Posted on 01/20/2006 8:29:57 AM PST by isaiah55version11_0
Science fiction has long been stereotyped as a hardware-obsessed, techno-jargon laden refuge for computer nerds and outcasts. Especially on television, which lacks the geek chic afforded by big-screen Hollywood budgets, the genre's reputation for hokey dialog and cardboard-and-wire effects have saturated it with a distinct odor of disrespectability. It is somewhat ironic, then, to see the Sci-Fi Channel, a network which often seems devoted to the pulpy and lowbrow, serve up Battlestar Galactica, a show about spaceships and killer robots that is also arguably the most potent, dramatically vibrant series on television. An unflinching examination of how the military, government, family, and religion interact in the fragile ecosystem of society, it as morally and intellectually serious as it is thrilling.
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Given Baltar's promise to her of a place to hide, she probably escaped with his help.
Then I'll listen to executive producer Ron Moore's podcast where he walks through the entire episode, shot-by-shot...
Yeah, and the aliens sucked their brains out. I agree, it was freaky stuff-- but, you couldn't have made a every week show out of it, you know? The bugs would get boring.
One of the writers for the old Star Trek show was Harlan Ellison, the fella that wrote "City on the Edge of Froever", where Bones gets hopped up on a hypop-drug, and wigs out and goes back intime to see Joan Collins. Some freaky stuff. I remember that to this day. Harlan Ellison is still around, and he's mentally ill. That's what you need- a good writer that you have to keep locked up in a cage.
Episodes "Final Cut" and "Downloaded". D'Anna Biers. Reporterette. Blonde. Yummy...
I absolutely love BSG! And I am not the kind of person to get drawn into television series. But BSG has become nearly an obsession with me. That there is a market for such a smart show truly gives me hope for this country. I have all the second season that has aired still on my TiVo because I keep putting off burning them to DVD. I better get to that soon before my wife deletes them. She is worried that they will cause one of her lame shows to delete early.
Which transitions quite well back to the topic of cigars because I was wishing I had a Partagas Black Label to smoke last night while my wife was watching Dancing with the Stars. I quit smoking cigars about 8 years ago, but I have recently picked the habit back up. Thanks to Partagas Black Label, I am hooked again. I had never tasted a more enjoyable cigar at any price. I recently bought a tin of the CAO maduro cigarillos and liked the flavor. I will pick up a Brazilia today per your reccomendation.
Hence, it was science fiction.
Probably partially for money, but it also adds to the "the enemy is among us" plotline. Plus there are still metal Cylons, mainly seen in the Caprica and Kobol episodes and the episode where the Galactica was boarded. The human Cylons are the infiltrators and spys, while the metal ones are the combat troops.
Well once you're into your 3rd dozen alien races it gets hard to come up with new ideas.
No it's not just a way to make the show cheaper, it's a way to get new plots. If anything the old Cylons were a way to make the show cheaper because you could use the same actors over and over again. And if Fox hadn't threatened to sue them if their guns had visible beams thus forcing them to put squibs on the Cylon armor which damaged the armor every time they killed a Cylon it would have been cheaper. Part of the primary plot of the new BSG is the Cylons trying to replace the humans, can't replace humans if you don't look human.
Aliens are overrated. 90% of the time in sci-fi they're just a cop out to making characters that don't act right.
Starship Troopers the movie was excellent dumb entertainment, the kind of thing you can expect from Verhoeven. Turn your brain off, and you'll enjoy the bug smashing and hot chicks and miss all that is wrong with it. Sort of like watching Die Hard III.
Starship Troopers the book was excellent smart entertainment. It was loaded with social and political commentary, portrayed all that is good with the military perfectly, and is purposefully a reflection of the Cold War era in which it was written.
The new cg cylons look phony. The old ones were cool and clunky. Remember the cool gold one? Or the gunslinger one? Cool stuff.
Used to be back in seasons 1 and 2, but lost interest because of ridiculous plot twists and the like. The "24" hour format was cool for a year, but it became pretty tedious for me.
Too bad, I really liked the "Jack Bauer Power Hour"
Don't get me wrong, I loved the old Cylons, even had one of the action figures (along with a Viper model, etc.). But they did look like guys in plastic suits, although that fit with the campy old BSG. The new Cylons fit the darker new BSG.
What I miss are the sparkly-brained commander Cylons.
The big problem with a lot of sci fi is the alien with the different bumpy pattern on its head. They were basically human with different facial features. SG-1 has done a reasonable job of coming up with interesting aliens. The G'ould were a cool idea when the series first came out. Replicators were good, too. ST:TOS was OK with it, but still cheesey. The newer ST's were really bad. Babylon 5 did a good job with aliens, but it wasn't the visit a new planet every week type of thing you are thinking of.
One of the big problems is that things that are really, really alien don't necessarily make the best TV. If the story isn't compelling, it won't get a strong fan base. That idea can work well but it can also get tiring. Plot and character drives the storyline which is why so many people here love the new BSG. But if you just want to see things blow up, or want a weekly creature feature, BSG isn't for you. Another pitfall that I don't like is the alien = stereotype. Star Trek was, in my mind, notorious for that.
Oh yeah- Lucifer was funky! Good point.
Remember Dr. Daestrom from the old Star Trek, who built the M-5? "You are great-- I am great". I love that line. An incredible actor. A lot of actors today are picked because they're pretty. Not like Leonard Nimoy. He pulled off being a genius, because he's a pretty smart guy. Remember Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner? What casting. SO cool
For all that stuff "Dr. Strangelove" is the film to watch.
My idea of good sci-fi is for entertainment, and Starship Troopers goes much better with popcorn.
LOL
SG-1 was just great. The last season has been weak, but they've just been running out of ideas. But for the most part, it is great stuff. Warping off to another planet every week- that's all I ask for. I love the alien voices, and the flashing eyes (wish I had that at work), and the characters were believable. Like T'alk (sp?) Like the whole Egypt thing.
"Guess it's like music- I can't listen to the radio."
I knew there was something we'd completely agree upon.
Except for NFLRadio, which rules.
The script writers had never read the book, and were making a movie called "Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine." They optioned the book well after they started making the film, basically just slapping the title on it.
I consider that one of the best castings ever, right up there with Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka.
I think the new BSG is taking a bit from the Blade Runner ("Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?") theme of "What does it mean to be human." The issue of the latest Lt. Valerii is the focal point of that, and mirrors the plight of the replicants.
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