DVD, BUGS S3 (Identity Crisis)
The Bureau 2 boss gets to be Action Jan for the space of an episode, kicking bad guys in the face, biffing others with fire extinguishers, abseiling down buildings… She basically becomes Ed, even down to wearing a leather jacket (while two Eds may be better than one, one Jan is more than enough!), and you could never have had an inkling of any of this from every other episode she'd been in where she was the office bod, the top dog office bod, leading the troops from her desk, which doesn't sound very flattering when you put it that way, but we'd seen she was a master manipulator, all in the service of law and order, and of course, an older woman so you wouldn't expect her to be in the field running around in her night clothes trying to escape hulking brutes. If Jan gets to be Ed for the episode then it's only fair since Ed goes back to being largely ineffectual, back in Alex' bad books for being himself (beautifully described as like being out with the Marx Brothers, all of them!) - it takes both he and Alex to take down this week's main villain, Lance, while Beckett shows how things should be done: on the fly, under pressure, trying to protect his boss from the pug-ugly goons on their tail and packing a bazooka, and all he needs is a spanner and a high-vis to take them both out! Ed take note. It just shows how romantic issues can take away from a man's skills, and with Ed this season Alex has often been his Kryptonite. Sure, the spiky little spy has been an asset to the team, but in terms of Ed himself she's done as much to lessen his impact as what she brought, and I wonder if this was part of the reason why McLachlan went back to his original plan of leaving the series?
Ed isn't the only one sidelined for much of this, Ros takes a backseat, too, now that her big story with Channing is over. But that's the way of things, there isn't an expanding running time, so if Jan gets more screen time, others have to have less. But it was all worth it to see what our Director of Intelligence Coordination would be like when her role is switched with the team she coordinates. No more cushy meetings in ornate government ministers' offices or smug smiles as Beckett and the gang express concern, she's right there in the thick of it and it really made a change of pace. Perhaps pace is the wrong word, the series is always full of pace, that wasn't going to change, but we get more insights into who she is and how the Bureau works than ever before. I imagine they left it so late to give Jan something more to do, the penultimate episode of this run, because they wanted to see how she and Alex fitted in and by this point they really know who they're dealing with, as do the characters, even if Ed is still a little inconsistent - after they've defeated fake Jan, Elaine Harman, he professes how much it makes him realise the real Jan wasn't so bad. Then only a short time later he's saying the exact opposite, that he liked the new Jan more! Don't know what happened with that, unless the tag scene was written before the capturing of the villains and no one spotted the inconsistency.
I thought this was the one where Ed becomes Bureau Chief, but that's obviously Season 4, where it would have made much less sense - at least here a new Jan planning to confuse and shake things up would have made it a more realistic proposition, even if Ed would never in a million years come across as Bureau Chief material. It's fun that Alex finally works him out with the acronym WYSIWYG, What You See Is What You Get. It really was appropriate, he doesn't tend to keep things to himself or rein in his exuberance, which is one reason why he's so likeable and fits well with the others who are a little more logical or controlled. Well, sometimes. If we're talking inconsistency there's another glaring one in Beckett's situation. I've mentioned before that his financial issues didn't make a lot of sense, and this time we find out Jan doesn't even know about them continuing since she shows surprise at his condition, living rent-free on a houseboat ('Charlotte'), looking after it for a friend (Jan asks if he's harking back to his Navy days!). Does he spend all his Bureau pay on the upkeep of the Jeep and its petrol? The whole point was that she knew all about his troubles and that's what she leveraged to get him to join her little setup in the first place, and here she doesn't know what's going on! I suppose this means she's more honourable than she seemed as she's clearly not keeping tabs on them in the way she seemed fully capable of at the start, so that's a positive, at least.
Something I love about the episode is how it explains things clearly and concisely regarding the Bureau and its operations. We learn that Roland Blatty was in Beckett's position of Bureau Chief and reported to a different Jan, though that does bring up the question of what happened to this prior Jan, since presumably she (Alex says it was a she), wouldn't have been caught up with practical work and ended up under the spell of Cyberax like the others did? Even if she were a lot more practical compared with our Jan, and got involved with the Cyberax devices, that surely would have meant she'd have been the most important target rather than Roland. Of course, they didn't know all that back then, so some retconning could be inevitable, I was just pleased to hear about the setup of the previous iteration of the Bureau and how much Jan had lobbied to set up a new one, which has been a big success - the pinnacle of her career, she claims. We also learn a fair bit about her personal life, from a cat in a flat (though it looked a bit big to be called a flat!), called Wagner, to very personal details such as how close she was with Sir Anthony Fairchild, who makes a pleasant return from 'Happy Ever After?,' meeting him in 1973 and almost marrying, even suggesting she was Julia Fairchild's real Mother, though she later scotches that. All this gives the series more layers of reality: that the Fairchilds are still living their lives even though they're not integral to an episode, Beckett asking after Julia and her Father saying she's bearing up.
It's the jeopardy that usually makes the episodes and this one is no exception, with poor Jan Harvey really put through her paces and made to earn her crust! She's terrorised in her own home (twice if you count the urgent exit from a bomb - I'm glad Beckett was able to save the cat!), chased and held captive, but in all this, while you can see she's shaken, she's a tough lady, and experienced, and she doesn't take it lying down, other than to lull the lunk into thinking she's asleep. She uses her courage and any resources that come to hand in the most Jason Bourne-y way and generally proves that she's much, much more than a pen-pusher. It felt like meeting her superior in a darkened room was a bit daft (he must eat a lot of carrots, or have relations in Transylvania), but it's all for atmosphere, I understand that, but there is a question over why she or her team couldn't simply get the Alpha and Beta cards cancelled. She couldn't even call in for assistance, as we see Elaine and Lance have somehow changed the security code. Not sure how they did that. And while this was a great episode I did feel it would have been even better if the running theme of the past eight episodes, that Bureau 2 can deal with the enemy within as well as ordinary villains, should have been played up a lot more. If we could have seen Lance through the season, or Elaine, setting this all up it would have had a greater payoff, rather like Jean-Daniel in Season 2. But on the other hand it might have seemed a bit too much like a rehash.
My only real problem with the story is that the goal of the villains is to clear out the Bureau's bank account. It's not like it's even to destroy the organisation, perhaps with sanction from opponents of Jan in the services, merely to make themselves rich, nothing more, and perhaps in keeping with such relatively modest goals, not a single baddie dies, incredibly! At once it's both personal, in that our team will be directly affected, but also more detached because who cares about money being stolen, no one's lives are at stake, other than Jan being on the run. And what were the orders of Decker and Luba? It didn't seem to be to kill Jan, merely hold her hostage, yet once she's escaped they have no interest in taking her in, just blowing her up with a big bang! I can understand maybe their professional pride (if they had any), was injured and they wanted revenge, but it makes Lance look like a dummy for hiring such idiots! Of course there are no people about when they're hunting Jan, running round the streets with guns and bazooka, it's as deserted as Technopolis, which is just as well or they'd have police surrounding them in no time, and Jan is more isolated. Some terrific shots, however, with Jan ducking and running as gunfire ricochets around her, something those in charge agree with as they used part of that for Jan Harvey's credit in the title sequence for Season 4.
There's more fighting for everyone, but I would say the more personal aspects of the story are what makes it concerning to see, such as when Elaine sprays bullets around the Bureau office when she doesn't get her way, Ed making a comment about a change in management style. It's also good to remind us that our team work outside of convention, that's why they're successful, Ed getting another good line about if they just did what they were told they wouldn't be there - although Jan has kept somewhat of a tight rein on them she also selected them because of their freelance abilities. The new Jan seems so much more relaxed and personable at first, but that's all a cover to get them to lower their defences and work for her, and they do. They actually carry out a sting that they hadn't been able to do at the start of the season: the pulse emitter works this time, the DSA, Data Storage Agency must have been less well protected than the earlier bank. I lost track of all the gadgets that are used, so they certainly had that angle down pat. Funny to see a Jaz drive, I suppose that would have been the height of cutting edge at the time, I certainly remember using Zip disks, a smaller version of the removable media, a couple of years later!
Like much of Season 3, there are a lot of natural environments and old architecture, such as Sir Anthony's residence, but in this case we bounce back and forth between the ancient and the modern of the usual 'BUGS' buildings. I was just thinking when Spring, the guy at Consolidated Clearing, was taken hostage, why didn't he fight back against Elaine, and then he did, 'springing' into action and allowing Ros to go in for another fight - for at least the third time this year she gets punched in the face: last time it was Flood, and before that Kitty McHaig, but she gets the best of her, as she well should! In terms of colour we have Beckett in a purple shirt, and what I couldn't decide was dark blue or purple tie under his suit, while Ros is in all cream suit and skirt and Ed in his jogging stuff. I'd noticed this in another episode, but he and Alex wear the same colour, if only slightly: Ed has this lime green t-shirt you can just see the collar of under his other top, and she wears a big cardigan of the same colour as if to remind us that they are linked even if they aren't hitting it off right now. And in the end scene they both come in with white t-shirts, too. Beckett and Ros are both in their bright colours (green shirt for him, red top for her), when they meet up at the end to make another uncertain final moment where they discuss what happened and Beckett muses on time and regrets, while Ros pointedly agrees with him, preparing us for the finale and its bittersweet ending to come…
It's not just the two groups of two that show signs of uncertainty as Jan, too, is offered a promotion: asked by Sir Anthony himself to serve on the National Security Executive. And she doesn't say no. Of course we know what happens so it's no mystery, but it injected some concern into proceedings, and back when this first came out we didn't know if the series would even be returning for a fourth year, and if it did, whether everyone would be in it, so it was adding to that sense of anticipation. In those days I knew nothing of the BBC's deal, how it had signed off on two more years after the success of the very first episode, nor how it had changed in reaction to how it had all been received, it was only in later years researching and reading magazine articles that I came to understand the history better. I'm glad we did get a fourth set of episodes, even though they weren't nearly as good, but at that time I'd have taken anything. It's only in repeated viewings I came to see how much continuity and care had gone into building the world of the series, because in those days it was more about how much excitement it was on a Saturday night and the building sense of drama, looking forward to it each week. In that regard it excelled.
****
Thursday, 14 April 2022
The Seer
DVD, Stargate Atlantis S4 (The Seer)
The rare kind of episode where I go in having certain expectations only to find those expectations aren't met, but then the episode manages to win me round before the final curtain falls. In other words I felt this was an overly technical story that was bogged down by too many parts, but there was a certain warmth to the characters and it became more worthwhile than it had seemed for much of the time. The big thing for me was so many top guest star names: obviously being a 'Voyager' fan it's always good to see Robert Picardo, despite Wolsey being an officious, generally meddling bureaucrat that no matter how hard he tries, and he has tried over the years, ends up getting up people's noses. Then there was the surprise, as in completely out of the blue, addition of Martin Jarvis as this alien seer - Jarvis is best known to me as being the voice of the 'Just William' stories, a well known English actor with a long and varied career, so he was one of those really strange castings that I'd never remotely have guessed. And finally, there's the ever-faithful Christopher Heyerdahl who always comes across well whatever character he's playing.
That was the start of my contention: I remembered he'd played the main Athosian (Halling, I think), who used to be on the series so I automatically assumed this seer was going to lead them to Teyla's people and we'd meet his character again. In reality I'm not even sure if they didn't kill off the guy way back when, and I certainly had no recollection he'd played a Wraith, even with the helpful recap at the start which reminds us of that adventure between Sheppard and the Wraith ally, so it was with some disappointment I realised my confusion. When you add that this seer seemed to be merely a device by which they had an advantage in this particular situation, with no real purpose or connection otherwise, as well as the technical plans of Replicator base codes and computer viruses, not to mention Wolsey being there, again, with only the purpose of adding more trouble to the situation, and I began to feel a little too removed from proceedings, thinking thoughts along the lines of how much Carter's skills and abilities are wasted with her doing admin and leadership when she could be putting her vast brainpower to use in whatever technical problems there were. It really has been difficult to accept her in this completely different light and she doesn't often come across as essential in that position.
Things changed towards the end, pleasingly as we explored the twin troubles of Carter's feelings of inadequacy to make such vital life and death decisions for so many people, and the idea of whether the future is immutable, or it's merely that there is only one future that is always the result of individual actions, and for those reasons I came to appreciate the quality of this story much more. We see Wolsey fall back into bad habits as he tries to take command in his fright over Samantha's bold move to leave the city defenceless as they cloak it (though I do wonder how that would work since surely the water lapping against its sides would be a giveaway, unless the cloak somehow plays a false view of serene waters as if it isn't there - that must be it), while two rival Wraith ships are in orbit. With Davos' visions (that's Davos, not Davros, fortunately! - and I'm sure Martin Jarvis was in original 'Dr. Who' at least once…), always proving correct (and I enjoyed McKay's attempts to allow for such a supernatural effect by imagining it like a card game where a card counter can have a higher percentage effect to be right), and we know there's a vision of Atlantis being severely damaged, it was high stakes indeed and a real moment of having to have self-belief, or taking the gut instinct and sticking with it, which I suppose is what leadership tends to be.
It shows that Carter does have the confidence to put her experience into practice, and not just for an SG team of four, but a whole city. The stakes couldn't have been much higher since this deal with the friendly Wraith came about because Replicators have taken to a new strategy of destroying their enemies' food source: in other words, human populations are being slaughtered far worse than anything The Wraith would do. The idea that they could be safe in their city while other human populations are being obliterated means they can't simply sit by. I didn't always agree with their point of view, such as betraying Wraith before they've got a chance to do the same to them, or that if you believe in yourself then everything will work out as it should, which was all a little pat, but I certainly respected the way they, and especially Carter, dealt with the situation. But they are a military organisation, and though Carter is straddling the line a little more than if Sheppard had been put in command, she is still a soldier at heart, if a soldier-scientist, so it's not a surprise that the direction is to be distrustful and resort to force wherever necessary, which isn't the Trek way (or didn't used to be when Trek was great).
The other thing thrown in with the kitchen sink is the news that rather than Teyla dying or something along those lines as I suspected, she's actually preggers. Who, how, where, when, why… these we aren't privy to, and it did come across a little soapy, but at least she learned that her people are alive somewhere even if she doesn't have a clue where. And it was a relief they're not trying to prepare us for an impending death! Nice to see hints of the friendship between her and Dr. Keller after their recent excursion together, I hope they play that up even more. Great effect of the future visions, and it was lovely to see a MALP used again as they're seen so rarely on this branch of 'Stargate.' Yes, aspects of the story were a bit convenient (the visions), and others inconvenient (Wolsey), but when it came down to it, it did work. It could be interesting having a Wraith living in the city, even as a prisoner, so there's that. Although I did guess the second ship was not part of the ally's plan and had simply tracked his ship, so I suspected they'd be attacking each other. Still, I was impressed how the two possibilities, either it was a plot to destroy Atlantis or a genuine attempt to share resources against a greater threat, played out, and either one could have been true at any point: good plotting, well done.
***
The rare kind of episode where I go in having certain expectations only to find those expectations aren't met, but then the episode manages to win me round before the final curtain falls. In other words I felt this was an overly technical story that was bogged down by too many parts, but there was a certain warmth to the characters and it became more worthwhile than it had seemed for much of the time. The big thing for me was so many top guest star names: obviously being a 'Voyager' fan it's always good to see Robert Picardo, despite Wolsey being an officious, generally meddling bureaucrat that no matter how hard he tries, and he has tried over the years, ends up getting up people's noses. Then there was the surprise, as in completely out of the blue, addition of Martin Jarvis as this alien seer - Jarvis is best known to me as being the voice of the 'Just William' stories, a well known English actor with a long and varied career, so he was one of those really strange castings that I'd never remotely have guessed. And finally, there's the ever-faithful Christopher Heyerdahl who always comes across well whatever character he's playing.
That was the start of my contention: I remembered he'd played the main Athosian (Halling, I think), who used to be on the series so I automatically assumed this seer was going to lead them to Teyla's people and we'd meet his character again. In reality I'm not even sure if they didn't kill off the guy way back when, and I certainly had no recollection he'd played a Wraith, even with the helpful recap at the start which reminds us of that adventure between Sheppard and the Wraith ally, so it was with some disappointment I realised my confusion. When you add that this seer seemed to be merely a device by which they had an advantage in this particular situation, with no real purpose or connection otherwise, as well as the technical plans of Replicator base codes and computer viruses, not to mention Wolsey being there, again, with only the purpose of adding more trouble to the situation, and I began to feel a little too removed from proceedings, thinking thoughts along the lines of how much Carter's skills and abilities are wasted with her doing admin and leadership when she could be putting her vast brainpower to use in whatever technical problems there were. It really has been difficult to accept her in this completely different light and she doesn't often come across as essential in that position.
Things changed towards the end, pleasingly as we explored the twin troubles of Carter's feelings of inadequacy to make such vital life and death decisions for so many people, and the idea of whether the future is immutable, or it's merely that there is only one future that is always the result of individual actions, and for those reasons I came to appreciate the quality of this story much more. We see Wolsey fall back into bad habits as he tries to take command in his fright over Samantha's bold move to leave the city defenceless as they cloak it (though I do wonder how that would work since surely the water lapping against its sides would be a giveaway, unless the cloak somehow plays a false view of serene waters as if it isn't there - that must be it), while two rival Wraith ships are in orbit. With Davos' visions (that's Davos, not Davros, fortunately! - and I'm sure Martin Jarvis was in original 'Dr. Who' at least once…), always proving correct (and I enjoyed McKay's attempts to allow for such a supernatural effect by imagining it like a card game where a card counter can have a higher percentage effect to be right), and we know there's a vision of Atlantis being severely damaged, it was high stakes indeed and a real moment of having to have self-belief, or taking the gut instinct and sticking with it, which I suppose is what leadership tends to be.
It shows that Carter does have the confidence to put her experience into practice, and not just for an SG team of four, but a whole city. The stakes couldn't have been much higher since this deal with the friendly Wraith came about because Replicators have taken to a new strategy of destroying their enemies' food source: in other words, human populations are being slaughtered far worse than anything The Wraith would do. The idea that they could be safe in their city while other human populations are being obliterated means they can't simply sit by. I didn't always agree with their point of view, such as betraying Wraith before they've got a chance to do the same to them, or that if you believe in yourself then everything will work out as it should, which was all a little pat, but I certainly respected the way they, and especially Carter, dealt with the situation. But they are a military organisation, and though Carter is straddling the line a little more than if Sheppard had been put in command, she is still a soldier at heart, if a soldier-scientist, so it's not a surprise that the direction is to be distrustful and resort to force wherever necessary, which isn't the Trek way (or didn't used to be when Trek was great).
The other thing thrown in with the kitchen sink is the news that rather than Teyla dying or something along those lines as I suspected, she's actually preggers. Who, how, where, when, why… these we aren't privy to, and it did come across a little soapy, but at least she learned that her people are alive somewhere even if she doesn't have a clue where. And it was a relief they're not trying to prepare us for an impending death! Nice to see hints of the friendship between her and Dr. Keller after their recent excursion together, I hope they play that up even more. Great effect of the future visions, and it was lovely to see a MALP used again as they're seen so rarely on this branch of 'Stargate.' Yes, aspects of the story were a bit convenient (the visions), and others inconvenient (Wolsey), but when it came down to it, it did work. It could be interesting having a Wraith living in the city, even as a prisoner, so there's that. Although I did guess the second ship was not part of the ally's plan and had simply tracked his ship, so I suspected they'd be attacking each other. Still, I was impressed how the two possibilities, either it was a plot to destroy Atlantis or a genuine attempt to share resources against a greater threat, played out, and either one could have been true at any point: good plotting, well done.
***
Buried Treasure
DVD, BUGS S3 (Buried Treasure)
For once in their lives our hero team don't have high stakes with which to contend: sparing the government's blushes again and saving works of art. No lives at stake or anything that would affect the common citizen so I couldn't help feeling things weren't all that dire. The story remains strong, however, both visually, with a strong sense of direction and place, and in motivating the characters. It's Ed's turn to have a story revolve around him and his mysterious past. We don't know a great deal about any of the characters, in spite of Season 3's approach towards more characterisation and personal lives, but out of the original trio Ed was always the least developed, there to be the action man and quip and banter to the maximum. There isn't a lot more we're privy to in this episode, but we do get a small insight into him and his past: he was connected with Sasha, this woman who comes out of the blue having not had anything to do with him for ten years, and as Alex jealously points out, he drops everything in order to help her. It seems a bit hard to believe Sasha couldn't find anyone else who had access to a helicopter, but she's playing cards close to the chest with all the associates she brings on board her money-making plot. Through this we learn that Ed plays squash, he'd known her ten years before, and she dumped him, and by the way he's so ready to meet her again it's clear there's unfinished business there. We rarely see Ed in anything less than high spirits, though it's obvious through this and his off-balance position with Alex through the season that girlfriends are a weak point.
If we don't find out all that much about Ed, we learn even less about Sasha, the mystery woman, the type who's never happy standing still, always looking for a rush, playing games, leading her victims on, a nefarious female version of Ed you could say. The only real flaw of the episode, which is quite tightly put together and succeeds in its scope and variety of locations, as well as its realistic approach to the characters (even down to how it was filmed, with scenes like Ed and Sasha talking in a restaurant or bar, being interrupted for their order while the conversation keeps flowing - and example quite far from the usual style of the series), and how they're thinking and feeling, is a lack of backstory on Sasha - she's this programming genius, like Elverson in 'All Under Control,' has this ability to interfere with important computer systems, like Elverson, and even adopts a Greek goddess as her persona. Just like Elverson! The only difference (other than she doesn't have a big white beard and is a lot more striking than the old man in his cardigan!), is she doesn't seem to have any origin for her motivation. Elverson, as Icarus, was all about proving his software to the world, while Sasha, as Athena, is merely interested in money, murder and… muddling up Ed. He never reveals anything about her, why she might have gone down this path of extreme criminality, how she could have such an aptitude for computers and why she's suddenly decided to pull off this heist. She dies in a blaze of glory, too, so we never get to find out anything more.
Blaze of glory? Artwork and killing? Are we regressing back to the season's opening two-parter? In a very nice use of continuity, the situation is indeed recalled, Alex specifically mentioning Ed's troubles with Kitty McHaig, asking if he hasn't had enough of all that (when Ed's bought the line he'll be helping a struggling artist). The episode deals neatly with the series' continuity as seems to be quite common across the season, as not only is the situation with Channing resolved more fully, Ros making it quite clear he's out of the picture, but we also play into the background and skills of the characters: Beckett's quite happy going undercover, so it's convenient when James Flood, the third prisoner to be granted early release by Athena, looks remarkably like our man, allowing him to take his place (I wonder how long it took them to find an actor that resembled Jesse Birdsall?). Then there's Ed's role as helicopter aficionado and pilot, as well as Sasha asking about his Tae Kwon Do, before playfully engaging in mock fight which was quite unique for the series. I can't remember if the exact form of Ed's martial arts discipline had actually been established on screen in 'A Sporting Chance' or whether it had been left vague back then, but he's had a bumpy career in that regard, sometimes remembering he's this great expert, other times just wading in with fists, or even simply running like a scared rabbit (as he and Julia did in 'Happy Ever After?'), so there hasn't been consistency, but in episodes like this we can at least pretend there was!
As it's Ed's episode it's only fitting that he actually got to win one of these hand-to-hand fights, too, which had become something of a rarity unless it was by chance (such as when he pushes Hex onto electrified equipment in 'A Sporting Chance'). He fights with prisoner number two, Ben Kennedy, the man who takes his chances in being the one to survive after Sasha has demonstrated a predilection for murdering the other associates, James Flood and Gordon Johns, in cold blood once their usefulness was at an end. He ends up as the only survivor of the motley gang - if he'd gone with Sasha in the helicopter he'd have ended up 'sploded, too. He probably went straight back to prison where many more years were added to his sentence. When we see a car draw up for each of the phonily released prisoners outside their prisons, and you see a chauffeur at the wheel, I couldn't help thinking of Jean-Daniel. It's become a habit in this series, since chauffeuring isn't that common, especially when you look at the high-tech world they tend to inhabit, it's almost an anachronism compared to the general style, and because JD made such an impression it's only natural to bend the mind down that route, especially as he got a mention only a couple of episodes ago that threw doubt on his death in Technopolis Tower. Was it deliberate to make a connection or purely coincidental?
The writers certainly seemed to be harking back to Icarus in 'All Under Control,' so who knows? That bank of computing power, the screens, the mysterious operator whose face we never see, operating under a mythic calling card, it all seems so similar. And you can tell from the way they write the characters and reference the lore, these writers know the series very well. In fact it's just a shame we didn't get to go back to the prison JD had been incarcerated in. Ed and Ros (with the Channing stuff), aren't the only ones to get callbacks, as Beckett mentions his 'vindictive ex-girlfriend' as the cause of his money troubles (a good shout because the situation is being repeated, this time for Ed, though money isn't the trouble). Does he still have the troubles, even after this long of working for the Bureau and when Jan said she could make them go away? Or is he just after sympathy and it's more that he doesn't have a permanent place to live after he lost all his savings? You'd think the role of Bureau Chief would pay very well… He certainly seems to be in a very good mood, but then that's probably because he won the battle with Channing, even if he's too close to see that Ros would reciprocate his fragile affections.
The episode continues the season's preference for naturalistic environments rather than high-tech or glossiness, with more stately homes full of expensive art, or country locations. I don't remember if Canary Wharf Tower has even been seen once this year! I certainly didn't remember how much they got away from the London Docklands, probably because Season 4 used the familiar sights a lot. It does bring variety, and the location they found for the vault containing the stolen art was really quite impressive, this tall, patchwork tower in the middle of fields which they approach by helicopter. Then you've got the uncertain atmosphere of Roger Delamere's residence which Sasha uses to meet Ed - there's such a strong feeling of being where they shouldn't, mixed in with Sasha's coy and difficult-to-read role and motivations turning it into a strangely unsettling sequence. Is that where Athena based herself? And for how long? Was she originally working with Delamere or had she set up shop without him knowing, perhaps in some attic? We know she blackmailed him, but that was after the prison releases… It's all so unexplained. She must have set up the perimeter alarm (to which Ed has what must be his slowest moment ever: 'is that an alarm?'), to alert her to intruders, and Ros traces the Athena signal there, but there's no explanation about any of it that I noticed.
It's not so easy to pin things down in terms of colours and costumes, either, as they all wear multiple outfits, but there's still plenty of colour to be had: Ros is the brightest in her red suit jacket and the return of the swirly, pearlescent earrings, while Beckett is sometimes formal in his usual kind of suit, plus green shirt and very dark green tie, and sometimes casual in his role as Flood. Ed gets to dress up smartly for once in a nice suit, although it's actually two episodes in a row he'd done that as he was dressed in a suit for Julia's wedding - loved his acrobatics to save the priceless vase Sasha chucked at him, that was a great roll, especially in such formal clothing! He's back to his usual casual wardrobe as Sasha's assistant, and Alex doesn't feature enough for her outfit to be particularly noticeable (no All-Stars jacket this week). One accessory that is rather cool, even though it was probably nicked from the first 'Mission: Impossible' film (which would have come out before or around the time they'd have been writing Season 3 in late-1996 or early '97), was the pair of glasses worn by Beckett which have the ability to transmit video and sound, as well as providing two-way communication. I love the way it's not just thrown in there as some great tech, but has a specific purpose for the professing of Beckett's sentiments toward Ros when he thinks she can't hear him. Which leads to the tag scene at the end which is weirdly neither sinister nor comedic to the extent it's difficult to know how to take it in such an action-based series: Ros fishes for Beckett to finish his thoughts only to be interrupted by Ed and Alex whose own uncertainty around each other deflects the moment, Ros saying it's nothing that can't wait.
It's not often that we see a character truly injured and coming quite so close to death, but Sasha's malevolent attempt to blast Beckett into little bits is thwarted by his experience and quick-wittedness, allowing him vital seconds to put some distance between himself and the explosion, which was quite spectacular. This was the moment I felt Ed should have stepped out of character as this new and 'improved' out for himself styled guy whom Sasha is impressed with, because I don't care how much those painting and sculptures are worth, they aren't worth Beckett's life. Not to Ed, anyway! He'd normally be the first to think of practical things before the mission, especially as it wasn't like any other lives were in danger. We can put it down to him being so out of step because of this whirlwind woman, having to deal with someone he was so close to in his past has messed with his mind. On the subject of explosions it's always appeared to me that they reused the, admittedly fabulous, explosion from 'Out of The Hive' and that was the reason they used the same kind of helicopter in that first ever episode. At least the demise of the villain isn't any of the team's fault this time - Kennedy fires off some rounds at the chopper himself when Ros is snooping around it (this may be the only episode ever where all three of the heroes do a roll: Ed catching the vase and dodging Sasha's gunfire; Ros escaping Kennedy's bullets; and… I can't remember if we actually see Beckett roll when he's running from the explosion, but I like to think he did!), and then Sasha's overconfidence, believing she can fly it, is what does her in.
Beckett's well-beloved old Jeep doesn't appear for once, though the Grand Cherokee version Ros favours does, and this time it's definitely the same shade of green as the old favourite, so perhaps Ros took that dark blue model back to the dealers wanting something closer to what she'd been used to? Ed's Land Cruiser is used (by him when he arrives at Delamere's and the moment Ros and Alex show up desperately looking for Beckett in the rubble of Sasha's base camp). And Alex, though not featuring much, gets to do more role-playing, this time as Madeline the Maid, who delivers a trolley of champagne to Flood's hotel. That's when you realise it's not going to have anything to do with JD (if you ever entertained the notion), because the car sent for the prisoners obviously drops them off at a hotel from which they receive instructions - convenient they weren't brought directly to Athena, but then the car and driver must have been hired by her as she doesn't seem to have anyone else in on the plot at all. Not sure what Flood's goal was when he comes charging at Alex, I presume he thought he'd push her off the car park, but he was running so fast he might not have been able to stop himself going over! And while there really weren't any solid nits to pick, Ros and Beckett could have done a bit better than standing behind the ex-offender saying they wanted a word while leaving the door wide open. But it seems they often have to make mistakes in order to allow the action to precipitate which might be a slight flaw in the series' makeup for those who are going to be pedantic. I just accept it in the childlike way I first saw the series and that probably makes all the difference. I'd love to know how it's faring on BritBox - who knows, if it got enough watches they might make some more. I can dream.
****
For once in their lives our hero team don't have high stakes with which to contend: sparing the government's blushes again and saving works of art. No lives at stake or anything that would affect the common citizen so I couldn't help feeling things weren't all that dire. The story remains strong, however, both visually, with a strong sense of direction and place, and in motivating the characters. It's Ed's turn to have a story revolve around him and his mysterious past. We don't know a great deal about any of the characters, in spite of Season 3's approach towards more characterisation and personal lives, but out of the original trio Ed was always the least developed, there to be the action man and quip and banter to the maximum. There isn't a lot more we're privy to in this episode, but we do get a small insight into him and his past: he was connected with Sasha, this woman who comes out of the blue having not had anything to do with him for ten years, and as Alex jealously points out, he drops everything in order to help her. It seems a bit hard to believe Sasha couldn't find anyone else who had access to a helicopter, but she's playing cards close to the chest with all the associates she brings on board her money-making plot. Through this we learn that Ed plays squash, he'd known her ten years before, and she dumped him, and by the way he's so ready to meet her again it's clear there's unfinished business there. We rarely see Ed in anything less than high spirits, though it's obvious through this and his off-balance position with Alex through the season that girlfriends are a weak point.
If we don't find out all that much about Ed, we learn even less about Sasha, the mystery woman, the type who's never happy standing still, always looking for a rush, playing games, leading her victims on, a nefarious female version of Ed you could say. The only real flaw of the episode, which is quite tightly put together and succeeds in its scope and variety of locations, as well as its realistic approach to the characters (even down to how it was filmed, with scenes like Ed and Sasha talking in a restaurant or bar, being interrupted for their order while the conversation keeps flowing - and example quite far from the usual style of the series), and how they're thinking and feeling, is a lack of backstory on Sasha - she's this programming genius, like Elverson in 'All Under Control,' has this ability to interfere with important computer systems, like Elverson, and even adopts a Greek goddess as her persona. Just like Elverson! The only difference (other than she doesn't have a big white beard and is a lot more striking than the old man in his cardigan!), is she doesn't seem to have any origin for her motivation. Elverson, as Icarus, was all about proving his software to the world, while Sasha, as Athena, is merely interested in money, murder and… muddling up Ed. He never reveals anything about her, why she might have gone down this path of extreme criminality, how she could have such an aptitude for computers and why she's suddenly decided to pull off this heist. She dies in a blaze of glory, too, so we never get to find out anything more.
Blaze of glory? Artwork and killing? Are we regressing back to the season's opening two-parter? In a very nice use of continuity, the situation is indeed recalled, Alex specifically mentioning Ed's troubles with Kitty McHaig, asking if he hasn't had enough of all that (when Ed's bought the line he'll be helping a struggling artist). The episode deals neatly with the series' continuity as seems to be quite common across the season, as not only is the situation with Channing resolved more fully, Ros making it quite clear he's out of the picture, but we also play into the background and skills of the characters: Beckett's quite happy going undercover, so it's convenient when James Flood, the third prisoner to be granted early release by Athena, looks remarkably like our man, allowing him to take his place (I wonder how long it took them to find an actor that resembled Jesse Birdsall?). Then there's Ed's role as helicopter aficionado and pilot, as well as Sasha asking about his Tae Kwon Do, before playfully engaging in mock fight which was quite unique for the series. I can't remember if the exact form of Ed's martial arts discipline had actually been established on screen in 'A Sporting Chance' or whether it had been left vague back then, but he's had a bumpy career in that regard, sometimes remembering he's this great expert, other times just wading in with fists, or even simply running like a scared rabbit (as he and Julia did in 'Happy Ever After?'), so there hasn't been consistency, but in episodes like this we can at least pretend there was!
As it's Ed's episode it's only fitting that he actually got to win one of these hand-to-hand fights, too, which had become something of a rarity unless it was by chance (such as when he pushes Hex onto electrified equipment in 'A Sporting Chance'). He fights with prisoner number two, Ben Kennedy, the man who takes his chances in being the one to survive after Sasha has demonstrated a predilection for murdering the other associates, James Flood and Gordon Johns, in cold blood once their usefulness was at an end. He ends up as the only survivor of the motley gang - if he'd gone with Sasha in the helicopter he'd have ended up 'sploded, too. He probably went straight back to prison where many more years were added to his sentence. When we see a car draw up for each of the phonily released prisoners outside their prisons, and you see a chauffeur at the wheel, I couldn't help thinking of Jean-Daniel. It's become a habit in this series, since chauffeuring isn't that common, especially when you look at the high-tech world they tend to inhabit, it's almost an anachronism compared to the general style, and because JD made such an impression it's only natural to bend the mind down that route, especially as he got a mention only a couple of episodes ago that threw doubt on his death in Technopolis Tower. Was it deliberate to make a connection or purely coincidental?
The writers certainly seemed to be harking back to Icarus in 'All Under Control,' so who knows? That bank of computing power, the screens, the mysterious operator whose face we never see, operating under a mythic calling card, it all seems so similar. And you can tell from the way they write the characters and reference the lore, these writers know the series very well. In fact it's just a shame we didn't get to go back to the prison JD had been incarcerated in. Ed and Ros (with the Channing stuff), aren't the only ones to get callbacks, as Beckett mentions his 'vindictive ex-girlfriend' as the cause of his money troubles (a good shout because the situation is being repeated, this time for Ed, though money isn't the trouble). Does he still have the troubles, even after this long of working for the Bureau and when Jan said she could make them go away? Or is he just after sympathy and it's more that he doesn't have a permanent place to live after he lost all his savings? You'd think the role of Bureau Chief would pay very well… He certainly seems to be in a very good mood, but then that's probably because he won the battle with Channing, even if he's too close to see that Ros would reciprocate his fragile affections.
The episode continues the season's preference for naturalistic environments rather than high-tech or glossiness, with more stately homes full of expensive art, or country locations. I don't remember if Canary Wharf Tower has even been seen once this year! I certainly didn't remember how much they got away from the London Docklands, probably because Season 4 used the familiar sights a lot. It does bring variety, and the location they found for the vault containing the stolen art was really quite impressive, this tall, patchwork tower in the middle of fields which they approach by helicopter. Then you've got the uncertain atmosphere of Roger Delamere's residence which Sasha uses to meet Ed - there's such a strong feeling of being where they shouldn't, mixed in with Sasha's coy and difficult-to-read role and motivations turning it into a strangely unsettling sequence. Is that where Athena based herself? And for how long? Was she originally working with Delamere or had she set up shop without him knowing, perhaps in some attic? We know she blackmailed him, but that was after the prison releases… It's all so unexplained. She must have set up the perimeter alarm (to which Ed has what must be his slowest moment ever: 'is that an alarm?'), to alert her to intruders, and Ros traces the Athena signal there, but there's no explanation about any of it that I noticed.
It's not so easy to pin things down in terms of colours and costumes, either, as they all wear multiple outfits, but there's still plenty of colour to be had: Ros is the brightest in her red suit jacket and the return of the swirly, pearlescent earrings, while Beckett is sometimes formal in his usual kind of suit, plus green shirt and very dark green tie, and sometimes casual in his role as Flood. Ed gets to dress up smartly for once in a nice suit, although it's actually two episodes in a row he'd done that as he was dressed in a suit for Julia's wedding - loved his acrobatics to save the priceless vase Sasha chucked at him, that was a great roll, especially in such formal clothing! He's back to his usual casual wardrobe as Sasha's assistant, and Alex doesn't feature enough for her outfit to be particularly noticeable (no All-Stars jacket this week). One accessory that is rather cool, even though it was probably nicked from the first 'Mission: Impossible' film (which would have come out before or around the time they'd have been writing Season 3 in late-1996 or early '97), was the pair of glasses worn by Beckett which have the ability to transmit video and sound, as well as providing two-way communication. I love the way it's not just thrown in there as some great tech, but has a specific purpose for the professing of Beckett's sentiments toward Ros when he thinks she can't hear him. Which leads to the tag scene at the end which is weirdly neither sinister nor comedic to the extent it's difficult to know how to take it in such an action-based series: Ros fishes for Beckett to finish his thoughts only to be interrupted by Ed and Alex whose own uncertainty around each other deflects the moment, Ros saying it's nothing that can't wait.
It's not often that we see a character truly injured and coming quite so close to death, but Sasha's malevolent attempt to blast Beckett into little bits is thwarted by his experience and quick-wittedness, allowing him vital seconds to put some distance between himself and the explosion, which was quite spectacular. This was the moment I felt Ed should have stepped out of character as this new and 'improved' out for himself styled guy whom Sasha is impressed with, because I don't care how much those painting and sculptures are worth, they aren't worth Beckett's life. Not to Ed, anyway! He'd normally be the first to think of practical things before the mission, especially as it wasn't like any other lives were in danger. We can put it down to him being so out of step because of this whirlwind woman, having to deal with someone he was so close to in his past has messed with his mind. On the subject of explosions it's always appeared to me that they reused the, admittedly fabulous, explosion from 'Out of The Hive' and that was the reason they used the same kind of helicopter in that first ever episode. At least the demise of the villain isn't any of the team's fault this time - Kennedy fires off some rounds at the chopper himself when Ros is snooping around it (this may be the only episode ever where all three of the heroes do a roll: Ed catching the vase and dodging Sasha's gunfire; Ros escaping Kennedy's bullets; and… I can't remember if we actually see Beckett roll when he's running from the explosion, but I like to think he did!), and then Sasha's overconfidence, believing she can fly it, is what does her in.
Beckett's well-beloved old Jeep doesn't appear for once, though the Grand Cherokee version Ros favours does, and this time it's definitely the same shade of green as the old favourite, so perhaps Ros took that dark blue model back to the dealers wanting something closer to what she'd been used to? Ed's Land Cruiser is used (by him when he arrives at Delamere's and the moment Ros and Alex show up desperately looking for Beckett in the rubble of Sasha's base camp). And Alex, though not featuring much, gets to do more role-playing, this time as Madeline the Maid, who delivers a trolley of champagne to Flood's hotel. That's when you realise it's not going to have anything to do with JD (if you ever entertained the notion), because the car sent for the prisoners obviously drops them off at a hotel from which they receive instructions - convenient they weren't brought directly to Athena, but then the car and driver must have been hired by her as she doesn't seem to have anyone else in on the plot at all. Not sure what Flood's goal was when he comes charging at Alex, I presume he thought he'd push her off the car park, but he was running so fast he might not have been able to stop himself going over! And while there really weren't any solid nits to pick, Ros and Beckett could have done a bit better than standing behind the ex-offender saying they wanted a word while leaving the door wide open. But it seems they often have to make mistakes in order to allow the action to precipitate which might be a slight flaw in the series' makeup for those who are going to be pedantic. I just accept it in the childlike way I first saw the series and that probably makes all the difference. I'd love to know how it's faring on BritBox - who knows, if it got enough watches they might make some more. I can dream.
****
Missing
DVD, Stargate Atlantis S4 (Missing)
The women are doing it for themselves. And they're doing it on a picturesque wooded planet, which is always a nice setting to explore. This one came completely out of the blue. Not that I guess every episode from its title or teaser, but I had no idea what to expect and it was a pleasant surprise. For a change we have an episode squarely focused on a main character and a recurring character, and two very different women. Teyla: battle-hardened warrior woman of the woods, full of the wisdom of tracking and fighting in the wilderness. Dr. Keller: wimpy human with great compassion and medical knowledge. In her medical bay she's queen, but out in the wilds it's a different story. In fact, it's not entirely the case she's queen of Atlantis' medicine since she was pushed into it a little to take over from Dr. Beckett, and even now she questions whether she's up to his standards, albeit in the eyes of the Athosians, Teyla's people, whom they travel off-world to visit. She's timid, she's not confident, but she's become a familiar and positive addition to the series, particularly this season as she's grown into Carson's shoes. So it was a pleasure to get to know her a little better and in such different circumstances.
It starts out as being just a friendly jaunt in the woods, a chance for Teyla to catch up with her people (and a particular man among them), and for Keller to perform any necessary check-ups. But it's not long before trouble materialises - there's no one there and the place is ransacked, it's the Boloki, a savage, though primitive tribe who are seemingly to blame. There's a bit of back and forth about who really did this, whether it was The Wraith, whether the Boloki are in league with them as Wraith worshippers, or whether, perhaps, the Genii are something to do with it all, since they recover a prisoner who claims to be Genii. In the end I don't think he was, though he was apparently a worshipper and may have been responsible for the disappearance of the Athosians. It's all very murky and we never even find out what had been going on, other than the Boloki clearly being there only to do what they do, scavenge and salvage, rather than being responsible. But it doesn't really matter as it leaves you hanging, wanting to know what has become of Teyla's people, though also ending on a personal cliffhanger for her as Keller's about to alert her to some medical issue at the end, seemingly very serious… I do hope they'e not gearing up to write her out of the series. Although Teyla may be the most underused, under-explored and wasted character, this episode shows just what she's capable of.
True, the coming of Ronon did rather neuter the potential she had. Why do we need this warrior woman when there's a hulking great brute who's just as good, if not better, in a scrap, but the key to Teyla's character isn't merely her combat prowess, it's as much her personal compassion for others and a willingness to do what's necessary. Oddly, we see the situation reversed in this episode as she takes on the hardened role of the military men like Sheppard, pushing Keller further than she's comfortable with, telling her what she needs to hear in order to survive, whether that be leaving her to cross the rope bridge alone or giving her that fierce statement that she will get home again. It was inspiring to see Teyla in this light - not as comforting and helpful as we're used to, the side of her personality most commonly seen and to which I usually warm, but that survivalist who will do whatever's necessary to get them out of this deadly situation. As a tigress she's also at a slight disadvantage because she pushes back reason and diplomacy on the basis she knows enough about the Boloki to believe she knows exactly what's happened, but she's also affected by the fate of her people - it's Keller who suggests the Boloki leader is likely to be telling the truth when he reacts so angrily to the assertion his tribe are working for The Wraith. And it's Keller who stands fast about caring for the injured former prisoner, who in turn comes to rescue them from their cage.
It shows the necessity of both sides of a personality in such a situation, it's not enough to be tough and make quick decisions, but it's also not enough to talk and reason. I'm not sure we can quite take away from it that the pair together were stronger than apart, because ultimately they never find out what actually happened, so although it was well written and particularly accomplished in the directing, it could have taken things to an even higher level with just a bit more of learning for the two women. Still, it was great to see them working together, Teyla was terrific as this warrior leader, and while it's for Keller to face the challenge of this sudden turn of events, living rough and trying desperately to survive the desperate ordeal, the challenge for Teyla is equally arduous in that she, on her personal honour, is fully responsible for what happens to the young doctor and has to curb her instincts and impatience in order to do that, and that's fascinating to watch. Because you know if she wasn't burdened by having this weak woman with her she'd have found things a lot easier. As it is, she still excels for the most part, though it's through her focus being completely consumed by the fate of her people and the need to get Keller to safety that she fails to realise how much less ready Keller is to do what comes naturally to her, leading to the fall that damages the doc's ankle and makes things even more difficult. It shows Teyla isn't perfect and it is very different to see her go into survival mode when usually she's so much more sympathetic to others, but it's the pressure she's under that drives her.
A word must also be said for the superb fight scenes where she takes on multiple tribal hunters while Dr. Keller can only look on helplessly. She does behave savagely afterwards and Keller looked like she might follow suit and I couldn't help thinking of things like the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm, and that kind of medical ethics, wondering if it was being violated by Keller's attitude a little (and what is her training for such eventualities as being hunted, attacked or captured?). But it's not like she runs in with the tiny scalpel and starts slashing away (it would have seemed more worthwhile to tie it securely to a stake so as to make a spear, as if she had tried to get close, the long-handled axes and swords would have cut her down before she could do any damage!). Teyla is a whirlwind of action and ability, taking out her multiple opponents with expert acrobatics. I liked that she was overcome in the later fight by weight of numbers as otherwise it would have seemed ridiculous, but as it was she still gave almost as good as she got, never cowed by the number of opponents. All those training sessions with sticks paid off! Actually, I don't know why she didn't get a couple of sticks so she could carry out those kinds of moves as that's all we ever seem to see her do in Atlantis training…
It really is a showcase for Teyla, something she's been crying out for for a long time. It's fine to have scenes with Ronon, but he's not the only feller around and they needed to find something to do with her, so this quest to discover the whereabouts of her people could be the impetus to move up to bigger and better things, just as long as it doesn't mean writing her out, please! The look of the Boloki was effective, the filming as they and their prey were nipping through the forest was so well done, and I was glad we didn't have a B-story to keep going back to Atlantis for as the tension remained unbroken and was allowed to play out to each new revelation as the story unfolded. I also liked that McKay, though he always looks strained when running around with a gun, has got to the point where he handles it naturally now, which isn't something you could have guessed would have happened at the start of the series! There was one thing missing, especially for a female-centric episode: no Samantha Carter, where was she? Not that it hurt the episode at all, and it wouldn't have worked so well to have another voice in the mix, as Keller and Teyla together, chalk and cheese was what made it work. Hopefully they don't kill off Keller as they did Beckett, or write Teyla out because having this strong mix of characters is what the series is, or should be, about and it would be great to see a friendship develop out of this situation.
***
The women are doing it for themselves. And they're doing it on a picturesque wooded planet, which is always a nice setting to explore. This one came completely out of the blue. Not that I guess every episode from its title or teaser, but I had no idea what to expect and it was a pleasant surprise. For a change we have an episode squarely focused on a main character and a recurring character, and two very different women. Teyla: battle-hardened warrior woman of the woods, full of the wisdom of tracking and fighting in the wilderness. Dr. Keller: wimpy human with great compassion and medical knowledge. In her medical bay she's queen, but out in the wilds it's a different story. In fact, it's not entirely the case she's queen of Atlantis' medicine since she was pushed into it a little to take over from Dr. Beckett, and even now she questions whether she's up to his standards, albeit in the eyes of the Athosians, Teyla's people, whom they travel off-world to visit. She's timid, she's not confident, but she's become a familiar and positive addition to the series, particularly this season as she's grown into Carson's shoes. So it was a pleasure to get to know her a little better and in such different circumstances.
It starts out as being just a friendly jaunt in the woods, a chance for Teyla to catch up with her people (and a particular man among them), and for Keller to perform any necessary check-ups. But it's not long before trouble materialises - there's no one there and the place is ransacked, it's the Boloki, a savage, though primitive tribe who are seemingly to blame. There's a bit of back and forth about who really did this, whether it was The Wraith, whether the Boloki are in league with them as Wraith worshippers, or whether, perhaps, the Genii are something to do with it all, since they recover a prisoner who claims to be Genii. In the end I don't think he was, though he was apparently a worshipper and may have been responsible for the disappearance of the Athosians. It's all very murky and we never even find out what had been going on, other than the Boloki clearly being there only to do what they do, scavenge and salvage, rather than being responsible. But it doesn't really matter as it leaves you hanging, wanting to know what has become of Teyla's people, though also ending on a personal cliffhanger for her as Keller's about to alert her to some medical issue at the end, seemingly very serious… I do hope they'e not gearing up to write her out of the series. Although Teyla may be the most underused, under-explored and wasted character, this episode shows just what she's capable of.
True, the coming of Ronon did rather neuter the potential she had. Why do we need this warrior woman when there's a hulking great brute who's just as good, if not better, in a scrap, but the key to Teyla's character isn't merely her combat prowess, it's as much her personal compassion for others and a willingness to do what's necessary. Oddly, we see the situation reversed in this episode as she takes on the hardened role of the military men like Sheppard, pushing Keller further than she's comfortable with, telling her what she needs to hear in order to survive, whether that be leaving her to cross the rope bridge alone or giving her that fierce statement that she will get home again. It was inspiring to see Teyla in this light - not as comforting and helpful as we're used to, the side of her personality most commonly seen and to which I usually warm, but that survivalist who will do whatever's necessary to get them out of this deadly situation. As a tigress she's also at a slight disadvantage because she pushes back reason and diplomacy on the basis she knows enough about the Boloki to believe she knows exactly what's happened, but she's also affected by the fate of her people - it's Keller who suggests the Boloki leader is likely to be telling the truth when he reacts so angrily to the assertion his tribe are working for The Wraith. And it's Keller who stands fast about caring for the injured former prisoner, who in turn comes to rescue them from their cage.
It shows the necessity of both sides of a personality in such a situation, it's not enough to be tough and make quick decisions, but it's also not enough to talk and reason. I'm not sure we can quite take away from it that the pair together were stronger than apart, because ultimately they never find out what actually happened, so although it was well written and particularly accomplished in the directing, it could have taken things to an even higher level with just a bit more of learning for the two women. Still, it was great to see them working together, Teyla was terrific as this warrior leader, and while it's for Keller to face the challenge of this sudden turn of events, living rough and trying desperately to survive the desperate ordeal, the challenge for Teyla is equally arduous in that she, on her personal honour, is fully responsible for what happens to the young doctor and has to curb her instincts and impatience in order to do that, and that's fascinating to watch. Because you know if she wasn't burdened by having this weak woman with her she'd have found things a lot easier. As it is, she still excels for the most part, though it's through her focus being completely consumed by the fate of her people and the need to get Keller to safety that she fails to realise how much less ready Keller is to do what comes naturally to her, leading to the fall that damages the doc's ankle and makes things even more difficult. It shows Teyla isn't perfect and it is very different to see her go into survival mode when usually she's so much more sympathetic to others, but it's the pressure she's under that drives her.
A word must also be said for the superb fight scenes where she takes on multiple tribal hunters while Dr. Keller can only look on helplessly. She does behave savagely afterwards and Keller looked like she might follow suit and I couldn't help thinking of things like the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm, and that kind of medical ethics, wondering if it was being violated by Keller's attitude a little (and what is her training for such eventualities as being hunted, attacked or captured?). But it's not like she runs in with the tiny scalpel and starts slashing away (it would have seemed more worthwhile to tie it securely to a stake so as to make a spear, as if she had tried to get close, the long-handled axes and swords would have cut her down before she could do any damage!). Teyla is a whirlwind of action and ability, taking out her multiple opponents with expert acrobatics. I liked that she was overcome in the later fight by weight of numbers as otherwise it would have seemed ridiculous, but as it was she still gave almost as good as she got, never cowed by the number of opponents. All those training sessions with sticks paid off! Actually, I don't know why she didn't get a couple of sticks so she could carry out those kinds of moves as that's all we ever seem to see her do in Atlantis training…
It really is a showcase for Teyla, something she's been crying out for for a long time. It's fine to have scenes with Ronon, but he's not the only feller around and they needed to find something to do with her, so this quest to discover the whereabouts of her people could be the impetus to move up to bigger and better things, just as long as it doesn't mean writing her out, please! The look of the Boloki was effective, the filming as they and their prey were nipping through the forest was so well done, and I was glad we didn't have a B-story to keep going back to Atlantis for as the tension remained unbroken and was allowed to play out to each new revelation as the story unfolded. I also liked that McKay, though he always looks strained when running around with a gun, has got to the point where he handles it naturally now, which isn't something you could have guessed would have happened at the start of the series! There was one thing missing, especially for a female-centric episode: no Samantha Carter, where was she? Not that it hurt the episode at all, and it wouldn't have worked so well to have another voice in the mix, as Keller and Teyla together, chalk and cheese was what made it work. Hopefully they don't kill off Keller as they did Beckett, or write Teyla out because having this strong mix of characters is what the series is, or should be, about and it would be great to see a friendship develop out of this situation.
***
Friday, 1 April 2022
Happy Ever After?
DVD, BUGS S3 (Happy Ever After?)
Happy ever after? It's the question being posed to various characters in this story: will the Bureau (and especially Beckett) be happy ever after without Ros? Will Ros be happy ever after without the Bureau (and especially Beckett)? Will Jan's goddaughter be happy ever after with her new husband, Mark? That last one is an easy one to answer, for we see it transpire. It was a bold move to change his name and woo the daughter of Sir Anthony Fairchild, government minister and good friend of Jan (or is that Barbara? We get little slivers of information about her, and this is the latest one: her real name, Jan being the codename. So does that mean Jan Harvey is also a codename? What's the actress' real name?), purely for the purpose of saving his company from the new water table scheme. But more pressing and personal matters use this backdrop of adventure, as the mission builds: Ros has to make a decision about where she's going to go. After setting up the choice of moving to the US with Channing, it's good that it doesn't hang over the series for more than an episode so Ros can get back to doing what she does best. And the situation isn't fully resolved since she can tell Beckett's keen on her, but too… 'shy' isn't the word. 'Pigheaded' is closer, but perhaps 'distrustful' is most apt - to himself for thinking he's not up to her standards, and to her that she would ever be interested in him.
Channing foolishly forced the issue thinking money was the solution - not directly, but obviously having the high life is attractive to most people. But Ros isn't most people, she likes risking her life, helping people, the thrill of the adventure. Channing's much more mechanically minded, believing it will be enough for her to potter about inventing gadgetry and making him a fortune. The real test for him would have been if he'd been put in a position somehow where he'd have had to give up his wealth for her. She wasn't ultimately willing to give up who she was and the life she's built, in exchange for a glossy magazine outside, high-tech inside. And I like that she made the choice, she didn't wait for Beckett to come and profess undying love at the last second (though he does show up at Channing's house and we don't hear him come in, so was he hiding in there to see what would happen?), she was baldly honest with herself, didn't react in an emotional way, ironically, as she was thinking out the logical, calm reality. She's always had that mix of lateral thinking, with emotions just beneath the surface, and so has Beckett. He's a little less prone to emotions (other than hotheadedness), but also less logical, running more on instinct and they complement each other so well.
In the same way, Ed's carefree attitude, irreverent humour and interest in the physical more than brain work, made him the ideal third pillar of the trio, though as we've seen so much this season, he's become much more bonded to working with new kid on the block, Alex. Together they make an all-star team, and I say that because Alex seemed to be wearing some kind of all-star jacket of red, blue and white, British lioness of the Bureau, and even a bright blue jumper underneath (like she's Supergirl), as if she's really coming into her own as part of the active rank of the team since they traditionally wear primary colours - this time Ed wears a mustard shirt under his colourful jacket, Beckett stays traditional in Bureau Chief attire of green tie, blue shirt and charcoal suit, while Ros is back in her white jacket over black (complete with some earrings that looked just like the coins with stars on from 'Super Mario'! Bloop-bloop-bloop-bloop-bloop), though when she comes to the rescue, despite injury, she's in bright green jumper and shawl to reclaim her visual place. Ed gets to be himself a little more, climbing up the outside of a building (but what was in the backpack - I assumed it was going to be ropes and gear to help Julia climb back down with him, but in the end they made for the door), because he 'needs the exercise,' or racing after the kidnappers in hot pursuit with whatever vehicle was to hand!
There are some questionable decisions made once again, one being that Ed is constantly being bested in man-to-man combat by henchmen who don't really look up to the task! At least this time there was some female equality in the sense that Alex gets beaten up about as much as Ed, being given a winding in the churchyard, overcome in a fistfight, and flung over a balcony, but she does get to redeem herself with some expert acrobatics to prevent a drop to the floor. Though the landing didn't look all that realistic compared to the high-flying pole flipping on a hanging light! Still, it is good to see the pair of them hitting it off more and more rather than Ed behaving like a smitten schoolboy and Alex his minder. He seems to have settled back into his usual personality and at least there were no major letdowns from him driving a car rather than a bike, other than handling the spotless white Rolls Royce around a muddy field until he gets stuck. It reminded me of the car in 'Stealth' where he's doing great until something goes wrong, and if only he'd had his dirt bike with him on this occasion… While we're on vehicles, the Grand Cherokee Jeep makes its first appearance, rather unobtrusively, as Ros drives up to Channing's place. I think it's the one we see from now on, but I was under the impression it was the same dark green as Beckett's standard Cherokee Jeep, whereas this one looked dark blue. I wonder if this was just one of her expensive purchases from all the money that's been rolling in - there's a thought: will her business with Channing still go ahead, does he own her work?
I couldn't help feeling in some way that we'd been here before with some parts of the story. Understandable since the series does repeat stunts and other plot devices here and there. The idea of eco-terrorists ('Nature First' this time), as a front for some other criminal activity had been done before in 'Blackout' (that seems to be an inspiration for a lot of things as I find myself referencing it on a regular basis!), as had a seeming ally being the villain behind their mission (Mad Sally from 'Manna From Heaven' and Alberto from 'Shotgun Wedding' come immediately to mind, but I feel like there are other examples). Mark Schuman (or was it Curtis), seemed so obviously bad from the start - rather than leaping into action to save his new wife from the kidnappers, he seemingly panics and runs right into the pursuing Ed's path, shouting that Julia's been taken. Then he keeps making trouble, urging the minister to drop his water plans. You'd think someone as devious as he seemed would have been able to fool the audience as much as he could the characters, and maybe he was, I'm seeing it from the perspective of knowing he's a villain from multiple viewings so it's hard to remember how it was the first time.
He's certainly villainous, murdering his lackeys in a car bomb, attempting to blow up the water station, trying to kill his wife… But it all seems rather haphazard, as do the actions of the heroes, specifically Ed - you'd think for once he'd pick up the bad guy's weapon and put him under close arrest, but instead he leads Julia off on a desperate attempt to escape, instead trapping them both within an apparent dead end. And when he realises, he calmly starts climbing out again even though he knows an angry enemy with a gun is close by! Not actions that make sense, but it's become a running theme whenever villains drop their weapon that our team seem allergic to picking it up. They don't like to use guns, I understand that, but as a defensive action to protect themselves and to hold someone in custody it seems a highly defensible, even sensible course of action! But then we wouldn't have the excitement of a rooftop chase as a limping Mark goes after them as quickly as a limping man can, firing bursts of gunfire in anger. In that case, simply have it that he never let go of the gun, which would explain why Ed didn't grab it. Why he didn't simply throw himself upon the downed villain and wrestle it off him, I couldn't have said, but he was in handcuffs at the time...
Beckett gets his time to shine, and no gun fails in sight, bravely rushing to save Ros, carrying her out of the blast of a hastily thrown grenade to mask the goons' escape. That whole scene had a good, natural sense of action and reality to it, from Ed pulling Donaldson out of the vehicle, Sugar hitting him with a metal bar, then hearing the clang as it's dropped, it has the frenetic atmosphere of a genuine off the cuff sequence of split second events. And then Beckett rescuing Ros - shame he couldn't help but chuck her to the ground as the blast took them all off their feet, I expect that didn't do her much good any more than the gunshot wound! From there it becomes the 'Channing Scolds Show,' mother hen-ing her in her hospital bed as if he's protecting an investment. Which he is, really. Channing always seems like a decent bloke, always game to try and go along with whatever wacky course Ros wants to follow because that's what she and her friends do, and only showing any kind of snide side in reaction to Beckett's failure to reign in his spiky attitude towards friendly terms. Beckett does tend to come off looking worse, but then we already like him so we're on his side. We do get to learn more about Ros and what motivates her than we ever had before, so it's surprising that no writer is credited for the episode as that generally means it's a messy one. And yet this was beautifully handled and it's a well written story in general.
It may also be the most downbeat ending the series had ever done, with Ros realising where her place is, even if Beckett can't bring himself to try and persuade her, going so far as to speak against his own interests because he thinks it's what she wants. But Ros is more practical and realistic, always the most grounded member of the team and she has it out with Channing, saving us from the future without her part of the series, which would be unthinkable. She's not really happy, it was a painful decision, but Beckett's there at the end, more for presence than anything else. There's a relief that she's not leaving, but it's also shot in such a sad way that there are real mixed emotions to it, and it works. It's not all doom and gloom, or even just this concern hanging over the future, there's plenty of fun and that's what sets this season above Season 4, since that had the similar kind of cloud over proceedings, except in that case without all the hopefulness and positivity, if worrying, becoming negative and unhappy, a major reason why that season didn't work nearly as well as those before it. We have things here like Alex dressing up in another disguise, a character trait which is fun to see peppered through the season, this time claiming to be from the Treasury when she visits Curtis Drilling to leave an ultimatum for Mark, dressed in trench coat and shades! Then there's that very English moment of Ed stuck in the Rolls and a cow mooing in sympathy.
There was also some good, simple deduction work as they realise they can trace the villains not by some clever technical way through the computer they used at Battle For The Planet, a 'cyber cafe' and laser game centre (much like Megazone, which we used to have in the Nineties!), no, they realise they can track them from the CCTV, knowing what time they sent the message. Interesting view of the internet, Alex calling the cyber cafe the modern opium den! There's a sleazy proprietor that only cares about getting paid, not what his young customers might be looking up, it's all off the record and there's a real sense that this is the modern equivalent of a place where young people will be led astray, what with the attitude of the guy in charge and this giant image of a demonic monster face on the wall behind them. It's all quite dark with flashing lights, a bit like how arcades were viewed in the preceding decades, I suppose. Definitely an air of non-respectability, alien to the generation of our characters - no, they were only into phone hacking and messing around with authorities' databases!
In keeping with this season we're once again very much in a rural setting for much of the time, with country churchyards, fields and farmhouses, and only the occasional jaunt into a modern leisure centre, or the closest to a 'BUGS' building we came to with the Curtis Drilling place and the water station. In the end nothing can tear the team apart and Ros rises from her sick bed against Dr. Channing's orders to get involved and saves their lives thanks to her expertise in bomb defusing - I liked that they actually used her credit card video camera with a live feed so she could give them instructions on how to freeze the detonator. Also fun to have Ed's sewing ability come back to the fore when he criticises Alex' attempts and takes over, which he'd shown an aptitude for back in Season 1 ('Shotgun Wedding,' I believe). I'm not sure about leaving a roaring fire in the grate when you're leaving for another country, I don't know how easy it is to put out a big fire like that, but it seemed irresponsible so close to them heading out the door! Was it left for the hired help? You'd think someone like him would have a butler, at least! But importantly, all is well at the end and it's another pretty strong example of the series. Now we just need to get Jan more involved, but that would be coming soon.
****
Happy ever after? It's the question being posed to various characters in this story: will the Bureau (and especially Beckett) be happy ever after without Ros? Will Ros be happy ever after without the Bureau (and especially Beckett)? Will Jan's goddaughter be happy ever after with her new husband, Mark? That last one is an easy one to answer, for we see it transpire. It was a bold move to change his name and woo the daughter of Sir Anthony Fairchild, government minister and good friend of Jan (or is that Barbara? We get little slivers of information about her, and this is the latest one: her real name, Jan being the codename. So does that mean Jan Harvey is also a codename? What's the actress' real name?), purely for the purpose of saving his company from the new water table scheme. But more pressing and personal matters use this backdrop of adventure, as the mission builds: Ros has to make a decision about where she's going to go. After setting up the choice of moving to the US with Channing, it's good that it doesn't hang over the series for more than an episode so Ros can get back to doing what she does best. And the situation isn't fully resolved since she can tell Beckett's keen on her, but too… 'shy' isn't the word. 'Pigheaded' is closer, but perhaps 'distrustful' is most apt - to himself for thinking he's not up to her standards, and to her that she would ever be interested in him.
Channing foolishly forced the issue thinking money was the solution - not directly, but obviously having the high life is attractive to most people. But Ros isn't most people, she likes risking her life, helping people, the thrill of the adventure. Channing's much more mechanically minded, believing it will be enough for her to potter about inventing gadgetry and making him a fortune. The real test for him would have been if he'd been put in a position somehow where he'd have had to give up his wealth for her. She wasn't ultimately willing to give up who she was and the life she's built, in exchange for a glossy magazine outside, high-tech inside. And I like that she made the choice, she didn't wait for Beckett to come and profess undying love at the last second (though he does show up at Channing's house and we don't hear him come in, so was he hiding in there to see what would happen?), she was baldly honest with herself, didn't react in an emotional way, ironically, as she was thinking out the logical, calm reality. She's always had that mix of lateral thinking, with emotions just beneath the surface, and so has Beckett. He's a little less prone to emotions (other than hotheadedness), but also less logical, running more on instinct and they complement each other so well.
In the same way, Ed's carefree attitude, irreverent humour and interest in the physical more than brain work, made him the ideal third pillar of the trio, though as we've seen so much this season, he's become much more bonded to working with new kid on the block, Alex. Together they make an all-star team, and I say that because Alex seemed to be wearing some kind of all-star jacket of red, blue and white, British lioness of the Bureau, and even a bright blue jumper underneath (like she's Supergirl), as if she's really coming into her own as part of the active rank of the team since they traditionally wear primary colours - this time Ed wears a mustard shirt under his colourful jacket, Beckett stays traditional in Bureau Chief attire of green tie, blue shirt and charcoal suit, while Ros is back in her white jacket over black (complete with some earrings that looked just like the coins with stars on from 'Super Mario'! Bloop-bloop-bloop-bloop-bloop), though when she comes to the rescue, despite injury, she's in bright green jumper and shawl to reclaim her visual place. Ed gets to be himself a little more, climbing up the outside of a building (but what was in the backpack - I assumed it was going to be ropes and gear to help Julia climb back down with him, but in the end they made for the door), because he 'needs the exercise,' or racing after the kidnappers in hot pursuit with whatever vehicle was to hand!
There are some questionable decisions made once again, one being that Ed is constantly being bested in man-to-man combat by henchmen who don't really look up to the task! At least this time there was some female equality in the sense that Alex gets beaten up about as much as Ed, being given a winding in the churchyard, overcome in a fistfight, and flung over a balcony, but she does get to redeem herself with some expert acrobatics to prevent a drop to the floor. Though the landing didn't look all that realistic compared to the high-flying pole flipping on a hanging light! Still, it is good to see the pair of them hitting it off more and more rather than Ed behaving like a smitten schoolboy and Alex his minder. He seems to have settled back into his usual personality and at least there were no major letdowns from him driving a car rather than a bike, other than handling the spotless white Rolls Royce around a muddy field until he gets stuck. It reminded me of the car in 'Stealth' where he's doing great until something goes wrong, and if only he'd had his dirt bike with him on this occasion… While we're on vehicles, the Grand Cherokee Jeep makes its first appearance, rather unobtrusively, as Ros drives up to Channing's place. I think it's the one we see from now on, but I was under the impression it was the same dark green as Beckett's standard Cherokee Jeep, whereas this one looked dark blue. I wonder if this was just one of her expensive purchases from all the money that's been rolling in - there's a thought: will her business with Channing still go ahead, does he own her work?
I couldn't help feeling in some way that we'd been here before with some parts of the story. Understandable since the series does repeat stunts and other plot devices here and there. The idea of eco-terrorists ('Nature First' this time), as a front for some other criminal activity had been done before in 'Blackout' (that seems to be an inspiration for a lot of things as I find myself referencing it on a regular basis!), as had a seeming ally being the villain behind their mission (Mad Sally from 'Manna From Heaven' and Alberto from 'Shotgun Wedding' come immediately to mind, but I feel like there are other examples). Mark Schuman (or was it Curtis), seemed so obviously bad from the start - rather than leaping into action to save his new wife from the kidnappers, he seemingly panics and runs right into the pursuing Ed's path, shouting that Julia's been taken. Then he keeps making trouble, urging the minister to drop his water plans. You'd think someone as devious as he seemed would have been able to fool the audience as much as he could the characters, and maybe he was, I'm seeing it from the perspective of knowing he's a villain from multiple viewings so it's hard to remember how it was the first time.
He's certainly villainous, murdering his lackeys in a car bomb, attempting to blow up the water station, trying to kill his wife… But it all seems rather haphazard, as do the actions of the heroes, specifically Ed - you'd think for once he'd pick up the bad guy's weapon and put him under close arrest, but instead he leads Julia off on a desperate attempt to escape, instead trapping them both within an apparent dead end. And when he realises, he calmly starts climbing out again even though he knows an angry enemy with a gun is close by! Not actions that make sense, but it's become a running theme whenever villains drop their weapon that our team seem allergic to picking it up. They don't like to use guns, I understand that, but as a defensive action to protect themselves and to hold someone in custody it seems a highly defensible, even sensible course of action! But then we wouldn't have the excitement of a rooftop chase as a limping Mark goes after them as quickly as a limping man can, firing bursts of gunfire in anger. In that case, simply have it that he never let go of the gun, which would explain why Ed didn't grab it. Why he didn't simply throw himself upon the downed villain and wrestle it off him, I couldn't have said, but he was in handcuffs at the time...
Beckett gets his time to shine, and no gun fails in sight, bravely rushing to save Ros, carrying her out of the blast of a hastily thrown grenade to mask the goons' escape. That whole scene had a good, natural sense of action and reality to it, from Ed pulling Donaldson out of the vehicle, Sugar hitting him with a metal bar, then hearing the clang as it's dropped, it has the frenetic atmosphere of a genuine off the cuff sequence of split second events. And then Beckett rescuing Ros - shame he couldn't help but chuck her to the ground as the blast took them all off their feet, I expect that didn't do her much good any more than the gunshot wound! From there it becomes the 'Channing Scolds Show,' mother hen-ing her in her hospital bed as if he's protecting an investment. Which he is, really. Channing always seems like a decent bloke, always game to try and go along with whatever wacky course Ros wants to follow because that's what she and her friends do, and only showing any kind of snide side in reaction to Beckett's failure to reign in his spiky attitude towards friendly terms. Beckett does tend to come off looking worse, but then we already like him so we're on his side. We do get to learn more about Ros and what motivates her than we ever had before, so it's surprising that no writer is credited for the episode as that generally means it's a messy one. And yet this was beautifully handled and it's a well written story in general.
It may also be the most downbeat ending the series had ever done, with Ros realising where her place is, even if Beckett can't bring himself to try and persuade her, going so far as to speak against his own interests because he thinks it's what she wants. But Ros is more practical and realistic, always the most grounded member of the team and she has it out with Channing, saving us from the future without her part of the series, which would be unthinkable. She's not really happy, it was a painful decision, but Beckett's there at the end, more for presence than anything else. There's a relief that she's not leaving, but it's also shot in such a sad way that there are real mixed emotions to it, and it works. It's not all doom and gloom, or even just this concern hanging over the future, there's plenty of fun and that's what sets this season above Season 4, since that had the similar kind of cloud over proceedings, except in that case without all the hopefulness and positivity, if worrying, becoming negative and unhappy, a major reason why that season didn't work nearly as well as those before it. We have things here like Alex dressing up in another disguise, a character trait which is fun to see peppered through the season, this time claiming to be from the Treasury when she visits Curtis Drilling to leave an ultimatum for Mark, dressed in trench coat and shades! Then there's that very English moment of Ed stuck in the Rolls and a cow mooing in sympathy.
There was also some good, simple deduction work as they realise they can trace the villains not by some clever technical way through the computer they used at Battle For The Planet, a 'cyber cafe' and laser game centre (much like Megazone, which we used to have in the Nineties!), no, they realise they can track them from the CCTV, knowing what time they sent the message. Interesting view of the internet, Alex calling the cyber cafe the modern opium den! There's a sleazy proprietor that only cares about getting paid, not what his young customers might be looking up, it's all off the record and there's a real sense that this is the modern equivalent of a place where young people will be led astray, what with the attitude of the guy in charge and this giant image of a demonic monster face on the wall behind them. It's all quite dark with flashing lights, a bit like how arcades were viewed in the preceding decades, I suppose. Definitely an air of non-respectability, alien to the generation of our characters - no, they were only into phone hacking and messing around with authorities' databases!
In keeping with this season we're once again very much in a rural setting for much of the time, with country churchyards, fields and farmhouses, and only the occasional jaunt into a modern leisure centre, or the closest to a 'BUGS' building we came to with the Curtis Drilling place and the water station. In the end nothing can tear the team apart and Ros rises from her sick bed against Dr. Channing's orders to get involved and saves their lives thanks to her expertise in bomb defusing - I liked that they actually used her credit card video camera with a live feed so she could give them instructions on how to freeze the detonator. Also fun to have Ed's sewing ability come back to the fore when he criticises Alex' attempts and takes over, which he'd shown an aptitude for back in Season 1 ('Shotgun Wedding,' I believe). I'm not sure about leaving a roaring fire in the grate when you're leaving for another country, I don't know how easy it is to put out a big fire like that, but it seemed irresponsible so close to them heading out the door! Was it left for the hired help? You'd think someone like him would have a butler, at least! But importantly, all is well at the end and it's another pretty strong example of the series. Now we just need to get Jan more involved, but that would be coming soon.
****
Tabula Rasa
DVD, Stargate Atlantis S4 (Tabula Rasa)
With such a high concept teaser it was likely to be difficult for the episode proper to live up to expectations, and for the most part, it didn't. But there were a few things that saved it at the end and helped it 'make the grade,' and not just sink into generic B-film sci-fi glammed up with 21st Century production values, and that is: character. Character is the glue that holds 'Stargate' together and stopped it from vanishing into the ether, superceded by the next glossy adventure series set in space, and it's what saved the day, not that plant thing Ronon had to run off and get, though even seeing the burly warrior dashing around with a couple of sacks of vegetable matter as if he'd just managed to find the last cabbages for a prize stew he had to cook, was quite a sight. For me, it was the moment when Teyla does what she does best, and encourages Rodney when he doesn't know what to do, saying exactly what he needed to hear, but also what was true: that of all the things he was likely to forget, his scientific know-how wasn't going to be the first thing to go. It reminded me why she is such a special character and a reassuringly practical, reasoning person, and also why she seems to be so criminally underused - because this is, at heart, an action-adventure series, so character work can get left in the dust sometimes.
Teyla did also have her share of the action, however, when she takes on Major Lorne and two of his men. Sure, she ultimately succumbs to their stun weapons, but she made a good fist of it, and yes, reminded us of her warrior status again, too. That she is the key to this puzzle gives the teaser a chunk of its mystery. Why did Rodney have to tie himself to a chair and record this message to himself, or scrawl writing up his arms? They do love their 'x hours earlier' title cards, and they use the device again here to flip back and forth between then, the cause, and now, the present, and hopefully, the solution. The hours tick down returning a few closer to the present with each flashback until they stop even bothering with the titles. This was where I felt the episode soften or weaken, however it should be put, because the present was fascinating, menacing and leaves you anxious to explore the city and its dark, empty corridors. But that's dissipated when we go back and it seemed like wasting time to show us how we got to that exact point of Rodney recording the message. In the hands of a superior writer it could have been a classic, uncovering clues and slowly coming to an understanding of the state of events. I appreciate the forty-two minute format works against achieving a satisfying story like that, but constraint breeds creativity. While some of what we saw was useful, in general I couldn't help feeling most of the running time dedicated to flashbacks was a trifle wasted, filling in time.
Another part of the episode which really could have been a strong linchpin on which to base a story, was showing how our main characters revert to their natural reflexes and abilities even when they don't know who they are or what those are. To a certain extent they did, Rodney continuing to be a relative tech genius, Carter showing some leadership, etc. Trouble is, it was too little to explore that idea of a person being the sum of their experiences or a reflex of their natural inclinations, so I felt they really missed mining a lot of potential. In fact, Rodney even looks a lot less accomplished by the story's need to wrap up quickly, so all he has to do is tap one key on the computer keyboard and whatever program he was working on to solve the problem was done, and that too took away from the sense of a problem being worked out. But what saved it were the moments at the end apart from that: Ronon, rather than fighting it out with Sheppard when he has a gun trained on him at the Jumper, talks him down, and does the same when they return to Atlantis to be confronted by Lorne - they had the foresight to provide readymade proof, which was a much better solution (if just as 'easy' as McKay tapping a key), because it showed ingenuity. And there's obviously the scene where Rodney stays by the bedside of his girlfriend, Katie, like a little lost dog, until she wakes up and all is well again.
I couldn't remember for sure if Katie had been in it before (maybe I've got the disease?), but I hope she was because she was likeable in a ditzy way and it's much better if they can bring back previously established people. Same with Lorne, although he was another missed trick as I thought he and his men's reliance on the stimulants was going to come more into play, perhaps making them unbalanced or showing they'd developed an addiction to the exclusion of all else. I wanted to know if he remembered anything or was just focused on the orders he'd been given, to round up everyone into the Mess Hall. He could have become a lot more sinister as this force leading the soldiers that they don't trust (it was certainly novel to escape 'custody' by creating a stampede to surprise the soldiers), he could have begun to act more oddly, or paranoid, something to give the episode a necessary bite. But because they're only using stunners there's very little danger and the impression of this virus was softened because we hardly ever saw anyone seriously affected, other than Katie's team member or the dead body Rodney finds when he first starts exploring the city. The good parts of the episode saved it and it had qualities, but was far from being full-powered, even though it did ultimately sway me to the positive this particular blank slate could have done with a little more filling in around the edges (ta-da!).
***
With such a high concept teaser it was likely to be difficult for the episode proper to live up to expectations, and for the most part, it didn't. But there were a few things that saved it at the end and helped it 'make the grade,' and not just sink into generic B-film sci-fi glammed up with 21st Century production values, and that is: character. Character is the glue that holds 'Stargate' together and stopped it from vanishing into the ether, superceded by the next glossy adventure series set in space, and it's what saved the day, not that plant thing Ronon had to run off and get, though even seeing the burly warrior dashing around with a couple of sacks of vegetable matter as if he'd just managed to find the last cabbages for a prize stew he had to cook, was quite a sight. For me, it was the moment when Teyla does what she does best, and encourages Rodney when he doesn't know what to do, saying exactly what he needed to hear, but also what was true: that of all the things he was likely to forget, his scientific know-how wasn't going to be the first thing to go. It reminded me why she is such a special character and a reassuringly practical, reasoning person, and also why she seems to be so criminally underused - because this is, at heart, an action-adventure series, so character work can get left in the dust sometimes.
Teyla did also have her share of the action, however, when she takes on Major Lorne and two of his men. Sure, she ultimately succumbs to their stun weapons, but she made a good fist of it, and yes, reminded us of her warrior status again, too. That she is the key to this puzzle gives the teaser a chunk of its mystery. Why did Rodney have to tie himself to a chair and record this message to himself, or scrawl writing up his arms? They do love their 'x hours earlier' title cards, and they use the device again here to flip back and forth between then, the cause, and now, the present, and hopefully, the solution. The hours tick down returning a few closer to the present with each flashback until they stop even bothering with the titles. This was where I felt the episode soften or weaken, however it should be put, because the present was fascinating, menacing and leaves you anxious to explore the city and its dark, empty corridors. But that's dissipated when we go back and it seemed like wasting time to show us how we got to that exact point of Rodney recording the message. In the hands of a superior writer it could have been a classic, uncovering clues and slowly coming to an understanding of the state of events. I appreciate the forty-two minute format works against achieving a satisfying story like that, but constraint breeds creativity. While some of what we saw was useful, in general I couldn't help feeling most of the running time dedicated to flashbacks was a trifle wasted, filling in time.
Another part of the episode which really could have been a strong linchpin on which to base a story, was showing how our main characters revert to their natural reflexes and abilities even when they don't know who they are or what those are. To a certain extent they did, Rodney continuing to be a relative tech genius, Carter showing some leadership, etc. Trouble is, it was too little to explore that idea of a person being the sum of their experiences or a reflex of their natural inclinations, so I felt they really missed mining a lot of potential. In fact, Rodney even looks a lot less accomplished by the story's need to wrap up quickly, so all he has to do is tap one key on the computer keyboard and whatever program he was working on to solve the problem was done, and that too took away from the sense of a problem being worked out. But what saved it were the moments at the end apart from that: Ronon, rather than fighting it out with Sheppard when he has a gun trained on him at the Jumper, talks him down, and does the same when they return to Atlantis to be confronted by Lorne - they had the foresight to provide readymade proof, which was a much better solution (if just as 'easy' as McKay tapping a key), because it showed ingenuity. And there's obviously the scene where Rodney stays by the bedside of his girlfriend, Katie, like a little lost dog, until she wakes up and all is well again.
I couldn't remember for sure if Katie had been in it before (maybe I've got the disease?), but I hope she was because she was likeable in a ditzy way and it's much better if they can bring back previously established people. Same with Lorne, although he was another missed trick as I thought he and his men's reliance on the stimulants was going to come more into play, perhaps making them unbalanced or showing they'd developed an addiction to the exclusion of all else. I wanted to know if he remembered anything or was just focused on the orders he'd been given, to round up everyone into the Mess Hall. He could have become a lot more sinister as this force leading the soldiers that they don't trust (it was certainly novel to escape 'custody' by creating a stampede to surprise the soldiers), he could have begun to act more oddly, or paranoid, something to give the episode a necessary bite. But because they're only using stunners there's very little danger and the impression of this virus was softened because we hardly ever saw anyone seriously affected, other than Katie's team member or the dead body Rodney finds when he first starts exploring the city. The good parts of the episode saved it and it had qualities, but was far from being full-powered, even though it did ultimately sway me to the positive this particular blank slate could have done with a little more filling in around the edges (ta-da!).
***
Fugitive
DVD, BUGS S3 (Fugitive)
Ros on the run, as I like to call it, was a turning point for Season 3, a return to the top-tier thrillers the series had achieved at its best. I was surprised to find it wasn't written by Stephen Gallagher, but some guy called Clive Hopkins whom I'd never even heard of! Well, Clive, you excelled yourself here, because this has gone down as one of the best episodes of the series, up there with 'Out of The Hive' and the Cyberax trilogy. It's got so much going for it, but beyond that I'll always remember it for being the cause of a sleepless night - on original broadcast in August 1997 I spent that night in a tent out in the back garden, but could not sleep at all and had a terrible time because of the excitement generated by this tense, paranoiac thriller. So it stood out even more than other favourites if for nothing else but that fact alone! It also shows the writer knew the series very well from the way so many references to past stories and plots were organically threaded in: at last we have mention of all three of the 'BUGS' world's top organisations in one episode! The Bureau is of course the remnant of The Bureau of Weapons Technology, SSD return, this time as the villains, and even The Hive is spoken about (Beckett's career there is mentioned to Ros once in every season of the series - there's a fact for you!). Wonderful sense of continuity they were achieving by this time.
The only slight disappointment is that no previous characters from any of these organisations show up - Roland was in a 'permanent' coma, but it would have been terrific if Mr. Dent had returned (he would eventually), or Wence. But I can understand why they didn't bring back the Commander of SSD, as that portly, bumbling thorn in their sides was too friendly and familiar. Even so, they could have at least mentioned him… I wonder if Jon Cartwright had ever been considered? Probably not, as he seemed pretty much a straight arrow, other than the 'above the law' attitude his organisation had, but then that appears to be the point of it. One question I had was what SSD is actually called and here it's named in dialogue as the 'Special Services Department' for the first time, though we had seen those words on a logo at their HQ in 'Newton's Run.' I suppose after the events of that episode Wence was either sacked or 'reassigned' somewhere far away, like the Isle of Wight perhaps… SSD without the pudgy face of Wence as its representative, is hard-edged and mean. It was an excellent choice to play with the established continuity of the series and turn those mild threats (Beckett suggests Wence could bury him in concrete if he wanted to, and no one would be any the wiser), into something substantial and, more to the point, personal.
It works on both sides of the coin, too. While Ros is the perfect person to be put through such an ordeal (Ed or Beckett would have been fine with it physically, but Beckett would have just lost his temper and got beaten up, and Ed would have tried to crack funnies until they got fed up with him), able to deal with the rigours of being on the run, but also having the technical flair to keep the SSD agents guessing, we also have an affianced couple going after her, adding an entirely different spin on proceedings. Reinhold and Davis give the story a somehow nastier edge, not because they are crooks themselves, but because they could be so manipulated, which is another reason why it all works so well, the ending giving us that twist of one of the 'villains' turning to the side of good and realising the truth, which is always compelling to me. The pair seem quite sinister with the banal way they talk about their coming honeymoon before behaving awfully to one of our favourite people. But eventually it becomes clear they are doing exactly what their job demands, which is scarier in a way - we allow the Bureau some latitude for its extralegal activities because we trust them as heroes and friends, but from their perspective SSD are only doing the same thing, it's just that we don't know them. They seem to try the usual tactics of good cop, bad cop on Ros, but I think it was really just their personalities, and they genuinely believed Ros to be guilty.
Gage is the real master manipulator, a cool customer who knows where he stands and how to control any situation. And what he doesn't control, he kills, as in the case of Reinhold, murdering him without an instant's hesitation. The fact he's black suggests we would automatically trust him since this was made in the days when multiculturalism was the zeitgeist, so it's unexpected they'd put someone like that in the position of being chief villain of the piece. He's one of the few felons our team deal with, who survived, but sadly this is, I believe, the last time SSD came into the series (unless there may be some brief, offhand remark about them in Season 4 perhaps), other than in the final episode of this season, certainly the last episode to be based around them, which is a shame, though it did mean we got to see more of The Hive instead. In the very well directed and performed interrogation scene, we hear all kinds of little facts that hadn't been confirmed before, but were things easy to wonder about. One is the mention of SACROS - we get confirmation that this led to Beckett losing his job. How great to go back to the very first episode and fill in something that was only really implied before! Of course, they may be working with information from The Hive itself, so Beckett could have quit but it went in his record as a sacking. Then there's Roland Blatty, former head of the Bureau, who they say is dead, and Ros didn't disagree, though perhaps she thought that he all but was - brain-dead, if still breathing. And lastly, and most tantalisingly, was the news that Jean-Daniel's body was never found…
This was the big revelation of the episode and has gone down in the lore as a major reveal, at least to those of us that care about the details. It's what set up the whole belief that it was JD in the Season 4 finale, even though there's only slim evidence for it. Sadly, we'd never know as I don't think any of the writers ever commented on what was planned, and the only one that did address the kidnapping scene was Stephen Gallagher who had no knowledge as he'd not worked on the final season. From the blast in 'A Cage For Satan' you'd have thought he and Cassandra would have been vaporised, except for a specific shot that shows them lying on the floor, smoking, but intact. And now, to suggest the body hadn't been found was either a huge tease on the part of the writing, or just one of those facts they threw in to suit the fabric of half-truths they were weaving around Ros. I love that kind of thing in long-running dramas where they pick out instances of things that were never fully explained, or can be twisted to fit a paranoid narrative (it was also expertly achieved in the 'DS9' episode 'Inquisition' when Section 31 were introduced, back when they actually made sense!). Ros really is put under it and if there were occasional concerns from me that she was quite withdrawn in Season 2, this acts to dispel any thought of that from our minds as we see a flow of pent-up emotion rushing out of the beleaguered Ros.
Something else that should have been put to bed with this episode was any teasing of Ros' driving style, another aspect of continuity that is redeemed in superb fashion by a writer that knows the series and loves it, you would have to say! It starts in the very first scene where Ros is speeding Beckett's Cherokee Jeep around on the way to villain Eric Hammer's location and Ed and Beckett are joking about it, while Alex is feeling carsick. In itself it's a lovely moment because it reminds us of the days when it was just the three of them, but it also further brings the new girl into the mix. I wondered if the team pool their cars because obviously Ros is driving Beckett's car here, but later on we see her drive Ed's Toyota (when she's the one with all the money - maybe she bought it for him?). But the moment that is really the business is when Ros, on the run from a furious Davis, comes upon a mini with the engine running while some bloke is out of it bird-watching, presumably. It's got a pleasant Englishness about it all in an episode that is very stark and you could almost say, conventional drama with all the psychological pressure and people in trench coats stalking one of our people: we see a flask and sandwiches on top of the mini, which flies off as Ros speeds away! But it's the slalom defence system that really shows her mettle as she proves just how good a driver she is, capped off a little later when Ed says it's a shame this defence system isn't one you can drive through. I don't know how much more stylishly they could redeem all the driving jokes at Ros' expense than they did here, and it'll be interesting to see if they keep making comments after this - probably even more, just so she doesn't get bigheaded, that's the kind of thing these friends would do!
And that's what it's all about: the friendship of the team. Rather than being solely focused on Ros' plight we see the others doing everything they can and even Channing gets involved, showing how much he cares (to the extent that he plays the good host to Beckett when he asks for biscuits, another very English moment!). Again, the writer clearly knows these characters very well, working in all kinds of references and character expertise - like Ed helping Ros abseil off the roof of Channing's beautiful great house, or when they first get on the roof and Ros says unless he's got a helicopter standing by they're trapped. At least this time Ed was on the roof of a stately home with a woman it went a lot better than the last occasion (fighting Kitty McHaig one-handed)! They also throw in mention of the stolen Dervish fighter plane from 'Whirling Dervish' as one of those questions hanging over Ros' career, although there was one flaw when Gage explains he'll frame her for murder and Ros claims no one would believe that. What, no one would believe she killed some villain trying to kill her? Yeah, 'cos that never happens, does it? Only every other week! I know what they meant, though, she wouldn't be party to murder, her kills only come by accident, although there are probably quite a few villains they could have referenced in the interrogation which she's offed, though JD would probably be the only one the general audience would have remembered. They did mention her 'phone freaking' in 1980 and removing points off her driver's licence in 1984 which is a deep cut as at least the first of those charges was in her Hive record in the first episode!
Arms dumps seem to have become a running theme in the series, we'd already had the one closed by The Bureau of Weapons in the Fifties in 'Blaze of Glory' at the start of the season, and the one in 'Newton's Run' near the end of Season 2, so we're getting the idea there are tons of these weapon caches of missiles and all kinds of dangerous ordinance all over the place! The disc Hammer drops so clumsily and that causes all the suspicion in the first place was a master key to various of these sites, but there is some serious illogic to SSD's operation when they accuse Ros of getting this disc which has evidence on it which will convict her, and yet she was the one to rescue it from the blast at Hammer's place! But that doesn't have to be a mistake, it could be a clue that Gage is trying to frame Ros by what he told his operatives. They already used deep fake tech to make it look like Ros met Hammer for an exchange, which I imagine is much more feasible nowadays, especially with the low resolution of the CCTV footage. The story is tightly written and I couldn't find any real holes, other than wondering why SSD didn't pursue Ros and Ed from Channing's place when they could have just jumped in their cars and followed - instead they just stand around looking disappointed, but perhaps all cars outside had been bugged. No, that wouldn't work, only Channing's was, so that is about the only flaw. Although seeing Ros cleverly store the disc in a case of her CD collection (streaming wouldn't have been very useful in this situation, that's for sure!), I wondered what she did with the CD she must have taken out!
The impact of the episode came just as much from the original broadcast as all the drama and excitement in the episode, because when we first saw it we didn't know if Ros would leave with Channing. Was this a way to write her out? I don't think I thought of things in those terms back then, it was just the 'front of house,' the story, that I understood, and I wouldn't have had knowledge of what went on behind the scenes on a TV show, how things were sometimes geared to get rid of a character (ironically, when they did lose Craig McLachlan, they chose not to write out Ed!), but it really did seem like she might be breaking up the team! After all she'd been put through in this episode you could believe she'd have reservations, although she appears to dispel them when Channing asks if she doesn't get tired of being chased and blown up all the time and she simply says, "It's ma job," in that typically understated Ros way. But it was a good way to add even more drama into the series and shows that they were going to pay off all the soapy stuff brought in for Season 3 - it couldn't just happen with no consequences, and I like that. She'd been suspicious of the curb on their freedom as freelancers and especially of Jan in the way she tricked Beckett into bringing his team aboard and she even states how 'this Whitehall infighting' of different intelligence agencies and ministers grappling for control was what made her wary in the first place so every part of the episode is paid off, or pays off something from earlier.
The clothing of the team is becoming harder to pin down, perhaps giving us a visual sense of their integration as the Bureau: at first Ros has this purple suit on with matching earrings, while Beckett wears a suit that is becoming ever more neutral and nondescript with a blue shirt and dark blue tie, charcoal waistcoat and jacket. Only Ed continues the bright colours with his green jogging top or fleece, and Alex is getting involved with her sky-blue jumper. But Ros is ripped right out of her classy clothes (just as her apartment is ripped apart), forced to wear stripy prison garb. Obviously she changes into a sportier outfit for all the action she had to perform later in the episode, and ends up at Channing's in a light green t-shirt, though it's a scene without all the other characters around so there isn't that happy end scene with them all back in primary colours to show that everything's alright now, which only seems to exacerbate the question of choice over her loyalty to the team or a future with Channing. You had to be there the first time to appreciate the magnitude of that. I feel like the man who played the archivist at BJL, played by Tenniel Evans, had some connection to the kind of ITC series' 'BUGS' was inspired by, so he may have been in 'The Avengers' (he certainly wasn't in 'The Champions'). And the explosion at Hammer's place was another of the series' biggest, though in reality it would be lots of smaller ones and doesn't quite have the same impact as the warehouse blast in 'Stealth,' but then nothing ever did! The success of this story would set the tone for the last few episodes of the season and help it be remembered on a par with the great Season 2.
*****
Ros on the run, as I like to call it, was a turning point for Season 3, a return to the top-tier thrillers the series had achieved at its best. I was surprised to find it wasn't written by Stephen Gallagher, but some guy called Clive Hopkins whom I'd never even heard of! Well, Clive, you excelled yourself here, because this has gone down as one of the best episodes of the series, up there with 'Out of The Hive' and the Cyberax trilogy. It's got so much going for it, but beyond that I'll always remember it for being the cause of a sleepless night - on original broadcast in August 1997 I spent that night in a tent out in the back garden, but could not sleep at all and had a terrible time because of the excitement generated by this tense, paranoiac thriller. So it stood out even more than other favourites if for nothing else but that fact alone! It also shows the writer knew the series very well from the way so many references to past stories and plots were organically threaded in: at last we have mention of all three of the 'BUGS' world's top organisations in one episode! The Bureau is of course the remnant of The Bureau of Weapons Technology, SSD return, this time as the villains, and even The Hive is spoken about (Beckett's career there is mentioned to Ros once in every season of the series - there's a fact for you!). Wonderful sense of continuity they were achieving by this time.
The only slight disappointment is that no previous characters from any of these organisations show up - Roland was in a 'permanent' coma, but it would have been terrific if Mr. Dent had returned (he would eventually), or Wence. But I can understand why they didn't bring back the Commander of SSD, as that portly, bumbling thorn in their sides was too friendly and familiar. Even so, they could have at least mentioned him… I wonder if Jon Cartwright had ever been considered? Probably not, as he seemed pretty much a straight arrow, other than the 'above the law' attitude his organisation had, but then that appears to be the point of it. One question I had was what SSD is actually called and here it's named in dialogue as the 'Special Services Department' for the first time, though we had seen those words on a logo at their HQ in 'Newton's Run.' I suppose after the events of that episode Wence was either sacked or 'reassigned' somewhere far away, like the Isle of Wight perhaps… SSD without the pudgy face of Wence as its representative, is hard-edged and mean. It was an excellent choice to play with the established continuity of the series and turn those mild threats (Beckett suggests Wence could bury him in concrete if he wanted to, and no one would be any the wiser), into something substantial and, more to the point, personal.
It works on both sides of the coin, too. While Ros is the perfect person to be put through such an ordeal (Ed or Beckett would have been fine with it physically, but Beckett would have just lost his temper and got beaten up, and Ed would have tried to crack funnies until they got fed up with him), able to deal with the rigours of being on the run, but also having the technical flair to keep the SSD agents guessing, we also have an affianced couple going after her, adding an entirely different spin on proceedings. Reinhold and Davis give the story a somehow nastier edge, not because they are crooks themselves, but because they could be so manipulated, which is another reason why it all works so well, the ending giving us that twist of one of the 'villains' turning to the side of good and realising the truth, which is always compelling to me. The pair seem quite sinister with the banal way they talk about their coming honeymoon before behaving awfully to one of our favourite people. But eventually it becomes clear they are doing exactly what their job demands, which is scarier in a way - we allow the Bureau some latitude for its extralegal activities because we trust them as heroes and friends, but from their perspective SSD are only doing the same thing, it's just that we don't know them. They seem to try the usual tactics of good cop, bad cop on Ros, but I think it was really just their personalities, and they genuinely believed Ros to be guilty.
Gage is the real master manipulator, a cool customer who knows where he stands and how to control any situation. And what he doesn't control, he kills, as in the case of Reinhold, murdering him without an instant's hesitation. The fact he's black suggests we would automatically trust him since this was made in the days when multiculturalism was the zeitgeist, so it's unexpected they'd put someone like that in the position of being chief villain of the piece. He's one of the few felons our team deal with, who survived, but sadly this is, I believe, the last time SSD came into the series (unless there may be some brief, offhand remark about them in Season 4 perhaps), other than in the final episode of this season, certainly the last episode to be based around them, which is a shame, though it did mean we got to see more of The Hive instead. In the very well directed and performed interrogation scene, we hear all kinds of little facts that hadn't been confirmed before, but were things easy to wonder about. One is the mention of SACROS - we get confirmation that this led to Beckett losing his job. How great to go back to the very first episode and fill in something that was only really implied before! Of course, they may be working with information from The Hive itself, so Beckett could have quit but it went in his record as a sacking. Then there's Roland Blatty, former head of the Bureau, who they say is dead, and Ros didn't disagree, though perhaps she thought that he all but was - brain-dead, if still breathing. And lastly, and most tantalisingly, was the news that Jean-Daniel's body was never found…
This was the big revelation of the episode and has gone down in the lore as a major reveal, at least to those of us that care about the details. It's what set up the whole belief that it was JD in the Season 4 finale, even though there's only slim evidence for it. Sadly, we'd never know as I don't think any of the writers ever commented on what was planned, and the only one that did address the kidnapping scene was Stephen Gallagher who had no knowledge as he'd not worked on the final season. From the blast in 'A Cage For Satan' you'd have thought he and Cassandra would have been vaporised, except for a specific shot that shows them lying on the floor, smoking, but intact. And now, to suggest the body hadn't been found was either a huge tease on the part of the writing, or just one of those facts they threw in to suit the fabric of half-truths they were weaving around Ros. I love that kind of thing in long-running dramas where they pick out instances of things that were never fully explained, or can be twisted to fit a paranoid narrative (it was also expertly achieved in the 'DS9' episode 'Inquisition' when Section 31 were introduced, back when they actually made sense!). Ros really is put under it and if there were occasional concerns from me that she was quite withdrawn in Season 2, this acts to dispel any thought of that from our minds as we see a flow of pent-up emotion rushing out of the beleaguered Ros.
Something else that should have been put to bed with this episode was any teasing of Ros' driving style, another aspect of continuity that is redeemed in superb fashion by a writer that knows the series and loves it, you would have to say! It starts in the very first scene where Ros is speeding Beckett's Cherokee Jeep around on the way to villain Eric Hammer's location and Ed and Beckett are joking about it, while Alex is feeling carsick. In itself it's a lovely moment because it reminds us of the days when it was just the three of them, but it also further brings the new girl into the mix. I wondered if the team pool their cars because obviously Ros is driving Beckett's car here, but later on we see her drive Ed's Toyota (when she's the one with all the money - maybe she bought it for him?). But the moment that is really the business is when Ros, on the run from a furious Davis, comes upon a mini with the engine running while some bloke is out of it bird-watching, presumably. It's got a pleasant Englishness about it all in an episode that is very stark and you could almost say, conventional drama with all the psychological pressure and people in trench coats stalking one of our people: we see a flask and sandwiches on top of the mini, which flies off as Ros speeds away! But it's the slalom defence system that really shows her mettle as she proves just how good a driver she is, capped off a little later when Ed says it's a shame this defence system isn't one you can drive through. I don't know how much more stylishly they could redeem all the driving jokes at Ros' expense than they did here, and it'll be interesting to see if they keep making comments after this - probably even more, just so she doesn't get bigheaded, that's the kind of thing these friends would do!
And that's what it's all about: the friendship of the team. Rather than being solely focused on Ros' plight we see the others doing everything they can and even Channing gets involved, showing how much he cares (to the extent that he plays the good host to Beckett when he asks for biscuits, another very English moment!). Again, the writer clearly knows these characters very well, working in all kinds of references and character expertise - like Ed helping Ros abseil off the roof of Channing's beautiful great house, or when they first get on the roof and Ros says unless he's got a helicopter standing by they're trapped. At least this time Ed was on the roof of a stately home with a woman it went a lot better than the last occasion (fighting Kitty McHaig one-handed)! They also throw in mention of the stolen Dervish fighter plane from 'Whirling Dervish' as one of those questions hanging over Ros' career, although there was one flaw when Gage explains he'll frame her for murder and Ros claims no one would believe that. What, no one would believe she killed some villain trying to kill her? Yeah, 'cos that never happens, does it? Only every other week! I know what they meant, though, she wouldn't be party to murder, her kills only come by accident, although there are probably quite a few villains they could have referenced in the interrogation which she's offed, though JD would probably be the only one the general audience would have remembered. They did mention her 'phone freaking' in 1980 and removing points off her driver's licence in 1984 which is a deep cut as at least the first of those charges was in her Hive record in the first episode!
Arms dumps seem to have become a running theme in the series, we'd already had the one closed by The Bureau of Weapons in the Fifties in 'Blaze of Glory' at the start of the season, and the one in 'Newton's Run' near the end of Season 2, so we're getting the idea there are tons of these weapon caches of missiles and all kinds of dangerous ordinance all over the place! The disc Hammer drops so clumsily and that causes all the suspicion in the first place was a master key to various of these sites, but there is some serious illogic to SSD's operation when they accuse Ros of getting this disc which has evidence on it which will convict her, and yet she was the one to rescue it from the blast at Hammer's place! But that doesn't have to be a mistake, it could be a clue that Gage is trying to frame Ros by what he told his operatives. They already used deep fake tech to make it look like Ros met Hammer for an exchange, which I imagine is much more feasible nowadays, especially with the low resolution of the CCTV footage. The story is tightly written and I couldn't find any real holes, other than wondering why SSD didn't pursue Ros and Ed from Channing's place when they could have just jumped in their cars and followed - instead they just stand around looking disappointed, but perhaps all cars outside had been bugged. No, that wouldn't work, only Channing's was, so that is about the only flaw. Although seeing Ros cleverly store the disc in a case of her CD collection (streaming wouldn't have been very useful in this situation, that's for sure!), I wondered what she did with the CD she must have taken out!
The impact of the episode came just as much from the original broadcast as all the drama and excitement in the episode, because when we first saw it we didn't know if Ros would leave with Channing. Was this a way to write her out? I don't think I thought of things in those terms back then, it was just the 'front of house,' the story, that I understood, and I wouldn't have had knowledge of what went on behind the scenes on a TV show, how things were sometimes geared to get rid of a character (ironically, when they did lose Craig McLachlan, they chose not to write out Ed!), but it really did seem like she might be breaking up the team! After all she'd been put through in this episode you could believe she'd have reservations, although she appears to dispel them when Channing asks if she doesn't get tired of being chased and blown up all the time and she simply says, "It's ma job," in that typically understated Ros way. But it was a good way to add even more drama into the series and shows that they were going to pay off all the soapy stuff brought in for Season 3 - it couldn't just happen with no consequences, and I like that. She'd been suspicious of the curb on their freedom as freelancers and especially of Jan in the way she tricked Beckett into bringing his team aboard and she even states how 'this Whitehall infighting' of different intelligence agencies and ministers grappling for control was what made her wary in the first place so every part of the episode is paid off, or pays off something from earlier.
The clothing of the team is becoming harder to pin down, perhaps giving us a visual sense of their integration as the Bureau: at first Ros has this purple suit on with matching earrings, while Beckett wears a suit that is becoming ever more neutral and nondescript with a blue shirt and dark blue tie, charcoal waistcoat and jacket. Only Ed continues the bright colours with his green jogging top or fleece, and Alex is getting involved with her sky-blue jumper. But Ros is ripped right out of her classy clothes (just as her apartment is ripped apart), forced to wear stripy prison garb. Obviously she changes into a sportier outfit for all the action she had to perform later in the episode, and ends up at Channing's in a light green t-shirt, though it's a scene without all the other characters around so there isn't that happy end scene with them all back in primary colours to show that everything's alright now, which only seems to exacerbate the question of choice over her loyalty to the team or a future with Channing. You had to be there the first time to appreciate the magnitude of that. I feel like the man who played the archivist at BJL, played by Tenniel Evans, had some connection to the kind of ITC series' 'BUGS' was inspired by, so he may have been in 'The Avengers' (he certainly wasn't in 'The Champions'). And the explosion at Hammer's place was another of the series' biggest, though in reality it would be lots of smaller ones and doesn't quite have the same impact as the warehouse blast in 'Stealth,' but then nothing ever did! The success of this story would set the tone for the last few episodes of the season and help it be remembered on a par with the great Season 2.
*****
Travellers
DVD, Stargate Atlantis S4 (Travellers)
Had a fair few thoughts on this one, unfortunately none of them particularly positive. It's a story of space gypsies. It's a story of kidnap and Sheppard's life threatened. It's a story of him teaming up with the female leader of the ship that captured him and having an on-off level of trust and success. It's a story that reminded me of that time Dr. Jackson met Vala and they had to work together. Except this woman, Laren, was no Vala. She may have been dolled up, but she was a pretty generic character - not everyone has Claudia Black levels of ability. And so the pairing came off as lacklustre and, again, generic. Run around on an empty ship. Do a spot of fighting Wraith. Get betrayed by your new associate… There wasn't much more to it than that, with no subplot for any of the other characters, except for them going off in a Jumper to try and track their missing man down. In fact, Carter doesn't even appear! That's how much the other characters had an effect on the episode: none.
When you add the fantasy convenience of this millennia old ship being in full working order, apparently, even though we're told it was originally abandoned because the Ancients had lost it to radiation damage. Or that Laren can be sucked almost completely dry of her life, only for the Wraith preying on her to simply plug it all back in under gunpoint from Sheppard's weapon. Or that presumably, if Sheppard could activate one forcefield to trap Laren, he could have put them up all over the ship, you have a story full of holes, even if some of those holes are part of the series' convention. You know an episode isn't working well enough when you're seeing all the cracks you'd usually just accept for the sake of story. I think the problem was there wasn't really much of a story even to fill forty-odd minutes. They were trying to do some kind of romance-tinged singles adventure for Sheppard, but unless we have reason to care… why should we? I did like the moment he outsmarted this woman and her colleagues by starting up the ship without engaging inertial dampeners (even though I was expecting him to do something once he had control), but that's about the only time he really wins in the intellect stakes. And to be honest, I kept thinking all this terminology and tech talk was right out of 'Star Trek.' Maybe it always is, but it seemed so derivative to the point of sounding identical.
This series works best when it's putting the group together for a mission or showing several characters we know interacting - that's why it works. Plucking a character on their own out of the pack like this and dedicating an entire episode to their point of view can work brilliantly (see Trek), but in the 'Stargate' franchise they've never had the depth and deftness in their character work, it's much more basic space adventure stuff, and while there's nothing wrong with that, it means an episode that doesn't have the necessary ingredients is going to be no more than that, and likely less, as this one was. It's not that it's boring or dull, it's not that it doesn't work at all - I like Sheppard and it's good to see him not giving in even when he's put under duress or physical abuse (and he never even struck Laren in return for her violent assaults, so he also shows restraint), so there are things to gain from it. But it ends up as mere setup to what I can assume is going to be a recurring group, a potential ally in the fight against the Wraith. And I have to be honest, Laren isn't the kind of character I'd want to come back. There is a story to be told about a fading community and how they could be mutually beneficial to Atlantis, but it remains to be seen if they can make it work. So far this season hasn't lived up to the relatively high bar of Season 3.
**
Had a fair few thoughts on this one, unfortunately none of them particularly positive. It's a story of space gypsies. It's a story of kidnap and Sheppard's life threatened. It's a story of him teaming up with the female leader of the ship that captured him and having an on-off level of trust and success. It's a story that reminded me of that time Dr. Jackson met Vala and they had to work together. Except this woman, Laren, was no Vala. She may have been dolled up, but she was a pretty generic character - not everyone has Claudia Black levels of ability. And so the pairing came off as lacklustre and, again, generic. Run around on an empty ship. Do a spot of fighting Wraith. Get betrayed by your new associate… There wasn't much more to it than that, with no subplot for any of the other characters, except for them going off in a Jumper to try and track their missing man down. In fact, Carter doesn't even appear! That's how much the other characters had an effect on the episode: none.
When you add the fantasy convenience of this millennia old ship being in full working order, apparently, even though we're told it was originally abandoned because the Ancients had lost it to radiation damage. Or that Laren can be sucked almost completely dry of her life, only for the Wraith preying on her to simply plug it all back in under gunpoint from Sheppard's weapon. Or that presumably, if Sheppard could activate one forcefield to trap Laren, he could have put them up all over the ship, you have a story full of holes, even if some of those holes are part of the series' convention. You know an episode isn't working well enough when you're seeing all the cracks you'd usually just accept for the sake of story. I think the problem was there wasn't really much of a story even to fill forty-odd minutes. They were trying to do some kind of romance-tinged singles adventure for Sheppard, but unless we have reason to care… why should we? I did like the moment he outsmarted this woman and her colleagues by starting up the ship without engaging inertial dampeners (even though I was expecting him to do something once he had control), but that's about the only time he really wins in the intellect stakes. And to be honest, I kept thinking all this terminology and tech talk was right out of 'Star Trek.' Maybe it always is, but it seemed so derivative to the point of sounding identical.
This series works best when it's putting the group together for a mission or showing several characters we know interacting - that's why it works. Plucking a character on their own out of the pack like this and dedicating an entire episode to their point of view can work brilliantly (see Trek), but in the 'Stargate' franchise they've never had the depth and deftness in their character work, it's much more basic space adventure stuff, and while there's nothing wrong with that, it means an episode that doesn't have the necessary ingredients is going to be no more than that, and likely less, as this one was. It's not that it's boring or dull, it's not that it doesn't work at all - I like Sheppard and it's good to see him not giving in even when he's put under duress or physical abuse (and he never even struck Laren in return for her violent assaults, so he also shows restraint), so there are things to gain from it. But it ends up as mere setup to what I can assume is going to be a recurring group, a potential ally in the fight against the Wraith. And I have to be honest, Laren isn't the kind of character I'd want to come back. There is a story to be told about a fading community and how they could be mutually beneficial to Atlantis, but it remains to be seen if they can make it work. So far this season hasn't lived up to the relatively high bar of Season 3.
**
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