

Best Sci Fi Currently On Television? 489
A few months ago a friend recommended Farscape, and I started watching. The first season was flat, but the current season is absolutely amazing. So I started watching Lexx just because I had hope in TV sci fi. (I blame Voyager) I'll run a poll on this later, but I'd like to just throw this out: what is the best sci fi on TV? What do people like? Why? I like Farscape because the plot this season has been really interesting (and I even dig the device where the split the main char so they could have silly episodes interspersed with serious ones) and Lexx... well Lexx is just seriously bizarre: I love the wacky humor and terrible B effects. (thanks to everyone in Germany that recommended it. Wow! You werent kidding). Are there any other nuggets of joy out there that I'm missing? The scary thing is that the Sci-Fi channel has finally edged out Comedy Central and Cartoon Network on my Tivo for disk space.
None (Score:2)
Science Fiction (Score:2)
- The West Wing -- Two angles were mentioned. On the alternate-universe angle, it's not. It's just fiction. There's no substantial, "what if" premise related to a historical event (what if the president were a human being who could think for himself doesn't quite count). On the science angle, there's science in the show (good science), but very little speculation. Speculation is a key to science fiction, and the dividing line between Law and Order (which had a whole lot of science) and Viper (a bad show, but clearly science fiction for its speculation).
- Buffy, Angel, et al. -- Nope. These shows are fantasy pure and simple. The line gets muddy (is The Lathe of Heaven science fiction or fantasy?), but vampires and their respective hunters don't even get a smudge on their wardrobes
I will say that, as an SF snob, I find the fawning over Lexx to be distasteful, but I'm pleased with the recent Farscape for actually getting the plot moving again. Best SF on TV is still B5 re-runs and the Iron Chef (which is clearly about the mandroid who plays Chairman KagaForget about the Special FX... (Score:3, Funny)
Farscape (Score:2)
Futurama (Score:5, Interesting)
NOT SF related (Score:2)
If you like the simpsons, and funny shows, do yourself a favor and watch The Family Guy [fox.com]. I mean, damn, how can a show be this funny every week? The dad and the baby have pretty much stolen the whole show, but you can run a show off those two characters alone. You can catch most of the third season so far on newsgroups too.
I don't know how many people are fans of the show, but I fear not enough people for Fox to keep it on the air...
I just don't get it (Score:2)
Blech!
I'm coming out: I watch Andromeda (Score:5, Funny)
As a science fiction snob, I should never ever watch this show, let alone admit it, but the only episodic television show I watch is Andromeda [andromedatv.com]. Even worse, it's pretty much just because Lexa Doig [lexaonline.com] is so hot. (For those who don't know, she plays the avatar of a massively powerful warship, so she's not even playing someone real, and yet that's part of the appeal. Psychoanalyze me now!)
I'm going to science fiction hell for sure.
For non-episodic science fiction shorts, I try to check out Exposure [scifi.com] . It's a mixed bag, but usually has something worth watching every show.
Re:I'm coming out: I watch Andromeda (Score:2)
I really like the show. Lexa's character is great, not just because Lexa is gorgeous. But in spite of some initial misgivings, the character I enjoy the most these days is Tyr. At first, the Nietzscheans just looked like a strawman for bashing several facets of individualism. Yet, I have watched Tyr's opinion of the Commonwealth change, while Tyr himself has changed little. His motivations and his identity have not altered. Sometimes the best perspective from which to understand a thing is that of someone to whom it is either completely foreign or totally anathema. SF as a genre is one of the best for doing this.
As for the psychoanalysis, I have two thoughts. First, when my computer develops a personality, Romy is a pretty good one. Second, after years of being the voice of Star Trek's computers, Majel Roddenberry has stepped aside. The torch has been passed to Lexa Doig. I don't believe that Majel had any hand in the casting herself, but she is the show's executive producer. Arranging an indisputably competent successor is itself an act of considerable competence.
Not even close. Science fiction hell would be all of the best series of the past few decades with an endless stream of new episodes written by incompetent hacks. It would be abandoning all continuity. It would be lines spoken by the wrong characters.
Good SF requires all of the same things that all good fiction requires. The mix is different, and the science has to be right. But bad characters and sloppy writing ruin anything.
Farscape. No... lexx. No... (Score:5, Informative)
Lexx is great. Stargate has gone from okay to excellent. But far away ahead of them all is Farscape.
I don't know how much you Americans have seen, but I've been watching it on DVD and I'v seen up to about half way through the second series. It's taken a fairly old plot (old before Voyager used it) and the traditional format (individual episodes, occasionally two- or three-parters, the rare reference to previous plots), but managed to be truly excellent.
The reason it's so good? IMO, it's because it avoids cliches. On several occasions (I still haven't learnt), I've groaned as ten minutes into an episode it looks like it's going to be one of those ridiculous Trek episodes that make us all cringe. But I've invariably had to apologise (mentally, anyway) to the producers by the end of the episode.
It may not have all the strongest plot lines, but it avoids cliche. And that's a rare and wonderful thing.
Lexx ??? (Score:2)
for crying out loud, that stuff is its *own* parody . . .
:)
hawk
Re:Lexx ??? (Score:2)
The only scene I liked: the gorgeous chick was having dinner with a guy. She liked him and thought he was good looking, but he was only interested in her because she was holding the key to Lexx. He wanted her to give control of Lexx over to him, since it is such an amazing powerful yada yada whatever.
steveha
Re:Lexx ??? (Score:2)
hawk
Re:Farscape. No... lexx. No... (Score:3, Informative)
Actually, Farscape is a novel for television but doesn't hit you over the head with it. Many times I have seen a "one-off" episode only later to realize how much it contributed to the overall arc. The current (US) season is a perfect example. Plenty of references to earlier seasons, explanations and thread interweaving has made for an outstanding experience!
You are right about its avoidance of cliches. The writing on the show is just great. I wish B5 had done as well. JMS is a great storyteller, but an episodic writer he is not. Some of the B5 dialogue was horrendous, not to mention the often tedious amount of explication. That's not to say that I didn't love B5. It remains one of my all-time favorites. Doesn't mean it couldn't be better, though.
Farscape's homage/satire of all of SciFi is incredibly fun. DRD Pike, for goodness sake! :)
The thing that I find most endearing, though, are the characters. They grow, change, form bonds, deceive, cheat, make up and generally act like real people. I'm very interested to see where the current character threads go at this point in the series. This is what makes a show great.
Re:Farscape. No... lexx. No... (Score:2)
I love sci fi, but Farscape just looks like the Muppet Show. I can't take it seriously enough to give it a chance.
Stargate SG-1 is currently my favorite show. I'm addicted.
Re:Farscape. No... lexx. No... (Score:2, Insightful)
I made that mistake too. I prejudged Farscape based on the trailers and the first episode (shown on a mainstream BBC channel) and point blank refused to watch the damn puppet show.
What a mistake that turned out to be. Like CmdrTaco, I only "discovered" it in season 2 after much persuasion, and it's a real treat, and the best antidote to Voyager that I've yet seen ("Spare me the techno babble, gadget girl.").
Seems to me that the savings on FX have all been spent on the actors and the writing. Farcape is an absolute joy, beautifully written, flawlessly acted, consistent, wry and very knowing. Also, the cast seem to have real chemistry and are obviously having a hoot filming it. The protagonist, Crighton, has taken to calling a couple of other characters "Pip" and "Sparky". That's not a cute scriptism, it's what the actor, Ben Browder, started calling them, and it sounded so natural that they decided to just roll with it. That shows a level of confidence and non-control freakery on a par with Stargate.
Do yourself a favour, grit your teeth, ignore the muppets, and sit through an episode. Unlike B5, it's easy to pick up in the middle, and you might be pleasantly surprised.
Does nobody but me like Dark Angel? (Score:2)
Maybe I missed the meeting where everybody decided that only serious llamas like Dark Angel, but I think it's a great show. Jessica Alba is seriously luscious and the stories are well written. I like the neo-dystopian post-pulse rotting Seattle she lives in. I like the hard-core Russian/South African gangs that are chasing her. I like the bad-asses at Manticore who won't stop until she's reprogrammed. I really like the fact that they're not afraid to kill off characters that have appeared in more than one episode.
All in all, it's one of the few shows I make a point to watch every week--along with Futurama, South Park and The Sopranos.
Re:Does nobody but me like Dark Angel? (Score:2)
Re:Does nobody but me like Dark Angel? (Score:2)
By the way, your comments reminded me of one of the things I absolutely love about most Cameron stories: The characters see all the same obvious shit we do.
In Aliens [imdb.com], the characters don't do the typical moron horror-movie character stuff (i.e., "Hey, let's stay here on this horrible planet and let the nasty monsters plant larvae in our chests!"). They decide the smart thing to do is get the hell off the planet and nuke it from orbit. Cameron's genius is in preventing them from doing so in a believable way.
Likewise, the characters in Dark Angel see the same obvious shit we do and actually try to take the easy way out whenever possible. Cameron finds credible ways to keep them from doing so. He also complicates their lives in creative ways that seem to flow naturally from the characters' motivations, rather than from the demands of this week's "A very special Dark Angel" or whatever.
The characters are as simultaneously cynical and idealistic as most of us. I like that a lot.
Oh, and have I mentioned that Jessica Alba's luscious?
Re:Does nobody but me like Dark Angel? (Score:2)
Re:Does nobody but me like Dark Angel? (Score:2)
By Far The Best: Baywatch (Score:2, Funny)
I love Sci FI, but... (Score:2, Insightful)
There is some sort of stigma attached with Sci Fi that mainstream people just don't seem to like it. Sure there are exceptions (most prominent one being X-Files when it was good), but many people just don't want anything to do with Sci Fi.
That being said, I really love Sci Fi. Some of my favs are Star Trek, and old stuff like Quantum Leap, that rocked. Maybe that's why I'm actually looking forward to the new Star Trek with Scott Bakula. It's got a really interesting premise, and if they can just do it right, it has the potential to be awesome.
I can explain it... (Score:5, Insightful)
Did you read what you just wrote? "Sure there are exceptions like X files when it was good" Its not like the US is a hotbed of high culture, but even mainstream viewers have some taste and, frankly, most Sci Fi sucks!
"...well, it was nice to see another installment in the Star Trek universe, but Voyager's writing sucked..."
"...Dr. Who was ahead of its time, but, gee, the special effects were painful to watch..."
"...Sliders was a great idea, but each new universe was riddled with logical holes..."
"...Lexx... well... Lexx..."
The unfortunate problem with Sci Fi is that rarely anyone besides us "geeks and/or nerds" seem to like it.
The problem (IMHO) with most SciFi is that it is almost never well executed.. Geeks seem have the intelligence to see past the (rather substantial sometimes) flaws and keep watching, but most people are honest enough to just keep channel surfing.
Geeks, for whatever reason, get off on preferring intelligent crap over stylish crap. They would rather see a TV show with the latest uber-gadget/newest buzzwords in physics/hot chicks with the biggest breasts who never seem to have to wear a standard uniform...
But, its not like mainstream people hate SciFi... mainstream people are embarassed to watch bad SciFi, that's all...
Easy. Babylon 5. (Score:5, Interesting)
B5 was by far the best sci-fi on TV for several reasons.
The effects: The budget per episode for B5 was a tenth of what ST:TNG cost, and by the time B5 reached the 5th season the effects were just stunning. Quite possibly the best space battles ever in a sci-fi show.
The story: While you could watch most B5 episodes as a seperate entity, the dedicated viewer was rewarded by one of the best stories I've seen in any medium. I won't even try and encapsulate it here, but it ranged from great comedy (some of the Londo/G'Kar scenes, plus various comments from other characters, particularly Ivanova.) to tragedy (no spoilers here. Suffice to say the show has it's fair share of tragedy.) Unlike shows like Voyager or Next Gen, B5 started a story, and ran it to it's conclusion. There were changes from the creators vision along the way (JMS is a genius!) for various reasons, but the description "a novel for television" was used, and fairly so.
Characters: No annoying robots or cute kids. Every character was believeable. Every character had flaws. The characters evolved. B5 could and should be used as a teaching piece on character development. Another thing I liked was the fact that you never felt any character was indispensible. In TNG, you know damn well Picard, Riker etc... aren't going to snuff it. In B5 I always felt like no character had a free pass. That added immeasurably to the show.
Realism: Unlike the shiny happy universe of Star Trek, B5 had real problems. Homeless people aboard the station for example. JMS (I won't even attempt to spell his surname) made a believable universe by including such elements.
The music: The show was great, but Christopher Franke's (ex of Tangerine Dream) music moved the show up a level. There are scenes which just rip your heart out, the music is so poignant. (Again, no spoilers.)
The alien races: While most were humanoid (not all) I think the aliens designed for B5 were FAR better than the blindingly obvious "human under makeup" aliens of Trek. The Pak'Mara for example looked amazing, and while the main players are the standard "human under makeup", the diversity of the portrayed alien cultures was amazing. Oh, and not all of them breathed oxygen. The station has section for non oxygen breathers.
For all your B5 needs, go check out The Lurkers Guide [midwinter.com].
In closing, Babylon 5 is the best sci-fi there has ever been on TV. I look forward to the new "Legends of the Rangers" but I can't see, in all honesty, how it can possibly live up to Babylon 5 itself.
Besides, you have to love a show that blasts a teddy bear into space:)
Re:Easy. Babylon 5. (Score:5, Informative)
Some good sites to go to for Babylon 5 information and discussion:
The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5 [midwinter.com]. A great reference source. It has THE most comprehensive episode guide for the series, it's movies, and its spinoff, Crusade. They Include a Synopsis, Notes, Comments from JMS, and other related information. The site also includes a B5 term encyclopedia, which can be beneficial for those who don't understand a term.
B5 Tech Reference. [b5tech.com] This site, while containing large amounts of fictional information, is a decent reference for anyone seeking information on the spacecraft of Babylon 5.
FirstOnes.com. [firstones.com] While this is a shameless plug, If you want to talk with other babylon 5 fans, go there and visit the forums. You'll meet some interesting people from around the world. While it's primary mission has been abandoned (to raise the Babylon 5 Space Combat Simulator, Into the Fire, from the dead), it is being transformed into a source for everything Babylon 5. (well, that's the plan, at least =) )
Hyperspace Ship Guide. [nbci.com] Another great reference page for the spacecraft of babylon 5. This has less fanfiction than Babylon 5 Tech, but less information as a whole. It has some great images, though.
The Down Below Sound Archive. [uwyo.edu] This Page has a sound bite of just about anything you could want from this show. It's a great place to go if you want something along those lines.
Babylon 5: The place to be. [tp2b.de] This is another great site, loaded with 3D art and the models to make your own! Check it out sometime.
The Music of Babylon 5. [musicofb5.com]. This is another great Babylon 5 Resource. It's webmaster posts various soundtracks from Babylon 5 on a regular basis. Most recently, the site had put up Battle Sequences A-F, the Sampler tracks for the music in Babylon 5: Into the Fire. Take a few minutes and listen to it.
The Shadow Information Office. [demon.co.uk] A great page dedicated to correcting the popular belief that shadows are evil monsters. Rather, it shows that they have a very incolved culture, and exist for the sole purpose of assisting the other races. Check it out.
I hope these links are put to good use. There is a lot of information on the web. most of it bad. This should clear up some of that. Sanfam Out.
Re:Easy. Babylon 5. (Score:2, Interesting)
GROPOS was a great episode. Good example of the poignancy I mentioned I think.
The best episodes IMO are around the middle of the 3rd season. The three episode arc Messages from Earth - Point of No Return - Severed Dreams and the two parter War Without End are some of the finest TV you can see, particularly Severed Dreams. That episode was so good, when I saw it initially, I had taped it due to being out. I watched it. Sat there with jaw on the floor at what I had just seen, rewound the tape, and watched it again.
I didn't like the fifth season much. Due to the cancellation woes that the show faced, the fifth season felt tacked on somehow, but having just watched it all again, I was unfair. It was actually a very good season. For those fans of Neil Gaiman, he scripted the fifth season episode "Day of the Dead". A very good episode, but one, like the others I mentioned, that really need to be seen in the context of the rest of the show to fully enjoy them.
As for Farscape, Space up here in Canada is airing that this fall, and having heard so many good things about it, I will check it out, despite my initial observation that it looks like little more than Muppets in Space:)
Re:Easy. Babylon 5. (Score:2)
"Never send me something cute." -- JMS, about the "Bear-ba-lon 5" teddie bear
Re:Easy. Babylon 5. (Score:2, Informative)
Interestingly, the effects on the show were done with the off-the-shelf Lightwave 3D software, which I've been playing with off and on along with some ship models downloaded from the Net.
The series is still shown, in letterboxed form, on the Sci-Fi Channel -- and I'm eagerly awaiting the Rangers film. Hopefully, the series will continue through to a theatrical film as some say it will.
Just because a show isn't in production any longer doesn't mean that it's not worthy of contention. By the way... I think the new Trek series' re-use of the Akira-class ship design was a cop-out. I wanted to see something fresh and new along the lines of Earth Alliance vessels with a Trek touch...
Lexx (Score:2)
- It happens to so stupidly far in the future
- the sexual innendoes
- its funny
just my two cents
Re:Lexx (Score:2, Informative)
But I love this show for three reasons:
- Eva Habermann is hot. Too bad she was only on for half/dozen shows.
- It isn't politically correct. It isn't afraid to affend anyone. Compare this to Voyager which was I think was annoyingly politically correct. But then again, I wouldn't recommend it to my parents...
- It's by far got the most original concepts and ideas out there. I don't know of any other show where the humans fly around in a giant bug in one of two universes. Compare this to Roddenberry shows which all seem the same.
Ozwald
Re:Lexx (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Lexx (Score:3, Informative)
Since I spend wayyyyy too much time in hotel rooms, I do get to see Lexx on both sides of the atlantic. There are two different versions, the European/Canadian shows tend to be more sexy and edgy, the U.S. gets a very edited down version so the Sci-Fi channel doesn't get kicked from too many cable stations as pr0n.
When my friend first told me of Lexx, it was being sold to various investment groups and production support companies as a way to attract a large number of hard-core geeks. By analyzing the only successful elements of recent trek shows [7of9], the first season working title was Sexx. The mini-capsule was "Trek meets Xena in a Blue Velvet universe". With a tag like that, its not hard to see why CmdrTaco likes Lexx, as well as Farscape.
I like Lexx, but I wish all four seasons would come out on DVD or tape, or some fan would digitize every episode into mpeg and share them on gnutella.
the AC
Stargate SG-1 (Score:5, Informative)
The movie and early episodes were occasionally painful to watch as a writer tried to include some pseudoscientific nonsense, but they seem to have put that past them.
The benefits of Stargate SG-1?
Re:Stargate SG-1 (Score:2)
I also think the special effects and/or props are done really well. Maybe I don't see the holes in them, but they always seem to be "just right". They never seem to have a "cheap" feel to them and aren't overdone. I think their subtlety adds a quality feel to the show that the other hollywood heavy-handed sci-fi shows overshoot.
Other shows seem to lose their engrossing quality to me because things always are overdone. When it comes to alien beings, do they always have to look the Zergs in StarCraft? It seems easier to view an alien planet that has trees to me than an alien planet with cheap props. (unless the trees are from "just outside L.A." locations - they won't cut it)
Maybe better effects are really well done to the point of being invisible. I heard that forest gump had more digital effect footage than jurassic park. You get more engrossed.
By the way, it comes in great on Dish Network. But I'll bet it looks really good on their showtime HDT channel, but they don't have a PVR for that yet...
Re:Stargate SG-1 (Score:2)
Re:Stargate SG-1 (Score:2)
It's gone into differant director's hands over the past few seasons, so it's also interesting to see the differances between the seasons. I like the way It's going.
However, I've heard that this may be their last season! It will be very sad if that's the case. I would love to see it live on, but if not, let's hope the ending is good.
Re:Stargate SG-1 (Score:2)
Re:Stargate SG-1 (Score:2)
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:The Invisible Man (Score:2)
Best Sci-Fi (Score:2, Insightful)
Andromeda (Score:2, Funny)
(<sarcasm>Cable? What the hell is cable?</sarcasm>)
Re:Sarcasm? (Score:2, Insightful)
I find Andromeda to be absolutely fascinating. Sure they're derivative, but so? Let's talk about ST:TOS eposide "Balance of Terror" -- can you say "every sub/destroyer movie made?"
I enjoy the show. I enjoy the characters on Andromeda. The effects grate on me terribly (Mainframe did a better job on "Roughnecks" for God's sake!) but I can live with it. I think the Nietzscheans are a fascinating sub-species. I can do without the Magog but for a first season, it seems to be getting it's legs. Anyone remember the giant jellfish dog that was "Encounter At Farpoint?" Even TNG took a season and a half to get good.
It's a cool concept. If they decide to make things progress as they did in B5, it might be great. I look forward each week to that show -- really the only one I don't miss.
Since you didn't specify NEW Sci-Fi (Score:2, Interesting)
Just find a PBS station that shows re-runs, or see if BBC America is still airing their early morning episodes, and kick back and enjoy.
Too bad Dr. Who is not on... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Too bad Dr. Who is not on... (Score:2)
Re:Too bad Dr. Who is not on... (Score:3, Informative)
Agreed 100%. Although Doctor Who had B-grade special effects, the thing that made the show work was the intelligent and witty writing. When you have that, you can live without the big budgets. But without it, all the effects in the world won't do any good.
Speaking of British sci-fi, I'd also like to mention Blake's 7 and Red Dwarf. I especially tip my hat to the latter. The humor will have you doubled over with laughter.
On the American scene, Stargate SG-1 is still doing quite well, although I was a little disappointed with last Friday's episode. The Outer Limits is also an interesting show to watch. Psi Factor was also good when it first came on the air, back when it was divided into short stories. I haven't seen it much in the last few years, though.
disk space? (Score:2)
You have limited disk space on your TiVo?
Some weak hacker you are!
Re:disk space? (Score:2)
Space, Above and Beyond (Score:2)
Was probably because I started watching it after playing some of the Wing Commander games; there's a lot of similarities, but anyway it's a nice bit of fun sci-fi in its own right.
Re:Space, Above and Beyond (Score:2)
Re:Space, Above and Beyond (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Space, Above and Beyond (Score:2)
Ahem.. Blake's 7? (Score:2, Informative)
Unfortunately it wasn't particuarly popular, but it did run for 4 seasons on the BBC. I think that the character development was quite good, especially in the first half of the show. The characters were usually out for themselves first and for the group sort-of when it was convienent. Plus no ridiculous pseudo-philosophical problems.
The overall story line was very believable too -- a group of unlikely outlaws rebelling against an tyrannical Federation -- and not any of the silly utopian nonsense you get with ST: The Marxist Generation. And major characters would often die, making it more realistic.
Of course the series did have its downfalls. Towards the end it seemed they ran out of stories and the episodes got pretty silly. Plus they suffered from the typical BBC attention to special effects. On most occaisons you couldn't see the strings on their models..
Re:Ahem.. Blake's 7? (Score:2, Informative)
And major characters would often die, making it more realistic.
Not to mention the last episode, where they simply killed off all the remaining characters (excepting Blake himself... they just faded out right after he had been captured). Not many shows have the guts to do that.
Re:Ahem.. Blake's 7? (Score:2)
Not to mention the last episode, where they simply killed off all the remaining characters (excepting Blake himself... they just faded out right after he had been captured). Not many shows have the guts to do that.
I think you mean Avon. We got to see Blake killed.
Re:Ahem.. Blake's 7? (Score:2)
//rdj
Interzone -- Best Sci Fci Currently on Television (Score:5, Insightful)
Most SF fans know that many of the most interesting genre movies are derived from short stories (i.e Blade Runner, The Minority Report, even A.I.). What a lot of people don't know is that these short stories often first appeared in SF magazines. Magazines such as Interzone, Asimov's, and F&SF aren't in good financial health right now, even though they are the nursery for a lot of SF writers.
A yearly subscription to most of these costs less than on month's cable bill, but gives a lot more entertainment, and helps to ensure the future of SF writers.
End of pledge break -- now back to our regularly scheduled Microsoft bashing
Re:Interzone -- Best Sci Fci Currently on Televisi (Score:2)
Speaking of the guy whose name I just went blank on, who played the first corporate bad guy on TR, he was the lead on a show called Stingray several years ago that was pretty good, although calling it sci-fi is somewhat of a stretch.
My sci-fi picks (Score:2)
Stargate is just below my threshold -- not bad and I catch it pretty often, but I feel like I watch enough TV as it is so I don't follow it religiously.
Recently run (on UK TV).. (slightly off topic) (Score:2)
That's "Ultraviolet". It's well worth watching out for, although it's (in current form) just a 6 episode mini series.
Keep the eyes peeled,
Malk
Re:Recently run (on UK TV).. (slightly off topic) (Score:2)
Some SciFi... (Score:3, Insightful)
In fact, there's so much SciFi on TV these days that I can't keep up. There's also a "Witchblade" show on TNT (more Fantasy than SciFi) that's not bad. "Now and Again" is starting on SciFi on Monday; cancelled show from one of the major networks that I never saw, but I'm sure I'll check out a few episodes.
syndicated Stargate new season: Sept 11 (Score:2)
No final decision has been made yet whether Showtime will pick up a 6th season.
Re:syndicated Stargate new season: Sept 11 (Score:2)
Re:syndicated Stargate new season: Sept 11 (Score:2)
Red Dwarf (Score:5, Interesting)
Those of you in the UK can look forward to a new season soon, and most of us in the US can catch reruns of the first 8 seasons on our local PBS station [pbs.org].
Seasons 5 and 6 (Score:2)
Season 6 just didn't stand up to the others. Psirens (You heard 'em -- they want seed-spreaders. I'm going to apply. You guys deal with this Psiren thing. I'll deal with this.) was decent, but then you have stuff like Emohawk which was just a lame reason to bring back Ace Rimmer and Dwane Dibley. It was funnier the first time in Polymorph.
Seasons 5 and 6 also marked the move from pure sit com to a little more action oriented, which helps to keep the show from getting stale, but I loved the slapstick stuff. The shows don't seem to flow quite as well anymore, as for a point, they were getting to be a reason to string together a bunch of one liners. However, even a bad episode of Red Dwarf is better than most of the 'good' shows on american TV these days.
Red Dwarf is still in production. (Score:2)
However, anyone can tell you -- Red Dwarf is not considered SciFi as much as a sitcom set in space.
I do, however, have every episode on VHS, including the two bloopers tapes, and am hoping that they released the original versions on DVD, and not the 'remastered' ones where they took out the model shots and replaced them with CG. [There's just something classic about the models slamming into everything]
What about Buffy and Friends? (Score:5, Interesting)
I've waxed and waned on the SciFi channel - they have series that start good, but I just can't get into them. I do agree that Farscape is a lot better now than in the first seaon.
And, though it technically isn't SciFi (more horror) what about "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and it's spin-of "Angel". Though I'm worred what UPN will do to it, Buffy has been the best written and the best acted show on TV, and Angel isn't far behind. The characters in those shows laugh, cry, and hurt. And, though it gets silly once in a while, it knows it's silly and just laughs at itself.
Buffy is definitely the most "junvenile" of the two, though the themes it has discussed (sexuality, loss of a loved one) are biggies and they give it the weight that those themes deserve. Angel is more of an adult-oriented, with more of a Batman: The Animated Serie feel to it.
Try it - you may like it!
LEXX meets Red Dwarf (Score:2)
The Official Red Dwarf site [reddwarf.co.uk] has a good interview with them about staring on LEXX - Prison Wardens [reddwarf.co.uk].
Good and bad (Score:2)
As for non sci-fi channel sci-fi, witchblade is alright, but shows signs of degrading into the monotony of the highlander siries. Buffy was good for a while, but I think that it is past the haighpoint and is going down hill. The star treks have been washed up for me for a while. Of course my all time favorite is blakes 7, with doctor who as a second.
-CrackElf
Re:Good and bad (Score:2, Offtopic)
Not exactly the 'ugly, weak, undernourished geek/nerd' that you portray is it? Intelligence, lack of a frat membership, and not using steroids does not, in fact corrolate to unambitios, stupid, slow, weak, and a lack of talent. In fact it usually implies the opposite. I despise ignorance and stupidity, both of which you appear to have in abundance. As does Crichton.
Only a fool picks a fight without knowing his/her opponent. And you obviously do not know me.
-CrackElf
West Wing (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:West Wing (Score:2)
Nope. It counts, and not just for the alternate universe-ness.
They've shows have featured meteorology, cartography, air-traffic control, security technology, e-mail instability, crude-oil transport, and ichthyology (goldfish).
There was supposed to be a scene in the finale this year of some of them standing in front of the Einstein statue at NIST, but it got cut for time.
The West Wing is science fiction.
--Blair
Re:West Wing (Score:2)
Good Sci-Fi
And of course, this fall, the new B5 show. Which, unlike the new Star Trek, will definitely not suck. (I hope the new Star Trek doesn't suck, but I'm not getting that vibe. Someone fire Berman)
Re:West Wing (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't watch or read much fiction other than SF. There's so much good SF, and so little time. But there are exceptions. ER and West Wing jump to mind immediately. I wouldn't call, West Wing SF, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
Re:West Wing (Score:2)
Tell me about it. *sigh*
Any chance of getting Martin Sheen elected?
Actually, how about Aaron Sorkin? He knows how to do the job (having written both The American President and The West Wing), his characters are more fair-minded than any real politician, he's an alcoholic with a DWI conviction... Almost overqualified.
Different genre, but a definite best: Nero Wolfe. (Score:2)
You've got to love a guy who takes "Webster's New International Dictionary, Unabridged, Third Edition", rips out each page of it one at a time, and tosses them into the fireplace because the book threatens the integrity of the english language.
Anyways, A&E is currently shifting around the show right now and it doesn't have a solid time slot (they overplayed the first batch of episodes), but it's been playing and probably will continue it's run on Saturday nights. But of course, there's also the original books in a library near you.
CLEOPATRA 2525!@# (Score:2, Funny)
THERE ARE WOMEN WITH THE WILL TO SURVIVE
FIGHTING FOR A BRAND NEW DAY
NOTHING'S GONNA GET IN THEIR WAY
...
Christ, I'm so sorry. I don't know what overcame me. Oh yeah, the character Sarge gives me wood. that's what it was. Bad TV show, bad acting, nice abs. Now it's cancelled. I hope. It disappeared off local TV like an indicted infomercial king.
Invader Zim! (Score:2)
Two downsides, though:
Zim: Yes, yes -- LORD OF HUMANS!! I will rule you all with an iron fist!
Farscape, Yes, Lexx, Yes... (Score:2)
I don't find a whole lot of character in any of the characters in Lexx. The only main character who doesn't seem completely flat is Kai (And he's DEAD!) I do derive a fair amount of sadistic pleasure in watching the writers torment Stanley and any show that has two freaking seasons of Nigel Bennett as the bad guy has got to be good.
Re:Farscape, Yes, Lexx, Yes... (Score:2)
Re:Farscape, Yes, Lexx, Yes... (Score:2)
Farscape... yes, Lexx... (Score:2)
I agress, I love farscape, but I find Lexx very confusing and annoying. I think my difficulty is that I don't watch a lot of tv and when I catch Lexx ocassionally the story is just so different from what I recall of the last episode that it is very hard to follow.
Re:Stargate SG-1 (Score:2)
There is extremely little information available about episodes until after they air. Even after they air the synopsis and screen shots might not appear for some time. If you're not seeing information about the current season, it's probably because they haven't release it yet, not because of your location.
Re:Stargate SG-1 (Score:2)
Re:Voyager was great! (Score:2)
This must be a big problem for viewers in the US. Considering the completly non serial way that series tend to be scheduled there.
Re:Babylon 5 (Score:5, Informative)
As well, it is a very believable sci-fi series. The humans are not the most powerful race in existence. The future is dirty, dingle, and jerry-rigged; not some utopian paradise. The science is believable: Star Furies act as how spacecraft *should* act. And I love the space battles; just the little details like the space debris keeping the inertia, the way streams of pulse cannon fire missing missing hitting missing targets.
B5 is the premiere science fiction series. If you haven't watched it, and want to know how good it is without knowing anything of the story line, I would suggest watching "In The Beginning", the made-for-cable movie that relates the events of the Earth-Minbari war.
Re:Babylon 5 (Score:2)
I was thinking yesterday that Earth: Final Conflict hadn't turned out as good as I had expected when it first started, and I suspect part of the problem is that its focus wanders because it isn't pre-planned the way B5 was, so each episode is written without enough regard to how it fits into the overall picture.
Re:Babylon 5 (Score:2)
My only source for the show is WGN on cable and they usually move it around to make room for Cubs games or put it opposite 3 other things that I want to tape, and right now they seem to be running re-runs from previous seasons, so I'm having a little trouble keeping up with where things stand in that particular imaginary universe.
10pm, you're getting wrong feed (Score:3, Informative)
If you're seeing it at midnight, you're either on a tape delay or in the CTZ but getting the west coast feed for some reason. Either way, you should complain to your cable provider.
(If I had to guess, this is to "protect the children" from the nudity and sexual situations in their late-night programming. Heaven forbid we expect parents to monitor what their children are watching on TV in the late evening.)
Re:ST:TNG (Score:2)
Anyway I'm ranting.
Re:define scifi (Score:2)
Re:Clearly (Score:2)
Re:Witchblade (Score:2)
Re:My Favories (Score:2)
I watched that show when they first started airing it. By the 5th time some horribly weird unknown complication with time travel rendered the hero [an amnesiac, hurt, whatever], I was sick of it. The reasons for going back were crappy, the constant fuckups of time travel were lame (and shouldn't have been relied upon to be so much of the plot), and the acting was just awful.
Re:The simple algorithm to determine good SF/TV (Score:2)
Re:What about (Score:2)
At least Lamas is finally getting enough age in his face that he can play more interesting characters than pouty stud pretty boy if someone will write something decent for him.