Jun 28, 2008 in Podcast
Featuring commentary by Robert Wertheimer on Episode 104, “The Power of Suggestion”.
Originally aired Space on 4/30/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 07/01/2008 in the USA.
Charlie Jade Episode 104 Commentary: The Power of Suggestion [45:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (415)Jun 27, 2008 in Podcast
Promo recap of Episode 103, “You Are Here”, aired prior to Episode 104, “The Power of Suggestion”
Jun 24, 2008 in Recaps
(this recap was posted on Tuesday morning at 4 A.M. EST, just so it appears RIGHT after the show originally aired at 3 AM. Nice job, Sci Fi Channel!)
After what was effectively a two-hour pilot to set up the universe, it’s time to get down to business and let poor Charlie Jade have a clue what’s going on.
We change up narrators again with this episode. This time, 01 Boxer has the duties. As befits a sociopath, he has a bit more fun with the job than his predecessors. Where Charlie was all business and Reena was melancholy, 01 is just having fun with all this adventure.
The adventure starts off early with Reena rollin’ a white dude (a Vex-Cor employee) to get some scratch. I can only assume that Gammaverse, like the Federation, has no concept of money or commerce. It must be a shock for this poor innocent to have to *pay* for things. 01 finds the mugging funny, even if he wishes not everyone hated the family business. They just want to make money, after all!
01 is surprised, but happy to find out Reena’s in Beta. He clearly has the best view of what’s really going on because he can see all three ‘verses. It’s unclear if he has other knowledge that gives him a further leg up on everyone. Regardless, with another piece on his chessboard, 01 is more confident he can make things work to his advantage.
Charlie is still staying at the shelter from last episode and Karl comes by to offer him a job. A hundred rand a day and a couch, assuming Charlie can find it beneath the books and clutter. As they’re leaving, a beggar asks Karl for change and he obliges. The following morning, Charlie will have a slightly less pleasant exchange with the same fellow.
Karl is convinced that Charlie’s an alien. He can think of no other explanation for the very alien way in which Charlie sees the world and the ignorance he shows of it. Not recognizing a picture of Nelson Mandela is merely the most current manifestation of his ignorance. Charlie of course knows he’s not an alien, even if he doesn’t know where he is.
Karl and Charlie decide they need to track down Reena. I tell you, it’s times like this I really appreciate Charlie’s detection abilities. He must have been a heckuva PI in Alpha.
Reena’s not having the best time in Beta. Seemingly getting sicker by the minute, she finds a seedy hotel and rents a room for a week. I don’t know the conversion rate between dollars and rand, but I know d-bags when I see them: he overcharged her. This world is not just foreign to her, it almost seems to be killing her. The way Patricia McKenzie looks at everything, as though the light hurts her eyes, really sells the pain she feels here.
In Gamma, 01 is at the site of a car wreck. A little red car, this is the one Reena and her beau were in during the pilot. The Vex-Cor investigator has a picture of the young lovers and 01 takes a good long look. His body was found; not hers.
Sometime later, Vex-Cor agents show up at the hotel and the manager lets them in her empty room. As they search, he leaves. He rounds the corner and bumps into Reena, who has gone out for coffee or tea. He looks extremely guilty, looks back toward her room, looks at Reena, and she figures it out. She throws the hot beverage in his face and takes off. Another foot chase and another chance for Reena to escape with her superior foot speed and agility. That’s where McKenzie’s dance background really comes in handy. By the end of the episode, her photo has been broadcast everywhere and she finds herself hiding out in the sewers, sick and alone.
While Reena’s getting sicker and more homesick, 01 reports back to the home office with the slate from Beta and Gamma. As we’ve known since the pilot, sabotage in Gamma started a chain reaction that ran up the line. The loss of life was heavy and the destruction of the link facilities was complete. Talk turns to Elliot Krogg who was seen driving away from the test site in Beta. Turns out he’d been recalled to Alpha a month prior and had disappeared. He’s apparently gone native.
In Beta, Elliot and his girlfriend Karen are at a train station waiting to depart. He steps away to get a drink and she’s nabbed by the police with a bag full of money. A lot of money. Elliot takes off.
Outside the Glass Door - which 01 has just bought for a song because the owner was “mysteriously” killed - 01 meets Julius. 01 wants to know about Elliot Krogg and pushes and prods Julius until he gets the information he wants. Elliot’s girlfriend has been arrested.
Meanwhile, Karl and Charlie watch security video that Karl received anonymously. They see Krogg driving away from the test site. Charlie says he saw that, too and Karl gets upset. He thinks Charlie’s “not playing straight.” Charlie suffers yet another of his splitting headaches, this one accompanied by a vision of Alpha.
At Krogg’s house, Charlie spots a surveillance bug like the one he found in the pilot. He grabs it and disables it. Karl’s more than a little freaked out by the technology and doesn’t believe it at first. Charlie mocks him: “Vex-Cor’s been using this stuff for 20 years. I thought you said you live here.”
Checking the feed back at Karl’s, Charlie sees 01 at Krogg’s house. Now he’s pissed.
01 bails Krogg’s girlfriend out of jail, but only to kidnap and drug her. He wants to know where Elliot’s gone and with whom he’s working. What’s interesting though, is that he doesn’t kill her at the end. Instead he asks, “do you remember all the things we talked about, Karen? You won’t forget? Names, dates, places?” Shortly thereafter, he shows up at Julius’ office to tell him Karen’s been arrested.
Then it’s off to Elliot’s hotel room for a little more drug-enhanced interrogation. Elliot denies involvement in any sabotage, but is deathly afraid of whatever will happen if the link is completed. And now 01 knows what that is. By the time Charlie gets there with Karl, Elliot Krogg is no more. He’s been hung in the bathroom.
A couple of interesting things to note:
Charlie spots 01 on the street and takes off. He doesn’t find him, but ends up standing in front of a billboard PSA for missing persons, one of whom is our mystery girl from the pilot.
Charlie’s a handsome fellow, but he must have some magic juju as well. Because here he is, hanging outside the restaurant where Paula works. The restaurant where just last episode he nearly beat her father with a cricket bat. Does she call the police? Does she tell her father? No. She runs across the street and flirts with him. It’s true what they say: girls love the bad boys.
I understand Charlie’s motivations here. She’s an exact match of his beloved Jasmine. Jasmine who’s having a rough time of it. In Alpha, apparently C3s can be the property of others. Jasmine belonged to Charlie. As the authorities have declared Charlie dead, all of his assets - including Jasmine - belong to the state now. They have no use for her, so she’ll be cut loose.
She meets up with Sew Sew who found Charlie’s car in the desert. It’s not looking good for Jasmine.
But back in Beta, Charlie’s got a new favorite restaurant. At the end of the episode, he and Karl are sitting there trying to figure out what it all means. It finally strikes Karl that Charlie must be from a parallel universe, “someplace just like this, only better. And much worse.”
Jun 24, 2008 in News
There’s now a new forum for the Charlie Jade Commentary Podcast, over at FarPoint Forums.
Direct Link: http://www.farpointforums.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=43
Jun 23, 2008 in News
Look forward to episode commentary by Alex Epstein, head writer and executive story editor for Charlie Jade, and writer of the books Crafty Screenwriting and Crafty TV Writing. He will be providing commentary on Episodes 10-16, perhaps with a little help from some friends.
Robert will be providing commentary for Episodes 1-9, and Episodes 16a-20.
Now would be a good time to ask questions about the show, and maybe between Robert and Alex, all can be revealed!
Jun 21, 2008 in Podcast
Featuring commentary by Robert Wertheimer on Episode 103, “You Are Here”.
Originally aired Space on 4/23/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 06/24/2008 in the USA.
Charlie Jade Episode 103 Commentary: You Are Here [46:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (452)Jun 20, 2008 in Podcast
Promo recap of Episode 102, “Sand”, aired prior to Episode 103, “You Are Here”
Jun 20, 2008 in News
Yesterday morning we heard that The Sci Fi Channel is moving Charlie Jade to a new day and time. Starting next week, it’ll be taking over the coveted Monday 3am slot.
I can’t be too upset by this. Clearly the show was underperforming on Friday nights and the programming wizards at SciFi needed to move it. What impresses me is the depth of analysis they performed to figure out its new home. Who knew Charlie Jade did so well with insomniacs and people who buy Flowbies?
Taking its place on Fridays will be a repeat of the prior week’s episode of Doctor Who. I can’t say anything bad about the great British import other than asking how he keeps his neck warm without a proper muffler.
SciFi made several errors with Charlie Jade, some of them specific to this show and some of them indicative of systemic flaws. I figured I’d use this opportunity not just to look at the ways they went wrong, but also to discuss the future of science fiction television.
I watch the SciFi channel for two hours a week. One, now that BSG is done for the summer. But that’s more than enough time for me to have seen dozens of promos for Scare Tactics and Ghost Hunters. I believe I can repeat verbatim the voice overs from the ads for both those shows. The former is a retread of a show from a few years back that no one watched, hoping to garner ratings by riding Tracy Morgan’s coattails. The latter is one of SciFi’s biggest performers. I mean, bigger than Doctor Who. Bigger than BSG some weeks.
I’m not going to take this opportunity to bash Ghost Hunters. If you enjoy watching retards chase moths and fluttering leaves, that’s fine by me. I am going to bash the SciFi promotions department for failing to advertise or promote Charlie Jade in any way. How many ads for Charlie Jade do you suppose SciFi showed during episodes of top-rated Ghost Hunters?
Then again, why should the network have used up valuable ad space promoting a show that had no chance of performing? That doesn’t make fiscal sense. A dark, brooding mystery where the protagonist is an amoral anti-hero, one of your principals is a terrorist, and another a murderous sociopath is NOT going to do well at 8pm on Friday nights. Particularly not when it is taking over the spot of a show targeted at the under-12 set.
The Sarah Jane Adventures, for those who don’t have young children or extreme nostalgia for the Jon Pertwee/Tom Baker era of Doctor Who, is a spinoff of DW featuring the popular companion and a bunch of kids solving mysteries. I suspect when CJ premiered, not a few children tuned in thinking they were going to see their pal Sarah and instead were traumatized for life by Charlie’s stubble, not to mention 01 Boxer’s…unique ways of dealing with conflict.
SciFi had no expectation that Charlie Jade would succeed, so they spent little money promoting it and stuck it in a time slot where it was doomed for failure. But *because* they spent so little and stuck it in an inappropriate slot, they virtually guaranteed its failure.
SciFi used to be a niche cable channel. We’ve still got one or two of those: FoodTV and…um…QVC? Over the past few years, SciFi has slowly and subtly been repositioning itself, like several other cable properties. Their clear goal is to target the rich demographic bracket of 18-34 year-old males. That demo spends a lot of money on entertainment and big ticket items, and is much prized by advertisers.
Think I’m exaggerating? What does the ECW have to do with science fiction? Or Tracy Morgan’s down-market version of Punk’d? Or Ghost Hunters? I know an argument can be made for the latter, but anyone so doing would have to admit to being one of the retarded fans of the retarded “paranormal investigators”. (Huh, guess I am going to bash that show. A lot.)
Why doesn’t NBC Universal just build a new cable channel from the ground up to attract that demo? Because it’s *hard* to launch a new cable channel. The lineups of cable and satellite providers don’t change very often, and convincing them to add a new feed can take years. If no one offers it, the channel has no viewers, and that in turn makes it hard to convince the providers to offer it. If you think that sounds familiar to the promotion problem I outlined about Charlie Jade, you’re correct. These selection biases abound in entertainment.
Some of you probably have seen the network Spike. I watch it from time to time. It is a network that unabashedly targets that 18-34 male demo. I applaud them for their honesty and marketing savvy. Spike TV has only been with us since 2003, which might seem to shoot holes in my “hard to launch” theory…except of course that Spike used to be TNN, The Nashville Network. It was easier for Viacom to completely re-brand and reposition an existing property in its portfolio than launch one from scratch.
I expect in another year, after BSG has ended its run, NBC Universal will accelerate the niche-drift on SciFi and complete its transformation into a new network Aimed at Men. Then they can compete head-to-head with Spike for dominance: MMA vs ECW, reruns of Star Trek vs reruns of Enterprise. I’ll even offer them the name 18To34, royalty-free.
I find it interesting that the programming and promotions departments at ABC Family have a better idea how to schedule and market science fiction than the folks at SciFi. The Middleman and Kyle XY are both heavily promoted lynchpins in the network’s schedule. Both are as different in tone from each other as they are from Charlie Jade, but ABC Family finds a way to make room for them. And it’s not just on ABC Family. Across the dial you can find science fiction shows.
I’m tempted to argue the time might be past where we even need a niche channel devoted to science fiction. In the last year, the broadcast networks aired Lost, Heroes, Journeyman, Bionic Woman, and Chuck. Some are hits, some bombs. Clearly SF has become more mainstream. Still, there are certain types of SF that just don’t do well with general audiences.
During the WGA strike, NBC aired BSG to fill schedule holes. It got slaughtered. I want to blame NBC’s promotions department for doing as piss-poor a job as their corporate siblings at SciFi; however, only a small part of the blame can be placed on their shoulders. BSG *looks* like science fiction - unlike the castaways on Lost, or the polite nerd on Chuck - and that is a very hard sell. Science fiction, for all its mainstream acceptance, is still fundamentally a ghetto genre.
Just ask the Nobel committee. They, along with some uptight literary critics, had to invent “magic realism” in order to give Gabriel García Márquez the Nobel Prize for Literature.
(No joke. Read “One Hundred Years of Solitude”. Then watch the episode “Cause and Effect” of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I’m not arguing that a piece of pop culture can compare to one of the greatest novels of the 20th century in terms of quality. But in terms of story?)
I believe there is actually room for a true SF channel, one that can attract original voices and give them a chance to create innovative shows. But it’s far too late to do that on cable and satellite. We’ve already seen the lengths Viacom had to go in order to break through the calcification of the lineups. The providers already offered TNN, so Viacom just changed the name and every single show on it in order to create a “new” channel. Unless someone out there has a broadly distributed channel they would be willing to convert, that is not the way. The way lies with New Media.
There are already dozens of niche offerings out there, but no one has tried to create a single forum, a single broadcast channel in which to consolidate them. I’d imagine we’ll see some headway on that front in the next few years. Hell, all we need is for FOX to axe Dollhouse, Fringe, and Virtuality all in the first season and it might happen next year. Think of the possibilities of an Internet-based network founded by Joss Whedon, J.J. Abrams, and Ronald Moore, dedicated to developing and promoting innovative, cutting-edge science fiction.
I almost hope FOX does cancel all three shows, just to see that happen right before our eyes.
Charlie Jade *is* still scheduled on SciFi. They haven’t canceled it, just buried it. Since I imagine most people are time-shifting with DVRs anyway, it’s really not that big a deal for existing viewers. New viewers, of course, are off the table. No one is going to “discover” this little gem of a show at 3am. But as long as SciFi airs it, I’ll be recapping CJ.
Of course if SciFi decides they need that primo 3am Monday slot to sell Cortislim or “Hip Hop Abs”, then I guess I’ll give it up.
Jun 15, 2008 in Recaps
Two episodes in, and there’s still not much going on. The action will pick up in the next few episodes, but there were still too many questions left over from the pilot. Most remain unanswered - and we’ve gotten some more in the process - but I think the writers have given us just about enough at this point to move forward. If nothing else, we know more than Charlie does.
When last we saw Charlie, he was lying unconscious in the desert, being poked by a weird little girl. That’s where he still is - dreaming about Jasmine, remembering the dead mystery girl, the accident, and the woman at the site. Weird little girl Jody pokes him again and he finally wakes up.
You’re alive! You’re one of them, aren’t you?…The invisible people. I see them all the time.
For the rest of the episode, Reena narrates. Even when our focus is on Charlie, it’s filtered through her perspective.
Wandering around a temporary camp set up for evacuation and relief efforts, Reena hears that the bomb she set off killed 200 people here in Beta. We see her anguish over that fact, coupled with the sure knowledge that more died in her own world as well. Throughout the series, Patricia McKenzie does a fantastic job showing Reena’s vulnerability. She doesn’t want to be here; she didn’t want to hurt anyone. But as guilty as she may feel, she’s not going to hang around to get questioned by the police. She jumps on one of the trucks transporting people to Cape Town.
Vex-Cor chairman (in this ‘verse, anyway) Julius Galt (Danny Keogh) answers reporters’ questions about the accident, but doesn’t know what caused it yet. Karl Lubinsky (Tyrone Benskin) - who’s been hovering around, picking up the strange pieces of blue glass, and taking pictures - comes up to Galt and confronts him. Galt obviously knows Lubinksy as a conspiracy nut. Of course we know there really is a conspiracy.
A quick side comment on names in Charlie Jade: they were not chosen at random. Draw your own conclusions about J. Galt.
Karl meets weird Jody and she points out Charlie, telling Karl, “he used to be invisible, but I think he lost his powers.” Twenty years chasing conspiracies and aliens and this guy knows to listen when a crazy girl speaks. Time to start stalking the guy with stubble.
There’s a bit more of Charlie dazed and confused at the service station until Karl finally offers him a ride to Cape Town - the home of the mystery dead girl. On the ride, Karl tells Charlie he believes aliens run Vex-Cor. Karl may know something’s going on, but he’s as much in the dark about the truth as Charlie.
The board has informed Essa Rompkin (Michele Burgers) that they need someone to travel between the ‘verses to assess the situation. Apparently there’s only one person who can travel unaided - 01 Boxer (Michael Filipowich). This goes over great, as Essa tries to flex her power to prevent it and the board shuts her down. Then we finally meet 01 in all his glory.
Expecting to be put in charge of operations in Beta and Gamma, it’s a slap in the face to be offered a position as “special envoy”. It’s even more of a slap when Essa calls him the “company courier”. She thinks he’s a sociopath who belongs in prison. Can’t say I disagree.
But how exactly can 01 travel between the ‘verses?
While Charlie crashes at “his place”, Reena sleeps on the couch at Gordon Bolt’s. A very old, very scary dude who used to work for Vex-Cor, Bolt wants to know where Reena came from and how she got here. His interrogation with scissors is pretty scary, and they did a great job of building the tension in the scene. The scissors were so threatening that it almost seemed anti-climactic when he pulled the gun on her, until he blew the back of his own head off. Now Reena is truly alone in this strange world.
Charlie meanwhile is also looking for a friendly face. He goes over to Papa Louis’ place, but of course she isn’t there. Karl Lubinksy is, though, bearing breakfast.
A quick drive by Charlie’s office -another deadend - and Charlie finally thinks to ask about the Glass Door. I’d start to question just how good a PI this guy is, but I’m trying to cut him some slack being so far from home. That’s why I’m also not going to question why next he was hanging out in a parking garage instead of heading over to the club. Besides, we know he was there so he could see Jasmine/Paula. Meeting Jasmine’s doppelganger further cements for Charlie just how lost he is.
At the Glass Door, 01 and Julius Galt meet. 01 hands over a “slate”, which is apparently an encrypted communique from the home office. Oh yeah, and 01 killed a dude. Boy does not fool around.
Showing up hours late, Charlie arrives as the police wheel out the body and sees a flyer posted for the dead mystery girl from the pilot. Pieces are coming together, even if Charlie’s world is coming apart.
Demonstrating his remarkable detective skills once again, Charlie grabs a bite at the very same soup kitchen as Reena. She bolts. In a pretty exciting foot chase, Reena gets away, leaving Charlie gasping on a rooftop. The episode ends with Charlie alone and Reena in voice over saying, “I never knew who he was, but he was there when the world changed. Back then I could tell he was even more lost than I was.”
How about everyone else? More or less lost than Charlie?
Jun 12, 2008 in Podcast
Featuring commentary by Robert Wertheimer on Episode 102, “Sand”.
Overview: Caught in an hallucinogenic state after an explosion propels him into a parallel universe, Charlie Jade dreams he’s back home in Cape City with his girlfriend, Jasmine. He’s quickly snapped out of his erotic reverie by Jody, a young evacuee of the desert calamity and suddenly
finds himself in a world that seems oddly off kilter. At a makeshift refugee camp, Charlie meets Karl Lubinsky, an investigative journalist who doesn’t buy into Vexcor’s slick spin doctoring of the circumstances surrounding the explosution. Lubinsky vows to uncover the truth about the catastrophe - and about Vexcor’s elusive business - and drags a reluctant Charlie along for the ride.
Originally aired Space on 4/16/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 06/13/2008 in the USA.
Episodic summary courtesy Park Entertainment liner notes.
Jun 11, 2008 in Podcast
Promo recap of Episode 101, “The Big Bang”, aired prior to Episode 102, “Sand”
Jun 08, 2008 in Recaps
In last week’s preview of Charlie Jade, I focused a lot on generalities, like the cinematography and a cast overview. In a show so rooted in mystery, it’s important to let things play out slowly. Now that the premiere has aired, let’s explore the Jadeverse(s) and the clues we’ve been given so far.
The show opens with a Spanish guitar picking out a slow and mournful tune over barren, windswept dunes. Cutting away from the desert vista to a huge underground facility, the music moves to the background and is replaced by the sound of hundreds of sprinklers and Charlie Jade’s opening narration. Where there is water, there is life. There is also Vex-Cor.
It looks like water is required in order to open and maintain the link between Alphaverse and Gammaverse. Charlie also implies that Alphaverse is in short supply of the wet stuff and might be mining the idyllic verse to get some more. What’s not clear is how Betaverse - which appears to be our home - comes into play. There’s a sister facility in Beta, and Elliot Krogg, the former head of research for Vex-Cor, knows something bad is going to happen. But what?
Charlie’s a cynical and weary PI who specializes in “misper” cases. When first we meet him, he’s looking for a missing college kid. A couple of things of note happen during this sequence. Charlie is able to use a handheld device - let’s be really nerdy and call it a tricorder for now - to read the recorded data from a mobile video bug. He’s also able to follow the kid because his assistant is plugged into a monitoring grid that tracks everyone. Presumably, this grid reads signals from the same implanted chips that the residents of Cape City use for paying for purchases. It’s also possible these chips hold more personal information, such as their rating classifications.
Driving his car - a beautiful Aston Martin DBS6 - we see the first of Charlie’s many visions in this episode, a particularly jarring and realistic train hurtling toward, and then through him. He pops some pills to ward off the visions, but the drugs don’t seem to have much effect. In narration, he indicates he’s had the visions before as well. Later on in the desert, Charlie sees across the divide between the three verses, but what’s notable about this first vision is that it happens nowhere near the desert facility.
Back at his office, Charlie meets a frightened, lost girl from Cape Town. As she’s also the first girl with an actual South African accent, it’s pretty clear she’s from our world but trapped in Alpha. How she got there is a mystery, though it’s seems 01 Boxer made it happen. Since the link in the desert wasn’t online, is there a second link somewhere?
Similar to the New Caprica occupation on BSG, we are intended to sympathize with the terrorists. All they want to do - at least all we see in the pilot - is protect their home from being despoiled. Having seen Alpha, I’d say they’re right to be concerned. So they decide to blow up the Vex-Cor facility. The explosion sets off a massive chain reaction up the link through Beta and into Alpha.
Prior to the explosion, Charlie’s perspective shifts rapidly between the three verses. Whether that has to do with his proximity to the experiment, the curious blue stone he finds, or something else isn’t obvious. Immediately before the bomb goes off, Reena, played by Patricia McKenzie (Soul Food, Naked Josh) shows up in what appears to be Alpha. At least it looked like Alpha’s color scheme to me. After the explosion, we just see Charlie, unconscious in an arid desert similar to the one in the opening.
So what do you think? Did the premise pilot draw you in enough to come back next week?
Jun 05, 2008 in Podcast
Featuring commentary by Robert Wertheimer on Episode 101, “The Big Bang”.
Originally aired Space on 4/16/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 06/06/2008 in the USA.
Episodic summary courtesy Park Entertainment liner notes.
Charlie Jade Episode 101: The Big Bang Commentary [49:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (539)Jun 05, 2008 in Podcast
Slice of SciFi, a scifi media and entertainment news show that you can listen to on XM Satellite Radio and online, has been a big supporter of Charlie Jade ever since the show was brought to our attention back in 2006.
In February 2007, Slice of SciFi aired an interview with series creator Robert Wertheimer, to get some more info on this ground breaking, high concept series that so many people outside of the US were excited about, but no one in the US could watch.
Check out the interview, from Slice of SciFi #95, and hear more about the series and how it came to be, and don’t miss a more recent interview with Robert in Slice of SciFi #163
Charlie Jade SE01: Slice of SciFi Interview with Robert Wertheimer [17:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (387)Jun 03, 2008 in Podcast
Charlie Jade is a story from the mind and heart of Robert Wertheimer. This is where you’ll be able to learn more about the story behind the making of Charlie Jade.
Charlie Jade is a private detective in a world dominated by greedy multi-national corporations. When Charlie sees the corpse of a beautiful young woman, he realizes that she has no identity, something inconceivable in Charlie’s world. His investigation leads to the discovery that his world is connected to two other parallel universes, and of an experiment in one universe designed to exploit another… an experiment that might well destroy all three worlds.
The fate of three worlds is in one man’s hands… Charlie Jade.
Jun 01, 2008 in Recaps
ed: R. A. (Richard) Porter is an aspiring writer, holds a ’sketch war’ weekly on his own blog, and is hard at work writing a Pushing Daisies spec.
We all have a special love or two we wish we could share with the world. Sometimes, the world isn’t interested and no matter how many times you tell your wife that BSG is the greatest show in the history of shows, she leaves the room muttering about killer space robots. Sometimes, the world finally decides to listen to you just when Britney Spears shows up and ruins everything. Sometimes, your special love comes from another world and can’t be shared (legally) with anyone. The unaired pilot of Global Frequency is one of those special loves for me. Charlie Jade is another.
Starting Friday, June 6, Charlie Jade won’t be my little secret anymore. Taking over the 8pm slot on the SciFi channel from The Sarah Jane Adventures, this hidden gem of a show will finally get the American showing it deserves.
A Canadian-South African co-production from 2005, Charlie Jade tells the story of its titular hero and his efforts to get home. While investigating the murder of a girl with no identity, Charlie is caught in the blast radius of an experiment gone awry. In the experiment, Vex-Cor is attempting to open a permanent link to a parallel universe. When terrorists from that universe - an idyllic, lush paradise - set off an explosion at their terminus of the link, a chain reaction is set off across three worlds. All three facilities are destroyed, and Charlie finds himself transported from his home to ours.
Wait. Let me back up.
Charlie lives in Cape City in Alphaverse. A dystopian near-future that should look familiar to any fan of sci-fi, Cape City is the home of Vex-Cor, the most powerful of the five corporations that rule the world. In this world of rigid class stratification, identity implants, and near-constant surveillance, there are no John Does. So when a girl with no identity dies, Charlie wants answers. Even if those answers lead to 01 Boxer, son of Vex-Cor founder Bryon Boxer. But Charlie gets more questions than answers.
So do we.
Beyond the obvious, one thing that immediately stands out is the cinematic quality of the show. This doesn’t shock us much in 2008, accustomed as we are to BSG and Heroes and even Friday Night Lights, but it truly is rare to see such effort and care go into the look of a television show. Especially a genre show not heavy on SFX. From the start, we see the distinct palettes of the three universes: Alphaverse with its sickly greenish/brown cast; Betaverse very much the world we know, with ever so slight blue overtones; and Gammaverse in all its over-saturated, tropical glory. This Heaven looks like Hawaii, this Hell like Shanghai in the rain. It is remarkable that the creators were able to film Cape Town and its environs with such variety.
The cinematography is paired with excellent plotting and character work from the writing staff (actually two staffs, which we’ll get to in a moment) and the cast is excellent from top to bottom. The cast consists primarily of American and Canadian performers, so many of the actors will be familiar. As Charlie, Jeffrey Pierce (The Nine, Journeyman, Life) grounds the show with his cynical, world-weary performance. His Charlie has seen so much, he has little time for shock or surprise when he finds himself so far from home. By the second episode, this flawed and reluctant hero will have slipped back into his role of private investigator. This time, the missing person is himself.
To get back home, Charlie must find 01 Boxer, played by Michael Filipowich (Earth: Final Conflict, CSI: Miami.) 01 is a sociopathic, self-indulgent deviant, and while Filipowich’s performance may at first seem over the top, through the course of the series its subtleties slowly become apparent. Charlie’s pursuit of 01 leads inexorably to Vex-Cor, in which he is aided by conspiracy theorist Karl Lubinsky, played by Tyrone Benskin (300, The Dead Zone.) An American expat living in Cape Town, Karl pursues unexplained phenomena, many of which feature Vex-Cor at their heart. When he begins to learn the truth, it shocks even him.
Having seen Alphaverse and Betaverse, it might not be obvious why Charlie would want to go back home, but for the one he left behind. Jasmine, a radiant Marie-Julie Rivest (300, I’m Not There,) is his Penelope, calling him home across treacherous waters. Matters may be complicated by Jasmine’s Betaverse doppelganger Paula, however.
I’d touched on there being two writing staffs above, so let me explain. Midway through the run, mutual creative differences led to a parting of ways. A new staff of writers, led by Alex Epstein, took over from episode nine on. That’s a pretty tough thing to do and do well, but they managed to pull it off. Tonally, the show remained the same. A few threads were dropped, but only one of them would be a real puzzler. In Epstein’s words:
We had to do a huge retcon on Charlie Jade when we landed in Cape Town because the prior writing team either hadn’t made any story plans, and were still trying to figure out where to take the story, or they had made plans but hadn’t told anyone; and our showrunner was very open to new ideas. So we had to look at 8 episodes and figure out, “If this all made sense, what sense would it make?” I think we came up with some interesting stuff.
For fans of the mysterious and puzzling, Charlie Jade is a summer godsend. Moody, mysterious, filled with more questions than answers, this show should sate the cravings of people missing Lost, impatiently waiting for BSG to return (there are only four episodes left until the long, painful break,) or reawakened by the return of Mulder and Scully to the big screen for just two, short hours.
