Karen L. Newman has been a published writer since 2004 in the horror, science fiction and fantasy genres. Over two hundred and fifty of her short stories and poems have been published both online and in print. Her books include EEKU (Sam’s Dot, 2005) and ChemICKals (Naked Snake Press, 2007) and her work has been nominated for a Dwarf Star Award. She won the 2005 Mary Jane Barnes Award and two of her poems received honorable mention in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror. She edits the online magazine Afterburn SF, which publishes speculative short stories, and is the editor for the print poetry magazine Illumen. She also write reviews for Dark Discoveries. Her reviews have also been featured in Noneuclidean Cafe, The Dream People, Night to Dawn, and Gothic Review.
Several Bond movies were referenced, Dr. No by name when Wendy wore the white bikini. Much was made about the upcoming bikini scene, but it was shown for just a few seconds, and not a full frontal view either. As seems to be common these days, too much hype over nothing. The card game was reminiscent of Casino Royale. This episode didn’t stop with Bond; it even parodied the Austin Powers movies, with The Middleman from 1969 being unfrozen. This older Middleman was horny just like Powers, only in a creepier, unfunny way. That fact that he turned into a villain at the end was very believable.
The creepiness factor started with Ida watching Wendy and Tyler make love after their third date, signifying that’s the common time to do it. The TV-14 rating was much deserved this episode. Although this segment humanized Wendy, I thought it took away from her superhero status by making her too common, and maybe even a bit trashy.
Instead of the show’s trademark upbeat, entertaining style, The Middleman was dark, and the plot drug in spots. Episode 9 might have been rated hot because of Bond, but it got away from being an escape from reality. Here alcoholism, the cancersub, and disfigurement drove away happiness and left me feeling sad and disappointed.
The Middleman works because of its sappiness. Get away from that, and you have an ordinary show that looks stupid with the props used. Cancellation is just a phone call away unless the show gets back to its roots.