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Sanctuary: Season 3
A staple of horror has always been the creature feature. Usually some currently feared form of technology is the causative agent creating a monster possessing abilities beyond what is human making them a danger to society. At one point electricity could reanimate the dead then it was the misuse of radiation that would transform a benign organism into a deadly misshapen creature. In recent years the prevalent fear manifested by the audience is the ability to alter life at the most fundamental level; genetics. Alterations either natural or artificially induced are held responsible for unparallel danger to the public. One series that has become a popular part of the SyFy Channel’s lineup is ‘Sanctuary’. The fourth season has recently wrapped but for those that have not availed themselves of this imaginative show you can get the previous seasons on DVD; the third is the subject of this consideration. The series has been on the bubble with less than stellar ratings but fortunately a niche network like SyFy is in a better position to carry a series that generalized networks would quickly cancel. This is fortunate as the show retains it entertainment value and still has the potential to tell an interesting story. Another factor that works in favor of the series is it is a model for producing a ‘green’ show. Very few of the sets and special effects are practical; the majority of each episode is done before a green screen to permit the resident CGI wizards to create and location imaginable. Scripts are as free of paper use as possible and instead of the carbon foot print intensive film or video tape the episodes are recorded using RED Cinema cameras which records directly to a massive hard drive. This also significant reduces editing costs further making the series attractive to the cost conscious suits in the network. Reportedly the series star, Amanda Tapping forgoes the extra salary for her capacity as a producer. Initially the show was distributed as internet webisodes but the initial popularity made it possible to move to a weekly cable series. No matter what is said about the content the production methods are a cutting edge look to the future. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) is an exceptional woman more accomplished than most men. This is extremely notable since she was born in 1850. Although Dr. Magnus appears to be a very attractive woman in her forties age is actually over 160 years old. In Victorian England she held to a profession quite unheard of for one of her gentile breeding and gender she is a physician and published scientific researcher. Her field of expertise is still considered on the fringe today, cyptobiology, and the study of unusual creatures particularly humanoids she has deemed ‘abnormals’. Many of these creatures are of form and predilection straight from our nightmares. Her longevity is a side effect of her investigations beyond the boundaries of conventional medical research. Magnus is as dedicated and resourceful as she is beautiful used to accomplishing her goals. One of the most important of these is to extend basis respect and safety to the less dangerous abnormals. To this end she established a place of reasonable research and shelter, The Sanctuary Network. As this third season gets underway there is a contention over the organization’s leadership. Magnus has to force Terrance Wexford (Paul McGillion). He is an abnormal and one of the world’s leading experts on ancient artifacts. The struggle for control is over Magus keeping the most dangerous abnormal on earth, ‘Big Bertha’. The initial focus of this season deals with the aftermath of a huge tidal wave Bertha released. This event is a herald of numerous major changes. Fans were upset in season two when the writers killed off Helen’s beautiful blond daughter, Ashley (Emilie Ullerup). Not only did she bolster the male demographic with her looks but was the source of a considerable amount of action. One complaint that the fans have expressed concerning this series is something I can readily understand. The show undergoes major revisions in the underlying mythos vital to the construction of the main story line. At first the main threat was simplistic, a cabal of powerful abnormals composed of a few famous historical figures. This provided a grounding effect for the audience. In the case of a supernatural premise it is extremely helpful to give the viewers a touchstone to reality. By this season the plot devices have been expanded to a point where it threatens the cohesion of the series. Once the audience is asked accept time travel, killer tsunamis and a reptilian civilization controlling the earth’s hollow center the writers are placing a myriad of plot points sprayed like a shot gun blast across the Sci-Fi/Fantasy landscape. Most of these themes have been employed many times in the past but it is a lot of demand a single series to juggle them all. This has affected the show’s ability to properly meld the story arcs impeding their ability to blend. Rather than achieving a rich mélange the series is more like a hodgepodge of ideas. In This third season the alterations to the basic tenants of the series without giving the fans much opportunity to reconfigure their perspective of the series. One thing that fans of this genre usual demand is consistency which is not possible when the writers are constantly changing the rule set. The initial premise was strong but had the tendency to the freak of the week format. I’m sure that the producers were trying to keep the show fresh with these many tweaks but they appear to come along too rapidly. There is still hope for the series to reinvent itself and regain some of the vitality and potential it had. The heart of the series remains with string writing and interesting performances. Now they need to focus on a firm course and elaborate on it. They have to focus on establishing a solid mythos rather than jumping around in the name of freshness. Visual Effects of Season 3 Posted 01/03/12 | ||||||||
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