Tuesday, November 15, 2005

TV REVIEW: Surface, Episode # 8

Of the three highly-touted network science fiction "alien invasion" programs of this season (Threshold, Invasion and Surface), it looks like Surface just pulled ahead of Shaun Cassidy's Invasion to officially become my favorite.

I didn't see this coming a few months ago. In fact, if you had asked me at the beginning of the season, I might have even rated Surface as the most lackluster of the troika. But the series has been coming on strong in pace and excitement in the last three instalmments, and barreling forward with great momentum. The Pate brothers, who created G vs. E, are behind this drama, so I should have known there was some good stuff coming. Unlike the stalled Threshold, which features the same plot every week -- as well as a deus-ex-machina resolution -- and the much-better Invasion, which moves at a snail's pace, Surface's story arc is in full flower. I've been sucked in. It may be a big, dumb, generic movie blockbuster-type show, but it's a lot of fun, and actually getting pretty exciting.

This week, Laura Daughtery (Lake Bell) and Rich (Jay Ferguson) managed to finish constructing their makeshift submarine, in a montage sequence accompanied by a tune from the Grateful Dead. Perhaps all future TV montages should feature Grateful Dead music. Anyway, these intrepid sea-monster hunters not only finished building their vehicle (christened "L'il Heat"), they tested the sub too, and by episode's end had been hurtled down to the bottom of the sea (and into a crater that glows an eerie green...). Meanwhile, in North Carolina, Miles got a job at an aquarium and sees more eggs like Nim's...

The CGI special effects on Surface continue to be a bit dodgy (okay, really dodgy...), but gosh darnit if this show isn't becoming required viewing. I'm a sucker for dramas involving submarines and sea monsters anyway, but the moments with this make-shift tub dropping to the ocean floor were quite good and anxiety-provoking. It looks like full-fledged panic sets in next week.
I'll be there!

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