Last night, to lull myself to sleep, I decided to watch the online cyber-crime thriller Cybergeddon (shown exclusively on Yahoo!) created by CSI creator Anthony Zuiker. However, instead of getting sleepy, I ended up watching all 9-chapters of Episode 1, each chapter about 12-minutes long, and deprived myself of an hour and more of sleep.
All in all, it was a good detective romp this first episode, a bit reminiscent of Alias and 24, albeit with more technology and internet involved. For me, the script was well-played out considering that the chapters were only 12 minutes long each and leaving just enough cliffhanger to make you stay up longer to watch the next chapter (that's why I ended up finishing the entire 9 chaps). Geeks and technophiles would easily fall in love with this web series especially if its producers and creators continue to deliver more and more episodes.
I think Missy Peregrym as FBI Agent / Super-Hacker Chloe Jocelyn did a good job in playing the lead character -- an FBI agent who was setup for a crime she didn't commit and ended up saving the world. She goes fugitive and hooks up with hacker friends and her ex-fling to track down the mastermind behind the frame up. While I was not that convinced with Missy's dramatic crying moments, her sometimes rough, no-nonsense delving into the character was more interesting, especially how her relationship with Chase "Rabbit" Rosen played out.
Chase "Rabbit" Rosen (played by Kick Gurry) is your stereotypical nerd-hacker-anarchist in the series. Socially inept but admired by other hackers, he is instrumental in helping Chloe clear her name. While stereotypical, the series needed this character to provide credibility to the series (it's a series about hacking and you don't have your prototypical hacker weirdo?). Gurry plays out this role quite well and I'm sure that like others, he's my favorite. I'll be watching out how he performs his hacking now that he's officially on the government side.
Manny Montana as Frank Parker and Chloe's ex-fling is the only problematic casting for me. I know he's supposed to be the "muscles" character but I think I've got a problem with Montana delivering his lines and his acting in general. I do hope he redeems himself in upcoming episodes.
Olivier Martinez as cybercriminal mastermind Gustov Dobreff played his role quite efficiently. Because of his good looks, he doesn't look very much like your stereotypical criminal genius (what? no glasses? no lab coat? no strange gadgetry attached to his body?) but that's the beauty of it. He doesn't look like a criminal cyber-genius but he is one. It looks awkward though when he's using the computer and supposedly programming / hacking. While Missy and Kick are able to simulate themselves "flying away" on the keyboards stereotypical of hackers, Olivier is more prim and refined that it doesn't look he's hacking but merely typing. Oh well, nothing's perfect.
So, I am looking forward to the next episode of Cybergeddon where we are supposed to meet Gustov's long-lost daughter Yelena (I guess, we've seen the last of the punk chick). But here are some stuff that I learned after watching Cybergeddon:
1. It's easy to escape the FBI especially when you're out to save the world. The FBI, despite their high-tech gadgetry, won't be able to capture you or if you do get captured, you can easily escape by doing the following: knocking out the nincompoop FBI agents that guard you, stealing their cellphone and hacking into the FBI's own system to open up doors; and cut and dye your hair and change your dress. You can then go anywhere in the world, walk out in the open and the FBI won't be able to track you down. You can contact your friends, go to their offices and homes without fear of getting arrested. Or, if arrested, it's quite easy to escape. Heck, they won't even trace your license plate.
2. Save the world and your crimes will be forgiven. That's what happens to Rabbit in the end of Episode 1. For helping Chloe save the world from cybergeddon, he was rewarded with a special job at the FBI. We can all assume then that his past crimes have been forgiven (he was serving a prison term when Chloe first contacted him).
3. Writing a hacking program takes only seconds. Yes, writing a hacking program or a counter-hacking program or a counter-counter-hacking program takes only seconds to do. Apparently, hackers are able to write code several keys at a time. Me, it's basically at most two keys in one second. Hackers apparently are able to do it faster than the speed of light that they are able to foil an attempt to down the world's systems ticking down its final seconds in a mere number of seconds. In addition, hackers are comfortable using any device -- PC, laptop, ultrabook, tablet, or mobile phone -- to do their hacking as long as its connected to the internet.
4. Norton-Symantec is the best anti-virus ever ever. According to Cybergeddon, only Norton was able to escape being infected by the vicious computer virus "3F8S" released by Gustov into the world. They even have a special room which can detect all forms of online threat and this special room protects the rest of Norton's systems from being infected. All other AVS are nil.
5. Hackers are rich. Yes, apparently hackers are rich as seen in the cribs of Gustov, Rabbit, and the punk chick. All those high-tech equipment would equate to lots of moolah. Plus, Rabbit has a mobile headquarters that's also gadget-filled.
