roseembolism (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
roseembolism) wrote2008-07-21 05:23 pm
roseembolism) wrote2008-07-21 05:23 pm
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(Review) The Shadow Unit: the best TV show that never was
I remember somebody, I think it was palecur asking me the other day what happened to Emma Bull. She wrote "The War for the Oaks, which I still have a sweet spot for, and co-authored Freedom and Necessity...but what's he been doing recently? I wasn't sure.
But now I know. She's been producing the brilliant supernatural crime series The Shadow Unit, which just finished it's critically acclaimed first season.
Conclusion? Highly regarded, check it out!
palecur asking me the other day what happened to Emma Bull. She wrote "The War for the Oaks, which I still have a sweet spot for, and co-authored Freedom and Necessity...but what's he been doing recently? I wasn't sure.But now I know. She's been producing the brilliant supernatural crime series The Shadow Unit, which just finished it's critically acclaimed first season.
Are you confused? Well, don't be: it's a writing project that involves not only Emma Bull, but other writers including Elizabeth Bear, Sarah Monette, and Will Shetterly writing a TV series that should exist, one that borrows from sources ranging from the X-Files, to The Man from Uncle. And they've done a really good job.
As for the show itself? The Shadow Unit is a series of episodes about the cases of an unpublicized unit of the FBI, that handles strange crimes. Very strange crimes. Crimes committed by people possessed by something called an Anomaly, which causes them to become Gammas. Gammas are no longer quite human, with strange powers and a lethally destructive insanity based around a personal mythology. The series is one part supernatural thriller, one part crime procedural, and one part ensemble character drama.
The plotting is tight, and the stories are structured like TV shows, in acts. The writing is competent (though in the first episode I sometimes had trouble telling who was the viewpoint character), and the dialog is crisp and naturalistic. This is no Buffy- the series isn't written for laughs, though some humor is present, and the personal drama is key to making the episodes work. The characters are well developed in the manner of TV series, with both quirks and emotional issues that make them interesting- again in a TV drama sort of way. One can easily see fan favorites developing in the manner of a TV show in fact (I favor Daphne, the former EMT who worries too much about her competence). There's even some very interesting plot developments and surprises over the "season", about which I will say nothing, Spoilers, you know, and besides it's not like you need to join Netflix to catch up on things.
As for the show itself? The Shadow Unit is a series of episodes about the cases of an unpublicized unit of the FBI, that handles strange crimes. Very strange crimes. Crimes committed by people possessed by something called an Anomaly, which causes them to become Gammas. Gammas are no longer quite human, with strange powers and a lethally destructive insanity based around a personal mythology. The series is one part supernatural thriller, one part crime procedural, and one part ensemble character drama.
The plotting is tight, and the stories are structured like TV shows, in acts. The writing is competent (though in the first episode I sometimes had trouble telling who was the viewpoint character), and the dialog is crisp and naturalistic. This is no Buffy- the series isn't written for laughs, though some humor is present, and the personal drama is key to making the episodes work. The characters are well developed in the manner of TV series, with both quirks and emotional issues that make them interesting- again in a TV drama sort of way. One can easily see fan favorites developing in the manner of a TV show in fact (I favor Daphne, the former EMT who worries too much about her competence). There's even some very interesting plot developments and surprises over the "season", about which I will say nothing, Spoilers, you know, and besides it's not like you need to join Netflix to catch up on things.
Conclusion? Highly regarded, check it out!
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Also, do I have to mention that Shadow Uinit is very inspirational for gaming? Yes I should, because it is.