S01.E06: Nightmare

[ottoDbusdriver]

Molly uncovers footage that may reveal the real reason the ISEA chose her for the solo mission. Meanwhile Ethan experiences his first dream, an unforeseen advancement for which he was not programmed, and Julie distracts herself from work with a mysterious man she meets at the gym

 

Promo clip is up -- and it gets weird.  Apparently the baby has gnarly powers that everyone talks about, but are never actually seen in action.

 

http://www.spoilertv.com/2014/08/extant-episode-106-nightmares-promo.html

 

One line made me chuckle -- "It didn't come all this way to be put in a box." Is the alien baby even aware of itself that it wouldn't survive without the support of the box it is in, what with it being 15 weeks (or so) into a 39 week pregnancy.  Or do alien-human hybrids only take 16 weeks gestate ?  At this pace, the baby should be up and walking by the end of the following episode.  Are they also going to go to the route of the 'special baby grows to full adulthood in record time' trope ?

 

Kryger is back and gets captured, and the baby gets a protector.

 

There are also some promo photos that have been previously posted.

 

http://www.spoilertv.com/2014/08/extant-episode-106-nightmares.html

[Enero]

Though it probably wouldn’t do much good since the alien baby has the powers to screw with people’s minds, but they should’ve at least had scientists who are researching the entity wearing bio-hazard suits.

 

Sparks is an idiot. I know he wants to help his daughter, but there is no way he’s going to be able to control an entity that can screw with the mind. The security guy is the only one on the company’s side that’s talking with some sense.

 

So the future has legal drug clinics where you can go get as high as you want without fear of getting arrested. LOL. 

 

Poor Kryger.

 

Glad Molly found out what Sparks has on Sam, and that she was able to pull a fast one on him to get the information she needed from Kryger.

 

I’m really enjoying how quickly the story is moving along.  But is Sparks wanting contact with the alien so that he can find out what happened to his daughter or better yet, where she is? Still not sure how the AI story will fit into all this. I am intrigued though by Ethan's evolution.

 

Another good episode tonight.

[Trini]

This show is already pretty "out there", but yet the only thing I can't suspend disbelief for is the robot kid. There are just too many things to handwave.

Anyway, the one moment that took me out of the show this week: WhatsHerFace and Gym Guy have these awesome technologically advanced robo-limbs in the future, and then she gives him her contact info with paper. Not that I think paper will be obsolete in the near future, but it seemed especially out of place with that character.

And I keep wondering what this show would be like if the people that worked on Fringe were in charge.

Edited August 14, 2014 by Trini

[Rhetorica]

Good episode. They're moving the plot right along. So it was Sparks' daughter that told Olympic Ringhead to free the baby cause nobody puts baby in a corner.. Molly was great getting the message to Dr. Sam letting her know that Molly knew why she had to help Sparks. I like Odin, but is he too good to be true? Will he be a hero or a villain? Two episodes without Yasumoto. What has he been up to? Why is it a two hour episode next week?

[ottoDbusdriver]

I’m really enjoying how quickly the story is moving along.  But is Sparks wanting contact with the alien so that he can find out what happened to his daughter or better yet, where she is? Still not sure how the AI story will fit into all this. I am intrigued though by Ethan's evolution.

 

Another good episode tonight.

 

Definite improvement over previous episodes.  The video clip from the Aruna station added a lot to the story.  Molly knows now that she was simply bait for the alien/virus, and ISEA knew, and that Sparks is lying about a lot of things.  I wonder if the guy that replaced Molly on the Seraphim station has had a visitor yet.

 

I'm surprised after the doctor went cuckoo-for-Cocoa-Puffs under the alien's control and killed the other doctor that they left a heavily armed guard in the room with the fetus by himself.  Looks like all that decontamination protocols have been tossed out the window from what we saw at the start of the episode.  That would suck if the alien caught a cold or something and died (a la War of the Worlds). </snark>

 

Two episodes without Yasumoto. What has he been up to?

 

Probably back in the deep freeze since he only had a 100 days or so left.

Edited August 14, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[Rhetorica]

Probably back in the deep freeze since he only had a 100 days or so left.

Oh yeah, I forgot his days were numbered. Literally.

[Sandman]

So it was Sparks' daughter that told Olympic Ringhead to free the baby cause nobody puts baby in a corner...

 

The aliens seem to communicate through one's personal dead. Sarah from Antartica was Olympic Ringhead guy's ghost, but I don't think she's the same (Earth) person as Also Space-Pregnant Katie Sparks.

 

I don't trust Odin the O-Ring Guy (not the same O-Ring, obvs.). I think his super-limb meet-cute with Miss Gummer was arranged to get him close to Ethan. Don't ask me by whom. I've completely lost track of who wants what and why on this show. Also, it looks like Evil Chandler Bing ("Gordon"? Pff. Like I'm gonna start calling him that now) may have a few misgivings about being all evil on the job, if he's going to the drug salon on what would seem to be company time -- but hey, it's all done up in white, not beige!

[Such A Flirt]

Was the new guy on the space station Victor from Dollhouse? Sure looked like him.

 

Two episodes without Yasumoto. What has he been up to?

 

Jack Bauer finally found him.

 

Why is it a two hour episode next week?

 

I saw it's 2 episodes again the following week (so: August 20 & 27). Are they burning off the episodes?

[Cigale]

Was the new guy on the space station Victor from Dollhouse? Sure looked like him.

Yes, it was Victor.

[thuganomics85]

I really hope Enver Gjokaj as that guy on the space station, wasn't just a one time thing, and he'll be involved in the big story.  I mean, he has to, right?  He's too talented for just a one and done scene.

 

I do think there will be more to Odin, then just being Julia's new love interest.

 

Glad Molly and John already found a way to listen into Sam, and Molly already knows what Alan has over her, and that she is being forced to do it.  And, not only that, Sam already knows Molly knows, and they're back to being buddies!  I guess Sam and Molly are just going to have to find different ways to communicate, in order to take Alan down.

 

Ethan now is starting to dream?  I wonder if it has something to do with what those soldiers did to him.  And, apparently, he has mad decryption skills.  Speaking of which, poor Kryger has been captured!  At least he got that drive to Molly and John in time.

 

Got more info on Alan and his daughter.  She got pregnant as well, I see.  I couldn't tell, where they also claiming she was the first?

 

Apparently, getting close to the baby makes people not only see dead people, but lose their damn minds!  I'm still wondering what Yasumoto wants with him.

 

I continue to like how fast this show moves.  It's too bad it's struggling.  It's not perfect, but I'm finding it more enjoyable then expected.  Certainly better then CBS' Under the Dome, which is somehow continuing to survive.

[Plactus]

I saw it's 2 episodes again the following week (so: August 20 & 27). Are they burning off the episodes?

 

The original plan was to have a two-hour season finale September 24. That got pulled, so they had to double up on a couple dates to fit all the episodes in this summer.

[Enero]

Got more info on Alan and his daughter. She got pregnant as well, I see. I couldn't tell, where they also claiming she was the first?

Apparently she's the first that they know about. I think Molly said that Alan's daughter was up in space, but on another ship, around the same time as Kryger. Hence her assumption that she was sent up on purpose after the incident so that she could have an encounter with the alien.

What I find interesting is that when one person (I'm assuming this is exclusive to women) encounters the alien they'll end up preggers eta. Molly or if they survive a little crazy like Kryger. But when it encounters numerous people it turns them into psycho killers. Alan's daughter pretty much said there was a mutiny on the ship after the crew was exposed to the alien force. So it will use its enemy as hosts to reproduce, and those it can't use for that it makes them destroy each other.

I don't trust Odin the O-Ring Guy (not the same O-Ring, obvs.). I think his super-limb meet-cute with Miss Gummer was arranged to get him close to Ethan. Don't ask me by whom.

I agree. I thought it strange that Julie would take him to her lab where they are doing research to check his limbs. I would think that part of the building would be off limits to strangers and that there would've been a separate area where she could've accessed/adjusted his arm. Edited August 14, 2014 by Enero

[Rhetorica]

Thanks Sandman, I remember Sarah now. I watch it live but then watch it again with my husband on DVR. How did we ever watch live TV before? I, too, was suspicious of Odin but there are so many mis-directs in this show I can't speculate, which I like. I thought for sure Dr. Sam was on Yasumoto's payroll. Glad I was wrong. What futuristic drug was Evil Chandler Bing using? I didn't catch what was on the cylinders. Crap, Kryger was captured? I missed that too. It's a sad day when something like Under the Dome draws viewers but this show, with twists, turns, and mysteries, is struggling. SMH...

[ottoDbusdriver]

Did Odin say that he lost his arm in a drone strike in the 2nd Korean ?  The 2nd Korean War ? That certainly adds to the world building -- I wonder who won ?

 

I wonder where the Aruna and Seraphim stations are located ? Why did the Aruna station have multiple occupants but the Seraphim station only have one ? Are these stations far enough away from Earth, and each other, that no one thinks it's odd that an alien lifeform can reach both of them but for some reason can't reach Earth ?  Why wouldn't the aliens simply infect people in the ISS (or whatever the equivalent is in this show) ?

 

Why did Ethan suddenly turn into a dot matrix printer while making the symbol ?  Why wouldn't he just draw the image on paper or on a tablet vs. hammering away with pencil crayons ?

 

When Molly was walking in that park before she met Kryger, she seemed a little freaked that everyone was looking at her.  But isn't she a famous astronaut who just recently returned from a long mission, I would think everyone would recognize her ?

 

 

ETA:

What futuristic drug was Evil Chandler Bing using? I didn't catch what was on the cylinders.

 

The cylinder had the word 'Absalom' on it.  No idea what it is, but if you Google it you get a variety of explanations but none that seem relevant to the show (the top hit is that it's the name of the 3rd son of King David).

Edited August 14, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[JLVerde]

 

so it was Sparks' daughter that told Olympic Ringhead to free the baby cause nobody puts baby in a corner.

 

HAH!  I thought the same thing.  Now I wish Molly had imagined Patrick Swayze running his finger down her abdomen to impregnate her.  The time of your life, indeed!

 

 

WhatsHerFace and Gym Guy are have these awesome technologically advanced robo-limbs in the future, and then she gives him her contact info with paper

 

Curses!  You beat me to it.  I always watch looking for the blatantly non-futuristic item and I totally MISSED the paper thing.  Nice job.  I need to up my game, you are a worth I Spy opponent.

 

 

still not sure how the AI story will fit into all this.

 

Right now Ethan is just a plot tool.  "We can't break this encrypted thingie. . .give it to ETHAN, it's just like that game he's kicking butt on."  We need to show the humanity of the human characters, so we'll feel bad for them when/if the evil foreigners. . .oops, I mean aliens. . .race across the border to steal their jobs. . .oops, I mean invade and take over.  Get ETHAN in here so he can have some "robot has a human moment" that will make Molly well up with maternal pride.

 

Same with the bionic limbs on Julie and her (soon to be) hump.  We're both different because of our robo limbs but we're still human and need to connect with one another.  Except Julie is more like the evil aliens because it seems she really does want to be Mom (from Futurama) and lead an AI uprising.  She'll kick your butt right good with her bionic legs.  Watch out!

 

All snark aside, I'm liking this show more now that we're actually getting to the plotty plot.  But I'm a tiny bit disappointed that Sparks' big plot point all hinges on figuring out what happened to his child.  Really?  He can't just be curious about the aliens because. . .ALIENS.  We have to have the won't somebody think of my children schlock?  I don't want Sparks to be an evil mustache twirling baddy (a la the Asian business guy) but there are other ways to "humanize" him.  

 

I'm going to have to remember it's a Two Hour Event next week and tune in earlier.  I was just getting used to it being on at 10.  I really hate when networks pull that crap and move a show around.  A new series is like a plant.  It can't take root if you don't let it stay in one place for any length of time.

[Rhetorica]

Thanks ottoDbusdriver. I looked up Absalom and it means "Father of peace". Good marketing name for a drug. Perhaps the aliens can reach Earth but need humans (or AIs) because they can't tolerate our environment. As to who won The 2nd Korean War, that sounds like a question for the game Counterfactuals that was played on The Big Bang Theory (when it was funny) 

[beeble]

I was thinking of Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom, a depressing novel about the inability to come to terms with one's past and where characters break down and sob. It's also long and humorless, much like this show. 

 

I cannot get over the bad acting and writing on this show. Gummer is trying, and robo-Ethan seems to be doing everything he's told to do, but the big-names don't seem too engaged.

[sjohnson]

Extant is winning its time slot. At a glance, only America's Got Talent and Big Brother did better. But this is CBS and they have high standards for acceptable ratings?

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/08/14/tv-ratings-wednesday-big-brother-slips-americas-got-talent-falls-to-new-low-extant-taxi-brooklyn-flat/293207/

 

A nightmare emerging out of the programming is very interesting though hard to grasp. 

 

I thought Kryger was killed as Sparks ordered. The little head paddles were I thought a high tech way to disguise the murder.

 

I can't say I understand how people think this is badly acted. As for the writing, the writing is very competent in that the logically necessary developments are happening, the misdirects are effective, the pacing is superb. But as a tightly written serial, we can't really decide until we know how it resolves.

[JLVerde]

sjohnson, I don't see bad acting, either.  You want bad acting check out Under the Dome.  That show is a trainwreck in all the worst ways.

 

I do think it took a bit for the chemistry to get going between pretty much all the characters and Halle Berry is still a bit wooden at times.  BUT. . I'm almost starting to think of her wooden acting as purposeful.  We keep seeing how Molly doesn't play well with others (and there was the throw away comment this episode about how she has next to no friends) so the acting may be to show the character (and not merely bad acting).

 

The writing is decent.  It's not the best thing I've ever seen but it's above a lot of network offerings (Under the Dome, I'm looking at YOU).  It's about on par for this type of show (sci fi/suspense).

[bluebonnet]

It's starting to seem less likely that this is alien stuff, but more something like organic nanotech.  That little piece of tech that Molly put on Sam (and why the hell does ISEA not have that in order to monitor Molly?) seemed organic in that it could melt into the skin and become unnoticeable.  Organic technology is there, why not nanobots?  I'm just trying to figure out why Yasumoto was so interested in humanechs.  The goal with Ethan was to teach the robot to be human by giving him a human childhood experience.  I'm wondering if there was some truth to Sparks' story to Molly about how she got pregnant, the thing about the time delayed fertilized egg release.  Perhaps Katie Sparks and crew were working with this nanotech as part of their research and it grew beyond the control of the researchers.  Katie called it a virus.  Molly's ship seems to work with plants.  Maybe one ship was trying to 'grow' organic nanostuff in plant form while another was using the mechanisms of a virus to grow it.  And back to Molly and what Sparks said about how she got pregnant - if this is some sort of organic nanotech and can manipulate itself to mimic something crazy like sperm, then there's the bit of truth in Sparks fobbing off a story about time-delayed fertilization.  

 

In essence, the baby would be half human, half robot. With that strip of tech Molly put on Sam, it's becomes a lot more plausible that truly organic tech can exist in this future world.  I guess where Ethan comes in is because John created his tech to 'learn' whereas this theoretical nanotech has gone out of control.  Perhaps Yasumoto sees the Ethan tech as the missing link.  I'm wondering if when they zapped Ethan, the zapper actually had a bit of this nano stuff included and was injected into Ethan's system.  Could be why he's "dreaming" and also becoming smarter.  If Yasumoto has only 100 days left to live, he's probably in a mega rush to save himself, especially considering he's going to such lengths to get access to whatever Molly brought back in her belly.  If robotics has advanced so much to create Ethan and those super life-like prosthetics, why not even further to keep a dying body alive, perhaps even indefinitely?  But as John points out, you have to be careful with robots because they are smarter than humans and they also lack human empathy and morality.  Hence Ethan, a robot that can be taught the human experience.  

 

Sorry, that strip of tech on Sam's hand sent me off into a tailspin of crackpot.  Can't get that organic tech out of my head. 

[sjohnson]

@JLVerde,I've seen Molly as the jock partner in the marriage and thought Berry was playing her like an astronaut. Not macho like a man in a bra but trying to focus on problem solving rather than emote, while John is the more emotional or supportive partner. Not that anybody could really confuse his character with the wife.

 

PS I've been assuming that very little of Ethan's tech is commercially available, and is pretty much all special order, if not outright handmade by the inventor(s).

Edited August 14, 2014 by sjohnson

[augmentedfourth]

HAH!  I thought the same thing.  Now I wish Molly had imagined Patrick Swayze running his finger down her abdomen to impregnate her.  The time of your life, indeed!

 

Speaking of Patrick Swayze movies, thanks to characters named Sam and Molly, all I could think of during the early episodes was "Molly, you in danger, girl!" I feel better having gotten that off my chest.

[JBody]

The acting and writing for this show is above par, I think, for the SciFi/horror melodrama genre.  So, so, so many other bad acting and bad writing candidates: Under The Dome (top marks), The Following, The 100.  And yes, I hatewatch them all.  What is bugging me right this very second is the lack of decent recappings for Extant.  This show needs good TWoP-style recapping! *sobs*

 

Never trust a guy named Odin.  He would NOT be allowed into the lab.

 

I know people are creeped out by Julie but I felt bad for her when she was trying to explain herself to John and he buggered off mid-sentence.  I think he's a dick.

 

The exchange between Sam and Molly was priceless: they understood each other!

 

RIP Kryger (I think he's dead, Jim)

 

I wondered about Julie's use of paper and pen.  Would she be considered one of those people who like antiques and/or who deliberately use low or old tech to prove some kind of point?  Trying to think of a contemporary example. 

 

Enver Gjokaj -- last seen in 2 eps of the Walking Dead.  Nice to see him again.

 

bluebonnet, holy shit but I think you are totally on to something there.  Explains a lot. 

 

Nitpick: ok, so Kryger burns his own fingerprints off and transfers old evil Chandler's prints onto his fingers and uses that to scan his way into the ISEA building.  But how come he didn't need to switch out his eyeball too?  They very clearly showed us that the doctor at the beginning needed a hand scan AND an optical scan in order to gain entry.

Edited August 14, 2014 by JBody

[Actionmage]

As much as I do like Goran V., I hate "John Woods".  I am now 'shipping Molly and Julie in my headcannon. After going on and on about Ethan's nightmare being a break of Science, which it is, there was not one iota of sympathy for "his son!"  You know that poor kid understands "John's " priorities as Project/Life's Work then Parent. He'll rage and lunge at potential backers who talk about killswitches, but ignore the emotions that are inherent with nightmares. Either Ethan is becoming a Real Boy or he never will, John. Fish/cut bait.

 

Adored the reaction of Charlie, the lab guy. He was excited, as he should be for New Science-y Things To Look Into, but then actually rememb ered social protocol and seemed to give a relatively honest 'sorry about that,kid'  reply to the fact that the dream was classified as a nightmare. Want more Charlie and Ethan doin' The Robot. Not a lot, just like during a session with a game or something.

 

I hope Kryger is okay, but I think Gordon and his untrustworthy haircut have offed him, as per orders. Though, what hacks Gord off more: Harmon Kryger being wily and embarrassing him or Sparks getting "weird" and threatening to him, of all people?

 

As per my above head 'ship, I want Julie to kick the everlovin' snot out of "Odin", or poetically take an eye, if/when he tries anything with Ethan. In a fight, Julie's first on my list out of this cast, Gordon second.

[JBody]

Yeah, Charlie was good.  John should take some pointers from him.

 

I think Gordon (evil old Chandler, yes?) was extremely pissed that Kryger showed him up while he was off in his futuristic opium den.  He's the Head of Security! The shame!

[Cyranetta]

 

Enver Gjokaj -- last seen in 2 eps of the Walking Dead.  Nice to see him again.

He's also been in a few eps of Rizzoli and isles this season.

[Rhetorica]

It's starting to seem less likely that this is alien stuff, but more something like organic nanotech. That little piece of tech that Molly put on Sam (and why the hell does ISEA not have that in order to monitor Molly?) seemed organic in that it could melt into the skin and become unnoticeable. Organic technology is there, why not nanobots? I'm just trying to figure out why Yasumoto was so interested in humanechs. The goal with Ethan was to teach the robot to be human by giving him a human childhood experience. I'm wondering if there was some truth to Sparks' story to Molly about how she got pregnant, the thing about the time delayed fertilized egg release. Perhaps Katie Sparks and crew were working with this nanotech as part of their research and it grew beyond the control of the researchers. Katie called it a virus. Molly's ship seems to work with plants. Maybe one ship was trying to 'grow' organic nanostuff in plant form while another was using the mechanisms of a virus to grow it. And back to Molly and what Sparks said about how she got pregnant - if this is some sort of organic nanotech and can manipulate itself to mimic something crazy like sperm, then there's the bit of truth in Sparks fobbing off a story about time-delayed fertilization.

In essence, the baby would be half human, half robot. With that strip of tech Molly put on Sam, it's becomes a lot more plausible that truly organic tech can exist in this future world. I guess where Ethan comes in is because John created his tech to 'learn' whereas this theoretical nanotech has gone out of control. Perhaps Yasumoto sees the Ethan tech as the missing link. I'm wondering if when they zapped Ethan, the zapper actually had a bit of this nano stuff included and was injected into Ethan's system. Could be why he's "dreaming" and also becoming smarter. If Yasumoto has only 100 days left to live, he's probably in a mega rush to save himself, especially considering he's going to such lengths to get access to whatever Molly brought back in her belly. If robotics has advanced so much to create Ethan and those super life-like prosthetics, why not even further to keep a dying body alive, perhaps even indefinitely? But as John points out, you have to be careful with robots because they are smarter than humans and they also l. ack human empathy and morality. Hence Ethan, a robot that can be taught the human experience.

Sorry, that strip of tech on Sam's hand sent me off into a tailspin of crackpot. Can't get that organic tech out of my head.

Thanks bluebonnet, a truley interesting theory. I, too, was enchanted by the "strip of tech" but you took it to an advanced plotline. 

I guess as long as the aliens aren't used for for food, the government won't get involved. 

http://www.non-gmoreport.com/articles/oct09/us_organic_standards_ban_nanotechnology.php

[Blue Plastic]

What I find interesting is that when one person (I'm assuming this is exclusive to women) encounters the alien they'll end up preggers eta. Molly or if they survive a little crazy like Kryger. But when it encounters numerous people it turns them into psycho killers. Alan's daughter pretty much said there was a mutiny on the ship after the crew was exposed to the alien force. So it will use its enemy as hosts to reproduce, and those it can't use for that it makes them destroy each other.

The more I think about that, the less sense that makes.  If these aliens are so desperate to impregnate a human female and thereby establish a population on earth, how is that going to work if they make the humans so hostile that they kill each other before the hybrid baby can get to earth?  I don't get it.  Maybe the aliens aren't doing that on purpose and it is just a side effect but sure doesn't seem like a very effective technique.

 

I know people are creeped out by Julie but I felt bad for her when she was trying to explain herself to John and he buggered off mid-sentence.  I think he's a dick.

I agree.  They're probably setting up to make her evil and then they can say John was right to be a dick to her, but he is most certainly being a dick to her and at this point IMO she has not really done anything to deserve that.  Just because she is his employee doesn't mean she wouldn't deserve a little respect or consideration.  His employees are not going to have much morale or loyalty if he can't even bother to pretend that he cares what they think about job-related matters.

[Sandman]

I always watch looking for the blatantly non-futuristic item and I totally MISSED the paper thing.  Nice job.  I need to up my game, you are a worth I Spy opponent.

 

The use of paper seems less anachronistic to me than the flashy high-tech garbage zapper, honestly. Paper has been a part of human culture(s) for thousands of years. I think certain low-tech things will survive long after their "more advanced" technological replacements have come and gone.

 

Was Ethan always supposed to have extremely advanced problem-solving skills? The game he and Lucy play didn't seem that much like a decryption matrix in three dimensions, but maybe there's some transferable skill there. I agree that scene made Ethan seemed a little too Data ex machina. (Also, why has it occurred to no one ever that Ethan has been experiencing partial memories of just before he was tased? Has "John Woods" never even heard of Occam's Razor?)

 

I thought Kryger was killed as Sparks ordered. The little head paddles were I thought a high tech way to disguise the murder.

 

The first thing I thought of when Evil Chandler Bing applied the little head paddles was the zone-out tech the EMTs used to sedate Molly. But he's probably dead, after all. But we still might see Kryger again.

 

I'm not finding the acting terrible; Berry's the weakest of the bunch, but everyone else seems to be doing their best with writing that's not the strongest in terms of motivations or, you know, logic, and the pace of the show has definitely improved. I agree that "John Woods" is the most inconsistently written character. Sometimes the plot requires him to be a Dad, and sometimes a mad scientist. The writers need to pick one.

 

Gordon and his untrustworthy haircut

 

Hee. "It's my haircut, isn't it? People think I'm evil because of my hair!"

"Yes, Gordon; you have untrustworthy hair."

 

As per my above head 'ship, I want Julie to kick the everlovin' snot out of "Odin", or poetically take an eye, if/when he tries anything with Ethan. In a fight, Julie's first on my list out of this cast, Gordon second.

 

I'm not seeing Miss Gummer as leading a cyborg rebellion, or anything, but I like what you did with Odin here. I really like Charlie the Lab Guy, too. Which means he's probably doomed. Enver Gjokaj, too, I bet. (Poor Astronaut Victor!)

 

Speaking of Patrick Swayze movies, thanks to characters named Sam and Molly, all I could think of during the early episodes was "Molly, you in danger, girl!" I feel better having gotten that off my chest.

 

You have more self-restraint than I. I went there with the first episode!

Edited August 15, 2014 by Sandman

[Latverian Diplomat]

The more I think about that, the less sense that makes.  If these aliens are so desperate to impregnate a human female and thereby establish a population on earth, how is that going to work if they make the humans so hostile that they kill each other before the hybrid baby can get to earth?  I don't get it.  Maybe the aliens aren't doing that on purpose and it is just a side effect but sure doesn't seem like a very effective technique.

 

While Katie says the other crew members had been killing each other or themselves, I wonder if she was misinterpreting their intentions toward her? They may have been attempting to protect her fetus by preventing her from launching herself into space. It's also possible that the "virus" was still imperfect and the first to be infected were resisting it in the only way left to them.

 

I was thinking that this undesirable group behavior might have been the reason the Seraphim was a solo station (an otherwise somewhat questionable idea) but Kryger was already there on a solo mission during the Aruna disaster.

 

Don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but for the math peeps out there, the alien calling card seems to be inspired by a fractal pattern called an Appollonian gasket.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollonian_gasket

 

It's not always perfectly rendered. The "distress signal/test pattern" Kryger got was particularly sloppy. Ethan's drawing was pretty good though.

Edited August 15, 2014 by Latverian Diplomat

[Sandman]

Don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but for the math peeps out there, the alien calling card seems to be inspired by a fractal pattern called an Appollonian gasket.

 

Wouldn't it be awful if the alien fractal Olympic ring whosis was the outer space equivalent of "Can you hear me now?" Do aliens have corporate logos? Does Yasumoto want a piece of that brand action?

[Latverian Diplomat]

Wouldn't it be awful if the alien fractal Olympic ring whosis was the outer space equivalent of "Can you hear me now?" Do aliens have corporate logos? Does Yasumoto want a piece of that brand action?

I think peaceful coexistence is possible. We'll accept their chains of fertility clinics and dead people impersonators, if they accept Starbucks and McDonalds. :-)

Edited August 15, 2014 by Latverian Diplomat

[izabella]

I do think it took a bit for the chemistry to get going between pretty much all the characters and Halle Berry is still a bit wooden at times.  BUT. . I'm almost starting to think of her wooden acting as purposeful.  We keep seeing how Molly doesn't play well with others (and there was the throw away comment this episode about how she has next to no friends) so the acting may be to show the character (and not merely bad acting).

 

Her belated birthday party seems to contradict that, though.  They had a houseful of friends there for the party.  They couldn't all have been people John is friendly with.

[wayne67]

Her belated birthday party seems to contradict that, though.  They had a houseful of friends there for the party.  They couldn't all have been people John is friendly with.

 

 

Especially since John doesn't seem to have any friends. He treats his employees like they're nuisances until he needs them. He treats investors as if they're stupid for wanting to know if there is a risk to having robo children wandering about being smart and looking like other humans. I don't think we've seen a single friend of his. 

 

The only explanation I can come up with for Molly's full house while saying she doesn't like making friends is that those people are acquaintances, people she sometimes interacts with but doesn't rely on for friendship stuff. 

[shapeshifter]

Promo clip is up -- and it gets weird.  Apparently the baby has gnarly powers that everyone talks about, but are never actually seen in action....

One line made me chuckle -- "It didn't come all this way to be put in a box."

So it was Sparks' daughter that told Olympic Ringhead to free the baby cause nobody puts baby in a corner.. 

HAH!  I thought the same thing.  Now I wish Molly had imagined Patrick Swayze running his finger down her abdomen to impregnate her.  The time of your life, indeed!

The promo had me thinking "nobody puts baby in a corner" too! Intentional?

 

The cylinder had the word 'Absalom' on it.  No idea what it is, but if you Google it you get a variety of explanations but none that seem relevant to the show (the top hit is that it's the name of the 3rd son of King David).

There's a biblical line with David wailing, "Absolom, oh Absolom, my son!" which, IIRC, is after David orders Absolom killed for trying to take over the kingdom, which a robot uprising could mirror.

But I was thinking it was Extant's version of Absinthe.

What I find interesting is that when one person (I'm assuming this is exclusive to women) encounters the alien they'll end up preggers...

I wonder where the Aruna and Seraphim stations are located ? ...Are these stations far enough away from Earth, and each other, that no one thinks it's odd that an alien lifeform can reach both of them but for some reason can't reach Earth ?  Why wouldn't the aliens simply infect people in the ISS (or whatever the equivalent is in this show) ?

Sounds like the space alien life form is like a virus/RNA/DNA that cannot survive Earth's atmosphere and/or gravity without bonding with human DNA.

Does that make sense? 'Cause I'm really just talking through my hat.

[Latverian Diplomat]

There's a biblical line with David wailing, "Absolom, oh Absolom, my son!" which, IIRC, is after David orders Absolom killed for trying to take over the kingdom, which a robot uprising could mirror.

But I was thinking it was Extant's version of Absinthe.

Sounds like the space alien life form is like a virus/RNA/DNA that cannot survive Earth's atmosphere and/or gravity without bonding with human DNA.

Does that make sense? 'Cause I'm really just talking through my hat.

Someone noted above that Absalom means "peace of the father" which in the Biblical story seems a deliberate use of irony. I always think that Absalom is given a bum rap in Sunday School treatments, because they (for obvious reasons) can't cover the first part of the story, the rape of Tamar (Absalom's sister) by another of David's sons (Amnon). David refuses to punish Amnon, so Absalom murders Amnon, and that's the real start of Absalom's rebellion.

 

You're on the right track with the "virus". All viruses need a host organism to survive and multiply, they don't have their own biochemical machinery for reproduction, they co-opt the hosts cells to do that for them. This "virus" (or nanotech acting like a virus) seems to be engineered with very specific goals, and generating a hybrid pregnancy is something that it's hard to imagine could evolve naturally. Aliens creating hybrids as a means of contact or invasion has been explored in such classics as Starman and Village of the Damned (AKA The Midwich Cuckoos).

[Rhetorica]

Someone noted above that Absalom means "peace of the father" which in the Biblical story seems a deliberate use of irony. I always think that Absalom is given a bum rap in Sunday School treatments, because they (for obvious reasons) can't cover the first part of the story, the rape of Tamar (Absalom's sister) by another of David's sons (Amnon). David refuses to punish Amnon, so Absalom murders Amnon, and that's the real start of Absalom's rebellion.

You're on the right track with the "virus". All viruses need a host organism to survive and multiply, they don't have their own biochemical machinery for reproduction, they co-opt the hosts cells to do that for them. This "virus" (or nanotech acting like a virus) seems to be engineered with very specific goals, and generating a hybrid pregnancy is something that it's hard to imagine could evolve naturally. Aliens creating hybrids as a means of contact or invasion has been explored in such classics as Starman and Village of the Damned (AKA The Midwich Cuckoos).

I thought the same but didn't say it as eloquently. Thanks. I loved Starman and Village of the Damned is still creepy!

[Latverian Diplomat]

I thought the same but didn't say it as eloquently. Thanks. I loved Starman and Village of the Damned is still creepy!

Thanks for the compliment. Village of the Damned Is a gem. FWIW, Warrren Ellis wrote a graphic novel that's based on an alternate ending 

the Midwich Cuckoos survive, and the story picks up many years later after they've caused a catastrophe

it's available in print but also to read free online. I've only read the first bit, but a friend of mine really liked it. One of those things I keep meaning to get back to. It's very Warren Ellis-y, so it might or might not appeal to someone who enjoyed the film, bit it's extant, one might say. :-) 

 

ETA: oops, forgot the link:

 

http://www.freakangels.com/

Edited August 15, 2014 by Latverian Diplomat

[jhlipton]

Speaking of which, poor Kryger has been captured

 

In a subway that was fairly well packed until it needed to be empty for PLOT!

 

We keep seeing how Molly doesn't play well with others (and there was the throw away comment this episode about how she has next to no friends) so the acting may be to show the character (and not merely bad acting).

 

Or they could be “lampshading” the bad acting by saying she has no friends (except the house full of people for the birthday party, and Dead Boyfriend’s Deader Brother).

 

While Katie says the other crew members had been killing each other or themselves, I wonder if she was misinterpreting their intentions toward her? They may have been attempting to protect her fetus by preventing her from launching herself into space.

 

The crew attacked each other before she locked herself off. So I don’t think anyone was protecting the fetus at that point.

[Rhetorica]

Thanks for the compliment. Village of the Damned Is a gem. FWIW, Warrren Ellis wrote a graphic novel that's based on an alternate ending

the Midwich Cuckoos survive, and the story picks up many years later after they've caused a catastrophe

it's available in print but also to read free online. I've only read the first bit, but a friend of mine really liked it. One of those things I keep meaning to get back to. It's very Warren Ellis-y, so it might or might not appeal to someone who enjoyed the film, bit it's extant, one might say. :-)

ETA: oops, forgot the link:

http://www.freakangels.com/

Thanks Latverian Diplomat, I just finished it. My husband kept asking me, "What's happening now?" My question after finishing it is, what happens next!? I guess we're to speculate on our own. And that's how I like some stories to end.

[Exalt]

Apparently, getting close to the baby makes people not only see dead people, but lose their damn minds!  I'm still wondering what Yasumoto wants with him.

Yasumoto has made a few references to that asteroid goo's healing capabilities. Maybe the asteroid goo is related to the SporeAliens, and he thinks he can get some healing from the baby - for whatever is going to kill him in ~100 days.

 

I have to say - Odin is YOWZA good-looking! There is no reason he should be wearing a shirt, at any time. Way to up the eye candy ante. I'm going to go with the general belief that he's not to be trusted since they are leaning so hard on Gummer's emotional vulnerability right now.

 

I'm in disagreement with all the anti-"John Woods" feelings. I like him and think he's a very loving, protective partner to Mollly, who's super annoying much of the time (Get a barette already - those Shetland Pony bangs are so irritating to look at!). I see his rude treatment of Miss Gummer as a married man trying to steer a young infatuated woman off of him and lay some boundaries when she clearly doesn't have any. I think he has gotten way too involved/emotionally attached to the Humanech project because he adopted Ethan, but that makes sense to me and also helps explain why he got all hierarchical with Miss Gummer recently.

 

I'm enjoying this show, though I do think Halle Berry's acting is subpar. I think everyone else is quite good. I will never look at Gordon again without thinking evil old Chandler Bing!

[Sandman]

Maybe they don't have barrettes in the FUUUUTUUUUUURE.

[SlackerInc]

The acting and writing for this show is above par, I think, for the SciFi/horror melodrama genre.  So, so, so many other bad acting and bad writing candidates: Under The Dome (top marks), The Following, The 100.  And yes, I hatewatch them all.  What is bugging me right this very second is the lack of decent recappings for Extant.  This show needs good TWoP-style recapping! *sobs*

 

Never trust a guy named Odin.  He would NOT be allowed into the lab.

 

I know people are creeped out by Julie but I felt bad for her when she was trying to explain herself to John and he buggered off mid-sentence.  I think he's a dick.

 

The exchange between Sam and Molly was priceless: they understood each other!

 

RIP Kryger (I think he's dead, Jim)

 

I wondered about Julie's use of paper and pen.  Would she be considered one of those people who like antiques and/or who deliberately use low or old tech to prove some kind of point?  Trying to think of a contemporary example. 

 

Enver Gjokaj -- last seen in 2 eps of the Walking Dead.  Nice to see him again.

 

bluebonnet, holy shit but I think you are totally on to something there.  Explains a lot. 

 

Nitpick: ok, so Kryger burns his own fingerprints off and transfers old evil Chandler's prints onto his fingers and uses that to scan his way into the ISEA building.  But how come he didn't need to switch out his eyeball too?  They very clearly showed us that the doctor at the beginning needed a hand scan AND an optical scan in order to gain entry.

 

I completely agree about this show's acting and writing being quite good for the genre.  It's not going to match the top non-SF dramas, but some of us do crave us some good science fiction, and it's very hard to come by.  I have been touting it (even before this episode, which I agree is the best yet) as the best sci-fi show currently airing on TV; then it occurred to me that I don't watch any others because they have all disappointed me (Defiance, Under the Dome, and Almost Human come to mind).  If there's something good out there that I'm missing, someone please clue me in!

 

Especially since John doesn't seem to have any friends. He treats his employees like they're nuisances until he needs them. He treats investors as if they're stupid for wanting to know if there is a risk to having robo children wandering about being smart and looking like other humans. I don't think we've seen a single friend of his. 

 

The only explanation I can come up with for Molly's full house while saying she doesn't like making friends is that those people are acquaintances, people she sometimes interacts with but doesn't rely on for friendship stuff. 

 

This seems to be a standard TV trope (I don't know if it's actually listed in that very detailed website, but it should be).  Couples generally hang out with no one else or just a couple friends, but when there's a party to be had, suddenly there's all kinds of redshirts around.  (A great example of this, on a great show, is Breaking Bad: the early episodes had a couple gatherings with all kinds of people we never saw again.)  I cut them some slack, because it would get too complicated to actually introduce all these peripheral friends as characters, but they still want the idea that if it's time for a party, there are the normal number of people who will show up.  (Similarly, notice that at John's lab, there are several workers who can be seen briefly in certain shots way in the background, but somehow the only ones who ever come in close or say anything are Charlie and "Jules".)

[HalcyonDays]

This show seems to finally have settled in. This episode, and the last I actually really liked that John and Molly are working together to figure the mystery out. The episodes before that, I was annoyed that they seemed to be making poor decisions. Now, excellent decisions. Neither of them are being tempted to "believe" or trust someone else. I cannot remember another show I've watched were a husband and wife worked so seemlessly together in their covert activities

 

I think the acting is perfectly fine and I like that Molly hasn't reduced herself into a teary mess, or John into an angsty mess. You can see Molly thinking scientifically on how to proceed, formulating her plans and actions logically. At least that's what I see and I love it.

[SlackerInc]

Listening to the Extant podcast this week, both guys seemed to think that Jules slept with a "random guy" in the previous episode, and that it didn't make sense for Charlie to be offended at being introduced to Odin as a "coworker". But aren't they falling for the Clark Kent trick? I thought it was Charlie sans glasses that she was in bed with.

[Rhetorica]

Listening to the Extant podcast this week, both guys seemed to think that Jules slept with a "random guy" in the previous episode, and that it didn't make sense for Charlie to be offended at being introduced to Odin as a "coworker". But aren't they falling for the Clark Kent trick? I thought it was Charlie sans glasses that she was in bed with.

Well, if that's true, he tricked me. Was it really Charlie?

[shapeshifter]

Well, if that's true, he tricked me. Was it really Charlie?

Was the guy in the gym the guy she slept with? If not, they should've had at least different color hair.

[jhlipton]

I completely agree about this show's acting and writing being quite good for the genre.  It's not going to match the top non-SF dramas, but some of us do crave us some good science fiction, and it's very hard to come by.  I have been touting it (even before this episode, which I agree is the best yet) as the best sci-fi show currently airing on TV; then it occurred to me that I don't watch any others because they have all disappointed me (Defiance, Under the Dome, and Almost Human come to mind).  If there's something good out there that I'm missing, someone please clue me in!

 

 

This seems to be a standard TV trope (I don't know if it's actually listed in that very detailed website, but it should be).  Couples generally hang out with no one else or just a couple friends, but when there's a party to be had, suddenly there's all kinds of redshirts around.  (A great example of this, on a great show, is Breaking Bad: the early episodes had a couple gatherings with all kinds of people we never saw again.)  I cut them some slack, because it would get too complicated to actually introduce all these peripheral friends as characters, but they still want the idea that if it's time for a party, there are the normal number of people who will show up.  (Similarly, notice that at John's lab, there are several workers who can be seen briefly in certain shots way in the background, but somehow the only ones who ever come in close or say anything are Charlie and "Jules".)

 

I think it's part of "The Conservation of Characters" -- you don't really introduce any characters you don't really need.  

[Jordan27]

 Two episodes without Yasumoto. What has he been up to?

 

Lost, of course.  :)