Covert Affairs 1.03 – South Bound Suarez (Review)

Jul 282010

Last Week

Last week Annie wrestled with a renegade British MI6 agent planning an IRA attack on American soil. That was after Walter, a ten year old boy walked in.

This Week

This week Annie enters a more sordid part of the CIA business, she has developed an asset, a young college boy from Caracas who thinks he is in love with her only to get in touch with his sister back home. The sister is mistress to a government official (Victor) that has been skimming hundreds of million dollars the last years. CIA wants to know where they have gone. We start this episode as she makes her move to convince him he should introduce her.

While this takes place we also watch as the local agent in Venezuela is killed, this is not anything the agency knows about.

Annie goes to Venezuela with her new ‘boyfriend’ Diego. He can’t resist letting his hands wander and she has a hard time keeping him in check and at the same time it is quite sad the way they use ‘assets’ to get what they want. Diego’s sister is a beloved person; she is called the mother of the neighborhood for her charity work. Annie has a hard time convincing the sister and stealing the code key so they can put a trace on the money. There is a quite entertaining car scene where Victor reveals her as a trained agent and she dumps him out of the car and speed away. Annie gets back to the bank minutes before Victor and they discover that he has been financing terrorists. They flee the country with Victor on their tail.

The siblings are put into protective custody in a safehouse but the story is not over yet. About the same time Annie realizes the sisters charity money is from Victor the sister sneak out to meet Victor. The final confrontation reveals Victor as the monster he is as he tries to have the sister killed. Annie and Diego shows up in time to distract Victor while another agent takes them down.

One interesting detail in this episode was the meetings and support from Langley that made it feel more genuine and realistic. Don’t get me wrong this is a fun spy action adventure type of show but I find it a stamp of quality that they try to make the whole thing more realistic with things like that.

The way the sister has a hard time giving up on her love for Victor reflects back on Annie’s unwillingness to leave her love behind. It is clear that she will continue to carry a torch for Ben.

I like the episode but are not things moving a bit fast for Annie? I can understand if the agency wants to keep Annie in the frying pan to lure Ben out so maybe that is it. Annie convinces as a rookie agent and she feels like shit after the mission because what she had to do to Diego and his sister. Auggie is there with perspective, I like him a lot. USA has hit another great dynamic duo with Auggie and Annie.

Things learned

Annie’s name is Anne Catherine Walker according to her business card at the Smithsonian
Annie and her sister grew up as army brats

Next Week

Covert Affairs 1.04 - No Quarter (USA)
Annie needs Auggie’s help to return from Zurich where she is stranded with an untrustworthy Mossad agent. At the agency, Joan and Arthur suspect Auggie to be the CIA’s leak.

Link to USA preview

Covert Affairs 1.02 – Walter’s Walk July 22, 2010
Covert Affairs – New Series Premiere Review July 14, 2010

Share|

Covert Affairs 1.02 – Walter’s Walk

TV Series 1 Response »

Jul 222010

Last Week

Last week Annie Walker a CIA trainee is pulled from the Farm into the frying pan with a simple courier job gone awry.

This Week

This week Annie gets to deal with CIA walk-ins and her sister’s suggestion that she be the kids’ legal guardian in case something happened to them.

During breakfast Dannielle asks Annie to become the legal guardian of her kids in case something happened to her or Michael. Annie wants to think about it and rushes off to work. Back at home later that night she refuses leaving Danielle more than a little miffed. But Annie will have reasons to reevaluate her thinking before the episode is over. When it comes to your family you do whatever you have to.

If you remember from the pilot, Annie was pulled from training and put into the field mainly because her previous love affair with a renegade agent. Her married bosses Joan and Arthur conspire to use Annie as bait to catch Ben Mercer. We don’t get to see Ben this episode but Arthur assigns a new agent to Joan’s department, which she resents, with orders to get close to Annie. Jai Wilcox (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is the name of the new agent and we are to understand he is sent there to seduce her.

Auggie and Annie continues to have fantastic report and this week it get more hands on in the training room when Auggie teaches Annie the secret of fighting for real (he used to be a field agent before becoming blind). I don’t get any romantic vibe off them so far but I wouldn’t be surprised if something developed down the line.

After helping Auggie move into their new modern offices Annie gets her first assignment to debrief walk-ins. Crack-pot City according to Auggie. Her weapon for the day is a can of pepper spray. One of the walk-ins is a mother concerned her son Walter is in danger since he decoded a secret message from a number station, followed it to a mailbox where he saw a man pick up a secret message and he claims the man saw him and now he is scared. Annie is a bit surprised when the alleged college kid turns out to be ten. I think the kid played his role very well; he had all the symptoms of functional autism down pat. After giving Annie the specs for the still broadcasting station he and his mother leave.

With Auggie’s help they confirm the code, they have to raid the CIA museum to get a decoder and they need the previous recordings Walter made. The message originated in Belfast making it IRA related so Annie is assigned a British MI6 liaison to check out Walter’s apartment. The difference between CIA and MI6 becomes evident when the middle aged British agent appears; CIA is young and lacking in experience while MI6 is getting a bit on the old side. What I don’t understand is why they had to meet at a market with a silly protocol instead of him just showing up at the CIA with his credentials? His name is James Elliot.

Walter and his mom never came home from Langley so Annie and the Britt search the premises but before they are finished they are attacked. Annie fresh from training has trouble fighting the perp before James pops him a third eye. Walter has an impressive amount of equipment but it seems he brought the tapes in question with him. This time they almost get out before the cops arrive but they this time they are not even questioned before an undercover agent springs them.

Joan and Arthur continue to have a troubled relationship. I can’t sense any warmth there; I doubt they will make it. But it is well played and adds to the dynamics of the show.

Annie is miffed mostly on herself concerning her sister’s will and the fight she almost lost the day before but Auggie cheer her up and shows her how a real fight works, you have to be closer. That was a fun scene.

British intelligence leads them to a former IRA operative living in the US. They decide to pick him up as he arrives at Union Station.

Annie is not satisfied with the outcome and gets permission to look into Walter’s disappearance. Using clues found at the apartment she tracks them down to a cabin. She gets the tapes from Walter and start to transfer them to Auggie at Langley. Annie has a cozy chat with the mother about taking care of Walter that affects her thinking about Danielle’s will. When the mother tells that they tried the British embassy as well as the CIA pieces fall into place. James has been lying to her; he said he never heard of it. She finds the tracker on her phone as his car pulls up behind her. He brought two goons with him. Annie pulls a McGuyver killing the two goons and then has a very satisfying brawl with James where she gets to use her Mace for effect.

James was a double agent for IRA planing to pin the bombing on the former IRA member. That’s the part of the story I have a hard time believing. Doesn’t IRA get most of their funding from the US? Why would they set off a bomb there?

The episode ends with Annie signing Danielle’s will.

So far I like this quite well. It is fast paced; it got human interest and a cast to be fond of. I can’t wait on next weeks episode.

Said and Done

Finally a room with windows (said the blind guy)
This guy has gone analog in a digital world

New Intro

They had a new intro this week. It reminded me a little of Chuck.

Next Week

Covert Affairs 1.03 – South Bound Suarez (USA)
Annie targets a college student to get information about a corrupt government official in Venezuela, but the murder of another agent who was involved in the investigation complicates her task.

Covert Affairs on USA Network – “South Bound Suarez” …
Uploaded by USANetwork. – Full seasons and entire episodes online.

Share|

Covert Affairs – New Series Premiere Review

TV Series 1 Response »

Jul 142010

I don’t know what it is with me and spies, so many of my favorite television past times are spy affairs like Chuck, Nikita, Alias, Jake 2.0 and now Covert Affairs. 50% of the CIA is young people with less than five years of on the job and they are recommended to date each others to avoid having to vent outsiders. It is like Club Med without the drinks, Auggie tells Annie.

Title: Covert Affairs
Original channel: USA
Genre: Spy drama
Status: Series premiere

This show mixes exciting spy action with everyday drama as it follows the lives and adventures of young CIA agent Annie Walker, her colleagues and family. Annie is a wiz at languages; she lives in her sister Danielle’s guesthouse with a cat. She is burned by love. She had three weeks of bliss on Sri Lanka with this guy a couple of years ago before he left her in the middle of the night with a note that said “The Truth is complicated”. You could say she got trust issues.

Annie Walker is one month from graduation at the Farm, CIA’s training facility when she is taken to Langley for a mission that needs her looks and language skills. As unbelievable as it might sound CIA is out of good looking girls that can talk Russian, I know the cold war is over but come on! The writers should have been able to come up with something better there. She is sent undercover as a call girl to an hotel to pick up intel from a known Russian assassin. It should have been an easy mission but what fun would that be. A sniper vents the place and she has to escape leaving the intel behind in the confusion. The good with that is that she goes back and meet the FBI investigator in charge (they have chemistry I hope we will see him again).

The action continues fast paced throughout the pilot and Piper Perabo is gorgeous, witty, determined and yet vulnerable. She gets very convincing when she is angry. It is easy to draw parallels to Alias but the show manages to distinguish itself and so do Piper.

Aggie and Annie has wonderful chemistry already, that is unusual so early in a show. It usually takes me a couple of episodes to be convinced they really like each other. I have been a fan of Christopher Gorham since Jake 2.0 (loved that show) and he is brilliant and charming here playing Auggie the blind tech who introduces Annie to the CIA.

They work at DPD (Domestic Protection Division) a part of the Clandestine Service. Their department boss is the razor-sharp Joan Campbell and she is married to their big boss Arthur. Their marriage is a rocky affair; they even go to company provided couples’ counseling. I am not sure Joan is wrong, Arthur seems like a player but he is good at covering his tracks. His main concerns seem to be that someone is leaking information to the press.

Annie’s family doesn’t know what she works with and part of the charm is to see her balance living with a normal family of four. Her sister is worried she doesn’t date so she invites a blind date to dinner, humor and catastrophe. Plus her sister thinks she is a bad liar, if only she knew.

There is a big mystery around Annie’s lost love Ben Mercer (Eion Bailey) he shows up and saves her life as a guardian angel and the CIA knows about him, they want him for something and Joan and Arthur is using Annie for bait.

Cast

Annie Walker played by Piper Perabo (loved her in Coyote Ugly) is an intrepid young agent in training for the CIA
Auggi Anderson (Christopher Gorham, loved him in Jake 2.0 a sort of predecessor of Chuck) Blind tech guy and Annie’s partner.
Arthur Campbell (Peter Gallagher) Director of the Clandestine Service and married to Joan
Joan Campbell (Kari Matchett -) is Annie’s boss, chief of DPD (Domestic Protection Division)
Conrad Sheehan III (Eric Lively) Annie’s attracted to him in the pilot but he is being written out and replaced with Jai Wilcox according to tfc.
Danielle (Anne Dudek) is Annie’s sister
Ben Mercer (Eion Bailey) is the love of her life. They had a three week of bliss on Sri Lanka before he left in the middle of the night with a note that said “The truth is complicated”. Now he is Annie’s guardian angel/stalker but also unknown to Annie a person of intense interest for her bosses.
Jai Wilcox (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is Annie’s new love interest, we haven’t seen him yet.

Pictures

Next episode

Tuesday, July 20

Episode 1.02 – New CIA agent Annie Walker is still forced to work on low-key cases until she is tipped off that an IRA cell operates in America.

Share|

Gridlinked by Neal Asher (Agent Cormac 1)

Books No Responses »

Jun 012010

This is the original first novel about Earth Central Security (ECS) agent Cormac. The books starts with a man about to teleport through the Skaiden Runcible device 253 light years to his destination while suffering from hangover and a cut in the film about a sexy catwoman that half undressed him on the dance floor the night before. But something goes wrong and he exits at his destination a fraction under the speed of light causing a 30 mega ton explosion. The body count is more than 10 000 and that’s just the beginning.

In outer space you can never feel sure that your adversary is altogether human.

The runcible buffers on Samarkand have been mysteriously sabotaged, killing many thousands and destroying a terraforming project. Agent Cormac must reach it by ship to begin an investigation. But Cormac has incurred the wrath of a vicious psychopath called Pelter, who is prepared to follow him across the galaxy with a terrifying android in tow.

Despite the sub-zero temperature of Samarkand, Cormac discovers signs of life: they are two ‘dracomen’, alien beasts contrived by an extra-galactic entity calling itself ‘Dragon’, which is a huge creature consisting of four conjoined spheres of flesh each a kilometer in diameter. Caught between the byzantine wiles of the Dragon and the lethal fury of Pelter, Cormac needs to skip very nimbly indeed to rescue the Samarkand project and protect his own life.

Information

Our protagonist Agent Cormac is an unfeeling field agent. He’s cover is blown because his asset thinks he is a construct and he has to fight his way out. Cormac has been Gridlinked for 30 years and it has dehumanized him to a level where it affects his usability as an agent so he gets a choice, shut it down yourself or face the consequences. Being without a connection after such a long time affects a man. I compare it’s effect with the description in WE.

Much of this book and the series is about him finding his humanity again.

The series long arc deals with the Dragon and ancient races.

The Author

Neal Asher is a British science fiction author living in Essex. I am most familiar with and love the now six Agent Cormac novels in the Polity universe. He has also written the Splatterjay Trilogy and a number of standalone novels and short stories in the same universe that I am keen on reading (expected summer reading 2010).

World building

The world Neal Asher paints is the Polity where humanity has spread thousands of light years ruled by benign artificial intelligences (AIs). Instead of evolving into something in-comprehensive by humans the AI:s choose to stay with their creators. There are some post human features in there mind-upload into golem bodies, nano technology, body enhancments, computer-brain interfaces, sentient spaceships and much much more.

One thing that sets Neal Asher apart from the usual Space Opera is the complex and well thought out future society he created.

I like the recurring articles at the beginning of each chapter that highlight items or phenomenon in the world.

In this book he also introduces the mysterious Dragon an extragalactic entity with unclear motivations sent to our galaxy by the Makers.

Plot

When the Runcible on Samarkand is destroyed Cormac is assigned to find out why.

The asset Cormac had to kill when his cover was blown is Angelina Pelter, the sister of Separatist leader Arian Pelter. He swear revenge on the man who killed his sister and sets out after Cormac accompanied by a crazy robot called Mr Cane.

Cormac arrive at Samarkand in ship only to discover two life forms there, the aforementioned Dracomen.

Cormac is hard pressed to survive while unraveling the mysteries surrounding the Runcible explosion.

Characterization

Cormac is my kind of hero. He is not a superman, he feels like a human even in this space opera setting. He has his weaknesses and doubts (he suffers from addiction to his gridlink since 30 years). But he is also inventive and adaptive and determined. Great characterization by Neal Asher.

The rest of the characters are fairly well developed also.

My View

The quality of Neal Asher’s writing has improved since this first book in 2001, I notice because I just finished reading Shadow of the Scorpion from 2008. It is still a great book filled to the brim with exciting ideas and fast paced breathtaking action. My mind exploded the first time I read Gridlinked it has so many marvelous ideas, intriguing aliens, gadgets and settings that I kept going Wow all the time. The Polity is on par with all the other Singularity writers out there and the action makes me think of James Bond and Dominic Flandry. I recommend Gridlinked to all lovers of intelligent space opera.

Share|

Chuck 3.17 – Chuck vs the Living Dead

TV Series 1 Response »

May 242010

This week’s episode of Chuck sees the return of his father. Elli thinks she works for CIA and that Casey is a bad guy out for her father but she has been duped by a Ring operative. Chuck had a dream about Shaw being alive and asks Morgan for help in finding Shaw.

Chuck still has dreams of Shaw being alive and turns to Morgan for help to keep it a secret from Sarah, but Morgan cannot resist Sarah’s interrogating techniques.

Meanwhile, after being contacted by Ellie, Chuck’s father Stephen shows up at the Buy More, not knowing about the Intersect 2.0 in Chuck’s head.

Worldbuilding

The seasons Ring arc is revealed. The Ring has built a new Intersect and the Ring agents have been trying to get some way to safely download it. Remember the episode where they fried the brains of subject after subject? They know that Stephen Bartowski has survived having Intersect 1.0 download and now they are after his solution.

Plot

The Ring is after Stephen and his invention. They use Ellie to get his location but Sarah and Chuck foils that attempt. After Sarah fells the last kidnapper with a well aimed kick Stephen asks Chuck.

Does she have the Intersect too? No Dad, that all her

Chuck asks Casey to protect Ellie and he follows her but comes to believe she is having an affair. Casey asks Morgan what he believes so Morgan does an interview with awesome and almost falls into love with him himself.

When Ellie returns home unexpected and discover Casey scouting out her place she wacks him on the head with a frying pan, twice and escapes with the ring operative.

We see agent Shaw downloads the Intersect in the closing scene. Is that version 3.0?

Characterization

This episodes theme is on lies, especially the ones of the Bartowski family. Part of the charm of the series is Chuck, Morgan and Awesome’s inability to lie convincingly. But here Ellie lies too and see where that takes her.

When they try to track Shaw Casey makes Sarah re tell everything she and Shaw did in Washington, to which Chuck mentally grinds his teeth. He is not the only one lying.

Big Mike reveal his past as Rain in Earth Wind Fire and Rain as he gives Lester his tacky scene outfit and tell him you have the hips of a six year old girl, use them. The whole Buy More subplot with Jeffster splitting was as always amusing and entertaining. Lester’s rant against the Man was memorable.

After they find Shaw’s spy will in his penthouse there is much talk about the dangers in their line of work. It is and endearing scene when Sarah gives Chuck her spy will.

My View

Chuck vs the Living Death was a great episode, fast paced, with big arc revelations, intense buildup for the finale next week and a very fun episode. There is much happening in it so I had to re watch it before writing this. If you are not watching Chuck you are missing out on some great TV.

Chuck’s two hour season finale is tonight, Chuck vs the Subway and Chuck vs the Ring Part II

Shaw returns to threaten everything that Chuck holds dear as his friends, family and the woman he loves are all put in mortal danger. Chuck has to find Shaw and stop him before his own world gets torn apart but with Chuck finding it increasingly difficult to flash, will he find Shaw in time or will the Intersect that has saved his life so many times in the past, finally be the thing that kills him?

Share|

Nikita Ordered to Series by CW

TV Series No Responses »

May 202010

Call me trashy but I liked the old TV show of Nikita with Petra Wilson so this one is in. And the more I think about it the more brilliant the casting of Maggie Q seems. Se the first promotional photos below.

Official Synopsis

NIKITA When she was a deeply troubled teenager, Nikita was rescued from death row by a secret U.S. agency known only as Division, who faked her execution and told her she was being given a second chance to start a new life and serve her country. What they didn’t tell her was that she was being trained as a spy and assassin. Ultimately, Nikita was betrayed and her dreams shattered by the only people she thought she could trust. Now, after three years in hiding, Nikita is seeking retribution and making it clear to her former bosses that she will stop at nothing to expose and destroy their covert operation. For the time being, however, Division continues to recruit and train other young people, erasing all evidence of their former lives and turning them into cold and efficient killers. One of these new recruits, Alex, is just beginning to understand what lies ahead for her and why the legendary Nikita made the desperate decision to run.

The series stars Maggie Q as Nikita, Lyndsy Fonseca as Alex, Shane West as Michael, Aaron Stanford as Birkhoff, Ashton Holmes as Thom, Tiffany Hines as Jaden, with Melinda Clarke as Amanda and Xander Berkeley as Percy.

NIKITA is from Warner Bros. Television in association with Wonderland Sound and Vision, with executive producers Craig Silverstein (“Bones,” “K-Ville”), Danny Cannon (“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Chuck”), McG (“Supernatural,” “Chuck,” “The O.C.,” “Charlie’s Angels”), and Peter Johnson (“Supernatural,” “Chuck”). The pilot was directed by Danny Cannon.

Promotional photos

Learned from casting

Maggie Q (“Live Free or Die Hard”, “Mission Impossible III” ) has landed the lead role in the CW pilot. Pretty amazing casting for The CW. She’ll play the title character, a spy who goes rogue. Said hour then tracks both Nikita and Alex, a troubled 19-year-old girl who’s recruited to bring her in. Anne Parillaud, Bridget Fonda and Peta Wilson played Nikita in its previous incarnations. Shane West (“ER”) has booked the male lead on the drama pilot, about an assassin for a top-secret government organization who goes rogue (Maggie Q) and the new assassin who is trained to replace her. He’ll play Michael, the agent in charge of recruitment sent to bring in the rogue Nikita.

Melinda Clarke (“The O.C.”) as Amanda, a division operative tasked with educating the newly recruited Alex (yet to be cast) in how to use her femininity to her advantage.

Aaron Stanford (“Traveler”) as Birkhoff, a computer specialist who enjoys Red Bull, potato chips and watching skateboarding bloopers on YouTube.

Xander Berkeley (“24″) as Percy, “the Machiavellian leader of Division – a secret unit inside the government.”

Lyndsy Fonseca (“How I Met Your Mother”) has scored a lead role on the drama pilot, a 21st century take on the “La Femme Nikita” franchise. She’ll play Alex, a 19-year-old felon who – after being sentenced to 25 years in a federal penitentiary – is recruited by a secret government agency to hunt down the title character (Maggie Q), her predecessor. She’s detailed as an “attractive, young, white female with virtually no personal ties or paper trail,” a profile which is deemed ideal for their kind of work.