Murmur - BrianMcNamara's Content

Was Superman A Spy? : Review

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 03:05:59 GMT

by: BrianMcNamara
A review of the book "Was Superman A Spay?" by Brian Cronin, based off his popular "Comic Book Legends Revealed" column.

Over the past two years I have developed a Friday ritual of sorts. I sit down to a small lunch at my computer and peruse the comic book news sites. This is generally not long as I often avoid much of the previews and Q&As in lieu of interesting tidbits and gossip. However, I keep perhaps my favorite column for last. That column has been Comic Book Legends Revealed (formerly Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed) by Brian Cronin. The column, part of the larger Comics Should Be Good aegis, shines a light on famous and not-so-famous legends and myths surrounding the comic book industry. It is by far one of the most interesting and informative things I read each week. As well, the legends sometimes have several layers to them that Cronin deftly lays out for the reader.

In February, Cronin announced on the column that a book containing 130 of his legends would be published later in 2009. It would be called Was Superman A Spy? And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed! At first, I was unexcited. Why pay for something I was already getting online for free? As publication came closer, I discovered the book would be split between already featured legends and brand new legends just for the book. This got me a little more interested in the book. Still, the book came out in April and I failed to pick it up. Last week, I was in a Barnes and Noble and the book was being prominently displayed on an end-cap. On a lark, I picked the book up. It then sat on my desk under two new Doctor Who and Star Trek novels. Then Wednesday night I had the sudden urge to read something before I went to bed. I idly selected Was Superman A Spy? It was about an hour later - and nearly 80s pages - that I realized I needed to set the book aside and get some sleep.

The book is surprisingly light and reads rather fast. The legends are told in an as-reduced-as-possible form, which makes them easier to tackle in large chunks for casual reading. However, they are no less interesting or informative in shorter form. I have to give Cronin a lot of credit for actively trying to relate the legends to each other, even loosely, so that as you move through the book there is a growing sense of connectivity - a hallmark of the close-knit comic book industry. Cronin tell everything in as fair and grounded a manner as possible and definitely strives to give credit where credit is due. He even goes against the grain in a few places to make sure readers understand that while creators like Kirby or Ditko were often mistreated, not every idea Stan Lee came up with was originally theirs.

I enjoyed the book immensely and devoured it in a little over two hours. However, while the books is really well put together and flows nicely, I did have a few reservations with it. For one, I felt that Marvel was given a larger section (by 30 pages) and their section featured more legends about more characters, whereas DC's section focused primarily on Batman, Superman and a good number of industry legends with a short, mixed-bag chapter given for the rest of DC's characters. Marvel's section focuses on three characters and two teams and has its own mixed-bag chapter. While I realize that more of Marvel's characters are better known outside of comics, it felt oddly lopsided. This was especially true in that much of the Hulk chapter was dedicated to general industry legends. It is a rather small complaint, however, in that many of Marvel's legends seem to be a little more exciting.

Juxtaposed to these two longs sections is a short section about "Other Comic Book Companies." This section was by far my favorite. I thought it was the most interesting and offered some of the best legends in the book. I think the broader subject meant that Cronin could more easily work with legends that bordered on being comic books proper and reflected more on strip comics or the like. As well, Cronin moves a little bit away from Super-Hero comics with the legends brought up in this section. If Cronin ever returns to the book form to tell more legends, I would love to see more non-Marvel and DC legends. My favorite legends came from the entire book came from this section. From Donald Duck to Elvis Presely to "Fantasy Island" I was hooked!

At times I was unsure who the intended demographic was for the book. Each section starts with a brief history of the company or characters introduced. The legends themselves are often interspersed with bits of parenthetical clarification. However, there are times where Cronin does his best to explain major events in comics in a short space. Often this meant I was filling in blanks with my own knowledge of these events. For the most part, Cronin glosses over the particulars of Dr. Wertham's attack on comics and the creation of the Comics Code and Authority, and tosses out some paraphrases to cover himself. Obviously something that has been written about at length like Wertham and the Code (see Hadju's The Ten Cent Plague) cannot be easily reiterated, but a novice may be at a loss to put some 2s and 2s together. As well, several writers are introduced as if they are household names outside of comics, but time is taken to talk about the Fleischer Company who only have a role in one of the myths. Still, the brief histories Cronin gives are quite informative and shed some light on the founders of DC and Marvel and their notable name changes. Perhaps the book is meant to tread that tenuous line between being layman friendly while not pandering to knowledgeable readers?

Overall, any qualms I had were minor. The book is very interesting and well written. It has a very popcorn movie pace and feeling and makes sure every legend is easily digestible, perhaps even easily repeatable. Because of this last point, one might underestimate the vast amount of research Cronin puts into the project. All of the legends on his column are backed by lengthy quotes from the creators involved, knowledgeable second-hand sources, interviews, articles or, at the very least, very well researched supposition. In the book, some of the evidence comes off as merely anecdotal, which is not necessarily bad, but perhaps not exactly convincing.

I would definitely suggest this book to any reader of comics and anyone who enjoys hearing about the back story to how some of these characters came into their current iterations or perhaps curious about the back office dealings of the 40s, 50s and today! Was Superman A Spy? And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed! by Brian Cronin, published by Plume Books, a division of Penguin. On bookshelves now.

The Book of Dead Philosophers

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:05:40 GMT

by: BrianMcNamara
A review of the book "The Book of Dead Philosophers."

During my freshman year of college, I became aware of a curious problem: I despised philosophy. I didn't do well in my first philosophy class. I couldn't stand much of the subject matter (Descartes? Ugh!) and generally just found the whole of it uninteresting. Then I started hanging out with philosophy majors. These guys were, surprisingly, pretty cool. They asked curious, fun questions that were challenging, and yet, entertaining. Somewhere along the line, I suddenly "got" philosophy. For some reason, it was all very interesting now. I read some of Sarte and other existentialists, read some Plato and Aristotle, some Foucalut, took a new course on philosophy and ethics that introduced me to J. S. Mill and the like. While I'm not a philosopher, I certainly gained an appreciation for it. Indeed, I've even begun using it in my actual fields of study.

That little preface lays out the state of mind I was in when I was gifted this book by mother for my birthday in February. She had heard about it form a TV show and thought I would enjoy it. Essentially her criteria for my enjoyment were: 1) It dealt with dead things, 2) It dealt with philosophers, 3) It was British (I'm a huge anglophile). And so for a few weeks The Book of Dead Philosophers sat on my desk, amidst a great many other books. Then in March, I decided I should give it a whirl. I opened it up and, hours later, had a hard time setting it down.

The basic premise of the book is that Critchley is presenting the deaths of roughly 200 prominent (and some not-so-prominent) philosophers. He hopes that in presenting their deaths, and in some cases a summation of their thoughts on death and dying, he can give the audience a way to understand death. The idea of the book is not that the book is a guide on how to die or how to prepare to die, but, rather, how to accept death. Critchley was inspired to write the book after the death of his mentor and his resultant grief. The book is prefaced with three short essays that explain Cricthley's motivations for writing the book and his approach. While one may be tempted to skip these chapters, they are an important part of understanding the book as a whole. Critchley writes these essays in a very formal style, but one that doesn't hide the very personal reasons he has in writing this book. One downside to the introduction is that some of the more interesting deaths are spoiled in the introduction. While this is a little upsetting, the fact of the matter is that how these famous philosophers died is sometimes just as important as how they lived.

The meat of the book is the presentation of the 200 philosophers. The books is broken up into 15 sections that roughly correspond to historical epochs and focus on philosophers of the same "school of thought." Each section is then made up of subheadings bearing a philosopher's name with their story underneath. Where possible, Critchley has tried to keep related philosophers together, even if it means some of the entries are out of temporal sequence. The reading is fast but informative. Each philosopher's section is different. Some are as short as two sentences, others take up almost ten pages, forming a mini essay. In all cases, Critchley tries to present as much information as possible. The deaths range from being humorous, sad, curious and mythical - all of them are interesting. In many ways its hard to critique the book simply because so much of it is the presentation of rote facts. Personal highlights include the deaths of Periander&Jeremy Bentham (and his posthumous life!).

Critchely obviously did a vast amount of research in putting this book together and it shows. Indeed, he tried to include non-Western philosophers over the course of the book and was able to include a fair amount of women. Oftentimes these women are not considered philosophers by the world at large, but Critchley makes the case that many of them are regarded as being knowledge women of the time and many were the lovers and wives of prominent philosophers.

Truth told, it is hard for me to find fault with the book. While there are some oversights - most likely in the interest of saving space - I cannot say there is anyone really important I feel is missing. (Socrates does not have a proper entry, but his death is discussed at length in the introduction. A fair trade off for the philosopher with the most famous death.) I will say I do feel the book is slightly weighted for ancient and modern philosophers. Some of the middle sections covering the middle ages seem sparse, mostly populated by Christian Saints. I can only surmise that a lack of information about other philosophers form other regions is the key. Still, perhaps a small entry for Ibn Khaldun, the Arabic polymath currently becoming more well known outside the Islamic world, would have been nice.

In suggesting this book to friends and family, I can't help but feel like Woody Allen in Annie Hall, who was always reading books about death and dying. However, the important thing to remember with the book is that it is not a guide on how to die, nor a "book of the dead" like those from Egypt or Tibet. Those latter books being manuals for how to enter the afterlife. Instead, it is a celebration of deaths both mundane and mind-boggling, silly and sad. I had no idea what to expect when I started reading and found myself devouring it in hours, yet oddly savoring each section. It is certainly engaging and thought provoking and one quickly gets past the novelty of the concept and begins to learn from it.

All told, I simply loved this book. It was probably the best nonfiction piece I have read in years. That is especially high praise because I do not generally pick up nonfiction. The book is a fun read that maintains a level of humor while presenting a sad subject matter. However, I will advise that the book is not exactly an easy read for people who have no knowledge of the field. Critchley does his best to clarify concepts and summarize schools of thought, but there is only so much the author can do before the book becomes a Philosophy 101 course. If a casual reader were to pick this up, I would make sure you have Wikipedia standing by. Despite the heady subject matter, the book reads fast and there is never a sense of one section taking too long. Indeed, in many cases I wish there were more philosophers. I cannot recommend the book highly enough! The Book of Dead Philosophers by Simon Critchley, published by Vintage Books. On bookshelves now.

Moon Film Review

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:42:58 GMT

by: BrianMcNamara
A review of the new film, "Moon" starring Sam Rockwell & Kevin Spacey, directed by Duncan Jones

The other night on Twitter, I had an interesting conversation with a few people. I had mentioned that, in an effort to ensure my movie dollars are spent effectively, I've begun being more selective about the films I see. I was burned by many a film in the 2005-2008 summer film runs and just didn't want to deal with it anymore. Going to see Terminator Salvation with a friend was the straw that broke the camel's back. In that conversation, though, I mentioned that there had been a dearth of hard science fiction films in the past few years. While these friends offered a few that seemed interesting - some even on my Netflix queue - it was left unchallenged. Comparing now to say the late 60s or early 70s, we're lucky to get science fiction that isn't a franchise or with an explosion-per-minute rate of 10. Yes, I'm a bit of a film snob, what can I say?

Still, I had seen some early trailers for Moon and was unconvinced. While it looked interesting, at first it seemed to be comedy. Later trailers hinted at it being a psychological thriller, but the concept didn't really seem so fresh. While the latter presentation of the plot is closer to the mark, it's not quite right on. I was ultimately swayed by my friend's enthusiasm for the film after seeing it.

Moon is a story set in our not-too-distant future. It focuses on Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), who is the sole worker on a small moonbase that is responsible for supplying some 70% of the world's energy through Hydrogen 3 farming. Sam has signed a three year contract with the company he works for and keeps himself as busy as possible maintaining the sample collectors, keeping in shape, watching 70s TV shows and whittling a scale model of a town. As the film opens, Sam is counting down the days until his contract expires and he can return home to his wife and daughter. However, after an accident, brought about by visions of a woman Sam keeps having, Sam overhears some interesting conversation between his employers back home and the sentient computer, Gerty (Kevin Spacey), who keeps Sam occupied on the station. It appears Sam has woken up too soon. Tricking Gerty, Sam begins to investigate what happened to him during the accident. He soon finds another man in the crashed rover on the surface of the moon - another man who shares Sam's face. But is this other man a hallucination, a clone, a twin? Sam's journey of loneliness and internal conflict is brought to light in an original and mesmerizing way.

You'll have to forgive me talking around the plot a bit, but I found not knowing anything about the revelation (which occurs earlier in the film than you would think) really shapes your experience of the film. The film is essentially Rockwell's from start to finish. And he does an amazing job. I would never assume this is the guy who played "Generic Security Guard #3" in Galaxy Quest nor that he had it in him to play, essentially, two different characters who share so many of the same traits. Kevin Spacey is fantastic as the computer Gerty and delivers many cold, emotionless lines with a slight lilt of caring. Still, the film is able to do something Castaway couldn't, tell a good story with only one character.

I was quite impressed with director Duncan Jones, son of David Bowie. Indeed, I was even more impressed to find this to be his first work as a professional. Jones also wrote the story the script was based off of. Jones worked very hard to keep this story small and intimate but never at the expense of visuals. For an independent film, I was shocked by how good the CGI for the moon surface and vehicles was. There was a certain retro design to the film, looking and feeling a lot like space stations and ships seen in 50s and 60s movies, but with that touch of the ultra modern seen in more recent films. While we have white walls, many are dirty and grimy as if someone had actually occupied the space for some three years. Gerty is an inventive, but practical design - a large computer that runs a track through the roof of the base. As well, Jones is able to get an excellent, emotional performance from Rockwell that ranks amongst the best Sci-Fi acting jobs I've seen in years.

Personally, I'm not one for underscoring in films. There are a select few film composers whose music can make or break films, but honestly, on the whole, most films have terrible, distracting underscoring. I was quite surprised to see Clint Mansell, who scored The Fountain and Requiem for a Dream among others, attached to the project. Mansell is generally known for pretty bombastic, over the top, classically-inspired, emotive scoring. His piece "Death is the Road to Awe" from The Fountain is something I listen to on a regular basis, but not something I would consider hearing in a retro, straight-up Sci-Fi film. I was surprised to hear something almost minimalist from Mansell. Before seeing his name, I thought perhaps they had gotten Philip Glass to do the music for the film. The recurring theme of the film serves as the perfect hybrid between Mansell and Glass's styles. Never did I feel the music was too powerful for a scene, and I was glad it was there most of the time.

My biggest complaint with the film is that Jones was obviously influenced by a great many films he grew up on in writing and directing this film. Obviously the film heavily relies on 2001: A Space Odyssey and the original Solaris for their visual storytelling and plot themes. Themes from movies like Outland, Silent Running and Alien are also evident in the plot. While this isn't necessarily bad, at many times these sources are worn on the movie's sleeve. I didn't enter the film to play a game of connect the dots to other films, if you follow my metaphor. It still makes for an interesting Sci-Fi film, over all, however - taking the best of these masterpieces and combining them.

I did also have a complaint that the film never quite covers why Sam begins to have the visions. While there are certainly a few reasons the viewer can posit, nothing is really confirmed. Indeed, any reference to the visions is dropped almost 20 minutes into the film. It was nagging at me the entire time. Ultimately, they're not important to the plot. Perhaps they were hang over from a previous version of the story?

Over all, this was probably my favorite film of 2009 so far. And the reason for that is that it seems original. Despite the heavy influence of other films on it, there is a sense of "I haven't seen this before" to it. As well, this is probably my favorite hard science fiction film from the past few years. The film is far from perfect, and it is important to remember this is the director's first film. But if this is any indication, Jones has a strong career ahead of him. Moon, directed by Duncan Jones, starring Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey, is currently in limited release throughout America, check your favorite movie ticket/time site to find out when it comes near you.

Stargate Universe Premiere Review

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 03:44:31 GMT

by: BrianMcNamara
A review of the SGU Series Premiere: Air, Parts 1 & 2

"Air, Parts 1&2"

    The Stargate franchise has been in my life for quite some time. I was a fan of the original movie from 1994. I vividly remember watching the start of SG-1 on Showtime in 1997. And I remember chatting with a friend on the phone during commercial breaks for the premiere of Stargate Atlantis. While I'm a fan of various genre shows, something about Stargate has always captured my imagination more fully, engaged me more thoroughly. I make it no secret that Daniel Jackson (Both Spader and Shanks) is part of the reason I became interested in - and later majored in - Anthropology. So as you can tell, I'm pretty well versed in my Gate and have pretty high expectations. It is with this eye that turn toward the latest addition to the franchise.

    Of course, the genesis of Stargate Universe is not without its own drama. Announced on the heels of the cancellation of Atlantis, SGU has endured a number complaints, detractors and pessimistic speculation that the previous spin-off seemed immune to. Interviews with the actors and creators of the series yielded an inconclusive picture of the series that sounded part Battlestar Galactica and part Star Trek: Voyager with a heaping helping of Lost, Deep Space Nine and whatever other genre show you care to put up to it. Going into the show, I felt like I knew a lot about it and yet really knew nothing. Despite the interviews, fans knew little of the mechanics of the show. The "base," the missions, a "villain" were all unknown quantities. Despite what I'd heard, I tried to keep an open mind and really avoided any talk about the new series online. I almost forgot it was on until last week. So last night I settled in for two hours and was quite intrigued by what I saw.

    Stargate: Universe has a fairly straight forward, if superfluously complex, plot. Essentially, the plot revolves around a group of Stargate personnel - both military and civilian - being forced to evacuate their base. This base is particularly important because it houses the brilliant minds and funders of the Icarus Project - the rather unfortunate name of the project looking to crack the meaning/destination of the Gate's ninth chevron. During a pitched air battle, the ground team must evacuate through the gate. Only, it is too dangerous to dial the gate to Earth, so they must use the energy build up of the mounting planetary explosion to dial the ninth chevron. The team find themselves on a ship very far from home that is in a state of disrepair beyond anyone's means to fix. The ship is locked in autopilot and they have no way of altering the path of the ship or power enough to gate back to Earth. The end of the episode reveals that the ship makes periodic stops for its damned crew to resupply before it moves on, with or without them. This premise is very simple, but effective. The heavy emphasis on Stargate continuity so early on in the episode could possibly be alienating and certainly amounts for a lot of seemingly useless screen time but it does firmly place the show in the heart of the franchise.

    Watching Stargate Universe was an interesting experience. While I enjoyed the premise, there was a lot about the show that I felt was standing in its own way. There is an argument to be made that this show starts out in a similar manner to Atlantis, and on paper I can definitely see that. Someone unfamiliar with the Stargate is brought in to help facilitate the journey to the new location. A stand-offish scientist is already working on things there and is upset when the "ignorant" new guy upstages him. A heroic, but overbearing army officer bosses people around only to be shown up a younger officer. It does seem like we're working off the same playbook. Speaking of similar playbooks, apparently the producers got ahold of the Battlestar Galactica book because there's a lot of that show to be found here. From non-linear plotting, lighting choices, characterizations and story style, this really does feel like a BSG hybrid. It was more than a little distracting to see, having been a fan of both series. There is also a rather incongruous sex scene that looks almost exactly like any uniforms-on-in-the-locked-bunks sex scene from BSG. However, the biggest change from the past has been in the music. While Joel Goldsmith has been with the franchise from the beginning, his music has usually stayed in a bombastic, militaristic vein. Within the first fifteen minutes of the show, there was lighter music littered with bag pipes, Middle Eastern instruments and solo piano. Normally, this would just seem to be a composer playing with new material. Coupled with the other BSG nods, I can only assume there was a move to ape Bear McReary's unique style. It's certainly not enough to be declared a rip off, and after a while I ceased to notice the music at all. My biggest piece of advice to the producers of Universe would be to allow the show to come up with its own themes, style and feeling.

    The main cast of Universe is rather diverse and filled with interesting characters that could lead to fun stories down the line. That said, I'm unsure who the lead of the series is. On paper, I know Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle) is the main character, but by far the most amount of time is spent with Eli Wallace (David Blue) the geek-in-residence. Nearly 30 minutes of the two hours is dedicated to background and characterization for Eli, while many of the other main cast members are ignored. By comparison, the second billed Col. Young (Justin Louis) is out cold for a majority of the episode and is only spotlit in one brief vignette about his past. Robert Carlyle is by far the main draw of the series and what little we know of his character makes for a compelling version of Stargate. Carlyle's rush seems cut from the same cloth as Dr. Baltar, but seemingly less self-centered and more pragmatic. His arc over the episode takes him form trustworthy math-guy to mysterious leader who seems somewhat ill-intentioned. Carlyle really puts in the best performance of the show and his understated acting really sells the character's disaffected personality. Eli actually came across as my second favorite character of the episode. I was expecting a bit of a Jonah Hill knock off, but instead we get a very well rounded character. It's always fun to see a character's pure joy at going through the gate for the first time, and his sense of wonder wandering around the ship really sold the "lost" feeling for me. I was also fond of Lt. Scott (Brian J. Smith) who has a fairly interesting character and whose soap opera-esque overacting actually isn't as off putting as it seemed it would in the first minutes. Much of the cast was overshadowed by Carlyle, Blue and Smith and we really end up with what seem to be one-note characters in Camille Wray (Ming-Na), the cold International Oversight Admin. representative and Sgt. Greer (Jamil Walker Smith, of Hey, Arnold! fame), the hot-headed unstable enlisted man who was in the brig before the evacuation and whose uniform is ominously spattered with blood. The only character I didn't take to was that of Chole Armstrong (Elyse Levesque). I found her to be out-of-place and and not as strong of a character as she seems to be written. I half expected her speech near the end of the episode to conclude with "... and just because my reproductive organs are on the outside.." I imagine the character will grow on me, but right now I couldn't stand the few scenes she was in. I'm hopeful that this cast will be more ensemble based than previous shows in the franchise.

    By far the most jarring change for the franchise is the lack of the series not taking itself seriously. And this installment takes itself very seriously. What little humor there is is located solely in Eli's wonder and coping mechanisms. As well, there were some comedic cameos from SG-1 cast members, the best being a humorous bit with Michael Shanks. Hopefully, comedy will come in time once the series hits it stride. Another concern I have is what I perceive to be an early dependence on the Ancient Communications Device. This was a plot device used on both previous shows in the franchise that was fairly old after the first time. Essentially, it allows the user to swap consciousnesses with someone back on Earth. The device has no stated distance restriction, so it feasibly could be used ad nauseam in the new show. I really feel that it undercuts the series. It's hard to feel lost when one has a phone line home. Judging from some early synopses the device is a plot point in no less than three episodes this season.

    Despite some of the above reservations, I'm very jazzed for the series. There's some fun potential here. The added element of a time limit to how long an away team can stay on a planet should make for some tauter drama. As well, playing off of the character's abilities and inabilities should add something to the series that was missing for a few years - characters not knowing anything! Stargate Universe really has the potential to be different from its predecessors while still playing in the same sandbox. However, it needs to focus on treading its own path instead of copying the movements of previous SyFy Channel successes. I plan on being here every week to review and examine the episodes, hopefully in a shorter amount of space! See you next time! Stargate Universe airs Friday nights at 9 pm.

Stargate Universe Season 1, Episode 3 Review

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 02:19:59 GMT

by: BrianMcNamara
A review of Stargate Universe's "Air, Part 3"

"Air, Part 3"

    Due to the Yankees game, I had to settle for a slightly delayed viewing of the latest episode of Stargate Universe. Our latest installment of the franchise finds our stranded crew heading on their first away mission while the people back on the ship make a phonecall to Earth to let them know not to stay up late. Most of the episode focuses on the away team traversing a desert planet in search of lime - the substance they hope is needed to restart the ship's air filtration system. The conflict of the episode is built around human drama instead of any meeting with an alien species or other sci-fi trapping. In the end, Lt. Scott saves the day with a heroic beat-the-clock run back to the gate. All this time, we're treated to a few glimpses of life on the ship as Col. Telford and an IOA attache swap bodies with Col. Young and Chole Armstrong via the Ancient communications device. Young makes his report to Gen. O'Neill while Chole is brought to her mother to inform of her father's death. Telford, meanwhile, throws his weight around on the Destiny until Young replaces him.

    Perhaps the most striking thing about this episode was that the "alien planet" our cast has found themselves on is not the Vancouver wilderness (Stargate is produced in Vancouver), but rather a vast desert vista that seems more realistic then previous landscapes on the show. There were some rather well constructed scenes on the planet which really showcased off the new location. I can only assume this is linked to the fact that the away mission was mostly shot on still cameras, as opposed to the shaky-cam style used on the ship. As well, because the planet we were on was a shadeless, sunbaked desert, I was glad to see gradual, realistic looking sunburns appearing on all of the actors - including a second away team whose time on the planet could only have been a half an hour. Already Universe is making itself known for its realism factor, which should help shape future episodes in a positive way.

    This episode gave us our first look at the week-to-week operation of the show, however, it is still a little too early to call as this episode was intended to be shown with the first two as a three-hour block instead of split-up over two nights. It looks as if the production team has opted for a LOST-esque 30-second title card with a brief snippet of music. It certainly fits the show's personality and doesn't detract from it in any way, I'm just personally not a fan of that style of introduction. I would have liked to have seen a full-on credit sequence and theme song, but I can definitely see why we opted for this. Speaking of production elements, it was a bit jarring to hear a contemporary song at the end of this episode. In general, Stargate has opted away from using any such music, both for monetary reasons as well as it seeming a little out of place. There have been a few exceptions, most notable in the SG-1 series finale. Here the music feels tacked on, like an afterthought. I don't so much mind the inclusion of the music, but wonder why it is necessary. While the music is being used to highlight dramatic moments, it seems odd to highlight these moments on a ship that is lost with music playing "concurrently" on their home planet. As well, the music choice was a little too on-the-nose as the song's lyrics talk about breathing as a montage of people (you guessed it) breathing in the filtered air occurs. This is an element I could come to eventually like, but right now it feels the slightest bit clunky.

    Beyond mechanics, Universe is making it clear that it wants to be a character-based show. Certainly there is a market for these shows, and I'm a big fan of them when done right. However, I think the main problem with Universe's characters is that they seem too one-note to carry the concept. I'm aware we're only 3-hours into the show and haven't gotten to know everyone yet, but even what attempts have been made seem linked to the character's one-line description. Eli remains the sole outlet for humor in the entire show. His meandering explanation of Planet of the Apes to Rush is fantastic. His impression of Heston worthy of a laugh. Eli is probably the most well rounded character so far. I'm really enjoying his true innocence at being out here as well as going through the show with him. Dr. Rush comes in second. Again, Carlyle's acting is the main draw of the show. It still feels understated, yet it feels the most real. The little speech he gives about "Impressing a Father Figure" was well done and I thought the interaction between him and Sgt. Greer was spot on. I rather liked the one line that implies Rush is a racist which should amount to some good drama down the line.

    However, once we get past Rush and Eli, the characters start to become less rounded. Greer steps into the spotlight a bit more this episode. He certainly can become one of the highlights of the show, as I think Jamil Walker Smith is one of the better actors on the show from what little we've seen, but he's being constrained by a character defined as being "crazy" and "angry." Despite finding him interesting, there is a still a lot more work to be done. My biggest disappointment was in Lt. Scott, who I took a liking to last episode. Sadly, he came off really badly here. I thought his story on the planet was pretty good, and for the most part I liked it... up until the heavy-handed backstory was shoved on his character. My initial reaction was "Oh, he's laden with terrible experiences, so they're telling me I should care for him." It certainly felt forced. Couching these events in some bizarre church flashback just felt tacky to me. As well, we're to assume when he was a teen who got a girl pregnant and resents her having an abortion. This would have been interesting, had it been played out over a few episodes and not tacked into a bad hallucination sequence that did nothing for the character. As well, Brian Smith's acting in these flashbacks comes off as wooden; perhaps they were the earliest scenes shot? There are a few scenes between Eli and Scott that felt like the earliest inklings of a bromance storyline. Hell, I thought they were going to kiss each other after their tiff mid-episode. I have no issue with that, it just feels that the writers don't have a grasp on how to handle their tentative friendship. And I still cannot find myself caring for Chloe Armstrong. Her character seems out of place, her acting is no where near good enough to make up for the flaws in the character as written and her limited scenes in this episode were abysmal. Her visit home is painful but also because the actress playing her mother is overacting to the point of unbelievability. Her final scene in the episode, with Lt. Scott, is rather bland and I can't for the life of me figure out what she sees in Scott or he in her.

    While I noticed this last episode, it really struck me this episode as well. The younger members of the cast seem to be cast-a-likes. This isn't to say that they are complete doubles for famous people, but the way they've been written and cast seems to imply something. A quick survey shows a very Jonah Hill type character and actor in Eli, Chole Armstrong seems to be an Ellen Page-Alexis Bledel hybrid, Lt. Scott looks quite like Tatum Channing and the Medic (whose name I don't believe I've caught in 3 hours of the show) bears a passing resemblance to Katherine Heigl. It's more than a little distracting to me as a viewer.

    I seem to be slightly proven right that the Ancient Communication Device is going to be more hindrance than help to the ongoing plot. While I was glad for another Richard Dean Anderson cameo, it really undercuts the show. I no longer feel lost knowing Lou Diamond Phillips can pop up for a snap inspection every week. (Though I am glad it seems LDP will be with the show for a while.) But the biggest thing the ACD spoiled was Rush's bid for leadership in the first episode. I thought we were going to be treated to a few weeks of speculation over whether he actually was left in charge by O'Neill or whether it was a lie. We learn this episode it was not.

    Overall, I enjoyed the episode. There was definitely a classic Stargate feel to the away mission. The alien creature was handled very well, and I liked that we didn't learn anything about it. I'll be excited to get past this opening storyline, though. I did get the feeling that we were killing some time, as if they had written 32 minutes of desert planet and needed something to round out the 45. That said, there are still some random questions killing me. While it's a small complaint, I'm curious as to why we changed "hyperspace" to "FTL or Faster than light?" Clearly, it's to capitalize on Battlestar fans tuning in, but it felt like a bit of a reach, to me. It confuses me when we change something like that, yet retain a rather continuity dependent plot device like the Ancient Comm. device. Also, I missed the introduction of the handheld Dial Home Device. I rather liked this idea, but it was used in the episode freely without any explanation. I jokingly asked "When did they release the Gate Dialing app for the iPhone?" on Twitter during the episode. I heard it referred to as the remote and possibly the second time called a "Key-Mote." This seemed like a rather important part of the concept to randomly throw in and not explain. However the biggest unanswered question is what was that shuttle-type ship that took off from the side of the Destiny at the end of the episode? There were still a few bumps in the road, but I'm willing to see the show out. I can't say I have a good handle on how the show will work yet. Hopefully the next few weeks will bring us that. Stargate Universe airs Friday nights at 9 PM EST on the SyFy Channel. See you next week for my next review!

Stargate Universe Season 1, Episode 4 Review

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:36:43 GMT

by: BrianMcNamara
A review for the SGU episode "Darkness."

"Darkness"

    A few days after restoring the air system aboard the Destiny, our intrepid crew find themselves facing a new problem... a water shortage. While they have enough water to ration for several weeks, they know it is inevitable that they'll have to resupply their reserves. Col. Young has thus taken it upon himself to explain the realities of their situation to small groups of the crew over the course of the day. While Young lays down the law, Dr. Rush is freaking out at how callously the military personnel are treating the power reserves on the ship. He personally chews out two people operating a console without his permission and then goes on a tirade to Young, going so far as to assault a scientist! During this time, Eli is pulled aside by a rather pissed mixed-group of civilians and enlisted soldiers who more or less threaten him into agreeing to give them information that Rush and Young aren't giving them. Eli plays it cool and manages to slip away without divulging anything, but he now knows he's a marked man. In the midst of everyone beginning to settle into the routine of the ship, the worst happens! The power goes out across the ship! Rush goes off on an "I told you so" rant which ends up causing him to pass out, leaving the crew a bit screwed. As the crew scramble to find ways to restore power to the ship, they realize the ship has dropped out of faster than light, and they're heading straight for a gas giant at amazing speed.

    I have to say upfront that this episode really sold me on the series. I think it did a better job than the pilot, or the last episode, at making me care for the characters, and while I know the situation they find themselves in at the end of the episode is obviously one they will escape, I do not have any idea how they'll do it. I had read in some of the production notes that this was originally intended to be a one part episode called "Fire" but it ran long, so they converted it and turned it into a two parter. I was nervous that the episode would feel decompressed, even a little slow moving, but I was pleasantly surprised. I found the episode moved at a good pace and the drama was well spaced between highs and lows. Hopefully, I can say that this episode is indicative of how the show will work week-to-week, because the balance between character and plot was perfect here. The "testimonial" segments were an obvious addition to the episode to kill some time to fill out a full 45 minutes. I felt that their quality was split between a rather obvious line. The civilian ones seemed remarkably well written, smart and geared toward comedy. The one astrophysicist - whose name I sadly missed - who compared himself and Rush to Salieri and Mozart was brilliant in his delivery. The woman who speaks toward the end describing the science of what will happen to the ship as it approaches was excellent as well. Rush's silent one worked for his character, as did Eli's reprise Heston impression. On the other hand, the military camera confessionals came off as rather dull and repetitive. Of the four of them throughout the episode, three of them mentioned how they "wanted to go home" (which does make sense) and all three riffed on the concept of "we're the wrong people to be here/I'm not supposed to be here." We're 4 hours into the show and already I feel this mantra is getting old. Scott's personal statement - well, what little of it there is besides the prayer - fits him, and seems more thought out than the characterization of him last episode. The vignettes did more for the civilian guest cast than any of the actual scenes for characters like Tamara Johansen (The Medic. Yay, we've finally learned her name!), Sgt. Greer or Ming-Na's as yet unnamed-on-screen character.

    Early in the episode, during Rush's initial walk to tell off someone over power usage, we get some rather good shots of the hallway sets. They're quite expansive, giving the impression of very tall corridors throughout the large ship. As well, you can seem exposed pipes and couplings through the ceiling which really gives you the sense that the ship is more than just "set." Adding to this high definition feeling was a the recurrence of the sunburns on the away team from last episode. I was so happy to see the hatline on Eli's forehead, the glasses outline on Greer, etc. It's nice to have a nonintrusive way to tell how much time has passed between episodes. I hope we can maintain this sense of realism going forward. I also really liked the introduction of the charging plate this episode. It's a fairly smart way to overcome the obvious issue of how they will cope when battery power runs out. As well, we now no longer need to think about it as an issue. One idea I didn't quite follow was the shower that Eli "discovers" and that Chole later uses. It's not a water shower but some sort of cleansing goo shower. I can only equate it to the idea of Purel. It sounds a bit like the Sonic Shower of Star Trek fame which works on an equally dubious concept of sonic waves cleansing the body. It's not that I don't think an alternative shower isn't a bad concept, I just wasn't getting its purpose for SGU especially when in action, it looks no different than a normal shower. It also lead to a rather unnecessary and overlong shower scene bit between Eli and Chole.

    As usual, Rush and Eli remain the best actors of the episode. Eli gets downplayed a bit, but he still has his moments. I was glad to see that while he's largely the sole humor source, we're finally seeing other characters express it. Eli plays the uneasy comedy well and it shines in the group scenes: like the early mess hall meeting or the group of "mutineers." Eli's "I think as a group we've bonded" got a smile from me and it was nice to see people at odds with each other. Blue is really showing Eli's turmoil at being trapped between the two sides, too, while still being the wide-eyed, horny geek. Robert Carlyle delivers quite the performance this episode. He's flipping out one minute, storming through halls a minute later, brimming with quiet intensity during a quick mess hall scene and then having his full nervous break down mid-episode. And I believed every minute of it. Dr. Rush is the still character we've seen the most of but know the least about it, however, Carlyle sells me on the character every time. And it's not always the big acting scenes either. The simple scene of him walking in to save the day as the ship careens toward the planet and picking up a post it and saying it was backwards was equally as awesome as anything else. It's great to have a fantastic actor play a character that lets them explore every emotion in a single episode. Carlyle really deserves some wider recognition.

    Sadly, most of the other main cast get pushed aside, or relegated to the testimonial videos for the majority of the episode. Scott barely appears. What few scenes Johansen has are essentially her repeating the fact that she shouldn't even be here because she gave her two weeks. Greer almost entirely disappears. And yet, Chole gets more time to essentially take a shower, scream Eli's name in an annoying manner and then to act anemic and bid ridden when Eli wants her to be out amongst the people. None of it was particularly good. And I'm already getting tired of the potential love triangle and it's only just forming! However, the break out job of the episode was Col. Young. Over the past three hours of the show, I never really connected to Young. He felt like "stock Military guy." This episode he really shone. I felt like they rounded out his character and really showcased how he will be the tonal opposite of not only Dr. Rush, but also party-pooper drop-in Col. Telford (Lou Diamond Phillips). Young got a lot of screen time and a lot of varied material to work off of. There was the light humor of the mess hall scene and catching Eli with the Keno (Kino? Keynote? Keynode?) later on. There was the excellent drama of his home scene (counterpointed with the terrible home scene last episode). And there was the really subtle, grudging respect he shows Rush midway through in the scene where Greer suggests getting rid of Rush. I was quite impressed, considering I had written off the character. I finally feel like there's a character that can stand up to Rush in the series.

    In all, this was probably the best episode of the show so far. That doesn't say much I know, but I was bit worried after "Air, Part 3." This episode really had me eating my words. I was impressed that the director and writers managed to take a fairly straight forward and shoe-string plot - power outage - and carry it out really well over a full episode and a cliffhanger. This bodes well for future single episodes. As well, there were some fantastic CGI shots in this episode. The glory shots of the ship look great and the fast moving ship, slow zoom out worked really well going toward the planet. As well, thankfully, a little humor is creeping into the show and coming out of characters that aren't Eli. Again, I'm not asking for SG-1 type comedy, but it's nice to not have every scene seem like it's Earth-shattering. Stargate Universe airs Friday nights at 9 PM EST on the SyFy Channel. Join me next week for my thoughts.

Stargate Universe Season 1, Episode 5 Review

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:49:14 GMT

by: BrianMcNamara
The latest SGU episode "Light"

"Light"

Sorry for the delay in posting this! My Saturday was taken up with Mad Men dvd viewing and the rest of the days just slipped away! Anyway, our most recent episode of Stargate Universe finds the Destiny hurtling toward the heart of a sun! Low on power and with time quickly running out, Col. Young informs the crew (of about roughly 80 people) that only 17 people will be able to take the ship's lone shuttle to one of three planets in the solar system. Young then tells them that a lottery will be held to determine who 15 of the 17 will be. Young has reserved the right to choose the mission pilot and one other person. He also takes himself out of the running. As the crew disperses, they find ways to occupy themselves despite the impending drawing. This treats the audience to more testimonial videos from the crew over the course of the episode. Once the 15 are chosen, the shuttle departs and the remaining try to spend their last hours as best they can. As the ship dips into sun's corona, the shuttle crew find out that the only habitable planet in the system is just barely ale to sustain life!

Again, I have to be upfront in saying this was probably the best episode of the show so far. As mentioned previously, this story was originally supposed to be a single episode, but the writers expanded the episode to accommodate more of the action. And presumably this is where the testimonials came from. I'm quite glad we got the two episodes, in the long run. I was a bit worried that this episode would end up feeling stretched out or badly paced because it was essentially confined to the "falling action" and "resolution" of a previous installment. Much of this episode was focused on the human drama of the lottery and what happened to those chosen and those who weren't. I thought it played out fairly well and that I was amazed at the character level writing in this episode for what would be, in other genre shows, people acting overly noble. While nothing is ever said by Eli, you can tell by the look on his face how utterly devastated he is the whole time after the lottery. While the resolution was a little obvious, it did not feel much like a deus ex machina. This is helped a bit by the mystery of Dr. Rush's blasé attitude when Young asks him if he knew what would happen at the end of the episode.

People are going to be tired of hearing it, but Rush and Eli remain the draw of the show for me. Their acting was spot on here and it felt very real. Especially for Rush, who we finally got to see a softer side of this episode. I was fond of his "I have 100 pages of a truly mediocre novel to finish" line, which I thought said a lot about the character. As well as his acceptance of the situation. Col. Young, as well, really caught me attention this episode. There was far more depth to his character, but also subtlety. Simple things like his knowing looks to Rush or Greer spoke more than any lines he had. Greer, who had only a few scenes captured my attention here. It seems we've moved on from just pointing to him and saying "Crazy" and decided to give him a little more fuel and it certainly pays off. His emotional cold open was excellent and set the tone for the episode and his one-punch take down was a highlight for me.

In this episode, Lt. Scott more or less disappears and I really didn't feel like I missed him. This doesn't bode to well, though. As well, the whole relationship triangle between Scott-Chole-Eli is already getting tiresome. The sex scene felt a little uncomfortable to me and very cliche with lines like "We've only known each other for days but I know you better than anyone" and the like. It screamed unnecessary to me. As well, almost every scene had someone referring to the fact that Chole's sole defining character trait is that she is the daughter of a Senator. It makes the character two-dimensional and begs the question as to why she is even a main cast member other than for eye candy for male viewership. I was finally happy to see Camille Wray (Ming-Na) get some characterization beyond "stone-cold bitch government employee." I was quite impressed with the performances of some of the background actors as well. All in all, save some hiccups, the cast are really hitting their stride.

This episode featured the most prominent scoring since the premiere and I felt like it was finally coming into its own. The music underscoring the Destiny's escape from the sun was quite rousing and stood apart from what has come before in the franchise. As well, the music playing during the shuttle's return was particularly different and more heavily electric than before. While talking about production elements, I thought the lighting on this episode was evocative and really sold "we're hurtling toward a sun" better than just flooding a room with white light. There was a creepy, angry orange tinge to everything.

In all, I think "Darkness" and "Light" have given the viewers a good feeling of how this show will go forward. If we can keep this level of writing and acting, the show can really set itself apart from the franchise. Hopefully we can now just ignore the ancient communication stones and focus on the continuing adventures of a stranded crew. Stargate Universe airs Friday nights at 9 PM on the SyFy channel. And check back Saturday where I will have my thoughts on the next installment, "Water."

Stargate Universe Season 1, Episode 6 Review

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:45:56 GMT

by: BrianMcNamara
A review of the episode "Water"

"Water"

    Water has been mysteriously disappearing from the tanks aboard Destiny. Just days ago (two episodes) the crew was rejoicing in having a slight surplus that would allow them to lighten rations, now they're struggling to make sure they have a enough rations to last more than a few days. Conveniently, Destiny has dropped out of faster-than-light speed in a system with only one planet - an ice planet. Recognizing the opportunity to replenish their dwindling water supply, Col. Young and Lt. Scott don Ancient space suits and journey to the planet to retrieve ice which they can boil and put in the water tanks. Meanwhile, several crew start to piece together the mystery of what was stealing the water and Lt. Johansen steps up into a leadership role.

    I thought this was a fairly solid installment of the series and a good idea of what we can expect week-to-week. For me, it was not nearly as good as the last two episodes, but probably better than "Air, Part 3." Speaking of "Air, Part 3" it did feel odd to essentially get the same story as that episode from this episode. That is, a resource runs out, the semi-sentient ship stops at a planet that can fulfill said need, an away team goes, is at first thwarted by the resource being "contaminated" and then magically happens upon a clean version of the resource. While the circumstances surrounding the situations are different, it was funny to see the same progression again. However, I think this episode did a better job of it. Compared to "Air, Part 3" we had enough plot to fill the 45 minutes, as well as a solid B-plot with Lt. Johansen dealing with command and stopping the alien threat to the water supply. Even though it was overly cliche, the part where Lt. Scott falls into a crevasse didn't seem to take too much time, where it could have been potentially a whole episode affair.

    For a show that's fairly limited in sets, I have yet to get the feeling that we're reusing the same corridors yet. This is a very good compliment to the directors and cinematographers for filming things from different angles and positions, to that what's probably the same E-shaped corridor looks like a series of curving Ses. At first, I was a little unimpressed with the CGI snowfall on the planet, it looked like there was too much and on my screen it caused a fair bit of pixellation. That said, I was really impressed with some of the CGI and practical lighting choices on the planet. When Scott and Young got to the "Oasis," for lack of a better term, It was nice to see some static lighting choices, that is to say the sources were limited to the moon and head lamps on the suits. As well, there was a great scene where the gate shuts down on the planet and the scene goes dark except for the halos of light from the suits. The artistic direction for this show has really shone through in the past few episodes. The CGI for the aliens, let's call them dust devils, was fairly strong in places and it really looked nice on the snow planet at the end. I was hoping for a bit more from them, but I was glad that we have a truly alien alien.

    This episode saw Eli and Rush pushed a bit to the side, and allowed us a little more time with Sgt.Greer and Lt. Johansen. I have to admit, I hadn't quite taken to Johansen at first. She seemed like a cast-a-like, eye-candy type with very little development to her character besides "My tour of duty was over." This episode sold me on the idea that we'd have a Amanda Tapping-level well rounded, female lead on the show... eventually. She's not quite there, but her leadership role in the episode and the conflict really evidenced that she's a good actress, when actually given something to do in the plot. I realize this might be my problem with Chole Armstrong, she has absolutely nothing to do. I would really like to see Ming-Na and Elyse Levesque switch credits down the road - that is, Ming-Na being a regular and Levesque being a recurring guest. Greer gets a bit more spotlight here. He has the potential to be the quiet bad-ass of SGU that Teal'c and Ronon were for the previous installment of the franchise. There were some nice signs with him and Johansen that I thought played out nicely. As well, I liked the scene where he's searching Chole's quarters. I would still like to see Greer lead a story, hopefully that will come along soon.

    There's not much say about the cast that rounds out the episode that hasn't been said in previous articles. Eli and Rush have some great scenes this episode, most off of each other, and Young again shines with his subtle humor. Scott I felt came off better this episode than has over the past few episodes. I was also glad to be free of the ancient communications stones for two consecutive episodes, especially since they figure so prominently into the preview for the next episode.

    Overall, this episode was a step down from the previous two, but not enough to dissuade me from tuning in. I really fell we need to get beyond the "X recourse is running out, we need to find it" model of the episodes. I know the opening of the series was intended to be based on the four base elements: Air, Fire, Water and Earth, so I have feeling after next week's installment, we may be moving on to dealing with more "lost in space" elements and less "need to survive" elements. It's not that I haven't been enjoying the episodes, they just feel packed together. I would have enjoyed a bit more space between these three big crises. It is hard to believe we're only 4 episodes away from the mid-season break on this show already. I'll be curious to see where this show can go by then. Stargate Universe airs Friday nights at 9 PM on the SyFy Channel. Check back here the following Saturday for my latest review! Thanks for reading.

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan Review

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:46:27 GMT

by: BrianMcNamara
A review of the direct-to-DVD movie "BSG: The Plan"

"... And they have a plan."
The above refrain, I'm sure, is familiar to any fan of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica tv series. It's haunted the series since day one and has been a constant source of speculation, conversation and consternation amongst fans since 2003. What exactly was this ethereal Cylon plan? During the airing of the series finale, many were afraid we'd never quite get a sense of what the plan actually was before the show ended. And then a commercial came on announcing a forthcoming direct-to-DVD movie called The Plan that promised to reveal what exactly the plan was. This piqued the curiosity of many, self included, and so I was quite happy to finally have the DVD in my hands last Tuesday.

I came to Battlestar a little late in the game. I had apparently missed any mention of the miniseries and first season, and so I idly stumbled upon the opening episodes of Season 2. I was quite impressed with the show, and talked about it with a few friends to see why I had missed it. Both were loyal fans of the original series and didn't quite enjoy the miniseries, so they never brought it up. (Since then, one of them has become a big fan of the show and the other has been convinced into giving it another shot!). Once I had enough money, I picked up the first season on DVD and never looked back. It was quite a ride. And my enjoyment of the series' final episodes was enhanced by live blogging and chatting with the guys over on iFanboy. All that said, I was looking at The Plan a little apprehensively. I hadn't been big a fan of the previous direct-to-DVD BSG film Razor. For me it felt a little flat and unnecessary, the highlight being some Adama flashback scenes and any scene with Michelle Forbes. As well, what little we had seen of The Plan looked to be nothing more than explanations for things in the series that didn't need explaining. However, I finally had a chance to sit down and dedicate two hours to the film (it's about 25 minutes longer than Razor, which I felt stopped abruptly) this afternoon.

The Plan begins by placing us in an unseen scene from the Season 2 finale. The two Cavils (Dean Stockwell) from that episode are being lead to the airlock for their execution and as they walk, they barb back and forth, which slowly devolves into the two of them discussing how they got to this point in their lives. The story then cuts back 10 months, to two weeks before the bombing of Caprica in the miniseries. Here we see the two Cavils talking about their "parents", and walking amongst the lifeless bodies of the final five. One Cavil decides he wants to be with one of the Five as they bring about the destruction of Caprica, to see the look on its face; the other wonders if they're doing the right thing. As the story moves along, we catch glimpses of Ellen Tigh, Tory and Anders living their lives on Caprica and Picon on the day of the bombing. Roughly the first 30 minutes of the special centers around the time frame of the miniseries, giving us little moments that help add to the mythos of the show. We do find out the identity of the person Number Six gives the box with the defense codes to, in a mystery that's stuck with the series since 2003. As we move on from the miniseries timeframe, we get shorter vignettes that fill in the Cylon-backstory of first and second seasons. There's a lot going on here, and a lot of characters being shuffled around that it's a bit hard to put a finger on what the overarching plot is. Essentially, it's the journey of the two Cavils, one of whom becomes the "villain" over the course of Season 3 and 4 and the other whose thinking has been totally changed by his experiences with humanity trapped on bombed out Caprica. Perhaps my favorite part of the film was the character arc for a particular Simon/Number 4 in the Colonial Fleet. It really helped to flesh out one of the Cylons with the least screen time.

This film was an interesting experience as it wasn't quite a full film. That is to say, there is a story we follow, but it's a jarring story, made up, essentially, of deleted scenes. I realized, as I was watching, that this was essentially packing in two seasons worth of backstory for characters that didn't exist and weren't cast until Season 2. It's a very curious thing. There are some really powerful scenes in here, and Dean Stockwell delivers an amazing performance as the two Cavils over the episode. I was quite happy to see the Simon Cylon get more backstory and I thought his scenes were well acted. We also see the addition of a new character to the crew in Simon's wife, Giana. She's given some early prominence in the episode, and then disappears. Her story also becomes wrapped in Chief Tyrol's, which seems an odd choice, but not completely out of place. There are also some great character moments buried in this episode for Anders and Doral, but they seem almost lost in the shuffle. Anders doesn't quite rise to the occasion as I expected him to, and his part seems to disappear for a much of the second half of the story. Doral/Number 5 was probably the least developed character on the show with the most screen time, so it was nice to see him get something above just being a face for a cylon. His unblinking "But my jacket is teal. His was burgundy" line made me crack a smile.

I was quite surprised by this package. It wasn't quite what I expected, and it felt a little disjointed in parts, but in the end, I'm glad to have this chapter of Battlestar. And this is thanks, in part, to Edward James Olmos wonderful direction. There's some real art in this installment that is very hard to discount. A good portion of this was made up of archival footage, and it feels really seamless. In places its very hard to discern what's new and what's old, which is quite fun as it makes everything feel a little more special. Olmos gets a lot of the actors and caters to the strengths in a way you don't normally see and it's clear to see why when you watch some of the bonus material on the disc. His rousing speech to the extras, was evidence of how much respect the man has for everyone on his set. As well, it's clear how much Olmos loved working on this show. He even indicates that he'd want to come back and direct more episodes of the series.

One of the biggest draws of BSG has been the excellent underscoring work of Bear McCreary, one of the finest composers working in Hollywood. I'm even listening to his soundtracks for the show as I write this review. I'd heard there would be new music for this special and that it would be combined with the music from Razor for a new soundtrack. However, from what I can tell, there was one completely new piece of music written for the film, and McCreary toyed with different arrangements to be more evocative of being "set in the past." But attentive viewers will catch familiar tunes more often than not. Despite not be being as "new" as promised, the soundtrack still delivers and remains one of the best underscoring-to-action pairings I've heard in recent television. It's subtle, nuanced and graceful but at times it's brutal, heavy and gut-wrenching.

While watching this, I was struck with the idea that this would have been better were it titled The Cylons. I think The Plan is slightly misleading, in that one goes in expecting to have the mythologized plan explained, perhaps not laid out in full, but at least talked about. In essence, the entitled plan is summarized and thrown out the window 45 minutes into the film. This corresponds with telling the viewer that the aforementioned Cylons' having a plan stopped being true immediately after the miniseries. The movie has more to do with Cavil and his machinations for trying to controll everything in a spiral of crisis instead of Cavil executing coldly calculated plans.

In the end, I quite enjoyed the film. It presented new material couched in old material and it fits amazingly well. One wonders how long it will be before we see "re-edited" versions of the Miniseries and First and Second Seasons including these new scenes. I do wish this had come out after the Final Five had been revealed, but before the series finale, as I think you have a better understanding of events going into the series finale with these scenes. It feels a bit more put together and Cavil comes off as more methodical villain instead of a "bwhaha" evil guy. I do wish to note that there is some rather distracting, unnecessary nudity littered throughout the film. There's a scene with Cavil and a 6 walking through a packed shower room that really isn't necessary. (Though in a unique bit of equality that never seems to occur in mainstream film, there is some slightly obscured male nudity.) As well, there's a random topless bartender at one point. It's not that I minded it or felt scandalized by its presence, it just felt like a cheap play to appeal to the male demographic - much like the random sex club and topless women in the Caprica pilot that I can imagine will be edited out when it airs on TV.

Overall, I was quite impressed with the movie. I was left a little wanting, as you should be by good entertainment, but it did exceed my expectations. I was expecting nothing more than a hastily slapped together deleted scene-athon like a few reviews made it seem. There's enough new content here to keep most BSG fans happy. However, many fans will be using their long term memory overtime in order to connect dots and remember when certain events are supposed to happen. It's a very "cool medium" concept show, but I think that fits the style of the show. And after everything was said and done, I still found myself missing BSG. Battlestar Galactica: The Plan is available on DVD and Blu-Ray Disc now.

Stargate Universe Season 1, Episode 7 Review

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:10:05 GMT

by: BrianMcNamara
A review of the SGU episode "Earth"

"Earth"

    Colonel Young and Camille Wray find themselves using the ancient communication stones for a top secret meeting back on Earth. Colonel Telford and a team of scientists have come up with a way to bring the stranded crew back home, however the plan is not without its inherent risks. While Young resists the rash decision, in the hope that a more thought out, less risky plan can be produced; Wray is asked by her boss to increase support for the project back on Destiny. To assuage any moral qualms Wray might have, her boss offers her a promotion - which she has been passed over for many times - but only if she can get the project approved. Telford takes two scientists with him to swap bodies with Young, Chloe and Eli so they can begin work on the return project. Immediately tensions flare between Rush and Telford. Telford takes charge right away and goes about "righting the mistakes" that Young had made - including locking up Sgt. Greer. Meanwhile on Earth, Young visits his wife again in Telford's body. Despite his wife's wish to not have anything to do with him, he appeals to her and they spend some time talking, his wife coming to terms with the situation they find themselves in. Eli visits home, but doesn't think his mother can handle the explanation of how he is there so he pretends to be his friend, Philip Fry. However, Eli's mom detects there's more to his odd visit but decides to not say anything. Chloe visits her mother briefly before deciding to visit her friends and boyfriend in the guise of "Cousin Liz." However, Chloe is in for crushing disappointment as she realizes she's only as important to her friends as her father's status. Back on Destiny, Telford pushes forward his risky plan, without Rush's assistance. One of the side effects of the plan causes a momentary cut out in the stones and everyone is returned to their true body for a few seconds. It's mostly a non-event, except that Telford returns to his body while it is engaged with Young's wife! The stones return to normal and everyone is again swapped out, Telford looking the slightest bit unnerved. However, his thoughts can only hold on this for a short time, as the plan is about to be put into action.

    From last week's preview, I have to admit I went into this episode expecting to dislike it's heavy reliance on the ancient communications stones. Whether it be lowered expectations or if the plot is truly quite strong, I really enjoyed this episode. This is another episode that excels at putting human drama ahead of a fairly mundane plot. For the most part the scenes on Earth were strong and helped to flesh out characters a bit more. The scenes back on Destiny were fairly short, and thus we ended up losing track of a lot of characters in the mix. Clearly, Telford is being setup as our villain for the season, since there's a lack of any negative force in the series so far. And the implications of his appearance at Young's wife's door at the end of the episode are easy to figure out. Really, the plot of this episode felt more about setting up this relationship as well as the strained relationship between Eli and Chloe. Most interesting are the side-alliances being struck between various characters this episode. We know Young and General O'Neill have some reservations about the General's orders, we see that Young and Eli are equally suspicious of Rush and his moral ambiguity, Eli and Chloe's relationship takes an interesting turn and we see there's more than friendship between Young and Johansen.

    Being a heavy plot for characterization, we were presented with interesting performances this episode. Again Young is prominent in the episode and as such gets a fair bit different emotions to play with. His scenes with O'Neill and Telford really changed the tone of the episode and gave us a little more insight in his thought process. Standing up to a general is no small feat. Lou Diamond Phillips gives the audience a very good performance this episode. He's been an overbearing, stock soldier in his few appearances until now. It seems his character morphed a bit since the last outing - changed by the bad experience he had briefly on the Destiny. He seems like he has more to lose now and his motivations for wanting Young out of the way are still unclear, but quite obviously his main objective. Rush is moved a little to the side of the plot this time, however we still get a good number of scenes with him off of Telford. It was interesting seeing Rush cowed by Telford's presence. Yes, Rush ultimately gets his way and sends Telford and Co. packing, but he does it all by carrying a quiet and docile attitude. It's clear that Rush is a master manipulator and is good at setting people against each other. However, the way he acts in regard to Telford makes his relationship with Young seem that much more special. This episode also showcases Rush's callous disregard for other's lives. His "Bit of theater... always nice" remark is so flippant that it seems comical, until you look at the confused and devastated looks on others faces.

    Again, David Blue's performance as Eli is great. The sense of joy he has with new experiences seems fresh in a franchise about exploration. His scenes with his mother seemed very real and natural, especially compared to the Chloe/mother scene from three episodes ago, as well it was obvious that there was conflict in his character over lying to his mother about his identity. It was the really small things that got me, the way he asked for schnitzel, going to the pantry, even the Futurama reference he uses as an alias, it all just felt right. One of the fun things about having Eli on the show is that he's more or less the "average" SG viewer's door into the series. It's nice to have an overweight character in a show that isn't always the butt of a joke or spouting funny and sarcastic things. While it's true he does the later, Eli's character is a lot deeper than being "the Seth Rogen" of the show. His scenes with Chloe didn't come off as forced as I felt the Chloe/Scott scenes did, and it lead to a lot of realistic (if a tad cliche) teen angst moments in the "... you're a great friend..." speech. Chloe's character gets a little improvement here, as we see her breakdown over realizing none of her friends liked her for more than being a Senator's daughter. However, I felt these scenes might have had more impact if the character had demonstrated being anything more than that before this episode. That is to say, for 6 episodes that's all that Chloe has been, the daughter of the guy that died, there's been no attempt to make me care about her or show me that she's anything more than that until now, and it doesn't quite work. I didn't find myself cringing at her scenes though, which was a welcome improvement. (However, her drunk acting was truly terrible.) Most of the rest of the cast disappears into the ether. Camille Wray and Lt. Johansen get some small moments early in the episode, but more or less have no bearing on the episode. Greer gets a few jabs in his few scenes but doesn't really get to do anything. Lt. Scott is gone almost entirely from the episode, and hasn't really been in the limelight since the premiere. While some characters are under-served by the scripts, I fear Scott is getting lost in them.

    In terms of production, there's not much to speak of this episode. Most of the sets and locations are reuses of previous scenes, obviously shot at the same time as previous scenes. We even have the first reuse of stock footage in the series as the Destriny recharges in a sun again. I've noticed this over the past episodes, but really felt that during this episodes the breaks for commercial seemed pretty abrupt, more akin to a scene change then an act change. I have no doubt this ties into the move to making TV shows more DVD friendly, but it gets frustrating to hear the music rise and then cut out to an overloud commercial. Again, I feel the CGI looks very good, especially in the balcony-at-FTL scene this episode. I have to admit, being a long time fan, it was weird seeing the Stargate program based out of the Pentagon and not the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. It's not a stretch of course, but just an odd quirk of the new series.

    Overall, I thought this a very strong episode. There are some great ethical questions that appear in this episode that will only result in some great drama down the line. These questions I mention are the misuse of Telford's body and Telford's subsequent appearance at Young's house as himself. That was a gamechanger for me. And I think the relationships are coming off more human with this outing. As I said above, I've warmed to Chloe a bit, and her actions with Eli are alarmingly similar to experiences I've had and know friends have had. And finally, it was great to see Richard Dean Anderson back as Jack O'Neill again. The character still feels very true to the 8 years he was on SG-1 while seeming a bit more mature. It is odd seeing him as "the man" in a story when his character has always been a little anti-authority figure, but this was the inherent flaw in promoting him back in Season 8. And I cracked up at "Col. Carter would save our asses by using all kinds of whacky science I didn't understand" because it's not only true of the character, but also Sci-Fi in general. Hopefully the rest of the season will play out similar to "Darkness", "Light" and "Earth." I think these episodes show us a promising show in its first stages. Once we come out of this thematic opening arc, I think the show can come into its own. Stargate Universe airs Friday nights at 9 PM on the SyFy Channel. Check back that following weekend for my latest review!