27 replies to this topic

[GG63]

Showcase up here in Canada has a new show that premiered today. It's going to actually be on Wednesday nights at 10 pm. I've looked and can't find a thread for this show any where. I'm sure someone will let me know if I've missed it. So I watched the first episode and think I'll stick with it. Here's the description from the Showcase website :

XIII is an hour-long drama series based on Jean Van Hamme’s adrenaline-fueled graphic novels, which have sold more than 13 million copies worldwide since the first volume was published 25 years ago. Known only by the Roman numeral he was assigned, XIII (Stuart Townsend) is a skilled and lethal secret agent who escapes from an Eastern European Rendition Camp with a surgically altered face and an identity handed to him by a mysterious stranger.

Recruited to a secret organization committed to bringing down the United States Government, XIII has no memory of his past, how he was trained or why. Hunted by a dark anti-government organization, he quickly realizes that the closer he gets to uncovering the riddle, the more complex and deadly the mission becomes.

While living through an ever-evolving government conspiracy, XIII’s quest is to discover his true identity at any cost.

It stars Stuart Townsend, Aisha Tyler and Virginie Ledoyen. I caught the ending credits rather quickly, but I think some of the same people who brought us "Lost Girl" are also involved in this project. Lots of familiar faces in the first episode; not sure how many of them are regulars.

From a purely shallow side, may I say Stuart Townsend is very easy on the eyes and as I haven't actually seen him in anything else am not sure if he's always built like this, or if he bulked up a bit for this show. Yum covers it for me!

BTW - if anyone can think of a clever title, feel free as I'm not very creative - sorry.

[DEM]

I watched the mini-series in 2008 (with Stephen Dorff). Is this is a continuation or a re-boot? I haven't been able to figure that out, and because the first ep has already aired I'm wary of searching too deeply for fear of being spoiled. In any case, I hope they don't expect us to remember the earlier program.

[The Mad Maple]

I got the impression that it was a continuation from the miniseries, which is why they went out of their way to explain why he doesn't look like Stephen Dorff. But I didn't watch the mini, and I still got the jist of what was going on.

Decent enough show, but nothing special. I'll keep watching, though, to see if thinks pick up a bit.

I caught the ending credits rather quickly, but I think some of the same people who brought us "Lost Girl" are also involved in this project.

I'm pretty sure I saw the Protigy Pictures logo at the end, which is Lost Girl's production company. (Or is it Protege? The one with the company name on the back of the director's chair.)

BTW - if anyone can think of a clever title, feel free as I'm not very creative - sorry.

XIII: Jason Bourne? Never Heard of Him.

[irishmaple]

I only found out about this show because of an ad during King which I watched after having it sit on my PVR queue for about a week. XIII bugged me the whole way through because I knew I recognized him but couldn't put a name to the face. Stuart Townsend? Never would have known. I saw the name in the credits and kept waiting for someone else to show up! I still can't figure out who I'm confusing him with!! The show wasn't bad but, yes, it was very Jason Bourne-y, down to the bank deposit box. The computer girl (the equivalent, I guess, to Bourne's Marie) is fine. Was she in the original, because she had that line about knowing XIII with another face? I'm wary of conspiracy shows because many of them get lost in their own web but I'll give this a chance. I'm really liking Showcase at the moment. King isn't bad, and I like that the channel is coming up with original shows as well as the imported stuff. Burn Notice and Covert Affairs are both good but I really want Showcase to bring me Justified. I've heard so many good things about it. Maybe if I watch their original shows, Showcase will throw me a bone!!

[GG63]

XIII: Jason Bourne? Never Heard of Him.

Well done! I like it. After starting the thread I imdb'd the show and found the mini-series listing. Sorry I won't be much help in figuring out how the series fits into that one as I haven't seen the mini-series.

All the comparisons to Jason Bourne are probably why I like the series so much. I own all the Bourne movies and still watch them whenever they are shown on television.

[cmm226]

Never seen a Jason Bourne movie, but I'll still check this out as soon as I find the time. Thanks for the thread, just learned about the show right now.

[irishmaple]

I watched the second episode this weekend and was bored. Stuart Townsend is very bland for a guy with so many secrets and ciphers around him. The show established that his character is from Colorado which doesn't explain the hint of Irish accent that sneaks out every now and then. They could have left out that love scene entirely, it being the least sexy moment I've seen in a while. I hope it gets better because I do like the Secret Service Agent with divided loyalties.

[Wyldemusick]

If they stick anywhere close to the original story (doubtful, given that the miniseries didn't stick close), there'll be an explanation for the little touches of Irish brogue. Not that anyone might notice by that point, as the plot will be approaching lunacy at lightspeed.

[GG63]

I've watched three episodes so far and am not sure about this show. I couldn't believe they killed off the girlfriend so soon, but I guess that adds to whatever motivation XIII has to be independent and go rogue. Now he really only has himself to worry about. I have the rest of the shows on my DVR but have found it's not falling in the "must see tv" category.

Has anyone else found this to be rather slow moving and the plot not really advancing or maybe I just haven't seen enough episodes. Truthfully I'm not sure the pretty is going to save this for me which would be a shame, because Stuart really is easy on the eyes. I so wanted to really like this show but haven't been able to commit and at this point wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

[irishmaple]

I was annoyed by the girlfriend's death. She was useful, adaptable and not dumb. She gave XIII someone to bounce ideas off and discuss his background as it emerged. She wouldn't have needed to be actively involved in every episode but just there when the story required he have someone to talk to or somewhere to go when he needed Band-Aids. And since he doesn't care about threats, it made her an effective control on his behaviour as well. Not every action hero needs to be of the lone wolf variety. Also, why is he still referring to himself as XIII when he seems satisified that his real name is Ryan Flay?

The episodes since the one in Ireland have built up on my PVR and I'll probably get to them sometime but, yes, my interest has waned. Sorry, Showcase, I tried!

[supposebly]

I've been watching this from the beginning, hoping it would improve but it hasn't yet. The dialogue is cliche-ridden and I'm pulled out of the story every few minutes by one thing or another.

Stuart Townsend just has no charisma. Granted, the last time I saw him was in that laughable Queen of the Damned movie and he was bland and boring then too.

Plus, he walks funny.

[Wyldemusick]

Killing off Sam and her sexy accent was a misstep, especially if it was just to give Irina a moment and establish the ex-prez as Really Evil just in case someone missed that. Jones is frankly just annoying, and is being shown as easily manipulated.

With XIII himself, I think the point is that he is a cipher -- his firmest identity at the moment is XIII, and he's trying to overlay the Ryan Flay identity (in the books, Jason Fly -- showing the Bourne inspiration -- was yet another overlaid identity; XIII is pretty much the nesting dolls of spook work.) By he time the crazy quilt of the books wrapped up, I'm not sure if even Jean van Hamme knew who he was supposed to be.

I'm interested in seeing where they go with this, because large chunks of the graphic novel narrative is being burned up in the early episodes. They're not making it easy to keep watching, though -- the plot elements are even murkier than Rubicon, there's an awful lot of talking heads posturing in offices, and the action tends to be faintly annoying when it happens.

Edited by Wyldemusick, May 26, 2011 @ 3:16 AM.

[Bruinsfan]

Stuart Townsend just has no charisma. Granted, the last time I saw him was in that laughable Queen of the Damned movie and he was bland and boring then too.

He managed to be the one compelling thing in that awful League of Extraordinary Gentlemen trainwreck, but he appeared to have been possessed by Johnny Depp for the duration.

[supposebly]

He was in that? Not that I remember much about that movie but he didn't make an impression then either.

I don't know the comic books but so far the show follows the well-used path of man-with-no-name-or-past shows. With a conspiracy that goes really, really, really, really high.

All these shady characters that keep uttering menacing threats to everyone and the wall and I just can't care since I have no idea why I should worry.

With a few fight scenes thrown in. It feels like there is no concept, terrible dialogue, and a lead that manages to be as engaging as white bread.

[irishmaple]

Petty, I know, but a major irritant I have about the show is the opening voice-over. XIII has a secret that threatens all humanity? Overkill much?

[supposebly]

I always think, how the hell does he know? He doesn't even know what the damn secret is. Maybe it's a secret recipe for waffles?

[irishmaple]

I can see Martha Stewart dispatching someone like Irina to protect her waffle recipe!

[cmm226]

I've seen every episode (mostly) but it's so boring that's it's basically background noise. I've given this show many hours and I still don't know what it's about?

[Actionmage]

Bumping this thread as Reelz Channel, here in the U.S. anyway, is going to air this series. It will start June 29th, IIRC. I saw the Behind The Scenes special and I'm pumped!

I feel a bit excited and disappointed; Reelz was implying it was their adaptation, not a Canadian product. Yet, finding that out makes me feel a bit better, in that there is product in the can and ready to go. Also, the cast looks dynamite! (My girlcrush on Aisha Tyler is nearing overload!)

I will try to confirm the U.S. start date.


eta: It does start on Reels Channel June 29th, 9pm Eastern.

Edited by Actionmage, Jun 19, 2012 @ 12:50 AM.

[bulldawgtownie]

Cool, sounds like an interesting show. Although I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping this was some kind of Rome spinoff.

[Puds38]

I watched the sneak peek special and the movie version today. Sounds interesting. I'm definitely going to check it out.

[Actionmage]

It is a fast moving pilot, which I appreciate.

Likes:
*Aisha Tyler- she gets to be a badder-ass Lana! Hell yeah!
*Irina is cool! Bring on the lady fights!
*There is a nice mix of angst and action, so we get to see changes in Stuart's lovely face.

Dislikes:
*Dueling Conspiracies- more a gripe, right now
*About the attempted assassination - to the assassin, I quote Sue Sylvester: "Sloppy, sloppy baby!"
*Then you follow up with a big-ass traffic snarl and seemingly indiscriminate shooting.
*I love tough chicks, but Irina not falling after the iron/lead pipe-to-the-head? I shook my head and the hubby was out.

I'm in for next episode, but I'm still not sure how long I'm going to watch. Hopefully, it's cooler the longer it goes.
eta: Clarification- Aisha Tyler voices the spy Lana Kane on FX's Archer.

Edited by Actionmage, Jul 6, 2012 @ 6:44 PM.

[bulldawgtownie]

I'm in for next episode, but I'm still not sure how long I'm going to watch. Hopefully, it's cooler the longer it goes

This sums up how I feel. Reelz was too stupid not to break up the mini-series into two parts and I wasn't about to watch four straight hours so I didn't become as invested into this concept as much as I thought I would. That said it looks like I didn't need to watch the mini-series to know what's going on anyway. i liked all the stuff ActionMagementioned although I would've like to have seen more of his life in the retention center as well as his original training when he became XIII. I hope they both wrap up the plot with the flashdrive and drop the camerashop owner/girlfriend sometime fairly soon, that seems so cliched.

[Shprintze]

2 words ... Horrible writing.

3 more words ... Waste of talent.

[bulldawgtownie]

I tried watching but gave up after 15 minutes into the second episode. My problem was every character was a cliched, archetype that I had seen on many different shows throughout the years and ultimately I felt there was nothing original about the show or any reason to watch.

Edited by bulldawgtownie, Aug 4, 2012 @ 2:49 AM.

[Actionmage]

So it's not just me? Okay.

I tried to watch the 3rd episode,but just never felt ...motivated(?) enough to push 'play'. Since I like the main cast and the premise, I should be all set to pick this monster apart and get with who's zooming who, right? I just couldn't and I feel bad about that.

[ChainofFools]

It truly is horrid. Aisha Tyler deserves better than this. Hopefully, this mess will be cancelled or her character can be killed off and she can get picked up in something worthy of her talent while still voicing Lana on Archer.

[bulldawgtownie]

Somehow it got renewed for a second season. Man, Canadians must be desperate for tv shows.