TV is the New Reading

Sci Fi presents 'Gryphon'

Sometimes it takes a giant winged monster to put things into perspective.

Saturday’s original presentation of “Gryphon,” airing at 8 p.m. on Sci Fi, explores the swords-and-sorcery fantasy genre of science fiction. Two feuding princely brothers, Delphus and Lock, split the once great kingdom of Vallon into two regions, Delphi and Lockland, and the resulting wars rage for centuries.

At the center of the renewed conflict is the Gryphon itself. The winged creature, deployed by an evil sorcerer, unleashes chaos and devastation across the countryside of both kingdoms and the warring factions have to put their differences aside and combine forces to defeat it and their mutual malefactor.

According to a Sony Home Pictures press release earlier this week, “Gryphon” is an epic tale in the tradition of “Excalibur” and “Lord of the Rings.” Although, given its basic-cable release, it will likely be more in the tradition of “The Princess Bride,” with all the stunning realism of community theater – or, more to the point, “Grendel,” a recent Sci Fi original movie that featured a couple of cheesy computer-generated demon-type creatures at the center of an adaptation of “Beowulf.”

In “Gryphon,” the brothers are played by Ciprian Dumitrascu as Lock and Vlad Iacob as Delphus. The cast includes Sci Fi “Stargate-SG1” alumni Larry Drake and Sarah Douglas, Jonathan LaPaglia of “The District” and Amber Benson of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” who plays a warrior princess clad in chainmail.

Her “Buffy” experience didn’t aid Benson much in her swordplay. While there was never any shortage of it on that show, Tara – her character on that series – was never large with the fighting. But she certainly witnessed her share, and there is no questioning her ability to play a solid fantasy role. “Gryphon” might obscure Benson’s expressive features somewhat in the grime of combat, but her dauntless grace and otherworldly qualities are an excellent fit in a mythical sword-and-sorcery production.

How will it play out? Well, the desolate countryside of Rumania, where the show was filmed, promises to be a great backdrop for battles both mystical and otherwise. The mix of star quality and relative unknowns suggests a serious x-factor in terms of chemistry and performance level.

Also, Sci Fi’s Saturday night presentations have been a little hit-and-miss. Occasionally you get shows that would not be out of place on the big screen – despite its far-from-groundbreaking effects, “Grendel” was quite satisfying storytelling on many levels – and occasionally you get the cheesy B-movie schlockfest of “Mansquito,” in which a professor and her assistant are transformed into ... mutant insects.

With any luck at all, “Gryphon” will be in the former category. Tune in to see for yourself.

Features Editor Terry J. Aman compiles the Best Bets for The Minot Daily News.

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