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Star Trek Into Darkness Review!

May 192013

Finally I have been able to see Star Trek Into Darkness in at the cinema. If it wasn’t just only for the fact that I am a veritable Trekkie that I wanted to see it but also to finally be able to put aside the continuous promotion of the movie that has gone on for weeks now. Star Trek Into Darkness is of course J.J. Abrams second Star Trek outing. It acts as a sequel to the 2009 movie that significantly raised the stakes for the franchise. Star Trek Into Darkness is a very good movie, probably one of Star Trek’s best, but it does come with strings attached. To read why and answer the question whether you should open your wallet to see it I suggest you head below. But beware, there are SPOILERS ahead.

The Movie…

Star Trek’s strength in storytelling has always rested on dealing with current world issues in ways that confront its audience. Star Trek: The Original Series mostly picked social issues such as racism and sexuality while The Next Generation shifted to sexuality and gender issues. However, the Star Trek movies rarely choose to involve social issues but instead picked current world affairs as their background setting. The most successful Star Trek movies; Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home and Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country are excellent examples of this. Especially Star Trek 2 and 6 stand out for their plot on nuclear disarmament and the end of the cold war . So, it can hardly be surprising that Star Trek Into Darkness also has a topic related to current affairs. J.J. Abrams’s pick was terrorism. Unfortunately the audience is all too well familiar with it after more than a decade of terrorism and the recent Boston Bombings. As such it will be difficult to say whether the audience will see topic as a premise gimmick or can truly relate to the events of the movie.

Despite the choice of topic, the acts of terrorism are only the background story of the first half of the movie. After which it is revealed by the villain who perpetrated them, John Harrison, that he is in fact Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch) (KHAAAaaannn). He was unfrozen from his sleeping pod onboard the Botany Bay about a year before after Starfleet started aggressively expanding into the universe. Khan started making weapons for Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller) who plans to use them to curb Klingon aggression. Thus, in comes the second villain, Admiral Marcus. Unfortunately he does not make for a very convincing villain and the only onscreen gratification the audience gets is when Khan crushes his head between his hands in front of the Admiral’s daughter Carol Marcus (Alice Eve). Then for about 10 more minutes Khan is the villain as he tries to shoot down the Enterprise with the Admiral’s secret warship.

Now, if your thinking that Star Trek Into Darkness has a slightly convoluted plot. Well, you would be right! It is difficult to get a sense of what the movie wants to do. Does it want to prove Khan’s acts as he tries to save his crew members from cryo-stasis or does it want to follow Admiral Marcus and his quest to make Starfleet stronger. Personally I like Khan’s storyline more, but we hardly learn much about him. In fact, you would have to see The Wrath of Khan to do that. Benedict Cumberbatch of course plays the perfect Khan, full of arrogant self-confidence yet with a sense of worldly experience that all the other characters lack. From Khan’s own words we learn what has happened to him. Sadly, that feels slightly shoe-horned into the script to answer any questions the audience might have. Khan survives the end of the movie. He is put back into cryo-stasis so we will probably see him again.

So, when it comes to the central storyline of Star Trek Into Darkness I would say it lacks a sense of direction and focus. As for the other characters, it focusses mostly on Kirk and Spock, but they are hardly further developed. If anything, all the characters lack a sense of development in the movie. We see them go through the motions as though they are simply needed to be there to make this a Star Trek movie. The secondary Star Trek characters, Uhura, Bones, Chekov, Sulu and Scotty are sadly underutilized. Bones has a lot of memorable one-liners while Scotty manages to partly act as the character for the audience to relate to but it is hardly convincing. As I have said before in some articles, Star Trek belongs on TV. For a movie there is simply not enough time to drive the characters into one particular direction. And as Star Trek movies now on average take about 4 years to make we are probably only going to see 2 more before thee cast is retired. As such we either see no character development or too much in one movie! The 2009 Star Trek movie managed to do much better in that respect.

The Visuals…

Sure, one area where Star Trek Into Darkness does not disappoint are the visuals. The special effects and the world of Star Trek are created convincingly and with style. The movie is set at times in cities on earth and the creative staff have taken their time to create them in a sort of 60′s futuristic style. Sadly, we do not learn much about this world and the people that inhabit them. That also reflects on the movie characters as the audience can not relate to them. Again, a Star Trek series on TV might offer the time to do that for the audience.

While it is suggested that you see the movie in 3D I personally think that the scenes that make that worthwhile are just shoe-horned into the movie.

Conclusion…

Ultimately, Star Trek Into Darkness feels something of a hollow experience. Benedict Cumberbatch is great as khan and I hope we will se more of him. However, I feel both a lack of character development and a lack of knowledge of the Star Trek Universe as a drain on the experience. I hope Star Trek will be back soon, either on TV or in cinema’s. J.J Abrams may not be back for another director’s role as he is busy with the upcoming Star Wars movie.

Score; 7.8 / 10. An OK Star Trek outing, but could have been so much better if it didn’t aim so high.

Defiance gets renewed for second season by Syfy!

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May 132013

After just 5 episodes into its first season Syfy has already given its news flagship show Defiance the benefit of the doubt. Syfy has renewed the show for another 13-episodes that will start airing in 2014.

The announcement is surprising for several reasons. So far the quality has been uneven. A lot of viewers are confused about the background world. A situation that echoes what happened with Farscape 10 years back. Also the ratings have so far been steadily dropping over the course of 5 episodes. The last episode gaining 2.19 million viewers. Personally I only became enthusiastic about the show after seeing the fifth episode ‘A Well Respected Man’. If you gave up on Defiance before that, than I suggest you read the review here on SciFiEmpire.net.

Though I am happy that Syfy has renewed the show the reason has probably more to do with business than with success. There is of course also an MMO to be considered. It would an epic failure if the first TV-series/MMO tie-in would fail after just one season. As for the MMO, it has it fair share of deficiencies but fans have come to appreciate it.

Defiance will be back tonight with the episode ‘The Serpent’s Egg’ starring Grant Bowler, Jaime Murray, Tony Curran, Julie Benz and Stephanie Leonidas.

Source; www.Blastr.com

Defiance ep4 ‘A Well Respected Man’ review!

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May 082013

Datak and Nolan do some investigating

A Well Respected Man is the fourth episode of Defiance (5 if you count the pilot as 2). So far the show has been mediocre at best and tedious as worst. Luckily this weeks episode turns that around. It is quick, brisk and has a lot of character development. It also manages to portray some events from the pilot, such as Luke’s death, as a bit more mysterious than what it might have been at first glance. I like this episode, I hope you will too. If Defiance can live up to this weeks quality than I say we have one damn good show to watch for the foreseeable future.

Ulysses – The Bioman

As for the story of ‘A Well Respected Man’…

Nolan intercepts a shipment of weapons being transferred by two of Datak Tarr’s men; unknown to both Nolan and Amanda, the town council had made a deal with Datak to arrange for weapons to be delivered to the town after the loss of the shield generator. Nolan’s relationship with Amanda’s sister Kenya develops, somewhat to Amanda’s displeasure. Kenya and one of her girls are kidnapped by Ulysses, the bioman employed by Datak as a prizefighter; he is kidnapping street people and taking them to a human lab technician, Miko (guest star Robin Dunne), who is harvesting their adrenalin to use as an illegal drug. Nolan and Amanda clash with Datak to get her back, but he refuses to help; Stahma Tarr suggests to Amanda that she show respect to Datak by making him a member of the town council. With grudging help from Datak, Nolan locates the lab; meanwhile Kenya has realizes that her wanderings in a maze, pursued by a Volge, are a virtual reality, escapes and kills Miko. Nolan, Irisa and Amanda arrive in time to save Kenya from the Ulysses. Rafe and Quentin descend into the sealed shaft where Luke had found the strange object, and discover a set of disturbing cave paintings featuring the object. Datak takes his seat on the council and Nolan realizes that Stahma is the more dangerous of the two.

Nolan and Amanda at the Tarr’s

Conclusion…

‘A Well Respected Man’ is an excellent episode of Defiance that furthers the story for pretty much all of the main characters. For Datak (Tony Curran), McCawley (Graham Greene) and Amanda (Julie Benz) this is certainly true. Not only do we learn more about them they now also have a likeable edge to them. However, the focus on multiple characters also means that the episode makes some big jumps.

After Datak’s nocturnal tirade against Nolan and Amanda he is suddenly his calm self again the next day. By the end of the episode Datak becomes one of council members for Defiance which is quite a leap from the start of the episode. McCawley meanwhile transforms from a xenophobic man with a big mouth into a father figure with a can-do attitude. As for Amanda and her sister Kenya (Mia Kirshner). Their past problems with their mother during the war may be gripping, but it does seem that the audience gets a lot less out of it because we don’t really know them well enough. It is a story you would expect to see just before the finale of a season and not so early on.

As for sheriff Nolan (Grant Bowler), he is being his normal likable self. He seems to be able to carry the show even if he is not center stage. It was a shame that his daughter Irisa did not make an appearance in the episode.

As for the alien races collectively knows as the Votan, we don’t really know enough about them yet and when actors refer to them I do have problems with visualizing them. Something in the viewer experience is lost because of this.

One major visual problem with the episode is that it was clear that Tony Curran (Datak Tarr) wasn’t wearing his white make-up below the neck line. Jaime Murray on the other hand seems to have taken up body painting ever since the shows pilot. Her character Stahma has so far remained my favorite on the show. The shear level of depth the character that she portrays will take numerous seasons to fully unravel.

Score; 8 / 10. Excellent episode though some characters are spread a little thin.

Continuum S2Ep3 ‘Second Thoughts’ Review!

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May 062013

Last weeks episode of Continuum was hardly the shows best. The plot felt a bit too forced as the writers tried to push the characters into a new direction. Alec quitting his job to work for Kellog and Liber8 turning on each other are examples. However, against all odds this weeks episode of Continuum is able to capitalize on this new situation by seriously putting every character out of their comfort zone. I must warn anyone before viewing this episode, there is some serious violence, gore and mind-fucking going on in ‘Second Thoughts’.

The plot of ‘Second Thoughts’…

In a flashback to 2077 we see Kiera (Rachel Nichols) having trouble keeping her younger sister from using a very dangerous drug. This drug allows people to relive their most intense memories. In the present Alec’s friend are also using this ‘newfound’ drug and call it Flash. Alec (Erik Knudsen) doesn’t use it but does allow his friend to drive and they subsequently get into an accident.

Vancouver is meanwhile being gripped by a series of gang assassinations. The problem of the drug ‘flash’ seems to only add to the list. Jason, the time-traveler revealed in the season 1 finale has a warning for Carlos that there are freelancers at work. Carlos (Victor Webster) doesn’t understand the warning but seems to think Jason is an informant of Kiera.

Julian’s stepmother Ann visits him in prison. She says that the bombing killed a number of CEO’s of pharmaceutical companies that wished to form a illegal monopoly on hard to get drugs. Kiera meanwhile pushes Kellog to leave Alec alone. Something he refuses to do as they are teaming up to change the future.

Kiera finally seems to make time for Jason. While questioning him about ‘freelancers’ he tells her that pretty much all the big inventions of the past were brought from the future. Kiera seems skeptical but does listen to his warning that there are more time-travelers from the future here in the present.

Alec meanwhile visits one of his friends that was injured in the car crash. He asks her if it is really possible to see the past in a completely lucid state. She says it is but warns him that the past might seem to be better than it really was for real. It is later shown that Alec has kept some of the drug for himself. Kellog meanwhile wants to know what Alec’s answer is to his offer.

After Carlos and Kiera’s failed discussion with the gang leaders they track the car the gangsters are using with a tracker that Kiera planted. This takes them to the warehouse Sonya is using to make the drug ‘flash’. Despite Carlos’s objection Kiera decides to take down Sonya. After a lengthy gunfight Sonya manages to escape while Kiera seems to be overwhelmed by the number of gang members. Carlos and Kiera finally manage to put down the shooters and take the warehouse.

After Sonya loses her drug lab we see Travis entering a gang nightclub. With a dozen guns trained on him he proclaims himself to be the new head of all the gangs of Vancouver. To proof his power he opens the case he brought along with him and presents the three heads of the previous gang leaders. One by one the gang soldiers lower their guns showing that they accept him as their new leader.

Alec finally manages the courage to take ‘flash’. While in a lucid dream state he see presumably his father. As the man turns it is shown to be Jason.

Julian while incarcerated is protected by a quick succession of gangs. After Travis manages to become head of the underworld we see this change of guard presumably for the last time.

The last scene of the episode shows Kiera’s younger sister dancing on the ledge of a building, despite Kiera’s pleas she jumps to her death.

Conclusion…

This episode is just fantastic on so many levels. Not only does it continue the surprising level of violence (for a mainstream show), it also shows how drugs can affect everyone’s life so intensely and disturbingly. This episode pretty much moves everyone firmly into the dark side, even Kiera and Alec. For the first time the show acknowledges the possibility that Kiera will never make it back to 2077, or at least, the 2077 as she knew it.

The major gunfight between Kiera, Carlos and Sonya with her gangbangers is the most intense and realistic that I have ever seen on a TV-show. The violence proofs to viewers that bullets really do kill. The choreography shows that the director really does know what he is doing. Alas, I am not familiar with any other credentials of William Waring, but if you are, then check out his work!

The scene whereby Travis becomes the de facto head of all the crime syndicates by presenting the heads of the bosses to his soldiers was totally unexpected and came as a big shock. Only TV-series such as Hannibal show the same level of gore while shows such as Game of Throne tend to be a little bit clean in comparison (preferring nudity instead). The scene is effective in establishing the Travis/Sonya faction of Liber8 as the most violent one while Sonya and Lucas actually swear off associating with gangs. As such the lines have been drawn in the sand. The rest of the season will show us how things unravel.

After Alec takes the drug ‘flash’ it is shown that his mother knew Jason, the time traveler revealed in the season one finale. That Jason is Alec’s father has not yet been established but it is strongly alluded to. I am not sure if I find that revelation at all convincing because if so time-line organization becomes very difficult. I already have difficulty in believing that Kagame blew up the building in 2012. Because, if during the very first 2012 timeline he was just being born than Julian would have fulfilled his destiny by performing the bombing, yet we see Julian as being alive in 2077. If you enjoy reasoning about this (if you enjoy mind-fucks that is), then you should definitely view this episode.

The episode did have a number of issues. Julian’s incarceration seems to offer little of interest to viewers. The visit of his stepmother in prison was a surprise as was her approval of the deaths of 5 CEO’s of pharmaceutical companies in the terrorist blast of the first season’s finale. Perhaps future episodes can straighten things out. One question that needs answering is why she choose to marry Julian’s father Roland as she before seemed to show little interest in his anti-capitalist beliefs.

Score; 9 / 10. Showcase and Syfy try to make some good TV, for a change….

Source; http://www.showcase.ca/continuum/

Person of Interest ‘God mode’ Preview!

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May 052013

I am glad to see that the Person of Interest finale scheduled for Thursday evening is so hotly anticipated by viewers online. As I mentioned in last weeks review of Zero Day PoI had some problems during the middle of its second season with character being killed off just because the actors playing them had scheduling conflicts. At this moment PoI is in as special sweet spot when it comes to plot development. So much so that a part of me is sad to see it unravel in the upcoming episode and season 3.

Before all that happens there is of course season 2′s finale entitled ‘God mode’. The phrase ‘God mode’ of course refers to a special cheat code used in old-school shooters that give players unlimited ammo and health. With regards to PoI it supposedly give users of The Machine not only total control but also the ability to ask it any question they want. If that were to happen PoI would definitely put a solid foot in the sci-fi genre that has so far only been hinted at.

‘God mode’ was written by the shows creator Jonathan Nolan. Alas he won’t be directing it.

Without further ado, here is the trailer for God mode…

Here is also the official synopsis for the episode…

“God Mode” – Reese and Finch team up with surprising allies in a race to save The Machine from a familiar, nefarious entity, and the true nature of Finch’s relationship with former partner Nathan Ingram is revealed. Meanwhile, Carter tries to bring Beecher’s murderer to justice and finds herself at odds with the criminal organization HR on the second season finale of PERSON OF INTEREST, Thursday, May 9 (9:00 – 10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Carrie Preston, Amy Acker, Sarah Shahi, Brett Cullen, Jay O. Sanders and Enrico Colantoni guest star.

Source; http://www.spoilertv.com/2013/04/person-of-interest-episode-222-god-mode.html

Person of Interest ‘Zero Day’ Review!

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May 032013

This is the review of Zero Day, the first to last episode of Person of Interests second season. While this season has been notably bumpier than the first I am happy to say that the show has been able to get itself back on track. At this moment the sow seems to suffer more from having to many factions and characters than too few. As such this episode excludes some of those for brevity’s sake. Then again, we don’t want every storyline to be resolved now do we?

The plot of Zero Day…

The episode starts with Finch (Michael Emerson) and Reese (Jim Caviezel) eagerly waiting for a new number. As ‘The Machine’ has been infected with a virus they haven’t gotten one in over 10 days. Reese resorts to shadowing the police in order to protect those who might get murdered, but he is mostly failing. Detective Carter (Taraji P. Henson) investigates the homicide of some of Elias’s men. Officer Marconi offers her his sympathies for Cal Beecher’s murder. She of course doesn’t know he murdered him. Carter spots Reese and asks why the hasn’t been able to stop any of the murders. She further warns him that the Russian mafia is starting to make more inroads in the underworld.

In Washington DC we see the Special Council making inquires about why The Machine hasn’t been offering any numbers. He states that the entire terrorist surveillance program is in jeopardy. Afterwards Root (Amy Acker), who had been working for him as a secretary, reveals herself and interrogates the Special Council at gunpoint. Finch has in the meantime finally received a number from The Machine, a Mr. Thornhill is either the victim or the perpetrator of a murder. However, Finch can find very little about the man as he has a small digital footprint. Finch does discovers that Thornhill has bought up payphone companies in New York.

Both Finch and Reese decide to visit the company that Thornhill runs but are told that a meeting is out of the question. While there Finch sees people typing in masses of code by hand after it gets printed on paper. Root meanwhile phones Finch, she warns him that she knows that ‘The Machine’ is in danger. She further taunts Finch by asking if he has found out who Thornhill is yet. A flashback to 2010 shows Finch talking about his future with Nate Ingram (Brett Cullen). Ingram encourages him to pursue an ordinary life but warns him that revealing his past might cause a lot of problems. It is alludes that Finch is wanted by the government for sedition. When Ingram leaves to get a drink Finch notices that Ingram’s smart-phone has got texts from The Machine on it.

Back in the present Finch discovers that Thornhill has rented a taxi to take him from the airport. While Reese shadows him he notices that another man is doing the same. Reese is too late to prevent the man from using a drone to attack the taxi, but the Reese quickly discovers that Thornhill wasn’t in the taxi. Finch deduces that Thornhill doesn’t exist. The Machine made him up to make people manually reboot the system by typing in code. A flashback shows Finch proposing to Grace, he seems ready to make a change to his life but also seems to have doubt.

In the present Carter discusses with Reese the problems with the mob and Beecher’s murder. Finch meanwhile receives another text from Root. As the message has come from a place close to where Grace lives Finch fears that Root might harm her. While Reese is staking out Thornhill’s apartment to find out who wanted to kill him Finch makes an emergency call saying that there is an armed man in Thornhill’s apartment. Reese manages to talk to ex-CIA hitwoman Samantha Shaw (Sarah Shahi) about the problems with The Machine before he is arrested.

Carter is meanwhile tipped off by Marconi about whereabouts of Beecher’s assassin. At the park near Grace’s home Root questions Finch about what happens when the timer runs out at midnight. Finch says that a reboot sequence will occur that will wipe the virus from The Machine, but The Machine will also make a phone call to a payphone to give the listener administrative rights. Root quickly calls it the Godmode. The two make an uneasy alliance against the people who want to control The Machine themselves. This group was previously identified as Decima Technologies. Root however let’s it slip that she doesn’t appreciate how Finch tried to limit The Machine abilities.

A flashback to 2010 show Finch following Nathan Ingram. In an abandoned library Finch confronts him about the numbers. Nathan admits he built-in a backdoor into The Machine. So now he also gets social security numbers of people involved in violent crimes other than terrorism. After an argument in Finch makes it clear the government would want to kill Nathan over what he has done he shuts the backdoor down. As he leaves The Machine send one more number, that of Nathan Ingram though both fail to see it.

In the present Root and Finch walk through Manhattan watching as hired thugs from Decima Technologies are guarding every payphone in sight. While in police custody Reese is visited by Samantha Shaw. She tells him that it was Finch who gave the tipoff that got him arrested. Shaw questions whether Finch had anything to do with The Machine breaking down. Reese says he will want to ask Finch that very same question. Together they manage to escape from the police station.

When Root and Finch have broken into Thornhill’s office Finch tells her he made sure The Machine couldn’t grow beyond everyone’s control. He had built a purge mechanism whereby the last 24 hours of surveillance would be wiped out as well as what The Machine had learned from it. Except the information of open case files related to terrorism and homicide. Root thinks he has harmed The Machine by building such a mechanism. Finch contends that the Thornhill operation maybe a rudimentary way for The Machine to bypass the mechanism.

Carter meanwhile finds Beecher’s assassin and kills him when he draws a gun. After on no gun is found when Internal Affairs shows up Carter appears to be set up.

Later on Reese and Shaw also break into Thornhill’s office only to find Greer there. He states what it is as stake, complete control of The Machine. However, he also states that it was Finch who has sold him the virus to take control in the first place. The virus that was on the laptop that Kara Stanton and Reese had been ordered to retrieve from Ordos, China.

Near midnight, Finch and Root enter the library in which they know The Machine will make its call. Cleverly Finch reroutes the call to a phone not guarded by Greer’s men. At the stroke of 12 Root takes the call. Finch also reroutes the call to Reese and Shaw, thus leaving in doubt as to whom has access to The Machine as it reboots.

Conclusion…

Zero Day is an excellent episode to lead the audience into the season finale of next week. It is tightly written and in 43 minutes a lot happens. It is a shame that Fusco (Kevin Chapman) couldn’t part of it. As is, there might have been a few too many characters in this episode already. While the revelations about Finch creating the virus and Nathan Ingram trying to protect would-be murder victims are cleverly done they do lose some impact because they were already alluded to before. Carter’s hunt for Beecher’s murderer wasn’t too exciting I fear. Her worries about the Russian Mafia probably means that we can guess what new antagonists will show up next season.

Though I am happy to see Sarah Shahi back as Samantha Shaw in this episode her role was a bit limited. In essence she is another Reese when it comes to keeping a straight face. Maybe that is one too many for this show. Shahi’s character was bit of stand-in for Kara Stanton after the actress playing her had to cancel because of scheduling conflicts. I hope Jonathan Nolan can find more for her to do next season.

As for the overall story arc related to The Machine. I think Person of Interest is slowly developing those science-fiction roots that have for so long been hiding in plain sight. The idea that The Machine is using people to help it remember seems to be an allusion to Christopher Nolan’s movie Memento in which the protagonist suffers from the ability to store new memories. Themes such as globalization and the ever farther reaching present of the internet are also accentuated in this episode.

As said, this episode sets the pace very well for next week’s finale ‘Godmode’. It would be best to consider both episodes as one story arc. So we will have to wait until next week to form a final judgment.

Score; 8.5 / 10.

Person of Interest will be back next week with the season finale Godmode. Expect a preview of that episode this weekend and review next week.

Continuum S2E2 ‘Split Second’ Review!

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Apr 292013

Roger Cross as Travis Verta

After viewing the second episode is this season of Continuum I have finally managed to find an episode that I honestly didn’t like. Just like season one’s weakest episode ‘Playtime’ this episode, entitled ‘Split Second’, is a bit out there… However, ‘Split Second’ is too convoluted and has too many arbitrary twists and turns to make it a really enjoyable showing.

Split Second follows two storylines. The first is about Kiera and Carlos escorting Travis to a new prison after he killed six prisoners. Now, everyone knows that the trip won’t be without incident but I wasn’t expecting remotely controlled machine guns and helicopters. While all the shooting is going on agent Gardiner is questioning Kiera’s loyalty. He saw her survive the bombing from the season 1 finale by using her suit and suspects she might actually be working for Liber8. From his superiors he gets little help. Indeed the person that vouched for Kiera, the mysterious Escher, is apparently the head of Section 6. Which is the agency that Kiera says she works for. Gardiner also mentions that Escher has something to do with Piron, and that happens to be a corporation mentioned in 2077.

Erik Knudsen as Alec Sadler talking to Kellog

In the end Garza manages to free Travis by betraying Sonya and Lucas. The two of them known they are on their own and flee before Garza and Travis can reach the hide-out. In upcoming episodes it will be interesting to see which pair manages to continue Liber8′s efforts in 2013.

The second storyline involves Kellog coaxing Alec in joining into a partnership. Kellog believes that with his business acumen and Alec’s tech skills they could be very rich very quickly. After several moments of doubt Alec agrees to the partnership. It thus remains to be seen whether Alec will help Kiera stop Liber8 like he has done in the past.

Victor Webster as Carlos Fonnegra

Conclusion…

While giving you this quick overview of ‘Split Second’ you might think that it is quite straightforward. The actual 43 minutes are however quite tedious. The dialogue takes ages to get anywhere and the plot development is predictable because they are so shallow. For the first time since the pilot I have absolutely no idea where this show is going. That might be a positive thing to some but I believe it also endangers viewer empathy towards the characters.

The only good thing about this episode is that were finally getting to learn more about each member of Liber8.

Score; 6.5 / 10.

Stephen Lobo as Kellog & Erik Knudsen as Alec Sadler making a deal

Source; http://www.showcase.ca/continuum/

Revolution renewed for second season – NO JOKE!

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Apr 272013

Yes, its true… NBC has officially renewed their supposed ‘flagship’ for another season. Personally this gives me mixed feelings. Revolution is an OK show and I certainly don’t want to see any sci-fi series get cancelled. However, there are plenty of things wrong with Revolution that would make we doubt anyone is really interested in a second season. I can almost imagine the show being wrapped up confidently after just one season. The opposite of ‘Lost’ if you get my drift.

Another reason that makes this announcement very odd is that Revolution has been steadily dropping in the ratings. The ratings were never high to begin with. Sure the second half of season 1 feels like it wants to draw in a larger audience but in terms of quality it has been two steps forward and than one step back. Hardly a confident move on the part of the creative staff. The show of course is shown on NBC so that prevents it from using Game of Thrones gimmicks to boosts its audience. That has shown in the ratings, which despite the partial reboot has dropped below 6 million for the first time.

On Monday Revolution will be back with its 15th episode ‘Home’. The season should end on June 3rd with its twentieth episode. Season 2 is slated to have 22 episodes. However, despite this formal announce the show can still be cancelled if ratings do not improve.

PS; the upcoming episode will delve more into the background story of Aaron (Zak Orth). I am certainly game.

Source; http://www.nbc.com/revolution/

Defiance – Episode 3 review & Episode 4 preview!

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Apr 272013

Finally I am here with a review of the third episode of Defiance. It won’t be a full review but I will at least discuss the most salient details. I will also give a short preview of the fourth episode ‘The Devil In the Dark’ that will air Monday evening.

Episode 3 Recap…

The third episode ‘Down In the Ground Where the Dead Men Go’ takes off were the pilot stopped. Datak is punishing one of his fellow Castithan for fleeing from the battle with the Volge. The episode sees continued efforts to prevent the man public execution. Despite Joshua’s and Irisa’s attempt Datak finally murders the man and leaves him on the doorsteps of the sheriff’s office.

Jaime Murray nude as Stahma Tarr - Defiance

Jaime Murray as Stahma Tarr

Meanwhile Ben has been woken from his coma by a fellow conspirator who urges him to finish the job by destroying Defiance. Ben makes his way to the McCawley mines and blows up the entrance after himself. According to McCawley he is heading to old St. Louis which was largely preserved intact despite the major terraforming events of the war. Quickly it is deduced that Ben intends to blow a nuclear facility to contaminate the mines that are the raison d’etre of Defiance. Ben is eventually stopped, but Joshua fails to question him as Ben forces McCawley to shoot him.

The third plot line involved the feud between Datak Tarr and McCawley. Now that a wedding between their respective son and daughter is planned they have all sorts of personal issues to take care off. McCawley’s daughter can’t stop arguing with her father and Datak’s son Alek is continuing his efforts at being the spoiled brat who doesn’t care about anything. It falls on Datak’s wife Stahma (Jaime Murray) to try and fix the various problems in order to further hers and Datak’s agenda.

Ben being awoken

There are furthermore some other minor plot lines but I won’t spoiler them here. Defiance certainly has the ability to be epic in the sense of personal relationship, similar to The Borgia’s. So missing episodes might be problematic in the future.

Conclusion.

The third episode of Defiance is the first one in which we get a glimpse of how the show’s format will look like. In my opinion it is similar to Continuum with a fast pace and multiple partially independent plot lines woven together. I think it works, but it can still be a lot better. Some of the characters so far seem a bit wooden and familiar, especially one the McCawley side of the story. The character of Stahma Tarr is quickly becoming my favorite. Jaime Murray really knows how to carry the character, next to Grant Bowler I think she is the heart of the show.

Stahma (Jaime Murray) topless / nude soothing her son Alek

Stahma (Jaime Murray) soothing her son Alek – Defiance

Stahma Tarr seems to oddly enough fit the setting perfectly were as other characters seem very much out-of-place. Like the pilot this episode has a scene with Datak and Stahma enjoying their private Castithan bath. It is an effective way of allowing the two characters to plot their next move while also giving Defiance that little bit of Game of Thrones with the semi-nude setting. I hope the scene will be a staple in Defiance.

The special effects in the third episode are fewer than in the pilot. That is in itself not unusual (Eureka, Lost and Continuum), so at least viewers are not distracted by the fakeness. The old St. Louis was recreated rather effectively. So if every episode has a similar outing I think it could work very well. Why the old St. Louis isn’t occupied by the people of Defiance is a bit of a mystery to me.

Defiance still needs to find some solid ground in my opinion. The characters of sheriff Joshua Nolan and his daughter Irisa seem oddly unsettled in Defiance, something many fans have remarked upon.

Score; 7.5 / 10. Solid, but the many nagging details drag it down.

Luke’s secret

Episode 4 Preview…

The fourth episode of Defiance is called ‘The Devil In the Dark’ and will yet again take our characters out of Defiance and into the surrounding area.

Here is the synopsis…

A horde of Hellbugs attack the town of Defiance. In order to stop them, a search party is sent out on a mission to find and destroy the central source of the Hellbugs.

Here is the preview trailer…

And some preview stills…

Tony Curran as Datak Tarr and Jaime Murray as Stahma Tarr

Stephanie Leonidas as Irisa

Grant Bowler as sheriff Joshua Nolan

Source; http://www.defiance.com/en/series/

Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3 Blu-Ray Review!

DVD, TV-series No Responses »

Apr 252013

Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) assimilated as Borg

Finally the third season of Star Trek TNG has arrived on Blu-ray. Fans have been waiting for this season ever since the Blu-ray release scheme was initially announced. As despite the first two season having their moments in the sun it is the third season that finally allowed The Next Generation to mature. This was largely due to a change in the creative staff with people like Gene Roddenberry and Maurice Hurley being kicked to the curb and being replaced by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. It also saw the return of Gates McFadden as Doctor Crusher, though fans were sad to see Diana Muldaur go. In this review I shall discuss whether the season still holds up after almost 23 years and if it is worth buying.

Vash played by Jennifer Hetrick

Cast…

Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
Jonathan Frakes as Commander William Riker.
LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge.
Michael Dorn as Worf.
Marina Sirts as Deanna Troi.
Gates McFadden as Doctor Beverly Crusher.
Brent Spiner as Data.
Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher.

Enterprise and Klingon Bird of Prey

The Next Generation season 3….

Fans generally agree that the third season of The Next Generation was a bit of a reboot for the series. A few of the shows creative staff were dropped and the emphasis was placed more on conflict, both on a personal and a galactic level. The advantage of all that is that the season feels polished, the disadvantage is that some of Gene Roddenberry’s principles were let go. The third season as such didn’t see any male and female crewmembers wear the unisex skirt uniform. Instead the show focused a little bit less on issues such as gender equality and started catering more to the adolescent youth market (boys) by showing a bit more skin in episodes such as ‘Captain’s holiday’ and ‘Ménage a Troi’. Some might say that the rot that ended Enterprise started with this season. Personally I think that is not true because both Voyager and Enterprise could have been changed for the better if there was the will power to do so. Season 3 for all intends and purposes feels like a better package, a season that tried to squeeze the Star Trek concept to see what was possible!

Worf stands before the Klingon High Council

Suggested episodes to cherry pick…

First I will discuss two personal favorites and then three that fans have come to form an agreement on.

Hollow Pursuits; this episode introduces the recurring character of Lt. Barclay played by Dwight Schultz. The episode was intended as a spoof of fans of Star Trek as the creative staff believed they were far too vested in their fictional world. The episode is memorable because it introduces the recurring character of Reginald Barclay, a man who is a genius but flawed on a personal level. Previously this type of character was confined to non-Enterprise characters. The episode id memorable for its mix of humor and drama but not for its special effects.

Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) taking command of the Enterprise-C

Captain’s Holiday; this Picard-centric episode takes place mostly on the planet Risa, known for its almost hedonistic attitude to comfort. Picard must battle aliens from the future while pursuing his archeology hobby. He also develops a romantic interest with Vash, a female bounty hunter. This episode developed the rule that all Picard-centric episodes are just brilliant!

Yesterday’s Enterprise; this episode sees the return of Denise Crosby as Tasha Yar when the Enterprise travels into a alternative universe in which the Federation is at war with the Klingons. Denise Crosby would later be able to play Sela due to this episode. Yesterday’s Enterprise also stands in contrast with its militaristic visuals which I think might have inspired the 2003 Battlestar Galactica remake.

Elizabeth Dennehy as Commander Shelby

Sins of the Father; this episode continuous the story of Worf’s family disgrace that allowed the character to grow into a fan favorite during the fourth and fifth season. The episode is remarkable as it is the first to show the Klingon home-world. The season 2 episode ‘A Matter of Honor’ was confined to a Klingon ship. The storyline of Worf and his family’s past would later on be woven together with the return of Sela, the daughter of Tasha Yar, as a consequence of what happened in Yesterday’s Enterprise.

The Best of Both Worlds Part 1 (and Part 2); the season 3 finale is probably the best remembered episode of Star Trek. It certainly wasn’t afraid of pulling punches as is evident with Captain Picard being assimilated into the Borg Collective. Well, at least this time you will be spared the agony of a season cliffhanger as this disc also includes season 4′s opener The Best of Both Worlds Part 2!

Denise Crosby as Tasha Yar

Visuals.

I guess after reviewing the first season of Enterprise on Blu-ray I must have been spoiled because the return to the good old 4:3 aspect ratio certainly caught me by surprise. Despite the disappointing choice of ratio during this time in TV history the actual important aspects such as coloring, sharpness and special effects are nothing short of exquisite. The first two seasons of Star Trek TNG were good but with season 3 the show’s cinematography really diversified. At first I was reluctant to watch the first episode of the season, ‘Evolution’, as it is regarded to be mediocre. However, I found I actually liked it better, now that I could see all the facial expressions properly, thus giving viewers a broader impression of emotion. This sense of realism really carries season 3 into a new realm.

However, sometimes there are some artifacts or blurry faces that distract just a bit too often for them to be ignored. Also the HD transfer does make it often evident that were watching sets constructed in a studio. Similar criticism was recently directed at the first Hobbit movie because it used a higher frame rate. Here it is a question of too much realism.

Audio.

The audio of this transform is top-notch, though otherwise featureless. It is simple stereo sound as is custom from circa 1990. For the Blu-Ray transfer it has been recorded as DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1. Meaning it is as crisp as it can be but you wont be hearing the enterprise flying through your room from left to right.

The Enterprise and the Borg Cube

Extra’s.

The box-set is completed with a long list of extra’s. As I mentioned in the Enterprise season 1 review, few people buy a Blu-ray/DVD box-set for the extra’s. I think that with internet and multitudes of wiki’s the information contained within these short docu’s is already known to most fans of the show. The most important documentaries are…

Mission Overview: Year Three; which discusses the third season of the TNG in general terms. Though there is some new material there is plenty of stuff used from old interviews that make it feel too much of a rehash.

Selected Crew Analysis: Year Three; this documentary talks about the changes to the characters in season 3. Despite the season doing more in this field than any other it too feels a bit superfluous as you can watch all the changes by viewing the episodes. It’s a bit of fluff to be honest.

Departmental Briefing, Year Three: Production; this documentary show what happened behind the scenes to make season 3 happen. It discusses anecdotes with the creative and production staff and thus gives us an overview of what it takes to make 26 episodes if Science fiction circa 1990. No easy task apparently. This documentary is by far the most interesting, but I wouldn’t buy a Blu-ray set for it to see it.

Overall, the extra’s are OK for someone who wants to know more about the background of Star Trek. Both for fans there is little new to peek their interests. The Blu-ray release contains a few extra’ not mentioned such as commentaries and crew logs, but they fall under the standard fare!

Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Risa

Conclusion.

For 77.99 (at the time of writing) you will really get one of the greatest sci-fi seasons of any TV show you can buy. The HD quality adds considerable depth to the acting and the viewer experience. Viewing the entire contents of the Blu-ray box set may seem superficially familiar yet I felt it was also something completely new. Unlike the two previous seasons there fewer ‘bad’ episodes and more ‘brilliant’ ones that make it so memorable. No word yet on when season 4 will be released but expect it to arrive sometime early July. Of course you can already watch two episodes. The first is the season opener Best of Both Worlds Part 2 found in this box set. The second is the episode Inner Light released as part of the Blu-Ray promotional release last year.

Score; 9.5 / 10. A very polished Star Trek outing, though some original TNG ideas were dropped.

Brent Spiner as Data

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