Archive for the 'TV' Category

SciFi Sunday: Step into the Dollhouse, Sarah Jane and What the Frak?

May 18, 2008 | Science Fiction, TV

Late last week, the first trailers for the new Joss Whedon show, The Dollhouse, hit the ‘net (hat tip Twitter pal ProgGrrl). The premise is a sci fi fan’s dream — agents able to take on any persona, do the job and then revert back to a memory-less state. Except maybe not. Maybe they don’t forget everything. How does that change the equation?

I am really looking forward to this show. Of course, there’s the Joss factor. He’s never done a show that I haven’t loved. And given the cast here, I don’t expect The Dollhouse to be any different. For starters we’ve got Eliza Dushku, Tahmoh Penikett and Amy Acker, and you have to know that even the actors we don’t (yet) know will be super.

More on The Dollhouse at Entertainment Weekly. To stay updated, follow The Dollhouse on Twitter

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While we haven’t been able to get into David Tennant as Doctor Who, my whole family is enjoying The Sarah Jane Adventures. In fact, we were pissed last Friday when SciFi seemed to truncate the end of Sarah Jane in order to start Doctor Who. Some reviews: Metacritic Wired.

I know some folks thinks it is a bit “kiddy” but it is nice to have a smart scifi show that appeals to kids. Anime cartoons and Power Rangers just don’t count. Fridays at 8pm on SciFi Channel. Not on next week due to Memorial Day weekend, but back on the 3oth.

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Battlestar Galactica. I’m enjoying the show, although I still wish for more Edward James Olmos and Jamie Bamber this season. I haven’t had the urge to re-watch an episode since the second one, but the show is still gripping me. Especially last week.

What was good?

• The interactions between Roslin and Lee. Mark my words, they are setting it up that Lee is the only person everyone trusts.
• The Cylon Rebel Leader Six. Natalie is the name I’ve seen on the boards. Tricia Helfer is doing a superb job this season. [SPOILER ALERT] From the previews, it looks like she is NOT dead, which fits. To become human requires suffering…
• Not a big Gaeta fan, but the song was haunting.

What would I like to see?

• Some Lee and Kara interaction beyond a glance on Colonial One. I’m fine with setting up the story, but I want a payoff. As do many of the Lee/Kara fans who’ve stuck with the show through the Quadrangle Of Doom. Doesn’t have to be happily ever after, although that would be nice. A scene. That’s all we ask.
• The payoff on the set-up with Lee as a Quorum member. I’m convinced he’s the next president after Roslin. How are they going to get him there, and do they have to kill her off - I hope not.

Now for the what the frak. Alert viewers — not me, I just read the websites — have noticed some changes between the original version of the Last Supper Photo as published in Entertainment Weekly, and the one that currently appears on the SciFi Channel website.

Here’s the original:

And here’s the one currently on SciFi Channel:

The changes? The little pot that Laura Roslin appears to have lit in the first image is not in the second, although the lit match is. And Baltar is no longer holding the hand of the central Six figure. What does it all mean? I have no clue, but it seems clear that we will need to keep checking this picture for changes as the season progresses.

Also, it has always appeared that Natalie (rebel leader Six) was pointing at Helo and Athena. Makes sense now.

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SciFi this week. No Battlestar this Friday but we do have Bones tomorrow night. And Indiana Jones returns to movie theaters on Thursday, an event much looked forward to in our household. Hard to believe that this character first hit the screen when I was in college. Douglas and I were discussing that this afternoon. His comment: “So the movies are pretty old.”

Yes indeed my dear. They are. But it looks like Indy still has a bit of life left in him and so do I.

And with that my friends, I bid you good night.

Technorati Tags: The Dollhouse, Battlestar Galactica, Sarah Jane Adventures, science fiction

SciFi Sunday: Speed Racer hits a speed bump, Friday’s Battlestar & Dr. “Who Cares”

May 11, 2008 | Movies, Science Fiction, TV

Tricia Helfer as Six on Battlestar Galactica

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Speed Racer. AS previously mentioned, I took my son and three of his friends to see Speed Racer at Jordan Furniture’s IMAX Theater on Saturday. The film wasn’t as bad as I expected from the reviews, but still, I wanted to like it more than I did. The story itself isn’t bad, as long as you understand going in that you are essentially watching a comic strip, just with living actors instead of pixels. The biggest problem — the film is just too damn long. Clocking in at well over two hours, they could have easily cut 30 minutes and had a better film with more appeal.

Initial reports have it falling far below initial box office estimates, with Iron Man in its second week beating it at the box office by far.

Which doesn’t surprise me in the least. I took Douglas to Iron Man, which is about as long, last weekend and he was captivated throughout. As were my brother, mother and I. At Speed Racer though, about 30-40 minutes before the film ended, he started pestering me with “how many more minutes?” When an eight-year old kid can’t wait for a film aimed at eight-year old kids to end, you know there’s a problem.

Bottom line: See Iron Man in the theater, save Speed Racer for DVD. It’ll be there soon enough.

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Friday’s episode of Battlestar Galactica, Faith. One of the better episodes this year to-date. Still not enough Adama and zero Lee, but the two main stories, one featuring Roslin dealing with her cancer and the other Kara and her crew dealing with the Cylons, were far more gripping than the previous two eps, which felt more like story exposition than action.

As the title suggests, the episode dealt with Faith. In one arc, Roslin comes face to face with a terminally ill patient whose faith has been restored by Baltar’s preachings. How will Roslin reconcile this with her feelings about Baltar? The other arc was devoted to the prickly rapprochement of Kara’s crew and the rebel Cylons.

It was refreshing to see Starbuck, Helo and Athena acting as a team again, for whatever reason, but the best part of the episode, and one of the highlights of the season to date, is Tricia Helfer. She absolutely rocks, the way she can imbue each and every Six with a different personality. Certainly, the hairstyle and wardrobe changes help, a device not offered as extensively to the other Cylons, but it goes beyond that. She has developed into a superb actress who can hold her own with some of the best on this show, and I look forward to watching her every week. Especially when she portrays the Six leading the Cylon rebels.

Bottom line: A-. Full episode streaming on SciFi.com.

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I’m sorry, friends, but as far as I am concerned, it isn’t Doctor Who. It’s Doctor Who Cares? I watched Friday while waiting for Battlestar, and the best part of the episode was the intimation that this version of the Doctor wasn’t long for this, or any other, world. Beccause literally that’s all I can remember about the episode two days later, and I have a pretty good memory. I am sure David Tennant is a wonderful actor, but he’s not my idea of Doctor Who. I adored Tom Baker in the 80s, and thought Christopher Eccleston was brilliant as Doctor Number 9. I still get goosebumps thinking of the episode The Doctor Dances. While I don’t want to rush him through his remaining incarnations, I long for a Doctor I can love. Especially since the future of Torchwood seems a bit unclear.

Technorati Tags: Speed Racer, Iron Man, Battlestar Galactica, Tricia Helfer, Doctor Who, science fiction

SciFi Sunday: Battlestar Galactica

March 16, 2008 | Science Fiction, TV

SciFi Sunday will not reveal spoilers, but will refer to publicly available information — press releases, news articles, interviews and TV ads for the shows. I also have a tendency to speculate based on nothing more than the twisted workings of my own mind, so consider yourself warned.

Principal cast of Battlestar Galactica revisioned as the Last Supper.

Battlestar Galactica, SciFi Channel
Season 4 Premiere Friday April 4, 10 pm Eastern

Only 19 days to go ’til Battlestar Galactica returns. We’ve been waiting a long time for the 10 episodes that will run through early June and who knows how long we will have to wait for the final 10 episodes, the back half of the final season.

If you are the lone sci fi fan on the planet who hasn’t been watching Battlestar (Hi to my brother Doug), it’s never too late to get started. In fact, the producers make it easy for you to catch up. Last year, they did a recap episode as well as a series of webisodes to flesh out the tale.

This year there will be two 1/2 hour specials on March 28th, the Friday before the season premiere. The first looks to be a recap/preview and the second about the show as a fan phenomenon. You can watch five episodes from last season online, free, including the two-part season finale. SciFi Channel also is becoming Channel Battlestar from March 31st, with most of the programming slots being repeats from the first three seasons.

Of course, if you have a really short attention span, what you need is Battlestar Galactica in Eight Minutes:

What’s going to happen this season? Who knows? And per usual the actors and producers are leaving tantalizing breadcrumbs, but very little tangible information, which of course fuels rampant fan speculation. So far, I’ve managed to resist getting too obsessed with spoilers, but I am certain that will change once the season actually starts. From the TV commercials and tidbits that have leaked so far, including the official promo photos, I am inclined to believe that the season will be less about relationships, and how the various couples manage to frak themselves over, and more about the outside forces, particularly the Cylons, that are impacting the Fleet in the search for Earth.

What to do while you wait for the season to start?

March 18: Battlestar Season 3 will be released on DVD. I’m still debating whether to buy it, as I have all the eps from iTunes. The DVD extras are reportedly pretty good though, including an extended version of a significant episode, Unfinished Business. Maybe my husband will get it for me for Easter. Apropos of the Last Supper theme in the picture above.

March 19: Battlestar actors will count down the Top 10 on Late Night with David Letterman. Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas and Lucy Lawless.

Check out some websites. In my opinion, the best overall Battlestar site is Galactica Sitrep. For news coverage of all science fiction shows and films, I also like SyFyPortal. If you like a little irreverence with your reviews, check out Television Without Pity. And for spoilers, The Patriot Resource does a great job of keeping up with everything.

Pick up one (or more) of the soundtrack albums. Bear McCreary’s music adds so much to the show, but it also stands up pretty well on its own.

 

Here’s a demo clip of McCreary’s Battlestar music (source Galactica Sitrep):

Speaking of Galactica Sitrep, one of its principal authors, ProgGrrl, will be participating in a panel at the Paley Center in New York on May 19th about the influence of fan sites. I wish I could think of a good reason to go to NYC that day, as the panel looks terrific.

Where will I be when the fourth season starts? In NYC for BlogHer Business. I expect I’ll be calling it a night early and retiring to my hotel room to indulge my favorite obsession. Because I know I won’t be able to wait until the next day when I get home to watch the recording.

Next week: my thoughts on the Stargate SG-1 direct to DVD film Ark of Truth.

Technorati Tags: Battlestar Galactica, science fiction, television

Sci Fi Sunday: Stargate Atlantis

March 9, 2008 | Science Fiction, TV

As I wrote on Marketing Roadmaps earlier today, I will be sharing more of my sci fi obsession here on Snapshot Chronicles in the coming months.

Marketing Roadmaps will still be where you’ll find my commentary on the impact of social media on the sci fi segment — fans and industry alike — as well as analysis of sci fi marketing endeavors like the grassroots campaigns around the film Serenity and last year’s Sci Fi Channel digital media tour.

Here on Snapshot Chronicles is where I’ll share my thoughts on the programs themselves. Rants, raves and everything in between. If nothing else, it will save my mother having to listen to me blather on about Starbuck and Apollo or why the PTB of Stargate Atlantis should never have let Torri Higginson go.

In fact, since that show just wrapped for the season, let’s start there. My family is a relative latecomer to the Stargate franchise. My husband would watch it from time to time but I just couldn’t care enough about the characters. That is until Ben Browder and Claudia Black joined the cast a few years ago. It wasn’t John Crichton and Aeryn Sun, but they were both still excellent. So we started watching Stargate SG-1, and enjoyed it well enough. But we still weren’t watching the spin-off. As I will go into more a bit later, I’ve got “mental space” for about a half-dozen programs at any one time, and I wasn’t yet ready to make room for Stargate Atlantis.

Eventually we did watch a few episodes in a row in season 3, and also learned that Jewel Staite of Firefly/Serenity was joining the cast. So this year, we watched it fairly regularly. In part because there wasn’t much else to watch And in part because it turned out to be a good show to watch with Douglas. The plots aren’t so complex that he cannot follow them, but they are a step up from Power Rangers and Digimon. The interplay between Joe Flanigan and David Hewlett is also priceless.

While I knew that there had been a big to-do last year when two principal players were let go — Paul McGillion who played Dr. Carson Beckett and afore-mentioned Torri Higginson who played expedition leader Elizabeth Weir, I really hadn’t paid too much attention because at the time, it wasn’t “my” show. But last month, we had a coupon at Borders and also finally got a dividend from the Amazon Associates program, so we bought the DVDs of seasons 1 through 3. And proceeded to gorge ourselves on Stargate Atlantis, which gives me an interesting perspective on the totality of the show.

While the show is still fun to watch, it really was much better with the Elizabeth Weir character. Admittedly, she often didn’t have much to do, but her relationships with the two main characters, John Sheppard (Flanigan) and Rodney McKay (Hewlett), and especially the Sheppard character, really added a dimension to the program that is sorely missing. And from what I hear, unlikely to be rectified in the coming season as she reportedly turned down an invite to return for a single episode. It would be nice if the announcement that she wasn’t coming back for the ep was misdirection, but that is unlikely.

I can see that…. fired and replaced with another actress from the franchise, invited back for an episode. I’d probably trip over myself for that. Not.

What worked so well with the Weir character and what they have not been able to replace is that she was often in disagreement with her colleagues, the aforementioned Sheppard and McKay, and sometimes both at once, but the characters worked it out, and clearly with mutual respect. And not a little UST. Everyone had their expertise and for the most part, deferred to the subject matter expert as required by the problem at hand.

In season 4, the role of leader was assumed by actress Amanda Tapping, whose character Samantha Carter moved over from the SG-1 show. But she wasn’t in every episode, for contractual reasons, and the character just never seemed to fit. I don’t dislike the actress or the character, but it didn’t work. Which it seems she herself understood as she is not returning as a regular in season five, preferring to devote herself to a new property she has been developing, Sanctuary.

But next year doesn’t promise to be much better. Robert Picardo will be joining the regular cast as his recurring character IOA milquetoast Richard Woolsey takes over the leadership position. I can’t see how the dynamic will work, as none of the long-term characters have much respect for the character. Not to mention that the thought of UST between the Woolsey character and any of my faves, of either sex, makes me want to poke out my eyes with a burning stick…..

So what we’ll get is Sheppard and McKay constantly fighting with “the man.” Will this get boring? We’ll have to wait and see but I’m guessing… yup.

Never watched Stargate Atlantis but think you might like to? Here’s my recommendation for must-watch episodes:

Season 1:

• Rising Parts 1& 2 (the premiere)
• The Storm and The Eye (2-parter)
• The Siege Parts 1 & 2

Season 2:

• The Siege Part 3
• Conversion
• The Long Goodbye
• Michael

Season 3:

• Misbegotten
• Common Ground
• The Return Parts 1 & 2
• Sunday
• First Strike

I haven’t seen all of Season 4 — we missed a few episodes in the fall, but here are the ones you need to see to follow the storyline into next year:

• Adrift
• Lifeline
• This Mortal Coil
• Be All My Sins Remember’d
• Kindred Parts 1 & 2
• The Last Man (season finale)

Next week on Sci Fi Sunday, my thoughts on Battlestar Galactica, which returns Friday April 4th. Sadly when I am in NYC for BlogHer Business, so either I don’t party hearty with my blogging pals that night or I watch it on Tivo as soon as I get home Saturday or I connect with some Gotham Battlestar fans to watch, and kibbitz, together. Hhhm. There’s a thought.

Oh, in case you are wondering, my mental space for TV is currently occupied by:

• Battlestar Galactica
• Stargate Atlantis
• Torchwood
• Chuck
• Ugly Betty
• Men in Trees

with an occasional dip into Lost, which I used to love but which now leaves me mostly… lost, and Pushing Daisies, which I enjoyed the few times I watched it, but just can’t seem to remember to tape. And in a holding pattern, Farscape, as we wait for the promised webisodes and Doctor Who, which I’ve always loved, even if David Tennant, the current Doctor, doesn’t do a damn thing for me.

Technorati Tags: science fiction, Stargate Atlantis, TV