Charlie Jade Verse

Denis McGrath’s commentary for Episode 110 “Identity” should now show up in your feeds as being available for download.

Featuring commentary by writer Denis McGrath on Episode 113, “Through A Mirror Darkly”.

Originally aired Space on 07/02/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 09/02/2008 in the USA.

 

 Charlie Jade Episode 113 Commentary: Through A Mirror Darkly [45:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (308)

Promo recap of Episode 112, “Choosing Sides”, aired prior to Episode 113, “Through A Mirror Darkly”

 

 Charlie Jade Episode 112 Recap Trailer [0:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (184)

EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Charlie Jade’s Michael Filipowich

Sometimes cool stuff happens when you’re not even looking for it. Like how Mike and Jason were looking for writers to expand the roster on Pop Critics just a couple weeks before one of my favorite shows was premiering. And how even though Sci Fi saw fit to bury Charlie Jade after two episodes, we’ve managed to keep a nice little group of fans coming back each week to talk about the show.

A couple weeks back, Mike forwarded me an email he’d gotten from someone who’d worked on the show and wanted to thank us for taking an interest in it: Michael Filipowich.

We weren’t actively looking for another interview, but if we had been, he would have been top of my list. His take on 01 Boxer is…well…crazy. But after exchanging a series of emails with him, I’ll tell you this is about the most carefully crafted, well-planned crazy I’ve seen in a long time. He knew exactly what 01 was doing, why he was doing it, and what his endgame was. He took a character who had initially been written as a one-dimensional psycho and fleshed him out into the crazy, funny, scary dimension hopper we know and love.

He was kind enough to answer a few questions for me, taking the time to provide some really thoughtful responses. His take on his character and the show are quite different from everyone else’s and very interesting. One of the great things about film and television is its collaborative nature. It’s that collaborative nature that lets great ideas about characters filter up from the actor to the creators.
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Well I may have killed a few people, I may have even enjoyed it. But you want to walk away from 10 billion people. And they’re all going to die without your help. Which one of us is a psychopath? - 01 Boxer

Remember a few weeks ago when Charlie and 01 got a minute or two together on screen and it sparkled? What do you think about an entire act of the two together?

I had a chance to interview Michael Filipowich a couple weeks back; we’ll be posting that Wednesday morning. In that interview I found out just how lucky we all are the writing chores changed hands. The first guys…well, here’s Filipowich:

They were always worried about putting Jeff and I together…I swear they said this - “we don’t want to blow our load too early.”

Yikes. Fortunately, tonight we got an episode designed to bring them together.

Except for Reena in her own little nightmare world, still not incorporated with the rest of the cast, every moment of tonight’s episode led to the end of Act 3 when Charlie took 01 away from the police station. Everyone played his part, working either with or against Charlie, and we get the best episode yet.

We also get a lot of questions that won’t be answered for another week.

Meet Blues Paddock

Rolanda Marais tells us all we need to know about Blues Paddock early on. Investigating the death of a Gemma Gitano lookalike and two others at a Vexcor facility, she walks her partner through what happened. He tells her she must be watching too much CSI, but we can see he’s impressed. Then he asks if she’d like to have some fun, because 01 has been seen hiding at his club. But Blues is having fun. Her job is who she is.

She’s a bit like Karl, in that she sees shadows and conspiracies and connections all around her. Also like Karl, she’s absolutely correct to see those things. While she’s not interested in picking up 01, she’s very interested in interrogating him. Two dead Vexcor executives alongside a hired gun, plus the strange events surrounding the link explosion, plus 01 Boxer’s apparent murder of one of his companions add up to too many coincidences for Beta’s Dana Scully.

She knows there’s more to the link explosion than Vexcor’s letting on, so she questions 01 about it. Wants to know why he was there, wants to know if he can identify anyone else filmed at the scene. She pops in a tape and we see both Reena and Charlie, but 01’s too busy barking like a dog and humming the Wicked Witch’s theme to answer her questions. Not that he’d answer if he weren’t otherwise occupied. Blues keeps pushing because she knows 01 knows something.

Her spidey sense is further stimulated when Charlie shows up to cart off 01. No fool, she sees right through his masquerade. Then again, who’s ever seen a Fed with Friday shadow and a suit that nice? The sunglasses and attitude were enough for Inspector Archer, but he was also the one who had to deal with all the paperwork. That bit of bureaucracy probably falls on his shoulders too often; he has the look of a man wearied by procedure.

Charlie Jade, Eff Bee Eye

Back at Karl’s apartment after seeing the Gemma lookalike plummet to her death - and shooting her killer and accomplice - Charlie tells him she was just another pawn in Vexcor’s three-dimensional chess game. It’s been a month since Gemma traded herself for Charlie’s freedom, but he can’t accept she’s gone; he keeps searching instead of doing anything proactive. And Karl’s grown tired of the narcissism and selfishness cheapening Gemma’s sacrifice.

Charlie’s here in Beta for a reason. Gemma sacrificed herself for a reason. And it’s not so Charlie can get back to Jasmine.

If Krogg was right, everyone in Beta is doomed. But Charlie isn’t listening. He’s still forlorn about Jasmine who, it appears, has stepped up her appointment schedule with johns and subs.

He leaves and Karl fumes.

Sometime later, Karl comes to Charlie’s to apologize. Sorta. “Mostly not.” While Charlie works on an exoskin, using one of Vexcor’s bugs for his own purposes, Karl tells him he thinks he knows a way for Charlie to get home. He’s reluctant to tell him, almost holding it back as a bargaining chip for Charlie to do something, anything, to help save his universe. But that’s not Karl’s nature.

Karl figures if 01 could take Katie Grayle (the poor, lost dead girl from the pilot) home with him, he can take Charlie.

Which makes the rewiring of the exoskin fortuitous as Charlie uses it to locate 01 at the Glass Door. The little bug scurries along the floor, dancing between hobnailed boots and stilletto heels in its search for 01. It finally finds him, hiding out in a VIP room enjoying himself with Princess. 01’s used to being spied on - growing up with Bryon Boxer he’d have to be - so it’s not a surprise he notices the bug and crushes it without it interrupting coitus.

Finished with his private party, 01 figures now might be a good time to take a powder. He heads toward the back door and meets Charlie, who’d like him to meet his little friend. 01 decides the better part of valor is getting the hell away from the man with the drawn gun, so he joins Archer’s party instead. 01’s a fan of bondage anyway, so the handcuffs are a welcome addition to his wardrobe.

Charlie and Karl formulate a plan to break 01 out of the police station, where Charlie will impersonate an FBI special agent with authority to take possession of 01. The writers get a little commentary on American politics with this, as Karl’s prepping Charlie for his role. He tells him to keep his sunglasses on and act superior. And he admits being shocked by how easy it was to convince Archer to hand over 01: “A phone call and a couple pieces of paper and he went for it. You say terrorist these days and eveyone shuts their brain off.”

Not everyone, however.

Blues picks up the scent off Charlie right away and tests him. First, she invites him into a room to pick his brain about procedure. It’s a self-locking interrogation room. She trips him up right off the bat with a question about “the Agency” but lets him continue for a moment before dropping the hammer on him: “It’s a Bureau, not an Agency. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Should have corrected me. They always do.”

Then she drops the second hammer. She’s got photos of Charlie at the link explosion and wants to know who he is and what he wants with 01 Boxer.

Charlie plays it cool. Blues was clever and tricky and wanted Charlie to see that, but he’s not a fool. He spins it the best he can, but she’s not buying.

Blues steps out for a minute to get prints lifted off some of the papers Charlie’s handled and sees Archer handing 01 over to some cops. A second set of transfer papers have come through, this time to bring 01 to central booking. Knowing these are fake as well, she gets the head of the team to trip up and pulls her weapon. Archer and the rest of their colleagues surround the fake police and get them to put down their weapons. Blues heads back to Charlie to figure out how he knew the police station was so easily breached. (This, by the way, is a bit of sloppy writing. There’s no way Blues would step away until the standoff was completely resolved and the fakes in custody. But Charlie needs to be brought out of his locked room for the next bit to happen.)

The head of the extraction team - and let’s be real, we knew it was one of Ren Porter’s teams from the moment they walked in - pulls a cellphone from his back pocket, saying he’s going to make a call. He’s not tackled or otherwise subdued (also a bit unrealistic) and punches in a number. His team cover their ears. Charlie sees and yells for Blues to do the same, too late, as he covers his own. The cell phone is an audio grenade that takes the police out of commission.

Charlie grabs Blues’ gun and wings the team leader, then grabs 01. He gets 01 outside where Karl is waiting, as loyal and reliable as ever.

That’s Leadership for You

At Vexcor meanwhile, there’s a bit of tension in the air. First Julius browbeats a physicist who doesn’t share his concerns about Krogg’s report. Tossing in some more exposition in case anyone doesn’t remember its ramifications, Julius tells her if Krogg was right then bringing the link online may destablize the membrane and collapse Betaverse out of existence. The physicist is confident that won’t happen, but needs the link to come online so she can get more data to verify. Which of course would put the link online and risk destroying Beta. Julius tells her they’re holding the test.

Ren hovered in the background during the conversation, and afterward has a walk-and-talk with Julius. He asks why Julius suddenly believes Krogg’s memo, wondering out loud if Julius is keeping the link down to avoid dealing with home office. Julius counters by saying he could accuse Ren of letting Charlie go on purpose just to make him look incompetent and hands him pictures of the dead Gemma lookalike. How much Reena overhears of this conversation isn’t clear, though it’s obvious the CEO and head of security should keep these conversations out of hallways.

Regarding the dead executive, Ren says she was getting ready to run and was killed to send a message, but someone intercepted his team. He can’t stablize the workforce while the link is down, and the longer its stays down the more employee drift they’ll have to contend with. He doesn’t have the staff to keep everyone in check.

When Ren finds out 01’s in custody he puts a plan in place to extract him. They can’t kill him now, because they don’t know if 01 managed to get home to Alpha after being shot. Julius is holding Ren responsible for the failure, and when the link comes online he’ll hold him responsible for trying to kill 01. Ren’s stuck with few outs and he knows it, but he’s nothing if not a loyal Vexcor employee.

Cleanup Operations

In the aftermath at the police station, everyone’s recovering slowly. Bloody noses and bleeding ears all around and no one’s going back to active duty until they’re fully checked out. Blues goes to check the station’s surveillance cameras, but is informed that they malfunctioned for the duration of the incident. Except…the officer telling her this is Ajax, the cooly efficient blond from Vexcor security.

We’ve seen her before: she moved Gemma out of her apartment in “Identity” and cleaned up the mess at Kunjani back in “Betrayal”. If all of Ren’s people were as good as Ajax, he’d have a lot fewer problems.

In fact a little while later, Ajax gets rid of one more of Ren’s problems with a slashing strike and a bottle of acid.

The Big Finale

So here’s an interesting fact. Act 4 of this episode, the great warehouse interrogation, is actually episode 13, compressed. So if you liked upside-down bondage and tough talking, just wait until next week when that’s all you’ll see.

Because of that, I don’t want to say too much about what we saw in the warehouse tonight. We can go into much greater detail, and actually know what the 12 reasons for not shooting 01 are, if we wait a week. But I can’t pass up on at least a little commentary…

01 makes some subtle and not-too-subtle racist comments toward Karl before Charlie sends him to the car. Crafty as always, 01 wants to get Karl’s defenses up before trying to get between him and Charlie.

Do you know how many people you have to kill to get one of those renovations by the waterfront? Not to mention a high-class hooker to be your slave…I’m sorry, was I not supposed to mention the slave part?

After a long night of give and take, in which 01 makes Charlie question himself and his motivations, Charlie finally asks 01 why he shouldn’t kill him. 01’s got 12 reasons.

Karl’s shocked when 01 walks out under his own power, and he and 01 do a little dance. Charlie doesn’t trust him, but he believes him enough to be a reluctant ally. A reluctant ally for our reluctant hero.

Other Thoughts

I didn’t say much about Reena because, honestly, I don’t know what to say. She had a dream that told her to go back in time and not blow up the reactor, basically. What that means, and why she had it now, I don’t know. It was pretty to watch, though, the nightmare.

Also, I haven’t mentioned them before, but you should definitely be checking out the episode podcasts over at Charlie Jade Verse.

Beyond that, let’s just say a hearty welcome to Blues Paddock. We’ll be seeing a lot more of her in the coming weeks.

What did everyone else think?

Featuring commentary by writer Alex Epstein on Episode 112, “Choosing Sides”.

Originally aired Space on 06/25/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 08/26/2008 in the USA.

For reasons as yet unknown, the opening 5 minutes was excised from the 08/26/2008 SciFi Channel airing.

 

 Charlie Jade Episode 112 Commentary: Choosing Sides [46:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (294)

Promo recap of Episode 111, “Thicker Than Water”, aired prior to Episode 112, “Choosing Sides”

 

 Charlie Jade Episode 111 Recap Trailer [0:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (173)

Blood. Blood’s thicker than water. But then blood’s just a synecdoche for family. And what is family?

The relationship between a father and son, certainly is family. So is that between lovers. Two orphans, watching each other’s backs and surviving on the streets through cunning. That’s family, too. In a world where six companies control everything, company is family as well.

Back in “Devotion” we saw some of Charlie’s training with the Vexcor security forces. At that time, they were welcomed into the fold by a behavioral specialist: “Vexcor is your future. Vexcor is your family. And you are its sons and daughters.” The familial relationship is cultivated within Vexcor to ensure its employees treat Mother Company with the respect and sense of duty required.

It’s with that in mind that Charlie tells Gemma he reports to Essa Rompkin. Gemma’s a company girl: loyal to Vexcor, even if she disobeys her superior. She doesn’t think Julius has the best interests of the company at heart so she goes along with Charlie’s plans. Only when they fall apart does she lie to Karl and tell him she always knew Charlie couldn’t belong to Vexcor. She believed him, but realizes Charlie needs to hear differently.

A Gypsy In the Fold

We start off this week where we left off last: Charlie and Gemma at the now empty reservoir. Figuring her for a loyal employee, he tells her he’s not a spy from another company, but on a mission from home office to monitor the goings on here. She tells him her department was looking to “move the water resources to where they can be better used,” or, as we might say here in Beta, “steal the water.” Having just seen millions of liters of water disappear, he tells her he’s seen 01 Boxer travel using water and suspects a connection.

As they drive back to Cape Town, they catch up a little, discussing their names. Charlie picked ‘Jade’ because it sounded cool, he likes the color, he really doesn’t remember. I imagine a last name is important to most C3s who rise to the level of C2, but it doesn’t signify for Charlie. Gemma’s does.

In a flashback to their youth, we see Gemma and Charlie watching the dancing figure from the holoprojector, dressed in gypsy scarves. Gitano is Spanish for gypsy. Her name honors where she came from, even if was the key to her future.

Julius Galt, distracted by thoughts of his magnificent and expensive new office, is barely able to concentrate on the serious matters that plague Vexcor in Beta. He offers Ren his current office, but Ren is more concerned about he drift affecting so many employees making them want to go native. Julius tells him to watch them, but Ren doesn’t have the manpower to follow ordinary executives when they start to slip.

Sitting on the beach, Gemma tells Charlie she hates Beta. She hates how they treat cancer, poisoning the victim just enough to try to kill off the cancer before they kill off the patient. Her ideal world is more orderly, more structured, and more controlled. Charlie says it must be hard for a scientist to see somthing like that and she tells him how she became an engineer. She falsified everything: name, rating, even education. She learned on the job, getting a few lucky breaks on the way.

In another flashback, Gemma tells Charlie she’s taking the place of an apprentice housekeeper. But she’s not going to clean out the house, she’s going to clean it. Sure a C1 will eventually recognize her inherent worth and talent and send her to school. “I’m gonna rise, Charlie. I’m gonna get myself a last name.”

Gemma asks Charlie where he’s living in Betaverse. It’s the first time he’s heard the term and is confused, but covers.

Boxer on the Ropes

There are some sharp cuts between Alpha and Beta tonight as we see Bryon Boxer’s condition worsening at the same time as 01 is regaining his strength. Starting off in Alpha where Essa finds Bryon Boxer in the boardroom. He complains he’s growing weaker every day as his “molecular integrity decays” and Essa promises when the link is online they’ll track down 01 and give him a transfusion.

In Beta, 01 calls Princess to come help him at the Glass Door.

Some time later, Essa finds Bryon collapsed on the boardroom floor. He tells her he needs an immediate transfusion.

We immediately cut back to Beta to find 01 out looking for Princess. He tracks her down outside a club with a pretty boy and takes her right off his arm. Guy, the guy, tells 01 it’s not a problem; he can have her. 01 then proceeds to beat the crap out of him. One quick headbutt to the nose puts Guy down, then he kicks and kicks and kicks. “That’s for Nathan.”

Bringing Princess back to the club, he quickly gets her back in his thrall. She tells him the police think he killed Jeanette and he tells her to front the club, but their fight and the fight with Guy was all just foreplay. He takes her on a liquor-stained tabletop.

Back in Alpha, Bryon tells Essa that anyone who’s been through the link will have the “molecules that are phasing in the correct dimension” to help him. They’ll just need to separate those out. So later, she brings in an accountant who’s been through the link 13 times.

Some more sharp cuts follow:

1. Beta: Karl and Gemma talking. He wants to know why she’s in Beta and she tells him she works for Vexcor and does what she’s told. “Vexcor? They’re greedy, corporate monsters!”
2. Alpha: Essa gives the accountant his limited options. In exchange for helping the company, the accountant’s wife will receive a promotion, and she and his daughter will be reclassified as C1s.
3. Beta: Gemma tells Karl she belongs to Vexcor, it protects them. Karl says, “you sound like you were brainwashed.”
4. Alpha: If the accountant doesn’t help, he’ll be fired, his wife will be fired, and they’ll spend the rest of their lives as C3s. He reluctantly agrees and signs the life insurance policy. Extracting those molecules is a complicated and ugly process.

When Essa finally gets the beaker of extract, she’s at her desk going through the dead man’s wallet. A photo of his family and a few ounces of white liquid are all that remain of him, the sum total of his worth to Vexcor.

Gemma Turns

Gemma will never truly betray Vexcor. It’s not in her makeup to betray the only mother and father she’s ever known. But she doesn’t believe Julius is acting in the company’s best interests and uses that to justify her actions. Along with her lingering guilt over abandoning Charlie as a child, her desire to help Vexcor leads to all her actions.

When she meets with Julius, he has finally read her report on water level fluctuation and changing pressures, but doesn’t believe it to be important. She tries to explain that the reservoir is empty, completely, but he isn’t listening. He thinks she’s overreacting. She wants the physics departent in Alpha contacted and Julius reminds her the link is down. Then she overplays. She tells him she’s heard 01 can travel without the link.

Gemma: Mr. Galt, I’m not trying to go over your head. I’m–
Julius: –There is no one over my head! Here in Beta, I’m commander-in-chief, president, and king. Until the link is back up, you work for me.
Gemma: I work for Vexcor, sir.

Her insubordination is too much for Julius and he exiles her to Botswana. As she’s leaving, he asks if she’s heard from Charlie. She lies.

Continuing to play on her loyalty to Vexcor, Charlie tells her if he can get back home, he can deliver her report. Therefore, he needs to find any records Vexcor has on 01. They head to see Karl to make their next move.

When Ren tells Julius that Gemma is missing, Julius tells him he ordered her to Botswana. She was raving about the reservoir being empty and has lost her mind, but Ren tells him he talked to their people at the site and the water is all gone. Noting the stacked coinncidences that all surround Charlie’s appearance and disappearance, Julius wonders if Charlie can travel like 01.

Using stolen ID sticks, Charlie sneaks into Vexcor. Gemma and Karl track him and talk him through. Spotting Ren, Charlie ducks into a restroom where he has a long vision of Jasmine showering. He calls out to her and she reacts, as if to a spectre. Charlie keeps watching as another man joins her, but the sight is too much for him. He loses it and becomes unresponsive.

Gemma talks him out of it. She tells him, “Charlie, do you remember? I left you. But you never left me. Not even once. Don’t leave me know.” Getting a grip on himself, he gets back up and leaves the restroom and Jasmine behind, telling himself it can’t be real. As he walks out, Jasmine seems to follow with her eyes.

Back in control, Charlie heads out and sneaks into the nearly completed office. He hacks into the computer using Julius’ ID stick but has some problems navigating. Gemma’s advice to treat it like any other home office computer is of no help, but he does start finding files. He can’t find anything linking 01 to the water seepage or travel, but he does find Elliot Krogg’s Memo 221 which he sends to Karl.

I think this was the first time Gemma’s eyes were truly opened to what Vexcor is when Karl tells her 01 killed Krogg.

Ren and some goons come in after the memo is sent and take Charlie captive.

Cabletied to a chair, Charlie is still antagonistic to Ren, challenging him at every turn. Charlie asks him if he learned his “tough guy talk at Vexcor security orientation” and mocks him for being prevented from killing him. Since Julius wants to know if Charlie can travel, Ren can’t just kill him. After Ren takes out his frustration by having his goons hit Charlie a few times, Charlie challenges him more directly: “Hey hero. Why don’t you tell your friends to hit the road and you and I can take a walk. You saw what I did to the last guy who had your job, didn’t you?”

Gemma calls and offers a trade. Her for Charlie. Her silence for Charlie. Then she continues the theme of the scene and questions Ren’s manhood: “Come on. You’re just a simple C2. How are you ever going to earn being in that boardroom if you can’t make a decision on your own?”

Ren’s only solace in the scene is mocking Charlie after accepting the deal. “How does it feel being rescued by a hydrologist? Hero.”

Gemma lies to Karl and says she always knew Charlie couldn’t be working for Vexcor. She also lies to herself and says she’ll be fine. She’s one of them; they won’t hurt her. That’s just how they do business.

I see trees of green, red roses too

Alone, Karl prints off Memo 221. With each sentence, each word, he grows more irate and concerned. More intercuts with Alpha, now with Essa examining the accountant’s wallet. Karl realizing the price Vexcor is willing to pay and Essa seeing that price up close.

The trade goes down and Charlie gets back to Karl’s. Gemma’s gone, and Ren will ensure her silence. Karl wants to confront him about the memo, but Charlie is too despondent.

A series of slow, graceful shots follow of the beauty of Cape Town: children playing, couples on the beach, Table Top mountain, the Atlantic crashing on the shore. A series of shots demonstrating the majesty of creation. At least this corner of creation.

Karl comes to Charlie’s apartment but he’s still upset and doesn’t want to listen. He’s almost in a fugue state as Karl shoves Krogg’s report in his face and tells him to read it. Then he just tells him what it says. If the link goes online and becomes permanent, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma will collapse on each other. In the middle, Beta will just disappear.

Theories on Bryon Boxer

Here a few theories about Bryon and his problems, please add your own in comments:

• Bryon is really from Gamma. He invented the link years and years ago and traveled with it to Alpha which he found ripe for the picking. With his vastly superior technical knowledge in a world primed for corporate control, he was able to found Vexcor and quickly rise to a position of near-dominance in short order. But, living so far from his home universe and without access to any particles vibrating with the correct frequencies, he grows sick. 01, or anyone who travels, picks up the rare particles he needs.
• Bryon used the link so much in his youth that his body became unstuck from his reality. Now he needs special particles that are generated through link usage to keep him balanced.
• The link has an addictive effect when used with the frequency and duration Bryon once used it.
• Bryon comes *from* Linkspace. He belongs to none of our universes, but is a creature of the space between. His essence is therefore out of sync in any of the three worlds and needs to be replenished by stealing the traces of link-vibrating particles others pick up when traveling between the worlds.

What did everyone else think?

Featuring commentary by writer Sean Carley on Episode 111, “Thicker Than Water”.

Originally aired Space on 06/18/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 08/19/2008 in the USA.

 

 Charlie Jade Episode 111 Commentary: Thicker Than Water [45:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (315)

Promo recap of Episode 110, “Identity”, aired prior to Episode 111, “Thicker Than Water”

 

 Charlie Jade Episode 110 Recap Trailer [0:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (178)

What makes you who you are?

Does your identity come from what you do? Where you come from? Something else? I met a girl one night, a friend of a friend of a friend, and asked her what she did. She told me she “tried to do one thing a day to bring her joy.” Now, the pragmatist in me wanted to kick her out of my car. But the guy looking to get lucky said, “that’s a beautiful answer.” Did she answer my question?

Tonight’s episode asks that question several times.

Is Jasmine a C3 or a C2? Is her identity so tightly coupled to Charlie’s that she now lives a shadow life, waiting for him to return like Penelope waiting for Ulysses? Or is she an independent agent, coping with life the best she can?

What of Gemma Gitano? Is she the little girl living on the streets with Charlie, or is she the Vexcor hydrologist with a manufactured past and a programmed future?

Finally, who is 01 Boxer? Is he the happy, loving husband and father in Gamma or the sociopath in Beta?

Things in Alpha are Sew Sew

In a callback to the pilot, Jasmine buys coffee from the same vendor as Charlie. The two of them exchange some words about Charlie and when he might be back, but it has the feeling of a formula they use to get by. Sew Sew Tukarrs comes by and starts hassling Jasmine. David Dennis has a really unusual way of reading lines that always seems menacing, and it really works in this scene. The tension remains high, because I’m never quite sure what he’s about to do.

Jasmine has clearly gone back to her comfort zone as an escort, and Sew Sew seems unhappy about that, as though it personally effects him. He scans her and sees she’s reading as a C2 which he knows is clearly illegal, but he’s not looking to arrest her, or even to blackmail her. He just wants to take care of her.

We’ve ignored Sew Sew’s story for weeks now. In fact, he didn’t have an independent story before, instead only reacting to Charlie and his disappearance. Now he’s got a mission. Two, actually. Firstly, he’s trying his best to worm his way into Jasmine’s life. Whether for unrequited love, or some more nefarious purpose, he’s slowly working that front. Secondly, he’s investigating a large concentration of disappearances, more than 85 Vexcor employees, including Elliot Krogg and Julius Galt.

More than 85 Vexcor employees and their families.

Sew Sew and Essa Rompkin (Michele Burgers) duel over those missing Vexcor employees. Essa of course claims to know nothing. With hundreds of thousands of employees in the Vexcor family, she couldn’t possibly know about this missing handful. Besides, many more people are missing in Cape City. Then Sew Sew hits her with the big gun, asking how it is their families are also missing. This is a nicely understated scene from two accomplished actors working hard at cross purposes.

Gamma is Getting Grungy

01 Boxer’s children are playing with a toy boat when they see some nasty pollution start pouring in the water. Checking it with his wife, 01 wonders if it was an old toxic site that wasn’t cleaned up, implying Gamma was not always the paradise it is today. But his wife thinks not. She does remember hearing of some toxic sites out in the desert, however. 01 realizes he needs to leave to take care of things. Especially if there is waste coming through in the desert, he knows it’s because of the link.

Sometime later, 01 is meditating, preparing himself for the pain he’s about to endure:

01: I’m a different man over there. I have no control over myself. It’s like I’ve gone insane.
Wife: It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. You’ve been trying to save our world.
01: You’d be amazed at the things I’ve done.
Wife: You have to forgive yourself, for whatever you had to do.

01 flashes back on his evil deeds, then burns his palm over a candle. He’s hardening himself back up for the journey, as much as it hurts his wife to see it.

01 finally leaves, getting up in the night so as not to disturb his wife. He goes to the bathroom and turns on the shower, but she hears and comes to see him gone. Back in Beta, we get our first indication that the trip isn’t very smooth. That, or just being in Beta again makes 01 physically ill. He reappears in the alley behind the Glass Door and finally manages to drag himself back inside.

Beta Fever

Charlie’s identity crisis starts off early. Looking over the lease for a new place, he realizes he has no identity in Beta. More importantly, he wants no identity here. Staying off the grid means paying cash, not using his name, and staying out of sight. But some things simply require identification, so he finds a forger.

Once Charlie disparages the low-end materials and flashes his wad of cash, the forger goes for his very best stuff. A stolen ID stick from Vexcor. Humorously, its Ren Porter’s. Charlie finds out the forger’s source and heads there himself.

At the same time Charlie’s with the very highstrung, very geeky kid who supplied the identity stick, Ren shows up at the forger’s. Similar, though slightly different intimidation techniques are applied in both cases. Charlie is always less frightening because the threat of imminent death doesn’t seem real, at least to us watching, whereas with Ren, I think he’d kill his own mother for a better seat in a movie theater. Regardless, Charlie walks off with the 24 identity sticks after being visibly shocked by one of them in front of the kid.

Seeing Gemma Gitano, Charlie flashes back 20 years, seeing himself and Gemma as orphans on the street. They fought together, ran together, stole together, and took care of each other. But when it came time, Gemma ran, abandoning Charlie. The only possession she kept was a holosphere, like the one Charlie left for Jasmine in his will.

After Charlie’s departure, highstrung kid starts packing. Fast. He knows his world’s about to crash down around his head and tries to get out in time, but the cops nab him first. Talking with Blues Paddock (we’ll see more of her in the upcoming weeks,) he explains that he didn’t hack into the credit card databases, the identity sticks did it. But he can’t prove it because they’re all gone. With his phone call, he contacts Vexcor and tells Ren that Charlie was interested in Gemma Gitano.

I admire the kid for being smart enough to recognize Vexcor was his only hope here.

In a slightly amusing scene, Ren and Julius discuss the stolen ID sticks and the Beta fever many of their employees are experiencing. Julius isn’t surprised, as no one was intended to stay away from home this long, but as soon as the link is reestablished he thinks everything will return to normal. He says this, while standing in the middle of a partially complete board room that’s costing Vexcor millions to build. In Beta. Where Julius has been trapped for months.

I don’t think he realizes he’s suffering from Beta fever too.

Precious Gemma

We get our first look at Gemma as an adult, walking around a link facility on a lake. As a Vexcor hydrologist, she’s been trying to talk with Julius for some time about water levels. All he wants to talk about is Charlie. When she lies and says she’s never seen him before, Julius hangs up and sends security agents in to get her moved.

The water, however, is far more interesting. If the levels are changing here, and there’s pollution just randomly appearing in Gamma, there is likely a correlation.

Charlie takes a closer look at Gemma’s ID stick and sees the fake background Vexcor created for her. Upset, he flashes back again to when he was very sick and Gemma was taking care of him.

Meanwhile at Gemma’s apartment, a Vexcor security detail shows up to quickly move her out. Her past has come back to haunt her. The detail is led by Ajax, the same cooly efficient agent who cleaned up Kunjani after the botched hit on Charlie last week. She’s far too good at her job to come from Beta, I think.

Charlie slips into Karl’s place right after Karl gets home. The apartment feels empty without Charlie living on the couch, but Karl feels too much guilt to appreciate Charlie’s return, even as Charlie lets him off the hook:

Like i said, everybody breaks. You didn’t betray me, Karl. You did what you had to do to survive. That’s not betrayal, that’s human nature. Somebody else did the same thing. Long time ago. Back then I didn’t know the difference.

Now Charlie does know the difference, and he needs Karl’s help finding her.

They track down Gemma’s apartment, but it’s already emptied. The only thing left, hidden in a fireplace grate, is the holosphere. Charlie knows it’s a message, but he can’t tell if it’s saying come find me, or stay away. He does know she knows he’s in Cape Town. And he does know she’s kept it all these years. So that’s something.

Water, Water, Everywhere

At the link site, Julius is dismissive of Gemma’s concerns. She’s just a hydrologist and should focus on her own job, not speculation about dark matter and the fragility of the universes. The universes are 15 billion years old; they aren’t fragile. If no one listened to Krogg, who was head of the project, it’s no wonder no one will listen to a lowly hydrologist.

Karl finds a credit card hit for a dessert shop near the Vexcor site and sends Charlie there. Charlie knows Gemma’s got a sweet tooth, so this is the place to go. He parks his car and watches Gemma through binoculars while she collects soil samples from the lake bottom. She’s waded out into waist-high water, and as Charlie watches the wind kicks up and the lake begins to disappear! Gemma’s being pulled in the undertow and Charlie rushes down to help her.

By the time he gets there, the lake is empty, but the two old friends have a heartfelt reunion.

In Alphaverse, a dry lake suddenly fills.

One final, out of the blue scene: Ren catches up to Reena, in her job as messenger, and hands her an envelope. He doesn’t recognize “the new face of terror,” and she promises to get the envelope to the right place. She mutters to herself, “you can trust me” as she walks away. That girl is going to bring down this whole company.

What did everyone else think?

Due to technical difficulties, the commentary for “Identity” will be delayed, most likely until after the actual episode airs.

We apologize for this delay, and we hope to provide it before “Thicker Than Water” airs next week.

Featuring commentary by writer Denis McGrath on Episode 110, “Identity”.

Originally aired Space on 06/11/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 08/12/2008 in the USA.

 

 Charlie Jade Episode 110 Commentary: Identity [45:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (217)

Promo recap of Episode 109, “Betrayal”, aired prior to Episode 110, “Identity”

 

 Charlie Jade Episode 109 Recap Trailer [0:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (174)

See, I told y’all stuff was gonna happen, right? Holy hellfire! While this episode has some very nice character moments slipped in, it’s really all about story. A lot gets pushed forward, some ideas that had been dropped for weeks get brought back to the forefront where they belong, and we say goodbye to at least one old friend. Despite all the spackle the new writers had to use to hide the gaps between the old way and the new, this episode crackles.

Before we jump in, don’t forget to check out our interview with head writer Alex Epstein.

Karl Breaks

We’re leading off with Karl because this episode is all him and Tyrone Benskin knocks it out of the park. Karl serves two important purposes on the show. He’s our proxy - the dumb character who needs to have things explained to him so they can be explained to us - and Charlie’s guide. Those are both thankless tasks. If you’re always laying pipe, it can be hard to get anything meaty to do.

Tonight, Karl gets one of the meatiest stories this show’s done. Reena’s torture gave Patricia McKenzie a lot to work with, but nothing quite like Karl’s breakdown in the woods. The sight of him collapsing before the prospect of being necklaced was something else. His fear came to life in that scene, breathing the gasoline fumes right alongside him. It was a really nice touch by the sound editors playing crowd noise beneath the early part of the scene, climaxing with the sound of a tire bursting into flames.

Serpentine and cold-blooded, Langley Kirkwood’s Ren Porter doesn’t need to yell to be frightening; he’s scariest when he smiles. The little look of frustration he gives when the first match doesn’t light might be my favorite moment in an episode filled with great moments. The banality of it, in contrast to the horror with which Karl is being threatened, makes it that much more real.

Karl’s final betrayal, leaving Charlie at Kunjani like Jesus at Gethsemane, was his most painful. Surely he knew in the woods that Ren was right: even if Karl didn’t talk, they’d find out about Charlie eventually. But here…I think Karl had really convinced himself that they just wanted to talk with Charlie. Seeing the guns and realizing his role, it’s a wonder he didn’t hang himself.

Charlie Was an Official Pastry Judge

Maybe it’s just me, but Charlie’s irritation and impatience with himself tonight seems like a commentary about the progress of the show to this point from Robert Wertheimer and the new writers. He’s irritated that he’s been sitting around wasting his time instead of digging hard into Vexcor. That’s a similar assessment to the one we’ve had. Rather than being an active agent in his story, Charlie’s been sitting back, waiting for people to come to him.

I’m exaggerating to a point, but the first eight episodes were far less about Charlie looking for answers than they were about Charlie reacting to Beta. Even in “Diamonds”, where he and Karl learned Vexcor is planning to implant chips in everyone, Charlie didn’t make his discovery through some deep investigation of Vexcor. He made it trying to get back his stolen ring.

Tonight, Charlie’s taking the fight straight to Vexcor.

A drive around town with Karl to take photos of Vexcor construction sites turns up nothing unusual. They could be up to something nefarious, or could just be expanding. Then it hits him. Mapping the sites, Charlie sees they form a perfect circle under Cape Town. Vexcor is replacing the link site in the desert with an even larger site right under the city.

While Karl has his encounter with Ren, Charlie checks out Vexcor’s home office. Unable to get past the building’s firewalls from the outside, he sneaks in. First he overhears some employees discussing Julius’s new office - the “temple” - and the link home. then he connects his phone/tricorder/sonic screwdriver to the network. What I couldn’t tell was whether he tapped and took it, or if he left it connected for now.

Regardless, Charlie heads underground. Karl’s been burned and would be in too much danger if he stayed around, and Charlie needs to sow confusion within Vexcor by making them wonder if he’s an employee of one of their Alphaverse competitors.

This also means Charlie’s going to have to stay away from Paula for now, but she makes that both easier and harder by telling him to stay away permanently. He stalks her and almost decks her dad and she thinks he’s dreamy. He kills a few Vexcor security agents in her restaurant and suddenly he’s bad news? Man, women are fickle.

Realistically, Paula’s been a complication that doesn’t add much to the story, so it’s no wonder the writers took this opportunity to get rid of her. More time for Jasmine, now.

01 ♥ Essa

We started off this week where we left off at the end of “Devotion”, with 01 Boxer wounded and hopped off to Gamma.

By the way, this might be the best, last chance to see that third tap in the shower. So rewind and take a look.

01 stumbles into a beach house, bloodied and weak, and makes his way upstairs. As he collapses, a woman sees him and screams. Knowing 01’s history with the fair sex, we might assume this poor woman is frightened by the intrusion of the strange, bleeding man. That’s a nice bit of sleight-of-hand from the writers, as we’ll find out by episode’s end that the woman is in fact 01’s wife and mother to his two children.

The crazy sociopath is a loving family man in Gamma. Bet my wife wishes *I* lived in Gamma. Hell, 01 probably takes out the trash without being asked, he’s so downright decent in that ‘verse.

So what gives? Well, we know that 01’s trying to protect Gamma from whatever evil plans Vexcor has for it. That’s one reason for him to put himself through the obvious torment of the other ‘verses. In addition, last week we saw the bargain he’s made with the devil, his father, to trade his blood for his mother’s remaining possessions. Presumably all the bargaining power Brion Boxer has over his son revolves around those items.

From his fever dreams, we can see 01 is not a man happy with who he is. Filled with provocative images and an underlying Oedipal theme, his convalescence is more for the psychic wounds he’s suffered so long away from home than the physical injuries. Reborn by episode’s end, 01 looks ready to tackle Vexcor, his father, and Essa with newly restored clarity of purpose and sanity.

Reena and her Party Dress

Speaking of provocative images, this is the first time we’ve seen Reena smile since…um, I guess that set of photo booth pictures? Seriously? It took over two months to let Patricia McKenzie smile. Two months of misery, pain, torture (literally), and guilt. Tonight she smiled. And wore a dress. Personally, I think she should wear dresses all the time, but that’s got less to do with Reena and more to do with my crush on P-Mac.

This week she did have to come to grips with the loss of Rosalie, but knowing her friend’s gone to a better place makes it easier on her. Burying her in the backyard was probably not amongst her happiest moments in life, but if the body is just a vessel, she can take comfort that Rosalie’s soul has transcended.

We also had a few small signs of what’s to come ahead. The water in Rosalie’s house appears to be turned off. Presumably other essential services - phone and electricity - will be soon to follow. Beyond that, Reena knows she’s but a temporary guest here. She can’t stay too long before someone realizes what’s happened. She figured that out when she skipped to answer the phone, then let it keep ringing.

Reena’s going to be moving on soon. But at least she’ll have money from her new job at Vexcor thanks to Rosalie’s final gift: her identity.

Final Thoughts

Charlie’s going to go back to the mystery of Elliot Krogg. Specifically, what was in Krogg’s report? That’s probably pretty important, as the rogue scientist thought the link was too dangerous to bring up. With Reena inside Vexcor, there should be some interesting events unfolding. Her new job in the mailroom should allow her access to most everyone and everywhere in the building, so it’s going to be interesting to see how “the new face of terror” gets around without being noticed.

Finally, Karl. He’s pretty f’d up right now. It’s going to be a rough road ahead for him.

What did everyone else think?

Featuring commentary by Robert Wertheimer on Episode 109, “Betrayal”.

Originally aired Space on 06/04/2005 in Canada, aired on SciFi Channel on 08/05/2008 in the USA.

 

 Charlie Jade Episode 109 Commentary: Betrayal [47:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (367)

Promo recap of Episode 108, “Devotion”, aired prior to Episode 109, “Betrayal”

 

 Charlie Jade Episode 108 Recap Trailer [0:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (175)