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One odd thing about VR.5 - Tony Head speaks English in it. Actual English English, as written by somebody who might actually be English, as opposed to English written by somebody who might once have read something by PG Wodehouse, like a lot of the dialogue he got saddled with in Buffy. It's nice how he suddenly spouts real proper English things in the middle of all the American stuff. Sounds so natural. Clunky dialogue is often a hallmark of science fiction, but not here; well, not until the final episode, anyway. But that's not Oliver's fault.
The end of the series is every bit as good as the middle of it, but with the pace cranked up nicely. Episode twelve is a bit of a dip, but the end of that one is lovely, which maybe makes up for it. It's in episode eleven, though, that the seeds are further sown for Oliver's estrangement from the Committee. It begins in flashback, as he and his sometime partner and lover, Alex, get ready to transport a scientist in East Germany. It's obviously Joseph Bloom, although Oliver has no reason to know this yet. Actually, I'm not sure that the viewer is supposed to discover either, at least until later in the episode, but it's so obviously David McCallum's voice. It's all a set up, though - Alex disappears, and Oliver's left knowing only that she's betrayed him. Zap forward half a dozen years, and he's giving Syd her latest assignment. He doesn't know who, or where, or why, but it soon becomes clear that it's Alex. A confused and confusing Alex, who manages to hide and misdirect in VR as well as she can in real life. Lovely performance there from Markie Post, famiiar figure from the eighties action series circuit. Nice, disjointed direction in the VR scenes as well, as Sydney first tries to make sense of the mad world of a professional chameleon, and then tries to unravel Oliver's memories. Poor Oliver's mind is an awfully bleak place. The strings of earlier episodes are starting to come together, though, and the complicated story of the Bloom family is really beginning to pay off. As somebody kills Alex, presumably to prevent her from talking to Oliver, Sydney begins to face up to the possibility that her father and twin sister are still alive, even though she's so sure that she saw them both drown seventeen years before.
Given that there's only the two episodes left, it's a pity that one of them is rather a let down. Episode twelve all takes place in VR, with nothing bar cameos from Syd and Oliver. Given that they're the show's two main protagonists, with the two biggest storylines playing out over the series' length, that is rather frustrating. Caught in what appears to be the flipside of his own life, Duncan finds himself living in the same apartment building, but with Samantha instead of Sydney. He realises that it's VR, but soon loses himself in it all anyway, helping Sam live a twisted and skewed version of Sydney's life, complete with an evil alternate Oliver. As the episode nears its end, he's told that it's all been a test; that Joseph and Samantha are still alive, and trying to be sure that they can trust him. It's a lovely, jarring end to the episode, but I'm still not sure it's worth an entire forty-five minutes. I suppose I only feel that way knowing that there's only one episode left, though. Had there been a second series, this would have seemed like a clever idea. However with only one episode left, and so much story still to tell, it feels like a bit of a waste. Not their fault, though. Presumably they didn't know.
The odd thing about episode twelve is that, despite it being forty-five minutes that are all about Duncan, we don't find out anything new about him. He remains the most under-developed character in the show. There's nothing to Duncan, except the "loyal family friend" thing. He has a series of personality quirks, but no personality; a series of flashbacks to a childhood friendship with the Bloom twins, but nothing else. Who are his parents? Where does the child Duncan live? What does the adult Duncan like? Who is he? We never find out, except for the fact that he's frequently pretty annoying.
And then it's episode thirteen, and everything kicks off. Oliver gets new orders - to kill Sydney. He wakes her up in the middle of the night, attempting to bundle her and Duncan out of the country to safety, only to be thwarted by the sudden reappearance of Samantha. She's decided that it's time to make contact at last, but she's chosen a time when everything else is happening as well. Oliver won't believe the Committee was really behind his new orders, and is determined to find out who was, but his only ally is the charming Abernathy, a very old friend of his family. As Samantha, Sydney and Duncan attempt to unravel their own memories usuing VR.5, Oliver tries to unravel the mystery of what's going on with the Committee. There's a few strange jolts, though, that don't seem to make sense. Why is the Joseph Bloom who lurks in the shadows a wild-eyed madman, when in episode twelve he was clean-shaven and merry? Why does Duncan talk of "suddenly remembering" the secret workroom under the Bloom house when he was just in there a few episodes back? Why does Sydney think that nobody else knows about the place, when Oliver has been in there twice, most recently just in episode eleven? The former might have been explained at some point, I suppose, had there been future episodes to explain it in. The latter just seems weird. Anyway, the Bloom twins and Duncan realise that their memories were altered seventeen years before. Samantha and Joseph weren't drowned in a car accident, but were kidnapped by the Committee. By Abernathy, to be precise. It's a lovely unravelling of knots, but there's some terrible clunky dialogue pushing it all along. The scenes in the real world seem much better, which is rather a shame, as the scenes in VR.5, in previous episodes, have been clever and fascinating. Here, not so much. Here it's Oliver's dealings with Abernathy that seem so much more interesting, at least to me. Abernathy is wonderful. He's clearly devoted to Oliver, despite working against him, and sets out to kill the Blooms and Duncan. I wonder what exactly his plans for Oliver are, when he orders a minion to keep Oliver in the car? They're hardly going to kiss and make up later, with Sydney dead at Abernathy's hands. It doesn't get that far, though, as a decidedly dodgy Committee man shoots Abernathy, before telling Oliver that he's a good guy, honest. Yeah, right. Believe that, you'll believe anything. Poor Abernathy. I wonder if he was actually dead, though? Nobody seems to check, and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if it was just a trick. I rather hope so, actually. He's such a great character, and it's nice to think that he might have made a return in a later episode.
That's pretty much it, then, barring the rather annoying cliffhanger ending. Syd realises that her mother is trapped in VR, goes in to find her, and with some wibbling about in SFX Land, wakes her up, only to get lost in VR herself. Cue a tearful reunion between Samantha and her mother, and the realisation that Sydney is unresponsive. Duncan rips off her VR visor, which strikes me as a trifle foolhardy. Poor Oliver looks terrible, but then he has had a pretty lousy day. A pretty lousy few weeks, actually, given that he's just lost all three people that he cares about, in very quick succession. I'm guessing that they'd have got Syd back, probably in episode one of season two, but in the meantime she's lost a-wandering in SFX Land, and Oliver's left forever staring bleakly into space. And there's still that dodgy Committee man lurking in the background. I don't trust him. I want to know who he is, damn it! I want to know what his plans are, and where all this was leading. Blasted networks, always axing the good shows.
And I've rambled at great length, and quite pointlessly again, haven't I. This is a great show, is what I should have said, and missed out all the waffle. A genuinely good show. It's well made, it's well-acted (mostly), and it's well written. It's clever, and twisted, and complex, and interesting, and it should have had a second season. And yes, I know that would mean Rupert Giles with a different head on, but I like to imagine a perfect world where Tony Head could have done both shows. What does he need a private life for, anyway?!
Pretty pictures:
Alex-driven VR weirdness.
The Complicated Plot Twins.
Sydney spies on Oliver in VR.5.
Whilst VR echoes future events with startling accuracy.
Samantha Bloom, not dead after all. Just really, really pissed off.
Duncan. Frequently annoying.
Abernathy. Played by Turhan Bey. Hooray!
The Dynamic Duo.
Abducted in the rain, not drowned in a sunken car.
Falsified memories, or How To Make David McCallum Look Really Freaky.
Oliver doesn't know who to trust anymore. I think "no one" is the quick answer, Ollie.
And it looks like Joseph Bloom agrees.
The Labyrinth: symbol, metaphor, and the emblem of the Committee.
Whatever it is, there's no getting out of it.
Especially when the series gets axed before you can really make a start.
Hey ho. Bye bye VR.5. You didn't last nearly long enough, but I'm glad they made what they did.
The end of the series is every bit as good as the middle of it, but with the pace cranked up nicely. Episode twelve is a bit of a dip, but the end of that one is lovely, which maybe makes up for it. It's in episode eleven, though, that the seeds are further sown for Oliver's estrangement from the Committee. It begins in flashback, as he and his sometime partner and lover, Alex, get ready to transport a scientist in East Germany. It's obviously Joseph Bloom, although Oliver has no reason to know this yet. Actually, I'm not sure that the viewer is supposed to discover either, at least until later in the episode, but it's so obviously David McCallum's voice. It's all a set up, though - Alex disappears, and Oliver's left knowing only that she's betrayed him. Zap forward half a dozen years, and he's giving Syd her latest assignment. He doesn't know who, or where, or why, but it soon becomes clear that it's Alex. A confused and confusing Alex, who manages to hide and misdirect in VR as well as she can in real life. Lovely performance there from Markie Post, famiiar figure from the eighties action series circuit. Nice, disjointed direction in the VR scenes as well, as Sydney first tries to make sense of the mad world of a professional chameleon, and then tries to unravel Oliver's memories. Poor Oliver's mind is an awfully bleak place. The strings of earlier episodes are starting to come together, though, and the complicated story of the Bloom family is really beginning to pay off. As somebody kills Alex, presumably to prevent her from talking to Oliver, Sydney begins to face up to the possibility that her father and twin sister are still alive, even though she's so sure that she saw them both drown seventeen years before.
Given that there's only the two episodes left, it's a pity that one of them is rather a let down. Episode twelve all takes place in VR, with nothing bar cameos from Syd and Oliver. Given that they're the show's two main protagonists, with the two biggest storylines playing out over the series' length, that is rather frustrating. Caught in what appears to be the flipside of his own life, Duncan finds himself living in the same apartment building, but with Samantha instead of Sydney. He realises that it's VR, but soon loses himself in it all anyway, helping Sam live a twisted and skewed version of Sydney's life, complete with an evil alternate Oliver. As the episode nears its end, he's told that it's all been a test; that Joseph and Samantha are still alive, and trying to be sure that they can trust him. It's a lovely, jarring end to the episode, but I'm still not sure it's worth an entire forty-five minutes. I suppose I only feel that way knowing that there's only one episode left, though. Had there been a second series, this would have seemed like a clever idea. However with only one episode left, and so much story still to tell, it feels like a bit of a waste. Not their fault, though. Presumably they didn't know.
The odd thing about episode twelve is that, despite it being forty-five minutes that are all about Duncan, we don't find out anything new about him. He remains the most under-developed character in the show. There's nothing to Duncan, except the "loyal family friend" thing. He has a series of personality quirks, but no personality; a series of flashbacks to a childhood friendship with the Bloom twins, but nothing else. Who are his parents? Where does the child Duncan live? What does the adult Duncan like? Who is he? We never find out, except for the fact that he's frequently pretty annoying.
And then it's episode thirteen, and everything kicks off. Oliver gets new orders - to kill Sydney. He wakes her up in the middle of the night, attempting to bundle her and Duncan out of the country to safety, only to be thwarted by the sudden reappearance of Samantha. She's decided that it's time to make contact at last, but she's chosen a time when everything else is happening as well. Oliver won't believe the Committee was really behind his new orders, and is determined to find out who was, but his only ally is the charming Abernathy, a very old friend of his family. As Samantha, Sydney and Duncan attempt to unravel their own memories usuing VR.5, Oliver tries to unravel the mystery of what's going on with the Committee. There's a few strange jolts, though, that don't seem to make sense. Why is the Joseph Bloom who lurks in the shadows a wild-eyed madman, when in episode twelve he was clean-shaven and merry? Why does Duncan talk of "suddenly remembering" the secret workroom under the Bloom house when he was just in there a few episodes back? Why does Sydney think that nobody else knows about the place, when Oliver has been in there twice, most recently just in episode eleven? The former might have been explained at some point, I suppose, had there been future episodes to explain it in. The latter just seems weird. Anyway, the Bloom twins and Duncan realise that their memories were altered seventeen years before. Samantha and Joseph weren't drowned in a car accident, but were kidnapped by the Committee. By Abernathy, to be precise. It's a lovely unravelling of knots, but there's some terrible clunky dialogue pushing it all along. The scenes in the real world seem much better, which is rather a shame, as the scenes in VR.5, in previous episodes, have been clever and fascinating. Here, not so much. Here it's Oliver's dealings with Abernathy that seem so much more interesting, at least to me. Abernathy is wonderful. He's clearly devoted to Oliver, despite working against him, and sets out to kill the Blooms and Duncan. I wonder what exactly his plans for Oliver are, when he orders a minion to keep Oliver in the car? They're hardly going to kiss and make up later, with Sydney dead at Abernathy's hands. It doesn't get that far, though, as a decidedly dodgy Committee man shoots Abernathy, before telling Oliver that he's a good guy, honest. Yeah, right. Believe that, you'll believe anything. Poor Abernathy. I wonder if he was actually dead, though? Nobody seems to check, and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if it was just a trick. I rather hope so, actually. He's such a great character, and it's nice to think that he might have made a return in a later episode.
That's pretty much it, then, barring the rather annoying cliffhanger ending. Syd realises that her mother is trapped in VR, goes in to find her, and with some wibbling about in SFX Land, wakes her up, only to get lost in VR herself. Cue a tearful reunion between Samantha and her mother, and the realisation that Sydney is unresponsive. Duncan rips off her VR visor, which strikes me as a trifle foolhardy. Poor Oliver looks terrible, but then he has had a pretty lousy day. A pretty lousy few weeks, actually, given that he's just lost all three people that he cares about, in very quick succession. I'm guessing that they'd have got Syd back, probably in episode one of season two, but in the meantime she's lost a-wandering in SFX Land, and Oliver's left forever staring bleakly into space. And there's still that dodgy Committee man lurking in the background. I don't trust him. I want to know who he is, damn it! I want to know what his plans are, and where all this was leading. Blasted networks, always axing the good shows.
And I've rambled at great length, and quite pointlessly again, haven't I. This is a great show, is what I should have said, and missed out all the waffle. A genuinely good show. It's well made, it's well-acted (mostly), and it's well written. It's clever, and twisted, and complex, and interesting, and it should have had a second season. And yes, I know that would mean Rupert Giles with a different head on, but I like to imagine a perfect world where Tony Head could have done both shows. What does he need a private life for, anyway?!
Pretty pictures:
Alex-driven VR weirdness.
The Complicated Plot Twins.
Sydney spies on Oliver in VR.5.
Whilst VR echoes future events with startling accuracy.
Samantha Bloom, not dead after all. Just really, really pissed off.
Duncan. Frequently annoying.
Abernathy. Played by Turhan Bey. Hooray!
The Dynamic Duo.
Abducted in the rain, not drowned in a sunken car.
Falsified memories, or How To Make David McCallum Look Really Freaky.
Oliver doesn't know who to trust anymore. I think "no one" is the quick answer, Ollie.
And it looks like Joseph Bloom agrees.
The Labyrinth: symbol, metaphor, and the emblem of the Committee.
Whatever it is, there's no getting out of it.
Especially when the series gets axed before you can really make a start.
Hey ho. Bye bye VR.5. You didn't last nearly long enough, but I'm glad they made what they did.
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