Cutting to the chase, NBC's Medium is one of the very best shows airing on network television today.
"Raising Cain," last night's segment, is a prime example why this is so. This episode (and indeed, virtually every installment so far this season...) boasts more twists and turns, more tantalizing moral and philosophical dilemmas, and cleverer writing, than a dozen other programs in the crime solving and horror genres stacked on top of one another. Even better, Glenn Gordon Caron's series is visually dazzling, loaded with stylistic flourishes that make it infinitely more appealing than your average boilerplate hour of prime time "drama."
To wit, "Raising Cain" opens with a grainy film reel meant to represent a 1950s era "educational film." Lensed in black and white, and replete with a booming voiceover from a VOICE OF AUTHORITY, this "Dubois Educational Film" (really one of Allison's prophetic dreams) sets up the dynamic for the remainder of the episode.
The film concerns the social dilemma of "the outsider," a trench coat mafia-type, disenfranchised youth "who may be tempted to act out" at school. The little film goes on to describe this character in a manner reminiscent of the fashion just such documentary shorts detailed personal hygiene, sexually-transmitted diseases, and dating in the 1950s. This is a brilliant and original way to introduce the subject matter of the episode, and Medium vets material like this each and every week, whether it be a 3-D presentation, or an introduction from the late Rod Serling.
The subject of "Raising Cain" is a variation on that classic temporal chestnut about Adolf Hitler. Knowing what Hitler would become as an adult, if you could go back in time and shoot the dictator in his crib, would you do so? Is it right to kill an innocent because he will one day become a monster? Or, can you change that innocent in a different way - a more positive way - by keeping him alive? I've seen this premise explored on Doctor Who ("Genesis of the Daleks") and Star Trek: The Next Generation ("A Matter of Time,") and Medium adds another fine meditation on the subject.
Here, Allison is drawn into a criminal case in which a very devout suburban mother ends up shooting her seven year old son, Tyler, in the head, because she has experienced the same prescient dream Allison has. She believes Tyler will grow up to become a murderous school shooter, and so therefore attempts to murder the "devil's spawn" before that destiny can arrive.
At first, Allison is horrified by the mother's brutal act.
And boy is it brutal - Mom wraps the boy's sleeping (sedated...) body up in a plastic bag and tosses it on a trash heap next to a discarded toilet bowl. Then she fires a pistol at him and leaves him to die amongst the dirt and garbage. Later, we see the image of the boy breathing inside the plastic bag, and it's disturbing.
Yet - after a time - Allison comes to wonder what the right answer is in this situation. If she fingers the mother as the shooter, the boy (who has miraculously survived the attempt on his life) could grow up and indeed become a killer. If she doesn't, the mother has a second chance, an opportunity to embrace the boy (instead of condemning him as evil), and take him down a path that could culminate with him the valedictorian of his high school class. Allison sees this second possible fate in another black-and-white 1950s style film entitled "The Power of a Positive influence."
This is a terrific, involving and difficult dilemma for Allison to deal with, and as always, she seeks guidance and advice from her much-put-upon spouse, Joe. I simply love how this series depicts the spousal relationship. It's one of occasional exasperation, petty quarreling...and deep, unspoken love and unending trust. Joe - always looking ruffled and half-asleep - may be awakened by his wife at 2:45 in the morning to talk over a riddle like this; but after his initial irritation, he's on board with Allison's mission, and is there when she needs him. As I've written before, so much of this program's best drama occurs in the Dubois bedroom - at odd hours of the night. During that time when husband and wife speak in whispers to each other about hopes and dreams, fears and uncertainties. This aspect of the show makes the show not just compelling, but very intimate.
The promos for Medium now make note of the resounding critical praise the series has earned. One major media outlet apparently called Medium "insanely good."
I agree wholeheartedly with that assessment.
"Raising Cain," last night's segment, is a prime example why this is so. This episode (and indeed, virtually every installment so far this season...) boasts more twists and turns, more tantalizing moral and philosophical dilemmas, and cleverer writing, than a dozen other programs in the crime solving and horror genres stacked on top of one another. Even better, Glenn Gordon Caron's series is visually dazzling, loaded with stylistic flourishes that make it infinitely more appealing than your average boilerplate hour of prime time "drama."
To wit, "Raising Cain" opens with a grainy film reel meant to represent a 1950s era "educational film." Lensed in black and white, and replete with a booming voiceover from a VOICE OF AUTHORITY, this "Dubois Educational Film" (really one of Allison's prophetic dreams) sets up the dynamic for the remainder of the episode.
The film concerns the social dilemma of "the outsider," a trench coat mafia-type, disenfranchised youth "who may be tempted to act out" at school. The little film goes on to describe this character in a manner reminiscent of the fashion just such documentary shorts detailed personal hygiene, sexually-transmitted diseases, and dating in the 1950s. This is a brilliant and original way to introduce the subject matter of the episode, and Medium vets material like this each and every week, whether it be a 3-D presentation, or an introduction from the late Rod Serling.
The subject of "Raising Cain" is a variation on that classic temporal chestnut about Adolf Hitler. Knowing what Hitler would become as an adult, if you could go back in time and shoot the dictator in his crib, would you do so? Is it right to kill an innocent because he will one day become a monster? Or, can you change that innocent in a different way - a more positive way - by keeping him alive? I've seen this premise explored on Doctor Who ("Genesis of the Daleks") and Star Trek: The Next Generation ("A Matter of Time,") and Medium adds another fine meditation on the subject.
Here, Allison is drawn into a criminal case in which a very devout suburban mother ends up shooting her seven year old son, Tyler, in the head, because she has experienced the same prescient dream Allison has. She believes Tyler will grow up to become a murderous school shooter, and so therefore attempts to murder the "devil's spawn" before that destiny can arrive.
At first, Allison is horrified by the mother's brutal act.
And boy is it brutal - Mom wraps the boy's sleeping (sedated...) body up in a plastic bag and tosses it on a trash heap next to a discarded toilet bowl. Then she fires a pistol at him and leaves him to die amongst the dirt and garbage. Later, we see the image of the boy breathing inside the plastic bag, and it's disturbing.
Yet - after a time - Allison comes to wonder what the right answer is in this situation. If she fingers the mother as the shooter, the boy (who has miraculously survived the attempt on his life) could grow up and indeed become a killer. If she doesn't, the mother has a second chance, an opportunity to embrace the boy (instead of condemning him as evil), and take him down a path that could culminate with him the valedictorian of his high school class. Allison sees this second possible fate in another black-and-white 1950s style film entitled "The Power of a Positive influence."
This is a terrific, involving and difficult dilemma for Allison to deal with, and as always, she seeks guidance and advice from her much-put-upon spouse, Joe. I simply love how this series depicts the spousal relationship. It's one of occasional exasperation, petty quarreling...and deep, unspoken love and unending trust. Joe - always looking ruffled and half-asleep - may be awakened by his wife at 2:45 in the morning to talk over a riddle like this; but after his initial irritation, he's on board with Allison's mission, and is there when she needs him. As I've written before, so much of this program's best drama occurs in the Dubois bedroom - at odd hours of the night. During that time when husband and wife speak in whispers to each other about hopes and dreams, fears and uncertainties. This aspect of the show makes the show not just compelling, but very intimate.
The promos for Medium now make note of the resounding critical praise the series has earned. One major media outlet apparently called Medium "insanely good."
I agree wholeheartedly with that assessment.
No comments:
Post a Comment