The Prisoner Review: “Once Upon A Time” (Episode 16)

“If you think he’s that important, there’s certainly no other alternative!” – Number Two, marking Number Six’s card for good and all… or is he?

Airdate: January 25th, 1968

Written By: Patrick McGoohan

Plot: An old Two returns to the stage, and he has finally had enough. No closer to finding out the answer, he decides to gamble on a psychological technique called “Degree Absolute”. To cut a long story short, it’s regressive therapy that attempts to get at his core, to try and figure out the why of his resignation. But Degree Absolute is a dangerous method for both captive and prisoner…

Review:

The series finale is probably the TV episode that writers should cherish the most when crafting said outing, for reasons that might come off as obvious. So often, television shows have been canceled with very little warning, thus preventing the writers from creating a compelling conclusion to the whole myth arc. That means when they can negotiate their exit, or at least are given ample warning to wrap stuff up, they must do so with aplomb. This has become even more common as time has gone on – Mary Tyler Moore’s “The Last Show” and MASH‘s “Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen” set the tone for good.

Not all series finales that are pre-planned are universally beloved. Seinfeld and Game of Thrones ended with rather contentious episodes. But when done well, hot damn, they stick out!

The Prisoner was a show that ran longer than it was intended to. Meant for 7 episodes under McGoohan’s hand, it got ten more than that. (At least, based on one interpretation of the production – others argue that the show was meant for 13 episodes, but got four more with the trade-off for being only one season). Hence why the show appears to have gotten more insane from its already loopy beginnings. For the most part, the writers did manage to make it work (let’s just pretend “Do Not Forsake Me” was just a fever dream), but eventually, the end had to come.

In fact, the ending appears to have been a two-parter, two separate episodes that lay down the gauntlet for good. The question is simple… if the past episodes were insane, just how effed up are we going to get with these last two hours of this absolutely fascinating batch of television?

My money’s on very, but god damn, it’s gonna be a fun ride getting to the end if this episode is any indication.

Wow.

The Prisoner Review: “The General” (Episode 7)

Back in the 60s, the idea of watching television to complete a course must have seen as being on the pulse of the future. Now, look at us. We can use the internet to do much the same. We can, but we don’t.

“I would like to say a brief word about SpeedLearn. It is quite simply the most important, most far-reaching, most beneficent development in mass education since the beginning of time. A marriage of science and mass communication, which results in the abolition of years of tedious and wasteful schooling.” – The Professor. Here’s a hint – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Airdate: November 3rd, 1967.

Written By: Lewis Greifer.

Plot: A new method of education has taken the Village by storm. Labeled “SpeedLearn”, it promises the ability to take a three-year course in mere minutes. The current offering is history, with a focus on the post-Napoleonic era of Europe. However, Six suspects – and discovers – that there is fraudulence behind the too-good-to-be-true product. But what is the source?

Review:

The intriguing thing about watching classic television in the contemporary age is just how much investment in episode-to-episode continuity has taken hold. I mean, nowadays, an increasing percentage of television shows are dispatching with the status quo in favor of a more streamlined narrative, which requires one to often go all-in on a show from episode 1, or at least, the start of the season. While more obvious for dramas who have used the long game to their advantage (Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and The Sopranos), this trend has even evolved towards even animated shows with a target audience of children adopting this strategy (Steven Universe has done so, albeit broken up with “slice of life” episodes, while Netflix’s Hilda operated it’s first season as a continuous narrative).

As a result, watching older television shows becomes more interesting. Not that it makes them less fun, but the more episodic nature therein tends to make us contemporary viewers question continuity. This is especially true of The Prisoner – time and again, on this blog or across the internet the order of the episodes has been mentioned as the great curiosity of the franchise.

With that in mind, we get an episode that can count as either a direct sequel or prequel to the prior one reviewed, “A, B, and C” – the title being “The General”.

Gravity Falls Review: “Society of the Blind Eye” (Season 2, Episode 7)

You see? Nobody suspects the quirk.

Airdate: October 27, 2014

Synopsis: After realigning any and all evidence found, Dipper deduces that Old Man McGucket might have wrote the journals about the mysteries in Gravity Falls. After meeting up with the man, McGucket claims amnesia before 1982. Deducing that his mind was wiped, the gang wind up in the innards of the Gravity Falls Museum of History, where they find a secret society dedicated to wiping the memories of the townsfolk.

Review (MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK): I could gush endlessly about this episode, to the point where the review would be just me squeeing for about a novella’s worth of words. Instead, I will just plow through the plot basics quickly, and review the more in-depth afterward.

The plot? Fantastic. Fantastic buildup, fantastic twist, fantastic climax… fantastic all around.

OK, you want more? I’ll give you more.

Movie Review: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Image stolen from Google Images, as well as being a screencap from Futurama. Don’t sue me, FOX!

Wow. My 100th official post. A pointless milestone that will be forgotten in a few years time. Better enjoy it while it lasts.

I started this blog (when it was called “Geek Zone”) as a class project in High School. I was to post some of my assignments to this blog. In the meantime, the class was also given free reign to post whatever else they wanted to this blog. I went with episodic reviews. After the class ended, I… kept reviewing TV shows. First Red Dwarf, then Gravity Falls, then certain episodes of The Simpsons. Then the blog got renamed, because, well, I wanted a new name.

So, what could I possibly do for my 100th post? What thing could I review for my 100th official post? It has to be momentous, brilliant, epic… and other synonyms for “great” that I can’t think of.

Ladies and Gentlemen… after the jump….

Red Dwarf Review: Series V, Episode 6: "Back to Reality"

Airdate: 26 March, 1992

Synopsis: Starbug is investigating the wreck of the SS Esperanto, which was conducting seeding experiments at the bottom of an ocean-covered moon. Apparently, despite the success of the ship, all the members committed suicide, apparently as a result of a toxin. Suddenly, Starbug (whose members suddenly become depressed) has to evade a giant squid. They crash…

…and thus, ends the Total Immersion Videogame Red Dwarf. Final score? 4%.

The people playing the game wake up, and slowly not only realize that they outright played the game wrong, they also get oriented to who they once were. Kryten was played by half-human cyber-cop Jake Bullet, who was a mere traffic officer. Lister was played by Sebastian Doyle, the voter colonel of a fascist state who headed a secret police to take people away. Rimmer was played by Billy Doyle, a miserable failure and the half-brother of Sebastian. And the Cat? Horror of all horrors, he was played by Duane Dibbley, a geek with no sense of fashion nor grace. Despair sets in, especially once Jake Bullet kills somebody that reveals the pure horror of the world they exist in.

Review (SOME SPOILERS MAY BE AHEAD): This was the first episode written for Series V, which was thought to be the last series due to cast issues (for one, Robert Llewellyn was going to do Red Dwarf USA, and Chris Barrie was to work on The Brittas Empire. Thus, the episode was pushed back to the last one, in case it was truly the end for the Boys from the Dwarf. Juliet May, who directed this, had trouble confining to the sci-fi atmosphere of the show and resigned midway through the series.

So, how low could this go? Well, let’s just take a look at a review or two or four of this episode.

“If there is one show to watch again (and again and again), then this is most certainly it.”  – Stacy Kidd, Den of Geek’s “Top 10 Red Dwarf Episodes”.

“And so, one of the immutable laws of the universe asserts itself – poll Red Dwarf fans on their favourite episode, and ‘Back to Reality’ will win.” – Fan site Ganymede and Titan, on the episode placing 1st in the 20th-anniversary survey.

“Well, this is it – the pinnacle of human endeavour. The videotape containing this one should be behind bullet-proof glass in a museum. It’s no less than perfect, with an inspired mix of ingenious plotting, brilliant writing, and stunning performances. This video could cure cancer.” Reviews by Gavrielle, taking a look at Series V. 

“It’s just shy of 1000 points ahead of it’s rival – by far the biggest margin – and it’s the favourite episode of 18% of Red Dwarf fans. It won the “Smegzine” poll in 1992, the Better Than Life poll in 1999, the G&T poll in 2008, and it’s our second non-mover. Back To Reality is quite simply a remarkable piece of television.” – Ganymede and Titan, on the episode placing 1st (again) in the Silver Survey in 2013.

(Apologies to those whose quotes I used. Shoot me an email if you want them removed.)

So, all those quotes indicate that this episode is quite popular. And you know what?

They are right.

I don’t believe that things can achieve pure perfection. However, “Back to Reality” comes pretty damn close to breaking that threshold. It is one of the most well-constructed TV episodes ever.

The reason de jure of Red Dwarf’s popularity are the well-crafted characters and the humor that revolves around them. “Back to Reality” takes this to the hilt, all while adding plenty of drama surrounding the characters.

First, there’s Jake Bullet. The centerpiece of Kryten’s character is that, no matter how much of a superego he is, he is simply unable to bring himself to kill humans; it’s in his programming. Jake Bullet has the option to stun a human with a weapon he uses. He instead kills. Thus, he is driven to the emotional brink, contemplating terminating himself (i.e. suicide).

We then have Sebastian Doyle. As much as Lister is an unambitious slob, he is also a firm believer in the goodness of the average man, as well as independence and skepticism of authority. He is quite clearly the most moral character of the core four. To see him in an absolute dictatorship, overseeing a secret police out to kill dissenters of a fascist state, goes against every single one of his principles.

Now, Billy Doyle. Rimmer and Billy are both pathetic lowlifes who have quite clearly failed in their life. However, Rimmer has tried to justify this by blaming other people. To an extent, Rimmer has a good excuse; his upbringing was pathetic. Now that Billy and Sebastian had similar upbringings, with Sebastian being more successful in theory, he could no longer blame his past for his failures. He puts it best:

“This is a nightmare! I’m on the run from the Fascist Police with a murderer, a mass murderer, and a man in a Bri-Nylon shirt!”

On the subject of the Bri-Nylon shirt, we now go to Duane Dibbley.

Duane Dibbley?

This episode pretty much states what we have long known/feared; the Cat’s personality is as thin as a New York Pizza (relatively speaking, of course). The Cat’s focus is on his self-image and grace, as well as being the most action-oriented of the three. Duane has none of that; he wears suspenders, has an overbite, and a bowl cut. He has no sense of action or grace. With the one outstanding trait of the Cat nullified, Duane has no sense of self-worth.

Beyond character, the writing is brilliant. There is little unnecessary exposition; even Andy’s “Welcome Back to the Real World” sets the tone for the “We really suck” attitude that encompasses the characters over the next 15 minutes. The twists and turns add to the humor and character development.

Production-wise, this episode really stretches it. The acting of everybody is fantastic. The cop, played by Lenny Von Dohlen (Harold Smith from Twin Peaks), is shown with a borderline lust for his cruel job… and it is fantastic. Nothing is overt; emotions are first seen in the faces. When Sebastian realizes what his job is, his face quickly becomes pained.

It’s a very small detail, but look closely at Sebastian’s face. you can tell that he is truly shaken by the reveal that he was only a mass murderer.

The car chase that follows, well, is unique. Let’s just say it really helped with the budget. It really is fantastic and helps bring the episode to its final twist.

This episode has it all; fantastic characterization, superb humor, sublime drama, effective special effects, awesome acting. In short, this is…

…the best Red Dwarf ever.

Favorite Scene: I should really just provide a link to the episode on iTunes. It really is that fantastic. However, since I have to pick, I will simply say that the car chase is sublime.

Least Favorite Scene: Saying this has a least favorite scene would be an insult to this episode. It’s simply fantastic.

Score: 10.