When [It] Strikes Me

Although I’m apprehensive about its somewhat slow pace, I still think Rubicon has what it takes to grow into a real winner and a hit. As such, I’m putting some faith in it and am anointing it with instant recap status.  To read prior Quick Hits for the show, click here on my posts tagged #Rubicon.  Here are my Quick Hits for Episode 1.07, “The Truth Will Out.”

There weren't a lot of good production stills for this episode, so I've gone back to the elegant image from the amazing opening credits.

I think I’ve figured out Rubicon’s problem. It’s not that it doesn’t work as a show… it does. It is just that it actually is cursed by leading into Mad Men. Although Mad Men has allowed Rubicon to hold onto viewership and actually increased its numbers in the last couple of weeks – the 1.31 million live viewers for Episode 6 reversing some of the bleed from the highly hyped second episode (the premiere event several months after the pilot first aired) – it also strikingly displays how far Rubicon has to go to reach that peak.

AMC is advertising it now as the show for your head, as Mad Men is for your heart. That may be true and I do believe that this has the potential to weave complex and entertaining storylines over 13 episodes, season arcs, much as Damages does. But as Damages is sloppy in describing the legal profession, Rubicon similarly struggles at times with maintaining the intelligence it should follow through on. This means getting literary, getting anal about detail and skirting some of the unnecessary character development that you must undertake in the first few episodes of a show’s run.

I’m hopefuly that that hump has been passed (or that Rubicon crossed, if you will) with this past episode. Not only was it the most action packed in the series run, but it also reflected the first time a character was integrated organically into the cast.

Read more, after the jump. Read more…

Although I’m apprehensive about its somewhat slow pace, I still think Rubicon has what it takes to grow into a real winner and a hit. As such, I’m putting some faith in it and am anointing it with instant recap status.  To read prior Quick Hits for the show, click here on my posts tagged #Rubicon.  Here are my Quick Hits for Episode 1.06, “Look to the Ant.”

Travers escaped to a gaming cafe to execute some searches.

I had quite the busy week last week and insufficient time to do a full Quick Hits for Rubicon’s sixth episode. As a result, I’m typing this up both late and in an abbreviated manner. The episode was, on the whole, quite good. There’s been a marked, yet subtle speeding up of the plot. We also saw in this episode one of the glaring weaknesses and one of the potential turning points for the show as it possibly moves toward greatness.

I’ll open by hitting the weakness first. I really do think that they are a bit quick to fall into stereotypes. While Travers, Kale, Spangler, Katherine Rhumor and Miles have all shown potential to be very deep, complex and connective characters, there remains a tendency to go stereotypical with Maggie, some tangential characters and even Miles. In particular, the rendezvous Maggie had in this episode was just manufactured snooze fest.

Maggie herself is a character who seems fundamentally flawed. We’ve been introduced to her only in snippets, some of which worked (like her spying for Kale) and most of which didn’t (her far too forced pining for Travers and her bizarre unexplained relationship with her ex-husband, not to mention her somewhat worthless blog).  She disappears for extended periods in the show’s brief run and all of the screen time she does get is just a bit too forced, particularly in scenes she shares with Travers.  The show seems to want to push her character, but I think they’d do well to just let it go and let her drift into the background.

Click on through for more thoughts. Read more…

In the world of “I Cannot Fracking Wait” debuts, AMC’s The Walking Dead, based on the graphic novel series by Robert Kirkman is pretty much atop my TV list… at least since the premiere of ABC’s V.  Well AMC just debuted a four and a half minute trailer for the series and announced it’s start date: 10 PM on Halloween night, this October.  Can… not… wait….

I think Rubicon might have what it takes to be a real winner and a hit. As such, I’m putting some faith in it and am anointing it with instant recap status.  To read prior Quick Hits for the show, click here on my posts tagged #Rubicon.  Here are my Quick Hits for Episode 1.05, “Connect The Dots.”

At Spangler's wife's charity event, Katherin and Travers finally cross paths.

So in “Connect The Dots” the viewers start to get the first signs of some real payoff for the patience.  Yes, it may not pack the action punch that you’d get in Alias or 24, but we did get some forward momentum and the opening to the path toward some answers.  As I mentioned in my first Quick Hits for Rubicon‘s pilot episode, a show like this can, hopefully, operate like a crossword.  Shooting off clues to be woven into the patchwork thread.

Much as the opening credits paint an image of connecting loosely sprayed dots, the show (I hope) will be something to be collected as a patchwork and layered together in order to simplify the analysis. For the first time, we saw some actual movement to integrate some of the information we’ve learned.  Not the least of which was colliding the worlds of Travers and Katherine Rhumor.

Yes, their first interaction was a bit awkward, complete with a simple flirtation toward each other (even if the widow and widower did so almost reluctantly).  They met at Spangler’s wife’s charitable event (the introduction of which was a bit too compressed in the storyline… in that Travers and the other team leaders were only invited last second), at the bar while ordering vodka tonics.  With it, you had each admitting to somewhat addicted and depressive behavior, with Travers lamenting the moments drinking alone and Katherine referring to her vodka tonics as oxygen.

But it was the second connection that held more weight.  You had Spangler telling Mr. Roy (The Wire‘s Clay Davis) to push off attention from Travers (who was recorded telling Bancroft to stand down) and focusing it on Rhumor (who had rebuffed suggestions from all parties to get rid of MRQ Alternatives, the company her husband had left to her at the last second).  Looking on in the background was Bloom, who apparently was brought into the surveillance by Kale.

This followed Katherine’s continued efforts to look into her husband’s activities.  Although we’re only privy to the conspirators being aware of Katherine refusing to sell off MRQ, she had been slowly digging and learning.  In this episode, she paid a visit to MRQ’s headquarters.  MRQ Alternatives ended up being a clothing company.  But I’m not sure we should have expected much beyond that, as Katherine suspected, it was a drop of sorts.  In her quick examination, she was drawn to and examined a news clipping stating that “CCNY Professor Bradley Ruled Suicide.”  Perhaps the most revealing thing to us was that Katherine continued to be affirmed of her husband’s love for her, using their anniversary as the combination lock entry (despite the fact that Master Lock does not, to my knowledge, allow customization of locks of the variety that Katherine cracked).

In any respect, click on through for my quick hit thoughts on the episode. Read more…

I think Rubicon might have what it takes to be a real winner and a hit. As such, I’m putting some faith in it and am anointing it with instant recap status.  To read prior Quick Hits for the show, click here on my posts tagged #Rubicon.  Here are my Quick Hits for Episode 1.04, “The Outsider.”

The episode provided no new insights into the "clover" conspiracy, but did feature Miranda Richardson (as Katherine Rhumor) to a greater degree.

There are some distinct disconnects with the character of Will Travers, who he wants to be and where he actually is. These were made readily apparent in the most recent episode. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet, as this is a show that is still trying to find its voice and the nature of its characters.  Even the characters themselves are trying to make sense of things, as reflected by the competing, book-ended unrequited smiles from Travers and his across-the-courtyard neighbor-lady.  Both are trying to see who they are, and who the other is.  In doing so, each commits somewhat of a gaffe.

Indeed, there are maddeningly simple screw-ups in Rubicon, so far. These may simply be situations where accuracy in settings don’t matter that much to the producers, but easy errors belie the idea that Rubicon is a show that, like Mad Men, seeks to nail the details. It certainly has the feel of a top notch period piece set in a very pen-and-paper intelligence community. There is also a great focus, at least early on, at paying attention to the details in developing characters.

And yet there are so many careless errors. From a set design perspective, we have three in this very episode that were hard to miss. The first was that Travers and Spangler travel by Acela to Washington DC. Except instead of shooting at Penn Station (where the Acela operates), they shot in Grand Central Station at the Metro-North hub and platforms. Fine, middle America might not notice the difference and might find Grand Central more elegant than the linoleum of Penn Station. That doesn’t mean it isn’t deliberately sloppy.

Click on through to keep reading. Read more…

I think Rubicon might have what it takes to be a real winner and a hit. As such, I’m putting some faith in it and am anointing it with instant recap status.  To read prior Quick Hits for the show, click here on my posts tagged #Rubicon.  Here are my Quick Hits for Episode 1.03, “Keep the Ends Out.”

As in past episodes, a scene without dialogue was deftly shot to narrate the story.

The third episode of Rubicon made me, for a moment, question whether the series was going to be too slow in its pace for its own good.  I love that the show gives you the time to process and I’ve enjoyed watching each episode so far a couple of times.  That said, not everyone is going to deal with a lack of action well… particularly when you draw some comparisons to the more high octane spy genre.  But the series continue to hint at big payoffs for the investment viewers are making.

The bicycle scene in Travers’ apartment best exemplified my excitement over this show. For the third straight episode, the finest segment was a nonverbal run-through by an actor seeking answers and wondering if what they’ve found is just new questions, rather than any resolution.

In this particular scene, Travers examines the bike that David left him, which he’s brought up to his apartment. After spending the night tearing it apart over a few beers, Travers flips through the Norton Commando’s manual, finding a photo of David guiding his son Evan on the bike. Doing so, you could see the resignation in Travers that he did, indeed, have to return this prized possession to David’s natural son… but on looking closer he noticed an anomaly.

In a show so keen as to ensure the veracity of his griminess with dirt under fingernails, Travers finds a something slight askew and keys in on it immediately. In the photo, the bike seat did not include a stripe down its middle. Examining it closer and peeling back the white, he found a series of ciphers: 10 Arabic numeral digits across and scores of lines down. He also noted that the bike seat had been stitched down the middle. On opening it up and reaching in, he finds and pulls out a Glock.

This epitomizes the show so far. There’s basic, on the surface activities that are relatively innocuous and drawn by regular activities and desires.  But there’s the promise of real pay dirt.  Yes, they haven’t yet delivered on promised action, but much like a sexy starlet will repeat, sometimes the big fun is in what’s not shown but anticipated.  We’re being granted questions and data to puzzle over, but only offered the promise of great action not seen.

Click through to keep on reading. Read more…

I think Rubicon might have what it takes to be a real winner and a hit. As such, I’m putting some faith in it and am anointing it with instant recap status.  To read prior Quick Hits for the show, click here on my posts tagged #Rubicon.  Here are my Quick Hits for Episode 1.02, “The First Day of School.”

The second episode of Rubicon kept up with the promise of the first.

There’s always a bit of a worry that episode two will not follow up to the excellence of a well run pilot.  This is because it is often the case that a pilot sees far more production glare and refinement.  I think Rubicon may avoid that problem as the season moves on, in part because the pilot was not so ambitious as to overreach.  Many pilots are designed to be able to operate independent of a greater story; they attempt to create an experience which is fulfilling so as to guarantee their good stead.  The producers here did not seem to sacrifice the story-telling methodology I’ve identified to date.

“Gone in the Teeth” served a role of introducing certain characters and themes without opening up too much or being too aggressive.  “The First Day of School” followed in that tradition.  We continued to see a bit more into the character of Travers, while getting a better glimpse of Maggie and our first real look at Katherine Rhumor.

It is with Katherine that the episode really hits home.  In an emerging pattern, the producers do seem to like their dialogue-less, visual storytelling.  In the pilot, we saw this twice with scenes featuring Travers identifying the crossword code and, later, searching David’s office.  In each case, they played the delicate balance well of conveying the dutiful intensity of Travers with enough intrigue to keep the audience intrigued.  Watching someone work a crossword is not exactly what most of America considers entertainment, but the producers were adept enough to make it interesting.

Keep on reading, after the jump. Read more…

I’ve still yet to finish my finale recap for LOST, so I’m not actually going to watch this yet, myself.  That said, it is the 12 minute epilogue to the series that will appear on the LOST: The Complete Collection Blu Ray Box Set (click the link to order).

[EDIT: Disney cease and desisted the online video of it]

Rubicon stars James Badge Dale as intelligence analyst Will Travers.

I’ve noted before (link to my general endorsement of the pilot episode and the show) that I think Rubicon might have what it takes to be a real winner and a hit. As such, I intend to do what I did for LOST, posting quick hit thoughts after watching an episode in recap format. Here are mine for Episode 1.01, “Gone in the Teeth.”

“Gone in the Teeth” served more as a primer for both the idea of the show and the introduction of certain elements of the cast. As I noted in my preview, the pattern I’d like to see the show take would be in the vein and structure of a crossword – something more sophisticated than a standard puzzle which challenges the viewer and asks us to help piece together the greater construct, rather than simply handing us the answer key. If that’s the case, then the 5-down handed to the viewer in the pilot is a centerpiece clue, providing both a grounding for the key persons and a 19-letter link to the rest of the board in Marsilea quadrifolia (the entry the lead gives as the Latin translation for four-leaf clover, the answer to a clue asking for what a particularly lucky insect larva gets to chow down on).

Not the least of the clues in that answer is that Marsilea quadrifolia is not, in fact, a true four-leaf clover. No, that designation falls to a mutated Trifolium. Marsilea quadrifolia are just commonly passed as four-leaf clovers, so what is the real game here… what lies beneath? In a series that opens with a child’s game of hide-and-seek, we’re certainly warned to look a little deeper and, perhaps, not always trust that the view presented will always hold veracity.

Let’s start after the jump. Read more…

Rubicon premieres this Sunday night, August 1st.

From One Pawn To Another.

In television, a viewer might often feel a pawn, not being handed anything by a fellow pawn, but rather shifted from one board to the next. Never long to last in the fight, as the milieu of a series loses its shine and the successive attempts at new shows turn into just another run of short-lived games. Rarely does a pawn cross the board and become the queen, engrossed with and empowered by the board itself.

With a few shows I have felt myself as substantively more than a pawn in the game of television programming; in those handful of shows I have lastingly and fully been engrossed. I can really check them off with the fingers of one hand:

• “The West Wing” for its political acumen. A show that reminded us both of what we most wanted in our leaders and the forces which prevent that ideal from being manifested.
• “Battlestar Galactica” for its social commentary. In an era when America was redefining itself both at home and on the world stage, no television program so boldly captured our internalized national struggles.
• “LOST” for its Joycean depth. Bad Robot’s ambitious efforts to challenge viewers made expecting more of one’s viewers a reality and opened the door to the difficult-to-navigate world of what might aptly be termed televised literature.
• “The Wire” for its simple poetry. It is, after all, this epic, five-part poem about the decline of the American empire that gave us the inspired scene in which D’Angelo explains chess to Bodie and Wallace.

There have been other great shows. “Mad Men” gave us attention to detail and historical fiction as a commercial winner. “The Shield” offers a level of grittiness that is hard to turn from. But with most television, it’s as D’Angelo explained to Bodie, “The pawns, man, in the game, they get capped quick. They be out of the game early.” In most television, it’s easy to just sit back and play dumb. Only in the best shows are the pawns challenged to be “some smart ass pawns.” It’s those shows that challenge the viewer that interest me most. In “Rubicon”, I hope we have one such show.

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