Talk about a change in premise that adds up to nothing! This episode and the first season finale seem to set up Lewis and his return from Hell as a new premise. But it quickly goes nowhere, and by next episode or so the series will be back to antique recovery.
I can kinda see why they went back to the original antique-recovery premise. The problem wasn't that it was a weak premise, but that the stories weren't that well-written. Eventually the production staff figured that the solution was better writing, not change the show premise. And maybe R.G. Armstrong had another project to deal with.
"Doorway" is fast-paced, but it speeds through a lot of tunnels to get wherever it's going. For instance, why does Rashid hesitate to go to the house, and Jack quickly points out to him that they can take the shard with them to maintain the connection to Lewis. This makes Rashid look like an idiot. "Duh, take the shard with you!" is something even I figured out before Jack comes up with the idea.
We also get the introduction of Eddie (Stargate Universe's Louis Ferrera) in record time. There isn't any explanation for him except "ex-con", and writer Jim Henshaw doesn't give us any investment in the character. The use of what is essentially blackface to make it appear that Eddie is possessed by Lewis is borderline offensive.
The plot itself doesn't make much sense, and it jumps like a spastic word processor. Lewis wants to escape from Hell, and his one-year anniversary of his "death" is important. So are the mirrors in the house, and the mirror in the shop, and the cousins breaking all of the mirrors in the house while Jack is in the dark dimension. Lewis also has to sacrifice the trio to gain his freedom from Satan. So Jack goes back to the house, even though it lets Lewis have a crack at him, because otherwise Lewis will just kill Micki and Ryan.
What any of this has to do with Eddie, other than making him Lewis' whipping boy for possession, I have no idea. Eddie gets sucked through a mirror to the dark realm, and the cousins seem concerned about him. Why is never established, since all he's done is threaten them with a gun. Maybe they read the script and know Eddie is a good guy at heart.
Also the mirror Eddie gets pulled through, although it's never shown before in any significant way, suddenly becomes the only portal to the dark realm. Again, why, I have no idea.
It doesn't help that the dark realm set looks like a high school production. It's a bunch of trees and Styrofoam ground, festooned with fake-looking Spanish Moss, with "spooky" screams echoing in the background. Some arms pop out of the ground to threaten the cousins, making it look like a Halloween House of Horrors. It's also confusing: they're in Hell, but Satan is coming through a doorway... from Hell? So "Hell" isn't really Hell, but just a dark realm? I guess they explain this when saying that the Spanish Moss realm is just a "dark dimension". But it's not very clear. And why are the vines affected by Jack's cross, if it's just a dark dimension rather than Hell?
Satan sounding like a lovestruck bull moose doesn't help, either. Watch the Stryoform bend when Jack pulls himself out of the pit, or trap, or whatever the heck it is. I do like Zarou's fist-pumping cheer when Jack succeeds.
Kudos to Chris Wiggins, who manages to keep a straight face through the entire thing and even contributes some gravitas. Lemay and Robey are... well, Lemay and Robey. They punch things and scream a lot, respectively. Micki manages to display at least some intelligence, although her figuring out it's Lewis death-day anniversary is pretty much wasted when Jack figures out the same thing on his own. And Micki's wardrobe is a big improvement over anything in season 1.
Elias Zarou as Rashid, and R.G. Armstrong as Lewis, don't have as much to do as in the season 1 finale, but they're here and their presence at least allows some sense of continuity. And Armstrong manages to contribute some gravitas as well. He makes the dime store Satan look mildly threatening, just based on his reactions.
Essentially, "Doorway" embraces most of the series' weakness (mediocre acting and FX) and puts them front and center. Not surprisingly, the episode is mediocre or worse.
I wish we had gotten more of Rashid. Armstrong will make one more appearance a season later, and that's it.
Overall, "Doorway" is the weakest episode of the series. But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
I can kinda see why they went back to the original antique-recovery premise. The problem wasn't that it was a weak premise, but that the stories weren't that well-written. Eventually the production staff figured that the solution was better writing, not change the show premise. And maybe R.G. Armstrong had another project to deal with.
"Doorway" is fast-paced, but it speeds through a lot of tunnels to get wherever it's going. For instance, why does Rashid hesitate to go to the house, and Jack quickly points out to him that they can take the shard with them to maintain the connection to Lewis. This makes Rashid look like an idiot. "Duh, take the shard with you!" is something even I figured out before Jack comes up with the idea.
We also get the introduction of Eddie (Stargate Universe's Louis Ferrera) in record time. There isn't any explanation for him except "ex-con", and writer Jim Henshaw doesn't give us any investment in the character. The use of what is essentially blackface to make it appear that Eddie is possessed by Lewis is borderline offensive.
The plot itself doesn't make much sense, and it jumps like a spastic word processor. Lewis wants to escape from Hell, and his one-year anniversary of his "death" is important. So are the mirrors in the house, and the mirror in the shop, and the cousins breaking all of the mirrors in the house while Jack is in the dark dimension. Lewis also has to sacrifice the trio to gain his freedom from Satan. So Jack goes back to the house, even though it lets Lewis have a crack at him, because otherwise Lewis will just kill Micki and Ryan.
What any of this has to do with Eddie, other than making him Lewis' whipping boy for possession, I have no idea. Eddie gets sucked through a mirror to the dark realm, and the cousins seem concerned about him. Why is never established, since all he's done is threaten them with a gun. Maybe they read the script and know Eddie is a good guy at heart.
Also the mirror Eddie gets pulled through, although it's never shown before in any significant way, suddenly becomes the only portal to the dark realm. Again, why, I have no idea.
It doesn't help that the dark realm set looks like a high school production. It's a bunch of trees and Styrofoam ground, festooned with fake-looking Spanish Moss, with "spooky" screams echoing in the background. Some arms pop out of the ground to threaten the cousins, making it look like a Halloween House of Horrors. It's also confusing: they're in Hell, but Satan is coming through a doorway... from Hell? So "Hell" isn't really Hell, but just a dark realm? I guess they explain this when saying that the Spanish Moss realm is just a "dark dimension". But it's not very clear. And why are the vines affected by Jack's cross, if it's just a dark dimension rather than Hell?
Satan sounding like a lovestruck bull moose doesn't help, either. Watch the Stryoform bend when Jack pulls himself out of the pit, or trap, or whatever the heck it is. I do like Zarou's fist-pumping cheer when Jack succeeds.
Kudos to Chris Wiggins, who manages to keep a straight face through the entire thing and even contributes some gravitas. Lemay and Robey are... well, Lemay and Robey. They punch things and scream a lot, respectively. Micki manages to display at least some intelligence, although her figuring out it's Lewis death-day anniversary is pretty much wasted when Jack figures out the same thing on his own. And Micki's wardrobe is a big improvement over anything in season 1.
Elias Zarou as Rashid, and R.G. Armstrong as Lewis, don't have as much to do as in the season 1 finale, but they're here and their presence at least allows some sense of continuity. And Armstrong manages to contribute some gravitas as well. He makes the dime store Satan look mildly threatening, just based on his reactions.
Essentially, "Doorway" embraces most of the series' weakness (mediocre acting and FX) and puts them front and center. Not surprisingly, the episode is mediocre or worse.
I wish we had gotten more of Rashid. Armstrong will make one more appearance a season later, and that's it.
Overall, "Doorway" is the weakest episode of the series. But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
