Tuesday, November 29, 2005

TV REVIEW: Surface, Episode # 10

Surface keeps getting better and better, and more intense to boot. Last night, it was crisis time as Miles nearly died after being attacked by the sea creatures in the shallows. Worse, it looks as though Nim has been killed by a security guard (though my wife insists the little guy will pop up off the table, just as his dissection begins...). But before Nim went, he also demonstrated that his lizardly-kind possesses some sort of incredible healing power, and (apparently) cured Miles.

I really hope Nim isn't dead, because I'm an animal lover (see: Catnaps!) and because he's a cute little sea-monster. We'll see if he rises from the dead, or if he really sacrificed himself to save Miles. I'm still believing in my heart-of-hearts that the last episode of Surface will feature a grown-up Nim helping his kind to understand the human race rather than destroy it. We'll see...

Meanwhile, Rich and Laura spent a lot of time in the ocean freezing and trying to keep their heads above water...literally. They escaped (barely...) their sinking submersible, and ended up in a rubber raft with a leak. My favorite moment in the episode occurred when the temperature dropped (at night), and Rich suggested to Laura that they "spoon." Given the circumstances, his wife wouldn't mind, Rich assured her. Well, heck yeah! Spoon that gorgeous marine biologist! It's a matter of life and death! I was hoping the scene would go a little further, even, but hey - this is the 8:00 o'clock family hour, and all that. Guess I just have a dirty mind...

I was relieved too, that Laura and Rich managed to retrieve their video camera and keep it dry. I had a fit during the climax last week when it appeared that the duo would abandon their sub and leave all of their research and other materials behind. At least the series didn't go there, so we'll see how this video footage pans out in the coming weeks. Of course, the sea monsters could have just "pulsed" the bloomin' thing again, like they did a few weeks ago. So what's the deal with TV shows and EM pulses this year, anyway? I don't think one's occurred on Invasion yet, but I'm waiting...

Other good moments last night? Well, it was really disgusting (in a good way...) when Rich and Laura floated through a patch of sea monster eggs. Gross. Also, I loved the moment wherein one of the big critters leapt out of the sea and snapped at the rescue helicopter. All revealed from a high-angle. Very Jurassic Park/Godzilla-ish, but heck, that's why I'm watching this show; for the giant monster action! Can't wait till a school of these beasties reaches Tokyo...

What wasn't so good? Much of the Laura and Rich subplot was filmed from a woefully tight angle, apparently because it was shot in a studio tank. I felt like this limitation was apparent at times, despite the bobbing and weaving camera-work, and was taken out of the reality of their situation from time-to-time. This was also the second time this season we saw a shark circling a raft (the first being Lost's "Adrift"). Ultimately, the shark wasn't much of a threat...

So when people ask me in the years to come, what I recall of the 2005-2006 TV season, I'll say EMPs and shark attacks...

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