Agent Carter - general remarks

And so, with LG taking a midseason hiatus (never mind that it is the last season of the show, so there really is not any need for a hiatus), things are rather slow in the TV land. True, there is Marvel’s Agent Carter airing, but despite it being the same solid piece of work as S.H.I.E.L.D., there is something missing from this show, some sort of a spark.

Let us rewind: Howard Stark, (the father of Iron Man), has been framed, (supposedly) into being a terrorist of some sort. He gets Peggy Carter to clear his name and to recover his stolen inventions. Peggy has to outrun both the bad guys (communists rather than Nazis here), and the SSR (the prototype S.H.I.E.L.D.) with the help of Jarvis, Howard’s human butler (unlike his son’s version, which is an AI). 

Sounds exciting? It is, yet despite all of that, plus historical accuracy of the series, plus a rather lively cast of actors, plus the show’s address of such important issues as gender equality back in the early Cold War era, the show somehow remains less exciting and interesting than S.H.I.E.L.D. was. The characters, they go through their motions, yet the audience does not get touched by them – not really. The fanbase remains largely untouched – Carter is barely more popular (as a show) than ‘Naturally, Sadie’ or P: NW are, even though both shows have been finished, done, ended. Even the online Wikia, or rather – the ‘Fanbrain’ section of it – have gotten somewhat disenchanted with the show, reducing its’ intake of the Carter episodes down to the bare basics: i.e., this is Junior Juniper, who died thusly on the show, while in the comics, he has died thisly – etc. 

So why does this happen? What has gone wrong?

Unlike LG, for example, or Primeval, Carter does not suffer from such problems as continuity, consistency of the cast, or even common sense – everything is solid with her, the character development, as well as the plot, develops and progresses as it is supposed to, one step at a time and no further.

The historical accuracy, the feel of the historical accuracy, rather, is also present in the series without any deviations or inconsistencies. The actors act too just fine, without any over the top or hammy acting, as it happened in other shows, such as Primeval or IP version of Sinbad, for example.

And yet, it is not enough. There are no surprises in Carter, as there are in S.H.I.E.L.D. – you just know that Sousa will figure out that Peggy is a double agent of sorts; that Thompson is going to become more respectful of Peggy, as will chief Dooley; that Peggy will be able to retrieve all of Howard Stark’s missing inventions; etc. There are no surprises, save that Dottie Underwood is an undercover Leviathan or Red Room agent; since she’s also female, odds are that she is going to be the one to have one final showdown with Peggy before the miniseries end. Of course, it’s also possible that Peggy will convert Dottie into a good guy, but unlike Whedon’s earlier series, BtVS and AtS, S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn’t big on redemptions; odds are, neither is Carter.

There are no surprises, but there is a rush – sort of. Carter is not a hackneyed job and there are not any plotholes, but neither there are any secondary plots; even Sousa trying to figure out if Peggy is the blonde or isn’t, is part of the main plotline: Peggy seeking to outrun both Leviathan and SSR in a race to recover Stark’s stolen inventions. There is Angie, Peggy’s waitress friend, who appears to be somewhat aware that Peggy’s more than what she seems, but because Carter is a mini-series without much time to waste, Angie appears to be largely comic relief for now, as are Peggy’s other neighbours (except for Dottie).

Then there are the special effects and CGI – there almost isn’t any. Carter is very historically realistic, but it is based on a comic series, so historical realism and accuracy is not that important to it. There are no super villains either, not yet, so the comic book element of Carter feels rather downplayed as well.

And the show is predictable, unlike S.H.I.E.L.D. or even LG. You just know that Carter is going to kick the villains’ ass while looking good in it. Some of the good guys are going to die, including SSR agents in the process – and that is another thing.

Because Carter is a mini-series, all of the characters present there are either episodic roles (literally), or main cast, who will likely last until the end. There are no secondary characters, and while the same is largely true for S.H.I.E.L.D., the fact it is a longer, multiseason show, gives it some leeway in that department, for example the Koenig brothers, making it different from Carter, and more exciting too.

And so, Agent Carter does not quite fall short of being a great series, it just is not one. Period. It is a very good series to watch, less so to review, so do not expect too many reviews of it here.

Cheers.

Primeval New World "Clean up on Aisle Three" Dec 3

Last night's episode, "Clean up..." was a very good episode, but it just wasn't up to the standards of the previous episodes. Regrettably, it is the fault of the dinosaurs, but we get more about it later.

The actors, for their part, did a good job of following the script, which made a nice transaction from "Undone". As I said before, deaths of Samantha and her partner created a rift in the CP team, and by now it hasn't fully healed yet. Mac, in particular, has attitude problems towards Evan and his "do not kill dinosaurs" rule, but he manages to come through at the end of this episode by not killing the dinosaur he set out to capture. Sadly, because the dinosaur was rather ridiculous and unrealistic, this action was rather undercut, and the broken door to the dressing room didn't help matters either. Mac's big moment was diminished.

On the other hand, Evan and Dylan continue to develop their relationship, which is much smoother than any seen on the original "Primeval". Sure, they are taking it slow (Dylan even had a part-time boyfriend before the beginning of this episode), but considering that in the original series many relationships just went nowhere, this is quite acceptable. This is only the first season, the good ship D/E will have many opportunities to sink or swim in the future.

As will the good ship A/K. If Mac appears to have somewhat recovered after the gorgonopsian episode in "Undone", and will remain on the CP team, Ange has had enough. She never particularly cared about the dinosaurs and mammal-like reptiles and so on, and she isn't submissive enough to go with Evan's flow, so she's leaving CP. Of course, after a talk with Dylan, Evan is trying to salvage his relationship with Ange, friendly and professional, with some Chinese take-out, but this is an IP show we're talking about, so Ange just may up and leave in the next episode and we'll never see her again, and the show will continue with someone named officer Allison Merryweather in the future without being diminished at all: the original "Primeval" had replaced characters throughout its entire course, and "Sinbad" (2012) had replaced its leading lady from Nala (Estella Daniels) to Tiger (Tuppence Middleton) without any detriment to her script.

Character-wise, of course, Ange is unlikely to quit the show, as her "not-a-relationship" with Ken Leeds demonstrates in this episode. It also reveals more insights into Ken's darker side: just like Evan, he had been in a leadership position where people have died, and we still don't know what he did with the juvenile terror bird from "Angry Birds".

And this brings us to the dinosaurs. Officially they're daemonosaurus, basal meat-eating dinosaurs from the late Triassic. In reality, with their chimpanzee-like intelligence, wolf-like social organization and piranha-like teeth, they're just as unrealistic as the beetles from "Fear of Flying". Yes, there were probably intelligent, social, meat-eating dinosaurs in the Mesozoic, but they lived in the Cretaceous, not in the Triassic. The Triassic dinosaur carnivores (like Coelophysis) probably weren't social, they were cannibals. Social hunters generally aren't cannibals; sure, they kill each other and their young, but they do not eat them, just make a point. Solitary carnivores, - i.e. weasels, ferrets, stoats, tigers - do. As a last resort in lean times, but they do, and so did the Triassic carnivorous dinosaurs. Thus, I doubt that they were social.

And I also doubt that they were particularly intelligent. Until the end of the Triassic, the scene was dominated by dicynodonts (Lystrosaurus, Placerias) and by basal archosaurs, called raisuchians (Postosuchus, Saurosuchus) that were big, but much smaller than such dinosaurs as Plateosaurus. Daemonosaurus simply didn't need to be smarter than an average squirrel: it would probably survive anyways.

So: good script, good acting, but completely unrealistic dinosaurs. I seriously hope that the future episodes of P:NW will avoid this mistake.

Sinbad, ep 12 - Sep 23

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)

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!

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...

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.

Sinbad, ep 8 - Aug 26

Today was one of the least inspired Sinbad episodes that mainly consisted of Anwar feeling good/self-important.

To recapitulate. The previous episode not only got rid of Akbari for good, it also exposes Anwar as a fraud, and not a real doctor, right before Rina. His attempt to rescue her too failed, though it was the thought that counted, as Rina told him. Either way, Anwar needed a confidence boost, and he got it in the person of a goddess, named Kuji. A deity of what she is, exactly, is another question, and one that is not answered in this episode. A goddess of intelligentsia, perhaps, or of second chances, or of boxes - the choices are limitless.

...However, if Kuji is a goddess of second chances (for the lack of a better word), then she does it in a strange way: she had her minions (or whatever) kill everyone except for Anwar, who proves his courage and loyalty to himself and everyone else is revealed to be alive. Way to go Kuji. (Sarcam).

Here, incidentally, lies the reason - well, one of the reasons - why the show's ratings have been falling. If "Sinbad" is an action show, like "Hercules" or "Xena" for example, then it shouldn't have so many twists in the end that aim at the audience's heart and brain. If "Sinbad" isn't an action show, then all of these oriental trappings are just pointless and distracting and the show could as well be occurring in Elfland, (as the travels of Odysseus took place) as in the Middle East. The show's calling card is its connection to Middle East, and here it is not shown, other than in the setting of Basra. Abdul Fahim (from ep. 3) didn't look anything like an Abdul Fahim, but rather some sort of a basketball player off the court with some weird eye shadow (WTF?). And the show's audience recognizes this, and responds by the dropping ratings. Very depressing. Still, this is an "Impossible Pictures" production, which means - outside of "Primeval" - the odds of this show being a one-season wonder are quite high. The odds that this season will end on an open note, but the show will not appear ever again - especially with "Primeval: New World" looming on the horizon - are also quite high. I would say that it's a pity, but after this episode... not so much. Oh well, to each his own.

PS: Kuji may claim to be a deity, but between the box and her trickster nature I still say that she's a djinn (in the Arabian folklore they were more like the demons and the fey than Disney's Alladin shows them to be), who has just decided that Anwar and co. are going to be her new best friends slash toys - not a good place to be, not exactly. There were bad djinn, and mischievous, and some pretty nasty ones. Still, after this episode, I say that Anwar and co. may deserve such a fate. At least the next episode may be bringing Taryn - and Nala - back. We'll see.

Sinbad, ep 7 - Aug 19

So, in this episode Taryn and Akbari have taken over Basra, and the show made their regime look positively Nazi. Don't want to use this term in vain, but the way their new guards burned down the scrolls and what-not can remind one of the Nazis in "Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail" when the Nazis did burn books, and Hitler was present there. Here, of course, it's Taryn who's the chief villain, revealing herself in the last quarter of the episode, with Akbari being nothing but her puppet.

Since Taryn is the most awesome villain in Sinbad, and Akbari gets killed by her in this episode, let's talk about them and their villainy, first. Akbari redeems himself before he dies, revealing that revenge and despair are not exactly evil and that evil itself is mostly straying oneself from goodness. The darkness and light connotations here are obvious but they also bring back the parable of the sheep lost in the wilderness; oh Gunnar, when will you let your Christian faith come into light? After all, when in the beginning of the episode you kicked the guards' ass, you were so the warrior monk that friar Tuck would be so proud of you!

Speaking of the beginning of the episode, Sinbad still proved himself to be the impulsive jackass that he was in the previous ep - always rushing-in behind thinking. However, by the end of the episode he proved himself to be the master of his emotions and finally freed himself of his curse, by learning how to bind his impulsive nature and how to master his whims - not to be mastered by them.

Nala, for her part, realized what she wants to do in her life - run an underground railroad from Basra to help those who want to escape now-Taryn's oppressive regime. Well, also selfish since Taryn's flaw is that she's willing to do any villainy to get what she wants, regardless of who gets caught underfoot. And since Nala is more level-headed than Sinbad is (or was?) she won't get caught until the next-to-last/last episode when Sinbad and his crew will arrive to rescue her and Basra.

Speaking of Basra, yes, I understand, that from this episode on Taryn's rule is going to be contrasted with the late Emir's more benevolent rule, until Sinbad comes to return Basra to normal. But, I honestly cannot imagine the deceased as a good lord (i.e. baron, if you will) - that bald buffoon was so obsessed with his dream that he didn't see what was going on under his nose until it was too late. Ah well, it all just means that Sinbad will look all the better once he'll ascend to the throne.

Speaking of looking better, Anwar has finally gotten his big boy pants when he rescued Rina - well, not exactly. Rina has rescued herself, but in this case it was the thought that counted because Anwar could've stayed at home and went back to the university, and generally collaborated with the regime until he got arrested or whatever. But he didn't - even though the life he talked about on the ship was all a lie - and now he may actually be winning Rina's heart (and hand in marriage, eventually). All he now needs to do is to prove to himself (and maybe to others) that yes, he is a doctor and to do that he has to cure somebody, or to dress their wounds, or something that medically important.

Finally, we get another clue that the Cook is magically/mystically tied to the ship: as his head turns left and right, so does the ship's figurehead. Does that make him some sort of a djinn or a spirit? Maybe the future episodes will reveal that.

So, Akbari is dead and the season's plot is half-way done; Taryn is in charge; Sinbad finally grew-up, and so did Anwar, but Anwar also now is beginning to have a relationship with Rina; Nala realized who she wants to be and is living her dream; Gunnar kicked ass and will probably become a monk; and the Cook is in a relationship with the ship, or is the ship, take your choice. All in all, this was a good episode and I enjoyed it.

PS: The props used at Akbari's coronation, etc, were very impressive and authentic-looking.

PPS: The shadow tentacle monster(s) wasn't that bad either.

Sinbad, ep 6 - Aug 12

In this exciting episode, Sinbad and his team have to deal with a siren called Roisin, but first about Taryn. No, she didn't sweep on her magical flying carpet (she's probably more of a broomstick-type anyways) to offer Roisin a place as her sidekick; instead, she finally finds Sinbad's grandmother and captures her in order to lure Sinbad.

...The only mistake that Taryn has made is that she didn't try to befriend Sinbad's granny; as Sinbad's curse can testify, ol' Sophia knows few magical tricks of her own! If they teamed up, they would solve everyone's problem twice as fast, i.e. teach Sinbad a lesson and give Akbari some much-needed therapy. Oh, and Roisin could be their sushi-girl slash sidekick too!

No, wait. Let's get back to Roisin a bit later, and talk about the Amir instead. In this episode, Akbari kills him because his brother exiled him for "keeping" Taryn (let's be honest who's "keeping" whom in this relationship, shall we?) alongside the groovy sorceress because she has kidnapped Sinbad's granny. The granny of the same man who has killed Amir's own nephew and for whom the Amir was supposed to have affection... as the Amir's actions show, apparently not.

Let's review. Ever since the end of the ep. 1, when the Amir promised his brother help, but failed to deliver it, Taryn has been helping Akbari; in her own way, but still, while the Amir didn't do anything, until now. What did he expect? That Akbari will just forget about his son's death and move on? Seriously? Admittedly, some people can, (usually with help), but Akbari cannot. In any case, the Amir, by doing nothing and ignoring his brother's affliction until it was too late was guilty of the sin of indifference, and in this episode, he paid the ultimate price: Akbari killed him. The only thing that he should've done instead was to stab Amir face to face and say something along the lines of: "You fat slob, you claimed to be my brother, and said that you help me, but you didn't; and now, that Taryn and I finally have a chance of success, you exile us? Take this!" - and then he would stab the Amir. Only... that would create sympathy for Akbari, and that is something the show is trying to avoid, making Akbari and Taryn into villians instead. Well, why cannot be sympathetic villians instead?

Speaking of villians, let's talk of Roisin and her run-in with Sinbad and his crew. Roisin is a siren... in this version, an evil mermaid, rather than a bird-woman as in the Odyssey, who charms people (primarily men), steals their memories and eats them. Only, in this case, Sinbad has very few good memories, but plenty of bad ones, and one of which is tied to his curse. I have talked that all Sinbad needs is a competent magician to get him rid of his curse, and this time it came true. Roisin did nullify Sinbad's curse...at the price of his memories...and eventually his life. But then Rina comes along and saves him! Hooray!

Several more general notes on the episode. First of all, Roisin must be a very physically emposing siren, if she's able to break through a ship's hull. However, her health must be really bad, since she broke a talon, and it hadn't regrown yet.

Secondly, what is the name of Rina's soup? I think it was goulash-something, making me wonder if Rina isn't party Gypsy/Romany/whatever. Well, if she is, why not? After all, Sinbad already got a (maybe Christian) Viking, a native African, a Chinese and a Greek. As a Gypsy, Rina has fit right in.


Thirdly, Nala got to feel annoyed, when Sinbad didn't pick her over Roisin. Well, that's normal - it is annoying when a man who has saved you from Death itself chooses a perky blonde over you as soon as the crisis is over.

Finally, the bones that Rina and Anwar found (Roisin's leftovers, no doubt). Yes, they're straight from the Odyssey too, where the Sirens sat in a green meadow, which was full of human bones and corpses. Roisin, with her island (and temple) fits right into this motive, though she's got a bit of Calypso (one of Odysseus' immortal girlfriends) in her as well. Of course, thanks to Sinbad's bad memories, her island also got (temporarily) a number of nasty ghosts, so frankly I cannot help but wonder if Roisin didn't come out the true loser in her and Sinbad's encounter overall.

So, in conclusion, this episode had a very good, very Homeric siren, a great opponent to Sinbad and his crew (Rina got to save the day for a change), and in Basra the Amir got what he deserved. That was a great episode, in other words.

Sinbad, ep 5 - Aug 6

Sorry about the delay on the latest Sinbad review, so let's get straight to business. As always, the script intended for Sinbad and his crew to be the heroes; in this particular instance it was Gunnar's turn to accept the flaws in his past and become a better person in his present.

Here's the thing: if Gunnar's a Viking, then how did he make it to Basra? Scandinavia is a fair distance away from the Middle East; my guess is Gunnar used to deal with Constantinople (before it became Istanbul), maybe as a member of a much-talked about Varangian guard... before he had a falling-out of some sort or another, and left to become a trader (ep 01). Maybe this career shift occurred because Gunnar became a Christian - vikings and Scandinavians in general remained pagan for a long time; longer than the rest of Europe, and as a formerly Viking berserker (or at least a raider) becoming a Christian meant a major shift not just in his career choices, but in his life philosophy, since the Christian morale may not have been an exact opposite to the Viking raiders' way of life, but it was very close.

Well, in any way, Gunnar may've repented in part before he joined Sinbad's crew and by the end of this ep he must've repented in full (more or less), but before he did that, he and the others had to deal with the Khaima, led by Obsedian. So, may I ask: WTF? Obsedian (well, Carsteen Norgaard) is Scandinavian (Danish), but the Khaima itself appears to be something rather like a cross between a secret knight order (distant influence of the Knights of Malta, maybe?) and the Ismailites (the real-life version of assassins of D&D). Ergo, how did a Dane become their member in the first place, let alone their leader? And secondly, Gunnar's fault is being a bloodthirsty Viking? What is this, kangaroo court? Or does Obsedian just have issues with his former pagan countrymen? In either option, the Khaima aren't coming out smelling like roses out of this whole mess.

Speaking of mess, what is going on in Basra? The Amir has promised Akbari to avenge Malik, but so far all of the work appears to have done by Taryn, who has actually created a "Familiar" to track Sinbad down and to kill him (or to deliver him to Akbari?). From Sinbad's POV that's bad, but on the other hand, Taryn seems to be so active, that she's almost a rocket (aside - kudos to those scientists and co. who managed to land Curiosity on Mard!): she is doing almost everything that's related to tracking down Sinbad almost by herself, with Akbari being more of her sidekick (he couldn't even get enough information from a harbor master) and the Amir just doing... nothing.

Seriously, look: Taryn is magically competent enough to create the "Familiar", she is competent enough to track Sinbad down, and she's clever enough to have Nala and Rina release her when she's captured by the Khaima. By contrast, the Amir couldn't even hire normal bounty hunters to bring Sinbad back to Basra (like the Khaima, or just some competent people). All he ever does is consoles his brother and bad-mouthes Taryn. Since Akbari isn't an utter retard, he judge for himself, which of the two is more helpful to him, and make corresponding conclusions.

Back to Taryn, or rather - her newest creation. The show called it a "Familiar", but in reality, a witch's (or a sorcerer's) familiar is their cat, toad, or raven that helps them do magic. (In some extreme cases this familiar is an infernal imp in the guise of an animal.) The witches in "Macbeth's" opening scene talk about their familiars, but Taryn's creation is something else. It appears to be a mix of a doppelganger and a homunculus.

A "doppelganger" is a body double of a man or a woman, often ghostly, usually forewarning them of their upcoming death. The Russian Empress Anna (reigned from 1730 to 1740) had encountered such a doppelganger, for example. A homunculus is an artificial creature, grown in a lab, created by magic. Neither of those creatures can be used as a familiar, whatever d20 Modern D&D setting may say. But that's okay, because obviously Taryn's familiar was inspired by the second terminator in the "Terminator II" movie, save that instead of nanobots (or whatever) it was made out of sand. And, oh, it apparently fed on anger, so when Sinbad mastered this emotion, the creature perished.

...Anger/wrath is one of 7 cardinal vices, defeated by patience/composure. This is the 5th episode out of 13 that compose the first season of "Sinbad". That gives the show just enough episode space to master all of the cardinal virtues and to arrive at the final, 13th, episode. Hopefully, that won't be the case, and Sinbad adventures won't be done through the lands of Christian theology, because if it does, then the Emir won't even be allowed into Hell, due to his hypocritical indifference (see above). After all, there only so many heartrendering speeches he can give to his brother without actualy doing anything, and not having Akbari (who is a violent madman) stab him in the back to become Amir in his place so that Basra's resources can be used to bring Sinbad to justice. If that happens, though, I'm rooting for Taryn: she has proved herself intelligent and competent enough to rule Basra if there's a coup.

PS: Apparently, in the "Providence's" future, they will arrive at an island run by a woman whom Taryn seems to recognize. Maybe Taryn is going to get her very own sidekick! That'd be awesome!

Sinbad, ep 4 - July 29

This episode centers around Nala (yes, as in "Lion King", BTW), as she has to confront Death, as in person. Maybe purposefully, maybe it was just luck, but Mr. Invincible (the Grim Reaper's latest pseudonym), played by Timothy Spall, was the most annoying - and disgusting - character on Sinbad so far, and that includes Razia's Water-thieves.

(BTW, does anyone know if she'll be coming back? Odds are in her favor, I feel.)

Okay, in this incarnation, Death is rot and deterioration, more like Pestilence than Death, if you want to go all Revelation. (Well, maybe they like to share or something.) Is that bad or not?

The answer, of course, lies within the audience. As the last quarter of this episode shows, Mr. Invincible ("Anicetus" in Greek) can be very stylish and a real ladies man, since he wants Nala to himself... personally. As in an a personal manifestation, an avatar if you will. Gives the whole "bride of death" thing a whole new meaning.

And Nala? What about her? Well, in this episode she let go of her dead father's memory and became a woman, rather than a girl. Seriously, if we're to go into deeper symbolism, a woman's marriage means her becoming a woman socially as opposed to biologically/chronologically, as she moves from her father's house to her husband's. In this case, of course, the groom was death and Nala's bridal house - the bottom of the sea (Davy Jones says "Hi" and reminds Mr. Invincible that his lease for the Flying Dutchman is X dinari by the hour), but Sinbad crashed the wedding and prevented Nala from marrying death, leaving the groom with just Nala's father (literally, because the man/zombie is already dead - the sea monster has eaten him back in ep 1, remember?), thus freeing Nala from her father's ghost (or zombie, whatever), making her a free woman in a modern sense instead. Gosh, I wonder what the connotations here can be and will we find anyone for Gunnar, by the end of the season as well? Maybe Razia, if she's alive (let's leave Mr. Invincible out of this), but she's probably too slutty for Gunnar's taste...but who knows? Maybe that's how he likes them.

After the (failed) wedding, of course, comes the rain - the sign of rebirth. It revitalizes everyone, even the prone cook, making one wonder once more - what's up with him? Is he the spirit of the ship - he specifically called the ship 'his' throughout the episode? If so... there's still the question of what did he do to the Water-thieves and the merchant's girl from the previous episodes - turned them into household items, maybe? Or maybe he's also a man-eater and has fed them to Sinbad and co. yet. Either way, the up-coming episodes may reveal more yet.

Finally, the Akbari subplot. Taryn is back in Akbari's good graces, winding him further and being wound by him in return. Yes, the Amir has good reasons to keep Taryn away from his brother - they just aren't good for each other. Of course, the Amir's own support for Akbari has yet to amount to anything, so Taryn, with her finally locating Sinbad and his ship, is actually one step up from the Amir.

...Of course, now that Sinbad is found, what will Akbari and Taryn do to him? He's quite out of Basra's jurisdiction, and the Amir may not sent his soldiers on a fool's quest on Taryn's - or even Akbari's - say-so. But again, this all will be revealed in the upcoming episodes - maybe.

In conclusion, then, I can safely say that this was a very dramatic and tense episode with some great acting done by all, especially Timothy Spall. The fact that the CGI were relatively minor in this episode amounts to it being great as well. Hopefully, the upcoming episodes won't disappoint us either.

Sinbad, ep 3 - July 22

This episode of "Sinbad" takes a dip into surreal, plot-wise.

Start with the main message: friends stick together, through thick and thin. It goes like this: Rina robs the others and runs away into the desert, leaving Anwar to gamble with their ship. The ship is lost, Sinbad and the others have to go into the magical casino and win it back. They do it - Sinbad rescuing his crew in the process again - and everything is fine and jolly again. Oh, and the ship's cook may be something of a cannibal and feeding the others human meat, but more about that later.

I do not particularly enjoy picking plot holes, but here... they're unavoidable, as always. Starting with the ship race to the middle of nowhere, the episode plot just grew too twisted for my tolerance.

Let's go to the "middle of nowhere". Apparently, it's actually between Basra and Beirut; Beirut is the capital city of the modern Lebanon, and on the other side of Middle East (well, the portion that's located between the Mediterrean and the Caspian seas). How exactly did Sinbad's vessel get there? There's no Suez channel in the Middle Ages. Sure, it makes perfect sense for the modern TV series, since it's was made on the island of Malta that's not that far from Beirut on ship, but in the Ottoman epoch, getting from from Basrah to Beirut on ship was months, far too longer than on land! What is the time frame for "Sinbad", anyways?

That brings us to the subplot, of the team of the Amir+Lard Akbari+Taryn. In the previous episode, both the Amir and Taryn promised Akbari help, and... the Amir sent his soldiers to arrest Sinbad's remaining family; these stalwart men took their time long enough for Sinbad's friend to warn the family, and they went into hiding or fled - and the Amir, who rules Basra, has apparently been unable to locate a pair of women (one is old, the other appears to be slightly crazy and incapable of fending for herself) at all.

Taryn, meanwhile, had promised Akbari her help, and it consists of a potion. That's right; she had plenty of time, and all she created was a potion that allowed Akbari to see Sinbad...only the casino's magician prevented Akbari from doing so - twice - and now Taryn has to flee Basra instead. Hate to be captain Obvious, but now what? The show's premise made Taryn sound like one of the main villians, and right now... she's not. And if she's not, then what is her game in all of this? Well, the following episodes will explain it, hopefully.

Back to the main plot. Make no mistake, as far as the plot went, the casino was wonderful, but the setting was positively surreal - it was more like the modern version of Mammon's domain from "The Pilgrim's Process" rather than anything out of "Arabian Nights"; the costumes, starting with the Abdul Fahid the rich merchant, were more like those of NYC's high society than anything out of the Ottoman era. Why? What's the point? A social critique or something? I just don't get it... but the plot more than just made up for the setting's bizarreness.

Rina's role in the plot, however, was something else. She actually infiltrated the casino to rescue somebody's husband, just as Sinbad had rescued Anwar and the others. Somehow, this failed to happen on-screen (and how was Rina to tackle the casino's formidable mage, undoubtedly given to the twins as a part of their deal with Cthulhu and other Elder Gods?), and all we ended was the rest of the S-team badmouthing "lady Samar" to her face (fully deserved), and for Marama Corlett ("Rina") to wear make-up that is really unflattering to her complexion (sorry, Marama).

Finally, we have the cook. Just what did he do to Fahim's servant girl? The same thing he did to the two Water-thieves from the previous episodes - apparently made them disappear with a trace. I'm reasonably sure that he isn't converting them into meals for the rest of the crew, but after the latest plot twists - who knows?

So. Several plot twists and inconsistencies vs. brilliant acting of the main cast in the "casino". Way to go, main cast!

Re: Roc (02)

And a bit more about Roc the giant bird. Basically, in the canon of the “Arabian nights” it is nothing more than a giant eagle or a hawk, whose wings overshadow the sun and who feeds on elephants, cattle, giant snakes and so on. There is not much monstrous about the Roc, then, other than its size. Roc is an uttermost – well, one of the uttermost – manifestation of humans’ ancestral primate fear of the diurnal birds of prey that hunted our ancestors (fact that is supported by the fossils), nothing more. In Harryhausen’s Sinbad movies the Roc was just a “random encounter”, a monster that Sinbad and his crew had to defeat. In Sinbad 2012, the Roc is actually turning to be a helpful and intelligent ally to Sinbad, after he frees the giant bird from Razia’s chains. Score 1 for the new Sinbad show and for the new and improved (as hard as it is to believe) Roc!

Re: Sinbad 2012, ep 2 (01)

Today's episode main themes were captivity and team work. Sinbad is held captive by his grandmother's curse, he and his crew are being held captive by Razia and her Water-thieves, and the Roc is being held captive by Razia as well. Razia is shown opposing to Sinbad in terms of leadership, since apparently in her authoritarian way she needs the Water-thieves to be important. Uh, no. Even without Razia's leadership the Water-thieves will still be a problem to the nearby ships - they don't appear to be turning into anglers and farmers as soon as Razia's son is slain and she is dethroned. They may be less organized, but it takes the brute physical strength of a Roc to save Sinbad and his crew.

Sinbad and his crew... Supposedly, in the middle of this crisis, they learned teamwork, and Rina, apparently, isn't just a pickpocket, but a member of the WWF, unlike Anwar, who couldn't be sounding more like Connor Temple if he didn't try. Why, his relationship with Rina is sort of like Connor and Abby's, where it's the girl, who's the brawn and the common sense. At least, not to add insult to injury, Rina isn't blond.

Back to team work. The quintet learned to act together? Well, sort of. After all, when the fat is in the fire, all people try to work together; you need a special sort of hatred to keep them apart and at each others throats at the moment of need, and this doesn't appear to be the case here.

These philosophical issues, however, take a second place to the fact that night and day seem to be jumping like crazy in the new Sinbad-verse. Yes, undoubtedly, the show's producers are using CGI to make the times of the day (pun intended), but did they have to make them jump like crazy? I have no idea.

Finally, the Roc. Yes, it's CGI'd, but why does it need horns? It's a bird, it's supposed to be relatively light weight and aerodynamic, and even though it's a magical bird, horns are simply... unnecessary. Plus, it's a force for goodness (at least in this ep), so the horns don't have any metaphorical significance, either.

As for its behavior... yes, the "new" Roc is spot-on: it capsized ships (well, boats), and it gave fair winds, and it's big. Pretty much how it is described in the canon Arabian mythology. Whether or not the new TV series will diverge from this stereotype in the next episodes or not, only time will tell.

So, some philosophical pretensions to fill the dialogue, some CGI of various quality, and a reasonably canonic (and understandable, pardon my English) monster. A rather regular S&S show episode, that.

Re: Sinbad 2012, ep 01

What I have uncovered and concluded, after researching the more obscure terms & facts that appeared in the show.

The Amir was the title of secular Muslim rulers, similar to European Prince and possibly Duke, unlike the Khalif or the Sultan title, which was more analogous to the King.

Basra was the medieval name of modern Al Basrah, which is a southern city of modern Iraq, (yes, that Iraq), located near the coast of the Persian Gulf, hence its nickname “Venice of the Middle East”. Setting sail from it, Sinbad and his new crew should have entered the Persian Gulf, a rather narrow strip of the sea, located between Western Asia (Iran) and the Arabian Peninsula – odds that the seafarers expected to see some land (or other ships) on one side or another, thus to end up seemingly on a vast and empty stretch of the ocean or sea was a shock.

Where they could have end up? Considering how heavily the new series seems to be influenced by Harryhausen-era Sinbad movies, I would say in “Elfland”, populated by the Roc, cannibals and island-sized whales (in the original “Arabian nights” tales), among other creatures and beings. However, if the show will try to adhere to realism, then it is the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean, i.e. the Arabian Sea.  

What was the name of the first monster? There was none, but the official site talks about the marids, who, in the “Arabian nights”, were a type of genie that lived in the oceans and seas, but... they were nothing like what the show has shown so far. In the “Arabian nights”, the marids were the most powerful of all the genies, capable of granting wishes, and had personalities, and a civilization of their own. The creature that attacked the ship was, honestly, a version of the “future predators” from another UK TV show – “Primeval”. It even looked like a future predator (whenever it was not just a mass of water instead), and was just as powerful with its only weaknesses being its lack of sight and a nature that was too feral and bloodthirsty to be truly intelligent. Both of these traits were demonstrated by “Primeval’s” future predators in abundance.

Next stop – Razia (implied razor?) and her Water-thieves (cannibals?).