Friday, February 26, 2010

Caprica: There is Another Sky

This show gets stronger and more intense with each passing episode. In the pilot episode the Zoe program became the only Zoe in existence when the truly human version died on the Maglev. That disaster was followed by her father placing into the body of the first Cylon, where she remains (at least in the timeline of this series).

But Tamara is another case altogether. She exists in "V" world alone. She is just as important as Zoe, unfortunately she does not know how important she is. Luckily for her, with the progression in this episode that began to change. Tamara was shot multiple times, found her way into "New Cap City", and began to get in touch with her inner Neo. I think the point of "New Cap City" to find someone who can break the game by transcending the rules. Watching Tamara progress from scared 16 year old girl to a virtual god promises to be a highlight of this series.

The scene in the Graystone boardroom was painful. It is no wonder that the Cylons rebelled considering their father (literally and figuratively) thought so little of them. Daniel contradicted himself so profoundly in that scene it's a wonder no one in the board room called him on it. He said the Cylon was a sentient machine but they would obey unquestionably. Zoe was obviously having fun taunting the Graystone board members, until she was told to rip her arm off. Zoe did not actually speak this episode, but the facial expression she gave to Daniel when he ordered "rip your arm off" said more than enough.

Before Daniel ordered his creation to perform an act of barbarism on herself, he pointed some sharp criticism at his own industry. He explained that hackers have made Haloband (movies, music, television, applications, publishing) mostly free and the kids of today do not expect to pay for them. In a few years the industry will be dead and his company must either innovate or die. Bold words Mr. Graystone.

It does seem odd that the conclusion of Daniel's thought progression leads to the near extinction of the human race, based on what we know happened to the 12 Colonies in Battlestar. Thus am I am a bit perplexed as to what point Ron Moore and company are trying to make about old media trying to find new business models.

The scene with Willie and Joe at the fishing hole was frustrating, and probably the series lowlight. While Joseph is understandably sleep walking through life, it is completely unbelievable that he would be so oblivious to a gang of adolescents harassing his son. Also, what type of bullies torment a kid with an adult right there? Another strain on the believability was the fact that when Willie hit the lead moron in the head with a rock none of the other punks attacked him.

Thankfully I was able to forgive "Caprica" of that horrendous scene because of the beautiful Turon funeral. Joseph accepted his people and gave William a chance to grieve which will eventually orientate him to the military. Sam proved again that he is more than a blunt instrument when he forced Joseph to realize he was losing his son. Unfortunately, based off "The Old Man's" feelings towards his father in BSG this was a lesson that bared repeating.

Now that Joseph knows Tamara exists in "V" world he should march right over to Daniel and enlist his help in locating her. This of course will be problematic for Zoe who is doing her best to hide in the Cylon body.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Lost: Lighthouse


I think it is safe to say that from this point forward I will intermittently refer to Smokey the Nemesis as "My Friend".  There is something so perfectly sardonic about that moniker that makes it more than endearing.  Claire has transformed into a scary figure on the island.  She wants to believe Jin is her friend but it is clear that Claire is as likely hug Jin as to kill him.  

Another person Claire is likely to kill is Kate.  Kate's appearance in the episode, however, seemed odd and out of place.  I cannot put my finger on why but it seemed to break the illusion of believability for me.  It was not a completely pointless scene as it did demonstrate that Kate left the Dharma barracks but we knew that she was going to do that already.  

Why Jin would hold back the truth of Aaron being safe and off the island only to come clean with Claire when she threatened the "Other" is a mini-mystery.  Then the trauma of seeing Claire as an ax murderer in the tent convinced him to lie again and he promised to grant Claire access to the Temple.  Hopefully Jin has a plan when he gets to the Temple that will not involve a blood bath.

Claire was captured by the "Others" and brought to the Temple where they tested her in the same way they tested Sayid.  Claire was branded on her shoulder while Sayid's brand was near his ribs, I wonder if there is any significance.  

Hurley and Jack's romp through the jungle was obviously the highlight of this episode.  Hurley wrote on his arm in lieu of paper, theorized that Jack and him were Adam and Eve, played relationship psychologist, and managed to through in a pitch perfect Obi Wan comparison that forced me to laugh audibly.  Jack for his part played follower once more, though I am guessing that it was for the last time.  Hurley was the conduit through which Jacob was able to put Jack back on his path, I am hoping he stays true this time.

Was the magic of the Lighthouse powered by Jacob or the island?  Is the Jacob we have seen Hurley talk to the actual Jacob or a manifestation of the island, taking the initiative to protect itself for once?  Who is coming to the island?  Is it Charles Widmore?  Could it be Alvar Hanso with a new and improved Dharma Initiative?

Lines are being drawn and sides are being formed.  Will Sawyer perpetuate Jin's lie regarding the whereabouts of Aaron?  If he does that mean he is actively helping "My Friend" or quietly laying the groundwork for a "long con"?  Kate is a free agent, that was made clear when her name wasn't listed in the cave.  Jack, Hurley, Lapidus, Sun, Miles, and Illana are all currently in camp Jacob but I wonder for how long. 

When "My Friend" Smokey the Nemesis leads Sawyer, Claire, and Jin into the Temple I wonder who will survive the ensuing chaos?  Will Illana, Sun, Lapidus and Ben get to the Temple before Smokey?  I am guessing they will arrive just before "My Friend" thereby allowing Ben to publicly stand with the Nemesis against the forces of Jacob.  

Dogan continues to be a character I am dying to know more about.  If he showed up off island in Jack's flash sideways does that mean he's not an immortal like Richard?  Will Richard appear in a flash sideways? 

The flash sideways' continue to get stronger each week.  I loved Jack noticing his appendix scar and asking his mother when it was taken!  The sideways flashes really do connect back to the island.  Jack in this reality has a son.  David must have a fairly major role to play as this series rushes towards conclusion.  I wonder if the boy in the woods that spooked "My Friend" is the child of another 815 flyer.  Maybe it was Sawyers child bending reality.

In the long shot theory department; are the flash sideways some form of reality altering therapy?  In the wonderful TV series "Angel", a character has a fictional life's worth of memories implanted because the life he led up to that point was so miserable that was a suicidal, homicidal mess.  These new memories gave him the strength of character needed to move on and become a productive human, even after they merged with the old ones.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Caprica: Gravedancing


Call me crazy but was that episode made a bit more relevant by the Conan/Leno debacle over "The Tonight Show"?  I hated Baxter from the moment he made his first corny joke because Patton Oslwald did such a tremendous job channeling Jay for this character.  Heck, Sarno even rhymes with Leno.  Daniel's interview unfortunately gave Clarice the proof she was looking for on the existence of Zoe 2.0.  

That being said, not too much on the Zoe front this week.  Though we did get a dancing Cylon, which would have been tremendous if it we had seen the Cylon move the in the way Zoe was moving.  Instead it simply ran through the systems check motions while Zoe was imagining or possibly "projecting" dancing.  Philomon knows there is something more to this robot than everyone gives it credit for, I hope Zoe reaches out to him soon.

In the special effects not matching the plot line department, an explosion in the middle of the night was show actually happening in broad daylight.  Unless the sun never sets on Caprica City or the Global Defense people are seriously in need of better intel, this was a fairly significant snafu on the consistency front.

Joseph's mother-in-law is a hard woman.  The meat cleaving scene was intense and I get the feeling she will never forgive Joseph for not going through with the murder of Amanda Greystone.  Speaking of not murdering Amanda, Sam played his brother like a fiddle.  Sam knew that Joe would not go through with the hit but he wanted him to think it happened to make him feel the weight of the murder.  It worked, but if I was Sam I would have made him deal with that guilt a bit longer.

Clarice has at least one other student in the school making bombs, I wonder how many others she sent that message to.  While on the subject of the message, if Clarice can text with that fancy paper, why would the Adama brothers use cell phones for texting?  Is one technology significantly more expensive than the other?  Will Ron Moore and crew address that in a future episode?  Am I nit picking too much?

The group marriage dynamic of Clarice's household continued unfold a bit in this episode.  She is obviously keeping her STO activity out of her group home.  It would seem that her allegiance to STO trumps her allegiance to her husbands and wives.  Speaking of her family, it's only a matter of time before someone in that house figures out what is actually going on with her.  My money is on the young husband, I just wonder if he'll turn her in or join her cause.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Lost: The Substitute


4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 

The secret of the numbers is finally revealed? Locke, Shepard, Reyes, Ford, Kwan, and Jarrah all correspond to a number which Jacob tagged them with at a young age?  While I doubt that's the totality of this major mystery I am happy to see the numbers return in a big way tonight.  It would make sense that the Kwan on the list is Jin considering all the other candidates are male.  I wonder if Frank is numbered somewhere on that ceiling.

Richard is scared out of his mind.  I did find it interesting that Smokey the Nemesis decided not to kill him when he had him at his mercy.  Speaking of scared I think Sawyer might not be as good at reading people as he thought he was considering the mental state of his new friend.  Smokey might not be afraid in the same way that John Locke was but he obviously feared the apparition of the boy he saw in the jungle.  

It seems that I was on to something at the end of season 5 when I posited that Jacob, Smokey, and the Island itself represented three distinct sources of power in this series.  With Jacob gone and 8, 15, 16, 23, or 42 yet to stand up and take his place it seems the island is doing its part to protect itself in the meantime.  

If I had to guess which of our heroes will take the place of Jacob at the end of this series I would have to put my money on Jin at this point.  While Sayid is the obvious front runner, with his recent death/resurrection Jin's survival of the freighter explosion seems even more suspect.  The boat exploded with him on it and then he floated in the water for who knows how long before being rescued by the French team.

If both Jacob and Smokey need to be replaced in order for balance on the island to be restored it would make narrative sense for Jack to become Jacob and Sawyer to become Smokey.  It seems like Smokey is grooming Sawyer to replace him (not escape with him as promised) and their is no one on the island that Sawyer hates more than Jack.  Plus I got the feeling that Smokey and Jacob were friends long before they were immortal (sort of) enemies.

The off island flash sideways while interesting are starting to frustrate me.  I know they will connect to the island in some way big, I just really want to figure out how they connect.  Locke as a teacher is a natural fit, if only he could turn life experience into a bona fide certification!  Something about Benjamin Linus as a high school European History teacher really spoke to me.  It's the perfect job for someone with dictatorial aspirations that never quite got to hit their mark.  I say that of course as a middle school World History teacher, which is obviously much different.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Sensyden: Advice for the Music Industry


First off I'd like to disclose that I am not a music super fan.  I'm not even a fan of music in general.  It's not that I actively ignore it, I just don't spend much time listening to or discovering new music.  With that said I'd like to make a pitch to the music industry which is sure to offend many a die hard music fan and excite no one.

I think it's time the music industry remade bands and artists.  Think of this as a new hybrid profession of musical actor or professional role player (the name needs work I'll admit).  What I'm proposing is that the music industry recruit some of those American Idol washouts to completely recreate musical careers of previously successful musicians.

This would work by basically carbon copying a musical acts career.  If a bands first televised appearance in the USA was on the Ed Sullivan Show, the remade bands needs to play their first televised appearance on the current television analog.  If music critics panned their concerts and said things like "couldn't carry a tune across the Atlantic", the music company needs to create fake websites that would run the same scathing criticism.  If the band hit a rough patch when one of the creative geniuses fell for a crazy woman who changed the dynamic of the group.  That too needs to happen.

Wouldn't it be cool if "The Beatles", "Michael Jackson", "Billy Joel", and "Britney Spears" were all battling for supremacy on the pop charts in the same year?  Wouldn't it be crazy if Britney Spears won?  New jobs would open up for writers covering the "Take 2" beat.  Some would play it straight writing about the band or artist in the same vein they were written about in years past, while others would write about how the new Ringo Starr was threatening to quit the Beatles when his contract came up in the fall.

They could even make recruitment into some kind of reality show that would help relaunch the "brand" and get new fans emotionally invested in the success of these "Take 2" bands.

While some might argue that Elvis impersonation and cover bands prove the unprofitably of this remake path I would counter that impersonation does not even scratch the surface of the layered remake I'm proposing here.

If workable this would be a complete windfall for the music industry which has been stymied by iTunes and an inability to adapt to an evolving market.  They already own the rights to the music, all they have to do is cast fresh faced talent and pay them a modest salary.  Once the career of "The Beatles Take 2" (naming isn't my thing) ends the actors can parlay that fame into something a bit more profitable for themselves.

Is this fool proof?  Absolutely not.  Could this be the last wild gambit of an industry on the verge of collapse, looking for a life raft while the ocean liner is brought into into port? Perhaps. 

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Supernatural: My Bloody Valentine

This was an episode I could really sink my teeth into, not like our star crossed lovers in the beginning, more like, well now that's all I can think about.  That was a terribly gross scene and it set the tone for a terribly gross episode.  War was a tough enemy, yet fairly straight forward, after this episode, Famine takes the most deadly crown by forcing an entire town to get exactly what it craves.  
Dean has an empty soul.  Sad but believable the way his life, death, and life has gone.  Famine did not want him dead, he wanted to understand him.

Sam's demon blood problem continues to get worse and worse.  Except for the fact that every time he drinks he becomes a demon destruction machine.  There has got to be a way for Sam to harness his power without giving in to his dark side.  I think angel blood is on the menu for Sam in the near future.  

It seemed that Sam was locked in Bobby's panic room at the end of this episode.  Why did we not get to see Bobby?  I will not complain too much considering we did get a lot of Castiel this episode.  Cas becoming a meat eater was hilarious, he blamed Jimmy his vessel.  Cas on the phone with Dean was hilarious, "I'm gonna hang up now". Cas and the Cupid was hilarious "there, there".

The Cupid was terrific.  It was a fun misdirection and threw the viewer off the trail of the more sinister Famine.  I could have done without the nakedness of Cupid but when Castiel explained, "this is how he says hello" it was comic genius.  

A quick look at the Wikiepedia entry on the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" explained that we should expect War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death.  I would assume Pestilence comes next, unless Supernatural is replacing Pestilence with Conquest (which is apparently an interpretation) in which case I'd expect to see Conquest round out our horsemen visits.

The rings of the horsemen obviously have power.  Will Sam and Dean put them on and gain that power or will they continue down the path of Frodo and attempt to not use the rings under any circumstances?

In any event, this is the type of Supernatural episode I've come to expect and look forward to, can't wait for it to return!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Lost: What Kate Does

First off kudos to the Lost crew on a fantastic title for this episode.  I love that Sayid seems to still be Sayid, at least temporarily.  I'm impressed that Claire became the French woman, though I'm not sure how it is that she did not flash through time with the rest of the 815 group.  I'm happy that Dogan is speaking English with more regularity.  But most of all I'm thrilled that Jack admitted he has a problem.  He screamed that he was unable to trust Dogan because he can't even trust himself and I'm hoping that this intense moment will allow Jack to be the man he is capable of becoming.  Not the shell of a man he's been since the flash forward at the end of season 3.  


It would seem that the off island action is not a fever dream as I had originally theorized.  That being said the flash sideways (as the Lost creators apparently refer to them) must have some value or influence on the on island world.  This time around we got Ethan as Dr. Goodspeed which I found amusing and reassuring.  If Ethan exists after the island blew up that means that it's likely that Ben, Juliet, and other Others exist as well.  

Perhaps Ben was evacuated when Pierre Chang got all non-essential personnel off the island.  Juliet would have never come to the island, though she may still be chained to a job she loathes  with her ex-husband.  It's also likely that Juliet never fixed her sister.  I say this because right before Juliet found the formula that worked to fix her sister we saw Ethan, and it's possible that he nudged her cure in the right direction.  

It's amazing to see how Sawyer has evolved over the course of these six seasons from the con man no one could trust to the one guy that the audience can easily identify with and care about.    His scene on dock with the ring was so intense and I hope that he finds Juliet before this is all over.

That brings me to my "A Lost Divided Cannot Stand" theory.  These two realities are on an intercept course, not collision course.  At some point in 2007 something will happen on the island which will open a door.  That door will allow characters a brief window to decide which reality would make them happier and they will choose to go through or stay.  I believe this because of all the little moments of "knowing" that Jack had last episode coupled with the moment when Kate looked at Jack across the road this episode and knew him briefly. 

My theory of the island has changed a bit after some heavy thought on how it relates to the rest of the world.  I used to be of the belief that the Egyptian artifacts were all there because the Egyptians found the island first.  I now believe that the people of the island or the island itself reached out to pre-Egyptian people in Tunisia and taught them hieroglyphics and pyramid building.  

Take a look at the Djoser pyramid which is the first pyramid ever built in Egypt.  Then compare that to the Others Temple, notice both have six levels and are built with smaller bricks than the giant pyramids at Giza.  

The problem with this theory is the fact that pyramids are places of burial in Egypt and on the island the temple is more like the center of town for the Others.  What if Smokey the Nemesis is buried in the temple?  What if that is the home he wants to get back to?  Maybe if Smokey gets himself back to the temple he can then travel to Tunisia and begin to have influence on the wider world once again.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Caprica: Reins of a Waterfall


Well I said making an enemy of an Adama was a bad idea, I guess I was right.  Here's hoping Sam can talk Joe out of having Amanda Graystone killed.  I would not really mourn the loss of Mrs. Graystone but I think it would be hard to root for Joe Adama if he had her executed in cold blood.

Uncle Sam is rapidly turning into one of my favorite characters on this show.  He's a terrible role model for William on one hand (giving him a beer, teaching him how to cut school better) yet the most stable thing in his life on the other.  I find it odd that "The Old Man" never told stories about Uncle Sam while passing time on the Battlestar so I'm guessing he's got an expiration date of a year or two at most.

Sister Clarice knows more than she lets on yet seems to be doing a poor job of getting Lacy to trust her.  Lacy in turn seems to be doing a poor job of being the one that lived.  She's overwhelmed, doesn't know who to trust and her only friend happens to be a computer program or a god of creation (jury's still out on that one).

I do find it sad Zoe has yet to reach out to either of her parents.  Though the dog did seem to notice her right away!  I wonder when she's going to make contact with someone other than Lacy.  While we are on the subject of making contact, I was glad to see Zoe meet Tamara.  She appeared to make an instant connection to her but I wonder if she realized that she actually created the Tamara avatar.

Neither Zoe or Lacy seemed too shocked that Daniel was keeping a teenage female avatar locked in his personal firewall.  That really says something about their opinion of him.  I'm guessing Zoe is not going to out herself to her father anytime soon.

I do find it odd that Zoe can break the bed in her room and roam all around her house without anyone noticing.  You would think Surge (whose name I love) might mention to his owners that the other robot is making lots of noises while no one else is around.

Does anyone else have a hard time with the "Soldiers of the One" acronym?  Why would they put the "the" into the acronym and not the "of"?  Just because they are a monotheistic terrorist organization doesn't mean they get to completely flout good acronym practices.  

With all this talk of God and gods I'm beginning to wonder when we will get the appearance of the angels/messengers that were so prominently featured in BSG.  Based off previous experience in this universe, someone has to be getting orders from a higher power.  

The person Clarice was talking to in the confessional sounded more than a little robotic, but I'm guessing that was a red herring.  We're meant to think that she is taking council from a robot.  Narratively, it is more likely that the higher ups in the STO simply do not want her to know who they are in the real world.

Caprica: Rebirth


This series continues to chart an unbelievably complex course.  The very existence of Zoe was quite literally described as a holy trinity.  Of course she is a trinity that may occasionally bite your finger off so we may have to give her some time to work out the kinks in her programing before she is capable of becoming the savior of Cylon kind.

I am enjoying getting to know all these characters and can't wait to see more of almost all of them.  The only character I find depressing and hope to see less of is Amanda Graystone.  Speaking of Mrs. Graystone she had a nervous breakdown in a public forum and it'll be interesting to see how Daniel reacts to all of this.  

Wasn't the name of the destroyed Cylon model described at the end of Battlestar Galactica named Daniel? One has to assume there is a bit of a connection.  By the way, did anyone else laugh audibly when Daniel's robot butler was forced to do Pyramid play by play?

Group marriages are unexpected.  Reminded me a bit of the cult that Locke joined in "Lost" where they grew weed.  

Does that plane constantly fly over the Graystone building or has that just happened by coincidence the 3 or 4 times we've seen the building?

Daniel would not be wise to make an enemy of Joe Adama.  Enemies of Adama's tend to end up on the losing side of things.  William Adam is learning how to deceive and manipulate from his extremely masculine (yet gay if I heard correctly) criminal of an uncle.  It's amazing that this boy will become the man that is so responsible for the survival of the human race.

Caprica: Pilot


Ron Moore has done the improbable and made a spin-off prequel series to Battlestar Galactica that is truly engaging and may possibly rival the genius of his epic space saga.  Caprica dives full force into mature themes including but not limited to religion, the nature of life, the military industrial complex, terrorism, racism, hubris, longing, and loss.  On a side note, it also prominently features paper that put all current and near future e-readers to shame (Apple I'm calling you out).

While I know I will write about much of what makes this series worth watching I thought I'd focus this post on one key issue.  This series makes the argument that in the universe of Caprica there is enough data floating around in the ether about any particular person to accurately recreate a personality after death.  It's a bold thought but not one that is too hard to believe.  

How much information do we put out on our Facebook profiles?  How hard is it to map a persons DNA?  How often do we tweet thoughts that would formerly have been trapped in our heads?  What does Google, your cable company, or your Netflix Que know about you that your loved ones do not?  Now fast forward 10, 15, 20 years and think to yourself if it's possible to recreate a personality with all that data.

Daniel Graystone may be Frankenstein but his monster isn't only his creation.  In fact, who is to say that his monster is even a monster at all.  Sure the Cylon's eventually attempt to destroy all of humanity, but I've got to wonder how they were pushed to that point.

I can't wait to see how this series plays out.  I hope it has a long and successful life that continues down the path that Battlestar charted.  And as an added bonus, Caprica is a much better name for a show to convince your non-scifi loving friends to check out than Battlestar Galactica ever was!

Fringe: Jacksonville


Now that was interesting.  Fringe has been a show in a bit of a holding pattern since they came back after winter break and it was nice to see the series arch progress significantly.  That being said I really am starting to worry that the episode which had Charlie back from the dead really was some kind of aberration and not part of the overall plan for this series.

But let's focus on the good.  Worlds are colliding and things are getting out of control.  In what seems like the Star Trek transportation device gone terribly wrong, a building from the other dimension mixed particles with the same building in our dimension causing people to fuse with themselves, other people, and the structure itself.  

Olivia met the child version of herself in her own head and got really upset with Walter over his treatment of her back during a period of her life which she does not remember, even though she has a freakishly good memory.  This whole story was written in order for Olivia to finally notice that Peter is not of her world. Meaning that Walter, Astrid, and Olivia all know that Peter is not who he thinks he is, I hope Olivia tells him.

In the alternate dimension there are areas of the world that are uninhabitable because of a "blight".  Additionally, the Twin Towers were saved on September Eleventh, but the Pentagon and White House were destroyed.  Coffee for some reason is a rare commodity though it is still easily grown in Hawaii.  The President is currently Obama, but Richard Nixon did not resign from office in shame.  Also, oddly, double decker cars exist in dimension "B".

It's too bad Fringe is going on vacation until April because I'm super excited to see where the story leads us from this point!

Mass Effect 2: Sensyden Shepard


Simply put, I loved every minute of Mass Effect 2. The game play was fun and engaging, the narrative was grandiose and exciting, and the characters were likable and complex.  As the player you take control of Commander Shepard the hero of the battle for the citadel (the climax of Mass Effect 1) first human Specter (think Jedi) and the primary reason humanity has any influence on the other species in the cosmos. 

The game play in ME2 is a vast improvement over the original game.  Enemies are dispatched through a variety of weapons and biotic powers (think "The Force") which make Shepard and his team the best wrecking crew in the galaxy.  It will take some getting used to but at some point early on, the combat just clicks.  But to focus on the battle system of Mass Effect is to ignore 60% of the action.

Every situation in ME2 offers the player choices.  In one mission Shepard comes across a sick non-human male.  The player can choose to ignore him, kill him, engage him in conversation, or attempt to heal him.  This experience has no real impact on the rest of the game but it does allow you to lead Shepard down the path of a paragon (hero) or renegade (evil, but gets the job done).  The characters are as brutal or as kind as you make them. 

Full discloser, Sensyden Shepard is a paragon, he can't stand to see the species of the universe suffer and he believes that all races will need to work together to save the galaxies from the evil Reapers.  The members of his crew that lean towards evil Shepard drags towards the side of good and the parts of his crew that are already paragons he keeps on the righteous path.  Sensyden does things the hard way and attempts to spill as little blood as possible.  

That all leads to the amazing narrative that Mass Effect weaved over the 30 or so hours during my first play through (there will be other play through's).  As a paragon Shepard found a broken and hurting universe that was in need of justice, kindness, and peace.  Shepard helped who he could when he could and felt good about himself while doing it.

The greatest strength of this trans-formative game is the amazing characters.  The early stages of the game have Shepard zipping through the galaxy in search of a team that can successfully complete a suicide mission.  Characters join Shepard because of past alliances, they are paid huge sums of money, they owe you a favor, or they are simply interested in what Shepard is going to do next.

Over the course of the game Shepard's crew asks favors of him, which he can choose to indulge or ignore.  Those favors will pay dividends as the game draws to a conclusion.  This is because the more the crew trusts him, the more likely they are to follow Shepard's orders, even if those orders could lead to their own demise. 

As you may have guessed, I played Shepard as a male character, you can choose to be female if you prefer, and the interactions Shepard had with the crew reflected his gender.  As the game progressed Shepard reached out to all members of his crew through conversation and favors.  The more talks he had with the females crew members led me down romantic paths with them.  Since my Shepard was a paragon he won't kiss and tell, but I will say, as the player I truly wanted to see all of his crew get through the final battle.

That final battle, by the way, is extremely stressful.  As you progress you are asked to put characters onto courses that seem to have no return trip.  These are all tough decisions and even though I felt confident that Shepard would make it through, I was not as certain about the rest of my crew.  That had me nervous, and it is a rare game that makes the player nervous about the choices his is making on the well being of his non-playable characters.

If I had to pinpoint one major flaw in the Mass Effect game play it would be the awful load times.  Booting the game takes a load screen, starting a mission prompts a load screen, going through a Mass Relay relays a load screen, traveling between floors on the Normandy (Shepard's ship) even forces this game to load.  Being the Mass Effect 2 fanboy that I am, I've decided to pin the blame for load times on the 360.  The Xbox is an older console (among the current generation) of which Mass Effect 2 may reflect the climax of its life cycle.

To those of you who've played the original Mass Effect... actually I'm not going to bother talking to that demographic because you're already playing Mass Effect 2.  If you have not played the original Mass Effect, you will miss out on some of the story connections to the previous game via emails and some brief character interactions.  That being said I highly recommend this game even if you haven't beaten the first. Anyway, I'd love to write more about this amazing game, but I'm going to go play it.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Supernatural: The Song Remains the Same


Storyline progression at last, sort of at least.  While this episode finally did move things forward a bit it was not the full on progression I am craving in the Supernatural Universe.  Sam and Dean went back in time to save their parents from Anna the angel and while that storyline should be exciting, for some reason it felt cheap.  

First off, they've done the angels can time travel bit once already and that was probably enough.  Secondly, and more importantly, the creative forces behind this series made another choice to kill off a strong female character that the audience is actually invested in.  Ellen, Jo, Ruby, Bella, the psychic, and now Anna all died bloody deaths and it's starting to get frustrating.  

Anna was fighting the good fight for Sam and Dean before even Cas and for her to turn on them seemed wrong.  Anna and Cas together had a real chance but now all hope really does seem lost.  That being said, was nice to see the fear in Uriel's eyes brought about by the realization that he crossed Michael.  That dude is a jerk.

I guess this death brings Sam equal to Buffy (did I mention I like strong female characters) in terms of times risen from the dead.   When Dean was about to die the first time John switched spots with him.  Then Sam died Dean had to go to hell as payment for bringing him back.  Dean was pulled out of hell by Castielle but only after he broke the first seal in the pit and started us down the path to the return of Lucifer.  Will there be consequences of death this time around or did Michael was the slate clean? 

That brings me to the part of the episode I really did like.  Michael is interesting, he projected confidence to Dean but it seems he is truly scared.  If he truly believed that free will was a myth he would not feel the need to explicitly say that to Dean.  He says he loves Lucifer but he will kill him to please his father.  Does that mean God isn't missing in 1978 or that Michael has a direct line to the big guy whenever?  Is Michael God? 

I really do love this show.  I'm just waiting for it to knock my socks off again, it's been too long.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Lost: LAX


The bomb worked? Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, and crew all landed at LAX just like they were supposed to.  Except they didn't.  But Juliet said they did and it sure looked like they did, except when it was obvious they did not land and indeed did still crash on the island.  Jack's dad simply isn't supposed to be buried regardless of how this all turns out.

Jacob's nemesis is the smoke monster and Jacob is dead, maybe.  Bram almost survived his encounter with the nemesis by employing the "ash" trick, but Smokey the Nemesis dropped a support beam on his head and knocked him from the circle.  Once Hurley told the Others of the death of Jacob, they surrounded the entire temple structure with ash seemingly in an effort to protect themselves from Smokey. 

I am reluctant to buy into the "reality" of Oceanic 815 landing safely in LA.  While it is completely plausible for a show like Lost to create a fiction that includes both time travel and alternate realities, I'm of the belief that the people in charge of this show are far too smart to throw those two pitches back to back.  Though I did love Jack offering John a consult "on the house".  That being said, I simply cannot comprehend, as of yet, how the island can exist as we've known it and also be the lost city of Atlantis at the same time.

Hurley really does talk to dead people, he's not crazy.  Good for you Hurley!  On a more depressing note, Jacob really is dead, he said so himself.  Speaking of dead, Sayid was dead until the island resurrected him.  Question, is Sayid now Jacob in the way Locke is now Smokey the Nemesis? Juliet is dead and the island was not kind enough to fix that for Sawyer or the many Juliet fans out there.  How would Juliet have known that the bomb worked as she died?

The biggest clue that the plane landing was a fever dream or a mutation of reality was the fact that Desmond was on 815.  Complicating Desmond's appearance is the fact that the only person who saw him was Jack.

Smokey the Nemesis told Ben that what made Locke different from everyone else on the plane was that he wanted to stay on the island. But that's not true, Rose wanted to stay as well and for more or less the same reason.  The island healed them both. 

The plane that landed did not seem to have Michael, Walt, Ana Lucia, Mr. Ecko, Libby, Nikki, Palo, or Claire on board.  Of course Kate did steal a taxi that happened to have Claire in it so I'm guessing that was the writers way of saying, "Even if you didn't see a character that doesn't mean they weren't there".

The Temple Others were led by an Asian man who did not like the way English rolled off his tongue.  I don't know if it makes sense but could that man be the mythical Alvar Hanso?  If that is him did the DeGroots defect from the Dharma Initiative to the Others as well?  Where was "The Sheriff" who presided over Juliet's trial after she killed Danny?  Last we heard of her I'm pretty sure she was headed to the Temple. 

I guess this means we only have 15 episodes left.  I have faith that they will pull all the pieces together by then!

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