"STAR TREK VOYAGER" RETROSPECT: (7.21) "Friendship One"
For such a quietly presented episode, the "STAR TREK VOYAGER" Season Seven episode, (7.21) "Friendship One" packed quite a powerful punch. For the first time . . . or perhaps not . . . audiences saw the dangers of exploration - not just for the explorers, but for also the explored.
The episode explored the impact of a late 21st century Earth deep space probe called "Friendship 1" that had made its way to a Delta Quadrant planet called Uxal over a century later. After being lost in the Delta Quadrant for three years, the U.S.S. Voyager managed to contact Starfleet after the crew used a Hirogen relay network to send their holographic Chief Medical Officer to the Alpha Quadrant in the Season Four episode, (4.14) "Message in a Bottle".
Nearly two years later in the Season Six episode, (6.10) "Pathfinder", Starfleet officer Reginald Barclay managed to contact the stranded Voyager using Starfleet's Pathfinder project. This allowed Voyager and Starfleet to contact each other on a monthly basis. Over a year later, Starfleet assigned Captain Kathryn Janeway and her crew their first assignment - to retrieve the "Friendship 1" probe. The crew's efforts to accomplish their mission led to their discovery that the probe had a negative effect upon Uxal. By the time of Voyager's arrival, it was undergoing a nuclear winter, which had a major negative impact upon the Uxali inhabitants. When an Away team consisting of Lieutenant Tom Paris, ship's cook/morale officer Neelix and Lieutenant Joe Carey landed on the planet, they were taken hostage by a group of Uxali led by someone named Verin. The latter demanded that Voyager's crew transport his people to a safe planet . . . a process that would take at least three years. Naturally, Captain Janeway refused to capitulate to Verin's demand and a tense standoff commenced that eventually led to tragedy.
During my recent viewing of "Friendship One", I found myself remembering the 1993 movie, "JURASSIC PARK". The episode especially reminded me of the comments made by Jeff Goldblum's character about the dangers of exploration. Yes, some of you might be turning up your noses at such a comparison. But "JURASSIC PARK" and "Friendship One" provided some strong lessons. These lessons seemed to have gone over the heads of both Janeway and most of Voyager's crew.
The crew's attitude toward the planet's inhabitants struck an interesting note within me. They seemed to be embarrassed by the destruction caused by "Friendship 1", especially since it was an Earth probe. And at the same time, they were angered by Verin's murder of Lieutenant Carey. Janeway seemed only concerned with saving the hostages and acquiring the probe. It took Tom Paris and Neelix - two individuals dismissed by the crew as worthless when the series first began, to remind her and other Voyager crewmen that as Humans (at least a majority of them) and representatives of Starfleet, they had a responsibility to help clean up the mess caused by their ancestors' irresponsibility. If Starfleet had been in contact with "Friendship 1" up until the mid 23rd century, why they fail to recover it before it had disappeared? Especially if Starfleet had known about the probe's antimatter, of which the Uxali were unfamiliar. The Uxali's attitude also struck me as interesting. They were so full of bitterness at what happened to them. Then again, who could blame them? But due to this bitterness, the Uxali failed to realize that taking and killing hostages had only their situation even worse. The Uxali scientist, Otrin, had to remind his people that their bitterness and paranoia were keeping them from accepting the help they needed.
Someone had complained that the solution to Uxal's radiation came too quick and easy. I disagree. Otrin had been working on a solution for years. Voyager's technology, along with Seven's comments to Otrin, finally provided a means to use that solution. But even providing the solution to Uxal brought danger upon Voyager's crew, since the embittered Verin seemed determined to consider Janeway and her crew as the enemy and destroy them.
One of the episode's surprises is that a small moment between Paris and his wife, Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres would end up symbolizing the Chief Helmsman's encounter with a pregnant mother named Brin. Even more surprising, his successful efforts to save Brin's newborn baby from the radiation eventually save the hides of Voyager's crew and Starfleet's reputation. And despite this solution for the Uxali, Voyager still lost a valuable crew member. Also, the episode ended with Starfleet and the Federation's reputations on a shaky ground.
The episode featured some solid performances, including those from Kate Mulgrew, Jeri Ryan, Robert Beltran, Tim Russ and Roxann Dawson. Among the guest stars, I was especially impressed by the performances of Ken Land as Verin, John Prosky as Otrin and Bari Hochwald as Brin. But I have to give special kudos to Robert Duncan McNeill for his performance as Tom Paris in this episode. He did an excellent job of portraying Paris' quiet conflict between his desperation to live, his desire to help some of the Uxali - especially the pregnant Brin, and his quiet disapproval of the crew's arrogant attitude toward the Uxali. I was also impressed by Ethan Phillips' portrayal of Talaxian crewman, Neelix. The latter's quiet recall of his homeworld's destruction seemed even more powerful that the time we first heard about it in the Season One episode, (1.15) "Jetrel". And I also enjoyed how Neelix pointed out the Humans' flaws in a conversation with Verin:
NEELIX: "When I first met them, I thought they were arrogant and self-righteous."
VERIN: "I suppose you're going to tell me you've changed your mind."
NEELIX: "Well, not completely."
Joe Carey. I am quite certain that a good number of the show's fans were upset by his death. To be honest, I thought his character had died a long time ago. Josh Clark's last two previous appearances on the show - Season Five's (5.24) "Relativity" and Season Six's(6.23) "Fury" - had occurred in time travel episodes that featured his character during Voyager's first year in existence. Someone had complained that his death would have been more relevant if he had appeared on "STAR TREK VOYAGER" a lot more often. Again, I disagree. The circumstances surrounding his death made the story dramatic enough. His death proved to be pointless and tragic, due to Earth's carelessness and the aliens' unwillingness to trust. I found Crewman Hogan's death in (3.01) "Basic, Part II"and Ensign Marie Kaplan's death in (3.17) "Unity" upsetting enough. And they were not as well known to "STAR TREK VOYAGER" fans as Carey. Anyway, it was good to see Josh Clark, who provided one last excellent performance before the series' end.
I might as well be honest. "Friendship One" is not a big favorite of mine. My attitude has nothing to do with the episode's quality. Frankly, I consider it to be one of the most interesting episodes of the series. But I did find it rather depressing. Some did not care about the arrogant or careless portrayal of both Voyager's crew and Starfleet in general. I had no problem with that. Considering the franchise's habit of nearly putting humanity on a pedestal, this portrayal of Starfleet and humanity as flawed - even in the late 24th century - struck me as refreshing.
"HUGO" (2011) Review
To the surprise of many, the top two contenders for Best Picture of 2011 featured on the history of film in the early 20th century. One of them was the Oscar winning "silent" film, "THE ARTIST". The other turned out to be Martin Scorsese's latest endeavor called"HUGO".
Based upon Brian Selznick's 2008 novel, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret", "HUGO" told the story of a 12 year-old boy named Hugo Cabret, who lives with his widowed father, a clockmaker in 1931 Paris. Hugo's father, who is a fan of Georges Méliès's films, takes him to the theater on many occasions. When Hugo's father dies in a museum fire, the boy is forced to live with his alcoholic Uncle Claude, who is also a watchmaker at the railway station, Gare Montparnasse. After teaching Hugo to maintain clocks, Claude disappears. His body is later found in the Seine River, drowned. Hugo lives between the walls of the railway station, maintaining clocks, stealing food and doing his best to avoid the attention of the tough stationmaster to avoid being shipped to a local orphanage.
He also becomes obsessed with repairing his father's broken automaton - a mechanical man that writes with a pen. Convinced the automaton contains a message from his father, Hugo steals mechanical parts in order to repair the automaton. However, he is caught by a toy store owner, Papa Georges, who takes Hugo's notebook from him, with notes and drawings for fixing the automaton. Hugo follows Georges home and befriends a girl close to his age named Isabelle and the latter's goddaughter. When Hugo is finally able to repair the automaton, it produces a drawing straight from a Georges Méliès film. Thanks to the drawing and a film historian, Hugo and Isabelle discover that the latter's godfather is the famous filmmaker, now financially strapped and forgotten.
When I first learned about "HUGO", I heard that it was based upon a children's book. And I found it unusual that Martin Scorsese would make a film for children. As it turned out, "HUGO" is more than just a story for children. It eventually turned out to be a peek into another chapter in film history, slowly focusing on the work of Georges Méliès, who was responsible for early silent films such as"A TRIP TO THE MOON" (1902) and "THE IMPOSSIBLE VOYAGE" (1904). I noticed that Scorsese utilized his usual formula in unfolding the movie's plot. As in most of his other movies, he slowly introduced the characters - both major and minor - before setting up his plot. And while this formula worked in such films as "GOODFELLAS", "THE AGE OF INNOCENCE" and"CASINO", it did not quite work for "HUGO".
For me, "HUGO" suffered from two problems. One, the movie lingered just a bit too long on the introduction of all the characters - especially those who did not have any effect on Hugo's situation or with the discovery . And because of this, the pacing in its first half dragged incredibly long. In fact, it dragged so long that I almost lost interest in finishing the film. It was not until Hugo managed to repair the automaton and continue his and his father's love of films when life finally breathed into the film. From the moment the automaton produced the drawing of the moon from "A TRIP TO THE MOON", I became increasingly interested in the film."HUGO" soon became a interesting trip into the world of early French filmmaking. And it ended as a poignant story about how a boy's love for his father and movies allowed a forgotten artist to be remembered by a new generation of filmgoers. I found myself practically on the verge of tears by the last frame.
If there was one aspect of "HUGO" that truly impressed me was the movie's production design. Thanks to the legendary Dante Ferretti, it is truly one of the most beautiful looking films I have seen in the past few years. The movie's visual style was enhanced by David Warren's supervision of the movie's art direction, and cinematographer Robert Richardson's recreation of the Multicolor process - which he also used in the first half of "THE AVIATOR". Although I was mildly impressed by Sandy Powell's costume designs, it was Francesca Lo Schiavo's set decorations, especially for the re-creation of the Gare Montparnasse station circa 1931, which really impressed me. In the end, the movie almost conveyed a Jules Verne visual style that I suspect seemed appropriate for a film about Georges Méliès. I could comment on Howard Shore's score. But if I must be honest, I have no memories of it.
The film's other real strength came from the cast led by young Asa Butterfield's poignant portrayal of Hugo Calvert. He was ably supported by Chloë Grace Moretz, who gave a charming performance as Hugo's friend Isabelle, and Helen McCrory's skillful portrayal of Méliès's supportive wife. Performers such as Ray Winstone, Jude Law, Michael Stuhlbarg, Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee, Frances de la Tour and Richard Griffiths gave solid, yet brief performances. But aside from Butterfield, the most impressive performance came from Ben Kingsley, who was superb as Méliès. Kingsley conveyed every aspect of Méliès's personality and life experiences. I am still astounded that he was never given any kind of acting nomination for his performance.
I cannot deny that "HUGO" is a very beautiful looking film. And I also cannot deny that I was mesmerized by the film's second half - especially when it focused on Hugo and Isabelle's discovery of Méliès' past as a filmmaker. The movie also benefited from a first-rate cast and especially from superb performances from Asa Butterfield and Ben Kingsley. But Martin Scorsese tried to create a small epic out of a story that was part children's tale/part film history. Which is why I believe "HUGO" fell short of becoming - at least in my eyes - one of the better movies of 2011.
HARRY POTTER'S USE OF HALF-BLOOD PRINCE'S POTION BOOKDuring my recent reading of the 2005 novel, "HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE", I came upon the following passage in Chapter 12 called, "Silver and Opals": "Harry had already attempted a few of the Prince's self-invented spells. There had been a hex that caused toenails to grow alarming fast (he had tried this on Crabbe in the corridor, with very entertaining results); a jinx that glued the tongue to the roof of the mouth (which he had twice used, to general applause, on an unsuspecting Argus Filch); and perhaps most useful of all,Muffliato, a spell that filled the ears of anyone nearby with an unidentifiable buzzing, so that lengthy conversations could be held in class without being overheard. The only person who did not find these charms amusing was Hermione, who maintained a rigidly disapproving expression throughout and refused to talk at all if Harry had used the Muffliato spell on anyone in the vicinity."I am curious. Did anyone find this passage amusing? Did author J.K. Rowling expect all readers to find this amusing, because the novel's main character, Harry Potter, was the one committing this deed against those he did not view as a friend or ally? I wonder.
"LIES AND CONSEQUENCE"
PART II
Her hands stuffed inside her coat pockets and her shoulders hunched forward, Phoebe dejectedly made her way toward the bus stop. She had visited Jason's penthouse in the hopes of winning his forgiveness . . . and winning him back. Although she had succeeded in the first task, she failed in the second.
The middle Charmed One found herself wishing that her Mata Hari persona had also went after Richard Montana. That moron had messed up her chances of reconciling with Jason, because of his stupid spell. She would have never become Mata Hari, never ruined Jason's business conference with a scourge of frogs and would have never sent demons after him. Granted, Richard had given Jason a potion to exorcise Mata Hari's spirit from her. But the damage caused by his karma spell outweighed his one good deed.
The downpour literally became a wall of water by the time Phoebe reached the bus stop. She found it increasingly difficult to see ahead. She could have also kicked herself for not borrowing Piper's SUV or Paige's green Volkswagen. Her own car was in the shop for some reason she could not fathom. Fortunately for her, the sign indicating the bus stop finally came into view.
A car's honk caught Phoebe's attention. She glanced to her left and saw a familiar black Porsche trailing her. The Charmed One's heartbeat increased. She would recognize Cole's convertible anywhere. Sure enough, the Porsche came to a halt and a door swung open, revealing her ex-husband's face. "Phoebe?" he said with a slight frown.
The Charmed One sighed as she wiped the rain from her eyes. "Yeah, it's me. What are you doing here, Cole?"
"I'm on my way home." Cole peered up at the sky. "You're walking in this wet weather?"
"My car is in the shop."
Cole suggested, "Why don't you hop in? I can give you a lift."
Phoebe hesitated. Normally, she would jump at the chance to accept a ride in this weather. But after her emotional meeting with Jason, spending time with her ex-husband might prove to be a bit too much for her. "Um, I'm sure that the bus will be here, any . . ."
"Phoebe, if you hang out here any longer, you'll end up with a bad cold. Or worse. Hop in."
Realizing that the half-demon made sense, Phoebe climbed inside the car. "Thanks for the ride," she said.
"No problem." Cole continued driving along the wet street. "What are you doing here, anyway? The BAY-MIRROR isn't exactly close by. And you're a long way from your house."
After a brief hesitation, Phoebe revealed that she had just paid a visit to Jason's hotel suite. "I guess you might as well know, if you don't already. It's over between Jason and me." She sneaked a glance at the half-demon to gauge his reaction.
Cole's blue eyes expressed curiosity and sympathy. Nothing else. Phoebe felt slightly disappointed. She had hoped to sense some glee or relief at her recent breakup. "I'm sorry to hear that," Cole said. "After all, you two had been together for nearly a year. What happened?"
Phoebe told him about the disaster that had befallen a family dinner party, a few nights ago. "Paige and I had invited Jason, Harry and Richard over for dinner. Paige and I were . . . uh, summoned by Piper and Chris to help them deal with Swarm demons. Paige had orbed us back to the manor, when . . . Jason caught us."
"Oooops," Cole murmured.
"No kidding. He didn't take it that well. In fact, Jason practically fainted at the sight of their magical arrival in the kitchen. But Phoebe kept that fact to herself. "I'm surprised that you didn't know," she added. "Especially since Harry was there."
Cole replied that he had not seen Harry since the previous Friday. "Olivia and I were in Carmel for the weekend. At some antiquity auction."
"For her new store?"
"Yeah." Cole made a sharp left on Franklin, causing Phoebe to inhale sharply. "You know, I just saw something on the news about Jason. Apparently, a large number of frogs mysteriously appeared at his business conference, thanks to some crazy French woman who . . ."
Phoebe groaned out loud. "Oh God! That was me."
A frown appeared on Cole's face. "You were the crazy French woman responsible for the frogs?"
"Yes, it was me," Phoebe confessed in a tight voice. "It's a long story and it has to do with that friend of Paige and Harry's . . . Richard Montana."
Cole's jaw tightened. "The one who always overreact every time he sees Olivia?"
Sensing the jealousy rising inside her ex-husband, Phoebe grumbled morosely, "That's him." She recalled how Paige and Harry had to deal with the spirit of Richard Montana's ex-lover, a dead witch named Olivia Caldwell. It all seemed ironic, considering that the name of Olivia McNeill Turner's late fiancé happened to be Richard.
Cole let out a sigh. "What does Mr. Montana have to do with this whole mess?"
"He started it," Phoebe replied darkly. She told him about the karma spell that Richard had cast. "Talk about incompetent! You know, if he had not cast that stupid spell, Jason and me would have reconciled."
Something like a cross between a snort and a grunt escaped from Cole's mouth. "If you say so."
Phoebe frowned at the half-demon. "What do you mean by that?"
Another sigh left Cole's mouth. "Phoebe, if you don't understand what I had meant, then I feel sorry for you." He paused. "By the way, how long will Dean be staying in San Francisco?"
"He's leaving for Hong Kong, today."
END OF PART II
"JANE EYRE" (1943) ReviewMany fans of Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel, "Jane Eyre", are aware that numerous (probably over twenty) television and movie adaptations of it had been made over the past several decades. While perusing the Internet, I was surprised to discover that the opinion of the 1943 adaption seemed to be extremely divided. Fans either regard it as the best adaptation or the worst. There seemed to be no middle ground. As many know, "JANE EYRE" told the story of young 19th century English orphan who is forced to live at the Yorkshire estate of her widowed aunt-by-marriage, Aunt Reed. After a recent altercation between niece and aunt, the latter sends Jane Eyre to be educated at an all-girls school operated by a tyrannical and religious zealot named Mr. Lowood. Jane spends eight years at the school as a student and two years as a teacher. She eventually leaves Lowood School after she is hired as a governess for Adèle Varens, the French-born ward of a mysterious landowner named Mr. Edward Rochester. Not long after her arrival at Thornfield Hall, the Rochester estate, Jane meets her enigmatic employer. It does not take long before Jane and Rochester's relationship evolve from employee/employer to friends, before it eventually becomes romantic. However, a possible romantic rival for Jane and a secret in Thornfield's attic prove to be major obstacles in the road to romance for the young governess and her employer.So . . . how does "JANE EYRE" hold up after 71 to 72 years? Actually, I believe it holds up pretty well. I thought director Robert Stevenson and the screenplay he co-wrote with John Houseman, Aldous Huxley, and Henry Koster did a solid job in translating Brontë's novel to the screen. Many critics and movie fans have noted that this adaptation seemed to have convey the novel's Gothic atmosphere a lot stronger than other versions. I supposed one has cinematographer George Barnes, production designer William L. Pereira and set decorator Thomas Little to thank. However, I recently learned it was Orson Welles (who not only served as leading man, but also an uncredited producer) who had convinced Stevenson and his fellow co-producers William Goetz and Kenneth Macgowan to inject more Gothic visuals into the movie. I could not say that René Hubert's costume designs contributed to the movie's Gothic atmosphere. But I was impressed by how Hubert's costumes reflected the movie's early 1840s setting, as shown in the images below:
I certainly had no problems with how the movie handled Jane's story through most of the film. From the opening scene in which the leading character found herself harassed by the Reed film to her disrupted wedding to Edward Rochester. I usually find it difficult to endure the Lowood School scenes in other adaptations of Brontë's novels. But I cannot say the same about this adaptation. I really had no problem with it. It could be that I was so fascinated by the performances of Peggy Ann Garner, Elizabeth Taylor and Henry Daniell that I completely forgot that I was watching one of my least favorite sequences in the story. And of course, the best part of "JANE EYRE" remained the growing friendship and romance between the titled character and Rochester. This was especially apparent in two sequences - Rochester's courtship of Blanche Ingram during his house party and Jane's confession of her love for him. Although I was impressed by how Stevenson and the film's other screenwriters handled Brontë's tale up to Jane and Rochester's disastrous wedding ceremony, I could not say the same about the rest of the film. In fact, it suffered from the same narrative problem that plagued several other adaptations - a weak finale. First of all, this is the only adaptation in which Jane never meets the Rivers siblings - St. John, Diana and Mary. She does meet a Doctor Rivers, who first treated Jane when she was a Lowood student. Instead of seeking refuge with the trio, Jane returns to Gateshead Hall, the home of her dying Aunt Reed. Following her aunt's death, Jane reunites with Rochester. That is it. And I hate to say this, but the entire sequence - between Jane's departure from Thornfield Hall to her return - seemed very rushed and unsatisfying.I also have another major problem with the movie - its Gothic elements. There were times when these elements served the mysterious aspects of the movie very well. However, a good deal of these "Gothic touches" struck me as heavy handed . . . to the point that they ended up annoying me. This was apparent in Jane's first meeting with Rochester, with so much fog swirling around the pair that at times they seemed almost hidden. The worst aspect of these "Gothic touches" occurred in the scene in which Jane and Rochester confessed their love for one another. The moment the pair sealed their engagement with a kiss, a bolt of lightning came out of the sky and struck a nearby log. I mean . . . come on! Really? A good number of critics and movie fans did not seem particularly impressed by Joan Fontaine's portrayal of Jane Eyre. I never understood the complaints. I thought she did an excellent job. More importantly, her portrayal of the passionate, yet introverted Jane seemed spot on. What were these critics expecting? An over-the-top performance by Fontaine? Jane Eyre is not an overtly emotional character - at least as an adult. However, I am happy to note that Fontaine certainly had a strong screen chemistry with her leading man, Orson Welles. Many have stated that Welles pretty much dominated the movie. To me, that is like saying every actor who has portrayed Edward Rochester overshadowed the actresses who have portrayed Jane. Personally, I thought Welles' enigmatic and quick-witted portrayal of Rochester complimented Fontaine's more introspective performance rather well. I guess these fans and critics did not want balance . . . just two very theatrical performances.The other performances in the movie struck me as first-rate. Agnes Moorehead, who was part of Welles' Mercury Theater company before her arrival in Hollywood, portrayed Jane's haughty Aunt Reed. And I must say that she did an excellent job in portraying the character with a not-too-shabby English accent. Henry Daniell was equally impressive as the tyrannical head of Jane's school, Mr. Lowood. But I was really impressed by Margaret O'Brien, who did a remarkable job as Rochester's French ward, Adèle Varens. I would not know an authentic French accent, if I was stuck in the middle of Paris. But I must say that O'Brien's accent was just as good as the other young actresses who portrayed Adèle. And she gave such a charming performance . . . at the age of six. But O'Brien was not the only child star who gave an excellent performance. Peggy Ann Garner was equally impressive as the young Jane Eyre, who had no qualms about butting heads with the haughty Reed family. Also in the film was a young Elizabeth Taylor, who gave a mesmerizing performance as Jane's doomed young friend, Helen Burns. I was surprised to discover that Hillary Brooke, who portrayed Blanche Ingram, was an American actress. I thought she was very convincing as the charmingly bitchy and very English Blanche. The movie also featured solid performances from Sara Allgood, John Sutton, Edith Barrett and Barbara Everest.So . . . do I feel that "JANE EYRE" is the best or worst adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's novel? Honestly? I would say neither. Yes, there were times I could barely deal with the movie's over-the-top Gothic atmosphere. And yes, I found the last quarter of the film both weak and rushed. But overall, I would say that it is a pretty good film. And I believe that it still holds up rather well after 71 to 72 years.
