If they ever do an American remake of the Second Doctor from 'Doctor Who', Jacobson gets my vote to play him. He has the same... puckishness, that Troughton had, whether he's repairing a camera or wiggling his eyebrows and looking self-satisfied when Joe realizes that the reason people think they're in Hell is because Wally sent them there to Gallup with the Ticket.
Jacobson's performance here makes me want to rewatch 'House', where he was a regular in the last half that show's run. He's just that good. Jacobson basically turns Wally, as the "Exposition Guy", into a quirky sidekick. Wally doesn't do much, and you wonder how he knows everything about the Sunview and the Objects that he expounds about. But he's a fun character to watch and listen to.
Although Harold is only in "The Comb", relatively minor actor Ewen Bremner and the writers make Harold a quirky, endearing character. Bremner seems to be a mostly British actor, but here he plays an American and essentially a homeless man. Harold's reaction when Joe befriends him, and the spontaneous hug he gives Joe when Joe plays straight with Harold, comes out of left field and gives the character a bit of humanity. Bremner does for Harold what Jacobson does for Wally.
Although Kevin Pollak only appears in "The Comb", he's an affably evil bad guy. Like I noted in my review of part 1, none of the "bad guys" are really bad. They all have viewpoints and little bits of humanity.
John Beasley as Gus Jacobs is also surprisingly touching, although he doesn't have much of a part to play. But he plays it well.
The middle section is basically treading water. Yes, it all leads to Joe determine that there was an Occupant. But ending Arlene's suffering, and acquiring the Comb and the Box, are at best detours on Joe's quest to recover Anna. Yes, there's a bit of clockwork plotting in Joe getting the Comb, that later stabilizes Arlene. Who kinda leads him to the photo.
Although if the Objects all belonged to the Occupant, who took the photos? Maybe they explain it in Part 3, that his wife took them. I don't remember. Ditto for the Glasses: where did they come from since the Occupant isn't wearing them in the photo. And presumably had the Glass Eye. Why does he need glasses if he's missing an eye?
I do like the new Objects, like the Glasses and the Box and the Comb. Although you wonder what the Cards _do_? They give the victim a vision of the Sunview and... mentally shock them? Maybe it will be clarified in part 3.
And maybe they'll explain in part 3, but... the Event happened in '61. But the Conway Experiment happened in '66. But according to Gus, the Objects existed since '61, since Gus says that he and Arlene found some of them in Room 9. So was the Occupant created in '61 or '66? The Occupant is the Prime Object, so shouldn't he have been there in '61? But they talk like he was there in '66. Like I said, maybe they'll explain it in part 3.
And Joe and Jennifer end up in bed together. Primarily because IITS (It's In the Script). They don't have any chemistry together, and the romance just... lies there.
Overall, part 2 makes a decent bridging between the beginning, and the end. There are a few unanswered questions, that I don't recall ever getting the answers to. Maybe in part 3, when I watch it. Part 2 makes enjoyable watching, mostly because of the characters.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
Jacobson's performance here makes me want to rewatch 'House', where he was a regular in the last half that show's run. He's just that good. Jacobson basically turns Wally, as the "Exposition Guy", into a quirky sidekick. Wally doesn't do much, and you wonder how he knows everything about the Sunview and the Objects that he expounds about. But he's a fun character to watch and listen to.
Although Harold is only in "The Comb", relatively minor actor Ewen Bremner and the writers make Harold a quirky, endearing character. Bremner seems to be a mostly British actor, but here he plays an American and essentially a homeless man. Harold's reaction when Joe befriends him, and the spontaneous hug he gives Joe when Joe plays straight with Harold, comes out of left field and gives the character a bit of humanity. Bremner does for Harold what Jacobson does for Wally.
Although Kevin Pollak only appears in "The Comb", he's an affably evil bad guy. Like I noted in my review of part 1, none of the "bad guys" are really bad. They all have viewpoints and little bits of humanity.
John Beasley as Gus Jacobs is also surprisingly touching, although he doesn't have much of a part to play. But he plays it well.
The middle section is basically treading water. Yes, it all leads to Joe determine that there was an Occupant. But ending Arlene's suffering, and acquiring the Comb and the Box, are at best detours on Joe's quest to recover Anna. Yes, there's a bit of clockwork plotting in Joe getting the Comb, that later stabilizes Arlene. Who kinda leads him to the photo.
Although if the Objects all belonged to the Occupant, who took the photos? Maybe they explain it in Part 3, that his wife took them. I don't remember. Ditto for the Glasses: where did they come from since the Occupant isn't wearing them in the photo. And presumably had the Glass Eye. Why does he need glasses if he's missing an eye?
I do like the new Objects, like the Glasses and the Box and the Comb. Although you wonder what the Cards _do_? They give the victim a vision of the Sunview and... mentally shock them? Maybe it will be clarified in part 3.
And maybe they'll explain in part 3, but... the Event happened in '61. But the Conway Experiment happened in '66. But according to Gus, the Objects existed since '61, since Gus says that he and Arlene found some of them in Room 9. So was the Occupant created in '61 or '66? The Occupant is the Prime Object, so shouldn't he have been there in '61? But they talk like he was there in '66. Like I said, maybe they'll explain it in part 3.
And Joe and Jennifer end up in bed together. Primarily because IITS (It's In the Script). They don't have any chemistry together, and the romance just... lies there.
Overall, part 2 makes a decent bridging between the beginning, and the end. There are a few unanswered questions, that I don't recall ever getting the answers to. Maybe in part 3, when I watch it. Part 2 makes enjoyable watching, mostly because of the characters.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
