“PILOT” AIRS MONDAY, JULY 11 AT 10:00 PM ON SYFY
Alphas is the newest original series from Syfy and joins an impressive Monday summer block of shows that includes Eureka and Warehouse 13. The premise is deceptively simple, five individuals with extraordinary abilities use their powers for good. But, unlike similar such shows from the past, one of the neatest things about Alphas, and there are many, is that the powers on display are all based in science. Not that they are all necessarily plausible, but that there are plausible scientific explanations given for how they work. If you absolutely had to quantify this series, the best comparison would be that it is somewhat of a mashup of Heroes and X-Men, except without the soap opera component of the former and non of the outlandishness of the latter.
Alphas follows Dr. Lee Rosen (David Strathairn), neurologist and psychiatrist, who is the de facto leader of a group of people with neurological disorders that have manifested themselves as extraordinary abilities. These people are ostensibly his patients, but he is also working with them to develop their abilities and solve criminal cases that seem to involve others with similar abilities. Rosen is given cases from government agent Wilson (Callum Keith Rennie), who also keeps Rosen’s group out of trouble for the most part.
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The pilot introduces us to Rosen’s patients. Gary Bell (Ryan Cartwright) is functionally autistic and is able to “read” a wide range of frequencies including television, radio, and cell phone signals in the same way people typically hear the everyday sounds around them. Nina Theroux (Laura Mennell) can disrupt the specific neural pathways in the cerebral cortex that leave the brain vulnerable to suggestion. Bill Harken (Malik Yoba) is able to summon amazing strength by consciously activating the “fight-or-flight” response. Rachel Pizad (Azita Ghanizada) is a “synesthete”, able to enhance one sense at a time. In the pilot, the group is sent after Cameron Hicks (Warren Christie), who has “hyperkinesis,” wherein the mind’s imaging systems and muscle control are perfectly in tune with the motor skills center of the brain. Hicks is being controlled by another Alpha and was able to shoot a man in an enclosed room from the rooftop of a different building.
This is a strong premiere and does a great job of clearly outlining each character and what they can do. Another neat thing about this show is that each person’s power also carries a pricetag. Rachel’s ability, for example, dulls her other senses when she heightens one of them and Bill’s power causes a massive adrenaline spike that puts a time limit on his super-strength and severe tiredness afterward. This creates some dire situations for some of the characters and helps to reinforce the idea of working together as a team and the need to depend on each other. The dynamics and personalities within the group are very interesting as well. They certainly aren’t a “family” by any means, but you can see the beginnings of trust and camaraderie. As the show progresses and the actors bond, so to will the relationships between the characters and that will be cool to see.
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I like all the characters to varying degrees, but for me the standout is Gary. He is a very interesting character and Cartwright does an outstanding job portraying him. The creators of the show should be praised for making one of the main characters autistic and in a very fascinating and dignified way. What I found particularly interesting is that Gary is withdrawn and closed off at home, yet when he joins the other Alphas he opens up and actually becomes the wise-ass of the group. In a recent conference call with journalists I asked Cartwright if this was something that would continue to be played out for Gary.
“Yes. Definitely. It definitely goes that way. That’s his play group, ” confirmed Cartwright. “I think what happened with Gary was he was a lot more insular before. As his ability grew he would just like sit on his own and rock in corners and keep his eyes closed and play with these lights not fully understanding what was going on with his brain. And it’s I’m sure that was a hell of a time for his mother because she didn’t understand the neuroscience behind it and how to bring him out of this world whereas Dr. Rosen saw exactly what was happening here and created a system with Gary and for Gary, which helped him blend the real world as we know it and Gary’s world and to kind of mesh the two.”
Cartwright continued, “Whereby he would be able to look at these signals and read them with his eyes open and while walking around instead of just sitting all curled up in a ball living in this world in his head. So yes, as the series progresses he’s definitely trying to be a bit of a cock of the walk in the office as well because it’s the first time he’s been appreciated for what he would have been taken the piss out of for most of his life and would have got strange looks for. And now all of a sudden he’s with a group of people that really appreciate him. So you know, he’ll probably be cocky for a while and then everyone will smack him down and yes, it’s a good growing process for Gary.”
The Alphas pilot does what any good pilot does; It introduces us to the characters and their situation, shows us what they can do, propels the story forward and leaves us wanting to see what happens next. I, for one, am very interested to see what happens next and to watch these characters develop. Be sure to lock in Mondays at 10:00 PM for Alphas!