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S01.E04: Pack Mentality


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Jackson, Abraham, Mitch, Jamie and Chloe are tasked by a top intelligence agent to find what's causing the strange animal behavior around the world. To get started, they travel to Mississippi to look into the wolf attack on the prison. While there, they meet an FBI agent who may know more than he's saying.
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(edited)

Somewhere in the initial team investigation, I hit mute for a commercial and forgot the snark I miss when I do that..

 

Luckily, out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of OMFG! Holy clandestine infiltration, Batman!  Bat stand off.  Bat kamikaze.  Bat sabotage!

 

Is there some secret hidden meaning in that Oasis song because seriously you play Lynyrd Skynyrd-Free bird.  Get with it show. 

 

Oh show, I snark but I love because you are the gift that keeps on giving.  Exploding coffee pot boiling brain.  Rolling around in prey like this is Star Wars.  I'm pretty sure at some point a real animal is going to come crashing through those giant animal heads because they are freaking me out and once I'm lulled into not expecting the bear to leap off the wall, it will.

Edited by ParadoxLost
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So whatever causes the animals to change behavior, it also changes the physiology of the animals. We have bats that can fly way above their flight ceiling and now we have bats that can fly hundreds of kilometers across Pacific Ocean to Antarctica. More importantly, those bats can also survive in the open of Antarctic weather while two humans with cold gears indoor are frozen to death.

 

Therefore, I am out.

  • Love 4
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Yeah, it is getting crazy.  Plus, the only character I like is Abraham.  I'll give it a couple more episodes and if things don't make more sense, I'm out too. 

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I don't like any of the characters.  I'm enjoying the hell out of Machiavellian animals on parade.  The less sense and more crazy the better. This is one I'm enjoying on a MST3K level.

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I guess my problem is I want to see more humans as dinner.   Or lunch.  Seriously, I think the show needs more action and less focus on these meh characters.

  • Love 3
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IRL I've been having some added stress lately, so when the "coffee pot brain" exploded and Billy Burke peeked up from under the bed to casually say, "Yeah. I'd say we're on to something," I literally LOLed.

I don't know if coconut milk is in any way like cerebral fluid, or if electricity will make bacteria grow, but it sounded very silly, which is why I like the show.

Don't the wolves realize that Manson 2.0 is a human being?

I guess that doesn't matter because he has wolf brain now? The wolves (and Manson 2.0) also let Mitch and Jackson go when they were the only humans hunting wolves who were not planning to kill them
  • Love 6
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So whatever causes the animals to change behavior, it also changes the physiology of the animals. We have bats that can fly way above their flight ceiling and now we have bats that can fly hundreds of kilometers across Pacific Ocean to Antarctica. More importantly, those bats can also survive in the open of Antarctic weather while two humans with cold gears indoor are frozen to death.

 

Therefore, I am out.

 

According to the promo, it's some magic cell that infects the animals or something like that.  XD.

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According to the promo, it's some magic cell that infects the animals or something like that.  XD.

Reanimation of taxidermy. Come on show, you know you want to.

THe one thing I didn't like was Manson 2.0 as alpha wolf.

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Those were some hardhearted bats--they killed the women even after their fellow wingers were sprung.

 

I remember, when the book came out, being excited about the premise and disappointed with the direction it took.  This show strikes me the same way--too much pharmacology, not enough animals.

 

I want a story where humans deal with finding themselves several steps lower on the predator pyramid.

  • Love 2
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Seriously, the wolf pack attack killed everyone one in the prison -- guards and prisoners.  How is that even possible ?  We know that Manson-lite probably survived, but everyone was killed by the fire or the wolves (or both !!).

 

Bats .... in Antarctica.. And instead of freezing to death on the way to the outpost (which should have happened), the bats decide to cover the solar panels and likely freeze to death (since they are no longer flapping to keep warm), and cutting off the power supply in the process.  Well, some died, but they all should have been dead.  Are these the same bats from Japan ?  How did the bats know about the caged birds in the first place (oh yeah, hive mind, hyper-gamma, blah, blah, blah). And who goes to Antarctica to fix their relationship ? 

 

And the bat knocks out power to the entire Antarctica complex by flying into the space heater and shorting it out.  How do the bats know what solar panels are -- and how do they know how electricity works ?  Not only are the animals becoming more aggressive against humans, but are now super-brilliant and know how everything works. Seriously, fucking bats in Antarctica !!

 

If Chloe and Jackson are following the path marked by Abe, how come Abe and Mitch didn't find the dead cow ?

 

Seriously, if they release the birds to satisfy the bats, the birds will freeze to death.  Where are they going to fly to -- Australia, South America ?  It was a pair of doves and some seagulls.  And why weren't the penguins attacking ?

 

How are none of these clowns getting shot in the woods by the trigger-happy drunk hunters ?  None of them are wearing bright orange hunting gear.

 

I was expecting Manson-lite to be driving that pickup truck down the road with the truck bed packed full of wolves.

 

So the two researchers freeze to death all bundled up in winter gear, but only a small fraction of the bats froze to death.  Outside.  Exposed to the elements.  WTF ?  Man, that is stupid.  Even stupider than the exploding coffee pot.

 

How come they only returned one car to the rental agency ?  And Manson-lite somehow knew Oz's father.  Come on.

  • Love 3
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Exploding coconut blood latté!  Make mine to-go, please!

 

The direction of this show is so slip-shod. When Nancy found the photo in the Bible, I guessed based on the wide-eyed "A CLUE!" look on her face and dramatic music that Dr Dad, PhD would be in the photo, yet when she showed it to Jackson, she had to ask him who he was.  Oddly, her line seemed to have been dubbed in post.

 

Given Nancy's obsessive focus on Reiden Global, it would be the ultimate irony if the solution involved Reiden with their vast resources spraying the cure all over the globe.

  • Love 1
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Reanimation of taxidermy. Come on show, you know you want to.

THe one thing I didn't like was Manson 2.0 as alpha wolf.

 

I legit thought they were going to come back alive with their experiment.  XD.

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First, I for one am so glad this show deviates from the HORRIBLE novel on which it is based. I wasn't going to even watch this until my mother shared bits if the pilot that clearly deviated from the text.

Second, I LOVE this forum. You are all hilarious. Seriously; sell tickets- this group is comic genius

  • Love 4
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Team composition seems weird.  Two tour guides, a less-than-first class reporter, a veterinary pathologist and an analyst from the DGSE.  Only the last two even remotely suitable for the task.  And, did they just fly from Tokyo to Biloxi in a Twin Comanche or something similar?

 

Scat isn't wolf-shit.  Scat is anything-shit.

 

Why are the boulevards of paris lined with trees?  So the German army doesn't have to parade in the sun.  Yukity-yukity-yuk!

 

Never mind about the heat being off.  With only a simple door between the habitat internal space and the −60°C (or  worse) outside conditions, the antarctic researchers will be frozen soon anyway.  They should replace that door with a bead curtain, which would probably be slightly better at retaining heat!

 

How to catch a wolf:  Find the first patch of bush, and stumble around in it.  Presumably muttering "Here, boy!" under your breath.  And it helps if your weapon of choice is a net-gun that will be completely ineffective if fired in undergrowth, because the net won't deploy cleanly...

 

WTF?  It's a bat, not a cobra!  Okay, a Kamikaze bat, but still, about as threatening as a mouse...  Unless your antarctic habitat was wired up without circuit breakers or fuses!

 

A level three once-through?  What, you can't work in a prison unless you're dumber than Forest Gump?

 

"The wolf was infected.  Probably by bacteria."   Duh!

 

This coconut is very similar to the human brain.  I know, because I had my brain replaced by a coconut years ago!

 

So, they froze to death in less time than to listen to an Oasis album.  Should have had the door replaced by that bead curtain.

 

And who goes to Antarctica to fix their relationship ?

 

Couples whose application to The Amazing Race was rejected.

  • Love 10
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And why weren't the penguins attacking ?

This one's easy: Because they can't fly.

I was expecting Manson-lite to be driving that pickup truck down the road with the truck bed packed full of wolves.

Totally missed opportunity! And Billy Burke's character's reaction to seeing it. Better yet, a wolf driving and Manson dude riding shotgun--with Mitch watching it go by.
  • Love 6
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(edited)

I don't like any of the characters.  I'm enjoying the hell out of Machiavellian animals on parade.  The less sense and more crazy the better. This is one I'm enjoying on a MST3K level.

 

Seriously! Because:

 

Seriously, the wolf pack attack killed everyone one in the prison -- guards and prisoners.  How is that even possible ?  We know that Manson-lite probably survived, but everyone was killed by the fire or the wolves (or both !!).

 

Bats .... in Antarctica.. And instead of freezing to death on the way to the outpost (which should have happened), the bats decide to cover the solar panels and likely freeze to death (since they are no longer flapping to keep warm), and cutting off the power supply in the process.  Well, some died, but they all should have been dead.  Are these the same bats from Japan ?  How did the bats know about the caged birds in the first place (oh yeah, hive mind, hyper-gamma, blah, blah, blah). And who goes to Antarctica to fix their relationship ? 

 

And the bat knocks out power to the entire Antarctica complex by flying into the space heater and shorting it out.  How do the bats know what solar panels are -- and how do they know how electricity works ?  Not only are the animals becoming more aggressive against humans, but are now super-brilliant and know how everything works. Seriously, fucking bats in Antarctica !! ...

 

Seriously, if they release the birds to satisfy the bats, the birds will freeze to death.  Where are they going to fly to -- Australia, South America ?  It was a pair of doves and some seagulls.  And why weren't the penguins attacking ? ...

 

So the two researchers freeze to death all bundled up in winter gear, but only a small fraction of the bats froze to death.  Outside.  Exposed to the elements.  WTF ?  Man, that is stupid.  Even stupider than the exploding coffee pot ...

 

Try harder, show. Antarctic Bat Siege was dumb, but not as dumb as Wolf Prison Break.

Edited by Trini
  • Love 1
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(edited)

 

And why weren't the penguins attacking ?

This one's easy: Because they can't fly.

 

Don't feel bad about their rejection by flying creatures; the penguins are totally aligning themselves with the marine mammals. (Killer whales are so going to earn that nickname!)

Edited by Trini
  • Love 3
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BTW, we're calling him Charles Animalson now. Get in on the ground floor!

Not: Charles Garanimal Manson?

--Trying to stick with the 3-name serial killer name tradition from the show. Although maybe that one doesn't work as well since he ditched his prison jumpsuit.

  • Love 2
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(edited)

Dammit, why would you go to Antarctica, and just bring the bats over there, instead of having a bunch of poor saps get murdered by a bunch of penguins?  I want killer penguins!  I want March of the Evil Penguins!  Complete with a Morgan Freeman knock-off, narrating the bloodshed and chaos in epic fashion!

 

But I guess the big reveal about that plot is that animals now have abilities to travel to areas where they would normally die.  I have no idea what to make of this.  Really, we're at such a slippery slope, that they could have sharks walking on land, and I would just go with it.

 

So, we get the first official team mission, although they still end up splitting up, since Chloe decides to go to the prison with Jackson and Jamie, but makes Mitch and Abe go off wolf-hunting.  In other words, Chloe really has a lot of faith in Abe being able to get his temper in check and not leave Mitch tied to a tree, after the umpteenth time he no doubt put his foot in his mouth or made a wiseass remark.  Of course, in the end, it really doesn't matter since Mitch and Abe get ambushed by Wolf Charlie Manson and his pack, while it's Chloe and Jackson who somehow find the wolf body.  They discover that some kind of a bacteria is fucking with their heads, after an experiment by Mitch blows up the hotel coffee pot.  I bet the bill for this visit is going to be great!

 

Jamie finds Wolf Manson's Bible, and finds a picture of the guy with... Jackson's dad! What a twist!  But at least she did something useful, which I found shocking after her amazement over the term "scat."  I mean, I'm not an animal expert, but even I know that scat is another word for feces and whatnot.  What the hell, Jamie?

 

Between tonight and bringing down the plane last week, bats sure seem OK with suicide for the bigger cause.  Now, I'm wondering if bats believe in after-life and whatnot.  Maybe they're like the bad guys from Mad Max: Fury Road, and believe killing themselves will get them into Valhalla.  All this time, they've actually been screeching "Witness me!", right before they fly themselves into airplane engines, heaters, etc.

 

Another random note: I noticed that Jackson and Abe where in a hotel room together, and it looked like Chloe and Jaime where in another, so I'm guessing Mitch got one to himself, unless they just regulated him to a sleeper sofa.  I'm thinking the former, since I suspect Mitch would be one of the world's worst roommate.

 

Mitch has an ex-wife, of course.  Please let be a former Revolution castmate!  Please!!

Edited by thuganomics85
  • Love 3
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(edited)

...Mitch and Abe get ambushed by Wolf Charlie Manson and his pack, while it's Chloe and Jackson who somehow find the wolf body.

If Evan Lee Hartley's and Jackson Oz' first names had been switched, we could be posting about Wolf Manson Jack.

So did they just abandon the contents of the exploding coffee pot of killer brain bacteria in the hotel room?

And none of them inhaled or otherwise ingested a single bacterium?

Edited by shapeshifter
  • Love 2
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You guys are great!  I don't know which I find funnier; this forum or the situations on the show. 

I, too, was all WTF about the Antarctic bats.  Does the mutant bacteria replace blood with antifreeze? 

 

They could have used Penguins.  Hundreds of Penguins, standing on each other's shoulders and madly pecking away at the solar panels; cracking and destroying them, then swarming the shelter, driving the researchers mad with their incessant screaming.  And once the researchers are dead, they take over the shelter and with their newly boosted IQs, turn on a recording device (probably a laptop) and watch March of the Penguins, over and over and over ... And then, because all is not sweetness and light within the animal kingdom itself, violence ensues when a small but vocal group demands Penguins of Madagascar be screened.

  • Love 7
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But is the devineness of Wolf Charlie Manson limited to wolves?  Or is he more of an All-Animal Charlie Manson?  Because he jumped in a truck and left the wolves behind.  Next week he will be commanding bats.

 

Why bats?  Same reason we already had bats two episodes in a row, because when you buy Bat CGI v1.2, you want to get as much use out of it as possible.

 

Or maybe it will be zebras!  <crosses fingers>

  • Love 1
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Did this show just go bat-shit crazy ?! Bravo!  I will stick with you until the bitter end (which better be 10 episodes, tops.) 

 

I enjoyed flirty Lunkhead Detective who was hitting on French Chick at the bar. I'm guessing he's there to create the required TV love triangle, but it's refreshing that he is more perceptive than he seems without being overbearing. 

 

Carry on, show. 

  • Love 1
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I guess my problem is I want to see more humans as dinner.   Or lunch.  Seriously, I think the show needs more action and less focus on these meh characters.

 

Exactly, the animal attacks should be more focused on and less on the annoying, dumb characters running around with ridiculous long winded exposition.

  • Love 1
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Bats .... in Antarctica.. And instead of freezing to death on the way to the outpost (which should have happened), the bats decide to cover the solar panels and likely freeze to death (since they are no longer flapping to keep warm), and cutting off the power supply in the process.  Well, some died, but they all should have been dead.  Are these the same bats from Japan ?  How did the bats know about the caged birds in the first place (oh yeah, hive mind, hyper-gamma, blah, blah, blah). And who goes to Antarctica to fix their relationship ?

And the bat knocks out power to the entire Antarctica complex by flying into the space heater and shorting it out.  How do the bats know what solar panels are -- and how do they know how electricity works ?  Not only are the animals becoming more aggressive against humans, but are now super-brilliant and know how everything works. Seriously, fucking bats in Antarctica !!

 

 

Yes, I was like, wait, how are those bats even ALIVE without like freezing to death, it's not like they've got fur or an extra layer of skin to keep them warm.  Also, if the wolves didn't kill Manson 2.0, how did the bats not know that the two women weren't infected with whatever they're infected with, unless they've now become telepathic.  

Why didn't the bats just drop off the solar panels from freezing to death since they were like OUTSIDE?  

 

That bat who flew in the compound, FAKE, that was the worst CG bat I've ever seen, that bat belonged on some silly SyFy type movie.  

 

When I was in college bats used to fly in the hallway of the dorm, we had a huge window and it was always open, so at night, the bats would come to party I guess, and we'd have a time getting them to fly OUT the window as they'd get disoriented in the LIGHT.  How come those bats seemed to be able to see where the solar panel was.  How do bats even know what electricity is?  I mean some humans don't even know what electricity is.  This show is becoming Sharknado, it belongs on SyFy.  It's probably a hit.

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Geoff Stults! Just when I thought I could not love this show any more! And for all that is not right within the animal kingdom let him butt heads with Billy Burke!

 

You know you're in for a ride when a line like "The prison was under attack... by wolves!" uttered during the first five minutes is by no means the craziest thing you'll get to witness for the next 40 minutes. Exploding coconut-brainfluid! Kamikaze bats with a degree in engineering! Though I admit we missed out on killer penguins.

 

Next week: killer camels. Can't wait!

  • Love 3
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Oh, and the prison break by wolves.  Did any of the wolves die in the fire?  I mean are these wolves immortal too?  BTW, the wolves are as stupid as humans if they're following Manson 2.0, they couldn't find anyone smarter?   I hope this all leads to some mad scientist who wants to take over the world and have the animals do his or her bidding.

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When Nancy found the photo in the Bible, I guessed based on the wide-eyed "A CLUE!" look on her face and dramatic music that Dr Dad, PhD would be in the photo, yet when she showed it to Jackson, she had to ask him who he was.

Maybe she's taking Kabuki lessons from Chloe? Her reaction to everything seems to be bugging her eyes out like she's being throttled.

  • Love 2
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Y'all have me wanting to watch, "March of the Killer Penguins" now.  And more BSC CGI bats, of course.  This is the greatest snark worthy tv show since... I'm not sure what, actually.  I love it.

  • Love 2
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(edited)

I want a story where humans deal with finding themselves several steps lower on the predator pyramid.

We'd have to lose our technology before that happens.

 

Bats .... in Antarctica.. And instead of freezing to death on the way to the outpost (which should have happened), the bats decide to cover the solar panels and likely freeze to death (since they are no longer flapping to keep warm), and cutting off the power supply in the process.  Well, some died, but they all should have been dead.  Are these the same bats from Japan ?  How did the bats know about the caged birds in the first place (oh yeah, hive mind, hyper-gamma, blah, blah, blah). And who goes to Antarctica to fix their relationship ? 

 

And the bat knocks out power to the entire Antarctica complex by flying into the space heater and shorting it out.  How do the bats know what solar panels are -- and how do they know how electricity works.

All this leads me to believe that the animals are not truly in control.  The bats being suicidal makes me think they're pawns.  Also, there seems to be an element of omniscience at work here.  Like how would they know to fly all the way to Antarctica just to kill two researchers.  And how solar technology works?

 

Team composition seems weird.  Two tour guides, a less-than-first class reporter, a veterinary pathologist and an analyst from the DGSE.  Only the last two even remotely suitable for the task.  And, did they just fly from Tokyo to Biloxi in a Twin Comanche or something similar?

One of the tour guides is the son of the guy who predicted the animal apocalypse so he should be there.  The other guide is his buddy and halfway accepts this crazy theory of animals taking over.  Not to mention he's supposedly an experienced trapper.  I know it didn't look like it this episode but that's what we're expected to believe.

 

And count me in the camp that thinks a huge opportunity was missed by not having the researchers killed by penguins.

Edited by maczero
  • Love 1
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I loved it when the meathead detective busted out his French, and the look on the French bitch's face when they were sitting at the bar.

 

I hate the "dumb security guard" trope where all it takes is an attractive female to make him lose his shit and let her in the gate.

  • Love 1
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(edited)

I'm a big fan of person in charge of selecting front gate security personnel for the Biloxi Prison. I'd like to buy him or her a drink and charge it to the French Government.

 

So did they just abandon the contents of the exploding coffee pot of killer brain bacteria in the hotel room?
And none of them inhaled or otherwise ingested a single bacterium?

I have world class ability to accept things I know are stupid for the sake of TV, but this show routinely wears me down.  This week it was the exploding coconut water and wolf's blood concoction. How on earth am I supposed to believe that an angry bacteria in blood could create an explosion when introduced to what is essentially weak Gatorade? (Note: This means that I was okay with everything else, including but not limited to the bats not freezing while they sat still on a solar panel.)

 

ETA: I realize that link was in reference to a perpetual motion machine, but meh, close enough.

Edited by JTMacc99
  • Love 1
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One of the tour guides is the son of the guy who predicted the animal apocalypse so he should be there.

 

And I'm having my appendix removed by a guy who rents deck chairs at the beach, but he is the son of a surgeon, so I'm sure I'll be OK!  

  • Love 2
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(edited)
I hate the "dumb security guard" trope where all it takes is an attractive female to make him lose his shit and let her in the gate.

 

Plus, it happened twice in the same episode. With the same guard.  First with Chloe and then later with Jamie -- heck, Jamie got through by herself with no credentials, but it was ok because she was previously there.  How did the guards discover that Jamie stole something from Manson-lite's cell ?

 

Why was there no manhunt for Manson-lite by the FBI ?  All the FBI would have had to do is a body count to see who is missing -- or did they just assume everyone was killed ?  Did they not even notice that Manson-lite's cell was empty ?  Manson-lite was on death row and supposed to be executed the very next day -- you would think the FBI would make some effort to get him back.  But nope, just a community drunken wolf hunt.

Edited by ottoDbusdriver
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And count me in the camp that thinks a huge opportunity was missed by not having the researchers killed by penguins.

As far as I can tell, the attacks have been limited to mammals. If birds are going to get in on the action, that would make the bats thing preposterous. There would be plenty of birds to tactically take out the power sources of the "researchers", and therefore no need to bring in the bats.

 

It does bother me that the show misses opportunities far too often. A simple mention of bat scat would have made me happier than a pig in scat.

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How did the guards discover that Jamie stole something from Manson-lite's cell ?

I assumed that she left the grate open and the empty envelope on the bed. I mean, why wouldn't I assume she did that?

But we keep seeing a crow going all 'Birds' on a pram in the promos.

Oh. I didn't realize that.  Hmm... So maybe we have to wait for the bacteria to mutate before it gets to birds.  It'll probably be Mitch's fault. He'll mean to use the Breakfast Blend one morning and instead use the Wolf's Blood, and boom! Crazy crows.

  • Love 2
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All this leads me to believe that the animals are not truly in control.  The bats being suicidal makes me think they're pawns.  Also, there seems to be an element of omniscience at work here.  Like how would they know to fly all the way to Antarctica just to kill two researchers.  And how solar technology works?

 

 

Back to my theory, mad scientist, bond villain type, he's creating an army of CGI bats.

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Well it IS possible that promo-crow is just an innocent bystander. It just happened to come along after Mum had been killed by squirrels and is now checking on the (still alive) baby.

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And I'm having my appendix removed by a guy who rents deck chairs at the beach, but he is the son of a surgeon, so I'm sure I'll be OK!  

Think about it.  If you have no leads on this.  Why not look for the kid.  He may have leads on his father's research which he does.  

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I hate the "dumb security guard" trope where all it takes is an attractive female to make him lose his shit and let her in the gate.

 

I didn't know they still did that, it seemed like it would be something that would be dated.

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