[Media / TV] Season 1 Alphas round-up.
Sep. 27th, 2011 06:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
moonvoiceOverall rating of the season - 8/10 (mediocre first half with some good moments, and then incredible pacing and taut characterisation, plus a juggernaut plot in the second. The first season is only 11 episodes, for those who want to pick it up).
The basic premise of Alphas is that it is a new, non-comic originating form of X-Men. Don't get me wrong, you won't find any X-Men in here, because they've been renamed alphas. And they don't wear any fancy costumes or anything like that. But basically one of the guys involved in the X-Men movies went 'oh GOD, mutants are AWESOME, I MUST KEEP WRITING ABOUT HIM.'
So that's what he did.
He wrote about alphas - people with supernatural abilities - in our contemporary times. The show focuses on a team of alphas posing as undercover agents in other agencies, who use their alpha abilities to try and bring down other rogue or malicious or evil or just 'not playing by the rules' alphas. They are coordinated by psychiatrist Dr. Rosen, who means well, but is sometimes a little too manipulative for his own good; something he comes to see during the course of the season, because character development? That's something this show does.
The show had a stuttery start, which is kind of understandable for an off-season show (they tend to be more mediocre than most), but Glen and I were determined to see it through because we love Ryan Cartwright (Vincent 'Vincenzo' Nigel Murray from Bones) and wanted to follow him from Bones too see him play Gary, a socially functioning autistic in Alphas with an alpha ability to read electromagnetic 'streams' of information (the research / portrayal of his autism is pretty good, but I'm open to interpretations on that). There were moments / highlights from the beginning, but overall the show suffered from some dodgy pacing, and from an ability to have really amped up conflicts in the middle of the show, but to seem to miss the point that there should be some amped up conflict at the end too; considering it's somewhat action-y.
But the Alphas writers found their groove, and by about episode 6, they were starting to really find their pacing, and the majority of their characters. In the first half of the season, the whole show is probably carried by interest in characters like Dr. Rosen, Hicks and Gary; while characters like Rachel, Nina and Bill were still getting fleshed out, or finding their own acting groove to sell the scripts in an engaging way. When all the actors/characters 'got there,' suddenly we had a well-oiled show with an interesting, gritty cinematography, cool storylines, and a great over-arching plot that ended in what - I must say - was one of the most spectacularly polished and executed and gripping season finales I've seen in 2011. Which is kind of saying something, because there's been some good 'uns this year.
Alphas has been renewed for a second season (huzzah!), though I'm not sure if it will get renewed for a third, since SyFy can be really erratic based on show production costs and ratings. I also think because of where it sits on the schedule, it's an easy show to pass by and not give a first or second chance.
Here's a list of things I personally like about it:
- It doesn't seem to be too tropey with issues relating to race, gender, age or ability (I say 'too tropey', it is not without issues entirely, of course). The engaging, sympathetic ringleader of Red Flag, for example, is a non-functioning female autistic who Gary connects with, and remains close friends with right up to the finale. Anna is - in our first meeting with her - depicted first as a manipulated bystander, having her house stolen because her autism meant she couldn't fight back; and she is revealed as the episode progresses to be an adaptable, powerful leader who with the aid of a computer and specially constructed software, is able to control her own team, manipulate Dr. Rosen's team, and also extend genuine friendship to Gary and essentially sets him on his journey of empowerment, which finally gets him to stand up to his own smothering mother, who is afraid that he can't do a lot of things on his own.
ETA: Wikipedia says of Cartwright's portrayal of Gary: "He currently plays Gary Bell, an autistic character, on the Syfy television series Alphas. To prepare for the role, Cartwright consulted with people who worked with autistic individuals, watched documentaries, read blogs created by autistic people and books from autistic authors Temple Grandin and Daniel Tammet. Cartwright's portrayal of Bell has earned praise from the neurological science community, crediting his complexity for eschewing stereotypes of autism previously displayed in mass media."
- The science is pretty good. The writers and researchers have pretty much flat out said that if they can't support an alpha ability with science, then they won't include the alpha ability. That meant in the first half of the season, there was sometimes a bit too much medical jargon. The writers were kind of hyper-excited about showing their research. In the second half of the season, it just became easier to go along with the ride.
- The alpha abilities themselves are quite interesting. An assassin who is invisible by manipulating people's blindspots. One who has extreme proprioception, so that the hairs on his neck and arms raise whenever people are nearby, making him an excellent 'look out.' And one of the main cast has an amazing supernatural capacity of extended synesthesia (which sadly has downsides for her relationships with others). The alpha abilities are all interesting, especially as it's established early on that every alpha ability has it's downside.
- The elusive Binghamton - the prison/research compound for rogue alphas - had a very appropriate and ominous overtone throughout the entire series, and more and more is revealed about this place over time. Seeing escapees from Binghamton indicate to Dr. Rosen how they are being treated (something Dr. Rosen wishes to remain ignorant to in the beginning), and seeing Dr. Rosen himself have to change his attitudes and become less ignorant about this (and the explosive reaction in the finale) is pretty awesome.
- Summer Glau is in an episode. That just speaks for itself. Her character is also AWESOME. And they've left it open for her to come back. YAY!
- It's only 11 episodes. If there's one thing I don't really love about American programming (which is very specific to American TV programming) is it's dependence on the rambling 22/24 episode format. Dramas, in general, tend to be a lot tighter and well-executed on the whole if they have between 6-13 episode seasons (and the most critically acclaimed shows, with some exceptions like 24 that deliberately play with the format, fit the shorter episode billing format). This means that the storylines tend to be concise and there's no 'filler.' Everything revealed in every episode - even if you're not really aware of it at the time - contributes in some way to an overall understanding of the greater plot arc that is occurring.
- The scriptwriting is tight. Once the writers let go of how much their love their own research, their real strengths in dialogue and inter-relationships between characters comes through. There's very little painful exposition, especially in the latter half of season 2 where there necessarily has to be a bit of exposition anyway. You hardly notice it's happening. If the finale is anything to go by, season 2 will be a spectacular sophomore year for scriptwriting. Well. One can hope.
- The set up for season 2 is just... oh god. I know I said there would be spoilers, but I just can't spoil the epic finale. I'll just say... they've opened up a massive treasure chest of amazing storylines for themselves, and the overall cinematographic glee expressed in the finale suggests that the directors and actors all know it, and are pumped for what's coming.
Leaving it there. It's a show I'd absolutely recommend to people who like actions / science fiction shows, and who will give the show some patience during the first few episodes. And I feel like I'd be doing people a disservice if I didn't let them know to get in now, before season season starts, because that's about to blow it all out of the water. Well, I say 'about to,' but I mean next year.
I usually lock these posts, but I've decided to make this one public, just because.
The basic premise of Alphas is that it is a new, non-comic originating form of X-Men. Don't get me wrong, you won't find any X-Men in here, because they've been renamed alphas. And they don't wear any fancy costumes or anything like that. But basically one of the guys involved in the X-Men movies went 'oh GOD, mutants are AWESOME, I MUST KEEP WRITING ABOUT HIM.'
So that's what he did.
He wrote about alphas - people with supernatural abilities - in our contemporary times. The show focuses on a team of alphas posing as undercover agents in other agencies, who use their alpha abilities to try and bring down other rogue or malicious or evil or just 'not playing by the rules' alphas. They are coordinated by psychiatrist Dr. Rosen, who means well, but is sometimes a little too manipulative for his own good; something he comes to see during the course of the season, because character development? That's something this show does.
The show had a stuttery start, which is kind of understandable for an off-season show (they tend to be more mediocre than most), but Glen and I were determined to see it through because we love Ryan Cartwright (Vincent 'Vincenzo' Nigel Murray from Bones) and wanted to follow him from Bones too see him play Gary, a socially functioning autistic in Alphas with an alpha ability to read electromagnetic 'streams' of information (the research / portrayal of his autism is pretty good, but I'm open to interpretations on that). There were moments / highlights from the beginning, but overall the show suffered from some dodgy pacing, and from an ability to have really amped up conflicts in the middle of the show, but to seem to miss the point that there should be some amped up conflict at the end too; considering it's somewhat action-y.
But the Alphas writers found their groove, and by about episode 6, they were starting to really find their pacing, and the majority of their characters. In the first half of the season, the whole show is probably carried by interest in characters like Dr. Rosen, Hicks and Gary; while characters like Rachel, Nina and Bill were still getting fleshed out, or finding their own acting groove to sell the scripts in an engaging way. When all the actors/characters 'got there,' suddenly we had a well-oiled show with an interesting, gritty cinematography, cool storylines, and a great over-arching plot that ended in what - I must say - was one of the most spectacularly polished and executed and gripping season finales I've seen in 2011. Which is kind of saying something, because there's been some good 'uns this year.
Alphas has been renewed for a second season (huzzah!), though I'm not sure if it will get renewed for a third, since SyFy can be really erratic based on show production costs and ratings. I also think because of where it sits on the schedule, it's an easy show to pass by and not give a first or second chance.
Here's a list of things I personally like about it:
- It doesn't seem to be too tropey with issues relating to race, gender, age or ability (I say 'too tropey', it is not without issues entirely, of course). The engaging, sympathetic ringleader of Red Flag, for example, is a non-functioning female autistic who Gary connects with, and remains close friends with right up to the finale. Anna is - in our first meeting with her - depicted first as a manipulated bystander, having her house stolen because her autism meant she couldn't fight back; and she is revealed as the episode progresses to be an adaptable, powerful leader who with the aid of a computer and specially constructed software, is able to control her own team, manipulate Dr. Rosen's team, and also extend genuine friendship to Gary and essentially sets him on his journey of empowerment, which finally gets him to stand up to his own smothering mother, who is afraid that he can't do a lot of things on his own.
ETA: Wikipedia says of Cartwright's portrayal of Gary: "He currently plays Gary Bell, an autistic character, on the Syfy television series Alphas. To prepare for the role, Cartwright consulted with people who worked with autistic individuals, watched documentaries, read blogs created by autistic people and books from autistic authors Temple Grandin and Daniel Tammet. Cartwright's portrayal of Bell has earned praise from the neurological science community, crediting his complexity for eschewing stereotypes of autism previously displayed in mass media."
- The science is pretty good. The writers and researchers have pretty much flat out said that if they can't support an alpha ability with science, then they won't include the alpha ability. That meant in the first half of the season, there was sometimes a bit too much medical jargon. The writers were kind of hyper-excited about showing their research. In the second half of the season, it just became easier to go along with the ride.
- The alpha abilities themselves are quite interesting. An assassin who is invisible by manipulating people's blindspots. One who has extreme proprioception, so that the hairs on his neck and arms raise whenever people are nearby, making him an excellent 'look out.' And one of the main cast has an amazing supernatural capacity of extended synesthesia (which sadly has downsides for her relationships with others). The alpha abilities are all interesting, especially as it's established early on that every alpha ability has it's downside.
- The elusive Binghamton - the prison/research compound for rogue alphas - had a very appropriate and ominous overtone throughout the entire series, and more and more is revealed about this place over time. Seeing escapees from Binghamton indicate to Dr. Rosen how they are being treated (something Dr. Rosen wishes to remain ignorant to in the beginning), and seeing Dr. Rosen himself have to change his attitudes and become less ignorant about this (and the explosive reaction in the finale) is pretty awesome.
- Summer Glau is in an episode. That just speaks for itself. Her character is also AWESOME. And they've left it open for her to come back. YAY!
- It's only 11 episodes. If there's one thing I don't really love about American programming (which is very specific to American TV programming) is it's dependence on the rambling 22/24 episode format. Dramas, in general, tend to be a lot tighter and well-executed on the whole if they have between 6-13 episode seasons (and the most critically acclaimed shows, with some exceptions like 24 that deliberately play with the format, fit the shorter episode billing format). This means that the storylines tend to be concise and there's no 'filler.' Everything revealed in every episode - even if you're not really aware of it at the time - contributes in some way to an overall understanding of the greater plot arc that is occurring.
- The scriptwriting is tight. Once the writers let go of how much their love their own research, their real strengths in dialogue and inter-relationships between characters comes through. There's very little painful exposition, especially in the latter half of season 2 where there necessarily has to be a bit of exposition anyway. You hardly notice it's happening. If the finale is anything to go by, season 2 will be a spectacular sophomore year for scriptwriting. Well. One can hope.
- The set up for season 2 is just... oh god. I know I said there would be spoilers, but I just can't spoil the epic finale. I'll just say... they've opened up a massive treasure chest of amazing storylines for themselves, and the overall cinematographic glee expressed in the finale suggests that the directors and actors all know it, and are pumped for what's coming.
Leaving it there. It's a show I'd absolutely recommend to people who like actions / science fiction shows, and who will give the show some patience during the first few episodes. And I feel like I'd be doing people a disservice if I didn't let them know to get in now, before season season starts, because that's about to blow it all out of the water. Well, I say 'about to,' but I mean next year.
I usually lock these posts, but I've decided to make this one public, just because.
no subject
Date: 2011-09-27 02:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-09-28 12:27 am (UTC)