musings, retail therapy, bouts of gadget lust & anything that gets my heart racing.Alphas are fun
TV season breaks are torture for a TV nut like myself. On the plus side, I get to discover TV shows which I wasn’t able to watch for lack of time or hard drive space.
One such show that I had recently watched—and loved—is Alphas.
It’s basically about a group of people with superhuman abilities, think X-Men or Heroes (minus the convoluted plot lines (so far)) and that other weird show (was it Mutant X?).
I’m not sure if it has a huge following, all I know is that it is aired on Syfy which explains how it has survived a season (they’re now on Season 2) despite the lack of big celebrity headliners. The only popular main cast member is David Strathairn, who will always be (for me) Whistler, the blind hacker in Sneakers (haven’t seen this flick? WATCH IT, WATCH IT NOW).
photos: Syfy
Whistler, I mean David Strathairn is Dr. Lee Rosen, non-Alpha leader of the Alphas, like Professor X but without any powers, just his scientific knowledge (the show tries to explain each ability as scientifically as possible).
At first I found the abilities of each character a bit blah, but after a few episodes, the actors really gelled well as an ensemble, and Ryan Cartwright (rotating squint Nigel on Bones) is impeccable as Gary Bell, the adorable functioning autistic member of the gang who is their transponder—guy who picks up electronic signals and whatnot.
My favorite next to Gary is Cameron Hicks, played by Warren Christie primarily because he is the token hottie of the show.
His talent is hyperkinesis, which enables him to hit his targets with accuracy no matter how far or ludicrously impossible. In short, he is “Boy Pektus” (he was able to shoot a federal witness once by “curving” a bullet and having it ricochet right into his target’s forehead despite being a building away). Based on his talent, I therefore conclude that the kantos of Manila and its bilyarans are chockfull of hyperkinetic Alphas, except not as hot as he is.
Rachel Pirzad meanwhile has synesthesia or super-enhanced senses. In short, she is the resident usisera of the group—where she can hear conversations and heartbeats from far far away, just like Kris Aquino. LOL.
Nina Theroux is the resident bombshell/vixen of the group. Her talent is mind control, so whatever she says gets followed by whoever makes eye contact with her.
Bill Harken gets super sweaty, looks constipated, gets palpitations and once this trifecta is caught on camera, he can suddenly move heavy objects and gain instant super strength. I dub him Mr. Bangkok Pills.
It’s a well-written entertaining show. As a Syfy staple, naturally, geek fantasy girl Summer Glau has already made an appearance as a super Alpha. This show got me hooked that I was able to watch the first season in two days and am now caught up on Season 2.
If you like the concept of X-Men and other similar stories, you’ll like this, too.
Please watch it, so I’ll have someone to discuss the show with. And also so it doesn’t get canceled because I really like it!
