Tag Archives: fantasy

Review: Sanctuary, “Normandy”

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My blog has reached its second post; hurray for follow through!

For my first review, I will be discussing the latest episode of the sci-fi/fantasy web series turned TV series, Sanctuary.

Since this is my first time reviewing an episode of Sanctuary, I will give a little backstory on the series for those not familiar with it. Sanctuary follows the immortal Dr. Helen Magnus (played by Amanda Tapping of Stargate fame), the head of global network of secret “Sanctuaries” for various mythical and mutant creatures (referred to as “Abnormals”), and her assistants as they capture monsters and save the world. It’s a bizarrely inconsistent show that can be fantastic one week and soul-crushingly awful the next.

What makes Sanctuary interesting is a group of characters called the Five. The Five were scientists in the 1800s who gained superpowers by injecting themselves with ancient vampire blood. The Five are Helen Magnus, Nicola Tesla, John Druitt (better known to history as Jack the Ripper), James Watson, and Nigel Griffin (AKA the Invisible Man). Each of them is an interesting character in their own right, and the dynamics between them are a delight to see. Tesla and Druitt are especially enjoyable, and the show’s quality invariably peaks when they’re present. The problem with Sanctuary is that, with the exception of Magnus, none of the Five are regular cast members, and they only show up once in a while. Episodes without them are always much less interesting.

Now, onto “Normandy.” This episode is entirely flashback and depicts the Five attempting to stop an Abnormal-powered Nazi superweapon on the eve of D-Day. Oddly, this is the first episode in Sanctuary’s three seasons to include every member of the Five in a major role.

Considering my comments on the Five above, it should come as no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed “Normandy.” I would, in fact, rate it as one of the best episodes of the series. I mean, when Jack the Ripper shows up in a Nazi uniform and claims that he turned coat “for the attire,” how can that not be awesome?

It’s a fun caper with great character interactions in the spirit of Sanctuary at its finest (as opposed to Sanctuary at its worst, which is cheesy, poorly written, and borderline nonsensical). It’s one of those episodes where there’s not a whole lot to say because everything was good.

Only two significant complaints come to mind. One is the inclusion of an ancestor (or distant relation; it’s unclear) of Will Zimmerman, Magnus’s assistant in the modern era, played by the same actor as Will. It was cheesy and ultimately added nothing to the plot. The elder Zimmerman could have just as easily been some random red shirt for all the difference it would have made.

The second problem is a plot hole regarding Nigel Griffin. Every other member of the Five has an explanation for why they haven’t aged since the 19th century, but no reason is given for why Griffin (who must be about eighty or so by World War II) still appears to be in his mid-forties.

Still, “Normandy” is on the whole enjoyable enough for me to overlook these minor hiccups.

Overall rating: 8.9/10. A fine episode.

Does this post have you interested in Sanctuary? Why not pick up some DVDs on my Amazon affiliate page. You can get caught up, and I can eat for another day. It’s win-win!

Introductory post, and what Superior Realities means

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Welcome to my shiny new blog, Superior Realities. Here, I intend to do what us nerds do best: discuss the things I love over the internet. I’m a fantasy novel junkie and a hopeless World of Warcraft addict, so you can expect a lot of posts on those subjects, but also expect me to discuss television and movies and occasionally other video games. Some of it may not even be sci-fi or fantasy related. I am a self-confessed Gleek (even if the last season left something to be desired), so that might come up a bit as well. I am also an aspiring professional writer, so expect some thoughts on that, too. I may even post some of my fiction sometime.

I’ll explain more about what you can expect from my blog in a bit, but first I want to explain where the name “Superior Realities” comes from, and in so doing, hopefully give you an idea of why I love speculative fiction (that’s sci-fi and fantasy if you haven’t heard that term before) so much.

Simply put, I have always felt that places like Middle Earth and Azeroth are simply better than this dull, ordinary, dirty world we live in. Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not some deranged individual who can’t tell the difference between fantasy and reality. I am deranged, but not in that manner (and that’s really a subject for another time). But that doesn’t mean I don’t think there is something innately better about the realms created by fantasy.

“But, Mr. Blogger,” you say, “those fantasy worlds are terrible. They’re full of Orcs and undead and suffering.” And you’re right. But in a strange way, the ultimate evils present in fantasy are what make it so compelling. There seems to an unwritten rule of balance in a lot of fantasy story-telling. The logic seems to be that if ultimate evil exists, then so must ultimate good, and vice versa. Now, that doesn’t really make any rational sense if you think about it. But there is a certain base logic to its symmetry, and it seems to be assumed by most fantasy writers (including yours truly).

This is one of the key appeals for me, because ultimate good, like ultimate evil, doesn’t really exist in this world. No one is perfect. Everyone has their burden of sin. Even the best among us occasionally harm others whether they want to or not. It’s one of those utterly depressing facts of the real world.

In short, it is worth enduring the nightmare of ultimate evil for the dream of ultimate good. If I could, I would gladly unleash a real life Sauron or Lich King upon the world if it meant we could get a real life Tirion Fordring or Samwise Gamgee in the bargain. (Yeah, I just compared the fat Hobbit to the guy who shattered Frostmourne–but really, Sam was the true hero in those books.) And I say that despite being someone who would certainly be one of the first proverbial redshirts to fall before the undead onslaught.

My reasons for loving speculative fiction are many and complex, but this is one of the main ones, and one of the key reasons I will always view the fantasy realities as superior. And it is those realities that this blog will focus on, hence the name.

Now, here are some of the segments I am planning for this blog:

Reviews: Pretty self-explanatory. I’ll review books I’ve read, TV shows I watch, and movies I see.

Retro reviews: The same as above, but not things that are new or recent. My reasons for doing these are two-fold. One is that I don’t think something needs to be new to deserve attention; I’m sure I’ve read plenty of books that you haven’t heard of and might be interested in. The other is that I really don’t have a huge amount of new stuff to review (in part because money can be an issue).

Miscellaneous rants/ruminations/previews/fanboy gushing: Just anything I want to talk about. A lot of this is probably going to be about Warcraft. Also, I spelled miscellaneous right on my first try. Yay me!

“Newb of the day”: You encounter a lot of douchebags when you play WoW. I will probably feel the need to rant.

I also may attempt to badger my friends into doing some guest posts (they’re a lot more interesting than I am). I may even post some of my fiction sometime, although that’s tricky since once I do that I can’t submit it to publications. But then, I always get rejected anyway.

I’m going to try to set up an Amazon affiliate so you can buy what I review here. That way, you get some awesome stuff, and I get money to review more things.

Expect new posts roughly every two or three days. I’m going to try and be nice and regular about it, so come back often, and spam tell your friends.