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Global Frequency

October 31st, 2005 by Brian McDonough

The Pilot

Based on the first issue of the comic, the main twist here is that instead of the menace being fought by experienced Frequency members, an ex-cop accidentally falls into Zero’s world when her operative is killed. The cop becomes our entry point to the story, something Ellis didn’t really bother with in the comics. It’s San Francisco, shot (in Vancouver, actually) in the noir-brutal style of Blade Runner, The Matrix, Se7en and some of the better X-Files episodes. A former Soviet sleeper agent has a chip in his head that boosts — and controls — his psychic ability to generate radioactive bursts. They’re getting bigger and more frequent as his chip malfunctions, and our newbie cop and a nerdy-but-beautiful quantum physicist have one hour to find the guy and figure out how to stop him before his final explosion — one that will take out all of San Francisco.

Global Frequency Pilot

We learn that the Global Frequency is something of an urban legend. Everyone’s heard of it, but no one believes it’s real — like compassionate conservatives. The casting of Miranda Zero and Aleph is amazing. As Aleph, Aimee Garcia does not look exactly like the mohawked comic character (who varied from Asian to vaguely Eurasian depending on an issue’s artist), but she has exactly the feel of the character, sitting in a darkened computer room monitoring the situation, calling experts onto the frequency in a dozen languages. But Michelle Forbes as Miranda Zero? Holy crap. If you thought that movie kid looked a lot like the one on the Harry Potter book covers, or that Christopher Reeve really looked like Superman, you ain’t seen nothin’. Forbes simply is Miranda Zero. Read the book then watch the pilot, and it’s a bit eerie.

Miranda Zero - Michelle Forbes

The look of the show is a bit … off. Well, it’s a bit rough. The stark lighting lacks a certain polish. That may be simply the wobbly legs of any new production – watch a first season episode of, say, Buffy or Seinfeld and you’ll see a similar lack of refinement – or it may be a deliberate attempt to keep a punkish rough edge, but it was bound to turn off television’s network puppetmasters. The plot moves at a frenetic pace, but if you buy the core premise, the story logic hangs together and provides enough twists to keep a viewer happy. Particularly welcome is when the team needs certain physical skills not available to them and the cop ends up knocking on a total stranger’s door to tell her that she, now, is on the Global Frequency. It’s the show’s most seductive premise made explicit.

The beauty of the series is the promise of worldwide action. The producers (mostly in John Rogers’ blog) promised some regular cast members besides Zero and Aleph, but with 1,001 people on the Frequency, new team members can be brought into any episode, and anyone on the Frequency can die at any time, a tension you won’t find on any show on television. Unless you’re one of those American Idol fans, I guess.

So new menaces and world travel every week, like Alias. Mysteries and conspiracies like The X-Files. A compelling catch phrase, and a logo crying out to be on T-Shirts (are you hearing me, Warren Ellis?). Yeah, the show is rough in places. Josh Hopkins as Sean Flynn is fairly solid and likable, but as Dr. Katrina Finch, Jenni Baird is almost hard to watch. Either her ability to render dorky idiosynchratic ticks is off the scale, or she’s just not a very good actress. But, hell, maybe they would’ve killed her in episode five. As an initial outing, the Global Frequency pilot is compelling television screaming with potential. There should be more.

Next: The Comics

Pages: 1 2 3

This entry was posted on Monday, October 31st, 2005 at 11:06 pm and is filed under Articles, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

13 Responses to “Global Frequency”

  1. 1
    Bored w/Brian Says:

    Skywalker? Tattooine? X-Men?

    You really don’t get out much.
    Do you have any other take on life beside what Kevin Smith talks about at the Comic/Wonder/Loser cons you attend?

    “…And how do “16 Blocks” and “Must Love Dogs” get the exact same comment from completely different bloggers? Is this guy beefing up his very own reviews!? What a complete loser.”

  2. 2
    C. Jackson Says:

    I set up the ringtone from the pilot and a wallpaper with the symbol on my cell phone.

    The pilot and the comic rocked.

  3. 3
    The ELSEWHERE Blog Says:

    links from Technoratiand Brian Michael Bendis, I find his work compelling, thoughful and though I hate the word - post-modern. Anyways, I can’t describe his stuff (Transmetropolitan, Interplanetary, The Authority, and Global Frequency) well enough, so go here: http://www.badmouth.net/global-frequency/ 3:49 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment [IMG ] a trip to Kamakura Current mood: [IMG] chipper

  4. 4
    External reviews for Global Frequency (2005) (TV) Says:

    Kramer auto Pingback[...] reviews for Global Frequency (2005) (TV) Badmouth.net You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be [...]

  5. 5
    geo ado Says:

    info isuzu repair trooper…

    2005 dodge ram accessory - capital car ford raleigh used - 2005 ford mustang coupe…

  6. 6
    LinkMoTron v0.987 Says:

    Kramer auto Pingback[...] I have been aching for my cell phone to make that funny ring tone in a way that I never longed for a… [...]

  7. 7
    Tapping a Crooked Vein » Badmouth Says:

    [...] choice but to throw in the towel and finally try something new. Badmouth sang his praises when we wrote about Global Frequency, a brilliant 12-issue miniseries that was also a tragically failed (and widely bootlegged) TV [...]

  8. 8
    Tell me of "Global Frequency" - RPGnet Forums Says:

    Kramer auto Pingback[...] Tell me of "Global Frequency" See here. __________________ Ongoing: DELTA GREEN: Operation HARVEST MOON (IC) (OOC) / DELTA GREEN: The [...]

  9. 9
    StumbleUpon » Your page is now on StumbleUpon! Says:

    Kramer auto Pingback[...] Your page is on StumbleUpon [...]

  10. 10
    clarkblog: Television Says:

    Kramer auto Pingback[...] that Global Frequency’s killer pilot never got the go-ahead. It had what those shows lacked: a killer hook. An easy premise you could grasp on a weekly basis. With Rogers on-board with Ellis (and J. Michael [...]

  11. 11
    Global Frequency (2005) (TV) - External reviews Says:

    Kramer auto Pingback[...] Independent on Sunday [Iain Millar]Badmouth.netRelated Links Ratings User comments Plot summary Miscellaneous links Main details IMDb now [...]

  12. 12
    Kids with Guns Says:

    links from Technoratieven thought of, most of which are somewhat believable. Well, for a comic, that is. What’s even more exciting is that, in researching this bit on Wikipedia, Magneto discovered that this comic was almost made into a tv show. Read more at Wired,Badmouth.net, and at IGN. Turns out it’s only available via the mysterious aether.

  13. 13
    Carson McCullers, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (Oprah's Book Club) Says:

    [...] Global Frequency » Badmouth [...]

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