Binge Watch: Space 1999 Edition

My recent efforts to catch up with the science fiction television programming I watched in my youth (see Binge Watch: Classic Galactica Edition) recently led to me acquire a subscription to Hulu Plus, the only streaming content service (that I am aware of) that offered episodes of Space 1999, an old British made TV series from the 1970s. There were two season of Space 1999, for a total of 48 episodes, all of which I have managed to watch since November of last year.

Space 1999 is a series about a multination operated lunar base (Moonbase Alpha) that gets cut off from Earth when the nuclear waste stored on the moon ignites and pushes the satellite out of Earth’s orbit. Somehow this burst of energy does not destroy the moon, and yet is powerful enough to send it on a trajectory that leads it past distant solar systems to encounter a variety of alien races and extra lunar threats. Leading the Alphans is Base Commander John Koenig (Martin Landau), Medical Doctor Helena Russell (Barbara Bain) and Doctor Victor Bergman (Barry Morse), who is the resident know-it-all scientist.

If one looks past the ridiculousness of the shows premise, one could have fun watching Space 1999. But given the quality of the writing for many of the episodes that would only be possible occasionally. The scripts are generally awful and the acting frequently worse. Everyone is just so overwrought most of the time, and many of the episodes inject a lot of new age nonsense that is pointless and confusing. The best thing about the series is the production design. The moon base sets in general have a very realistic feel, as do the exterior models and the Eagle spacecraft. One could imagine Eagles actually operating on the moon. Many of the first season characters (Alan Carter, Sandra Benes, Paul Morrow) also had a lot of potential. I think they could have been truly interesting given competent writers.

Season two saw a lot of changes, in characters, theme music and the style of the series, but remained hampered by the lack of coherent or entertaining storytelling. Morse’s Dr. Bergman was replaced by Maya, a Psychon shape-shifter played by Catherine Schell. Schell was probably the best actor on the set, (as Morse had been in the first season) but the writing never truly explored all of the potential of her character. Another new character, Head of Security Tony Verdeschi (Tony Anholt) also could have been interesting, if the writers had ever found a way to make him more than a series of Italian stereotypes.

Although the series has a certain level of nostalgia value, for those of us who would watch anything that was science fiction in the 1970s, I can’t recommend watching much more than the pilot, and that mostly just to see the production design. Most of the rest of the episodes just take the potential of an interesting premise and waste it.

Binge Watch: Classic Galactica Edition

At the length of a mere 24 episodes, the first and last season of the late 1970’s space opera, Battlestar Galactica, can easily be watched over the course of an average weekend. Although some might like to argue that there WAS a second season of the series, the dismal Galactica 1980 follow-up, with the exception of a single episode most Galactica fans would rather forget that ever happened. Was that one of the first reboots in what now is a reboot happy industry? If so, the planned Battlestar Galactica movie would make this series one of the most rebooted properties in Hollywood history.

Battlestar Galactica is the story of an advanced human civilization that is attacked and all but destroyed by antagonistic machines, the Cylons. Escaping complete annihilation is a single warship, the Battlestar Galactica, which leads a ragtag fugitive fleet of 220 civilian spaceships in search of a new home on the mythical 13th colony of Earth. Leading the way is the wise Commander Adama, his stalwart son Captain Apollo and the obligatory scoundrel, Lieutenant Starbuck. With the Cylons in pursuit, and a universe full of unknowns ahead of them, the Galactica and her crew make their way across the cosmos.

There is always a certain danger in revisiting something that you enjoyed in your youth, especially something that stands firmly in the shadow of a superior work, such as the mid 2000’s SyFy (still called the Sci-Fi Channel then) reboot of this show. But Battlestar Galactica holds up better than I expected. Yes there were a few too many “warrior out on patrol” gets lost/captured/etc. episodes, and yes for some reason Starbuck had to at one time or another find his father, get accused of murder and chase after a lost love, and yes there was the kid Boxey and that stupid mechanical dog (never called a dog), but between these annoyances and weak episodes there were moments when this series shined. These often involved multipart episodes that played out as small movies. The Annihilation of the Colonies Saga. The Kobol Saga. The Pegasus Saga. The War of the Gods Saga. The Terra Saga. Sure show producer Glen Larson used these sagas to advance his own paranoid political agenda (the Cylons and the Eastern Alliance being not so subtle metaphors for the Soviet Union), but a somewhat blatant use of the Good vs. Evil paradigm is not uncommon in the space opera genre. There were also at least two above average stand-alone episodes, Fire in Space and The Hand of God.

Yes this was before the golden age of the cable TV drama and the special effects industry was still using plastic models photographed against blue screens (and would recycle those shots continuously), but watching the right episodes of classic Battlestar Galactica can still be enormously entertaining. B

Binge Watch: Mad Men (Season Six) Edition

Trying to catch up on Mad Men before the season seven premiere on April 13th has not been easy given AMC’s scheduling of season six episodes in advance of that premiere. So far I’ve made it as far as episode six watching DVR recordings of early Sunday morning rebroadcasts. Don Draper and his cohort of Madison Avenue ad men (and women) enter season six a little worn out by the events of 1960s, and the series has yet to recover from the failures of season five or recapture the greatness of earlier episodes.

We start season six in Hawaii, paradise as seen through the cynical and calculated eyes of Don Draper (John Hamm). Wife Megan (Jessica Paré), having gained fame as a soap opera star, enjoys Hawaii more than Don, who is really there on business. Roger’s (John Slattery) mother dies. Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) has problems adjusting to her position of power at rival firm Cutler, Gleason and Chaough. Don and Megan arrive back in New York and Don, finding his crutch alcohol more of a stumbling block than an aid, makes a fool of himself at Roger’s mother's funeral. He is also having an affair with neighbor Silvia (Linda Cardellini). That’s just the first episode of the season.

Mad Men is a show about a narcissistic asshole, and as such wears a little thin after a while. Don’s and Pete’s affairs with other women might have been interesting three or four season ago, but now it’s just more of the same, and hardly revealing or compelling. Cardellini is a fine actress, and she may do something interesting with the role by the end of the season, but so far I’m not that interested. We also get more flashbacks to Don’s crappy childhood, but again nothing really revealing or compelling. Same old same old. The show is at its best when dealing with the creative side of the ad business or the historic events of the 1960s. The Tet Offensive. The MLK and RFK assassinations. Of course season six of Mad Men is still better than most other programs on television, it’s just not as good as it was in earlier seasons.

Binge Watch: Torchwood: Miracle Day Edition

Miracle Day, the latest season of the Doctor Who spinoff series Torchwood, brings the remainder of the Torchwood Team, Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) and Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), together with a couple of CIA agents (Mekhi Phifer and Alexa Havins) to solve the mystery of the end of death, the sudden inability of any person on earth to die. The influence of American co-producer, Starz Originals, is evident in the inclusion of the CIA protagonists and extensive use of locations in the United States. It is also evident in the level of violence this season brings to the screen; an appropriate amount, I suppose, for an American cable network.

The first notice of the phenomenon is the failed execution of pedophile and child murderer Oswald Danes (Bill Pullman). As hospitals around the globe fail to record any deaths during the first 24-hour period, it becomes clear that the world has changed dramatically. The downside of the end of death becomes obvious soon enough, as people who are horrendously injured (even mostly disintegrated by a bomb) continue to live and be conscious. And the inevitable problems of limited medical and nutritional resources soon need to be dealt with. Democratic governments and capitalist economies eventually crumble under the strain. Although still living, many people are classified as ‘Category One,’ and sent to be disposed of in Overflow Camps.

Miracle Day is a big story, as big as one might expect from a story about the end of death. It’s also a bit convoluted, and sometimes it seems as if the writers were trying to fill the ten hours with new events and characters. Although he does play something of a crucial role in the resolution of the story, I could see the whole thing running without the inclusion of Danes. Pullman is excellent in the role, but the subplot seems rather superfluous. The other new characters are interesting enough, even if they have to operate in the shadow of the chemistry between Barrowman and Myles.  The final resolution, as is often typical in the Doctor Who universe, has elements of the absurd, although the sacrifices made by some of the characters provide for a powerful ending. B+

Binge Watch: House of Cards (Season Two) Edition

There are few series out there that almost demand one watch as many episodes in a row as possible. Netflix’s political drama, House of Cards, is one of them. Like other programs produced by web-based services (Netflix, Amazon) these series do not release episodes on a weekly schedule, but all at once as an entire season. And when they are as compelling as season two of House of Cards, its damned hard to turn your eyes away and look at something else until you’re done.

House of Cards follows the personal and political machinations of Washington, DC power couple Frank and Claire Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. At the start of the series Frank is an ambitious Congressman from South Carolina. Although he holds a very powerful position in the House Leadership as Majority Whip, he feels slighted by the new President’s failure to appoint him as Secretary of State, a position that would have served both his and his wife’s ambitions. Franks spends the remainder of Season One manipulating his way into the vice-presidency.

Although not every episode of the first season was as compelling as the overall series, episode one of season two hits the ground running. I spent half the episode convinced that Claire was the more ruthless half of the Underwood couple; until Frank did something so shocking and unexpected that I thought at first it must be a dream sequence. Sure it was an inevitable action, considering everything Frank had done in the past, but was so unexpected in time and manner as to be truly shocking, something rare in television.

For the remainder of the season Frank and Claire continue their manipulations of people and events, advancing their own ambitions and dealing with the setbacks and obstacles that continue to get in their way. Frank’s efforts to undermine Raymond Tusk’s (Gerald McRaney) influence over President Walker (Michel Gill) results in a trade war with China and an energy crisis, both events that ultimately benefit Frank’s pursuit of power.

A strong cast portrays the supporting characters, some of who fall victim to the Underwood’s ambitions and others who benefit from them. I’m not sure if the Rachel Posner subplot (the call girl who was involved with Rep. Peter Russo in season one) was more than just pointless filler, although the resolution of that story involved Frank’s Chief of Staff Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) in a way that will definitely have an impact on season three. And given where this season ended, there has to be a season three. House of Cards is possibly the best TV show not on television.

Binge Watch: Dexter (Season Seven & Eight) Edition

Season seven and eight of Dexter proved to be fairly easy to watch over most of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend and I had finished off the last six episodes by the following Saturday.  If you have not yet seen these episodes (or the series as a whole) and wish to avoid spoilers you should probably not read any further in this post.

The last two seasons focused on Debra Morgan’s awareness of and complicity in the crimes of her brother. This called for actress Jennifer Carpenter to have an even greater involvement in the series, and based on my previous comments regarding her talents as an actress, this was clearly a problem. I may have to reassess whether or not my problems with this character are related to the actress’ performance or the way the character was written. I’m pretty sure, based on the way they tied up her story line, that the writers hated Debra Morgan.

These seasons also featured Hannah McKay  (Yvonne Strahovski) as Dexter’s latest love interest, who was little more than a poor shadow of Rita (Julie Benz) and Lumen (Julia Stiles). As others have pointed out it seems as if Hannah was shoehorned into the last season to give Dexter the possibility of a happy ending, a new distraction for him to deal with and something for him to make a noble sacrifice over at the very end. And the last scene of the series, the reveal that Dexter was still alive and working in the timber industry (in Portland?) was rather pointless. Dexter is no better off alive than he would have been having died in the storm aboard the Slice of Life (his boat). 

Although not quite as good a series as I was led to believe, Dexter is clearly entertaining and compelling television. For those with the stomach to deal with the blood and the darkness, it is an excellent way to spend a free afternoon.

Binge Watch: Dexter (Season Five) Edition

Along with seasons six through eight, Dexter’s fifth season recently became available on Netflix. The Showtime series about murderer murdering sociopath Dexter Morgan took quite the turn at the end of the fourth season with the killing of Dexter’s wife, Rita, and season five has been dealing with the repercussions of that event. Having binged on the first four seasons in the Fall of 2013, I found the show compelling, but not as high quality a series as I was led to believe. To me the “Dexter has a new serial killer mentor/mentee” routine was getting kind of repetitive. And Jennifer Carpenter has to be one of worst actresses in the world. Never for a minute do I believe her as a homicide detective. Jimmy Smits run as Miguel Prado in season three was also less than impressive and even though John Lithgow as Arthur Mitchell raised the acting bar considerably for the series, with exception of Rita’s demise, season four didn't really break any new ground.

The fifth season has tried to shake up the formula somewhat, based on what I've seen so far. The focus of Dexter’s homicidal impulses has been a single group of men who committed a series of savage torture/rape/murders. Dexter becomes aware of this crime after killing one of the men and freeing the last of their captives, Lumen Pierce (Julia Stiles). There is a subplot involving a Latin American murder cult that features decapitation and the removal of people’s eyes and tongues. (Hey, if you don’t want to watch a story about horrible things happening to people, why are you watching Dexter?) Yes, Dexter’s relationship with Lumen does take on the same mentor characteristics seen in the first four seasons, but at least there is an element of righteous vindication in her actions. Julia Stiles also gives one of the series best performances. The name Lumen is a bit heavy handed, and I’m not sure what they are trying to say about darkness or Dexter’s dark passenger by essentially naming his latest associate ‘light’. As of this posting, Season Five has proven to be at least as good as the preceding three, if not quite as good as the first. But of course, a poor ending can ruin any story, and that remains to be seen.

Binge Watch: Once Upon a Time Edition

Honestly, this was the last series that I expected to revisit through binge watching on Netflix, especially after what I considered to be a rather lackluster 1st half for season three. But the reset the curse storyline that emerged in the mid-season finale inspired me to re-familiarize myself with how the story originally developed in Season One. Now OUAT is not Breaking Bad/Mad Men/Game of Thrones quality television, but it has remained compelling enough to for me continue watching through the third season. The decline in quality is not on par with Heroes, which declined rapidly through the 2nd season. Strong performances by Robert Carlyle, Lana Parilla, Jennifer Morrison and Ginnifer Goodwin have offset script logic and continuity problems that have emerged. The rules of magic often seem to be rather haphazardly applied, and the decision to create so many familial connections between the different characters borders on the absurd. The first season had the whole question of Emma Swan’s (Morrison) ability to believe in the curse and magical realms, not to mention the question of whether or not she would be able to fulfill her prophesied role of breaking the curse, to generate dramatic tension. One gets the impression that they have reset the curse for exactly that reason, to bring back that suspense. Let’s hope they do something more interesting than just retelling that story. Perhaps Swan will regain her memories of Storybrooke rather quickly and it will be Henry (Jared Gilmore) who needs convincing that there is a curse and that he is the key to breaking it.