Journey to KLONDIKE

Article first published as KLONDIKE Review on Seat42F.

Discovery Channel’s first scripted miniseries, KLONDIKE, tells the story of the gold rush in Alaska in the late 1890s. It paints a picture of many types of characters who just might make it in a frontier setting, where rules and laws give way to survival of the fittest and nature, as well as the hero who struggles to adjust his morality. Who will thrive and who will perish? Tune in to find out.

It’s good to see more cable networks getting into the scripted game. As someone who detests most reality programming, and even finds many of the so-called “educational” stuff on Discovery and History hokey and annoying, I don’t typically appreciate the offerings of these networks. But a good drama, which either tells a true story (in a fashion) or presents a period of time most people don’t know a lot about, is welcome. KLONDIKE may fit this category.

KLONDIKE reminds me a lot of AMC’s Hell on Wheels. It has a similar tone and wild spirit, and the players feel familiar. It took me awhile to get into Hell on Wheels, likely because the frame of reference is so far off between today and that era. KLONDIKE, too, begins a little slowly, but it has good enough cast that I’ll give it the same chance, hoping it will grow on me the way the AMC show has, though KLONDIKE is a limited-run piece. Plus, a twist late in Part One really got me excited about what’s happening.

After the obligatory, out-of-sequence hook, which nearly all shows seem to feel the need to include these days, though they really shouldn’t, the first part begins with two young men, Bill Haskell (Richard Madden, Game of Thrones) and Byron Epstein (Augustus Prew, The Borigas), setting out to make their fortune beyond The Wall in the snowy wilderness.. They have a spirit of adventure, brave souls, and a naivety that will definitely bring them more trouble than good. They’re familiar types, but not unwelcome ones.

Upon reaching their destination, the town of Klondike, Bill and Byron quickly learn that they are not at all prepared for the life they’ve embarked upon. They don’t understand the attitudes of the local Native Americans, and are surprised by the unscrupulous and selfish nature of their new neighbors. They get in over their heads in a compelling way, and by the end of the first part, viewers should care about them.

Among the characters they meet in their new home are mill owner Belinda Mulrooney (Abbie Cornish, Outriders), who is very protective of her business ventures, wise, kind priest Father Judge (Sam Shepard, The Right Stuff), whom the locals don’t care for nearly as much as Bill does, con-artist Soapy Smith (Ian Hart, Luck Dirt), who tries to seem harmless, The Count (Tim Roth, Lie To Me), the clear villain of the piece, and aspiring writer Jack London (Johnny Simmons, The Perks of Being a Wallflower).

Yes, that Jack London. For whatever reason, many historical tales feel the need to stick in real-life figures. London isn’t the only such person in KLONDIKE, but is the most famous one. I think they feel this gives the story some legitimacy, tying it to the real world by using a familiar name. But rarely do such projects care much about portraying the person in an authentic light, bending them to the whims of the script, instead, so London, like many that came before him in other shows, is a failed experiment, which KLONDIKE would be better off without.

The others are mostly types, too, to be honest. We’ve had plenty of woman who spur the traditional gender roles, or businessmen who are ruthless. Perhaps these archetypes work for a reason, but it still leaves one, who has already born witness to so many of them, yearning for something more fresh and original.

That being said, there is some strong casting here, and hopefully the actors will raise the parts above their starting position. I already like Bill, and the others have just enough potential that they might salvage the program, though in lesser hands than those currently guiding them, they would very much waste away.

KLONDIKE airs at 9 p.m. ET this week on Discovery Channel, starting Monday.

Felicia Day can Lie to Me anytime

     Is this the beginning of a larger arc for Felicia Day (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog) on a major network program?  It is unknown for sure how much Day may play a part of Fox's Lie To Me, but after their recent season finale in which she was clearly very smitten with Eli (Brendan Hines), the door is certainly open for her to come back.  The question is, will the show even come back?  After a popular thirteen episode first season, premiering in January last year, the show was only picked up for ten episodes this fall, the last of which was the episode Day appeared in.  While Fox has announced that it wants an additional nine episodes, a return date has not been announced.

     Day, creator and star of the very popular web show, The Guild, could do better, certainly.  The show is a formula crime drama, the twist being that the team the show centers on can read faces.  Sure, that part is different from most other shows, and formula dramas certainly have their place in American culture.  But I prefer something more consistently original, different, that keeps you guessing.  Lie To Me does not do that.  I watched this week's episode, the first I'd seen since early in the first season, and it was entertaining.  They certainly deliver that basic framework in a compelling way.  I just could not stay entertained week after week by the same thing.  And Felicia Day is a great actress, worthy of a show that gives her a chance to show her talent.  I mean, have you seen her web music video hit, "Do You Want to Date My Avatar"???

     In this week's episode, Day played a schoolteacher who brought her children to the building where Dr. Lightman's (Tim Roth) team works.  Because of a bomb threat right outside, she and her charges are placed in a conference room, and the teacher and Eli have to keep them entertained.  The series did right by Felicia by giving her a charming duet to sing with Eli, the highlight of the episode.  Day was, as usual, sweet, adorable, and very talented.  She conveyed fear without panic, and emotion without a lot of dialogue.  It wasn't a huge role, but she played it well.  If she were hired on a recurring basis, as a steady love interest, it might be enough to get me to watch the show.  Or at least TiVo it and fast forward to any scene with Felicia Day in it.

     Full disclosure: I do not know Felicia and no one has paid me or even asked me to write this article, other than my normal examiner.com royalties.  I, like most other even remotely geeky men in the world in their twenty's, am just smitten with her.