Sanctuary, season 1
Sep. 5th, 2011 02:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakDriven by the wish to read stories by two friends of mine curiosity, as I found the premise intriguing, I just finished the first season of this show. Overall: likeable. Far more so than the first season of Supernatural (aka the only SPN one I watched), with which it shares some X-Files similarities as well as the use of urban myths. One key difference, of course, is that instead of two boys driving around in a car in an ultra masculine cosmos, you have a team led by a woman (I had seen Amanda Tapping before, in the all of three SG-1 episodes I watched, and I must say I prefer her as a brunette which she is in Sanctuary) and the idea of coexistence between various species writ large.
Mind you: every time Will is in awe of Helen's age the Highlander fan in me is amused because she's from the mid-19th century, which makes her a young 'un not just in HL but most fictional realms where you find Immortals. I do appreciate he asks her whether she watched the sun rise with the Beatles, though. (Will's idea of ancient history, clearly. *g*)
The show spends a few episodes so so (not bad, just nothing outstanding) and then kicks into gear with a vengeance when the show mythology of the Five is revealed, and we meet Nikola Tesla, last seen by me as embodied by David Bowie in The Prestige and now presented as a vampire. I could understand his popularity (which I was aware of via fannish osmosis) at once: he's amusing, snarky, and his ego has some really good foundations to have. By the time I reached the finale, I was determined I would keep watching.
Mixed feelings about: John Druitt, aka Jack the Ripper. Between Alan Moore and various adaptions of the Ripper tale, I know some gory and stomach turning details of the Ripper murders, and so the idea of a real life serial killer getting redeemed the "aliens blood madness made him do it" way makes me somewhat uneasy. It's not that I object to fictional versions of Jack the Ripper in general. Hello, Sebastian of Babylon 5 fame! But the difference is that Sebastian isn't presented as having done what he did for reasons beyond his control, and also the fact the Vorlons use him is a pointed foreshadowing of the revelation two seasons later that they're really not any better than the Shadows. Moreover, on a purely pragmatic level, it doesn't help John is presented as Helen's great love (other than her cause), and well, so far he's the least interesting of the Five; other than his serial killer record, he has nothing distinguishable going for him. Yet in order to understand why Helen (and James Watson) felt so much for him, it would help undestanding what they saw in him pre-madness to begin with. And even for a fantasy show, the plot device that makes Ashley John's daughter as well as Helen's - Helen held back pregnancy for a century and then decided to give it a go, did I get that right? - is incredibly lame. Methinks they should have decided between the obviously competing wishes to on the one hand let Ashley be a present-day modern girl (i.e. someone born in the late 20th century, the better to contrast her with Helen) and on the other hand have her be the daughter of John Druitt as well. Have it one way or the other, but not both.
Highlander reunion times: Jim Byrnes is always a welcome sight, but alas the episode he was in was exceedingly stupid (well, I was warned to leave it out, but it wanted to see Jim Byrnes again). Also the premise that brought his character into play. Otoh, Peter Wingfield had a good part and good episodes (he was far better used here than in Caprica), and turns out to have aged really well. (Speaking of the BSGverse, I was glad to see Dee again, but alas her actress was only in the pilot.)
Borrowed plot is borrowed: either Will Zimmerman, Ashley or Henry should be familiar with Tribbles, Gremlins or both. I don't buy the obvious point about the Nubbins didn't occur to any of them.
Acting showcase is nifty: the submarine episode, obviously. You know you trust your (fellow) actors when you dare to include a two persons episode in the first season. I like how they handle the whole Helen and Will relationship in general. She's not solely his mentor nor exactly his mother replacement but something in between, plus he's not unaware she's an attractive woman but that's not what the relationship is about.
Seriously?: Claire - played by a young attractive white actress - feeling like an unaccepted outcast because of her ability to go invisible. This is on a level with model-type actresses putting on glasses to signal they're supposed to look dowdy. I'd buy it if she was invisible the entire time, of course - there is a metaphor and a first season of Buffy episode to demonstrate that - but not as she is presented. Otherwise I appreciate the addition of another female cast member.
And lastly: making the Cabale's spokesperson an evil overlady instead of an overlord was well done as well. Go, show!
Mind you: every time Will is in awe of Helen's age the Highlander fan in me is amused because she's from the mid-19th century, which makes her a young 'un not just in HL but most fictional realms where you find Immortals. I do appreciate he asks her whether she watched the sun rise with the Beatles, though. (Will's idea of ancient history, clearly. *g*)
The show spends a few episodes so so (not bad, just nothing outstanding) and then kicks into gear with a vengeance when the show mythology of the Five is revealed, and we meet Nikola Tesla, last seen by me as embodied by David Bowie in The Prestige and now presented as a vampire. I could understand his popularity (which I was aware of via fannish osmosis) at once: he's amusing, snarky, and his ego has some really good foundations to have. By the time I reached the finale, I was determined I would keep watching.
Mixed feelings about: John Druitt, aka Jack the Ripper. Between Alan Moore and various adaptions of the Ripper tale, I know some gory and stomach turning details of the Ripper murders, and so the idea of a real life serial killer getting redeemed the "
Highlander reunion times: Jim Byrnes is always a welcome sight, but alas the episode he was in was exceedingly stupid (well, I was warned to leave it out, but it wanted to see Jim Byrnes again). Also the premise that brought his character into play. Otoh, Peter Wingfield had a good part and good episodes (he was far better used here than in Caprica), and turns out to have aged really well. (Speaking of the BSGverse, I was glad to see Dee again, but alas her actress was only in the pilot.)
Borrowed plot is borrowed: either Will Zimmerman, Ashley or Henry should be familiar with Tribbles, Gremlins or both. I don't buy the obvious point about the Nubbins didn't occur to any of them.
Acting showcase is nifty: the submarine episode, obviously. You know you trust your (fellow) actors when you dare to include a two persons episode in the first season. I like how they handle the whole Helen and Will relationship in general. She's not solely his mentor nor exactly his mother replacement but something in between, plus he's not unaware she's an attractive woman but that's not what the relationship is about.
Seriously?: Claire - played by a young attractive white actress - feeling like an unaccepted outcast because of her ability to go invisible. This is on a level with model-type actresses putting on glasses to signal they're supposed to look dowdy. I'd buy it if she was invisible the entire time, of course - there is a metaphor and a first season of Buffy episode to demonstrate that - but not as she is presented. Otherwise I appreciate the addition of another female cast member.
And lastly: making the Cabale's spokesperson an evil overlady instead of an overlord was well done as well. Go, show!
no subject
Date: 2011-09-05 12:55 pm (UTC)(Seasons 2 and 3 of Supernatural do have some terrific recurring female characters, but other things about the show are so awful - and get worse and worse until I quit at the start of Season 5 - that I can't recommend you watch it!)
no subject
Date: 2011-09-05 01:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-05 01:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-05 07:07 pm (UTC)But it isn't a world I focus on. I don't need to account for inconsistencies or research backgrounds. It's just a show. If I miss it when it's on, I miss it. This is in large part due to the special effects, which are often too gory for me. I can deal with the show better if I listen to it rather than watch it. So overall, the show gets a C, maybe a C+.
And I may be the only person watching who not only doesn't ship any of the three male leads but who finds Wincest squicky and who has serious problems both with J2 and angel sex. Which, as far as I can tell, is 99.9% of what fans write. Bor-RING.
Why did it make you feel physically ill when you watched it?
no subject
Date: 2011-09-05 03:12 pm (UTC)Yes, exactly, and that's why I feel very very divided on the use of him as a character.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-05 02:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-05 03:10 pm (UTC)Anyway, there is another difference, and that's the basic approach: the title is a motto, after all, i.e. less "if it's alien, it's ours" and more "if you're non-standard human, you're welcome here, but try to harm people of any species and we'll make that stay limited to a confined area". Also there is a dash Old School League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in the backstory of several characters.