Closet Sci-Fi Geek

Elektra

Elektra is a sequel/spin-off to Daredevil, which I have not seen yet. It stars Jennifer Garner as a martial arts anti-hero of sorts. I have been a huge fan of Jennifer Garner since Alias, and she does not disappoint here. She totally kicks ass.

The story revolves around a 13-year-old girl that Elektra must save. Usually, I find kids in movies like this to be annoying, but this dynamic worked well, as the older and younger female related to each other and bonded.

The film itself is a bit abstract in parts, but I liked the style. I was not lost whatsoever having not seen Daredevil beforehand.

If I had any main complaint it was the stereotypical portrayal of Asians as the bad guys, with the good guys being white people who had basically stolen Asian martial arts techniques. In this day and age I just don’t understand why that sort of thing is necessary.

Otherwise, it was a decent flick. I’d love to see Jennifer Garner reprise the role yet again.

Torchwood Episode Three: “Ghost Machine”

In this episode, the Torchwood crew finds a device that displays echoes or ghosts of the past. (This episode features Gareth Thomas, aka Roj Blake, of Blake’s Seven.)

The series does seem to be centering on Gwen instead of Captain Jack (perhaps because he’s bigger than life?) but so far it’s working OK. This particular plot is a little more thoughtful, and we get to see Owen fleshed out as a very human, compassionate character. Gwen and Captain Jack have a very sexy scene in the shooting range as well - one of the highlights.

An interesting side note: I’ve seen a few folks complain about the soundtrack, saying the music is overbearing and distracting. I had not even noticed the music, so I suppose my American ears have been blunted by our loud media here.

Requiem for Dead Like Me

I recently finished the second (and last) season of Dead Like Me on DVD. It was yet another show that died before its time.

Dead Like Me was a story about everyday people who become grim reapers after death. It was funny, quirky and had a fantastic cast, including Mandy Patinkin and Jasmine Guy. The plots themselves weren’t really all that important; it was the interaction between the unique characters that made this show interesting.

The main character was Georgia Lass, aka George, who was 18 when a toilet seat falling from a space station did her in. Much of the show revolves around her adjustment to life after life.

By far my favorite character was George’s boss, Delores Herbig (as in “Her Big Brown Eyes”), a chirpy middle-aged woman who had a webcam business showing how Delores “Got Things Done” (as in, tidying her home). She also had a problem with “blow” back in the 1980s, and was constantly looking for her Mr. Right on various online dating services.

Dead Like Me had its problems though. I found the plotline with George’s family to be tedious, dull, and depressing. George’s mother, Joy, should have been named “Killjoy” instead, she was such a humorless, annoying character. There was a lot not to love about that family, and at times the side story got so irritating you just wanted to turn off the show.

That said, it’s a shame this didn’t even run for one more season. I feel there’s more “life” in the concept, however, even without the original cast. But what I’d really like to see would be Delores Herbig die and become a grim reaper. That would be awesome!

Ah well, it was good while it lasted.

Heroes Number Seven

I think Heroes has a case of the Star Trek curse: All odd-numbered episodes suck. This one involved a lot of Niki’s husband running away from her, and yet another coincidence as he runs into Hiro and his friend at a car accident in the road. (Cool special effects when Hiro stopped time during an explosion, however.)

I feel like we are stuck in an endless pilot. Can we just bring everyone together, finally? And what’s up with this cheesy “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World” stuff?

Ah well, I’m still sucked in and watching it, I suppose.

Torchwood! (Episodes One and Two)

Torchwood is the BBC’s new Doctor Who spin-off. (Torchwood is an anagram of Doctor Who.) The name Torchwood refers to a mysterious underground organization that is beyond government and holds immeasurable power. Imagine if Mulder and Scully got their own agency to work on the X-Files: That’s what Torchwood is, except the main focus is investigating alien encroachments on our planet.

One of the main selling points of Torchwood is that our beloved Captain Jack is back. Initially introduced in the first season of the new Doctor Who, Captain Jack is a swashbuckling, “omnisexual” charmer who certainly deserves his own show. He’s just entertaining, period.

So how did Torchwood hold up compared to Doctor Who?

Episode One: “Everything Changes”
In this episode, we are introduced to Gwen, a police officer who accidentally discovers Torchwood. Gwen is a brunette but somehow reminded me of Billie Piper in an odd way (though older). The main focus of the story is her investigation of Torchwood.

This show was heavy on exposition and light on aliens. As such, it was OK but did not blow me away. (I am finding, however, that most premieres these days seem to be along these lines.) As a character, Gwen is likeable, if a bit too wide-eyed at times.

We also learn about a few neat things in this episode, including Torchwood’s invisible elevator and Captain Jack’s immortality. Gwen is invited to join the Torchwood team, a fairly predictable outcome.

A decent start.

Episode Two: “Day One”
“Day One” refers to Gwen’s first day on the job at Torchwood. She screws everything up, of course. In her most major screw-up, she unleashes a gaseous alien that invades people’s bodies and then lives off of orgasmic energy. (The problem is, she kills her lovers once the orgasm is completed.)

In this episode we finally start to see some of Torchwood’s unique style compared to Doctor Who. The general feel is the same - both Doctor Who and Torchwood have a bright feel with plenty of humor, as they walk the fine line between believability and being over the top.

Torchwood, however, looks to be carving out its own niche. For starters, it is completely clear that Torchwood is targeting a more adult audience than Doctor Who: We have snogging (and lesbian snogging!), shagging, and wanking all going on in this episode. (Ironically, Captain Jack, Mr. Omnisexual himself, is not involved in any of the sex scenes, except for one kiss.)

Torchwood is also much more of a team effort than Doctor Who, which focuses primarily on two main characters. The Torchwood team consists of a small motley group of characters who are already starting to develop individual identities and likeable quirks.

The story itself was quite reminiscent of new Doctor Who (no surprise there), but we have some hints of interesting secrets and bigger issues lurking underneath. (What is the dead hand that Jack is so protective of?)

With that, I feel that Torchwood is a fine entry into the panoply of Doctor Who and science fiction in general. It certainly rivals any American shows in terms of writing and style. I’m looking forward to more installments.

Heroes: Episode Six Reveals a Dark Secret…

I was very wary of this episode from the get-go, since it dealt primarily with Niki, the annoying webcam chick. Finally, we get to meet her husband, who is supposedly a stereotypical big scary black dude with a criminal past.

The backstory was extremely convoluted and involved some sort of financial deal gone wrong; missing is $1 million dollars and Niki’s husband is on the lam. (What really got me was that he showed up at her house while the cops were on a stake-out, and none of the cops seemed to notice him being inside. Then, the next day, Niki and her husband are hanging out on the back patio, as if no-one is going to notice. Erg.)

So far, so bad. But then… MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!!

…we find out that Niki’s alter ego is actually a bad alter ego. Niki had taken the million dollars, framed her own husband, and killed all the people who could clear him. Then, surprise! We find out he has his own superpower, and the first real superhero fight ensues on the show.

Thus, while most of the show was kind of a C-, I’m bumping it up to an A- just for the great reveal and the superhero fighting at the end.

Aha! See, Lost Really is Sci-Fi!

How could anyone question Lost’s status as a science fiction show after last season’s implosion of the hatch by a large magnetic device? But if you were still on the fence, last night’s episode should erase any doubt from your mind.

SPOILER ALERT!!

The big news is that Eko has been killed - and by that strange monster that scared us so much in season one and veritably disappeared in season two.

The monster - a big cloud of black fog - literally grabbed Eko and slammed him up against some palm trees. Then, in a move to make a wrestler proud, the fog slammed Eko down on the ground in a resounding final blow.

This, folks, is clearly sci-fi. We have no current technology that would enable a black cloud to grab a human being and throw him around like a rag doll.

Another Lost mystery is also coming together - the dead showing up around the island. Were they just visions? Finally, we have a clue. I believe the dead people (Jack’s dad, Eko’s brother, and possibly Boone) are corpses resurrected by nanotechnology. This would explain why Jack’s father’s body was gone from its coffin, and why Eko’s brother’s body had also disappeared.

This may also explain why the Others burned the corpse on a raft rather than burying it on their island - they don’t want anyone to come back to haunt them.