My husband and I had a rousing discussion about feelings
provoked by USA Network's new show “Colony.” (When he figured out I was plying him for a
blog entry, his comment: “Oh God, you’re sucking me dry!”)
The premise of Colony (based on the pilot) is that aliens have landed and are using humankind as a form of slave labor. There is a resistance and there are collaborators. I watched the pilot and what struck me about this is just how many of these shows there have been lately. Hubby and I discussed just a partial list of these type of shows and what makes them desirable to watch, rather than boring, trite and predictable. We decided that most of these stories can be categorized as extermination or assimilation tales. Here are thoughts on a few.
Colony – only the pilot episode of this has aired. Even so, it’s at risk of falling into a very trite storyline. I will say that by the end of the pilot, I did enjoy it (and wasn’t driven away by any one character or actor). I like Peter Jacobson, in particular, because of his pragmatic sliminess. When polled about which side I would choose, I, of course, chose collaborator.
Syfy Network's Childhood’s End – this was unique in that the entities we originally assume are the overlords are actually subjugated creatures themselves. I found it personally fascinating to find that a creature deliberately shown as a satanic entity to evoke immediate feelings of hatred (Karellen) ended up being a rather sympathetic character itself. (That was really the only reason I watched the whole thing). One element that made this engaging was that we weren’t quite sure if this was an assimilation or an extermination story. Bravo, Arthur C. Clarke.
Syfy Network's Dominion – discussing Dominion really got us excited. Definitely an extermination storyline. We discussed the reluctant hero and the fact that perhaps season two was stronger because it wasn’t quite as focused on the reluctant hero. Rather, season two focused on a whole bunch of characters who were impacted by the reluctant hero, as well as the internal dynamics of surviving settlements.
TNT Network's Falling Skies – this was an extermination story. Hubby felt this one ended up being the same old story, so he found it boring. “Even though you come from the stars, you can’t seem to wipe us out. (rubs his chin) But, the big machine was really cool.” I wasn’t engaged enough, so I didn’t continue watching.
ABC Network's "V" – amazingly, there have been several incarnations of this (in Lady Grantham’s terms “with numbing regularity”). It’s surprising to me that this has been remade since earlier versions have been panned. Reboots are risky because if you didn’t like the first (or the second) you’re definitely unwilling to go along for the ride. I think the acting in the later version was stronger, but ultimately – it ended up being stilted with a standard storyline and mostly mundane acting.
Fox Network's Alien Nation (although out of my current time period of shows) was actually great. This was reverse assimilation. I think it was fascinating because at the time, it was a very novel show and I loved the cast. Part of the novelty was the concept of an alien race that wasn’t out to eliminate or subjugate, but rather to become one with the planet’s inhabitants. This was a story on multiple levels.
An honorable mention goes to a show which doesn’t quite fit the framework - Amazon Network's “Man in the High Castle.” Leave it to Philip K. Dick to come up with a premise which is novel but not quite novel (there have been several stories involving alternate timelines, in which the Nazis are the victors). But, what’s unique in his story is that you really have trouble figuring out what the ultimate story is. Is this just an “alternate timeline” or are there multiple timelines that people can cross or is it just in one person’s head? THAT made it fascinating. That and really excellent Nazi uniforms! The acting was top notch, as well.
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