HEMLOCK GROVE Season 2 Review

Article originally written for Seat42F.

Netflix’s HEMLOCK GROVE, the popular but critically derided supernatural drama, returns tomorrow for a second, shorter season on the streaming service. Season two, which will consist of ten episodes, picks up a few months after the events of season one. Events conspire to bring Peter Rumancek (Landon Liboiron) back to the town of Hemlock Grove and into its scary, dangerous mess once more. Who will make it out alive this time?

HEMLOCK GROVE is a creepy and bloody place to live. Even though our heroes manage to take down a serial killer previously, the premiere this year opens with a new deadly menace. It might be a little hard to swallow another mass murderer in the same place, but then, it’s also apparent that HEMLOCK GROVE attracts the odd types, given the cast of players already in place. This is one area where belief must be suspended for the course of the series, as each subsequent batch of installments will likely present much the same.

It is welcome that HEMLOCK GROVE gets right back to the linchpin stories right after that first scene. Shelley (Nicole Boivin) is still missing, but she is far from forgotten. Norman (Dougray Scott) is continuing to mourn his daughter, Letha (Penelope Mitchell), who died in childbirth, and Olivia’s (Famke Janssen) absence from her big house is definitely felt. More importantly, Roman (Bill Skarsgard) continues to feel abandoned by Peter’s swift departure, and it will take no small amount of repair work if they are to be friends again.

And friends again, it seems they must be. After all, who else is going to stop the killing? Peter’s mother, Lynda (Lili Taylor, still woefully a ‘guest star’) needs their help, too, in the arc that brings Peter back to the area. Besides, while Peter has others to lean on to assist him, Roman does not, and Roman seems much less capable of coping through the tough times by himself, though he’s definitely been trying in the gap between seasons.

The relationship between Roman and Peter is key to HEMLOCK GROVE. It is shattered at the end of season one, but I’m hopeful, despite a very rocky beginning in the return, that they can fix things. They are unlikely pals from completely different worlds and with overlapping, but not completely consistent, values. They make for an interesting dynamic, and Roman’s latent homosexual tendencies only make the sparks dance higher. Whether they ever become a couple (doubtful) or not, they need to come back together with a stronger bond that cannot be broken this time. That, or they will become arch-nemeses, which feels like a much less original way to go to me.

Fans of the series will remember that of the six main characters listed in the opening credits, all three women were presumed dead at the close of the first year. One of those three has been widely reported in the press to be retaining her full-time presence, though I won’t say which one, just in case you don’t already know. Filling the other two slots are two recurring players, Destiny Rumancek (Tiio Horn) and Dr. Johann Pryce (Joel de la Fuente), both established presences earning promotions in the sophomore run, and good choices to make up for the loss of the others.

HEMLOCK GROVE is popcorn fare, to be sure, lacking real depth in the characters and more concerned with moving rapidly from one event to the next than providing growth or making you think. However, it is entertaining, enjoyable, good fun. The writers are clever enough to surprise us, including with a big twist involving a familiar face late in the second season premiere. All of this makes for a pace that is never boring, and by avoiding a lot of the vampire and werewolf clichés, taking older legends as the source material instead of pop culture, it doesn’t feel tired or repetitive of others in the genre.

HEMLOCK GROVE’s entire second season will be available tomorrow exclusively on Netflix.

Fun Fact: This review is exactly 666 words, and that happened purely by chance.

ALMOST HUMAN Almost Great

Article first published as ALMOST HUMAN Almost Great on TheTVKing.

When FOX's Almost Human premiered, I was skeptical. It had a very cool concept and setting, but seemed bogged down in case-of-the-week procedural crap. As the weeks passed, though, it did move into some far more interesting stories and developed its characters in ways I wanted to see continue. So it's with a heavy heart that I review "Straw Man," last night's season, quite possibly series, finale.

Almost Human is set in the not-so-distant future, though, from the tech shown, one would think it would be a further reach. The idea, though, that technology has gotten out of hand and law enforcement struggles to control it, is solid and an easy leap to make, given the rapid pace of advancement today.

While most of the show is, regrettably, confined to the crimes our heroes investigate, we do get glimpses of the larger world. We know Detective Stahl (Minka Kelly) is genetically engineered, as anyone can be for a price, and her kind live separately from the rest of society, usually considering themselves above "normal" humans. We know there's a wall keeping out the really low dregs of society, making for a pronounced class system. And we know some androids, like Dorian (Michael Ealy) were designed with feelings, so they act more human, but also less stable.

"Straw Man" has some fine movement on these fronts. Besides seeing the how the homeless live, we also see Dorian reviewed by the board that will decide if he will continue to serve as a cop, despite the rest of his line being decomissioned. What emerges is a clear understanding that, unlike the newer models more commonly used, Dorian's type are individuals, meaning some can handle the work and some cannot. Dorian's co-workers love him and he does well so he will continue in his current position. But while I do think they will activate other Dorians following his success, not all can handle this.

The moments where the human characters are shown talking to or about Dorian are very entertaining. Poor Rudy (Mackenzie Crook) bumbles through his part of the evaluation, but John Kennex (Karl Urban), who is so against Dorian at the start, has only glowing things to say, crediting Dorian for Kennex's own continued service to the badge. While Kennex downplays this when Dorian thanks him, it's too late; Dorian and the viewer know the truth. This is the ultimate buddy cop bond.

Ealy is absolutely terrific as the machine. He can mimic a standard robot beautifully when he thinks he's losing the review, and his interactions with John are so authentic that he feels believable, until the actor tosses in those little, detailed touches that prove he's something else. There's a hard balance to strike in playing a character like Dorian, and Ealy is great at hitting it.

The main plot of "Straw Man" involves Kennex solving the case that disgraced his father, Edward (John Diehl, Miami Vice), and got him killed. With a little help from Dorian and Captain Maldonado (Lili Taylor), who gets some sealed files for him, Kennex clears his old man's name and brings the real killer to justice. It's a triumphant moment for Kennex, personally and professionally, and a high note to end the series on, should it not be renewed.

The problem is, it's all much too quick. As soon as we get any info about Edward at all, John has tied up everything neatly. This is likely because Almost Human isn't sure it's coming back so it didn't want to leave a cliffhanger. The hanging threads from other stories, including that of John's wife and Dorian's implanted memories, aren't mentioned, meaning there are still places for the show to go should it return, but it doesn't feel like it stops abruptly. "Straw Man" is a powerful, moving installment, one which will rank as a favorite among fans. Still, it's sad that such an important character element for the show's lead is treated so lightly, as it deserves much more weight.

The whole show deserves more exploration. While future episodes would involve more stand-alone cases, there are also a great many elements of the technology and society that viewers want to see. How did things develop as they did? What are the moral implications? How can this one department effect change on a grander scale? If it ran for seasons, these questions would be delved into more, making for a very engaging, intriguing show.

Almost Human is not without its weaknesses. The homeless man that Detective Paul (Michael Irby) takes pity on just happens to be the next victim moments later? Ridiculous coincidence. But the humor, heart, good writing, and excellent special effects tip the scales in its favor, not the perfect show, but a darn good one that will be missed when it goes.

Almost Human is currently awaiting news of its fate from FOX.

ALMOST HUMAN Fighting An "Arrhythmia"

Article first published as ALMOST HUMAN Fighting An "Arrhythmia" on TheTVKing.

Only six episodes into the first year, FOX's Almost Human takes their winter break after this week's "Arrhythmia." A thriving black market sells ailing people artificial organs under the table, then extorts more money from the patients in order to keep the transplant working. Kennex (Karl Urban) and Dorian (Michael Ealy) are joined in their investigation of the enterprise by another DRN (also Ealy) who no longer works in law enforcement after a tragic incident.

After a sextet of installments, I'm a bit disappointed in Almost Human. The first started out with such promise, setting up some long, serial arcs that could be explored in a very intriguing story. The next five, though, have been mostly stand-alone procedurals, with the lead characters solving cases-of-the-week, with virtually no movement beyond that central plot.

For some reason, networks like procedurals. As someone who watches a lot of TV, I find them boring and dumb and quickly grow bored. But there is an (unfortunately large) segment of the viewing populace who craves the no-thinking, fluff entertainment, which is why the airwaves are clogged with the stuff. Fans of that genre have plenty of choices, so why force something clever and fresh to conform to the old standards?

It's very likely Almost Human won't remain in this format forever. Fringe, Dollhouse, and others have played the game at the start, delivering half a dozen or so rote episodes before kicking off exciting stories. Apparently, the hope is that the initial batch will hook in some of those lazy or very casual viewers, even after the series grows into something must-see. I don't know that that theory works all that well, but that's what we're stuck with for now, muddling through mediocre junk until the writers are given the freedom to get to the good stuff.

Make no mistake about it, I think Almost Human is going to have plenty of good stuff. The bits in the pilot that are sure to be revisited are interesting, the futuristic setting is cool, we've been introduced to much new technology that will definitely come into play again, and the characters are well developed. The cast, which includes Lili Taylor, Minka Kelly, Michael Irby, and Mackenzie Crook, are quite good. The raw ingredients for a great science fiction series are present, if only it would be allowed to rise in the oven to what it's supposed to be.

Take this recent episode, "Arrhythmia," for instance. The relationship between Kennex and Dorian, the best element so far, is usually only explored in small chunks to better serve the pacing of the episodes. But here, we get a more extended view of Dorian and his model of android. By bringing in another DRN, we get to compare and contrast Dorian to his brethren. Dorian is also shown to be a developed individual, different than this other robot, and capable of making compassionate decisions. It's a really good Dorian story, and Ealy does an admirable job in the dual role.

The parts of the installment that deal with the organs are intriguing, too. There are real issues raised, and some of these are not resolved by the end of the hour. Almost Human could spend much time re-examining and debating whether it's right or not to resell these organs, and what sort of regulation should be in place. Yes, that's not going to be the bones of a long-term arc, but it could be something brought up again on multiple occasions.

More of this is what I'm looking for. We get that there is still crime in the future and that cop shows sell. However, exploring the implications of technological advancement, a blurring of lines in what life is, and questions of morality is way neater in a TV program. Ditch the standard fare and deliver a series that geeks will find worth watching, and they'll be something to praise. At the moment, Almost Human is a very good procedural, enjoyable even, but that's all that it is. It's time for the next step in the series' evolution.

Almost Human will return in a few weeks on FOX.

ALMOST HUMAN But Definitely Good

Article first published as ALMOST HUMAN Review on Seat42F.

FOX’s J.J. Abrams-produced ALMOST HUMAN, which premieres soon, is one of my favorite new shows this fall, right up there with Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and American Horror Story: Coven. It has great, well-developed characters, exciting stories, fantastic special effects, and presents a fully-realized dystopian future based on current trends. What else could one ask for?

As the “Pilot” begins, we are introduced to Detective John Kennex (Karl Urban, Star Trek: Into Darkness). Kennex lost his partner and his entire team in a raid gone wrong against the evil Syndicate, leaving Kennex himself in a coma for nearly a year and a half. Kennex is back to work now, his boss, Captain Maldonado (Lili Taylor, Six Feet Under), convincing him that he is needed to take down the Syndicate once and for all.

But Kennex’s transition back into his career isn’t easy. Cops are now required to work with an android partner, whom Kennex offensively dubs ‘synthetics.’ The MX series androids are logic-based, and one of them coldly calculated that Kennex and his partner’s chances to survive weren’t good during that fateful raid and leaves them, and so Kennex hates and doesn’t trust these machines. Maldonado’s solution is to give Kennex a less stable, older model of android named Dorian (Michael Ealy, The Good Wife), whom shows emotion.

So as we start out buddy cop drama we have an unusual, but pleasing, pairing. There’s Kennex, who has cut himself off from everyone in a very inhuman way, making him only part of a man, even though he’s still very good at his job. And then there’s Dorian, who seems more human than Kennex at the start, but we know others look down on him because of the emotional element, fully expected to be exhibited by people, but making many uncomfortable when it’s coming from an android.

The two have great chemistry, but there’s also a little more than the typical relationship present. It could be because of the science fiction aspect of the show. We might always be waiting for another shoe to drop concerning Dorian, as his line was retired for a reason. Or it could be because we’re never sure if Kennex might snap at any given moment, as his behavior is very irrational in the “Pilot,” destroying an MX that annoys him and visiting The Recollectionist (Hiro Kanagawa, Caprica) to relive memories that might help his work, even though it hurts his health. Both could be considered the loose cannon of the partnership.

What happens when you’ve got two wild card cops paired together? I guess we’ll find out!

The rest of the cast includes Valerie Stahl (Minka Kelly, Friday Night Lights) and Richard Paul (Michael Irby, The Unit) as fellow detectives, the latter of which doesn’t think Kennex is fit for duty, and the former of whom defends Kennex, as well as Rudy Lom (Mackenzie Crook, Pirate of the Caribbean) as the tech guy. These seems a pretty predictable lineup from a crime procedural.

The way the roles are played, though, is anything about standard. One is not used to seeing Lili Taylor in such a take-charge position, but she handles it well. Ealy is known for playing hotheads, and now he’s the calm one. Urban’s Kennex is nothing like the sometimes-bumbling Bones McCoy, other than his phobia of tech. This is a group of talented actors taking on something different, and clearly enjoying the chance to show us their range, of which they universally have plenty.

Hopefully, ALMOST HUMAN will avoid the pratfalls of a crime procedural. Admittedly, the “Pilot” has a lot of set up by necessity, and so doesn’t really have a case-of-the-week. But the beginning also points to many larger arcs, with plenty of fodder to do a more serial story telling. If it can stick to those guns, at least as much as Fringe, which had a similar tone, did, then it should be a pretty good series, indeed.

In fact, the “Pilot” only scratches the surface of what ALMOST HUMAN could be. We are introduced to players and the situation, and then a lot happens, not closing the story, nor even a chapter in it. It’s very much a hit-the-ground running show with a quick pace. Hopefully by the time they conclude the initial premise, either in a few months or a couple of years, tops, they keep going into something else, as the possibilities in this world are nearly endless.

ALMOST HUMAN premieres this Sunday and Monday on FOX.

Hemlock Grove is a Familiar Place

Article first published as HEMLOCK GROVE Review on Seat42F.

Grade: 83%

Netflix’s latest drama is called HEMLOCK GROVE. Based on the novel of the same name, HEMLOCK GROVE begins with kinky sex and the murder of a teenager, which are unrelated, I think, but make for a one-two punch with some serious drawing power. It’s important, in a television field crowded with horror and murder mystery entries, that the opening grab viewers. But many a series has had a great hook, then failed to deliver.

HEMLOCK GROVE, not even released yet, has already been beset upon by bad press. Many note that it fails to live up to Netflix’s last original series, House of Cards. Although, just about every series ever created would fail to live up to House of Cards, a brilliant drama, so by comparison, yes, HEMLOCK GROVE is not nearly as good.

Which doesn’t make it bad, necessarily.

HEMLOCK GROVE feels pretty familiar. It’s about a bunch of brooding teens and their equally mysterious parents living in a gloomy town. There are hints in the first episode of both a vampire and a werewolf, and one girl looks like something straight out of FX’s American Horror Story: Asylum. In fact, HEMLOCK GROVE seems to take inspiration from Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, The Secret Circle, and The Killing, to name a few.

What it lacks in originality, it does attempt to make up for in pay-cable level content. You will see a topless girl in the first few minutes. The body of Brooke Bluebell (Lorenza Izzo), the character killed early in the pilot’s run, is pretty gory. There is a homosexual predator introduced who goes after girls far too young for her. These are things that HEMLOCK GROVE, being on Netflix, can use to set itself apart from the tamer fare.

I also think Netflix’s model of releasing all thirteen episodes of the first season at once will serve it well. This is the type of show that begs marathon viewing. Want to know who killed Brooke? Just keep watching. You don’t have to wait twelve weeks, with the puzzle slowly doled out forty minutes at a time. That immediacy should help retain viewers who are on fence after the first installment or two.

That being said, I don’t know that HEMLOCK GROVE has real staying power. I only have access to the beginning of the season, not the entire thing, so I can’t say for certain the impact of the complete picture. But, only a few hours after viewing the first episode, I am having trouble remembering very many of the characters’ names, and I’m not entirely sold on the premise, which isn’t completely apparent. The effects are good, and I remember moments, just not people. The cast is capable, but their roles aren’t well defined as unique personalities at this point, certainly no one really standing out right away. I will probably watch more. But I’m not super excited to get back to it, a I was with House of Cards.

At the start of the first episode, “Jellyfish in the Sky,” a Gypsy boy named Peter Rumancek (Landon Liboiron, Terra Nova, Degrassi: The Next Generation) comes to town with his mother, Lynda (Lili Taylor, Six Feet Under). Because they are new to the area, obviously they quickly become suspects in Brooke’s murder case. But they seem gentle enough. Also, they move into a deceased’s relative’s place, so they may have some connection to the locale.

The other major family introduced in “Jellyfish in the Sky” consists of Roman Godfrey (Bill Skarsgard), his mother, Olivia (Famke Janssen, X-Men), and his sister, Shelley. They are rich and not very nice, and we soon see that there is likely more to them than meets the eye. Olivia is accused of being some type of monster, and Shelley visually is one, providing the only really cheesy bit in the pilot, as Shelley shuffles around with her grotesque face covered up, presumably to save on effects, though I have trouble complaining about not seeing her face too often.

While the Godfreys appear evil and the Rumanceks seem good, it’s clear that it won’t be as simple as that. We do get more backstory on the Godfreys in the first episode, so of course we get to see the darker aspects of their clan, including what happened to Mr. Godfrey, and how they interact with remembers of their extended family. But we don’t know much about the Rumanceks, and they may have a gritty side, too, as we see that they aren’t above stealing.

Either way, these are the main characters, or the two boys are, at least, so it’s unlikely that one of them is the killer. Instead, we’ll eventually find out who they are and what their motivations might be. A description of the series says they end up working together to find the killer, which seems an odd pairing, but I’m sure that will explained as things unfold, and it could be interesting.

The guys are surrounded by many other strange characters, each of whom could possibly be the murderer, based on the little bits we see of them. There’s the weird girl next door, Christina (Freya Tingley), who fancies herself an investigator. Norman Godfrey (Dougray Scott, Desperate Housewives) is Roman’s uncle, who has had, or is having, an affair with Roman’s mom. The town sheriff is Tom Sworn (Aaron Douglas, Battlestar Galactica), whom we know nothing about. And surely there will be others in the coming episodes.

I feel like HEMLOCK GROVE distracts us with a large number of characters so that they have room to keep us guessing, which is a good thing, sort of. If only there were any clue that might help us begin that process in “Jellyfish in the Sky.” Or a character to connect to and get behind. As such, it should appeal fine to those who dig the other scary stuff on TV, but I doubt it will have a broad appeal or defy convention.

HEMLOCK GROVE’s thirteen episode first season will be available this Friday on Netflix.