close, none of them really blew me away. In fact, prior to Now & Again I found Gerrit graham to be a truly annoying performer that did nothing for me whatsoever. Combining these actors though is what makes the show. The entire cast has such an intense and believable chemistry between them that they really do charm you and make you a believer in each of them. Special kudos goes to Haysbert though, a truly terrific actor that until 24 was a virtual unknown. Haysbert plays Morris with such presence and charisma that on many occassions he manages to steal the spotlight away from the central character - not surprising when you consider that Morris is essentially the anti-hero of the piece. Graham, Colin and Matarazzo all turn in fine performances - although it has to be pointed out that most of the science fiction on the show comes from trying to believe that Matarazzo could actually be Margaret Colin and John Goodman's daughter given that there is zero physical resemblence.
Created by Glenn Gordon Caron - creator of "THAT show that gave the world Bruce Willis", Now & Again was the perfect show. It never overstepped the mark by trying to be something else, and it never condescended it's audience. When it needed comedy, it was funny. When it needed sci-fi, it maintained believability. When it needed action, it had you on the edge of your seat. It was the perfect project and I fully believe that had it continued for a few seasons, it would have made huge stars out of both Eric Close and Dennis Haysbert.
That said, no show is perfect and Now & Again did have several flaws during it's run. Predictably the biggest flaw was the dynamic between Michael and Lisa Wiseman - the entire basis of their relationship was that he was her ressurected-husband-turned-superhuman and that she didn't know but was attracted to him anyway. Although the chemistry between the pair was utterly convincing to even the most anally retentive skeptics, the convienient ways that their paths constantly seemed to cross (without Lisa discovering the truth) has been outdone only by Lois & Clark in terms of pure frustration. Another flaw would be the lack of growth in Matarazzo's character of Heather Wiseman. Heather's character in the pilot is spot for spot the same as her character in the finale, no growth whatsoever. Although attempts were obviously made to centre episodes around the character, they flat-out didn't work - leaving her as the token troubled teen of the piece.
And finally we come to the show's big finale - the send-off entitled "The Eggman Cometh". Again a fantastic balance of all the genres, the finale didn't so much tie up loose ends as it did tangle them up a little bit. Lisa and Michael's relationship became more intense, while the relationship between Michael and the doc began to degrade quickly - building on both character's underlying frustrations with each other. Although I will not go so far as to flat out spill the details of the finale (I went into it blind and I was on the edge of my seat, I wouldn't have wanted it ruining for me), it ended with a cliffhanger that could have fuelled at least another half a season of the show, if not altered the dynamic for years to come.
I'll put it simply : Now & Again was great, it was pulled before it's time, it shouldn't have been. CBS should at least give us a TV movie to tie up the loose ends. That would be a decent end at least.
Stargate SG-1 (1997)
SPOILER WARNING - Dr Frasier
Okay, so I've been a massive fan of the whole Stargate franchise since the movie in '94 (even have the Gate address for Earth tattooed on my arm) but the following just HAS to be said. Does anyone else think that Frasier's up and coming death is a really bad idea? It's bad enough Teryl Rothery hasn't had a name on the regular credits all these years, but to kill her in a non arc-intensive mid-season two-parter? That's almost as off-handed as Daniel's death. Shouldn't the death of regular or even recurring characters be relevant to the ongoing story arcs of the show? Looking back on the last few seasons, the SG-1 crew don't exactly have a sparkling record when it comes to writing out characters - Martouf's death being one of the worst offenders. Now throw in Daniel, Share, Drey'Auc and Fraiser and it really does look grim. It amazes me somehow that only the bad guys ever get the dramatic and well thought-out deaths (Hathor in the cryo-tank, Apophis crashing into a planet, Ra being nuked, Heru-ur being set-up - Col Simmons is the only real exception to the rule, his death was lame) but the heroes don't. I mean, if Richard Dean Anderson ever leaves the show (which would probably be the last nail in the coffin for me) can you even imagine how they'd off O'Neill? I think the odds go in equal favour of either a) O'Neill contracts intergalactic syphilis from boning the latest offworld-babe-of-the-week and dies in the infirmary while grabbing his crotch in agony, or b) O'Neill dies off-screen in a freak Minnesota fishing trip accident involving a ZAT and a 3 foot long bass. Neither would totally shock me. Interesting how Jonas wasn't written out entirely in Daniel's return, shows at least a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.