The pilot for Colony has been out for a couple of weeks, so this review might seem a little late, but the show made its official debut this evening. I’m intrigued by this alien-invasion-without-any-aliens show – and executive producers Carlton Cuse and Ryan Condal say that this is what they’re going for. They envisioned a show more based on the experience of Paris during the Nazi occupation than the expected reaction to aliens fighting humans, and from the first episode, I think that’s the tone they’ve found. Life goes on, more or less; most people just want to go along to get along.
We haven’t yet seen the occupiers – we haven’t even heard the word “aliens.” The trouble that Will and Katie Bowman find themselves in is referred to as “The Arrival,” and the new invaders are referred to quite civilly as “our hosts.” Yet they’ve erected a huge wall around Los Angeles, there’s a heavy military presence in the city, citizens’ rights have been completely curtailed, and food and medicine shortages are everywhere. Everywhere except, it seems, in the “Green Zone,” the area now occupied by enemy collaborators. Alan Snyder, the Proxy Governor, lives lavishly, surrounded by priceless art masterpieces, like the Nazi occupiers of WWII. In the meantime, the everyday people in the Red Zone are scrounging and trading for food and medicine.
I liked the way that the show opens – it’s a while before you realize that there’s something really wrong with this picture. Small hints at first – barbed wire around the backyard, Will’s frustration at dropping an egg, moving into a lack of cars and an overabundance of tanks on the street start to show a world so close to what we know, but in reality, so very different. The subtle use of music, by Clinton Shorter, really helps with this vibe – a quiet but menacing undertone set my nerves on edge, in a freaky good way.
COLONY — “Pilot” Episode 101 — Pictured: (l-r) Alex Neustaedter as Bram Bowman, Josh Holloway as Will Bowman — (Photo by: Isabella Vosmikova/USA Network)
There are quite a few mysteries that I hope to see explored in future episodes. What’s outside the 300-foot LA walls? Cuse and Condal have said that we’ll get to see more of the area beyond the wall in future episodes – are they as severe as the LA bloc? What is “The Factory”? Are people really working there, after being taken and/or arrested? Or is it, perhaps, where “our hosts” are, possibly literally, getting a taste of humanity? Who are the invaders? What do they want? Snyder tells Will that this occupation is temporary, and when the “hosts” “satisfy their needs, they’ll leave.” “What needs?” Will asks, and his question is never answered. How did a new government get so well organized, with logos and uniforms and slogans, in such a short time? Why do all the Redhats wear face masks – is it in fear of retribution from non-collaborators if their identity was known? Proxy Snyder tells Will, “The most important day in human history is coming.” What does he know? What will happen?
And what will happen to Will and Katie’s relationship? Katie seems much more involved in the resistance than Will does. He’s a former Army Ranger, an FBI fugitive hunter, who watched former colleagues disappear after The Arrival, about a year earlier. When he first meets Proxy Snyder, after the explosion in the Santa Monica Gateway and his subsequent arrest, he says, “Military, law enforcement guys like me… they allwent missing after your friends came.” They must have been identified as a threat to the invaders’ ability to keep resistance to a minimum. Will doesn’t seem to want to cause trouble – he just wants to find their son Charlie, who was caught in a different area during The Arrival. But Katie wants to find Charlie and fight the occupation – now that Will has reluctantly accepted the Proctor’s “job offer,” will he be working as a double agent, or will Katie take whatever Will discovers about the Resistance for Snyder and pass it along to the people he’s hunting? She reminds him that he’s “put a target on your back. And on mine. And on those children. As far as the Resistance is concerned, collaborate and you die.”
COLONY — “Pilot” Episode 101 — Pictured: (l-r) Alex Neustaedter as Bram Bowman, Isabella Crovetti-Cramp as Grace Sullivan, Sarah Wayne Callies as Katie Bowman, Josh Holloway as Will Bowman — (Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/USA Network)
I love a show that sets up something intriguing at the start. I want to know that there are things I don’t know. I want to be saying, “Wait, WHAT???” at the end of each episode. I think Colony will be that kind of show.
I’ve set up a show discussion Facebook page – join us there! Let’s talk about our theories, the characters, the actors, the events, and more! Join us on Facebook at Colony – The Resistance.
I’m hoping that cast and crew will live tweet with the show every week. Here are the Twitter handles of people involved in the show – please comment below if I’ve missed some, which I’m sure I have:
@ColonyUSA
@CarltonCuse (Carlton Cuse, Executive Producer)
@WrathofCondal (Ryan Condal, Executive Producer)
@Official_PeterJ (Peter Jacobson, Proxy Snyder)
@JoshHolloway
@WesTooke (writer)
And come back every week for my take on Colony!
Follow me on Twitter: @ErinConrad2 and @threeifbyspace
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