Under the Dome - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - A Rant on The CBS TV Series

Under the Dome – Season 1 - 2013

I am not sure when I learned about the making of the Stephen King novel, Under the Dome was going to be made into a television series, but I do remember being very excited to see it.  I was also very excited to learn that two podcasting friends, Wayne Henderson and Troy Heiritz, were planning to produce a podcast (Under The Dome Radio) to accompany the show.  Well, Under the Dome has just finished its first season and since it was touted to be a science fiction drama, I feel the need to discuss my take on what was good and what was not so good.

The Book:

I listened to the audiobook version of Under the Dome last year.  I really enjoyed it during my drives to school and back finding that I couldn’t wait to listen to it.  The story itself is a very long account of the people in the fictitious town of Chester’s Mill being trapped under a mysterious dome and how they coped with life following such a disaster that might cut a community off from the outside world.  At first, the community pulls together, but then begins to fall apart as resources become scarce.  As always, there are those who try to find ways to take advantage of the situation to grab power that they would normally not have.  Under the Dome by Stephen King was a brilliant character study that looked into the lives of several of the Mill’s residents as they either tried to help others or tried to help themselves in surviving a disaster.

The novel is not for the weak stomached or those that may be overly sensitive as King doesn’t hold back anything as far as the language used in the book, or the descriptions of the activities.  It is very graphic and carries a very dark tone.

One complaint that I have heard about the book concerns the ending.  Apparently the dome was erected by some child-like aliens that were playing around with what they considered a lower life form, much as a child would use a magnifying glass to concentrate the sun’s rays to burn insects.  To those who read the book and complained about the ending I would say that the story wasn’t about the alien children as much as it was a character study.  Only a very small part of the book at the very end was about what actually about how the dome came to be.  I would like to think that I actually got what Stephen King was communicating with his yarn.  If you decide to read or listen to the audiobook (which was and excellent performance by the reader), you should approach it from the point that the characters and not the how or why is the main point.

The Show:

Right from the very beginning, it was announced that the television production was only based on the novel, and would not be a simple visual retelling of the Under the Dome story.  After listening to it, this was obvious to me since the extremely graphic nature of the novel could not be played out word-for-word on broadcast television.  Many of the characters have the same names and personality traits as their Stephen King counterparts in the book, but there are some major differences in their stories as the show unfolds.  Many of the characters for the television series seem to have been cleaned up a bit and have had their characters made acceptable for the average viewer.  Big Jim Rennie, for instance has had his overtly hypocritical religious stripped from him for the most part.  Dale Barbara isn’t the pure heroic figure as presented in the book; he has a darker background story.  Junior Rennie is far less psychotically disturbed in the show than he was in the book.  These are just a few of the changes from the original story.  So, before the show aired, I had made up my mind to forget about the book and take the television show as a separate entity.

The Good:

Visual Effects: The visual effects used in the show are magnificent.  Right from the very beginning when the dome descends on the town, there are some sunning scenes of planes and truck crashing into the invisible barrier.  One of the most iconic scenes is when Barbie witnesses a cow being cut in half while the half inside the dome falls away to reveal the other half sticking to the outside.  Along with that are scenes of electrical discharges as people contact the dome, a storm inside the dome, and a scene as the military attempts to break the dome with a large cruise missile.

Characters: For the most part, the acting is well done, that is when the characters are well written.  For me, the best of the cast is Dean Norris as Big Jim Rennie.  He portrays the “big fish in the small pond” personage to a tee.  Here’s a guy who is totally out to better himself under the guise of caring for the community at large.  He is so well written and acted that even I watching the show have occasionally believed that he was working for the good of his community.  But nothing Big Jim does is for the betterment of anyone but himself, if others are made better off along the way, it’s okay.  But don’t try to get in his way because anyone who does either mysteriously turns up dead, or he finds a way to manipulate others into doing his dirty work for him.  For me, he is the most interesting element of the show.

Linda Esquivel portrayed by Natalie Martinez finds herself becoming the chief of police following the death of her mentor and friend.  She is a very strong female character who takes her job seriously and is obviously well trained and experienced.  With the exception of the last few episodes of the series, Linda is the only character who seems willing to stand up against Big Jim to keep law and order in the town.

Ollie Densmore appeared in five episodes of Under the Dome.  He is played brilliantly by Leon Rippy, an experienced character actor.  Ollie goes into a head-to-head conflict with Big Jim over the town’s resources.  As a farmer with a well, he sees an opportunity to snatch power away from Big Jim and run the town himself.  He believes that he has many friends in the community and recruits them to help guard his well, the only major source of water for the town for a time until Barbie destroys the well.  Ollie finds himself left out in the cold by his “friends” as one of the extras tell him “you think we were here for you?” and they head for the hills as Big Jim again gets the upper hand.

There were definitely other good things about the show, but the above were the items that really stood out for me.

The Bad:

Barbie: hero or villain?  I honestly cannot tell if Barbie is good or bad.  He is obviously ex-military and perhaps some former member of an elite combat group.  He seems to have a lot of knowledge of weapons and is very good in a fight.  He also seems to have some extensive knowledge of emergency medical procedures.  But let’s face it, he came on the scene as a collection man for some entity that wanted him to use brutal tactics.  In the very first episode, we see him burying the body of Peter Shumway, then we learn later that he killed Peter collecting a large gambling debt.  On the other hand, we see Barbie acting on numerous occasions as a “deputy” without a badge, helping to keep law and order in the town.  But that’s not all folks; more on Barbie later.

Science Fiction?  There is lots of fiction Under the Dome, but very little science.  If a show is going to be touted as a science fiction series, shouldn’t there at least be some science?  Even made up science would be a welcome addition.  As I recall, there were perhaps two instances when any real science was actually explored; first when Joe was using math to try to figure the actual size of the dome, and second when the mini dome projected the star field in the barn.  Even that second one was more of a metaphysical instance since it turned out that the dome was pointing the way for the “teen quartet” (my term for the mini dome club of Joe, Angie, Norrie, and Junior) to go to the dome and get another premonition.  In actuality, Under the dome seems more like a paranormal series than sci-fi, or perhaps even more so, a study in abnormal psychology.  Everyone seems to have some kind of baggage they are carrying around.

Linda Becomes Big Jim’s Nazi Cop: One of the worse turns in the show is how Linda, the Police Chief, stops being a strong female character who has taken it upon herself to uphold law and order during the crisis and becomes Big Jim’s lacky.  Rather than doing what a good cop would do and investigating to learn the facts, in the last few episodes she just begins to take Big Jim’s word for everything and follows his agenda of the character assassination of Barbie.  The plot hole here is that Linda has gotten to know Barbie as they worked together.  I suppose it didn’t help much when After Big Jim killed Maxine and her henchman, Barbie knocked Linda out and headed for…

Speaking of that, after Barbie cold-cocked Linda, where did he expect to go?  After all, isn’t the Dome relatively small?  

In a later episode, Big Jim dispatches Linda to track down the location of the mini dome and take it into custody.  When she finds it, she goes way out of character and begins demanding that the object be turned over to her.  I didn't even recognize Linda's character in that performance, and I was quite puzzled at her gestapo-like tactics.

Barbie and Bushie: Phil Bushie, the radio station DJ spends a lot of time exchanging knowing nods with Barbie in the early episodes of the show, almost like they know each other.  Well perhaps they share a common bond as ex-military, or at least it would seem that way, but like Linda, Phil is more than willing to accept that Barbie is a cold-blooded murderer and even offers to build the gallows that Big Jim intends to hang Barbie from.

The Ugly:

Barbie and Julia:  One of the most convoluted parts of Under the Dome is the relationship between Julia Shumway and Barbie.  In several instances, Julia seems to be pining away for her deceased husband, Peter, but as soon as Barbie comes on the scene, she invites him into her home.  Now Barbie didn’t know that Peter and Julia were married, not at least until he saw pictures of the two of them together, but then really, he killed Peter SHUMWAY and begins cohabitating with Julia SHUMWAY.  Did he go in to kill Peter without knowing what his name was?  Even after discovering that Julia was Peter’s widow, that he killed, Barbie has the conscious of a snake and begins cohabitating with Julia anyway?  Now I realize that this show is not about reality, but come on, I cannot imagine anything like this happening with someone who is supposed to be a hero!  This plot is Hamlet gone completely wrong.

And while I am thinking about that, I should like to point out that when Maxine threatened to expose Barbie to Julia as Peter’s killer, Barbie decides, nobly (?) to confess his crime to Julia.  In a very Swiss cheesed scene (with a plot hole big enough to fly a jet liner through), Julia listens patiently to Barbie’s confession and then tells him, more or less, it’s okay, just don’t lie any more.  Barbie’s punishment for offing Peter?  A night on the couch in the Shumway living room.   As my friend Hank Davis said on a call-in to Under the Dome Radio: “Where do you find a woman like that?”  Well, the answer to that, my good friend, is nowhere, except Under the Dome.

One of the biggest plot twists, or twisted plots, if you will, was that of the (thankfully) brief appearance of Maxine Seagrave.  Out of nowhere this character appears on the scene to spend two days trying to make Big Jim’s and Barbie’s life a living hell.  Apparently, she was the entity behind Barbie being a collector of gambling debts, as well as being the one who was bankrolling and distributing the drug that Big Jim was producing to “save” the town of Chester’s Mill.  She blows into town from wherever she was and opens a fight club in the concrete works and is taking loaves of bread and salt for admission; all in less than 24 hours.  She says that she is doing this so she can maintain the lifestyle that she has become accustomed to.  I can only imagine what that lifestyle must have been; not good I suspect.

Blame Barbie:  Julia Shumway is shot, Maxine’s mother is drowned, Dodie is killed and the radio station is burned, Maxine and her henchman are shot.  It’s all Barbie’s doing!  So Barbie is finally captured and the people of the town are assured that he will receive a fair trial, and then taken out to hang.  In the final scenes, Barbie has the noose around his neck, Big Jim is presiding and Junior has his hands on the lever, and a large crowd has gathered to watch the execution.  The trial was Big Jim telling them that Barbie is guilty and not one citizen of this little friendly town is going to stand up and protest a public execution.  Okay.

The ending of the season is probably the second ugliest thing about Under the Dome.  The butterfly hatches inside the mini-dome and begins flying around.  Everywhere the butterfly touches turns black.  At the same time, the large dome is also turning black.  Then the “teen quartet” lays hands on the dome, it shatters and the butterfly crowns Julia the much awaited “monarch.”  Julia was further informed by Norrie’s mother that the done was not to keep people in, but rather to protect them.  Huh?  Then Julia takes the egg that was under the mini dome and drops it into the lake.  The much talked about pink stars appear and Big Jim who is presiding over Barbie’s execution says that it is a sign that Barbie’s impending neck tie party has been blessed by the lord, which is accepted by the crowd.  Huh?  Then the dome turns white and the show is over.  Huh?  What?

I have heard this called a cliff hanger.  Understatement?  You bet!  There are so many unfinished stories and loose threads with this series that I cannot even remember it all.  It is hard to believe that Spielberg and King are involved with this.

But the ugliest thing of all is how CBS loaded the series with seemingly unending strings of commercial interruptions.  Most of those commercials were selling other shows that were either already on, or soon to come on CBS.  At times, there was less than seven minutes of Under the Dome followed by an ad nausium number of ads.

So we are going to get another 13 episodes of Under the Dome next summer.  We can only hope that someone at CBS will take some time to watch this sad, shark jumped series and perhaps listen to those of us who aren’t willing to just accept just the label Science Fiction getting slapped on something that went from being pretty good in the beginning to a mere paranormal soap opera complete with “cliff hangers” couched in huge plot holes.

Will I be watching the second season of Under the Dome.  Most definitely.  There is way too much to laugh and make fun of that I cannot pass it up.  Along with that is the Under the Dome Radio podcast, which is fun to listen to

If you watched Under the Dome and loved it, well more power too you.  If you are accepting it as sci-fi, you need to re-examine your definition of sci-fi.  Not only isn’t it very good sci-fi, it isn’t even very good television for the thinking viewer. 

While I started really liking the show, I watched it deteriorate over the weeks into something that was barely watchable.  I also realize that I am in the minority on my assessment and am quite okay with that.

If you are looking for a more positive twist to Under the Dome, I urge you to listen to Under the Dome Radio with Troy andWayne.  They have a podcast episode for every episode of the show along with great interviews with Kevin Sizemore, Dale Raoul, and John Elvis.

Well, there it is…

Q’aplaH!

There's No Denying That DEFIANCE Is A Good Show!

I have now watched three episodes of the new SyFy series, Defiance, and so far I am enjoying it.

Votan Ship Arriving at Earth

Defiance is set in the future on a ruined Earth.  While searching the galaxy for a suitable place to settle, a group of aliens known as the Votans mistake Earth for an uninhabited planet.  After being allowed to settle in a few colonies, the Votans are viewed with suspicion and distrust by the earth’s population and an eventual war breaks out between Votans and Humans, leading to widespread distruction on the planet.  The Humans eventually win the war and Votans are allowed to live among humans in the ruined cities.

The Town - Defiance

The series takes place in and around the settlement of Defiance, which is the former City of St. Louis.  Everything has changed, resources are scarce, and the tension between the Human race and the Votans continues in an uneasy peace.

It needs to be pointed out that the Votans are not a single race of aliens, but are rather are made up of several different races of aliens that have distinct characteristics as far as culture, appearance, and behaviors are concerned.  At this point in the series, the story is concentrating mostly on Humans and the Votan races of the Castithans, the Irathients, and the Indogenes. 

I have read that fans of Firefly will especially be attracted to this show because of the frontier-like appearance of the characters and of the sets.  But this is not a replacement for Firefly, the entire premise of Defiance is completely different.  As for myself, it actually feels more like Bonanza or Gunsmoke than anything else.  There is definitely a frontier western feel to Defiance which is one of the aspects that appeal to me; there are heroes, villains, and undefined characters that will make future plots interesting.

The pilot episode was quite complicated as it introduced the main characters and their struggles.  The second and third episodes are a combination of one-off stories with an underlying story arc that will develop over time.  One story arc that is well founded in the tradition of a western is a power struggle by two of the most affluent members of the community.  Rafe McCawley is a very rich and powerful man who has gotten used to getting his way over the years, while he doesn’t intend to circumvent the law, he does feel that he can take it into his own hands when he believes that justice isn’t being served.  McCawley’s  struggle is mostly with the Castithian Datak Tarr who acts as a Votan representative and advisor to Amanda Rosewater, the Mayor of Defiance.  Tarr is outwardly aristocratic, but secretly the only thing on his mind seems to be to seize power, and is apprantly not above all kinds of subterfuge including Allowing his son, Alak to marry McCawley’s daughter, Christie.  But Datak is not the only one who is power-hungry; as is often the case, behind every ambitious man is an even more ambitious woman.  This role is being played by Datak’s wife, Stahma, who is quite adept at manipulating others, but especially Datak, while still allowing Datak the illusion that he is actually the person pulling all of the strings.

Datak, Mayor Amanda, and Rafe McCawley

Josh

Amanda works hard as Defiance’s mayor to maintain peace in the community amidst the strife that is taking place.  She is assisted by the newly appointed sheriff, Josh Nolan, a former Marine who was just passing through, but became involved with the settlement’s population while helping to defend the town against an attack.  In the third episode, we learn that Josh is actually a native of St. Louis and witnessed the arrival of the Votans as a young man.

Another story arc that is slowly unfolding involves the former mayor of Defiance, Niki and a mysterious individual who seem to be doing what they feel is the right thing for Defiance by setting up attacks and sabotage against the town.  I think they are trying to undermined the Votan influence in Defiance with acts of what can only be labeled as terrorism.

As the Long Branch Saloon served as a place for everyone to interact in Gunsmoke, so is the Need/Want saloon, brothel, and gambling establishment owned and operated by Amanda’s sister, Kenya.  A few scenes in the Need/Want have revealed much of the social structure of Alliance and really adds to the frontier feel of Defiance as a television show.

It is obvious when one watches the show that SyFy has invested a lot in this show.  It has great special effects, rather complicated but good story lines, great costuming and makeup work, and a cast that works well together.  The characters are well written and well directed so that the viewer can immediately take an interest and care about them.  In a word, I would have to call Defiance a well balanced show that is worth the time to watch.  But be warned, this is definitely an adult series as some of the themes are not appropriate for young children.

Well, there it is…

Q’aplaH!

Twists and Turns Galore: Book Review...

Trek fans were introduced to the Mirror Universe in the TOS episode, “Mirror, Mirror.”  While in negotiations with a race of pacifist humanoids known as the Halkins, an ion storm caused Kirk and some of his crew to exchange places with their counterparts in a mirror universe while transporting back to the Enterprise.  Kirk found himself in command of a ship that looked very much like the Enterprise, but that is where the resemblance ended.  In the Mirror Universe of Star Trek, while things may have looked similar, political structures, protocols, and especially people were very different in behavior.

In later series, the Mirror Universe is explored in Deep Space 9 on numerous occasions, and again on the Enterprise series.  Until now, my knowledge of the Mirror Universe was strictly through the television series.  I enjoyed the incarnations of the Mirror Universe in both TOS and Enterprise, however I never really appreciated the episodes in Deep Space 9 that dealt with the alternate reality.  I found those episodes actually to be a bit silly; feeling that the writers had over-done the caricatures of the characters from DS-9.

So you might think that I was a bit hesitant to read a book that dealt with the Mirror Universe, and you would be right, I was hesitant, but no longer.

I finished reading Star Trek: Mirror Universe: Obsidian Alliances and was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it immensely.  Obsidian Alliances is a collection of three short novels by renowned Trek authors Keith R. A. DeCandido, Peter David, and David Mack (Mr. Mack wrote his entry under the pseudonym Sarah Shaw).  The stories in the three are set in the Voyager, New Frontier, and DS-9 alternate universes.

 Mr. DeCandido’s contribution to this project is entitled The Mirror-Scaled Serpent and is set in the Voyager universe.  When one starts reading, it feels like the beginning of Voyager all over again, only in this universe, there is no Voyager crew and it is Neelix and Kes that are sent to the Alpha Quadrant of the galaxy, where the discovery of persons with telepathic abilities are highly sought after and prized.  The Terran Resistance in the persons of Chakotay and Tuvok  take on the task of keeping Kes out of the hands of the Klingon/Cardassian Alliance who would use her telepathic abilities to their advantage.  Without spoiling the story too much, I will also say that the Janeway/Chakotay relationship that many fans would have liked to see in Voyager happens in DeCandido’s Mirror Universe, but there is a twist to it.  As a matter of fact, this story is full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing on what to expect next.  A very clever story and one any Voyager aficionado will enjoy.

Next up is Cutting Ties by Peter David, and is set with the characters from his New Frontier series, which I have blogged about before.  But this New Frontier setting is nothing like the one we know with Makenzie Calhoun being the hero of his native planet Xenex, nor as the adventurous and sly captain of the Excalibur.  Instead, he is rejected by his father after a battle for the independence of Xenex, and given into slavery to suffer under the Romulans.  In the New Frontier novels Mackenzie is known as Mack, but in this version, he is mostly referred to as Muck, because when asked by a prominent Romulan what his name was, he stuttered.   Under the tutelage of a female, Muck grows into a perversely similar character of Mack in the Prime Universe.  New Frontier fans, such as myself, will appreciate this installment by Mr. David.

Finally, the collection closes with David Mack’s vision of the more familiar goings-on in the DS-9 saga.  Titled Saturn’s Children, David Mack (again writing under a pseudonym) looks in on the deposed Intendant Kyra Nerys who lost her position to Ro Laren from the TNG series.  This is the story of her plight to regain her political status by hatching a plot that will crush the Terran Alliance if successful.  This story also contains many surprises as Kyra manipulates her way through a maze of twists and turns that, at least in my opinion, redeems the DS-9 mirror universe in ways they could not have shown on network television.  I’ll just say that if David Mack had written the Mirror Universe episodes for DS-9 the way he wrote this story, it would have been far more interesting for me. (Just an aside note here: David Mack did participate in the writing of two DS-9 episodes that I know of, and they are among my favorites.  They include the episodes “Starship Down” and “It’s Only a Paper Moon.”)

The three stories contained under the cover Obsidian Alliances are dark, gritty, and engaging.  They are long enough to include a lot of detail and character development while at the same time short enough to be read in perhaps one or two sittings.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the stories of the Mirror Universe, but also to Trek fans that may not be familiar with the alternate universe saga from Star Trek.  These stories will fire your imagination and might even give you pause too because the descriptions of the characters are very vivid.

Other Activity I Am Currently Engaged In…

I also finished the first of Edgar Rice Burroughs' series of novels, John Carter of Mars.  I don’t know why I never looked at these books before as I became intrigued by Carl Sagan’s description of them in his Cosmos television series many years ago.  I also recently rented and watched the film titles John Carter and although it was pretty much panned by the critics, I found it to be a great movie and will be purchasing it sometime in the future to add to my growing BluRay library.  I do have to thank the hosts of Starbase 66 and The Scifi Diner for convincing me to rent the movie.

I also, at the urging of the Starbase and Diner rented Dredd starring Karl Urban of the JJ Abrams Star Trek film released in 2009.  I had watched about 30 minutes of this film and found myself thinking that I didn’t want to watch any more, and I finally stopped the film 20 minutes later and did not, nor will I finish watching this movie.  I found this movie to be way over the top with violence and perverted scenes that I found particularly offensive and beyond what would be needed to tell a story.  ‘Nuff Said.

I am currently reading Failure is Not An Option by Gene Kranz.  He is a retired flight director from the heydays of the Apollo Program, and so far, I am enjoying this book because it brings back a lot of memories of watching mission coverage while I was growing up, and it also gives a behind the scenes look at the workings of what goes into preparing and executing a NASA mission.

I am also listening to several podcasts and am severely behind.  I am either going to have to cut back on those, or start listening more than I currently do while driving back and forth to school.

One of the highlights of the past several weeks for me is watching the television series Continuum on the SyFy Channel.  I got hooked very early on in the series and it has become one of the things that I must do on Monday nights.  Along with that, I discovered a podcast that deals exclusively with Continuum called Liber8 with Mike and Dave.  In this show, Mike and Dave dissect each episode and break it down so one can actually understand what is taking place in the series in fine detail.  Watch the show and let Mike and Dave do the heavy lifting for you, compare what you think with what they think, and if nothing else, stay current while the gaps get filled.

Well, there it is…

Q’aplaH!