Category Archives: Prime

Man from Atlantis S1 E15

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“Imp”

Pat Morita guest starred as a strange little man named Moby, a being from another world whose touch causes people to regress to a childhood state and laugh without a care in the world. While that sounds like fun, the humans wind up in dangerous situations.

In fact, Moby told some of the crew of the submarine that discovered him to go swimming and they happily climbed into the air lock and drowned. We did not see their eventual fates, but that is absolutely what happened.

The idea behind Moby is clearly someone like Mr. Mxyzptlk from DC Comics or a story similar to “Naked Time” from the original Star Trek series. However, this was a little annoying at times.

The ending where Mark shows Moby the dangers of his actions was a solid ending to this story. Mark continues to be the most noblest character on the show.

It was interesting that Moby’s powers did not work on Mark and that Moby knew that they would not because Moby recognized Mark as from “down there.” This was never explored but it was a intriguing nod to the differences of the character of Mark Harris.

This is the final episode of the series for Belinda Montgomery, who played Elizabeth. To be fair, the character of Elizabeth neve really got her due from this series. I am sure that she will be missed over the final couple of episodes.

Man from Atlantis S1 E14

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“Scavenger Hunt”

Muldoon makes a return to the Man from Atlantis series and they even referenced the last time he was on. Continuity! This is the first time in the series that there has been an allusion back to an earlier episode. For example, Mister Schubert has made multiple appearances and none of them make connections to previous encounters, outside of a knowledge of Mark Harris and the rest.

I try my best to remember that this series came out in 1977 and special effects were limited. Even still, the inclusion in this episode of the creature named Oscar was stretching the acceptability of special effects. It was a guy in a rubber suit and it was pretty obvious. I was able to look past this two-headed creature from a different world, but why did it have to sound like a horse whining every time it made a sound? That was a poor choice and something that could have been done better at the time.

The acting from the side characters of this series has never been great. It is continuing to be so with the natives of this island who just did not sound like they were doing anything but reading off a page. Again, I can understand the budget of hiring real actors for the minor background characters.

Mark’s heroic and honorable nature continues to be the highlight of the show. There were plenty of time Mark could use his super strength to fight or to respond with violence, but he does not do so. He responds with respect and with words and the fact that he does not have to do so, that he would be perfectly capable of surviving the situation by his strength alone, makes him all the more of a hero.

Even Muldoon, who is selfish and greedy, can’t help but to be a better person when he is around Mark. Once again though, the show sticks it to Muldoon as he has to pay the price because of his previous actions at the end of the show, even though he helped save everyone at the end. Poor Muldoon.

Fallout S1 E7, E8

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“The Radio”

“The Beginning”

I ended the first season of Fallout with the final two episodes of this video game adaptation. The first season, which absolutely ended with a set-up for season two, was great, and I would be excited to see a second season and spend more time with these characters.

Lucy arrived to rescue her father, Hank, but she was not too happy to discover the truth. Hank was the driving force of destroying the city of Shady Sands. The confrontation between Lucy and Hank was intense and tough to watch, mainly because I did not want to be rooting against Kyle MacLachlan.

Maximus may have finally won me over. He has taken a serious journey this season and, since leaving the vault, Maximus has done some awesome things. Plus, we learn that he did not sabotage the shoes of his friend. I liked how he and Lucy’s relationship developed. It felt earned and helped me feel more for Maximus.

The Ghoul and his back story continued as he discovered that his wife was behind a bunch of the original issues 200 years before. But in the present, he still does not know what has happened to his family.

Norm is on his way to discovering the truth about his father as well as he has manipulated his way into Vault 31 and discovered a weird brain in a mobile jar. It speaks too in a slightly funny tone. This was an odd set of scenes with Norm in Vault 31. It was not what I was expecting.

Still not sure what Betty wants with sending a group of the people to Vault 32. I hope that is another story to build in the second season.

Man from Atlantis S1 E13

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“C.W. Hyde”

Last episode, it was William Shakespeare. This episode was Robert Louis Stevenson. The episode took the character of C.W. and made him into a Mister Hyde-type like the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

While I enjoyed the idea of using C.W. as the head of an episode and giving him more to do than he normally gets on the show, this was terrible.

I disliked just about everything of this episode. From the moment that C.W. accidentally drank some coffee with an enzyme from the ocean floor, things went downhill on the show.

Starting with the ridiculous eyebrows and hairy hands that C.W. had and going to the absolutely ridiculous, almost comical, music that played through every scene where he was “Hyde,” this was poorly written and silly.

C.W. got involved with some gangster and his moll and this led to a stupid confrontation with the crooks, Mark, C.W. and his secretary, Sara, who we had never seen before at C.W.’s office. It was legitimately some of the worst written scenes from this series.

While this series has never been remarkably deep, it has been fun in its own manner. This was hard to watch and easily the worst episode of Man from Atlantis up to this point.

Fallout S1 E6

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“The Trap”

This show has been very consistently solid every episode, and it has given us enough from the history of the world and the background of these characters, as well as the mystery surrounding the vaults to keep things really interesting.

The main thrust of this week’s episode was two pronged. One, we get to see more with Lucy and Maximus inside the new Vault that they quite literally stumbled into at the hospital at the end of episode five. Then, two, we get to see more about the background and life of the Ghoul, and start to get some idea about what is motivating him all the while continuing to see what a bad ass he is.

Maximus finding the vault-life to be appealing is a funny bit. Having him see all of the things that he had never seen before while living on the surface, such as a hot shower, a record player or oysters, was comedic while serving his character. And Maximus’s response to Lucy’s questioning him to see if he wanted to have sex was truly hilarious. “It gets hard and explodes like a pimple” is an appropriate manner to describe it.

There was some weird stuff happening in this vault too as there were a lot of surface dwellers who had been brought into the vault. We saw them carrying off some kind of cult-like ceremony involving blood. Never a positive sign.

It creeped Lucy out and she is anxious about what is happening in this vault. The episode ends with Lucy getting grabbed by people from the vault while Maximus is just living his best life, with popcorn in his new, white robe.

There was also an epic scene with the Ghoul and some guy he knew from before, who claimed to be president. The Ghoul is just an awesome character.

Fallout continues to be so good that I am looking forward to the final two episodes of the season. Video game adaptations are on a pretty good role.

Man from Atlantis S1 E12

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“The Naked Montague”

Man from Atlantis saved Romeo & Juliet?

Very Shakespearian. Mark finds another one of those weird undersea portals that sees him transported to Verona, with the very real blood feud between the Montagues and Capulets as seen in the tragedy of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet.

Mark is still such a noble character. He is an unlikely action hero and, despite his super powers, he does not slip into violence easily and he treats everyone with respect.

We have seen Mark in the land of a giant, in the old West, and now 14th century Italy. As Mark is inserted into the classic tale, there is some swordplay, some Shakespearian language, and some epic family rivalries.

This was a weird episode, but I enjoyed the story. I think I just really enjoy the character of Mark Harris and any time you place him in a situation like this, you have a winning formula.

Part of it is the way Patrick Duffy plays Mark, so straightforward and almost monotone. It makes the character almost naive, and certainly heroic.

Fallout S1 E5

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“The Past”

I have to say that I am really enjoying the mystery aspect of the Vaults. I wonder if the mystery is as compelling to those people who have played the video game as it is to me. Either way, I am excited to know more about the machinations going on with the elections. Betty is surprisingly sinister. She has some kind of plot going on.

My thoughts about Norm being suspect seem to be gone from my mind now. He is the person

The interactions between Maximus and Lucy are great. Maximus has not been my favorite character, and I think that is by design. When he revealed his identity to his squire and the squire did not react well, Maximus had every intention of killing him. This makes me think that Maximus has a long way to go to be a decent guy.

The whole conflict on the bridge with the fiends was tense and surprisingly funny. It was really well written.

It also led to Maximus taking a bullet wound that he tried to brush off, but was worse than he let on. This led them to a hospital and they ended up in a vault. Which one? I do not know. But I can not wait to see where it goes.

We did not see the Ghoul in this episode, which dealt with some of the past history of the world. We did get a glance at the head of poor Ben Linus…

Fallout S1 E3, E4

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“The Head”

“The Ghouls”

Lots of things happening on the next two episodes of Fallout. I don’t want to recap everything, but, instead, I just want to give some of my thoughts.

I love Lucy. She has shown to be a remarkable survivor, facing off with all kinds of challenges. And who knew the Golden Rule could be used like that? Her coming out party as a bad ass at the end of episode four was excellent.

The Ghoul’s back story looks to be awesome. Seeing more about him by seeing some of the time of his life when he was an actor provided some nice specifics about this character.

Maximus is still my least favorite character in here and his absence in episode four was fine with me. Giving him a squire to play off, specifically the one they give him, should help him to develop more.

The soundtrack has been amazing. I love the variety of the music that they use to tell the story.

Lucy’s brother Norm, is giving me the Maximus from the Inhumans vibes. I don’t know if I am misreading the situation, but I really get some eventual evil from him. Maybe I’m incorrect. There is certainly machinatio0ns going on in the vault.

The idea that they are all trying to find Ben Linus’s head is funny. I guess Maximus currently has the head, but who knows where it goes next.

Lucy saving the Ghoul at the end…where will that lead?

This has been a ton of fun so far. The whole series is available on Amazon Prime.

Man from Atlantis S1 E11

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“Crystal Water, Sudden Death”

Another weird world and the return of Mr. Schubert highlight the next episode of Man from Atlantis. Schubert has been searching for powerful crystals that will help him control the communications on the earth. and he needs Mark’s inadvertent help to get them.

It appears as if Man from Atlantis is not that concerned with continuity as Schubert, who the last time we saw him, had been struggling with finances. That does not seem to be a concern this episode.

We also got a new lackey/henchman for Schubert, played by René Auberjonois, who appeared on Benson and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Auberjonois’s character, Havergal, on Man from Atlantis was much angrier and meaner.

Mark Harris is truly unlike any character I have seen on TV. His calmness and heroic nature is always right on point. He does not respond with violence and he is constantly the diplomat. His manner with the people of Killsboro’s Deep, the underwater land found inside a bubble created by the crystals, was so different than other action/sci-fi heroes that it makes him wholly original.

I mean, Mark has super strength, as we have seen before, but he never uses the strength in opposition to others. He uses his words and his aura to create a peaceful nature that is cool to see.

This was another episode of Man from Atlantis that made me think about Land of the Lost, specifically with the crystals and the Sleestaks. This was some top notch science fiction television, a nice return after the Western parts from the previous episode.

Fallout S1 E2

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“The Target”

Look, it Benjamin Linus!

Oh…poor Ben.

Michael Emerson, who played Benjamin Linus on my all time favorite TV show LOST, made his debut and finale(?) on Fallout’s second episode in an episode that absolutely rocked hard.

Michael Emerson played a character named Dr. Siggi Wilzig, who is a scientist who goes on the run with his dog. He can’t be that bad of a guy, can he?

Well, he brings all of our main characters that we were introduced to last episode together for a big time fight over the now legless (thanks Ghoul) Wilzig.

I enjoyed the progression of the character Maximus in this episode too as he claimed this giant armor for himself. His battle with the Ghoul was rough and displayed how dangerous the Ghoul actually is.

Michael Rapaport cameoed as Knight Titus and I swear the guy trying to get the sand through the water filter sounded like Woody Harrelson, but I can not find a confirmation about that.

Lucy continues to have a great arc and is my favorite character. When she has to do what she does at the end of the episode, I felt so bad for Wilzig and laughed at the situation for Lucy.

I really enjoyed this episode all the way through. It feels as if it took a step up from a very strong premiere.

Man from Atlantis S1 E10

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“Shoot-Out at Land’s End”

Man from Atlantis meets the Old West.

According to IMDB, “While investigating an underwater volcano, Mark is stricken with sudden pain in the shoulder. This is not the first time he’s felt pain for no reason, and his instincts lead him to a deserted beach and, inexplicably, to a frontier town of the old west called Land’s End. There he meets his identical twin, Billy, another water-breather who washed up on a beach with no knowledge of his true identity. Billy takes Mark’s place aboard the Cetacean, leaving the Man from Atlantis to face the villains of Land’s End.”

Mark in a fish-out-of-water story that sees much of the science fiction elements replaced by those of a Western. Science fiction shows like Star Trek have done this type of episode many times, traveling to a different land, specifically a Western motif.

The twin aspect of the show was intriguing. It truly speaks to the mysterious past of Mark Harris. Billy did not have the strength of Mark, nor did Billy have the webbed-fingers. I am not sure why there were the differences. When we first met Billy, I wondered about the webbed-fingers and why people didn’t wonder about them, but the show made a point to show that Billy did not have them. Still, he was a water-breather and got strength from getting wet. I am not sure if the show has an idea of the overall story or if this is just a fun idea that they had, connecting it to a mysterious past that they never intended to flesh out.

Pernell Roberts from Bonanza appeared as the villainous Clint Hollister, the man who hired Billy as a hired gun.

It did seem that Billy made a turn from the bad guy to the heroic character quickly, but there was only a limited amount of time in the episode. This would have been a better story with a two-parter or if this were like one of the TV movies that started the show.

The show did a decent j0b of shooting the two Patrick Duffys during the scenes that Billy and Mark were together. Most of the shots looked really good, but there was one at the sheriff station that was not as strong.

They never even tried to figure out how Mark wound up in the Old West. I can only assume it was the same type of manner in which happened in “Giant.”

Fallout S1 E1

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“The End”

I think the TV shows that are based on video games have been doing great recently. There was The Last of Us, and now we have a new video game series on Amazon Prime called Fallout.

I have not played the Fallout video game so I have no predetermined expectations for the corresponding show.

However I do have a love for the actor Kyle MacLachlan, who was Agent Cooper in Twin Peaks. I know that Michael Emerson, who played Ben on LOST, is coming next episode. Love these actors and it gives me an inspiration to watch the show.

The opening scene of the bombs being dropped on LA was devastating and kind of difficult to watch. It reminded me of the dark beginning of The Last of Us, which saw the death of Joel’s daughter Sarah.

We focus in on two main characters for most of the episode: Lucy and Maximus. Then, we end the episode meeting The Ghoul.

Lucy is played by Ella Purnell. Lucy is Kyle MacLachlan’s Hank’s daughter. Maximus is played by Aaron Clifton Moten. The Ghoul is played by the exquisite Walter Goggins.

Hank is taken from the bomb shelter by people from the surface world. This sends Lucy after him. I would expect her to come into contact with our other protagonists. Her story, for me, was more compelling than Maximus’s so the show does have some work to do for me to engage with his character. The Ghoul is just a cool cowboy and I want more from him.

All eight episodes have dropped on Amazon Prime and I will be working to watch the rest of these over the next few weeks. I do not expect a binge as the episodes are all around (or surpassing) the hour runtime.

Man from Atlantis S1 E9

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“Man O’ War”

Mister Schubert returned.

After a refreshing change of villain, Victor Buono returned to Man from Atlantis as Mister Schubert, the megalomaniacal villain who has appeared in most of the regular episodes so far.

I have stated that he may be a bit overused, but I did like his use in this episode.

There was a giant jellyfish that Schubert unleashed on the coast in an attempt to blackmail money from the government. Schubert is lacking money and it is causing serious problems for him. I do like this arc for Schubert.

There were definitely signs that this was a 1970s show. The special effects on the jellyfish were pretty lacking. The second thing was the Indian dialect for one of the secondary characters that was on the show. It was the stereotypical Indian accent and would not be used in today’s world. The third example was the cameo of Gary Owens and his distinct voice. It made me think of the old cartoon, The Superfriends.

Why did they not just arrest Schubert when they started looking for the jellyfish? Did Schubert not commit a bunch of crimes in previous episodes?

Man from Atlantis S1 E8

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“Giant”

This was a really fun episode of Man from Atlantis. I had been hoping for a break from Mr. Schubert, as played by Victor Buono, for awhile now. He had been in all of the run of the series, since the end of the TV movies. This was the episode that finally gave us a break from Schubert. And in his place, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!

The former Lakers star appeared as a giant named Thark. Water from the ocean was being drained through a vortex into another world where Thark was mining gold. Another person named Muldoon was trying to steal the giant’s gold.

This was a weird episode, but I did like it quite a bit. At first, it looked as if Kareem’s giant character was monstrous, but he turned out to be friendly and helped Mark stop the flow of water. When Thark learned that the water, which was invisible in this world, was a danger to Mark’s world, he immediately went to help him.

I really like how Mark deals with his conflicts. Many action heroes would head into a confrontation with the giant using physical threats, but, even after getting thrown around by Thark, Mark just spoke to him and used his words to convince him that he meant him no harm.

There was an ironic lesson to be learned for Muldoon too as he wound up stranded in this odd location with Thark. Muldoon had come back after deserting Mark to help them close the vortex, but the show still had him pay for his greed. I felt bad for Muldoon.

This was a step up from last episode’s offering. I thought Kareem did a good job in his role, which was admittedly fairly simple. The sci-fi concept of the ocean containing portals to different dimensions is an intriguing idea. I wonder if they were going to use this idea eventually to deal with the origin of Mark Harris and where he came from had the series continued.

Man from Atlantis S1 E7

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“Hawk of Mu”

This episode was probably my least favorite one so far, certainly of the regular weekly series if you discount the TV movies.

Schubert is back again and, although I love Victor Buono here. I would really like a new villain to step forward. They added a daughter for Schubert who has taken a liking to Mark.

According to IMDB, “Schubert’s tracking of a mysterious power source causes a blackout, at the center of which, Mark discovers an ancient statue of a hawk. When he rescues Schubert’s daughter Juliette from drowning, the villain learns of the hawk and steals it to discover the secret of its power.“

I thought the conclusion of this episode was fairly lacking, though I did like the scene where Mark tricked the local law enforcement to spray him with a hose as he was trapped inside their cell. He had been dehydrating and Mark knew he needed the water.

Other than that, I found this episode to be a step down from the last couple. It is not terrible by any stretch, but just nothing major.