#vr.5

Bonkers!

Very different to earlier episodes. Visually, it’s even more impressive than they were. And it makes Duncan the protagonist, instead of Sydney. In fact, she is the one he is trying to help/rescue.

There are elaborate spoofs of The Avengers, Sherlock Holmes, Philip Marlowe, etc. It’s a feast of fun!

However, the practicalities of VR5 make less and less sense the more we learn. And the ambiguity surrounding whether or not to trust Oliver and the Committee is tedious/forced instead of intriguing/compelling.

The show is certainly trying. But it’s falling short in the storytelling department.

My 180th TV episode of 2023. Averaging 2h12m of TV, per day.

7/10

George Deloy is back for his second episode as the hitman Boothe, who killed a series regular in the previous episode. Meaning Anthony Head now takes over as Syd’s new contact: Sampson.

At the best of times, this show has a vague premise and some fuzzy logic. This episode is worse than most, as Syd doesn’t even have a specific case/mission. Instead, she’s just lashing out at everyone after her friend’s murder. She eventually digs around a little bit. And Sampson enlists her help in tracking the hitman. Something that makes very little sense.

At one point he brings her to a stadium with 16,000 people. Just the two of them. No backup. And, somehow, she actually spots the hitman! But he gets away. And there’s no mention ever again of his target at the stadium. Instead, later on in the episode, he kills someone else. Except… the show implies that none of them are permanently dead. Or something.

You can see how influential The X Files was on shows like this. And how desperately they wanted to be like X Files.

So… this is an average episode. Vague, unsatisfying. But it looks great. The visuals are always engaging. Performances are good, too. Everyone gives it all they have. But what does it all mean?

Friday, March 31, 1995: Fox aired this in the first hour of primetime before The X Files. Against it, CBS had Diagnosis Murder, NBC had Unsolved Mysteries, and ABC had episodes of Family Matters and Sister, Sister.

6/10