tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47306085562809121772024-03-17T20:03:52.891-07:00Unwelcome CommentaryEpisode reviews and insightful commentary inspired by an array of smart, groundbreaking television, including Buffy, Mad Men, Girls, American Horror Story and much, much more. Some guilty pleasures, too.maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.comBlogger1227125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-22328497991530835022014-07-24T16:30:00.001-07:002014-07-29T15:24:32.547-07:00Alias: All the Time in the World (5.17)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">For a lot of its runtime, <b>All the Time in the World</b> is strangely tragic when it comes to Sydney, driving home the fact that much of her adult life has been manipulated by outside forces, and that she's never had a ton of agency as a person. The flashback structure to the series finale paints her as something of a lost little girl, unsure of her future, but excited when a big opportunity drops into her life at a moment where she needed it most. Only that special something isn't what she believes it to be, just as her father isn't who he says he is, or her boss, or her mother. What makes Sydney such a poignant heroine is that none of this is even driven by 'destiny' or something otherwise mystical. She's not a 'chosen one' along the lines of Buffy Summers. She's a girl with the bad fortune of being born into a screwed-up family, her eventual happy ending being a life dictated on her own terms for a change. It's sweet, seeing her finally free of all the baggage she's accumulated over the years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Where this strays into disappointing territory, however, is the very fact that, for a lot of <b>Alias</b>, Sydney was implied to <i>be</i> that special 'chosen one'... or at least a fundamental part of Rambaldi's prophecy. The show, in hindsight, never had a firm answer for this, but it's frustrating in some ways that all that build-up, all the implication that Sydney Bristow is a big, big deal, was all ultimately misdirection. Five seasons of ambiguity build to the reveal that Rambaldi once cracked the key to immortality, and that immortality has presumably been what everybody's been fighting to get their hands on all these years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">I mean, it's fine. It's suitably grand and epic, with that sliver of Indiana Jones-style fantasy to it. But the show painted itself into a corner by never being totally sure of where it was all headed. I started my review of the pilot talking about the climate <b>Alias</b> was born into, as if Sydney Bristow was the kind of ass-kicking female lead molded and developed on shows like <b>Buffy</b> and <b>Xena</b>, but here placed into the real world, something we felt like we needed in the television landscape right after 9/11. And it worked, and it spoke to us in a different kind of way to the shows that came before it. But in a lot of ways, <b>Alias</b> was also ahead of its time, born into a TV landscape that didn't necessarily require the answers to the big questions the shows posed. Or so they all thought.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Not only did television itself change over the course of <b>Alias</b>' tenure, but how we watch TV changed as well. Every MacGuffin was dissected by a burgeoning online fanbase, every clue obsessively talked over and debated. The problem here was that the writers didn't seem to anticipate any of it. The show's fanbase and the show's writers were coming at the same stuff from vastly different perspectives, one group thinking it was all leading somewhere, the other making it all up as they went along. It's then unsurprising that <b>Alias</b> ends with a quiet sort of closer, at least in terms of mythological spectacle. That would take real planning, something the show never, even back in season one, had genuinely prepared for.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">While it lacks a lot of the ultimate resolution I think many of us were expecting, or at least hoping for, <b>All the Time in the World</b> is still emotionally satisfying in its own way. Jack's death is beautifully played, his final speech to Sydney unlikely to leave anyone in the audience stone-faced unless they're pretty much dead inside. Sloane's fate is really fitting, too, a classic example of "be careful what you wish for" irony. The pacing is also generally strong, the flashbacks cool for long-term fans ("Hi Francie!") and the present-day scenes bouncing between locations and set-pieces with ease.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">The giant elephant in the room, unsurprisingly, is Irina's last stand, a dramatic closer that reconfigures the character as the ultimate big bad, irrespective of a lot of her development over the years. I alluded to it back in <b>Maternal Instinct</b>, but here we have a character who has always flip-flopped in terms of agenda from the very beginning. Ultimately the show would need to fall down on one side rather than the other as long as they insisted on using her presence for dramatic effect. In hindsight, I wonder how much of the backlash to Irina's actions here were more a result of fans <i>wishing</i> her to be a good guy, and not necessarily because said actions didn't make a ton of sense. It's harsh seeing her refer to Sydney as "a complication in her life", it's a little weird to see her try and murder her own daughter in pursuit of a shiny ball... but I wouldn't say it's particularly shocking either.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">If anything, what is lacking with the Irina coda is a genuine emotional pay-off. Sydney doesn't get the chance to truly mourn her mom before we're whisked away to a beachy flash-forward, the ramifications of watching her mother plummet to her death kept under wraps -- a resolution withheld. Then again, maybe it didn't need one? Maybe Irina was really Sydney's last burden, her Achilles' heal to an extent. Maybe finally having Irina out of the picture, for realsies, was the one thing Sydney desperately needed in order to flourish? It's not particularly satisfying on a fan level, sure, but you could argue that it sort of works in terms of Sydney's development, too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">But in the end that uncertainty, that debate about whether things really worked or not, is an indictment of how lost <b>Alias</b> became. Because nothing here honestly feels like this was always the endgame the writers had in mind back when Irina first became a player in the series, or when Page 47 or Rambaldi itself arrived with such fanfare at the very beginning. What we have is a show that never recovered from network meddling, significant writer turnover and a general lack of interest when it came to making <b>Alias</b> at all cohesive. I still believe those first two seasons are masterpiece television, particularly the gorgeous narrative fluidity of season one, but it's difficult to truly love anything that came after it. I'd argue that the show never bottomed out like some claim it did, but it's sad that it seemed to settle for mediocrity, becoming a series that seemed to be made for casual audiences instead of the hardcore fans that really made it what it was in the first place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Jack has a fantastic pre-death line here where he talks about how Sydney would always operate on her own terms, regardless of the potential outcome, or how much he opposed it. "You were a very difficult little girl", he tells her. And isn't that just the perfect metaphor for <b>Alias</b> itself? This was a series that played around with various guises over the years, some to great success, others not so much. But it never really seemed to care a whole lot about the long-term consequences, particularly for those folk who were truly invested. Even so, we still all loved the damn thing. Maybe we're just suckers for a good wig? <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>B+</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Credits</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Guest stars</b></span> Lena Olin (Irina Derevko); Michael Vartan (Michael Vaughn); Mia Maestro (Nadia Santos); David Anders (Julian Sark); Merrin Dungey (Francie Calfo)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writers</b></span> Jeff Pinkner, Drew Goddard <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Tucker Gates</span></div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-67647625531921916812014-07-24T16:30:00.000-07:002014-07-24T16:30:10.159-07:00Alias: Reprisal (5.16)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">One of the foundations of any creative writing class is "show, don't tell", anything you can think of being so much more effective if it can be seen rather than just talked about. It's an adage that was brought to mind from the very opening of <b>Reprisal</b>, <b>Alias</b>' penultimate episode. Here we have Sydney voiceover-ing like she did back in the early days of season one, talking up Prophet Five as a multi-national crime syndicate who've infiltrated the highest levels of government and counter-terrorism; a significant threat to innocent people around the world if there ever was one. But in the grand tradition of late <b>Alias</b>, it's the show telling us things rather than showing them. Sure, we've seen a group of men meeting in fancy offices and looking evil. But any further shading has been kept significantly under wraps. And it's sad that the show has come to a point where characters have 'villain' and 'good guy' as their main signifiers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">That was admittedly a pretty negative opening to a review, but <b>Reprisal</b> does also go some way in admitting that the Prophet Five arc has been a wash. Here we have the entire faction wiped out in one fell swoop, the series' principal antagonist roles given to Sloane, Sark and Peyton, and the show seeking out a new equilibrium that should form the backbone of next week's series finale. It works, absolutely, the opening stretch of the hour really pushing the teamwork at APO with every principal cast member getting something to do for a change.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">But it's only frustrating in retrospect, seeing as how much of this season wound up being pretty redundant. Whether it's Vaughn's death, everything with the Shed, Renée's dad, or why Prophet Five wanted Sydney's baby healthy and safe in the first place -- ultimately it all got worked around in exchange for Sloane and a shiny amulet. Don't get me wrong, the show needed to bring it back to characters that we were already invested in, but it speaks to how directionless <b>Alias</b> has been for so long. Nobody behind-the-scenes seemed to have any idea how long the show would run, what stories should be pushed center stage, or what kind of series <b>Alias</b> wanted to be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">If we applaud <b>Reprisal</b> as a singular episode, it's a strong decision to hinge so much drama on Sloane's weirdly paternal relationship with Sydney. After attempting to strangle her 'killer' two weeks ago, he here engineers a chain of events that not only would remove his enemies, but also save Sydney's life. He's the kind of person that really wishes he could shape someone else's life, in spite of the obvious signs that he can't. There's another strong moment between them here where he explains that Sydney can't save everyone around her, as much as she always tries. Sloane, in effect, comes off as a truth-teller, Sydney a mere idealist. But it's also the key difference between them. Sloane is so crippled by what he perceives to be important that nothing else matters to him, whether it's personal ties or his own flesh and blood. Sydney, on the other hand, recognizes how important family and friends are in comparison to anything else, including the mission at hand.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">That's very much been Sydney's journey this year. It's not been handled spectacularly, since <b>Alias</b> is no longer capable of consistent, coherent storytelling, but the ideas have been there from the very start, Syd's pregnancy really driving home what is truly important to her. Even when the odds are stacked against her, Sydney will fight for those that she loves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Elsewhere, Tom's death was surprisingly moving, even if his flirtatious relationship with Rachel seemed a little shoehorned in these past two weeks, and the fact that his character never really came together as a whole. In comparison to Rachel, especially, who I ended up liking a lot. But his sacrifice was still oddly moving. Marshall, too, had an undeniably strong moment of clarity, finally displaying the confidence and emotion that he's always suppressed under anxiety and nervous laughter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">So there's lots of great character moments here, and fun visual flourishes like the Sydney location card at the top of the show that help this feel particularly important. I just wish <b>Alias</b> had been a little more confident about its own goals this year, instead of throwing all this stuff at us in spite of how little of it ultimately mattered in the end. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>B</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Credits</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Guest stars</b></span> Michael Vartan (Michael Vaughn); Mia Maestro (Nadia Santos); David Anders (Julian Sark); Amanda Foreman (Carrie Bowman); Shaun Duke (First Man); Leland Crooke (Third Man)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writers</b></span> Monica Breen, Alison Schapker <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Frederick E.O. Toye</span></div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-3157331242534135072014-07-17T15:29:00.007-07:002014-07-17T15:29:55.443-07:00Alias: No Hard Feelings (5.15)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">These recent reviews have probably flip-flopped more than I would have liked. But it's very much a response to a season that seems to be firing on all cylinders one week before crumbling to pieces the next. The writers have at least decided that Rambaldi, as much as detractors claimed it sunk <b>Alias</b> way back when, is so firmly engrained in the roots of the show that it really needs to be an important factor in these final episodes. But <b>No Hard Feelings</b> does little with it. Sure, we're repeatedly told that everything that happens here is a big deal, that we're literally right on the precipice of Rambaldi's endgame. But isn't everything we're told this week also, sort of... just people speaking in riddles?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Sydney is confronted by a mysterious old man with a rose tattoo on his arm, their meeting seemingly prophecized for centuries, who gives her a shiny Rambaldi trinket. He talks about this red amulet being Rambaldi's "greatest gift" and how it goes against the natural order of things, and that it's so powerful that it'll presumably cause the end of the world or at least a city-wide blackout or something with the stars falling from the sky and darkness taking over and so forth. But most importantly it's another vague proclamation of... something. Sydney once again is a passenger seemingly in her own story, shuffled around and told things by bearded old men. It's just all a little flat.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Then again, pretty much everybody here seems to be ignorant of the bigger picture. Sark is along for the ride, but outside of some flirtatious hate-banter with Sydney (still assuming Anna's identity), why exactly is he here? Other than to appease his sizable fanbase? Peyton is still a big deal, at least in the sense that she's being depicted as the big cheese running the show for the still-shapeless Prophet Five... but who is this girl? Outside of a couple of fun action scenes, hasn't she always just been a pretty mouthpiece for an evil organization whose major goals we're still in the dark about?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Only Sloane knows what's actually happening here, but it's a truth that he's keeping from everyone around him, including us at home. Don't get me wrong, Sloane probably makes the biggest impression this week (his rage over Sydney's apparent murder makes a lot of sense considering his paternal devotion to her over the years), but the show is still pretty much phoning it in when it comes to his actual motivation. There's a lot of character juice left here, but it's like the writers don't know what to do with it. How interesting was Sydney's dialogue at the top of the show? Where she talked about how she (as Anna) killed Syd, insisting that Sydney Bristow wasn't a martyr or 'the chosen one'. It's almost like if she says it firmly enough, maybe it won't be true anymore? Even when it's been proven over and over that Sydney is pretty damn important to Rambaldi. It's such a weird yet engaging moment, just as intriguing as it is ultimately fleeting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">I feel like <b>Alias</b>, in theory, should be on fire right now. We've got Sydney undercover, Sark hanging around, Sloane being dastardly, Rambaldi moving forward in some capacity. But then you sort of sit back and realize that it's all pretty vacuous. And crazily schizophrenic in terms of plotting. When the principal MacGuffin of last week can just be casually fried in a glass of wine, or Vaughn's 'death' can be explained away by a couple of sentences, you have to wonder if the writers are even communicating with each other at this point. There's a push/pull dynamic with every facet of this show: one week something is enormously important, the next it's swiftly removed. And I don't even know what show Tom and Rachel are on. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>C-</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Credits</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Guest stars</b></span> David Anders (Julian Sark); Michael Vartan (Michael Vaughn); Jack Donner (The Rose); Shaun Duke (First Man); Daniel Zacapa (The Warden)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writer</b></span> Sam Humphrey <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Tucker Gates</span></div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-43012599133001476062014-07-17T15:29:00.006-07:002014-07-17T15:29:47.991-07:00Alias: I See Dead People (5.14)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">I talked a little bit last review about how boring it is to watch people chase after things when neither they nor us at home really understand what they're chasing. <b>I See Dead People</b> doesn't elaborate all that much when it comes to the Prophet Five mystery (we still don't know <i>why</i> they're trying to decipher Page 47, for instance), but what it does do is grant various cast members some actual agency, which in effect turns what could have been another wheel-spinning hour into something propulsive and genuinely thrilling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">In spite of the delaying tactics still ever-present, it's the character complexity that keeps <b>I See Dead People</b> afloat. Sloane's ambiguity has long been a tired plot device (even Sydney seems to be just going through the motions when she cries that she should never have trusted him again), but his interaction with Nadia's spirit helped genuinely resurrect his appeal as a character. Which is impressive when you think about how much of a rut he's been in as an antagonist of late. Nadia obviously isn't literally haunting Sloane, but her presence is a strong visual depiction of his inner turmoil. While he makes it clear that every move he's made has been for what he interprets as "the greater good", his conscience (in Nadia's form) keeps reminding him of how much it always comes at somebody else's expense.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">He's not entirely crazy, either. Peyton, who is being entirely walked over left, right and center lately by far smarter people, is again being manipulated into thinking she's running the show, when Sloane has already deciphered Page 47 and is quietly setting up his own scheme with Sark. He's also far more aware of Anna's irrelevance in the big picture than even she is. Sloane's sole agenda has always been slippery, but his smarts constantly keep him in play. It's other people's problem if they keep letting him get away with it all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Anna gets a lot more to do here than last week, the show having fun with traditional 'secret villain' plotting. Jennifer Garner loses focus when playing Anna-as-Syd in most of her scenes with Vaughn here, but the scene she shares with Sloane at the top of the episode is a wonderful representation of her skills. She nails Gina Torres' smooth, precise voice and unnerving manner. It's unfortunate she couldn't keep it up for the whole hour, but whatever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><b>I See Dead People</b> is an hour full of strong little details (the contrasting post-mortems that open the show are crazily moving, for instance), ones that manage to carry what could have been another staggered chunk of filler. It also continues to feel like things are moving forward, even if most of the major arcs are still blurry. Prophet Five seems to be headed for an early exit, while Sloane appears to be assembling his own endgame, one that features far more interesting protagonists. It's still not firing on all cylinders, but <b>Alias</b> is at least holding your attention, that's for sure. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>B+</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Credits</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Guest stars</b></span> Michael Vartan (Michael Vaughn); Mia Maestro (Nadia Santos); David Anders (Julian Sark)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writers</b></span> Andi Bushell, J.R. Orci <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Jamie Babbit</span></div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-86808000403726332022014-07-17T15:29:00.005-07:002014-07-17T15:29:37.975-07:00Alias: 30 Seconds (5.13)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">I don't know if I'm just looking back on the narrative structure of <b>Alias</b>' early years through rose-tinted glasses, but there's a weirdly directionless vibe to this season. It's like the show is constantly pulling at a variety of threads, unsure of what any of the characters are actually doing, but pretending like everything has a higher purpose. <b>30 Seconds</b>, like so many recent <b>Alias</b> hours, involves everybody asking questions while chasing after the villains, villains who they know are villains because they've been told that they're villains and must therefore be stopped.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">I'm sure <b>Alias</b> used to be a little more focused, more certain about the motives of its characters, even if stories revolved around ambiguous protagonists. What we as an audience need is at least an indication that the writers know where all of this is going. If that comes across, as it did in the first two seasons, then it's easy to distract us with a shiny gunfight or dramatic set-piece. But what's happening right now is that we're following our heroes as they try to find answers to vague questions via action hijinks in foreign locales, instead of anyone actually sitting down and theorizing what the hell might be the bigger picture with all of this...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><b>There's Only One Sydney Bristow</b> re-introduced Project Helix to the show, as well as the Rambaldi mystery, setting up what was assumed to be new angles to old stories. But <b>30 Seconds</b> struggles to effectively utilize either premise. Outside of an engaging cliffhanger, Anna-as-Sydney is very much a background character here, while Rambaldi too is kept on the backburner. What last week's episode required was a follow-up that went deeper, not one that threw all those major developments under the bus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Rambaldi is still a factor here, but only as an instigator for Sloane's resurrected insanity. Here he effectively chooses Rambaldi over Nadia after he's brought her out of her coma, rescuing Page 47 from a fiery demise and accidentally (?) pushing his daughter through a glass table to her bloody death. Renée similarly expires before the end credits, murdered by a freshly-cloned Anna. Nadia's death grants the overall Sloane narrative some immediate propulsion, presumably sounding the death knell for any semblance of humanity he has left. But while Renée's murder is unfortunate considering how much fun she's been, there would be so little time to truly do anything with her from here on out that it's not a total loss.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">But what both deaths signal is that this is <b>Alias</b> pushing the illusion of development instead of anything concrete. Sloane's journey just got a little more interesting, sure, but the abrupt quality to both Nadia's quick recovery and subsequent demise a couple of acts later is frustrating. Worst of all, <b>30 Seconds</b> is sort of boring. Five seasons in, and with the action sequences mostly bland due to budget cuts and Sydney's undercover aliases reduced to thin variations on 'rich Southern lady with a Delta Burke accent', the show needs to bring it with the less action-driven drama to have some effect. But with nothing firm for us at home to latch onto (with Peyton, Anna and the whole Prophet Five/Horizon/Page 47 hooey all a bunch of words and images at this point), <b>Alias </b>quickly becomes a series about a bunch of people chasing a mystery that we know little about and haven't yet been encouraged to feel anything for. The 100th episode deserved a better sequel. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>C</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Credits</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Guest stars</b></span> Elodie Bouchez (Renée Rienne); Mia Maestro (Nadia Santos); Angus Macfadyen (Joseph Ehrmann); Jeremy Guskin (Moritz Koller); Jay Huguley (Dr. Mark); Ismail Bashey (Mr. Halbe)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writers</b></span> Alison Schapker, Monica Breen <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Frederick E. O. Toye</span></div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-5102400051048746462014-07-06T07:36:00.002-07:002014-07-06T07:36:38.770-07:00Alias: There's Only One Sydney Bristow (5.12)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Something happens to Jennifer Garner's face when she's reunited with Will this week. The two of them are recovering on a plane ride back to APO headquarters, catching up on all that's happened since they last saw each other, Sydney wide-eyed and overjoyed at Will's surprise engagement, Will equally excited that his one-time best friend is now a mom. It's a fantastic scene, but it's Garner's face that just melts your heart. It's suddenly so alive and tender, a dewy expression that reads blissful levels of freedom, a conversation about love and babies, a friendship being rekindled after so long. And it all just reminds you of how far this show has drifted from what it once was.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">I've probably repeated it ad nauseum since these reviews began, but the biggest mistake <b>Alias</b> ever made was removing Will and Francie back in season two. The show's initial premise hinged heavily on Sydney's double life, how she's a secret agent by night and a college student by day, and how the constant blurring between each as much harmed her as it did define her. Sydney <i>was</i> that duality, a personality trait that made her stronger than other, more conventional spies, yet also achingly real as a woman. It also reads in Jennifer Garner, too. By removing that humanity from her, the area Garner is arguably strongest at as an actress, Sydney as a result became sort of stiff and boring. She was all mission, all the time. Vaughn was used to break up potential monotony, but Vaughn was sort of stiff and boring 24/7, meaning <b>Alias</b> itself really became the generic spy show it didn't open as.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">One of the principal reasons why this episode, the show's one-hundredth, works so well is because it seems to truly understand what made <b>Alias</b> so compelling in the first place. It's a story that directly explores why Sydney's even in this business at all, Will representing the world removed from espionage that Syd is protecting every day, the world she's drifted so heavily away from in recent years. Even if you ignore all the fantastic callbacks to some of the most memorable set-pieces from the show's past (the red wig, the kiss on the glass, and so forth), it's a lengthy testament to Sydney's own importance in the world, so much that the next grand scheme of the season's villains involves literally cloning her in order to get what they want. This is as much a celebration of Sydney as it is a tribute.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">In terms of story, I'm not sure it's entirely believable that Anna Espinosa of all people would be willing to undergo a melty cloning process to eternally look like her sworn nemesis, but like the inherent ridiculousness of the Fauxrancie arc in season two, it's such a batshit concept that you can't help but be intrigued enough to just go with it. We should also say goodbye to Gina Torres, who has been wonderful in this role for so long. I love her complete disinterest in the Rambaldi saga ("it doesn't concern me as long as the check clears"), while she really made the character so iconic in spite of how little she actually appeared on the show. The departing Bradley Cooper is in a similar boat. He just brought such a natural, endearing presence to the show, a real everyman quality. It's completely unsurprising that he's blown up so much since <b>Alias</b> wrapped.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">So there's a lot to love here. But on a fundamental level, I think it's Drew Goddard's scripting that really understands what works on <b>Alias</b> and what doesn't. He's somebody seemingly aware of how much the show relies on strong set-pieces, particularly when <b>Alias</b> has done the now-tired 'breaking into a building' thing a crazy amount of times over the years. It's why so many of his episodes feature really solid, exciting premises, like Will having a bomb in his head, or Sydney being buried alive. <b>There's Only One Sydney Bristow</b> obviously has a ton of nostalgia to it, which is why it works so well on one level, but it's also written by somebody who truly knows where the show needs to be at this point in time, too. It's the greatest mix of both old-school and modern <b>Alias</b>, an episode that should hopefully set a precedent for the weeks to come. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>A+</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Credits</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Guest stars</b></span> Bradley Cooper (Will Tippin); Gina Torres (Anna Espinosa); Angus Macfadyen (Joseph Ehrmann); Shaun Duke (First Man); Leland Crooke (Third Man); Michael Massee (Dr. Gonzalo Burris); Robert Symonds (Second Man)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writer</b></span> Drew Goddard <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Robert M. Williams, Jr.</span></div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-16087506406457408492014-07-06T07:36:00.001-07:002014-07-06T07:36:18.086-07:00Alias: Maternal Instinct (5.11)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">There's a moment in <b>Maternal Instinct</b> where Sydney reminds her mother of what she told her all those years ago: "Truth takes time." It's a line that quickly became representative of <b>Alias</b> as a whole, as well as a long-standing get-out clause for the show's writing team -- a sort of collective promise that, even in times of wavering or assumed directionlessness, if you just wait long enough, give the show enough credit, that it'll all eventually make sense. Irina Derevko has been the biggest example of this kind of storytelling, re-appearing every once in a while to create sparkage, as well as to make the bigger picture that little more confusing. It's great to have her back this week, but she sure does make things blurrier.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Irina, for reasons unknown, is involved with Prophet Five and in pursuit of the Horizon, a mystical something-or-other of purpose unknown. But she isn't totally involved with Prophet Five since Kelly Peyton (who seems pretty high up the food-chain all of a sudden?) doesn't entirely trust her, almost as if Irina has been brought in especially to retrieve it, even though she seemed to be the one orchestrating everything just two episodes ago. Ultimately Irina flees with the Horizon, and everyone's pretty much back where they started.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">I haven't got a ton of problems with Irina's characterization here. She herself makes it clear that she's always been stranded somewhere between fulfilling her mission and caring for her daughter, and that no matter how much she sometimes seems to be leaning on one side more than the other, her motives will all eventually make sense. But it kind of sucks that she only reappears when in pursuit of a plot MacGuffin, with the whole 'I'm gonna be a grandma' vibe just a means to an end. The end of season four really pushed Irina's humanity and maternal heart, so it's jarring to see her back to her old self again, where nobody has any idea where she stands. Arguably believable, but still jarring.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">What makes all of this notable is that, returning to "truth takes time", <b>Alias</b> is hurtling towards its climax right now, and eventually the powers-that-be will have to represent said 'truth'. Like so much of this show over the years, delaying and stumbling through plot only generally works in the moment. When things are forced to be firm and concrete and delicately explained by necessity, that's when it all gets a little more complicated... and fans get angry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">As an episode, <b>Maternal Instinct</b> is by far the most engaging the show has been in a long time. While most of the action is confined to one key location, with SpyFam trapped in a bank with enemies closing in from all corners, the script nicely balances between family drama, undercover comedy (huge shades of the <b>Passage</b> two-parter here) and explosive violence. Peyton's rocket launcher scene, for instance, is one of the coolest <b>Alias</b> moments in years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Those outside of the Bristow clan are also well utilized, Sloane preying on Rachel's APO naïveity to cover up his recent dirty work, and Dixon getting a cute scene with Sydney in which he calls her out on her recent 'waddling'. It's the kind of friendly humor that brings to mind the show's first season, which is always a good thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">There's a real sense here that the show is finally picking up steam after a couple of weeks of coasting, the only downsides being that it's hard to escape the feeling that the writers are struggling with the kind of story they want to tell. Irina is a lot of fun, but her allegiances are once again problematic. Vaughn's survival, revealed in a climactic cliffhanger, is surprisingly moving... but the implication that Syd and Jack have known he was alive all along feels at odds with all of Sydney's actions over the past ten episodes. Season five has generally worked so far, but it sure as hell doesn't seem to know where it's going. Truth takes time, sure, but time is also running out... <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>B+</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Credits</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Guest stars</b></span> Lena Olin (Irina Derevko); Elodie Bouchez (Renée Rienne); John Aylward (Jeffrey Davenport); James Handy (Arthur Devlin)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writer</b></span> Breen Frazier <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Tucker Gates</span></div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-48214193777117865102014-07-06T07:35:00.002-07:002014-07-06T07:35:55.152-07:00Alias: S.O.S. (5.10)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>S.O.S.</b> appears to be an example of the show having to come up with less eventful episodes in light of Jennifer Garner's pregnancy, since it's another hour heavy on Syd being pretty stationary and sedate, while everybody else buzzes around her to fill time. It's also another episode that seems to stagger its way towards a cliffhanger ending. Like <b>The Horizon</b> last week, here we have a lot of pretty boring stuff that leads to a sort of bland climactic revelation. I think I'm ready for that baby to arrive.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It honestly shouldn't be all that surprising that Sydney's unborn child seems to have some kind of mystical involvement with whatever Prophet Five is after. As much as everybody behind-the-scenes was quick to back away from the Rambaldi saga, Prophet Five in a lot of ways feels like more of the same, from its operatives hidden within the CIA, to the centuries-old conspiracy used to maintain its secrets. Like the drawing of Syd on page 47 back in season one, here we have a vague sci-fi element introduced in relation to the Bristow line -- Sydney kidnapped and operated on to actually protect her baby, rather than cause it harm. It's generic as hell, not only for <b>Alias</b> but for action/fantasy series in general, but at least saves the episode from being a total wash.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In terms of setting up future stories, <b>S.O.S.</b> also launches a little arc for Tom Grace, here revealed to be embarking on what seems to be a solo mission to avenge the death of his wife. Balthazar Getty is a fine actor, but it admittedly feels a little late in the day to explore a new character like this, unless his own personal one-named MacGuffin (a shady villain known as 'The Cardinal') is somehow linked to the larger Prophet Five arc... I forget where all of this goes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">You can see why <b>S.O.S.</b> was paired with <b>Maternal Instinct</b> as a two-hour 'event', since this is another underwhelming transitional episode, one with barely enough plot to sustain the forty minute runtime including credits and the 'Previously on...' at the top of the show. Blah. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>C-</b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Credits</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Guest stars</b></span> Elodie Bouchez (Renée Rienne); Greg Grunberg (Eric Weiss); John Aylward (Jeffrey Davenport); Cate Cohen (Tour Guide); James Handy (Arthur Devlin); Kathe Mazur (Dr. Lynn)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writer</b></span> J.R. Orci <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Karen Gaviola</span></span></div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-89362391787767123522014-07-01T06:38:00.002-07:002014-07-01T06:38:32.922-07:00Alias: The Horizon (5.9)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">It's seemingly traditional for shows with butt-kicking female leads to feature their protagonists pining for a quieter life come the final season, Sydney joining the femme chorus of Buffy Summers and the Halliwell sisters in yelling "gimme some normality!" to the sky right as the curtain is about to close on the series itself. Here Sydney internally confesses that she just wants all the hard stuff to go away, that she wants to take her baby and her hubbie and just sit on a beach somewhere. It's almost like a projection of everybody's on-set feelings presumably, that wish for things to settle down and fade out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">I wouldn't call it regressive or whiny in this case either. Syd's had a rough existence for years now, it's no surprise she wants to drop off the radar. But it is interesting that these are still feelings she's yet to firmly express outside of her own subconscious. She's so bottled-up all the time, stubborn in this visage of outward strength, that it's disquieting but also genuinely affecting when she just breaks down in honesty while talking to her dead ex. I guess sometimes it takes a final season to force you to confront things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">I should probably add here that I know none of the above has a whole lot to do with <b>The Horizon</b> as an episode, but it's only because there's not a ton to talk about when it comes to <b>The Horizon</b> as an episode. This is another <b>Alias</b> hour that staggers its way to a cliffhanger climax, with Sydney hallucinating a series of past encounters with Vaughn while being experimented on by a villainous Michael Massee. Massee and his shady boss (more on that later) want to know the location of the titular 'Horizon', another ambiguous <b>Alias</b> plot MacGuffin, information buried deep within Syd's subconscious.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">So begins what amounts to a quasi-clip show, with Syd breaking character while reliving memorable moments from her relationship with Vaughn, whether it's that emotional overture on the pier back in season one, or his proposal in last year's finale. It's a story designed to both soothe the show's dwindling fanbase, still outraged that the show killed off Vaughn in the first place, as well as to presumably grant the final-trimestering Jennifer Garner some screentime that involves her mostly sitting down or being strapped into a mental-torture chair.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">The big cliffhanger here is the reveal that it's Irina who is orchestrating Syd's abduction and subsequent brain-drain, Lena Olin literally phoning in her performance and some stock footage from season two used to drive the point home. It's the show once again relying on Irina for moments of shock and awe, but with the Prophet Five saga remaining so vague, it's easy to forgive the show returning to that same narrative crutch once more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><b>The Horizon</b> sort of works on a character level, but it's pretty bland everywhere else, a filler episode disguised as something important. I guess it's neat for Sydney/Vaughn fans to see Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan back together again, but for everybody else it's the show majorly coasting. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>C-</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Credits</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Guest stars</b></span> Amy Acker (Kelly Peyton); Patrick Bauchau (Dr. Aldo Desantis); Michael Massee (Dr. Gonzalo Burris); Kathe Mazur (Dr. Lynn)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writers</b></span> Josh Applebaum, André Nemec <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Tucker Gates</span></div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-40520381252849902422014-07-01T06:38:00.001-07:002014-07-01T06:38:25.788-07:00Alias: Bob (5.8)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">It speaks to Sydney's upright morality as a character that it took <b>Alias</b> five long years for them to do the "one night stand with an unknowingly evil bastard" story, only for it, even then, to happen with an entirely different female spy. Who we're repeatedly told is just sort of naïve and innocent, who ordinarily would never sleep with a guy she's only just met. As much as it's Sydney who encourages Rachel to have a little fun while in Sao Paulo, you could never imagine Syd herself, even in her pre-Vaughn/double-agent days, picking a guy up in a bar for some harmless casual sex. In other words, Rachel remains a little more frayed around the edges in comparison to the woman she's covering for; the show continuing to make the two of them distinct individuals rather than two doppelgangers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">As a character, Rachel can articulate a lot of the internal anxiety that Sydney, for reasons beyond her control, just wasn't allowed to let break through in the early days. Here Rachel exploits her undercover alias beyond the perimeters of the mission itself, still riding with her best Princess Diana accent and cover story even in the company of perceived strangers, talking about her insecurity back at the office, and enjoying being able to let loose for a change. It's another strong use of the character, particularly when <b>Solo</b> two weeks ago almost tried to depict her as the kind of agent she wasn't yet evolved enough to be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Additionally, there's a lot of obvious fun to Rachel-as-Lydia flirting up a storm with Sark-as-Bob, neither of them aware of their true identities, and both seeking the same intel for very different purposes. It almost operates as a slightly darker variation on a classic romantic comedy, particularly with Rachel snooping around hotel rooms and trying to evade her rival, who she doesn't realize is the dude she'll be shtupping thirty minutes later.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">But it's when the episode abandons the "secret identity affair" idea that <b>Bob</b> hits formula city. It's interesting to wonder whether ABC had a specific mandate for the show at this point in time, since it's pretty routine these days to find episodes ultimately winding down to characters being forced to disarm a bomb, or rescue a main cast member put in peril. It's even more noticeable than usual since <b>Bob</b> opens with such an inventive twist on familiar <b>Alias</b> tropes, yet it still devolves into the same kinds of stuff we always see. There are hints of a past romantic fling between Jack and the British intelligence agent he partners up with, but it's all a little too vague to be affecting. Still, those first two acts were fun. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>B-</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Credits</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Guest stars</b></span> David Anders (Julian Sark); Caroline Goodall (Elizabeth Powell); Ntare Mwine (Benjamin Masari)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writers</b></span> Monica Breen, Alison Schapker <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Donald Thorin, Jr.</span></div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-39931498015422608042014-07-01T06:38:00.000-07:002014-07-01T06:38:16.590-07:00Alias: Fait Accompli (5.7)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Even with an influx of new characters, a show can only be sustained by its story, and whether or not it has anything particularly fresh or interesting to say. Rachel, Renée and Tom are all being smoothed into the show's foundations with considerable finesse, picking up the leg work vacated by the pregnant Syd and working well alongside the long-standing cast members. Tyrees Allen and Amy Acker are similarly charismatic actors doing strong work with a perpetually vague criminal subplot. But <b>Fait Accompli</b> exposes how little creative juice is honestly left in <b>Alias</b>, leaving its writers to merely cover old ground, even if it's populated by new players.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">A lot of this episode feels like a greatest hits hour. There's an exchange of goods at a race-track, Dixon dressed in some incongruous ethnic ensemble, Sydney assuming a cartoonish, comedic secret identity while undercover (I kind of miss the days when they just had her dress in a tight leather outfit), Sloane again coming to APO with the truth about his recent evilness, hoping to use it for their long-term benefit. It's just a very plot-heavy episode, but with every new juncture of the script feeling like a rehashed version of events we've already seen. The show seems to be saying, "yeah, we know this is all a little familiar", both by the reappearance of Professor Choi in the episode's teaser sequence and later Syd noticing the parallels between Prophet Five and the Alliance, but constantly acknowledging narrative repetition doesn't mean it's somehow fine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">This is Andi Bushell's first script for the show, and maybe she was a fan before she was hired and she's encountering the problems that lie with writing for a show that you've watched for years. Like how the work winds up feeling like fan-fiction instead of just another chapter of a serialized story. I don't want to lay the blame at her feet, but this week's events seem to be so important to the season and where it will seemingly go from here -- Gordon Dean is taken out before we get to the real bones of his character, and the arrival of Angus Macfadyen's boss-man puts Sloane in the exact same position he was in just two episodes ago. Kelly Peyton's promotion is intriguing, and both the LSD scene and Jack later helping Syd build a crib are fun, but this is <b>Alias</b> generally slowing down whatever momentum the year previously had, exhuming old gimmicks instead of pushing forward. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>C-</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Credits</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Guest stars</b></span> Mia Maestro (Nadia Santos); Angus Macfadyen (Joseph Ehrmann); Amy Acker (Kelly Peyton); Tyrees Allen (Gordon Dean); Jay Huguley (Dr. Peter Marks); Keone Young (Professor Choi)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writer</b></span> Andi Bushell <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Richard Coad</span></div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-28297886603359888142014-06-26T09:06:00.000-07:002014-06-26T09:06:06.833-07:00Alias: Solo (5.6)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Something <b>Alias</b> did to make the Rachel character less troubling in this season's first five episodes was allowing her to be kind of lousy in the field, somebody intimidated by the world she's stepped into, and not the transparent, kick-ass Sydney replacement that she easily could have been. <b>Solo</b>, as fun as it occasionally is, throws you off-track every once in a while because it compels you to accept Rachel as a 'necessary' part of the cast. Here she isn't just exploited for her Gordon Dean knowledge, instead she fully takes on the traditional Sydney role, and the plot suffers from the mechanical means utilized to get her into that spot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Coming so soon after she nearly jeopardizes a retrieval mission, Jack's insistence that Rachel is a key asset to the team, that he sees something special in her, rings a little hollow. Season five had previously done a good job of integrating Rachel into the APO fold without a ton of contrivance, but here writer Jeffrey Bell eschews believable growth and instead speeds up Rachel's evolution from skittish outsider to integral cast member. It's not a decision that derails the entire hour, but jarring when you consider how the show seemed to initially be so weary of merely duplicating Sydney Bristow due to Jennifer Garner's pregnancy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">While the plot mechanics leave a little to be desired, the scenes of Rachel on the oil rig were unexpectedly fun. Her face-off with Peyton was full of catty asides and juicy zingers, like two former high school besties sparring at each other, only one holding a gun and the other dressed like a hooker. The hour only accentuated Rachel's youth and innocence, but I continue to like how Sydney frequently responds to it. While Rachel's flailing around during her attempted seduction of the episode's trademark 'Eurotrash weapons designer' dude, Sydney's unflinchingly calm, realizing the stakes of the operation and how easy it is to trick these sleazy villains with some cheap flattery. The two bounce off each other really well, as much as I still think the audience needed more time to accept Rachel as a character before upgrading her standing within the show.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">I should also add that the season is bringing it when it comes to Sydney's sadness. These scenes are always slightly removed from the rhythms of the rest of the show, but whether it's Syd sat alone in a baby store, watching all the other happy pregnant couples, or playing old mission comms to her belly in order to keep Vaughn's memory alive, it's all just incredibly moving. Jennifer Garner still has that detached quality to her performances this year, and while it may not be all that intentional (girl's pregnant for real, <i>and</i> has a movie career she wants to pay attention to!), it's really benefitting her current character arc. <b>Solo</b> sees the Rachel character being sped-forward a little too fast at points, but the pacing of Sydney's internal mourning is just right. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>B+</b></span> </span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #ff6600;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Credits</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><b><span style="color: #ff6600;">Guest stars</span></b> Mia Maestro (Nadia Santos); Tyrees Allen (Gordon Dean); Amy Acker (Kelly Peyton); Ron Bottitta (Janos Vak); Darcy Shean (Sales Clerk)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writer</b></span> Jeffrey Bell <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Jeffrey Bell</span></div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-18020493228997008782014-06-26T09:05:00.001-07:002014-06-26T09:05:53.266-07:00Alias: Out of the Box (5.5)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Season five is so far being driven more by characters than it is by action, meaning an episode like <b>Out of the Box</b> is rendered nowhere near as flat as it otherwise could have been. It's an hour that struggles to move overarching stories forward, Prophet Five still vaguely ambiguous as an organization by the time the end credits roll, but what really stands out is the season's continued dedication to developing its key protagonists, particularly those we've only just met in the last couple of weeks. It's in direct contrast to this time last season, where ABC seemed to think short and standalone bursts of plot, and not deeper character work, would lure in fresh eyeballs. That isn't happening this year, and you can't help but wonder if this will be a season playing on its own terms.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><br />Both Tom and Rachel are being written as mini versions of other characters, but it's not as annoying as it sounds. Tom is quickly becoming Vaughn 2.0, only with snarky charm and, you know, a personality. He fills the same role on the show, the out-in-the-field, second-in-command type of character, but Balthazar Getty is one of those actors who seems to have chemistry with whomever he's acting against, like he comes from the Julian McMahon School of Charisma. His dynamic with Jack is fun, their light sparring at the office inspired by the secrets in Tom's past that we're still in the dark about, while I liked his developing friendship with Sydney, how he's ultimately supportive of her sometimes outlandish theories.<br /><br />Rachel is a supporting character this week, but assumes the traditional Sydney role during a mission to retrieve a bunch of Gordon Dean documents, and has a cute bonding scene with Marshall where they address their hi-tech smarts and mutual affection for <b>WarGames</b>. It says something that Rachel Nichols seems more at ease in the character's less dramatically challenging moments, but she can't be written off just yet.<br /><br />Renée's development strikes a disappointing chord in some respects, primarily because she was initially portrayed as this highly dangerous criminal and here we can only see her as a fragile young woman with daddy issues, but Elodie Bouchez is continuing to make the role a pleasure to watch on-screen. Her accent is cool, she can handle a gun and, like Tom, her growing bond with Sydney (in this case enhanced by their mutual trust in Vaughn) is sweet.<br /><br />On the other end of the spectrum, the Gordon Dean arc is being split into two distinct areas. One, involving brain transplants and cryogenic freezing, is high-concept sci-fi hooey, at this point deliberately vague but reasonably intriguing. The other, more interesting area involves his recruitment of Sloane. It's always fun to see Sloane being underhand and crooked when not spurred on by Rambaldi, and his blackmail of a prolific senator is toothy as a plot-point. Dude gets his clearance, he's back in the APO fold, and once again he seems to be embracing dastardly evilness. Like a lot of this arc, it's mostly a bunch of questions instead of answers, but the focus on characters and their collective growth is enough to carry attention. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>B+</b></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Credits<br />Guest stars</b></span> Tyrees Allen (Gordon Dean); Joel Bissonnette (Keach); Jennifer Hetrick (Senator Diane Lewis); Patrick Bauchau (Luc Goursaud / Dr. Aldo Desantis)<br /><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writer</b></span> Jesse Alexander <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Jay Torres</span>
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maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-67210855065515191202014-06-26T09:05:00.000-07:002014-06-26T09:05:43.775-07:00Alias: Mockingbird (5.4)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">The wigs are terrible this year. That dead cat on Sydney's head when she first met Renée, the RuPaul 'do for this week's Monte Carlo scenes. It's all pretty heinous, and the one part of season five that isn't gradually improving over time. Just thought I'd throw that out there. <b>Mockingbird</b>, away from hair, is an energetic high-concept thriller, one that improbably mounts a bunch of frantic intensity on the sight of a pregnant Sydney sitting down in a car for two whole acts. Drew Goddard has been a mixed blessing for this show, at times a little too reliant on the big bag of tricks he developed over on <b>Buffy</b>, but he's also capable of producing propulsive action-adventure drama that brings to mind classic Ian Fleming. His work here results in one of the best <b>Alias</b> hours in a while.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><br />There are a million reasons why Rachel Gibson probably shouldn't work as a character, but the show is doing a great job of making her integral to the season's storylines while at the same time ensuring that she doesn't dominate over the rest of the cast. She's skittish and terrified of going full-Sydney, forcing Syd herself to deliver the kind of psychological insight only she can provide. There's an interesting moment here in which Sydney elaborates on her mental process when handling the violence she encounters every day, how she assumes aliases and disguises as a means to remove her own fears and anxieties; Sydney Bristow lets the violence wash over her, because Sydney Bristow isn't there.<br /><br />Rachel Nichols is still easing her way into the role, some of her inner turmoil projected a little too broadly to convince, but she's given strong support by Jennifer Garner. As a result, it's Sydney who still wields power, the show following the natural order of things instead of allowing Rachel to run wild with her own theories or opinions on the Gordon Dean case. She's resourceful at times, naturally, but she's more like a girl grappling around for options in a crisis, instead of this girl being depicted as somebody instantly badass, like a plucky, winking Sydney clone. Compare it to something like <b>Charmed</b>, which also introduced a young, blonde protegee in its final season, and you'll see the care <b>Alias</b> is putting into making Rachel likable, along with making her progress as an agent actually earned.<br /><br />Sloane's story brought to mind how little he's honestly changed. Yeah, he's now fighting for good (right?), but he's still entirely driven by one singular objective. Is there any real difference between Sloane being preoccupied with solving Rambaldi's mysteries and being preoccupied with rescuing Nadia? Both are precarious situations, and both lead Sloane to sacrifice things in order to make change. We don't know what he agreed to do in order to become a free man, but based on past experience it probably doesn't involve baking cookies.<br /><br /><b>Mockingbird</b> is a major return to form for the show, featuring strong character work and a series of exciting set pieces. The code-cracking is tense, while Goddard throws a bunch of fun elements into the mix for his big action finale, including cranes, giant magnets and blondes locked in trunks. It's an incredibly confident, well-structured hour. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>A</b></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Credits<br />Guest stars</b></span> Amy Acker (Kelly Peyton); Tyrees Allen (Gordon Dean); Joel Bissonnette (Keach); Rowena King (Pierpont); Stephen Spinella (Boyd Harkin)<br /><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writer</b></span> Drew Goddard <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Frederick E.O. Toye</span>
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maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-52142760343633901652014-06-18T17:34:00.002-07:002014-06-18T17:34:18.537-07:00Alias: The Shed (5.3)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Everything new is old again. <b>The Shed</b> brought to mind the old adage that just because you acknowledge that history is repeating itself doesn't mean it's all that fun to watch happen all over again. Rachel Gibson is Sydney Bristow 2.0, obviously -- a young woman absorbed into espionage, trained to believe she's one of the good guys, only to discover that she's been used for years by very bad people. It goes without saying that it's difficult to care a ton about Rachel's betrayal due to how little we know her, but it's important to remember that, like so much of season five so far, <b>Alias</b> is still adjusting the chess pieces somewhat. This is a show trying to become something else, and with that comes some inevitable growing pains.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><br />With Jennifer Garner pregnant, it's easy to assume that Rachel is being set up as her replacement in the action stakes. At the same time, you can't help but wonder why, in that case, said replacement had to essentially be the same character -- only younger, blonder and played by a less interesting actor. But there are a couple of areas that seem promising, in spite of all the potential problems. One is how Rachel pretty much compromised herself with Dean, her shiftiness noticed within thirty seconds of arriving back at the Shed, leading to what appears to be a bunch of innocent people getting blown up. Then there's her interesting dynamic with Amy Acker's Shed colleague Peyton. The two are friends, but Acker is appropriately sinister even before she has reasons to suspect Rachel's allegiances. Plus underlings are always more exciting than the men they do the dirty work for.<br /><br />Thomas Grace is the other <b>Alias</b> newbie given more to do this week, and while Balthazar Getty is a fine, capable actor, the character himself is the kind of cocksure 'rebel agent' written to be all edgy and unpredictable, but who's more just sort of annoying. So far only Elodie Bouchez has made a particularly strong impression when it comes to the new regulars.<br /><br />Sloane's subplot is a reminder that Nadia is still out there, and an indication that the hunt for her cure will presumably drive much of the season. Sloane's guilt also plays an important role here, as he's again confronted by his past misdeeds and struggling to earn forgiveness. It's an idea that works, until the story sort of trails off after a strong start.<br /><br /><b>The Shed</b> is more scene-setting for <b>Alias</b>, continuing to explore the season five landscape from the edges, waiting for the moment it can actually jump in and tackle grander ideas. What continues to work, though, is Syd's vulnerability. There's a futility in Jennifer Garner's performances, a lack of surprise when she realizes how Rachel had been lied to, a dignified weariness when canceling Vaughn's magazine subscription. She's becoming closed off, but it's still coming from this place of unimaginable grief and pain. It's not particularly fun for us at home, but I like that the show is taking the character in a new direction, even if the rest of season five has been a little messy so far. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>B</b></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Credits<br />Guest stars</b></span> Amy Acker (Kelly Peyton); Tyrees Allen (Gordon Dean); Jack Laufer (Alexander Dolzhenko)<br /><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writer</b></span> Breen Frazier <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Tucker Gates</span>
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maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-69728133708188518902014-06-18T17:34:00.001-07:002014-06-18T17:34:10.346-07:00Alias: ...1... (5.2)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Jennifer Garner's real-life pregnancy is the kind of thing that really ought to derail <b>Alias</b>. I mean, it's a show built on the premise of her kicking all kinds of ass, and having Sydney sit out all her action scenes or, at least last week, constantly get positioned behind speeding trains or conveniently-placed sheets to cover up her bump is all a little frustrating for us at home. In as much as you <i>can</i> express frustration over a lady daring to conceive a child without coming off like a total tool. But, so far, the show is mostly handling it well.</span><br />
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We've seen Sydney be vulnerable before, but the general crumminess of her life right now is enough to make her plight especially moving. Everything magical about pregnancy she's being forced to experience alone, the man who would have been right there with her now dead, Syd having to pick up all the pieces. Her scene with Jack is brief but beautifully performed, Jack pledging to be there for his daughter, what feels like a million years of father-daughter angst immediately evaporated.<br />
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Something else here that works well is the way pregnancy returns a sense of normality to Sydney's life -- seeing her in a civilian hospital, or seeing her just talking to her co-workers about their personal drama, exchanges removed from all the espionage hooey they're usually distracted by. I've always been a fan of the show exploring that, and it's the one area that the show has never recovered from removing in the first place, but it's surprising and sweet to see it resurface here. Again it all feels like a blissful by-product of Syd's pregnancy. She's suddenly an actual person once more, and less about the mission. Considering she became sort of shapeless and drab last year, I like that we're seeing her humanity again.<br />
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In terms of the mission itself, <b>...1...</b> does a better job of setting up this year's major stories than last week's premiere. Frozen dude is something fresh and sinister for the show, while Renée Rienne is already a compelling, interesting character, Elodie Bouchez adding this obvious international flavor to the cast. The brief glimpses we continue to get of Rachel Nichols' plucky underling are working, and Thomas Grace, APO's newest recruit, is so far fine. We don't necessarily know any of these people just yet, but it's to the show's credit that we're not being bombarded with all of them despite the sheer number of new regulars.<br />
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There's also a strong collection of action sequences, too. The shots of the two planes that make up this week's big sky stunt are visually impressive, while Syd kicking Ivan Curtis out of a third-floor window into the river below is as good a use of a pregnant spy as I've ever seen, so there's that. <b>...1...</b> remains <b>Alias</b> in transition mode, the most radical transformation so far in terms of what type of show it wants to be, but it's not sunk by its ambition like last week. Moving forward... <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>B+</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Credits<br />
Guest stars</b></span> Greg Grunberg (Eric Weiss); Larry Cedar (Heinrich Roemer); Kevin Cooney (Ahern); Amanda Foreman (Carrie Bowman); David Marshall Grant (Ivan Curtis); Kathe Mazur (Dr. Lynn)<br />
<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writer</b></span> J.R. Orci <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Frederick E.O. Toye</span> </div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-6951126371083310342014-06-18T17:34:00.000-07:002014-06-18T17:34:01.117-07:00Alias: Prophet Five (5.1)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">There's something inorganic about this season premiere. That's not necessarily a terrible thing, but on a show that has only ever really built and grown piece by piece over additional seasons, it's particularly noticeable. The problem here is that so much of this week's episode involves people talking about things that have apparently been in motion behind-the-scenes for years, whether it's the vast "Fifth Prophet" conspiracy, or Vaughn actively investigating his past all along. It's specifically a problem because it lacks an organic quality. Not only is the audience having to play catch-up, but the actual show is, too -- developing a new strand of mythology that was apparently always there, even when it's clear that it wasn't.</span><br />
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Because of that, <b>Prophet Five</b> is essentially one long info-dump. Michael Vaughn technically <i>isn't</i> Michael Vaughn, but only in as much as his dad changed his name when he was an infant. Turns out Bill Vaughn was formerly a renowned mathematician recruited by a mysterious organization to translate part of an ancient book all about new forms of genetics. Various new antagonists are now in pursuit of the book, and so forth.<br />
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In general, this isn't great television, more resembling a Wikipedia page than anything particularly cinematic or visually interesting. It's just a lot of people talking, building a narrative foundation that will presumably be explored to better effect in coming weeks. Of course, explaining all the mythological hooey isn't the main objective here, instead it's the removal of Michael Vartan from the series. Killing Vaughn is an odd decision, this story arc initially appearing as if it were written specifically to showcase his character, while the company line explaining Vartan's departure at the time was more than a little vague (he supposedly <i>really</i> wanted to shoot a shlocky Australian crocodile movie, which... no). His death itself feels like overkill, too, Vaughn both pumped with what seems like a gazillion bullets, <i>and</i> getting a weepy deathbed scene soon after. It's like every Lifetime movie death ever.<br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">But it's all still affecting, regardless. I never cared all that much about Vaughn, and I never understood why so many people shipped him and Sydney (post-<b>Phase One</b>, their relationship has been more of a hindrance to the show than an essential component of it), but it's difficult not to feel compassionate here by mere awareness of how much Vaughn meant to Syd herself. Taking my own opinions out of the equation, Sydney felt like she was always meant to end up with this guy, and seeing him ripped out of her life under vague, messy circumstances is undeniably heartbreaking.<br />
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<b>Prophet Five</b> is <b>Alias</b> in transition, and it's clumsy and awkward and driven more by behind-the-scenes drama than authentic storytelling, as has become this show's formula. There's still hope there, 'vengeful Syd' always entertaining to watch and her pregnancy hopefully strengthening her relationship with Jack, but in general this isn't a great opener to <b>Alias</b>' final season. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>C</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Credits<br />
Guest stars</b></span> Greg Grunberg (Eric Weiss); Tyrees Allen (Gordon Dean); David Marshall Grant (Ivan Curtis); Leon Russom (James Lehman)<br />
<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writers</b></span> Alison Schapker, Monica Breen <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Ken Olin</span> </div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-1136885226100345652014-06-14T09:39:00.001-07:002014-06-14T09:39:25.388-07:00Alias: Before the Flood (4.22)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">As season four comes to a close, it's probably the right time to ask what type of show <b>Alias</b> wants to be. <b>Alias</b> has obviously never been afraid of reinvention, both the events of <b>Phase One</b> and the two-year flash forward radically altering relationships between characters as well as the 'mission controls' they call home. But there comes a point where constant reinvention can only jeopardize the show's foundation itself, resulting in something potentially unrecognizable. <b>Before the Flood</b> is as big and as loud as any other <b>Alias</b> finale, but it's also smeared in overt blurring between sensibilities. Where does <b>Resident Evil</b> end and <b>Alias</b> begin?</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><br />It's an unusual suggestion, but too much of <b>Buffy</b> could be a bad thing. Season four saw the hiring of two Whedonverse vets, Drew Goddard and Jeffrey Bell, and their tenure has coincided with a significant rise in the fantastical. Some of it was enough in the show's general wheelhouse to work (I never had a huge problem with <b>Ice</b>, for example), but the blood-sucking zombie attacks in <b>Before the Flood</b> felt one step too far. It doesn't help that so much of this episode feels derivative of old <b>Buffy</b> episodes. There's the giant tower over the city, electric CGI spurting out the top. Sisters at war, one seemingly destined to die. The constant references to the apocalypse and the end of days. It's all a little much, and none of it feels very <b>Alias</b>.<br /><br />The Rambaldi concept initially worked so well because it was so deeply rooted in science and mysticism. While it was science-fiction, it always kept one foot in the real world, meaning a cliffhanger like the one we got at the end of <b>Page 47</b> felt shocking, absolutely, but also weirdly believable; <b>Alias</b> putting its own unique stamp on traditional fantasy tropes. By minimizing the 'realism' of Rambaldi, replacing it with mind control, zombies and creepy red contacts, <b>Alias</b> suddenly feels like any other show around. As a result, the battle between the Chosen One and the Passenger, the crux of Rambaldi's entire prophecy, the source of his actual symbol, feels less like the moment the entire show has been building towards, and more like just another chick-fight.<br /><br />It's sort of a cop-out that Sydney and Nadia finally fought but only once the latter was brainwashed and zombified. Considering Mia Maestro has been given mostly reactionary stuff to do this year, it's unfortunate that the show didn't devote more time to her moral corruption, potentially at Elena's hand. If they had explored that, the idea of Nadia being slowly absorbed by all that Rambaldi prophesied, it would have given greater scope to this finale, improved the Elena character (who even here remains colorless and uninteresting), and limited the amount of repetitive stories that have clogged up a lot of this season's final run of episodes. Instead it's generally underwhelming, an unambitious closer in spite of the heightened sci-fi of the hour's premise.<br /><br /><b>Before the Flood</b> is still a great episode of television, don't get me wrong. It's constantly exciting, is filmed under this perpetual red bulb, and utilizes most of its cast very well. It's great TV, just not great <b>Alias</b>. Remove the references to Rambaldi and specific character beats and it could be any SyFy channel original.<br /><br />Unsurprisingly, Irina is the star of the episode. She continues to be a strong fighter and morally complex character, but showcases a maternal tenderness far greater than anything glimpsed before. Her compassion towards her daughters is beautifully played, likewise her renewed romance with Jack, but there's also a heartbreaking undercurrent to it all. Not a fourth-act betrayal or anything similarly bleak, but instead the knowledge that she'll eventually have to flee. She gets a great exit here, walking off into the distance, into the unknown, her closest relationships healed. For such an enigmatic, brilliantly-drawn character, it's a fitting climax. Or what <i>feels</i> like a climax. Potentially the one that she deserved.<br /><br />But <b>Alias</b>' identity issues overwhelm most of the hour. It's fun, pulpy television, but not the <b>Alias</b> that we all initially fell in love with. Then again, true to form, there's another late-episode reset, Michael Vaughn suddenly not the man we thought we knew. Or something. And I guess there's something to be admired about that, in terms of this show. There are times when stories don't work, but then it's straight onto the next thing. <b>Alias</b> has been a lot of things in its four-year existence, but sitting down and resting for a while isn't one of them. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>B-</b></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Credits<br />Guest stars</b></span> Sonia Braga (Elena Derevko); Lena Olin (Irina Derevko); Robert Patrick Benedict (Brodien)<br /><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writers</b></span> Josh Applebaum, André Nemec <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Lawrence Trilling</span>
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maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-70673480655960951042014-06-14T09:39:00.000-07:002014-06-14T09:39:05.931-07:00Alias: Search and Rescue (4.21)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">There's something refreshingly cut-and-dry about Irina's return here, the show refusing to make her all shifty and suspicious, instead running with the idea of Irina as a doomed martyr -- a woman trying to do the right thing, in spite of the outcome always landing her in hot water. She has some fantastic scenes this week, her teary-eyed reunion with Nadia particularly moving, while Lena Olin once again arrives with this forceful, commanding presence. She's headstrong and tough, but also tender and vulnerable. It's an astoundingly assured performance, and everybody else seems to up their game by proxy of just having her around once more.</span><br />
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But it's also interesting to view Irina Derevko as an explicit 'character on a TV show', and how her return doesn't necessarily create the in-show impact that it should have done. Despite being physically off-screen since the end of season two, the writers have always forced Irina to linger on the fringes of things in one form or another. She was a digital presence at the very start of the show's third year, and her apparent death served as a major plot instigator this season. But it's always been a little flawed as a result, the show constantly relying on the character to create drama in spite of the actress who played her being unavailable. That in itself leads Irina to become sort of problematic, her allegiances murkier than usual, Jack killing her a plot twist too far.<br />
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The murder flashback that opens this episode is fine, but if anything it makes Jack's decision even less sympathetic. <i>Why</i> would Irina ever order a hit on her own daughter? Why would Jack just blindingly accept that? Barely attempt to understand? Jack has always been a little more cut-throat and ruthless where his ex-wife is concerned, but literally seeing him put a bullet through her head just raises more questions than it answers.<br />
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So it all leads to Irina Derevko, initially consistent as a character, becoming another victim of <b>Alias</b>' recent lack of foresight; storytelling schizophrenia instead of strong serialization. Because the show has constantly struggled with Lena Olin's repeated absences, while insisting on keeping her in play in one form or another, it's made her more of an annoying narrative crutch than anything else. Which sort of sucks. She's at least written consistently here, in spite of the 'Irina clone' reveal hastily written in to prevent the whole story from sinking. But it's a testament to how the writers should probably think two steps ahead, instead of just running with whatever they can think of at any given time.<br />
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Moving away from general show issues, <b>Search and Rescue</b> continues the momentum set up last week, Russia exploding in a sea of fiery rage, a floaty red ball making everybody screwy in the head. There's a probably unintentional <b>Buffy</b> vibe to a lot of this, too. Or maybe it's the word 'apocalypse' that does it? Regardless, Syd and Vaughn's marriage talk while picking up weapons brought to mind Xander and Anya in <b>The Gift</b>, and the whole 'end of the world' vibe felt like a different show all-together. It's all fun, naturally, but I'm not sure it feels like <b>Alias</b>.<br />
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In terms of character, Nadia is being positioned intriguingly all of a sudden. There's a 'loose canon' thing that she's projecting, particularly her anger over Jack lying to her at the start of the year in regards to Irina's murderer, and her feelings of being 'the other', in that she's never actually met her mom. Angela Bassett also finally gets some decent stuff to do, her stand-off with Syd allowing her to be all intense and commanding in the way that Angela Bassett does so well. She should have had a scene with Lena Olin, though, just to see them both try and out-sass one another.<br />
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<b>Search and Rescue</b> is a lot of fun on its own, most of its issues being overriding show problems that the episode sometimes clumsily tries to navigate. Irina is wonderful, her interaction with Jack particularly sweet, and the last shots of the APO crew parachuting towards the blackened city are ridiculously badass. So there's hope. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>A-</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Credits<br />
Guest stars</b></span> Angela Bassett (Hayden Chase); Lena Olin (Irina Derevko); Andrew Divoff (Lucien Nisard)<br />
<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writers</b></span> Monica Breen, Alison Schapker <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Lawrence Trilling</span> </div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-82589221620201251882014-06-14T09:38:00.004-07:002014-06-14T09:38:41.128-07:00Alias: The Descent (4.20)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">It always gets positioned as the thing that sort of killed <b>Alias</b>, the narrative barrel well and truly scraped, but I never found the Milo Rambaldi story particularly aggravating. The never-ending bluffs and double-bluffs that it inspired (looking at you, Arvin) were <i>absolutely</i> driven into the ground, but the idea itself was always so cool and intricate, like something out of <b>Indiana Jones</b> or one of those choose-your-own-adventure novels from when you were a kid. So there's naturally something rousing about characters hunting down a related component of it, be it the Hourglass, or the Il Dire or, as seen here, the Sphere of Life. Sure, most of it is just a means to an end, but when it's sparkly and fun, who are we to complain?</span><br />
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There's a lot happening in <b>The Descent</b>, but most of the juice comes from Sloane's trustworthiness, duping the APO folks and partnering up with Elena, but presumably to fulfill a long-term endgame where he's <i>actually</i> been working in APO's interests all along... right? The story follows a similar trajectory to Irina's so-called 'betrayal' in season two, which is no surprise considering most of this season's major arcs feel like slightly Xeroxed copies of old ideas. But the relentless energy of the hour means it's hard to care all that much.<br />
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It's also evident that the show is trying to paper over the cracks of the past in some regards, recently following up on stories long presumed dropped. Last week we got an explanation for Sloane's charitable organization at the start of season three, and here we see an actual flashback to his Rambaldi quest with Nadia a year ago. Oh, and Elena ran the Covenant. Yeah, that explanation is a little <i>too</i> strained, but it's like the show is generally acknowledging the holes and logic gaps in recent memory, and trying its hardest to have it all appear cohesive. The flashback sequence itself is a lot of fun, the closest the show's ever got to a <b>Last Crusade</b> pastiche, while Sloane's initial partnership with Syd in Mexico City is driven by a characteristic snarkiness.<br />
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If there's one problem, it's that Elena is yet to come into her own as a character. Considering she's instigating most of the Rambaldi drama and is constantly described as this grand, evil genius (nice seeing you again, Katya), that's pretty lousy. I ragged on Sonia Braga last week, but that may have been a little unfair considering she hasn't been given a ton to do so far. Like much of this year, the writers seem uncertain of who they want to anchor this arc to. Is this Sloane's story after all? If it is, why not just make Elena a random terrorist instead of a Derevko sister? It's not weighted in her favor considering the emotional stakes it ought to offer.<br />
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Elsewhere, relationships are building to a crescendo, which is neat. Vaughn is eager to propose, seeking out Jack for his approval. One of the things noticeable in this re-watch is that I'm just as unmoved by Syd and Vaughn's relationship as I was the first time around. Marriage and babies are really the only things left for them to do. Dixon is also dating Angela Bassett's CIA director, which comes out of left field but is generally fine. Though I feel like Dixon has been shot and hospitalized at least a hundred times by now.<br />
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<b>The Descent</b> isn't perfect, but it's an episode constantly vibrating with forward momentum, feeling like the first chapter of a dense, impressive trilogy. There's talk of apocalypses, sinister premonitions, sweeps stunts and the likely resurrection of Irina Derevko. It's enough to get you pretty stoked. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>B+</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Credits<br />
Guest stars</b></span> Sonia Braga (Elena Derevko); Angela Bassett (Hayden Chase); Isabella Rossellini (Katya Derevko); Nick Jameson (Lazlo Drake); Jeff Yagher (Greyson Wells)<br />
<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writer</b></span> Jeffrey Bell <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Jeffrey Bell</span> </div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-18777662377441177102014-06-14T09:38:00.003-07:002014-06-14T09:38:29.498-07:00Alias: In Dreams (4.19)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><b>Alias</b> is still capable of greatness, <b>In Dreams</b> being an emotionally-draining and ultimately rewarding episode for long-term fans, but it also drives home where the show has gone wrong over the last two seasons. With J.J. Abrams stepping down from day-to-day EP duties at the end of the show's second season, <b>Alias</b> lost its proverbial 'voice', the God figure controlling where the show went, how the characters would grow and evolve over time, and how the show itself would change. What's left is an <b>Alias</b> made up of random components, a narrative rendered fractured and frequently unsatisfying, and strong storytelling only ever buried between the mess forming elsewhere.</span><br />
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It's a problem especially noticeable with the Joel Grey arc, abandoned a couple of weeks ago just as it seemed to be headed somewhere interesting, the Elena arc that replaced it building in momentum last episode but eschewed here. The show seems to be unclear of what direction it wants to pursue at any given time, instead deciding to bounce between antagonists with little clear rhythm. And that's frustrating because <b>Alias</b> used to be so unstoppable as a serialized drama. I guess it's unfair to keep bringing up the past, but those first two seasons just worked as this relentless assault of forward momentum, serialization balanced out with fun undercover operations and revealing character moments. We're at a point now where characters have mostly become archetypes, even 'old reliables' like Sydney, Jack and Sloane rendered shapeless and uninteresting a lot of the time. And that sort of sucks.<br />
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<b>In Dreams</b> seems to lay the groundwork for the rest of the season, Sloane at one point in time responsible for infecting a significant chunk of the world's water supply with a toxin that makes everybody peaceful and compliant... and essentially mindless drones. A Rambaldi orchid is the last MacGuffin needed to truly initiate the scheme, Sloane now feeling guilty that he's set in motion such a huge enslavement of humanity. It's more outlandish than the <b>Alias</b> of old, which is saying something, but you can see the show trying to at least make it somewhat personal for Sydney, Jack having gone along with Sloane's initial plans for some reason. It's intriguing to wonder how the story will play out, even if the character beats come from the same old bag of tricks as always.<br />
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Where the episode most works is in its exploration of Sloane's psyche; while it lacks the visual energy of a similar dreamscape depicted in season three's <b>Conscious</b>, it improves on that episode's lack of revelations. Here we discover that the mysterious 'Jacquelyn' mentioned back in <b>Another Mister Sloane</b> is the daughter Sloane and Emily lost in childbirth, the devastation of the event sending him on his quest to unravel the mysteries of Rambaldi. It's a strong addition to <b>Alias</b> mythology, and I liked seeing Sloane as a vulnerable man once again. We're so used to seeing him as an arch-villain that it's almost painful when Sydney just assumes that Jacquelyn was his mistress, incapable of seeing him as anything but an evil mastermind. Ron Rifkin openly weeping was also affecting in its sheer weirdness, the acting equivalent of glimpsing Bigfoot in your bathroom.<br />
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<b>In Dreams</b> has a lot going for it, but it's also another episode that falls victim to <b>Alias</b>' ongoing problems as a series, the fact that every recent hour feels self-contained and somewhat withdrawn from everything else around it seriously dragging this season down. As an aside, Jennifer Garner's direction is fine, if perfunctory. Though I suppose she ought to get credit for not randomly throwing in a bunch of visual flamboyance purely to make her behind-the-scenes debut more noticeable. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>B+</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Credits<br />
Guest stars</b></span> John Benjamin Hickey (Father Kampinski); Angus Scrimm (Calvin McCullough); Joel Grey (Another Mister Sloane); Amy Irving (Emily Sloane)<br />
<span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writer</b></span> Jon Robin Baitz <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Jennifer Garner</span> </div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-4416446759697688542014-06-14T09:37:00.000-07:002014-06-14T09:40:05.638-07:00Summertime<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">So... yeah. A year happened. Before I start anything, I should probably say that I haven't been lurking around all year and just choosing not to respond to all the comments left here from people wondering where I was. There's even been vague implications that I could have died or something, which I would have clarified as inaccurate if I had actually read it. But I didn't, because around the start of July last year I just stopped coming here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Some of you guessed right -- I was just burned out. I got tired of writing reviews of stuff, I got tired of thinking about Blogspot, thinking about readership, wondering what I could do to get more of a response, thinking about silly blogger politics and so forth. It got old, and I had realized I had become one of those people who takes all of this very, very seriously. So I stopped and quit doing it. It was surprising to me that I did, since I was so wrapped up in all of this for what felt like such a long time, but it was ultimately real easy when it came down to it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">But then I just came back here and saw all these comments, and it's overwhelmingly flattering that people actually wrote me stuff. That's huge and lovely and fantastic, so thank you. I love to write, and I haven't written TV stuff in a year now, so I'm finishing up <b>Alias</b> and maybe doing some other stuff this summer if I get a feel for it again. The blog won't be as busy or meticulously scheduled as it once was, and I don't know how long I'll even be hanging around, but feel free to stop by if you'd like. I'm doing great, by the way. Like 'finding your whole purpose' great, working and being responsible for stuff and developing who I am and what I do. Hope everybody's cool, too.</span></div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-52372481255238118702013-07-05T16:29:00.001-07:002013-07-05T16:29:34.317-07:00Alias: Mirage (4.18)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Back when <b>Alias</b> first began, the relationship between Sydney and Jack was one of its most important sources of conflict. The writing ensured that their estrangement was uncomfortable yet relatable, while the chemistry between Jennifer Garner and Victor Garber made sure that, in spite of Syd's outward hostility towards her dad, the two of them were always sort of crying out for a real bond once again. But like so many of <b>Alias</b>' major stories, it's a conflict that's become a little directionless over recent seasons, the writers bombarding us with ill-conceived plot twists or a general lack of interest when it comes to the character's actual emotions.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><br /><b>Mirage</b> is an attempt to bring back a lot of that psychology, Sydney having to assume the role of her mother in an elaborate reconstruction of a scene from Jack's past, the one opportunity they have to cure his radiation poisoning. Thankfully the show avoids any of the incestuous trappings that such a concept seems to propose, instead focusing on an inherent tenderness that has been a little absent between them lately.<br /><br />There's nothing explicitly new here, but it <i>is</i> sweet to see Sydney essentially watch her father connecting with her younger self, glimpsing the love that was always there, as well as Jack's determination to leave the CIA in order to protect and be with his family. The show has covered this kind of thing before, and the 'elaborate ruse' plot itself felt reminiscent of Ricky Gervais' fake-hotel thing in <b>Facade</b>, but it's nice to see the show revisiting an area of significant emotional weight, particularly in a season with a propensity to forget important character dynamics. It's also welcome to see the end of the radiation arc, a story which, up till now at least, has been something of a non-event. Besides those dazzling shots of Jack scratching his palm constantly, of course. Snore.<br /><br /><b>Mirage</b> falters a little with Elena Derevko, however. The carry-over from last week feels rushed and inconsequential, almost as if the show edited one episode's worth of story across two hours to pad stuff out, while the show hasn't yet sourced a means of using Elena in a fresh, intriguing manner. Right now it's all a little too reminiscent of the Francie clone arc -- Elena all duplicitous in the Bristow kitchen, shifty looks, murderous fake-outs and a vague long-term agenda. I actually dig the old 'secret antagonist hidden from sight' trope, but the Francie arc was so provocative and absorbing because of how entirely batshit it was. Elena, doing the exact same stuff, only pails in comparison.<br /><br />It's interesting to see an episode pretty much made up of recreations of the past (both literal and in terms of vintage <b>Alias</b> itself), but one angle being far more successful than the other. And that's only because Garner and Garber still play their material with warm conviction. We've watched these actors for years, and at times it feels like our collective familiarity with the show is the one thing preventing <b>Alias</b> from entirely falling to pieces. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>B</b></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Credits<br />Guest stars</b></span> Sonia Braga (Sophia Vargas / Elena Derevko); Michael McKean (Dr. Atticus Liddell); Vladimir Mashkov (Milos Kradic); Oz Perkins (Coke Bottle Glasses)<br /><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writer</b></span> Steven Kane <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Brad Turner</span>
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maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-57737654047774724592013-07-05T16:29:00.000-07:002013-07-05T16:29:26.718-07:00Alias: A Clean Conscience (4.17)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><b>Alias</b> season four was a victim of major scheduling changes, episodes aired out of order, the year front-loaded with standalone hours in an attempt to attract new eyeballs. I bring this up because it's easy to assume that <b>A Clean Conscience</b> is an episode intended for earlier in the season, forgotten about for months, and randomly dropped in at this point when somebody on the crew remembered it existed, it being a huge filler episode that feels entirely out-of-place considering the hours that came before it. Only it's actually not the victim of a switcheroo at all. While last week ended with Sloane beating a man to death in front of a horrified Nadia, an event crying out for some kind of follow-through, the incident is entirely overlooked here, APO all distracted by the same old stuff as always.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><br />I guess parts of the A-story are worthy of attention, particularly Dixon's discussion with Raimes about how much they're both willing to sacrifice for the safety of their country, Dixon's views having changed since the death of his wife, but generally this is a storyline lacking in any emotional depth or intrigue. Dixon and Vaughn anchor it all, Syd stranded in the APO offices for the entire episode, and it's difficult to express a ton of sympathy for Nestor Serrano's undercover agent. Partly because we've only just met the guy, mostly due to the fact that he doesn't seem to care whether he himself lives or dies. It's just flat all-round, which makes the decision to expand it over two episodes even more mystifying.<br /><br />The only real point of interest is the arrival in America of Sophia Vargas, surrogate mother to Nadia and all-round shady lady. Turns out she's actually Elena Derevko, mastermind of the events in Amsterdam, investigated by Jack and Sloane for the last year, and dubbed even crueler than her sisters. I don't know if it's a by-product of the disappointment elsewhere, but it feels a little contrived to pull yet another Irina clone out of cold storage, attempting to fill the Lena Olin void but casting Sonia Braga, who hasn't yet nailed any of the slinky ambiguity that Olin or, to an extent, Isabella Rossellini brought to the show.<br /><br /><b>A Clean Conscience</b> is underwhelming as an episode on its own, made worse by how it entirely deflates the batshit plot twists of last week. It also feels ridiculously stretched at times, barely running forty minutes even with the <i>two whole scenes</i> of Jack being interrupted at his desk by Syd while he's scratching at his radiation scars. A crippling disappointment after weeks of the show seemingly going somewhere. <span style="color: #ffcc00;"><b>D</b></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Credits<br />Guest stars</b></span> Sonia Braga (Sophia Vargas / Elena Derevko); Vladimir Mashkov (Milos Kradic); Nestor Serrano (Thomas Raimes); Michael McKean (Dr. Atticus Liddell)<br /><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Writer</b></span> J.R. Orci <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Director</b></span> Lawrence Trilling</span></div>
maxpower03http://www.blogger.com/profile/11951553958753040457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730608556280912177.post-72864273599128110652013-07-02T17:30:00.001-07:002013-07-02T17:30:54.976-07:00Annual TV Commentary 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Every year I put together a brief summation of the television I enjoyed or alternatively didn't during the previous twelve months. My 2013 commentary is a little different, all confined to a single post and occasionally lacking the detail I've given previous round-ups. My television viewing has changed, though, along with my own aspirations as a writer. Anyway, <i>television</i>. No real spoilers this year.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">Dramas</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>American Horror Story: Asylum</b></span> looked fantastic and featured a ton of memorably compelling acting (Sarah Paulson and Lily Rabe in particular), but sort of fell off after a strong start. It was almost as if the show struggled to give the cast a ton of stuff to do that still connected them to the titular Briarcliff, meaning the characters kept bouncing back to the same spot over and over again. There was little narrative progress until the show actually allowed it, like the amount of episodes didn't support the season's central location and idea. Meaning stuff <i>dragged</i>. The writers have got a handle on their themes, however, seeming to start the season with a collection of heavier ideas before expanding them to fit genre storytelling. It was an improvement on last year, at least, where crazy shit just seemed to happen with little rhyme or reason. <b>Asylum</b> still had that crazy shit, naturally, but it all seemed to have more dramatic purpose this time around. <span style="color: red;"><b>B+</b></span><br /><span style="color: red;"><b></b></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">I probably should have paid more attention to <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Fringe</b></span> this season, seeing as its final year was a surprising, last-minute gift for long-term fans, considering how financially-minded people would argue it should have been canceled years ago based on its numbers. But it didn't entirely grab me, which was disappointing. There was a little too much narrative weight placed upon Walter's forgotten memories, every episode seeming to revolve around the team having to recover a potential clue to defeating the Observers, or melting their way through the ambered corner of the lab, or trying to decipher that tape. This all aired months ago, if you're frustrated by how vague I'm being. Getting old, forgetting stuff. Anyway, the emotional beats were unsurprisingly strong, notably Peter and Olivia's respective reactions to a significant death mid-season, as well as a predictably moving series finale that had exactly the right amount of warmth and tenderness that such relationships deserved. I feel I should probably go back and re-watch this, to be fair. <span style="color: red;"><b>B</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Hannibal</b></span> was, without question, the only new network drama that didn't stumble out of the gate or alternately blow chunks this year. This is a show that digs deep into human psychology, particularly those chased or driven by the specter of death, while producing some of the most provocative and innovative serial killers to be seen on television. Parts of this show are <i>horrific</i>, but somewhat balanced out by incredibly naturalistic and moving character drama, burning with a very human type of internal suffering. Like <b>Enlightened</b> or <b>Mad Men</b>, there's something almost existential about this show and the universe that Bryan Fuller has created, every action layered with complexity, every murder or act of depravity linked to loftier themes. One of the best casts on TV, too, Hugh Dancy a real surprise, Mads Mikkelsen banishing prior incarnations of the Lecter character with his smooth, coiled portrayal, and beautiful supporting work from Laurence Fishburne, Gina Torres and Gillian Anderson. Thank the TV gods that this got a second season despite its horrible ratings. <span style="color: red;"><b>A</b></span><br /><br />In regards to <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>The Good Wife</b></span>'s fourth season, it's easier to start at the end. From around the time Jess Weixler's ambitious young flibbertigibbet arrived to steal Kalinda's thunder, this was a year that went from strength to strength, sourcing drama from its astoundingly capable central cast of characters instead of the name guest stars that distracted so much of the season's opening run. Cary's career aspirations spun an exciting new dynamic for the future, Alicia got caught between the rock and a hard place of the two men in her life, Diane sought power and respect, Kalinda wanted that cash-money. It was the writers utilizing their core ingredients for once, enough to shake up the show's foundations and ensuring actual change for next season. It's an important distinction, so much of season four involving the regulars merely reacting to the actions of others. It didn't help that so many of the heavily-promoted newbies stumbled around in directionless storylines. Whether it was Maura Tierney, Nathan Lane or most of the recurring characters brought back to cause sparkage (Wendy Scott-Carr, the hideously overplayed yet unfathomably popular Elsbeth Tascioni), stories proved flat where they should have been propulsive, cringe-making where they should have been fun. But the show ultimately got back on track. I particularly liked how the last run of episodes depicted how power-hungry and corrupt most of the cast can be, including those we generally like. Is it morally wrong? Absolutely. But also uncomfortably true to how we operate as people. I feel the political stuff has long ran out of steam, but the interplay at Lockhart Gardner consistently works, and the game-changers launched in the finale should provide the show the radical evolution that its been crying out for. <span style="color: red;"><b>B</b></span><br /><br /><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Mad Men</b></span> builds like no other series on the air, from scattered beginnings through to a gradual forming of deeper narrative intentions. Season six was probably its clearest in that regard, the way it used the escalating violence of the political and social landscape of the time as a parallel to its key protagonists -- the way the year opened lacking a real center, before stories built piece by piece and formed something unsurprisingly spectacular. Glimpsing a clip from season one during a "Previously on..." this year only punctuated the devolution of Don Draper over the course of the series, his face weathered and pained, his hair sweaty and wet, the weight of age and pain having left a significant dent. We've seen his inner torment before, but here he seemed even more stranded between what he literally possesses and the life he longs to have; while the cruel, masochistic streak always within him became even more pronounced, so much that he grew ever-ostracized and disowned by those around him, most significantly Peggy.<br /><br />Other characters mirrored that trajectory, too. Pete outcast at work, his marriage left in pieces, his mentally-unraveling mother working like an ulcer in his mouth. Peggy's reversal of fortunes were heartbreaking, from burgeoning pioneer to ill-treated mistress and back again. Sally being nastily confronted with the true face of the father she always idolized. This wasn't an easy season, the show experimenting with form more often than before (the manipulation of time as seen in the season premiere, or the hallucinatory freak-outs throughout <b>The Crash</b>) and many of the show's characters confronted over and over again with unparalleled pain. It was also a year in which the show's fandom sort of ate itself, the whole "Is she Sharon Tate?/Has Megan been dead all along?" conspiracies being more annoying than intriguing, but the on-screen material all built to make this one of the series' very best seasons, capped by a final scene that ached with emotional resonance. I'm frantically excited for next season, but quietly devastated that it'll all soon be over. <span style="color: red;"><b>A</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Arrested Development</b></span>'s Netflix return was one of the most speculated-upon, attention-grabbing stories of the past season -- but ultimately the answer to why some canceled shows just shouldn't be brought back. Cancellation is horrible, particularly when it happens to something you really adore, but sometimes it's better to just let something die with dignity than have it exhumed years later, its cast scattered to the winds, forcing the comeback season to exist like a series of short films, the Bluths dripping in and out of the narrative depending on their availability. It says something that the funniest moments this year came from the guest characters (Mary Lynn Rajskub was a real standout), while the Bluth family themselves only got saddled with self-indulgent arc plots instead of actual jokes. To be fair, though, I hear the season works far better on second viewing. And maybe one day I'll give the season another shot and it'll be wonderful. But I'm not sure great TV should work that way... <span style="color: red;"><b>C</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Ben & Kate</b></span> was an example of a sitcom in progress. The long-term arcs were never hugely absorbing, and most of the self-contained stories were derivative, but it featured one of the most delightful ensemble casts I've seen in a while, as well as a theme song hard not to sing along to. The crux of any good sitcom is a team of players that you look forward to hanging out with every week, and the chemistry between Dakota Johnson's apprehensive Kate and the makeshift family around her singularly made this show one of the biggest surprises of last season. It also featured Lucy Punch, a disturbingly talented British comedienne who's bounced around in features for the last couple of years, as Kate's awful-human-being-but-relentlessly-hilarious-best-friend B.J., the spiritual heir to Karen Walker and somebody I genuinely miss seeing on my TV set. I resent the fact that FOX canceled a show burning with comedic potential in favor of something like <b>The Mindy Project</b>, a chaotic misfire with the good fortune of having a name actress in the lead role. And that's coming from somebody who adores Mindy Kaling. But it's still unjust. <span style="color: red;"><b>B</b></span><br /><br />ABC did more than just kill <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23</b></span> as an actual show. By randomly scheduling unaired season one episodes in between those written for season two, the season one episodes deemed the weakest and therefore unessential for the abbreviated first season schedule, it not only made the show difficult to watch (hey, JVDB is on <b>Dancing with the Stars</b> again -- now he's not, etc.), but creatively schizophrenic. This was a show that was sometimes wildly funny, but frequently had episodes either so mean-spirited that it became uncomfortable (growing pains, yet aired in amongst the good ones), or episodes filled with jokes that just didn't land. Most of the episodes originally intended for season two were a lot of fun (<b>Love and Monsters...</b> was this show at its very best), but the scheduling just made things unbearable. Again it's an example of a network doing a major disservice to such an insanely talented ensemble cast, Krysten Ritter and Dreama Walker being two of the most consistently funny and interesting actors to come out of sitcoms in years. <span style="color: red;"><b>C</b></span><br /><br />
The cancellation of <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Enlightened</b></span> was one of the sadder moments of the last season, especially in light of all the critical support that seemed to flourish just as the show came to an end. I've written a lot about this show already, but it really is the closest thing to art that I've ever seen on TV. The moments of silence, of mesmerizing emotional weight and depth of feeling; it could easily be considered one of the greatest achievements of cable television and exactly the type of experimental, character-driven masterpiece that HBO should regularly encourage. Laura Dern's Amy Jellicoe experienced so much loss and anguish this year, fighting for what she believes to be right while constantly wondering if she was actually doing the right thing, finally building to a fantastic finale that left her under attack and threatened, yet proud, resilient and strong. More incredible ensemble work this year, too, from the almost hypnotic Levi-centric episode <b>Higher Power</b>, to the beautiful guest performances by Molly Shannon, Dermot Mulroney and series creator Mike White. <b>Enlightened</b> won't live to see another day, but it's the kind of short-lived genius that will hopefully be accidentally stumbled upon for years to come. <span style="color: red;"><b>A+</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;"><br /><span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Parks and Recreation</b></span> has reached that point in its existence where it's become a little long in the tooth, surviving more on the sheer adorableness of its main cast, and less because the writing is particularly funny anymore. Season five saw a lot of drifting around, the promising arcs at the start of the year (Ben and April working together, Ron and Lucy Lawless, Andy's job aspirations) being quietly dropped or phased out over time, leading to a lot of the same type of thing -- Leslie facing a problem, struggling to fix the problem, before finally making some kind of compromise. I also get that shows need to grow and develop, but I miss some of the relationships explored in the past that haven't been utilized as much of late. April and Andy don't share many scenes together anymore, for example. Or Ben interacting with people who aren't Leslie. Councilman Jamm has also been used way too much, a narrative crutch relied upon to an insane degree. There are still fantastic episodes (<b>Ron and Diane</b>, <b>Leslie and Ben</b>, <b>Animal Control</b>), but it's no longer the kind of show guaranteed to be spectacular. The finale was strong, though, and indicates a possible turnaround in quality next year. Hopefully, at least. <span style="color: red;"><b>B</b></span><br /><br />Anne Heche is an astoundingly talented actress with an unparalleled ability to make you believe every action and every flicker of emotion that her characters convey. Her comedy drama <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Save Me</b></span>, about a drunken, obnoxious woman who believes she can communicate with God following a near-death experience, has the kind of premise built for Emmys and grand critical acclaim. But it never really clicked together, in spite of how great it should have been. There were a lot of behind-the-scenes issues, leading to NBC burning the show off over a couple of weeks in June, and many were obvious on-screen. Despite the show crying out for a darker edge, an exploration into what it means to be a good person in modern society, along the lines of <b>Enlightened</b> or <b>Nurse Jackie</b> or something similarly cable-ish, there was this hokey network-sitcom vibe that crept in all over the shop, not helped by everything being played so manic and broad. Heche sold it all, but she deserved better writers, ones able to truly exploit the show's intriguing central idea. And casting Betty White in some winking, ironic fashion has become so incredibly passé at this point, seriously. <span style="color: red;"><b>D+</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">My life has changed a lot of the last year, in terms of my education and real-life opportunities that far outweigh what amounts to a silly TV blog, and television itself is no longer this essential component of my existence... which is actually pretty great, on a social/emotional level. So shows that I liked-but-didn't-love became easy to just stop watching. So I did. Those included <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Nikita</b></span>, a show that, post-first season, I never enjoyed as much as I guess I was 'supposed' to. But watching the first two episodes of season three, I realized that I never liked the self-serious quality it's always had in spite of its inherent goofiness, nor the lightness shoehorned in at junctures, like the Nikita/Michael marital jokes. It was just an unsteady mix of tones, none of which really worked for me. Meh. There was also <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Revenge</b></span>, which I suddenly realized around May that I hadn't watched since the boat flash-forward thing was wrapped up. I didn't violently dislike the creative direction of its second season like so many others did, but I never found the show hugely compelling, and it's full of too many inconsequential, annoying characters to make it anything more than a casual distraction. Most of those have actually been fired or killed off in the time that I tuned out, and the creative changes behind-the-scenes could result in a better show, but right now I'm not interested enough to watch anymore.<br /><br />In spite of my Connie Britton love, I phased in and out of <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Nashville</b></span> before leaving it completely. It has a great central premise, beautiful locations, fantastic music and performers with real conviction, but the show never seemed confident about what type of show it wanted to be. Either this earnest, salt-of-the-earth drama, or hysterical soap opera. I would have ordinarily given it a couple more months, and I hear it's gotten better, but it didn't entirely work for me at the time.<br /><br />For any regular readers out there, you may have noticed I did weekly reviews of <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>The Following</b></span> for a hot minute, before abruptly pulling them off the site. Can't have half-done projects on here. Otherwise what's the point? And I tried with this show, but it honestly ranks up there as one of the ugliest series I've seen in a long time. Kevin Bacon, this incredibly talented movie star, is just held hostage on this show, shackled to Kevin Williamson's terrible words like a dancing bear in some Eastern European circus. The Edgar Allan Poe hooey was hilariously over-earnest and lame, the show's casual depiction of brutal violence (particularly towards women) shameful, and the sheer stupidity of practically every character sunk whatever trashy appeal the series may have initially had. There were moments in which this show looked and felt like the spiritual heir to <b>24</b>, but it's stories were so wildly inane that it made Kim Bauer seem like the work of Dickens or something. Unfollow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Of the many horror shows that premiered this year that I actually watched, two were sort of a drag. <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>666 Park Avenue</b></span> never seemed confident about its own identity, of whether it was a soap that happened to have limp scares, or a mythology-driven horror mystery sunk by bland leads and soapy boredom. I kept watching, though, so I guess it was doing something right. <span style="color: #ff6600;"><b>Hemlock Grove</b></span>, on the other hand, was another Netflix disappointment, one driven by a murder mystery that went nowhere and a plague of directionless non-sequiters disguised as storylines. It was pretty funny, though, whether it was Bill Skarsgard's pouty, bug-eyed non-acting, Famke Janssen's 'Katharine Hepburn-on-horse-tranquilizers' accent, or the time that girl made out with a corpse. Silly show.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 85%;">Here I just wanted to write a huge thanks to those of you who have read my stuff this past year. I've found that the fun of blogging has enormously dissipated lately, primarily because readership is way down. And it sort of sucks. And it sucks, too, that I even care about numbers and readership. It didn't use to be that way, but I feel like I need to mark my territory in a way. Because otherwise it's just appropriated and you're left with no stake in anything. This section ended a different way than it began, I think. But it should explain all the absences, and it's good to just express stuff, too. It helps. Anyway, those of you that do read, thank you. You're like the one shining beacon left.</span>
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