Space: 1999 # 015 Doesn’t work. Too slow and too silly. A party...

Space: 1999 # 015

Doesn’t work. Too slow and too silly.

• A party of Alphans (that we’ve never met and consequently have no reason to care about) has disappeared. All the early scenes involve the regulars talking about them and then searching the planet for them. Talking and walking… for scene after scene after scene. Boring.
  
• John and Helena disappear from the narrative early on and the focus shifts to Alan and Sandra. This is a welcome change - as it is always good to see Alan at the forefront - but they accomplish nothing much, either. He’s brave, she’s scared, that’s about it.
  
• Eventually both Alan and Sandra are attacked (she’s kidnapped!) and we then begin to see what the story is about: the missing Alphans have been regressed to cavemen!
  
• There then follows a lot of grunting and screaming, to fill out the hour.
  
• The production values are superb, and there is a valiant attempt in the final scene to bring meaning and depth to proceedings, but this is a bad episode.
  

4/10

Made myself a couple of Space: 1999 wallpapers.

Made myself a couple of Space: 1999 wallpapers.

Space: 1999 # 016

Space: 1999 # 014

An interesting story, impressive visuals and two great guest star performances (Brian Blessed, John Shrapnel ). 9/10

Space: 1999 # 013

Space: 1999 # 012

Jeremy Kemp . Slow to get started, and very talky, but this is still a wonderfully bleak episode with humanity/Earth responsible for a lot of accidental death and destruction in the universe at large. Kemp is terrific and has a fascinating character to play. It’s a pity the story requires so many outrageous coincidences to make it work. First, the idea of the moon meeting Voyager 1. Second, the fact that the very science responsible for everything is on Moonbase Alpha. Ignoring those two factors, this is a smart and rewarding episode. 8/10

Space: 1999 # 011

The Last Sunset .

• The best part of this episode is the back-story, which has a great downbeat twist ending in which we learn exactly why the aliens gave the Alphans an atmosphere.


• The crash-landing storyline is fine, but much more generic and offers little outside what you would expect from this type of tale.


• The hero of this story is Helena Russell, who in the final minutes comes up with an inventive way to attract the attention of a passing Eagle.

8/10

Better Off Ted, The Good Wife, Hunter, Barney Miller, Space: 1999

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

05.00 Better Off Ted
05.30 The Good Wife
06.30 Hunter
07.30 Barney Miller
02.00 Space: 1999

Better Off Ted. Season 2, Episode 5. "The Great Repression" Sexual Harassment.

Lots of goodness here. As usual it's very funny, and - as usual - it's a dead-on satire on the corporate world. Andrea Anders has some great scenes in this one, running around sexually harassing everyone in sight. Delightful.

The Good Wife. Episode 11. "Infamy" Two cases: TV guy & a divorce.

Part of the fun of watching The Good Wife is sitting down and wondering what form this week's episode will take. No two episodes are structured the same, and this one is yet another deviation. Alicia takes more of a back seat than ever before, and all of the regulars get quality screentime. Will and Diane, who were ignored at the start of the season, are front and center for a lot of this episode. And it makes the show a better show, even though Alicia is still the character we care about most, because "The Good Wife" of the title isn't the only strong/interesting character on display. Will fascinates me. I like him, but I don't trust him.

This show always reminds me of The Guardian, but this one was even more like The Guardian than usual with Alicia being pulled off one case (one that meant a lot to her) and placed on another. Even worse, for Alicia, she wasn't needed on the other one. Not really. She was there for who she was, as a bargaining tool. And a very useful one, as it turned out. Great to see Zach Grenier and Jessica Hecht on the show, by the way, as they are two of my favourite performers. It was an interesting storyline. Firstly, on it's own merits, it was an interesting tale of a marriage coming to an end. Then, as part of the show's overall story arc, it was full of nuggets of interest. Finally, it was interesting to see Alicia being completely impotent in a storyline. She, as a person, really contributed nothing. She was being used by everybody at the table. Yet, much to our delight, she basically came away as the only winner.

All along I've loved the way this show has used Alicia's kids. Making them privy to information that Alicia does not have, and making them part of the conspiracy. This episode sets in motion the events that will bring that to an end, I fear. Alicia has been told that stuff has been posted to her apartment. She's asked one question about it. But I'm sure that that will not be the end of it.

Titus Welliver and Chris Noth get great screentime together in this one.

Hunter. Season 3, Episode 8. "Love, Hate and Sporty James" Witness to a killing.

Not much Hunter/McCall in this one, but Sporty carries the tale pretty well, there's a quick appearance from Jack Bannon and the story is very good.

It's one of those stories that Hunter does really, really well where the character behave in interesting ways and propel the events in unexpected ways. It's also an episode where we know more than our heroes, but they do a damn fine job of putting the pieces together.

When Sporty James (who is a semi-regular on the show) follows some hoods into an alley way he witnesses a murder and decides to make some money off the back of it. This says a lot about Sport and, indeed, a lot the world that he inhabits. As events unfold, we get to meet his girlfriend and a friend of his, trying to help his buddy by keeping his location a secret. It's an interesting world they inhabit, where everybody knows everybody and everybody knows somebody who is connected - somehow - to the world of crime. McCall even gets some good lines about it, as she drives around town, wondering who all these people are, where they come from and where they disappear back to?

Where indeed? One, at least, dies in the course of this story. Sporty sends his lady into the lair of the bad guy to make a deal for him and, next morning, her battered body is found in an alleyway. Nice work from Garrett Morris here, as Hunter and McCall take him the bad news of what's happened. Most of the time Sporty comes across as a one-dimensional supporting character but, in this tale, we really do get an insight into what makes him tick. The script doesn't judge him, just lays him bare. Flaws and all. He's greedy and selfish, doesn't really have much of a moral center, and his irresponsibility leads to the death of a woman. In the end of the tale, Hunter and McCall are sidelined and Sporty gets to go one-on-one with the mastermind bedhind everything. Usually 80s cop shows use moments like this as an excuse to have the hero show up and be the voice of morality that allows the wounded one to make the 'right choice' and lower their weapon before taking a lift. Not on Hunter. Here, as soon as Sporty gets the upper hand he shoots and kills the man who's been ordering deaths all along. The script allows just the right amount of weight afterwards, as Sporty thinks about what he has just done.

But he gets away with it. And, it is strongly implied, he gets away with a million dollars of the bad guy's money, too.

Barney Miller. Season 2, Episode 6. "The Arsonist"

Solid, unspectacular episode. Much is made of Wojo being late, from being out on a date, but nothing ever comes of it. Fish is depressed over his years on the police force. Much is made of that, too, but none of it goes anywhere. It just is.

One thing the episode does really well is paint a picture of the city. A store owner appears a couple of times and, we are told, his store is regularly robbed and vandalised. It's the price he pays for living/trading in New York City.

Space: 1999 Episode 10. "Alpha Child"

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Friends, Friday Night Lights, Defying Gravity, Legend Of The Seeker, The Office, Space: 1999, Black Beauty, Corner Gas

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

07.30 Friends
08.00 Friday Night Lights
09.00 Defying Gravity
10.00 Legend Of The Seeker
11.00 The Office
12.00 Space: 1999
02.00 Black Beauty
02.30 Corner Gas

Friends. Episode 10. "The One With The Monkey" New Year's Eve Party.

Ross gets a monkey (another signature element of the series) and Hank Azaria guests as a love interest for Phoebe.

More important, Maggie Wheeler returns as Janice. I love Janice and (for all the early seasons) thought she would eventually end up with Chandler and become a series regular. It didn't happen. They had better plans for Chandler, but I still remember Janice with fondness.

Friday Night Lights. Season 4, Episode 7. "In the Bag" Mindy spends some time in hospital. Expensive. Tami deals with an unwanted romantic advance. Vince might have a gun. Luke has to stay home from school to work on the farm. Landry phones Tyra.

A weak episode in which every obstacle that crops up is easily overcome. The Riggins brothers are only coming to terms with the hospital bill, when a solution falls into their laps. Luke is able to get one of the football team to help him out on the farm. Tami's problem disappears after one conversation.

It's all a bit too easy.

Defying Gravity. Episode 12. "Venus" Zoe and Donner make their final preparations. But the landing goes wrong...

Flashbacks reveal that Zoe did not make the cut. A big twist. And an example of the good storytelling of this show. We know she made it to the crew and - indeed - is all set to be the first human on Venus, but now we realise that there is more intrigue in the backstory. How she got back onto the programme is not revealed here, but is sure to help us understand some of the mystery behind what is happening on Earth in the present day.

Legend Of The Seeker. Episode 21. "Fever" Jensen and Darken Rahl.

Superb. On every level. Craig Parker gives his best-ever performance, showing us the truly devious side of Darken Rahl. Hell, there are times when I believed the lies he was spouting.

It's a clever and well-executed story, handing most of the screen time over to a guest star and a recurring cast member. But it pays great dividends.

Meanwhile, the stuff back at the camp raises all sorts of terrific moral questions, of the type you do not expect to find a show of this genre.

Superb. On every level.

The Office. Season 6, Episode 12. "Secret Santa" Michael vs. Phyllis for the coveted role of Santa.

The first half is awful, with Michael being a jerk. He relents somewhat becomes nice in the second half, but it's not a great episode.

Space: 1999 Episode 9. "Force of Life" A technician is taken over by a mysterious orb and wanders Moonbase Alpha taking life and energy wherever he goes.

Superb. Ian McShane makes a great guest star and this episode highlights much that is wonderful about the show.

#1. Koenig and the rest of our heroes have no understanding of what is happening and no control over it. They are at the mercy of space and all it's mysteries. Bergman offers theories, Helena offers theories, but they admit that they haven't a clue. And I like that. I like the epic feel that this kind of story bring to the show. It leaves you wondering, long after the credits, what might have been happening.

#2. The show looks beautiful. Absolutely stunning. This is evident in any episodes that showcase an alien landscape of some kind, but it is nonetheless true in episodes which are confined to Moonbase Alpha. The show looks sumptuous.

#3. Some of the visuals are deceptively simple. One of the best images of this episode (and, maybe, the series) is the sight of Anton Zoref (Ian McShane) stalking the corridors of Alpha with the lights all blinking out as he walks past. It's simple. But it works. Likewise, whenever Zoref goes into energy-draining mode they show this with soft focus and purple lights in McShane's face. Sounds weak, I know, but it really works.

#4. Faced with the unknown. Koenig's knee-jerk reaction is alway to try and kill it. At least, that's true when the unknown is somehow trying to kill them. Such as here. Survival is the main objective. This is not Star Trek and these characters do not have the luxury of trying to communicate. They have to try and live as long as possible. That's all there is to it.

#5. The show can be scary. The attacks on the victims (and on Helena) are actually quite scary. Using simple things like lighting and slow-motion, they show accomplishes a lot.

Black Beauty. Episode 4. "The Horse Thieves" Black Beauty is stolen.

With guest stars like Tony Doyle, Jim Norton and John Ringham the viewer is really spoiled in this one. It's also a very good story, which doesn't play out in the expected way. Two bumbling thieves successfully steal Black Beauty but have to return to the scene of the crime to retrieve a dropped knife. While there they hear that the hut that they have stashed Beauty in is about to blown up by the railway workers so, to avoid the needless death of an animal they genuinely admire, they step forward and tell everyone. Setting up a mad rush to the rescue.

It's a simple story that plays out in unexpected ways because the characters are well crafted.

Corner Gas. Season 5, Episode 16. "Coming Distractions" Davis and Brent each tell lies about seeing a movie with Hank, having promised to wait and see it with each other. Lacey is invited to join a group for older ladies, while Wanda sets out to deface Oscar's new sidewalk.

Now this is more like it! Back on form with a funny episode, where everybody gets some of the funny. The Hank storyline is the funniest, but they all work.

Highlight? Space: 1999 (superb)
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I Dream Of Jeannie, Friends, The Rockford Files, Space: 1999

Friday, November 27th, 2009

06.00 I Dream Of Jeannie
06.30 Friends
07.00 The Rockford Files
08.00 Space: 1999

I Dream Of Jeannie. Episode 1. "The Lady in the Bottle" Tony finds a genie.

Hilarious opening episode which quickly establishes the show's formula for laughs: Tony is forced to behave like a nutcase in front of his co-workers. The best/funniest example of this occurs when our hero gets frantic at the thought of having his garbage taken away. And the whole talking to the neighbour's barbecue smoke comes a close second.

Larry Hagman is superb as Tony, getting funnier the more frantic he gets. Barbara Eden is wonderful as Jeannie. Gorgeous and mischievous. She really owns the role, her body language is brimming with confidence (standing atop chairs with completely nonchalance) and she makes you believe from the get-go that she really is a magical being.

Friends. Episode 1. "The One Where Monica Gets a Roommate" Rachel arrives.

Some elements seem a bit forced (like the opening montage of conversations) but there is a spark here. Monica and Rachel are the only characters to get a proper storyline, and Matthew Perry gets all the best laughs.

The Rockford Files. Episode 5. "Exit Prentiss Carr" Rockford finds a murder scene, reports it to the police and they report finding a suicide...

What a great idea for a story! Jim knows the dead person was murdered, but he can't admit that he entered the hotel room before calling the police. He spends most of the episode fighting with the two cops on the case (who really hate him) and repeatedly questioning his own client (who is lying to him).

A treat from start to finish.

Space: 1999. Episode 8. "Guardian of Piri" Everyone leaves Alpha to live on Piri, with Koenig being the only one who smells a rat.

Unexceptional. Not as weak as the previous episode, but still a bit of a dud. Just an outer space adventure, with a very boring message. The visuals are superb, but there is nothing happening that is worth caring about. Too long for the material. Very weak.

And we never get adequate explanation for why Koenig is the only who doesn't fall under the spell.

Highlight? The Rockford Files (great idea for a story)
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Arrested Development, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, NCIS, The Beautiful Life, Space: 1999

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

06.30 Arrested Development
07.00 It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
07.30 NCIS
08.30 The Beautiful Life
01.00 Space: 1999

Arrested Development. Season 3, Episode 2. "For British Eyes Only" Michael goes to Wee Britain and meets Rita for the first time.

I have a real love/hate relationship with the Rita storyline, and the idea of Wee Britain. Rita is a one-note character that only really works the first time round (when you don't know her 'secret') and Wee Britain is a concept much too absurd for Arrested Development. It doesn't generate sufficent laughs to justify the leap of faith it takes to accept the place.

Bravo AD for trying something new and fresh, but better luck next time.

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Season 4, Episode 3. "America's Next Top Paddy's Billboard Model Contest"

One of the funniest-ever episode. This one is a treat.

In one plot thread Charlie and Dee set out to make some youtube videos. It starts out with Dee performing a series of (deliberately) unfunny characters. Some of this is painful to watch (and reminds me of what a lesser sitcom might try to pass off a funny), so Charlie comes to the rescue... with a lot of physical violence. Wonderful. Every time he punched Dee in the face with a ball (or, later, when kicked Dennis in the nuts) I laughed uncontrollably.

Meanwhile...

The guys in the bar held a modelling contest with Dennis trying desperately to win the Male Section. So, so, so funny.

NCIS. Season 5, Episode 15. "In the Zone"

Wonderful change-of-pace episode. Tony goes to Iraq. And the show devotes a (major) b-plot to fleshing out a minor recurring character.

The case-of-the-week was okay, but the character stuff (and the story that went with it) was Grade: A all the way.

The Beautiful Life. Episode 1. "Pilot"

Hey, I'm way outside the target demographic of a show about teen models, but if it was well-written and had interesting characters/stories I'd certainly be open to watching.

But, based on this opening episode, the show has nothing to recommend it.

Sara Paxton and Ben Hollingsworth have chemistry and are likable. I was charmed - to some degree - by their sweet romance, but bored by their characters: the only nice model in New York and the naive farm boy who stumbles into modelling by accident.

If the show was completely devoted to them I might consider watching episode 2. Maybe.

But, as it happens, the show has many other characters and all of them are really bland. The stories are bland and predictable, too. The 'big twist' here (that one of the models was selling drugs to an undercover cop, and would soon be arrested) was easy to see a mile off. Thus, I wasn't interested in anything that happened.

Jaime Murray (whom I adore) has a dreadful part, and - to be honest - kinda sucks at it.

The hero's dad is taken from TV's Big Book Of Unsupportive Dads and, when you look at their scenes together, you can't help but feel that the show isn't even trying.

I'm not particularly anxious to add a show to my viewing list that explores the world of teenage models in New York but, even if I was, this isn't the show to do that. Rather than knowing anything about models and their world, I feel that writers/producers have done their research by simply watching other shows/movies about models.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they have intimate knowledge of that milieu. Sadly, however, they don't convey that with this inept hour of television.

Space: 1999 Episode 7. "Missing Link" Koenig is taken by an alien scientist.

My least favourite episode of Season One is long, boring and talky. Koenig makes some inexplicable choices, too, with regard to staying with the aliens and leaving Alpha forever.

Best forgotten....

Highlight? It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (So, so, so funny)
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The Dead Zone, Space:1999

Tuesday, September 4th, 2007

11:00 The Dead Zone
12:00 Space: 1999

For the 8th episode of season three, The Dead Zone puts the Johnny-Sarah-Walt love-triangle front and centre. Johnny goes to a wedding and (through visions) finds out that the bride's first true-love - long believed dead - is actually alive and well, and will return to her. Johnny, Sarah and Walt wrestle with this information for about half of the episode, very aware of the parallels with their own situation: Johnny was in a coma for years, and Sarah gave up on him to marry Walt.

It's a great episode (after a run of weak ones) and it really packs an emotional punch. Not only with the three main characters that we know and love, but also with the guest characters. Best bit? The climax, as we wait to find out which man the bride has chosen to marry.

Six episodes into the first season and regulars of Space: 1999 find themselves back on Earth. Or, at least, a version of Earth. A strange, space phenomenon hurls the moon billions of light years back to where it started from: orbit of the planet Earth. But all is not as it seems, the phenomenon has also managed to duplicate the moon - and the other moon has arrived at Earth 5 years earlier.

What follows is a spooky episode, with lots of silent action early on, as guest star Judy Geeson gets badly affected by the time-warp duplication thing (or whatever it is) and has some creepy nightmares. There's a goofy line of dialogue at one point, indicating that her character now has... "two brains". Sigh. Best ignored. However, apart from that snippet of nonsense, this is a strong episode. Space: 1999 works best when it showcases the regulars as being at the mercy of a crazy, cruel universe that they don't understand. When episodes tell this type of story (as they frequently do) the result can sometimes be quite profound. Or, as in this case, a lot of fun to watch. We get a fast-paced script, a deserted Moonbase Alpha, duplicates of most of the regulars, and a downbeat ending. Nobody in it understands what is going on. They merely try to survive it. And it's good TV.