Despite better judgement concerning anything that has the Sci-Fi channel label on it, I watched the pilot episode last night. Now that I have, I wish I didn't.
This reminds me of Special Unit 2, except without the laughs. Instead of protecting the world from creatures, we're protecting the creatures from the big, bad world. The whole concept came across as half-baked. Throw in a long-lived, speedster Jack the Ripper, only to kill him off by the end of the show; a forensic investigator who appears to be half Gil Grissom, half Luke Skywalker (the whiny one from episode IV); a Geico caveman butler, and a piece of female eye-candy (despite horrible bangs) who can kick butt and top the whole thing off with the angsty, immortal woman who runs the whole circus and apparently you have your next "hit" sci-fi show.
Blech. I didn't even enjoy it enough to consider watching a second episode.
I have a better opinion of the show.
I like the male lead--seems like a hero I can relate to. The female lead is an interesting character--and don't you believe that her "ex" is really dead! The three supporting characters are pleasant as well.
My only objection was the pilot episode's plot structure--it consisted of two strands that did not integrate well with each other (of course, we would only complain of such things in a work of fiction--things in real life don't always overlap neatly, either).
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My only objection was the pilot episode's plot structure--it consisted of two strands that did not integrate well with each other (of course, we would only complain of such things in a work of fiction--things in real life don't always overlap neatly, either).
Fiction is held to a higher standard than reality. It has to make sense. :)
I have to say that i am sadly disappointed too.
I wanted to give the show a chance, as i like Amanda Tapping and SciFi Channel in general.
But the series lack originality.
The general concept is not a revolution, many things have been seen already in different shows.
The characters are not so well exposed and not so attaching.
The lady boss is lacking some deepness. Is she a vampire ? An immortal ? Anyway, i would recommend to change her horrible hair and her wardrobe.
The fighting chick is not so tough, quite a "low level" actually, as shown in front of the villain and the monster in the cell. And why does she put on a coat, to drop it a few seconds later ? Is she that afraid of rain ?
The forensic scientist... well... come on... isn't the parallel with Daniel Jackson obvious to anybody ?
The decors... All right, the Sanctuary is vast, but it looks like a badly designed dungeon, full of endless corridors and empty rooms ?
Out of sympathy for the crew, i sincerely hope the series with get better in future episodes...
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The forensic scientist... well... come on... isn't the parallel with Daniel Jackson obvious to anybody ?
Hmm ... brilliant scientist/doctor with unorthodox views, cast out of proper scientific circles? No, why would you think there's any parallel? ;-) In all seriousness, I thought the actor who played him (forgot the character's name) must have gone to the Michael Shanks School for Sci-Fi Acting. And flunked out.
Yeah, overall, I wasn't very impressed with the show. It might be OK enough to watch when nothing else is on, but I don't think it's anything I'm going to follow with any regularity. Too bad, too; since they need something to fill the void left by some of their better shows that are gone (SG-1, Battlestar Galactica).
I had trouble getting past Amanda Tapping's fake accent. Other than that, it wasn't terrible.
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I also saw the 2nd episode, despite not liking the first very much (but my wife did, so it's on our list.) Was this even the same series?
So not only do they kill strange creatures if convenient, but they now are looking for strange compounds and not just helping magical/mutant creatures.
Also, could they have given SOME explanation about how they heard about the lost crypt, and where the island was? Was it near england? The US? How'd the main characters get there even? Helicopter, boat, or did they just swim?
Also, what city is this supposed to be based in? I'm not aware of a city with a giant demolished bridge near it as was pictured. Is this supposed to be an alternate world than modern day Earth?
Wow.
I really liked both episodes. I'm not saying they were perfect, and I won't argure over originality or accents or Michael Shanks-alikeness.
I just really liked the shows.
Maybe in my favor, I'm not familiar with any other show with quite the same premise, so I may be more accepting of the setting than if I had some other exposure. (Like comparing Fringe to the X-Files, for example.)
As for knowing where the crypt was, Tapping's character said something about not trusting intel from their weapons dealer, so he must have found out about it and said it wasn't heavily guarded.
I didn't find the scene changes confusing.
And, as for the large sets of unending empty rooms, and the bridge, I read somewere that the majority of the sets are all virtual.
But I suppose they're in some big, old city... Ney York or Chicago? The cops in the first episode referenced being in the Old City, or was it the Under City?, and it made me think of Dresden Files' type of Chicago.