swordznsorcery (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
swordznsorcery) wrote2011-04-10 08:36 pm
swordznsorcery) wrote2011-04-10 08:36 pm
Entry tags:
Limping to the finish line
Episode 17: Deadly Carnival
In which there's finally an episode of Man From Atlantis that I really, genuinely enjoy. And the series gets axed at the same moment. Life's a funny thing...
This episode begins with a really good opening scene, in which some really good, genuinely threatening bad guys are really good and genuinely threatening. I know. I couldn't believe it either. They're thieves who work as part of a carnival, although this isn't immediately apparent. In the opening teaser they're testing a new recruit, to see how long he can hold his breath underwater; and when he doesn't make the grade, and drowns, their complete lack of concern is the first real instance of proper bad guy behaviour that anybody has managed since this show was first thought up. It's cold-hearted and nasty, and quite frankly extremely welcome. When the authorities realise that a person with very good underwater abilities is needed to crack the gang, Mark goes along and gets himself a job at the carnival as The Amazing Water-Breathing Man. Actually they call him "The Man From Atlantis", so there's obviously still at least one rubbish writer on staff. Mark gets given his assignment from CW, he of the unexpectedly hirsute temporary bad guyness a few episodes ago, because Elizabeth has chosen not to come back. This can only be a good thing. What's even better is that there's not a sign, all episode, of that ruddy submarine and its pointless crew. Hurrah! They've finally heard me and got the message.
So off goes Mark to the carnival, where it seems people are expected to pay money to watch him sitting in a tank of water. There wasn't much in the way of entertainment in the seventies, was there. Nice moment when, upon suspecting him, one of the bad guys electrocutes him in his tank. See? Proper bad guys, doing proper bad guy things, in a proper bad guy way. Schubert would have tripped up and electrocuted himself, or had a manic giggling fit and been found out before he could do anything. Mark survives, obviously, although it takes quite a bit out of him. It's nice to see him suffering from an actual weakness again, and not just being endlessly superhuman all the time. This episode is like a complete about face - it's brilliant. Anyway, since he wasn't horribly killed, he agrees that all is forgiven, and he and his nicely evil companions go off to do a bit of thieving. Needless to say they don't get away with it, but we do get a nice fight scene. Mark manages not to be ridiculously strong for a bit, and his main adversary is The Amazing Electro-Man, or somesuch title. He channels electricity anyway, which means he's a proper force to be reckoned with, if you'll pardon the pun. The other bad guy is no match for Mark physically, but he has a lovely, sinister delivery with his dialogue, and is clearly a very cold and calculating man.
And there's no silly jokes, and no silly plots, and no annoying creatures, and no pointless cast members with nothing to do. There's no silly submarine, there's no stupid 'comic' moments, and the plot actually makes sense. Had they realised that they had to revamp the show to save it? Or was this episode just a fluke? Either way, ultimately it didn't matter, as the axe had already fallen. Based on this one episode, that's a damned shame. I'd have loved a series that was like this one. A proper adventure, some proper tension, and Mark facing bad guys who require some real effort to be beaten. He even has a nice rapport with CW in their scenes together. Their interaction, that of an older, almost mentor figure, helping an inexperienced, essentially alien Mark, is something that was never there with Elizabeth. The writers clearly never knew what to make of his relationship with her. With CW, though, there's promise. At one point Mark gets his first girlfriend, and has a very endearing conversation with CW where he looks for advice. And CW himself actually has purpose. Something to do! None of the support cast have ever really managed that before.
In short, I really liked this one. It's a fine example of what might have been. Losing the pet bad guys of earlier, and having Mark go to work for law enforcement as well, widens the scope nicely. The possible storylines are practically limitless then, and Mark's more or less non-violent approach, and always without a gun, adds another layer to the drama. They could easily have widened things out further, by giving him stories with no bad guys at all, and instead with more of a social edge. With the sea as the starting point, rather than that wretched submarine, and its nonsense jobs for the military, there are so many stories that can be told. This episode practically zings with new potential. Had this been the template for the show, I would lay good odds on Man From Atlantis lasting two or three seasons, instead of slithering to a rather embarrassed standstill after seventeen episodes. I guess then we'd never have had Bobby Ewing, though. It's interesting how these things turn out.
In which there's finally an episode of Man From Atlantis that I really, genuinely enjoy. And the series gets axed at the same moment. Life's a funny thing...
This episode begins with a really good opening scene, in which some really good, genuinely threatening bad guys are really good and genuinely threatening. I know. I couldn't believe it either. They're thieves who work as part of a carnival, although this isn't immediately apparent. In the opening teaser they're testing a new recruit, to see how long he can hold his breath underwater; and when he doesn't make the grade, and drowns, their complete lack of concern is the first real instance of proper bad guy behaviour that anybody has managed since this show was first thought up. It's cold-hearted and nasty, and quite frankly extremely welcome. When the authorities realise that a person with very good underwater abilities is needed to crack the gang, Mark goes along and gets himself a job at the carnival as The Amazing Water-Breathing Man. Actually they call him "The Man From Atlantis", so there's obviously still at least one rubbish writer on staff. Mark gets given his assignment from CW, he of the unexpectedly hirsute temporary bad guyness a few episodes ago, because Elizabeth has chosen not to come back. This can only be a good thing. What's even better is that there's not a sign, all episode, of that ruddy submarine and its pointless crew. Hurrah! They've finally heard me and got the message.
So off goes Mark to the carnival, where it seems people are expected to pay money to watch him sitting in a tank of water. There wasn't much in the way of entertainment in the seventies, was there. Nice moment when, upon suspecting him, one of the bad guys electrocutes him in his tank. See? Proper bad guys, doing proper bad guy things, in a proper bad guy way. Schubert would have tripped up and electrocuted himself, or had a manic giggling fit and been found out before he could do anything. Mark survives, obviously, although it takes quite a bit out of him. It's nice to see him suffering from an actual weakness again, and not just being endlessly superhuman all the time. This episode is like a complete about face - it's brilliant. Anyway, since he wasn't horribly killed, he agrees that all is forgiven, and he and his nicely evil companions go off to do a bit of thieving. Needless to say they don't get away with it, but we do get a nice fight scene. Mark manages not to be ridiculously strong for a bit, and his main adversary is The Amazing Electro-Man, or somesuch title. He channels electricity anyway, which means he's a proper force to be reckoned with, if you'll pardon the pun. The other bad guy is no match for Mark physically, but he has a lovely, sinister delivery with his dialogue, and is clearly a very cold and calculating man.
And there's no silly jokes, and no silly plots, and no annoying creatures, and no pointless cast members with nothing to do. There's no silly submarine, there's no stupid 'comic' moments, and the plot actually makes sense. Had they realised that they had to revamp the show to save it? Or was this episode just a fluke? Either way, ultimately it didn't matter, as the axe had already fallen. Based on this one episode, that's a damned shame. I'd have loved a series that was like this one. A proper adventure, some proper tension, and Mark facing bad guys who require some real effort to be beaten. He even has a nice rapport with CW in their scenes together. Their interaction, that of an older, almost mentor figure, helping an inexperienced, essentially alien Mark, is something that was never there with Elizabeth. The writers clearly never knew what to make of his relationship with her. With CW, though, there's promise. At one point Mark gets his first girlfriend, and has a very endearing conversation with CW where he looks for advice. And CW himself actually has purpose. Something to do! None of the support cast have ever really managed that before.
In short, I really liked this one. It's a fine example of what might have been. Losing the pet bad guys of earlier, and having Mark go to work for law enforcement as well, widens the scope nicely. The possible storylines are practically limitless then, and Mark's more or less non-violent approach, and always without a gun, adds another layer to the drama. They could easily have widened things out further, by giving him stories with no bad guys at all, and instead with more of a social edge. With the sea as the starting point, rather than that wretched submarine, and its nonsense jobs for the military, there are so many stories that can be told. This episode practically zings with new potential. Had this been the template for the show, I would lay good odds on Man From Atlantis lasting two or three seasons, instead of slithering to a rather embarrassed standstill after seventeen episodes. I guess then we'd never have had Bobby Ewing, though. It's interesting how these things turn out.