jtorci Reviews

Stargate: Atlantis: Rising (2004) Season 1, Episode 1

A Satisfying Pilot (First Viewing).

[10/10 · 9 November 2022]

I saw the pilot episode of Stargate: Atlantis for the first time literally today (November 08, 2022), the result of a discovery of the first two seasons on DVD being bundled together at a too-good-to-leave price, so I come to it with no preconceived notions - and am bewildered at the number of negative reviews, and join (nay, applaud) those taking a more positive tack.

The pilot does exactly what a sci-fi series pilot is supposed to do... introduce and/or bring characters together and set up the huge, often life-changing premise that will propel the show forward.

The pilot episodes for Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, Land of the Giants, The Invaders, Space 1999, Fantastic Journey (anyone remember that?), Star Trek the Next Generation, Star Trek Voyager, Lost, The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead World Beyond (and, presumably, all the "Dead" spinoffs to come), have all successfully indulged in this tradition across a span of more than half a century.

And, regardless of which end of the TV Sci-Fi spectrum you may prefer, 1960s to 2020s, each pilot has lived up to those core expectations - and "Rising", the pilot episode for Stargate: Atlantis, has done exactly that as well.

So successfully, I might add, that I am eager to enjoy the rest of the episodes going forward.

Ironside: Contract: Kill Ironside (1971) Season 5, Episode 2

Hitmen Are People Too

[10/10 · 6 June 2022]

Decades before The Sopranos helped "humanize" stone cold killers, we find this remarkable episode of Ironside blazing that trail.

Marvin Bosner (James Olsen), renowned contract killer with a perfect record dating back nearly twenty years, and with a unique calling card consisting of a small charge of plastic explosive as a warning of the "hit-ee's" inevitable demise, is also examined from the "flip-side" of his double life.

Ostensibly a traveling salesman, with a suburban home, two teenage children, an elderly father whom he reveres, and married to Marion Ross ("America's Other Mom", after June Lockhart), Marvin Bosner is anything but what he appears to be. ...And, to make matters more interesting, he is both extremely proud of what he does, and is internally conflicted by it, increasingly becoming a walking contradiction.

To season that mix all the more is that (as many who have worked at a job for a very long time can attest), his "proper" and planned methods, while still perfect, are now questioned by his employer as being old fashioned and outmoded. Said employer introduces a young turk noted for blasting away with a sawed-off shotgun at close range to be imposed upon Marvin as a "partner". Naturally, Marvin bristles at the very thought of being burdened with such a classless hothead - calling him a "kid" - his pride in his work justifiably injured.

Such depth of character for a one-time role was rare in the age of episodic television, but it is on full display here. Highly recommended!