'The Homecoming'

by **shaqui** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 12:24 pm

Sh*t!!!

Sorry for the expletive but that was the best yet! :grin:

While the others have lingered a bit on the CGI, it's nice to see an episode which matches the pace of the better episodes of the original.

Superb - the benchmark for later episodes to now surpass.

And loved the 'Star Wars' homages - I'm beginning to see why they put this one on, as MOM showed the new trailer for Episode III as well as having stormtroopers in the studio. Nice to see someone at MOM was paying attention there...

There's hope yet.

:-D

Website · by **Sage** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 1:29 pm

Totally agree, it was fantastic.

Really getting their money's worth on the movement, the fencing scenes were brilliantly shot.

The characterisation is superb. Come on there has got to be something going on with Blue & Green. Every scene with her and her father was wonderful.

by **hazel** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 2:27 pm

Agreed - a very nice episode indeed. Good characterisation, a little backstory for Scarlet and Green, and Colonel White's compassionate side. And at last we get to see Scarlet using his retrometabolism again!

But the ending - it just kind of.... finished. Is it supposed to be like that, or did MOM chop a chunk off the end? Can hardly wait for the DVDs so I can see the episodes as they are meant to be seen.

by **shaqui** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 2:32 pm

I agree - an abrupt ending. But some originals were a bit like that too... (Expo 2068 for example)

by **ROBE** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 3:14 pm

I know it was a very good episode. Well it looks like the new series is doing things right, that was episode 5 so we are nearly half way through the first series of 13 episodes. :lol:

by **shaqui** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 3:21 pm

ROBE wrote:I know it was a very good episode. Well it looks like the new series is doing things right, that was episode 5 so we are nearly half way through the first series of 13 episodes.

Oh puh-leeeeez don't put it like that... :cry:

by **Kambei** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 3:22 pm

It rocked. Seems that the storylines and characterisations are definitely settling down. I am now convinced that there is more than friendship between Blue and Green. Personally I would like to see that develop. My only complaint is the ending. It did seem rather abrupt, but I think I can forgive that with the strength of the episode in general.

by **ROBE** » Sat Mar 12, 2005 3:50 pm

That is the problem we don't know how much gets trimmed by MOM.

by **Marion** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 11:13 am

I've just watched 'The Homecoming' a second time. I thought it was a neat story - don't get me wrong - but there were several things that struck me as about it.
1. It seems the Mysterons can hypnotise their victims into doing their bidding now - Dr Gold was 'hypnotised' whilst he did the blood test on Commander Lewis. Is there an instance anywhere in the original series where Captain Black does that? I know in 'Shadow of Fear' they Mysteronise Brek through his telescope - but the original is still killed - presumably Doctor Gold wasn't - not that anyone did anything to check he was still human - not that they mentioned anyway.
BTW - where WAS Captain Black? He's not around much any more, is he? And there was no Mysteron threat either - they seem to have dropped that from the format.
2. Mysteron agents/replicants can be detected by their DNA - Dr Gold says: they may be clever but they cannot hide their DNA - so presumably the artificial intelligence or non-corporeal entity theories about the Mysterons are redundant now?
3. Why did Commander Lewis attack Scarlet on Skybase? If he was supposed to be blowing up huge swathes of America, killing Scarlet might make people suspect he was not all he seemed to be... (The cynic in me thinks it might have been so they could show more fencing action... :roll:

but we know the characters can move about, they don't have to keep rubbing it in...)
4. Why do the characters not walk so much as lope along? They were all bouncing from the knees this week- especially Commander Lewis - I guess he might've had an excuse after 15 years in a cryo-tube - but that didn't mean they all had to copy him.

5. The tunnel Scarlet crawled along - the one 'too narrow for a radiation suit' looked fairly roomy to me... I suppose that fog he went through was the physical manifestation of the radiation?
This leads me to ask about the nature of CGI Scarlet's retrometabolism/indestructability. The Soldier from the base was adamant that Scarlet would not survive the tunnel - because of the radiation levels - yet Scarlet crawls through - does some more fencing with Commander Lewis and then collapses - but he's still fit enough to walk out with Green's help. I'm not an expert on radiation sickness, but does it take that long to kill someeone? In Manhunt, Black tells Symphony she's going to die in a matter of minutes when he shoves her in a radiation chamber. So, is Scarlet's retrometabolism curing him as he goes along - rather than after the wound/illness has killed him?
Oh and by the way - how did Scarlet get into the tunnel? The schismatic seemed to imply it was underground - but maybe I got that wrong.

Interesting information: Serena's birthday is August 12th and she's 27. :grin:

Colonel White says she's his administration officer, not a field officer - so she isn't supposed to go gallivanting about doing 'derring do'. Maybe that was the case with the late-lamented Seymour too - only he was just keen to go and play with the big boys?

I wonder if the ending was due to the wonderful MOM editing we have to put up with - cos it did stop rather abruptly....?

by **Lieutenant Green** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 2:29 pm

Marion said

Why do the characters not walk so much as lope along? They were all bouncing from the knees this week- especially Commander Lewis - I guess he might've had an excuse after 15 years in a cryo-tube - but that didn't mean they all had to copy him

.

You've highlighted the only thing about this episode I did not like - the lack of motion capture. There was tons of it in the first 2 episodes, a good deal in last week's (Rat Trap), but apart from the fencing there was not much this week. The way Lewis walked made it look as though he hadn't been to the toilet for a long time. Even the bit when he throws something at Scarlet looked too computer gamish. When you saw it flying through the air it was no way near realistic.

I feel if they used motion capture in all instances of the character's movements it would have made the whole thing a lot better and more believable. I hope we see a lot more in future episodes.

by **Kambei** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 3:02 pm

Marion, it depends on the dosage of radiation that a person gets. Check out the excellent documentary on either History or Discovery about Chernobyl, also the film K19: The Widowmaker which gives a very accurate portrayal of radiation sickness. As for anti-radiation suits, they can be quite bulky and restrict movement. Serena would definitely have to go through decontamination, though, as the entrance to the tunnel was broken and there would have been some radiation leakage into the control room.
On your second point, I have a theory. The Mysterons could very well still be non-coporeal or AI. They could use replicants or constructs as first-contact or general contact liaisons with other races. Most people would find it far more comfortable talking to a fellow human being than a computer screen or a glowing ball of like. Psychological tests have shown that humans react much better when faced with familiar emotional responses and body language. The Mysterons, if they are beings of energy, could have found a way to inhabit the body of a replicant to give it life. I note with interest that the green rings seem to get to the character
before[i] they are killed. They appear to retain the memories of the original. Captain Scarlet and Commander Lewis are my case in point.
I agree about the Mysteron threats. I always considered them to be an integral part of the original show. Seems to me that the war is different this time, though. Skybase is coming under attack more frequently, and the Mysterons really seem to be going after Spectrum personel. It would seem to be more in the nature of a series of terrorist actions. Car bombers don't normally warn their targets beforehand.

by **chrisbishop** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 3:58 pm

It would seem to be more in the nature of a series of terrorist actions. Car bombers don't normally warn their targets beforehand.

But the Mysterons are not exactly 'ordinary' over the mills terrorists. They are waging a war of Nerves - thus the reason for the warnings in the original series.

Or did that change in this new series?

by **Kambei** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 4:10 pm

That's what I'm thinking. This time, they did not say 'slow, but nonetheless effective.' In the original, they never tried to affect more than a small proportion of the Earth, this time, they seem to be going for millions at a time. In Instrument of Destruction Part 2, Black stated 'big enough to blow your planet in half That is twice now they have tried to use high yield nuclear devices with no warning. Doesn't sound like a 'War of Nerves' to me considering that in the original series Spectrum did not always win.[/quote]

by **Marion** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 4:45 pm

Thanks Kambei, for the radiation info. Unfortunately I don't have satellite TV, so no chance of catching the documentaries you mentioned.

I assume everyone in the bunker would have to be decontaminated (Scarlet said there were people trapped in there) - maybe even Blue and the soldiers - if the radiation leaked out of the bunker? It looks like the dose of radiation couldn't have been high enough to kill anyone straight away, despite what the Soldier implied - so we are no closer understandig the nature of Scarlet's abilities... :wink:

by **captain wil** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 6:57 pm

I would think, Marion, that all your questions could be answered with one easy explanation - it's just easier not to have to worry about that stuff. After all, it's only kids TV.

Great sets and some good animation (the fencing was fab). Even Capt Scarlet's face seems to have a bit more of that original 'steely' look but gaping plot holes and a weak script still leave me a bit cold.