Archangel Uriel, played by Katrine De Candole

Recently, I started thinking about the remaining time left in the second season of SyFy’s original program Dominion. With only one more episode left, it made me ponder: Who would I like to see come back from earlier episodes or last season? So, I thought I’d ask around and see what other viewers thought.

Ethan (top panel), played by Jonathan Howard, Michael (bottom panel) played by Tom Wisdom

There are several characters that people consistently want to see return. Ethan (Johnny Howard), Jeep (Langley Kirkwood), Julian (Simon Merrells), Laurel (Olivia Mace), Pete (Luke Tyler), Gates (Nic Bishop), and Uriel (Katrine de Candole) all were named.  Let’s start with Ethan.

Dominion’s Ethan

It was evident that I was not the only person crushed to learn that Ethan (Jonathan Howard) wasn’t returning for Dominion Season 2 (S2). @pambca says, “He’s excellent comic relief and we don’t know what happened to him between S1 and S2. Did he join the resistance in Vega? Did he become an 8-ball?” And, @jotrostle adds, “Because he just disappeared, without explanation.  He was comic relief and quite nice to look at.  Always good to have someone not in the center of everything and just “normal” as a conduit for the audience.  Plus, I’m curious about what happened to him and hope he has survived.” Ethan was definitely a light touch when things turned dark. Comic relief characters can make a huge difference to the show.

Dominion’s Jeep

Jeep, played by Langley Kirkwood

Jeep was missed early on during the FIRST season of Dominion , abrupt departure and all.  At least we got a satisfying flashback.  However, most of us were left wanting to know more about this critical character.  @JustTanya84 says, “I want to know more about Alex’s childhood and who is his biological father. Perhaps this will explain why Alex needs to (go to) Lucifer.” Jeep is a way to further explore Alex’s background, but I liked how we got insight into the torture of carrying markings he couldn’t read. It made me think about how frustrated Michael must have been to be unable to read the markings.

Dominion’s Julian

Julian, played by Simon Merrells

Julian, ah, our resident BAAAAD boy Dyad.  Is he really gone?  I felt like I couldn’t get enough of him.  I know some people didn’t like Julian because of the consequences of his actions, but there’s no question that Simon Merrells infused that character with passion.  I think @BloodyHellKaren speaks for us all, “He had swagger, a history with the twin brothers, a box with an inner glow, and a mystery. Who made him a Dyad? And how did he get the amphorae? I’m betting it was the Morning Star, in return for Julian’s loyalty.” We have questions that need answering!

Dominion’s Laurel

Laurel and Archangel Michael, played by Olivia Mace and Tom Wisdom

Laurel was an early new character in Dominion S2.  She was intriguing because it was hard to decipher her motivations.  We wondered was she good?  Or, evil?  And, did she sleep with Michael?  I’m hoping for a return to Laurel’s character and to Mallory. @Kathy_Porter says, “She’s charming, smart and enigmatic.”  And, a shy responder says, “There is still a lot of story to tell in Mallory and she’s their leader.”  I wholeheartedly agree.

We left Pete hanging around New Delphi.  Well, someone has to man the place.  I think many viewers were wondering if Pete would get liberated from his occupier.  @Chantal wanted to see Pete again because, “He deserves a second chance.”

Dominion’s Pete

Pete, played by Luke Tyler

Sadly, unless through a flashback, the door is not open for Gates Foley to return from his sacrifice.  It clearly hurt Vega to have its resident brilliant engineer killed.  @timercsr says, “He’s (Nic Bishop) a great actor & added another interesting dimension & possibilities to the show.  Gave Alex something to think about, and helped guide/stabilize Claire.  Ended any possible romantic involvement much too soon.  Could use his knowledge & skill when setting up a new community, as it looks like Vega residents are going to have to do.” I believe I understood why Gates had to go.  Perhaps having two triangles would be too complicated (Gates/Claire/Alex and Noma/Alex/Claire), as well as clear the way for Alex to move automatically to Noma too easily.  But, I really liked Gates and Claire together.

Dominion’s Uriel

And, finally, Uriel.  She was a very popular choice to return.  When Angel Janeck (Ruben Engles) announced that she was dead and they had found her body, I thought two things.  Either he was lying, or she was only sort of dead.   As she is an Archangel, just having a mountain fall on her didn’t seem enough to kill her, unless it involved Empyrean Steel.  @twisterdeva wanted Uriel to return, “Because there is so much story left to tell and the relationship between the Archangels is so intense and entertaining.”  A shy responder says, “She was always up to something and her story with Arika was not done.” And @godperfectangel says, “I would love for Uriel to come back to see if she would be standing with Gabriel or would she be standing by Michael’s side?”  We clearly had unresolved issues with Uriel.

My hope is that if Dominion Season 3 is in the cards, we get a return of at least some of these non-regular characters. Dominion did a fantastic job of making even secondary characters dear to the viewer.  That’s a mark of a quality TV show.

SyFy Original Series Dominion Midseason Review

Dominion TV Show Character Inversion

Dominion: How Would We Handle The Apocalypse?

Dr. Beaumont Rosewood Jr. (Morris Chestnut)

Morris Chestnut is awesome but I am not sure he can save Rosewood!

My rule has always been watch a few episodes before reviewing a show. The pilot was tediously filled with overly used, beat to death  clichés. The bickering with his future police partner had me too annoyed/bored to finish the Rosewood pilot. I have no reason to believe I would watch another episode.

Then. Fox promos referenced glowing reviews for Rosewood. I started to worry my brain was going soft.  I started reading reviews when I couldn’t sleep. They were so funny my laughing woke my husband and both cats.

These are the reviews I found. It turns out my brain may not be going soft.

Rosewood is a pathologist, USA Today writer Robert Bianco‘s clever and true title: ‘Rosewood’ is pathologically dumb  This article is such a jewel it took a great deal of time to decide on this quote to represent it. “We don’t expect shows like Rosewood to reflect the real world, but now and then shouldn’t they pretend a real world exists?
That would seem to be the least they can do.” More

Morris Chestnut plays a private pathologist doing generic things in Miami. Daniel Fienberg The Hollywood Reporter

Morris Chestnut is Rosewood a brilliant private pathologist that helps the Miami PD solve its toughest cases.

The Rosewood review by Matt Fowler at IGN. I had tears in my eyes by the end of his article. “I found myself rooting for whoever it was that killed young Nora (this episode’s corpse) over Rosewood and his fancy lab (a meticulous, ridiculous high-tech haven that puts SHIELD’s operation to shame). I was also most certainly rooting for Rosewood’s many many ailments to take his life before the closing credits.” More

A more favorable review from James Poniewozik at The New York Times ends with “Even viewers looking for a low-attention-required procedural may find “Rosewood” played-out and mediocre.” More

Another Rosewood review with plenty of good lines to quotes come from Mark Peikert at The Wrap “At its best, it offers its audience the chance to feel smarter than its characters. For anyone who is repulsed by the quantity of quality TV currently airing, the opportunity to remain four steps ahead of allegedly brilliant characters could be seductive.” More

‘Rosewood’ Review: Hot Doctor In A Lukewarm Show by Ken Tucker on Yahoo.com sums it up nicely. “It’s like Burn Notice meets Royal Pains interrupted by Cops.” More

Morris Chestnut is a talented and gorgeous actor that deserves better lines. It would also help if Rosewood was actually shot in Miami. It is obvious that they are in southern CA.

Rosewood has an excellent cast and the show has to get better.

Article and photos copyright Suzanne Philips

Chris Evans at Salt Lake City Comic Con. Photo copyright Suzanne Philips

Superheros were in full force this past weekend at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City as the 2015 Salt Lake City Comic Con swept into town.  The event, which ran Thursday – Saturday brought thousands of fans into one place for autograph signings, photo ops and panels and the ability to shop for every sort of fandom item one can imagine.

Marvel stars were out en masse at the event, which included Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, but none got a bigger reception than Captain America himself, Chris Evans.

Photo copyright Suzanne Philips

Evans participated in two days of photo ops with his fellow stars as well as solo ops and autographs, which were sold out in a matter of minutes.  The Saturday panel was in such high demand that the event had to hold a lottery for seats in which those attendees wanting to attend the panel had to register online and were notified via email if they would be guaranteed a seat.  This was a fantastic idea as it made the process run very smoothly and those who didn’t have a ticket were available to attend other panels or events.  The huge overnight – two-day – stand in line forever and still not get in lines that we often see at the San Diego Comic Con were completely eliminated.  (are we listening SDCC??)

Chris Evans with Salt Lake Comic Con creators Bryan Brandenburg and Dan Farr and the Captain America Harley Davidson. Photo Copyright Salt Lake City Comic Con.

Evans came onstage to see the hand painted Captain America Harley Davidson motorcycle which was featured at the event and did some quick photo ops sitting on the bike.

Copyright Suzanne Philips

Photo copyright Suzanne Philips

Evans said he was excited to be doing his first-ever solo panel at his first fan event which wasn’t promoting a particular film “”I’ve done Comic Cons before, but it’s usually work-based,” Evans said. “You’re promoting a film, or for a specific reason, just getting rushed around. Getting to sign things and take pictures and hug people, you feel it.”

Copyright Suzanne Philips

Of course fans wanted to know about the upcoming film “Captain America: Civil War”.  “Obviously there is a lot I can’t say”, said Evans “it’s so tricky with Marvel.  It’s so hush-hush and on the QT.  I have a real, real deep love for the Russo’s (who directed the film), there is something about them that I really respond to.  All of the footage I’ve seen so far….you don’t wanna say, you don’t wanna jinx it….but I feel like it’s the best one”.

Evans joked that the one comment he had heard the most over the two days was “I thought you’d be bigger”, which got a lot of laughs from the assembled crowd.  He went on to say that “the next thing I’m doing, I’m not supposed to have muscles.  So I don’t have to go to the gym, it’s been great”.  He will play a former philosophy teacher in his next film, “Gifted”.

Photo Copyright Suzanne Philips

He spoke about his anxiety about taking on the role of Captain America, “When I first started this job, I was really nervous about it and very apprehensive.  I think a lot of people do this in life, you manage to focus only on the negative. I don’t know why that’s a human trait”, says Evans “I spent the first couple of films trying to process how this could hurt me, how I could not handle this, how this could be a mistake or a regret.  And now that we’ve had a few movies in this its been nothing but positivity. By Cap 2 or Avengers 2, somewhere in there I really started to settle in and appreciate it.  And now I’m just so happy, I feel like I leak gratitude.”

Fellow Captain America star Anthony Mackie, who plays Falcon/Sam Wilson in the films joined Chris onstage and fans and the moderators tried to get more info about “Captain America: Civil War” out of the pair.  In the film, the superheroes are asked to sign accords, which would govern their actions and hold them accountable, which creates a schism between Cap and Iron Man, forcing their powered friends to choose sides.

Anthony Mackie and Chris Evans, Photo copyright Suzanne Philips

“Tony actually thinks we should be signing these accords and reporting to somebody and Cap, who’s always been a company man and has always been a soldier, actually doesn’t trust anymore. Given what happened in Cap 2, I think he kind of feels the safest hands are his own,” Evans said. “And these are understandable concerns, but this is tough, because even reading the script, you think I think I agree with Tony in a way, and I do agree that to make this work, you do need to surrender to the group. It can’t just be one person saying this is right and this is what we’re going to do.”

“But Cap has his reasons, he certainly has his reasons, and he is a good man and his moral compass is probably the cleanest,” Evans added. “This is a tough thing. This is what made it so interesting while we were filming, and it’s hopefully what will make the movie great is nobody’s right, nobody’s wrong. There’s no clear bad guy here. We both have a point of view, which is akin to most disagreements in life and politics.”

Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell and Anthony Mackie at Salt Lake City Comic Con. Photo copyright Suzanne Philips

Photo copyright Suzanne Philips

“Agent Carter” star Hayley Atwell made good on her threat to crash Evans’ Q&A running in and hugging the star from behind while grabbing his chest, a trait that Evans himself is well-known for, sending the crowd into a frenzy.  Evans later recorded a Dubsmash video for the Agent Carter/Agents of Shield Dubsmash war that the two shows have had going for months.

Photo copyright Suzanne Philips

Photo copyright Suzanne Philips

Evans took a few more questions from the audience before he had to leave to attend his photo-op and autograph sessions, leaving Anthony Mackie to continue on with the panel, but more about that later!

Dominion is an American apocalyptic supernatural action television series created by Vaun Wilmott. It is loosely based on the 2010 film Legion, written by Peter Schink and Scott Stewart. Wikipedia

Dominion: The Impact of Surviving the Apocalypse

Have you ever wondered how (or if) you would survive an apocalyptic scenario?  SyFy Network gives you a couple of choices on this front, but I’m focusing on its original program Dominion.

This week, Dominion S2.E11 Bewilderment of Heart ratcheted up its examination of the motivations of its primary characters. And, in the process, exposes the horror of what they all have gone through – either within the recent span of time covered by most of the show’s action, or in some cases eons of guilt.

So far, at least two Dominion characters have appeared to be pretty determinedly cold-blooded. Likely a handy survival trait when angels have killed, or occupied 98% of the planet’s population.  But, were any of these characters that way when this whole mess started?

Dominion Characters

Arika (Shivani Ghai) has shown herself to be driven to protect and provide for Helena. We saw her effectively use and then exterminate Rose (Inge Beckman). Maybe we were inclined to believe that she did this at no personal cost, that there was nothing left of her compassion, lost after the death of her family. But, her experience in the darkness shows that Rose’s killing weighed very heavily on her and that perhaps if she were to do it again, she would choose a different path to achieve her objective.

The Eight-Balls version of David Whele (Anthony Stewart Head) helpfully catalogs all the awful actions he’s taken, and notes that David kept trophies. (Dominion Eight-Balls : when angels possess humans, they are in the lowest sphere of Heaven, furthest from the light of God.)  And, yet, we see the anguish he feels for the loss of his family and the struggle he felt to overcome his feeling that his son, William (Luke Allen-Gale), was to blame for their deaths. Did he keep the trophies as fun mementos of his actions? Or, maybe to remind him of what he’s had to do?  Perhaps this revelation and recognition of the monster he’s become will move him to be a little less cavalier about dealing death and betrayal. But, David does tend to look out for number one.

Interestingly, both Claire (Roxanne McKee) and Noma (Kim Englebrecht) focus on loss, rather than on guilt:  Claire on the loss of her baby and Noma on the loss of her wings. Dominion writers show us how loss can be a powerful motivator, turning people towards bitterness or suicide, under the influence of “Darkness.”

William is forced to confront and shred the façade he built for himself to shield himself from the horrors he suffered from his desert sojourn.  However, he is so fragile that he seems to have rebuilt some form of new identity. I’m sure this means trouble for all.

But, perhaps the largest guilt portion is reserved for the one who has had the longest time to amass a big pile, plus who also feels the weight of protection of the remaining human race. That’s got to be a daunting task for Dominion‘s Michael (Tom Wisdom).  He’s also guilt-ridden over the fact that, indeed, all baby Alex really DID mean to him, at first, was a holder of markings. This may be a secret guilt of many parents, that it can take a while to bond with this new needy entity. It’s interesting that Michael focused on guilt rather than the loss of the Father.  I wonder what Gabriel’s focus would be?

It’s easy to pass judgment on the characters in Dominion, but how would any of us have survived this experience? What would we be willing to do when faced with death or endless days of never-ending fear and deprivation?  I appreciate that Dominion gives us the opportunity to think about these issues.

SyFy Original Series Dominion Midseason Review

Dominion TV Show Character Inversion

‘Dominion’ – Which Character Would You Like To See Return

Article by Suzanne Philips

Photo copyright Salt Lake City Comic Con

copyright Salt Lake City Comic Con

The Salt Lake City Comic Con starts next week but great new guests are still being added!  Keeping with the Marvel theme, the con has just added Captain America star Anthony Mackie to the line-up.  Mackie is probably best known as Sam Wilson aka The Falcon in the Captain America films, but has credits in such films as “The Hurt Locker”, “8 Mile” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”.

Mackie joins fellow Marvel stars Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan and Hayley Atwell at the Salt Lake City Comic Con which runs September 24-26 at the Salt Palace.  Photo ops and autograph tickets for Mackie go on sale this Friday at noon.

Visit http://saltlakecomiccon.com/ for more info and to buy your tickets.

Article by Suzanne Philips

Photo copyright Disney

Photo copyright Disney

Fans of the Avengers series of films can now catch Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” early in digital formats thanks to Disney Movies Anywhere.

Disney Movies Anywhere allows consumers the ability to watch the Digital HD version of their favorite films on any device via Itunes, Google Play and Walmart’s VUDU and will soon be available on Roku and Android.

“Avengers: Age of Ultron” comes with a special bonus “Connecting the Universe” feature which you can’t get anywhere else.

Fore more info, visit www.disneymoviesanywhere.com or in your device’s app store.

Dominion is an American apocalyptic supernatural action television series created by Vaun Wilmott. It is loosely based on the 2010 film Legion, written by Peter Schink and Scott Stewart. Wikipedia

One of the things I noticed in Season 1 of Dominion was the careful setup of characters and the near total inversion of the nature of all the characters, notably, Archangels Michael and Gabriel.

Many fans adore and worship Michael, but he is a complicated character, definitely not entirely good. In the television show Dominion, Michael is “God’s Enforcer.’ We are introduced to him as the savior of mankind in the Angel Wars, and meet Gabriel as the scourge, intent upon erasing mankind to draw the Father back.

During S1, a flashback reveals that Michael has slaughtered a huge number of humans, stopped only by Gabriel and sister Uriel. This basically introduces what Gabriel alludes to during S1, that Alex (and the other humans) didn’t fully comprehend the nature of Michael. And, yet, he clearly loves Alex and would do just about anything to protect him. Finally, the close of S1 shows Michael at his murderous worst, killing his lover, Becca and seemingly abandoning Alex.

Another character that we see change is Claire. We are introduced to Claire as a gentle, fairly mild soul, a teacher. And, although we are aware she is destined to lead Vega, as a result of the political structure, it doesn’t appear clear that she’s up to this task. But, by the end of the season, toughened by the direct higher angel attacks and having to “grant mercy” to her 8-ball inhabited mother, we meet a much stronger, tougher Claire.
I’ve left Gabriel until last. He’s fascinating. Gabriel could definitely be a one-dimensional evil character. But, we see during the course of S1, he’s driven by the loss of his Father. He DEEPLY loves his twin brother Michael. He prevented the extermination of the human race by stopping Michael. In fact, he passionately cared for humans, at one point. His conversion has carried through Season 2, where we see Michael shielding him from the unpleasantness of actually murdering humans, as well as Gabriel’s profound love for his “chosen” son, David. We see the awful circumstances he’s subjected to and JUST when our sympathies are deepest with him – being tortured by Julian – I fear we will see yet another character inversion.
A hallmark of a good show is complexity of characters. I think that fans are passionate about shows which demonstrate that people (and, well, angels) are complicated, driven, emotional, strong, weak, and wonderful! Dominion certainly delivers on THAT.
— Kiddle

Article by Suzanne Philips

Photos copyright SLCCC

Photo copyright Salt Lake City Comic Con

The 2015 Salt Lake City Comic Con is approaching fast and one of the cooler items on display will be the Captain America Harley Davidson Motorcycle, which is making it’s debut at the event.

The brainchild of Rawtin Garage, a custom paint shop in Salt Lake City,  the bike was a fun task to take on.  “The Harley-Davidson Softail Slim is the perfect platform for a bike worthy of a superhero, retro styling and one of a kind Harley sound,” said the Rawtin team. “We were excited to work on the Captain America Fan Art bike as we’re huge comic con fans. We knew right away that we wanted to do old school comic book style art yet still have flow to the entire bike. ”

The motorcycle was commissioned to coincide with the appearance of Chris Evans, Captain America himself, on Saturday, September 26th at the Salt Lake City Comic Con.  The convention’s founder, Dan Farr is especially excited for the actor and the fans to see the finished product “I’m so excited about this new marketing vehicle, and especially for Chris Evans to see it, when he comes to our event on September 26. We are so pleased the community has been as excited as we are about his upcoming appearance at Salt Lake Comic Con 2015, and this bike is great evidence of that.”

The motorcycle will be on display all three days of the convention.  For more information on the bike or to get your tickets to the event, check out http://saltlakecomiccon.com/slcc-2015-tickets/.

Photo copyright Salt Lake City Comic Con.

The Salt Lake City Comic Con starts at the end of this month and great guests are still being added.  Just announced to attend on Friday of that weekend is actor Sebastian Stan.  Stan is probably best known as James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes in the “Captain America” franchise.  His other roles include “Rikki and the Flash”, “The Martin” and “Black Swan”.

Stan will appear at Salt Lake City Comic Con on Friday, September 25th at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City.  Photo Ops and Autograph tickets will go on sale Friday, September 4th.  General tickets and information can be purchased at http://saltlakecomiccon.com/slcc-2015-tickets/