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What would it do to the Earth as we know it, if a new dominant species were to arise? What would its effect be on man? On nature? This is the question posed and thoroughly explored in the sci-fi show Surface  . It wasn't lead by a cast of well-knowns but instead was advanced by an imaginative yet highly plausible story.
The tale begins with a teenaged boy getting into very typical teenager trouble - on the yacht of a friend's father hijacked for a drinking party. What is not so typical is that the kid, after having been tossed overboard as a prank, hears a noise unlike any other. Memories of the noise drive him back out into the water in a rowboat in the middle of the night. He retrieves what he comes to find out is an egg. Young Miles, played by Carter Jenkins, is plunged into adventures that no kid ought to have. His new pet will change him and have far-reaching effects into the world beyond Miles' backyard. A marine biologist discovers what she believes to be a new species while on an informational dive. Dr. Laura Daughtery (actress Lake Bell, who has been seen in Boston Legal  and ER ) is made out as a fool, or at best, a dreamer. Her credibility is mussed by an unknown government agency that is still trying to keep this breech under wraps.Jay R. Ferguson (recently of Sleeper Cell  ) portrays an insurance salesman whose passion is deep-sea fishing and finds his life changed, with no way to go back to the man he used to be. He gets a glimpse of a sea creature during a grim dive, and his entire life is swallowed up by his obsession to figure out what it is. Through a roundabout series of events, Rich Connelly meets up with Dr. Daughtery, and together work to find the answers they both seek. Their story is often over the top, which only illustrates their desperation. Ferguson plays Rich perfectly.The egg found by Miles belongs to a new species of vertebrate deep below the surface of the ocean that will cast ripples through the world of humanity that no one expects. Through 15 episodes, viewers are taken through event after exciting event. Cliffhanger endings are commonplace in Surface .Though not necessarily well-known, all the actors pull off their roles relatively well. Once in a while they dip into unintentionally over-dramatic acting, bringing a slight comedic tone to what ought to be an emotionally tense scene. The pet looks amazing, though, and the eventual shots of the sea creature are really pretty good. The periodic guest stars are often familiar faces and lend a sense of permanence to the show. Familiar faces like Ian Dale, Ric Reitz, and Martha Plimpton round it out nicely. The one real frustration in what might otherwise be a spectacular show is its end. The cast and crew went to all the trouble of writing and acting an amazing story but apparently got bored or ran out of time. The final episode of Surface is as exciting as the rest - until the last quippy line that leaves us wondering, Huh? If it weren't strictly a single-season show, we'd be anticipating the rest of the story and the noisy questions left unanswered. |
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