Person of Interest and Jason Bourne

Submitted by anthonyletizia
on Wed, 02/22/2012 - 00:00

The world of former intelligence officer John Reese of the CBS drama Person of Interest is different than the one originally inhabited by James Bond, the classic fictional spy of the Ian Fleming novels and subsequent movie adaptations. Fleming created the character of Bond in 1953 at the height of the Cold War, a time when the enemy was easily recognized and government agendas were painted in clear black and white images. In the Twenty First Century, meanwhile, the picture is murkier, with terrorists lurking in the shadows and political unrest erupting across the globe. The days of a clear cut “license to kill” directive has likewise been glossed over with varying shades of grey as the villains of the contemporary are not as clear cut as a Dr. Julius No, Auric Goldfinger or Ernst Blofeld.

While John Reese shares James Bond’s penchant for sharp attire, the Person of Interest protagonist is more along the likes of another fictional intelligence operative that made the transition from the printed page to the big screen—Jason Bourne. Created by novelist Robert Ludlum and brought to life in a trilogy of films by actor Matt Damon, Bourne is a former military officer who volunteers to protect his country by any means necessary only to be betrayed and then pursued in the aftermath. Although Person of Interest primarily focusses on the present, glimpses of the man John Reese was before being recruited by the technological genius Harold Finch have seeped through the narrative nonetheless. The picture of Reese painted by these occasional flashback scenes reflect an espionage agent similar to Jason Bourne—a man tormented by the past while trying to find purpose in a world that ultimately would like to see him dead.

Alcatraz Combines Mystery, History and Sci Fi

Submitted by anthonyletizia
on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 00:00

On March 21, 1963, the federal penitentiary on Alcatraz officially closed. After nearly thirty years as the source of imprisonment for some of the most notorious gangsters, murderers and thieves of the Twentieth Century, the small island off the coast of San Francisco ended its brief time as an escape proof facility with little fanfare. Media representatives were invited to witness the final twenty seven inmates receive their last meal on The Rock before being transferred to other penal institutions. Alcatraz was in need of structural repairs after years of wear-and-tear from the treacherous waters of San Francisco Bay by the 1960s, and budget cutbacks further prevented Alcatraz from being a financially viable option for the government.

“Only that’s not what happened,” FBI agent Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill) flatly states at the beginning of the FOX drama Alcatraz. “Not at all.” In the fictional world of the sci-fi series, the closing of Alcatraz was instead necessitated after the two hundred fifty six inmates and forty six guards stationed on the island suddenly disappeared without a trace. Close to fifty years later, the worst criminal elements of the Twentieth Century are suddenly reappearing in the Twenty First with no signs of aging or explanations regarding the means of their mystical time traveling. It is thus left to Hauser and his small team of SFPD detective Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones) and historian Diego “Doc” Soto (Jorge Garcia) to capture these former Alcatraz inmates before they can wreak even more damage on an unsuspecting population while likewise attempting to unravel the mystery of what actually happened on March 21, 1963.

Leap Year Review

Submitted by anthonyletizia
on Wed, 02/15/2012 - 00:00

During the third season finale of the AMC drama Mad Men, Donald Draper, Roger Sterling, Bert Cooper and Lane Pryce decide to sever their ties with advertising agency Sterling Cooper and embark on a path of their own design. “Well, it’s official,” Roger Sterling quips in regards to the decision. “Friday, December 13, 1963—four guys shot their own legs off.” Subsequent seasons of Mad Men thus include the efforts of these men and their associates as they follow the American Dream of building a business and the inherent obstacles that lie along the way.

In the dramedy webseries Leap Year, five friends find themselves on a similar path when they suddenly lose their jobs and figuratively have their own legs shot off. In lieu of searching for a new means of employment, Aaron Morrison, Jack Sather, Derek Morrison, Olivia Reddox and Bryn Arbor instead decide to take the same leap as Don Draper and his colleagues on Mad Men. While the award-winning AMC series is an exploration of an historical turning point in the evolution of the United States through the eyes of advertising executives in the 1960s, however, Leap Year is a comedy that spotlights the fears, risks and inherent obstacles involved in starting one’s own business in the Twenty First Century through a natural form humor that envelopes the entire narrative.