DVD, The Big Country (1958) film
This is not your traditional Western. Oh yes, it starts with an immediately exciting theme as good as any of the genre, or even of any film: stirring and soaring, rumbling and emboldened, a suitably triumphant opening, though it disguises a completely mundane beginning without threat or danger, it's simply a man riding fast across the land, which is, as the characters are fond of saying, big. This way of subverting audience expectation could well be the theme of the whole film. At first, it seems to be the usual kind of story - no-good scoundrels make an appearance before long and show Jim McKay, the man from back east, to be someone who isn't willing to put up a fight, seemingly. You begin to wonder why Gregory Peck wanted to play a character that seems so weak and wishy-washy, but even at this early stage a positive aspect of his character shines through in the way he doesn't get upset about the bullying and rough handling he receives. He bears no grudge and even expects to be treated like that since he's a greenhorn new to the ways of the west. This is the first indication the film isn't necessarily going to follow the cliches of the genre.
The pace is relatively slow, but this only serves to emphasise the regular intervals when something does happen - a fight, an argument, a personal triumph or some important plot point. The director isn't shy of lingering on an image, waiting for something to happen: the scene where McKay rides away from Julie's house then in the background three horses appear over the hill. Or when Julie is lying asleep on a bed in the Hennessey house and the door eventually opens behind her. Or when the Major rides into a canyon, grimly determined and alone, and gradually, in dribs and drabs, horsemen follow him. Such moments hold a greater tension than if the scene had cut to different views, and emphasises the danger of the situation or the resolve of the characters without need for words. The subtlety of the film strengthens it, my favourite example being Jim's look to Steve Leech at the end. We know they're both remembering back to another moment in the film, and we don't need any other explanation for the way they both feel at that moment.
Spread out over its almost 'The Lord of The Rings' length (and it might have been as long if there had been as many credits at the end), is an unfolding tale of hatred between two men. This is not what appears to be the case at first. It seems to be a simple case of the goodies and the baddies, and of course the family McKay is marrying into are the goodies. But it doesn't pan out that simple, as the true colours of each person are slowly revealed: Pat the fiance seems like the person to teach Jim the ways out west, but she learns more from him. (I felt she needed someone like Steve to knock her into shape and keep her fiery spirit in check - I imagine they would have bounced off each other better than she and McKay, though Steve was a bit of an over-presumptive sort). She was reeled in by the 'exotic' nature of this eastern man, but once out west he showed he wasn't quite the man she wanted or expected. Julie the schoolmarm, on the other hand, just a friend of Pat's, becomes the touchpaper of the powder keg between the two warring families. Pat's Father, the Major, at first a wise and tough old soldier, is shown up as a man that bears a grudge above all else, his personal vendetta against Hennessey fuelling a feud between communities. He's the 'goodie' who was only looking out for law and order when McKay first met him, but is a stubborn mule driven by hate, as bad as, if not worse than his enemy.
Hennessey appears to be a lying scaremonger, but we discover he's someone who sticks to his ideals rigidly to the last road, even when they hurt him, or when he does something against his own flesh and blood because he believes in fair play. Burl Ives won the 1958 Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his excellent performance, holding anger, hatred, and violence with right upbringing and truth, a conflicted character, and a tragic one too. His own son Buck is the leader of the drunken rabble that assault McKay on his first visit, but his toughness is shown to be cowardice of the lowest kind, spat on by his own Father. His opposite is Steve Leech, raised by Major Turrel - a tough that'll do any deed if it comes from the Major, he learns what kind of a man McKay really is, and is shamed enough to speak out for him (not exactly for him, but he tries to dissuade the Major from a rash course of action, thanks to McKay's actions). He seems like trouble himself, but he does it for his master, who has some blame for the way he brought him up.
The most obvious character to change is Jim McKay - a greenhorn, like a reed in the wind, who is actually tougher than anyone could know. He doesn't really change, it's just our understanding of him that does. Everything he does is for his own self image, not anyone else's view of him. It turns out he's far stronger than we could have guessed because he truly doesn't care about other's opinions, only how he sees himself. McKay shows himself to be patient, persevering, merciful and modest, honest to himself and others, and not vengeful. Far from the coward others guess him to be before they know him, which is a good moral on judging people too soon.
From a technical point of view, the 2004 vanilla DVD release, which I was watching, was flawed - it made me wonder sometimes if the film would have been better in black and white as the colours are a bit washed out and there were occasional marks on the film. I imagine a restored and fully remastered edition would be useful for showing everything in better quality with a greater vibrancy, but it isn't a big complaint as the vistas are as wide and impressive as you could hope for, with the full widescreen ratio really used to great effect in a way that films of this time don't always make the most of.
The film ends abruptly, I was expecting a few minutes of that excellent theme to close out the picture, so it doesn't quite give you enough time to take in all that has happened. Then again, with such a long running time you have plenty of space to take it in as you go along! As I said, it's not the traditional western because the rules are turned on their head. McKay gets away with not doing the expected things until his choosing, their aren't goodies and baddies as such, but three-dimensional people that live by strong ideals, sadly driven by deep hatred at the centre between the two leaders. That the soft-spoken and unmoved outsider should be able to come between them is a mastery of storytelling, believable, and a slowly revealed joy of satisfaction. The bad are punished, the good win out. Perhaps it is a traditional western after all?
***
Monday, 28 February 2011
Hypnotic
DVD, Smallville S5 (Hypnotic)
I wanted to say this was an episode of two halves. The first half is possibly the low point of the season, with Clark 'falling' for Makeup Girl thanks to her powers of hypnosis which come from some gemstone that apparently has nothing to do with Kryptonite or anything like that. There are an abundance of scenes we've seen before time after time - Clark and said girl stripping and then upsetting Lana; the merry-go-round of usual problems, not the least being that once again people are being affected by someone and it takes ages for anyone else to realise it. Clark's completely out of character, Chloe even runs through the possibilities (Red Kryptonite? Silver Kryptonite? This or that?) which shows how many times this old well has been run to. The sorry state of affairs in which Clark can't tell Lana his secret has been milked until the cow ran dry, and so this freak-of-the-week type story is only there to get Clark to a point where he breaks up with Lana for good. Let us just hope that it really is the end of this thing and get on with telling some kind of entertaining story!
The reason I can't call this an episode of two halves is that it returns to the dull, negative, ponderous moaning of old at the end of the episode, with Clark trying to understand his feelings, and Lana trying to understand her feelings, and Lex... just being his slimy self. But it isn't the low point of the season because there are actually some things, mainly the middle part, that hold some degree of interest. Milton Fine is back again after being away for a while, the ship is shown to be in Honduras, and Lex unknowingly saves his own life by assuming Fine works for a government agency (yet isn't suspicious when Fine seems to spill all the beans). There are now multi-Milton's running around, too. The freak-of-the-week storyline takes a more interesting turn when Martha gets hypnotised, but the cartoon violence of Chloe wapping her round the bonce with a rolling pin is bizarre! Especially after we've seen a blood-filled opening scene in the teaser. Either they're trying to make the violence realistic or it's fantasy, but not both in the same 45 minutes, please!
For some reason Simone doesn't give away Clark's secret to Lex, but there's no threat from her anyway as she gets killed, like one-episode wonders generally do. Whether Lana's trust in Lex will lead them to uncover something about Clark is uncertain, but the time when he was ever going to reveal all about himself seems to have passed (no wonder, as it got her killed last time). I have no sympathy for either of them as the storyline was an utter bore, and continually went in cycles that were just annoying and badly written because they couldn't work out anything to do other than make up, break up, say sorry, 'I don't want your apologies', get angry, forget it all and make up, be disappointed, etc... I sensed even Kristin Kreuk was tired of playing the same kind of scenes over and over, from her performance in this episode, as if it was inevitable. The scene at the end where Clark and Martha discuss the event was unnecessary and joining the dots for what they must believe is a stupid audience.
A mention must go to the mention of Aunt Nell, a character written out in Season 2 and, as far as I can remember, never heard of again. Maybe they'll bring her back, although that would just be plain weird after such a long time. The episode is dedicated to Dana Reeve who must have died around the time the episode was made, following her husband, sadly, only a year or two after he had died.
**
I wanted to say this was an episode of two halves. The first half is possibly the low point of the season, with Clark 'falling' for Makeup Girl thanks to her powers of hypnosis which come from some gemstone that apparently has nothing to do with Kryptonite or anything like that. There are an abundance of scenes we've seen before time after time - Clark and said girl stripping and then upsetting Lana; the merry-go-round of usual problems, not the least being that once again people are being affected by someone and it takes ages for anyone else to realise it. Clark's completely out of character, Chloe even runs through the possibilities (Red Kryptonite? Silver Kryptonite? This or that?) which shows how many times this old well has been run to. The sorry state of affairs in which Clark can't tell Lana his secret has been milked until the cow ran dry, and so this freak-of-the-week type story is only there to get Clark to a point where he breaks up with Lana for good. Let us just hope that it really is the end of this thing and get on with telling some kind of entertaining story!
The reason I can't call this an episode of two halves is that it returns to the dull, negative, ponderous moaning of old at the end of the episode, with Clark trying to understand his feelings, and Lana trying to understand her feelings, and Lex... just being his slimy self. But it isn't the low point of the season because there are actually some things, mainly the middle part, that hold some degree of interest. Milton Fine is back again after being away for a while, the ship is shown to be in Honduras, and Lex unknowingly saves his own life by assuming Fine works for a government agency (yet isn't suspicious when Fine seems to spill all the beans). There are now multi-Milton's running around, too. The freak-of-the-week storyline takes a more interesting turn when Martha gets hypnotised, but the cartoon violence of Chloe wapping her round the bonce with a rolling pin is bizarre! Especially after we've seen a blood-filled opening scene in the teaser. Either they're trying to make the violence realistic or it's fantasy, but not both in the same 45 minutes, please!
For some reason Simone doesn't give away Clark's secret to Lex, but there's no threat from her anyway as she gets killed, like one-episode wonders generally do. Whether Lana's trust in Lex will lead them to uncover something about Clark is uncertain, but the time when he was ever going to reveal all about himself seems to have passed (no wonder, as it got her killed last time). I have no sympathy for either of them as the storyline was an utter bore, and continually went in cycles that were just annoying and badly written because they couldn't work out anything to do other than make up, break up, say sorry, 'I don't want your apologies', get angry, forget it all and make up, be disappointed, etc... I sensed even Kristin Kreuk was tired of playing the same kind of scenes over and over, from her performance in this episode, as if it was inevitable. The scene at the end where Clark and Martha discuss the event was unnecessary and joining the dots for what they must believe is a stupid audience.
A mention must go to the mention of Aunt Nell, a character written out in Season 2 and, as far as I can remember, never heard of again. Maybe they'll bring her back, although that would just be plain weird after such a long time. The episode is dedicated to Dana Reeve who must have died around the time the episode was made, following her husband, sadly, only a year or two after he had died.
**
A Night In Sickbay
DVD, Enterprise S2 (A Night In Sickbay)
I usually love stories that are out of the ordinary. They don't fit into any category but their own and provide a completely new way of experiencing the universe. Generally such stories occur later in a series' run, once the traditional types of episode have all been done, the crew fleshed out, and the audience is long established, allowing recurring characters or little-seen areas of the ship to come to the fore. With this episode they decided to do one of those sixth season-type stories now, here in Season 2, and for me, it was too early. The good news is finding out more about Dr. Phlox, the only problem being we're served up a torrent of facts, released rather dryly in a single conversation about his three wives and various children. It's not a strong creative choice to info-dump like that, but at least the Denobulan is a little less of a mystery. More enjoyable are the continuation of his physical quirks that had begun in the pilot with the "Optimism, Captain!" ear-to-ear grin. Here we see him clipping his claw-like toenails, appearing to shave his tongue, and grinning all over again!
Mostly, the episode features the Captain getting ever more tired and bemused by the oddness he finds himself in - chasing a bat around sickbay (which, by the way, is excellently animated in what must be some of the best creature CGI seen on the series), engaging in a test of speed against T'Pol on the treadmills in the ship's gym, or dreaming of Porthos' funeral - every modern American series must have a traditional funeral scene, it seems. The scene with T'Pol ably demonstrates the superior stamina of Vulcans in a way that hasn't often been touched upon in this series. For one thing she's exercising late into the night; Vulcans don't need as much sleep as humans, and while Archer is huffing and puffing as he tries to keep up, she has no trouble talking normally despite the exertion. Such alien differences are important to show they are alien, not humans in fancy dress.
The Kreetassens are one of the most alien species poor Archer has encountered, being extremely easy to offend. Their look was as interesting as ever, and Vaughn Armstrong is back again as one of their number, though it's unclear whether he's the same character as seen last season, or simply the makeup people wanting to use his head again and save on making a new mask! I didn't buy Archer's humiliating display of forestry, one of many slightly hard to swallow scenes. Others being the stuff about T'Pol and Archer - such blatant discussion of intimate details may be common in modern TV, but the same kind of thing worked so much better with Chakotay and Janeway's forever unspoken connection.
The joke about Archer's hair parting being on the wrong side may be a sneaky reference to the discussions early on in the making of the series when Archer's hair was supposed to be quite different (as seen in early photos). It's also rare to get a reference to 'Star Wars' in 'Star Trek', but it makes me wonder, when some creature was designated Calrissian. It was only a matter of time before Porthos became the main attraction for an episode (there's a fun line in Archer's dream when reverend Phlox says how the dog was 'all for one and one for all'), but he's not awake much, and the intentions of the episode might not have made it fully to the screen. The device of showing various times over the course of the night was a different approach, but, like Archer, it feels like a long night without much sleep.
**
I usually love stories that are out of the ordinary. They don't fit into any category but their own and provide a completely new way of experiencing the universe. Generally such stories occur later in a series' run, once the traditional types of episode have all been done, the crew fleshed out, and the audience is long established, allowing recurring characters or little-seen areas of the ship to come to the fore. With this episode they decided to do one of those sixth season-type stories now, here in Season 2, and for me, it was too early. The good news is finding out more about Dr. Phlox, the only problem being we're served up a torrent of facts, released rather dryly in a single conversation about his three wives and various children. It's not a strong creative choice to info-dump like that, but at least the Denobulan is a little less of a mystery. More enjoyable are the continuation of his physical quirks that had begun in the pilot with the "Optimism, Captain!" ear-to-ear grin. Here we see him clipping his claw-like toenails, appearing to shave his tongue, and grinning all over again!
Mostly, the episode features the Captain getting ever more tired and bemused by the oddness he finds himself in - chasing a bat around sickbay (which, by the way, is excellently animated in what must be some of the best creature CGI seen on the series), engaging in a test of speed against T'Pol on the treadmills in the ship's gym, or dreaming of Porthos' funeral - every modern American series must have a traditional funeral scene, it seems. The scene with T'Pol ably demonstrates the superior stamina of Vulcans in a way that hasn't often been touched upon in this series. For one thing she's exercising late into the night; Vulcans don't need as much sleep as humans, and while Archer is huffing and puffing as he tries to keep up, she has no trouble talking normally despite the exertion. Such alien differences are important to show they are alien, not humans in fancy dress.
The Kreetassens are one of the most alien species poor Archer has encountered, being extremely easy to offend. Their look was as interesting as ever, and Vaughn Armstrong is back again as one of their number, though it's unclear whether he's the same character as seen last season, or simply the makeup people wanting to use his head again and save on making a new mask! I didn't buy Archer's humiliating display of forestry, one of many slightly hard to swallow scenes. Others being the stuff about T'Pol and Archer - such blatant discussion of intimate details may be common in modern TV, but the same kind of thing worked so much better with Chakotay and Janeway's forever unspoken connection.
The joke about Archer's hair parting being on the wrong side may be a sneaky reference to the discussions early on in the making of the series when Archer's hair was supposed to be quite different (as seen in early photos). It's also rare to get a reference to 'Star Wars' in 'Star Trek', but it makes me wonder, when some creature was designated Calrissian. It was only a matter of time before Porthos became the main attraction for an episode (there's a fun line in Archer's dream when reverend Phlox says how the dog was 'all for one and one for all'), but he's not awake much, and the intentions of the episode might not have made it fully to the screen. The device of showing various times over the course of the night was a different approach, but, like Archer, it feels like a long night without much sleep.
**
Monday, 14 February 2011
Cyborg
DVD, Smallville S5 (Cyborg)
An unremarkable opening was followed by an unremarkable episode, the point being a mirror Victor Stone is a mirror for Clark, as he's willing to tell his girlfriend the truth about his bionic nature as opposed to Clark who continues to keep the secret of his own super-powered self from Lana. This analogy doesn't work very well because Victor was thought dead, whereas Clark grew up with Lana and the meteor storm that brought him killed her parents. In other words he has reasons not to tell her, but Victor's survival on its own warranted an explanation. The actor that played Stone did a good job of portraying a good man struggling to escape his captors, there was no malice or ulterior motive in him, much like Clark, so the two formed a common bond quite quickly, not to mention the 'football' connection.
The effects were mostly uninspiring, there were no incredible 'wind back to see it again' moments demonstrating the cyborg's enhanced capabilities apart from he and Clark jumping off a building and cracking the ground. The story that commanded most interest was the one given shortest shrift - Martha's blackmailing using footage of Clark saving Lana from the warehouse blowing up ('Lockdown'?). I guessed quite early it would more likely be Lionel manipulating events to charge in as a white knight, than another influence, and so much of the story was simplistic and predictable. Lionel and Lex seem to have become one-dimensional bad guys, both proving it by their actions.
The same old, same old reactions between Clark and Lex and Clark and Lana harked back to Seasons 3 and 4 again, since these boring, negative conversations had been reduced this season. You know the one - Clark bursts in to accuse Lex of something, he fobs him off or promises to do something about it. You could probably go through the seasons and count up how many times such scenes have been done, only it would be depressing. The same goes for Lana talking about trust and how they're going in circles. I think almost those exact words have been spoken by her before. Lionel flattering Martha and she being uncomfortably flattered is another scene that's been played to death, this time she takes the biscuit, suggesting Lionel is a friend of hers! What happened to him being the number one enemy whom no one should trust?
There was no really exciting or special action scenes to break up this drab story, it was just a case of retreading and retreading old ground. If we didn't already know it, Lex is bad. If we didn't already know it, Lionel is bad. If we didn't already know it Lana wants Clark to confide his secrets. If we didn't already know, etc... The sliver of interest comes from Lionel putting his cards firmly on the table as far as us viewers are concerned, but only in private. After multiple retch-inducing schmaltzy endings, the only worthwhile moment in the entire episode is the final seconds as we find out for sure that Lionel knows not just that Clark has special powers, but that his real name is Kal-el! No doubt they'll drag it out a long time before Clark or Martha know that he knows.
**
An unremarkable opening was followed by an unremarkable episode, the point being a mirror Victor Stone is a mirror for Clark, as he's willing to tell his girlfriend the truth about his bionic nature as opposed to Clark who continues to keep the secret of his own super-powered self from Lana. This analogy doesn't work very well because Victor was thought dead, whereas Clark grew up with Lana and the meteor storm that brought him killed her parents. In other words he has reasons not to tell her, but Victor's survival on its own warranted an explanation. The actor that played Stone did a good job of portraying a good man struggling to escape his captors, there was no malice or ulterior motive in him, much like Clark, so the two formed a common bond quite quickly, not to mention the 'football' connection.
The effects were mostly uninspiring, there were no incredible 'wind back to see it again' moments demonstrating the cyborg's enhanced capabilities apart from he and Clark jumping off a building and cracking the ground. The story that commanded most interest was the one given shortest shrift - Martha's blackmailing using footage of Clark saving Lana from the warehouse blowing up ('Lockdown'?). I guessed quite early it would more likely be Lionel manipulating events to charge in as a white knight, than another influence, and so much of the story was simplistic and predictable. Lionel and Lex seem to have become one-dimensional bad guys, both proving it by their actions.
The same old, same old reactions between Clark and Lex and Clark and Lana harked back to Seasons 3 and 4 again, since these boring, negative conversations had been reduced this season. You know the one - Clark bursts in to accuse Lex of something, he fobs him off or promises to do something about it. You could probably go through the seasons and count up how many times such scenes have been done, only it would be depressing. The same goes for Lana talking about trust and how they're going in circles. I think almost those exact words have been spoken by her before. Lionel flattering Martha and she being uncomfortably flattered is another scene that's been played to death, this time she takes the biscuit, suggesting Lionel is a friend of hers! What happened to him being the number one enemy whom no one should trust?
There was no really exciting or special action scenes to break up this drab story, it was just a case of retreading and retreading old ground. If we didn't already know it, Lex is bad. If we didn't already know it, Lionel is bad. If we didn't already know it Lana wants Clark to confide his secrets. If we didn't already know, etc... The sliver of interest comes from Lionel putting his cards firmly on the table as far as us viewers are concerned, but only in private. After multiple retch-inducing schmaltzy endings, the only worthwhile moment in the entire episode is the final seconds as we find out for sure that Lionel knows not just that Clark has special powers, but that his real name is Kal-el! No doubt they'll drag it out a long time before Clark or Martha know that he knows.
**
Dead Stop
DVD, Enterprise S2 (Dead Stop)
A continuation from last week's encounter with a Romulan mine, the episode flirts with continuity in more ways than one. On top of the major work needed by the NX-01 and Reed, the pilot episode is referenced by the scratch Trip made on the hull in his inspection back then, something for only the most observant to note. The squeak in the Captain's floor is also fixed by the mysterious repair station and 'Fight Or Flight' is brought to mind during Hoshi's visit to the dead Travis and in the mystery behind the computer.
Hoshi has a nice scene in which she gets a bit upset at the seeming death of her friend, something the series didn't often do (or do well). The question is why they chose Travis to add to their network of alien brains, T'Pol would be a more likely candidate for brain power - was it a way to give the helmsman some much-needed lines? As it is he's mostly onscreen as a corpse which means he gets as much to do as usual! A few facts are revealed, such as his age (26), a peek into his quarters, and that he has a sister. His parents must be alive too, as an attempt is made to contact them. I began to wonder what was going to happen to all the other aliens aboard the dying station, but that question was answered by Phlox. The doctor seems less alien every time we see him, with none of the quirks that endeared him to us in Season 1. It's a shame his character has been stripped of the unique curiosity and such that he started with. He's just one of several characters to be under-exploited so far.
The episode is rife with little nudges to those interested in the greater universe. We get to see a replicator device for the first time (though T'Pol trumps that, having seen one on a Tarkalean vessel before - must be what they used to make their tea!), the Tellarites debut, but only on a bad audio channel, and Jupiter station is mentioned (later home to Dr. Zimmerman, most famously). Porthos is seen briefly for the first time, and Klingons were among the aliens used for brainpower (again, a strange choice), though I couldn't make out any other familiar races. Roxann Dawson does a fine job of directing, and as in the 'Voyager' episode 'Dreadnought' she lends her voice to the dispassionate, but dangerous computer. The set design is clean and bright, very Bespin from 'Star Wars', and the CGI was especially worthy of praise, whether it was the space shots or close-ups of the repair work going on behind crewmembers relaxing in the station, the 3D, blue schematic of the ship particularly attractive. I would question the computer's intelligence level since it could scan so powerfully, but didn't detect explosives in the warp plasma containers and didn't tap into the crew's secret conversations, but there's a chilling end once the Enterprise has left and the machine arms begin working again to repair themselves.
***
A continuation from last week's encounter with a Romulan mine, the episode flirts with continuity in more ways than one. On top of the major work needed by the NX-01 and Reed, the pilot episode is referenced by the scratch Trip made on the hull in his inspection back then, something for only the most observant to note. The squeak in the Captain's floor is also fixed by the mysterious repair station and 'Fight Or Flight' is brought to mind during Hoshi's visit to the dead Travis and in the mystery behind the computer.
Hoshi has a nice scene in which she gets a bit upset at the seeming death of her friend, something the series didn't often do (or do well). The question is why they chose Travis to add to their network of alien brains, T'Pol would be a more likely candidate for brain power - was it a way to give the helmsman some much-needed lines? As it is he's mostly onscreen as a corpse which means he gets as much to do as usual! A few facts are revealed, such as his age (26), a peek into his quarters, and that he has a sister. His parents must be alive too, as an attempt is made to contact them. I began to wonder what was going to happen to all the other aliens aboard the dying station, but that question was answered by Phlox. The doctor seems less alien every time we see him, with none of the quirks that endeared him to us in Season 1. It's a shame his character has been stripped of the unique curiosity and such that he started with. He's just one of several characters to be under-exploited so far.
The episode is rife with little nudges to those interested in the greater universe. We get to see a replicator device for the first time (though T'Pol trumps that, having seen one on a Tarkalean vessel before - must be what they used to make their tea!), the Tellarites debut, but only on a bad audio channel, and Jupiter station is mentioned (later home to Dr. Zimmerman, most famously). Porthos is seen briefly for the first time, and Klingons were among the aliens used for brainpower (again, a strange choice), though I couldn't make out any other familiar races. Roxann Dawson does a fine job of directing, and as in the 'Voyager' episode 'Dreadnought' she lends her voice to the dispassionate, but dangerous computer. The set design is clean and bright, very Bespin from 'Star Wars', and the CGI was especially worthy of praise, whether it was the space shots or close-ups of the repair work going on behind crewmembers relaxing in the station, the 3D, blue schematic of the ship particularly attractive. I would question the computer's intelligence level since it could scan so powerfully, but didn't detect explosives in the warp plasma containers and didn't tap into the crew's secret conversations, but there's a chilling end once the Enterprise has left and the machine arms begin working again to repair themselves.
***
Tomb
DVD, Smallville S5 (Tomb)
If I were to compare an episode to Season 1, usually I'd be paying it a high compliment, but in this case I felt like I was watching an episode from that season with the good bits removed. There was all the discomfort and edginess associated with the often horror-oriented early stories, but Clark's unrequited love and fun japes with his school pals were long gone. Then again, he was almost as close to Lana here as he was in those days! She goes to see Lex on finding Chloe crazy, not Clark, and then at the end she has the cheek to point out that couples are supposed to stick together! At least that wasn't the focus, merely a reminder of the troubles between Clark and his girl, although she seems to have forgotten about helping Clark through the difficult time of losing his Dad, something she was all for in the last couple of episodes. Jonathan's absence from any little scenes set in the Kent house is still bizarre and difficult to get used to, whereas the complete opposite is true of Lionel's showing up in the Kent kitchen, the heart of their home - that was just plain wrong!
The story is vaguely Kryptonite-inspired, but a more interesting tale was buried (entombed?) in the traditional, grisly, and basically rubbish ghost story, with equally rubbish dead girl makeup - was it the curse of Michael Westmore; world famous, Oscar-winning makeup artist on all the modern 'Star Trek' series' and films (among many other credits) getting his own back on them for using his name for the serial killer? The whole thing with the bracelets, their power to uncover secrets, could have been the crux of the matter as Clark's secret might have been taken from Chloe's brain, the implications especially potent in front of Lois. She was quick to accept Chloe would try to commit suicide - "Oh I should have seen it coming... school... work... etc..." Clark too, was quick to patronise his friend, although the drugs did make her act out of character. I was partly fooled, as although I suspected the orderly of being a standard 'Suspicious Speaking Part' as soon as his pallid face and weird voice were onscreen, I was just as suspicious of Chloe's psychiatrist and was half expecting them to be working together!
'Mikey's pallid face wasn't the only colourless aspect of the visuals - the palette was pulled back to gloom factor ten, to the extent that when we return to the usual warm glows at the end it was almost blinding! Chloe's slit wrists were a bit grim even for 'Smallville' and in my book it was going too far. Either it was too disturbing to see a familiar character in such a position or it was too sterile and tidy so that it might have been seen as a good way to go, not the right message for a series aimed at teen viewers. I'd like to know how Clark explained the hold in the wall! He still lacks finesse - he could at least have removed the mirror and made the hole look neat so it might have been done with tools!
At least something good came out of such a distressing story - it makes Chloe think about her Mum and go and visit her in a different setting to what she imagined in her nightmare last season, so there was a pleasant ending. And there's a little casual mention that Lex is still searching for the vanished Dr. Fine which leads me to suspect his part in the tale has not yet been concluded.
**
If I were to compare an episode to Season 1, usually I'd be paying it a high compliment, but in this case I felt like I was watching an episode from that season with the good bits removed. There was all the discomfort and edginess associated with the often horror-oriented early stories, but Clark's unrequited love and fun japes with his school pals were long gone. Then again, he was almost as close to Lana here as he was in those days! She goes to see Lex on finding Chloe crazy, not Clark, and then at the end she has the cheek to point out that couples are supposed to stick together! At least that wasn't the focus, merely a reminder of the troubles between Clark and his girl, although she seems to have forgotten about helping Clark through the difficult time of losing his Dad, something she was all for in the last couple of episodes. Jonathan's absence from any little scenes set in the Kent house is still bizarre and difficult to get used to, whereas the complete opposite is true of Lionel's showing up in the Kent kitchen, the heart of their home - that was just plain wrong!
The story is vaguely Kryptonite-inspired, but a more interesting tale was buried (entombed?) in the traditional, grisly, and basically rubbish ghost story, with equally rubbish dead girl makeup - was it the curse of Michael Westmore; world famous, Oscar-winning makeup artist on all the modern 'Star Trek' series' and films (among many other credits) getting his own back on them for using his name for the serial killer? The whole thing with the bracelets, their power to uncover secrets, could have been the crux of the matter as Clark's secret might have been taken from Chloe's brain, the implications especially potent in front of Lois. She was quick to accept Chloe would try to commit suicide - "Oh I should have seen it coming... school... work... etc..." Clark too, was quick to patronise his friend, although the drugs did make her act out of character. I was partly fooled, as although I suspected the orderly of being a standard 'Suspicious Speaking Part' as soon as his pallid face and weird voice were onscreen, I was just as suspicious of Chloe's psychiatrist and was half expecting them to be working together!
'Mikey's pallid face wasn't the only colourless aspect of the visuals - the palette was pulled back to gloom factor ten, to the extent that when we return to the usual warm glows at the end it was almost blinding! Chloe's slit wrists were a bit grim even for 'Smallville' and in my book it was going too far. Either it was too disturbing to see a familiar character in such a position or it was too sterile and tidy so that it might have been seen as a good way to go, not the right message for a series aimed at teen viewers. I'd like to know how Clark explained the hold in the wall! He still lacks finesse - he could at least have removed the mirror and made the hole look neat so it might have been done with tools!
At least something good came out of such a distressing story - it makes Chloe think about her Mum and go and visit her in a different setting to what she imagined in her nightmare last season, so there was a pleasant ending. And there's a little casual mention that Lex is still searching for the vanished Dr. Fine which leads me to suspect his part in the tale has not yet been concluded.
**
Minefield
DVD, Enterprise S2 (Minefield)
In an episode in which they got around the problem of featuring the Romulans, who were not seen until Kirk's time about 100 years later, and in which a tense mine defusing sequence was set to provide excitement, it might be surprising that it is the teaser that has the best moments - Reed, summoned to attend the Captain's table for breakfast, is on edge, honoured about being invited, but aware of keeping a professional distance while not making any faux pas in front of someone he's learnt to respect, even if he doesn't agree with his command style. Archer meanwhile, just wants to get to know his armoury officer better. We get mention that England made it to the 'Soccer' Finals (which isn't quite as impressive as if they'd made it to the Final itself - they generally get into the Finals stage, or at least, they do in our time!), and Reed's discomfort is enjoyable. Then there's a mysterious explosion and it's all very exciting. I can't say the same for the majority of the episode.
The big USP this week are the Romulans, showing up in their sleek Birds of Prey and cloaking devices (there may be debate over whether they had them at that time) to up the danger level and provide an ultimatum. That we don't see them shouldn't disappoint, as anyone that knows their lore won't expect to see them in the series at all (although...). I wouldn't say it was a gimmick to use them, but expectations at the time were set sky high thanks to comments from the makers that Romulans would be featuring in both 'Star Trek Nemesis' and Season 2 of 'Enterprise' leading us to believe it would be a substantial inclusion. In the event it's a couple of ships decloaking and warning the crew off, not living up to the film's level of involvement with the race (although the amount they had to do in that was also something of a letdown, but that's another story). Strange T'Pol doesn't recognise their language, which presumably would have similarities to Vulcan. On a personal note, I wanted the ships to feature the image of the bird as they did underneath similar ships on 'TOS'.
The Romulans involvement neither added nor took away from the story, it suffered from getting too bogged down in a 'getting to know you' scenario between Archer and Malcolm, much as had happened with Malcolm and Trip in the last season's 'Shuttlepod One'. That worked because of the claustrophobia and the gradual decline of their circumstances, showing how each man handled it, whereas this was Malcolm being dispirited again while his Captain solved the problem. Reed's story of how his aquaphobic Uncle sealed himself in the submarine's engine room to save the vessel should have made us sympathetic, but the scene didn't build up to such a moment and it came out as just a story Reed was telling. It could have been better structured. Whether the two got to know each other better is debatable, and if anything Malcolm would probably be even more in awe of Archer, but I could see what they were trying to do, and applaud the attempt on what is a more action-focused series.
What they did do were things that couldn't be done without a lot of difficulty on the earlier series' - showing people walking about on the hull, the weightlessness, the deck plate drifting off into space and the explosion as Archer and Reed made their escape - the production looked good. One minor quibble would be that through the wonders of modern DVD you can see even the tiny specks of dust that float around in the beam of their headlamps. Except there wouldn't be any dust wafting around them in space. We'll call it space dust... It was interesting to hear about the Royal Navy line Malcolm comes from, a path he eschewed because of a fear of drowning, but he remained a bit of an enigma by the end of the story.
**
In an episode in which they got around the problem of featuring the Romulans, who were not seen until Kirk's time about 100 years later, and in which a tense mine defusing sequence was set to provide excitement, it might be surprising that it is the teaser that has the best moments - Reed, summoned to attend the Captain's table for breakfast, is on edge, honoured about being invited, but aware of keeping a professional distance while not making any faux pas in front of someone he's learnt to respect, even if he doesn't agree with his command style. Archer meanwhile, just wants to get to know his armoury officer better. We get mention that England made it to the 'Soccer' Finals (which isn't quite as impressive as if they'd made it to the Final itself - they generally get into the Finals stage, or at least, they do in our time!), and Reed's discomfort is enjoyable. Then there's a mysterious explosion and it's all very exciting. I can't say the same for the majority of the episode.
The big USP this week are the Romulans, showing up in their sleek Birds of Prey and cloaking devices (there may be debate over whether they had them at that time) to up the danger level and provide an ultimatum. That we don't see them shouldn't disappoint, as anyone that knows their lore won't expect to see them in the series at all (although...). I wouldn't say it was a gimmick to use them, but expectations at the time were set sky high thanks to comments from the makers that Romulans would be featuring in both 'Star Trek Nemesis' and Season 2 of 'Enterprise' leading us to believe it would be a substantial inclusion. In the event it's a couple of ships decloaking and warning the crew off, not living up to the film's level of involvement with the race (although the amount they had to do in that was also something of a letdown, but that's another story). Strange T'Pol doesn't recognise their language, which presumably would have similarities to Vulcan. On a personal note, I wanted the ships to feature the image of the bird as they did underneath similar ships on 'TOS'.
The Romulans involvement neither added nor took away from the story, it suffered from getting too bogged down in a 'getting to know you' scenario between Archer and Malcolm, much as had happened with Malcolm and Trip in the last season's 'Shuttlepod One'. That worked because of the claustrophobia and the gradual decline of their circumstances, showing how each man handled it, whereas this was Malcolm being dispirited again while his Captain solved the problem. Reed's story of how his aquaphobic Uncle sealed himself in the submarine's engine room to save the vessel should have made us sympathetic, but the scene didn't build up to such a moment and it came out as just a story Reed was telling. It could have been better structured. Whether the two got to know each other better is debatable, and if anything Malcolm would probably be even more in awe of Archer, but I could see what they were trying to do, and applaud the attempt on what is a more action-focused series.
What they did do were things that couldn't be done without a lot of difficulty on the earlier series' - showing people walking about on the hull, the weightlessness, the deck plate drifting off into space and the explosion as Archer and Reed made their escape - the production looked good. One minor quibble would be that through the wonders of modern DVD you can see even the tiny specks of dust that float around in the beam of their headlamps. Except there wouldn't be any dust wafting around them in space. We'll call it space dust... It was interesting to hear about the Royal Navy line Malcolm comes from, a path he eschewed because of a fear of drowning, but he remained a bit of an enigma by the end of the story.
**
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