Thursday 28 February 2008

Demon Hand

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 1 Episode 7 - Plot: Sarah attempts to track down the missing hand of the T-888 that was recently destroyed. Meanwhile, Agent Eliison's investigation in to Sarah leads him to Dr. Silberman.

Ellison & Sarah

First of all, we find that Ellison has hidden the T-888's hand in his freezer box. As I think a lot of people expected, he's starting to buy in to Sarah's prophecy and he eventually finds himself at the door of Dr. Silberman. Silberman is here played by Bruce Davison, having been portrayed by Earl Boen in the film trilogy.

Ellison and Silberman sit down to tea. Ellison is drugged by Silberman, who reveals that he needed to be certain that he wasn't a machine. Silberman clearly believes Sarah and realises the danger that someone asking questions about her might pose. Most interestingly, he tells of his encounter with Schwarzenegger's Terminator and the T-1000 as a religious experience. Saying how The Terminator reached out the hand of God to John Connor, 'Come with me if you want to live, like the Sistine Chapel.

Silberman douses Ellison in petrol and sets the cabin on fire around him. As he escapes, he runs in to Sarah, apologising for not believing her. Sarah knocks him out, takes the hand and rescues Ellison.

John

During the course of her investigation in to the whereabouts of the hand, Sarah finds herself at Ellison's apartment, where he has tapes of Sarah from her time in the mental hospital. She takes one away with her, which John watches. It shows her signing a form to relinquish parental responsibility over John. John is understandably upset at this, but Sarah explains how it was on the day that they found each other and that she needed it to give herself the strength and the necessity to break out and get to him.

Cameron

Cameron sets to work in finding The Turk. She ends up at the dance studio of the sister of Andy Goode's partner, Dmitri. She eventually finds Dmitiri and learns that he messed with The Turk's end game protocol to make it lose the chess match in order to sell it to someone. She gets an address in exchange for money, though Dmitri and his sister are soon killed by Russian mobsters, to whom the money was owed. Scarily, Cameron did nothing to help them, as it was out of her mission protocol.

Very interestingly, Cameron shows a very keen interest in ballet while conducting her investigation. She's seen at the very end practising some moves. A voice over from Sarah explains that the machines cannot appreciate beauty, they cannot create art. If they ever learn these things, they won't have to destroy us. They'll be us.

The Review

Certainly interesting to see the characters going off in different directions. The links back to T2, especially relating to Dr. Silberman provided some very intriguing scenes, especially in the cabin as he explained his encounter with the 2 Terminators.

I think The Turk has played a much bigger part in this season than I originally anticipated. The initial set up of the show made it seem as if Sarah, John and Connor would be off systematically taking out key components of Skynet. Instead, it's been a lot more complicated. There are more players in the game and even removing one component has proven to be a challenge. It's a show of great plot depth and a show that patience will be key to stopping Judgement Day and enjoying the show.

Cameron again proves to be a very interesting character, not just relating to her dancing, but also to an exchange between her and Derek Reese, where they both reveal that they know who each other is. I'm guessing there's more to Cameron than we know so far and I wouldn't be surprised if we find out what that is in next week's 2-part season finale. I've also got a slight suspicion that she might not make it out of that finale alive. I've really enjoyed Cameron as character, but I'm not sure that she necessarily needs to part of the show long-term. There were just a few very subtle hints in this episode that suggest to me that something might happen to her.

I guess we'll all find out next Monday. :)

8 out of 10

Monday 25 February 2008

Learning Curve

Stargate SG-1 Season 3 Episode 5 - Plot: A knowledge exchange between the SG-C and the planet Orban leads to a disturbing discovery of the way that the Orbanians learn.

The Exchange

It's made clear that the Orbanians have rapidly advanced technologically during the past few decades. They have a Naqahdah Generator that they are willing to loan to the SG-C for study. Major Carter works with a young girl named Merrin to figure out how the device works and apply the knowledge using Earth technology.
In exchange, Teal'c teaches a young boy named Tomin about the threat posed by the Goa'uld.

Machine Learning

Merrin undergoes a medical upon arriving at the SG-C. From this, Dr. Frasier learns that Merrin's brain is full of nanites. It transpires that the Orbanians acquire knowledge by putting millions of nanites in to the brains of selected children. The nanites create synapses that facilitate rapid and advanced learning. Atfer ten years of learning, the child reaches the age of twelve. At this point they go through a ceremony to remove the nanites, which are then distributed throughout the population. The method allows the knowledge gained by the individual child to be delivered to all of the people of Orban.

Taking Merrin as an example, she has worked for ten years to study and advance the people of Orban's use of Naqahdah. When she goes through the ceremony, the knowledge will be given to the rest of the population, allowing someone else to further her work for another ten years.

There's a catch though, the process of removing the nanites renders the child a vegetable. They are then unable to be re-implanted with nanites or to learn in the normal way. The Orbanians do not seem too concerned by this, but as you can imagine, SG-1 and General Hammond are somewhat apalled.

Fun

Never when to balk at the idea of kidnapping an 11 year old girl, Colonel O'Neill takes Merrin off the base. It seems that he's becoming quite friendly with the staff and students of the elementary school where Cassandra attended. Jack introduces Merrin to the students, who teach her to play and have fun. She's a little apprehensive at first, but learns all about fun and using imagination when she takes an art class with the children.

When she returns to Orban, her knowledge is taken and spread throughout the population. Not just the knowledge of Naqahdah though, also how to have fun. SG-1 returns to see a very different people.

The Review

It's quite a lovely episode. You know from the start that there's something fishy about the way that the children are doing all of the learning from the start of the episode. It was fun to try and figure out exactly what was going on, before it was eventually revealed about 2/3rds of the way through.

Jack's always good with the kids and it was interesting to get an idea of a way that he spends his time off base. Certainly his fondness of Cassandra had made him rather popular amongst the other students.

Seeing it all wrap up nicely in the end put a bit of a smile on my face, even if it was a little hammy. Jack could face a court martial for kidnapping Merrin, but he says it was worth it to teach a little girl to have fun.

I'm pretty sure that the Naqahdah generator that Sam develops with Merrin's help ends up playing a rather large part in coming seasons. It seems to be a rather powerful device, a decent stop gap before the ZPMs are discovered at least.

8 out of 10

Sunday 24 February 2008

The Kindred (Part One)


Stargate Atlantis Season 4 Episode 18 - Plot: Teyla has a series of visions that set her on a path to find Kanaan, the father of her child. Meanwhile, the rest of the Atlantis crew investigate a disease that is sweeping through the Pegasus Gate Network.

Complicated

I'm not going to lie to you, this is one hell of a complicated episode plot wise. It's really a great pay off to the fans who've been with the show since the beginning, as it rekindles plots from seasons one and two.

If you did struggle to recall some of the back story, then I'd recommend reading through the following Wiki entries, just to jog your memory: Poisoning the Well (Episode), Michael (Character), Michael (Episode), Allies (Episode).

Teyla's Visions

Teyla's visions are of Kanaan, who leads her to a trading planet, where she discovers items of jewellery that belonged to the Athosians. She hopes that a meeting with the trader who found them will lead her back to her people, but she is instead taken by a Wraith Dart. There, she finds that her captor is Michael. He appears to have great plans for Teyla's baby. Michael reunites Teyla with Kanaan, but she is distraught to find that Michael has used the Iratus Bug retrovirus to turn him in to a Human/Wraith Hybrid.

Disease

Dr. Keller reports on a disease that has affected 8 worlds in the Gate Network so far. While the virus appears to have run its course on all the worlds, it claimed the lives of 30% of the population in the process. The virus turns out to be a refined version of the inoculation developed by the Hoffans, with the help of Carson Beckett way back in episode seven of season one. If you remember, the inoculation was made to prevent the Wraith from feeding on humans. It becomes clear that someone is seeking to weaken the Wraith's faith in its food supply.

With a little help from Todd, the team figure out that Michael must be behind it. Michael is bitter at the Wraith for rejecting him and does not need to feed on humans to survive.


An Old Friend

Todd helps the Atlantis team to find Michael's base of operations. Sheppard leads a mission to infiltrate it, only to find that neither Michael nor Teyla are there. They are in fact on a Wraith Cruiser that is in battle in orbit with the Daedalus. Sheppard radios to tell Caldwell not to destroy the Cruiser. Unfortunately it escapes in to hyperspace before they are able to disable it.

The guards in the base had been defending one room in particular. With them all neutralised, Sheppard, McKay and Ronon open the door to find Carson Beckett. He'd supposedly been dead for a year, but demands to know what took them so long in finding him.

The Review

As I said, it's a lot to take in and a lot to try and recall, especially as the plot keeps coming thick and fast. Despite that, it lacked a certain something, a bit of spice and excitement if you will. The episode always felt like it was building to something. Knowing this was part one of two, I resigned myself to the fact that the pay off was going to be next week.

Seeing Paul McGillion return as Carson Beckett was a real curve ball. It was one of those end of episode twists that really leaves you tingling. Excitement, confusion, shock and surprise, all the good emotions that you want from a TV show. Carson died in an explosion last year, so it's theoretically possible that he was scooped up by a Dart just before it hit. It'd make sense that Michael would want him. After all, he helped to develop the original inoculation 4 years ago.

I imagine that this will only be a short-lived return, though I'd be more than happy to see Carson back full time. It's possible that the actor simply wanted to take a year out Daniel Jackson style. It'll also be interesting to see if the Elizabeth Weir/Replicator plot is resolved this season. Having both Carson and Elizabeth back within a three episode spell would be pretty exciting.

Can't wait for part 2, even if this episode was slightly let down by being mostly build up.

7 out of 10

Thursday 21 February 2008

Legacy

Stargate SG-1 Season 3 Episode 4 - Plot: A parasite infects Daniel Jackson, leading to him experiencing visual and auditory hallucinations.

Daniel Jackson committed to mental institution

Upon returning from an off-world mission, SG-1 team member, Daniel Jackson began showing symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia. These symptoms included hallucinations of a group of dead Goa'uld's found by SG-1 during their last mission.

SGC medical personnel had little choice but to confine Dr Jackson to a mental institution as he became a threat to himself and others.

Gate travel suspended for mental health review

A review by SGC medical personnel led to a conclusion that Dr. Jackson's medical condition was as a result of gate travel over an extended period of time. Following this, General Hammond took the decision to recall all off world teams and initiate a review of the health of all SG-team members.


Reason for death of Linvris discovered


While being held in an air force mental institution, Dr. Jackson came in to contact with fellow SG-1 team member, Teal'c. During this contact, an organism was transfered from Daniel to Teal'c. Teal'c became very ill soon after, while Daniel's condition quickly improved.

An investigation revealed that the organism was actually a weapon designed by Ma'chello, a man encountered by SG-1 during a mission off-world last year. The organism attacks the Goa'uld symbiote, resulting in death of the parasite and of the host. It appears to cause insanity in humans without a host as a side effect.


Goa'uld weapon wreaks havoc at StarGate Command

During research in to the source of the weapon, Major Carter, Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Frasier all become infected by it. O'Neill and Frasier quickly began to succumb to insanity, but Carter was unaffected. The organism soon left her body and she saw a vision of Ma'chello, informing her that the Goa'uld that held her has already been removed.

This led to an assumption that a protein left by dead Goa'uld in a host's body was being used by the weapon to determine who it should attack. Sam Carter worked quickly to inject the protein in to Dr. Frasier, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c. The three all made a quick recovery.

The review

I enjoyed the link back to Ma'chello. His inventions did seem to have a lot of potential at the time and it was good to see the research in to them being referred back to. It was his page turning device that was being used to deliver the weapon. One of which was in storage at Area 51 and had been found with the Linvris.

The Linvris were also quite interesting. Teal'c describes them as a second tier of Goa'uld that opposes the System Lords. Seemingly with little success, as there were only nine of them. They now pose no threat at all, having been killed by Ma'chello's weapon.

The episode seemed to ebb and flow. Daniel's descent in to insanity was fun to watch. Sam figuring out how to develop a cure for Jack and Dr. Frasier wasn't. Teal'c was pretty much forgotten about until the very end. Poor guy.

This is the third main episode of this series and we've yet to really see SG-1 out and about in the StarGate network. A great deal of the action has taken place on Earth and at the SG-C so far. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is a marked change from the two previous seasons. It's understandable, as if the show was to survive then it would need to show growth of the StarGate programme as a whole, not just of SG-1.

7 out of 10

Wednesday 20 February 2008

Dungeons & Dragons


Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 1 Episode 6 - Plot: As Charley and Sarah fight to save Derek Reese's life, Derek recalls the events that led to him travelling to the past.

The Present

Sarah fills Charley in on the details of Judgement Day, Skynet and the machines. He accepts the story fairly well, but is rather freaked out by Cameron, especially as she works to destroy the exoskeleton of the machine that tried to kill them in the last episode.

Derek's condition is grave, as his lungs begin to fill with fluid. John is able to help by donating some of his blood. Derek has a rare blood type and the fact that John is a match allows Charley to fill in the blanks that the pair are related. He's not John's father as he originally suspected, but his uncle. Knowledge of the fact that Kyle Reese is John's father is a very closely guarded secret, Sarah won't even let Derek know. This is understandable as it puts Kyle at risk in the future. If Kyle is killed before he's sent back to protect Sarah then John is never born.


The Future

It's important to note that this is actually Derek's past. Derek, Kyle and a group of other freedom fighters are holed up in a bunker in a ruined city. Intelligence reports reveal that the machines have a secret weapon, this transpires to be the device that can send people through time. While on an offensive, Derek is captured and held in captivity with other freedom fighters and Andy Goode. Andy confides in Derek that he helped to create Skynet.

Derek and the other captives are inexplicably let go after being tortured. They return to the bunker where news of the capture of the secret weapon is passed around alongside news of the missing Kyle Reese. He had been sent back to the past, but Derek doesn't learn this until he himself is briefed on the device by John Connor.

The Past

Derek Reese and three others arrive in the past to work to stop Skynet from being created. In an effort towards this, we see Derek killing Andy Goode after the chess tournament.

Sometimes they go bad

In the present, Cameron discusses the fact that captured and converted machines have their memories scrambled. She says this is to help prevent them from turning bad.

In the future we see Cameron and Derek meet. Derek assumes she's bad, but is informed that she's been converted to join the freedom fighters. Later on, she helps to stop another convert that has gone bad. It seems that the process of converting the machines to fight for the humans was not and may still not be perfect.

It's assumed that Cameron's memory was removed after she met Derek Reese, so she does not believe she has met him by the time he turns up in the present.


The review

So it's all a little complicated, but works really well once all the bits fall in to place. Not much really happens in the scenes set in the present, but they do help to make the future scenes more intriguing.

We never actually see Derek being tortured, but his demeanour after being taken down to a mysterious basement room suggests that it wasn't a pleasant time. Honestly, I couldn't guess what actually happened and there was a lot about the machines that was 'odd'. For starters, the one that watches over the captives doesn't appear to be particularly advanced. His skin job isn't perfect, nor is his mobility and dexterity. On top of that, a flying machine regularly blasts a high intensity light in to the room in which they are being held captive. At a guess, I'd say that it was to check up on them, but then what were the other machines doing in the make shift prison?

What's more curious is that the machines just let them go. It could've been a ruse gone bad, but I sense that the machines aren't the cohesive force that we might've expected.

Finally, we never actually see John in the future. This may just be because Thomas Dekker isn't old enough to really play that part. Or, it may be because something is yet to happen to John in the series that will effect the way he appears, or the way we perceive him in the future.

The scenes set in the present didn't really contribute much to the episode and were mercifully short. This allowed a tantalising glimpse of the future to play out in intricate detail. It all fit together perfectly in the end, helping to make this one of the better episodes so far.

8 out of 10

Tuesday 19 February 2008

Fair Game


Stargate SG-1 Season 3 Episode 3 - Plot: The Asgard warn of a major System Lord threat in the wake of Sg-1's defeat of Hathor. He helps to set up a peace summit with three of the System Lords to guarantee Earth's protection.

SGC negotiates peace treaty with Goa'uld

Having been warned by Thor of a threat posed to Earth, the SGC successfully managed to negotiate a treaty to place Earth under the Protected Planets Treaty. Negotiations had hit the rocks after it appeared that SG-1 team member, Teal'c, had attacked one of the congregation, Cronus. Sg-1 eventually uncovered a plot hatched by a 2nd member, Nirti, to sabotage the negotiations by making it appear as if Teal'c had attacked Cronus. She had utilised a technology designed to fight the Re'tu, an alien race that appears invisible to human eyes.

Having learned of Nirti's treachery, Cronus and Yu agreed to allow Earth entry in to the Protected Planets Treaty.

Protected Planets Treaty

The Protected Planets Treaty is held amongst the Goa'uld System Lords in conjunction with the Asgard to ensure that a member planet cannot be attacked by any of the System Lords. Those that break the treaty face the wrath of the Asgard. The treaty ensures that no member planet can advance beyond a technological point where they would become a threat to the Goa'uld.


An Asgard bluff

The Asgard, Thor, revealed that the treaty was in fact a bluff on the part of the Asgard. Thor claimed that their forces are stretched perilously then by an ongoing battle in their own galaxy with a force much worse than the Goa'uld.

Thor claimed that if the Goa'uld called the bluff then there is little that they could do to actually defend any of the treaty's member planets. The ruse is upheld by the Goa'uld's belief that the Asgard pose a threat far beyond their technological capability.

Teal'c reveals reason for becoming First Prime of Apophis

In a conversation with Daniel Jackson, Teal'c revealed his history with the System Lord Cronus and how that resulted in him becoming Apophis' First Prime. His father was First Prime of Cronus and was eventually killed after failing to complete a mission that Teal'c described as impossible. Following this, Teal'c and his Mother fled to Chulak where he vowed to become First Prime of Cronus' most hated enemy, Apophis.


Samantha Carter promoted

A delighted Major General George Hammond rewarded Samantha Carter with a promotion for her enacting duties far beyond her remit as Captain. For her part in defending Earth and defeating two System Lords, she was promoted to Major.

The review

I think it's fair to say that this episode's importance and notability probably outweighs it's quality. A lot happens. From Sam getting her promotion, to Teal'c telling of a fatherless childhood and, of course, the summit.

Nirti, Yu and Cronus are a pretty frightening trio. All three seem to have a formidable Earth based past, spread across the Greek, Hindu and Chinese cultures. Yu is most receptive to Earth entering the treaty. apparently he conducts most of his business away from this area of space anyway. Cronus appears to be a big mean bear, and we've already heard of Nirti's evil side, having destroyed Cassandra's planet in season one.

All of this makes for quite a charged episode and it seems at one point that Earth might have to give up the StarGates to secure their safety. Fortunately, Nirti's treachery puts paid to that.

On top of that, Thor speaks of a threat more potent that the Goa'uld. Perhaps we might meet them at some point this season. ;)

7 out of 10

Monday 18 February 2008

Seth

Stargate SG-1 Season 3 Episode 2 - Plot: Jacob Carter/Selmak arrives on Earth to enlist the help of SG-1 in finding a missing System Lord, Seth.


SG-1 uncovers Goa'uld led cult

SG-1, with the aid of the Tok'ra brought down a brainwashing cult outside of Seattle. The cult, led by a System Lord named Seth, had been recruiting local youngsters in to its heavily fortified HQ. The Tok'ra had been conducting a census of System Lords when they realised that one was unaccounted for. They believed that he may never have left Earth. With the help of Daniel Jackson, it was uncovered that the Goa'uld had been leading suicide cults throughout history.

A swift operation saw SG-1 members Colonel O'Neill, Captain Carter and Dr. Jackson allow themselves to be captured to infiltrate the base. Following this, the team were brainwashed, but had safe guarded against this being permanent by carrying devices designed to deliver an electric shock to snap them out of it. Seth was later killed by Captain Carter, who was able to utilise a Goa'uld hand device.

President resolves jurisdictional dispute

The Air Force and the ATF were involved in a jurisdictional dispute over who should lead the operation to bring down the Cult of Seth. ATF mission leader, Agent Hamner had claimed that the cult was a civilian matter. However, the presence of a Goa'uld within the Cult allowed SG-1 to rely on the President to clear the matter up. In the end, SG-1 ran the mission with co-operative support from the ATF

Jacob Carter returns to Earth to resolve family matter

Selmak encouraged a return to earth having become aggrivated by an unresolved matter between Jacob Carter and his estranged son. Jacob and Sam Carter were successfully reunited with Mark, now a father of two children.

The review

This was certainly back to normal after a dissapointing season finale and premiere. It was nice to see Carmen Argenziano return as Jacob Carter, even if the family matter was rather tagged on to the plot.

The idea of a Tok'ra census of System Lords was an interesting one, reinforcing the fact that there is a wider entwork of System Lords than we were initially led to believe. Indeed, Jacob Carter brough a Tok'ra device back with him to display Ra's fmaily tree. This included the likes of Apophis and Hathor, as well as Seth. It stands to reason that there may be other families of Goa'ulds out there that SG-1 will encounter at some point.

In truth, this episode could've worked really well as an episode of The X-Files. I can imagine Mulder and Scully being placed in the position of the ATF quite easily. I guess an X-Files episode would've focused more on Seth's mysterious powers, his huge life span and brain washing abilities. This episode of SG-1 focused instead on the building of a mission to bring the Goa'uld down. After all, the abilities and history of the Goa'uld is no mystery to us.

This isn't the most thrilling of episodes, but it's one of the strongest Earth based ones that we've seen so far. The way that SG-1 had to work under strict confidentiality to prevent the ATF from becoming aware of what was really going on was particularly interesting. It's a decent concept to roll out from time to time, providing it isn't used too often.

7 out of 10

Saturday 16 February 2008

Into The Fire

Stargate SG-1 Season 3 Episode 1 - Plot: The SG-C receives intel from the Tok'ra that helps them locate Sg-1 and launch a mission to rescue them from Hathor.


SG-1 rescued, Hathor defeated

With the help of the Tok'ra, General Hammond successfully returned his flagship team home to Earth after they had spent three weeks missing in action. SG teams 3, 5, 6 and 11 had initially been committed to the rescue, but failed to report back on schedule. A presidential request for further troops was denied, leading the Texan to turn to Teal'c and Master Bra'tac for help.

A co-ordinated effort saw the SG teams off world destroying Hathor's base. Meanwhile, Teal'c and Hammond flew a Death Glider through the StarGate to defeat defences on the ground.

Colonel O'Neill reports back safe and sound, despite Hathor's attempt to turn him in to a host. Of the Goa'uld, he said, 'she's dead'.

Teal'c fails to rally Chulak resistance

Having returned to Chulak, Teal'c appeared dejected at his people's lack of desire to fight the false Gods in the wake of the death of Apophis. The people of Chulak now fear the wrath of Apophis' son, Klorel. Despite an impassioned speech given by Teal'c, few were willing to stand by his side.

Episode review

So I'm trying a new style for the start of the third season. I've been getting a bit caught up in just relaying the story and not really analysing the episode in most of my reviews. So, I thought I'd try and separate the two, with a news report style to discuss the plot, and then a review to follow.

So I've got to be honest, this episode was as much of a mess as the clip show the preceded it. Little that any of the characters did made sense and a lot of things happened that had little point. Taking Jack being taken as a host, only for him to be put in to cryogenic stasis five seconds later. Sure it served a point to allow him to walk up to another of the Goa'uld pretending to be a Goa'uld himself. Problem is, he only kept that up for about two seconds and I can't really understand why the Goa'uld didn't just shoot him on the spot.

Furthermore, Teal'c's return to Chulak could really have been given an episode of its own. I felt that there was a lot to explore there. Instead all that happens is Teal'c finds Bra'tac hurt for some reason and then gives a speech that no one listens to. The people that are willing to stand by his side aren't even seen again, except in a long shot coming through the Gate. By that time, all of the threat has been neutralised!

Anyway, I guess Teal'c is going to return to the SG-C and he, along with the rest of SG-1 can put the incident behind them. I know I will be.

5 out of 10

Midway

Plot: While Teal'c and Ronon are on the Midway station, a Wraith invasion force mounts an attack on Earth.


I had no idea that Teal'c was going to be in this episode, so it was a fantastic surprise to see him walk through the Atlantis Gate. He'd travelled there at the request of Colonel Carter, as she felt that he could help give Ronon some pointers on passing a forthcoming interview with the IOA. As you can imagine, Ronon wasn't particularly receptive to this idea and the pair began to butt heads. It culminated in them having a rather intense sparring session in the gym that lasted well over an hour.

The two of them travel to the Midway station where they must observe a 24-hour quarantine period. While there, the station is invaded by Wraith destined for Earth. It seems that Todd had acquired some information on the Midway system and McKay's 'impenetrable' security while on Atlantis. He chose to divulge that information with an associate, who felt that an attempt to break in to the SG-C was worth a try. They use a stun device to knock out the SG-C personnel and travel through to Earth. Of course Ronon and Teal'c weren't going to let this happen without a fight. They made formidable duo, real kicking ass and taking names kind of stuff. Teal'c's rather taken with Ronon's blaster and it's clear that Ronon is very impressed with Teal'c's prowess in battle.

Back on Atlantis, the team realise that something is wrong and organise a mission to lead a defensive assault on the Midway station. Sheppard and Rodney help to secure the facility but are unable to get past some Wraith security protocols. Dr. Kavanagh (remember him?) in his infinite wisdom falls for a Wraith security trap and initiates the self destruct. Shep, Bill Lee, Rodney and Kavanagh manage to escape in a Puddle Jumper, but the station is destroyed leaving them stranded in the galactic void.

Fortunately, Ronon and Teal'c have secured the SG-C by this point and Ronon is able to travel to the Midway station in the Daedalus to pick those in the Puddle Jumper up. Not before Bill Lee and Kavanagh drive Rodney and Shep up the wall, after what must've been around a week stuck together in the Puddle Jumper. What fun!

Admittedly, it was a rather hammy way to get Ronon to respect Teal'c, by forcing them in to combat together. However, it was done with a real sense of fun and humour that helped to make this one of the the season's best episodes. It was great to see the whole of the cast appearing together for the first time in a number of weeks, even if the majority of the action did centre around Ronon and Teal'c going it alone in a battle to save StarGate Command.

8 out of 10

Friday 15 February 2008

Out of Mind

Plot: Jack, Sam and Daniel are awoken in the SG-C 80 years in to the future. They're told that they were placed in stasis by an unknown alien race and that the rest of SG-1 are dead.


Well this was a miserably poor excuse for a clip show. Turns out that the trio were captured by Hathor, who is quietly amassing her forces for an attack on the other System Lords. She was trying to find out information about the strength of the other System Lords bytaking memories from SG-1's activities of the past couple of years. It was all pretty weak.

Teal'c did not appear to have been captured by Hathor and woke up in the SG-C in 1999. He wants to go and find SG-1 who have been missing for three weeks, but is told by Hammond that they've already exhuasted all avenues in the search. Teal'c opts to leave for Chulak. I hope that it was actually a trick by Hathor to get Teal'c out of the way, because I can't imagine that Hammond would really give up on SG-1 so easily, especially if there was even the faintest hope of finding them alive. It also seemed that Teal'c gave up on them, though maybe he wanted to leave the SG-C to resume the search on his own. Either way, I hope it does prove to be a trick, because it's pretty out of character for both Teal'c and Hammond to have acted in the way they did.

The episode ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, with Hathor presenting a mature symbiote to be placed in to either Jack, Sam or Daniel, in order to help her learn more details of the System Lords' activities.

4 out of 10

Thursday 14 February 2008

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Queen's Gambit

Plot: Andy Goode is killed for his computer, The Turk. This leads Sarah to the final resistance fighter, who is being chased by a model T-888.


I think 'patiently paced' is a polite way to describe this episode. It wasn't bad, it just lacked any real spark for the first 30 minutes or so. This was seemingly caused by the Andy Goode plot only serving as an opener to the main story. Andy shows up after seemingly spending the weeks that have passed since the fire re-writing The Turk. He's entered it in to a computer vs computer chess tournament where the winner will receive a military contract. Andy loses the tournament and Sarah decides to let him in on what they're trying to do, with the hope that he'll stop pursuing this perfect AI. She's too late though as he's dead and the computer gone. She chases after the person that she believes was responsible but he's caught by the Police before she can get to him.

The man is Derek Reese, the fourth resistance fighter. He was there to kill Andy and take The Turk, but someone beat him to it, meaning that the AI is still at large. Most interestingly, Derek Reese is the brother of Kyle Reese, Sarah's former lover and John's father. This makes Derek John's father.

John, Cameron and Sarah launch a ridiculous rescue mission to free Derek. He's being transported in a Prisoner Transport Van. Cameron climbs on top of it, rips the driver out of the cabin and pulls the back door off its hinges, freeing Derek. And there I was thinking they were supposed to be keeping a low profile. Cameron also has to battle the T-888 that had been chasing Derek. She subdues it, but not before it shoots Derek. Derek is taken back to the Connors' house, but his injuries are grave. Rather than let his new found uncle die, John gets help from Charley Dixon.

The action sequence with Cameron battling the T-888 was pretty good fun, I do just fear that those encounters will begin to get a bit tired and over done after a while. Surely there are only so many ways that she can kill them. On the other side, bringing Charley back in to the fold works pretty well for me, especially after he was visited by Cromartie earlier in the episode.

I think this episode mostly suffered from feeling like it was the end of one episode and the start of another. Neither of the plots really had time to breathe and I think this may have done better spread across two episodes.

7 out of 10

Monday 11 February 2008

1969

Plot: A solar flare leads to SG-1 being sent 30 years back in time. There they enlist the help of a young George Hammond and a young Catherine Langford to find their way back home.


I'd seen this before and wasn't particularly looking forward to it. This was largely because I was under the impression that it was just a filler time travel episode ahead of the season finale. Admittedly I was wrong. It's actually quite a lot of fun and full of some really sweet moments.

Those sweet moments mostly relate to the fact that Hammond knew that this trip through the StarGate would lead to them being sent back to 1969. Thirty years ago he had helped them escape military custody and ensured that the events happened correctly again by sending SG-1 through the gate with a note. The idea of him knowing about this all his life and that he never knew if they ever made it back is quite an interesting one. For all he knew, this was the last time he'd see SG-1 but couldn't risk warning them for risk of damaging the time line.

Having tracked down the Gate, which was in storage in Washington D.C., SG-1 are able to dial back out. Unfortunately, they come under fire from base guards and have to jump through the gate ahead of schedule. This sends them far in to the future where they meet a 70-80 year old Cassandra. She's not able to tell them anything, but is able to send them back to their correct time. She even has one of those cool Nox dialling devices!

While in 1969, SG-1 are aided by a hippy couple in a grotesque love bus. They're sweet if unexceptional and help SG-1 to cross the country in search of Catherine Langford who can point them in the direction of the Gate. It's interesting that she acknowledges the incident that left her partner Ernest stranded on an alien world. Though at this point she believes he is dead.

This is one of those episodes that really adds to the lore of the show, by developing ideas of the possibilities of time travel in the show. It was about this time last season when Daniel travelled to an alternate dimension. This works in a similar vein to explore the possibilities of travel beyond simply going from Gate to Gate. It was lots of fun and a fine penultimate episode of the season.

The finale is up next. :)

8 out of 10

Sunday 10 February 2008

Trio

Plot: Rodney, Sam and Dr. Keller fall in to an abandoned Genii mine shaft that is in danger of collapsing during regular earth tremors.


Sam gets involved in some proper action for the first time in ages and wouldn't you know it? She gets a busted leg for her troubles. The room that the trio fall in to is suspended on stilts above a very deep sheer drop down the mining shaft. Quite a daunting prospect, especially when their weight puts too much strain on the stilts.

It all feels a bit like a company team building exercise gone wrong, or a really mean Crystal Maze game. They try all kinds of clever ways to climb up the 20ft to the hole that they made coming through. From stacking crates, to a grapple hook and then to stacking crates on planks laid across beams suspended from the ceiling. The latter of these leads to Sam falling and breaking her leg.

During a penultimate tremor, Dr. Keller gets thrown out from the room, hanging on to a rope. She notices an escape shaft down the pit and swings to it. From there, the trio are able to escape to safety.

Perhaps most interesting is that Keller proves herself to be a bit of a hussy. She learns that Rodney and Katie split up after the quarantine incident and ends up going for a drink with Rodney at the very end of the episode. This, of course, after she and Ronon nearly ended up making out during that very same quarantine incident. She's one to watch out for. She certainly put a braver face on than when she was stranded on New Athos with Teyla in 'Missing'. She's getting to be a fun character and I hope we'll see more of her in to the next season.

I can't say this was the most thrilling episode, but it was fun to watch them trying out different ways of escape. It seems that the writers have tried to split the team up in to smaller groups during the past few episodes of the season. This has allowed for strengthening of bonds between the individual characters. It's worked well, though episodes centering around only two or three of the main cast are always going to lack a little excitement. This is especially going to be true when considering the fact that any major events are going to involve all members of the cast by default.

7 out of 10

Saturday 9 February 2008

Flash Gordon Season One

'I guess the adventure isn't quite over', was Flash Gordon's closing line of the season. This after Flash, Dale, Zarkov and Baylin had found themselves trapped on Mongo following the destruction of the Rift Generator. Let's hope it isn't quite over yet, because Flash Gordon was a show that has really delivered, despite a shaky start.

I've rarely seen a show be so universally criticised. I get the feeling that people wanted to hate it, rather than actually having a genuine dislike for the show. This is in contrast to say, Bionic Woman, where it was clear that many people wanted it to be something that it wasn't, putting up with boring dialogue and woefully mediocre story-telling. I think I fell in love with the show mid-way through its 2nd episode. I suddenly got it. Sure it was silly, ridiculous and crazy, but it was also a great adventure with likeable characters that didn't ask to be or need to be taken seriously. Exactly what you want from some Friday evening science fiction.

With Flash and the gang hopping between Mongo and Earth for the majority of the first half of the season, it could certainly be said that it lacked direction. There were a couple of really stand out episodes though, 'Till Death' springing to mind most prominently. The action changed in the second half of the season, as it became a show that was set almost exclusively on Mongo, with great results.

The change of format facilitated a greater exploration of what has proven to be a very rich world. Each of the cantons featuring a unique and original people to learn about, each adding to a tapestry of people ravaged by the sins of the past, the problems of the present and the prospect of a future under Ming. This Ming isn't quite the maniacal lunatic of previous versions. He's clever and attempts to live up to his title as the 'Benevolent Father'. It all begins unwinding though, particularly as his daughter, Aura, seeks to betray him in the name of a better future for the people of Mongo. In desperation he poisons a reservoir of water in order to blame it on the Deviates and his son Tarik, who had sought to take revenge on a father that abandoned him as a child due to his deviation. When the people of Mongo learn the truth, it really is the beginning of the end for Ming as the people rise against him.

Aura and Tarik succeed in de-throning Ming, going so far as to execute him. Though obviously it'd be no good to do away with him for good. He seemingly teleports himself out of the gas chamber to fight another day. It's a good thing really as I'm sure his bid to re-gain power will make for some intriguing stories. It'll also be interesting to see how Aura handles her new found responsibility, away from the spectre of Ming

With Flash stuck permanently on Mongo, it's likely that he'll spend a large amount of time trying to find a way back home to his recently re-united parents. I'm sure he'll have plenty of trials to go through to succeed in that quest, as well as the occasional crisis to deal with.

This is of course assuming that the show gets picked up for a second season. I hope it does because Mongo has proven to be an intriguing place, particularly when considering its mystical elements. This ranges prophetic monks, to a deep seeded spirituality bringing about a willingness to learn from past mistakes in order to secure a better future. Baylin performing the Ceremony of the Sorrow was a very poignant example of that and I hope that an extra 20 episodes will allow for further exploration of that.

I'm sure the show will be re-run over the next few months and I really recommend that everyone gives it a second chance. Get over your hang ups and enjoy a really fun adventure.

Friday 8 February 2008

Show and Tell

Plot: The SG-C is informed of a possible threat by a mysterious boy, Charlie. He tells of a race called the Re'tu, that are out of phase with humans, making them invisible. A Re'tu terrorist group intends to attack Earth in a bid to wipe out potential hosts for the Goa'uld.


Not bad at all. The threat of an invisible enemy makes for some reasonably tense scenes when the aforementioned terrorist group sneaks in to the SG-C. This leads to the base going in to lock down and the team scouring it to find the Re'tu rebels, getting involved in several shoot outs along the way.

It all starts when the SG-C personnel are unable to activate the iris during an unscheduled off world activation. Charlie walks through the Gate with a warning about the Re'tu rebels. It transpires that his 'mother' had travelled through the Gate with SG-1 when they brought Tonane back to the SG-C earlier in the season. Since then, she has been observing the humans to identify potential threats. Having deemed them worthy, she uses Charlie to warn of the planned war of attrition, aimed at cutting of the Goa'uld's supply of hosts.

The Re'tu themselves are Starship Troopers-esque bug type creatures and it soon becomes clear that they cloned Charlie with the purpose of using him to warn the SG-C. This accounts for his rapidly deteriorating condition as a result of multiple organ failure. Turns out they hadn't had chance to properly refine the cloning technique.

So how do you see an invisible enemy? Having a Goa'uld symbiote around helps. Teal'c's symbiote is affected by the Re'tu's presence. Teal'c describes it as severe agitation, but it looks more like incapacitating pain. It seems that the Re'tu could be the Goa'uld's Kryptonite. Shame they don't seem interested in forming an alliance. SG-1 call the Tok'ra for help and Selmak turns up with some Re'tu spotting devices with built in Re'tu destroying capability. They come in handy as SG-1 and other base personnel work to eliminate the threat.

In the end, Charlie's 'mother' is killed and he becomes more seriously ill. The only solution for him is to become a Tok'ra host. For this reason, he travels back with Selmak. I'm not sure if we ever see him again. But the possibility is definitely there, especially as he formed a strong relationship with Jack. This goes so far as him taking on the name of Jack's deceased son. He could very much be to Jack what Cassandra is to Sam.

I think the Re'tu as a threat were very interesting and helped to make for a good episode. We're led to believe that there are non-threatening Re'tu out there, though they may have been majorly weakened by Goa'uld attack. It's a shame as they could have made for a very interesting ally in the fight against the System Lords. According to the Stargate Command Wiki, the Re'tu don't appear again, though they are often used as an explanation for mysterious goings on.

7 out of 10

Thursday 7 February 2008

One False Step

Plot: A UAV crashes on an alien planet, leading to SG-1 discovering a mysterious, docile and mute species. The team become concerned when members of the species begin falling ill whilst in SG-1's presence.


Well this was great, really fascinating science fiction. The race that SG-1 encounter are very interesting to watch. They're primitive, appearing to be communal but lacking any form of social interaction. Daniel's attempts at rudimentary communication offer little in the way of results. Things worsen when members of the population collapse with a mysterious illness. Frasier takes one of them back to the SG-C and is unable even then to diagnose, let alone cure the problem. It becomes more serious when members of SG-1 begin suffering symptoms, though they mysteriously disappear upon return to Earth.

It all transpires that the aliens have a symbiotic relationship with a plant organism on the planet. It emits a very low frequency tone that stimulates an organ within their bodies. In return, the aliens sing, causing the plant to grow and bloom. The crashed UAV damaged the planet, causing the tone to change, making the aliens ill. This is why the alien that returned to the SG-C did not get better, and why SG-1 did.

The mission puts a little bit of a strain and Daniel and Jack's relationship. One of the symptoms that they experience is agitation, causing them to get involved in a couple of arguments. It goes to show that not everything is as fun and friendly as we might expect. Indeed, imagining the team working and travelling together day in, day out makes me think that there might be the occasional clash of personalities.

This episode also raises a point about the damage that SG-1 could do, simply by visiting an alien world. Any alien species that they come in to contact with could possibly lack the antibodies required to deal with contagions carried by people from Earth. It's not usually a problem, as the populations that they encounter are transplanted Earth-based civilisations. With this species being so different - actual aliens - they may not have been able to cope with contact with other races. It's all very War of the Worlds.

This was a really fascinating watch. The aliens were intriguing and interesting and the whole story was very well written. It was a mystery that didn't fully unfold until the very last frame.

8 out of 10

The Album Club: The Superimposers - Harpsichord Treacle

January's offering from The Album Club is a mellow, funky and joyous offering from The Superimposers.


I'll admit, I'd never heard of The Superimposers until this gem fell through my letterbox. The Superimposers are Dan Warden and Miles Copeland and this is their third album. It's released in conjunction with the launch of their new label, Wonderfulsound.

Now, the idea of trundling around the ethers of the British pop scene, playing small venues and intimate sets has a charming ring to it. That charm and an enjoyment of making good music really comes through in this album. The Album Club Fold talks about fuzzy psychedelia and maverick originality, they're not wrong. There's a Summer of Love vibe that goes hand in hand with smart, witty and fun song writing. They're the kind of songs that you write because you want to share something, not just through lyrics, but also through a melody or a rhythm.

The undoubted triumph of the album is track 2, 'The Northern Song'. A dramatic, driving bass line keeps the pace in an addictive manner that's difficult to get out of your head. As the album goes on, more soulful efforts are abound, allowing this album to prove itself as one of many talents. Again referring to The Fold, it's clear that much talent was put in to it. The Superimposers list an enigmatic range of instruments that contributed to the making of their interesting sound. They list such delights as Vibraphones, Harps and the cool sounding Omnichord.

Towards the end of the album, 'Hand Me Downs' shows anthemic qualities. It's one to whistle along to, sing along to if the mood takes you. It's not quite stadium sized pop, but it might do for a local live venue and I'm sure the crowds are appreciative of such catchy tunes.

I'll admit that the charm and fun isn't present in all songs in the album, some of them suffering from being a little flat, or dull. However, it is for the most part a very enjoyable record and one that I've enjoyed sharing with a couple of friends this month.

Last week's Album Club e-mail promised exciting things for February's selection. I can't wait to see what it is. In the mean time, there's plenty more for me to discover in this Harpsichord Treacle.

Tuesday 5 February 2008

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Heavy Metal

Plot: While hunting for Cromartie, the Connors and Cameron get on the trail of a Terminator that is stockpiling Coltan, a metal used for the assembly of machines after Judgement Day.


This is certainly a step down in pace from the last couple of episodes and I really think we're starting to get in to the nitty gritty of what this show is going to be about. It's becoming clear that there are many, many elements that are all working, often independently of each other, towards making Skynet a reality. In this case, a Terminator model has begun stockpiling Coltan, keeping it safe in a fallout bunker, ready for Judgement Day.

John had been seperated from Sarah and Cameron after finding the Coltan, getting locked in a truck with the shipment, which leads them to the fallout bunker. Sarah is a little beside herself, but Cameron is able to bring her to her senses. John has a little more to worry about, especially during one particularly tense scene where he must sneak past the machine that has gone in to stand by mode. Cameron explains that it'll take him fifteen seconds to boot up, but the fact that you won't know he's done this until he's back to full capacity really makes for an intense scene. They make it away eventually, leaving the Terminator stuck in the fallout shelter, ditching the Coltan in the ocean.

Of the Coltan, Cameron remarks that it's being stockpiled in the place where the factory that she was made will eventually reside. She says that Coltan is in short supply in the future, following all of the bombs going off on Judgement Day. It was interesting to see that the machines aren't just working to make Judgement Day happen, but by planning for future eventualities, they're trying to make a more secure future for themselves. It's all quite fascinating.

Meanwhile, Cromartie gets a plastic surgeon to make him a new face before killing him off. The face he takes is of an actor, played by Garret Dillahunt. Dillahunt is best known by me as playing Matthew Ross in The 4400. More recently, he appeared in the Coen Brothers' sublime No Country For Old Men. His performance in that showed me that he has a great range of characters in him and it's great to see him playing both the washed up actor, and the murderous machine in this. I think he's in a similar vein to Robert Patrick and expect that he'll be a regular for the time being, as Cromartie gets back to chasing the Connors.

The murder of the plastic surgeon gets Ellison involved. He's finding it difficult to put all the pieces of the case together, but definitely feels a connection to the case that, he thinks, resulted in the Connors and Cameron Phillips blowing themselves up in a bank vault. I like the character, but he's not doing anything particularly thrilling for the moment, just following up in the Connors' wake. I'm sure he'll come in to his own throughout this season.

I did really enjoy seeing John go it alone in this one, even if it was against his own will. He's headstrong and eager to remind his mother that they're fighting a war. I do feel that he might regret being too cavalier at some point. He won't necessarily get himself killed, but he could hurt someone else.

This was a fun and tense episode, but it was just lacking a little bit of tightness. A couple of scenes involving Ellison just didn't quite come together and made the pace drop a little.

7 out of 10

Monday 4 February 2008

Holiday

Plot: A dying scientist named Ma'chello uses an invention to switch bodies with Daniel Jackson.


Body switching usually leaves room for a bit of comedy. This episode isn't rip-roaringly hillarious, but it does have its moments, mostly due to Jack and Teal'c accidentally switching bodies upon retrieving the device from Ma'chello's lab. It's fair to say that Christopher Judge plays a better Jack than Richard Dean Anderson does a Teal'c.

The main focus of the story is based around Ma'chello. The dying body of whom is played well by Michael Shanks. In Daniel's body, Ma'chello heads in to town, befriending a homeless man named Fred. He uses one of Daniel's credit cards to treat Fred and a restaurant full of diners to a meal as he attempts to learn about Earth culture. Through what he says at this point, as well as at others during the episode, he developed a number of inventions aimed at protecting Earth by stopping the Goa'uld. For his trouble, his wife was made in to a host and he was severely tortured. He feels that Earth owes him a debt and has taken Daniel's body as payment. He doesn't see through his resentment to see that in doing so, he is no different to the Goa'uld.

Sam works on the device, but Ma'chello reveals that it can only transfer identities one way. This means that she has to arrange a bit of musical chairs to get everyone back in to their proper body. Ma'chello dies, but leaves a number of inventions that, once deciphered, could help in the fight against the Goa'uld. I'm wondering if these play a part in the build up to the season two finale and future battles with the System Lords. Admittedly, I've not seen a big chunk of the next 2 or 3 seasons, so it's becoming quite fun to try and piece everything together.

I did quite enjoy this episode, the body swapping was reasonably light and fun, while Ma'chello's resentment and actions posed some interesting questions and thoughts.

7 out of 10

Sunday 3 February 2008

Outcast

Plot: Sheppard returns to Earth to attend his father's funeral. He's accompanied by Ronon and the pair find themselves embroiled in the hunt for a missing replicator, developed by an Earth scientist.


You'd think all of these scientists would learn not to play with nanite technology, as it invariably leads to bad things happening. In this episode, it transpires that a scientist has developed two replicators. One is a military model and is likely to kill if he's backed in to a corner. We find later that the other was posing as a human woman, in a bid to help Sheppard and Ronon track down the other. She was designed for social interaction and possibly the ability to feel empathy. The interesting thing is that she so easily fooled everyone in to believing that she was a human. With this in mind, it's possible that well designed replicators could exist within society without causing any harm. Or at least not causing any harm until they're called upon to do so.

I get the feeling that all of the Earth-based replicator development that we're seeing is leading up to something. Possibly for a big two-parter sometime in the future.

A large part of the hunt for the replicator takes place around a group of abandoned warehouses at a dock. It was a well choreographed and exciting chase and shoot out sequence, culminating with the two replicators fighting it out. A great bit of action, I thought. In the end, the bad replicator is beamed in to a low Earth orbit and disintegrates on re-entry, while the good replicator has her conciousness downloaded in to a virtual reality simulation without her knowledge.


For me, the most fascinating part of this episode was a chance to get a bit of Sheppard's back story, specifically relating to his family. We find out that John and his father never really got on, mostly due to him joining the Air Force instead of going in to the family business. It's also clear that his brother holds some resentment for him. This has been caused by the fact that John is absent for such long stretches of time, leaving them with no knowledge of his whereabouts and the task of looking after the business and their father. His brother believes that he has only attended the funeral to make sure he gets his cut from the will. It's amazing that this made me quite angry. We know John better than his brother, clearly. We know that he'd never be a money-grabber and that he doesn't really need the money anyway.

Finally, we meet John's ex-wife. She's played by Kari Wuhrer of Sliders fame. We learn that his going off on top secret missions at the drop of a hat really put a strain on their relationship that she couldn't bear. I couldn't imagine that married life really suited him anyway.

This is a tough episode to call. These Earth based episodes always seem a bit tedious because we're so far away from all of the usual excitement taking place throughout the gate network. I'm starting to feel like this whole replicator-shtick has been done to death, even if it did produce a couple of exciting scenes here. It's a sub-plot that continues to grow, but needs to do something soon if it's to maintain any interest for the audience.

6 out of 10

Friday 1 February 2008

Lost: The Beginning of the End

Plot: Upon learning of Charlie's fate, the group on the beach head in to the jungle to warn Jack and the others that the people on the boat may not be who they say they are. In a flashforward, Hurley is re-committed to a mental institution, having had a number of disturbing Island related visions.


Last season, the finale really threw a spanner in to the works of many theories, making a lot of them redundant. I also felt that it put a lot of the mysteries in to context. Maybe there isn't an explanation for the polar bears, the four toed statue, or the smoke monster and maybe that doesn't matter anymore. I think the sooner people realise that, the happier they'll be with the show.

Lost has been the light at the end of a rather dark and strike filled tunnel for a few months now. I've never seen such hype surrounding a show that's four months away from airing. It's hype that's been building steadily for a while now and has really become quite feverish in the past couple of weeks. It's been helped by confessions of writers that mistakes may have been made last season and a willingness to come through on a number of promises. Not necessarily answers, but resolution at least.

So here did begin the end. It was a tense, very taut and emotionally charged episode in which we learn a little more about the post-Island future, specifically relating to Hurley. We see him involved in a high speed police chase, after apparently fleeing a store in fright. Upon his arrest he begins shouting 'don't you know who I am!? I'm one of the Oceanic 6!' What that refers to, I don't know. But we get some idea through the episode that some of the group may have been left behind on the Island. Visions of Charlie don't help matters. He's dead, that's for certain, but he's also appearing to Hurley in order to remind him that 'they' need his help. It really helped to personify the Island as an entity, invading upon all aspects of the castaway's lives, both on and off the island, before, during and after their time there.

We also see future Jack in the episode, it's made clear that this is before we saw him in the season 3 finale. He looks well, appears to be busy doing doctor stuff, but he has time to visit Hurley in the institution. Jack is thinking about growing a beard to escape media attention, Hurley wonders if they should go back to the Island. Jack's only concerned about whether Hurley will 'tell' or not. It's clear that something bad happened and it's clear that the Island hasn't got to Jack yet.


So on the Island, the two groups begin travelling. The beach group travel to warn them that the people on the boat may be bad, while Jack's group travel to the beach in order to get rescued. Jack has quite a lot to deal with, especially since Locke stabbed Naomi. He tries to buy time with the people on the boat, fearing what will happen if they find out that Naomi is hurt. Naomi herself disappears in to the jungle, Kate tracks her down. Naomi contacts the boat, covering for the fact that the Islanders hurt her. Maybe she's not as bad as she seems, or maybe their task is beyond simple retribution.

Hurley is with the group travelling from the beach and is somewhat distraught by Charlie's death. He gets separated from the group and finds himself at Jacob's cabin. He peers through the window, seeing Christian Shephard sat in there. Maybe it was a hallucination, or maybe the Island guided him there. I don't know, but it was great to see that the Jacob plot hasn't been left dangling. Jacob is probably the most intriguing mystery left on the Island and I'm certain that it'll be covered throughout this season. Linking Christian Shephard in to it escalates the intrigue and I can't even begin to speculate how he fits in to all of this, but we have seen him on the Island before, as he appeared to Jack in one of the early episodes of season 1.

The groups eventually run in to each other in the jungle. It's an emotional moment as partners are re-united and Jack's group are told of Charlie's death. Claire, is understandably upset, but Hurley gives a fine speech to try and ensure that he didn't die in vein. This is where everyone has to make a choice. Jack is dead set on getting rescued, but Locke and now Hurley are certain that Charlie's actions have proven that they'd do better to stay on the Island. Sawyer joins Hurley and Locke, along with Claire, Alex and Carl and Ben and Rousseau. Rose and Bernard stick with Jack, as well as Kate and what looks to be the bulk of the rest of the survivors.

What's interesting is how this is discussed by Jack and Hurley in the flashforward. Hurley shows regret for going with Locke. It's all water under the bridge, says Jack. But crucially, both groups have been represented in the future. I've talked before about my feeling that a large part of the success of Heroes is down to the tension brought about by knowledge of future events. The flashforward mechanic could really be a boon to Lost. Indeed, this is already an impossibly tantalising little mystery and I'm almost chomping at the bit to see what could possibly have gone so wrong on the Island.

At the very end, Jack and Kate are in the jungle, when a man parachutes from a passing helicopter. 'Are you Jack?', he says. Jack says nothing, but it's clear that a million things are running through his head. He may be there to rescue them, but he may also be there to kill them.

The Beginning of the End really worked well to maintain the pace and the tension of the end of the last season. The beginnings of season two and three failed in certain aspects as they got too hung up on unfolding resolutions to the events of their respective finales in elaborate detail. That made the beginnings of those seasons tedious and laborious. This season 4 premiere, however, has really progressed the plot forward in a wonderful way. Rescue may be around the corner, but I'm damned certain that there'll be a lot of drama and excitement to accompany it.

9 out of 10