Intelligence

Oh, Intelligence. If only you wrote as good as you want to be.  

Intelligence centers around Josh Holloway as a decorated veteran who just happens to have a genetic defect that allows a chip to be implanted into his head. This chip allows him to access the internet and anything connected to it, which can be mighty handy.  Meghan Ory as his Secret Service guard, tasked with keeping Gabriel's inherent recklessness from getting him killed. Marg Helgenberger is the head of Cyber Command, of which Gabriel is an agent, charged to investigate episodes of cyberterrorism. Or something like that.

The problem with Intelligence is not its premise, which is about as far fetched as other shows, such as Chuck and Person of Interest. The problem has to do with the cardboard characters and the show's insistence in setting stakes too high too soon. In the first episode, the scientist who created the chip is kidnapped - high stakes, but who cares? In the second episode, the team is forced to deal with Gabriel's wife, a CIA agent turned terrorist. She's turned into a suicide bomber and dies In front of Gabriel.  In the next episode, a Chinese agent with a similar chip hacks into Gabriel's chip. 

So many things happens to Gabriel in the first three episodes, episodes that are supposed to make us feel for the pain he's experiencing. But we don't know Gabriel or his team enough to care. They haven't earned our empathy. They would have done better to follow the example of Person of Interest, the show it is most similar to. Show your heroes working their weekly cases, building up comaraderie amongst themselves, and with us. Then, when the stakes are high, when our heroes are brought to their knees, so are we. We care. We're as devastated as they are. Intelligence never gave us the time and opportunity to develop that relationship with their characters. 

The best part of the show is that it's a cornucopia of Fan Alerts. A lot of good actors are given work in this pedestrian show:

Lost Fan Alert - Josh Holloway is not the only alum who shows up. His character's wife is played by Zuleikha Robinson, Ilana herself. That really amused me, for some reason. Tania Raymonde, Ben's daughter, Alex, also makes an appearance as a murderous CIA agent. 

Once Upon a Time Fan Alert - Meghan Ory plays Ruby, aka Little Red Riding Hood, on OUAT. I think it's a little worrying that her character's been missing all season, and no one's said anything. What's that about?

Fringe Fan Alert - Is it me or is Lance Reddick everywhere these days? I'm not complaining. On Intelligence he's the secretive head of the CIA, but I keep expecting him to be called Lt. Broyles. And don't forget he too was on Lost as the mysterious Matthew Abaddon. 

BSG Fan Alert - Michael Trucco, Starbuck's husband Sam, also makes an appearance as a Secret Service agent who shares a past with Ory's Riley. 

The 4400 Fan Alert - I laugh as I write this, as Peter Coyote's been in everything. But his Dennis Ryland was in charge of the agency investigating The 4400.  Now he's Marg Helgenberger's father, and apparently in the president's administration. 

Life Goes On Fan Alert - Another laugh. Corky's dad, Bill Smitrovich, also makes an appearance. 

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Fan Alert - Rosalind Chao played Keiko O'Brien, Miles's wife, on both Deep Space Nine and Next Generation. Here she played a Chinese diplomat.

Don't waste your time. Let's hope Intelligence dies an early death and Holloway finds a vehicle worthy of his talents. 

Cable Drama Finales

Well, I must apologize. It's been a long time since I've posted. There hasn't been a whole lot going on in the world of television, but that's not my excuse. Here's some unsolicited, un-television-related advice for you. If you find yourself pregnant with twins, don't decide to buy a house. Stupid. Just stupid!

Because of all that, I'm way behind on my television. But this past weekend, I finally saw the final finale of three of my cable shows. I thought I'd give my impressions.

Leverage

Leverage is new for me. I didn't see the first season, except for a couple episodes. Those episodes impressed me so much that I put Leverage on my DVR schedule. As you know, the relationships between characters is often what draws me in to a show. It's one of the things I love about Lost and about Bones. If the relationships aren't true, or are forced, I will eventually lose interest. Heroes is one show that lost me because of their failure to develop characters who could grow.

Leverage has a host of interesting characters. Nate Ford is a former insurance investigator who quit the business and sank into a drunken rage when his son died after the insurance company refused to pay for treatment. For reasons I don't understand, seeing as I never saw the pilot, Nate decided to help someone, but he needed skills he didn't possess. So, he found a grifter, hitter, thief, and hacker. All four of these characters were basically amoral who used their skills to help themselves, not others.

Sophie is the grifter. She's also an actress, but a terrible one when on stage. She fabulous when working a con. She works the most with Nate, and a romance of sorts is brewing between them. She humanizes most of the other characters who are somewhat socially limited. Sophie left to travel for a number of months "to find herself". The real reason is that Gina Bellwood, the actress who plays Sophie, was on maternity leave.

Eliot is the hitter. He's the hitter because he doesn't really like using weapons, though he can if he must. Skilled in martial arts, he mostly protects the group. He's often assumed to be a dumb jock, but he's actually smarter than he looks. He likes being underestimated.

Parker is the thief. No one knows if that is her first or last name. Raised in a number of foster homes, she is socially backward and relies on Sophie to help her with social skills. She is an extremely skilled thief, and is probably the most amoral of the group.

Lastly, Hardison is the hacker. He was also raised in foster homes, though it sounds like his childhood was more stable than Parker's. He's a self-professed geek who is able to hack into just about any computer system. However, in a funny joke, he did point out that he cannot "hack a hick."

But that doesn't tell you what the relationships between the characters are. Sophie and Nate are attracted to each other, but, of course, they keep fighting it. Hardison is attracted to Parker, but she doesn't recognize his flirting for what it is. Eliot is protective of the team, though he gets frustrated when Nate doesn't give them all the information he believes he needs. The group broke up at the end of the first season (for reasons unknown to me), but the four thieves found that they couldn't return to their normal lives. They liked helping people too much.

Nate changed the most in the second season. He sobered up during the break between seasons, but relapsed during a job. Although he tried to curtail his drinking, he never quite gave it up. He made it clear that, unlike his cohorts, he was not a thief. All he was doing in setting up his cons was helping the downtrodden get what was rightly theirs from the rich and powerful. He always maintained an aura of superiority over his colleagues, which they did not fail to note. But in the final episode, Nate lost control over his con and his own actions, partially due to alcohol and partially due to other reasons too long to discuss here. His team confronted him on a few occasions, but he insisted he was fine. What his team didn't know was that he had been caught.

In exchange for his assistance, Nate would go free, but his team was not. After all, they were thieves, Nate was not. There appeared to be no way out. But, as usual, Nate outsmarted the officials. The only evidence to convict a truly evil dude was Nate's testimony. And the price for his testimony: his colleagues go free. His team was not grateful, however. Sophie even slapped him. As they took off in a helicopter, Nate pronounced to the world, "I am a thief."

I guess they'll have to get the team back together in the first episode next season.

White Collar

White Collar has been essentially mind candy. The only reason to watch it, other than the impossibly handsome Matt Bomer, is the bromance between Bomer's Neal and Tim DeKay's Peter. Peter was the only FBI who could capture Neal (which he did, twice), but is hesitant when Neal suggests that Peter allow him to help solve white collar crimes. You know, an "it takes a thief" kind of thing. Have you ever noticed that thieves are all terribly handsome?

Despite his reluctance to work with Neal, and despite the differences in their character, Peter finds himself appreciating Neal's skill and enthusiasm. He finds himself relying on Neal's advice on their cases and in his personal life. He even moves in with Neal when his home is being wired (that didn't work out so well).

But as Neal got involved in a plan to steal a music box to free his girlfriend, Peter becomes suspicious. He tries to talk Neal out of the theft, even promising to arrest Neal if he attempts the crime. Peter's no fool, though, and he realizes Neal will go forward with his plans regardless. What Neal didn't anticipate was the effect this would have on Peter - Peter's wife was accused of various crimes (clearly bogus), and Peter was suspended for two weeks.

Of course, Neal stole the music box, and Peter couldn't arrest Neal because Peter was on suspension. Neal is promised to be reuinited with his girlfriend with a new identity. He says good bye to everyone, except Peter. Peter find him, and Neal acknowledges he didn't say good bye to Peter because Peter was the only one who could talk Neal out of escaping with his girlfriend. Frankly, I thought Peter was doing a bad job of convincing Neal to stay, but it turns out his intervention saved Neal's life, as the airplane containing the girlfriend (allegedly) exploded.

Burn Notice

Michael Weston has spent three years trying desparately to find out why he was burned from the CIA. In this season's finale, we finally learned why. A rogue agent was so bad that he was placed in a remote jail. Because a power that is needed someone like this rogue agent, they altered Michael's file so that it appears Michael committed the horrible acts of the rogue agent. Both the rogue agent, Simon, and Michael protest they want their lives back. But Simon, who has escaped from his jail, is a true psychopath, and doesn't care who he kills to get what he wants. He even bribes Michael into helping him by putting explosives in a Miami hotel. If Michael doesn't help, the bomb goes off.

The FBI are onto Michael and his activities, and they believe what his CIA file contains. They try to find him, interrogating his mother, Maddy. Despite their attempts to convince her that Michael is a killer, she refuses to give her son up, and is eventually arrested by the FBI. But she's devastated. Michael managed to stop Simon, but was captured by the FBI. Within 2o minutes of his capture, another "suit" took custody of Michael. We last saw Michael being led in chains with a hood over his head to a meeting. But Maddy has no idea where her son is. Her distress was palpable.

Buffyverse fan alert - Christian Kane, Lindsey McDonald on Angel, plays Eliot on Leverage. The two characters are not all that alike. Lindsey was amoral, yes, but he committed his evil as an attorney for the soulless (literally) Wolfram and Hart. Eliot, on the other hand, prefers to use his fists, and has discovered that he has a desire to help people.

Deadwood fan alert and The 4400 fan alert. Garret Dillahunt, Francis Wolcott and Jack McCall on Deadwood and Matthew Ross on The 4400, played Simon on Burn Notice. I wonder, is Dillahunt as disturbed as the characters he plays?

Lost fan alert - Marsha Thomason, Naomi Dorrit on Lost, plays an FBI agent on White Collar. She is apparently joining the cast for the next season. Although she has an American accent on White Collar, she really is from Manchester, England, just like Naomi.

V - The Pilot

If you plan to see the pilot and haven't yet, don't read this post. Spoilers abound.

I am certain that V was either my most anticipated or my second most anticipated new series of the Fall TV season, neck and neck with FlashForward. Well, we all know that I thought of FlashForward. But let's not dwell on that right now.

I'm not sure why V started so late in the season. It will be aired for 4 weeks, then will take a break until March, 2010, after the Winter Olympics. A lot of people are upset about this, because they feel that the break will be disastrous to the show. I don't know. I do know that V got excellent ratings last night for its pilot.

I can't tell you where I was when JFK was shot, but I do know where I was when I first heard of a plane crashing into the first tower on 9/11. The pilot of V started by asking where you were during those events, then added, "Where were you this morning?" This morning being the morning that 29 alien ships appeared over cities across the globe, of course. After a few minutes of suspense and anticipation, an apparition of Anna, a leader among the Visitors in the alien ships, talking in the language of the city the ship is over, assuring us that the Visitors are thrilled to find another planet with intelligent life, and promising to bring healing and peace to the world.

As might be expected, some people find hope and believe in the message, while others protest their presence. The news channels are abuzz with what little information they can gather about the Visitors, while the aliens arrange for trips from earth to their ships. Anna arranges to meet with the UN.

In the meantime, our heroine, Erica Evans, an FBI counterterrorism agent, notices that the activity of a particular terrorist cell spikes. She and her partner, Dale Maddox, investigate, but unfortunately, seem to be one step behind the suspects throughout the hour. Erica must also deal with her teenaged son, who is, of course, troubled. Tyler is clearly fascinated with the Visitors, taking a trip to their ship and agreeing to become a V Peace Ambassador Program. Tyler becomes attracted to a Visitor named Lisa.

In the meantime, a businessman named Ryan Nichols is disturbed by nearly constant calls from an old acquaintance named George, who wants Ryan's help, but Ryan wants nothing of it. He plans to propose to his girlfriend, but she becomes paranoid about the number of calls Ryan refuses to answer.

Father Landry finds his church, formerly a congregation of 3, has standing room only during Mass. His fellow priest encourages Landry to praise the Visitors for bringing peace and healing, but Landry is skeptical. One of his original parishioners, Roy, has visited a healing center, and can walk. But another of his congregants gives Landry an envelope with an address on it, telling him to go to the meeting. The man has been wounded, and dies in the church.

Chad Decker is a television news anchor who reports on the Visitors. He scores an exclusive interview with Anna but is shocked when told right before the interview that he is not allowed to ask any questions that would embarrass the Visitors or make them look bad. He agrees to the interview, but clearly finds it distasteful.

Erica's investigation leads her to a clandestine meeting run by Ryan Nichols' friend, George. All attendants have to undergo a slicing of skin over their ears to ensure they are all human. Then George announces that the Visitors are lying - they've been on Earth for decades, infiltrating various institutions. Their intentions are not peaceful but nefarious, though we didn't learn much about that. Erica almost left, but Landry, who was at the meeting in mufti, showed the envelope he had been given. It contained pictures that coincided with Erica's investigation. As she discussed this with Landry, a metallic ball flew into the room shooting bullets. Then men came in, including Dale Maddox, Erica's partner. He tries to kill Erica, but she wounds him instead, and uncovers his lizard skin on his face. Dale is a Visitor. Landry grabs Erica and they escape.

Meanwhile, Ryan Nichols shows up to rescue George, but is injured while doing so. Ryan apologizes for not coming earlier, saying that there needs to be a resistance against the Visitors. He then reveals his injured arm, which shows lizard skin. Ryan isn't the only Visitor traitor who is working against the Visitors' aims.

Okay, now that I have the recap over and done with, I must say that I found myself very engaged in the show, with one notable exception. The actors were all excellent, and the storytelling structure was interesting. I am curious about the moral quandary facing Chad Decker as he finds himself the reluctant spokesman for the Visitors but also getting worldwide exposure. I found Landry's uncertainty to be intriguing. I was a little confused by Ryan Nichols and his involvement with the main storyline, so I certainly didn't predict that he was a "sleeper" Visitor. I did guess that Dale Maddox was a Visitor - Erica kept mentioning how the suspects seemed to be tipped off in time to escape. It also didn't help that the actor playing him is listed as a guest actor. And let's face it, Alan Tudyk did a version of this in last season's Dollhouse.

The exception is the tired cliche that is troubled teen Tyler Evans. In a conversation between Tyler and his mother, he accuses her of not caring about him because she's never home. Essentially, the lines have been written and spoken in thousands of shows before now, and will be written and spoken in thousands of show afterward. Hopefully, the dreaded teen angst will be minimized in future episodes.

Lost Fan Alert: Duh - Elizabeth Mitchell, Juliet Burke on Lost, plays Erica Evans. Damn those Lost producers for letting her go. She remains beautiful, smart, and fabulous.

Buffyverse Fan Alert - Dale Maddox is played by Alan Tudyk, Hoban "Wash" Washborn in Firefly and Serenity, and Alpha in Dollhouse. Morena Baccarin, Anna, was Inarra Serra on Firefly and Serenity.

The 4400 Fan Alert - Joel Gretsch plays Father Landry. He played Tom Baldwin in The 4400. That show ended way too soon.

Other actors of note: Morris Chestnut plays Ryan Nichols. Scott Wolf from Party of Five and The Nine plays Chad Decker. Lourdes Benedicto, also of The Nine, plays Valerie Stevens, Ryan Nichols' girlfriend.