Monday, 26 April 2010

The Fifth Race

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S2 (The Fifth Race)

It's difficult to appreciate the magnitude of much that happens in this one since it potentially changes quite a lot and introduces more of the familiar pieces that would make up the series as it progressed. To begin with there are some nice references to 'The Torment of Tantalus', with the knowledge found on Ernest's world and that Daniel had to abandon, finally rediscovered. So good job he didn't sacrifice all to stay behind! As O'Neill takes on the database of the ancients (I remember the wall devices that grab your head) there's a bit of comedy gold, but it soon turns into a bit of a plodder. Not to say the revelations aren't interesting, they are, but it's getting there that seems to take a long time. I actually wondered if this was a special, longer episode which doesn't say much for the pace of the story.

The main thing is that they discover how to unlock gates outside the Goa'uld system which could lead to further developments (and I assume is what led to the spinoff TV series'). Or do they? The Asgaard representatives note that humanity isn't ready for the level of information Jack unlocked, so I'm not sure if that means the 8th chevron will be coming into play or not. I guess if it did it would just mean non-human worlds since they would be places the Goa'uld hadn't been to and taken their human slaves. In a way it's a little sad that so many questions have been answered as I love the fact that in the first season they're flying blind, stumbling round the galaxy without a proper inkling of what it means, and now we discover that humans may be the 'fifth race' that the good old aliens will want to join them as guardians of the galaxy eventually.

Of course more information is better than none and it puts things on Earth in perspective, with governments and wars, while this incredible gateway to untold knowledge is kept secretly guarded. I suppose it was clever to tie the typical grey aliens into 'real' life where people think they've been abducted, etc (even if it is craziness), and I'm sure people thought it was wonderful that these aliens are here to rescue us from ourselves, etc (even if it is craziness), but I always felt they looked rather awkward and immobile, much too puppet-like. Sure, the translucent skin and glassy eyes were nice, but they couldn't be real enough compared with a human prosthetic. Then again, they mention the Nox (sweetly ironic that they turn out to be one of the four important races!), who looked a bit silly too. I'm not sure what the Furlings are, the other race mentioned with the Nox, Asgaard and ancients, but they bring to mind Ewoks!

The new, expanded effect of the wormhole journey brought back memories, and I had the impression of seeing this episode before. I recognised many parts of it such as the ancients head device and someone meeting a whole collection of Asgaard, but I'm not sure if those memories come from this or other episodes (I'm sure it was Daniel who got his head stuck in a head grabber for example). Regardless, it leaves the series wide open, which it must have been designed to do, answers a few questions (except 'where is the guy with glasses who used to operate the gate computer?'!), and encourages further viewing, even if it's not that good an episode in and of itself.

**

Prophecy

DVD, Voyager S7 (Prophecy)

It was only two episodes ago that we found out B'Elanna was pregnant and already we've got a story from it. You'd think a ship full of Klingons would be more fun, but a lot of the episode falls a bit flat. These Klingons are neither the worthy allies of 'DS9' or the wily villains of the Original Series and films, but a little-developed strain of Klingon-alikes who are here and then gone by the end of the episode. Wouldn't the last half of the season have been more dramatic with a whole society of these aliens aboard? We could have had the majority settling on a planet, and maybe some could join up with other aliens over the episodes, but to have a contingent of the warriors aboard, to get to know them and see Voyager through new eyes unfamiliar with the 23rd Century alliance or 24th Century advancements, like travellers out of time was an opportunity missed, I feel.

The writers probably wanted the chance to write an episode about Klingons because they're a staple of all Treks and Voyager so rarely gets the chance to use them, but they do fall into the trap of making them look a bit one-note. More thought could have gone into the sub-plots too - Harry Kim doing his duties round the ship by crawling through Jeffries tubes, and Paris training for the fight with T'Greth could have been much bigger, and if the Klingons had stayed aboard, would have worked as significant B-plots for subsequent episodes. As it stands they're amusing, but rushed. Tuvok forced to share quarters with Neelix was another unexplored gem that was very reminiscent of the kinds of stories between the two in the early seasons. I imagine after a while he would have voluntarily given his quarters to the Talaxian and moved into a cargo bay or some niche at the bottom of the ship.

The cargo bay shot of all those Klingons established the large number visually and I'm not sure if they were all real or whether CGI was used, but all other scenes with numbers of Klingons continued the impression that there were a lot. For the excitement when some of the Klingons attempt a take over (I'm sure Chakotay would have taken more than a single blow to be decked on the transporter pad, and as for the bridge crew... Janeway and Paris were the only two fighting back - I hope the other Starfleet people were severely reprimanded for being cowards!), and for the realisation at the end as the scales fall away and we see that B'Elanna's unborn child has proved to be a saviour to the Klingon group after all, allows the episode to hold up as a good watch. It was also a wonderful opportunity to see an old D7 cruiser, and I liked the baby mobile with tiny models of Voyager, a Klingon cruiser and a Bird of Prey. I would still, however, hold with my original statement that a ship full of Klingons should have been more fun.

***

Monday, 19 April 2010

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S2 (A Matter of Time)

A couple of things were missing from this. Well, three if you count Dr. Jackson who only makes a cameo at the end, but specifically when the doughnuts came into it and Carter was offered one I was expecting her to have some kind of eureka moment and be inspired to come up with a plan. The other thing I was expecting was for O'Neill to forgive his former friend Cromwell before he got sucked away, or at least pay off the subplot that was created. Maybe they needed to fill some time and that was why the scenes with the two of them were written?

Time was clearly the operative word, and the concept was a good one. The series doesn't often do heavy sci-fi, but they pulled this one off well - often it's more about the soldier antics and dodging aliens, but the time moving at different speeds relative to the distance from the Stargate was interesting, with Hammond coming and going after flying across the country among the illustrations of the phenomenon. Major Davis got to make his appearance, Siler got to be there working away, on hand as usual to help fix things, and there were very special effects with the horizontal abseil towards the gate, all much fun. But why wasn't Daniel included? Maybe Michael Shanks booked a holiday that week.

***

Repentance

DVD, Voyager S7 (Repentance)

Exceptionally well directed by Mike Vejar this begins energetically, full of hand held cameras and edgy shots, but becomes a strong commentary on the death sentence. For America where many states have the death penalty the punishment is probably acceptable, but in the 24th Century of 'Star Trek' even a few years of incarceration is considered harsh in many cases, and generally criminality is considered a form of mental illness, at least among human offenders. It becomes a different matter when the judicial system is an alien one, and yet again the Prime Directive prohibits involvement.

You could look at the story as being simplistically against execution, but there are subtleties to it. FJ Rio, excellent as Muniz in 'DS9', plays one of the alien prisoners and is a case of appearances being deceiving. He at first seems innocent of the crime (and he may well be, we don't know either way for sure), but when the chance arises he's willing to kill and take advantage as well as any of them, hardly the sign of a penitent man. Iko, however, is portrayed as a victim of his own impulses, in the same way that many criminals have been shown to be, as early as the Original Series' 'Dagger of The Mind'.

That the treatment of the Doctor could cure him was a surprise to them, and I think the moral of the tale was that, while those that commit crime should be punished, the events surrounding them should be examined, and if it was possible to change people like that, then it should be attempted. On the more frivolous observations I really liked the design of the aliens, and particularly their uniforms, with the little lights on the front. The story successfully brings us round to caring about what happens to Iko, just as he is brought round to accepting the punishment for his actions, but running parallel is Seven's own guilt, and to handle the depths of a character while putting out a thoughtful story, well presented, and one in the true spirit of Trek's tradition of social commentary is to be applauded. My only suggestion is that it might have benefited from more of Paris' experiences as an offender, although it does crop up briefly, although then it could have become typical of other episodes that have focused on him.

****

Manhunt

DVD, TNG S2 (Manhunt)

Lots of fun things from Season 1 make their return, including actually seeing the planet Pacifica (mentioned in 'Conspiracy'), if only from space; Picard's chance to revisit the Dixon Hill holoprogram; and the chaotic Lwaxana Troi rampaging through the ship! It wasn't just old favourites, as we have a couple of new and very alien aliens right from the off in the Antedians. It was very rude of Wesley to comment on their food and interfere with it - they may have been in a catatonic state, but they were standing right there! And I always thought Wes was such a polite boy... When O'Brien's ordered to 'store' the aliens I assumed it was going to be in the transporter buffer like some kind of handy and infinite cupboard, but disappointingly they were only moved off the platform. The security guards carrying them off the pad would have been an interesting scene to see, unless they were simply beamed there.

I do love the long-frocked dress uniforms so it's always a pleasure to see those. They have such a historical design to them, paying homage to the sea captains of old. The main feature of the episode is the return of Captain Picard's personal nemesis Mrs. Troi. Many of the same jokes get another outing here, from her comments pretending to hear Picard's 'naughty' thoughts, the heavy suitcase (this time Riker's suckered into carrying it!), and Mr. Homn's alcoholic capacity. Lwaxana always precipitates funny scenes with her good-humoured, but disrespectful comments. And this time she's even more unpredictable, suffering from her condition, as she is. It must have been that condition which allowed her to see a holodeck character as real, when she must surely know what a holodeck is.

It's fascinating to see Picard chop and change the program at will, like playing with the parameters of a computer game, and is something we almost never see. I wonder why he didn't change the program to something more relaxing like the horseriding in the wooded area seen in 'Pen Pals'. Instead he tries to make do with the parameters of the Dixon Hill world. Data's enthusiasm for the program was sadly misplaced as he doesn't get to do much, but it was fun to see him as the 'South American' again!

Picard is much more able to deal with Lwaxana, or at least he's developed an art for circumventing her, much as his dealings with Q have become a little less naive. The man's learning. It was a shame we didn't get to see how LaForge dealt with the overzealous Mrs. Troi on this occasion. A nice touch was seen in the casting: the same actress was brought back as Hill's secretary from 'The Big Goodbye' and we also see the first role for Robert O'Reilly, later to be one of best known Klingons, but here a crazy-eyed scar-faced human holocharacter. And they bring in a celebrity in rocker Mick Fleetwood, but don't take advantage of the opportunity as he's never seen under all the makeup! The publicity department wouldn't allow it nowadays. At least when DS9 brought Iggy Pop into 'The Magnificent Ferengi' he had a more substantial and visual role.

***

Sherlock Holmes Faces Death

DVD, Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943) film

I remembered this one quite well, although I couldn't remember who the murderer actually was. It's certainly an atmospheric tale, with a collection of strange characters, a forbidding setting and ancient rituals, interpersonal conflicts boiling under the surface and a bit of humour too. I wasn't convinced the culprit was doing it all to eventually marry the girl as she'd never have taken him, and he'd have had to murder her fiancee. Not that he wasn't above killing for the slightest inclination, and his cold reaction to Holmes' probing showed how callous and hardened he was.

While the eerie lighting and good use of the storm and lightning made the brooding impression of danger more vivid, the direction of the film took away from it sometimes. A couple of times when there were revelations or shock moments the scene faded far too early before we have a chance for the information to sink in or to see the character's response to it. There were things to appreciate, such as the tame raven, the chess analogy, the secret passages, and especially the humour generated by Lestrade's interventions. One moment he's lecturing Holmes on motive, then when he can't see a motive he says it doesn't matter! Getting stuck in the passages served him right, and the antagonism between him and Watson in particular was quite stark.

Holmes and Watson both looked much more professional and true to their literary form, Holmes' unruly hair tamed for a change, and the Doctor even gets to be the one in charge, bringing in Holmes and introducing him when usually it would he who is dragged into things by his detective friend. From the name I realised this was based on 'The Musgrave Ritual' and I vaguely remember reading about Holmes working out where some treasure trove or something lay, but I'm not sure how close this was to the original story. Even so, it was quite clever to let us believe things were going wrong, just as Holmes wanted, although anyone that knows the character can usually tell when he's playing a role!

**

Touchstone

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S2 (Touchstone)

I have the distinct impression this is another of the early episodes I'd seen. Unless the second Stargate comes into it again, and gets welded up again. But even if it was a hint of a memory that might have reminded me Mayborn was involved, it was pretty likely from the moment the machinations of intervention from Earth came to light, and his name (along with Senator Kinsey) sprung to the fore of my mind. I never enjoyed all the military versus secret services shenanigans as much as the true villains of the Goa'uld as it was all so formal and regulation, much like the concrete base of Stargate Command, and arguing/intimidating Mayborn was always a fun side-effect, but that and the second gate were slender reeds to hang a story upon.

The aliens were the typical one-dimensional sort, and the only good scene was the raid on an air hangar in which the mysterious operatives in blue escape by leaping into the activated gate. SG-1 have taken to wearing blue themselves in recent episodes, and I can't get used to that. Nor Teal'c's lack of his staff weapon, which has been an absentee recently. I wondered why the team didn't all take Zat guns and stun the unknown enemy without damaging them. That way they could have interrogated them and unearthed more information. Maybe they only have one weapon?

I think this was the first to feature Major Reynolds, a role I remember vaguely, so is sure to become a familiar face. And Witlow, the friend of Hammond's who provides the necessary intel to find the gate also played a recurring role as a doctor in the Smallville Medical Centre of 'Smallville'.

**

Monday, 12 April 2010

Unsafe

DVD, Smallville S4 (Unsafe)

The title is very apt. 'Unsafe' has several connotations, but the most common facing teenagers, the series' main audience, is what the episode is all about. On the one hand, with Jason and Lana's storyline the issue is danced carefully around, and on the other, with the return of psychotic Clark-obsessed Alicia Baker of Season Three's 'Obsession' the subject is rather graphically played out, even without the final act. I had mixed feelings on the episode, because I thought it was a totally soapy, disgusting waste of the series, bringing back one of the worst characters from the worst season, and yes, they did surprise me in that she survives (it might have been better if she hadn't, and I hope she isn't a recurring character!), and she doesn't go crazy as expected, but it doesn't move any of the plots forward.

Lex and Lionel are still carrying on the bizarre charade, or at least Luthor Sr. is, and we're never likely to believe he has benevolent tendencies toward the world. It does put a little of the mystery back into the pair, and it's turned their positions around from a similar situation in the early seasons. Now Lex is the big, bad mogul who controls the empire, while his father has to prove his true intentions before he's going to get anything out of it. He's already got a place to stay thanks to Lex' guilt, so where will it end? Jason finally reveals to Lana why he's changed with regard to her, so no revelation that he's actually a mutant Doomsday as I was faintly suspecting, but again, the story hasn't moved on.

While I don't appreciate the sexual focus of the episode, I also thought that perhaps it was a good thing for teenagers to be watching something which puts such a positive case for marriage (as Martha does at the end, although I suppose she and Mr. Kent have been doing that since the beginning of the series in word and deed), and reveals baldly who has crossed that barrier and who has not, with a bit of lukewarm advice on the subject. You can also look at the red Kryptonite as a warning against drugs, so there are positive messages amongst the flesh and lip-smacking that unfortunately seems to dominate the story. I was surprised such things were laid out clearly as I always assumed these things were going on all the time, but it proves the series is a little more conservative than it's bright and contemporary image suggests, which was interesting.

Something else that struck me, and that might help Clark get a girlfriend, is not hanging out in a youth venue run by his mum! It must be slightly embarrassing to think that he's under surveillance the whole time! Bringing back people who have been in other seasons is usually a great thing, and something the series hasn't embraced enough after the building of a community in Season One, then tearing it down in Two by killing off or writing out most of them. Here it doesn't work. Weighing up the pros and cons I'd say it's a messy waste of time.

*

The Tok'ra (Part Two)

DVD, The Tok'ra (Part Two)

So begins the first day of the rest of his life. Jacob Carter could go on to outlive his daughter, which is weird, and one of the many strange things that he'll have to get used to now that he's got a symbiont. If this episode is any gauge he'll take it all in his stride! It was remarkable how quickly he accepted the world-changing knowledge of the Stargate and aliens, but having his daughter tell him while the steady and grounded presence of General Hammond corroborated it, must have made such outlandish tales more believable. It's the first time we've had the pleasure of seeing the secrets of the series revealed to a regular human, and for it to be Sam's dying father was a nice touch.

He became a little too sprightly for me once he'd gone through the Stargate. Think about it, he'd been dying in a hospital bed a few minutes earlier, at death's door, and now he has all this amazing, top-secret stuff thrown at him, he has a wild ride through the gate, has a short walk on a desert planet and meets aliens. Surely he'd be collapsing with exhaustian? It must be argued that the novelty of it all, added to the hope of living beyond what he expected must have given him nervous energy and a head full of questions. If you were suddenly energised you'd no longer want to lie there pondering your last minutes near death and it would give you new strength. That's how I buy it, anyway.

It's a bit shocking to find one of the Tok'ra was a spy, and puts their worries of hypothetical security issues of associating with the Tari to bed. It was all very 'Empire Strikes Back' what with the underground base and the evil forces on the way. Thankfully the 'I am your father' is a comfort on this occasion. The weight of what's happened to Jacob and for Earth is well manoeuvred, if rushed, but the situation resolves itself nicely and becomes another running thread of which there are several this season which could be picked up at any time. It's good that they're trying harder to expand the remit of the series beyond a 'Star Trek' copycat, and the planet of the week is no longer the driving force.

***

The Tok'ra

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S2 (The Tok'ra)

Mostly an expository episode, this brings some important developments to the series, and is the first two-part episode, barring the season-ender and starter. I have a soft spot for it because it was one of the first episodes, if not the first, that I ever saw. Presumably the groundwork will lead to an exciting second part, although I remembered well the fate of Jacob Carter, and it's easy to put two and two together through what is left unsaid, to see how he could become the linchpin to Earth's alliance with the Tok'ra. It was fun to realise that Tok'ra actually meant 'against Ra', which I hadn't realised.

The faction is a paranoid group, but that's to be expected seeing as they are the greatest and most personal enemy of the Goa'uld. The crystal-forming technology was clever, recalling 'Cold Lazarus' - I wonder if there's any connection? Since this is an episode doing the telling, rather than showing, it becomes a bit too much talking heads, although there are plenty of revelations that would shake up the series and certainly the introduction of the Tok'ra this season has added a new layer of detail and possibility.

**

Lineage

DVD, Voyager S7 (Lineage)

"Anticipate paradox" is Tuvok's parenting advice, and as usual for a Vulcan, he sums it up concisely. The paradox should have been anticipated for the pregnancy also as B'Elanna takes her childhood resentments to new levels. The flashback scenes give us a sight of her father - we'd already seen mother Miral the previous season. It was terribly sad just how much B'Elanna saw herself as the reason he left them, but reassuring that Tom is able to get through her irrationalities. It was also a pleasant moment to have her ask the Doctor, an artificial lifeform, to be the Godfather, and he was clearly touched by the gesture.

The characters in this series have suffered at the hands of too many bland science fiction tales, and it's been rare for it to mix character and story, at least in the last two seasons. Again, the writers aren't proving otherwise, and the purely character-based storyline veers dangerously over into soap opera, but doesn't fall. I wish they could tie the two elements together, but even so, this episode has a good centre to it. I enjoyed the opening scene in which Icheb assumes the baby inside B'Elanna is an alien parasite, the writers playing on our knowledge of previous examples such as the one which attaches itself to her in 'Nothing Human'. Tom's interactions with Tuvok and Kim are also fun. And now we have another crewmember on the way. It's strange that there haven't been more babies born on the journey, but maybe the regs are still strictly observed?

***

Spirits

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S2 (Spirits)

Tenani was quite a personable chap, and seeing an American Indian race made a change and continued the tradition in the series of seeing various ancient cultures that were plucked by the Goa'uld. At first you think the episode's going to go one way, perhaps in the style of 'The First Commandment' - it always seems like the leaders of SG teams go bad or cause trouble - but it switches gears when the action relocates back to base.

The alien forms were something special, although I've seen something like that before, and the CGI of the morphing was done very well. It was a relief that it wasn't Captain Connors who would be the stereotypical baddie, but the episode was a thing of two halves, with not a lot of cohesion between the ideas. Give us an Indian camp, with verdant mountain land, but don't then set it back at the concrete base and turn it into a simplistic runaround. The moral issue might have played a big part, but that never fully came to the fore, despite the fascinating parallels with America's actual past.

I would hazard a guess that the location shooting with the well-designed Indian architecture took up too much money and they had to cut back to using the standing sets, otherwise it could have been a better episode. And General Hammond always has to walk the line between the views of SG-1 at the front and the superiors above him which is quite a shame. Dr. Warner, who was in a couple of episodes last season makes a reappearance making a passable imitation of a bird.

**

Up The Long Ladder

DVD, TNG S2 (Up The Long Ladder)

Sometimes you just have to bow to the absurd, says Captain Picard at one point, and if you take his advice this episode has a certain rustic charm to it. Mixed with a certain suave, detached sterility (the Mariposans were very Vulcan). Add them together, and what have you got? If only we could see a few decades down the line, whether the two so different peoples managed to bond together, or if they became segregated. I don't think the multiple partners idea would work too well, as the jealousy and strife caused by it could bring the society down! Can you imagine Brenna as three men's wives?

Of course the episode isn't really meant to be a heavily serious and scientific piece, and indeed, that side of human nature is portrayed as rather villainous, but how can the Starfleet people think they're a model for these two incomplete races when they're quite happy to murder their own clones? Happy isn't the right word, both Riker and Pulaski grimaced as their doubles-in-the-making were vaporised, so they seemed to know the gravity of their actions, which makes it all the more chilling! In an early 'DS9' episode Odo arrests a villain for murdering his own clone and clearly states it's a crime - maybe clone rights changed in the intervening years? It was ironic that Riker should be so vocal on the subject of two of him being a bad thing as it would be but a few short years before he was proved right.

I wondered why the Bringloidi were supposed to be so unused to technology. They arrived on a ship, so presumably their ancestors were capable. Would knowledge of technology really have died out in a few generations even given their simple lifestyle choices? Once the cloning came to the fore it was easy to see where the story was going, but it still worked. At first the episode was a bit all over the place with Worf's mystery collapse, finding the colony, Riker's impropriety and unprofessional behaviour with Brenna, and on to the next planet, but this fragmented, higgledy-piggledy style suited the energetic Irish characters well. It was bizarre and fantastic to see pigs and sheep and chickens being beamed up and I expected O'Brien to get into the spirit of his homeland a bit more. Maybe he got out of bed the wrong side.

Worf's offer of information pertaining to alcoholic beverages would become a bit out of character when in later episodes we learn he only drinks prune juice, but the Irish jollity was worth any inconsistencies - Americans love the Irish, even as far back as the Original Series they had Harry Mudd putting on the accent, and in 'Voyager' two whole episodes were devoted to a holographic village so the bemusing antics must have worked for viewers. The wardrobe and architecture of the Mariposans, although severe, was quite pleasing. It could have been that the contrast showed strong after the rustic, messy impression left by the Bringloidi, and it certainly made sense to bring two such cultures together, and it made for plenty of absurdity to bow to.

***

Samaritan Snare

DVD, TNG S2 (Samaritan Snare)

Could it be that this episode was written by a Pakled? I only wonder because it all seemed so simplistic and slow. The encounter with the Pakled's could have been a dynamic command experience for Riker where he demonstrates why he keeps getting asked to be a Captain. Or it could have been a chance for Geordi to be a diplomat or a crafty professional. Instead the crew muddle along, getting bullied by this blunt and stupid race that seem mentally challenged yet somehow defeated Romulans, Klingons and anyone else they could steal technology from!

Granted, it was amusing and quite surreal to have such a dim-witted and child-like race that are holding all the trump cards, but it doesn't half make the Enterprise crew look ineffective. Why Deanna didn't think the news about the Pakled's deception and Geordi's danger was worth telling Riker immediately over the combage, but instead had to be delivered to the bridge in person, is unfathomable. It must have been her empathic abilities causing her to panic and rush to the bridge. At least Ensign Gomez came back, tellingly seen with Geordi again. Well, she was assigned to engineering.

The only islands of calm amid all this tomfoolery were the quiet scenes on the shuttle journey Picard and Wesley took together, enabling them to interact more freely. Picard, being worried about the procedure to replace his heart is at his crankiest, but the understanding quiet questioning of Wesley gives him the chance to talk about it. I feel Picard's annoyance that he now owes his life to the incomparably smug Pulaski, but the sudden danger of death was very scripted, forcing Riker to act faster to rescue Geordi. We fix things. Things to make you go. If only this episode had had more fixing, then it might have gone better. In the end it was not powerful and not smart.

**

Sherlock Holmes In Washington

DVD, Sherlock Holmes In Washington (1943) film

I wonder how much of the pro-American/English speech at the end, and the whole concept of Holmes visiting the country was to rally the viewers in wartime, and how much was to ensure the continued success of the film series? Obviously America's entrance in WWII must have precipitated this film, and the series was already setting itself in the current time rather than Holmes' true period, but this story was more overt about the technology of the time, and made attempts to show the great detective fitting in with what should have been a different era.

There was also a bit of fish out of water for both Holmes and Watson, providing the humour, with the Doctor at his most fumbling, muttering best. Unfortunately this is the least Holmesian in the series so far, and its reuse of two actors from prominent roles was a bit confusing. With George Zucco and Henry Daniell in the cast I was certain Moriarty would be played by one of them, but they were different characters again! And the secret radios inside false urns, sarcophagus doorways and booby-trapped chests made this seem quite a silly kind of production. I wondered why an Englishman entering an antiques store in America didn't immediately arouse suspicions if they knew so early Holmes was on the case. It doesn't make the villain look too clever that he didn't get someone to check Pettibone's lodgings and deduce he'd used microfilm either, especially as it was arranged for someone to wait on the roof for snoopers!

Holmes visiting America was a good idea, and some parts were quite entertaining (the scene on the train where the English spy converses with each person to fool the pursuers into thinking he could have dropped off the papers with any one of them), but in not being even remotely connected to a proper story the characters do feel a little out of place, and the story could almost have been any old spy story from the black and white era. 

**

Monday, 5 April 2010

The Jem'Hadar

DVD, DS9 S2 (The Jem'Hadar)

Hints and references to the Dominion are placed occasionally through the season, laying the groundwork for something big, and mapping out a framework for the kind of epic storytelling that would sweep the series onto the galactic stage, with the only downside being a lesser role for the 'backyard' of Bajor. That was all still to come, with revelations galore on this mysterious and unexplained power of the Gamma Quadrant. The approach was one of giving various pieces of information, details that told us more than a comprehensive report could have done because it left our imagination to build a bigger picture. It is in 'The Jem'Hadar' that a direct encounter leads to the threat of reprisals that would dominate the series.

It all starts quite innocently, as a seemingly simple comedy tale to end the season with - the worst camping trip Sisko could have planned. He wants to spend time with Jake, only for Nog to come along, and to cap it all Quark inveigles himself onto the trip with the sole purpose of convincing the Commander to allow him to advertise his wares all over the station. Being his typical tenacious self he thinks he can swing things his way by a little negotiation, but reckons without Sisko's quiet, blunt character which leaves no (or very few) cracks in which to manoeuvre. Quark was right about one thing, they are more at ease in this informal setting. If it wasn't for the Ferengi losing his composure at having to eat human food with bugs in it (Ferengi "only eat Ferengi bugs!"), constantly being bitten, and his natural aversion to nature, he might have worked on Sisko long enough to find out what the Commander would be prepared to get out of it. Out of his comfort zone however, survival clouds his profit-making skills.

We don't often get to see Quark roughing it, but when we do ('The Ascent', 'The Siege of AR-558'), he's invariably grumpy. This anger can make him more persistent and dogged, in some form of survival instinct. If the Dominion didn't know already how insistent Ferengi are, they soon learn from Quark's bawling. The race may be small, but their voices are large! We see this survival instinct in the Jem'Hadar prison with his constant shouting and screaming for attention. It would be a natural course of action for Ferengi, because after all, if your skill is in negotiation you need to make yourself heard, and the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Thankfully it's his ability to knuckle down and get on with things when all other avenues fail that gets them out of captivity - he perseveres with the collar on Eris, then saves Sisko's life by shooting one of the soldiers, but his most important contribution is his shrewdness...

The Jem'Hadar look down on humans and Ferengi, lumping both together as the weaker, less interesting races of the Alpha Quadrant (quite an insult for us!), wishing that Klingons had been the first race they got to encounter. It shows one of the few weaknesses of the Dominion, after they demonstrate great power and resource in their ability to destroy a Galaxy-class starship, beam through shields, walk through containment fields, use personal cloaking devices and wider-reaching designs and forethought. For everything was a ploy to get one spy into the Federation. The loss of life on the Odyssey is terrible and graphically illustrates the kind of unexpected threat they pose. A kamikaze run on a retreating ship is not only an impressive display of loyalty, but also disregard for the 'rules' of battle.

Like the Borg, they work to an agenda that our Federation friends can't comprehend. Admittedly they had the important element of surprise, an advantage that can't be dismissed, and hopefully, with all the data collected by the Runabouts, the observations of Sisko and the experience gained, Stafleet will not be caught on the back foot again. It was a bold move by the Dominion and over-confidence could be a weakness, one of very few they display in this first encounter. Another is to underestimate their 'weak' opponents. Quark probably saves the most lives and performs the greatest service here as he ever has or does again, because it's down to his expertise in recognising Eris' falsity that stops Sisko from welcoming the spy into Federation arms.

The visuals match the story and plotting which is at another level, not seen since the three-parter that kickstarted the season. For a start, the Jem'Hadar and Eris are both very well designed and so very different. The soldiers are full of texture and jagged edges, while Eris ( we don't find out the name of her species at this point) is smooth and clear-skinned. That they are part of the same force isn't as surprising as that she is actually their superior as we discover in later episodes. The relatively weak, small and gaunt Vorta have the authority of the Founders, the third of the mysterious groups that make up the Dominion. As before, we get plenty of questions answered that have been at the back of our minds since the Dominion first cropped up, but now we are left with more. What we do know is the fearsome size of the Jem'Hadar, walking tall next to the large Sisko, and their attitude is cocky and assured. Like the Klingons they welcome battle and have no fear.

The Jem'Hadar who talks to Sisko is disappointed the Klingons weren't the ones to be captured and this is something that would come to the fore in the future, but even now comparing themselves to the warriors of the Alpha Quadrant helps us see their strength and the kind of beings they are. It's telling that only a Third-ranked Jem'Hadar is sent to DS9. Was that because they didn't want to risk a First or Second, or to show the disdain they hold the Federation, that they would only send such a relatively low rank? Knowing the Vorta's disregard for the lives of their soldiers in other episodes I would go with the latter explanation.

The scope of what's happening is ably personified by the addition of the USS Odyssey (making the tiny Runabouts appear most ineffectual), a situation that requires Kira and crew to do what they're told by a Captain. Suddenly a Commander isn't enough, and this backwater is important again. That Captain Keogh isn't a pleasant man doesn't stop us from being shocked at his ship's destruction. His arrogance in the face of the unknown isn't what gets him killed, as the Galaxy-class is the biggest and toughest of all starships. It also contains families. It was a shame we didn't get to find out more about the Odyssey and her crew, but it was cooler having an African American with a strong accent as first officer shouting out the damage reports because for some reason the impact sounds worse. The destruction was a statement of intent from both the Dominion and the creators of the series - we're going to go for broke.

Such battle scenes hadn't been seen since the pilot, and to this point there had only been minor skirmishes with Cardassians, Bajorans or Maquis, all on the scale of Runabouts. But here, the Runabouts are dwarfed and there's a danger that the series could be undermined by showing how weak the station and its defences are compared to a fully operational starship, which is why you can see the logic of the writer's next step at the beginning of Season Three. But here they dared to show the weakness and the awe level goes up massively. That none of the main characters die is testament to their skill and judgement. It's always the case that the more powerful an adversary is, the more heroic the heroes seem to be to stand up to them.

The scene with Odo and Kira warning each other to watch their backs felt like it could be a goodbye scene, and I wonder if it was deliberately meant to evoke unrest in viewers. She'd like him to stay behind out of harm's way, something she'd done before, I think, which shows she cares for the constable. It's also a touching moment for Odo to admit a kind of fondness for Quark. Okay, he doesn't really admit fondness, he never would, but he notes Quark's role as part of the station - they'd miss him if he was gone. Old animosities are laid aside in the face of a larger foe, as evidenced by Kira's agreement that they wouldn't want to lose Quark.

Amid the scale, references to what we know aren't forgotten. We hear about Bolians, Klingons, Cardassians, Vulcans, Grand Nagus Zek, the Bat'leth, and most importantly - the New Bajor colony has been annihilated, another feather in the Dominion's cap o' woes. It's difficult to see how they could have seemed any worse an enemy! Also, in the 'biggest' episode of the season it's endearing that a Jake and Nog story should be an integral part. Jake's certainly been the lost character of the season, his japes with Nog few compared with the first season, but at least the pairing hasn't been forgotten. Nog still comes across as a sterotypical Ferengi coward, but other personality traits that would rise to the surface in later seasons also begin to show through. His willingness to work, for one thing, and his pleasure at being complimented by Sisko. Previously Nog's always shown contempt for human ways and had little respect for them, but thanks to the friendship with Jake they've both changed and come to accept the cultures, almost imperceptibly. Nog enjoys human food, much to Quark's disgust, a line he'd often take on his nephew's development, even if he was proud in his own mind.

It's nice to see the continuity of Jake caring about Nog's education, that led to him teaching his friend to read, and perhaps Sisko's own views on Ferengi are beginning to change too. It hasn't really happened yet, but Rom's emergence as a pleasant fellow, Nog's professionalism and even Quark's unexpected generosity were to come, and it's Sisko's ideas that are directly challenged by Quark. In the same manner as his lecturing a Vulcan on logic in 'The Maquis', he now manages to take the moral superiority of Ferengi against humans! Only Quark could do that, but if his words aren't completely true, at least they serve to give Sisko pause for thought. He hasn't really thought about Ferengi values and it becomes personal and something for him to think on. That is, if he'd had the time!

Two final observations regarding the Runabouts: we never get to see the shuttle bay in which these ships launch from, but here we get close, as we have a view of one wall from a Runabout window and door when they disembark. The other is the realisation that Jake and Nog would have taken five years to get back to the station if they hadn't been rescued. That means they'd have just made it in time for the last episode of the series!

****

Q Who?

DVD, TNG S2 (Q Who?)

With a flick of his fingers Q does the greatest service to Starfleet and simultaneously the worst harm. Not the loss of eighteen crewmen, but the awareness of humanity's existence by what was then the deadliest aliens ever encountered. The Borg. They ignore you. They notice you. They come after you, and they don't stop. The unstoppable force is the most compelling dramatic device, but also the hardest to write, because if you can't stop it you've lost your characters, your ship, everything. It could be construed as flippant that Q would just fling them under the Borg's nose then snap them back out of trouble before destruction was assured, but it isn't really about this episode, this was just the primer, the prologue, the taste of what may be to come, and that portent in the final scene, though it's still amazingly turned into an optimistic ending, holds a lot of weight and a few shivers up the spine.

Guinan gets fleshed out more than in all the other episodes she's appeared in to this point, and her legendary past, sense of doom and direct warnings add a notch of danger beyond the Borg's physical appearance, which is very mechanised, with most of their facial features hidden or half-seen. Putting things out there to be resolved at a later date is always a bold move because an audience could forget, the natural progression of a series might take it in a different way or whatever, but when you get to the pay off it's made all worthwhile.

From this encounter we learn that the mysterious attacks on bases at the edge of both Federation and Romulan borders, as revealed at the end of Season One, were probably the actions of the Borg, making them tantalisingly close. Perhaps they aren't two years away after all? The episode includes a lighthearted teaser which introduces new recruit Sonia Gomez who manages to make the worst first impression possible on Captain Picard. Literally, on him. Usually when someone like that gets a few lines it's so she can be killed off by this week's threat and I was half expecting it, but her storyline fades into nothing - hopefully she'll pop up again.

Q's involvement with the Enterprise is usually a tricky balance because he can do anything, but you're not sure if his motives were good or bad in this case. And why does he not resurrect the dead? Perhaps it's the price for the information, or maybe he's working for an even higher power and this was the way it had to work out, who knows? The grounding of Guinan's history in some framework gives her more mystery. She was alive at least 200 years ago according to this, and 'Star Trek: Generations' did a fine job of using this information to connect the 23rd and 24th Centuries.

The Borg set is brighter than it would later be, but still creepy since they don't know what they're going to find next or whether the Borg will recognise their presence. The pull back inside the cube was most impressive, as was the Borg's personal forcefield. Certainly the strongest episode of the season, it confidently melds the past and the possible future with two mysterious beings who both have a connection to Picard. I couldn't help noticing that when Q mentions the 'weak' enemies encountered so far, he doesn't include Ferengi - they must have been so weak they didn't even register!

****

Sherlock Holmes and The Secret Weapon

DVD, Sherlock Holmes and The Secret Weapon (1942) film

So Moriarty is defeated by falling into a sewer this time! I'm not sure how much continuity there was between the films, but on this evidence I'd say very little as we last saw Moriarty fall from the Tower of London but two films ago! He was more like a Bond villain than the resourceful genius of the literary character, and I preferred George Zucco's version, who at least had an evil cunning to his face (until he shaved the beard off). Lionel Atwill didn't portray him as much of a great threat and actually he seemed like any old bad-guy, but I suppose what is a stereotype now was relatively new in those days.

Dennis Hoey makes his first appearance as Inspector Lestrade, the frequently baffled witness to Holmes' brilliance, and like Bruce's version of Watson, I always enjoyed the ridiculous humour he brought to it. I can't say there was much to be impressed by in this story, and it has none of the strangeness of 'The Dancing Men' upon which it's supposedly based - again, calling it something that it's not doesn't make it better. Holmes looks ever more wind-swept and makes me wish he'd get a haircut. He did manage to fool me again when I least expected it. Not in the opening disguise as the old, white-haired bookseller, that was soon seen through, but as Hoffner, Dr. Tobel's friend, laying in wait for Moriarty's henchmen. I wondered for a little if he'd played the original Hoffner to confuse us, and make it easier to accept him in the role, but then the real one turned up again.

The story starts in the middle of an adventure which is surprisingly daring for them to expect the audience to keep up, though there wasn't as much meat on the bones by the end. As before there's a patriotic speech by Holmes and Watson and lines from that famous poem. Not one of the more inventive or gripping stories, it seemed longer than it was. I did notice the drugs reference (referred to in the Production Notes on the DVD), which would have been very sly for censorship of the time.

*

Bane

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S2 (Bane)

A delightful ending, I must say! The rest is a fairly standard transformation story, like all sci-fi series' before it. The addition of the villainous Mayborn gives the team an enemy with a face as opposed to the insects, who, as dangerous as they are, don't pose all that much of a threat, being on another world. They were well designed and I couldn't tell when they were CGI or real so a good job there. Oddly enough the main draw of the episode is the humour quotient. O'Neill gets in quite a few good, smirk-worthy lines, and Teal'c's inability to cope with the vernacular is always funny.

I was anticipating an episode against some formidable creature from the name, and then with the teaser I thought it would be a survival type episode with the team barricading themselves in on the planet and all that kind of thing, like the original 'Star Trek' did in 'Operation: Annihilate!' It was a bit disappointing for it to be set on Earth and for Teal'c to be the bearer of bad juice. The addition of a street kid could have been the death knell, but it was okay. I can't imagine her becoming a familiar face like Cassandra, however. It becomes a slow-burning search for Teal'c and no one else gets much more to do than burble scientific words and stare at the symbiont in a tank.

**

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

DVD, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) film

It may be that I'm merely remembering seeing this film before, but I had a strong impression that elements of other stories were cut and pasted into this one. The albatross drawing seemed familiar, and the South American recalled 'A Study in Scarlet', but I'm not as well versed in the stories as I should be. I was a little bemused by the end of the story. Aside from the Reichenbach Falls being replaced by the tip-top of the Tower of London, I didn't get any explanation of why the South American was trying to kill the woman, or why he'd killed her brother. Okay, he was working for Moriarty, and that mission was to distract Holmes, but it seemed there was going to be a reason for the death of her brother and the creepy music, like payback for some past injustice. But we don't know if there was anything more to it as Holmes and Watson have a jokey moment at the end, glossing over any plot holes.

With some of the episode explaining things in quite simple terms it's odd that such large holes are in plain sight. The production on the whole was a good one, the creepiness of the flute adding more chill to proceedings. The friendship between Holmes and Watson is much more obvious, and Bruce's bumbling, muttering and dog-like devotion make it quite humourous and enjoyable. It's still a little over-melodramatic at times, but that's probably more to do with the style of acting at that time, and certainly there were a couple of good stunts and the lamp-lit streets and cabs clattering along were well used. I was also surprised to be fooled by one of Holmes' disguises - he danced and sang 'I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside' and I didn't recognise him until he revealed himself!

This version of Moriarty is more like the man from the book, emitting a steely menace while not doing much of anything overtly bad. He becomes a bit of a typical heavy by the end, rolling around on the top of the Tower - almost as if his beard was the real brain and once it was shaved off he could only be like everyone else! It was a surprise to see Captain Mainwaring. No, not Arthur Lowe, but a man with the same name as his character, and one who looked similar! No Lestrade yet, but another shortsighted inspector there to show how clever Holmes is. For some reason this film is on the second disc, and so third in order on the box set, despite being the second film they made, so I'm not sure why it wasn't on the first disc. Why they insist on having the same five minute documentary on every disc is a bit of a mystery too.

**

Pen Pals

DVD, TNG S2 (Pen Pals)

For those that complain that Captain Janeway was inconsistent in doing whatever she wanted to one moment, then obeyed the rules at another, citing Captain Picard as the example of the perfect Captain, this episode proves otherwise. The senior staff sit around talking in a rather superior, detached and philosophical way about the fate of a world. Their appearance of smugness isn't assisted by the informal setting - if the debate had occurred in the Observation Lounge it might have seemed less frivolous, but as it is, the Prime Directive is talked around until Picard decides they can't interfere. At this point I would mention the B-story (or is it the A? Both plots are lightweight), of Wesley Crusher being given a command experience.

They could have tied in the two storylines in this scene, and had Wesley present to see what a command decision is like. Then again, it isn't a very good example! Picard goes back on his decision because Data's friend Sarjenka sounds a bit worried - after he's just been saying how they can't let their emotions interfere. As an audience we want the planet, and specifically Sarjenka to be saved, not because we particularly care about them, but because she means so much to Data. At the same time we know the Prime Directive well and breaking the rules just this once was a little indulgent.

Aside from the moral implications there isn't much to recommend the story. Wesley's difficulty in coping with other people under his command isn't the hard-edged experience it might have been. He has a little confidence trouble, and then it's sorted out, losing all opportunity for conflict and resolution as seen in say, the Original Series' 'The Galileo Seven'. Likewise Data's friend is comfortably reset to forget her experiences, and although her alien appearance (those long fingers!), and the pretty volcano views are a positive, the story doesn't have great resonance or weight.

**