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THEATRE

Siberia Looks To Break New Ground

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The Contestants of Siberia (Source NBC)
The Contestants of Siberia
(Source NBC)

Siberia: Mondays at 10 p.m. Eastern on NBC

(As a heads-up: due to the nature of this show, it is basically impossible not to spoil it’s major conceit, as a result I should advise you that if you want to check out the show with a completely open mind, you should probably watch it before you go any further into this review – Mike)

 

 

 

In retrospect I find this pretty ironic: I spend a disproportionate amount of time railing against the obviously fake aspects of reality TV but I genuinely enjoy a lot of the fake shows that skewer the conventions of said shows. Tonight NBC blurs the lines between “reality” and “drama” to an unprecedented degree with it’s newest summer series: Siberia.

At it’s core Siberia is a psuedo-reality drama set in the titular location – a place known for being as inhospitable as possible. Contestants are forced to live in a village that was seemingly abandoned in place 100 years ago due to mysterious circumstances. It is here that the contestants must fight to survive not only the harsh Siberian winter, but also themselves and the inhospitable and unnatural occurrences around them.

Sixteen contestants arrive blindfolded in the Siberian Forest, with our host, the Jonathon Buckley, arriving to explain the rules of our game (which he calls a social experiment) in which the winner receives a half-million dollars. We then learn the premise of our show: stick 16 people in the Siberian wilderness with no modern conveniences and make them survive until the end of winter. Jonathon then discusses the history of this middle-of-nowhere outpost whose settlers disappeared with no explanation in 1908.

Our contestants then end up on a two mile race through the forest and swamps to run to our tiny settlement. While many of the contestants arrive in a large pack, we are down to two groups of two vying for the last two slots in the settlement (the last two to arrive would be eliminated): an injured player and the bleeding heart who carried him through the forest, and a journalist who leads herself and another contestant down the wrong path. After they’re eliminated we get our next little bit of information: This is a contest of sheer endurance and is about the ability of our contestants to band together. There is a large box that will occasionally grant mystery items and a gate that once passed through eliminates a contestant. Otherwise there are no rules.

Immediately our contestants squabble off over the fact that there are 12 cots for 14 people. The box then signals mentioning the possibility of mushrooms, and the group goes off to find mushrooms and water. They find water but not mushrooms and have a kumbaya moment around the fire only to be interrupted by a nightmarish growl. The next morning, Tommy goes missing while looking for mushrooms, and a cameraman runs into the village bleeding from the head. After the cameraman is whisked away, Jonathon appears to tell us that Tommy died from a fatal accident.

While the plot synopsis feels very mundane, it’s that attention to mundane detail that lets this show shine. For the first three fourths of the episode, this shows plays out like a near perfect reality show to the T: surprise eliminations, squabbles over insignificant issues, the paint-by-numbers casting that every reality show uses, and even the very convincing testimonial inserts they use. The show even manages to ape the visual cues from reality TV: tons of cheap time lapse footage and reused stock shots can be found (the ax into stump shot in particular is used about a dozen times).

However, from the start of that horrifying growl during the camp-fire, the show then picks up into full blown horror mode. Things seem amiss, but very subtly so: a five legged frog, a mysterious shed that’s padlocked shut, Tommy deciding to go deeper into the woods leaving his group (and having a funny exchange with the girls he’s left behind). Unfortunately, the show elects to take it’s horror cues from the Blair Witch school of cinematography which means that many of our most direct horror moments occur off of the camera.

For what it’s worth, our cast more than holds up their end of the bargain. Many reality show participants come off as B-grade actors, and as a result it is no real shock that our unknown actors do an equally solid job sending up reality archetypes. Most of all, for all of the precious little screen time he gets, Jonathon Buckley truly steals the show as the obnoxious reality host in the most Probstian of molds.

The Final Verdict: Siberia is incredibly entertaining as a mash-up of two of pop cultures most renowned and cheapest entities: the reality show, and the horror flick. Our pilot did an excellent job of lulling the viewer into the calm before the storm, and slowly hinting that things are amiss, taking its’ time as if it were a long form horror film. Hopefully it will eventually deliver on this horror and not rely solely on Blair Witch type shots in lieu of occasionally showing the viewer what the contestants are up against. Check it out, it’s a pretty fun ride, though I could also see this show better suited as a binge watching experience.

The Hero Is An Action Packed Summer Thrill Ride

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The Cast of The Hero (Source:TNT)
The Cast of The Hero (Source:TNT)

The Hero: Thursdays at 8p.m. Eastern on TNT

It’s incredible to chart the growth of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He started off in football, at the University of Miami before ending up in the world of professional wr– **ahem** sports entertainment. It was a bit part in 2001’s The Mummy 2: Revenge of the Scorpion King, however, that allowed him to make a jump into movies, often alternating between family friendly Disney star and tough gritty action hero like his role in the Fast and the Furious series. TNT’s newest show is the newest step for The Rock, being a show very clearly molded from his vision.

The Hero is a reality competition that takes nine everyday people and puts them in taxing situations in order to determine which of them gets the title of “Hero”. These situations are designed not only to test their physical skills, but their mental and moral ones as well. Johnson not only functions as executive producer, but host and mentor to the contestants as well.

We open with the Rock explaining the game from the roof of a 60 story building. The mechanics of the game are very closely related to ABC’s The Mole. There are two challenges a show: a team challenge and a solo challenge. One person is designated as a hero who can put large sums of money in the pot or keep them from themselves. The solo challenges are worth $10,000 to the Red Cross and double the time for that weeks solo challenge. Our solo challenger, chosen from the phase 2 participants of our team challenge, then plays for the right to either put $50,000 in the team bank or they can pocket it, guaranteeing that they go home with a fairly large sum.

During the first challenge, Patti (one of our contestants not tabbed for the team challenge) is summoned up to the roof, where the Rock gives her an offer. $25,000 to the pot, or $25,000 in her pocket. After a struggle in which our two most musclebound contestants take 25 minutes to touch hands, our smaller pair acquires the second half of a secret code in 3 short minutes. The team makes it to the summit and puts the code in in the nick of time, giving the extra time for the solo challenge.

Returning successfully, our contestants must discuss whom they will send on the hero’s challenge, where $50,000 of prize money is on the line. Our heroes meet in a pretty cool superheroes lair, where they ask our three remaining heroes about whether or not they would be good for our challenge, which was teased as “in the dark”. The challenge involves walking around Noriega’s Bunker in the dark looking for a generator which will open up all of the lights, unlock the cash, and escape in 20 minutes or less.

Our contestants come from all walks of life including Cheerleader, Cop, Surgeon, Technician, Construction Worker, Fitness Trainer, Single Parent, Salon Worker and Professional Wrestler. Unfortunately, once the rules are in place, they’re all prone to bickering. While it can grate and get excessive at times, it’s intriguing how to see that the rules of the game can divide what one would think would be a fairly unified front.

The Rock plays an interesting combination of host, tempter, drill sergeant, and of course, the trademark flippancy that one would expect from Mr. Johnson. He balances these roles fairly well, though it should be interesting to see whom will take the temptation offer from the Rock, as some of our contestants seem to already have some degree of hero worship for him (no pun intended) from minute one of the show.

There is a ton of beautiful cinematography on this show, including great shots from extreme heights during the Tower Bank challenge and a lot of beautiful sunrise/sunset shots of the Panama city skyline. Similarly, the show’s night vision footage in the Noriega’s bunker challenge is pretty impressive. The challenges are also well designed, as both challenges were completed just barely in the nick of time (though those extra ten minutes were essential).

The Final Verdict: The Hero is one part Mole, one part action movie, and entirely balls to the wall. While the contestant’s bickering can get very annoying very quickly, this is the slickest and most compelling looking reality competition show I’ve seen to date. The challenges are also well designed and compelling to watch. It’s completely worth checking out, and could possibly become must watch if later episodes carry the same amount of entertainment value.