Colony Episode 1 Review

On one side we have Damon Lindelof working on the incredible The Leftovers and on the other we have Carlton Cuse (executive producer and screenwriter of Lost.) Anything that is branded with "By the makers of lost" makes me want to raise an eyebrow but it makes me giddy too. They wear it like a badge of honour. They should, because it is one of the greatest shows of all time for storytelling but it gives shows like 'Colony' a lot to live up to.

Watching Cuse's project before this was 'The Strain' and although the premise was fascinating, it didn't keep me watching. Like 'Colony', it seemed done, ejected and restarted which I felt was going to be a problem with 'Colony.' The first episode starts out typically and transcends almost like an average society verging on dystopia film way.

I like shows that experiment with 'the perfect family' and it definitely does that in the opening scene because we begin to see clues such as barbed wire strung around the garden fence like christmas lights, eggs being dropped symbolically and a whole lot of emphasis on a boy in a photo and we learn that one of the sons is lost due to the events that have transpired in the world. We meet Josh Holloway who is almost exactly like his usual character in a world wrapped up in mystery, loss and curfew cliches. I like that it doesn't focus on the invasion itself, but the aftermath.

His wife (Katie) played by Sarah Wayne Callies is a good actress and bring dynamic actions to a flat world. There is a lack of resources which is displayed by characters in the family. Katie is after insulin and she will get it under any circumstances. Almost too easily and pales in comparison to something like Under The Dome which injects desperation skilfully. 'Collaborate' or 'Resist' is the tagline that the show is going for and it is evident that is the two people in the marriage who are going to represent and struggle with both.

Josh Holloway has a great repatriate for making a character you want to follow. 'Colony' is like 'Sawyer Returns' and if you liked Sawyer in Lost, he is cracking the same kind of defiant lines such as "And when I tell you to piss off?" when he is approached for a job by occupation. Nothing is followed through, he is the archetypal military man so far but the spark of argument and not bowing down and pretending to go with it is fine on its own.

Sights such as a large, tall wall enveloping Los Angeles and a scene of the cityscape performing some kind of lightshow does make you wonder but nothing about it scares, separates it or makes it even feel realistic. So much could be done in using this if they wanted to. They could make it so that's on purpose; that's the 'arrival' is so cliche and meeting people's expectations on purpose...but it's not even mentioned that much. We know they need to get out of it, but there's no context and there's no signs of a universe being that changed apart from a few safehouses and redecorating houses because there's nothing to do. These are  telling, but there isn't much else. Not even an element of "We don't talk about it because we're terrified to." Cars snatch people up like alien abductions and eggs continue to be made by a intimidating visit seemed about as powerful as an MTV show trying to recreate the hunger games.

The resistance and Katie being part of it is supposed to move the plot in a twist but it's so normalised in television for that to happen that it doesn't even seem like one. I even started to look into the significance of the dog she takes with her everywhere in order to find something different to hold onto. 'Colony' almost reminds me of the French drama Resistance which shows Paris and parents and teachers in the resistance during the war. 'Colony' could have this and use this more and it would be improved. Especially as Carlton Cuse has commented the real-life events is where some of his inspiration came from.

At the end of the episode, you realise how many answers you don't know or what is even happening which is good in some ways but bad in others because although it can be gripping because you're following a regime doesn't immediately have an answer (as regimes often do) but there's nothing that is completely selling it currently. It's difficult with a Pilot because the show after it can sometimes be a completely different show. I want it to be good.

It feels lukewarm from a network which has recently showcased Mr Robot but it's definitely not bad either.

Colony episode one is available online/will be broadcast on January 14th on USA Network

'Good Girls Revolt' Episode 1 Review

"They're hoarders. We're researchers."

'Good Girls Revolt' is a pilot on Amazon which I was excited to check out. Heralded 'Where Mad Men left out" and dealing with feminism, and reminding me of HBO's 'The Newsroom' is nothing but great television news which I needed to act on and I've been holding it for at least a week.

Watching episode one, I became glued to it very quickly. It has the suave and 70s atmosphere and the women making ground is obvious, and initially simplistic. Patti comes to light and I fell in love with her with her vigour and already stabilised with what she knows she deserves. Often, with a period show, the females discover that and there are lots of those which is great but there's also Patti. What makes the show even more interesting and complex is that Patti is the ideal feminist dream, but Nora, a new writer hoping to break into the scene (and seems to have tried many places like loosening the industry before the show will slip on) shows what more there is for Patti to know.

The discourse of researchers and writers and the role of sexism within that is very smart and the actresses are remarkable at building that story. Well-known events like Woodstock and Charles Manson fills the episode with life. Egos in the workplace are successful themes.

Erin Darke as Cindy Reston is archaic, yet iconic in her performance and her office and blossoming friendship with Nora holds such potential in a romantic relationship. Arguing over a cover for the news when they aren't even 'supposed' to and being asked is charming and these scenes are great.

There is lots of dialogue within the first episode that make me excited:

"I want to tiptoe through the Tulips."

I don't know why but the imagery of this just made the whole show before it has even started up in my eyes. The imagery is romantic, and reminiscent of the early stages of wanting more. There's a certain naivety laced with 

"Doing drugs does not mean you believe in peace and love."

"Yes it does, or it did. It was supposed to."

This conversation is very relevant to the times for a lot of reasons. I like the questioning of it while it is happening and the different opinions when it comes to that. 

Characters like 'Juicy Lucy' which, checking IMDB, seems like she might become a recurrent character is fantastic alongside the story arc about female witnesses and the respect they don't have depending on lifestyle/occupation and I want to see Patti, Nora and more going to her for everything in order to validate it. 

Some parts of the episode are a little cheesy but doing so knowingly. There is sitcom-like transitions which play on transformative 70s women in work dramas such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show. It's brilliant and scenes at the end of feminist groups being introduced to the girls and looking at vulvas in a mirror is mild when compared to leigh-weigh in those topics like 'Transparent' season two, it is definitely following the lead which I adore. 

Digs like 'Whispering Coven' throughout the episode all work to displaying a museum of sexist behaviour which the female characters take on even harder than the likes of Peggy Olson; almost picking up from where she left off. (A cameo I'd kill to see) in an even less obvious way. Knocking back, instead of knocking down. Of course, there's always knocking down but I love the way that the characters (maybe unrealistically, or we will come to see even more strain) immediately bounce back and don't stop forcing forward. There are certain stories opened that could regress Patti (not in a bad way if it is her choice) and the only problem with that is that they're glaringly obvious but also glaringly obvious she doesn't care one bit about them.

The difference with this show opposed to shows like it is that there is a shiny eyed brown haired chiselled man at the helm but he's a noticeably nicer, human model which I'm looking forward to see if the writers use the struggle between that and the 'masculine' character we are used to seeing. We see that he is interested in Patti and something that is lacking in this show so far is how each male character seems flat and it's not necessarily exploring men yet and I hope this changes.

Nora, taking credit for copy-editing at the end without a huge inner-dilemma about doing it is ace. She leads the way by immediately quitting her new job, grabbing her coat with  momentum to 'Time of the season' by The Zombies. Writing and Newsrooms are places where the world forces them to change to adapt and it's going to be amazing to watch how women's rights unfold in this way. Grace Gummer is an excellent actress and if you're a fan of her work, there's no way that you won't like this. 

Episode 1 is available now on Amazon Prime