Blind Spot (12 Sep. 2011)

As the Alpha team attempts to interrogate an alpha doctor, who wants to create more alphas, an invisible alpha attempts to abduct him. Dr. Rosen struggles to determine who is the more dangerous.

Director:

Michael W. Watkins

Writers:

Zak Penn (creator), Michael Karnow (creator),

Stars:

David Strathairn, Ryan Cartwright, Warren Christie

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
David Strathairn	...	Dr. Lee Rosen
Ryan Cartwright	...	Gary Bell
Warren Christie	...	Cameron Hicks
Azita Ghanizada	...	Rachel Pirzad
Laura Mennell	...	Nina Theroux
Malik Yoba	...	Bill Harken
Rebecca Mader	...	Griffin
Brent Spiner	...	Dr. Kern

Storyline

As the Alpha team attempts to interrogate an alpha doctor, who wants to create more alphas, an invisible alpha attempts to abduct him. Dr. Rosen struggles to determine who is the more dangerous.

---

Plot Keywords:

blindfolded | structural stress | duct tape gag | abduction | bulletproof glass | 

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 September 2011 (USA)

Filming Locations:

5429 Dundas St W, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

BermanBraun, Universal Cable Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Brent Spiner's character in this episode had no optic nerve, just like LeVar Burton's character of Geordi LaForge in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

---

Goofs

Dr. Rosen incorrectly explains "proprioception", implying that it's a kind of psychic sense that alerts people when someone else is watching them. In reality, proprioception refers to any sense located entirely within the body (rather than originating externally, like vision and hearing); in particular, the sense of where parts of the body are located relative to each other (such as whether an arm is flexed or extended, or to the left or the right). Occasionally, as a result of brain damage, people lose their sense of proprioception, which makes everyday tasks like walking and eating very difficult. People without proprioception can only walk by carefully watching the positions of their legs, since they can't feel whether their feet are on the ground or off.

---

Connections

References Super Bowl III (1969)

User Reviews

Claustrophobic episode, with mixed results

Certainly an improvement over the previous disastrous Jim Jones-style preacher episode, "Blind Spot" is enhanced by guest star Brent Spiner, but still leaves the ALPHAS series in search of forward momentum.

Director Michael Watkins does a decent job of keeping things moving, constrained by the entire segment taking place inside the team's headquarters -no exterior shots at all. Spiner is a blind mad scientist (and alpha) who is working with a terrorist group, and our heroes must break him.

Meanwhile an invisible presence is wreaking minor havoc -turning out to be an alumna from the "Lost" series, who's merely a mercenary out to kill Spiner. Lots of pyrotechnics and special physical effects compensate for the lack of scope in the story.

Strathairn is thoughtful as usual, too intellectual for the role in my opinion, when action and decisiveness are at a premium. Development of the characters and their relationships is nonexistent (very bad move for a new show), with the only ongoing issue being Malik Yoba's ongoing temporary (one assumes) loss of his Alpha power.

Unlike its model show, NBC's "Heroes", ALPHAS seems to be settling into an unimaginative format -judging by these two weeks in a row subpar entries. The team, despite its vaunted super-powers, is overwhelmed by some villain and manages to somehow (mainly by luck) squeak out nearly unscathed by hook or by crook by show's end. I don't know if regular fans accept this at face value, but for someone who hasn't been won over yet it smacks of lazy scripting and an inferior "series bible" describing where the show's heading...