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SyFy's Alphas (1 Viewer)

Virgoan

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Ahh, I dunno. The first season of "Heroes" was AWEsome....and this first season for "Alphas" is kind of hit--and-miss for me.
Last night's episode had its good points, but it's recycling plotlines that have long since become stale: Why is it that any show about someone with powers -- and in this case, a group of folks with distinctive powers -- always has episodes where they encounter singular beings who can defeat them all?
I mean...REALLY!?! Was it not forseeable? Halfway through and I knew the truth of it.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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Looking back on the season after just watching the finale, it struck me how deliberate everything has been. Most shows spend their first season struggling to find their voice. This show started slow in the pilot, and just kept building and building and building until this finale was pulse-pounding from beginning to end. I am SO happy we're getting a season two, because I can't wait to see where they take it from here.
This whole season was about a choice that Rosen had to make: to side with his brain or side with his heart. The Rosen of the pilot would have unquestionably sided his his head. The season was the journey that brought Rosen to side with his heart.
Normally the reveal at the end that Rosen's daughter was working for the Big Bad the whole time would have felt like a cheap gimmick. Not here. We understand what drove her to Stanton Parish; nothing we've been shown or told would indicate that Rosen was the kind of father a scared little girl who's not like everybody else would need. She probably was an addict and all of the things Rosen thought she was until Parish saved her, and a lot of that is down to the childhood she had with her father.
But the emotional journey Rosen and his daughter went on over the course of the finale is undermined by the surprise reveal, it's enriched by it. Everything we saw happen really happened. We thought it was about Rosen getting to know his daughter, but really it was about his daughter getting to know him. By the end, Danielle realized that she underestimated his father -- who he is and what he's capable of. In spite of herself, she got to know him as a human being. That moment by the pool when she let him feel what she's felt all of these years was real, and the fact that he needed to know was such a fatherly impulse that it turned everything she'd assumed about him upside down. If he could see her as a human being, that meant he could see all Alphas as human beings. She took the measure of the man she now saw her father to be, and realized that Stanton's manipulation was no match for him.
If I have any complaint with the finale, it was the decision to kill Anna. I know why they did it, I even think it was necessary to push the characters into the places they needed to be to make such a bold decision, but it stings to lose such a great character. I've never seen one like her on television, and there's so much more they could have done with her.
 

Joe_H

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To be honest, I was still really iffy on this show until this finale. I mean, yeah it entertained me, but I still didn't really care too much about it. That ending though was perfect, and now I really can't wait to see where they go from here.
 

NeilO

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Adam Lenhardt said:
This show started slow in the pilot, and just kept building and building and building until this finale was pulse-pounding from beginning to end. I am SO happy we're getting a season two, because I can't wait to see where they take it from here.
Great analysis of the show and the finale in your message. It was a great finale there and I am very interested in seeing what happens from there.
There were a couple things in the finale that had me wondering a bit .... I wonder if Hicks is working with Parish as well.
First, Stanton Parish's plan wouldn't have worked if Hicks hadn't arrived in time to save Dr. Rosen and his daughter. Given it was Hicks, couldn't he have just wounded the guy enough to free the Rosens instead of killing him there? Was Hicks the backup to make sure Dr. Rosen got the information? Would Parish really have risked Danielle so much without a backup?
Then, during the assault we saw a weapon fly through the air with pin-point precision to kill one of the government which incited them to open fire. Was that Hicks who did that or the woman he had fought earlier there? Or someone else who Parish had there to make sure things went the way he wanted?
 

NeilO

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And anyone willing to bet whether Stanton Parish is going to meet the fate of all "immortals" - being buried alive?
 

Adam Lenhardt

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^ In keeping with Alphas's more low key approach to superpowers, I'd hope that he isn't literally immortal. If he's get decapitated or brutally mauled, I'd like to think he'd be dead. It's just aging that he's immune to, and most viruses and diseases.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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Ugh: Eureka head replaces Ira Steven Behr as Alphas showrunner
I know "Eureka" has fans here, but the cheesiness was always a huge turn off for me. I loved Behr on "The 4400" and he just turned in one of my favorite first seasons of a show in a long time here. "Alphas" has basically no budget, so the writing is everything. My enthusiasm for the next season has been dampened quite a bit with this news. I hope Bruce Miller proves me wrong.
 

Joe_H

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I'm one of the people that enjoys Eureka, and part of that is because of the cheesiness of it.
That being said, just because he wrote like that for that show doesn't necessarily mean that he'll run Alphas the same way. I mean, Miller appears to have been coexecutive producer for a season of The 4400 as well.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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Joe_H said:
I'm one of the people that enjoys Eureka, and part of that is because of the cheesiness of it.
That being said, just because he wrote like that for that show doesn't necessarily mean that he'll run Alphas the same way. I mean, Miller appears to have been coexecutive producer for a season of The 4400 as well.
Yeah, it's not that I have problem with Miller specifically as it is that I wished they hadn't messed with something that was firing on all cylinders the way it was. In other words, if it ain't broke, why fix it? Fortunately it looks like series creators Zak Penn and Michael Karnow are sticking around for season 2. Behr was hired to run the show because Penn was too busy and Karnow didn't have enough experience in TV. Penn wrote my favorite episode of the season, "Rosetta", and Karnow wrote my second favorite, "Catch and Release". I'd feel more comfortable with the switch if I knew what the breakdown of labor was behind the scenes. On some shows, the showrunner's main job is to keep the machinery running. On other shows, the showrunner substantially re-writes every episode before it goes in front of the cameras. If "Alphas" was a case of the later, the loss of Behr is going to hurt a lot more than if it was a case of the former.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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The second season of Alphas will premiere on July 23 at 10 pm Eastern. The season one cast is all back, comprised of David Strathairn, Malik Yoba, Warren Christie, Azita Ghanizada, Ryan Cartwright and Laura Mennell. Erin Way has been added to the cast for season 2 as a new Alpha. Syfy chose to replace season one showrunner Ira Steven Behr with "Eureka's" Bruce Miller for season two. Executive producers Gail Berman, Lloyd Braun, Gene Stein and Zak Penn return from last season. Co-creator Michael Karnow also remains with the show as a co-executive producer.
Summary from Syfy:
Season 2 picks up eight months after last year’s finale with the stage set for an explosive turn of events at the Binghamton facility (the Guantanamo of the Alpha world) that could have devastating, far-reaching consequences. Dr. Lee Rosen (Emmy Award-winner and Academy Award-nominee David Strathairn), having exposed the existence of Alphas to the unsuspecting public, finds himself discredited and imprisoned by a government desperate to cover up his revelation. The rest of the core team has disbanded and some, without Rosen’s guidance and care, have regressed to their old, destructive ways. They must now battle their individual demons in order to reunite and try to save their own.
 

joshEH

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Looking forward to this one. Syfy's recent spots didn't specify exactly when the show would be back, but this is about where I was predicting.
Hadn't heard that about Ira Behr getting replaced at the network's call -- very interesting. From what I read last year, they were making it sound like a "mutual decision," a "one-year gig," etc. etc. Wonder if this will affect the series' writing/plotting very much...Behr's always a tough act to follow.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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joshEH said:
Hadn't heard that about Ira Behr getting replaced at the network's call -- very interesting. From what I read last year, they were making it sound like a "mutual decision," a "one-year gig," etc. etc. Wonder if this will affect the series' writing/plotting very much...Behr's always a tough act to follow.
I don't have the full details. My understanding is that they filmed the pilot under Penn and Karnow's supervision without a showrunner in place, probably without any expectation of picking it up. Then, when they decided to take it to series, they signed Behr to a one-year contract as showrunner while creators Zak Penn and Michael Karnow stayed on as staff writers. By the end of the first season, they'd made the decision to cancel "Eureka" and got serious blowback from the fans. Whether to try to appease those fans and keep them/convert them to "Alphas" fans or because Bruce Miller was a talent they wanted to stay in business with, they opted to go with him as showrunner for season two instead of renewing Behr's contract. Another "Alphas" writer, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, who worked with Behr on "Deep Space Nine", either was let go or chose to leave with Behr at the end of season 1.
The characterization and low-key storytelling on this show strikes such a delicate balance, that the switch up has left me more concerned than it would have on a show like "Smallville".
 

Stan

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Looking forward to it returning. Similar to Heroes, which although it had some problems, I bought all the DVDs and am enjoying them.
What I like about Alphas is their powers are a little more toned down, not so extreme as Heroes, so they're a bit more realistic from an emotional point of view.
The show does take certain liberties, for example no other tenants from the building ever seem to be on the Alpha floor, and the episode with the foundations cracking, lights and windows breaking would certainly have been noticed by other people in the building. Otherwise, as usual with shows like this, overlook the obvious and just have fun.
I for one am going to miss the austistic girl, she was good and should have been left alone. The kid from Bones was pretty annoying, but I'm adjusting.
Hoping for a good season.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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Stan said:
I for one am going to miss the austistic girl, she was good and should have been left alone. The kid from Bones was pretty annoying, but I'm adjusting.
Anna wasn't actually autistic and had no social deficits; she suffered from apraxia, a different neurological condition. I'm definitely going to miss her, too; she made a very unconventional villain. On the other hand, I love Gary, who does occupy somewhere on the autism spectrum.
Syfy's announced the guest stars for the upcoming season:
"Sean Astin plays Roland, an Alpha who has a bizarrely absorptive brain, which allows him to assume the memories of anyone close to him and then replay them like a tape recorder.
"C. Thomas Howell portrays Eli Aquino, an intense Alpha with super-speed who is bent on revenge.
"Lauren Holly guests as Senator Charlotte Burton, a government official with mysterious ties to a member of the Alphas team.
"Summer Glau reprises her season one role as Skylar Adams, an Alpha who possesses a 200+ IQ and is an electronics mastermind.
"Steve Byers plays John Bennett, a new member of the tactical team from the U.S. Department of Defense assigned to the Alphas team.
"Kandyse McClure guests as Agnes, an attractive but distant Alpha with the ability to see into people’s minds merely by touching them.
"John Pyper-Ferguson reprises his recurring role of Stanton Parish, the “Perfect Alpha.”
"Kathleen Munroe returns as Dr. Rosen’s daughter, Dani, an empath Alpha who can transfer emotions from herself to others and is secretly a follower of Stanton Parish.
"Mahershala Ali reprises his role as Nathan Clay the head of a tactical unit within the U.S. Department of Defense tasked with dealing with rogue Alphas.
"Noah Reid portrays Adam Gordon a young man grief-stricken by the death of his young sister, Maggie. However, he becomes convinced she is alive and in need of his help."
Very psyched that Summer Glau is back for three-episodes; I loved her character in the first season. I'm also happy Rosen's daughter's coming back along with Stanton Parish.
 

Stan

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Never caught the apraxia reference, just assumed she was austistic or had Asberger's, anyhow, I did like the character. Gary is definitely growing on me also, he's what they need on the team. Now that more time has passed since "Bones" I'm settling down a bit more and starting to enjoy his style.
Not sure when the new season starts, but DVR is programmed, catching some of last season, but I'll be ready.
 

NeilO

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Stan said:
Not sure when the new season starts, but DVR is programmed, catching some of last season, but I'll be ready.
It appears to be starting Monday night.
 

Stan

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NeilO said:
It appears to be starting Monday night.
Thank you, I'll make sure I get things going properly this time.
Already screwed up BBC Americas "Inside Men" and missed the first episode but did actually get "Perception" set up in time, even got the new episodes of "White Collar" so I'm at 66% for new shows I want to catch.
One drawback with DISH Network is that you can only program 8-9 days ahead, if it's not in their schedule yet you're out of luck. What is strange is even with something like "Alphas" that starts with some repeats, sometimes the new season gets skipped. Even though season one and two both call the show "Alphas", sometimes the second season "Alphas" is read differently by the DVR and gets skipped. I've been burned by that "same title but not really the same title" thing several times.
Thanks again for the heads up, I like this show and don't want to wait around for some repeat marathon three months from now.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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Pretty solid premiere. The characters were more broadly drawn than last season, but that may simply be to reintroduce them to the audience. The plot moved like a freight train.
 

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