Post by niecie on Aug 31, 2013 14:25:08 GMT -5
This is a very weird episode -- lots that is just plain strange, but with one definite plus: the villainess is actually going to be punished in the end. Probably because she killed someone Jim liked, but at least she isn't getting off scot-free like so many of the first season villainesses!
We learn in this episode that Jim was once a student at a university. His old professor is a dear fellow, but someone in a great deal of trouble. Even in his own office he apparently believes his words will be overheard by those who wish him ill, and when he tries to pour drinks for himself and Jim, his hand shakes so badly he spills the drink everywhere. Poor guy!
Hmm -- Jim and the professor are wearing matching ties!
On my first viewing after getting the DVDs, as soon as I heard the name Lilith, I thought, 'there's a woman who's up to no good.'
The fire effect on the photograph is very good; they probably actually burned it. The fire effect on Prof Robey, not so much. But it's about the usual for fire effects in WWW.
The first scene in Act One, where Jim gets yanked off the case because of political pressure, just makes my blood boil. No one should be able to interfere with an investigation like that! But I do like it that Col Fairchild gives Jim enough hints for him to figure out why he's being told to take a vacation, and then finally tells Jim 'unofficially' who finagled things for the Secret Service to take Jim off the case.
I wonder if the room in which Jim meets the senator is the same room that was T's office in Grand Emir.
And now Lilith has become Astarte. The writer knew a bit about ancient mythology, yes?
It amazes me that Jim and Astarte have that conversation in which he mentions lowly professors of archeology, and each picks up on what the other is implying, and yet her husband is standing right there, utterly clueless!
And now we have an Asmodeus, another ancient name with evil connotations. And played by Don Rickles: Don Rickles as a villain. *sigh* I'm afraid I keep expecting him to call someone a hockey puck. Actually, I've read that between takes, he kept everyone in stitches with his usual barbed humor. Maybe some of that should have been written into the role. It just seems like I look at Asmodeus and I don't see an evil villain with mysterious, possibly magical powers. I just see Don Rickles. Victor Buono pulled off Count Manzeppi, who is very much the same character as Asmodeus. But here, I tend to feel that the most Our Heroes need to fear from Asmodeus is that he'll heap dubiously funny insults on them.
Lilith/Astarte has a variable accent, often changing within a single sentence from not-Southern to Southern to not again.
And Rickles' accent is too snarky for his lines. Man, now that I've made that connection with Count Manzeppi, I wish Victor Buono had had this role!
Dr Tristam is a bit too offended by Asmodeus, but maybe my view there is spoiled by knowing what is to come.
That woman irks me. Not as much as Aimee Baldwin irks me, but she's giving sweet Aimee a good run for her money!
When she pulls Jim down to sit by her and asks his views on fraternizing with the enemy, I just wanna grab her and give her a good shake. I am SO glad Jim doesn't kiss her! Glad also that he saw through her ploy at distracting him so that he jumps up and grabs the lurking Asmodeus and flips him to the ground. Yay!
Ah, and here's Artie.
So... just what was supposed to happen with that carriage? Jim gets in and sits in the rear-facing seat, the cabbie shifts that lever and the carriage rocks as if it's passing over five miles of bad road, then the cabbie turns off the rocking machine and peers through to see the forward-facing seats are empty -- but what happened to Jim? Is he supposed to have vanished like Dr Tristam's watch? Or is he knocked out and lying on the rear-facing seats out of view? Or what?
Oh, and who's the cabbie? Is he supposed to be Robert Perry, the guy who brought the professor the robes that killed him? Wait, no. Perry is the guy who sees the carriage drive past, then runs out with the guy with the bandaged face wearing clothes like Jim's, and helps the fake Jim climb into the ambulance.
Poor Artie! Sitting by the bed of his supposedly injured partner waiting for him to wake up. That just really makes me dislike this crop of villains all the more, the way they're making Artie worry needlessly.
Now, I do like the transition of the close-up on the face of the imposter West, cutting to the close-up on the face of the real Jim. :-)
That's a deep pit. And with some convenient cross bars up near the top. Hey, is that the same pit Jim winds up in during TNOT Eccentrics?
Asmodeus and his 'smoke and mirrors.'
By the way, did Jim make a dent in the wall when he tried to punch Asmodeus?
Ok, this is weird, but even the lines Asmodeus says that are supposed to be funny lines fall flat. What's up with that?
And now the walls that Jim touched previously with no problem are becoming hot, and sweat is springing up on his face.
The WWW music plays, signaling that Jim has an idea. So how many times does the explosive-under-a-bucket stunt show up? I also remember it in Skulls and Big Blackmail. I've read the physics of it, how it shouldn't work. (For one thing, the explosive is on one side of the bucket instead of centered.) But it's still fun to watch, especially to watch Jim catch the crossbar in obvious reverse. :-)
You know, for the stick of wood to burst into flames that quickly, that has to be an awfully hot wall!
Oh, and the explosive goes off while the fuse still has a couple of inches to go!
Yay, the maga-oomps! That same chant shows up in a later episode, although I can't recall which one right off the top of my head.
Ok, so how did West disappear from the hospital an hour ago without Artie knowing about it, considering that Artie was living in the chair at 'West's' bedside?
There's a look Artie gives in that scene that looks to me very much like an expression Andamo would use. Just sayin'.
Is the cabbie the same as before?
Why is it 'oddly enough' that Jim seems to be drugged? Didn't he supposedly just come from a hospital?
But if they couldn't get Jim to go take a vacation, they must destroy his reputation. Nice folks!
What is Artie doing when he tells Jim furloughs can be beautiful?
How do they get the clouds in that graveyard to just hang there like that?
It's funny to me that part of the chant is the word 'icky.'
I am SO glad when they find the phonograph and turn that thing OFF!
Cute that Artie mentions the Indian rope trick, considering TNOT Golden Cobra...
I like how Jim and Artie just keep insulting ol' Asmodeus. (Well, I also like it that at the end of this scene -- after Jim fights Asmodeus -- seriously, he fights Don Rickles! -- that will be the end of Asmodeus!
Asmodeus shoves Artie. Rude!
Now why oh why did Artie really click that manacle around his wrist? But as many people have pointed out, it wasn't very tight around his wrist and he should have been able to slip his hand right out of it.
Obvious stunt man for Don Rickles is obvious.
And dead Asmodeus is dead. Finally!
But the looks on Our Heroes' faces as Jim has to pick the lock on the manacle and set Artie free!
Now why does that door swing open?
And why oh why oh WHY does Artie gets so angry he tries to attack the Big Bad? Well, yes, plot device (just like the manacle) to keep him out of the first season fights. But so very utterly annoying! Out of character too, I dare say.
Now, isn't the central section of that device, the vertical part with the web of lines within it, isn't that part of Dr Faustina's contraption? (Oh, the Big Bad later calls it the Accumulator.)
And how are the brains able to hear? Of course they have to be able to hear both for the Big Bad to give them orders and for Jim to incite them to turn against the Big Bad, but how are they supposed to hear without the mechanism of the eardrum and the tiny bones that direct the vibrations to the cochlea -- which would also be absent?
And how are the things the brains are thinking about translated for the Big Bad to be able to use them?
Meanie! Zapping the poor disembodied brains! Just like a slavedriver cracking a whip!
Ah, the Accumulator is how the thoughts get translated into something useful.
You know, I wonder what use they planned to make of Prof Robey. How would archeology fit into the Big Bad's master plan anyway?
You know, that rushing noise of the brains trying to work together really drowns out the dialog through there.
And how do the brains manage to do lightning strikes?
More fakey fire effect. And Artie manages to wake up just at the right time.
How does Jim know Artie will be all right there?
And Astarte resorts to the old jealousy angle, lying about what Jim was doing to infuriate her husband. Jim, however, is able to show the poor fellow the truth about his wife. Well, I feel sorry for the senator, being used like that.
And then comes that wonderful moment when, for once in first season, a woman is actually held accountable for her crimes. Someone (I wish I could remember who!) pointed out lately that Astarte's costume is Marie Antoinette.
Artie learning to do sleight-of-hand. He's quite good at it, I think. His magic words are fun: Abracadabra, alakazam, ipso facto, the king of Siam. (And his chuckle on the final phrase.)
But how come he conjures up a girl and she goes and kisses Jim? Can't Artie ever catch a break? But at least he's good-humored about it, the way he laughs and says it was supposed to be a rabbit.
We learn in this episode that Jim was once a student at a university. His old professor is a dear fellow, but someone in a great deal of trouble. Even in his own office he apparently believes his words will be overheard by those who wish him ill, and when he tries to pour drinks for himself and Jim, his hand shakes so badly he spills the drink everywhere. Poor guy!
Hmm -- Jim and the professor are wearing matching ties!
On my first viewing after getting the DVDs, as soon as I heard the name Lilith, I thought, 'there's a woman who's up to no good.'
The fire effect on the photograph is very good; they probably actually burned it. The fire effect on Prof Robey, not so much. But it's about the usual for fire effects in WWW.
The first scene in Act One, where Jim gets yanked off the case because of political pressure, just makes my blood boil. No one should be able to interfere with an investigation like that! But I do like it that Col Fairchild gives Jim enough hints for him to figure out why he's being told to take a vacation, and then finally tells Jim 'unofficially' who finagled things for the Secret Service to take Jim off the case.
I wonder if the room in which Jim meets the senator is the same room that was T's office in Grand Emir.
And now Lilith has become Astarte. The writer knew a bit about ancient mythology, yes?
It amazes me that Jim and Astarte have that conversation in which he mentions lowly professors of archeology, and each picks up on what the other is implying, and yet her husband is standing right there, utterly clueless!
And now we have an Asmodeus, another ancient name with evil connotations. And played by Don Rickles: Don Rickles as a villain. *sigh* I'm afraid I keep expecting him to call someone a hockey puck. Actually, I've read that between takes, he kept everyone in stitches with his usual barbed humor. Maybe some of that should have been written into the role. It just seems like I look at Asmodeus and I don't see an evil villain with mysterious, possibly magical powers. I just see Don Rickles. Victor Buono pulled off Count Manzeppi, who is very much the same character as Asmodeus. But here, I tend to feel that the most Our Heroes need to fear from Asmodeus is that he'll heap dubiously funny insults on them.
Lilith/Astarte has a variable accent, often changing within a single sentence from not-Southern to Southern to not again.
And Rickles' accent is too snarky for his lines. Man, now that I've made that connection with Count Manzeppi, I wish Victor Buono had had this role!
Dr Tristam is a bit too offended by Asmodeus, but maybe my view there is spoiled by knowing what is to come.
That woman irks me. Not as much as Aimee Baldwin irks me, but she's giving sweet Aimee a good run for her money!
When she pulls Jim down to sit by her and asks his views on fraternizing with the enemy, I just wanna grab her and give her a good shake. I am SO glad Jim doesn't kiss her! Glad also that he saw through her ploy at distracting him so that he jumps up and grabs the lurking Asmodeus and flips him to the ground. Yay!
Ah, and here's Artie.
So... just what was supposed to happen with that carriage? Jim gets in and sits in the rear-facing seat, the cabbie shifts that lever and the carriage rocks as if it's passing over five miles of bad road, then the cabbie turns off the rocking machine and peers through to see the forward-facing seats are empty -- but what happened to Jim? Is he supposed to have vanished like Dr Tristam's watch? Or is he knocked out and lying on the rear-facing seats out of view? Or what?
Oh, and who's the cabbie? Is he supposed to be Robert Perry, the guy who brought the professor the robes that killed him? Wait, no. Perry is the guy who sees the carriage drive past, then runs out with the guy with the bandaged face wearing clothes like Jim's, and helps the fake Jim climb into the ambulance.
Poor Artie! Sitting by the bed of his supposedly injured partner waiting for him to wake up. That just really makes me dislike this crop of villains all the more, the way they're making Artie worry needlessly.
Now, I do like the transition of the close-up on the face of the imposter West, cutting to the close-up on the face of the real Jim. :-)
That's a deep pit. And with some convenient cross bars up near the top. Hey, is that the same pit Jim winds up in during TNOT Eccentrics?
Asmodeus and his 'smoke and mirrors.'
By the way, did Jim make a dent in the wall when he tried to punch Asmodeus?
Ok, this is weird, but even the lines Asmodeus says that are supposed to be funny lines fall flat. What's up with that?
And now the walls that Jim touched previously with no problem are becoming hot, and sweat is springing up on his face.
The WWW music plays, signaling that Jim has an idea. So how many times does the explosive-under-a-bucket stunt show up? I also remember it in Skulls and Big Blackmail. I've read the physics of it, how it shouldn't work. (For one thing, the explosive is on one side of the bucket instead of centered.) But it's still fun to watch, especially to watch Jim catch the crossbar in obvious reverse. :-)
You know, for the stick of wood to burst into flames that quickly, that has to be an awfully hot wall!
Oh, and the explosive goes off while the fuse still has a couple of inches to go!
Yay, the maga-oomps! That same chant shows up in a later episode, although I can't recall which one right off the top of my head.
Ok, so how did West disappear from the hospital an hour ago without Artie knowing about it, considering that Artie was living in the chair at 'West's' bedside?
There's a look Artie gives in that scene that looks to me very much like an expression Andamo would use. Just sayin'.
Is the cabbie the same as before?
Why is it 'oddly enough' that Jim seems to be drugged? Didn't he supposedly just come from a hospital?
But if they couldn't get Jim to go take a vacation, they must destroy his reputation. Nice folks!
What is Artie doing when he tells Jim furloughs can be beautiful?
How do they get the clouds in that graveyard to just hang there like that?
It's funny to me that part of the chant is the word 'icky.'
I am SO glad when they find the phonograph and turn that thing OFF!
Cute that Artie mentions the Indian rope trick, considering TNOT Golden Cobra...
I like how Jim and Artie just keep insulting ol' Asmodeus. (Well, I also like it that at the end of this scene -- after Jim fights Asmodeus -- seriously, he fights Don Rickles! -- that will be the end of Asmodeus!
Asmodeus shoves Artie. Rude!
Now why oh why did Artie really click that manacle around his wrist? But as many people have pointed out, it wasn't very tight around his wrist and he should have been able to slip his hand right out of it.
Obvious stunt man for Don Rickles is obvious.
And dead Asmodeus is dead. Finally!
But the looks on Our Heroes' faces as Jim has to pick the lock on the manacle and set Artie free!
Now why does that door swing open?
And why oh why oh WHY does Artie gets so angry he tries to attack the Big Bad? Well, yes, plot device (just like the manacle) to keep him out of the first season fights. But so very utterly annoying! Out of character too, I dare say.
Now, isn't the central section of that device, the vertical part with the web of lines within it, isn't that part of Dr Faustina's contraption? (Oh, the Big Bad later calls it the Accumulator.)
And how are the brains able to hear? Of course they have to be able to hear both for the Big Bad to give them orders and for Jim to incite them to turn against the Big Bad, but how are they supposed to hear without the mechanism of the eardrum and the tiny bones that direct the vibrations to the cochlea -- which would also be absent?
And how are the things the brains are thinking about translated for the Big Bad to be able to use them?
Meanie! Zapping the poor disembodied brains! Just like a slavedriver cracking a whip!
Ah, the Accumulator is how the thoughts get translated into something useful.
You know, I wonder what use they planned to make of Prof Robey. How would archeology fit into the Big Bad's master plan anyway?
You know, that rushing noise of the brains trying to work together really drowns out the dialog through there.
And how do the brains manage to do lightning strikes?
More fakey fire effect. And Artie manages to wake up just at the right time.
How does Jim know Artie will be all right there?
And Astarte resorts to the old jealousy angle, lying about what Jim was doing to infuriate her husband. Jim, however, is able to show the poor fellow the truth about his wife. Well, I feel sorry for the senator, being used like that.
And then comes that wonderful moment when, for once in first season, a woman is actually held accountable for her crimes. Someone (I wish I could remember who!) pointed out lately that Astarte's costume is Marie Antoinette.
Artie learning to do sleight-of-hand. He's quite good at it, I think. His magic words are fun: Abracadabra, alakazam, ipso facto, the king of Siam. (And his chuckle on the final phrase.)
But how come he conjures up a girl and she goes and kisses Jim? Can't Artie ever catch a break? But at least he's good-humored about it, the way he laughs and says it was supposed to be a rabbit.