'The Strain' – Season 1 (2014)



So you're probably wondering what happened to the 'Doctor Who' post for today. Or maybe you're not wondering that at all, maybe that's the worst thing about this blog for you, I don't know... ;o)
Either way, the bottom line is that I'm running low on classic Doctor Who DVDs (I've got maybe two left...) and I don't know when I'll be able to get any more so I've got to make what I have last for a bit longer.
What's a chap to do in the meantime though...?

Well, I do watch other stuff :o) One of my favourite shows, of the last few years, has been 'The Strain' and last year I treated myself to the complete box set (only after a thorough search on eBay though, for some reason getting hold of 'The Strain' on DVD can be hellishly expensive). Now seemed like as a good a time as any to do a rewatch so that's what I've been up to these last few days. Well, for Season One anyway. There will be more posts to follow but for now, lets take a look at Season One, shall we...?

A plane lands on the tarmac at JFK airport which wouldn't really be a big deal at all if it wasn't for the fact that everyone on board is dead. Or are they...?
The CDC's Canary Team are scrambled and find survivors on board the plane. Something is seriously wrong with these survivors though and if that wasn't bad enough, the dead bodies aren't staying dead either. As Doctor Goodweather and his team race to find the cause of the disease, they may already be too late if they don't listen to the warnings of an elderly pawnbroker. Abraham Setrakian has seen this happen before but this time, his arch-enemy has enlisted the help of the world's richest man to help his darkest dream become a reality...

I'm a sucker for a televised apocalypse where humanity's inability to either see what is coming or to work together in order to stop it is the cause of much ensuing chaos and death. Having just said that, I've looked out of the window and realised maybe that wasn't the best thing to say right now... Look, I'm talking about TV. It's ok when it's on TV, you can turn off the TV when it all gets a bit much. But anyway...

What I love about this season in particular is that it is all driven by either people's stupidity, greed or inability to look past the rational to see what is really happening in the sewers and in the dark places of Manhattan. Every time something happens to give you a little bit of hope, someone does something to destroy that, either for money or the promise of a reward to come, or even by doing what they think is the right thing for their family. Even the approach of treating the outbreak like a disease to be counterproductive as it's not a disease at all. And all the while, the enemy grows in power because the people of this rational age cannot believe the possibility that he might exist. It makes for TV that is incredibly easy to keep watching, a constant drip feed of hope that is washed away almost immediately. You want to keep watching in the hope that it all turns out ok but you also know that this won't happen so you keep watching to see how bad things can get. And it gets pretty bad, just in one season.

The characters may not be likeable but they are relatable and react to the growing crisis in ways that you could see happening in real life. Having said that, I'm not sure how easily I'd take to chopping heads off and certain characters are a little too ready to indulge in that behaviour; I can see it with Setrakian as he's had to do it for most of his life, others though... I'm not too sure (I'm looking at you Fet). It does make for some great action scenes though so I can't complain too much and the examination of Goodweather and Martinez' reactions at having to kill (people who they would normally try to save) make up for the excesses of others. Special 'villain mention' goes to Richard Sammel's Thomas Eichorst, who practically chews the scenery (and supporting cast...) and is just the kind of villain that a show like this needs.

On the whole, Season One of 'The Strain' is a detailed look at how an outbreak of the supernatural would be tackled in today's rational society, and how this would be entirely the wrong approach to take. 'The Strain' only ran for four seasons so you're not signing up for a particularly long haul either. I'll be starting on Season Two tonight.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

‘The Long and Hungry Road’ – Adrian Tchaikovsky (Black Library)

Image
After not finishing ‘Witchbringer’ (not the book’s fault, I still think it could be worth your time), I thought I’d change pace a little and go for a short, sharp burst of something instead. Something that would blow a few cobwebs away and wake me up a bit :o) Now in my experience, there’s nothing shorter and sharper than a Warhammer short story so that was the direction of my reading taken care of. And as far as the focus went… I’ve read a few Warhammer tales, in my time, but I’ve never read a tale that looks at the events of the 41st Millennium through the eyes of the rapacious Tyranids. So when I saw ‘The Long and Hungry Road’ on Amazon, it pretty much chose itself. To face a Tyranid invasion is a waking nightmare. The skies darken with spores, your mind echoes with alien screeches, and countless weapon-organisms descend upon you with razor teeth and claws. How much greater would your horror be, to realise that the hive ship above thinks nothing of your fate – that it crushes you
Read more

'Mad God' (2021)

Image
It's that time again where Youtube throws me a 'Shudder' advert and I think to myself, 'I'm paying five quid a month for this, I really should watch something, lets give it a go...'   This time round, 'It' was the film 'Mad God' and the trailer was this mad batshit crazy shot of stop-motion horror that was over before I'd had a chance to get my head round it; leaving me pretty unsettled but with no clear idea just why that was... That's all I need sometimes, I was in... It's almost an hour later and, damn, that was grim, bleak and... What the hell just happened? A corroded diving bell descends amidst a ruined city and the Assassin emerges from it to explore a labyrinth of bizarre landscapes inhabited by freakish denizens. That is about all I can tell you about 'Mad God' and that's only because I had a quick look on IMDB and that was all IMDB could tell me... 'Mad God' is any number of things but it's not
Read more

‘Worms of the Earth’ – Robert E. Howard.

Image
Page Count: 27 Pages I have a copy of this on my shelf and the plan was to pick it up for a read on the way into work this morning. Well, that was the plan but I was half asleep, leaving the house, and totally forgot… No matter though, that’s what the Kindle app is for (although if I’d been a little more awake, I’d have read it off Project Gutenberg instead, you can find ‘Worms of the Earth’ Here ). 99p later and my ‘commute reading’ was secured 😉 I always seem to fall into the trap of just reading ‘Conan’ stuff whenever I fancy reading a little Howard. Not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just that there’s a lot of his other stories out there that are more than worth your time when you come across them. ‘Worms of the Earth’ is very much one of those tales but you knew that already, didn’t you? You didn’t? You should do something about that, take it from me… After witnessing one of his subjects die at the hands of Roman governor Titus Sulla, Bran Mak Morn vows vengeance on Sulla but at w
Read more