The Triangle (TV Mini-Series)
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: C Episodes: B-
The Science Fiction genre is a mess on television and on
the big screen, but in the sea of formula, stupidity and sloppiness, The
Triangle (2005) has its moments. Centered
on the fascination with The Bermuda Triangle, the story involves a crew that
goes by the title location, only to enter reality warps. At its peak of interest in the 1970s, one
would have thought anyone who went there just mysteriously disappeared when
“devil’s triangle” was a term bounced around all the time.
Unfortunately, this is not a Horror work and that is a
shame, because Rockne S. O’Bannon’s teleplay is more like a combination of the Stargate
franchise, David Twohy’s grossly underrated supernatural thriller Below
(2002) and Irwin Allen’s Time Tunnel than anything outright
supernatural. Also, the investigative
aspects of the strange happenings have been childish and idiotic in such TV
productions since they became formulaic cliché in the 1980s, but the script is
not as bad in this respect. Producer
Dean Devlin, always responsible for interesting work in these genres, teamed up
with producer/director Bryan Singer for this mini-series and along with a solid
cast that includes Sam Neill, Lou Diamond Phillips, Eric Stoltz, Bruce Davidson
and Charles Martin Smith, the Science Fiction mini-series and TV presence has
some respectability for once.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is mixed, with
its combination of digital composite imaging work and live action footage, but
they are never so vivid that you can suspend disbelief enough to enjoy
them. They work like a technologized
puzzle at best and colors are (as usual) muted and boring. This is still better than the vast majority
of TV genre works in the digital era, but not by much. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is a little better
than the Pro Logic surround-able 2.0 Stereo mix, but not spectacularly so. DTS might have helped here a bit, but is not
available. The only extra is a
featurette. Despite the lack of extras,
cheers to Lionsgate for issuing such a nice set, including the lenticular
slipcase.
- Nicholas Sheffo
