Wednesday, April 18, 2018

LOST IN SPACE Again

Article first published as TV Review: LOST IN SPACE on Seat42F.


Amid a flurry of reboots and revivals, Netflix rolled out a brand-new version of LOST IN SPACE this week. A sort of sci-fi Swiss Family Robinson, the current series, like the original, finds the Robinsons crash-landing on an alien world. With no way off and only so many supplies, they will have to rely on one another and adapt to the environment. Of course, they have the help of Robbie the Robot and must watch out for the nefarious Dr. Smith.

The new LOST IN SPACE looks fantastic. That shouldn’t be surprising, as recent television series have been able to make good on special effects, even with a small screen budget. The world looks fantastical, the technology is cool, and Robbie himself is fully CGI-ed. The sequences with the spaceship are stunning, and I had no problem believing the setting as it is shown.

The story is, as it should be, focused on family dynamics. In this iteration, flashbacks are used to show us the Robinsons were far from perfectly happy prior to events. Father John (Toby Stephens, Black Sails), often away on military missions, was well on the way to divorce with his brilliant wife, Maureen (Molly Parker, House of Cards), who was tired of keeping the home running without him. Elder daughter Judy (Taylor Russell, Falling Skies) was totally devoted to the clan, even willing to give up escaping a dying Earth if her little brother, Will (Maxwell Jenkins, Sense8), couldn’t go, too. But that left middle child Penny (Mina Sundwall, Maggie’s Plan) unsure of her own place.

This is more nuanced and interesting than the original. LOST IN SPACE lacks the cheese it was previously known for, and instead attempts a more ambitious, modern narrative. This is extended to the supporting players, including a faux Dr. Smith (Parker Posey, A Mighty Wind) whose intentions are kept hidden from the audience and other characters. And by keeping it focused on the family, viewers only get things outside the scope of their experience in tidbits, leaving a lot of questions to be answered in small spurts over a longer period of time.

Most of these adjustments are good and needed, but where it feels a little weird is in Robbie the Robot himself. By the end of the first hour, we’ve met Robbie, but there are some pretty big questions surrounding him that make him hard to trust. This adds some uncertainty and threat, and yet it’s hard to believe any LOST IN SPACE would not make it turn out all right. Given Robbie’s pop-culture status, it seems odd to treat him this way. It also makes his uttering of the iconic catchphrase feel forced and jarringly out of place, especially as he doesn’t say much before or after.

It seems unlikely that any member of the Robinson clan will die even though they are surrounded by things that are trying to kill them. That doesn’t gel all that well with the complex serial story. (Individual episodes have some procedural plot, but there is definitely an important ongoing element.) Audiences of this kind of show are used to there being some sort of cost or sacrifice over time, and LOST IN SPACE doesn’t really make room for that in sticking with the family framework.

The result of all this is something pleasant and entertaining, but lacking the teeth needed to make it a fully realized and compelling story. It’s pretty good television, not great television. Which would have been fine ten years ago, but may leave it struggling to find a passionate fan base in this day and age.

LOST IN SPACE’s ten episode first season is available now on Netflix.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

KILLING EVE Slays

Article first published as TV Review: KILLING EVE on Seat42F.



WARNING: Some relatively light spoilers contained within.

BBC America’s newest drama, premiering tonight, is KILLING EVE. Based on Luke Jennings’ Villanelle novellas, the series is essentially a cat-and-mouse game between a serial killer and a super smart intelligence agent. While that does sound a bit done-to-death as a premise, the lead performers, their individual personalities, and the dynamic between them, makes this one highly compelling and totally worth watching. With some great supporting characters, a few stereotypes tossed on their heads, and beautiful settings throughout Europe, it is one I can definitely recommend.

KILLING EVE takes its time getting started. When we first meet Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh, Grey’s Anatomy), she is working as an assistant at MI-5. Although she is smart and obsessed with female serial killers, she doesn’t have much authority to investigate. When she raises solid, valid points to her superiors, they are quickly shot down. This obviously can’t be where she operates from for the course of the series, but it’s not until episode two where she really settles down into what will be her base of operations, in the role she needs to front this story.

On the other hand, the hired assassin, Villanelle (Jodie Comer, Doctor Foster), is pretty much fully formed from the beginning. Traipsing across the continent towards whatever target she is sent to next, she enjoys her job and is very good at it. Villanelle isn’t the master of her destiny, but she acts like she is, rebelling when those who would direct her do things she doesn’t agree with. She is probably insane, definitely psychopathic, and also highly intelligent. I wouldn’t want her attention on me.

The two women do cross paths directly early on, which is appreciated, rather than keeping them apart for a very long time, as one might expect the series to do. The scene is magnetic, and communicates much of what the rest of the season will surely be, layered with delicious, beautiful tension. While they really don’t start their personal game until the very end of the second hour, this meeting helps drive through all the set up, hooking viewers early on, rather than making them wait until the plot is fully formed.

Comer and Oh are fantastic, and while they steal focus in every scene, they have plenty of help to build up the world. Kim Bodnia (The Bridge) manages to convey danger and threat while appearing not at all dangerous and threatening. David Haig (Penny Dreadful) plays the epitome of mentor, knowing what buttons to push to properly guide and motivate Eve, while also seeming like an every man, in a good way. Fiona Shaw (the Harry Potter films), always excellent, is terrifically understated here. Owen McDonnell (An Klondike) plays the supportive husband as more than just a trope, someone who both truly understands and doesn’t at all get his wife, Eve. Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Barry) is just plain fun at this point. Together, they effectively help sell the show.

KILLING EVE is on BBC America, and I’d say it shares some DNA with one of the network’s best former series, Orphan Black. It has a similar dark tone, with a slightly offbeat story and a solid ensemble. Once again, it’s a magnetic female lead, two this time, that will be the number one reason to watch, while giving them a fleshed-out framework to be supported by. Other than that it once more involves law enforcement and a criminal, a conceit extremely overused on modern television, this is a really great series, and definitely one I want to continue watching. Thankfully, it’s already been renewed for a second season.

KILLING EVE premieres tonight on BBC America.