Falling Skies, an apocalyptic science fiction drama from Dreamworks Studios, is entering its second season on TNT. It stars Noah Wyle as a father of three sons doing his best to keep them alive and fighting back against an alien invasion force.
As a teacher of American History, Tom Mason (Wyle’s character) knows all about resistance against a superior enemy invasion force. He uses examples from the American Revolutionary War to teach the others that as long as they keep fighting, there is hope.
The history teacher in Tom Mason might not be able to explain it, but Falling Skies has become a very popular show. This series is one of survival in the face of an overwhelming enemy.
According to TNT, “Falling Skies opens in the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. In the months since the initial invasion, the few survivors have banded together outside major cities to begin the difficult task of fighting back. At the center of the series is Tom Mason (Noah Wyle), a Boston history professor whose family was torn apart.
Anne Glass (Moon Bloodgood) is a pediatrician who becomes the primary medic of the 2nd Mass. Capt. Weaver (Will Patton) plays a fierce leader of the resistance.
One must ask, what is it about Falling Skies that is attracting so much attention?
Despite premiering on Father’s Day in North America, Falling Skies turned in a winning performance Sunday June 17 with a “Prime Time” victory of 4.5 million live viewers (US only).
Falling Skies scored well for a holiday evening with solid ratings of 1.5 in the critical with adults between 18 to 49 years of age and nearly reaching 2.2 million live adult viewers in the 25 to 54 age group. Not since Stargate SG-1 has a science fiction program attracted so many adult viewers.
Seemingly down 25% from the 2.0 rating earned during the 2011 series launch, overall viewership is expected match the 2011 numbers, increasing to approximately 6 million when “Plus 7” DVR and on-line numbers are factored in.
This from a public who often time shifts their entertainment viewing to on-line network sources, mobile devices and or recorded sources (DVR) now widely available in many homes. Perhaps even more telling is the huge crowd that joined the Falling Skies cast at the dedicated Falling Skies TNT web site to participate in “2nd Watch”.
2nd Watch is an on-line program web cast that is conducted after the broadcast at the TNT Network web site. 2nd Watch, hosted by Wil Wheaton, set the Twitter and Facebook world on fire Sunday evening as eager fans set off to invade the TNT web site where they can chat and send text messages to the host and guests!
In this weeks episode of 2nd Watch, Mpho Koaho (Anthony) and Colin Cunningham (John Pope) will be awesome! Speaking of Pope, this week TNT also launched “Pope’s Blog” featuring insight into the enigmatic “bad boy” portrayed “in character” by Cunningham!
Here is the answer: Stories like the ones told by the TNT writers of Falling Skies attract us because they reflect humanity’s greatest strength, the power of adaptation. As a social animal, people are very curious about how others overcome challenges that might terrify us. We are fascinated by the thought that a person’s attitude can make a difference between life and death.
But it is more than that. Falling Skies has come along just as problems in the United States and around the world seem to be spinning out of control. The heroes in this show are doing more than just surviving.
They are people who are able to stay calm and reasonable in the face of fear; people who have retained their optimism and determination in spite of great odds. They are survivors focussed on others rather than themselves, either thinking about their families or their fellow survivors.
And that, I believe is what makes the show important at this particular time in America. Many Americans are facing challenges known only to their grandparents from the Great Depression often referred to as “the dirty thirties”.
Many today have lost their homes or have gone bankrupt. Many others cannot find jobs. The United States government is basically bankrupt. Horror stories from other countries abound. The world seems to be going crazy.
So, Americans and others around the word watch television as a means of escape. Comedy helps them feel better for a half hour at a time. Crime dramas produce a feeling that justice can occur and the good guys will win in the end.
Falling Skies has chosen to use a period in American history to support the characters belief that they will prevail over an enemy with better technology and greater numbers. Americans need that. It provides a sense of hope and empathy. “If Tom Mason and his group can survive all these bad things happening to them, maybe we can too”.
By watching how others cope with a traumatic event, even if it is fictional, we learn to cope with challenges in our everyday lives. “The biggest difference between our cool-headed heroes and the rest of us is not that those people are somehow fearless; it’s that they relate to their fears in a much more harmonious way than others do. In other words, these poised people have learned to work with their fears rather than against them — they don’t get preoccupied with their nerves or struggle to eradicate their anxiety — and this important shift frees them to focus on the moment and perform their best”, says Taylor Clark, author of the book, Nerve, a book about dealing with fear and stress.
During periods of upheaval, we look more to entertainment to help us feel better about ourselves. For example, during the depression in the 1930’s, popular films at the time were Gone With The Wind, The Wizard of Oz and Frankenstein.
These are all films where a few heroes were forced to overcome what seemed like insurmountable odds in order to survive. I believe that our entertainment often reflects the difficulties that we face as a culture. When the economy is booming, our entertainment is far different from what we watch when things seem to be falling apart.
As the creators of Falling Skies state, the show, “focuses on the resilience of the survivors and their determination to maintain their humanity when all else has been destroyed. It is a tale of endurance, commitment and courage in which everyday people are called upon to become heroes. They may be outmatched, outnumbered and outgunned, but nothing can beat the human spirit. Most of all, the series is about the ties that bind people together in the most difficult of circumstances”.
“Tom, I’m old and I can’t remember stuff from one day to the next, but who is that new guy at the back?”
Despite our circumstances, we as a civilization will adapt and change. It is who we are as a people. Falling Skies shows us the best and worst of us in compelling ways. It helps us to learn more about who we are. And it shows us what we are capable of.
Please feel free to leave a comment here, click an icon below to share this interview or you can visit and follow me on Twitter by clicking on my avatar to the right.
Hello fans of the lovely Canadian actress Krista Rand!
Recently I had the pleasure of conducting an extensive interview with an up and coming actress, the gorgeous Ms. Krista Rand!
During our time together we touched upon a wide range of entertainment and personal topics including her work in film, on television, in stage plays, dancing and one of her passions, her workbook LIVE updates! (click the banner below to visit Krista at her Workbook LIVE page)
A resident of Vancouver British Columbia, this wonderfully talented actress was kind enough to invest nearly ninety minutes of her time in an intimate interview.
A seasoned stage actress and dancer, Ms. Rand has a flair for professional makeup artistry on the stage, for weddings and other special events! Krista also shared several aspects of her private life with Karen Ford (our former WHR Sanctuary Team Leader) and I such as her leisure activities and discussion about things like her good friend Gina Holden and even a little about a cats life!
Krista is passionate about her charity interests as well including her support of Sanctuary For Kids and the search for a cure to the genetic disorder, Hunter Syndrome and their Once Upon A Cure gala this very weekend.
Perhaps most telling was her recent experiences at the Sanctuary season three wrap parties! Yes my friend you have read correctly, there was two parties in Vancouver the weekend of August 21, 2011, the official studio event and an after party at non other than the home of Robin Dunne featuring a 1980’s motif replete with exciting music playlists from that much beloved bygone era.
Sworn to secrecy after Comic-Con 2011 where Ms. Amanda Tapping revealed that the Sanctuary was credit to house Mr. Dunne, we have not leaked the details of the 80’s Sanctuary wrap “after party” and whether or not Robin Dunne was able to keep his pants on during the festivities in his own home, but YOU can listen to the revelations here, now TODAY for YOURSELF! ZOMG!
I could go on for a long as the wonderful interview itself, but will cease so you can enjoy the vibrant spirit that is Krista Rand! She is an exciting personality to talk with so I know you will enjoy her interview as much as I did in conducting it.
Please feel free to leave a comment here or if you prefer, click the social media icons below to share this news article. Or as many of our readers and visitors often do, visit WHR on Twitter, or visit me on Twitter by clicking the text links or images avatars in this news story.
We bring the beloved supporters of the children some special news. In only four weeks from tomorrow, one of the most significant charity events to help children with Hunter Syndrome will occur in Vancouver British Columbia. Often referred to as “Hollywood North”, a superb organization has taken shape over the past three years from humble beginnings.
Of whom do we speak? The organization is known as Once Upon A Cure pioneered by Ms. Deb Purcell, a wonderful person who has dedicated a great portion of her life’s energy to finding a cure and mitigation for the unfortunate young souls who are suffering from Hunter Syndrome.
Known or referred to in the vernacular as MPS-II, Hunter Syndrome is a genetically inherited disease with devastating consequence for the afflicted whereby long chains of sugar molecules (mucopolysaccharides) are not broken down correctly by the victims system and build up in the body.
The symptoms of this tragic disease affect its targets in different ways often with life threatening consequences including organ failure.
Although this horrible genetic disorder primarily affects male children, there are female case studies dating back many decades that this malady can also attack opposite sex of our species with terrible results as well. In any circumstance, MPS-II whose formal scientific name is Mucopolysaccharidosis, can make life a living nightmare for the children suffering from the malady.
In 2010 we had the honor to be present at a charity fund raising event called Taco’s For Trey covered by a former member of our staff. Throughout the course of the past year we quietly provided support on Twitter to the event sponsor to endeavor to raise more money for the Vancouver based chapter of the MPS-II efforts. This year the expanded event will be conducted at:
Sutton Place Hotel 845 Burrard Street Vancouver, British Columbia 1-604-682-5511
All credit for the hard work performed by Ms. Purcell’s team and we have followed their progress which began as an idea, progressed via e-mail and conference call, moved to a concept on Powerpoint and has now blossomed into a full fledged web site charity campaign, a social media movement with Twitter account and Facebook page earning the well deserved support and acclaim of many of Vancouver’s greatest entertainment talents
All of these outstanding actors are appearing at the “Once Upon A Cure” gala September 24, 2011 to raise charity funding to aid those afflicted as discussed in the official press release below from Once Upon A Cure!
For those who live or will be will be in Vancouver, please click the banner below to order a ticket for the event. For those more fortunate financially you may even a reserve a table of eight for your entire charity delegation to demonstrate your support for this worthwhile cause.!
Team WHR respectfully request that everyone, whether you can afford to attend, please visit the “Once Upon a Cure” web site and make a donation. We know that times are tough including for many in the entertainment business in Vancouver, however no child deserves to suffer the horrors of Hunter Syndrome.
Even if you cannot attend yourself, a modest donation can be made by clicking the image to above right to help the children. Thank you.
We include our special music video about “Wish on a Star” to cure Hunter Syndrome for your pleasure and the official press release for your edification. Enjoy!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:HOME INFUSION BREAKTHROUGH FOR RARE DISEASEFor three and half years the Purcell family spent every Monday at BC Children’s hospital, where their son Trey received Enzyme Replacement Therapy (ERT) infusions to treat MPS II (Hunter Syndrome), a rare degenerative disorder with which he was diagnosed at age two. No more! After six months of training, mom Deb Purcell is now the first ever parent in Canada qualified to do the infusions and has begun treating her son at home. This means their family has regained that day each week for living.There were a number of hurdles that prevented the practice of home infusions in BC until now – the most challenging being a personnel issue. The BC health care system allows for nurses to make home visits to begin infusions and to de- access, but they aren’t able to stay for the duration of a long infusion like Trey’s, which lasts 4 hours. With the use of ERT in MPS II treatment, there is always a chance of an adverse reaction, so a physician or experienced health care provider should supervise. With the medication in place, the home supplies provided by the government’s “At Home Program” and the family more than willing, the manufacturer of the ERT hired Bayshore Home Health to train and supervise Deb in the complicated procedure, and continue to retain the home nurses as a reference, resource and emergency contact for Deb and family."Home infusions have given us our life back. Instead of having to cancel Trey’s baseball opening ceremony, a baseball game and a birthday party this past weekend, we were able to reschedule Trey’s infusion for a time when nothing was planned. We can now travel for more than 8 days at a time. Given the progressive nature of this disease, these extra moments mean everything to us.” – Deb PurcellIt’s fitting that Trey’s family is part of this medical advancement in Canada. When Deb learned in 2006 that Trey had a crippling disorder, she successfully lobbied the government & BC Children’s Hospital for Trey to be the first child in Canada, who was not participating in the trial, to receive ERT, which was newly approved in the US, but not yet approved by Health Canada. Remarkable results from this treatment have since been observed in Trey – many of his symptoms have been reversed and the progressions of other symptoms have been halted.Health Canada has now approved the ERT and most provinces have made it available to Hunter patients, but ERT is a treatment – not a cure. So, the Purcell family has created a number of initiatives to raise the funds necessary to continue the research needed towards finding a cure to MPS II. To date these fundraisers have brought in $184,000 with all but 5% (used to cover basic admin. expenses) going directly to research grants applied for by doctors in the field of MPS II Research around the world.With hopes to increase the yearly number of grants made available, this year’s fundraiser, ‘Once Upon a Cure, a Gala for Hunter Syndrome Research’, will be held at The Sutton Place Hotel, Vancouver, on September 24, 2011. Having ties to the film and television industry, they have attracted the attention of a number of Vancouver actors and VIP’s, who will be in attendance to experience the magical Alice in Wonderland themed cocktail reception, plated dinner, live & silent auctions, infamous Chocoholic dessert buffet, live entertainment and local celebrity DJ, to dance the night away. Not only will this event bring in the funding necessary to continue researching a cure, but it’s sure to become an annual event people will look forward to marking on their calendar. If you would like further details about this event or MPS II Please visit us at: Once Upon A Cure.If you would like to know more about this topic, or to schedule an interview with the Purcell family, please call Deb Purcell at (604) 980-0930 or email at dpurcell@telus.net.Contact Info:Jennifer Lo, Media Directormedia@onceuponacure.comAs always we appreciate your visiting our news sites at WormholeRiders News Agency.
Please feel free to leave a comment here or if you prefer, click the social media icons below to share this news article. Or as many of our readers and visitors often do, visit WHR on Twitter, WHR on Facebook or visit me on Twitter by clicking the text links or images avatars in this news story. I and the Team WHR look forward to will Seeing You on The Other Side"! Thank you. Best Regards, WR_Systems (Kenn)
This is the last episode of season 3 from this very awesome and very cool series. The amount of talent and imagination that comes through each and every episode astonishes me as I watch each one. From the acting, to the special effects, even to the writers who help give us such ‘sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat’ thrill is nothing but amazing and brilliant. And imagine, it all started with webisodes. The shear determination alone to make Sanctuary what it is today is nothing less then total amazement.
The choice in people who plays each role equally contribute to the splendor and enjoyment each week. I can see why this show has such a big and strong fan base. Not just because of the awesome Amanda Tapping, but because each person brings a little of themselves into the characters they play, and thus make them so lovable.
Now onto the reason why you are all here.
With everything that happened from the last episode, we get a sense that something is definitely wrong with Hollow Earth. Abnormals who were living far underground for centuries, have now started to come to the surface. The cause has yet to be determined, but you can bet your bottom dollar it was not going to be something that Helen would have ever thought possible.
They were called for a meeting with a representative of the U.N. and a General of the U.S. Military. Not what Helen was expecting, but I guess she knew it was going to happen eventually. Of course the man in the General role was someone I least expected.
Every time I see this part in any episode, it amazes me that it’s all done by green screen. The whole room is in green. And knowing that, makes me appreciate the actors that much more. Not only do they have to remember their lines, and react like you would in any situation, but to do it all in an empty room. That in itself is WOW!!
Oh lookie who we got here. Yes, you got it. It is our lovable Col. Maybourne. NOT! Do not get me wrong, Mr. Tom McBeath is a brilliant actor, but is there a role that he did not play where he was just as snaky and ruthless as Maybourne? Though General Villanova is not much out of character then Maybourne! Both you want to knock up side the head. Even though with Maybourne, he lightened up towards the end. Maybe – no hopefully – in season 4 he would see that Villanova should have listened to Helen in the first place.
Then we have Dr. Lillian Lee, played by the lovely Francoise Yip. This character I kinda felt bad for. I felt she wanted to side with Helen (Amanda Tapping), but because of her superiors and the General, she had her hands tied as such. I liked her as she knows the good work that the Sanctuary has done in the past. But at the same time felt that this was too much for just one place to handle. Even with all the other Sanctuary’s in the different places around the world, they still did not have the space to take in all these abnormals that was surfacing.
Then we are taken to the make shift camp that the military has set up. Which peeved Will (Robin Dunne) off as it looked more like a refugee camp then a sanctuary to help the new visitors.
They meet up with an officer who when Will offered his hand, he promptly shook it. Unfortunately, when Kate did the same thing, he ignored her. That to me shows that he is one hell of an arrogant, young, (insert bad word), pigheaded, cocky, oh and (insert bad word again). 😛
As the abnormals are being “escorted” into the gates to the tents that has been set up, one of the officers offer a giant creature a bottle water. Not knowing anything about this abnormal, it smacked the water out of the officers hand. Of course being surrounded by military, they went all up in arms with the guns all pointed and being very trigger happy. That is when Kate jumped in to stop a possible altercation. She told the officer that water is toxic to this type of creature. And with that said, she took it inside.
At this point, Will is not happy with the whole situation. They came to them looking for help and all they are getting is being treated like thieves. That was up until Will spotted someone in the line up heading inside the gates.
Hmmm. Now, where have I seen this guy before?? Oh dear lawd, it is Edge (Adam Copeland). Well he did make a great pain in the arse in the WWE. Makes one wonder if he will bring some part of Edge to this character in this episode.
This is a fun episode to watch. Not only am I a fan of Sanctuary, but I do love watching Wrestling. Call me names all you want, but I just like watching WWE, both RAW and Smackdown. But sorry Edge, my favourite is John Cena. LOL
This was a nice section of the show. Poor Kate was a little hurt by the fact that the abnormals there would not accept water from her, but they would from Biggie. It was then that Biggie told Kate that it is her that is the strange one to them.
Then Kate (Agam Darshi)looks over and sees a small table set up. She walks over and makes a comment about the lovely stones. She asks if she could see one of the stones and that’s when the gentleman informs her that they were from his home and all he could carry with him to remember where he came from. She went to lay it back down on the table. This is when he introduced himself to her as Garris (David Milchard). He told her that she could keep it. Kate told him that was fine, but he took it and put it around her neck and tied it in the back. It was a very sweet gesture, I thought anyway, and a nice way to break down the mistrust between the humans and abnormals.
Then of course once Kate walked away, smiling, Garris looks over and sees Thelo and his sidekick, Herusan (Fraser Aitcheson) looking over at him. Just like his alter ego, Thelo looks like he has a plan up his sleeve. And knowing that, it cannot be good.
Well this cannot be good. Sometimes it is Helen calls on John to help her in something or another. But when Druit (Christopher Heyerdahl) is the one who pays a visit, you can bet it is up to no good.
Now we cannot end off season 3 without bringing back Adam (Ian Tracey). And once he came into the picture, you had to know that he was up to no good again. He is one of the best played psychos that I can remember to date.
Helen gets a notion that something else is going on with Hollow Earth that is causing the abnormals to surface. She reluctantly goes with John to investigate. She is so furious with him for letting Adam stay alive, not just once, but TWICE! Really? Is John not looking for a death wish.
Of course, with John’s motive for keeping Adam alive this time, was purely out of love. Or was it? Not in Helen’s eyes. This line of thinking will come apparent little later.
This picture is one of the most brilliant special effects that I cannot imagine they surpassing. And I say ONE OF the most as there have been so many during the past 3 years of Sanctuary that it is hard to find only the one.
Interesting how Fallan goes to Thelo to ask for his help. It is apparent that Fallan wants to abide by the rules by the ‘surface dwellers’.
Unfortunately, Thelo has a different agenda.
On a side note though. I felt really bad for John when he and Helen were walking the tunnels to find Praxia. Only to find it destroyed. Helen was so furious that he would not think of the consequences of going back in time just so he could change things between the two of them.
“If who I am now is so meaningless to you, that you would sacrifice it just to bed me in some other timeline. John, that’s not love.” Can you say Ouch? But oh so true. They have been through so much over the years, that you would think that John would just let it go and stop pursuing Helen. Maybe now he will.
I thought this was a very lovely scene. Kate had obviously changed from when we first met her. The ‘tough-girl’ image is gone. She no longer has to protect herself from people who might want to hurt her. Now she is apart of an awesome family who cares and looks out for each other. With Kate offering Garris a gift as a token of friendship, as well as from the fact that Garris had given her a gift from earlier, proves that Kate is a very caring person. She had proven that time and time again throughout this season. Makes me wonder what is in store for us in season 4.
Meanwhile, all hell is breaking loose in the camp that Will meets up with Kate and Biggie (Christopher Heyerdahl) to see what the devil was going on. That is when Kate tells Will that it was all over name calling. One of Thelo’s sidekicks called Kate a name that Garris took offense too, and that is what brought on this whole situation. I gotta give it to Garris though, standing up for a non-abnormal like he did says a lot about his character.
So Will decides to go and see Fallan, that is when Will realizes he is in trouble. With Fallan killed and Thelo & the gang just outside the tent, things are about to go very bad for Will. Will gets chased by Thelo and the boys until he is trapped at a dead end.
Awww. Poor Will. Knowing what is about to happen, he gives it his best. First he goes for a punch. But that did not do anything to Thelo. Then Will tries a head-but. That too is unsuccessful. Then he tried a few swings at Thelo, again, with no avail.
Then Thelo turned it around and got in a few punches and ended it with a clothes line. He should have done the “spear”. LOL. Poor Will, he should have had John Cena on the side to help him out. LOL. That is when Biggie and the other officers came to Will’s rescue. Biggie stayed to fight Thelo, as Will was escorted out. Of course his next concern was Kate. She was still in there somewhere.
Then back at the Sanctuary, something about this whole mess did not feel right to the guys. What was the whole point to the fight in the first place. Henry then tells Will that Druit came back with some info from Adam’s computers. That is when Henry told Will that the city was gone. And no doubt it had something to do with Adam and his weapon.
But… was it a weapon?
Will and Henry had to do the unpleasant task of having a chat with General Villanova and Dr. Lee. Something just did not feel right. That is when they discovered that this was all just a distraction from something greater. The real threat was coming. Adam’s invention was the cause of all this happening. Only problem was that Will did not have the proof that Dr. Lee was asking for.
That was until they lost the feed from the camp and when it did come back on, they were confronted with something they were not prepared for. Yep, you got it, Thelo and his thugs had taken over the camp and had hostages. One of which was Biggie. Not what they needed right now.
Of course the General wanted to go in all guns a blazing. Will wanted to go in calmly and try to talk to them. Though, do not think any amount of talking was going to persuade Thelo and his gang to back down and let their people go.
But it was too late. The Invasion has already began.
Meanwhile, Helen was working on the computers left behind by Adam, when the lights started flickering. Still not sure what to think, she continues on with her research. After the lights flicker a few more times, she does another search for Adam when John comes around the corner.
After some, with a bit more flickering, Adam finally comes into view. Though, not for long. Then he goes out of phase again.
Helen had tried to max out the power for the computers to bring him back. It worked for some time. Long enough for Adam to tell Helen the true reason why John let him live – yet again.
With John wanting to go back to the year to stop them from taking the source blood and Adam wanting to go back to the year to save his daughter, there laid the conflict.
In the end Adam seemed to have won. He compensated for the power and went out of phase again. Then John had an idea.
With him using himself to max out the power, he hoped to have stopped Adam from going back in time. But he was too late, the portal opened, Adam said his pleasantries in his egotistical manner and walked through.
This cannot be good. With Helen sent back in time, what effect will this have on her own self in that period? Will the future Helen experience tropic cascade failure because of having two of them in the one timeline? Think of SG1 – Point of View, when we had two Carter’s. That did not work out so well, did it?
As well, other things come to mind as to what the possibilities could come from this. Will Helen find Adam and stop him from saving his daughter? If caught, how will this Helen explain a handgun that has not been invented yet? If Adam does save his daughter from death, what will become of the Sanctuary as we know it? So many thoughts and ideas that it is exciting to see how season 4 will play out. And that in itself, makes me very excited to want to watch to find out. And I hope you feel the same.
I like to thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts and analysis on this awesome episode. Please do leave a comment, or you can nab me on Twitter. Stay tuned for the fall when I and my team will be back to write up more of our thoughts on this fantastic series.
We include the full episode below courtesy of Syfy via Hulu! Enjoy!
Please feel free to leave a comment below, click on the various buttons below to share this article around the Internet, or you can nab me on twitter by clicking on my avatar. Hope you liked reading as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Every week, I love Sanctuary more and more. It’s a true factuary. I love that this wee ‘show that could’ is not afraid to say “To hell with the box!!! THERE IS NO BOX…”, and take its fans by complete surprise with every new installment of this epic story it has to tell. I love that Sanctuary is not afraid to have its own, unique and strong style. I love that in Sanctuary, what matters isn’t WHAT happens….but HOW it happens. Tasteful, intelligent and artistic!
This is where episode dix-neuf of the third season, ‘Out of the Blue’, comes in.
I don’t know what the writers are trying to do. You know, usually they’re pretty merciful, they get the need that we have for inhaling and exhaling at regular intervals. So what changed in the last four weeks? What did we do to deserve this blissful torture!?
First we were given ‘Awakening’, which brought back the dark sultriness of vampires and the earthy underground, then ‘Normandy’ blew our minds to smithereens with the much expected special effects and the return of the Holy Five into the midst of World War II. Then almighty ‘Carentan’ once again surpassed any expectations by adding to the previous episode with an added humanity, a brief but profound window on Helen Magnus (the elegant Amanda Tapping) and Will Zimmerman (talented wildcard, Robin Dunne) in the face of an ethical dilemma, and their own lives, and sanity, hanging in the balance.
And THEN…there was a little segment called ‘Out of the Blue’. Directed by the brilliant Martin Wood.
Not what we expected. Although with Sanctuary, you kind of learn to do away with expectations because really, our imagination fails compared with what they produce every week.
‘Out of the Blue’ sort of feels like an answer to ‘Carentan’. It does away the drama of physical action altogether and leaves us in a dream world full of confusion and frustrated irony. Like any of our dreams (please keep them to yourself…*COUGH*), little of it makes sense, and while everything is somehow familiar, it’s all somehow completely wrong. Disturbingly so. This is a wonderful character episode, It delves into the psyche, trying to unravel the complexity of human desires in contradiction with reality, and is such an intriguing, and at times painful, insight into psychology of both Helen and Will. It is simple and direct, without heroics or an elaborate storyline.
When we first heard of this episode, the cast and creators warned that it would throw fans off their scent. The fans were teased with the surreal content of the episode, that the characters were unrecognisable, and altogether a bit confusing!
It’s true, nobody could have known, but then Sanctuary fans are renowned for their intelligence and passion, and have quickly learned not to accept events in the show at face value. Besides the obvious, there are so many layers and complexities to ‘Out of the Blue’…it’s one of those episodes that every time you watch, you’re blasted with a new level of understanding.
It’s obvious that something is different from the outset. Will Zimmerman, professional ‘freaky eyes’, in a classy suit running after the garbage truck isn’t exactly how we’ve come to know him. Maybe Robin Dunne would (we could expect anything of that dude), but middle-class suburbia isn’t Will’s regular hangout.
One might jump on the science-fiction bandwagon and suspect alternate-universe-timeline or some other doo-hicky. But then you remember: this is Sanctuary. Convention be damned! There is no box!
Too right! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Heehee.
Couple all that with domestic bliss and pregnant wife Abbie (Corrigan, played by the bubbly Pascale Hutton), and we have ourselves a situation!
Despite the complexities and psychology and what-not, the comedy in this episode is unique. No one-liners, cheeky banter, but simply the funny things that happen to everyone, every day. No effort required to make a dork of yourself! Situational comedy hands down.
Funny things like trying to walk and stalk a talkative kitty that just clawed its way over the warm bonnet of your beautiful shiny Beema.
Funny things like that awkward moment when you have to walk AAAALL the way, breathing heavily, over the street to your hermit artist neighbour (whom nobody REALLY gets), holding a squirming cat at arm’s length and trying desperately to NOT get white fur all over that lovely black, smooth blazer.
Funny things like the deadpan look from Helen Druitt as she stares at you. You, who dares to hold her beautiful white Henry like he’s a filthy football.
Funny things like Monty dropping on Helen’s lawn.
Funny things like Helen. With a lawn. And a house.
WAIT A MINUTE. HOLD THAT TEACUP. Did you say Helen Druitt? *cue shipper squee from the world over* But there’s always so much more to it, we should know this by now! It’s not about mach-making, it’s the fact that tension is so much more satisfying than having every wish fulfilled!
Before we delve into the deliciousness of psychological torture (AHEM), just a few comments on a performance that blew most fans out of the water. Amanda Tapping. Helen Magnus as we’ve never seen her. This was something that was so far divorced from the Helen we know, but at the same time, she was one and the same strong, compelling and complex woman. To see a Helen so confused, anxiety-stricken, insecure and at times crushingly vulnerable, Amanda’s performance was subtly and lightly brushed with effortless English humour, flashes of unique strength and pride, and rippled by a heartbreaking humanity. Absolutely breathtaking… *stops breathing*…
It’s so hard to discuss the intricacies of Amanda’s nuanced delivery without plunging into the psychology of Helen, whom nobody REALLY gets. So back to the Blue we go…
The beauty of this episode is that the prequel to it is important, but is just that, a prequel. It is not until the resolution of the narrative that we really have any idea of the premise, and of WHY all this has happened. Curiously though, it doesn’t matter. Whereas many writers would concern themselves with screening the dramatic events that led to this situation, Sanctuary breaks the mould. Writer Damian Kindler beautifully dispensed with the need for exhibition, and made the point of view to be from the patients: Helen and Will.
The most pressing need for them, and for us as the audience, is to make darn sense of all these disparities, to understand why on EARTH Helen drinks coffee, wears lumpy cardigans and paints all night, and why Will doesn’t understand how he married Abbie and became a surgeon. What engages us is not how they came to be in this situation, but the journey of both these characters as they struggle to make sense of their lives. Ultimately it is about the personal journey from moment to moment, more so than the destination.
The first …well…’abnormal’ clue is actually from the very first moment that Helen opens her front door to rescue her precious feline creature from her fastidious neighbour. “DECLAW?! He’s an innocent creature!” Over her shoulder, Will spies the ghostly phantom of what seems to be…a creature? Symbols? But it is gone from his and from our sight before we can fathom what we are looking at. It is as fleeting and surreal as if it were a dream. He is brought jolting back to his ‘reality’ with an indignant English woman demanding he get out of her house. The true nostalgic spirit of Dr. Helen Magnus shining through in this neighbours-at-war scenario.
Also, I think many fans will be naming their future kittens ‘Henry’. The irony is too side-splitting! What would a werewolf think? Ravaged by self-cannibalism?
The ironic paradox is also Helen the painter. What happened to the feisty, gun-toting 159-year-old doctor, hell-bent on abnormal salvation?! The levels of irony in this 19th episode ebb from hysterically funny, to cruelly tragic. In the real world, Magnus and John Druitt (the versatile and immensely talented, Christopher Heyerdahl) were torn apart by his ferocious demon, followed by a century of revisited pain and anger, torn by what-might-have-beens and the birth of a daughter.
It seems like she can’t have it both ways! In many ways, ‘Out of the Blue’ reflects the innate desires and dreams of Helen and Will; if Helen had followed her young dreams and married the man she loved, if Will had ignored his intuitions, and had become respected in his field. It just goes to show that maybe, after all, everything in life happens for a reason.
As Helen says “I got married because it was supposed to make me happy!”, and yet it didn’t, while in reality having their daughter was everything to her, besides her work. The angst and tension between Helen and Druitt is one and the same, the same betrayed love and trust, the same frustrations. The confrontations between the two of them calls for some of the most sublime deliveries from both actors, as Druitt gently asks, what is it that Helen wants? GOOD QUESTION! Helen herself doesn’t seem to know, her face twists in confusion and anxiety as she tries to make sense of herself, of John, of the whole damn situation! Everything just seems WRONG. Her frustration and loneliness is no different from the real world, and yet back when she was young and in love, it had been everything she wanted. Or so she thought.
And for God’s sake, she’s not Scottish.
Intuitionally, this Helen knows that her life is wrong, there is so much more that she is capable of, work that will actually make a difference to the world!
“I don’t know! Help homeless children! Work with animals….GOD SOMETHING!… BLOODY AGENTS!!”
And once again Helen asks Will to take a leap of faith. And die. Again.
Will, losing patience with Abbie’s “tinky woo-woo crap” (IRONY!), can’t remember the basic names of drugs and medical conditions, not a good headspace to be in with an upcoming bypass surgery. Instead both he and Helen find themselves saying and doing things that, out of context, make no sense at all! Semblances of their real selves start to poke holes in the fabric of this reality, which seems to be making an enmeshed plot out of suppressed desires, which, like all dreams, confuses us as our brain tries to make sense of the disparity between this dream-world, and what it knows to be a fact.
But then again, what would we be without our dreams? WHO would we be? As Will says. “Our dreams are actually our reality”, and while it may be literal in their case, so it could be for the rest of us. Thought-provoking, no?
There is something delightfully homey about this episode. No big guns or historical heroics, but the simple struggle of two human beings who can’t make sense of themselves. It is an episode about the people, not so much about events, and everything within the setting, the plot, the delivery by both main characters, even the glorious music (SOUNDTRACK DO WANT) and pseudo-psycho shimmering mind flashes, all contribute to the very delicious human quality of the story it tells. Flashes of the lost Ashley (Emilie Ullerup), and Will’s mother give a very nostalgic and very anguished frustration to their mindset.
The music. OH the music!! The mere thought of Helen painting through the night in a lumpy cardigan and sound system blasting is hysterical, but Andrew Lockington’s absolutely perfect soundtrack gives Helen’s existence a very artsy, very alternative, very grungy café feel…it positively embodies the hermit and enigmatic painter that she seems to be. The tortured, starving artist. Hah!
This episode bears the true Trademark of Sanctuary. It is not afraid to venture into the unknown, not afraid to demand thoughts and questions from its audience, not afraid to question not only what defines it’s characters, but what defines us as human beings. It tears down the barriers between our internal realities, and the world in which we live.
I’m curious to see what effects the events in this episode have on Helen and Will. Will they remember their experiences? What effects will it have on their respective relationships, in particular, Will and Abbie?
And how wonderful to revisit an old stooge, Virgil St-Pierre! We barely touched on his character in Hero II, so what does this mean for his mercenary relationship with the Sanctuary team? Twisted as he is, there’s something endearing about his arrogant dudeisms. He reminds me of our beloved Edward Forsythe!
And for crying out loud! What in God’s name can be going on in Hollow Earth? What global Sanctuary alerts? I sense another of Damian Kindler’s infamous cliffhangers…
Stay sane for the epic finale of an EPIC SEASON!
If you can. I’ll be sitting here. Chewing up my cushions as usual. Waiting! Rocking in my corner… In the meantime we include the Sanctuary season 3 finale sneak peak courtesy of Syfy via Hulu!
Please feel free to contribute constructively to the discussion below, or click to share the article on the social media site of your choice, or click my text link or avatar my avatar to say hello and chat on Twitter!
When we last left our band of abnormal adventurers, they were recovering from a night on the town with the inevitable consequences of being chastised for using Dr. Helen Magnus’ (Amanda Tapping) credentials to get seating in one of the best restaurants in town!
The consequences of such tomfoolery? Well it is fairly obvious, Nikola Tesla (Jonathon Young) has clearly been given the opportunity to chat with Magnus about his own previously undiscovered ancient connection to the subterranean city of Praxis, the suspected origin of all abnormal creatures known to currently inhabit the surface of our world.
During these friendly chats while the other Sanctuaries feasted, what more do we really need to know about Nikola Tesla?
Aliyah O’Brien portrays “Afina”, a lovely Vampire Queen whom will have an interesting encounter with Nikola and Helen. Ms. O’Brien a very talented and gorgeous actress who has a wonderful voice that I swear could seduce Henry Foss (Ryan Robbins) the Lycan himself into becoming a vampire! A bit more on seduction a little later!
Beware folks, this Afina is not your average gal, nor is she affiliated with the “Afina” cultured marble bathroom appliances and accessories. No, this Afina is a full fledged vampire queen who has very special plans for us all! But I am getting a little ahead of myself, so let’s get back to the business at hand shall we?
Apparently one of our favorite Sanctuary characters, dear vampire abnormal Mr. Nikola Tesla (Jonathon Young) has talked Dr. Magnus into undergoing a mission we had previously not been made privy to! Just what in the world is up with our abnormal citizens of the world as we know it? Adventure! And … trouble!
After the introduction of previously seen clips setting up the scene, we find the pair in East Africa on an archeological mission investigating a former outpost stronghold of the ancient Praxian civilization. Naturally we are more than delighted to see Helen “out in the field” tomb digging with her old pal Nikola!
It was almost like “old home week” or a “vacation” with these two out and about! As Tesla inquires if the trip is a form of making amends for being left off the last expedition, we drift from the setting of shifting sands to an inner sanctum of a hidden chamber where our two protagonists are seeking entrance to discover the secrets of the last Praxian stronghold before their society retreated to “Hollow Earth”.
The chemistry between these two characters is always a joy to behold. I particularly enjoyed the bits of humor as they discussed looking for King Tutankhamen’s tomb before Howard Carter! “Those wild early days, no ground penetrating radar, no satellite imagery …” To see these two in action one can only appreciate the smoothness of their interaction.
It is always wonderful all by itself to see these two act together! Particularly enjoyable were the lines written in for Tesla
“You have Sasquatch for a butler and travel the world with histories most notorious murderer and now you do not feel safe?”,
“Helen green is not a good color on you”
and best of all; “She (Afina) is intelligent, powerful, and remarkably well preserved for her age. Everything I would look for in a woman”. Poor Nikola has fallen in love with Afina Queen of the vampires. And who can blame him? This dark raven haired beauty could undoubtedly seduce even the most serious male academic or archeologist for goodness sakes!
That feeling of archeological glee will not last for very long let me assure you! Subsequent o using his powers to trigger a secret portal Tesla finds himself mortally skewered by a bolt of energy triggered when he attempts to access certain portion of a secret chamber. And so the stage is set!
While our two archeologists, well actually one vampire and Dr. Helen deal with their fate, back at the Sanctuary we find Kate Freelander (Agam Darshi) with Big Guy (Christopher Heyerdahl) checking out an old Internet account she has not used over the past year.
Of course Big Guy suggests that she should simply ask Henry to install a spam filter on the e-mail account while he is observed setting up “Guitar Hero” on a big screen monitor! Now there is a scene we really must return to in the future, Big Buy playing the Sanctuary themes on an air guitar!
Kate dismisses Big Guy’s suggestion flippantly as she is deleting the e-mail messages when her eye catches something odd, a message from an old acquaintance from before her joining the Sanctuary.
Subsequent to making a decision about not making a purchase of Viagra (from the spam in the old e-mail account) with a chuckle from Big Buy, she comes across a message with a clue to a group of criminals who have apparently been dealing in an abnormal life form themselves.
Kate is more than noticeably distressed by her findings and herein lies the second arc of the story line in “Awakening”. As she shares with Big Guy she is heading out for some “Red Bull” (which is quickly surmises is bull itself), Kate sets out on a mission of good for her own edification.
Before continuing, I would like to comment on the development of the Kate Freelander character and her “look” over the weeks in season three versus the past season when her character was first introduced.
Is it me or have we not seen a softer visage of Kate Freelander both in appearance as well as her demeanor? Seems to me the Kate character has grown a bit softer in her interaction with the Sanctuary team as well.
In my opinion this softening of her character from a street brawler to a respected member of the team is what effectively sets up the second part of our story where she performs a service to society.
Jumping a bit out of place in the story-line, Kate has discovered a gang dealing in the abnormal amphibian creature known as the “Taminsails”. In discussion with Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne), we learn that the Taminsails has a gland that the criminals are extracting because of the narcotic nature of the extracts from the little creature.
Will indicates the substance provides a powerful high and that the criminals use tactics making them nearly impossible to track down and prosecute. And here we see a segue about the illegality and foolishness of narcotics, a nice anti-drug message for the audience to internalize. Thus a public service is done in-line with the story arc.
Back to the archeological find we that Nikola is indeed mortally wounded from the defense mechanisms and is fading fast. Only his control of magnetism is keeping his entrails intact. When we return to the underground chambers Helen has discovered ancient script writings and a secret switch which reveals Queen Afina hidden in a very pretty purple amber crystal pod inside a vault located behind a solid rock wall inside the tomb.
During our time with Nikola Tesla we have often wondered about his past and where his race came from. The purple amber pod is a bit like Pandora’s Box, what lies inside leads us to believe that we will surely learn the long lost history of Nikola’s race of vampires, and what happened to them.
First however Helen needs to help ensure that Nikola survives by hopefully extracting a bit of fresh blood from the entombed queen to revive him. Using a bit of real world science, the idea is that the queen would be perfectly preserved in the amber pod and therefore be able to provide a bit of nourishment to restore Nikola to full strength. After quite a bit of laser firing and whacking the crystalline amber she is able to insert a hypodermic and draws some much needed blood and save Nikola.
Akin to the legendary Pandora’s Box, could opening the pod be safe? Can Helen and Nikola be able to bring the queen back to the Sanctuary for safe keeping? Placed there thousands of years earlier by her brother who never revived her and stole her throne, Afina is far more than simply preserved by the purple amber.
In fact the amber structure is a stasis pod designed to protect the queen until she is awakened by her own kind. Uncharacteristically not knowing this potential (perhaps from the stress and distraction of Tesla’s injury), Helen’s actions end up unwittingly freeing Queen Afina from her imprisonment of thousands of years!
Seemingly agreeable to cooperating after being freed, our beautiful Queen Afina has other plans after she regained her equilibrium. Using deception to convince Helen and Nikola of a hidden escape route, she instead throws Tesla into the shaft and turns her attention to Magnus!
Shifting back to the Sanctuary headquarters, the pace is quickened up with Kate revealing that she knows where a gang of criminals are coveting the “Taminsails”. She convinces Will and Big Guy into leading a team to save the little things from a torturous death and painful extraction of the drug like substance which is actually a narcotic of a likely highly addictive nature.
The mission is a success but the actual perpetrators, the ringleaders are not at the location where the furry little critters are being prepared for the illegal drug crazed masses.
Much like in real life, this blending of reality regarding drug, alcohol and chemical substance abuse addiction into the story line adds a sense of realism to the story. Also much like in real life, criminals catering to the weaknesses of others (addictions) carries a strong message to avoid the use of drugs.
Know this people: The so-called “recreational” purpose of drug use often leads to the enslavement of innocent people both young and old that are drawn into the web of the dark side of our reality including human slavery, prostitution, addiction and crime.
Back in the clutches of Queen Afina, she is about to prepare a meal. We are disconcerted that the main course is nonetheless to be the immortal Helen Magnus herself. Obviously a good choice of healthy stock, Helen is treated to the sight of the court of Afina all neatly arranged in rows of yet another chamber that stretches far into the depths of the cave complex.
Undoubtedly an entire army ready to serve Queen Afina, Helen is not very comforted by the fact that she will supply the fresh blood needed by minions of the Queen. You see Afina has planned for their resurrection and her eventual return to power. Ultimately if successful Afina will enslave the inhabitants on the surface of the Earth and that means you and me! Yikes!
Naturally Helen is the perfect meal for the hungry denizens, but never fear our second archeologist has managed an escape and arrives just in the nick of time before the feasting begins. A “bullet-time” fight between the two vampires ensues with the Queen gaining the upper hand on Nikola.
Forced into making a “deal with the devil”, Helen has but one choice; Offer something of greater value to Afina to save Nikola Tesla. Now what could that possibly be? It should be fairly obvious. With Afina driven by revenge and a lust in her quest for power, there is only one thing that could persuade her to make a deal: PRAXIS where she can get revenge for her entrapment eons ago!
And sure enough so it will be. Helen breaks out the holographic projector and map of the city and offers Afina the pass code to its entrance in exchange for an actual way to leave the crypt. Nikola finally realizing what Afina was really after knows that once Afina has conquered Praxis, she will turn her attention once more to the surface. Helen and Afina both realize this as well but nevertheless the deal is struck. All of this to Nikola’s horror that Magnus would surrender the secrets of access Praxis where her father is living!
Before the final sequences we move back to the Sanctuary and find out why Kate had been so intent on stopping the illegal trafficking in abnormal creatures. In a rather touching sequence with Will, she confesses that when she was young and trying to survive on the streets, she had been part of a ring of criminals tracking down the abnormal creatures who were sold to the highest bidder.
Kate’s actions and motivations (both now and then) are better understood within this context. The softer nature of her character was already there. It was simply suppressed by her need to survive. Here again the analogy and relationship to real life is complete. How many innocent people in the “real world” are forced into such servitude to ensure their survival or that of their family? Many.
We return to gloriously evil Afina making the exchange of information for access to Praxis with Helen as she and Nikola prepare to leave. Are we really to believe that Helen would make such a Faustian arrangement with an immortal soul such as Afina? The key to understanding Helen’s intent is the password Helen provided A false one!
We observe Helen and Nikola making their way on to the surface as Afina speaks the “Gateway” password. The holographic city vanishes with the exception of one object in the midst of a countdown to detonation As the scene fades backwards we witness a massive explosion. Afina, her court and all the secrets of the Vampiris have apparently been erased from the surface of our world.
We end the episode with Kate informing her former criminal associates she is on to them and so is the Sanctuary!
We segue way back to some good natured banter between Helen and Nikola outside after the entire complex has been vaporized. Despite the loss o the Vampiris database and its knowledge we can rest easy that Tesla has been resurrected once again to the ranks of an immortal vampire!
Sanctuary returns in an exciting episode named Normandy replete with a journey back in time to the era of the Nazi’s and the Second World War just prior to the D-Day invasion in June 1944. I suggest you do not miss it!
If you prefer, click the social media icons below to share this news article or as many of our readers and visitors often do, visit the WHR on Facebook or me on Twitter by clicking the text links or images avatars in this news story and or on See You on The Other Side“! Thank you.
So far, in the world of fandom, Sanctuary Season Three of this ingenious and creative series has kept every single human, abnormal or otherwise, perched on the edge of their couches/sofas/beds in a squeaking flurry of anticipation and awed grimaces.
With a WHOLE TWENTY EPISODES (YUS, THE BIG TWO-ZERO), not only has the devilishly talented team at the Studio been able to extend the epicness over months and months, but they’ve been able to sneakily play with pushing our boundaries of suspense. Cheeky buggers.
It’s also allowed them to expand their horizons and push the intensity of the overlapping story arcs even further. We fans are only human (partly), and every now and then we need to be able to BREATHE, so for the past few weeks, Sanctuary has graciously spared our lives by mellowing out the freakishness of its epic, and settled into a lovely little bubble of softness, joviality, somewhat light-hearted stroll through romance lane. It’s nice to see a deep and darkly intense scifi show that is not afraid to mention the word ‘love’ or point a fun finger at it.
Even so, such fun romantic trips are not merely for the sake of our lung capacity and overstretched suspense. Each relationship consist of entire people, with decades of love, anger, fear, adrenaline, happiness and grief behind each. Each person comes from different walks of life, from a different host of experiences, with different skills and different passions.
With the fabulous scope that twenty episodes has given Sanctuary, we have also been privileged to welcome new characters into the fold. Through the various adventures of certain boys, we’ve had introduced to us two new girls on the block: Abby Corigan (Abigail, played by Pascale Hutton) a behavioural scientist and agent of the FBI, and the Hyper-Accelerated Protean, Erika (Pauline Egan).
Both these women are incredibly strong and grounded in their own ways, but at the same time are so DIFFERENT and COLOURFUL.
Given their crazy and unpredictable working environments, and the scarcity of non-dangerous creatures, it was almost a given that our two Sanctuary boys should find some comfort in the arms of these two ladies. But to REALLY appreciate the chemistry going on, we need to have a look at this latest episode ‘Wingman’ to understand some questions, and to raise more. Because that’s how we roll. Innit.
The very opening soundtrack of this episode is lilting and fun. There are a lot of flashbacks which may or may not interrupt the flow of narrative, depending on who you are! I myself found it to be some kind of angsty nostalgic trip down memory lane, and it gave me this insatiable craving to go back and watch certain episodes to fulfill the craving for, mainly, epic Magnus (Amanda Tapping) kicking ass with whatever tools she could find. Seriously. Blowing up a chopper, flailing pipes and slashing tentacles ten metres under water. Nothing unusual there. Moving on…
It was lovely to revisit a character, and also a familiar face, from the original webisodes, with director Peter Deluise appearing as the devious Ernie.
The whole date scenario is sweet really. Of course Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne) and Abby first met in ‘Vigilante’, but they finally went on their inevitable first night of romance in ‘One Night’, when they were kidnapped by a gang of traffickers. Abby’s beginnings on the show have not been unlike WIll’s. After all, they do have the same background, whether or not he actually remembers it. Her first confrontation with her first abnormal, Biggie, was a bit of a shock, but her compassion and understanding was swift, quiet and sweet.
She seems to confront unexpected and violent situations pretty calmly. I mean, given her FBI training one would expect nothing less, but Will’s initial reactions were a little less believing. Most likely because he didn’t want to admit that his childhood fears were a reality.
This episode is no different for Abby, the delicious prospect of a gourmet Italian dinner followed by a night of canoodling warms her to a jolly glow, and the inevitable intrusion of Will’s insane work schedule (and the ever-present Dr. Magnus) doesn’t faze her in the slightest. As she says to poor Will “As long as it’s fun, I’ll keep coming back for more!”.
She brightly traipses through the sewerage tunnels in pursuit of the Lepidoptera, and offers Henry her hands to be useful in any way that she can.
I have a couple of niggling questions though. Although we have seen Abby’s calm demeanour when they’re plunged into rather outlandish situations, we have not had much of a chance to see her in action as a professional in her own right. We have not been able to see her own skills put to use in the field, and in this episode in particular, she seems somewhat of a helpless lady in distress. Amiable and jolly, but not adding much usefulness to help solve the situation.
She is a little of ‘a sucker for punishment’, and somehow always ends up mortally poisoned or crippled. I do hope we get to see her exercise her brilliance some more in the future! She is, after all, undoubtedly a strong and brilliant woman in her own right. As an FBI agent, there is so much more to be explored!
Erika seems to be the complete opposite. Although when we first met her in ‘Animus’, she was plagued with fear and indecision, her new found freedom and venturing out into the world seems to have given her a sense of self-worth, and she is now taking her life into her own hands. Erika’s entire demeanour has changed, from one of timidity and suppression, to a full-blown woman comfortable with her femininity, and taking on the world with open arms.
We are familiar with her talents and skills as a HAP. Fortunately in ‘Wingman’, we are able to see her full blown brilliance, as she and Henry bounce technobabble of each other…the language taking on a personal deep need of…erm…well. *CENSORED*
Despite the shameful innuendo, of which we can’t get enough *COUGH*, her passion and love for the world of circuit-boards is astounding, as she ingeniously makes-do with the situation and materials at hand. Her talent isn’t just for the lab, she’s on FIRE when it comes to inconceivable moth-man situations. ‘Impossible’ or ‘difficult’ doesn’t seem to be in her dictionary. Yet. But then again, having the personal closeness and with her absolute faith in Henry’s brilliance (somewhat blindfolded at times), she has no reason to doubt herself …or her date-partners!
Her new-found self in the wide world is still apparent. Erika can be, like Henry Foss (Ryan Robbins), extremely naive at times. The fact that she supposes that he can just drop everything and leave everything behind with but a few hours short notice just bawls for some more life experience. It was doubtful that Henry would ever leave his Sanctuary family in such a way, but Erika’s potential as not only perhaps an activist in the abnormal world, but even as a leader in her own right, is astounding.
We’ve only had a short introduction so far, but let’s see how this intriguing woman develops with the series!
Like Erika, Henry can be quite naive at times. I mean, we’ve seen it in random little situations, but his relief and revelation at realising that he, in fact is NOT alone in the world, his discovery of a brilliant and beautiful woman who is just like him, leads him besottedly onward. The poor guy had a hard enough time getting used to the new reality of who he is…let alone dealing with it on his own. Well, sort of.
It WAS immensely fun to see him finally in the clutches of human(ish) contact. The provocative banter between he and Erika is just delicious, and giggleworthy, to behold, and surely the tech geek deserves SOME romantic action. FINALLY.
His naivety matched Erika’s in the very opening scene of the episode. As he presents to Will his amorous intentions for Erika, Will’s shock at the speed of their relationship catches him by surprised. A WHOLE WEEK AND A HALF. They’re perfect for each other!
“Why, because she’s a HAP?!”
Henry doesn’t understand Will’s reaction, but his journey of personal growth through the episode, and in particular the revelation in his last meeting with Erika, sheds an incredible amount of light on his understanding of relationships. As he so rightly states to Magnus: “I know it’s weird, but apparently there’s a lot more to a relationship than just being a HAP”.
Will’s the lucky one in this episode. Though his perfectly planned evening goes inevitable awry, with a sigh he takes it in his stride, and it turns out to be far more exciting than the date he had planned. He and his lovebird even get to sample the deliciousness of Alfredo’s, and we’ll leave the bedroom goings-on to your imagination *titters*.
Akay, I’m going to be brutally honest here. I know Amanda Tapping is working her gorgeous self to smithereens, and we love her for it. But I miss Helen Magnus. I miss the intriguing and mysterious games she plays, the history that always seems to be hidden from us, her unpredictability, her strength and awesome ass-kickness, her vulnerabilities. The little tid-bits that we hang onto in this episode, be it her cheeky but powerful and sympathetic (or not!) presence, or the flashbacks to other episodes, they tantalisingly dangle her in front of our eyes, before whisking her away to the dark recesses of the *COUGH* delivery room.
The little she says is to the point, and either breaks you down into grimacing snorts, or touches one with her simple and honest sensitivity. She is more than a boss to her team, she is like a mother at times. For one, she scolds the boys like a couple of hormonal brothers (I just couldn’t stop LAUGHING in ‘Hangover’). In ‘Wingman we see another two sides to her weird boss-motherliness.
*CLICK CLACK CLICK CLACK*…the sounds of her heels striding toward the hopeful lovebirds is almost to be expected. It echoes through the halls as though the presence of Dr. Magnus is watching everything with a Godly eye, whether the mortals can see her or not…
She cheekily grosses the boys out in a motherly way, pressing on them that what she asks of them is imperative, really they don’t have a choice….unless they want to monitor a cervix. Ahem.
The other side of Helen’s coin is at the conclusion of the episode. Though she never compromises her leadership and strength, her sympathy to the miserable Henry is touching. She strives to make up for his missed love-call by treating him to the date he’d missed out on.
Only to be interrupted by a pair of half-naked and ravenous psychologists stealing half the goods away.
Somehow, despite her “Will you two be joining us for dinner?”, I just can’t see Helen Magnus ever letting Abby or Will attend the table in such attire. It would be positively improper and a disgrace to table etiquette!
Please feel free to contribute to the discussion below, or visit me on Twitter, or even share this news article with other fantabulous members of geekdom by clicking one of the social media icons below.
Sorry for the delay in posting this Sanctuary episode review for those fans in the US, but as I am in Canada, I did not get to see this awesome show until Friday night. And as I am not one for posting spoilers for people to complain about. Even though some people do not mind them, I thought it best to wait until us Canadian’s at least had a chance to see it.
Sorry for those of you in the UK and that part of the world where you still have to wait until June to see, but you guys are in for a real treat when you do.
Now, onto my thoughts…
Well I must say that watching the beginning of this episode made me think of the ending of the movie DOOM. Where it makes you feel that you are the one in the show. This was so cool how the camera made me feel that I was the one frantically getting dressed and walking into the room to meet up with the rest of the gang. Kudos to the effects department on that one. It was brilliant.
And it carried on into the infirmary where Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) and Henry Foss (Ryan Robbins) are in Hazmat suits. I thought to myself, ‘please let him not have something growing out of his head.’ And after Helen had taken a sample of Will’s blood, she was a little reluctant on letting Will see himself. Henry was unsure as well, but with Helen’s approval, Henry past Will a mirror and that is when you see what all the concern was about.
Scales??? I was like, ‘oh goodie, Will is going to turn into a fish.’ LOL. Of course you can see the honest to goodness concern on the face of Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping). And with everything they have been through together, she was determined to solve this. And knowing Helen like we all got to know her these past three and half years, she was very protective with her team.
Then a little while later, Helen comes back in the isolation room she put Will into, only this time with no hazmat helmet on. So,, NOT contagious, that is good news.
Not knowing what this was or how he got it in the first place was puzzling to say the least. But as Will had loads of time on his hands apparently, Helen could not help but make light of the situation and prop a box of files on the bed next to Will. I guess he was behind on his work for Helen like I find myself at times. LOL
And again with the effects of you only hearing Will’s voice behind the camera. And I LOVED the way the camera “blinked” as if you or I would blink our eyes. That was just to wicked if you ask me. And what I had to give a chuckle at was with the cute little wink she gave Will, along with a smile, and then left him to the huge stack of files in the box. Poor guy.
Though, I felt bad for Will. He was finally allowed out of his room and found the gang, Henry, Kate Freelander (Agam Darshi) and Big Guy (Christopher Heyerdahl – I swear, I have to find a better name for him), talking about him with the way they tried hard not to look at him.
But the best part of that scene was when Kate was all serious and wanting to ask Will a question. Will being so understanding with his ever changing appearance, told her to go ahead, to ask him anything. That is when she popped the question. “Any way you can save us 15% or more on car insurance?” LOL. Well I never laughed so hard, and the look on Kate’s face was priceless. What a cute smile. 🙂
Of course, Will was not impressed. And the expression you can hear from his voice was so funny. “Geiko? Really?” Well I just cracked up laughing again. And the best part was that the Big Guy bust out laughing too.
This whole episode was so awesome. Looking around through Will’s eyes. I think that this episode was the best by far with the effects and camera work. It could not have been easy to make this one, and hopefully if someone from the cast reads this, they can tell how they done it.
But what makes this show stand out was how much the characters have grown more and more as a family. With Will changing into something we were not too sure of until last minute, it really tested Kate. She confided into Henry that she had never dealt with anything like this before. I felt for Kate, she has grown so much throughout this season. What an amazing actress. Well, they all are awesome in their own ways.
OK, so onto more of parts that stuck out to me…
Then Will discovers he’s got a new super power. SPIDERMAN! Yes, he tested it by climbing up the wall of his bedroom. Though, I felt bad for Kate. Bringing in his tray for him to eat and finding him almost up to the ceiling. I think I was laughing at a lot of places throughout this episode.
Of course with the word getting to Henry, he went to Will and asked him to help him out. I think he just wanted to see Will go up the wall. It was funny though. Because as you watch “yourself” climb the wall, you can hear Henry on the floor, “that’s so cool”.
The help that Henry needed from will was to change a light-bulb. Henry obviously could not reach it. And now with Will and his new “talent”, he figured this was the only way to get it done.
So Will went and done it. Well how could anyone refuse a face like that? LOL Doesn’t he look cute? 😀
Unfortunately, we find out that Will cannot be around sunlight. He dropped to the floor. Off to the infirmary again. Although, Henry felt bad that he learned that there was a switch to lower the chandelier to change burnt out bulbs. 😛
This shows how awesome the make-up artists are. Will is changing and it is cool to how we are shown little by little of his progress.
Of course, later when Will and Kate are having a touching moment, we see his reflection through the laptop screen. Kate told him that Alley was asking about him, but she told her that he was not feeling well. He was appreciative. I do not think that he would have wanted to tell her on the phone, or in person for that matter.
This next picture is one of many pictures that we got to see of the awesomeness of Sanctuary. I would love to work in a place like that. I would make a great secretary and seeing to the files and putting them organized. 😉
But with Will changing, he is not allowed to go on a mission with the gang. Instead he is left behind. But it was not long before the Big Guy comes to his room and tells him he has something to show him. I was a bit scared and intrigued as to what this secret could be. Then we are let inside.
Biggie opens the door and lets Will go in first. The room had a sitting area with shelves and shelves of bottles of whiskey. Yes, WHISKEY! A guy after my own heart. It is my preferred drink right now. But anyway, they were accompanied by someone who is no stranger to the TV screen.
Yep, it is none other then our own Stargate tech guy – Chuck. So with a few drinks, they had a great time, kicking back, having a laugh. Of course the boys were telling Will that once the gang gets back, they give a play by play of what happened out in the field. It was funny to see how Will and Biggie looked at each other as they watched Henry and Kate be so hyped telling the story. I giggled at the expression on Biggie’s face, and Henry & Kate’s enthusiasm.
This picture of Kate being with Will when his hands have morphed in a way that he cannot get a grip on anything anymore, that Kate helps him by feeding his meal to him. Although, from this picture she looks a little flirty, but when you see the actual show, you will see just how much she truly cares for Will.
Unfortunately little later, we find that cause Will attacked Kate (partly cause he could not speak anymore), they had to put him in those isolation boxes where Helen usually keeps the rest of the adnormals that is taking up residence there. Each one took a moment and said their good-byes. Kate, unfortunately, could not muster the words. Bless her.
Morphed Will looking around his new room, thinking of a way out.
Of course Helen finally gets the answer she’s been waiting on, and makes up a cure of sorts, but when Kate and Henry goes to get Will, he is gone. Or so they thought. Morphed or not, Will still knew how to trick people. He had tore off a heating grate up by the ceiling, letting them think he got out. When Kate turned around to only see Will there behind Henry. She did not get the warning out in time when Will hit Henry. Then knocked out Kate, and ran out the door.
Luckily, they were able to track him, and got him back. Helen went to visit Will, who was back in the infirmary yet again, to see how he was feeling. With his voice still a little sore from the morphing, he was now back to his usual charming self. Well with a little bit of trace abnormality left on his face. But he was back to being his gorgeous self again.
So that is my thoughts on this episode. I hope you all enjoyed the read and especially enjoyed watching the episode for yourself. In the meantime below is the extended promotional trailer for “Wingman” tonight on Syfy and Friday on SPACE CHannel
Thanks for popping by WormholeRiders News Agency and reading my thoughts on this episode. Please feel free to leave a comment below, click on the various buttons to spread this article around, or you can nab me on twitter by clicking on my avatar. Hope you liked reading as much as I enjoyed writing it.
It seems discovering a new dwelling under Earth, dying, coming back to life again and saving the world just is not enough anarchy for these guys. Judging from the state of the Sanctuary in the opening anyway. Which of course begs the question: how much fun did the cast and crew have wrecking the set?
In this episode, titled “Hangover”, we see Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) getting stuck in the Mother role, Henry and his good ol’ one liners again, and general disarray and a relapse to childhood behaviour for the majority of the cast.
We open with Magnus returning to a Sanctuary with an unlocked door and an offline security system, which is never going to bode well for the rest of the episode. Drawing her gun, Magnus proceeds with practicality and searching the Sanctuary en route to her office.
After avoiding the old trick of an object falling when a door is opened, she finds a rather battered Henry hidden under a chair leads us to the conclusion that something far worse than an impromptu house party has occurred here! Magnus’ interrogative skills discover that Henry Foss (Ryan Robbins) is suffering from short-time amnesia, as he can not remember what day it is, or the events leading up to a trashed Sanctuary. In fact, all he remembers are names and that he has “the entire cast of stomp in my head, and they are not happy.”
On Magnus’ request, Henry recalls the last thing in his memory, which starts with Magnus departing for a conference and leaving them ‘chores’ to do whilst she is gone in preparation for a visit from Dr. Lillian Lee (Françoise Yip), the UN security chief. The ever ironic words of “You won’t recognise this place when you get back” are a fitting reassurance, because to be fair, Magnus does not recognise the Sanctuary when she returns anyway!
We carry on with the flashback, this time to Henry processing the new Mollox intake and naming it ‘Skippy’. Wonderfully typical of Henry! On opening the box holding the Mollox, Henry gets a surprise when a supposedly docile creature suddenly attacks him. He frantically radios for back up before grabbing a stunner and bolting…with the Mollox right on his tail. Once Henry has managed to stun the Mollox, we return to the present day and Magnus’ analytical mind starts to process the events and the possibility of a viral infection, perhaps airborne transmittance.
Upon starting a search for the missing Mollox and the missing team members, Magnus discovers the security systems are down, meaning no camera footage of the events. Henry’s attempt to hack into the server is also denied. Unusual, but after all, they could not make that easy to figure out!
Back to the eerily silent corridors of the Sanctuary, Magnus stumbles upon the missing Mollox, cowered and trembling in the corner of the elevator. Such a contrast to the Mollox we’d seen in the flashback, yet reminiscent of Magnus’ description of its nature. After presumably transferring the creature to its new home, she returns to her office where Henry is still trying to hotwire the Sanctuary servers.
Upon contradicting Henry’s “he’s a deadly little bastard, isn’t he?”, she informs him that back up is standing by from the other Sanctuaries and admittedly, it is a bit of a shame that we do not get to actually see this call with Declan in person. A little bit of Robert Lawrenson every episode would never hurt anyone!
The next step is Henry successfully getting into the server and retrieving the security camera footage, but only after suspicion for all recent events is thrown onto Will. However that suspicion doesn’t last long when the footage shows Henry pursuing and shooting Will on the residential corridor.
Whilst Henry is in complete shock over the recently discovered events, Magnus is her ever rational self and proposes that in addition to her tests on the Mollox, Henry be tested as well. All of this takes place still in Magnus’ office, because every good doctor has syringes lying around in every room of the house!
As Henry returns to his lab to continue clarifying the camera footage, Magnus heads off on her search and rescue mission to find the other members of her team. Revisiting the residential corridor, she happens upon the venue of Will’s shooting at the hands of Henry, but his body is no longer there.
Rather luckily, in Kate Freelander’s (Agam Darshi) case, whilst examining the scene, Magnus hears muffled screaming and with gun drawn, goes to investigate. In a supply closet, bound and gagged, she finds Kate. However, Magnus soon realises that Kate has no recollection of the events leading up to neither her current predicament nor what has actually happened in the Sanctuary over the last day or so.
What she is able to remember however, is responding to Henry’s call for help with Will and the subsequent search for him from the top to the bottom of the Sanctuary before losing radio contact with Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne). The flashback continues, showing us Biggie (Christopher Heyerdahl) and Kate proceeding to check the cameras in order to locate Henry or Will. Upon finding “Hank” stalking the corridors of the basement, Kate attempts radio contact, which you would think would be a lost cause seeing as he has not responded to earlier attempts, but you have got to have hope, right? Also, Biggie shall henceforth be known as ‘Captain Obvious’ for his “Something is wrong comment.” Great intuition there, big guy!
Kate leaves Biggie monitoring the cameras and heads in search of Henry, on first view, without a weapon. Not a smart move considering her previous career but it shows how Kate continues to settle in to the Sanctuary and the team. Upon being threatened and shot at by Henry, we then see Kate’s quick thinking come into play. Using a fire extinguisher as a makeshift weapon? I approve.
However, that fight is the last thing Kate remembers before waking up in the closet. With 2 team members now found, you would hope that the pieces would start slipping into place, but it seems the writers are keeping their cards very close to their chests on this one as only minimal information on the background of these events has actually been gleaned so far.
It also happens that Kate has no sense of timings either as she presumes Magnus is back early rather than going for the option where she has lost a day. Once she takes this on board though, Magnus and Kate quickly start to bounce off each other until we learn that the tests for both the Mollox and Henry have come back clean for any infection.
Looking for an update from Henry on the security footage leads only to further bad news as he is seemingly not contactable by radio. A quick dash down to the lab reveals clear signs of a fight taking place…not that the hammer hitting the wall didn’t give that away too. It turns out that Will has taken it upon himself to attack Henry for reasons yet unknown.
At this point, Magnus takes on a very motherly role, her issuing of “time out” as well as attempted placation and listening to both sides of the fight definitely reinforces her position as head of the household. Nothing emphasises this more than “Somebody start talking and it better be good!” compared to Henry and Will yelling over the top of each other, each laying the blame on the other and generally reacting like children.
Once she has played her part to a tee, we turn to Will for his flashback of the events he remembers. We start with the ever dreaded filing and unashamedly asking Biggie for help which draws the genius reply of “I’d love to really, but my hands…too big and hairy, that’s why I gave up needlepoint”. There is not a moment when Biggie stops being epic.
The flashback then duplicates Kate’s in nature, with Will searching the Sanctuary from bottom to top for Henry, eventually finding him on the residential corridor then being pursued and shot at.
Back to the present day and it seems that Magnus’ presence may have calmed the general atmosphere but it does nothing to stop the clearly aimed jabs at one another, especially from Will. Henry’s desperate attempts to apologise for actions he doe snot remember go unnoticed as Will zeroes in on one word and loses it with “Do not ‘dude’ me. Do not use the word ‘dude’ in reference to me ever again!” Well, looks like Henry might need to find a new favourite word!
However, “the shooting was amateur hour compared to what happened next:” and we swiftly return to the flashback.
This time Biggie and Will have found each other for a catch up and update before splitting up again to continue searching for Henry and other dangers that the Sanctuary may hold. Will spots a stray stunner on the floor and heads towards it, as would be expected. However, what wouldn’t be expected is for the security barrier to lower right in front of him, nearly on top of him, in fact.
This leads his search through to the main Sanctuary enclave, where it seems the Sanctuary really is out to get Will as the lasers aim and fire around him until he shoots out the main circuit box. That really should be the end of the torture for Will, right? But someone really had it in for him when they were planning this episode because he still has to face the glass to one of the holds lifting and an abnormal trying to drag him back into its lair.
Biggie is on hand to save the day though! With a nicely timed stunner shot, Will survives to fight another day. If he survives the stench that has suddenly permeated the Sanctuary anyway, which with a bit of investigating and a genius conversation of: “What is that smell?” “Me.” “Why?” “Garbage compacter tried to eat me!” it seems he will.
It also turns out that help will not be on hand anytime soon as comm systems to reach Magnus are down and Biggie is convinced the building is possessed, again. Eventually, they headed to the mainframe where lo and behold, they find Henry. When they try to stop him from completing the work he’s doing, Henry attacks Will and turns werewolf before Biggie once again saves the day by sending him flying into the wall.
We learn a lot more of recent happenings from this flashback as the original suspicion that Will had tampered with the server because he was guilty turns out to only be half true and in fact he was only trying to keep the Sanctuary secure.
The attempt to keep the Sanctuary secure continues with restraining Henry and continuing the search for Kate. A search isn’t needed, however, as Kate conveniently finds Will pushing a restrained Henry down the corridor and first threatens, then fires at him. Compared to the Kate’s behaviour seen earlier on, this only increases the feeling that something is seriously wrong within the Sanctuary.
Will draws a blank after being chased by Kate and remembers nothing else besides waking up in the basement where he “realised that Benedict Arnold here had hacked back into the security system and since [he] did not feel like being sliced apart by a laser….”, prompting yet more desperate apologies from Henry and Kate’s usual flippancy of “What’s a little gunfire between friends?”.
After Magnus has once again succeeded in placating her team, she begins to try and figure out what abnormal could cause those effects on people, but she comes us blank. Houston, we have a problem. It seems somebody wants to eliminate the crew and take over the Sanctuary…again.
The news only gets worse as Henry finds an email from the UN Security Chief stating her intention to arrive earlier than expected, which after a quick look at the time, turns out she had arrived 3 hours ago and nobody had seen her…or at least remembered seeing her. Henry’s summation of “Aah, we are screwed” says it all at this point.
Magnus tries to remain her usual pragmatic self in these situations, with the order of “Let’s not panic.” Which doesn’t sit well with Will because “Really? Because [they] have trashed the place, [they] have attacked each other, there’s a psychosis inducing abnormal on the loose, [they] may have killed the UN security inspector…call [him] crazy, but this seems like a pretty excellent time to panic.” And I don’t think anyone could disagree with his round up of events and they’re current predicament.
As if on cue, Henry hears bell in south corridor and everyone but him goes to check it out. After manually opening the elevator, they find Biggie hanging upside down inside, continuously pressing the buzzer and proclaiming “Took you long enough”. Complaining or making light of the situation, either reaction still gives this scene that wonderful comedic effect whether it was intended to be humourous or not. The problem isn’t over with this find though because Biggie can’t remember who did this to him either. Quelle surprise!
To further the story, we go this time to Biggie’s flashback. He remembers Kate waking up from being knocked off, taking one look at Will and running, followed by Will having the exact same reaction, only with an added threat. He then hears a sound and upon investigating, finds that Henry has broken loose from his restraints. Biggie decides this is “enough!” and sets his own plan in motion. Tampering with the gas and ventilation systems, he quickly distributes a sedative-like substance, causing the remaining members of the team to collapse in their current locations. Biggie then proceeds to tie up and gag Kate before leaving her in the cupboard and heading to find Will in the basement.
Whilst this clears up a few questions, finding Will is the last that Biggie can remember and so the Sanctuary team, and ourselves, are still left with a few unanswered questions. Not that Kate and Will think of any of that before they start blaming Biggie who insists it was for their own safety.
Magnus steps into her ‘Mama boots’ again with “Can we just declare amnesty for all past transgressions?” which unfortunately only starts another round of blame being tossed back and forth and Magnus quickly reaching the end of her tether!
Luckily, before the whole situation gets out of control, Henry radios in with a possible find from the security footage and calls them all back to the lab. From there we see a multitude of clips detailing the team attacking one another in various places in the Sanctuary, concluding in a shot of the UN Security Chief shooting Biggie with a stunner. At this point, Magnus takes over the mantel of ‘Captain Obvious’ with the comment of “Oh, this is not good.”
It comes to light that the UN Security Chief managed to enter the Sanctuary due to there being no security measures in place at the time. However, no-one has actually seen her in person. Suddenly, Magnus has a light bulb moment and upon the rewinding and a slow motion viewing of the footage, she spots the cause of the recent behaviours when a small creature pricks Biggie. Biggie having a panic is a classic moment followed by an equally classic exchange with Magnus of “Don’t worry; it’s not on you anymore.” “How do you know?” “Because you’re not trying to kill us.”
In the end, we find out that this creature is called a Pinapex and it releases a powerful pheromone into the bloodstream which makes the stronger creatures protect it, apparently how it hitched a ride on the Mollox and entered the Sanctuary. Henry seems relieved to know that that was “why Skippy attacked [him]” although apparently his naming isn’t favoured by Kate and Will: “Skippy?!”
A deeper analysis of events shows that the Pinapex jumped from the Mollox to Henry then whenever someone was taken out, it jumped to the next protector. With such stringent security measures in place when the Mollox was brought it, it did beg the question of why the Sanctuary didn’t pick up on the presence of the Pinapex. The reason: because this creature was supposed to have been extinct for the past 50 years and was therefore never in the security database. Typical.
There’s no time to dwell on this lapse in security though because Henry soon finds the UN Security Chief on the cameras, and it appears she’s the Pinapex’s protector and she’s headed straight for the catacombs. Have no fear though, Magnus has a solution! A sex inhibited pheromone of the Red Bolwan, which although “hastily engineered synthetic but it should do the trick.”
Of course though, the conversation always steers slightly off topic when sex is mentioned. Kate’s question of “No sex?” encourages Henry response of “I don’t need a shot for that.” The honesty is refreshing at least! That’s not the effect of the pheromone however; instead it should provide them temporary immunity to the Pinapex.
With their susceptibility covered, the entire team heads to the catacombs, splitting up to come at the good Dr Lee from both sides, although Magnus insists on tranquilisers only as she would prefer both charges alive. This may turn out to be a risky decision as they are fired at as soon as they enter the catacombs.
I’ll take risky any day of the week for the comic genius that follows though. Biggie’s method for covering Magnus is quite possibly the funniest thing in Sanctuary so far, and I vote for seeing this “Woo-ooo”-ing again, in any context it’ll fit in!
Magnus uses that diversion to try and strike up some sort of negotiations, but Dr Lee is having none of it, which isn’t all that surprising when she’s under the influence. What is surprising though, is Magnus giving away Henry and Kate as they move round behind Dr Lee. Despite this though, the team are quickly able to move into position, confusing Dr Lee at the same time. Biggie once again provides his wonderful distraction technique and Will manages to take her out with a tranq. Mission accomplished once again and Biggie even gets a little lovin’ in with the Pinapex with “Don’t you listen to them, I think you’re beautiful” in retaliation to Kate and Henry calling it ugly. Once again, comic genius and Chris Heyerdahl plays it so wonderfully.
Magnus is ever the practical one however, informing everyone that once the Pinapex jumps, the previous protector won’t remember anything about it so they will not go looking for it. Defence plan 101 of the creature. The practicality does not stop with the abnormal though. Oh no, with Magnus back around, there is a bit of cleaning to be done!
We skip forward at this point to Magnus talking about quarantine procedures to UN Security Chief as she wakes up. Understandably confused, she looks to Magnus for an explanation and we wait with bated breath as Magnus calmly explains that she keeps blacking out due to hitting her head on the cab door when she reached the Sanctuary. I’m not sure they could have come up with a cover story any further from the truth!
Will and Kate then enter with the supposedly requested tea and security logs, and when Dr Lee doesn’t recognise them, they continue the charade of black outs and placate her as well.
However it soon appears as though their charade has fallen through as Dr. Lee starts to remember things like the front door being unlocked when she arrived and boxes in the entrance hall. She also asks the team not to patronise her because she didn’t get to be Security Chief by being an idiot. Well that depends on the profession, but we will take her word for it this time!
Now is the make or break moment. Do they stick to the cover story or do they tell her the truth? The latter prevails and between them, Magnus, Kate and Will break the ‘situation’ to her with results that most likely leave them questioning that decision when Dr Lee insinuates that next time they might not be able to contain a situation. And that was totally the wrong move. Do not imply that Magnus or the Sanctuary is incapable. It won’t end well. Ever.
After being shot down by Magnus, Dr Lee concedes and then simply wants to know what she went through. At this point, I do not think anything is needed other than the dialogue because the bluntness of that alone is genius:
Will: “This is Henry…shooting me”
Kate: “Here’s Will going after me.”
Magnus: “Will crashing through a table.”
Lee: “What the Hell am I doing?”
Magnus: “Well…I believe you’re trying to kill my colleagues…but I’m willing to overlook it.”
It seems that there is a happy ending to this sorry tale after all. No-one was hurt, the Pinapex is locked up and the Sanctuary has passed the security review despite Kate only just taking Dr. Lee on a tour at the end of day. Team Sanctuary prevails once again although as Will points out, Magnus may have done this before….just “once or twice”…
Remember to tune in for the next episode “One Night” (directed by Amanda Tapping!) tonight April 25, 2011 on Syfy! In the meantime here is “Hangover” and two sneak peeks of “One Night” courtesy of Syfy via Hulu
As always, thank you for reading on WormholeRiders News Agency and please feel free to leave any comments or questions below. To visit or follow myself or WormholeRiders on twitter, please click on the icons below.
“Pax Romana” came back on Syfy with good ratings as well for a cable series, garnering approximately 1.27 million views for the second half opener of the third season of Sanctuary. “Pax Romana” is essentially the conclusion of the “Hollow Men” cliff hanger episode providing answers to several questions first raised in previous season three episodes.
As we may recall the evil Adam Worth (Ian Tracey) had lured the team to the city of Praxis home of the Hollow Men by telling tales of its wonder and escaping. Back at the Sanctuary previously, Helen and her team had decoded the holographic city map to figure out where the entrance to the fabled city depicted on the holographic maps exists.
Unfortunately for Team Magnus, the people of Praxis are not pleased with their mission success in finding them after Helen’s father Gregory left clues in a Holographic map. Instead the Praxis minions capture the explorers whom are promptly sentenced to death as their reward for being a bit too curious!
Before starting a few words about the outstanding green screen work, visual effects, make up and costuming both in Pax Romana and Hollow Men selected by executive producers Carrie Hall-Mudd, Damian Kindler, Martin Wood who also directed this episode and of course executive producer and actress Amanda Tapping.(which is why she is listed twice in our database).
As always, Brenda Turner for makeup and Christina McQuarrie (whom we followed with glee in Stargate and did the original designs) both do a wonderful job. The creation of cool costumes and the fabulous garb of the various Praxis city characters with makeup to match is superb.
In the area of VFX, Julie Bergman and John Lipskie outshine themselves once again with stunning visuals and CGI effects!
All these team members and so many more are what makes the story telling in “Pax Romana” and Sanctuary so enjoyable.
Meanwhile back at the underground environs, the politically hungry Ranna Seneschal (Polly Walker) had strung up four of our favorite characters to serve “justice” by executing them by electrocution on those horrible Praxis gallows to satisfy her agenda at the expense of our heroes! For goodness sakes people, what is the world (subterranean or otherwise) coming too!?
As we begin Helen is found to be alive in one chamber. In another Adam is taunting John Druitt revealing his vicious scheme to subvert the people of Praxis. Observed injecting himself, Adam obviously has more problems than he is revealing. We leave this sequence with a few people heading towards suspended and seemingly helpless John.
With obviously sharpened knives the fate of John Druitt does not appear to be good for his health. Rather ironic that John “Jack the Ripper” Druitt may get a taste of his own medicine!
Naturally Ranna had other plans for Helen Magnus as we find she is not actually dead. The entire spectacle has been staged by Ranna and her allies to fool the Praxis Senate while their real scheming agenda is about to be revealed. Apparently Ranna and her merry band of apparent troublemakers can reanimate dead folks and she summons Helen to her audience chambers after cooking her in the electrocution gallows before a wee bit of interrogation she does not want the Praxis Senate to observe!
But before the interrogation, Helen is served special Praxis milkshakes that are said to taste like a bit like “babies diapers”. Oh joy! The bad news is that no Big Mac or fries are to be served with the baby diaper milkshakes!
The turn-about for Team Magnus begins after Helen pieces together that something is wrong in the seeming paradise that the advanced subterranean city of Praxis is suffering from. Not only is there political turmoil, but actual earthquakes that threaten the well being of all Praxis inhabitants and us, the feeble dwellers on the surface of Earth as well!
Can you say we’re doomed like the character C3PO from Star Wars? Maybe R2D2 can help? Well be patient we will learn about computers a bit later on in the analysis as we see below.
We also discover that Big Bertha better known by Dr. Magnus as Jaffalis Berteloso and her revenge in the Kali trilogy was stopped in part by intervention from the power of the Praxis society which has stopped the abnormal elements from destroying the surface inhabitants of our world. The Praxis mysterious events are suspected by Magnus that someone intervened to launch the counter wave that Bertha had launched to swamp the world with tsunami in “Kali”.
Praxis a city of tremendous technology, has thrived in peace for thousands of years while we on the surface were in a state of mere technological infancy. Magnus is dismissed but is summoned once again when Ranna realizes she will need Helen’s knowledge of an abnormal creature called “Kannan”, in fact one of the super abnormal creatures that inhabit our world of Sanctuary.
Ranna admits to herself she must work with Helen to regain control of “Kannan”, a Tunisian Theropod, the creature responsible for the quakes threatening Praxis because of an illness that has stopped its critical work, the lovable tunneling that diverts volcanic magma away from Praxis on an ongoing basis.
During Pax Romana we also learn that Helen Magnus’ father, Gregory Magnus (Jim Byrnes) has not perished but is in fact a fugitive from the lords of Praxis! Will we see a reunion between father and daughter? Well of course we will, but not just yet!
Before continuing, a brief note on the fine actress Polly Walker. Many have missed her since her last notable science fiction role in Caprica as Sister Clarice. As Ranna, Polly Walker is delightful and motivated not in a lust for power like in Caprica as is initially suspected. Instead Ranna is dealing with an obdurate Praxis Senate and others who refuse to do what must be done to save the city to maintain peace and order for the entire world, both above and below the surface.
Another lovely guest star is Jody Thompson whom we have had the pleasure of watching from her roles in Stargate Atlantis, Smallville and Fringe to name but a few of her many film and television accomplishments. This time portraying the character Fallon, Thompson is an administrative aid to Ranna, but something does not seem quite right about her. And no I am not talking about her cool VFX slit eyes, but let us leave that particular topic for later discussion, shall we?
In the meantime we learn that much like a lot of some folks we have all encountered in life, the evil Adam has not been quite truthful with good ole Dr. Magnus about his alliance with the city folks of Praxis. Of course he has not been truthful! We need a good villain for “goodness” sakes! Ever since we met this foul character in “Breach” and “For King and Country” we knew this devil, in fact a bastard was up to no good!
Shoot! That danged Adam! If only Dr. Magnus had aimed that rifle at Adam’s head so long ago or only if John Druitt “The Ripper” had stabbed him a few times before he was thought to drown, think of all the trouble we could have saved? Well if that had happened we would not have this wonderful tale to revel in, so let us continue.
The dastardly villain Adam is up to his old tricks and plans to loot Praxis for his own aggrandizement to be remembered “for what every mad scientist wants, doing the impossible” to borrow a phrase from Dr. Will Zimmerman. Personally I would personally like to see Adam served to Big Bertha as a snack! However as I often say, “Patience is a Virtue” so we will need him for at least a few more minutes before we learn his ultimate “plans”!
Before we find out what that bastard Adam Worth is really up to, Ranna, Kate and Magnus head down to help treat super abnormal Kannan the magna tunnel creator.
Low and behold there is good ole Dad Magnus! After several episodes it is nice to see “dad” in the flesh, or what is going to be left of it if they do not figure out how to save the city which is apparently the only thing that keeps the “Super Abnormal Creatures” from destroying all life on the surface of planet Earth!
The sequence with “Dad” giving daughter Helen a hug is nice. After all family reunions are usually a lot of fun are they not? Is it not always fun and games with family during Easter, Thanksgiving, Hanukah and or Christmas? Well perhaps I am exaggerating as bit on that point since we know that some members of a family are not always so joyous to see us or we them!
Fortunately, Gregory Magnus is a good guy and we learn that he has been trying to help Kannan before the end of everything as we know it. He himself had diagnosed the condition as well as renal failure but had overlooked that this was merely a symptom of the root cause of the ailment.
Poor Kannan had been infected by a predatory trachnoid queen whose habitat and nesting area had been disturbed. Once this is discovered by our ageless genius Dr. Magnus and disclosed, a corrective action can be applied. During the discussion we learn that Gregory had sent the message to Helen and that Adam Worth had been assisted by someone else. Care to venture a guess? The answer has been right before our eyes. We will get back to that little gem in a bit and how I theorize that will play out in the future.
As we near the end of this fantastic tale of good versus evil, Adam is confronted and apparently trapped by Will and Henry on the streets of Praxis. Adam is carrying suitcases full of secret stuff for his evil plan to control the fate of all living creatures humans and abnormal alike. Just when we hope Adam will be stopped some of the escorts go white, attack Will and Henry allowing the dirty bastard of a scientist to escape to continue his plan to remake “history”.
Subsequent to Helen and Ranna curing Kannan so the tunneling beastie can resume his important work, Henry and Will figure out that someone has been helping Adam Worth for some time by looking at the Praxis computer systems. Catching the perpetrator comes from discovering the telling of a lie to another supporting character Commander Toland (Nels Lennarson) by Fallon. Will and Henry then ascertain that the missing element in this madness of Adam Worth being free is none other than Fallon herself!
It is her abnormal powers which allowed her to forge Ranna’s computer security credentials so that the evil scientist can access technology and permit him to steal the “Kelloram Device”. The Kelloram Device is a powerful but unstable energy source Adam needs for his scheme to change history by altering the time-line and changing his fate as well as that of the entire world!
Before concluding this review, I offer a word on such foul and despicable tactics as utilized by Adam Worth. Many if not all of us have been betrayed in our lives by people we once thought were allies. It happens all the time in the real world whether in business, families and or interpersonal relations.
We must never forget to watch our backs or suffer the same fate as Fallon who in her own undeniable quest for power in the city of Praxis, became the victim of her own betrayal of that which she claimed to want to protect! And so it is in life, many people are users, not givers and they will lie and cheat to obtain their ends!
With no regard to the lives of anyone else except himself, we observe that Adam also has no qualms about figuratively”stabbing his partner Fallon in the back” using a stun device he also stole from the Praxis vaults of technology!
As the episode draws to a close, evil scientist Adam Worth gets his in three ways. First Helen gets a couple of shots in as he disappears in the underground shuttle system. We are concerned he will escape. Have no fear, John Druitt is waiting to apparently finish him off.
I say apparently because at the very end end as Helen, Kate and Will with guns drawn wait until the the shuttle car returns after the computer system control is restored by Henry Foss. The Kelloram Device is aboard but there is no sign of Adam. Instead, written in blood is a message from John that “All Debts Have Been Paid in Full”!
True to character Druitt vanishes. However the body of Adam Worth is not located. And what of Fallon? My theory is that she somehow saved Adam and that we will see these two characters in the future of Sanctuary since no mention of her fate is discussed at all.
In the final touching moments Ranna and Helen come to terms while father and daughter Magnus are observed chatting. Each decide to go their separate ways once more on their never ending journey to save the world from the evil that lies within and threatens us all!
Sanctuary continues tonight 10 PM EST/PST and beginning April 25, 2010 moves to the Monday night lineup on Syfy. Be sure to tune in and support this fine series as it concludes its third season with more great episodes leading to the epic fourth season! We leave you now with the entire episode for your viewing pleasure courtesy of Syfy via Hulu. Enjoy!
If you prefer, click the social media icons below to share this news article or as many of our readers and visitors often do, visit the WHR on Facebook or me on Twitter by clicking the text links or images avatars in this news story and or on See You on The Other Side“! Thank you.
Falling Skies, an apocalyptic science fiction drama from Dreamworks Studios, is entering its second season on TNT. It stars Noah Wyle as a father of three sons doing his best to keep them alive and fighting back against an alien invasion force. 
The history teacher in Tom Mason might not be able to explain it, but Falling Skies has become a very popular show. This series is one of survival in the face of an overwhelming enemy. 
This from a public who often time shifts their entertainment viewing to on-line network sources, mobile devices and or recorded sources (DVR) now widely available in many homes. Perhaps even more telling is the huge crowd that joined the Falling Skies cast at the dedicated Falling Skies TNT web site to participate in “2nd Watch”. 
Here is the answer: Stories like the ones told by the TNT writers of Falling Skies attract us because they reflect humanity’s greatest strength, the power of adaptation. As a social animal, people are very curious about how others overcome challenges that might terrify us. We are fascinated by the thought that a person’s attitude can make a difference between life and death.
And that, I believe is what makes the show important at this particular time in America. Many Americans are facing challenges known only to their grandparents from the Great Depression often referred to as “the dirty thirties”. 
So, Americans and others around the word watch television as a means of escape. Comedy helps them feel better for a half hour at a time. Crime dramas produce a feeling that justice can occur and the good guys will win in the end. 
By watching how others cope with a traumatic event, even if it is fictional, we learn to cope with challenges in our everyday lives. “The biggest difference between our cool-headed heroes and the rest of us is not that those people are somehow fearless; it’s that they relate to their fears in a much more harmonious way than others do. In other words, these poised people have learned to work with their fears rather than against them — they don’t get preoccupied with their nerves or struggle to eradicate their anxiety — and this important shift frees them to focus on the moment and perform their best”, says Taylor Clark, author of the book, Nerve, a book about dealing with fear and stress.
Thanks to Kenn for assisting with the audio video embeds for my Falling Skies review and analysis. And thanks to you for stopping by WormholeRiders News Agency! 
