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Blink the Series Review

anthonyletizia — Mon, 27 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In the NBC television drama Heroes, ordinary people suddenly discover that they have extraordinary abilities. The transformation is part of mankind’s ongoing evolution, and the newly formed powers include the capacity to fly, turn invisible, read minds and alter time. Eventually these modern-day “heroes” are drawn together to defeat another of their kind—the villainous Sylar—while saving the world in the process. The webseries Blink, meanwhile, contains a similar narrative when its own main protagonist suddenly discovers that he has the ability to “transport” himself through space.

While Heroes contained numerous characters spread out around the globe, the focus of Blink is squarely on Jon (Jon Amar)—the “hero” of the tale—and the city of Berlin. The Canadian native and his America-born girlfriend Kat (Christine Utterberg) moved to Germany to live a more old-school lifestyle while pursuing their individual artistic careers. It is against this backdrop that Jon wakes up one morning in nothing more than his self-created superhero underwear in a nearby park instead of his own bedroom. Later he experiences similar occurrences when he magically moves around his apartment from when spot to another, all in the blink of an eye, then disappears altogether while on the sidewalk outside.

Originally convinced he has suffered a stroke or, worse, gone insane, Jon soon realizes that his abilities are indeed real and immediately struggles with the implications. Why me? What does it mean? Being a fan of superhero comic books, meanwhile, only adds a new set of worries to the ones already growing inside him. “Government experiments,” Jon says to Kat. “Just think how valuable an army of teleporting soldiers would be.” Kat, however, is more pragmatic. “That’s a bit extreme, no?” she answers, to which Jon replies, “More extreme than teleporting?”

Jon needn’t worry so much about the government, however, as he should in regards to new acquaintance Annie (Vanessa Locke), the girl who found him almost naked in the park after his first “incident.” She is the only one within Blink the Series who does not seem concerned or even unnerved by Jon’s recently found supernatural abilities. The reason revolves around the fact that she is not such a “new acquaintance” after all, nor is Jon the only one with superhero capabilities. Although Annie may not be the equivalent of the sinister Sylar from Heroes, she is just as dangerous and far from innocent. Then there’s the mysterious “Crow” (David Masterson), an apparent homeless man living on the streets of Berlin who collects the artwork created by Annie instead of cash or coins. His role in the proceedings and true identity are left unanswered within Blink but he appears to be more protector than antagonist.

In the book Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, comic book writer Gerry Conway reflects on the rationale for killing Gwen Stacy, the girlfriend of Peter Parker, within the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man. “She brought nothing to the mix,” he explains. “It made no sense to me that Peter Parker would end up with a babe like that who had no problems. Only a damaged person would end up with a damaged guy like Peter Parker. And Gwen Stacy was perfect!” The same can be said of Jon and his own girlfriend Kat. Although initially frustrated when Jon keeps “disappearing” while she prepares for a gallery opening of her photography, Kat later becomes supportive and understanding when faced with the reality of Jon’s abilities—hardly the kind of attributes present in most superheroes’ lives.

Blink is a relatively short webseries, containing only eight episodes that last a little over two minutes each. In this sense, Blink is not so much a full-fledged comic book but a shortened version similar to the issues created by all the major publishers for “Free Comic Book Day” in the United States. Blink the Series likewise ends on a cliffhanger, but an effective one nonetheless. Every superhero, after all, has an “origin story” that details their transformation as well as the requisite “tragic event” that completes their metamorphosis. Although short in length, Blink is still able to tell that tale, develop characters that viewers will identify with and care about, and create a world that feels both natural and real.

Heroes was able to do the same thing over a longer period of time and may have contained more characters and a multi-layered narrative, but Blink still serves as a nice alternative companion piece to the NBC drama and is just as compelling—albeit in its own smaller way—as well.

Anthony Letizia (May 27, 2013)

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Leverage Continues in Paperback Form

anthonyletizia — Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Over the course of five television seasons, Nate Ford and his team of highly-skilled former criminals assisted an assortment of ordinary citizens who were left with little recourse in the face of corporate greed and government corruption. The TNT drama not only provided “leverage” against such injustices but hours of entertainment for fans of the series as well. On December 25, 2012, Leverage aired it series finale, bringing closure to the character arc of Nate Ford while setting up a future for the rest of his colleagues that ensured that the “little guy” would continue to have someone looking out for them, especially during situations in which the legal system failed to provide protection.

Although Leverage the television show may have ended, the story of “hitter, hacker, grifter, thief and mastermind” lives on through a series of paperback novels published by Berkley during the first five months of 2013. Instead of picking up where the series left off, however, the books fit within the narrative of season four, when the Leverage Team was based out of John McRory’s Bar and Grill in Boston. Thus while not an actual continuation of Leverage, the setting does allow all five major characters to play a role in the proceedings and the novels themselves remain true to the group’s dynamics as well as the mythology already established on the television show.

The different medium also allows for longer storylines than a standard television episode and plots that would have been difficult to film for the small screen. The first in the series of three paperbacks, for instance, almost exclusively takes place during the San Diego Comic-Con International. The second, meanwhile, centers on two missing black rhinos that were shipped from Africa to a financially failing zoo in Massachusetts, and the story vacillates between the two settings. The final installment likewise has globetrotting elements, with time spent at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, the largest such exhibition in the world. All three books were written by different authors, two of whom have a long history of crafting similar tie-in novels for such television shows as Alias, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Star Trek.

The lone exception is Matt Forbeck, who kicks off the new Leverage series with The Con Job. Forbeck has an impressive “geek” resume, having written the Guild Wars fantasy novel Ghost of Ascalon and a Magic: The Gathering comic book. His Leverage narrative is thus a literal “geekfest,” and not only for resident hacker Alec Hardison. All the members of the Leverage Team are allowed to embrace there inner geek throughout the proceedings, the majority of which takes place at the San Diego Comic-Con. Real life celebrities like Stan Lee make appearances, as well as hacker rival Chaos. Hitter Eliot Spencer, meanwhile, impersonates comic book writer Warren Ellis at one point, and later dresses in a Star Wars Stormtrooper outfit while accompanied by thief Parker wearing a Slave Leia costume. The plot itself revolves around a fictitious illustrator whose artwork was in effect stolen when the proceeds he was promised for the items never materialized.

The Zoo Job, written by veteran science fiction and fantasy author Keith R.A. DeCandido, directly ties to the second season opener of Leverage, in which Nate Ford and his team assist car crash victim Matt Kerrigan, who was about to turn whistleblower on a bank fraud scheme. Kerrigan and his daughter Zoe have since relocated to Brillinger, Massachusetts, where they befriend the owner of a local zoo who has secured a pair of exotic black rhinos from Africa to help draw in more visitors. The rhinos never arrive, however, and young Zoe sends the zoo owner to Boston and Nate Ford. Eliot Spencer’s past plays a significant role in the narrative, especially his time as a henchman for international crime financier Damien Moreau, while Nate Ford’s former insurance fraud colleague James Sterling makes an appearance as well.

The final Leverage novel of 2013 is written by Greg Cox, whose credits include paperback tie-ins to everything from Alias to Star Trek to Xena: Warrior Princess. When a former friend of Eliot Spenser dies in a hit-an-run accident, the proceeds of his estate are awarded to his no-good brother—including the rights to a best-selling spy novel—instead of his long-term girlfriend. There is more to The Bestseller Job than simply reacquiring the inheritance, however, as the aforementioned novel was based on actual illicit events and the private black ops team responsible wants to silence anyone aware of that fact. Grifter Sophie Devereaux, meanwhile, finally gets a fan of her theater performances in the form of a computer-geek stalker, and the dynamics of the Leverage Team come into play when they attempt to write a sequel novel in less than forty-eight hours.

Leverage the television series ended in December 2012 on a note of closure, with Nate Ford and Sophie Devereaux leaving the team to build a life together instead, but that does not mean that there are not more stories to be told. Although the trio of paperback novels released during the first half of 2103 are not a true continuation of the Leverage narrative per say, they still live up to the standards set on the small screen and keep the Leverage flame alive in the process for the many fans of the show.

Anthony Letizia (May 13, 2013)

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The Mop and Lucky Files Review

anthonyletizia — Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

What’s a girl to do when she’s over thirty, has no current romantic interests and no longer has the tolerance to work as a waitress? The answer is easy—form a personal espionage business with her equally bitter and unemployed best friend. That’s the premise, at least, for The Mop and Lucky Files, a comedy webseries that has won multiple awards from the Best Shorts Festival in Southern California and the Indie Gathering Film Festival in Cleveland, Ohio. Although the narrative may share similarities with the HBO comedy Bored to Death, in which an unlicensed private detective finds his cases on Craigslist, The Mop and Lucky Files uses its storyline for more than just laughs as it also examines the differences between men and women as well.

The first season of The Mop and Lucky Files is divided into five episodes, ranging from nine to twelve minutes in length, that relate the beginnings of the under-the-radar agency started by the two main characters in addition to their first case together. The idea of “personal espionage” is the brainchild of Mop (Chloe Taylor), who comes up with the scheme when her former roommate leaves behind a copy of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Private Investigating. The bunkmate in question had suspected her boyfriend of cheating, and bought the book in order to spy on him. Rationalizing that there must be others questioning the fidelity of their own love interests, Mop convinces Lucky (Jennifer Erholm) to go into business together and offer a cheap, unofficial way to keep tabs on wandering boyfriends.

Starting such a venture isn’t as easy as it sounds, and Mop and Lucky first encounter difficulty when they attempt to find office space despite having no money and bad credit. Eventually they decide to operate from a storage unit instead, but even than option doesn’t quite pan out until the manager of the facility agrees to rent a janitor’s closet to them. The wait for that elusive first client is likewise a long, frustrating process, although an e-mail does finally pop-up and a subsequent meeting is soon arranged.

Mrs. Myronius (Judith Scarpone), however, is not the type of client that Mop and Lucky expected. In her fifties with an Eastern European accent, she does not believe that her husband is cheating on her—she just wants to know if he loves her not. “He never tells me he loves me,” she explains. “He’s always so busy, I get the feeling sometimes he doesn’t even know that I am here.” Despite the impossibility of the task, as well as Lucky’s astonishment, Mop agrees to take the case.

But how exactly do you go about determining if somebody truly loves someone? It is not an easy task, and the only hope that Mop and Lucky have is proving that the negative is true by catching their prey in the act of adultery. Many stakeouts thus ensue—including one in which Mop is sporting a Charlie Chaplin hat and mustache—but it also offers the opportunity for the two single girls to reflect on their own romantic relationships. Lucky, for instance, turns to the 1992 best-selling book Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus for help not only with the case of Mrs. Myronius but insight into the “battle of the sexes” as well. Being a single woman who had her last relationship end badly leads her to eventually conclude that men and women are simply not compatible. Mop, meanwhile, has a musician boyfriend who is constantly on the road, and her current “espionage” assignment convinces her that he is likewise being unfaithful.

In the end, it turns out that Mr. Myronius (Judd Laurance) is not cheating on his wife, and Mop and Lucky are even able to uncover concrete proof that he does indeed love Mrs. Myronius. The revelation allows Mop to sleep a little easier at night, and gives Lucky hope for her own romantic future. This turn-of-events also makes The Mop and Lucky Files more than just an amusing comedy. Yes, the webseries is indeed funny, and well deserving of the many honors bestowed upon it. The true brilliance of The Mop and Lucky Files, however, is that co-creators Jennifer Erholm and Chloe Taylor have found a way to examine the difficulty in finding the right romantic partner and then learning to trust them within the confines of a detective story.

Many fictional narratives have set out to examine the often humorous differences between men and women only to end up regurgitating overdone stereotypes and falling into redundancy. The Mop and Lucky Files, on the other hand, is a fresh and original webseries that not only brings the laughs but finds a way to offer the uplifting message that although members of the opposite sex may come from different planets, it really doesn’t matter on Planet Earth.

Anthony Letizia (May 7, 2013)

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Revolution: Swords Instead of Lightsabers

anthonyletizia — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The NBC drama Revolution is a contemporary narrative with a setting reminiscent of the past. The storyline is relatively simple—the electricity that runs our everyday lives is suddenly “shut off” without explanation, and remains off for the next fifteen years. The United States government falls as anarchy rules the land until small bands of militias divide the country into their own private fiefdoms. With limited supplies of both guns and bullets, the right to bear arms is quickly abandoned for most citizens, who must rely on knives and swords for protection instead. Not that there is much protection against the Monroe Republic that controls the American Northeast as their president and commanding officer, General Sebastian Monroe, rules with an iron fist.

Although Revolution takes place a mere fifteen years in the future in what used to be the United States of America, the NBC drama draws heavily from another narrative set “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” The Star Wars Saga of George Lucas likewise contains a modern society that still relies on the old ways of the Jedi for protection against the more advanced blasters of the times. The Galactic Empire, meanwhile, is ruled with a similar iron fist by Empire Palpatine, a Dark Sith who thinks nothing of destroying his enemies and keeping his subjects in line by any means necessary. And just like Star Wars, Revolution is populated with heroes and villains facing each other with swords instead of lightsabers as they battle for the future of mankind.

The original Star Wars trilogy in effect begins with Luke Skywalker, a young Tatooine farmboy who yearns for adventure beyond his sand-riddled home world. In the pilot episode of Revolution, it is Charlotte “Charlie” Matheson who has similar dreams. “It’s not all like that,” she tells her father when he explains the dangers of leaving the little compound the family has established in the middle of nowhere. “There’s other towns like ours, right? Other people?” It is the same argument that Luke makes to his Uncle Owen, with Ben Matheson offering a similar reply as well. “Trust me, there is nothing worth seeing,” he tells his daughter. “Not anymore.”

Unknowing to Charlie Matheson, both her mother and father played a key role in the disaster that struck the world while she was still a young age. General Monroe suspects this as well, and sends members of his militia to take Ben Matheson into custody. A fight ensues, however, leaving Ben Matheson mortally wounded and his son Danny taken away in his place. When faced with capture by the Empire in the opening moments of Star Wars: A New Hope, Princess Leia Organa entrusts the blueprints of the Death Star in the droid R2D2. Ben Matheson, meanwhile, entrusts Aaron Pitman—former “Wizard of Google” and often the comic relief of Revolution—with a pendant flashdrive capable of restoring electricity.

Ben Matheson also directs his daughter Charlie to find his brother Miles for help in rescuing young Danny Matheson. Miles Matheson is the Revolution equivalent of Han Solo, with a little Obi-Wan Kenobi thrown in as well. It turns out that he and Sebastian Monroe were best friends since childhood, and Miles Matheson was once in charge of the formidable Monroe Militia that wreaked havoc upon its citizens. “Yes, Charlie, I killed fathers and sons and husbands,” he tells his niece. Although Matheson was the driving force behind the creation of the Monroe Republic when he saw firsthand how far society had degenerated into chaos and anarchy, eventually he reached the conclusion that Sebastian Monroe had gone too far in his thirst for power and abandoned his “scoundrel” ways for the solitary life of a Chicago bartender.

Just as Han Solo was initially reluctant to help Luke Skywalker rescue Princess Leia aboard the Death Star, Miles Matheson is also unwilling to assist with the rescue of Danny Matheson. Like the classic Jedi of Star Wars, however, Miles Matheson is able to best a larger military force with only his sword and is soon swayed by Charlie Matheson to Philadelphia, the capital of the Monroe Republic. He first insists on finding former love interest Nora Clayton, however, only to discover that she is now part of the Rebels who want to see the return of the Old Republic known as the United States of America.

“You’re really serious about this?” Miles Matheson asks Nora Clayton. “Full on rebel now? It’s not like you to fight for a lost cause. You really think you and your Rebel pals are going to bring back the United States? They’re going to butcher you.” Han Solo made a similar comment to Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars Trilogy.

Revolution does not always hide its Star Wars roots. During the episode “The Children’s Crusade,” in which Miles Matheson, Charlie Matheson, Nora Clayton and Aaron Pitman help rescue the leader of a group of orphans, a small rag-tag band of kids tag along with them. “Awesome,” Pitman remarks. “Like a pack of hairless Ewoks.” In the episode “Ghosts,” meanwhile, the local Rebel camp is referred to as Echo Base, which was the name of the Rebel Alliance’s secret enclave on the planet Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. And just as Chewbacca grumbled aloud about whether it was a wise idea for Han Solo to seek refuge with Lando Calrissian, Nora Clayton likewise questions the wisdom of Miles Matheson seeking former colleague Jim Hudson for assistance. “If you can find him, and if he doesn’t try to kill you,” she says, to which Matheson replies, “Oh, I can find him. Not sure about the second part.”

Then there’s General Sebastian Monroe, the Emperor of Revolution. He and Miles Matheson shared an Anakin Skywalker/Obi Wan Kenobi-like relationship when the lights went out as they attempted to bring order to the anarchy left in the aftermath. Both were eventually turned to the Dark Side amidst the backdrop of the Republic they built together, but Matheson was able to break away after a failed assassination attempt in which he could not bring himself to kill Monroe. Miles Matheson and Sebastian again meet face-to-face in the episode “Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” but instead of immediately having Matheson put to death, Monroe forgives his former friend and offers him the chance to again “rule the galaxy together.” Matheson refuses the offer, escapes with his life and officially joins the Rebels instead, just as Han Solo eventually becomes a part of the Rebel Alliance in Star Wars.

Revolution may not take place “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” but it does contain the same assortment of heroes, villains, anti-heroes and damsels in distress who are actually more than capable of taking care of themselves. The NBC drama likewise has its fair share of swashbuckling moments and daring escapades, and while it might not be as epic as the big-screen Star Wars of George Lucas, it is an entertaining contemporary companion piece nonetheless.

Anthony Letizia (April 30, 2013)

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