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12 Monkeys: Season Four (DVD TV series review).

With the fourth season of ‘12 Monkeys’, you accept that that this will be drawing all the strings together but I didn’t except the revelation in the third episode, ‘45RPM’, which is obviously spoiler, as indeed so much is in a time travel series. Of course, it had to be obvious to some extent. They play with causality a lot throughout the series and nothing is ever truly random, although it might be misdirected. Even so, it makes Olivia (actress Alisen Down) truly a horrifying villainess of the first order. Her arrogance and willingness to kill her own people is darn right scary.

The previous episode to that, ‘Ouroboros’, where Katrina Jones (actress Barbara Sukowa) and James Cole (actor Aaron Stanford) are watching the first experiments with the splintering device and have to do their own manipulation, aware that their younger selves think the base has been infiltrated is also priceless with a demonstration of logic and completing the loop of making the device functional. To do it in plain sight is a masterstroke.

The fourth episode, ‘After’, has to be one of the best examples of applied causality I’ve seen with everyone falling over each other to avoid being seen by their earlier selves and mess up events. It has a beautiful touch and the first time they’ve used a name actor in the shape of Christopher Lloyd as a guest star with startling effect.

Be warned, the final episode is 90 minutes long so make sure you give yourself plenty of time to watch it. This has been the first time in many ages that I stayed up so late to get to the conclusion. For that, you will have to watch for yourself.

I think I might have said too much already. So many revelations also means so many spoilers but nothing disappoints.

The extras are left to deleted scenes for all the episodes. If you are lost with the plan in the final episode, watch the deleted scenes as it is gone into in greater depth.

If there are any questions, then I am still wondering how Cole’s hair stayed combed when it’s obvious he wouldn’t know which side of a comb to use.

I suspect, as the series finished in 2018, that I’m probably behind everyone else in watching ‘12 Monkeys’. On the other hand, if you have missed it, then it is worth picking up as it’s so much more than the 1995 film it was based on and a decent SF time travel series. It’s dark, scary and unpredictable. Excuse me now, I have a splinter to wait for.

GF Willmetts

February 2020

(region 2 DVD: pub: Madman, 2018. 3 DVDs 482 minutes 10 * 43 minute episodes. Price: (UK). ASIN: VVE1615)

cast: Aaron Stanford, Amanda Schull, Barbara Sukowa, Emily Hampshire and Alisen Down

check out website: www.universalpictures.co.uk

UncleGeoff

Geoff Willmetts has been editor at SFCrowsnest for some 21 plus years now, showing a versatility and knowledge in not only Science Fiction, but also the sciences and arts, all of which has been displayed here through editorials, reviews, articles and stories. With the latter, he has been running a short story series under the title of ‘Psi-Kicks’ If you want to contribute to SFCrowsnest, read the guidelines and show him what you can do. If it isn’t usable, he spends as much time telling you what the problems is as he would with material he accepts. This is largely how he got called an Uncle, as in Dutch Uncle. He’s not actually Dutch but hails from the west country in the UK.

One thought on “12 Monkeys: Season Four (DVD TV series review).

  • We stalled part way through Season Two… So much to watch! However, perhaps I’ll give it another go!

    Reply

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