Genre Weekend: Triple Review – Sanctuary, Doctor Who and Game of Thrones
By Angela Roberts
April 25, 2011
It’s a pretty good time for genre television. I can’t think of a single time when so many quality genre television shows were on the air at the same time. Cable channels like HBO, Showtime, Showcase, Syfy, and Space have brought out fascinating and well-written shows both domestic and foreign. And since they`re not bound by traditional network seasons, we can experience these delights all through the year. This past weekend, three shows all graced our airwaves; Sanctuary, Doctor Who, and Game of Thrones. All were quite impressive. And if you missed them, you really missed out. This Easter weekend gave us more than just chocolate to feast on; it gave us some great shows to feed our hunger for genre entertainment.
Friday was Sanctuary. This Canadian-made show is now in its third season and is still going strong, having come back last week from its hiatus with a dramatic conclusion to the cliff-hanger it ended the first half of its season with – the apparent execution of all of its main characters. This turned out to be temporary, thanks to some advanced pseudo-science, and the show has gotten back to its fascinating pace. They wrapped up the preceding storyline rather well in last week’s episode, and with this recent outing, went back to the self-contained thriller episodes they’re quite good at. In this episode, Dr. Magnus (Amanda Tapping) returns to the Sanctuary after a conference to find the place completely trashed, and her team suffering short term memory loss. Through video footage and flashbacks, Magnus pieces together a crazy day wherein everyone appears to have gone nuts and attacked each other. But the reason is even weirder. I won’t give it away; the episode is still available on Spacecast.com if you haven’t seen it. Suffice it to say, it was a fun episode. Sanctuary is very effective when it concentrates on its characters, and places them in situations that test their limits. The actors are comfortable in their roles, wearing their characters like a second skin. The immense imagination of the show’s world-building is incredible – the underground city of the most recent arc is amazing, proof of what you can do with good enough CG – but it’s always been the characters who keep the show going.
On Saturday, Doctor Who returned with an all-new episode! And what an episode! The new season is already shaping up to be as good as the last one! Oh, the temptation to give away plot details! It is set in the States, mostly in 1969. All of the Doctor’s current companions return; River Song, Amy, and Rory. It has the most unexpected and craziest beginning that I’ve ever seen in an episode of the current Doctor Who. Things just get creepier and crazier from there. It even has President Nixon (well, an actor playing Nixon). And the Doctor sports the Stetson he wears in the picture next to this paragraph, until it gets shot off. All in all, it was a pretty satisfying – and frustrating – episode. Satisfying because the writing is really so good, and frustrating because the writing is really so good. You’re kept guessing, you’re aware that nothing is ever as it seems – a feature of Steven Moffat’s writing for Doctor Who, he’s always hiding something, always scheming towards the fulfillment of the series arc – so you know there’s more going on that you’ll probably never figure out till the end. But even for this episode, the writing was top-notch, the characters well-drawn, the monsters freaky, and the situation captivating. And Matt Smith has really grown on me lately. I think it’s the voice; that strange soft-spoken timbre to his voice when he speaks as the Doctor. It works. I don’t know why. It just does. Now if only the episode hadn’t been a cliff-hanger!
So, Sunday. The second episode of Game of Thrones has shown, and we get to find out the fate of Bran Stark. Or do we? We actually start with Daenerys Targaryen, the young former heiress who married the leader of the Dothraki last episode. Daenerys is still trying to acclimate herself to marriage with the taciturn warrior, who takes her roughly from behind every evening and ignores her most of the rest of the time. Her arc in this episode consists mainly of learning how to please her new husband sexually from her servant-girl, a former prostitute who encourages her to be more vocal about her needs in the bedroom. Yes, this is HBO. Don’t be surprised. We do get back to the Starks and Lannisters, and discover that Bran is unconscious, his mother is pretty hysterical over it, and Eddard Stark has to leave with the King and his two daughters for King’s Landing, leaving her and his eldest son Robb in charge. Jon Snow, Eddard’s bastard son, leaves to join the Night’s Watch at the Wall, and Tyrion Lannister goes with the expedition as a bit of a tourist. Despite this, Tyrion is shaping up to be a pretty sympathetic character, breaking out of his lecherous persona to display real empathy and a sense of honour. Part of this is probably the skill of the actor. Peter Dinklage is phenomenal in the role, pulling out the depth of the character. All of the acting is great; Lena Headey brings out her character’s vulnerability even as she revels in her cruelty. This is no doubt the secret to the success of Game of Thrones; actors who take their characters seriously backed up by solid writing and directing. It has been mentioned by other reviewers that the child actors are phenomenal as well; I would absolutely agree on this point, and I think it’s an essential part of the show’s quality. The child actors are so crucial; they have such a strong role in the storyline that if any of them didn’t perform well, it would harm the flow of the show. Much else happens in the episode, but it’s hard to tell all without telling all, so I’ll leave it here. This show seems to only be getting better and better, so if you’re not watching, start. Get in now before you miss too much. It’s going to be a great ride.
You can still watch episodes of Sanctuary and Doctor Who on the Space Channel website. Supposedly, access to HBO Canada online is available to subscribers, but my attempt to open it through the Videotron link didn’t work. You may have more luck.