The battle between good and evil recommences with Fox's serialized sequel to William Peter Blatty's "The Exorcist".
In my estimation, Season 1 was one of the most underrated shows to premiere last year. It's a product that "Exorcist" fans should have flocked to in droves, and anyone who bypassed it for lesser fare should be equally ashamed.
"Exorcist: The Series" introduced us to Alfonso Herrera's Father Tomas and Ben Daniel's Father Marcus, in a contemplative, Chicago-based case that connected to old favorite, Regan MacNeil. (If you haven't watched Season 1, I'll skip the details, since it offered quite a surprise. I'll say this much, though: It revolved around the secret identity of Geena Davis' clan.) John "Star Trek" Cho now joins the cast as Andy Kim, a child psychologist, who's bound to have his hands as full as the priests'.
Of all the sequels/prequels to "Exorcist", Fox's television series has proven the most faithful to the novel and '73 film. The initial season was a strong essay on the power of good over evil, but when evil did rear its ugly head, it sure delivered the cautionary chills. Indeed, Season 1 was quite a powerful and apt reintroduction to Blatty's concepts.
Season 2 is already off to a swell start, with Tomas and Marcus (the latter currently collarless) on the road, chasing a new form of devilry. (I think it's safe to say their crusade will remain virtuously focused, unlike that of those irreverent "Preacher" nomads.) I'm just glad that Fox's executives decided to give this incarnation a second shot. The odds didn't seem to favor it, but it just goes to show that sometimes quality can overcome ratings. (In truth, Season 1 didn't do that poorly in viewership, but still deserved a far larger audience.)
Episodes of Season 2 can be viewed each Friday at 9 pm. Be sure to check the series out, starting with Season 1. You'll be both frightened and blessed that you did.
The classic crew is back, but with the new-phase actors, in "Star Trek Beyond": a Simon Pegg and Doug Yung scripted alternate-reality installment, directed by "Fast and Furious" maestro, Justin Lin and produced by masterful emulator, J.J. Abrams.
Back to the stars are Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk; Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock; Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy; Zoe Salanda as Nyota Uhura; Pegg as Montgomery Scott; John Cho as Hikaru Sulu; and the late Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov.
The new offering goes as follows: The Enterprise is attacked by mysterious, swarming crafts after answering a distress call. Lizard-like entities board the ship in search of a mysterious artifact, causing Kirk and crew to crash-land on a new world. There the dictatorial, energy-sucking saurian named Krall (Idris Elba) demands receipt of the object, while Kirk and crew are split up, trying to make sense of it all. They eventually rejoin, gaining an ally in the form of sexy black/white-striped Jaylah (Sophia Boutella), who's skilled at fighting, despises Krall and just so happens to know the whereabouts of an old starship.
There's plenty of hide-and-seek throughout, but the story is best classified as one of who-will-win-and-how. Also, for all of its skirmishes and lightning-fast chases, "Beyond" is predominately a planet-based adventure, where the main characters take turns stepping into the spotlight to push the plot along. The formula helps mount the suspense, as we wonder when the artifact will be revealed and what secret it holds.
Pegg/Yung's script makes this chapter separate (in a sense) from its already established, refashioned history. In other words, we don't have anything akin to the destruction of Vulcan here, or a twisting on the "Space Seed"/"Wrath of Khan" story line. This is a stand-alone entry by design, designated to a new, franchise stretch, which only those-in-the-know will recognize, though a few nods to the original cast can't be denied. Nonetheless, if slipped into the ongoing, classic "Trek" amateur-series structure, this one would work without much modification.
I guess that's a good thing, but the question remains whether "Beyond" unequivocally captures the Roddenberry spirit. After all, some say the previous, two films are more action-oriented ("Star Wars" geared, that is) than philosophically bent, the way we normally think of "Trek".
One can debate the matter till the cows come home, but in some ways, "Beyond" captures the best of both worlds, with gritty zest and an interesting concept, which features old an new characters to appeal to old and new fans. Does its set-up make a sociological statement the way it should? Not really, but I suppose that all depends on how the content strikes one. That it steps away from its prior alternate-reality chapters seems to work to its advantage, and my hunch is, such will please those who aren't keen on the previous "Mirror Mirror" variations.
Whether audiences get used to the new design (to the point where it no longer matters) is yet to be seen, but if "Beyond" falters, there's no need to fret. "Trek" isn't perishing anytime soon. If this incarnation doesn't blaze the trail farther, than there are others on the horizon that will.
