PICARD Engages

Article first published as TV Review: STAR TREK: PICARD on Seat42F.

I am a huge STAR TREK fan from way back. Even when I didn’t watch much television, I watched STAR TREK (admittedly, mostly the films and spin-offs; I was an 80s kid). I mourned it when it went away, and forced myself to be excited by the movie reboots of the last decade, even though I now admit that only one of the three is any good. (It’s Star Trek: Beyond, for the record, despite a few flaws.)

So when CBS All Access started bringing STAR TREK back, I was super excited. I mean, not about All Access, which is an overpriced gouging of Trek fans. But about the content. Star Trek: Discovery is amazing, a fitting evolution of the franchise that honors the legacy. The Short Treks series are more of a departure, sometimes experimental, but also very good on the whole.

And now, we have STAR  TREK: PICARD. Jean-Luc Picard is one of my favorite characters, and Patrick Stewart is a fine actor inside and outside of Trek. It’s a tall order to continue his story, and the modernization of Star Trek as evidenced by Discovery and Short Treks, not to mention Stewart’s own standards, demanded it be more than just a continuation of The Next Generation.

Three episodes in, it is succeeding admirably by just about every measure. Stewart is delivering a mesmerizing performance that imagines a future very different for Jean-Luc than where we left him, but in line with The Next Generation series finale, “All Good Things,” and the Romulan and Starfleet developments we know about in the intervening years. It’s a slow burn mystery, perfect for Picard the Dixon Hill fan. It embraces the aging themes of the excellent Kirk-led motion pictures, and also tells us something completely new. It’s a character study of a man who has been disillusioned and dissatisfied, but is determined to restore himself to someone he can live with before he dies. Yet, desperation is not present, instead showing his core personality tempted by discovery.

If that were all STAR TREK: PICARD was, it would be enough. And yet, it’s not. It’s a truly interesting story of Romulan politics and lore, a feat because I never found the species all that intriguing. It brings in lots of hanging plot threads from The Next Generation that I wish had been explored in a more serial nature and now they get to be. Data (Brent Spiner) is dead, but his presence haunts Picard and informs the current story, with dream sequence cameos feeling meaningful and necessary, not gratuitous, especially that perfect opening of the show with the Enterprise-D rendered more beautiful than it ever has been before. We hear again about Dr. Maddox (he’s got to be coming back, right?), Hugh (Jonathan Del Arco), the Borg, and so much more. Thank goodness, they left B4 in a drawer, right where he deserves to be.

The new characters are as equally fascinating as the lead. Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd, Blindspot) and Chris Rios (Santiago Cabrera, Big Little Lies) are new versions of Starfleet officers, those no longer with the service for traumatic reasons, a character type hinted at in Deep Space 9 and echoing Picard’s current status. Soji (Isa Briones, Takers) is deliciously unpredictable and hard to define yet. Narek (Harry Treadaway, Penny Dreadful), Commodore Oh (Tamlyn Tomita, The Good Doctor), and Lt. Rizzo (Peyton List, Mad Men) are a cadre of magnetic villains. Dr. Jurati (Alison Pill, The Newsroom) is terrific heart and comic relief. I love Zhaban (Jamie McShane, Bloodline), and Laris (Orla Brady, Fringe) has quickly become one of my favorite Trek characters of all time. I will be heartbroken if we don’t check back in with those latter two in the vineyard as the season progresses. Also, Voyager’s Seven (Jeri Ryan) hasn’t even made her much-anticipated return yet, which will surely be great.

By finding the most promising bits of TNG to continue and letting the story and situations evolve as circumstances and modernity demand, STAR TREK: PICARD is a triumph and perfect example of how to do a continuation decades after the original. It has something new to say, but is very much rooted in the existing mythology. It makes us rethink the TNG episodes as we realize the idyllic future we all admired from that show existed on the Enterprise, but not everywhere else (as DS9 also pointed out). It’s truly an amazing series that I am totally hooked on because of strong writing, direction, acting, and perspective.

Like I said before, All Access sucks in its pricing and depth of offerings. But you can’t miss this show, so I recommend you do as I have done, suck it up, and just give CBS your money. STAR TREK: PICARD deserves to be seen.

New episodes currently release Thursdays on the streaming service.

Venturing INTO THE BADLANDS

Article originally published as INTO THE BADLANDS Review on Seat42F.

Daniel Wu as Sunny - Into the Badlands _ Season 1, Epsiode 1 - Photo Credit: Patti Perret/AMC

 

AMC’s newest drama, INTO THE BADLANDS, premieres tonight. Set in a future where guns have been eradicated, the territory is broken up into domains runs by Barons, who use teams of assassins to keep their subjects in line. This makes the setting seem more like the past, but don’t think on that too deep. Instead, just enjoy the gratuitous violence.

The description of the series may sound a bit flip, but so is the show itself. There are numerous fight scenes, which have been the focus of much of the promotional materials for the show. Is there ever any reason we need to see extended fight scenes where one supernaturally gifted combatant takes out an entire gang? Nah, but it’s fun, and that’s why this type of material exists.

INTO THE BADLANDS does have substance, too. The characters are interesting, and the political machinations between those who seek to extend their power provide engaging drama. But I’m simply pointing out that by mixing it with light entertainment, it makes INTO THE BADLANDS slightly less than, say, The Walking Dead, which uses fighting for one’s lives to enhance scenes, rather than making it the center of sequences.

At the center of INTO THE BADLANDS is Sunny (Daniel Wu, The Man With the Iron Fists), the lead protector for the land’s most powerful Baron, Quinn (Marton Csokas, Klondike). Sunny is a loyalist who is comfortable with the current system, until he’s not. Mysteries from his past are brought up when he finds a kid, M. K. (Aramis Knight, The Dark Knight Rises), with inexplicable powers and a coincidental symbol. This, combined with news from his secret girlfriend, Veil (Madeleine Mantock, The Tomorrow People), make Sunny question everything he values and believes to be true. He begins a real hero’s journey.

It’s because of this compelling character that I want to watch INTO THE BADLANDS. Sure, it’s entertaining, but that in of itself is not enough these days. Thankfully, this program doesn’t just rely on that, even though that’s the most obvious, flashy thing about it.

There’s also an enticing sexual component. Quinn is married to Lydia (Orla Brady, American Odyssey), and will soon take a second, much younger, wife, Jade (Sarah Bolger, The Tudors). AMC stops short of showing any real nudity, as basic cable usually does, but there’s certainly sexiness in the power wrangling that is just getting started. While this plot doesn’t cover any new ground, at least not yet, it does add another interesting layer to the proceedings.

The Widow (Emily Beecham, The Village) ensures the boys won’t be the only ones having fun. She’s a new Baron who is at odds with Quinn and has her sights set on M. K. When she shows up, she immediately grabs the spotlight, and she clearly has some physical attributes of her own. This character should help ally fears that INTO THE BADLANDS is only set to attract male viewers. She’s beautiful and badass.

All of these characters exist in a fully realized world. Great thought has gone into building this system, incorporating historical context, while twisting it enough to be unfamiliar to students of the past. The result is a setting believable and strange at the same time, and one well-suited to the people who populate it. The product design is excellent. It’s almost a sci-fi / fantasy show, while managing to stay more grounded than what is typical of that genre. It’s hard to strictly categorize it, but I see that as a plus, showing originality.

For all of these reasons, INTO THE BADLANDS is worth checking out, even if you’re not into the martial arts. It airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on AMC.

Blu-ray Review: ‘Doctor Who’ – ‘The Time of the Doctor’

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: ‘Doctor Who’ – ‘The Time of the Doctor’ on Blogcritics.

This past December’s Doctor Who Christmas special featured Matt Smith’s very last appearance (as the lead, anyway) as the Eleventh Doctor. Called “The Time of the Doctor,” it brought him to Trenzalore, the planet of his death, and included a war with his greatest enemies, such as The Angels, The Silence, The Daleks, and The Cybermen. Now, that special is available on Blu-ray and DVD.

At the beginning of the hour, The Doctor (Matt Smith) travels to a busy planet that he is told is Gallifrey, though it clearly isn’t. There, all of his enemies have gathered, and the Papal Mainframe, led by old (though never seen before on screen) friend Tasha Lem (a terrific Orla Brady, Fringe, Jo). Gallifrey is present, trying to break through the cracks in space time, but only if The Doctor tells The Time Lords his name, confirming they have reached the proper universe.

This seems like a good thing, but it’s not because the return of The Time Lords to the universe would reignite The Time War, meaning a LOT of death would follow. Tasha wants to prevent this, even if it means killing The Doctor, which makes her a tad bit dangerous. The Doctor realizes the predicament, and decides to stay at the planet, not making a decision about his people or not, while his enemies attack.

Like last year’s holiday outing, “The Time of the Doctor” is not a fluff, stand-alone installment. Instead, it’s a huge adventure, a culmination of many things. We’d long heard that “silence must fall when the question is asked,” and the unanswered question is “Doctor who?” Now, those things come together, along with a dozen other minor plot threads, all culminating in The Doctor’s last battle.

“The Time of the Doctor” does an excellent job tying up all of the continuity bits, really feeling like a satisfying capper on The Eleventh’s run. Perhaps the battles could have been bigger, but this is also a very personal tale, and on that end, it completely satisfies, not just for The Doctor, but also for Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman), who has taken awhile to grow on me, but proves her mettle here. It presents The Doctor himself as we’ve never seen him before – settled and aging – and as the tale spans centuries, it really gives us a full view of the incarnation that has now lived at least a third of The Doctor’s total existence thus far.

In this episode, Smith shows us just how great his skill as a performer is. He gets to run the gamut of emotion and experience in his final installment. He plays old and young, he plays brave and desperate, he plays friend and betrayer, he plays hero and the man who has given up. This is a tour de force performance, the kind that makes a career. To get this kind of material for his last hour, and to execute it so well, is incredible.

The very end of “The Time of the Doctor” is the perfect tie back to the beginning of The Eleventh’s story. I won’t reveal the details of it here, but it gives The Eleventh a touching, meta send-off, sure to resonate for both the character and the actor.

There are a scant three bonus features in this release, sadly. The “Farewell to Matt Smith” TV special that aired is included, as is “Behind the Lens” and “Tales from the TARDIS.” The first felt a little light to me, not quite giving the substance I desired. “Behind the Lens” is enjoyable because it’s a behind-the-scenes of this one episode, but at only twelve minutes running time, is a bit too short. I don’t know that “Tales of the TARDIS” really needed to be included here, since it isn’t Matt Smith-specific, but I guess Doctor Who fans in general will like it.

Blu-ray is the format to get this in because “The Time of the Doctor” is so effects-heavy. It’s a beautiful special, with swirling snow and a detailed setting. As usual, there are some dark, shadowy scenes, with crisp definition and layered shading. Plus, a sweeping score enhances without overpowering. A science fiction adventure like this begs for high definition.

In short, this is a visually impressive, powerfully told story that’s weak on bonus features but still worth your time. “The Time of the Doctor” is available now.

TV Review: ‘Doctor Who’ – ‘The Time of the Doctor’

Article first published as TV Review: ‘Doctor Who’ – ‘The Time of the Doctor’ on Blogcritics.

Anticipation was high for this week’s Doctor Who Christmas Special on BBC and BBC America, “The Time of the Doctor.” We knew it would be Matt Smith’s last appearance as the Eleventh Doctor. We knew it would be holiday-themed. We knew it would involve Trenzalore and many of the Doctor’s greatest enemies, including The Daleks, The Cyberman, The Angels, and The Silence. But we didn’t know how it would play out, or how The Doctor would die.

Like last year’s Christmas outing, “The Time of the Doctor” is not a fluff, stand-alone installment. Instead, it’s a huge adventure, a culmination of many things. We’d long heard that “silence must fall when the question is asked,” and the unanswered question is “Doctor who?” Now, those things come together, along with a dozen other minor plot threads, all culminating in The Doctor’s last battle.

Last spring’s “The Name of the Doctor” reveals what happens on Trenzalore: The Eleventh Doctor, the thirteenth and final incarnation because of the Tenth’s waste of a life and The War Doctor’s inclusion, will finally die in an epic battle, turning an entire planet into a graveyard. But like the fall anniversary special “The Day of the Doctor,” this history is not set in stone and can be changed. And so it is.

I’m getting a little ahead of myself. At the beginning, The Doctor (Matt Smith) travels to a busy planet that he is told is Gallifrey, though it clearly isn’t. There, all of his enemies have gathered, and the Papal Mainframe, led by old (though never seen before on screen) friend Tasha Lem (a terrific Orla Brady, Fringe, Jo). Gallifrey is present, trying to break through the cracks in space time, but only if The Doctor tells The Time Lords his name, confirming they have reached the proper universe.

This seems like a good thing, but it’s not because the return of The Time Lords to the universe would reignite The Time War, meaning a LOT of death would follow. Tasha wants to prevent this, even if it means killing The Doctor, which makes her a tad bit dangerous. The Doctor realizes the predicament, and decides to stay at the planet, not making a decision about his people or not, while his enemies attack.

I am a little disappointed that the battles on Trenzalore are not bigger. This is a place where many, many people bite the big one in a possible timeline, but it doesn’t seem that way in “The Time of the Doctor.” Much of the church is slaughtered, but we don’t see them so much as we see those who can overcome their Dalek programming. Perhaps all the budget for the special went into effects, rather than in hiring extras, but it still just doesn’t seem like the gargantuan war one would expect.

Other than that, the story is really good. Besides the aforementioned arcs, this episode also reveals how the Daleks come to remember The Doctor again, the origin of The Silence, and the ultimate fate of Handles, the Cyberman head that The Doctor befriends. It does an excellent job tying up all of the continuity bits, really feeling like a satisfying capper on The Eleventh’s run.

Perhaps the main mystery going in is, how will The Doctor regenerate again? He’s out of lives, but a new actor has already been cast, so surely this must play a part. It does, in a huge way, with Gallifrey gifting their savior twelve more regenerations.

One may wonder why Gallifrey would give The Doctor such a present, and knowing that he’s on the other side, why do they not come through? The Doctor has never been loved or admired by his countrymen, who consider him (with reason) a bit of an unhinged outlaw. Yet, he did save the entire race, so maybe there are some who trust him now. Maybe even enough to think The Doctor has a good reason for not bringing them back to the universe.

What I want to see now is a special or episode told entirely from Gallifrey’s point of view. This part of “The Time of the Doctor” doesn’t quite make sense, given what we’ve seen of The Time Lords previously. But it could under the right circumstances. It seems like too many leaps must be made to just take this for granted, so how about a story that fully explains things? Since Steven Moffat is good at tying up loose ends, this might be a possibility.

At the same time as “The Time of the Doctor” is a big tale, it’s also a deeply personal story. We see The Doctor as we’ve never seen him before – settled, and aging. This hour takes place over many hundreds of years, meaning that The Eleventh Doctor is an incarnation that lasts at least a third, maybe more than half, of The Doctor’s total existence thus far. He’s gone from being depressed to happy, serving himself and serving everyone else, and this brings his growth around again.

The Eleventh Doctor must have companions. He lies to Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) and sends her away multiple times, but he has Handles and the people of the planet to ground him. He is someone who can get into his own head too much, but with much here to care about and protect, he resists that urge. He can be dark and deadly, but on Trenzalore, he only kills when necessary. And he has always been the old man in the young body. Now we see what he looks like at the end of his natural life.

Somehow, all of this is communicated without needing to lay it out explicitly. The Doctor’s emotional journey shines through in fits and starts, but there’s enough to allow the viewer to connect the dots. The writing is so sharp, we even care about Handles, a bodiless head that should be thought of as a machine or monster. All of this is done effortlessly, proving Moffat’s talent to anyone who still doubted him.

Equally skilled is Smith. He gets to run the gamut of emotion and experience in his final installment. He plays old and young, he plays brave and desperate, he plays friend and betrayer, he plays hero and the man who has given up. This is a tour de force performance, the kind that makes a career. To get this kind of material for his last hour, and to execute it so well, is incredible.

The regeneration feels different. This can be chalked up to the fact that The Doctor is receiving a whole new set of regenerations, rather than just making one change. In the past, The Doctor hasn’t used regenerative energy as a weapon, and his face changes in one moment, with the viewer witnessing the morph. It’s kind of neat that they do it different this time.

The very end of “The Time of the Doctor” is the perfect tie back to the beginning of The Eleventh’s story. He gets to return to his young form and eat fish sticks and custard. Then, he hallucinates Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), the companion he most closely connected with. Even though Amy spent a scant few years with this Doctor, who ended up living centuries, she is the first and (practically) last face he sees. She occupies a very special place in his heart, and her cameo seems very appropriate. All while giving The Eleventh a meta send-off sure to resonate for both the character and the actor.

I do wish a few more familiar faces were present, too, but in the end, this is about The Doctor, not about anyone else. As with other incarnations of The Doctor, individuals have frequently come and gone from his life. Others were not necessary, and so not included.

Tasha Lem is a fascinating addition. She’s clearly very powerful and very long-lived. She has the strength to resist her own death after the Daleks kill her and take over her body. She does the right thing for the greater good, even if it hurts someone she loves. And she’s perfectly cast. I definitely want to see more of her again, whether she’s part-Dalek or not. Much, much more.

Clara is the official companion in “The Time of the Doctor,” and though her tenure with The Doctor has been short so far, she steps up here. I haven’t really connected with her yet, but in this special, she’s bold and selfless, coming back to The Doctor repeatedly, even when he doesn’t deserve her forgiveness. She understands something important is happening with him, and is there for him when he needs her. Her actions deserve respect.

I do wonder if next fall’s season will resume on the same day, with Clara trying to explain The Doctor’s new appearance (Peter Capaldi, The Thick Of It) to her family, who just keep trying to have a nice Christmas dinner. That could be interesting! Though it’s doubtful this will happen.

The only thing that left me feeling dissatisfied was the fact that The Doctor’s name still has not been revealed. There has been so much build up, fans want resolution. If not handled perfectly, it could very well ruin the series, though, and perhaps that’s why the show shies away from it now. The fanfare around the word is so great that it seems unfair not to let The Doctor speak it. Will Moffat redeem himself for this next year?

And did we really need the village that The Doctor settles down in to be named Christmas, with a holiday theme? Just because this episode aired on December 25th, doesn’t mean that the connection to the date needs to be so blatant. On the other hand, it’s just the sort of weird place The Doctor would fall in love with, so this is a minor gripe, not a major one.

Throughout the war and the drama and all of the heavy stuff that makes up “The Time of the Doctor,” humor still shines through. Comedy is a vital element in Doctor Who, and it is present this week as much as in practically any other. From a drawn out nudity premise, to The Twelfth Doctor’s comments about the color of his kidneys, there are enough one-liners to make any viewer smile. This is appreciated in such an emotionally-draining special.

At the close, one is left with a supreme satisfaction. “The Time of the Doctor” gives us an emotionally fulfilling ending in a heck of a package. Until next time…

On the Fringe

    Last night, Fringe returned to Fox with a very special episode called "Peter".  Almost all of it was set in 1985, where we saw a young Walter Bishop (John Noble) lose his son, Peter (usually played by Joshua Jackson), and how he dealt with it.  It was a very emotional story of a father's loss, and his fight to stop himself from loosing even more.  It showed how Walter's intentions were good, and that he never intended to kidnap the alternate Peter, only heal him and return him to his own world.  On that level, it fully succeeded.

     Bigger than that was what the episode established in the Fringe mythology.  Not only was Nina Sharp's (Blair Brown) injury explained, but also what cause the cracking between the universes in the first place.  Everything that happens now, all of the bad, mysterious deaths and frequent attacks from the other side are Walter's fault.  It is why he is such a tortured man, why he had to be put away in an institution.  It even got the Observers involved in a more active way, and revealed fully the special connection between Walter and one of the bald man in particular, now established to be named September (Michael Cerveris).  Further, it set Peter up for something great, as he "has to live".  But why?  It revealed so much that it felt like a spectacular season, or even series, finale.  Yet, it wasn't.  It was just the kickoff for the third of the season still left to air.

    Besides how important the episode was, there was also much fun and whimsy included by the writers.  The theme song was completely redone, to show that fringe science in 1985 included things like in vitro fertilization, stealth technology. and laser surgery.  The music and graphics were also redone to fit the time period.  Plus, a knowledge of things that were supposed to be, but didn't come about were in evidence.  For example, Eric Stoltz (Caprica) was originally going to star in Back to the Future, and he did, in the other reality.  It makes me wish we would launch some zepplins again and let them dock at the Empire State Building, as intended.

     John Noble, who had proved his acting chops previously, did a fantastic job letting the subtextual elements of the story unfold without being over the top.  His reverse aging makeup was fully believable, and he truly has created a memorable character.  Blair Brown didn't do as well, but perhaps she was just given nothing to work with.  Introduced was Peter's mother, Walter's wife, Elizabeth (Orla Brady, Shark).  The real shame in the whole thing was, despite ample opportunity, William Bell (Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek) never showed up, and he should have been there in several key spots, in my opinion.  Instead he was 'in Europe'.  Is there another story there?  I certainly hope so.

     Fringe airs on Fox Thursday nights at 9pm.