First Wave
"Night Falls"

Airdate: July 9, 2000

You know that brand of fan fiction that always ends up with the hunted, wounded (both emotionally and physically) hunky hero being... ahem... comforted in the arms of some heretofore unseen, but brave and understanding woman? Well...

Yay for smoochies, which lead to Spence shirtless!

Night Falls
by Michael Thoma
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Caught in a trap set by the Gua, Cade must evade the police by taking a hostage, the beautiful photographer Lena Hansen. As Joshua and his minions, a determined and brutal bounty hunter, and a nosy neighbor with really weird hair converge upon their hiding place, tensions and temperatures rise.
Disclaimer: All characters and situations (minus Lena Hansen who is mine, all mine) belong to... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah....

I suppose writer Michael Thoma was trying to be clever by putting a spin on a tired cliché, only that spin was more like a short pirouette. And a flat-footed one at that. Everything was a little too convenient and the dialogue was about as hackneyed as what even a casual fan could come up with after a pitcher of margaritas. The only thing that kept me tuned in was the certainty that Cade was gonna get shirtless before the end of the episode. Shallow, I know, but you take what you can get sometimes.

Luckily a half-nekkid Cade wasn't the only reason to keep watching. The much missed Joshua made an appearance and even his over-the-top cryptic remarks were a welcome relief from the likes of, "You must feel so alone." Ack. Ugh. I'm starting to get that old feeling again where the Gua -- or at least the rebel-Gua -- compose the most interesting figures in the series. While Cade Foster has the background to be a dynamic character, it is usually Joshua who gets all the depth and animation, even when just staring down subordinates with that ice-cold glare of his. Episodes like this don't help the case for Foster.

I've got a theory that the most interesting characters -- on television at least -- are crazy. Not full-fledged whacko, no, but just a bit over that a-few-fries-short-of-a-Happy-Meal line. What Cade believes is crazy. What he does could be considered crazy. But Cade Foster, the man, is not crazy.

In many ways he's too damn solemn for his own good. Sure the world needs a hero, but can he crack a smile or a joke? Not in this case, no. His supposedly natural charisma -- a requirement for every successful leader -- is either being stunted by scripts like "Night Falls" or else is just not there. I get the feeling that Cade Foster, despite the darkness that surrounds him, could lead better if he not only acknowledged the ludicrousness of his quest, but played on it as well. I'm not talking about him becoming a clown here, but if he'd just embrace the insanity maybe he wouldn't come off as a seriously deranged crackpot every time he has to explain himself and his mission.

Okay, so he would. But at least he wouldn't be upstaged by the Gua every time they make an appearance. We hope.

-- Linda M. Najera

First Wave airs at 7pm EST, Sundays on The Sci Fi Channel.

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