#SevenDays TV 3.14 cont'd.
Sackheim a& Norton return and they are well played as real world characters who are less "large" than our regular crew.

However the big fail in this ep was the devil implication.
When any Yank sci-fi show turns into Judeo-Christian mush it is time to close up the shop.

#SevenDays TV 3.14 cont'd.
The scene with Frank assassinating the Muslim leader was great as the show went silent for a full minute for once and focused on Frank. And thankfully Frank couldn't do it. LaPaglia is never going to win an Emmy (surely?) but at least he did well in that crucial scene.

#SevenDays TV 3.14 cont'd.
An ep like this resonate today as it is a time stamp of where US thinking was wrt to the Middle East. Saying that I'm so glad this essentially lightweight series will get canned 4 months before 9/11 as this show could not function as it is after 9/11.

#SevenDays TV 3.14 cont'd.
Parkers' son and ex are different actors disappointingly but is ok as they're barely in it.
The writers STILL haven't realised that they can have everyone we care about murdered in the pre-BackStep timeline. So they should've had Olga sacrifice herself to buy Parker time.

#SevenDays TV ep #3.14 "Revelation" (21-Feb-01).
Clearly this show's biggest ep yet so lots to say.
Getting Robert Picardo in was a big statement. It's obvious he was to be the villain but he elevates the show hugely with his acting.
Thankfully we see the BackStep committee again after a long gap.

#SevenDays TV ep #3.13 "The First Freshman" (14-Feb-01).
Why is the BackStep being used for one death? We haven't seen the BackStep committee since the end of S2 so the show totally TACO-ed out.

I'm nearly done with this show now as Parker is its least interesting character yet gets every A-plot.

#SevenDays TV 3.12 cont'd.
The finale was cheapo effort which lost some of that Lara Croft vibe of the rest of the ep. Even the docks scene earlier with the speedboat had a bit of Venice from "Tomb Raider 2" to it.
But the rooftop scenes, the museum and the heist recreated Tomb Raider very well.

#SevenDays TV ep #3.12 "Raven" (07-Feb-01).
It's 2001 so a #TombRaider ep with Bobbie Phillips as the Lara Croft-like titular Raven. Even her training area was similar to Lara's .
I'm so bored with LaPaglia. He hasn't the range to be the lead yet, eg try compare him to say Adrian Paul in #Tracker.

#SevenDays Ep 3.11 cont'd.
This series is never going to present any form in intelligent ideas around mental health or treatment of mental health. But at least this ep reeled itself in and made some steps to look at the subject matter in a informed manner. Mostly.

#SevenDays TV ep #3.11 "Head Case" (31-Jan-01).
Uh-oh a US President ep. Thankfully it doesn't descend into flag waving Yank porn but is a pretty strong ep. Inevitable central American clichés excepted.
The actor playing the president has been there since ep #1.01 before Bush was even President.

#SevenDays TV ep #3.10 "Adam & Eve & Adam" (10-Jan-01).
Good premise.
If say Parker was dying after Hooter shot him he could heal in the BackStep. Clearly they've jettison that idea from lore.
Unlike others Hooter gets a character ep early in his run but shouldn't Frank request Hooter be assessed?

#SevenDays TV 3.09 cont'd.
While S2 flirted with yet never delivered on most supporting characters development my final recommendation of this show will depend on what happens with that development of the supporting characters in S3 and whether there is any arc in S3.
I have big doubts.

#SevenDays TV ep #3.09 "Top Dog" (03-Jan-01).
It's amazing how little arc there is in this show as like it's the year 2001 already. This might as well be a 1970s show as all the eps could be watched in any order.
Decent ep this but boy I'm tired by now of Frank P. Parker being a yappy dumb prick.

#SevenDays TV ep #3.08 "Tracker" (20-Dec-00).
Christ not Chechnya again. Revenge from the TV pilot.
Jonathan Paglia does his racist nicknaming again. You are the lead Paglia you could put your foot down. "Boris" isn't even a Chechen name.
I liked the tracker activating in the past but little else.

#SevenDays TV ep #3.07 "The Fire Last Time" (22-Nov-00).
Guest stars Gary Graham ( #AlienNation). He gets to do some material at least as Eric Pierpoint did nothing in that anonymous ep #3.04.
Parker's mental health is "explored" but it's so far fetched as Parker would be retired were he that bad.

#SevenDays TV ep #3.06 "Deloris Demands" (15-Nov-00).
Good ep till the reveal.
Mentnor only exists to mention old secrets it seems. Poor Norman Lloyd.
They reveal Dean Loris is Deloris. Yet neither Mentnor nor Talmadge copped on at all.
We never heard of Loris before anyway so it's an anticlimax.

#SevenDays TV ep #3.05 "Olga's Excellent Vacation" (08-Nov-00).
Strong guest cast here after ep #3.04 's no show.
Francoise Yip I know from #TheOrder and other Canadian sci-fi like #EarthFinalConflict.
Does Hiro Kanagawa really pass for Korean?
The Olga/Frank ship is based on Maddie/David surely?

#SevenDays TV ep #3.04 "The Dunwych Madness" (01-Nov-00).
A decent Lovecraftian horror premise but needed stronger acting by a really anonymous guest cast. Also the director needed to ramp up the horror.
Kevin Christy joins as a regular as Sam Whipple is gone. Surprisingly Norman Lloyd is back.

#SevenDays TV ep #3.03 "Rhino" (25-Oct-00).
Very strong as the tone, pacing and BackStep changes were top level. Note sure why IMDB gives this a low rating as it's pitched exactly where this series is sweet.
Bob Koherr surely must return soon - great job.
The assassin's Irish accent was awful.

#SevenDays TV 3.02 cont'd.
I was sure Don Franklin was going to leave this ep or be killed off as in the first 2 seasons he had done so little. Maybe S3 will be Donovan's season if Franklin has been kept on for a reason.

Keep your mits off our Aer Lingus air hostesses Parker ya grub.

#SevenDays TV ep #3.02 "Peacekeepers" (18-Oct-00).
If ep #3.01 was pure sci-fi fluff this was back to a vanilla warfare ep. Saying that this ep is vastly better TV.
I liked that the reason for the BaskStep was based on incorrect information.
The battle scenes were strongly realised too.

#SevenDays TV 3.01 cont'd.
Opening credits now have a Parker voiceover with character rank & names nastily superimposed. Maybe the files I have are dumbed down syndication ones?

Lloyd is gone, no explanation and Whipple a guest.

The two MIBs (Charley Lang / Jerome Butler) alas have been replaced.

#SevenDays TV ep #3.01 "Stairway to Heaven" (11-Oct-00).
S3 begins and it's clear the execs have shat down their input over the creatives. What lies ahead?
Yes this ep tries to stretch the storytelling scope of the show but it's just more mystic mush masquerading as sci-fi.
Reminded me of #The4400

#SevenDays End of S2.
While better than S1 this show has no legs. Who was watching this mediocrity?
Olga/Parker ship isn't well written. Vail is a comedy actress. Parker is a cypher.
Dr Mentnor appears to be gone already, a mercy killing for Norman Lloyd.
Sam Whipple may as well pack his bags too.

#SevenDays TV ep #2.23 "The Cure" (24-May-00).
Good idea to expand this world credibly but the ep never elevated itself into anything above the usual runabout.
2168AD BackStep is more advanced as they have a black engineer presumably.
Talmadge's council feels an arc worthy idea but will S3 bother?

#SevenDays TV ep #2.22 "Presidents and Playmates" (17-May-00).
After lots of trash a very good ep. A way it might've been better is if they'd a cutaway to Maxwell to reveal he orchestrated everything.
Both Vaughan Armstrong who does his time honoured bigot shtick and also Paige Rowland elevated it.

#SevenDays TV 2.21 cont'd.
Swimming in the narrative sh*t that is faux mysticism. Like the sad end of the RTD1 era of #DoctorWho this is painful to behold.
Also satellite tech tracking money is dumb science. Like be smart and say it uses Roswell tech? Olga's graphic laughably didn't match the story.

#SevenDays TV ep #2.21 "Mr. Donovan's Neighborhood" (10-May-00).
The show is now down that route of lame duck US network shows in it's now a genre stealing. So we get a black urban culture ep which Jonathan Paglia in no shape or form should be near. Donovan isn't believable as being rooted here.

#SevenDays TV 2.20 cont'd.
Has some dire plot and story links but those aside is almost decent.

However the Ireland treaty scene needs addressing:

1- Unionists would NEVER meet at a giant Ireland shaped table that doesn't display the boundary.

2- The boundary on the treaty. What de actual fu*k!

#SevenDays TV ep #2.20 "Witch Way to the Prom" (03-May--00).
This show is now basically copying other shows for ideas to get onscreen. This is a #Charmed episode. The three women even call out Charmed & #Sabrina. Ok it's Spring 2000 and the witch genre was red hot but jeez this is another bad fit.