June 19th 2008
Conspiracy ‘R’ Us
It’s a bold new summer for conspiracy-themed SF so better dust off those tin-foil hats of yours!
First of all: “X Files: the Movie”. Again. When I first heard about it last year, I thought it was just another silly internet/showbiz column rumor, like endless talk about third Conan movie or Tarantino remaking “Snowhite and Seven Dwarves” as a martial arts movie. But Lo and Behold: Chris Carter has brought Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny together for another movie iteration in the ever-more complex (and, truth be told, increasingly absurd) saga of Government/alien/black sludge conspiracy. Entitled “X Files: I Want to Believe”, the movie should arrive in the cinemas by the end of July. Will it be a fulfilling ending to a much loved cult TV classic? The truth is out there.
Meanwhile, there’s a new J. J. Abrams hit on a horizon. The creator of “Cloverfield”, “Lost” and “Alias” is riding into Dodge with his own version of “X Files”. Entitled “Fringe”, his series follows bizarre cases of modern science run amok thanks to a loving care of international corporations, terrorist groups and shady government officials. Pilot – screened to the journalists around a month ago – starts with a storm-ridden trans-Atlantic flight whose passengers get liquidated – Literally! – by the weird disease. FBI agent (played by Australian actress Anna Torv) need help and turns to – Again, literally! – mad scientist (John Noble) who spent 20 years in the asylum after working on US government’s “fringe science” projects in parapsychology, reviving the dead and weather control. Show premiers in August and I, for one, am looking forward to it. Bad news? It’s gonna run on Fox.
Finally, check out “The Middleman”. Based upon the comic by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine, the series lampoons conspiracy theories with square-jawed, all-American Middleman (Matt Keeslar), employee of undefined organization who teams up with hip but failed artist Wendy (delicious Natalie Morales) in order to fix exotic problems like mad scientists, aliens and super-intelligent apes trying to wrest control over Mafia. The series is almost too smart for it’s own good, with characters zapping endless witticisms until you wish for them to start talking like normal folks. But it looks like a goofy fun in the lines of “Special Unit 2″ so give it a try.
Oliver out.