by b-guy » Sat Sep 10, 2011 7:13 pm
Sanctuary
I didn't really pay any attention to this show for a while. It's been out long enough that it's getting ready for Season 4, though the seasons are only 13 episodes anyway. (Except for Season 3, which has over 20). It stars Amanda Tapping, who also starred in Stargate SG-1 and it just so happens that Sanctuary is an entirely Canadian production. Not 'Made in the USA but shot in Canada', actually Canadian. The main effect of their lower budget is that most of their sets are CG, with actors screened in (a la Lexx), however it's done well enough that you rarely notice. That said, I've been enjoying since I started watching it.
The overall premise is that there are groups of beings called Abnormals, everything from vampires & werewolves to weird shimp and animals that seem like they should be on another planet, but come from good old Earth. Helen Magnus, played by Tapping, is head of an organization called the Sanctuary Network, which is dedicated to providing a safe haven for those Abnormals that are sentient and collecting/studying those that aren't. She recruits a brainy young man in the premiere episode to help her out, and is assisted by her daughter Ashley and her assistant/secretary/butler, a Bigfoot-type Abnormal.
The writing is decent, they have some great storylines and many of the supporting cast are SUPERB! One character especially, an incarnation of Nikola Tessla, usually has be in stitches, just because he's such an obnoxious, science-professor type. (Actually, in many ways, he's what I was thinking for Dr. Strobnick, but far more to the extreme.)
Some of the stories are a bit blah, especially in the first season, as is to be expected. However, the first season finale, going into the first few episodes of Season 2 were fantastic. Ditto for the season 2/3 transition. I'm still working through Season 3, however they've done a couple of things that really held my attention.
I think my biggest criticism of the show is that they seem to borrow a lot of ideas. Dr. Zimmerman, Magnus' new assitant, is very much like Dr. Jackson in the Stargate universe. They also end up visiting an advanced, underground city that really, really reminds me of D'Ni in the Myst series. And, of course, any series involved in vampires and werewolves is going to have a lot of elements that people have seen before.
That said, it's definately a show worth checking out.
Working on:
Modeling - USS Secondprize Bridge