Posted on 04/29/2003 8:12:14 AM PDT by RayBob
Edited on 04/13/2004 2:35:07 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
The first season of PBS's "American Family," in which Edward James Olmos plays the conservative patriarch of a Hispanic Los Angeles family, comes out on DVD today.
But it's his role as another patriarch that's bound to get TV viewers in their 30s and 40s talking. Olmos is filming Sci Fi Channel's miniseries remake of the late '70s TV show "Battlestar Galactica." Olmos takes over the role of Commander Adama, originally played by the late Lorne Greene.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
That one and the time travel one are so damn funny, others are tedious, but those two are the best. Oh yeah, and Mitchell...
Star Wars ripped of a lot of legends and folklore.
And Space Above and Beyond was Shakespear compared to the Hulk series.
By the way, I'm looking to be 'Reloaded' May 15.
Unfortunately, the actor that played him was the "lefty" of the cast politically.
Not to mention that it was a total ripoff of J.R.R. Tolkien. It was damn good, but a ripoff.
B5 Was a true ongoing story, with a distinct timeline and universe.
Yes. And it worked because JMS wrote nearly every episode himself. Had he farmed out more episodes, Babylon 5 would have looked very different (as many of the farmed out episodes do look different).
You can catch nearly any episode of ST without seeing any other episode and would have little or no impact.
In some ways, that was bad. In others, it was good. The good thing is that the episodes were about something different each week, not a development or revisitation of a previously established idea.
B5 was a true Sci Fi epic, not merely a show, which is what ST clearly was. (Yes I know ST orig had a timeline, but they made sure at the end of every episode, everything was pretty much the same as it was before the show began...)
And the Epic was done, which is my point. How do you follow up the original arc with something interesting? You can't, really, without starting all over or changing the show. What happened in the 5th season was that it started to become episodic. You seem to be saying that's not what you want and I'm saying that's what would have happened to Babylon 5 if it kept goind. And if they brought it back, it would be either episodic (like the two spin-offs that failed) or they'd have to try to outdo th original arc with something new, and I doubt they'd get JMS to create it or write every episode. The thought of that just makes me shudder.
I agree the 5th season nearly didn't get made, because of problems etc. But as a whole, I honestly thing B5 was the greatest work (series) ever to get onto TV in the sci fi genre.
It was certainly a great achievement. But you can't keep an epic with a story arc going forever. You can't replace an epic with episodes. And you can't try to top and epic like Babylon 5 with something even bigger and more important. They saved the universe once. Any repeat would cover the same ground. It was great. It ended. Like a war hero that has passed on, you can't dig them up for a second go and shouldn't try.
I agree the original TZ is fabu as well... but I guess I never really put it in the sci fi genre in my mind.
It firmly belongs there.
Terminology solenite - a type of enery often used for bombs tylium - an energy fuel source mined and refined on the planet Carillon by the Ovions as part of a deal with the Cylons frak - a slang swear word used by Starbuck Felgercarb - slang swear word used by Starbuck millenium - unit of time for approximately 1000 years yahren - unit of time for approximately 1 year sectar - approximately the colonial time unit for a month secton - approximately the colonial time unit for a week centar - unit of time for approximately an hour centon - unit of time for approximately a minute micron - unit of time for approximately a second solium - a type of energy coolant that the colonial fleet uses cubit - unit of money used by the Colonies triad - a team based game with two players on each team where players try to put a ball into a goal in the wall.; a cross between basketball, and football. pyramid - a card game similar to poker that Starbuck often plays for money.
The Matrix is original because it handle it's own story line in a way that had never been done before.
Space Above and Beyond was a fun series, something you seem to refuse to admit.
There was a Sci-Fi series way back around the 60's which I really liked. It starred Roy Thinnes and was called "The Invaders" The neatest thing was when he would kill one of the aliens, their bodies would burn up which was explained as having something to do with their souls going back to their home planet.
Ah, The Invaders! As a girl I was terrified of that big tophat in the sky. And after seeing most of the series again as an adult, it held up surprisingly well for a low to mid-budget '60s scifi show.
I love how the the invaders would glow before they burst into flames. I think this happened because the process that molded their bodies into human form stressed them thermodynamically, so a big enough shock to the system would initiate the catastrophic exothermic reaction as their bodies sought equilibrium. And they burned completely because their skeletons were cellulose-based (wood, IOW).
Oh yeah, and the stories were usually inventive. I kept thinking that with just a little more thought & polish to the writing it could be a great series. (But maybe I'm looking at a '60s show thru jaded '00s eyes there.) And the theme music was too cool.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.