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And so ends season 2. When I look back at how much I enjoyed the earliest episodes, it makes me sad that the show has gotten so cartoonish. As I was complaining earlier this week with Heroes, this is the difference between having a long-range plan and making it up as you go along.
What this show really needs is a sub-plot involving the main characters to tie the episodes together. It doesn't need to be a convoluted mythology, but there needs to be something besides giant CGI creatures. In season 1, it looked like that tie was going to be studying the anomalies to discover what caused them, but that plotline was dropped for awhile, picked up only enough for Connor to make the anomaly detector, then dropped again. In season 2, it looked like that tie was going to be restoring the timeline Helen mucked up, but after about two episodes, that plotline was never heard from again. The sub-plot with Helen is fascinating, but she's an ancillary character who doesn't even appear in every episode.
Speaking of the timeline changes, I'm trying to decide how upset to be over Stephen's death. For one thing, he wasn't the original Stephen, he was the alternate timeline Stephen. For another thing, Helen is eager to muck about with time, and Nick is (occasionally) interested in restoring the original Claudia Brown timeline, so there's a chance that one or the other of them could bring about a reality where Stephen is still alive. [And bringing back characters who get killed off in season finales is a rant I've done several times before, so I'll spare everybody a repeat this time of how much I hate it.]
Assuming he stays dead, I won't miss Oliver Leek at all. I bet he got stuffed in his locker in school a lot. Being eaten by his own radio-controlled bat things from the future was poetic justice.
Helen has gone completely barkers. Seriously, reality is not something you poke with a stick to watch it jump. She clearly cares nothing for the people who would cease to exist while she was performing her "experiments." She doesn't seem to think people have feelings at all. Telling Stephen that the others had all been killed was cold (I really felt sorry for Stephen there) and unnecessary, and she was even smiling after hurting him like that. And Stephen is theoretically someone she likes.
I actually love to hate Helen, so I'm glad she's still out there...with her clone army. Umm, what? Actually, are they clones, or are they all the same guy from different timelines? With this show, it's hard to tell. Helen has been to the future and snagged its technology, so the cloning thing isn't out of the question. Helen also likes to play with time, so him being different versions of the same guy isn't impossible either. Maybe we'll find out next season. Of course, I'm still waiting to find out how Helen pays for that nice house of hers when she's been a missing person and hasn't had a job in eight years, so I'm not holding my breath.
What this show really needs is a sub-plot involving the main characters to tie the episodes together. It doesn't need to be a convoluted mythology, but there needs to be something besides giant CGI creatures. In season 1, it looked like that tie was going to be studying the anomalies to discover what caused them, but that plotline was dropped for awhile, picked up only enough for Connor to make the anomaly detector, then dropped again. In season 2, it looked like that tie was going to be restoring the timeline Helen mucked up, but after about two episodes, that plotline was never heard from again. The sub-plot with Helen is fascinating, but she's an ancillary character who doesn't even appear in every episode.
Speaking of the timeline changes, I'm trying to decide how upset to be over Stephen's death. For one thing, he wasn't the original Stephen, he was the alternate timeline Stephen. For another thing, Helen is eager to muck about with time, and Nick is (occasionally) interested in restoring the original Claudia Brown timeline, so there's a chance that one or the other of them could bring about a reality where Stephen is still alive. [And bringing back characters who get killed off in season finales is a rant I've done several times before, so I'll spare everybody a repeat this time of how much I hate it.]
Assuming he stays dead, I won't miss Oliver Leek at all. I bet he got stuffed in his locker in school a lot. Being eaten by his own radio-controlled bat things from the future was poetic justice.
Helen has gone completely barkers. Seriously, reality is not something you poke with a stick to watch it jump. She clearly cares nothing for the people who would cease to exist while she was performing her "experiments." She doesn't seem to think people have feelings at all. Telling Stephen that the others had all been killed was cold (I really felt sorry for Stephen there) and unnecessary, and she was even smiling after hurting him like that. And Stephen is theoretically someone she likes.
I actually love to hate Helen, so I'm glad she's still out there...with her clone army. Umm, what? Actually, are they clones, or are they all the same guy from different timelines? With this show, it's hard to tell. Helen has been to the future and snagged its technology, so the cloning thing isn't out of the question. Helen also likes to play with time, so him being different versions of the same guy isn't impossible either. Maybe we'll find out next season. Of course, I'm still waiting to find out how Helen pays for that nice house of hers when she's been a missing person and hasn't had a job in eight years, so I'm not holding my breath.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-02 06:04 am (UTC)From:Killing off Stephen has me asking Why? I'm with you on killing off characters at the end of a season, just to have them miraculously reappear, is supremely annoying. Frankly, I don't think Helen cares about anything except her research and won't think recreating Stephen would be of any use. However, the writers probably don't realize that she is that way and might attempt to come up with a plausible story line. Better to have saved him somehow (cavalry arriving in the nick of time?) and not put us through all this aggravation. (Now watch... they'll leave him dead!)
Do you find Helen's Road Warrior-esque costume as amusing as I do?
no subject
Date: 2008-11-02 04:51 pm (UTC)From:This show has me suffering from Stargate Syndrome all over again. 'It used to be good. Maybe if I keep watching it'll be good again.'
Frankly, I don't think Helen cares about anything except her research and won't think recreating Stephen would be of any use.
I agree that Helen is all about Numero Uno, but the way she was telling Stephen (at his gravesite) to be patient because things change makes me think she's going to try to bring about a reality where he's still alive.
Do you find Helen's Road Warrior-esque costume as amusing as I do?
Mad Max was my first thought, too. I thought it made sense at first because she'd been trapped on the other side of an anomaly unprepared for awhile and had to survive the hard way, but she's been back long enough to find a change of clothes at this point, so now it's just kind of silly.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-02 01:55 pm (UTC)From:I loved the original premise of this show...the anomoles and the creatures and how to monitor it all....but now with all the convoluted story lines and Helen's clones...I truly think she *is* the one really behind everything. I guess there has to be the antagonist on each show to counter the protagonist (in this case, Nick...).
Ei yi yi! I need some time to digest it all. Then when it returns I'll decide if I want to watch any more of it.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-02 04:56 pm (UTC)From:I agree with you that I'm going to try season 3 to see how this all shakes out, but if it gets even sillier than Oliver wanting to rule the world with radio-controlled bat things from the future, I'm going to have to call it quits.