Killjoys, Season 3, Episode 6: Necropolis

Everything last week did not go as planned, which results in a very sad Dutch. With the death of the awesome Banyon at her hands, the death of three RACs not at her hands but still as part of her war she’s feeling super sad and is getting super drunk

D’avin is there to provide a pep talk and she moves in to kiss him. And he backs off.

AWKWARD

As Johnny puts it, walking in on them having sex would be less awkward than this. Dutch responds to this by giving D’avin the silent treatment.

The gang has to go to the Scarback monk’s necropolis to have the funeral for all the RAC agents which is awkward because Turin bows out to deal with the refugees from the other RACs and Dutch is both torn by guilt and grief and giving D’avin the silent treatment all making it even more awkward. D’avin ends up having to give the speech before the religious ceremony because Dutch just can’t, she’s too torn by it.

They also have an ulterior motive - they want the 9 to support their war against the Hullen, especially with their very very very big bank accounts

Johnny thinks they have an in with Luella, Pawter’s dead sister and head of a 9 family, but Luella is pissed over Pawter’s death still. And the rest of the 9 aren’t exactly on board anyway, especially Kala, who seems to be the most influential, who would rather stick his head in the sand and blame Dutch & co, even when Dutch points out it was the ancestors of the 9 who got them in this mess in the first place with their deal with the Hullen

Of course it wasn’t going to be easy

Then we have technical difficulties with Dutch and D’avin stuck in a space lift with 8 of the 9 while Johnny and the angry Luella are outside trying to get it moving again. Everyone is paranoid and then one member of the 9 dies.

This does not increase everyone’s trust. Particularly of Alvis since he’s actually carrying a weapon and had a beef with the dead woman shortly before they died. Dutch didn’t think he did it though because of the awesome line of the episode:

“I could never accuse you of murder because you’re an attention whore activist who would scream it from the rooftops before I ever had a chance”

Alvis concedes it’s accurate. I want to raise the question of the complex religio-political dynamic that has Alvis be considered on the most fierce anti-company (and anti-9) activist in the Quad, up to the point they were willing to arrest him as a terrorist while at the same time him having the respect and kudos to be the one performing hippy-vegan communion. Because that must be a doozy of a complicated relationship.

The argument between Alvis and the dead woman is that she wanted to buy a “tolerance” (basically an indulgence) from Alvis for the whole 9. He doesn’t know the details because he gave them a resounding hell no, not being in favour of people buying off their sins.

Zoo, Season 3, Episode 6: Oz is Oz

A significant portion of this episode is spent with Abigail’s backstory as she heals in one of their big water tanks after the Razorbacks took her to them for help

She has always known about Jackson (though pretty much loathed him as a useless, drunken safari guard) and worshipped her dad. She’s also brilliant, apparently as brilliant as Mitch (apparently Mitch is brilliant) She continued to work on her dad’s pet project - Blue Diaspora, the creation of the hybrids, even after the Council forbade her father to pursue it, even after he himself abandoned it and focused more on Mitch’s cure for the animals. She’s convinced that since the animals are still subject to the Mother Cell, it’s only a matter of time before animals turn evil again: the hybrids are the answer. But mainly I think he wants to please her dad.

Hence the creation of the first hybrid, Abendigos: the giant ape thing.

And then Jackson returned with his dad and Daddy Oz is now all focused on saving Jackson and curing the animals. And when Jackson is sick, daddy Oz sacrifices himself to save him.

Abigail is Not Amused by this. She hates Jackson and passes on that hatred to Abendigos. She’s also the one who saved Mitch and put him in a tank.

Also there’s this guy who is clearly into Abigail.

On to Clem and the present and people are trying to sell her - except Mitch arrives with a gun which isn’t exactly a coherent plant. But Clem points the gun to her oh-so-precious womb and she manages to leave. But we’re reminded that Clem is now going to be the most hunted woman on the planet

Mitch plans to do lots of testing - which Clem, child of lots of medical testing due to her childhood illness, is not a fan of because it’s a wretched life. She also wants Mitch to be less scientist and more father. Mitch is pretty good here both declaring his fatherly devotion in a very touching way but also pragmatically pointing out the kid can actually stop humanity’s extinction so realistically a little Science is going to have to happen.

Also Mitch is not ready to be called a grandfather. They head to the plane - there Mitch confronts Dariela who is just everyone’s punching bag, but Clem forgives her because MOTHERHOOD

Tessa and Jackson have a lot of action with lions and guns and giant ape hybrids, Oh My. Tessa realises that Jackson is controlling animals with his mind but they’ll discuss that later because war zone. They decide they absolutely must have Abendigos and take him with them to the plane.

Should there be a Dark Angel Revival?

After the recent reboot of Twin Peaks, which only ran for two seasons before being cancelled in 1991, and remakes of popular film franchises from yesteryear such as Ghostbusters by Paul Feig and The Mummy by Alex Kurtzman, there is a real possibility that other series could face a similar makeover. The David Lynch-directed drama set in a desolate region on the outskirts of Washington gained a cult following, and viewers had long petitioned for its resurrection. The fact that the returning show has been awarded a whopping score of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes is another indicator that others could follow suit. Dark Angel eventually had an underwhelming release on DVD, which is still available on Amazon, but is now the perfect time for a Dark Angel Revival?

Would a Dark Angel Comeback be Welcomed?

David Lynch isn’t the only well-respected director to have had a foray into the realms of television production. Oscar-winner James Cameron, who is responsible for Avatar and Titanic, the two highest-grossing films of all time with worldwide box office revenue of $2.7 billion and $2.2 billion respectively, is the brains behind Dark Angel. Working in collaboration with Charles H. Eglee who more recently has been involved with the adaptation of The Walking Dead, the two creators came up with a highly original cyberpunk TV series about a genetically enhanced super soldier who escapes a covert military facility as a child. The show which aired on Fox was watched by an average of 10 million people per episode in its first season, and also won numerous awards including the People’s Choice Award for Favourite New Drama. The second season, however, suffered a severe ratings drop and was ultimately cancelled.

It was criticised by fans for having too many filler episodes in which the writers would focus on a “monster of the week” rather than spend time developing the overarching plot. However, many fans also believed the story to have potential and were hugely disappointed when the series was cut short. There is frustration around the fact that the final episode ended on a cliffhanger, where there was a standoff between cops and transgenics and it seemed unlikely that all of the main protagonists would make it out alive. This ending certainly leaves the series wide open for a comeback if the creators wished to do so.

Could Jessica Alba Reprise her Breakthrough Role?

Jessica Alba began her acting career at a very young age with roles in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack which aired on Nickelodeon in 1994. But it wasn’t until she took on the part of leading protagonist Max Guevara in Dark Angel that she was finally recognised as a potential Hollywood star. Alba was the leading lady in 42 episodes of the sci-fi series, and Guevera is arguably the California-born actresses’ most intriguing character to date. Max is a transgenic super-soldier with an extremely advanced skillset which includes having a photographic memory, being able to see in the dark and zoom in on distant objects, and being strong, agile, and athletic. In addition to that, she is able to live without sleep, make predictions about the future, and speak numerous different languages.

In the show, the heroine uses these powers for some pretty unusual and interesting things, and this helped make the character so unique and likeable. For instance, in episode four of the first season, Guevara uses her skills of prediction to guess roulette numbers when she goes on an undercover mission to catch a mobster at a casino. This is a good example of what made Dark Angel different: instead of Alba’s character having to incorporate sophisticated roulette strategies such as block betting, (making a series of bets which cover a block of numbers on the roulette betting board), her highly advanced supernatural abilities allowed her to merely look into the future to know where to place her chips. Another distinctive trait of Max’s genetic build is the fact that she has some cat DNA. This caused her to go into heat twice in the first season and led to some pretty steamy encounters. Although Dark Angel led to starring roles in blockbusters such as the $158.8 million box office hit Sin City and Fantastic Four, Alba has also continued to appear in TV shows including The Spoils of Babylon and Barely Famous since hitting the big time. This suggests that she could be open to returning to the character that her success stemmed from.

Which Other Shows Deserve a Reboot?

Dark Angel is one of only a handful of popular TV shows that have featured a female central protagonist. But as Game of Thrones, which averages 23 million viewers per episode, has shown with its multitude of powerful female characters including Daenerys Targaryen, Arya Stark, and Cersei Lannister, audiences are more than willing to watch the fairer sex lead the way. This suggests that a Dark Angel reboot could be very well received, as could other female-led shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Joss Whedon’s epic vampire series is another show which had a cult following and that many fans would love to see return. The show has a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but after its seventh season concluded in 2003, pretty much all loose ends were tied up and Whedon, who now directs the Marvel Avengers films, ended on a high. It did end with Buffy Summers no longer being the only slayer in existence, though, as Willow’s magical spell turned all the other potentials into fully-fledged vampire hunters. If the series was to make a return, it could be in the form of a spinoff following one of these other characters. This would make some fans happy who thought that Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy was actually one of the least likeable characters in the original.

Twin Peaks: The Return has proved that even if a show was axed by a network in the past there is potential for a reboot to attract past fans and younger audiences. If other shows are going to follow suit, Dark Angel has to be a strong contender to earn a second chance. With so many big names involved, it seems a shame that it ended so abruptly.

The Mist, Season One, Episode Seven: Over the River and Through the Woods

There are only three more episodes left in The Mist's freshman season and at this point I think that the whole damn show just needs to be euthanized.   It's clear that The Mist has become incoherent and riddled with so much BS that the writers themselves might actually be lost in the fog.  For my continuing perseverance in writing this up, I think I'm due a stiff drink or at the very least, some high quality chocolate.

The Church

From almost the beginning, a war of ideology broke out at the church. On one side we have Nathalie, who I'm assuming is a pagan and of course the very catholic Father Romanov. Last week, the mist drew religious blood for the first time when Link, the alter boy, for some reason decided to become a religious zealot and attempt to put a stop to Nathalie, who he felt was corrupting the faithful.  Things didn't end well for Link.  Nathalie of course played up her injuries which hit a nerve with Connor, who having tossed aside his badge still has a strong urge to be protective.  As a cop, Connor has seen the worse of the worse and he deems that anyone who would beat an old woman to be vile. For once, I agree with Connor on something.  With Link now dead, Connor decides to take his pound of flesh from Father Romanov, whom he believes talked Link into physically abusing Nathalie.  The residents of the church look on with horror as Connor punches and kicks father Romanov repeatedly.  A knowing Nathalie only hums.

Having taken a beating, it's time for Father Romanov to lick his wounds.  Father Romanov heads up to the room that Link was locked in and speaks to the now dead Link about seeing the light and thanking him for his sacrifice.  On the other side of the door, we are shown Link's remains and they are suitably horrific.

Having made his peace with Link, Father Romanov sets off to save his people by challenging Nathalie to see which one of them can survive the mist. Romanov suggests that the residents will know for sure who to follow based on who survives and since he's confident that God will save him, he's happy to take this test. When the residents of the church are informed of this decision, they rightfully balk but both Nathalie and Father Romanov are determined to see this through to the end.  Father Romanov gets dressed in his best vestments and Nathalie strips down.  Together, Romanov and Nathalie leave the church. Nathalie is calm and stands with her eyes closed, whereas; for all of his faith, Father Romanov is clearly nervous. It's not long before the four horseman of the apocalypse show up and after a momentary pause, set their sights on Father Romanov.  Romanov is shot with an arrow and dragged away through the Mist. 

When Nathalie returns to the church, she talks about hearing Romanov die and how beautiful it was because everything sounds differently in the mist. Nathalie explains that she had her eyes closed and wasn't worried because she knew that Nature wouldn't see her as a threat. 

The Mall

Of all the settings in The Mist, the people at the mall are the ones who have over reacted the most and the fastest.  It seems that the writers are determined to carry on this trend.  They people in the mall have only been trapped there for a short time and they're already panicked about a food shortage.   

Gus isn't as worried about food because he has his own private stash in his office. I know that The Mist is set in a dinky ass town but how could they possibly run out of food so quickly? Gus has no problem snacking on his own sweet treats while hiding away in his office but when Gus is informed that the mall cop is helping himself to extra rations because the mall cop believes that the military is going to rescue them soon, Gus is quick to put a stop to it, rationalizing that they don't know when the military is coming. Shelly of course sees this as an opportunity to rile up people about Eve and Alex.  Shelly is particularly incensed when Eve shows up to request some of their board games to help pass the time for the people she is holed up with. Proving just how smart she is, Eve leaves behind a baby monitor so that she can spy. 

Alex is still cuddling up with her potential rapist which makes Eve very unhappy. Eve would love to give Jay the boot and quite rightfully so; however, Alex actually goes on the defense, claiming Jay should stay with them because he's afraid of the other mall resident because they exiled the kid who accidentally let the mist in.  Eve tries to say that the other residents aren't that bad but Alex ups the ante and questions if her mother would be fine with her joining Jay to be with the other residents.  Why the hell is Alex standing up for the boy who may have raped her? I suppose this round goes to the very misguided Alex.

Outcast, Season 2, Episode 10: To The Sea

Anderson has his flock back and promptly tells them that all this bible stuff is nonsense and starts ripping pages out of one. Considering he’s a preacher in a church full of Christians this causes relatively minimal outrage as he sells them a new vision about gathering as an army of the righteous to fight evil

There’s no way that cold blow up in his face

He also recruits Giles on side who is fully back in action. He grieves for Rose but blames himself for becoming weak and despondent which prompted Rose to go out on her own. Now he has a whole lot of weapons, loyal police officer and

He also has Rose’s list of suspected possessed who he begins to round up. Ummmm can someone please challenge the religious leader and gun toting police chief rounding up undesirables at gunpoint, without law, and imprisoning them?

Someone?

Anyone?

No?

Ooooookay then.

Kyle has been reunited with his father and his dad is considering his master plan while Kyle, abandoned by this man to live with a possessed, abusive mother is NOT just going to shelve those daddy issues.

He’s also not impressed with the cult he’s built around him since it’s clear Daddy doesn’t believe a damn word of his whole “the world will end and we will be saved” rhetoric. Oh and he killed 8 beacons as well. Yup, Kyle goes all in on this one.

Dakota is also not having it with his backtracking and tries to convince her fellow cultists that he’s lost his way… not getting much traction there she goes to see Anderson. He is duly snarky since she kicked him out - but she appeaks: after all, surely he understands what it is to believe something and find it hollow

Oooooooh, that would be a direct hit.

Kyle and Daddy go to the junkyard and meet junkyard guy - it occurs to me I should start learning these people’s names. Maybe next season. There Kyle learns Amber and Alison have gone missing - their absence prompts Kyle to listen to Daddy and his plan to gather lots of Beacons in one place to use woo-woo against the demons. Ok… they can definitely feel power when together but from Helen to the meeting where Giles was possessed all indications have been that gathering Beacons attracts demons… how does this help? Kyle, desperate for his family, of course agrees

Together they learn that one of the beacons daddy shot in the head survived - it’s Junkyard Guy’s brother-in-law and his sister is really not happy to see Daddy at all. Of course, her husband is heavily disabled having suffered two debilitating head injuries

Shadowhunters, Season 2, Episode 18: Awake, Arise or be Fallen Forever

Let’s look at the Downworlder’s first - Luke and Magnus go to the Seelie Queen to agree that, yeah, the Clave is the Worst in every way and we totally can’t trust them. Downworlders need to unite to face off against Valentine because the Clave absolutely cannot be trusted to do the right thing and they do evil all the time

Also the Seelie Queen thinks that the Claves rules are terrible and they should ignore them.

Luke says hell no and asks to back off a little because uniting and war against the Clave are two different things. I would consider this if it weren’t for the fact that Luke has never ever ever ever ever ever thought of his Pack first, second, third or, hell, is it even in his top 10 priorities? If he had to murder every last member of his Pack so Clary can be slightly happier? He’d do it.

Magnus is more torn - basically he pretty much agrees entirely with the Seelie queen but he also loves Alec. His entire species vs his love life: the Seelie Queen gives him some time to decide. Also you’re with her or against her. Also she’s a creepy child.

Why wasn’t Raphael invited? Don’t they want the vampires on side as well?

Maia and Simon are having a really sweet romantic date involving paddle boats and duck murder when they run across a guy being attacked by a werewolf. The werewolf leaves and they get his victim, Bartholomew Valasquez who, for some gods unknown reason which may just be summed up as Shadowhunters goes by the name Bat. He is really bad injured and would quite like a hospital and a rabies shot, with option for a priest.

Instead they take him back to the Chinese restaurant and meet up with Luke (who runs into his partner Ollie and her partner - romantically - Sam who are checking out the restaurant. I hail the same sex couple, hope they actually get a storyline and not dead. I’m less convinced on the latter because they bug the place so they can hear Luke talk about werewolves). Maia tells Luke that Russell is back in town - the werewolf who took half the pack with him to Philadelphia after Luke go so many of them killed - and Luke goes to find him leaving them to deal with Bat

Bat is obviously freaking out a little but he does start changing. Maia and Simon lock him in when restraints don’t seem to work and get a whooooooole lot of food ready for when he changes. Maia also tells Simon the very emotional story about how she was turned including how it has left her with a lot of issues about trusting people and relationships. Simon understands but is still continuing the relationship and they have more sweet fun couply stuff

While Luke goes and hunts down Russell and says nope, no rule breaking recruiting humans and they will fight for leadership of the back. Luke wins, and decides to change the rules so he doesn’t have to change Russel and it’s almost hilarious that he says this no 10 minutes after arguing in favour of rules. Everyone hails Luke and the new pack leader and he has a big speech for them.

Ok, but is this it? Ok Luke can fight. But the issue has never been about Luke being tough or dangerous or strong. The issue is whether he gives a shit about the Pack. This is why Russell left. This is why Maia called him out on multiple occasions: Luke has shown zero investment in his own pack and an outright willingness to ignore or sacrifice them in favour of the Shadowhunters. Defeating Russell doesn’t actually change that.

I suppose we need to catch up on the Clave

So Jonathan smacks Max down but doesn’t kill him because he’s interrupted. It would have taken him 5 minutes to snap the kid’s neck.

Travelers, Season One, Episode Five: Room 101

The episode begins with yet another Traveler typical day.  The crew waits for a new cell of Travelers to arrive. This time they are set to arrive in a family because a father drove his  car containing his wife, son and daughter off of the upper level of a parking lot.  Unfortunately, this time the exchange does not go down smoothly and the daughter who was meant to be the teams historian remains unchanged because there's been a misfire.  This throws a wrench into the new teams mission.  Philip hands over some money and tells them what bets to place so that they can have enough cash to start off. Trevor hands over a device so the mission can be started.  MacLaren decides to take the daughter to her grandparents home so that they can figure out what to do next.

Philip, Marcy,  Cary and Trevor travel together and they discuss the fact that they all could have been misfires. Trevor points out that when the original Travelers first came to the past, a full thirty percent of them were misfires. The fact that the Travelers are terrified by the possibility of a misfire suggests that when this happens, the consciousness of the Traveler is lost forever. As they contemplate this, a truck comes out of nowhere and crashes into the vehicle they are traveling in. The first to awaken are Trevor and Carly, and they find themselves strapped into wheelchairs in separate but adjoining cages. Each Traveler has an intravenous drip and a catheter to take care of the bathroom needs. Half of Carly's face is covered in blood from a head injury but given how much any cut on the head bleeds, it's not an indication of a necessarily of serious injury.  Trevor has a bad cut on his cheek. At this point, both Marcy and Philip are still unconscious. 

Blissfully unaware that something has gone terribly wrong with his team, MacLaren arrives at his office only to be confronted by Forbes. It seems that MacLaren was supposed to be in court to testify but he missed the date. MacLaren lies again and claims that Kat wanted him to pick up a chair for his client.  As excuses go, it's absolutely weak tea and not only is Forbes not buying it, he makes it clear that the prosecutor won't either. It really is time for MacLaren to do some in-depth research on his host's life because he is missing so many things and being forced to lie so consistently is going to blow his cover. 

A man enters the lock up and Trevor plays it cool, saying he needs to get out of there because he has a test to study for and doesn't want to be grounded again. The man wheels Philip out of the room without answering Trevor. Marcy regains consciousness. The next person to be taken is Carly and she is wheeled into a large room and placed in front of a television.  The question, "Who have you told?", appears on the screen. Carly stays in character and pretends to be confused by the question.  When it's clear that Carly isn't going to answer, images of Hall, MacLaren and Jeff appear on the screen. Carly is asked if she knows who these men are and the only one she cops to knowing is Jeff, the father of her child.  Carly tries to use the fact that Jeff is a cop to suggest that there will be trouble for abducting her.  The next question to appear is, "When are you from?".  This means that her abductors know that she is a Traveler. Shit. Carly decides to continue to play dumb but then she is shown a video of her son and asked, "What are your protocols?"  Carly freaks the hell out and threatens to kill them if they harm her child. 

Preacher, Season 2, Episode 7: Pig

The point of this episode is to introduce Herr Starr, head of The Grail who has been ominously hanging around. We see him and the Grail through his initiation which he wins by being a Complete Bastard

And it’s a deep character flaw I know but I’m always a fan of a complete and utter bastard. The nazi imagery less so.

He joined the organisation as head of an anti-terrorism unit in Germany - and why why why is he dressed in a nazi uniform? He’s German. You know the country in the world where it’s least ideal to wear one of them? Germany.

He has been lured by an offer of many many prostitutes and stayed for the offer of sweeping the streets clean of parasites and building a society based on order and discipline. Yup, that’s more than a little worrisome. He also has to be a Christian to join. He says he is, clearly box ticking

There are many tests of skill, combat and endurance, most of them disturbingly sexual. Herr Starr is disrespectful and gives everyone shit from the beginning, wears a chain between his nipples, is not phased about having his testacles electrocuted, passes the “seduction” test by threatening to kill the woman’s family and the combat test by random masturbating.

It is no surprise that when the last test is marksmanship, he shoots his competition.

He wins and joins The Grail, an organisation planning on protecting the descendents of Jesus Christ until the last battle. He pretty much thinks this is a con but runs with it. Especially if he can get near the top of the pile. His boss, who hasn’t been paying attention, makes him his right hand man. Then gets pushed off a building

He now heads the Samson unit which hunts down potential prophets and kills them. In the past this has included Abraham Lincoln

In the present this includes a flying pig. And an entire village to keep it quiet - because Herr Starr is a bastard. Next step is New Orleans.