Weekly Sci-Fi Thread (11/08/09)

11/08/09 | Kevin Davis

[KevinDavis]

Weekly Sci-Fi Thread (11/08/09)

Mon:
8/7 -- Heroes -- NBC

Tues:
8/7 -- V -- ABC Thurs:
8/7 -- Flashforward -- ABC
9/8 -- Fringe -- Fox

Fri:
9/8 -- Stargate Universe -- SyFy
10/9 -- Sanctuary -- SyFy

Also there are variety of scifi shows on www.fancast.com

[KevinDavis]

I really enjoyed V, however, there was no shock factor like there was in the original.... This show has potential..

[KevinDavis]

A big thanks goes to Visualops for the Banner!!

[LiberConservative]

I agree about V. It was very good but lacked the scares from the original. Hopefully they have some twists in later episodes.

[Jack Deth]

‘FlashForward’ had a little momentum last week with a new twist. Those who didn’t see anthing in their flash forwards are now exploring and forming suicide cults. Others are trying to alter their projected futures by offing themselves. Oh, and the intrepid L.A. FBI agent’s AA sponsor whose daughter ‘died’ in Iraq finds her alive and well and waiting at home as a cliff hanger!

‘Fringe’ had a palpable ‘X-File’ feel with an energy seeking Russian cosmonaut trying to be kept in check by his former KGB intel officer brother. The after effect of having someone’s energy sucked out was definitely cool!!!

Still haven’t seen ‘V’. Wasn’t a big fan of the original, except for femme fatale/lizard Queen Jane Balder. General concensus is that if you’re over 35 and remember the original and later lame series, the newest ewndition will be found lacking.

Jack.

[beebuster2000]

V. i am hooked. cant wait. when do we get to see the full lizard?

and btw, the lizard guy who is masquerading as a human rebel, is about to get married. thats got to be one really good human suit for the lizard to pull that off on the wedding night, dont you agree?

[Bender2]

Have watched "Fringer" from the get-go and have "V" Part One on tape. Watched new "Stargate" twice.

Just cannot get up any interest for even watching "Flash" or the others. "Lost" lost me before the 1st season ended.

Bring back "The Twilight Zone" & "The Outer Limits" as their creators made them, they were true sci-fi!

Gadzooks! Wish I could win a big lottery... then I'd do Starship Troopers as Heinlein wrote it!

[Bad Jack Bauer]

then I'd do Starship Troopers as Heinlein wrote it!

I always thought that Starship Troopers had great potential if it was done as a dark, gritty series with emphasis on characters. I also always wished that they would get more into the ultra smart, talking neo-dogs called "Calebs" from the book.

[GeronL]

did I miss “The Prisoner”??

[Bender2]

Re: I also always wished that they would get more into the ultra smart, talking neo-dogs called "Calebs" from the book.

We do that... on "Family Guy"

And these bitches here... are too dang smart already!

[KevinDavis]

Next week.. I’m going to record it..

[KevinDavis]

I agree unless they are going to show a new hybrid child..

[GeronL]

I have been catching SGU on Hulu, I think it is getting better in some ways. Dr Rush does seem to be up to something.

[blackie]

I’ve watched Fringes from the start, also. I watched “V” twice before deleting it; I liked it!

I never got into the Stargate series on TV, liked the original movie, though.

Flashforward is a little weird.

“The Twilight Zone” & “The Outer Limits” were excellent!!

I’ve got the “prisoner” ready to record on the 15th, 16th and 17th. Jim Caviezel is one of my favorite actors!

[blackie]

I’m a little over 35 (I’m 79) and I like the new “V” better than the original, the FX are better. ;)

[KevinDavis]

I agree.. He is up to something.. What I don’t know..

[GeronL]

The non-chalance people have of being in another body is stupid and unreal. Do you really think people would behave that way?

[Tanniker Smith]

however, there was no shock factor like there was in the original

Always a problem with remakes. The biggest shock is if they do it right.

[mowowie]

Kevin could you please add me to your ping list?
Thank you

[KevinDavis]

So far it is good.. I have a feeling the ABC is going to screw it up..

[LibertarianLiz]

I actually found this past Friday’s episode of SGU to be (gasp) interesting. Up to this point I have found the stories dull, and the visuals even more dull. Why is it so dark?

[hsalaw]

I wish I could agree, but this week's episode has, I think, ended SGU for me. I can't STAND the senator's daughter's continual childish whining, and those scenes in the bar - gag. She gets mad because her best friend is kissing her ex?boyfriend, when she's getting it on with the Lt. on the spaceship. Hypocrisy much?

And the Col. who keeps sniffing around his ex?wife when we find out he had or may have had or wanted to have an affair with the medic. Oh, please. Who cares. Again, such hypocrisy and what a crybaby.

And I'm certain Rush is up to no good, but he's such an arrogant SOB and the rest of the people are such losers that I really don't care who does what to whom.

Bottom line for me: they're all whiners, losers, and hypocritical complainers. And why can't they turn some lights on? It's so dark I couldn't see what was going on even if I wanted to.

[Publius6961]

I haven't watched the last episode of Flashforward.

Before I do, can anyone tell me if the Gay indoctrination is continuing?

[TheVitaminPress]

I haven’t seen Flash, SGU or V yet, catching up can be hard to do. Fringe has been extremely satisfying though . . . I definitely enjoy that show.

[Pablo64]

I don't know Bendy, I don't think most people these days are mentally equipped to understand the concepts R.A.H. was writing about in Starship Troopers; things like honor, duty, freedom. If they were, I doubt we would be in the mess we are in as a nation. Too many generations of dumbed-down sheeple that have passed through the government (i.e. liberal-progressive) school systems.

True, die-hard SciFi fans (those who refuse to recognize ridiculous pre-pubescent image makeovers like "SyFy") would love it, but would it be enough?

(Our family has unanimously agreed that the new "SyFy" will henceforth and forever be pronounced "Siff-ee" in our house).

[mom4kittys]

There is NOTHING better than LOST!

Give it another chance and watch it from the beginning, but pay attention. It has a lot of layers.

[tarheelswamprat]

I really enjoyed V, however, there was no shock factor like there was in the original....

I must disagree. The audience who viewed the original understood that it was a combination historical analogy/philosophical warning of how totalitarian regimes like the Nazis come to power. The shock value was in the lizards' hidden identity. However, that original audience knew it was just make-believe.

Today's audience already knows the plot so it isn't shocked by that aspect. The shock today lies in the fact that millions of Americans watched it and thought "Yep, except for the spaceships and lizards part, this is what's happening to us right now..." It's not just make-believe anymore.

[TheVitaminPress]

Every time I see SyFy its hard not to pronounce it siffee. Some of the Heinlein stuff is amazing for its unabashed stand for individual liberty . . . (although often it is suggested that the opposite of these themes are expressed in ST, I haven’t read the novel myself so I couldn’t say) especially in light of how much sci-fi has come to serve as a bully pullpit for every progressive cause imaginable. I was especially struck by the film adaptation of “Destination Moon”. The protagonist seemed very much to be a Howard Rourke.

[beebuster2000]

tar, with you totally on that. when the V’s start spouting about universal healthcare it is really freaky

[tarheelswamprat]

I’m a little over 35 (I’m 79) and I like the new “V” better than the original, the FX are better. ;)

Unfortunately it appears that ABC has already ordered a creative "retooling" that will probably kill it. Before the pilot was even aired they fired/demoted Scott Peters, the creative director, brought on a new guy to replace him, shut down production pending that retooling of the remaining screenplays, and after the 4 episodes which have already been shot are aired, the series will go on hiatus until March. I will not be surprised if they never complete the remaining 9 episodes. If they do, the "tone" may be completely different.

[tarheelswamprat]

tar, with you totally on that. when the V’s start spouting about universal healthcare it is really freaky

How about "you can ask anything you want, but don't ask any questions that might portray us negatively"...? /g

[beebuster2000]

also, dont you see shades of Acorn in the V youth core idea? the whole thing is a little too close to truth for comfort.

thing though that amazes me, obviously the series was in the can for a while. is it just coincidence? or are the writers really trying to comment on current politics and society?

[tarheelswamprat]

(Our family has unanimously agreed that the new "SyFy" will henceforth and forever be pronounced "Siff-ee" in our house).

The most galling aspect of the new SyFy "re-imaging" is that it's been done with a deliberate, calculated back-of-the-hand slap to Sci-Fi's original, loyal "hard" science fiction fans. I know all the demographic, economic, etc. arguments and excuses that have been advanced. Some are valid or at least understandable, but the contention that a cable network that runs 24/7 can't allocate at least an hour or two a day for "our" demographic, yet can find time for wrestling is simply BS.

I don't begrudge the soap opera fans their Battlestar Galactica or Stargate: Universe, but the network could at least toss us a bone. Their unwillingness to do even that shows their contempt for us. The truth is that the current SyFy management doesn't give a flip about science fiction, except to the extent that they can disingenuously use the term to stake out their market niche.

The fact that their product is starting to blend into indistinguishability with the rest of cable programming doesn't seem to concern them. They may wake up one day to find that a lot of their viewers have tired of their wrestling, CGI monster, soap opera and ghost-chasing crap and have moved on to better crap on other channels. In the meantime, thank goodness for Netflix... /g

[tarheelswamprat]

thing though that amazes me, obviously the series was in the can for a while. is it just coincidence? or are the writers really trying to comment on current politics and society?

I have read in other discussion forums that Scott Peters has stated that the screenplay for the pilot was finalized after the Nov. 2008 election, so it's possible the allusions are more deliberate.

[GeronL]

I agree with a lot of that. I actually proposed some of us scifi freepers produce a fan film but nothing came of it. I blame the economy.

[tarheelswamprat]

I dunno. There doesn’t seem to be enough Freepers interested in scifi to fund a film... /g

There is some interesting non-Hollywood sci fi being done, however. Do a search on “Star Trek New Voyages” and “Star Trek: Of Gods and Men”.

[GeronL]

I have seen those

[blackie]

"Unfortunately it appears that ABC has already ordered a creative "retooling" that will probably kill it. Before the pilot was even aired they fired/demoted Scott Peters, the creative director, brought on a new guy to replace him, shut down production pending that retooling of the remaining screenplays, and after the 4 episodes which have already been shot are aired, the series will go on hiatus until March. I will not be surprised if they never complete the remaining 9 episodes. If they do, the "tone" may be completely different."

I'll keep watching it until they screw it up.

ABC will be doing the Winter Olympics during "V's" shut down time.

[TheVitaminPress]

Just picked up a copy of S.T. today, looking forward to reading it.

[Pablo64]

You will enjoy it. I expect that I will re-read it sometime in the coming year. It’s about that time.