dbkelley-1

(2012-04-30 18:47:08)

already developed characters, team has love/hate relationships - it's real life superheros in real life situations

so much fun, I can't wait for the next episode. finally a show thatdoesn't treat us like morons by showing us the minute details of how Amet B and had to work with C to create a new superhero team.nina has an obviously deep and hidden past, gary's character isinteresting and well executed and he has serious tension with Malik'scharacter, it's all very cool.The show gets right to work. Remember this was the PILOT episode thatalready went out and was approved with great viewing numbers in thepast.I expect some great things from the future episodes now that the actorsand writers have gotten to grow with time.

carpetfibers

(2012-04-30 09:37:16)

Slow Start, but Promising Finish

I'll preface this review with a disclaimer: I tend to really enjoy theSci-Fi (SyFy) original series, even their "soft" science fiction shows.When I first caught the preview for Alphas back in June, I decided toadd the show to my DVR listing and promptly forgot about it. . . untillast this past week-end.I breezed through the first half of the show, finding it a good fillerfor housework and various chores that needed my physical attention. Itwasn't until episode three, "Anger Management," that the show began topull me away from my housework and requiring a more directed focus. Thelatter half of that episode in particular drew me to my couch, where Iwatched my hand over my mouth. It wasn't the plot line of the episode,the characters, or really the acting-- it was the directing.Alphas doesn't create an original story, present overly originalcharacters, or give us overwhelming twists in terms of plot. It does,however, tap into that indie aesthetic, that sort of natural feel thatyou find in film and more rarely television that causes personalinvestment. I was honestly surprised to find myself feeling this wayfrom what ultimately translates to a X-Men/Heroes cum procedural re-write. But the more I began to pay attention, the more I found the artdirection and the dialogue between the Alphas team-members reallypulling the show out of an easy type-caste.My recommendation is to watch the first season in one go. The writers,actors, and directer/s really came into their own as the season ended.As one other reviewer put it, the show managed to do a whole lot withvery little, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing what thesecond season gives us.

stefgrig

(2012-04-29 16:12:45)

Most of the reviews are premature , this has potential

It keeps getting better . Episode 1 was , lets say unremarkable . Anintroduction , but with most of the cards hidden . But episode 2 getsthings going . Opens up possibilities , starts giving us a backgroundfor the characters . And there is a transformation in progress , agroup of misfits starts to become a team .I do like the psychological aspect of it . And I will give this seriesa chance , will not judge it from 1 or 2 episodes . There are seriesthat started of slowly and matured into greatness . "The event" is oneexample , even though they never got back most of the viewers they lostdue to a slow start , in my opinion its their loss , as the seriesturned into one of the best .I think this is a series that will surprise me more with episodes tocome , and I will keep watching it . Characters are quirky , damagedand interesting , and the concept of alphas gives the series a hugewhite-board to sketch anything they want on it .I for one am looking forward for more .

scottpelath

(2012-04-29 12:51:00)

Very Inventive Writing

First of all, yes, this show has a re-hashed premise (tons of comics,as well as the X-Men and Heroes Movie and TV franchises, not to mentionNo Ordinary Family and Mutant X), but really, what's the big deal aboutcopying a high concept about a team of super-humans fighting anotherteam of super-humans? It's what the show adds to the genre thatmatters.What Alphas adds is relative realism. Each power has a steep geneticprice: seeing and accessing radio waves is accompanied by autism, andrecognition of all languages is accompanied with the inability tocommunicate. Adding to this, Gary's visualizing signals is actually oneof the only truly "unbelievable" abilities. Most of the others could bedrawn from youtube videos (lifting a car off a baby or throwing aquarter into a Coke machine from across the room). This "down-to-earth"mindset for its creation allows the viewer to more readily suspenddisbelief when required.The acting is only okay, but Sci-Fi Network is not really known forphenomenal acting. I'll admit that certain characters were gratingearly on, but what makes up for that is the writing. Not the dialog perse, but the in-episode concept and plot development are certainly to beadmired. Between the visual representation of a DDoS attack in theepisode "Rosetta" and the bottle episode "Blind Spot" (whichbrilliantly hid its lack of computer graphics), the writing (as well asdirection) is captivating and original. The show take the best elementsof a supernatural thriller and grounds it the plausibility that comesfrom a scientific explanation (many times using real phenomena unknownto most of the audience), and the realism of a procedural cop drama.Detractors may decry its repeated high concept, but Alphas is a notablepositive addition to the genre.

dougo13

(2012-04-29 09:36:42)

More dumb fun Syfy Summer series

Laughable. Stop trying to make Canadian cities look to be US ones (allthe Ontario license plates and that Purolator delivery truck should bedead giveaways that the show is in Canada and not in NYC (asdepicted)). Haven't we seen this all before in Mutant X? I guess SyFymust like it 'cause it's cheaper to make than Stargate Universe. Thewhiny kid could do with getting himself blown up...or better yet, lethim drive the car. It will result in an accident and we'll be rid ofhim. So far I've not seen anything out of the ordinary with this show.I notice that demographically, us over 40's seem to think this show isaverage while the under 20's think it's the best thing since slicedbread. Stick around kids. You haven't seen enough really good stuffyet...PS At least the Marc Bolan/T-Rex fans should get a kick out of themusic and references. I'm not a fan, so I didn't...

keygirlus

(2012-04-28 20:27:00)

limited average stories

I love Sci-Fi, want more, and am always happy to see a new show comeout. That being said, 'Alphas' is a little trite and conventional. Noinnovative or particularly clever/engrossing writing here, just aregular us/them drama that has yet to expand the story into any of thepossible 'big idea' categories. X-men comics do a better job ofexploring alpha/mutant to human conflicts. Characters aren'tparticularly appealing, even in a love-to-hate way. This show has whatI believe to be the kiss of death for any episodic TV program:blandness. I hope the writers get bolder for the 2nd season, every timea Sci-Fi program fails I cringe thinking fewer will be offered in thefuture.

Bolthouse

(2012-04-27 21:09:29)

Yes! This is an excellent show!

This is an excellently done show, and any negative review is completelywrong! I was a little wary to watch it at first because I figured itwas just another random SyFy show, but I was sorely mistaken. The showis essentially about people able to tap into extraordinary abilities(called "Alphas") because of a unique neurological difference, workingtogether to fight a criminal group with similar abilities.The show was expertly done, with every character thoroughly establishedin the pilot. I was immediately gripped by the show after the firstline (watch it, it's funny and dramatic all at once). I was actuallyexpecting it to falter but I have to say that not once did the show notkeep me interested. All the characters mesh well together (check outthe hilarious banter between Gary and Bill, played by Ryan Cartwrightand Malik Yoba respectively), and luckily it's not one of thoseannoying shows where people have abilities without limit, yet somehowfind a way to thwart themselves by either "forgetting" their superpoweror just not using it for the sake of conflict (*cough* No OrdinaryFamily *cough*).While maintaining a superhuman atmosphere, this show realisticallyportrays an environment with extraordinary abilities that complementeach other in a complex and well thought out manner.My advice, give the show a chance. Watch the pilot and you won't bedisappointed. Awesome show with awesome characters, all of whom arewell-developed. This show will definitely make it to the top of your"must watch" list of the week!

Ayay71

(2012-04-27 09:20:56)

Waste of time

First off are people so starved to have a new Sci-Fi to follow thatthey try and praise anything? This show have the most boring writingsince a Emmerdale farm episode that really let it self go, And thepowers they have is to put it gently , Slightly more powerful anduseful then a slightly miffed hamster.Only reason anyone would followthis is to see how the writers manage to build episodes to fit them.Iwill not harp on the actors performance since they have nothing buttripe to work with and most of them just have to think - Well it beatsdaytime soap.I would be surprised if this lasted more then a season ,but since Sci-Fi fans seem to swallow anything these days i might bewrong.But every episode i saw ended with me looking at my watch morethen the screen and lets face it that is not entertainment.

ben_thurber

(2012-04-27 01:59:03)

Worth the question

You can have show after show where there's a very clear differencebetween the good guy and the bad guy, and it's about the good guy goingafter the bad guy.But can a grieving mom, desperate to make people pay for her son'ssuicide, really be considered a bad guy, or is she just someone who isusing her ability to gain what she feels is justice?Is it a good thing to make people believe they've found peace, eventhough it ends up hurting them?And what if you had to break one of your principles to stop someonefrom doing something wrong?For me, Alphas is compelling because they don't just present everythingin clear black-and-white, good-guy/bad-guy scenarios that othersuperhero shows have done. Just as an example, No Ordinary Family hadit pretty clear that the family was the good guys and the company wasthe bad guys.And then there're the moral questions they seek to resolve in everyshow, but don't quite reach there.Is it right to have a child by an Alpha who may be an alpha as well?What if you were presented with a case where you had to do somethingyou never wanted to do because a loved one was in danger?What if you knew someone was trying to do something that appearedwrong, but ended up possibly being something everyone needed to knowabout anyway?Is it right to use your team members to try and get your old job back?The thing about Alphas is that it's fairly solid writing in a not-so-nebulous world where you have to wonder if these alphas are really thegood guys or are they the bad guys, trying to get people off thestreets and into a more controlled situation?And that's why I think it's fantastic.

heynello

(2012-04-26 13:03:34)

I love it.

I loved Ryan Cartwright on Bones. He's the main reason I wanted towatch. Syfy also does pretty decent shows so I decided to take a lookand I was instantly hooked. There's something about the show that setsit apart from the other 'superheros'. Because they're NOT superheroes.They're just people with neurological differences that give themspecial abilities. Abilities that are not over the top and quiteplausible. As well, with these abilities come downsides.Bill, (Malik Yoba) has the ability to gain strength by igniting hisfight or flight response and pumping his adrenaline. You don't see himpicking cars up and tossing in the air over his head. No. He can push acar and he can be a good fighter but he doesn't have a super strength.The downside to this is that once he's going for 5 minutes, it startsto take effect on his body.Nina, (Laura Mennell) has the ability to "influence" or "push" someoneinto completing an act against their will, by simply looking into theireyes. (Doesn't work on Gary, though). Her downside is mostly trustissues being that nobody who knows of her ability can know for surewhether what acts are genuine.Rachel, (Azita Ghanizada)has the ability to enhance her senses, forexample scan a room or read the New York Times from blocks away, butthis comes at the expense of her other senses, leaving her vulnerable.Gary, (Ryan Cartwright) is I think one of the most interestingcharacters just because they haven't done many autistic people onshows. His powers are that he can read electromagnetic wavelengths inthe air. (Nobody can see this but him). He can track signals from cellphones, look things up on the internet and even watch videos fromanywhere. The downside to this is apparently headaches. Some peoplewere mistaken in saying that the downside was that it left himautistic.By the way, to the person who said that Gary had Aspergers (which I hadthought too, being that many people online have stated this fact) thatis incorrect. HE HAS HIGH FUNCTIONING AUTISM, NOT ASPERGERS. This hasbeen confirmed not only by Ryan Cartwright himself on Twitter but onthe show pilot when his file comes up in the beginning, you can seeunder where his power is listed that it says "A high functioningautistic". It's VERY easy to miss! Besides, he doesn't act much likesomeone with Aspergers. He is definitely straight up autistic.Cameron, (Warren Christie) is the newest member of the team and the"sort of bad guy" in the pilot episode. His abilities includehyperkinesis (pardon me if I spelled that wrong) which gives him almostperfect balance, hand-eye coordination, etc. But his skills falter whenhis confidence does.and last but not least, DR ROSEN (David Strathairn)is the leader of thegroup.Saw the 2nd episode and loved it. The characters will develop overtime. This is my new summer show.

lordmagic

(2012-04-26 12:52:50)

Very good for a Copycat

OK Alphas meaning " Alpha Male " a term of Evolution just Like " Mutant". Sound familiar? Think X-men.Dr. Rosen = Professor X ( without ability ) taking in and searching for" ALPHAS " to help them realize their potential and help them controltheir abilities. His team of "ALPHAS" fighting the EVIL team of ALPHAS"RED FLAG" ergo ( X-men vs Magneto and friends or Brotherhood of EvilMutants...you decide ). Either way, its a new spin on another comicbook Idea that is over 30 years old. Not to say it's not entertainingand I like that they highlight the handicapped and show them howpowerful they can be in other ways, especially for the comic book lover( like me ) out there but, come on SyFy, come up with something a bitmore original please..... I am begging you.

wmhogg

(2012-04-26 05:30:56)

Excellent Characters, Interesting Writing

This is going to be short because I've rated this a 10, with nothingbut delight over how this show is progressing.I just finished watching "Bill and Gary's Excellent Adventure". WithFringe off the air until the Fall, I really have to say that I havefound a satisfying summer replacement.The character's interactions are very creative and entertaining. Eachcharacter has flaws that make this so much more intriguing than asuper-hero action team, perfect and powerful in their own right, whosemain test is to overcome some all-powerful evil. I hope this show gets renewed, The big shock is that the Sci-FiChannel, (SyFY) is hosting this program. This is heads and tails abovetheir other fare, but a welcome surprise.I have to say that I think Gary is emerging as my favorite character inthe series.

eunichman

(2012-04-19 09:12:39)

A good quality interesting show

I like how the writers don't immediately pan from one ongoingsubstoryline to another each episode but allows each substoryline playout over time. What I don't like is this 10 month wait for the nextepisode... I love the show, don't get me wrong, but as with mostviewers, if the new season isn't out within a few months of the end ofthe old season i tend to forget about it and move on. There's only somany times one wishes to watch reruns when new content is alwaysemerging and i think it is a bad move for the producers to make viewerswait almost a whole year to see what happened after the end of the lastseason. People are impatient, especially when a nice cliffhanger endinglike the last epi gave us is left to rot and be forgotten.I will TRY to remember how good the show was but 10 months... i doubt iwill.

brainwerx

(2012-04-18 19:54:57)

yawn!!

I have been watching this show, based on the other reviews, hoping thatmy impression of the series was wrong. Sadly, it wasn't. It ispredictable, almost laughingly so. The only remotely interestingcharacter is Gary. Aside from that the premise, a group of individualswith unique talents under the control of the government, and abenevolent overseer. In other words, they cannot be left to their owndevices otherwise, they could 'implode'. This is the same laughablepremise that is always put forward in order for people watching to feelbetter, so that they can believe the that if there are people like thisin the world, different from them, they can be 'monitored' by peoplethat 'know better'. Really, is this truly what is considered leadingedge good?!?!?I'm not much of a writer, but, I could probably come up with muchbetter premise. Sadly it would never get funded because it would notallow for the concept of benevolent overseers.

Sequoia Hughes

(2012-04-15 10:04:39)

Wildly Entertaining

Alphas takes the superhero genre to another level with its plausibilityand attention to detail. The actors all appear comfortable in theirroles, as if they'd been playing their characters for years. I hope thewriters have the discipline to steer clear of "sciency mumbo-jumbo" andadhere to realism; it really makes the characters' plights moreinteresting.If you enjoyed X-Men: First Class, House MD, Jurassic Park or 2001: ASpace Odyssey, then you'll appreciate the extra care the creators wentthrough developing this series. Much of the terminology (with anexception or two) is well researched and accurate. The characters appear complex beyond clichГѓВ©, human and three-dimensional. The "bad guys" are also often complex enough to jar youout of your comfort zone; you're often left wondering if the heroes areon the right side. I believe that Alphas will accomplish for science fiction what Pixardid for CG animation, breathing new dimensions of heart and soul intothe genre.

leeon3

(2012-04-14 23:17:15)

Re Hash

I have read a few of the previous reviews about it being re-hashed fromprevious SYFY series such as Cape, Heroes and mutant x, but none that Iread mentioned the 4400, it even got the same cast member in(Mahershala Ali (Nathan Clay - Alphas)(Richard Tyler - The 4400). Ijust hope they don't decide to end this series as they did 4400 withoutany closure. But great series I just watched them all in 1 day.The series is the best watched all in 1 hit because I tend to forgetwhat happens from week to week, as well as I hate to miss episodes andwith series like this something always happens within the 13 weekperiod and you end up missing 1 or 2 so watch all at once when you havea few hours keeps it fresh.

elven_rangers

(2012-04-12 11:32:08)

Completely awful

Rarely have I seen a series that completely insults the viewer'srelative intelligence as this one. Alphas has as a premise a team ofpeople with special abilities led by a neurologist who areinvestigating strange cases for the US DoD. The premise itself (as wellas the characters) are bleeding with logical holes that are simply toopainful to bear through the first 6 episodes (I stuck through thisordeal trying to see some potential in the subject). - why is aninvestigative team led by a neurologist? What exactly qualifies adoctor to be an investigator of any sorts? (this is the same hole thatplagues CSI series) Moreover the team also acts as a tactical team ledby nothing else except "Common sense" as none of them are trained to betactical leaders - the only thing they have going is their abilities. -the autistic kid (Bell) can intercept any sorts of wireless signal andprocess the information within "as fast as any computer" (to quote thedoctor). Is he? No. Within the pilot he is shown tracking a direct lineof communication between two mobile phones. Dude! That's not howmobiles work! The signal from one goes to a tower then to the secondphone. At best he would've been able to track the signal to the mobiletower and then get the general location of the second phone (in thatcase a mere triangulation would've given a much more accuratelocation). But wait, there's more! The kid can practically decrypt anyand all protocols carried over a wireless signal. That includes anykind of video stream, TCP packets, communication over SSL, GSM signalsand the list goes on. Any and all encryption algorithms are useless.This kid would be better put to work cracking terrorist communications.Hell, he's the universal decoding machine, in real time! TSL, RSA, AESare useless regardless of cypher strength, which goes way beyond thecombined power of all normal human brains added to the total power ofall the CPUs in the world. - the "marine" (Hicks) could very well bethe equivalent of Bell in abilities. He can't tap communications but hecan process just as fast. - the linguist (Pirzad) - initially herability was described as heightening one sense and lowering the others,but it was changed to "disabling all the others". The problem here isthat it's not just the senses that get boosted. Her ability is againthe equivalent of Bell, because a sense simply feeds information to thebrain. You need absolute knowledge in order to interpret that volume ofinformation. One time she uses a heightened scent to detect complexchemical compounds. But first of all she needs the ability to processthat much detail and then to have a comparison term - this kind ofknowledge is available only to aging doctors in chemistry with so muchexperience. Unless her brain has the infinite processing power of Bell,there's no way she could know what she's smelling. And how could shedescribe the smell to another? It smells like .. aaaa ... potassiumpermanganate? For that she should know from experience what potassiumpermanganate is ... and she's a LINGUIST!!The list goes on, in an annoying and unbearable fashion. I really can'tbelieve that this level of stupidity gets to be compared to Heroeswhere (granted, 1 great season followed by soapy ones) at least thepowers were well defined, strict and well explained.The acting (on the other hand) is decent and on the par with otherseries (Warehouse 13), but the terrible and poor universe given to usby the inept writing and senseless characters turns this show into aterrorizing experience for the average intellect.

Basilisk Cho Ishikir

(2012-04-11 20:31:35)

This is so amazing! Nigel-Murray is such a great actor, and so adorable!

Alphas is a great SciFi series and I hope it goes far. Five people,called Alphas, have supernatural powers. Strength, Extremesenses,ability to see all forms of electromagnetic wave, mind control,and many more are all stressed in the first episode of suspense andquestions. Bill is aggressive, an so far my least favorite character.Gary is my favorite characters, and that's not just because hes Vincentoff of BONES, but because of his abnormal attitude and great...well,not so great, personality. Nina and the other girl are very conflictingcharacters. On one hand, ones a whore and the other is kinda annoying.On the other hand, Vincent is so cute in this series! Ahem.... Myfamily and I loved this Pilot and hopes the series continues.BTW, the people with negative reviews should have better reasons than,"Oh this is old" or "That's not America!". The show is amazing, and hasNO qualities of the X-men. Why? Because the X-men comics have to dowith SCIENCE and mutations and FOCUS on that. Doesn't that mean EVERYSINGLE SUPERHERO show copy the X-men? No, it means this is different,and action-y and well written!So WATCH IT! It's a great thinker, and leaves you at the edge of yourseat!

uchio

(2012-04-06 13:37:01)

X-Men meets CSI

If X-Men and CSI had sex then had a baby, that baby would be this show.Everything in this show has been done. Not only that, everything inthis show has been done better. The acting is not terrible, but neverrises about the mediocre script.Alphas is a show about mutants with special powers. Only in thisseries, they are called - you guessed it - Alphas. Dr. Rosen leads agroup of good Alphas who use their powers to stop bad Alphas, much likeXavier and his X-Men. Red Flag are the bad guys. They are the Magnetoand Brotherhood of Mutants of this series. Throughout season 1 we learnmore about the motives of Red Flag and of a place called Binghamton,which is supposed to help Alphas live with their powers.Alphas is at best an average show, full of clichГѓВ©s and plot holes.While it is far from the worst show on TV, it's certainly not the best.You'd be much better off watching the X-Men movies or Heroes to getyour mutant fix.

Carpenoctum78

(2012-04-05 15:39:58)

Decent show, but stupid, stupid, stupid labels

The show has potential with what seems to be decent characterdevelopment, decent writing, and decent acting. I don't know if I'll beable to get over the issues that I have with the show, though. I'm notsure if Rachel is supposed to be written as actually having OCD, orjust compulsive behaviors, so I'm going to reserve judgment on thatone, for now. The way she is written, now, she does not have OCD. Garyseems to be autistic. I don't know where he falls on the scale, and Ido not have the experience with Autism that I have with OCD. I hate thenames of the "gifts." Synesthesia is the involuntary crossing ofsenses. For those that aren't familiar with it, someone withSynesthesia may perceive a bang as a flash of light, for example. Ithas nothing to do with enhancing your senses. Hyperkinesis? ThinkAttention Deficit Disorder or hyper active. It doesn't have anything todo with how well a person's aim is. The other abilities work, I think.Logically, these things really bother me. If other aspects of the show,such as character development and the writing, don't pick up, I don'tthink I'll be able to continue watching it.