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Continuum 1.07 "The Politics Of Time" TV REVIEW
THE ONE WHERE Carlos sleeps with a woman who then gets murdered – did he do it? No, but his union boss friend might be involved...
VERDICT This is an episode now famous for “The Naked Carlos Ninja Shower Fight” that happens three-quarters of the way through. While there are obviously perks for certain members of the audience while watching this wet and slippery scene, it should be noted that it’s actually impressive for another reason: Victor Webster bravely relinquishing any kind of padding (and dignity) to perform a fight scene that must have left him with some nasty bumps and bruises. Sod the fact he’s a hot guy who’s naked: you just come away from this sequence thinking “Ouch!”
Shower-fighting aside, “The Politics Of Time” may have politics at its core but it’s far from dull. It’s packed with all sorts of goodies, from amazing tech sequences (more on them below) to some juicy backstory from the future involving Kiera (her hubby cheated on her just before they were married). There’s Carlos trying to keep his friend Jim out of trouble – nice to see Battlestar ’s Tahmoh Penikett making an appearance – and flouting all sorts of police laws to keep himself on the case, despite the fact that he has a vested interest, having just slept with the murder victim. Kiera has his back (after a brief telling-off) and even Betty offers to lose the evidence connecting Carlos to the case, which shows how much he means to them both.
Speaking of Betty, she’s proving herself to be a bit of a genius in the tech field herself, even with the limited resources she has compared to the ones at Alec’s fingertips. Is there an element of jealousy whenever Alec talks about her? He calls her “IT girl” at one point and it sounds a little pissy. Personally I think Alec and Betty should get together, age difference be damned...
Finally, the writers really need to give Rachel Nichols some more humorous moments, as she has excellent comic timing. For evidence see the scene in which she’s worrying about her suit and Betty interrupts her. Just lovely!
BECAUSE SHE’S WORTH IT! We see Kiera applying eyeshadow using some kind of fantastic applicator doohickey that would make Max Factor turn in his grave.
DEAD RINGER Guest star Sarah Edmondson is what The Vampire Diaries ’ Nina Dobrev will look like 12 years from now (that’s their difference in ages). Seriously, she’s like a pea in a slightly older pod!
O, CANADA Vancouver’s legendary precipitation makes an appearance (as usual), but why there are two entire scenes where characters stand in the pissing rain without umbrellas is beyond us. Of course, it’s probably the simple fact that it’s hard to film around umbrellas, but it’s raining so heavily (and noisily) in the first scene that it makes Carlos and Kiera look a bit dopey for not seeming to notice!
COOL TECH In addition to Alec fiddling with Kiera’s suit all the way through the episode – it’s now sitting in a tank of fluid, generally being marvellous – we get to see Kiera use a “bio-enhancement mist” to pick out fingerprints at a crime scene. This mist, combined with her tech, can help her eliminate prints that don’t fit a particular time frame as well as identify the owners. The CSI team would kill for this; it certainly beats their wimpy ultraviolet lights!
Later, in a combined effort involving her, Alec and Kellog, Kiera also gets to use cellphone signals to recreate the murder in a scene so cool it makes you wish we could do it in real life. (By the way, there’s some nice intercutting between this murder and The Naked Carlos Ninja Shower Fight. Bet the editor had fun.)
IS IT JUST US, OR...? When Tahmoh Penikett’s character says, “I refuse to believe that Detective Fonnegra would do anything so heinous,” doesn’t it sound as though he says, “anus”?
INSERT YOUR OWN CAPTION HERE… We know you want to
BEST LINE
Inspector Dillon: “Have you any idea what you’ve done? Taking primary on a murder case where you just had sex with the victim?”
Carlos: “Sir, I...”
Inspector Dillon: “SHUT UP! You don’t talk!”
Jayne Nelson
Continuum is airing in the UK on Syfy, Thursdays at 10pm
• Read our other Continuum season one reviews
• Check out the new SFX TV Reviews Index
