Thursday, November 29, 2007

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 3, Episode 2 Review: Dead Man's Party

Dead Man’s Party
Original Airdate: October 6, 1998
Writer: Marti Noxon
Director: James Whitmore, Jr.

With Buffy realizing slaying can’t be avoided and that she needs to go home in the last episode, this episode seeks to reintegrate her with her friends, while addressing several unresolved personal issues between them. Meanwhile, a random zombie invasion begins thanks to an artifact Joyce collected from her work at the gallery, which must pay really well to afford all the reconstruction the Summers’ household takes throughout the series run. Put them together and you get possibly the worst episode of the season.

As said in the last review, the beginnings of the Mutant Enemy seasons tend to be lacking the bang of its conclusions. “Anne” was a mediocre beginning, but this one is just plain bad. Unlike many of the other subpar episodes from this period, this one is tied into the overall story and can’t be dismissed as a self-contained episode. One could wonder if this episode could’ve been ignored and had the action go straight to “Faith, Hope and Trick”, but it wouldn’t have been right not to tackle the reunion between Buffy and her friends.

The overall plot of this episode is inherently flawed. Why would Buffy’s friends think it was even close to a good idea to have a welcome home party for her? It’s not like Buffy spent a semester studying abroad or something. She bolted from Sunnydale when her life collapsed. Anything more elaborate than a quiet get together with only Buffy’s closest friends is inappropriate.

This contrivance ultimately leads to the confrontation between Buffy and her friends and mother. While it could’ve been played to make everyone else’s side reasonable, but instead, they act like total jerks. Instead of being upset that Buffy didn’t turn to them for help following the end of season two, they make it seem like what she did to them was a worse than all the bad stuff that happened to her, which is the wrong way to read it. By choosing the latter, the story gets too melodramatic. Who thought it was a good idea for the central characters to express themselves that loudly in front of a crowded room of strangers? It’s like something you’d see on a daytime TV talk show. At least Oz shows some discretion.

Then came the zombies. Generally episodes focused on stock horror characters (Frankenstein’s monster, mummy, sea monsters) tend to be lackluster. While I like a good zombie story, the zombie analogy fitting into the episode’s story is at best forced. Even past efforts to bring in the greatest hits of horror had some tangible connection to what was going on in the episode. They barge in on the confrontation towards the end of the episode, making those theatrics more or less irrelevant. Perhaps it would’ve been better to have the mask serve as a metaphor for the façade Buffy’s putting on to keep people from knowing what she’s really feeling.

While this has little to do with the overall story, one part got too far under my skin to ignore. Just what is a dead cat doing on top of that shelf with the nice plates in Buffy’s basement? It may be a minor nitpick, but in a better episode it would be easier to ignore. If Buffy’s house was really old, dirty or decrepit like some of the demon hideouts, it would make sense, but this doesn’t whatsoever.

The one redeeming element of the episode involved Giles provoking Snyder to reenroll Buffy at Sunnydale High. “Becoming, Part 2” hinted at ulterior methods behind getting Buffy out of school going to the Mayor. However, Snyder is quite the pushover, and we know Giles has a dark side that wouldn’t hesitate to make good on his threat.

Overall, this episode is a mess and the worst episode in some time. The elements don’t gel at all. The major conflict among Buffy and her friends gets way overblown, making the resolution far too convenient. Also, the zombie subplot serves only as a distraction as it doesn’t fit into the emotional story of the episode. However, like the previous episode, it’s easily forgivable considering where this season will go.

Overall Score: 3/10

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 3, Episode 1 Review: Anne

Anne
Original Airdate: September 29, 1998
Writer: Joss Whedon
Director: Joss Whedon

While the “Buffy” team would craft some well made finales, the premieres tend to be mediocre, wrapping up threads from the previous season rather than establishing the threat of the current season. This is that kind of premiere. The purpose of this episode is to get Buffy to realize her identity and return to Sunnydale. Ultimately, it feels rushed. Considering all the bad stuff that happened in the “Becoming” two-parter, one episode, especially this one, doesn’t feel like enough to get her to go back home.

Before we get to the meat of the episode, one technological aspect must be addressed. As of this episode, “Buffy” switched their film stock from 16 mm, what they’ve used since the first episode, to 35 mm, which they’ll use until the end of the series. Because of that, the series looks a lot better. Some of the earlier episodes were poorly lit, making the image barely visible. They did get better at lighting the series so that the end of the second season looked pretty good. However, the new stock makes a sharper, more colorful image, vital for a show like Buffy.

Buffy lost a lot as season two ended. Her attempts to keep a separate, “normal”, life outside of slaying failed. She lost her home, her fellow slayer, her love, her school all in a few hours. So it makes sense that Buffy would want to run away from all that. However, this episode shows that running from her identity isn’t as easy as she’ thought, as Angel creeps into her dreams and demons creep the streets of LA. If last season was about Buffy trying to have a normal life while balancing her slaying duties, this season is about Buffy’s identity as slayer and how that shapes who she is.

Instead of the gang going to LA to bring her back, not that Giles wasn’t ready to with even the slightest hint, they have someone Buffy saved play that role. Considering the episode’s theme, that it would be someone from Billy Ford’s vampire cult in “Lie to Me” makes sense. Lily, formerly Chantarelle, soon to be Anne, is the opposite of Buffy. While Buffy ran away from home because of her identity, Lily likely drifted to LA to find an identity for herself. Ricky, her boyfriend who falls victim to the inter-dimensional demons, comes across as another step in that ladder.

Interestingly, their experience in the hell dimension causes an epiphany of identity for both sides of the spectrum. Anne’s mourning over Ricky causes her to wind up with Ken, who plunges her into the hell dimension where humans are forced to deny their identities and become servants at some industrial plant. Lily’s is less pronounced, as she works to get the other workers out of the dimension while Buffy takes on the demons.

Despite Buffy’s wish to stay out of the situation, she can’t help but step up to save those affected. It’s a tough fact for her after what she went through. She’s the chosen one and nothing can get her out of that duty. The further she goes investigating Ricky’s disappearance, the further she realizes that’s who she is, the turning point being when she identifies herself using the show’s title.

This episode introduces the concept that time passes differently in other dimensions. While it may have been a device to explain how the runaways turn into bewildered old people, this facet would become a major element for a character later on “Angel”.

Those who overread everything could see communist images and ideas with the hell dimension. People are grabbed up by the system, forced to abandon all identity but worker, and spit out in the world old and useless. Even Buffy’s choice of weaponry in the final fight, a hammer and blade (could be substituted for a sickle), adds to that point, making her a champion of the workers. OK, there could be absolutely nothing to this, as individuality is the major point of the scene.

The infamous “Ghandi” joke is at best forced. This joke makes absolutely no sense, as if it were an inside joke among the writers that Whedon thought would resonate with the audience.

In some ways, this episode serves to set the stage for “Angel”, which would be set in LA. Too bad planning for the series was in its infancy, or we might’ve been able to see Buffy interact with people and things that would make up that universe. On the other hand, it could’ve easily veered into backdoor pilot territory, which can be largely disappointing or forced. Regardless, it would’ve been cool if she stopped by Caritas for some advice.

Obviously Buffy’s absence was going to leave a major hole in controlling evil in Sunnydale. If things went unchecked, Sunnydale and the world would be in bad shape. They got lucky last season, but the gang prepared for the worse after a much gloomier resolution to the problems of season two. Unfortunately, none of the gang have the strength or experience to combat the dark creatures the way Buffy can.

However, their ineffectiveness seems to ignore the contributions they’ve made towards Buffy’s work, which ultimately has become their own, for comic effect. Granted they don’t have the skills Buffy does, but they should have some more on screen success, at least towards the end of the episode. The stakes aren’t high enough to really warrant such problems among them. Perhaps if they had a real crisis beyond stopping the newly minted vamps their subplot would’ve worked better.

Oz’s failed attempt to kill the vampire by throwing the stake at it mocks the cliché of the hero being able to impale anyone by throwing a pointed object fast enough at it. Ironically, that shot, minus the miss, is in the credits as if it were one of those typical action hero moves!

While it’s not unusual to use bait to catch prey, the way Xander suggests they use Cordelia comes off as uncharacteristically cruel. They have made comments like that before, but generally the sentiment wasn’t genuine malice. If this was meant to show the cracks in their relationship, it could’ve been better handled, or at least downplayed until it came to resolution.

Giles and Joyce, who have had chemistry in the past, play a different scene altogether as Joyce unleashes on Giles, blaming him for Buffy’s disappearance. That may be too much blame to heap on a person, but Joyce still has a lot to learn about her daughter, as she only got the basics before Buffy left to stop Acathla. Obviously Joyce is regretting her heat of the moment ultimatum to Buffy from “Becoming, Part 2” and desiring a second chance.

The big problem in this episode is the pacing. The finale in the other dimension takes way too long to happen. If this had been a two parter, it would’ve been better to develop Buffy’s struggle with her identity. Being in a hell dimension would be a pretty interesting place for self-discovery, but we see little of it.

Overall, this episode is another example of a lackluster premiere, seeking to tie up loose ends from the finale rather than setting up the new seasonal arc. However, considering where this season would go, bumps in the road this early are easily forgivable.

Overall Score: 5/10

Heroes: Season 2, Episode 9 Review: Cautionary Tales

Cautionary Tales
Original Airdate: November 19, 2007
Writer: Joe Pokaski
Director: Greg Yaitanes

While the last episode was a major step back from the advances of its predecessor, this episode is a step in the right direction. Focusing on the plots that work is a major reason for that, bringing the show closer towards season one glory. Although the episode started off slowly with some out of character moments, the conclusion more than made up for it.

With the last two paintings fulfilled, this episode effectively ends that plotline. It is somewhat disappointing that the paintings failed to have some connecting theme between them, but the build up to the final painting coming into fruition was rather compelling. Of course, since the picture’s image happened, there had to be more to it than that. To show us what would happen six episodes ago and have it play out with no twist would be anticlimactic at best.

Bennet’s adamancy towards preventing picture eight creates the conditions that make the event happen. One of his defining traits his love for his daughter and his willingness to do anything to protect her from The Company. His original plan to bring down The Company from within was shot down when Mohinder became compromised. All that added to the fact that The Company wants to get Claire to cure Niki and things are bound to end badly.

Regardless, Bennet being tough is always a lot of fun, similar to Jack Bristow on “Alias” whenever Sydney got in trouble. Dousing Elle and keeping her feet in Mr. Muggles’ dog bath was a blast to watch, although one wonders why he didn’t use metal handcuffs to keep her from doing anything funny (as she did) during the exchange.

The bond between father and daughter is a major theme of the episode, as the actions of Bennet and Bob run parallel. Unlike Bennet, Bob brought Elle to The Company as soon as she manifested, subjecting her to living in a sterile environment with no friends, creating the perfect environment for her sociopathic nature to develop. During Elle’s torture/interrogation, she becomes aware of that, which may make for some interesting events down the road.

Killing off Bennet would be a major mistake, so thankfully Claire’s blood was available to bring him back. Considering Bob took some of Claire’s blood before the exchange, it could explain that “killing” Bennet and taking him with them was a part of their plan. What they need him for isn’t clear, but may be tied to the virus or Adam. How they’ll get him to cooperate will likely be tricky.

Like many, I’ve been heavily critical towards West. He’s continually come off as a creepy sociopath, making Claire’s attraction a bit bewildering and out of character. His relationship with her was to drive a wedge between her and her father, which is hard to believe considering what he did for her last season. Residuals from this are still here in the episode, as Claire telling her father she hated him just doesn’t fit. However, this episode shows West doing a 180 and despite the drastic change, it’s hardly one to look down upon. For once he’s not saying something foreshadowing an evil path, but thinking about saving Claire because he cares about her.

Much like he did in “Seven Minutes to Midnight”, Hiro tries to travel back to save someone he cares about. He learns again that he can’t change the past (which apparently only applies to present time traveling to the past rather than future to present), but this subplot had a bigger purpose than reinforcing that lesson. It was a proper send off for Kaito and gave Hiro a chance to say goodbye. But the most important part was Kaito’s last lesson to Hiro: Hiro’s power doesn’t give him the right to play God.

The reveal of Adam being the hooded killer isn’t a big surprise considering how many times I mentioned it in previous reviews. He had the motivation and method of leaving before Ando could find another body. One would hope what this reveal lacks in surprise is made up with the Hiro/Ando showdown.

A sidenote: wouldn’t Hiro meeting his 7-year-old self potentially cause a rift in the space-time continuum? They’ve made a point of keeping a distance from the main funeral ceremony so 1990 Kaito wouldn’t see his 2007 counterpart, but somehow Hiro meeting Young Hiro doesn’t collapse history.

As seen with other super powered beings in various media, the path to villainy is as easy as using their powers to make life more convenient rather than for the greater good. Even Linderman, whose powers gave him a selfless gift, used it to coerce others to following his plans. Adam is certainly one as well. With his cells’ ability to regenerate rapidly, he no longer ages. As far as he’s concerned, he’s immortal. Instead of using his talents for good, as Claire has rescuing the man from the burning train or subduing Ted before he went nuclear, Adam uses his healing ability for his own ego and gaining followers to his philosophy. That would explain why The Company is adamant towards neutering those with powers.

With that, the major question comes to how he can be defeated, assuming he doesn’t redeem himself. The first would be to dismember him and separate the parts. That version is particularly gruesome (fitting the graphic violence “Heroes” has shown previously), but may work assuming Tim Kring’s version of the powers would prevent the parts from becoming clones of Adam. The other would be to incapacitate him somehow that, while he would still be alive, could never free himself, like being frozen or pinned under a pile of rubble (like Sloane on Anders’ previous show “Alias”). There is also the virus, which may block his healing ability as some theorize it can do.

Speaking of pushing boundaries regarding the use of their powers, Matt is starting to go down the slippery slope of turning into his father. Since he started tracking his father, he learned that there was more to his ability than mind reading. It starts by getting Molly to finish her breakfast and getting more time to question Mrs. Petrelli, but quickly accelerates when he forces her hand to tell him what she knows, possibly opening major problems he can’t handle.

The Group of 12 has dealt with “selling [their] souls for [Matt’s] generation” in a variety of ways, from continuing their work to helping the next generation right the wrongs they’re responsible for to accepting or believing their reprehensible actions as part of the greater good. Victoria Pratt took another route and decided to go into exile, implying she’s very powerful or has a lot to feel guilty about.

The sudden deaths of four of the five unidentified members of the Group of 12 seem like strike rewriting. Why hasn’t this been mentioned since the premiere, as Kaito said that nine were still alive a week earlier in the show’s chronology? However, this may work out as it gives the subplot a tighter focus than if they kept going all over the world finding them. Plus the actress playing Victoria, Joanna Cassidy is established whereas the other four people in the photo are unknowns.

One thing worth noting is that Adam wasn’t a member of that core group of twelve as has been assumed. He likely was one of the first people The Company “bagged and tagged”. It seems like a personal relationship was there, making the betrayal and thirty years in lock up enough to warrant such ruthless revenge. Maybe that’ll be explained if or when they do a 30 years ago plot or at least detail Adam’s motivations.

This is the type of episode that is reminiscent of the thrills and entertainment of the first season. No surprise this is one of the better episodes of the season. The focus on the plot lines that have worked helped as well. After the last episode’s faults, this episode is a nice motivator that things can still end on a high note before the strike hiatus.

Overall Score: 8/10

Sunday, November 18, 2007

My thoughts on the Writer's Strike

Without a doubt you’ve heard about the WGA strike (now ending week two). Things have been tough for TV lately, as our late night favorites went into immediate hiatus and most scripted shows found themselves with only a handful of unaired shows. For a full explanation, check out this video made by the WGA, which explains why they’re striking and what they want from it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oJ55Ir2jCxk

None of the WGA demands sound unreasonable:

A measly eight cents per DVD sold, whether it is a percentage of the total price or a flat rate I don’t know. It is double their current rate, but still 60% of their old rate they agreed to cut to keep the video market alive in its early days with the promise of having it restored when it became viable. Since DVD is a multi-billion dollar business, including a huge market for complete seasons of hit shows, this self-imposed cut is no longer necessary. The fact that they aren’t going for the full 20 cents shows a degree of compromise.

Royalties for each download/stream a show gets. Whether a viewer pays to download a series off iTunes or Unbox or watches it for free on a network site with commercials put in, the network is making money off this venture, especially since it cuts the costs of manufacturing and shipping, all they need is to maintain server space. The fact that none of it goes towards those who made it is just awful. Saying these are “promotional use only”, justifying the lack of payment, doesn’t make any sense and makes the studios look greedy, finding whatever loophole they can to keep as much as possible. Considering the growing importance of internet use in television, giving the writers a cut seems like the right move to keep their livelihoods intact.

This one has garnered some controversy. In some instances, executives touted the new technology as new sources of revenue. NBC, in the stupidest non-strike related action of the season, pulled out of iTunes because in part they wanted a bigger share of the profits they were getting, even going so far as to ask for a cut in iPod sales. However, when it comes to paying the writers, the networks act as if they’re old people and don’t know anything about some dang ol’ picture radio internets tubes. This is likely saber rattling from the writers, much like the networks threatening to sue showrunners who are picketing. It’s unlikely that this would spiral out of control into the executives being investigated for misleading investors.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RjGbHHtbZP0

While it’s easy to support the writer’s now, it’s going to be a lot harder should this strike go on for more than a few weeks. If this is the case, then most series will prematurely end their seasons. “The Office” just aired its last produced episode, with teases that the episode they were about to shoot being the funniest of the season. This could be a disaster for serialized series like “24”, which has been postponed indefinitely until it can air all its episodes without a break, and “Lost”, which finds its recent 3 seasons of 16 episodes each plan in serious danger of collapsing altogether. “Heroes” is trying to accommodate the strike by recrafting their strike finale as a season finale should the second half of the season never come to fruition in time for the end of the 07-08 season.

Regardless, most shows only have a dozen episodes in the can, leaving most series over before they go on Christmas hiatus. The midseason replacements aren’t going to save the season either, with “24’s” hiatus and other shows having produced less than what those on the air have. So the big holes in the spring schedule will be filled with reality shows. Of course for every “Amazing Race”, we’re going to have 10 “Bachelors”. “American Idol” will likely keep Fox afloat, and they are the most shameless of the networks, ahead of NBC, regarding reality show programming (“COPS” was the produce of the last strike).

It also spells doom for the pilot season in the spring. With no scripts being written, there will be no pilots to make. This, coupled with the inevitable cancellations and series endings from the spring, means even more holes in the schedule. Not only could this strike ruin this season, but possibly ruin next season before even a second of footage is shot. It may give on the bubble new shows a reprieve should the networks need slots.

If any good is to come out of the strike’s effects, one would hope it would be the end of the standard September-May model, which is painfully outdated. The pressure of serialized shows to fit their episodes into the schedule as if it was a normal season is unreasonable. This isn’t an ordinary season. Besides, fans of “24” and “Lost” would stick with the show if it were to go into June or later.

As this goes online, news has broke about a sit down between the writers and producers on Monday November 26th. This is encouraging news, as many have cited the last strike, which lasted five months, as a possible example of how this strike will play out. Relations between the writers and producers have been at best tense. The writers want us to believe that the producers are being greedy and the producers want us to think that all writers are super rich and only want another golden bathtub filled with Cristal and they don’t care about the crew that’s out of work (the execs tend to ignore that many of those people support the strike). With something like that, it makes sense that neither would be willing to give in to the others’ demands without a fight.

While the media has painted the writers as pampered rich people who are just striking to be jerks, that isn’t the case. For every writer who will never have to worry about work, there are dozens that are just trying to get their screenplay picked up or a job writing on television. It can be easy for us to say that since their job is fun they should just shut up and take whatever the studios give them. I’d agree that screenwriting is far more fun than a typical blue collar job, but it’s still a job. It’s their livelihood. If it takes them years before getting another piece of their work published, why not give them a fair shake of residuals so they can live comfortably in between jobs? Every time a “Harry Potter” novel is sold, JK Rowling gets a cut. Bob Dylan gets paid anytime a song he wrote is played on the radio or used elsewhere. Why can’t the writers get a fair piece for the work they helped create when it’s used in any format?

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Heroes: Season 2, Episode 8 Review: Four Months Ago...

Four Months Ago…
Original Airdate: November 12, 2007
Writer: Tim Kring
Director: Greg Beeman

Jumping ahead in time is an effective plot device to create mystery and start speculation as to what happened in between. However, after seeing this episode, one wonders whether it would’ve been a better decision to start the season where it ended. It’s reminiscent, to a lesser degree, of “Alias”’ two years later jump at the end of its second season. After that, the series took a significant downturn in quality and never regained its consistent top notch thrills of the early episodes. It isn’t as bad for “Heroes”, as this is one episode. However, it doesn’t help the series as it seemed to be regaining its footing.

The major loose end concerned what happened to Peter and Nathan when Peter went nuclear above New York City. This felt like a better starting point for Peter’s character this season rather than the surprise of him being in the box in Ireland four months later. Would we have rather seen a few episodes of him in the facility or convalescing in Ireland? I know I’d choose the former. That said, it would’ve botched the Adam/Kensei being alive reveal at the end of the last episode, but it’s possible they could’ve worked around that had Hiro’s wacky feudal Japan adventures been shortened and kept Peter and Adam apart until later.

As the second part of the first season progressed, Peter’s became increasingly worried as to whether he would lose control and be the bomb that was prophesized. Now that he almost killed .07% of the world’s population and severely burnt his brother, it makes sense he would want anything that would halt his powers, or at least suppress them. He was willing to believe anyone, making The Company’s pitch easier to swallow.

In sharp contrast is Adam, who has been held there for some time and has intimate knowledge of The Company’s operations, or seems to give a good hint that he does. Peter is being pulled by both The Company and Adam. The Company claims to want to stop his powers from harming others, but Adam convinces him that The Company is lying and that he could be used to save Nathan. Ultimately Peter’s desire to stop comes directly from his guilt over frying his brother, and luckily for him, Adam has a cure. If only more of the episode could’ve dealt with each side clamoring for Peter.

Having Adam’s blood grant temporary regeneration to its recipient is an interesting perk to his power. How he figured this out may be worth exploring. Of course, when a moment like this happens one has to wonder whether Claire and Peter could do the same. Since Mohinder is out to find her to cure Niki, it’s likely the case for at least Claire and Adam would be too difficult a donor to get.

The reason behind Nathan’s depression is somewhat explained. It’s not uncommon in fantasy for some miraculous cure to have an undesirable side effect. It doesn’t seem likely that Nathan knew Peter helped him as he felt genuinely surprised when he learned that Peter was still alive. Unaware of what helped him, he has the survival’s guilt of suddenly having no scarring while his brother is presumed dead.

This episode confirms Elle had something to do with Peter’s location in the first part of the season, explaining how he learned to use electromagnetism (and what happened to his stupid haircut). As for Elle, even she knows she’s a sociopath, and that’s clear with the excessive shocks she gives Peter, even when they kiss. With some excessive exposition, she mentions she’s been in this facility for sixteen years, likely with little human contact, which would explain her lack of compassion and empathy.

The Haitian’s involvement in Peter’s disappearance is shown, as he is the one who erases his entire memory and leaves him in the box. The build up hinted at a much larger plan with powerful players. Perhaps if this is what we saw in episode one it’d have been better off, but I guess they needed their big surprise at the end of the premiere. To build up that mystery only to have the answer be The Haitian improvising with few options available is rather anticlimactic.

Kring’s original plan for the show involved changing the entire ensemble cast each season, with possible cameos from past characters. However, the characters proved such a hit that those not killed off by the end of the season came back (except for DL). While some characters have a lot of potential for future material like Bennet and Hiro, others seemed to be brought along for little reason. Ultimately the one this applies to most is Niki. Ali Larter is hot, but I don’t see why it was necessary to keep her around this season, and this flashback is a powerful piece to that argument.

One peculiar thing about the premiere was that DL’s tombstone read 2007 despite him being shot in 2006. We were left to presume that he had succumbed to a gunshot wound several months after it happened. Instead of it being a production mistake, the story shows us he did die later, only it makes his initial survival pointless. Just what did him dying in February do for Niki’s story that couldn’t have been done had he just died as expected? They needed Niki to unravel, seeking solace with Bob’s possible cure, but this doesn’t work that well.

The fact that DL didn’t phase through the bullet screams of plot hole. He did it before when Jessica tried to snipe him and he phased through his soon to be killer’s fist minutes before he died! Linderman shooting him could be explained as a beginner’s mistake. The second time is just Kring needing it to happen and forsaking the character. The “why don’t they just use their powers to…” question is one common on “Heroes” and other supernatural themed shows, and can be mostly explainable or forgivable, but this just makes DL dumb. He was a fireman; couldn’t he have died doing something heroic there?

Maya and Alejandro continue to meander, as if the series really needed another “Maya lets loose, kills a bunch of people, Alejandro stops her and she cries about it” plot. For their storyline we give up seeing what happened to Bennet and Sylar, the latter of whom’s survival at Kirby Plaza would’ve been far more compelling to tell. Obviously Hiro couldn’t have been explored, as his storyline picked up right where we left off in the first season finale.

Ultimately this episode failed to capitalize on the momentum made by the last episode. The answers given for the loose ends aren’t very rewarding as we could fill in most of the blanks ourselves or not given enough time. Perhaps a flashback 30 years earlier would’ve been a better choice, seeing how that would’ve fit the reveal of Adam in the last episode. We could’ve seen how the 12 assembled. Or if they want to keep us guessing on Adam’s motivations, have the focus on Adam and Peter in the facility. Regardless, had the rest of the season been this bad, it would’ve warranted the negative publicity. Hopefully this episode is the final bump as the possible end of the season (should the strike run long) looms only episodes away.

Overall Score: 6/10

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Heroes: Season 2, Episode 7 Review: Out of Time

Out of Time
Original Airdate: November 5, 2007
Writer: Aron Eli Coleite
Director: Dan Attias

Critics and fans have beaten up “Heroes” this season. After a thoroughly entertaining first season, the second failed to have that spark that made it a breakout hit. A lot of the stories stood still, or were poorly played out. They were more average than atrocious as some believed, but the masses’ effect was clear with diminished ratings and unflattering press. This episode’s title could apply to the patience of some viewers and the writers trying to win them back. However, this episode offers some hope, with emphasis on what has worked this season, while incorporating the entertainment value that made season one so much fun.

In an Entertainment Weekly interview published the week of this episode’s airing creator Tim Kring, on strike with the WGA, admitted to all the major faults critics, including myself, have had towards this season. While it must be hard to do the obligatory “we made mistakes” statement during a disappointing run, knowing where the problems are is encouraging that the season may turn around. It would be bad for the series if the show goes on its strike hiatus leaving a bad taste in the fans’ mouths like “Lost” did after its poorly received “mini-season”, only this time it may be more than three months before we get new episodes.

This episode resolves the Maury storyline, as some unlikely allies band together to stop him before he kills Bob. Of course, Maury’s strength in projecting nightmares proves a formidable obstacle. Ultimately he is physically passive figure in the episode by using Niki’s mental illness and guilt over DL to project a nightmare that convinces her to break open Bob’s office and infect him (or rip him in two, whichever comes first).

However, Niki finds herself as Patient Zero as she infects herself before her less stable counterpart can harm Bob. Now it’s yet to be seen whether Niki can be contained of if she’ll eventually infect the general population, causing the plague of which Peter sees the aftermath. It’s possible she’ll die even when the virus is ended, which could make this point the beginning of a redemptive arc for her.

The moral ambiguity remains a central piece of the show. While Bob argues that the virus can be used to take care of formidable foes like Maury and Adam, Mohinder can’t grapple infecting innocent people. It certainly shows the strange pairing between Mohinder and Bennet, as he is as morally grey as Bob is, only for different goals for what it is. Mohinder’s compass is naturally inclined to do what he feels is right, and that often comes into conflict with his campaign against The Company.

While Maury was set up as a villain that made Sylar look like an ant, his son defeating him felt a little too easy. Perhaps this is just the result of strike shuffling, but what could’ve been a few more episodes of Matt learning how to control minds the way his father does and dealing with the issues of his father leaving him at a young age is never touched upon on screen. Despite that, the episode effectively transitions us for Adam to be the new villain.

Of the many problems this season, this episode effectively ends one of them. Hiro’s trip to feudal Japan was an interesting move at the end of last season. However, the amount of story they had to tell was no where near enough to warrant seven episodes, not to mention the forced love triangle. Being separated from the other major storylines has been a major con for this subplot, and has left Hiro’s pal Ando with little material; he’s done little but literally reading since Kaito’s murder in the premiere. Knowing he’ll be interacting with the other heroes soon is a welcome sign.

The brief scene of Hiro and Ando’s reunion showed us just what we have missed. Their camaraderie during the first season was a high point, but with them almost three and a half centuries apart, the series suffered. However, once Hiro returned, it felt like no time at all had passed. Who couldn’t help but smile seeing them together again?

Initially Hiro thought his journey was to train Kensei to become the hero legend would remember him as. He had his work cut out for him as Kensei proved to be a philandering drunk. Obviously Hiro played a major role in changing Kensei’s path, but it would be rather different than what he expected. What the trip seemed to teach him was that this great legend, this great hero, is actually himself. While that may be cliché, it feels like a good way to end this story.

Despite being blown up, it was obvious that Kensei wasn’t dead. We’ve seen Claire and Peter in situations where they should’ve been killed, but weren’t because of their ability. Since Kensei has that power, he would’ve eventually healed his charred skin and any other injuries sustained in the blast, but it’s likely they didn’t want to reveal his survival until the end in addition to the expense such special effects would cost. However, Hiro doesn’t know that, which should make their inevitable showdown in the present interesting to watch.

It’s likely Hiro would feel guilty over making Kensei the man he is. Hiro is one of the most invested characters in his ability and its use to better mankind. The fact that he helped train the man whose plans now include wiping out normal people will have an effect that would likely be similar to Obi-Wan and Anakin in the “Star Wars” films. Despite the betrayal, Hiro still sees good in him, which may play out in the present.

Kensei being alive in the present was a popular theory because the following David Anders still has from “Alias” fans and that he was quickly promoted to lead character after only a few episodes. I’ve mentioned before that he could be a candidate for Mr. Petrelli since the man in the Group of Twelve portrait looked like him, but instead, it’s revealed that he is Adam Monroe, alluded to in the previous episode (critic’s note: he will be referred to as Adam Monroe from now on).

The fact that he hasn’t aged since 1671 suggests that spontaneous regeneration affects the aging process as well as healing. Since aging involves dying cells, regeneration would make that element obsolete. One could only assume that the same terms would apply to Claire, although unless Peter or Hiro go to the distant future, there’s no way to know that for sure.

Adam is likely the Group of Twelve Killer. His physique resembles that of the hooded figure who tackled Kaito off the building. Plus the lack of a second body could mean that the hooded figure instantly healed from whatever wounds he suffered and walked away (other powers could apply to the second body theories). He was also help captive by The Company, escaping a few weeks earlier, around the time Kaito was killed. However, it’s possible that he isn’t and that Bob cooked a bogus story about Adam’s state (can we really trust what any of them say?)

One piece mentioned in the previous review was the threat that Peter’s adventures in the future would be too similar to “Five Years Gone”. However, treating it like a subplot, featuring only one of the established characters there besides Peter and Caitlin, worked in the series favor, and finally gives Peter’s story the direction it has sorely needed. Peter’s trip is in part to tell him of the virus’ threat, but also it seems to begin the journey where his memory will be restored, as seen when he reads his mother’s mind.

Caitlin’s fate is unusual, as she’s trapped in the possible plague future. After the threat, what will happen to Caitlin? Is Peter going to go to that future in hopes of finding her or will that future be negated and send her back or possibly destroy her? Some interviews have said that while they averted blowing up New York, the timeline seen in “Five Years Gone” still exists on an alternate timeline.

West continues to act like a creep. Kring’s interview implied that West was never meant to be a villain, which in effect makes this bungled subplot harder to digest. They’ve done just about everything to make us not like this guy. He peeps on Claire without her knowing, harasses her in some bizarre courting ritual and then acts like a total sociopath because he has a power most people don’t have. And somehow Claire likes this guy! Maybe this is just being a teenager, but what does she see in him? This relationship, along with her beginning to side more with him than her father, makes her character look at best bad. “Heroes” has a history of poorly executed love stories, but this one is without a doubt the worst. I’m hoping Sylar learns how to fly, and soon!

If anything, West hopefully is nothing but a plot device to get the Bennets out of hiding in time to interact with the other characters. It seemed like that could’ve been the point, only it was obnoxiously over the top that sucked the fun out of it. Since West is unlikely to seek revenge now that he isn’t supposed to be evil and going after one of the more popular characters isn’t going to help us like him any more, even if he can’t do it.

Four of the eight paintings appear to come into fruition in this episode. The hand holding the vial is so vague that it could be argued as one considering the plot. We also see Niki break into Bob’s office, Peter in quarantine and Hiro and Kensei’s sword fight. The stage is also set for the final paintings, with Mohinder’s bandage over his nose and his growing doubts over Bennet’s stability, which ultimately cause him to side with The Company.

Bob is rather skilled at manipulating Mohinder. As Mohinder predicted, giving them Molly allowed them additional power over him. Bennet’s methods can go into dark territory as we saw in the last episode and as mentioned, they come into conflict with Mohinder’s, who is far less ambiguous. Despite the threat of The Company, they ultimately seem like the good guys in this situation as their motivation points towards curing Niki.

The writer’s strike must be addressed as well. As it happened the day the episode aired, no additional “Heroes” episodes will go into production. They have finished through episode eleven, which has been redesigned as a season finale rather than just the end of the second volume of the story, the third volume being the second half of the season. It’s possible, should the strike go on for longer than a few weeks, that the season will end at episode eleven. This season is certainly thrown a lot of wrenches in the narrative gears of many serialized shows, but hopefully “Heroes” will not suffer too badly as a result.

Overall Score: 8/10

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Heroes: Season 2, Episode 6 Review: The Line

The Line
Original Airdate: October 29, 2007
Writer: Adam Armus and Kay Foster
Director: Jeannot Szwarc

As the season progresses, “Heroes” finds itself at a crossroads. The current path of the season is leading them towards disaster. While this season is no where as horrible as some believe, the episodes have been mediocre. For every plot that hits the right notes, another plot stands still. All it’ll take to turn around this series is one episode that advances all the stories instead of just featuring them to fill time, but they haven’t gotten there yet.

After too long, Maya, Alejandro and Sylar finally make it to America. Hopefully this means the writers will start incorporating real place locations into the action to give the story some sense of direction. In theory they could’ve stayed in Mexico for a long time since we had no idea where in Mexico they were.

Sylar’s proving to be a bad influence as Alejandro notices, but Maya dismisses it as she appears to be having feelings for him. Because of that, Maya crosses a figurative line where she willingly loses control to kill the minute men waiting for them on the border so they could evade capture. The only thing keeping the top of the twins’ skulls intact is that Sylar has yet to regain his power. Luckily for him Maya, who may be sliding over to the dark side, is overriding Alejandro’s concern. It won’t be long before he regains them, and the twins find themselves in serious danger.

Hiro’s story finally makes some progress (although Ando is still reading!) Having Hiro go for the girl, while I still don’t buy that he’s fallen for her, complicates issues with Kensei. This could be the turning point where he becomes the villain, as Hiro realizes what tampering with time can do. Considering the present storyline features Hiro and Kensei battling as one of Isaac’s final paintings, it wouldn’t be hard to believe Kensei pops up in the present sometime after Hiro gets back.

West has to be a sociopath. Early in the episode, he claims superiority over others who don’t have powers, which doesn’t help his standing with the show’s fan base that hates him. In this episode he threatens to expose both himself and Claire for the sake of “teaching [Debbie] a lesson”. Granted, Debbie is obnoxious and cruel, but West goes too far, where we almost feel sorry for the girl. West’s antics this season have gone far enough where they should either make him a full fledged villain or get rid of him altogether.

Bennet’s scenes interrogating his former mentor were the high point of the episode. While Bennet has switched sides, he crosses that eponymous line again trying to locate the pictures, bring down The Company and save himself. Having The Haitian remove all of Ivan’s happy memories, only to kill him in the end, is stone cold. Ivan’s last words could be foreshadowing Bennet being very dark for the foreseeable future. To revisit this other side in all its ugliness shows the duality that has made him one of the show’s creative high points.

Finally we get a glimpse of the other six paintings in the series and surprisingly, not all of them feature a dead body. This is going to make preventing them trickier as the clues aren’t as obvious as expected. It seems like there may be some type of narrative from one painting to another, although some of the connections between others aren’t as clear.

One, looking at high res screen shots, may be Claire lying on the steps after West dropped her in this episode. If that’s the case, then what does it have to do with the other seven paintings as it pertains to the deaths of the Group of 12? If this has anything to do narratively, would this prank set off a chain reaction much larger than either West or Claire could predict? Perhaps this points to West being Kaito’s killer, which explains the lack of a second body at the crime scene. If this is the case, then it could be argued that West may be the son of one of the Twelve.

In another, a hand is holding a vial. Considering Bob’s work, this could be the “cure” that they’re testing on evolved humans to inhibit the powers. Alternatively, this could be the virus, which could wipe out most of the population according to the future Peter and Caitlin travel to. It’s likely the hand belongs to Bob and he may be killed in the lab, releasing the virus in the process.

A few other paintings follow this possible plague future. The first features two male figures in a jail like setting and a biohazard sign in the background. One of those men looks like Peter, except for a scar resembling that sign. The other guy is too vague; looks a little like Bela Lugosi in Dracula. Niki, as confirmed by producers, is seen in another painting pounding on a door. This could be a quarantine mandated by the releasing of the virus, leaving those with abilities persecuted similarly to the alternate timeline of “Five Years Gone”.

The penultimate painting is Mohinder firing a gun, pointed out towards the viewer of the painting. With the final painting being Bennet lying dead with a presumed bullet hole through one of his lenses, Mohinder could be Bennet’s killer. Considering the conflicts they’ve had over how they should deal with Molly, it could escalate when the conflict reaches a head.

Mohinder’s position as double agent was threatened when he brought Molly to The Company to help her in her comatose state. Now it goes further when faced with the idea of experimenting upon people without their consent. He can either maintain his cover and place Monica and others in danger or take a stand and possibly throw all their work bringing down The Company away. It seems that Mohinder gets lucky with Bob’s 180, but with Niki as his new partner, whose alter ego has no reservations crossing any moral lines, things could become very interesting.

At some point in the episode, Bob’s motivations change significantly. He goes from demanding Mohinder inject Monica with the “cure” to giving her an iPod loaded with action videos to train her and bringing her home. It’s likely this is connected to the threat of the Group of Twelve killer. Perhaps he’s hoping to do some good like Kaito did before his demise.

Hopefully they explain what happened to Peter during the four months in between seasons soon. So many theories have arisen that it is getting hard to keep it all clear. Now it is revealed that a man named Adam was involved with Peter. It’s likely that this Adam is Adam Monroe, whose name showed up on a file Bob had. Supplementary “Heroes” material confirms Adam as one of the twelve (one of the two unidentified men in the picture). Perhaps he is turning against the company to combat the threat of the virus assumedly in a way to make up for past sins like other characters. Adam could’ve been someone powerful enough to control Peter’s steps from a distance, leaving clues along the way. It’s just frustrating more hasn’t been revealed at this point.

The twist at the end certainly warrants some criticism. Peter and Caitlin getting transported to sometime in 2008 is just like Hiro’s first major time-space travel to NYC the day the bomb went off. Considering two characters have this ability, it’s not hard to believe it would happen occasionally. It was an effective method to show us what the stakes were, but to try it again in the second season could be seen as desperate. Not to mention the possibility that they’d spend a whole episode in this possible future reeks of ripping off “Five Years Gone”, which was itself an homage to the X-Men story “Days of Future Past”.

Days after this episode aired, the mini-series/spin-off “Origins” was canceled or at best, put on indefinite hiatus. Considering how much NBC hyped this as part of their 07-08 schedule, one could say that this is another instance of how badly “Heroes” has fallen in its sophomore year. The writers’ strike likely had some effect on this as well, but the diminished ratings for the season have probably more to do with why this project was scrapped. In the media, the lower ratings have been shown side by side with the critical backlash this season has been getting. Although I don’t think these episodes have been as horrible as some think, all these events must be taken seriously, as other viewers aren’t as patient. “Heroes” is going to have to step up in its game if they want to control the damage the first batch of episodes has caused the franchise before it takes the whole series down with it. However, the kind of slump “Heroes” is in can be turned around by one episode.

Overall Score: 7/10