“Deadly Class” Is Neither Deadly nor Classy

We’ve seen many books, films, and TV series in which teens or young adults are put in life or death situations sometimes requiring these young people to use deadly force. Of course we have “The Hunger Games“, “Maze Runner“, and “Divergent” books and films that fit this category. On television we have “The 100” and to a lesser extent “Marvel’s Runaways” just to name a few. With the exception of Runaways all of these are in a futuristic dystopia or post-apocalyptic setting in which everyone faces life-and-death situations and the teens have no choice but to occasionally use deadly force just to survive.

However the new series “Deadly Class” from Syfy Channel is set more or less in the real world of 1980s US. This is not really science fiction or fantasy at all. It is based on a graphic novel by Wesley Craig. Our main character is Marcus Lopez. He’s a homeless teenager who escaped from a boys facility after a fire which killed most of the other residents. He gets recruited into a private high school called Kings Dominion Academy which is an underground school for assassins. Various gangsters, yakuza, and other nefarious types send their children to the school to learn “deadly arts”. He gets recruited because it is mistakenly believed that he murdered the other residents thus making him an experienced killer.

The Academy is run by a mysterious Oriental character named Master Lin whose family founded the organization to help poor people fight against the establishment. It’s based on the premise that some people just deserve to die. Marcus decides to go ahead and join to get off the street and perhaps learn skills so he can seek revenge against Pres. Ronald Reagan whom he blames for the death of his parents. Reagan cut funding for mental health programs releasing thousands of mentally ill patients onto the streets. A crazy woman jumped off a building, landed on his parents, and killed them.

In some ways the Academy sort of reminds you as a very dark and dangerous Hogwarts if the only class they taught was a dark arts class. However it wasn’t “defense against the dark arts” rather it was dark arts itself. Except remember these aren’t wizards. This isn’t sci-fi or fantasy. Despite being based on a comic book (excuse me graphic novel) there are no superheroes or supernatural elements. This is allegedly the real world.

When we look at terrific events of the dystopian young adult franchises, we can tend to set aside a bit our revulsion of kids killing kids even in something as dark as “The Hunger Games” because it’s the corrupt evil adults who are forcing the kids into the situation. However in this series, there seems to be no redeeming value to the entire situation except for the standard rationalization that they are only killing really bad people.

The thing that makes the dystopian franchises palatable apart from the necessity of the circumstance is that the storylines and the characters are compelling. We can’t say any of that about “Deadly Class”. The characters aren’t memorable. The situations aren’t compelling. Their struggles with moral dilemmas seem completely contrived even more that in the dystopian franchises. It seems as though we’re telling a story about killer kids just for the shock value of it. If there’s some deeper metaphorical meaning behind the entire concept, it is lost on me. If we want to tell a coming-of-age story about how difficult it is to grow up as a teenager these days in a violent world, then just tell the real story and don’t contrive some bizarre teenage academy for assassins.

I’ve not bothered to detail any of the characters beyond the main one or even tell you the actors names because none of them are anybody you’ve ever heard of and none of them are very interesting characters to begin with.

By the way if you’re looking for action in this series you’re going to be disappointed as well. Although they are supposedly being trained as killers, you’re not going to see spectacular fight sequences or action set pieces like you might see in a show like “The Badlands”. That’s why I said in the title that the show is neither deadly nor classy.

I waited until I had seen two full episodes before the writing this review because I wanted to see if there was some deeper meaning or some redeeming quality to the entire series but I haven’t discovered it yet. I gave this one every opportunity but in the end I give up and I’m giving it a very strong recommendation of “skip it“.

Can a Young Girl Save the World? Better Question Why Is This Show Called “The Passage”?

The Passage” is a new sci-fi thriller that premiered on Fox this winter. After watching 2 full episodes I still can’t tell you why it’s called that. This series is based on a trilogy of novels by Justin Cronin but I’ve never heard of it before.

The premise is that a group of scientists are experimenting on vampires in order to harness their healing properties. They want to combat a Chinese avian flu that could reach the United States soon and cause massive casualties. After experimenting on a variety of death row inmates by turning them into vampires, they conclude that they can modify the virus (or whatever it is that makes you a vampire) in such a way to harness its healing properties without actually turning you into a monster. Tests revealed that the younger the test subjects, the better the process works. So the mad scientists working on this project decide that they need to experiment on a child. They go in search of an orphan whom they believe no one will miss. Posing as government officials from the CDC they take into custody a 10-year-old girl Amy Belafonte. She provides a voiceover narration as if she is telling the story of what happened to her in the past.

Mercenary Brad Wolgast is in charge of retrieving the girl but his conscience gets the better of him because she reminds him of his own young daughter who is deceased. He goes on the run with her which of course pisses off his employers who will spare no expense trying to recover him and the girl.

The idea that “the fate of the world” depends on a young child is a well-worn sci-fi theme. We’ve had “Heroes” whose tagline was “Save the cheerleader… Save the world.” Kiefer Sutherland stared in a TV series called “Touch” where he was on the run with his young daughter who had some sort of mental superpowers. At age 8 Dakota Fanning had one of her first roles as the superpowered daughter of an alien in a sci-fi miniseries called “Taken“.

The weird thing about this particular “girl upon whom the fate of the world rests” scenario is that there is nothing particularly special about this girl except for the fact that she’s an orphan and has no known relatives so she won’t be missed if we kidnap her and turn her into a vampire. The scientists have not yet got their hands on her so there’s nothing they could know about her that makes her especially suited to their devious plot. The only real reason they are going after the girl and her abductor/rescuer is they don’t want it to get out what they are doing. In the second episode one of the characters says to Brad “They are more interested in keeping you quiet then they are the little girl. They can always just get another orphan.” So even the characters in the show are admitting that the premise is kind of weak.

Amy is played by Saniyya Sidney who has recently appeared in “Fences” and “Hidden Figures“. She’s a talented young actress who handles the role well. Brad is played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar who is known for a variety of TV roles including “Franklin & Bash” and “NYPD Blue“. The only other recognizable face in the show is Henry Ian Cusick who plays one of the scientists Dr. Jonas Lear. He is most remembered for his role as Desmond Hume on “Lost” and recently was on the CW sci-fi series “The 100“.

Except for the fact that this girl is going to save the world is a rather weak set up, it’s not a bad show. You got mad scientists, secret experiments on death row inmates, creepy vampires who can project their mind into your dreams, and a cute girl and her savior on the run from the bad guys. It remains to be seen where the show is really going.

For now I’m giving it a mild rating of “I’m watching” with a sort of wait and see attitude. If you can believe the advertisements it’s getting lots of critical rave. It might be worth checking out if you like this sort of thing.

“DUST” — An Amazing Source of Short Sci-Fi Films

I want to call your attention to a YouTube channel called “DUST”. It is an amazing collection of several hundred sci-fi short films ranging from about 5 minutes up to 20 minutes each. Here is the channel trailer video.

The description of their channel reads “DUST is the first multi-platform destination for binge watchable sci-fi. We feature science fiction short films and other content from emerging filmmakers with stunning visual effects, captivating plots and complex character explorations. Robots, aliens, space exploration, technology, and human experience are all a part of DUST. New uploads every week with DUST exclusive premieres and original series. Explore, subscribe, #getdusted, and follow for more.” That is a bold claim and it certainly lives up to it.

I’ve watched four or five of them and they are really amazing. They feature state-of-the-art special-effects, dramatic cinematography, and good hard-core sci-fi content. They upload one or two new videos every week. I’m going to have to go back to the very beginning and binge watch the entire channel at some point. If you are a fan of sci-fi at all you definitely need to check out this resource of great content. Check out the links below.

Suggest You Play Hooky from “Schooled”

The next new sitcom of the winter season is “Schooled” on ABC. I will cut to the chase and say that he gets my lowest rating of “worthless” which is even worse than “skip it”.

It’s described on IMDb as “A spin-off of The Goldbergs, Schooled is set in the 1990s and follows the faculty of William Penn Academy – led by Principal Glascott, Coach Mellor and Lainey Lewis – who, despite their eccentricities and crazy personal lives, are heroes to their students. ” Apparently “The Goldbergs is set sometime in the 80s so you could call this a sequel of sorts. I never watched “The Goldbergs” so if you’re a fan of that show you might have some mild interest in this one but don’t get your hopes up. This is a real snoozer. As always my ultimate test of a sitcom is “Did it make me laugh?” and this one gets a resounding “no”.

Lainey Lewis is apparently a character from “The Goldbergs” again played by AJ Michalka. She is a former student of the high school who goes back to teach even though her heart is not in teaching. She is probably the weakest link in the entire show. I found her acting to be absolutely atrocious. Principal Glasscott is played by SNL alum Tim Meadows who also appeared in 22 episodes of “The Goldbergs”. At times he is mildly funny. Coach Mellor is played by Brian Callan who did 42 episodes of “The Goldbergs”. While not especially funny, at least he is a reasonably likable sympathetic character in a pathetic kind of way.

I’ve already wasted more time writing this much than the show is worth.

If for some reason you absolutely adored these characters on “The Goldbergs” then by all means waste your time on this show. Otherwise move along… Absolutely nothing to see here.

“Fam” is Contrived Family Comedy

The first new sitcom of the winter season is “Fam” on CBS. The premise is Clem is a young woman who is recently engaged to her adoring fiancé Nick. Just as they begin to make wedding plans her ne’er-do-well out of control 16-year-old half-sister Shannon shows up and moves in with her. Clam is white and Nick is African-American but race is never brought up the entire first episode. So this isn’t “blackish” or “The Neighborhood“.

Clem is played by Nina Dobev who was most recently been seen in “The Vampire Diaries“. Her fiancé Nick is played by Tone Bell who appeared on one season of the sitcom “Whitney” but was most recently seen in “Disjointed“. The sister played by Odessa Adlon recently seen in “Nashville“. Her quirky character is the only bright spot in this otherwise ordinary sitcom. We also get a few laughs from Clem and Shannon’s father played by Gary Cole recently seen in “Chicago Fire” and as Christine Baranski’s husband on “The Good Fight“. He is a stereotypical bad father who makes all sorts of lame excuses for how he was never there when the girls were growing up. He brings a couple of laughs here and there.

The opening plot is full of sitcom clichés. The girls had told everyone that their father is dead because he’s been such an ass. Of course he shows up and spoils the lie. Also Nick accidentally eats some pot laced nuts right before a family gathering.

The laugh track is obviously fake and overdone as is usual for a new sitcom.

If you have read any of my other sitcom reviews you know that my ultimate test of any comedy is “Did it make me laugh?” I have to admit I did get a couple of chuckles out of the teenage girl but for the most part there’s nothing special about this. If you’re desperate to pick up a new sitcom on your schedule you might give it a try and see if it grows on you. But for me and my household, I’m rating this one a mild “Skip It“. Nothing special here. Move along.