Main cast: James Marshall (Nicky Straw), Kim Huffman (Luann Somerson), and David Bowie (The Host)
Director: Russell Mulcahy
Taking a break from Gemma Files, The Hunger moves on to plunder Charles de Lint’s catalog, with the short story The Sacred Fire getting the short straw.
I suppose one can consider this episode to be a spiritual successor of sorts to Wrath of God in that it too hints on a larger overlying mythology of the good guys battling woo-woo enemies in some large scale battle of good versus evil.
If you’re thinking right now that this kind of thing is way above the pay grade and execution ability of this show, well, you’re right.
There are monsters in the world in which this episode is set in. Nicky Straw knows this, because those monsters killed his wife and child, and now they are after him… unless he kills them first.
His college friend Luann stumbles upon him one day and brings him back to her apartment because, hello, this episode is sexy so we need some sexy times. Can she believe his wild stories, though, or should she call the hotline of the nearest loony bin?
You know, this happens in other episodes as well, but it’s very apparent here because there is considerable focus on it, but the homeless folks in this episode crack me up as they are all perfectly clean and look like they stepped out of a casting agency. Homeless bloke Nicky’s fingernails are perfectly formed and clean, and his hair looks like it has just been given a thorough wash and dry at some fancy salon.
As for the episode, it’s not exactly a shocker to find that it is an underwhelming one. There is no exciting chase or action sequence, just people talking and walking around as anything more is above the budget for this show. The sex scene is a short and dull nothing burger, so there goes the possible only other reason to watch this thing as well.
It also doesn’t help that the two lead actors have zero chemistry and James Marshall doesn’t have the charisma or the gravitas to play a memorable lead character.
All in all, this is a dull episode that showcases a story that has been done enough times already, in a thoroughly uninteresting and mundane manner.
Perhaps the people buying the scripts for this show need to pay more heed to existing budgetary constraints and choose less ambitious ones?
