Machine Code

MOVED TO:

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In alphabetical order

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May 07, 2021

24

Elements of interest: Fast paced action, technology, espionage

Oh the joys of 90s television.. Before CGI became ultra-realistic and took precedence over story and content (see: Avatar), there were made several TV series with low budget, that still remained fantastic. One of those shows was called ‘The Outer Limits’, with 90s charm and clever twists.

The show focused on 1 hour science-fiction gems, where every episode ended in an unexpected twist. There are different characters and leads in every episode, similar to The Twilight Zone. In retrospect I appreciate this show even more because nothing like it has been or is being made. The visual effects, while basic and primitive in many ways, also provided a completely unique atmosphere to the show. Who can forget the last frame of one episode where aliens had taken over the world and an alien had sat itself on the president’s head in the Oval Office while the shot faded out with a view of Washington DC in ruins?

The show just plain worked. And even though it was a sci-fi show, it was also completely rooted in human social relations and societal critique. Many ideas and concepts could be applied to real life occurrences, and while the show could be called ‘crazy’, it never strayed away from its inner human core. This is a show I highly recommend to any sci-fi fan, and luckily for us, all 7 seasons of it is on hulu.com for free!

La Femme Nikita is one of those shows (along with The Outer Limits) that show how story telling and acting is more important than special effects and big budget production. With its unusual twists on the espionage world, along with intriguing core concepts, it’s undoubtedly one of my favorite shows of all time. The show is basically about an undercover government operation called Section One. The agency uses many immoral and brutal techniques to take down terrorists and other major league criminals. Torture, deception, exploitation of innocent people for a grand goal and extortion are all techniques used to reach the goal. The show features an excellent cast with brilliant deep personalities, and they are all acted well throughout.

The show was created by Joel Surnow and Bob Cochran, of which both later created “24.” 24 is also another show that is extremely well written and executed, but it is quite different from Nikita even still. You can tell these guys are into politics, terrorism, espionage and such though, but just presented in two different ways. Nikita is in many ways more in fantasy land than 24, while 24 tries to be more realistic in how torture and such is handled. Section One is completely free of any responsibility for its actions. It can torture and exploit at will and nobody will come after them for it. My favorite character is Operations, which is the leader of Section One. He’s very charismatic, cold but can also show his empathy (which he did for Walter in a Season 3 episode.) This creates a very multi faceted personality where you’re not really sure what he’s thinking. Madeline is Operations’ second in command, and she is more cold than Operations. If she ever shows compassion it’s probably only a game played for personal or higher gain. The first 3 seasons are the best. The last two are a bit more lacking.