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Following on from last week's probing of British shows in 2007, Cult Spy charts the fluctuating fortunes of several prominent imports from across the pond.
After stuttering in the early episodes of the third season, Lost picked up the pace and the tension as the narrative hurtled towards a stunning finale that saw poor Charlie finally succumb to a wet grave, as predicted by Desmond. The series wisely avoided falling into the X Files trap of not answering the myriad of questions thrown up and instead of dragging the mysteries out the show will end in 2010, hopefully still at its peak. We learnt a great deal about the origins of The Others and the tragic beginnings of their apparent leader Benjamin Linus although we're still waiting to find out who this invisible Jacob deity is.
Stunning storylines along the way included minor characters Paulo and Nikki being mistakenly buried alive after a spot of arachnid-inflicted paralysis, and the brutal judgement day for Locke's malevolent father Cooper, whose actions were responsible for the death of Sawyer's parents. A quick flash-forward in the season finale revealed Jack and Kate do make it off the island at some point, but is the boat really heading to rescue them?
Day Six witnessed Jack Bauer not only jump the shark, but rip it out of the ocean and interrogate it while screaming "WHERE'S THE BOMB!? DAMN IT!!" incessantly. It really felt like elements from previous seasons were randomly regurgitated throughout. The terrorists were back with some nukes, but there was evil at work inside the government with an assassination attempt on President Palmer Version 2.0. Yawn. There was some early promise with the premise of Bauer being held captive in China for storming their embassy, but this was quickly squandered as the plot turned into tedium. Charles Logan was dragged out of the woodwork, there was more internal friction at CTU and Bauer stormed more embassies. Still, there was an ultra cool sequence when Bauer dropkicked a suicide bomber out of a moving train. As you do.
However, the major crime of Day Six revolved around Bauer's relatives. No one was expecting Jack's clan to be like Ned Flanders' family, yet it was impossible to suppress the groans as his long-lost brother crept out of the woodwork to unveil himself as a criminal mastermind, only for his father to kill him off and impose his own malevolence on proceedings. Fiction, by its nature, is contrived but this was taking the proverbial biscuit. Fingers are crossed that Jack Bauer's aunt won't turn up in Day Seven as a sword-wielding samurai who assassinated JFK and plotted 9/11.
The second season continued through the first half of 2007, with the fugitive brothers Schofield and Burrows continuing their fight for justice alongside Sara Tancredi. They actually succeeded, after hooking up with the dastardly hitman Kellerman, although this did not mean an end to the show. For the action was transferred to Panama, outside of US jurisdiction, as Schofield and his sweat patch were thrown into the squalid Sona prison alongside the likes of T-Bag, Brad Bellick and the somewhat troubled cop Mahone. Back to square one.
It emerged in the third season that it was all a ploy by The Company to have Schofield break out this mysterious prisoner called Whistler. Deja-vu anyone? Although the show was clearly trying to live up to its title, the action all felt very repetitive and was bogged down with endless shots of Schofield either brooding or weighing up the situation. A shock twist Sara Tancredi's head turning up in a box failed to raise even an eyebrow and the likes of Mahone and Tea Bag were lacking their previous verve. All hope is not lost though, as The Company's foxy henchlady Susan was a pleasure to watch and the season is set to continue in the New Year.
The breakout smash hit of the year, Heroes certainly took time to sink its claws into our skin. The sheer number of well-crafted characters on display, and their respective backstories, meant that early episodes plodded along in a bid to establish the premise for later events. Once this was all out of the way and the 'heroes' embarked on quests to save a certain cheerleader and protect their brains from the dreaded Sylar, the action was engrossing.
Slickly made and full of rewards for attentive viewers, Heroes gave rise to one of the most profoundly intriguing characters of modern television Mr Bennet. Or Noah to his friends (if he has any). Behind his distinctive horn-rimmed glasses lay a complex man bathed in ambiguity, sparking many debates about his true nature. Was he a goodie or a baddie? Thankfully, nothing was that simple in the show. Even Sylar, capable of vicious acts of pure monstrosity, gained a degree of pathos when we saw his humble beginnings as an impotent watchmaker with a hysterical mother. As the season progressed, we became overjoyed as the heroes gradually joined forces to save the world. Sadly, the finale was all a bit anticlimactic and signalled a downturn in the narrative that continued into the second season (to be seen in the UK in 2008).
