Friday, January 10, 2014

'Intelligence' = 'Chuck' + Badassery - Humor [GifTweetCap]

Intelligence is basically the serious version of Chuck. It's about a man named Gabriel (Josh Holloway -- if you watched this episode, it was probably because you know Josh from Lost, am I right?), who works for U.S. Cyber Command. He has an advanced chip installed in his brain, allowing him to do anything that can be done on a powerful computer, but with immediate access.
The "Pilot" episode is action-packed, but leaves a ton of questions dangling. That may be a good thing, however. As a series, sometimes it's best to lure people in with action, and leave the details for later as the characters grow. The acting is also a bit dry, but that is somewhat common with new shows until the actors settle into their roles. All-in-all, it was enjoyable.

The one thing many fans, including me, like the most about the series is the idea of "cyber-rendering." This is where the idea of having a computer chip implanted in one's brain becomes really powerful. Gabriel's brain pulls in data the way a computer would, but processes and extrapolates the data the way a human mind would. This allows him to create a sort of "evidence wall," making it possible to build connections and serve up results in a way that a computer would not be able to.
On with the recap!

The episode begins with Gabriel searching his mind for something while standing beside a large satellite in the Himalayas. We don't yet know what that is.
Soon, he finds what he is looking for: a woman named Amelia. Judging by his other memories, she was his wife. She also appears to be one of the perpetrators of a terrorist act, but we later learn that this may be partly due to the way he extrapolates the information available to him -- his imagination fills in the blanks (he's not necessarily looking at actual photos from the event). We later learn that his job was to plant a worm -- not to go searching for his wife.
Gabriel is captured and questioned, but his captors don't know about what he can do. They wonder how he was able to break into secure files without any equipment. Soon, he appears to unlock a keypad lock with his mind, and quickly takes out a slew of men. He also does this nifty trick (and check out the surprised look on that bad guy's face! I paused it there, just for you).
A small army chases after Gabriel, but he completes his escape by jumping off a cliff.
Meanwhile, Dr. Cassidy (John Billingsley, who played Dr. Phlox on Enterprise), the man who created the tech in Gabriel's brain (part of a project named "Clockwork") is kidnapped. A new female agent known as Agent Riley Neal (Meghan Ory) is brought in to help protect Gabriel and keep him in line (rather than searching for his wife), and the search for Dr. Cassidy is their first assignment together. We also meet Amos (Elden Henson), Gabriel's primary tech guy, and the seemingly ubiquitous cute nerd of the series.
Dr. Cassidy was recording notes at the time of his abduction, and left behind his pocket recorder. From this, the gang knows that Dr. Cassidy was taken by the Chinese (they were speaking Mandarin). They also find that Dr. Cassidy's safe has been opened, and his son confesses that His dad made a second chip, which is missing. Boss lady Dir. Lilian Strand (the always amazing Marg Helgenberger, from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) initially believes the son told the Chinese about the chip because he was jealous of Gabriel getting all of his father's attention. The son seems to be telling the truth, however, when he says he didn't do it. 
Jin Cong (Will Yun Lee), the boss of the Chinese kidnappers, wants Dr. Cassidy to insert the chip into a new subject, a Chinese woman who has the mutation which allows the chip to work. To prove he is serious, Jin forces Dr. Cassidy to choose whether he should kill Dr. Cassidy's son, or his "Pinocchio" (the "son" Dr. Cassidy created by inserting his chip into Gabriel's brain). Gabriel's chip senses the incoming signal from the sniper rifle, and he warns everyone to get down before anyone gets shot. 
Gabriel and Riley find the van that had been used to abduct Dr. Cassidy. It's parked in Chinatown, at a place known as Bullseye Paintball. Gabriel and Riley go to check it out, but they are soon interrupted. Gabriel sees, via his chip, that the men standing before him are criminals, so he pulls his gun. They do so as well, but Riley pushes Gabriel out of the way and takes a bullet.
They run into the paintball arena, and Gabriel asks Amos to load infrared satellite images to his chip. The arena is dark, so Gabriel suddenly has the advantage and takes out the bad guys.
It's all for naught, however, when Gabriel and Riley return home, and Gabriel soon realizes that the only other person who could have known about the second chip was Amos! He comes to the realization too late, and Amos is already outside waiting with a gang of Chinese guys. Amos did it all for a pile of money!
When the second, untested chip seems to fail after the Chinese woman fails to wake up, Jin brings Gabriel in so Cassidy can remove his chip. The failed chip in the Chinese woman's brain will then be replaced by Gabriel's proven chip. Instead, Dr. Cassidy helps Gabriel escape by signaling for him to have a fake seizure. In the ensuing chaos, Dr. Cassidy then cuts Gabriel's restraints using a scalpel. 
Meanwhile, Amos, who suddenly appears to be an evil SOB who needs a good punch in the face, rather than being a cute nerdy guy, enters Riley's cell for a flirting session. For a genius, he's sort of a moron, because Riley quickly chokes him out. Easy peasy.
Unfortunately, Jin comes into the cell right behind Amos, and he's smart enough to have a gun. She quickly becomes a damsel in distress, and Jin lures Gabriel out by threatening to kill her. Gabriel lowers his gun, but directs Dr. Cassidy on where to shoot Jin from across the way using a sniper rifle. Gabriel connects to the rifle using his chip, but I have a feeling that lining up the shot wouldn't be Dr. Cassidy's main problem when it comes to firing a sniper rifle.
Strand hands Jin over to Chinese authorities in exchange for information on Amelia's location. Gabriel wants to go find her, but Strand insists he complete his next assignment in Seattle first.
At the end of the episode, the Chinese girl with the second chip implanted in her brain wakes up. And the second chip is supposed to be better and faster!
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