"Where it began,
I can't begin to knowin'
But then I know it's growing strong"
- Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond
One of the most anticipated new series this year has been The Strain on FX. At least for me it has been, but based on the buzz I hear and see all over the web The Strain is a show many people couldn't wait for. The first episode, Night Zero, aired last Sunday on FX to very positive Reviews. The Strain is based on the trilogy of books of the same name, by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, who also serve as executive producers of the series. I have read the books and they are an excellent, especially for anyone who is into the horror genre. Also executive producing and showrunner is Carlton Cuse, whom you will remember from LOST as well as Bates Motel. With these three at the helm you can be sure this will be a great series with excellent writing and directing. Anyone familiar with del Toro's work knows he is a master of creature creation, which The Strain produces as good as any show I've seen.
The Strain's cast of characters is also noteworthy. Corey Stoll plays Ephraim Goodweather, a CDC epidemiologist who heads the investigation into a plane that loses all power and communication due to a viral outbreak with ties to vampirism. David Bradley plays Abraham Setrakian, a pawn shop owner who may have answers that Ephraim needs to solve this mysterious and deadly case. Game of Thrones fans will remember Bradley as Walder Frey, the lord of the Twins in Westeros. Kevin Durand plays Vasily Fet, a rat exterminator who joins Abraham and Ephraim in the coming struggle. And also Sean Astin as Jim Kent a CDC administrator working with Goodweather and Nora Martinez, played by Mia Maestro.
The coffin that Eph and Nora examine is very important to the mythology and offers up a multitude of questions. The creepy and deathly looking carving only add to its dark mystique. Why would anything need to travel in this manner? What did it contain? Why is there soil, with wormlike creatures, within? All these questions I'm sure will get answered before the season is over and expand this story for seasons to come. Knickerbocker Loans & Curios owner, Abraham Setrakian, leaves his hauntingly creepy pawn shop to come to Eph and Nora's aid, but they don't believe what he has to say. I'm sure it will take a few episodes for him to convince them of what he knows and something tells me he knows quite a bit. He seemed interested from the moment he heard the word "Berlin" on the TV news report. And that sword/cane he carries around is awesome!
I love when shows are based on literary counterparts and enjoy them even more when they stay faithful to the source material (I'm looking at you Walking Dead). So far, The Strain has not varied much at all. A few scenes (the cats!) were omitted that I would have liked to see on the big screen, but given the brevity of time I understand why. The first episode basically translates the story from the first half of the first book in the trilogy. They cover a lot of ground and it felt like a shortened movie. "Night Zero" has a very cinematic feel to it, coupled with what appeared to be a big budget, made for an amazing seventy minutes of television.
The pilot plays out like a movie and if the rest of the first season is anything like it it will quickly become everyone's favorite series. The thing I loved most was the 'creature creation'. They are so creepy and lifelike that I re-watched scenes a few times because of how amazing they looked. These are not your typical romanticized vampires that you are accustomed to viewing on the big screen. This is not True Blood (although I love that show) with their good-looking, glamouring vamps and it is definitely not Dracula stalking the young, beautiful women of the Victorian Society London in the early 1900's (I loved that show too). The vampires of The Strain are blood-thirsty monsters that you have seen before on TV. They have evolved tongues that can stretch up to six feet in length and claws instead of fingers. They have certain features that some of you will relate to the vampire lore you know about, but Del Toro and Hogan have created them in such a way that the vampires in The Strain feel like a completely new monster and villain. They follow a hierarchy that will be explained in episodes, or possibly seasons, to come. I am positive we will see The Master, one of the head vampires that all the infected follow and listen to, in season one and possibly very early on. Fans of horror series will really enjoy The Strain and everything that went into making the show. The creators went all out with the pilot and I believe they have a hit on their hands.
- The series is also based on the comic books of the same name by David Lapham, Mike Huddleston, Dan Jackson, E. M. Gist. The first set is based on the first book of the trilogy and contains 11 issues while the second set is based on the second book and is also titled "The Fall" containing 9 issues total. The third book will be released in comic book form beginning this fall.
- The taxiway the plane lands on is nicknamed "Foxtrot" or "F". Ephraim's nickname is "Eph", pronounced "F". I wonder if this indicates Ephraim was "chosen" by some unseen force for all of this. Just a thought.
- Did you notice...There were several scenes that had advertisements for an Eclipse event on February 12th. That will be an important event and looking forward to that episode.
- Did you notice...Any production involving Damon Lindelof or Carlton Cuse I look for LOST references and there were quite a bit in this episode. Regis Air 753 (at Terminal 4) - 7+5+3=15 (that one is a stretch I admit). 206 passengers died (2+6=8) and 4 survived. The distortion on the video where the creature took the coffin was at 4:15:26:08 (besides the obvious other numbers 2+6=8). There was also a hula girl (Hawaii) next to the monitor. Gus picks up the white van with the Coffin in back on Level 4. His license plate, when the letters are converted to numbers add up to 48 and he picks it up at 4:40AM. Gus's brother Crispin's arrest photo was taken on 9/22/08. 9/22 is also the date Oceanic Flight 815 crash landed on the island. Some of Setrakians numbers on his arm add up to LOST numbers. I know some of these are stretches, but I think it's neat noticing some of them.
- The song playing in the background when Setrakian was in his "hidden" basement was a Scottish Folk song called Maggie. It contains appropriate lines such as,
"They say that I'm feeble with age, Maggie
My steps are less sprightly than then
My face is a well written page, Maggie
But time alone has the pen,
They say we are aged and grey, Maggie
As sprays by the white breaker flung
But to me you're as fair as you were, Maggie
When you and I were young."
- What did Setrakian mean by "He is counting on that" when Eph said he is taking any and all precautions? Who is "He"? Some of you know because you have read the book, but please refrain from spoiling for those who have not.
- I thought the scene in the medical examiner's office was incredible. When the corpses came to life and attacked him and you could see how realistic the creatures looked was when I knew that FX had created a hit series.
If anyone has any questions about the series I would be happy to explain. I know I left a lot out of this Review, but as the season progresses, I hope to make them more streamlined. There was just so much in this first episode. Please comment below to discuss the episode further.
