by A.J. Black
Mercenary Jai Shaw is recruited into the DSR when they offer him the chance to find the man he’s spent eleven months looking for, the man who killed his wife and brother…
So here we are, the first official ZPM review and starting with one of MZP's brand new shows, Alias spin-off The DSR. For those not faimilar with the Aliasverse, DSR stands for Department of Special Research, an offshoot of the CIA set up in the 1940s to study the world of the occult, with particular focus on any threats to global security given the Nazis love of finding new and interesting ways to harness the power of the old world for victory. Well, something like that, anyway. Point is, the DSR works like an official version of the X-Files, sneaking around in the dark and fighting the kinds of bad guys more at home in an episode of Buffy.
And if you think all that sounds too cool for school, you'd be absolutely right. I've loved this premise since it was first pitched to me, so let's take a look at The DSR's opening episode, 'Welcome To The Black Hole.'
The Teaser certainly gives you everything you could want - three high-tech thieves find their perfect robbery going pretty off-kilter when a Nazi-jacketed bad guy shows up, hacking his way through security, shooting down both one thief and their rescue, forcing our rugged hero Jai Shaw to flee with his mortally-wounded wife as the whole shebang explodes into some doubtlessly slow-mo flames. The Alias style is pretty evident throughout this - throw in some pounding techno for the soundtrack and you're already in familiar territory!
When we rejoin our hero, he's suffering a little from 'One Year Later...' syndrome, which is to be expected - gives us a huge time frame for flashbacks and old war stories right from the start - but the casting of Josh Holloway as Jai already means that no matter how hard you try, you're going to keep thinking of Sawyer whenever this guy turns up. The fact that the two characters seem pretty similar doesn't help, even down to Jai's use of derogatory nicknames! Moving through a fight scene in a club (another Alias standby and again accompanied by a burst of breakbeat), we leave Jai in the custody of DSR Director Kendall, where he's told about the DSR and tempted with the bait that if he agrees to join them, he'll get a chance to track down the chap who killed his brother and missus, an allegedly sixty-year old Nazi by the name of Glissman. There's a feeling that things are moving a little too quickly at this point - we've shot through three distinctly different scenes in the space of a few pages, and it feels like we're trying to get a lot of exposition out of the way all in the first Act, but by the close of play we're set up in the DSR offices, we've established a rivalry (to Ethan) and a potential love interest (with Sara), so things are settling down again now.
One question must be begged as the team are briefed and sent out to track down rogue biologist Lothar Glaub - just why does Kendall trust Jai so implicitly? Ethan raises some good points when he confronts Kendall about it, but unless the cuddly director knows something we don't, this feels a tiny bit contrived at the moment. However, I am prepared to be proven wrong on this point, so let's push on. The team sneak into the compound where Glaub is working in some old school Bristow-style action, and another niggle starts to present itself - so far, this whole thing feels far too much like an episode of Alias. Admittedly, Alias wasn't so big on apparently immortal trenchcoat wearing Nazi cyborgs as bad guys, but Ethan hacking into the security system so Jai and Mia can bust in and snatch Glaub plays out very much like a Syd and Vaughn kind of mission, and this leaves DSR still a little unsure of its own identity as we close Act Two - style wise it's identical, even down to the 'push through the letters' opening shot as we arrive in each new location. One of the biggest issues any spin-off can face is distancing itself from the parent show. Angel managed it, and I'd like to think that Faith did too - but with Faith we did have a large chunk of the first season go by before things took a stylistic turn for the better, so maybe I'm being too harsh too soon. Either way, Glissman shows up, his cadre of disposable Blonde Guys lose a few more members and Jai gets the chance to yell 'Glissman!' at the top of his lungs in true 'I will walk the road of vengeance!' style.
And in Act III, I am proven wrong - Kendall does have a deeper reason for bringing Jai on board. Good. I feel much better about that now! However, I do need to flag Sara's dialogue - for somebody who's obviously meant to be very British, she keeps Americanising her dialogue to the extent where she feels like a female version of Marshall, minus the 'hilarious' comedy non sequiturs. We get a little blast of backstory for Mia and Jai, which is good and all, but Jai's Tibetan monastery schtick is a very overused device for spiritual healing and a convenient mastery of combat techniques these days. I know, because I've used it myself on Somewhere InBetween (and I really wish I hadn't!), but it's not helping Jai stand on his own two feet at the moment. Considering Jai's spent so long learning how to fight Glissman and also (presumably) living among the monks up there, his Angry Young Man routine feels like some slightly skewiff character development. The rest of the Act passes without incident, setting up a showdown between Jai and his nemesis in Act IV.
Act IV whizzes past in a blur of magical shenanigans as Glissman kills and then resurrects Glaub, Jai takes his enemy on and gets his man ass handed back to him in a matter of moments (so maybe those Tibetan monks need to refresh their 'lone, angry hero' training techniques), Glissman gets away and we have a surprise return for Connor, Jai's brother presumed dead since the very start of the episode. Obviously there's some sinister conspiracy afoot here (Sara pops up as Exposition Girl to hint at the deeper levels of what may be going on), and Jai's burning desire for revenge will keep him clenching with righteous fury for a good while yet.
So what do we make of DSR on the basis of episode one? We have a show that is obviously very proud and respectful of its roots in Alias - and therein lies its biggest flaw. The stylistic touches, 'debrief and action' mission style, judicious use of dance music to punctuate the fight scenes - it all feels like an episode of Alias with a higher supernatural twist than normal instead of its own show. On a technical level, the episode isn't bad, but there are a lot of places where the heavily cliched dialogue lets down what could have been a more powerful scene. Jai's Tibetan flashback in particular feels like it should be accompanied by stirring Rocky IV style training music, which takes away from the noble element of his quest a little. And I know we've only had one episode with them, but the cast do feel a little stereotypical at the moment, with the exceptions of Anton and Mia, who have something a little different about them. Hopefully, future episodes will go some way to fleshing the others out.
So it's a touch unoriginal, too fast paced for its own good, a little cliched and firmly in the shadow of it's parent show at the moment - but is it any good? Is it fun to read? The answer, luckily, is yes. DSR has to start finding its own identity pretty sharpish if its to stand out, but it's fast moving, enjoyable and seems to have bags of potential, so I'm expecting to see a marked improvement over the next few episodes as the show finds its feet.
ZPM RATING:
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