[Previous entry: "B5 And Werewolves"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "The End... Of Season 2"]

2005-01-09 Entry: "Mutants and Distractions"

And we pick up where we left off... in the middle of the Mutant X pilot. Although, here it's presented in its two part form of "The Shock Of The New" and "I Scream The Body Electric." Anyway... what's it about? Well, John Shea was a researcher at Genomex, an organisation that performed genetic experiments on a whole bunch of children, who've now grown up and developed special abilities... basically they're mutants.

Realising that the organisation wasn't one of the good guys, John Shea went outlaw and started a band of mutants called, obviously enough, Mutant X, while Genomex was headed by the suitably creepy Mason Eckhart, whose job was to capture mutants and make them safe (by sticking chips in their neck and controlling their powers).

Mutant X starts with two members, Shalimar (played by Victoria Pratt) who can leap tall buildings in a single bound and beat up twenty men without breaking a sweat, and Jesse, who can become both hard and tough to deflect bullets, and transparent and airy to pass through matter.

However, Genomex are on the trail of two other mutants, Emma, who can read and control people's thoughts and emotions, and Brennan, who's using his electrical abilities to commit crimes... robbing banks, stealing cars, you know, usual penny ante stuff!

Amazingly I'd mostly forgotten the second part of this pilot... although I think I've seen the first part at least three times - presumably when they're shown together I lose interest half way through and give up.

The effects here are pretty good, but the fight scenes (at least in the first part) are absolutely terrible - the kicks and punches come nowhere near connecting with the stunt doubles who have to react to the blow.

Oh, and Lauren Lee Smith (playing Emma) is a hottie... not that I'm watching this for purely shallow reasons, oh no!

It's nice to see John Shea again, and he's not quite as sinister here as when playing Lex Luthor, but I guess it's difficult to be sinister when playing against Tom McCamus as Eckhart, who's the over the top villain all mutant shows need, while John Shea's Adam is the stereotypical Professor X type mentor figure.

But enough of this sillyness... on to the next thing... or rather back to B5...

Or rather, get distracted by other shiny objects and end up not watching much of anything for the rest of the day... Hollywood Homicide isn't very good...