Christie Burke, Reece Ritchie and Richard Fleeshman in Season One of the ‘The Ark’

The SyFy network debuted the Dean Devlin created television series The Ark (2023- ) in February. The 12-episode first season of this science fiction series aired its the last episode of its inaugural season on Wednesday, April 19th. This review looks more favorably on the experience of this first season than other venues.

(From left, Richard Fleeshman as Lt. James Brice, Christie Burke as Lt. Sharon Garnet, and Tiana Upcheva as Eva Markovic in the Dean Devlin television series The Ark).

The premise of the show begins with a crew from Earth, 100 years in the future, that had been in extended sleep aboard their spaceship called Ark One. Before arriving at their destination, a planet called Proxima b, the ship experiences a catastrophic event that inflicts damage on their ship and death for the leadership of the craft.

(From left, Richard Fleeshman as Lt. James Brice, Stacey Michelle Read as Alicia Nevins and Pavle Jerinić as Felix Strickland in the Dean Devlin television series The Ark).

Offering a storytelling sensibility lighter and more comedic than one might expect, the feeling one receives when addressing the ongoing of single-episode crises with an interpersonal flavor that lands somewhere between Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) and Eureka (2006-2012), the first seven episodes of the season focuses on survival of the Ark One vessel and its crew. Lt. Sharon Garnet, Lt. Spencer Lane and Lt. James Bryce, as portrayed by Christie Burke, Reece Ritchie and Richard Fleeshman respectively, take command of the vessel.

(From left, Miles Barrow as Baylor Trent and Shalini Peiris as Dr. Sanjivni Kabir in the Dean Devlin television series The Ark).

Establishing norms for how to conduct a mission to get to Proxima b while having years of unplanned, awakened travel had not been the original plan for the Ark One. It was in discovering that another spacecraft existed that plans needed to be made to engage the crew of Ark One needed to shift focus. Waste management engineer Alicia Nevins, youth horticulturalist Angus Medford, head of security Felix Strickland, medical doctor Sanjivni Kabir, social media star and “TV relationship specialist” Cat Brandice and head of maintenance, engineering and construction, Eva Markovic, are all pressed into duty. Nevins, Medford, Strickland, Kabir, Brandice and Markovic were portrayed by Stacey Read, Ryan Adams, Pavle Jerinic, Shalini Peiris, Christina Wolfe and Tiana Upcheva, respectively.

(From left, Reece Ritchie as Lt. Spencer Lane, Samantha Glassner (seen from behind) as Kelly Fowler, Paul Murray as William Trust and Mercedes De La Cruz as Helena Trust in the Dean Devlin television series The Ark).

The storytelling went in a different direction by the season’s midpoint with the introduction of Arc Three and Arc Fifteen. These additional crafts brought tales of the planet Earth previously unknown to the audience, which included the introduction of characters including Kelly Fowler, William Trust, Helena Trust and Evelyn Maddox, as portrayed by Samantha Glassner, Paul Leonard Murray, Mercedes De La Cruz and Jelena Stupljanin, respectively.

(From left, Ryan Adams as Angus Medford, Christina Wolfe as Dr. Cat Brandice and Jelena Stupljanin as Evelyn Maddox in the Dean Devlin television series The Ark).

Many questions for the opening season of The Ark were addressed, thus leaving a direction for next season that was less of a cliffhanger than with other shows reviewed here recently. I am hopeful for what will be the second season of The Ark, which in part helps lead me to my opening season rating of 3.5-stars on a scale of one-to-five stars.

Matt – Saturday, April 22, 2023

The Year 2020 in Television

Matt Lynn Digital focused a bit less on reviewing television in 2020. Today we walk down memory lane for reviews made in 2020, whether they be network television or streaming services through the year.

(Season 3 of the FX series Justified earned 4.25 stars from Matt Lynn Digital).

The third season of FX television series Justified (2010-2015) earned out top rating for the year with a rating of 4.25-stars on a scale of one-to-five. I particularly enjoyed the flawed characters in the series told and portrayed with a realism that spoke of excellent storytelling. This is a great series.

(The first season of the HBO series Perry Mason earned 4.0-stars from Matt Lynn Digital).

The first season of HBO Original Series Perry Mason (2020- ) earns out second mention for the television. The reimagining of the origin stories of the core characters coupled with the provocative storytelling captured my interest in earning a 4.0-stars on a scale of one-to-five. The focus on a single case through the season coupled with establishing the relationships that will undoubtedly evolve into what I hope will be additional seasons remains worth your viewership.

(The SyFY Channel series Eureka earned 4.0-stars from Matt Lynn Digital).

The full installment of the  SyFy Channel series Eureka (2006-2012) gets another 4.0-stars from us. Despite ending its run eight years ago, the sense of humor of this nerd festival for the rest of us does a solid job of being episodic yet somewhat thematic. The longevity of the series definitely comes through in the willingness to change things up through the course of a show that didn’t push boundaries while really landing in a fresh place.

(The ABC mini-series Stephen King’s It earned 3.75-stars from Matt Lynn Digital).

Looking into the 1990 American Broadcasting Company television mini-series for the 1986 Stephen King novel named It: A Novel, which is now called Stephen King’s It (1990), lands at our one television review earning 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five.  This television adaptation for network television is tamer than the book in addition to the darker treatment offered by the theatrical released movies from 2017 and 2019. The mini-series feels more like the 1980s, the era from the book, than do the movies. Consider this mini-series a safer entry point to the cinematic story than the movies, especially for a younger viewership.

(The second season of NBC‘s Manifest earned 3.50-stars from Matt Lynn Digital).

Manifest came back for a second season on the National Broadcasting Company. There was backslide in the second season for the underlying story that had me optimistic for more episodes after the first season. A compelling story to keep an audience for a third season remains. The story of a flight that disappeared for a number of years with the people not aging, then coming back to weird interpersonal experiences, can work if done well. The second seson earned 3.50-stars on a scale of one-to-five from us.

(The second season of Homecoming by Amazon earned 3.50-stars from Matt Lynn Digital).

A second season of  Amazon Prime Original Series Homecoming (2018- ) works if you stream it the season on the heals of the first season. In garnering 3.50-stars from us, the story does include suspense, intrigue and surprises throughout the lives of people involved in a weird set of events surrounding interventions with war veterans suffering from PTSD. The method of storytelling is what drives me to suggesting experiencing the two seasons in quick succession. Trust us that the experience works better this way.

Share the Matt Lynn Digital blog with your friends if you see value in what we are doing. Before the end of this year, a similar review for entries on music, movies and books will also be coming. We feel these reviews provide excellent content that we would like to continue offering.

Matt – Saturday, December 26, 2020

Review of the SyFy television series ‘Eureka’

The SyFy Channel series Eureka (2006-2012) depicted a “U.S. Marshall who [became] the sheriff of a remote cozy little Northwestern town of Eureka where the best minds in the US…secretly [were] tucked away to build futuristic inventions for the government.” The series ran for five seasons of charmingly humorous science that frequently would have things “go disastrously wrong.”

(From left, Trevor Jackson as Kevin Blake, Felicia Day as Holly Marten, Erica Cerra as Jo Lupo and Colin Ferguson as Jack Carter in the television series Eureka).

The central humor of this story is the storyline of characters intermixed with the mayhem where science runs comically amok. Colin Ferguson as Sheriff Jack Carter is the everyman at the center of saving the day for whatever dilemma the individual series brought. Part of the early series focused on the sheriff’s relationship with his rebellious daughter Zoe Carter, as played by Jordan Danger.

(From left, Colin Ferguson as Jack Carter, Debrah Farentino as Beverly Barlowe and Joe Morton as Henry Deacon in the television series Eureka).

Jo Lupo, as played by Erica Cerra, plays the combative deputy to Jack Carter, first as a rough and tumble competitor. Lupo becomes romantically attached to Jim Taggart, as played by Matt Frewer, and Zane Donovan as played by Niall Matter, through the course of the series. The antagonistic yet playful relationships among these characters serves the irreverent stories of the five seasons well.

(From left, Salli Richardson-Whitfield as Allison Blake and Niall Matter as Zane Donovan in the television series Eureka).

Central to the storyline of Eureka is the character of Allison Blake, as portrayed by Salli Richardson-Whitfield. Allison tangles at first with the complicated relationship between her ex-husband Nathan Stark, who is played by Ed Quinn. It feels like the original plan was for Nathan Stark to last in the series longer than he did, as Stark and Allison parent Kevin Blake as played first by Meshach Peters and later by Trevor Jackson. Nathan fathers a second child with Allison during the series, yet his character leaves the series with Trevor Grant and Jack Carter becoming love interests at different points in the series. James Callis plays Trevor Grant in one of the more satisfying yet short lived storylines in the series.

(From left, Chris Gauthier as Vincent, Jordan Danger as Zoe Carter and Neil Grayston as Douglas Fargo and S.A.R.A.H. in the television series Eureka).

Beverly Barlowe, as played by Debrah Farentino, is written as one of the more complicated characters through the course of the series. In offering a character whose narrative arc follows a logical yet emotionally complicated path across a fascinating storyline across the series, my only clue in this review is to articulate that her angle is personal, ethically misguided, yet of a compelling human quality to make her story interesting. Barlowe’s tale stands out as interesting, too, in comparison to the story of Henry Deacon as played by Joe Morton. Deacon parallels Jack as an everyman of the scientific community yet with a complicated history that at first intersects with a deceased wife and then with a wife he grows to care for through complicated means named Grace Monroe. Tembi Locke plays Grace Monroe.

(From left, Joe Morton as Henry Deacon, James Callis as Trevor Grant and Tembi Locke as Grace Monroe in the television series Eureka).

Douglas Fargo, also the voice of the automated intelligence for Jack Carter’s house S.A.R.A.H., is played by Neil Grayston. In many ways, Fargo is the comic relief first for Nathan Stark and later for the full storyline Eureka. Douglas comes into a friendly rivalry with Isaac Parrish, played by Wil Wheaton, as both have a scientific rivalry and ultimately a rivalry of the heart when it comes to Holly Marten, as played by Felicia Day. Deputy Andy as played by Kavan Smith along with Carpe Diem proprietor Vincent, as played by Chris Gauthier, add comedic value through the course of the series as well.

(From left, Ed Quinn as Nathan Stark and Kavan Smith as Deputy Andy in the television series Eureka).

As mentioned with a partial review on Rotten Tomatoes, Eureka kept an “assured sense of humor and game [that kept] it afloat, though an increased sense of stakes and willingness to switch up its formula [in later seasons] add[ed] some welcome excitement.” A pair of disjointed holiday episodes aside that did offer entertainment value, the full narrative of the Eureka series entertained me to the point of recommending you view the series. I rate the series Eureka at 4.0-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, November 18, 2020