Tag Archives: TV Reviews

TV

Mr. Robot (2015) a (mildly) belated season 1 TV series review

Having just concluded a few days ago after a two week or so delay due to a violent scene that was perhaps a little too close to tragic real life events, I eagerly looked in on the 10th and final episode of the first season of Mr. Robot and found it, like most of the season before it, a fascinating watch.

Also, a bit of a troubling watch, which I’ll get into in a moment.

To begin, Mr. Robot concerns one Elliot Alderson (played incredibly well by Rami Malek).  Elliot is a genius level computer hacker who is also a social misfit.  He can barely talk to people, is addicted to morphine, sees (and lies) to his psychologist, and in his free time hacks into other people’s lives.  It is while doing this that Elliot fancies himself a do-gooder.  If his hacks reveal bad or illegal things people are doing, he will expose them.

Elliot works, ironically enough, at a computer security firm where it is his job to stop hackers.  One of his co-workers is Angela Moss (Portia Doubleday), a friend of his since childhood.  The two share a platonic relationship -though there are moments we get hints of Elliot’s longing for her- along with a shared tragic past: When they were children, Elliot lost his father and Angela lost her mother after being exposed to chemicals.

The chemical exposure was caused by Evil Corp., the show’s “big bad” company that, ironically enough (part deux), employs Elliot and Angela’s company for security.  Thus the two have to work –well!– for the very company they suspect caused their parents’ deaths.

Into Elliot’s life arrives a strange man who calls himself “Mr. Robot” (Christian Slater, also doing some fantastic acting here).  Mr. Robot gradually pulls Elliot into his “work”.  Mr. Robot, we find, is also a hacker who, along with a group of fellow hackers, has set a goal on something far greater than Elliot could imagine doing: Taking down Evil Corp and freeing everyone from any debt they may have to any corporation.

All they have to do is crack into Evil Corp and fry their data all at once and all over the entire planet.

To get into more details than this would bring us into SPOILERY territory and, since I intend to do so in a moment, I’ll keep quiet here.

Suffice to say that if you haven’t checked out Mr. Robot, I highly recommend you do.  The show isn’t perfect and there was at least one episode, eps1.3_da3m0ns.mp4 (episode 4 of the series) that appeared to be a time killer at best, but the show makes you think with each passing moment.

I highly recommend it.

Still with me?  Good.

What follows, however, is…

SPOILER FILLED!!!

You have been warned!

Ok, so here we go: Up above I wrote the following regarding this show: “(Mr. Robot is) a bit of a troubling watch, which I’ll get into in a moment.”  That moment has arrived.

At the risk of sounding arrogant, there have been times I’ve found myself picking up on “hidden” or “surprising” things in movies or TV shows before they are revealed to the audience.  Perhaps it is because I’m a writer myself and spot some clues beforehand or perhaps it is just that I’ve an interest and affinity to see these types of details, but it happens now and again (not always by any stretch of the imagination) and sometimes a show/movie’s biggest “shocks” or “surprises” are not quite as surprising.

In the case of Mr. Robot, I figured out Mr. Robot’s identity a couple of episodes before we reached that reveal. Not only did I figure he was Elliot’s father (an easier guess), I knew he was a figment of Elliot’s imagination as well.  In this case what clued me in was the multiple times characters (particularly Elliot himself) noted Mr. Robot was “crazy”.  There was even one startling scene where Mr. Robot confronted one of his cohorts and, while waving a gun at his head, said the same thing about himself.

Regardless of my amazing (I kid, I kid) precognition, the reveal that Mr. Robot and Elliot are one and the same person instantly made me realize another thing: Mr. Robot is a cyberpunk version of Fight Club.

In Fight Club (the movie, I have not read the book it was based on) we follow the narrator (Edward Norton) and his eventual interactions with Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) who introduces him to a “Fight Club” where men beat each other up and, eventually, engage in societal anarchy.  They fight the “powers” that be and are disdainful of society and its mores.  Eventually it is revealed that Tyler Durden and the narrator are one and the same person, that Durden is the narrator’s id breaking out.

I hate to say it, but this is pretty much exactly what we’ve got going on in Mr. Robot.

Interestingly, I didn’t like Fight Club (the movie) all that much because the concept was a hard one for me to wrap my head around.  In Mr. Robot, however, I totally get the concept of cyber security and hacking and therefore find myself intrigued with the concepts presented.

Having said that, I repeat: Mr. Robot is, thematically, pretty much the same thing as Fight Club.  While Mr. Robot is extremely well done/acted, one can’t escape the fact that it is also very derivative of that concept.  So much so that it wouldn’t surprise me if Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk doesn’t one day sue the makers of Mr. Robot.  Hell, if Harlan Ellison had a case against James Cameron for The Terminator, Mr. Palahniuk certainly has one for Mr. Robot.

But just as James Cameron created a terrific piece of movie-making with The Terminator, so too do the makers of Mr. Robot create a must-see TV show.

Still recommended, despite this reservation.

TV

Spenser: For Hire (1985) a (very) belated TV show review

Waaaay back in 1985 I recall hearing about this new detective show starring the late Robert Urich and based on novels by the then -to me- unknown author Robert B. Parker.  It was called Spenser: For Hire.

Back then I watched the show on and off, liking it but not really loving it.  It was a rather standard detective series but it did feature one thing that, admittedly, made it stand out more than it likely would have: The presence of Avery Brooks as the enigmatic, scene stealing tough guy Hawk.

As with the novel version, Hawk was presented as a dangerous man you simply don’t mess with.  Avery Brooks took the role and ran with it, positively relishing his every scene and delivering dialogue that was filled with as much menace as, at times, mirth.  Robert Urich, for his part, played the “straight” man and to his credit, held his own when opposite the far more flamboyant Hawk.  The show lasted a mere three years before being cancelled (a surprise move, apparently).  Before it was done it spawned the A Man Called Hawk TV series which I never saw but heard changed the character to be a “softer” troubleshooter (Avery Brooks would go on to land the protagonist role in the Star Trek spinoff Deep Space 9).

After Spenser: For Hire’s cancellation, the studios released four TV movies featuring Mr. Urich and Brooks reprising their roles but featuring different actresses playing the role of Sarah Silverman, Spenser’s lover.  For the movies the Boston locale, central to the Spenser stories, was moved to the far more economical Toronto, though I don’t know if the show’s creators attempted to pass Toronto off as Boston (I think they did).

Anyway, long after the show and its sequel movies and spin offs were gone, I found Spenser: For Hire Season 1 on sale via Amazon for a reasonable price and decided to check the show out again.

What I found was interesting, in a time warp kind of way.

Now, I haven’t seen the entire first season yet, but I did watch the pilot and the first two episodes, all of which take up the first DVD disc.

The pilot, “Promised Land“, was an adaptation of Robert B. Parker’s fourth Spenser novel which featured the first appearance of the character of Hawk.  While I haven’t read the novel, it was a wise choice for a pilot episode as we are introduced to the three principle characters and, nicely, aren’t quite sure where Hawk’s loyalties lie.

However, of the three Spenser episodes I saw, this was the least of them as it featured some at times very torturous dialogue (What works on the novel page doesn’t always work when said out loud) and some curious 80’s style filmmaking.  It was the later that amused me.  I started to count the times a character said something “deep” and then the camera slooooowly zoomed into their face.

The mystery itself, involving a runaway wife who, Spenser later finds, is involved in a radical group of two (count ’em two) terrorist women doesn’t seem like such a big thing.  Further, I’m certain in the novel Hawk’s evolution was better presented.  In the pilot Spenser decides for no apparent reason (again, based on what’s in the pilot) to tip Hawk off on a bust, thus ensuring he will get away, and Hawk subsequently becomes his “partner”, of sorts, because of this.

“No Room At The Inn“, the very first actual Spenser episode, winds up being a Bullitt homage (calling it a ripoff seems too cruel…and yet).  Spenser is hired to protect a witness against the mob and, in true Bullitt fashion, things aren’t quite what they seem.  Yes, the plot is lifted almost whole from Bullitt, yet the episode was breezy enough to enjoy…provided you weren’t too hung up on the overly familiar plot.

The next episode, “The Choice” features a psychopathic young duo who get their kicks killing random people, but who are drawn to Spenser’s world when they realize they need to up their game.  What’s most fascinating about that episode proves to be the first screen appearance of Patricia Clarkson, who would go on from here to have quite a career in film and TV.  She plays one half of the psychopathic young duo and isn’t all that bad in her role.  Interestingly, this episode also features early appearances by William H. Macy and Angela Bassett.

In sum, I enjoyed what I saw.  True, my opinion of the series didn’t entirely change.  I wound up liking what I saw but not really loving it.  On the other hand, I didn’t feel like I was wasting my time.  Speaking of which, if I should find the free time, I’ll give the other episodes a look-see.

Should be fun

TV

Gotham (2014) a pilot review

So I finally got to sit down and see the pilot episode of Gotham, the TV series whose focus is on a young detective James Gordon as he starts working for the Gotham City P.D. and, concurrently, Thomas and Martha Wayne are murdered and future Batman Bruce Wayne is left an orphan…

…and I thought it was “ok”.

Prequels to very popular works, in my opinion, are a tricky thing.  Let’s face it, audiences don’t want to see a young James Gordon going up against the crime syndicates, they want to see BATMAN.  They want to see the Dark Knight go up against the colorful villains.  If they want to see James Gordon, they’re perfectly happy to have him appear here and there and give Batman back up.  Otherwise, give us MORE BATMAN.

So that’s, in my opinion, what Gotham is up against.  Will audiences ultimately feel the story of Batman’s police sidekick in his “early years” be interesting enough to make us forget the fact that we’re not going to see Batman himself?  (Unless, of course, there’s a “very special” Halloween episode of Gotham the young Bruce Wayne dresses up in a costume eerily similar to the one he will wear as an adult)

In lieu of Batman, will we be interested in seeing the rise of the Penguin, the Riddler, and Catwoman?  Those three, along with a couple of other potential future Bat-villains (we did see a candidate for the role of the Joker, right?!) all appear in this pilot.  It is clear the writers behind this series scrutinized the comic book stories as there are plenty of very familiar names/characters to be seen, including the show’s co-star, one slovenly -and corrupt- detective Harvey Bullock.

As much as I admire the writers’ diligence in getting all these characters to the screen, I can’t help but wonder if there’s enough “there” there to keep me interested in watching.

Mind you, I believe it can be done, but perhaps the producers and writers should ignore the obvious path of exploring the “early” years of all those Batman villains and instead go for stories that feature unique and new characters.  After all, we know what’s eventually going to become of the Penguin, the Riddler, and Catwoman.  How about instead of dealing with them we’re shown interesting new villains.  Villains who in some ways are the prototypes for the better known Batman villains?

This way Detective Gordon could be shown succeeding in “cleaning up” the streets of Gotham, yet when he’s older a new wave of villains show up and these have to be dealt with by different means…

That could be interesting.

Regardless, I can’t say the single hour I spent with Gotham was a bust.  I’m certainly intrigued enough with what I saw to give it a little more time.  For now, we’ll see…

TV

The Spoils of Babylon (2014) a (very mildly) belated review

So actor/comedian Will Ferrell through his Funny or Die collective and along with creator/writers Matt Piedmont and Andrew Steele, presents The Spoils of Babylon, a mini-series parody of…1970/80’s era mini-series.

And it is quite funny…if (a BIG if) you’re familiar with the format they’re parodying and are therefore clued in on the jokes.

I suspect there are going to be many people who are not at all familiar with those mini-series of the past and therefore likely shut this show off after giving it a only a few minutes of their time.  But, again, having experienced those old, sometimes turgid romantic/quasi-historical/soap-opera-esq mini-series in the past, this parody proved to me quite entertaining.

Having said that, I’ll also grant you aren’t going to have laugh out loud sessions with this like you would, say, the movie Airplane!  The Spoils of Babylon at times comes perilously close, especially with its plot, to outright emulating those mini-series from the past.  In fact, if it were played “seriously” and released back in the late 1970’s, I suspect it might well have been a hit!

The story involves the mighty Morehouse family and their rise from the 1930’s to their fall in the 1970’s.  Patriarch Jonas Morehouse (Tim Robbins) is a low down and very poor dirt farmer hoping to find oil on his property.  One day while driving along with his daughter, Cynthia (played as an adult by Kristen Wiig), they pick up the young Devon (played as an adult by Tobey Maguire).  The young Devon is walking about in the sun with no memory of who he is or if he has any family, so Jonas adopts him.  Because they are of roughly the same age, Cynthia and Devon develop feelings for each other.  When Father Jonas finds out, he forbids the “brother” and “sister” (though they have no genetic link) from being together.  It is Devon and Cynthia’s lustful temptation and forbidden love which fuels the “tragic” plot to follow.

In short order Jonas and Devon find oil on their property and the family becomes a powerhouse in the business world and hugely influential within the U.S. government.  But the coming War, generational changes, and Devon’s attempts to follow his adoptive father’s orders to not get involved with his sister lead to murders, drug abuse, a bastard child, and, ultimately, a Greek-like tragedy.

You know, your typical late 70’s early 80’s mini-series story!

Those who are in on the joke will find plenty of stuff to enjoy, from Kristen Wiig’s wonderful, expressive acting (she really looks to relish her role as the femme fatale/spurned lover/feminist/murderer/temptress Cynthia).  Tobey Maguire, while quite humorous in many sequences, has a more sedate/straight-man role.  Will Ferrell gets to show up as the Orson Welles-esq Eric Jonrush, “author” of the best-selling potboiler novel that was the basis of this mini-series and director of the same.  His introductory and concluding comments for each episode are alternately loopy, bizarre, and at times quite hilarious, as is his cameo within the feature itself.  Val Kilmer also shows up for a couple of scenes as part of the U.S. Military-Industrial Complex, and his dry readings are also very funny.  Haley Joel Osment delivers a loopy turn as the unhinged Winston Morehouse, the bastard child of Devon and Cynthia.

Again, I freely admit The Spoils of Babylon might not be for everyone, especially the young ‘uns who don’t have any idea of what this mini-series is parodying.  Those who do, however, should find plenty to enjoy.  The Spoils of Babylon may not always be a “laugh out loud” type experience, but there is plenty of dry humor and cheese to enjoy.

Recommended.

TV

Alcatraz (2012)

Sometime during its first season (ie 2001) I discovered the TV show Alias.  It was a bold TV show which seemed to delight in surprising and one-upping itself with shock after show in each episode.  Alas, the show played itself out, IMHO, after the incredible episode Phase One, but if there was one thing I came away with from the show, it was to watch out for any new series from producer J. J. Abrams.

This proved to be a good thing as in 2004 I had the upcoming J. J. Abrams’ produced TV series Lost on my radar.  While the show’s ultimate conclusion some years later left something to be desired, there is little doubt that for several years this show was one hell of a thrill ride.

Since then, I’ve seen plenty of other J. J. Abrams works (as producer, director, or writer), from the TV series Fringe to the last two Mission: Impossible films and the re-boot of Star Trek.  Considering the sheer volume of material, it was inevitable some of the material would prove great while others not so great.  Still, my eyes are always open for new works from the prolific Mr. Abrams, so when I heard about his latest sci-fi mystery production Alcatraz, I had to give it a look and yesterday, when it premiered, I did just that.

Alcatraz appears to be a very purposeful attempt to replicate the winning formula of Lost.  Yeah, both shows deal with the mysteries surrounding an island.  Alcatraz, at least with the first two episodes presented, also features liberal use of flashbacks not unlike Lost.

The plot of Alcatraz is simple:  Back in the early 1960’s every single person on Alcatraz -prisoners as well as staff- mysteriously disappeared.  This fact was hidden from the American public but today, in the present, the long lost convicts are returning.  They have not aged and they commit new crimes.  Worse, they appear to have an agenda.  Who are they working for and for what purpose?

Enter Detective Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones) and author Diego Soto (Jorge Garcia).  They uncover the odd facts related to Alcatraz and subsequently intersect with Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill) and Lucy Banerjee (Parminder Nagra), two people who know much more about the Alcatraz situation than they’re willing to let on.

Now, the first episode was enjoyable.  The second episode…not so much.  Not that it was bad, mind you, but it was rather repetitious.  Essentially, the first and second episode were interchangeable:  Our heroes chase down a criminal from Alcatraz, capture him, he is sent to the ‘new Alcatraz’.  Side point: Criminal #1 was searching for a key.  Criminal #2 was targeting one of the main characters.  Big reveal the idea that maybe some characters are as “old” as the criminals they’re chasing.

Again, not a bad night of TV watching by any means, but the repetition was troublesome considering we’re dealing with only the first two episodes of the show.  Is this what Alcatraz will be, a “chase-the-villain-of-the-week-while-advancing-the-show-by-increments”?  If so, I worry whether it can sustain itself.

As it is, there was enough good in the show’s premier to ensure I’ll stick around for at least a little while longer.  However, if the story doesn’t move a little bit more and continues to display too much repetition, I may well let it go.