This show basically only takes the base concept from the movie (drug makes you smart). All the themes from the movie (dangers of addiction, intelligence vs knowing things, ect) are basically gone to make way for what the show is.
This show is "What if J.D. from Scrubs was in a police procedural and was also The Mentalist half the time". Any worries about getting more of the drug is gone, they never really show the withdrawal he must go through each day, there are no long term damages from taking the drug. The show is really just another goofy genius fights crime show. Which is fine? It is still pretty good.Not the movie, still fun-ish.
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That's why he got the shot. Right in the opening he's told since he had the shot he can take as much as he wants without any side effects. Morra only has a hold on him because he'll periodically need another shot.
Convinced to spend an hour watching this absolute pile of crap by literally my oldest friend. Am now questioning whether she's really a friend. But oh, did we laugh at this. It's SO BAD.
@LuckyNumber78, it's your turn.
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Fuck. You. (But at least food stall guy was nice.)
Mockingjay Part 2's biggest mistake is being completely faithful to the book, considering that it is the worst one of the trilogy. They had the chance to make the story better but chose to stick to what they had. Being the final chapter of the story, it has emotional bits, but miserably (and unfortunately) fails to sell them, rushing the scenes which we were supposed to remember the most.
— @aag's review (https://trakt.tv/comments/62697, and we need proper internal link markup on Trakt!)Seriously. The big dramatic moments are unbelievably rushed—there's no time to dig into them. There's too much focus on bad CGI and not enough on characters. Basically every character is 2D at best, except maybe Katniss and Peeta. But that's also due to sticking true to the book. None of the characters in the books were particularly well fleshed out, either, as I recall (from reading them 3 ½ years ago).
I also found the story very predictable. Obviously there's some amount of subconscious influence from having read the books, but it's also just absolutely clear when the big surprises/twists are going to happen, and what they'll be. They end up not being surprising at all. (Not to belabor the point, but the book had this problem too.)
My other big issue—which applies to the whole series—is that we barely see anything that happens away from Katniss. I know it's quite common in YA novels to present a limited first-person perspective from the protagonist's point of view, but in a big political saga like this I feel like that severely limits the storytelling.
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@dgw I completely agree about the characters being just as flat as they were written in the books. That was something that bothered me deeply while reading it — how we know nothing about those who aren't involved in the main romance bullsh*t. And, yes, the film mainly goes through the plot points of the book without adding any flavor to them. It felt like they were obligated to finish the saga, really. (Also, thanks for the spelling check, fixed it haha)
Edited comment:
Trakt (on their Discover page) should list this as Star Trek Universe and not Star Trek Timeline. It's not a timeline list.Original comment before realizing that Trakt didn't author the list themselves:
This list is sh*t. They've listed the order in which the show/movies were created and not the actual timeline of the Star Trek itself.loading replies
@dgw Even the list you linked to needs work, as the events of J.J. Abrams new 'Star Trek' film series take place in a new timeline parallel to TOS. But I'm giving you bonus points for trying to help out someone who called your list 'shit'.
Edited comment:
Trakt (on their Discover page) should list this as Star Trek Universe and not Star Trek Timeline. It's not a timeline list.Original comment before realizing that Trakt didn't author the list themselves:
This list is sh*t. They've listed the order in which the show/movies were created and not the actual timeline of the Star Trek itself.loading replies
@stryjewski Please don't disparage someone who took the time and effort to create a TRAKT list by calling their effort 'shit'. This isn't Twitter. Also, the new Trek canon involves two completely different timelines, which would make sorting episodes and movies by Stardate more confusing and less useful.
Review by Andrew Bloom
VIP9This was an episode comprised of three stories from three of the show's most significant characters. One was great; one was good; one was godawful, all for different reasons. Let's take them in turn.
Saul's storyline was tremendous, and much of it has to do with the direction and cinematography of the episode. Mandy Patinkin certainly held up his end of the bargain, but the way his scenes were structured really elucidated Saul's paranoia without having to be more explicit about it. The way the camera seemed to be spying on him (a technique the show would employ in its first season) sold Saul's feeling cornered and needing to do something risky and/or desperate. I also appreciated how he gave Carrie the kiss off at the beginning of the episode, but that what he was experiencing gave him reason to believe her. Straining the relationship between your two most significant characters and then bringing them back together is an old trick, but they're doing the legwork to make it plausible and compelling. At the same time, it was nice to see Saul using those spy skills again, from downloading the documents after creating a diversion, to slipping During the drive without his CIA tail being able to catch on. Great stuff.
Carrie's storyline was only OK, but it was heightened tremendously, as always, by Claire Daines's acting. Whatever they are paying Daines, it isn't enough, because in scenes where her character is lonely or isolated or desperate or blindsided, the written dialogue does her no favors -- full of cliches and weak lines -- but she sells in her reading of those lines, in the pained or blindsided or wistful expressions that show she's at the end of her rope, and in the way she carries herself that lets the audience buy into her situation. She's succeeding in a herculean task on that front, and it elevates the material.
The Quinn storyline, however, was ridiculous, in a bad way. I realize that any show, especially one involving spycraft, is going to require a certain amount of willing suspension of disbelief, and a tolerance for things working out just as they need to for the plot to move along. But my god, a nearly-mortally wounded Quinn being rescued by a random good samaritan who just so happens to be flatmates with a terrorist who was released because of the very documents that Carrie is so worked up over and revealed Saul's plan with the Germans? That just strains plausibility too far. It's far too convenient as a plot development, and Quinn overhearing a terrorist plot, and then becoming the Pirate King by killing the terrorist guy in a final showdown rumble at the end of the episode was just too cartoonish for me to bear. Really hacky stuff. I don't know where they're going with all of this, but it had better be good to justify this level of B.S.
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I like Quinn too! He's probably my favorite character on the show from a pure enjoyment standpoint. But that's why he deserves better storylines than this dreck.
As a Geman I laughed very hard when I found out that in the Homeland parallel universe the construction of Berlin Airport BER is actually finished so it can be threatended by terrorists.
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@onlime This season takes place 2 years in the future. Remember it is two years in the future from the previous season? That's right. It's in the future dude
Review by Andrew Bloom
VIP9[8.4/10] Despite the fact that, more often than not, Homeland tells its stories piecemeal, developing different threads until it ties them together when the endgame is in sight, it likes to draw thematic parallels. Characters may not cross paths for episodes, but still have a connection in the kinds of choices presented to them. And in “Flash of Light,” many of our heroes are pulled between loyalty on the one hand, and their principles, what they think is best for the world, on the other.
The easiest example is Carrie herself. Even when prompted by the President-Elect to squeal on Dar Adal (or, to use their delightful euphemism of choice, give the administration something with which to “leverage” him), she is reluctant. Carrie doesn’t like Dar Adal, and as her confrontation with him outside of Franny’s school indicates, she thinks that he and his ilk are a big reason why the world is in its current state, a state she wants to change. But she was an intelligence officer, and as she puts it, even Dar had her back in that guise. She does not want to betray that loyalty, that group of people bound by the sacrifices of people who died in services of it, even when pressured by the soon-to-be leader of the free world.
But on the other hand, she’s committed to the vision for that better world. The President-Elect’s pitch is a persuasive one, that if sidelining Dar means reforming the CIA in her image, helping to create a world with fewer Brodys, fewer Aayans, fewer Quinns to be perpetrators and casualties in this war, then it may very well be worth it. The episode leaves things ambiguous, but hints that Carrie, for the moment, hasn’t given them much, though the possibilities weigh on her.
They weigh on Sekou as well, and come to a head as Carrie confronts him. After her stunt manages to get him released from prison, his orders are to lay low and not comment to preserve the deal. Sekou initially seems accommodating, but when former associates accuse him of being a snitch, he releases another video defending his honor and outing the real informant. Sekou too has principles, and wants to show that he is as committed to his cause as someone like Carrie is committed to hers. He wants to wake people up, shock their consciences and let them see the ugliness of what he sees as the truth.
The most powerful moment, however, is when Carrie calls him on this. She displays a loyalty to him, a sense that even though she doesn’t know him, even though she’s virulently opposed and offended to the things he says and does, she stands up for him because she doesn’t think what happened to him is right. She, better than anyone, understands what the intelligence community’s approach to terrorism has resulted in. (And her statement that this has gone crazy since 9/11 is pretty bold stuff, even for a show on premium cable.) But she gets through to him, enough for him to appreciate her loyalty, see the look of joy in his mother’s eyes at having him home, and realize that there is something at home worth preserving, worth sacrificing for.
Saul is tested in similar terms. He meets with the Iranian puppet he installed three years ago, to try to get to the bottom of the parallel nuclear program suspicions. Saul continues to harbor his own suspicions that he’s being set up, or at least used by his brethren in the CIA. But he’s also loyal to where he comes from, enough to where he wants to be absolutely sure that his compatriots aren’t on to something before he acts on those suspicions. As his partner in crime resists but hints at, they’re too invested in what they’ve built with Iran to let it go so easily, and it’s enough to risk a lot to preserve.
But it puts other loyalties and friendship in the crosshairs. As it was in the prior episode, Saul’s sister is emblematic of this theme, chastising her brother for taking the side of the Arabs and betraying his people, but lying for him to Mossad in order to keep the cover on his story. And Etai is nominally Saul’s friend too, someone who presumably doesn’t want to lock Saul in de facto jail until he spills the beans. But Etai is just as loyal to Israel, to his people, and to the idea that they need a place of safety, even when it seems like they’re beset by risks on all sides.
The only individual who isn’t being pulled in these directions is Quinn, whose spy instincts seem to have sniffed out something genuinely fishy rather than a product of his paranoia. I don’t know how I feel about him turning out to be right in his Rear Window-esque madness, but the episode does well to toe the line between him being on to something and him just being crazy, replete with dismissals from Carrie, fairly well. The man from across the way is, at least seemingly, involved in taking out Sekou
And that is how Sekou’s loyalty is rewarded. When he takes down his video, goes back to work, and tries to, for lack of a better term, straighten up and fly right, he gets caught up in forces much greater than himself. It’s not hard to imagine that this is false flag terrorism, whether it’s Dar Adal or Conlin or someone else affiliated with the intelligence apparatus going with a last resort to prevent the new paradigm dreamed up by Carrie and the President Elect from having the popular support or political climate to be instituted.
Like Aayan before him, he becomes a pawn in a greater game, perhaps not wholly innocent, but someone who seems to understand that the people of this country, the people he’s trying to wake up, are not all bad. That they understand and are, perhaps, worth respecting. As he turns that corner, he becomes another casualty of the back-and-forth that Carrie is desperate to stop, a move that Dar Adal believes would be a dereliction of duty, of his own loyalty to his country and compatriots.
That is, perhaps, the larger theme of “Flash of Light.” That individual loyalties and individual beliefs about the greater good conflict in difficult ways, intersection at choke points that bring people in opposition to one another. When that happens, no matter how well-intentioned everyone may be, people get hurt, sometimes innocent people, and stopping that takes hard choices between the connections you’ve shared with other and the chance to preserve what you believe in.
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@dgw Thanks for the heads up! Should be fixed now.
I got about 25 minutes in and, though I was enjoying myself, had to stop. As yet I have not found any source for this documentary that includes subtitles for the non-English portions of the audio. There are several interviews and archival clips with dialogue in foreign languages, and I feel it would be unfair to myself and to the film to watch it without understanding these parts.
So, for now, I'll keep this on my watchlist knowing that as soon as I find complete subtitles, I will finish it.
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@dgw I have full subtitles that cover the non english parts. If you want, I can send them or the magnet link in which they were included to your email.
I've been waiting to see this movie for a while now, and I got to say that it didn't disappoint. I thought that Phil and Chris did an amazing job with the script. Their last two movies, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street turned out to be surprisingly great movies and this movie does not ruin their perfect track record. There were plenty of funny and clever lines. I guess a lot of the humor could be what people may call "dumb" humor, but I think this movie does dumb humor in a smart way if that makes any sense. Plus, this type of humor fits in well with an animated children's movie. Though, despite being a "kids movie" this movie can definitely appeal to everyone. Story wise, I thought the pacing was great. I can't really think of a dull moment in this film. Without giving away any spoilers, this movie also had a really touching moment towards the end that, in my opinion, brought this goofy kids movie to a whole new level. Think something along the lines of How to Train Your Dragon or Wreck-it-Ralph. This movie definitely ranks up there with those two as some of my favorite animated movies. Visually, I thought the movie looked amazing. The sets were all detailed, colorful and looked even better in motion. Their use of a blend of stop motion and CGI animation gave this movie a very distinct and visually appealing look. This is the way a Lego movie should look. TL;DR "everything is awesooooooome!" :)
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Nice review. But I must point out that there was no stop motion used. 100% CGI rendered with Physically Plausible proprietary renderer
eliot wasnt in this episode at all who wrote this synopsis?
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@bobmarket it was from TheTVDB. I have corrected it.
This is a remake of an episode from the original series; like many remakes, it's inferior to the original. While this one has its moments, some disturbing content--especially implied sexual relations between Data and a human woman--messed this up for me. The language was actually rather clean...until the last scene or two; then they fouled it up.
Content Concerns:
Sex: Implied sex between a male-type android and a human woman; Data is stopped short before making a crude joke. 2/5
Nudity: A woman is seen wearing an outfit that displays her midriff, her back, and a bit of the lower part of her chest. 3/5
Language: Four or so d-words; one or two h-words; two or three misuses of God's name. 2/5
Violence: Sci-fi action violence throughout. 3/5
Drugs: It is said that the reactions that the crew has are like being intoxicated. 4/5
Frightening/Intense Scenes: Plenty of emotional intensity; the ship nearly gets destroyed; Geordi is seen without his visor. 3/5Score: 3/5
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@dgw LOL "The story of two teenage girls buying their first bras is of no interest to me, and made me feel a bit creepy watching it." This seems a natural consequence of a 30-year old dude watching a show aimed at tween girls.
This is a remake of an episode from the original series; like many remakes, it's inferior to the original. While this one has its moments, some disturbing content--especially implied sexual relations between Data and a human woman--messed this up for me. The language was actually rather clean...until the last scene or two; then they fouled it up.
Content Concerns:
Sex: Implied sex between a male-type android and a human woman; Data is stopped short before making a crude joke. 2/5
Nudity: A woman is seen wearing an outfit that displays her midriff, her back, and a bit of the lower part of her chest. 3/5
Language: Four or so d-words; one or two h-words; two or three misuses of God's name. 2/5
Violence: Sci-fi action violence throughout. 3/5
Drugs: It is said that the reactions that the crew has are like being intoxicated. 4/5
Frightening/Intense Scenes: Plenty of emotional intensity; the ship nearly gets destroyed; Geordi is seen without his visor. 3/5Score: 3/5
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@dgw "Unless they fall into the superhero, sci-fi/fantasy, or Christian genres, I rarely watch PG-13 films. Among discerning viewers (...) movies with that rating are known for getting the reaction, 'That should have been rated R!'"
Are they? Are they really? That's not how the Motion Picture Association of America film rating system works! That's not how any of this works! LOL
If this dude thinks a PG-13 film should be rated R, he ought to try watching a Lars Von Trier flick sometime. And he calls himself a rebel.
Alas, I have too many palms and not enough face.
Content Concerns:
Sex: One near kiss.
ROFL
This is a remake of an episode from the original series; like many remakes, it's inferior to the original. While this one has its moments, some disturbing content--especially implied sexual relations between Data and a human woman--messed this up for me. The language was actually rather clean...until the last scene or two; then they fouled it up.
Content Concerns:
Sex: Implied sex between a male-type android and a human woman; Data is stopped short before making a crude joke. 2/5
Nudity: A woman is seen wearing an outfit that displays her midriff, her back, and a bit of the lower part of her chest. 3/5
Language: Four or so d-words; one or two h-words; two or three misuses of God's name. 2/5
Violence: Sci-fi action violence throughout. 3/5
Drugs: It is said that the reactions that the crew has are like being intoxicated. 4/5
Frightening/Intense Scenes: Plenty of emotional intensity; the ship nearly gets destroyed; Geordi is seen without his visor. 3/5Score: 3/5
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@dgw (FYI: You've written a total of 1,087 reviews (80,826 words) for a total of 335 Likes.)
Great episode! We get to see how much Snyder has changed with a completely unexpected murder and subsequent explosion to take Kynes out. We're also finally getting confirmation that Kynes is running a resistance operation with the outliers.That opening sequence also tends to support the theory that the war the outliers are being prepared for is already underway, meaning that the enemies of the hosts are already on the ground, an idea that popped up after the spaceship crash witnessed by Will and Snyder and the weird building Amy and Broussard passed on their way North. Or maybe it was just a training camp, maybe it's not on earth?
We're getting very close to the end of the season and this episode sets up interesting threads, which makes me regret that the Seattle story took so long to emerge into something coherent, something especially weird because it began mid season.
I'm afraid we won't have time to see the whole thing unfold and the season will end on a butter cliffhanger. I would have gladly sacrificed the whole Seattle ellipsis and the Bram storyline to make room for it.
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@odrel Agreed. Bram literally serves no purpose in this show haha.
Enver Gjokaj (Lukka) looked so familiar, but I couldn't place him. Turns out he also played Victor, one of the main Dolls in Dollhouse, which I watched so long ago that my memories of it are hazy at best. (It's probably time for a rewatch.)
I didn't notice until this episode that Andre is Theo Huxtable—both played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner. Would never have figured it out on my own; I just happened to glance at the guest-star credits as they zipped by this time.
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Andre is Theo Huxtable—both played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner.
The writers threw in a small joke about this in the first episode Warner was in. Jeff tells him he's wearing a nice sweater, and Andre says, "It was my dad's." It's a very Bill Cosby-esque sweater.
I definitely thought that Nyx somehow knew her brother killed himself, based on how she was crying, curled up in her quarters, at the end of the last episode. Guess the writers didn't realize what they implied. Or maybe, she's in denial.
Some very nice character development for Devon here. What we learn of his past turns out to be a bit on the cliché side, but that makes it no less valid as a motivator for his drug addiction. I look forward to finding out more about him, assuming that, because we don't see him die from the stab wound at the end of this episode, he'll be around for at least a while longer.
Those special transfer pod outfits are a neat dodge of a number of issues, on multiple fronts. They avoid: having to find a way for the characters to get clothes in the facility; depicting an underage female† in the nude; implying that said underage female is nude with grown men; and a generally awkward sequence that wouldn't add anything to the plot.
There is a small plot hole, though: Alicia Reynaud orders her techs to pick a transfer pod at random and send a charge to "fry [the occupant's] brain". But apparently it never happens, as in a subsequent scene her apparent lieutenant says they should "just send the charge and end this" but she says no. Interesting oversight on the writers' part.
Given Five's display of skill here, she'd make an absolutely fantastic pen-tester. If she was a real person on Earth in 2016, she could probably get a job at any tech or security firm she wanted. And I certainly wouldn't mind learning a thing or two about security from her. Even just running into her at a conference and chatting for a few minutes would probably lead to some important, useful lessons. Her grasp of space physics ain't too shabby, either. I've always liked Five as a character, and I really love that this show includes such a brilliant girl! Way to flip the script on the traditional male STEM whiz-kid archetype. Actually, now that I really think about it, she's a lot like a girl version of Wesley Crusher—whom I did not hate, unlike so much of the Star Trek fandom.
Speaking of Star Trek, it's neat that the description of how FTL drives work in Dark Matter nicely matches the theoretical physics of warp drives. None of that hyperspace bullshit that so many other sci-fi franchises try to throw around. It's refreshingly simple, as is the description of Blink Drive and its temporary wormhole–based operation.
And on a completely personal note, I've worked in at least two theaters that have identical (or nearly so) metal chairs as in Alicia Reynaud's detention room. Those square frames with three closely spaced vertical flat bars in the middle of the back are pretty distinctive.
† — Five is canonically a teenager, probably around 15-16 years old, from the sources I can find and recall from watching the show so far (though the actress portraying her is 21).
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@dgw Wow, thanks for the taking the time to point these things out – very interesting and much appreciated! :)
I felt like this season was all over the place, Niska wanting to be treated like a human, Leo looking for the few awaken synths, Mattie fixing the blond cute just for him to be insignificant to the long story, Tobis girlfriend and lets not even start and the little girls synth behaviour supposed "problem" that came and went just like that. They were trying to do a lot of things in just 8 episodes i couldnt feel a connection between each storyline. And the fact that they went global just at the snap of a finger didn't help and that what happens to a lot of shows, you can't go global just like that, it's a process...
In the end they made it come to an end, yes it all came together but I don't think this ending can justify the fail that was this season.
I loved the first season, i watched it twice, and was really excited for this second season, but it ended up being a sad and bland disappointment :(loading replies
@goncaalo And lets not forget the complete waste of time that was Mia's relationship with the guy from Nashville.
Haha this movie is so unexpectedly bad, you think it's one kind of movie then it just does a hard 180 into insanity. I wish I didn't have the twist spoiled because I would of loved to have seen this unfold and had the big WTF moment.
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@nmahoney416 I didn't know what was going to happen, and up until Henry's death I didn't have a problem with the movie. But holy shit the second half of this is a dumpster fire. I was laughing out loud at several scenes. Props to Trevorrow for trying something risky but he fell on his face in spectacular fashion
I think I might just prefer season one of The Orville to season two.
Every episode lately feels like it's own short story, too much so.
We had two episodes in a row that dealt with dating someone in a situation where romantic feelings might be deemed unacceptable socially.
And we don't see as much of the captain. In season one, it was more centered about his struggles. Now he's seen as much as everyone else. But that said, this was a good episode.
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@dewdropvelvet I actually like that it's not the Captain Ed show as much in Season 2. But I do agree about the constant romance drama like there's other types of drama out there.
3 things needed to be achieved in this episode to ensure the success of the season finale and the build up to an epic season 2.
1) Ellie is the strong element on the equation, she is truly special and not a clever little girl. She is a natural leader and powerful women (super clear during the talk in the cell and when she grabs that cleaver, cleverly );
2)that Bella Ramsey can be adult, raw, fearless and agressive . Her face covered in blood, the knife cuts and the fire behind makes it very visual
3) and finally that the the relationship with Joel is of love and dependence. They would do anything to save the other. When they meet at the end we can see it in their eyes.Thats why this simple episode needed an amazing performance and we got it. Truly incredible and remarkable with so many small references to the game and one HUGE one: Troy Baker :)
7 days counting to that episode on the hospital and the inevitable moment where we will see Abby for the 1st time.loading replies
@carlosluislopes
"cleaver little girl"
I don't know if that typo was intentional, but she is indeed a clever cleaver girl.
When Jeremiah Danvers is rescued from Cadmus, OHMYGODYAY Alex and Kara are thrilled to have their father back. Aww, good for them I'm so happy for them! The Danvers arrange a family dinner to celebrate Aww, that's gonna be so cool to watch but things go awry when Is it Mon-El again? a suspicious Mon-El starts to question Jeremiah about his sudden return. Ffs Mon-El, can't you please be any good for this show?
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@skuzzyfox What does James do other than just brag about how cool Guardian is ? Doesn't even do anything with Cat's job.
Plus Mon-El was right. The dad was a spy. Kara and Alex just didn't want to see it. Especially Alex.
This is a remake of an episode from the original series; like many remakes, it's inferior to the original. While this one has its moments, some disturbing content--especially implied sexual relations between Data and a human woman--messed this up for me. The language was actually rather clean...until the last scene or two; then they fouled it up.
Content Concerns:
Sex: Implied sex between a male-type android and a human woman; Data is stopped short before making a crude joke. 2/5
Nudity: A woman is seen wearing an outfit that displays her midriff, her back, and a bit of the lower part of her chest. 3/5
Language: Four or so d-words; one or two h-words; two or three misuses of God's name. 2/5
Violence: Sci-fi action violence throughout. 3/5
Drugs: It is said that the reactions that the crew has are like being intoxicated. 4/5
Frightening/Intense Scenes: Plenty of emotional intensity; the ship nearly gets destroyed; Geordi is seen without his visor. 3/5Score: 3/5
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@ithinkdifferent "Content Concerns" for ST:TNG? Seriously?
Pretty good for SyFy. Some good episodes, some filler episodes -- reminiscent of Galactica. Makes me appreciate the 10-second skip ahead function of my 4th-gen AppleTV remote... there's some entertaining stuff, separated by a lot of filler -- 10 second skip-clicks are a perfect companion for "The Expanse", unless you're arthritic -- then you'll wish there was an option to increase incremental skipping. The only parts I'd never fast forward through are any with Shohreh Aghdashloo... she hypnotized me as Dina Araz, the unsuspecting Iranian mother-of-a-terrorist in season 4 of "24" -- seeing her in a scifi role borders on orgasmic. She's a drag queen icon waiting to happen, something immediately apparent with the line, "get him a proper scotch please, Lagavulin"... ;-)
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@chaztv filler episodes!!? you clearly didn't understand all story parts then, if you believe that!
Riker calls for emergency attention from security, so who shows up? Worf, with Geordi. Neither has a phaser. La Forge isn't even part of the security division—at this point in the series, he's the helmsman. But Dr. Crusher happens to bring along a phaser when called to a medical emergency onboard the ship… because that makes sense. (We'll try to ignore how Worf and Geordi play along with Admiral Quinn's lies about what happened to Riker. That's also bad.)
That chair Remmick is sitting in looks an awful lot like the one used for Admiral Jameson in "Too Short a Season". That's because it was the same prop, redressed.
Not a nitpick, but doesn't fit into the review proper, either: I had no idea Captain Rixx was a Bolian. This is the first appearance of the species in Star Trek, and I guess I'm used to the later makeup design—which uses a much more saturated blue. Bonus trivia: The Bolians were named after Cliff Bole, who went on to direct a total of 42 Star Trek episodes across TNG, DS9, & VOY. He also directed on numerous other well-known shows like MacGyver, The X-Files, Baywatch, and Charlie's Angels.
Some background information on what was happening in the television world at the time explains why this episode wasn't as good as you might think it should be. After all, it's clearly meant to be a taut thriller about the possibility of Starfleet being seized by aliens. It's obviously meant to be part of a larger story arc—that started several episodes back, when Quinn gave Picard that warning.
The writers' strike of 1988 was ultimately responsible for this letdown. This "Conspiracy" plotline was meant to be intertwined with the Borg, who were to be introduced at the start of season two. But the writers' strike delayed the rest of the Borg storyline several months, and this piece of it was dropped. That's why nothing ever comes of the "homing beacon" Data reports.
It's too bad. Aside from it being entirely too easy for Picard and Riker to win against the "mother creature" (in Remmick's body), I enjoyed this one. It's not perfect, but "Conspiracy" as part of something bigger would have been better than what ultimately happened: treating this like any other incident-of-the-week—essentially, pressing the "big reset button" and pretending like these events never occurred.
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@dgw So no one source in particular, I see. I started Star Trek when there was no internet so books, documentaries and even convention visits where my main source of info. Much easier today now. I am surprised that even after decades I still find bits and pieces I didn't know.
Really enjoy reading your comments - keep them coming.
If you're gonna put a sequence in slow-motion, maybe film it with a high frame-rate camera?
Fun episode, but goodness are there a lot of technical plot goofs. Stuff that people who actually work on oil wells wouldn't miss. And I'm still trying to figure out who owns the land rights, since MacGyver's friends say their "lease" is up soon. Wouldn't the mineral rights (and therefore the right to extract oil from the property) go to the lessor, not the lessee?
It was neat to see Nana Visitor in this role seven years before she walked into Deep Space Nine's operations center, but I do wish the writing had left her a bit more to chew on instead of just "oh, what would I do if my man died?" That sort of one-dimensional female character is unfortunately very '80s (pre-2000s, if we're being honest), and MacGyver so far has been pretty full of them. I think the most fleshed-out female character in the show up to this point was the young girl in 1x03 "Thief of Budapest"…
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@dgw The absence of a high-speed camera is downright professional compared to their "breakdown" on the way back from the strip mine. Did no one on the writing staff know enough about automotive design to realize that if the "Lincoln" spring (is that even a term? I've always just heard it called the throttle return) broke the failure condition would be WOT (Wide Open Throttle, a/k/a "Pedal to the Metal") rather than loss of idle? Or did they just not want to use up that piece of plot tension up so soon, preferring to save it for 60 seconds later when there's a shallow creek around to arrest their momentum after the brakes give out?
Rewatching this show on Amazon Prime Video has been enjoyable, partly because it's made me feel lucky to have been a kid when MacGyver was on the air. Even more than being entertaining, it was inspirational to me back then, providing an image of a guy who could be a nerd without also being a "wuss." If this show had started airing even three or four years later I might have started seeing through their story/science gaffes and found it too corny for me to use as fuel to becoming an engineer myself.
[7.3/10] You know, it’s a shame that the show more or less stopped giving Shirley that much to do, because she’s such a treat in the early going here. The way that she and Jeff bond over gossip, get in too deep, but hilariously rag on Vaughn is a hoot from start to finish, and it’s packed with some real pathos of Jeff trying to be a good friend to Britta and Shirley being unable to resist her natural pot-stirring nature. Their friendship is an interesting one, and I wish the show had explored it more outside of this and foosball.
I am, as is my wont, less into the Jeff/Britta will they/won’t they stuff, but Vaugn is a great comic creation. The actor does a great job at making Vaugn both inherently ridiculous but so earnest in his faux-hippie lifestyle that you feel bad for him when he gets his feelings hurt. His triple greeting and propensity to take his shirt off are great gags, but when he says silly things like “this is the least tight thing that’s ever happened to me” or “some worries” it manages to be both absurd but also contains just enough pathos to make it land.
Then you have the great story of Annie roping Troy and Abed’s into Prof. Duncan’s waiting game experiment. It’s a great outing comedically, as Duncan’s Britishness and petulance come to a head at the same time Troy’s childlike extravertedness does. But it’s also really the start of Annie and Abed as a pairing, and the understated meaning in Abed sitting through all that just because Annie said she was his friend hits the same mixture of prettytouching and a little insane that is the fuel this show runs on.
Last but not least, there’s Pierce, who’s to the side and mostly inoffensive here with his “ear-noculars” that actually come into play!
Overall, another good outing early in the show’s run.
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@dgw I deleted the extra one. Thanks for the heads up!
[7.4/10] The A-story here is a little Chang-heavy for my tastes. I know he’s supposed to be annoying/terrible, especially early on, but his jerkassery and racism makes me really just want him off my screen. But I like it as a Jeff story. Jeff hangs out with Chang to soothe his Spanish teacher after a marital separation and reap the benefits of exemptions from Chang’s draconian assignments, only to realize that he’d rather reunite Chang and his wife and get everyone in class off the hook, than have to continue being Chang’s friend just to reap those rewards. It’s a nice instance of Jeff “kind of” doing the right thing for the group.
The B-story, with Troy and Abed trying to recover their lab rat despite Troy’s rodent-phobia’s is a lot of fun. I like the emotional throughline of Troy having to learn to make sacrifices for his friends rather than the other way around, and the American Tail references worked for me hook line and sinker. Plus, Donald Glover’s line read for his remark about Abed dropping the subject was hilarious. It’s a good physical comedy/noise-making episode for Glover in general.
The C-story was good too! It’s rare that we get a Pierce/Shirley story at all, let alone one that doesn't just devolve into sexual harassment. Pierce’s public speaking tips are fun, and the pair have a good comic energy. Shirley embracing Pierce’s tips at the end, right down to a hilarious “Heeeeeeere’s Brownie!” reference, and succeeding, was a good beat.
The more marginal stuff in the episode is all good too. I like the running gag about Pierce thinking Jeff’s ability to get laughs comes from his chair. People pointing out Jeff’s fake outrage and argument tactics is superb. The Dean’s “go green” efforts are a hoot, right down to the “This better not awaken anything in me” line. And the montage that connects Chang’s salsa dancing, Shirley’s presentation, and the meaningful “Somewhere Out There” duet is very well done.
Overall, too much time with Chang, but otherwise a very nice episode.
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@dgw It's one of the better Pierce side-stories I think, if only because, in the end, it's about him helping someone instead of just being a crass jerk.
The way this episode brings together a bunch of characters from different previous episodes feels so rewarding. That's the thing that used to always make Stargate stand out so much for me compared to much of the Star Trek shows, the sense of continuity and consequences. It's great to see Ska'ara again (I wish the show had used him more) and the return of the Nox with Lya. Plus, we get to see the cool new Tollan homeworld which looks suspiciously like a university campus! It works, though.
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@dgw Stargate would throw in call backs to the smallest little things from previous episodes. I always loved it, the characters grew and learned and talked about what they had been through before, and it added so much more meaning.
Poor Laurel, this is all so emotionally tormenting for her. Good episode and ready for Oli to return.
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@teenwolfpack She needs to be someone else...something else!
