Arthur and I had a DVR backlog and some time on our hands, so we decided to catch up on Alphas. Spoiler: It’s terrific. (I kid! This is a spoiler-free review.)
Alphas is the Syfy [sic] channel’s new series, about a group of people with extra-normal abilities. You may be thinking this ground has been covered. Didn’t Heroes already collapse under its own massive conceit?
There have been a lot of failed attempts at “real” superheroes (although Heroes had an excellent first season before it all went south), but Alphas is unique in a lot of ways.
The Alpha team is lead by psychiatrist Lee Rosen (David Strathairn). They are a small, underbudgeted group working under the Department of Defense, who seem to be allowing Rosen to function because they don’t know what else to do with “alphas.”
Alphas is distinguished first by its cast. Lead by Strathairn, it includes Mad Men‘s Ryan Cartwright (John Hooker) as Gary, a high-functioning autistic young man who has the ability to see and read any electromagnetic wave in range (that’s every cell phone conversation, every security camera, etc.). I literally didn’t recognize Cartwright, whose character work is flawless and avoids many autism clichés. Hollywood has an infinite ability to assemble casts of “types;” pretty people who fill out the range of roles and have passable acting skills. Somehow, they all look alike to me, but I find the cast of Alphas a cut above.
One of the most interesting aspects of the show is that the alphas don’t just have any old ability (super-speed, x-ray vision, wall-crawling). Gradually, it became clear that all of their abilities were neurological in nature; they’re all sensory processing, or thought-based, or adrenal-based, etc. Additionally, while Gary at first stands out as “abnormal,” over the course of the first few episodes we notice that almost all the alphas have neurological differences that are somewhat debilitating. Bill, whose adrenal bursts give him super strength, is stressed and nervous most of the time. Rachel, whose highly sensitive senses can see or hear (etc.) almost anything (with concentration, and one sense at a time), is germ-phobic (understandable, when you can see the germs). And so on. Basically, the show has taken some of the current understanding of Asperger’s Disorder and other neurological conditions, as differences rather than deficits, and fantasized that concept into a larger realm. Which is so clever. It’s the first genuinely new take on superheroes in many years.
Right now there are a lot of open questions. We have a team, loosely connected under Dr. Rosen, and with some tensions. We have government oversight that may or may not be benign. Probably not. We have a “compound” in Binghamton (some three hours outside of New York City), where dangerous alphas are sent for “treatment.” Also introduced is an enemy alpha organization, whose size and intentions are unknown. So, there’s a lot going on, and a lot that can change in the basic structure of the series, which is all for the good.
I’m thoroughly enjoying this series. There are some television clichés, but the writing is mostly sharp, the acting is very good indeed, and the direction, with overlapping dialogue, humor, and movement in the drama mix, is delightful. I also really appreciate a show that is clearly actually filmed in New York; the liberal use of location footage makes whatever they’re doing in the studio pretty seamless, and it’s a rarity on television. Is anyone else watching this? Is anyone interested in weekly reviews?
I haven’t caught this yet, but I love David Streithern. Go for it!
Coincidental to Deborah’s point about casting, I was rewatching an ep of MM S2 w/ commentary from Rich Sommer (Night to Remember, iirc). He noted that MW and Audino/Schiff like to cast comedians, even for small, non-comedic roles, adding that it means that everyone on MM has their own rhythm and look.
Joss Whedon has said he likes to cast comedians for dramatic roles, because he thinks comedy is harder, and once he’s seen them do comedy well, he’s confident in them.
David Strathern is GOLD- remember the John Sayles movie, Matewan?
excellent ! hes always great. and he was in the Temple Grandin movie
I was just saying to Arthur that it was interesting that this is two roles recently where I’ve seen Strathairn playing mentor to an Aspie person.
Strathairn has a long and wonderful career. Just off the top of my head, Good Night, and Good Luck, Passion Fish, Howl (which I reviewed here)…he’s one of those people who’ve been in everything. He sometimes overacts in Alphas, but that can happen on a TV schedule.
I watched the first episode, have the rest in my DVR, looks promising.
Syfy is becoming known for cancelling cerebral shows after one season. Caprica was a huge casualty. I wouldn’t invest my attention in Syfy until they can demonstrate that they are willing to commit to smart tv shows as opposed to B-grade sci-fi and pro-wrestling..
I’ll try to catch this one, just in case my cable company knows what I’m watching. I’d love them to see that I’ll make an attempt at SyFy shows that are actually Science Fiction; Fantasy or Science Fact would be fine, too. Clicking my remote isn’t that much of an “investment”–especially when several episodes are On Demand.
Warehouse 13 isn’t bad & I’m hoping for the rumored steampunk spin off starring H G Welles (who’s a woman) & Ianto from Torchwood. Eureka is being cancelled–supposedly because the performers’ contracts are coming up for renewal & the parent company doesn’t want to pay them more.
Hey, we’ve got to watch something until Mad Man reappears! For me, the return of Doctor Who at the end of the month is one ray of hope. (Then, there’s Sherlock–pushed into 2012 even in the UK.
Also–David Straithairn!
REALLY enjoyed the first episode.
Definitely am going to keep watching.
Under the continuing topic of “What To Do Until Mad Men Returns”–how about The Hour? I caught the first episode on BBCAmerica last night. It’s about the making of an hour-long news program on BBC, back in 1956–with lashings of undercover intrigue. (Available on my cable system’s On Demand, as well.)
Despite early comparisons in the press between the two, the British miniseries The Hour, which premieres tonight on BBC America, isn’t going to satisfy your hunger for Mad Men. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to recommend it.
Sure, the two shows share a vaguely similar mid-century aesthetic – think nattily dressed men clutching a cigarette in one hand and a highball glass in the other. (Well, and iced tea and toxic rain are both wet, but that doesn’t exactly make them two peas in a pod.) Actually, they share another, more tangential quality: They’re both about professionals who’ve made a career out of appealing to – and manipulating – an audience.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/screens/2011-08-17/the-hour-tk/
Stylish sets & costumes plus an interesting cast. A change to play: “Is that the guy who played X in Y?”
nB, I don’t have access to BBCA from my provider. I’ve written to the publicity department for this show and I hope to hear from them.
“chance” not “change”!
Darn! I hope you get to see the show; it might actually be good. It already looks good.
Here’s BBCamerica’s site, with lots of information: http://press.bbcamerica.com/program.jsp?id=32986
“Alphas”
I think David Straithern is the tone setter. He’s been in too many intelligent roles to go dumb now; he’s a brand name–like Bruce Campbell, who lets you know that there will be action, but fun too. Straithern is there to tell you that the action will not insult your intelligence.
These people are all misfits–even the capable Nina displays a tinge of psychopathy made possible by her gift. The lucky ones like Bill and Gary have a very understanding person at home. it’s only together that they can function as “normal”, and the smart ones are starting to get it, and Rosen fosters that attitude.
It makes me think of Theodore Sturgeon’s “More Than Human.”
“The Hour”
I was intrigued to see what Anna Chancellor would do with a world-weary journo, but all she seemed to do was feed lines to Romola Garai (Beeb for Gwyneth Paltrow) and smoke meaningfully. The hero, Ben Whishaw, alternates between sulking and moping, with bouts of furious walking. For all the brilliance he’s supposed to embody he could pass for Bud Frump.
Some of us remember great British suspence series from the 80′s like “Edge of Darkness”. This is closer to “Edge of Ecru.”