Just to get this out of the way, "Sanctuary" is one of the best-looking shows on television; the strange, unique blend of science fiction, horror, and fantasy really add to the overall strangeness and beauty of the lush CGI, comic book-style visuals. In fact, "Sanctuary" does seem like a weird, live-action hybrid combining elements of horror and sci-fi comics, plus, as a few other viewers mentioned, "The X-Files" and "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" and maybe even the "Underworld" films.
Of course, after watching the season premiere on the Sci-Fi Channel, I'm convinced that I might tune in next week for the second episode, just to see if my suspicions are correct in that the Sci-Fi Channel does have an ounce of credibility left when it comes to halfway decent entertainment.
"Sanctuary" is set in some large, perpetually dark would-be Gotham City, where Dr. Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne) is a criminal profiler investigating a mysterious triple homicide in an apartment building. Using his skillful intuition, he suspects that something is amiss right away, that whatever killed these three people was not human. It turns out that his suspicions are correct: the killer, a 10-year-old Russian boy with a hideous snake-like appendage, had been adopted by the family and attacked them when he felt threatened.
Zimmerman is then recruited by Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) and her mercenary daughter Ashley (Emilie Ullerup) to come work with them at the "Sanctuary," a place that houses all manner of "ab-normals" (people and creatures that are the stuff of folklore, nightmares, and stories that were made up to scare little kids). As it turns out, many of these creatures have lived alongside us for years, with much of the human population not even aware of their existence, and any data that can be mined from them can possibly hold the key to mankind's future evolution, or destruction. Most of the ab-normals are benign, but there are a few out there that would like to use their abilities for destructive purposes.
"Sanctuary" does have the potential to be a rather entertaining piece of weekly viewing on the Sci-Fi Channel. I found it to be rather dark and gripping comic book-style entertainment, although I think the story and writing could use some polishing.
I'll just have to make sure that if I decide to turn in next week, that "Sanctuary" lives up to be the unique piece of strange Sci-Fi Channel programming it promises.
7/10
Of course, after watching the season premiere on the Sci-Fi Channel, I'm convinced that I might tune in next week for the second episode, just to see if my suspicions are correct in that the Sci-Fi Channel does have an ounce of credibility left when it comes to halfway decent entertainment.
"Sanctuary" is set in some large, perpetually dark would-be Gotham City, where Dr. Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne) is a criminal profiler investigating a mysterious triple homicide in an apartment building. Using his skillful intuition, he suspects that something is amiss right away, that whatever killed these three people was not human. It turns out that his suspicions are correct: the killer, a 10-year-old Russian boy with a hideous snake-like appendage, had been adopted by the family and attacked them when he felt threatened.
Zimmerman is then recruited by Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) and her mercenary daughter Ashley (Emilie Ullerup) to come work with them at the "Sanctuary," a place that houses all manner of "ab-normals" (people and creatures that are the stuff of folklore, nightmares, and stories that were made up to scare little kids). As it turns out, many of these creatures have lived alongside us for years, with much of the human population not even aware of their existence, and any data that can be mined from them can possibly hold the key to mankind's future evolution, or destruction. Most of the ab-normals are benign, but there are a few out there that would like to use their abilities for destructive purposes.
"Sanctuary" does have the potential to be a rather entertaining piece of weekly viewing on the Sci-Fi Channel. I found it to be rather dark and gripping comic book-style entertainment, although I think the story and writing could use some polishing.
I'll just have to make sure that if I decide to turn in next week, that "Sanctuary" lives up to be the unique piece of strange Sci-Fi Channel programming it promises.
7/10