Terminal City: The Complete Series

Mixed feelings on Terminal City

Though "Terminal City" is described as "imaginative and fun" on the back of the box by Entertainment Weekly. I have mixed feelings. (BTW, I don't know why Entertainment Weekly would find a woman scared out of her mind and dying of breast cancer imaginative and fun).

The concept was good and the acting excellent. It is just that some of the scenes just didn't feel right.

At the beginning of the series, our lead actress is at a golf course, wearing a ludicrous outfit of a skirt and gloves. The outfit alone was bad enough but then she hits golf balls into other peoples homes (breaking windows) because of her diagnosis.

In another scene she is driving up the road and showing her breast to her daughter as she drives. Just unrealistic.

However, as mentioned the concept of a reality series built around her illness is good. And it kept my attention.

Not as good as Weeds or Six Feet Under but still an interesting show.

October 19, 2008

While the last episode was almost beautiful, the rest did not cut it for me

OK. I tried to like this series. We went through a battle with cancer in our family during 2007, so I understand that topicality. And I appreciate the fine work every one of the actors put into their roles. I think the photography is quite good, too. But the script is so awkward and strained that the whole production ends up being less than the sum of its parts. The music also contributes very little to the story. It is just too flat and often just creepy. I know they didn't want to be cliché, but creepy is worse.

The series has conflicting premises. It seems to want to be satire or farce about reality TV, but it also wants to treat Katie's breast cancer seriously. This is a conflict that cannot be and is not resolved. Some of the characters are caricatures, and even Katie is damaged by being ridiculous in her TV host role and yet, being vulnerable and human in her illness. The all powerful crazed show producer is a cartoon and would have been wonderful in a farce, but he seems awfully out of place in this series. The actor plays this role wonderfully, but the role is wrong for this piece.

Jane McLean as Jane Richards is the only character that bridges both worlds and her struggle with her family is the only aspect of the story that I wish had been better developed. Otherwise, I think the story would have been better in five episodes instead of ten. In the extras the producer lists a bunch of topics he thinks his series "tackled". But it doesn't "tackle" any of them! It uses them and puts them on screen, but simply showing a picture of a problem is nothing! You have to have a point of view that actually says something rather than merely exhibiting the "topic". Supposing that you have tackled something by showing it is really an odd notion.

Frankly, every one of the central characters is an awful person. (Again, the actors did a fine job). I would not want to know or be friends with any of these people. Their language is unnecessarily coarse. I mean really awful language. At one point the mother praises the "f" word to her daughter. If "real" people swear like this, I don't associate with them and I certainly find it unnecessary in TV shows. Every one of Sampson family members, including the teenagers, thinks that sex is the most important aspect of life and should be indulged in rather indiscriminately and any kind of bad behavior to obtain it is justified. This is still quite immoral in my book.

As for the cancer, the series obviously cannot show how awful it really is. After all the actors are not sick, but Emma Thompson in "Wit" pulls it off much better. First of all, Katie doesn't get sick enough soon enough. She has too much energy for someone several months into chemotherapy. You do a lot more than just vomit inconveniently every now and again. Also, much more should have been done with Katie's mother. She just sort of shows up and nothing much gets resolved or explained. Yes, we learn about Katie's lost brother, but the series never explores the way that loss affected Katie or why mother and daughter were so deeply estranged for so long and they never talk about Katie's illness and death in anything approaching the way real people set the past aside and reach out to each other in such extremity.

Still, the last episode is something special. It is not a mere natural history of the last stages of Katie's illness. Maria del Mar should be especially praised for her performance in this episode. The blending of the real, the longing, the emotional presence, and bewilderment is moving and memorable. Gil Bellows is very good as Katie's husband, Ari. But the role is not much. Ari is quite passive and does little to actually father his children except encourage them in what ends up being awful behavior. Paul Soles as Ari's father Saul is very good, but Saul is also a cartoon. He is so off the wall that his transformation can't get to our heart. We wonder why his long life experience hasn't already taught him these lessons.

So, if you want a series that makes a reality TV show out of breast cancer, enjoy coarse language, focuses on sex like a mania, has some nudity, and treats immoral behavior as a normal part of life, this show could be for you.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI
September 25, 2008

Cancer and Reality Television

"Terminal City"

Cancer and Reality Television

Amos Lassen

There is nothing like a good mini-series to get one's mind off of the troubles of the world. The soap operas have been using the technique for years with "the you think you have troubles well come see mine" syndrome. The producers of "Terminal City" felt that his would work during prime time and so we get "Terminal City" (Koch Vision), the story of what happens when fame and family come head to head. Originally produced for Canadian television, here is a show that pulls the viewer in and it is now available on DVD.
Katie Simpson (Maria Del Mar) is a 43 year old mother of three who is diagnosed with breast cancer and is then recruited to host a reality show that is hospital based. Katie has quite a family--her husband (Gil Bellows, a father-in-law (Paul Soles) who is a holocaust survivor, a daughter (Katie Boland) who is rebellious, a teenage son who adores marijuana and older women and a seven year old son who is obsessed with death and God. Katie is facing a serious battle and immediately after she has had her biopsy, she accidentally runs into "Post Op!" a TV reality show which airs from the hospital but is not doing very well. Katie takes over the show and with her warm personality, she manages to electrify the small audience as the hostess. She quickly rises in television and becomes the most watched woman on the Canadian television screen. As the cancer takes over her body and her life begins to change, her viewing audience continues to grow.
With a plot about cancer, this is no comedic fare but the excellent writing and emotional plot lines; we find that we are drawn into the story. Cancer is treated here with a smirk and a giggle and this causes the series to work.
Here is a family with problems and they deal with them. I found myself caring about all of the characters even if some of them are stereotypes. We see that real people do get sick and suffer. The story is raw and uncompromising and it makes one wonder if some wrongs need to be righted. There is great humanity here and playing the theme of cancer as black comedy was a brilliant suggestion and we watch how the ideas of a television and fame are carefully examined. Maria Del Mar is a fantastic actress and she proves that once again in "Terminal City". This exploration of a family in time of crisis which lives on the edge is a series that you should want to see.
September 16, 2008

Couldn't turn it off....

Watching this series made me think about how when faced with a situation like terminal illness or just normal stressful times in your life...People still try to stay composed and focused. I think that they do this for their loved ones because on the inside, in their own minds, they must be going insane with worry or fear and the like.
I loved how the writers of this show let the lead actress "go a bit nuts" and how the husband supported that.
I compare this show to series like Weeds, Dead Like Me and Six Feet Under...
Don't be fooled by the title or the topic....It will keep you watching.......and thinking, I know it did me! August 24, 2008

"Terminal City (2005) ... Complete Series ... Koch Vision (2008)"

Koch Vision presents "TERMINAL CITY: THE COMPLETE SERIES" (17 October 2005) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- .Terminal City bravely examines life, death, family and reality TV --- After having a core biopsy, Katie (Maria Del Mar of Blue Murder & Price of Glory) stumbles onto the set of a hospital-based TV reality show ---Her engaging personality stuns the TV world and electrifies an audience fascinated by her riveting presence --- Stealing the show as she copes with her newly diagnosed illness, Katie fights for her life...and the whole world is watching!

Under the production staff of:
Rachel Talalay - Director
Kari Skogland - Director
Lynne Stopkewich - Director
Stephen Surjik - Director
Angus Fraser - Screenwriter (all the episodes)

Terminal City - The Complete Series --- The 10-episode Canadian program stars Maria del Mar (24, Tekwar) and Gil Bellows (Ally McBeal) --- This 2005 production was nominated for 10 Leo Awards (the British-Columbian version of the UK's BAFTA award, with both film and TV categories), and won 8 of them including "Best Dramatic Series".

the cast includes:
Maria del Mar ... Katie Sampson
Gil Bellows ... Ari Sampson
Paul Soles ... Saul
Jane McLean ... Jane Richards
Katie Boland ... Sarah
Adam Butcher ... Nicky
Nico McEown ... Eli
Michael Eklund ... Henry Lundquist
Andrew McIlroy ... Brendan Baum

SPECIAL FEATURES:
1. Bonus interviews with creator, cast and crew

BIOS:
1. Maria del Mar (aka: Maria del Mar del Castillo)
Date of Birth: c. 1964 - Madrid, Spain
Date of Death: Still Living

2. Gil Bellows
Date of Birth: 28 June 1967 - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Date of Death: Still Living

3. Paul Soles
Date of Birth:1930 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date of Death: Still Living

Great job by Koch Vision --- looking forward to more high quality titles from the BBC Collection film market --- order your copy now from Amazon or Koch Vision where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch releases --- where they are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector.

Total Time: 490 mins on DVD ~ Koch Vision 6570 ~ (8/05/2008) August 1, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...