Liaison and Black Doves

Part of the struggle that we face in the present day is the proliferation of information and the ability to extract data from that information. It affects us in many ways, but in a sense a little more for those who are in the entertainment business. The ability to draw your usage and viewer stats from a show means that you can now predict the success of a sequel or another season based on the viewership of the first installment. This seems to be the case with Liaison (Apple TV) and Black Doves (Netflix). Both a British shows and some argue that those who are behind them are trying to capitalize on the massive attention that has come from Slow Horses. This show now in its third season is very difficult to replicate but you cannot blame these others for trying. 

The spy genre is quickly becoming one of my favorite and these shows both fall under that category. They both have borrowed heavily from each other (making use of love interests one from a previous younger life and the other from an out of marriage romance). Black Doves is a little more cheeky and possibly enjoyable with quirky characters that are funny as well as brutal. It is a rarity to see female assassins although this show makes full use of them. I love the performance of Kathryn Hunter who plays the character of Lenny. A leader in the underworld who meets her clients in a busy restaurant and is charge of maintaining order in a chaotic violence filled city. She looks frighteningly similar to the late Judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg. 

Liaison on the other hand was quite frighteningly accurate or shall I say timely in  terms of how relevant its material was to the present day. I stumbled accross it and downloaded it on the same day that rebels made inroads in Syria and this country did feature a lot in this series. It is really a game between Syria, the US, the UK and France and their attempt to get their hands on a very skilled Syrian Hacker who is seeking to sell his information. 

All this takes place in the midst of some controversial arms deals between the British and the French (at least a French owned Arms Trading Company) high is bent on sealing this deal with or without the approval of its government. 

All this takes place in the midst of what Die Hard Called a Fire Sale a multi pronged Cyber Attack that focuses on Infrastructure by taking advantage of the dependence on the Internet. The conversation about these types of attacks sprung from an article called Farewell to Arms by John Carlin which was written in the late nineties. In Liaison the cyber security center is attacked first, then the rail system followed by a flood control system on the Thames after which the terrorists take control of a plane. 

Class of ‘09

Was looking for something great to post and then came across this gem. I watched it…no binged it a few weeks or months ago and enjoyed every bit of it…okay not so much the romance between the two ladies. Anyhow. 

Going with the theme of AI and Data, this is an appropriate series for watch. 

It is done in an interesting way featuring the cast in three major timelines past, present and future. 

Anyone who loves to see what it takes to become a Federal Agent will appreciate this show. There is a slight obsession with power for those who like these types of shows. Maybe it is the feeling you get when you walk into onto a crime scene and the cops have to make room: for you because it is a case that transcends borders and the local sheriff no longer has jurisdiction (at least the movies tell us this much). 

There is a story about how one person’s amazing attempt to stop crime through profiling and prediction goes all wrong. Maybe this is a look into the future with all the data that we are collecting and all the records that our systems have about people in our world. Maybe this is a conversations about the three strike rule (a law that punishes offenders if they commit crimes repeatedly and sets a limit to three-seemingly turning crime into a baseball game). 

The cast director was spot on in the choice of characters as were the actors in all the moral dilemmas they portray. 

My favorite and most troubling scene comes a little later in the show when a car is disabled remotely after some kind of violation. I guess it is not too sci-if given that this is possible with many cars today but transition from control to self-driving and then remote control is quite troubling. 

There are ways in which this show takes from some of the ideas in Eagle Eye at least in part with the immense power that is surrendered to the system when it takes over all operations and after some form of consciousness begins to make use of all devices with chips in them.