Overall: 7.5
This is a decent story, but the execution is a bit slow.
Plot Synopsis:
Memory Alpha has a summary here.
The Skinny:
There's a sneaky message in here that's kind of interesting. In essence, Ron Moore seems to be arguing that legends - whether they be about Davey Crockett at the Alamo or Kor, the Dahar Master - have an enormous and valuable power to elevate the spirit. And personally, I find it hard to disagree. The tale of George Washington chopping down a cherry tree and then fessing up to his mistake, for example, is almost certainly apocryphal -- but how many early Americans were inspired to do the right thing because of it? While I care about historical accuracy as much as the next person, relentless "de-mythologizing" - the tearing down of harmless fictions - can make us overly cynical and petty.
There are also some nice character moments to be found here. For instance, I love Quark's speech to Ezri regarding what she deserves as a Dax. It is sweet -- and also utterly sincere. And the dignified way in which Kor responds to Martok's mean-spirited taunts is also quite impressive. But as I said above, the overall presentation drags a bit. To be honest, I check my watch a few times, especially when the episode gets bogged down in Martok's back-story with Kor. I understand what Moore was going for there, but that particular scene feels a little too "talky" for my taste.
Writing: 7.0
Moore's basic idea is good, but there's too much telling and not enough showing.
Acting: 7.5
John Colicos and J.G. Hertzler are awesome, of course, but some of the other Klingon performances fall flat.
Message: 8.0
Yes -- legends do uplift individuals and larger societies.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
NEW!: Once Upon a Time 1:12 - Skin Deep
Overall: 8.5
The "Rumpelstiltskin-centered = good" pattern continues.
The "Rumpelstiltskin-centered = good" pattern continues.
Monday, February 13, 2012
NEW!: Merlin 4:6 - A Servant of Two Masters
Overall: 7.3
This one's cute, but the ending seemed a little too easy.
This one's cute, but the ending seemed a little too easy.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
NEW!: Grimm 1:11 - Tarantella
Overall Rating: 7.2
The preview for this one looked way cooler than the actual episode. But it was still not a bad effort.
The preview for this one looked way cooler than the actual episode. But it was still not a bad effort.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Classics: SG1 7:3 - Fragile Balance
Overall Rating: 9.2
Big positive marks for the child actor they found and the direction of Stargate's funny-man Peter DeLuise. A fluffy episode done so right.
Plot Synopsis:
Most Gate fans will know this one easily - Jack = teenager! And what a teen he makes. :) The full description is here, courtesy of the Stargate Wiki.
The Skinny:
I don't know where they found Michael Welch, but he does a PHENOMENAL job as the teenaged clone of Jack. I mean, damn! He got every nuance, every vocal tone, every facial expression, every hand gesture right in replicating Jack's colorful style. Mimic acting is not easy to pull off without seeming like a cheap knock-off, but this kid does it beautifully! You cannot get through this episode without laughing at the shear brilliance of his replications...especially when Carter starts throwing science at him and he does the usual O'Neill "hands up and please shut up, Carter!" bit or when he barks at Daniel for babbling. It's just spectacular...it really is. Peter DeLuise coached Welch a bit, encouraging him to watch many episodes of the show and giving him a few pointers on RDA impersonation (and he did a great job with that, as well as with his framing of the episode as a bit of a romp without being overly cornball), but it comes down to the performer's natural gifts at some point. Bravo, Junior!
Enough fun with the acting - which is great all around, including the regular cast - let's talk about the script. This is pure fluff - right down to the explanation for various human/alien abduction stories and the name of the Asgard "villain" (Loki - Norse God of mischief...LOL). But it's not just silly for silly's sake. There's some of that, but it has a good point. When you're young, being young seems horrible...but if you could go back and do it again...knowing what you know as an adult...I think most of us would love that chance to do more with our years free of responsibilities and burdens and I think it's important that we look back on our formative years with a healthy realization that no matter what traumas we endured...we had it good then (most of us, anyway). Of course, we don't want to live (figuratively) in the past or pine for impossible time-reversing serum so we can go back and literally live in our past. But I think the grown version of O'Neill came away from this episode with a new found respect for his somewhat more awkward teenage self here, and I think that's a good thing.
Gate writers have always been good at keeping the tone of their episodes consistent - no tragic ends to comedic episodes (at least none that don't feel earned)...no inappropriate humor in the darkest of moments (other than well-placed adlibbed gallows humor from RDA), and no excessive preaching when the point of the episode is to have fun. This episode is no exception to that rule. They could have, for example, completely ruined this episode by having the clone die. That would have really killed it for me, to be honest. They could also have ruined it by making Loki unabashedly evil. He actually comes across a bit sympathetically here - though we certainly don't approve of his methods, his heart is in the right place. And I think that's a good thing too. It all feels warm and wonderful and leaves you with a smile on your face as teenage Jack checks out the babes he's about to hit on. I mean...how better to end this episode? :)
Writing: 9.5
The script accomplishes everything it sets out to accomplish and the direction is pitch perfect all around.
Acting: 10.0
Welch gives a sensational performance and the regulars play off of him perfectly. Even the SGC pilots do a nice job with their bit parts!
Message: 8.0
It's fluff...but there is value in being thankful for the strange and bumpy ride that is your childhood if you come out of it well-adjusted. No matter what happened to you along the way, those years were the freest of your life and they helped make you the person you are today. Good stuff!
Big positive marks for the child actor they found and the direction of Stargate's funny-man Peter DeLuise. A fluffy episode done so right.
Plot Synopsis:
Most Gate fans will know this one easily - Jack = teenager! And what a teen he makes. :) The full description is here, courtesy of the Stargate Wiki.
The Skinny:
I don't know where they found Michael Welch, but he does a PHENOMENAL job as the teenaged clone of Jack. I mean, damn! He got every nuance, every vocal tone, every facial expression, every hand gesture right in replicating Jack's colorful style. Mimic acting is not easy to pull off without seeming like a cheap knock-off, but this kid does it beautifully! You cannot get through this episode without laughing at the shear brilliance of his replications...especially when Carter starts throwing science at him and he does the usual O'Neill "hands up and please shut up, Carter!" bit or when he barks at Daniel for babbling. It's just spectacular...it really is. Peter DeLuise coached Welch a bit, encouraging him to watch many episodes of the show and giving him a few pointers on RDA impersonation (and he did a great job with that, as well as with his framing of the episode as a bit of a romp without being overly cornball), but it comes down to the performer's natural gifts at some point. Bravo, Junior!
Enough fun with the acting - which is great all around, including the regular cast - let's talk about the script. This is pure fluff - right down to the explanation for various human/alien abduction stories and the name of the Asgard "villain" (Loki - Norse God of mischief...LOL). But it's not just silly for silly's sake. There's some of that, but it has a good point. When you're young, being young seems horrible...but if you could go back and do it again...knowing what you know as an adult...I think most of us would love that chance to do more with our years free of responsibilities and burdens and I think it's important that we look back on our formative years with a healthy realization that no matter what traumas we endured...we had it good then (most of us, anyway). Of course, we don't want to live (figuratively) in the past or pine for impossible time-reversing serum so we can go back and literally live in our past. But I think the grown version of O'Neill came away from this episode with a new found respect for his somewhat more awkward teenage self here, and I think that's a good thing.
Gate writers have always been good at keeping the tone of their episodes consistent - no tragic ends to comedic episodes (at least none that don't feel earned)...no inappropriate humor in the darkest of moments (other than well-placed adlibbed gallows humor from RDA), and no excessive preaching when the point of the episode is to have fun. This episode is no exception to that rule. They could have, for example, completely ruined this episode by having the clone die. That would have really killed it for me, to be honest. They could also have ruined it by making Loki unabashedly evil. He actually comes across a bit sympathetically here - though we certainly don't approve of his methods, his heart is in the right place. And I think that's a good thing too. It all feels warm and wonderful and leaves you with a smile on your face as teenage Jack checks out the babes he's about to hit on. I mean...how better to end this episode? :)
Writing: 9.5
The script accomplishes everything it sets out to accomplish and the direction is pitch perfect all around.
Acting: 10.0
Welch gives a sensational performance and the regulars play off of him perfectly. Even the SGC pilots do a nice job with their bit parts!
Message: 8.0
It's fluff...but there is value in being thankful for the strange and bumpy ride that is your childhood if you come out of it well-adjusted. No matter what happened to you along the way, those years were the freest of your life and they helped make you the person you are today. Good stuff!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Classics: BtVS 6:11 - Gone
Overall Rating: 6.0
After the excitement of the previous tow episodes, this one is a major let down. Not only does Buffy INSTANTLY go back on her no-Spike vow, but the dynamic between Willow and the rest of the scoobies (and Dawn) is too cordial for my liking considering how much trouble she got herself into. There's supportive and then there's TOO accommodating.
Plot Synopsis:
Wikipedia has a good summary here - worth a quick read if you don't want to watch this filler.
The Skinny:
Apart from some rather cheap chuckles involving Spike/Buffy in a spectacularly inappropriate scene given Buffy's current character arc, and a few other moments with the rest of the scoobies and with the nerd trio...this episode is pretty darned forgettable. I get the point it was trying to make regarding Buffy's life...and regarding Willow's real character strengths (she's an outstanding sleuth...it was nice to see that on display again)...but...it was a pretty tepid and uninteresting script to make that point. Yes...they can't all be masterpieces, but this is a fairly important moment in Buffy's life and especially for poor Dawn, and Dawn doesn't get but two minutes of screen time. I think they could have made Buffy realize she wanted to live in a more dramatic way than this.
Writing: 6.0
I can't be too hard on them for giving us a light bit of fluff to allow for a pause in the drama before things go to crap later on...but this doesn't seem especially heavy on the effort. If you're going to do comedy...it should be a bit funnier than this.
Acting: 6.0
James Marsters does the best work in the cast this week...the rest of the group seems a little on the mellow side for my taste.
Message: 6.0
This would have gotten a higher score from me if Buffy's discovery about wanting to be in her own life had been followed up on a bit sooner than the series finale and if the episode had made that point with more than a final tone-deaf conversation between Buffy and Willow. It just...doesn't have enough weight to be very exciting or to make the point it's trying to make.
After the excitement of the previous tow episodes, this one is a major let down. Not only does Buffy INSTANTLY go back on her no-Spike vow, but the dynamic between Willow and the rest of the scoobies (and Dawn) is too cordial for my liking considering how much trouble she got herself into. There's supportive and then there's TOO accommodating.
Plot Synopsis:
Wikipedia has a good summary here - worth a quick read if you don't want to watch this filler.
The Skinny:
Apart from some rather cheap chuckles involving Spike/Buffy in a spectacularly inappropriate scene given Buffy's current character arc, and a few other moments with the rest of the scoobies and with the nerd trio...this episode is pretty darned forgettable. I get the point it was trying to make regarding Buffy's life...and regarding Willow's real character strengths (she's an outstanding sleuth...it was nice to see that on display again)...but...it was a pretty tepid and uninteresting script to make that point. Yes...they can't all be masterpieces, but this is a fairly important moment in Buffy's life and especially for poor Dawn, and Dawn doesn't get but two minutes of screen time. I think they could have made Buffy realize she wanted to live in a more dramatic way than this.
Writing: 6.0
I can't be too hard on them for giving us a light bit of fluff to allow for a pause in the drama before things go to crap later on...but this doesn't seem especially heavy on the effort. If you're going to do comedy...it should be a bit funnier than this.
Acting: 6.0
James Marsters does the best work in the cast this week...the rest of the group seems a little on the mellow side for my taste.
Message: 6.0
This would have gotten a higher score from me if Buffy's discovery about wanting to be in her own life had been followed up on a bit sooner than the series finale and if the episode had made that point with more than a final tone-deaf conversation between Buffy and Willow. It just...doesn't have enough weight to be very exciting or to make the point it's trying to make.
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