In the final episode of Sinbad ep 1, a lot of excitement occurs; in fact, there's such a great amount of excitement, that I am actually not sure where to start.
Well, let's start with the land of the dead. As I wrote about it previously, it was clearly taken out of Homer's "Odyssey" for the reasons I said above. However, in this case I should add that the city of Limbo that was featured here was influenced by Dante Aligheri's "Inferno" instead. That was to be expected; together with Virgil's "Aeneid", "Odyssey" and "The Divine Comedy" are the classical depictions of European afterlife (I call them the big three, lol).
If the land of the dead is rooted in European classical literature (for the Muslims the afterlife was completely different), then its monsters are something else. The hounds were basically Primeval's hyenadons from S4 (and Primeval is also owned by IP, so no copyright infringement there, I hope), while the Guardians... I don't know what they are - they were just shapeless masses each one armed with a single glowing eye that mentally traps you in an alternate dimension until you die. Or, since the inhabitants of the city of Limbo are already dead, you move on and get reincarnated instead. (Considering that "Sinbad's" afterlife is a mishmash of Christian and pagan worlds anything is possible, so until S2 I'm sticking with the reincarnation theory.) Who knows?
Right, after the setting and the monsters come the characters, the heroes. Sinbad is still an impulsive ass, though in this episode he learns new wisdom: some things even people, even heroes cannot defeat - and in this case it's fate, karma, kismet, whatever. Jamil was intended to die and he remained dead, sacrificing himself to the Guardian to let Sinbad and the others instead.
Conversely, Taryn has rescued her daughter with the help of Sinbad's crew. However, since the girl (Alehna) looked around as she has left, the final shots of the episode show some sort of darkness in her eyes - if she proves to be the ancestor of one Tom Marvolo Riddle (and of one Luna Lovegood, played by the same actress earlier in the real life), that's when "Sinbad" have jumped the shark, believe it!
Or maybe it already has, if the scriptwriters are positioning Taryn into the role of Vala from "StarGate". Remember? She's the morally ambiguous alien (Teal'C is the one who's loyal and honest, etc), whose daughter is one of the big bad's of the show. Vala herself, however, seems to be improving her character and is no a member of the StarGate's crew. Since Taryn (and her daughter) are already on Sinbad's ship, maybe this process has already begun?
Speaking of Sinbad's ship, notice how the cook was absent from this episode as well? Well, of course he was - he's a part of the ship (that's my theory) and such not only is he bound to it, he has no place in a human afterlife - he's version is probably quite a bit different and a lot more woody and inorganic, you know?
And the other members of the crew. Taryn was amazing as she got Sinbad out of the Guardian-induced mental funk, but so was Gunnar as he recognized Taryn as she possessed Tiger. He also was the one who figured out how to rescue Sinbad from that funk, so, seriously, if Taryn's Vala, he's something of a Jack O'Neal or Teal'C. He also mentioned Valhalla (indirectly) in this episode, but we all know that he doesn't believe in this pagan pageantry anymore, he's a Christian here, just in secret.
Sinbad, of course, is still impulsive (and he's probably going to remain impulsive until he dies), and now he has learned that there are some things that cannot be beat. Guess he's still maturing - just as Telemachus does in the "Odyssey", cough. Anwar, of course, is also maturing, since he's now confident enough in his abilities, and Rina is still Rina. She's the obligatory halfling of the group.
So, the final episode of "Sinbad" S1 has a hybridized afterlife, a couple of mismatched monsters, a new possible villian (Alehna), Taryn and Gunnar being awesome, and the rest still being themselves. Oh, and Nala is still absent, though her dad made in appearance in the Basra of the dead (little pun here). Guess she's still in Basra and Tiger is Sinbad's love interest... until for now.
End (of "Sinbad" S1)
Sunday, 23 September 2012
Sunday, 16 September 2012
Sinbad, ep 11 - Sep 16
In the penultimate episode of Sinbad, we get... a lot of things. Here are the most obvious ones.
The land of the dead & the entire religious question. I see that the plundering of Homer's "Odyssey" continues. The original "Sinbad" was a part of "1001 Nights" stories, which were Muslim fairy tales. Since Islam is a monotheistic religion, it had a Heaven and a Hell, rather than a Land of the Dead, as the one described by the pagan Homer in his "Odyssey". So, why is it in IP's version of "Sinbad"?
To elaborate: yes, all things Muslim-connected are not fashionable in the Western world once again, especially given the recent events in North Africa and Middle East, but "Sinbad" was shot way before they occurred, so - what gives? Was IP trying to be over politically correct, or something?
Secondly, it's bad to mention all things Muslim-related, but it's all right to bad-mouth (sort of) all things Christian-related? The main villian tonight was father La Stessa, a cardinal or a bishop or some other high-ranking member in the local Christian monastery. Honestly, since "Sinbad" was supposed to be Muslim-related (re: Basra), then what's with all the Christian associations, etc?
It wouldn't be that bad if there wasn't Basra. After all, Odysseus' travels occurred largely in Elfland where there weren't any religious or political connotations. But that wasn't good enough for Sinbad's scriptwriters (though they certainly enjoyed plundering the "Odyssey" for ideas, at least once or twice), they actually had to make-it quasireal with Basra. Dirtbags.
In regards to Basra, Taryn's back. She had infiltrated the monastery and when Tiger discovered the map to Land of the Dead, she had taken over her body or something. Helen Cutter, who used a similar method to infiltrate the ARC in "Primeval" (also released by IP - what a coincidence) would've been so proud.
Sadly, putting aside the fact that IP's female villains are awesome, there's the issue of Basra once more. When we left it in ep. 7, Akbari was dead, and Taryn was supposedly in charge of it. Consequently, Nala remained behind to help Basra's citizens against Taryn's tyranny. Only... Taryn is no longer on Basra, but rather on Malta, so... what's with Nala? Taryn could've captured, skinned her alive and used her organs to divine where to find Sinbad, for example, but she could've just as easily given over the keys to Basra (and the phallic-shaped hat) over to Nala, told her that she's now the amira (or whatever it's called) of Basra and left. Hopefully, the last episode will reveal what happened to Nala... but I wouldn't count on it.
And speaking of phallic-shaped things... this episode's monster was a werewolf of some sorts, whose public identity was Philip, the campiest pub owner I've ever seen. Make no mistake, his orientation wasn't the problem, it's the way he acted - so over the top that it was just wrong. At least the snake lady/professor from the previous episode was realistic (as a character from a fantasy show, of course).
And what about the rest of the cast? Tiger has been taken over by Taryn, so she's out of commission for now. The Cook wasn't seen for 95% of this episode at least. Anwar has gained enough confidence now to actually argue with Sinbad, and Rina's cloak still makes her look like a hobbit from LotR. Oh, and Sinbad is still an impulsive ass, though somewhat subdued by now.
Finally, there's Gunnar, who may've found his one true love in the guise of a tailor's widow, making him a rival for the villain of the episode (see above) and almost werewolf chow. Oh well. Of all the heroes (and male characters) he was just too cool to die, and if he lives through the Land of the Dead (yes, the pun's intended), he may actually have a place to return to - on Malta.
So, in recap: Taryn and Gunnar were awesome, the rest of the cast - not so much, the monster was sort of cliche (a veggie version of a werewolf, basically), and the religious ideology in this show that is attempting a semi-serious approach to matters of religion and spirituality is seriously messed up.
Next week - end of Sinbad S1!
The land of the dead & the entire religious question. I see that the plundering of Homer's "Odyssey" continues. The original "Sinbad" was a part of "1001 Nights" stories, which were Muslim fairy tales. Since Islam is a monotheistic religion, it had a Heaven and a Hell, rather than a Land of the Dead, as the one described by the pagan Homer in his "Odyssey". So, why is it in IP's version of "Sinbad"?
To elaborate: yes, all things Muslim-connected are not fashionable in the Western world once again, especially given the recent events in North Africa and Middle East, but "Sinbad" was shot way before they occurred, so - what gives? Was IP trying to be over politically correct, or something?
Secondly, it's bad to mention all things Muslim-related, but it's all right to bad-mouth (sort of) all things Christian-related? The main villian tonight was father La Stessa, a cardinal or a bishop or some other high-ranking member in the local Christian monastery. Honestly, since "Sinbad" was supposed to be Muslim-related (re: Basra), then what's with all the Christian associations, etc?
It wouldn't be that bad if there wasn't Basra. After all, Odysseus' travels occurred largely in Elfland where there weren't any religious or political connotations. But that wasn't good enough for Sinbad's scriptwriters (though they certainly enjoyed plundering the "Odyssey" for ideas, at least once or twice), they actually had to make-it quasireal with Basra. Dirtbags.
In regards to Basra, Taryn's back. She had infiltrated the monastery and when Tiger discovered the map to Land of the Dead, she had taken over her body or something. Helen Cutter, who used a similar method to infiltrate the ARC in "Primeval" (also released by IP - what a coincidence) would've been so proud.
Sadly, putting aside the fact that IP's female villains are awesome, there's the issue of Basra once more. When we left it in ep. 7, Akbari was dead, and Taryn was supposedly in charge of it. Consequently, Nala remained behind to help Basra's citizens against Taryn's tyranny. Only... Taryn is no longer on Basra, but rather on Malta, so... what's with Nala? Taryn could've captured, skinned her alive and used her organs to divine where to find Sinbad, for example, but she could've just as easily given over the keys to Basra (and the phallic-shaped hat) over to Nala, told her that she's now the amira (or whatever it's called) of Basra and left. Hopefully, the last episode will reveal what happened to Nala... but I wouldn't count on it.
And speaking of phallic-shaped things... this episode's monster was a werewolf of some sorts, whose public identity was Philip, the campiest pub owner I've ever seen. Make no mistake, his orientation wasn't the problem, it's the way he acted - so over the top that it was just wrong. At least the snake lady/professor from the previous episode was realistic (as a character from a fantasy show, of course).
And what about the rest of the cast? Tiger has been taken over by Taryn, so she's out of commission for now. The Cook wasn't seen for 95% of this episode at least. Anwar has gained enough confidence now to actually argue with Sinbad, and Rina's cloak still makes her look like a hobbit from LotR. Oh, and Sinbad is still an impulsive ass, though somewhat subdued by now.
Finally, there's Gunnar, who may've found his one true love in the guise of a tailor's widow, making him a rival for the villain of the episode (see above) and almost werewolf chow. Oh well. Of all the heroes (and male characters) he was just too cool to die, and if he lives through the Land of the Dead (yes, the pun's intended), he may actually have a place to return to - on Malta.
So, in recap: Taryn and Gunnar were awesome, the rest of the cast - not so much, the monster was sort of cliche (a veggie version of a werewolf, basically), and the religious ideology in this show that is attempting a semi-serious approach to matters of religion and spirituality is seriously messed up.
Next week - end of Sinbad S1!
Sunday, 9 September 2012
Sinbad, ep 10 - Sep 9
As the show moves into the final third of S1 of Sinbad, we get hit with a bizarre episode. Well, maybe not bizarre - just not well thought through. Sinbad and Tiger (who's been called so because her father abandoned her and she was raised by tigers instead) get hired by a professor (whose name is never given) to transport her and her cargo to some island or other. Fine.
That cargo then proves to be a giant egg that hatches into a giant snake - that's also fine. Giant snakes are par-du-course for any Eastern/Oriental fantasy, so so far so good. When, however, the professor merges with her creation into one ultimate predator - that's just too much.
Let's recapitulate. The professor is, well, a mad scientist, but she acts mainly like a big bitch to everyone, though she seems to tolerate Anwar... to the point when she tried to feed Anwar to her pet but the snake ripped off her arm instead. This started the merging of professor and snake, mad scientist and her creation. Fine. I'm sure that that the screenwriters team of Kurti and Doyle had it all figured out on paper at least - let's leave it on their consciousnesses, 'cause to me it was just all ridiculous.
Sinbad and his crew, of course, had their own input on ridiculousness - they planned to use the snake monster's peanut allergy to kill it. No, I kid you not - they used crossbow darts heavily weighted down with peanuts to bring the monster down... in theory. In reality, of course, the weight of the peanuts put the darts off balance, and only one of them hit the snake...on the outside, in the neck, where peanuts did diddly squat. The bolt, on the other hand, drew attention of the monster to Sinbad, giving Gunnar the window of opportunity to hit the snake in the head with his axe repeatedly, until it stopped moving. Go Gunnar, Thor the snake-slaying thunder-god would be so proud of you, you dirty Christian...
While Gunnar saved the day (and Sinbad), what about the others? Sinbad and Tiger continue to flirt... but what about Nala? Sinbad saved her from Mr. Invincible in ep. 4, for crying out loud! Out of sight out of mind? Sheesh - no wonder then that Sinbad was in such a rush to save her in ep. 4 - if he dawdled he would've forgotten all about her instead and wouldn't that opened up a plot hole!!
The Cook shows an extreme reluctant (to put it mildly) to leave the ship - he would rather get eaten by the snake monster. Well, of course he can't - he's the ship's spirit (that's my theory, mind) and wherever the ship goes he follows. Simple.
Finally, Rina and Anwar. What was up with them? Throughout the first two thirds or so of this ep. Anwar seemed to be forging a bond with the professor, she was acting as his foil to show how far the Anwar came in his path to becoming a respected, learner and wise man of knowledge, as indicated by ep. 8, I hope. And then she merged with her snake (no pun intended) and Gunnar ended saving the day instead of Anwar. Why? What gives?
Rina, for her part, was barely in the episode at all. Again, what gives? Is she being threatened by Tiger? Was there some problem with Marama Corlett's contract at this point? I have no idea, but the absence of Rina was dissappointing. Hope that the last two episodes will give her a bigger role than this one.
So - a monster and a mad scientist both merging and going over the top (not quite jumping the shark but close), Gunnar saving the day, more insights in the Cook's nature, and the other four heroes acting lackluster. Not the best episode of the series, I say.
PS: In the next episode the search for the Land of the Dead starts in earnest, as I understand it. Homer, who had invented that domain in his "Odyssey" should totally sue IP for the copyright infringement.
PPS: Judging by the dentition, the snake was a constrictor rather than a venomous species. Ah well, don't worry Gunnar - you may meet your own Midgard serpent in time...
That cargo then proves to be a giant egg that hatches into a giant snake - that's also fine. Giant snakes are par-du-course for any Eastern/Oriental fantasy, so so far so good. When, however, the professor merges with her creation into one ultimate predator - that's just too much.
Let's recapitulate. The professor is, well, a mad scientist, but she acts mainly like a big bitch to everyone, though she seems to tolerate Anwar... to the point when she tried to feed Anwar to her pet but the snake ripped off her arm instead. This started the merging of professor and snake, mad scientist and her creation. Fine. I'm sure that that the screenwriters team of Kurti and Doyle had it all figured out on paper at least - let's leave it on their consciousnesses, 'cause to me it was just all ridiculous.
Sinbad and his crew, of course, had their own input on ridiculousness - they planned to use the snake monster's peanut allergy to kill it. No, I kid you not - they used crossbow darts heavily weighted down with peanuts to bring the monster down... in theory. In reality, of course, the weight of the peanuts put the darts off balance, and only one of them hit the snake...on the outside, in the neck, where peanuts did diddly squat. The bolt, on the other hand, drew attention of the monster to Sinbad, giving Gunnar the window of opportunity to hit the snake in the head with his axe repeatedly, until it stopped moving. Go Gunnar, Thor the snake-slaying thunder-god would be so proud of you, you dirty Christian...
While Gunnar saved the day (and Sinbad), what about the others? Sinbad and Tiger continue to flirt... but what about Nala? Sinbad saved her from Mr. Invincible in ep. 4, for crying out loud! Out of sight out of mind? Sheesh - no wonder then that Sinbad was in such a rush to save her in ep. 4 - if he dawdled he would've forgotten all about her instead and wouldn't that opened up a plot hole!!
The Cook shows an extreme reluctant (to put it mildly) to leave the ship - he would rather get eaten by the snake monster. Well, of course he can't - he's the ship's spirit (that's my theory, mind) and wherever the ship goes he follows. Simple.
Finally, Rina and Anwar. What was up with them? Throughout the first two thirds or so of this ep. Anwar seemed to be forging a bond with the professor, she was acting as his foil to show how far the Anwar came in his path to becoming a respected, learner and wise man of knowledge, as indicated by ep. 8, I hope. And then she merged with her snake (no pun intended) and Gunnar ended saving the day instead of Anwar. Why? What gives?
Rina, for her part, was barely in the episode at all. Again, what gives? Is she being threatened by Tiger? Was there some problem with Marama Corlett's contract at this point? I have no idea, but the absence of Rina was dissappointing. Hope that the last two episodes will give her a bigger role than this one.
So - a monster and a mad scientist both merging and going over the top (not quite jumping the shark but close), Gunnar saving the day, more insights in the Cook's nature, and the other four heroes acting lackluster. Not the best episode of the series, I say.
PS: In the next episode the search for the Land of the Dead starts in earnest, as I understand it. Homer, who had invented that domain in his "Odyssey" should totally sue IP for the copyright infringement.
PPS: Judging by the dentition, the snake was a constrictor rather than a venomous species. Ah well, don't worry Gunnar - you may meet your own Midgard serpent in time...
Sunday, 2 September 2012
Sinbad, ep 9 - Sep 2
This was a very interesting episode of "Sinbad"; much better, than its' predecessor. For one thing - no Kuji (cripes, but she was annoying); for anything, we had Taryn, or rather - her protege, Tiger (Tuppence Middleton, no relations to the new Princess of England, I've been told). Just like Taryn, Tiger was awesome; basically, the next step in Rina's "evolution", if the little thief (height-wise) hadn't run across, Sinbad, Anwar and others.
The episode's plot wasn't that bad either. A high priest of some cult (dressed rather like the High Inquisitor of Dostoevsky) had a vision from his sacred stone (shaped like a heart, more or less) that Sinbad was going to kill him, so as soon as he had Sinbad in his clutches, he had him killed instead. Only, Tiger had a deal with the high priest's sniveling son (made purposefully immature, I suspect), who drugged Sinbad and left him to Tiger's tender clutches instead; since Sinbad is the main character of this series, he wins Tiger heart instead (sort of) and gets her to join her crew.
Meanwhile... Anwar and Rina's relationship has apparently stabled out for now. That's good. Anwar got a chance to solve the labyrinth's puzzle as well. That's even better. But what's with Gunnar's new weird accent? Is he trying to impress chicks now with it or something? That is just strange, and since we're nearing the season's end, also pointless.
Sinbad, of course, is trying to be shown mature and competent, but as the incident with the stone shown, he's still something of an impulsive ass. I blame Nala's absence for this - her influence did soothe Sinbad down just a bit. Of course, since this is an IP production we're talking about, maybe Ms. Daniels just couldn't be around for all 12 episodes, and left the series' production at the ep. 7 (when Akbari died) - who knows? Guess for now Middleton will have to do for Sinbad's romantic interesting, eh?
Finally, Sinbad's plans for the future. When he smashed the magic stone as the impulsive ass that he still is (though to a lesser degree than before) he saw many visions (including him in love with Tiger, maybe?), one of which was his brother Jamil alive and in his arms - guess we now know what the last few episodes will be about, eh?
PS: What Sinbad doesn't know (and the Cook, who told him about the stone in the first place doesn't know or doesn't want to tell him), is that the stone isn't quite a liar, but it's visions are flawed, sort of: the high priest saw himself dying at Sinbad's feet as the latter held a bloody dagger - and it came to be, but only because the priest's son had stabbed him. Ergo, the stone only tells what can be, but not how it can be, and that, in the upcoming episodes, can make all the difference.
The episode's plot wasn't that bad either. A high priest of some cult (dressed rather like the High Inquisitor of Dostoevsky) had a vision from his sacred stone (shaped like a heart, more or less) that Sinbad was going to kill him, so as soon as he had Sinbad in his clutches, he had him killed instead. Only, Tiger had a deal with the high priest's sniveling son (made purposefully immature, I suspect), who drugged Sinbad and left him to Tiger's tender clutches instead; since Sinbad is the main character of this series, he wins Tiger heart instead (sort of) and gets her to join her crew.
Meanwhile... Anwar and Rina's relationship has apparently stabled out for now. That's good. Anwar got a chance to solve the labyrinth's puzzle as well. That's even better. But what's with Gunnar's new weird accent? Is he trying to impress chicks now with it or something? That is just strange, and since we're nearing the season's end, also pointless.
Sinbad, of course, is trying to be shown mature and competent, but as the incident with the stone shown, he's still something of an impulsive ass. I blame Nala's absence for this - her influence did soothe Sinbad down just a bit. Of course, since this is an IP production we're talking about, maybe Ms. Daniels just couldn't be around for all 12 episodes, and left the series' production at the ep. 7 (when Akbari died) - who knows? Guess for now Middleton will have to do for Sinbad's romantic interesting, eh?
Finally, Sinbad's plans for the future. When he smashed the magic stone as the impulsive ass that he still is (though to a lesser degree than before) he saw many visions (including him in love with Tiger, maybe?), one of which was his brother Jamil alive and in his arms - guess we now know what the last few episodes will be about, eh?
PS: What Sinbad doesn't know (and the Cook, who told him about the stone in the first place doesn't know or doesn't want to tell him), is that the stone isn't quite a liar, but it's visions are flawed, sort of: the high priest saw himself dying at Sinbad's feet as the latter held a bloody dagger - and it came to be, but only because the priest's son had stabbed him. Ergo, the stone only tells what can be, but not how it can be, and that, in the upcoming episodes, can make all the difference.
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