Invasion returned Wednesday night (1/11/06), but I couldn't stay awake to watch it, hence I'm reviewing it today, on Friday the 13th.
Oh boy, and it's a doozy, this installment penned by Shaun Cassidy and directed by J. Miller Tobin. The Church Survivor's Group (a front for the "hybrids") beats up a non-hybrid, meaning a human, at the start of the episode; and suddenly a pack or mob mentality is obvious. These aliens like to protect their own, we see. Mariel derides the "us or them" mentality and comes to the fella's rescue. But lesson learned: don't cross the aliens.
Russell also confronts Mariel about his discovery, Tom's skeletal remains (or what's left of 'em..) and relates what he really thinks happened to the secretive sheriff back in that 1996 plane crash. Mariel reacts strongly; fearful that Russell is trying to take her family away. "I can't believe you'd want to hurt our family this badly," she weeps. Okay, I might just be in love with Mariel Underlay. At first, I was attracted to her ice princess exterior and cool doctor's demeanor; but now I see there's a soft, vulnerable center just crying out to be cared for.
I better stop that right there...
Anyway, it seems to me that this two-families-forced-together aspect of the show, created by Shaun Cassidy, remains the series' greatest strength; the thing that keeps me watching even when individual installments feel slow or deliberately opaque. The "blended family" drama raises the stakes a bit. Russell and Mariel are supposed to share responsibility for their children; but it's also clear that neither really trusts the other. I've known plenty of divorces that get this ugly. The paranoia about "the ex" is always high, but add a mysterious hurricane, some orange lights in the water, and, well, you've got Anxiety Central here. It's a good set-up. Children endangered? Check! Jealous "new" spouses? Check! One-upmanship among families? Check! See how nicely all that works side-by-side with the alien "body snatchers" drama? As Commander Koenig once said on Space:1999, "we're all aliens...until we get to know one another."
The remainder of "Us or Them" is also really good, and three other subplots dominate. In one, Lewis - the deputy who had to chop his arm off with a chainsaw in the last installment - loses "faith" in Tom, meaning our villainous sheriff could be trouble. In another, Tom and Mariel become estranged...things are looking bad for Tom here because of his secretive nature (i.e. his blatant dishonesty!). And finally, teenage Jessie - not to be outdone by Miles on Surface, who had his first kiss this week - gets to take a bath with Emily, a really hot sorority sister, who also derides the "us or them" mentality prevalent in this week's segment. "If you're not an us, you're a them," she complains, between deep dives to the bottom of the tub. "I've always been a them," Jessie admits.
It looks like next week's installment is going to bring a lot of this material to a boil. Tom has "abducted" the children (to take them to the water and make them hybrids, perhaps?), Lewis is MIA, and we learn that bikini-clad Emily is -- you guessed it -- a hybrid too; a sorority sister who drowned during the hurricane. No more baths, for you, Jessie....
Oh boy, and it's a doozy, this installment penned by Shaun Cassidy and directed by J. Miller Tobin. The Church Survivor's Group (a front for the "hybrids") beats up a non-hybrid, meaning a human, at the start of the episode; and suddenly a pack or mob mentality is obvious. These aliens like to protect their own, we see. Mariel derides the "us or them" mentality and comes to the fella's rescue. But lesson learned: don't cross the aliens.
Russell also confronts Mariel about his discovery, Tom's skeletal remains (or what's left of 'em..) and relates what he really thinks happened to the secretive sheriff back in that 1996 plane crash. Mariel reacts strongly; fearful that Russell is trying to take her family away. "I can't believe you'd want to hurt our family this badly," she weeps. Okay, I might just be in love with Mariel Underlay. At first, I was attracted to her ice princess exterior and cool doctor's demeanor; but now I see there's a soft, vulnerable center just crying out to be cared for.
I better stop that right there...
Anyway, it seems to me that this two-families-forced-together aspect of the show, created by Shaun Cassidy, remains the series' greatest strength; the thing that keeps me watching even when individual installments feel slow or deliberately opaque. The "blended family" drama raises the stakes a bit. Russell and Mariel are supposed to share responsibility for their children; but it's also clear that neither really trusts the other. I've known plenty of divorces that get this ugly. The paranoia about "the ex" is always high, but add a mysterious hurricane, some orange lights in the water, and, well, you've got Anxiety Central here. It's a good set-up. Children endangered? Check! Jealous "new" spouses? Check! One-upmanship among families? Check! See how nicely all that works side-by-side with the alien "body snatchers" drama? As Commander Koenig once said on Space:1999, "we're all aliens...until we get to know one another."
The remainder of "Us or Them" is also really good, and three other subplots dominate. In one, Lewis - the deputy who had to chop his arm off with a chainsaw in the last installment - loses "faith" in Tom, meaning our villainous sheriff could be trouble. In another, Tom and Mariel become estranged...things are looking bad for Tom here because of his secretive nature (i.e. his blatant dishonesty!). And finally, teenage Jessie - not to be outdone by Miles on Surface, who had his first kiss this week - gets to take a bath with Emily, a really hot sorority sister, who also derides the "us or them" mentality prevalent in this week's segment. "If you're not an us, you're a them," she complains, between deep dives to the bottom of the tub. "I've always been a them," Jessie admits.
It looks like next week's installment is going to bring a lot of this material to a boil. Tom has "abducted" the children (to take them to the water and make them hybrids, perhaps?), Lewis is MIA, and we learn that bikini-clad Emily is -- you guessed it -- a hybrid too; a sorority sister who drowned during the hurricane. No more baths, for you, Jessie....
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