WormholeRiders News Agency

Tag: Carrie Hall-Mudd

Sanctuary “Normandy”: ‘Les Cinq’ Contre Le Monde with “Carentan” Trailer!

Welcome back Sanctuary fans!

This episode seems to be very popular and reaches out especially to the international fan base of the show. As such I feel the need to express how much I love Amanda Tapping and Peter Wingfield speaking French and German, respectively, before we start.

“Normandy” opens with the camera panning across a Nazi held checkpoint in, you guessed it, Normandy, on June 5th 1944. You don’t need to be a history buff to work out how The Five may be involved with The Second World War at this point, and it looks to be interesting how they’ll put a spin on such a tide-turning event…literally.

The first insight into the Five’s involvement comes with James Watson (Peter Wingfield) rolling up to the checkpoint in a tank and rather competently conversing with the guards in German, however all does not go to plan and a fire fight ensues. With Watson’s tank, which is now known to carry Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) too, easily defeating the checkpoint guards with a little help from an invisible Nigel Griffin (Vincent Gale), it’s on to the traditional British comments and moaning about the weather!

After the opening credits, Magnus, Watson and Griffin can be found walking through a forest debating the merits of “traipsing around Nazi France alone” and Watson’s realistic German accent. However, a mere second later, guns are raised and Magnus calls out what is accurately presumed to be a code word. The head of the sector’s French resistance, Jeanette Anaise (Erin Lacourciere) responds and now together, the two forces discuss the measures already taken and those that need to be taken in order for the invasion to succeed.

The main target as it turns out, is a device that can change the weather and prevent the allied fleet from even landing in occupied France. However, there is a problem before the mission even starts: Varreville, home to the device, is close and fairly straightforward to get to, but the latest schematics are housed in Carentan, a place heavily guarded by the Gestapo.

On that note, Nikola Tesla (Jonathon Young) is introduced to the fray. Across the channel in Portsmouth, he is diligently working away at the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Force…and complaining about chamomile tea, but that’s just Tesla. He loves to complain, even to the point of claiming that Magnus hasn’t been in contact because she didn’t listen when he explained how the autotype machine worked.

Although the reason Nikola had to explain it in the first place was because General Eisenhower’s orders were to shoot him if he got on a plane. Obviously, Tesla’s always been a favourite. Cracking the Enigma code just didn’t make him enough of a favourite to the top political and military people.

Back to Normandy and Jeanette has led Magnus, Watson and Tesla to Carentan in the hope of finding their way into the bunker. Of the two entrances, the one underneath Le Café Normandie is chosen because it isn’t guarded. Of course, those are famous last words. Today of all days, it happens to be guarded and a fire fight ensues between la Résistance and the Nazi forces. Nigel returns to save the day, providing a car for the getaway. Magnus and Jeanette manage to join him, but Watson is shot before he can reach them. He becomes the distraction, and as he runs out of ammunition and surrenders, a devastated Magnus watches the whole scene.

As it turns out, the Colonel in charge of Carentan’s facility knows about The Five and the upcoming invasion and wants information. This is problematic for Magnus’ rescue plans, until John Druitt (Christopher Heyerdahl) turns up at the bunker as one of the Nazis that is. An interesting revelation and the automatic assumption is that he is leaking information on his fellow members of The Five.

Down in the bunker, Watson is sure to “be very impressed” with their guests although the sarcasm quickly turns to shock as Druitt appears, decked out in Nazi attire and according to Watson, playing a game with them. It is obvious that there’s no love lost between these two as Watson happily informs Colonel Korba of Druitt’s murderous secrets and Druitt retaliates by revealing Watson’s secret of “eternal middle age”.

Knowing these secrets about each other will never end well through, proof in point when Druitt declares that Watson doesn’t fear death and turns the life support off. Using it as an interrogation technique, Druitt attempts to get information out of Watson but ultimately fails. This time. Druitt continues to broadcast his evil side with his “plan on making you afraid to live.” That man alone is an interrogation technique!

Returning to Magnus, Griffin and Jeanette, la Résistance head straight for the second autotype machine, but don’t get the chance to finish the message before being shot at. Magnus hits the nail on the head with “There’s never enough bloody time” and it switches to Tesla receiving the message and needing to urgently talk to Eisenhower.

Back in the Carentan bunker, Druitt is still ‘interrogating’ Watson. A quick lie, a turn of a dial on Watson’s life support and Druitt finds out about the weather machine. With this information, Druitt decides to send Colonel Korba to transfer Watson to Berlin.

From the darkness of the bunker to the dead of night; Magnus, Griffin and Jeanette are an easy target as they run down an open stretch of road. Deciding that splitting up is the best option, Griffin covers as Helen and Jeanette make an escape to drum up reinforcements. Backup won’t come in the form of Tesla though. After a long wait, apparently Eisenhower thinks Magnus’ message of “Druitt is” is too ambiguous to change any plans despite Tesla’s argument that Druitt anywhere in Nazi occupied France is a threat to the Allied Forces.

Meanwhile, Magnus and Jeanette are discussing ways to get to and stop the weather device affecting the invasion landings. Blowing it up is out of the question as it will have adverse effects on the creatures controlling it and other than that, there is nothing they can do until they get their hands on the latest schematics. It all might be in vain though as sirens indicate that the invasion has already begun…

Druitt hears the same sirens and now alone in the bunker, he releases Watson, only for Watson to attempt to attack him for helping the Nazis. Druitt continues to claim that even he can identify pure evil and is working alone, against the Nazis it appears, as he killed Hitler in earlier years. Hitler’s body double anyway. It also becomes apparent that Druitt was the one who leaked information on the weather machine because he needed the rest of The Five in France as well because something much larger than the device was at play.

Elsewhere, a barn door drifts open then closed, with no sign of anyone entering or leaving, until Griffin turns visible again. Mere seconds later, Nazi troops enter the barn in search of their enemy, however they don’t manage to search very far before bullets rain upon them. More soldiers pop up from behind the stacks of hay bales, although at this moment, their nationality is not clear. A very confused and very naked Griffin also pops up and is speechless until a soldier asks him the apparently ridiculous question (in Griffin’s mind anyway!) of “Parlez anglais?”. At this point, the soldiers are identified as Americans, Fox Company, 101st Airborne and are commanded by one Captain Jack Zimmerman (Robin Dunne).

Griffin and the paratroopers share their stories of North Africa and Italy vs la Résistance and Carentan. With Griffin announcing the need to free Watson from Carentan, Zimmerman immediately shoots the idea down because the place is a stronghold and their orders are to start clearing exits off Utah Beach.

Magnus and Jeanette have returned to Carentan in the meantime, and are determined to find a way into the bunker. Magnus heads straight for Le Café Normandie as Watson demands that Druitt gets them out of there. Of course, in his weakened state, he was never going to beat Jack the Ripper in a fight, so it was lucky that Druitt has the same intentions….once he’s figured out that Watson and Magnus are now together. It goes without saying that this doesn’t sit well with Watson who presumes and is furious that Druitt leaked information just so he could “see her one more time.” Druitt of course, denies this wholeheartedly but it’s definitely intriguing to see Watson standing up so passionately for Helen. Hopefully more of this backstory will be shown at some point! With all that aside, Druitt suddenly attempts to teleport them out of the bunker, with dire results, as they end up right back where they started.

Cue Magnus to the rescue, or so we hope. An inconspicuous stroll through the streets, some polite French exchanges and she arrives at Le Café Normandie, only to find the door securely locked. A guard pounces on her the moment they realise her intention to enter the café, forcing Magnus to come up with a cover story about her “sac à main” and “portefeuille”, a predictable one but told with her charm, a failsafe one as the guard is seemingly entranced by her.

The plan would have gone so well too, if only Colonel Korba hadn’t once again shown up at the most inopportune moment. His presence now becomes very suspicious, especially with Druitt and Watson being unable to escape and Magnus being captured and joining them in the bunker as well. Although to give her credit, Magnus’ indignant nature can rise at any moment. Despite being captured, she can still be irritated at Druitt for any reason and yet it’s clear that she still cares a great deal for him, as is shown by her reaction to him being shot and taken away.

Finally there is a return to Griffin’s story and despite presumably quite a lot of time passing, he is still trying to persuade Zimmerman to belay his original orders and storm Carentan. He’s given the chance to at least explain the weather machine but the Americans still appear unlikely and unwilling to help, until Griffin informs them of a way to contact England despite the ordered radio silence.

Back to Nikola Tesla and his analysis of Druitt being “a psychotic killer but he’s no Nazi” due to “his love for Helen.” As if on cue, a message comes through the autotype machine from Griffin, relaying the presumption that Druitt is a Nazi, Watson has been captured and Magnus is Missing In Action, as well as his current standing with the 101st Airborne. Tesla sends the message along with a threat through his aide to Eisenhower.

Returning to Normandy, Griffin is prepared to split up with the Americans and head in opposite directions to Utah Beach and Carentan, respectively. However, Zimmerman has a sudden change of heart, presumably because he wants the landings and invasion to be successful, and the 101st Airborne decide to return with Griffin to Carentan in the hope of saving Watson and turning off the weather device. Later, and having reunited with Jeanette Anaise and la Résistance, a plan of attack is formed, which the Americans oppose until they see Nigel Griffin turn invisible.

The underground bunker has once again got occupants to interrogate. Magnus and Watson are bound to chairs by their wrists and ankles and are trying to deflect attention from the Colonel’s attempt at intelligence gathering with lies and stalling tactics. However none of it works, especially after Magnus refuses to allow the Korba to call her “Helen”.

The sudden revelation of Colonel Korba being head of Hitler’s Abnormal Hunting Division sets a new angle for Watson to attack, but the Colonel is quick to remind them that they will be killed afterwards because he only wanted to meet them. He admires their advancements and stamina for their ages and reveals his interest in abnormals came from being injured by a Fire Elemental.

With this new information, Magnus and Watson immediately figure out the Nazis plan, which although a relief, is no actual help when they are still trapped and the Colonel is lecturing them on the fact their invention will cause the Allied Forces to lose the war.

Above ground though, 101st Airborne are quickly moving into position and taking out the guards whilst below ground, it appears that the whole Fire Elemental plan is based on ancient texts. Watson and Magnus’ astonishment and exclamations that such a plan will doom the world leads only to Colonel Korba turning Watson’s life support off again. Loss of life appears to be a theme for the next while, with a fire fight starting above ground between the Nazis and the Americans and French Resistance.

It turns out to be a perfect distraction for Griffin though, who enters the bunker undetected and takes out the guard at the desk. Although at this moment, it begs the question of whether his rescue will be too late as Korba continues to destroy the machine keeping Watson young, much to Magnus’ horror and anguish. As Jeanette manages to find her way into the bunker to join up with Nigel, it appears that Watson is out of danger as his life support is quickly fixed and both him and Magnus quickly released.

Crossing the channel again finds Tesla’s aide returning to a surprisingly empty room, with top secret documents left strewn across the desk. As the aide starts to take notes from the top secret folders, the emptiness of the room suddenly becomes clear. A trap. Seconds later the autotype machine delivers the message of “Auf Wiedersehen” and Tesla appears demanding answers to how long the aide has been leaking information to the Nazis and not delivering messages to Eisenhower.

Back in France, Magnus, Watson, Griffin and Jeanette make their escape out the doors of Café Normandie, only to find themselves in the midst of the continuing fire fight. As the American divisions finally overpower the Nazis, Magnus and the others arrive at the building housing the Fire Elemental and weather machine, which on first viewing doesn’t appear to be heavily guarded. As always though, those were famous last words as tanks suddenly appear at the top of the road and planes start circling above them.

All is not lost though, as the surviving Americans catch up and yet another battle ensues. Magnus and Watson take this distraction as a chance to enter the building. However safety protocols have been bypassed and Magnus drops the bombshell that a Fire Elemental cannot be killed but they can try and force it down into the Earth. Meanwhile, Zimmerman has been taken out by the Nazi forces and Druitt turns up to take out Korba just a few moments too late to save anyone else.

With their mission ac complished, Magnus and Watson leave the building only to find that Druit t crouched over Korba’s body informing them that’s he’s done “What I always do, what you can’t.” With a last warning to Watson about treating Magnus well, he’s gone and once again called into question is whether his actions are purely evil in nature or for the good of humanity.

As with all wars though , good people are lost and in this case, Magnus vows that Zimmerman’s death will not be in vain, nor will any others who have lost their lives for humanity’s cause. As the sun rises on June 6th 1944, the invasion fleet can be seen making its approach to the 5 designated beaches: Sword, Gold, Juno, Utah and Omaha. The final battle has begun.

“Dedicated to all the men and women who serve in the armed forces. Thank you for giving us Sanctuary.”

And thank you to the Sanctuary team for acknowledging and honouring the bravery of those still serving and the memories of those who lost their lives to keep our world safe. And remember to stay tuned for “Carentan” the next Sanctuary episode which will air Monday June 06, 2011 in the United States on the Syfy Channel and on Friday June 10, 2011 on the Space Channel in Canada . June 6, a rather fitting date, perhaps, would you not agree?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting WormholeRiders News Agency

Please feel free to leave a comment about this episode either here or on Twitter, where both WormholeRiders and myself can be contacted by clicking on the images left and below right.

– Gairwyn

May 30, 2011
Sanctuary “Awakening” Analysis and Relationships to Real Life Featuring Aliyah O’Brien!

Welcome back Sanctuary fans,

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?

Other than the genius being written into the ongoing tales by Gillian Horvath under the superb direction of Lee Wilson, this episode features a rising talent, the lovely Ms. Aliyah O’Brien (Kill Switch, Smallville, Exes and Ohs, Men with Brooms). Ms. O’Brien is another of the fantastic ongoing guest stars the Sanctuary team has brought to our attention.

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!

As always we appreciate your visiting our news sites at WormholeRiders News Agency. Thank you.

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.

Best Regards,

WR_Systems (Kenn)

May 23, 2011
Sanctuary: “Wingmen” and Other Delicious Encounters … with “Awakening” Sneak Peek!

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!

Red wine and agnolotti be darned.

Can’t wait to see the epicness and story arcs continue! BRING IT!! In the meantime for here is the extended promotional trailer for “Awakening” !

Thank you for stopping by WormholeRiders News Agency and reading.

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.

SPREAD THE LOVE, THE GRACE, THE COMPASSION.

JandyraCJM.

May 15, 2011
Sanctuary: “Metamorphosis” A Wild Ride – with “WingMan” Sneak Peek!

Hello Sanctuarians!!!

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.

Till next time. XO

KarenFord1

May 9, 2011
Sanctuary” “One Night” And What a Night It Was! with Sneak Peek

Hey Sanctuary fans,

We have all been there. We’ve all had ‘that’ date. You know the one I mean. The one where you probably would have spent some time getting yourself looking just so. Convinced yourself that you are sure, smart, and sophisticated? Yep. That’s the one.

That ‘date’ when you think you have everything as near dammit perfect as possible. You look good, they look REALLY good. You’ve managed to wangle your way into an exclusive restaurant, (= Mucho brownie points), and this is where it goes wrong!

You accidentally spill wine on the girl, or you tread on their toes, elbow them in the face or maybe call them by the wrong name/forget their name, Offer them a cough sweet, only to find out their allergic to the lemon flavouring in them…. OR you’re on your way there, when you get kidnapped…..

Okay, well maybe mine have not gone soooo disastrously as wrong as Will’s after all…….

Just before we plunge into Will’s disastrous date night, I would like to say that Amanda Tapping has yet again done an AMAZING job directing an episode. She seems to have settled into the Directing extremely well. I know is not her first rodeo, but even still, and I love her camera work. (She doesn’t push the camera boundaries as much this time, but we do get her signature ‘crane’ shot!) Also if I could take a moment to doff my cap in Anthem’s direction for the vis effects, bravo! It is again hard to imagine the amount of stage work that is done sans physical props. And in my humble opinion it is getting harder to spot where the vis effects end now, and the physical props that are there, being.

One Night:

To set the scene, Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne) has a date! Woo hoo! And she appears to be a lovely date too! Woo Hoo! And they appear to be hitting it off! Woo Hoo!!! And……………………Can I just say. For the record. Poor Will. Poor Poor Will. This being the first date that he has had (that we have seen) since Clara died. And the poor lamb ends up kidnapped.

With his date.

How epically unlucky can you be?

One minute you are walking to the restaurant you have managed to book in your Boss’s name. (WILLIAM honestly!) And the next you think you’re being mugged. ONLY to then have it turn into something much much worse as you are both kidnapped. (I’d rather take the mugging thank you very much!)

A short ride later and both Abby portrayed by Pascale Hutton (Fringe, Smallville, Stargate Atlantis) and Will (Robin Dunne) are deposited in some grimey dingey warehouse, where a rather sinuous sinister looking Sioux (Tinsel Korey) is quite clearly waiting for them. Will does that whole, ‘eyebrows in hairline’ thing which always makes me smile. But even when he looks like someone has just pulled the rug out from under his feet, you can still see the cogs turning in his brilliant mind. The lad has certainly learnt a large amount since those first early days in the Sanctuary Network. It’s like he has been on the fast track program to spydom. (Although not quite OO7 yet William…..)

Long and the short? Will has to save the gang’s leader Horatio Gibbs (Edward Foy), who has been laid out by a rather nasty spiney abnormal. Failing to convince Sioux that they have got the wrong Doctor, (Frankly I would have PAID to have seen the gang try to corral Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) Will finally sees that he has no option but to attempt to save the leader.

Just side stepping for a moment. Was anyone else a bit annoyed by Abbey? I just found that after they had just arrived at the warehouse, that the girl wouldn’t shut up. (in fairness i don’t know how i would react if kidnapped on a first date, but i don’t think i would be quite so chatty) So, yes, she irritated me! I did think that if she doesn’t calm down soon, i will head butt her. But then she goes and does something all heroic like trying to arrange a distraction so that Will and her can attempt to escape!

The girl almost ends up getting herself shot by a stray fired bullet, and proceeds to give Will, (who is in a different room to her) a small heart attack as he thinks she has been shot. After the very brief, and short lived attempted at trying to escape from the Gang, Will realises he has to rely on what little he can remember from his Pre-Med days. Mixing up a solution that should stop the fitting that Gibbs, is currently going through on the table, Will administers it and to his and Abbey’s delight, the guy on the table stops fitting. In fact, he stops moving. He stops, well, everything. Including breathing……….

Oooo Crap. Will’s killed him. Frankly, it couldn’t have gone more wrong.

Weirdly enough, the next line is one that I have heard MORE than once in Sanctuary. Will prepares what he calls a ‘Hail Mary.’( SEE! There it is again! We heard it in Pavor Nocturnus, and Next Tuesday) After deploying said Hail Mary, the guy on the table gets a thump on his chest for his worries from Will and badabing, badaboom……. we are breathing once more.

Now I love Will when he gets all riled up and pissey. It makes for an interesting turn in the dynamic that makes up his character. Normally he is so cool and rational (if a little eyebrow raisey) and we get to watch as he loses his rag with Sioux. Apparently the young lady has been holding out on him. Turns out Mr Gibbs on the table is an Abnormal. A Septeran, and they have completely inverse immune system. Now, i don’t know what that means. But i am guessing that whatever you would do to treat a human, isn’t going to work on old Johnny go lightly on the table.

Meanwhile back at the Sanctuary, Kate (Agam Darshi) receives a very heated phone call from the owner of the Restaurant that Will used Magnus’s (Amanda Tapping) name for a restaurant booking. The guy is yelling down the phone at Kate, who when asked if she is Will’s girlfriend says, ‘Seriously? Have you seen the guy? He is like a matchstick with hairgell!’ LOL. He has been kidnapped and is getting insulted at the same time. LOVE IT.

Kate, currently sat in Magnus’s chair, is all fire and vigour until Biggie (Christopher Heyerdahl) and Declan (Robert Lawrenson) walk in and she promptly jumps up from the Magnus Chair, as if burnt. After a quick debate on why Will and Abbey did not make it to the restaurant, (Again William gets it again, I will not spoil it here, because it’s a moment you need to watch) Apparently the food at Alfredo’s really is THAT good…..

Back at the warehouse……….Will has written up a small shopping list for Abbey to go source out in the local market. Will, ever keen to try and escape. Has created a way for Abby to do a bunk. On the list that he has given her for the ingredients for a counter to the toxin running through Gibb’s veins, is a Moroccan Cave Scorpion. Not needed for the shot for Gibbs, but Abby gets the brut Coda (James Pizzinato) to open the box, where upon doing so, he is viciously attacked by the nasty critter and Abby, does a runner. HUSSAR! Progress!

Will currently still in the warehouse, uses two Epi pens on two of the guards in the warehouse and runs, only to run straight into Sioux, who, well as you may have gathered, isn’t very happy that Will’s Girlfriend has set a creature upon one of her boys. Will looks like he is about to take a bullet, when Abby comes rushing back in. And Saves his life. Even though Will had basically set this up so she could do a runner. She comes back. I can’t decide if that is stupid or sweet. Maybe it’s both……But poor Will gets lamped around the head for his troubles. Again.

Meanwhile, Kate has had the red list buys bought to her attention and they quickly figure out that young Will and Abby are in trouble. The list that Will devised, has been done in such a manner that it gives the Sanctuary crew his location. They figure this all out, and scramble a team together, but have the mission to save them scrubbed by Magnus herself.

Apparently the vendetta crew have been of interest to Magnus for months and potentially there is a Ghost Ship of abnormals arriving in the city and Gibbs is the main contact. They have been tracking this for months, and the Ship is laden with abnormals destined to become slaves. Its big money for Gibbs and a very big bust for Magnus, one which she does not want to mess up as hundreds of abnormals will suffer and disappear as soon as that ship makes ground.

Kate, you can tell is pissed beyond pissed. But what can you do when your boss says no? Keep an eye on it all anyway apparently…………….

Back at the warehouse, there is a lovely discussion that takes place, between Will and Abby where basically Abby is slightly insulting Will. You seriously see his feathers get ruffled and Will automatically starts defending himself. Abby’s point is that something is seriously not playing right, and that something feels decidedly off with what is happening in the warehouse. The body language of Sioux is all kinds of off, and instead of hearing this, for a moment or two, Will is seriously a little more than insulted. Bless.

After bringing his deflated ego back into line, Will sets about making the concoction needed. The only reason he remembers the ingredients is because one of their operatives got stung in their last mission. And they had to make the same solution then. Upon going to administer the injection, Will then discovers that Gibb’s is in a state of Tachycardia, which for a Septeran, isn’t possible.

Pissed at being lied to again, Will challenges Sioux, and low and behold, the truth comes tumbling out. Sioux, in her own, VERY screwed up way, is trying to do the right thing. She doesn’t want Gibbs to trade in Slaves. Abnormal or otherwise. Unfortunately, it looks like the other member of the crew namely Coda, has other ideas, and decides to shoot Sioux, killing her, and also impale Abby with the quills taken out of Gibb’s leg. Will now has two patients. One who will die quickly, and one on the verge of dying. I believe the game has just been upped. Will, looks like he has just been sucker punched in the guts. And I don’t blame him.

There is however, a lovely moment, where Abby is asking about the food at Alfredo’s, even though she is clearly in some pain. Will is talking to her about what they would have had. And Abby is trying to breathe, and make light of the situation. Bless her. She is ok in the end. Will quickly makes up another syringe, and gives Gibb’s the goods. Unfortunately when the rat bag comes round, he swipes his arm across the table, effectively smashing everything that Will needs to make up another syringe for Abby. However, after everyone has left, and for those of us with sharp enough eyes, Will produces a syringe from his pocket which is in fact a spare antidote to the poison. Clever Boy that William……. And he administers the injection with a kiss.

The rest ends pretty sharpish. Do they get the bad guy? Of course. Pfffft. Helen Magnus would never let THAT opportunity slip through her fingers. Biggie is particularly vicious with the bad guys, giving one a delightful slap round the head. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) gets to deliver the last line in the episode, after Will has finished declaring the situation a Win Win, and Magnus has slapped him down for using her name to get a table at Alfredo’s. IN fact the line makes you WANT to visit Alfredo’s. Will asks, and this has been a theme throughout the episode, if the food at Alfredo’s is that good.

Helen simple demurs, in a low voice…..’Oh, It’s that good……’ And speaking of good we include the Wingman extended sneak peek courtesy of Syfy via Hulu

As always thank you for visiting WormholeRiders News Agency and reading my report. Please feel free to leave a comment below, share this article by clicking one of the social media icons below or visit me on Twitter by clicking on the avatar to the right.

Thank you,

SurrealVampi (Kate)

May 3, 2011
Sanctuary “Hangover”: “You Won’t Recognise This Place When You Get Back” with Sneak Peek and Episode Videos

Calling all Sanctuarians!

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.

~ Gairwyn

April 25, 2011
Sanctuary “Pax Romana” Season 3 Episode 11 Analysis with Video!

Welcome back Sanctuary fans,

The long awaited return of Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) and her core team of Dr. Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne), Henry Foss (Ryan Robbins), Kate Freelander (Agam Darshi) and John Druitt (Christopher Heyerdahl) finally arrived on our screens to the absolute delight of the fans of the series!

“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!

As always we appreciate your visiting our news sites at WormholeRiders News Agency. Thank you.

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.

Best Regards,

WR_Systems (Kenn)

April 22, 2011
Sanctuary: ‘For King and Country’…A forty-minute, mouth-gaping feature!

GREETINGS SANCTUARIANS!

Following the overwhelmingly smackdown super-Magnus episode that was ‘Breach’, I think impassioned Sanctuary viewers everywhere could barely expect another episode of such a sheer amount of epic. The utter ferocity of Amanda Tapping’s physicality in that episode, combined with the combination of unbelievably brutal fight choreography and the quiet and poignant humanism left fans all over the world breathless! To exceed the nuclear effect of this episode was inconceivable. And then the following happened:

‘For King and Country’. Sanctuary, Season 2, Episode 8.

Though perhaps the most anticipated episode of this third season of Sanctuary, nobody could possibly comprehend what it entailed. Was it a grossly epic plot? Was it the character catharsis? Was it historical flashbacks? Was it the fantastic visual effects of Amazing Anthem? Was it the personal chemistry? The passionate depths of emotion? The nuances of the sublime actors? The directing?

Truth is, it was every single one of those. Every. Single. Blasted. One.

Unlike ‘Breach’, ‘For King and Country’ started at a measured pace. The initial energy was urgent, carrying on from the close of ‘Breach’, but did not inspire the edgy mystery that the former episode did on opening. This enabled we anxious viewers (perched on the edge of our sofas, chewing our cushions anxiously…nothing unusual here, carry on please!) to be drawn into the plot immediately and smoothly. Sucked right in. Unknowingly. Into the powerful depths of their clutches. And then the mouth-gaping arc began.

Helen Magnus’ (Amanda Tapping) defensive, agitated and emotionally charged state creates a perfect bridge between ‘Breach’ and ‘For King and Country’. As she gradually calms from being smacked around concrete walls by a dead classmate, her determination to understand it all begins a new series of action…

The depths of history that this episode burrows into, the emotional arc and personal development of characters, the beauty and attention to detail of the production, all make this episode feel like an entire film within the space of forty minutes. The tasteful abundance of Anthem’s work helps give the narrative the weight it deserves; they have captured the atmosphere of 19^th century London gorgeously, while the costume design (Christine McQuarrie) and attention to detail is authentic and beautiful.

Not just the changing fashion of the clothing as they progress through the eras, but also in style , where it authentically reflects the social and class status of the Five. The superb directing of Lee Wilson, and the tasteful post-production work, created a succinct and clear narrative despite the constant flipping in time periods! The editing is well thought out, as every single scene in the episode fills out the plot arc fantastically, and at the same time allows the full weight of human interaction, and the importance and consequences of those interactions.

It feels like an entire film, so much information crammed into forty minutes, yet at the same time we’re taken on an incredible personal and emotional journey. Even Andrew Lockington, the musical genius, and the glorious work in the music editing reflects the changes in time period sumptuously (including a repetition of a particular theme from ‘Breach’, which catches my inner drum every time!). There are so many important aspects to consider in this episode, that the task leaves me gasping for air. Where in Hollow Earth do we BEGIN?!?!

Let’s begin with the crowning glory of genii: The Five. Back in their ‘young and passionate’ days these five, talented individuals assembled and set to work with a common purpose in mind. Helen Magnus, following in her father’s inspirational footsteps, had a brilliant and inquisitive mind, shrewd, cautious, and passionate in her study of abnormal life. The lightning-quick James Watson (Peter Wingfield) was not far away, dedicatedly putting his brilliant genius to work in abnormal research.

The arrogant and witty Serbian ex-pat, Nikola Tesla (Jonathon Young), dedicated his genius to their brilliant work, but we are still to gain light on why exactly John Druitt (Christopher Heyerdahl) and Nigel Griffin (Vincent Gale) were active participants. Druitt may have been there simply as Helen’s lover, but are there more scientific reasons to his interest? Jack the Ripper was an avid anatomist…hmmmmmmm thoughts?

The earlier flashbacks in which we see them all together are just delicious, as they labour away at the source blood, trying to unlock its secrets, then interrupted by the nuisance of Adam Worth (Ian Tracey). After Druitt rids them of him, the cocky humour is positively bouncing off the walls:

Druitt: “You have to admit he’s brilliant!”

Griffin: ” …and British.”

Tesla: “Hysterical.”

Magnus: “Does anyone else notice something …odd…about Adam?”

Tesla: ‘He just pointed it out, he’s British *winks*”

The entire dynamic between the members of the Five, and also in their contact with classmate Adam Worth and the outside world, is really given weight in the narrative. As Nikola aptly pointed out, they were young, and even a tad arrogant (young, self-confident, invincible!), and their actions and attitudes remind me a little of the ‘Trust Fund’ kids in Season 2’s ‘Sleepers’: Young, self-confident in their brilliance, feeling invincible, and somewhat cliquish. Although *AHEM* it must be said they they do comprehend the consequences of their actions…at least to some extent!

Adam Worth was more than capable of pushing their work forward, yet they bar him from their ‘club’. After Druitt menacingly drives Adam from their lab, the scene between Helen and Worth, as she watches him work a chemical compound on the wall, is key in their attitude toward such an ‘outsider’.

In true Magnus sensitivity, she sincerely appeals to his vanity, to try and soften the blow of their final decision. It will be interesting to see what the more sound reasons for refusing him were, as Magnus said ‘we’re heading on different paths’, after noticing ‘something odd’ about him. Perhaps they already sensed a dormant obsessive darkness in him?

From that moment on, it seems that the deep chasm between the Five and Mr. Worth began to push apart. Adam was forced to build a desperate bridge in the bid to save his beloved daughter, and despite Helen’s and Watson’s best efforts, the Leukaemia won its war. Was it the loss of his daughter that caused the rift in Adam’s personality? Or, as Will suggested; a betrayed rage at Helen’s pursuit and attempted assassination? Perhaps both. Over to you, Will!

Either way, Adam needed someone to blame for the premature loss of his daughter (much as Helen did), and it fell on Magnus’ and Watson’s shoulders, for their inability to save young Imogene (Margot Berner). The memory is a heart-wrenching revisit for Helen, “The loss of a daughter. It’s a wound that never heals”.

Adam seems to be dealing with it a lot differently to her; the continuing post-trauma of his loss seem to have caused Adam’s hatred grow to irrational lengths, while perhaps his spatio-temporal dimensional travel has adverse effects on his mind? Let’s wait and see….*stuffs fists in mouth anxiously*.

There is definitely a sense of sympathy between Magnus and Adam; she is much more forgiving than most of the men around her, and the grief for Ashley that she nurses could help her to form some sort of bond with him. But to do this, she must speak Adam’s language. Hence ‘Breach’ showed the violence that she needed to get through to the beast, contrasted with the soft humanity she employs in this episode to talk to the gentle genius: “I want to help you, Adam”.

Helen sincerely regrets the awful action and betrayal she had made a hundred years ago; it goes against all her principles and instincts. Now, Magnus and the Five’s sacrifices for the sake of their work have come back to bite them in the behind, the moral sacrifices they have made have brought a huge threat to the very work they meant to protect. The irony wears a bit of a rough edge!

How much the Five have all changed over the past 100 years! And how much has changed…the devastating loss of the bright James Watson feels pacified a little by his return from the past in ‘For King And Country’, and it was utterly delightful to see him in his original habitat, surrounded by his ambitious peers, and to see his working relationship with Dr. Magnus. We don’t tend to feel the loss of Nigel Griffin so much, as we’ve had very little light shed on his veiled past (AS OF YET!).

Obviously, the greatest change has been in Helen and, through the angst of their relationship, Montague John Druitt. The history of their tearing apart by his demon, the resulting fear and resentment, and the loss of their daughter, has really put them through the mill.

Will Zimmerman, poor laddy, is desperately trying to play catch-up in the presence of these ancient genii, yet despite his overwhelmedness, he has learned quickly that he also has his own respectable and capable place in their work. Robin Dunne has, over the entire series, developed with his characterisation the bumpy growth of Will as he continually encounters situations that he simply never imagine possible.

He is loyal to Magnus, but not blind, and has an immensely strong moral integrity…especially for his age! His frustrated confrontation with the fatally ill *WAILS* Magnus shows an ethical consciousness and strength, which is something that the Five seem to have lacked over a century ago. He confronts Magnus with his bitterness: “To protect society, or your work?”. Magnus is not impressed, he’s just a child after all…

His sensitive understanding of the complex and fluid psyche is invaluable in a jungle of chemical and biological scientists. Even Helen admitted, throwing her hands in the air, “We didn’t understand the mind back then, Will! We saw him as a threat!”. Yet she has the unique ability to quickly adapt to new and changing concepts. I think her iPhone speaks for itself…BY the WAY. Is Henry’s iPhone app from ‘Bank Job’ available on iTunes yet?!

At this point, I feel the overwhelming urge to hit PAUSE, and pay awed homage to the phenomenal actors in this episode.

Guest artist Ian Tracey…why on EARTH have we not heard about him before this series?! The man IS Adam Worth…both of Adam Worth! The softly gentle Irish nuances are juxtaposed harshly with the rough and crude ‘bully’ within him. While his character is modelled after Jekyll and Hyde, the original writing (James Thorpe), combined with Ian’s humane characterisation, brings the fable to a living and believable reality.

Ian Tracey IS Adam Worth, a slighted genius traumatised by the loss of his daughter, betrayed, and on a century-old mission for revenge. Ian’s sudden, but smooth, transition between the two personalities are breathtaking, and are so rapid that it takes you a moment to register the change. He is subtle, there is no affectation in his portrayal, but the character opens up in the most organic and quietly natural way possible.

The personal crumbling and fury appears as a natural progression from 100 years ago, to the present day…the actor manages to show 100 years of continuing torment in just a few minutes. The same, of course, can be said for Amanda Tapping, Chris Heyerdahl, and Jonathon Young. Can’t wait to see more of Ian!

Amanda Tapping’s acting especially floored me in this episode. Her expression of the 159 year old Doctor carries so much weight, so much versatility and so much poignancy. Throughout ‘For King and Country’, Amanda’s delivery felt completely organic, unforced, and Magnus’ physical exhaustion, sickness and emotional torment was heart-touchingly real.

It’s the little things that have the most drastic effect, as Amanda once said “small pebbles cause great ripples” and the inconspicuous glances, gentle throw-away comments, and even the moments when Magnus doesn’t speak at all, managed to convey over a century of growth and experience in one fleeting instant.

For Amanda and her character, this episode was a direct contrast to the one which preceded it; a contrast between the raw and gritty physicality, and feminine strength and vulnerability. A sublime delivery, absolutely gorgeous. Perhaps the most beautifully touching scene in the series to date, Helen’s intimate moment of fleeting tranquillity with Druitt is a perfect example where no words are needed, and yet so much can be said.

With the impending doom hanging over their heads, the angst of the past and the uncertainty of the future seem to cloud around their aura of closeness, and come colliding above them during her moment of touching, human need.

Here, Helen is not merely a scientist, but a woman. She is vulnerable, and seems to seek comfort in the relief that he is alive, in the familiarity of his nearness, and the basic need for human comfort. I watched my television screen shudder and melt with ripples of emotion. The delivery was simple, and honest.

It was utterly FANTASTIC to have the sumptuous James Watson (Peter Wingfield) back in the fold, his familiarly suave brilliance reverberated in his classy wit was just DELICIOUS to welcome back. And ever so British. His languorous nationally iconic humour was reflected delightfully in that of Druitt and Griffin, and contrasted even more appetizingly with the Serbian Nikola Tesla, who basically used his own particular brand of wit to throw their comments right back in their faces. The typically English humour is sharp as a knife:

Druitt: “It seems Victoria was wrong, the old boy DOES have a backbone!”

Watson: “He’s not a LORD, he’s a King. And no…go to hell, MISTER Prime Minister”

Druitt: “Seconded!”

I think this is one of the most delicious exchanges in the episode.

Everyone’s favourite ‘Magneto’, Nikola Tesla seems to have found a new setback: his outdated knowledge. He just doesn’t DO humble, and his final admission of finding Henry’s (Ryan Robbins) expertise in tech rather daunting heralds a new kind of emotional maturing. The 160 y.o. genius who finally hit puberty?! Well maybe not in a physical sense, but definitely in his cranial juices. To humble himself enough to make an admission that, just maybe, he isn’t Captain Invincible, is ringing little tingling bells of emotional growth.

Yet he constantly returns to his usual, self-centred, egotistical, conceited…at the expense of his colleagues. Once again, poor Magnus is blinded from the truth by his deceit (“And you are nothing, if not a man of your word!”, though he had good reason for it. Nevertheless, let’s hope it doesn’t go too far though, we love his infuriating snirks!

“I was wrong, there is a God”!

Needless to say, the loss of his Vampiric traits dealt an enormous blow to Mr Tesla, and ever since then, much of his egotistical bravado has been overshadowed by disappointment and a sense of failure. It is as if Nikola has begun to rediscover his new self, and found that he has, like all other humans, his own set of flaws. To live as a Vampire for a century, and then suddenly find oneself mortal, the withdrawals must be enormous!

Even his physical attitude has changed, as we can see in the flashbacks juxtaposed with the present timeline: His normally ramrod straight posture, serenely self-confident, snobbish manner has been melted into a more relaxed and uncertain air. You could even say, more…scruffy-looking. More like a professor and less like Dracula. Even his accent (obviously) has been muted from a strong Slavic “I-vant-to-suck-your-blood’ to sharp-tongued American drawl. Kudos on the accents Jonathon!

Druitt. Oh, Druitt, great to have you back, torn man that you are. Christopher Heyerdahl is a man of mouthgapingly incredible talent. Not only in his versatility with prosthetics and character work, but in the subtleties of his delivery. He has a magnificently theatrical, spellbinding magnetism on the screen. From an over-drugged state, we saw so many stages in his development as an individual in this particular episode.

His character seems to swimming in cruel irony. From that moment on the bridge, in foggy London (thank you special effects!), the fateful promise: ”And when we are done, you and I will begin our dance anew”, to the exchange in the river, where he finds himself (unknowingly) at the mouth to Hollow Earth:

Adam: “She will hunt you forever”

Druitt: “I hope she does”

How will he act from here-in? THE NEXT EPISODE COULD NOT COME SOON ENOUGH!!! *chews fingernails*

But back to the plot. Oh dear goodness, what’s in store?!?! Plotwise, ‘For King and Country’ has the nerve-wracking feel of a season finale cliffhanger. As we’ve discovered, Adam purposefully lured Helen Magnus into his interdimensional wormhole, in the vengeful hope of contaminating her with radiation. Devious b****!!

With the two of them heading down the dark tunnel toward the heavenly (or otherwise!) light, drastic measures to save Helen’s life are no doubt just out of reach of our vision *CHOKING SOUNDS*. Poor Will has been slammed with world-changing decisions, and though Tesla’s actions through the Sanctuary Charter may seem “dude, that is cold”, it may (or may not have been) a wise decision to make. Even Helen does not protest, though looks somewhat frustrated, but knows she is helpless against the Charter which she herself wrote.

Although Magnus’ work constantly puts her life in the line of fire, this is the first time that she is in direct peril….well actually….dying. Helen Magnus, DYING?!? Now all of their fates, the fate of the Sanctuary network, and the life of the beloved Magnus, lies on the young Will Zimmerman.

Helen Magnus and Adam Worth are dying, the remaining members of the Five are back together, and the only chance to save the head of the Sanctuary network is to go to Hollow Earth. The teetering, violent and unpredictable Adam Worth seems to be their only guide.

OH.DEAR.GOD.

A huge thank-you for stopping by WormholeRiders News Agency and reading!

Please, do feel free to comment, or contribute constructively below by clicking one of the icons below to share this review article. Varied perspectives and discussion make the series all the more enjoyable for everyone!

Alternatively, you can find me on Twitter by clicking my avatar.

Cheerio!

JandyraCJM

December 8, 2010

error: Content is protected !!