Category: TV Sci-Fi (Page 52 of 81)

Battlestar Galactica 4.13: “Sometimes a Great Notion”

January 17, 2009 /

This should go without saying, but do NOT read further if you haven’t yet seen the premiere of the second half of the fourth season. There are MAJOR spoilers ahead.

To prepare for last night’s premiere, I re-watched “The Hub” and “Revelations” just to get back in the “Battlestar Galactica” groove. When the fleet finally jumped to Earth, and started to celebrate, an old hip-hop song from the ’80s — “Joy & Pain” by Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock — popped into my head. (By the way, I guarantee you that this is the only “BG” blog that is going to reference a Rob Base song.) I was sad for the fleet knowing what was in store for them on Earth. I still feel like the final trip to Earth was rushed, but the creators wanted to get that plot point in before the first half finale, and I don’t blame them.

So where do we go from here?

First off, I was conflicted when I saw that Dualla played such a prominent role in the “previously on” scenes before the start of the premiere. Once it started, and she was getting major screen time after being largely ignored for most of the fourth season, I figured either she was going to be revealed as the 5th Cylon or that she was going to die…soon. Dualla has always been one of my favorite characters on the show. She’s so damn sweet and cute, and she was always loyal to the man she loved. In many ways, she represented human innocence and optimism, and the fact that she blew her brains out after looking at her childhood picture (and babysitting for Hera — don’t forget that) speaks volumes about the state of the human fleet right now. They put all of their eggs in one basket — Earth — but those eggs have the avian bird flu. R.I.P. Dualla…you will be missed. (By the way, that was a great piece of acting by Kandyse McClure.)

Some time passes and researchers on Earth determine that the planet went through a nuclear holocaust 2,000 years ago. They also dig up Cylon components (unlike any they have seen before) and bones that turn out to be 100% Cylon. Tyrol has a flashback of his life on Earth when the nuclear strike hits. Apparently, he, Anders, Tory and Tigh all have memories of living on Earth two milennia ago. Anders remembers playing “All Along the Watchtower” for a girl, so since that’s a contemporary song, it would seem to imply that this version of “Battlestar Galactica” takes place 2,000 years in our future. If that’s the case, if 100% of the bones are Cylon, then I’m inferring that we are Cylon.

There are load of religious implications to this — are the creators saying that we are reborn somewhere else when we die in the same way that Cylon skinjobs do? Is that our heaven/afterlife? Were all the Cylons on Earth capable of being reborn or just the final five?

This brings me to the giant elephant sitting in the room — and to be honest, I don’t really want to think about it…Ellen is (apparently) the final Cylon. Ellen Tigh. Saul’s drunk whore of a wife. Ellen is the fifth. Ellen.

Surprising? Yes. Out of left field? Sure. A bit disappointing? Hell yeah.

Keep in mind, this is based solely on Saul’s memory of the holocaust. She said that they would be reborn together, but that sounds like something any human could say to their spouse if they were facing imminent death. Then again, the fact that he’s having memories of her at all — that she in fact lived on Earth 2,000 years ago — would imply that she is indeed the final Cylon.

But I’m not sold that she is the fifth, especially in light of what Starbuck found on Earth (and how quickly they revealed it). However, it seems like with the timing of Saul’s flashback, that’s exactly what we’re supposed to believe. And it may in fact be the truth. But it also might be Saul wanting Ellen to be the fifth. Until we see her alive and well, I’m going to be skeptical.

And that’s mainly due to Starbuck, who finds a corpse on Earth that has flowing locks of blond hair and her ring/dog tags around its neck. Couldn’t she be the fifth?

Grrr.

I’m interested to hear what other viewers out there think about this episode. Are you sold on Ellen as the fifth? Or is it Starbuck or someone else? Is there some other explanation?

And where does the fleet go from here?

(FYI, I’m normally going to post this blog sometime on Saturday morning.)

Battlestar Galactica, External Entertainment, External TV, TV, TV Action, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

TCA Tour, Jan. 2009: Fox newsflash

January 13, 2009 /

Kevin Reilly, president of Fox Entertainment, just came onstage and announced:

* The scheduling process for “Dollhouse” was considered very seriously, and the thought is that moving “Sarah Connor” to Fridays as a lead-in makes a good combo; additionally, there’s a solid promotional platform the night before, with “Bones” being moved to Thursday nights. Long story short, they’re committed to 13 episodes, and they’ll see how it’ll play out.

* He confirmed conclusively that “Prison Break” will end after this season, but that “they’re gonna finish strong.” There are four episodes and are contemplating doing a few more, but no formal decision has been made on that. “We didn’t give it the hook,” he said. “It’s just played out.”

* He described “Fringe” as “a keeper,” though he also referred to it as “a bear, creatively, because it’s so ambitious,” and doesn’t really expect it to take off just because it’ll be airing after “American Idol.”

* “Moment of Truth” has a season’s worth of episodes – 24, he reckons – sitting on the shelf, and “we’ll come back to it at some point,” but “we had other options, and we had other things that we wanted to put on more immediately. We have it as a tool when we want to go for it.”

* The idea of doing a show about a high school glee club (“Glee”) was one that came about predominantly because of one reason: it was created by Ryan Murphy, of “Nip/Tuck” fame.

* He hopes to have Paula Abdul stay with “American Idol” for the long haul.

* He described NBC as “the crazy ex-wife I can’t get away from,” but gave them credit for signing up Jay Leno and described it as “a smart, strategic move for a troubled place.”

* “Bones” works everywhere they put it and has only been growing, thanks to its base. If it does what they hope it will do for them on Thursday, however, they’ll lock it down there.

* He smirked that “Do Not Disturb,” if nothing else, made a lot of lists this year, and that they’re mostly sticking with their animated sitcoms, though they’re ordering five half-hour pilots and will see whether or not one of them will end up on the fall schedule. “It doesn’t make sense to order comedy for the sake of comedy,” he said. “Even if I have a show that we love, if we don’t think it can be protected on the fall schedule, we won’t put it on there.”

American Idol, External Entertainment, External TV, Interviews, News, Prison Break, Reality TV, TCA Blog 2009, TCA Press Tour, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

TCA Tour, Jan. 2009: “The Prisoner”

January 11, 2009 /

There are cult TV series, and then there are cult TV series. Standing rather far ahead of the rest of the pack by just about every critics’ estimation, however, is “The Prisoner,” starring Patrick McGoohan as a former secret agent who is held captive in a small seaside village by the sea by an unidentified power that wants to know why he’s resigned from service. Hell, I’ve never even watched the series, and yet I’d still rate it as one of the top cult shows of all time, based solely on its reputation.

Once again, I think you have to give AMC kudos for their boldness as a network, because not only have they decided to re-imagine “The Prisoner,” thereby putting themselves in line to take no end of flak from the highly obsessive fans of the original series, but they’re even offering up the original show on AMCtv.com for those who haven’t seen it yet. (They also gave all of the critics in attendance a copy of the DVD box set of the series, since we’re clearly far too busy to watch television online.)

Confident much?

Well, you probably would be, too, if you could lay claim to having secured Jim Caviezel as your new Number Six and Sir Ian McKellen as the devious Number Two, then filled out the cast with Lennie James (“Jericho”), Ruth Wilson (“Jane Eyre”), and Jamie Campbell Bower (“Sweeney Todd,” “RocknRolla”).

It’s still going to take some convincing to get the old-school “Prisoner” fans to accept that the seaside of Portmeirion has been thrown out in favor of a new Village located in the midst of a desert setting, of course, but director Nick Hurran is clearly pleased with this new interpretation of the concept, which still focuses on a man trapped somewhere from which he cannot escape.

“The themes have the issue of family, of love, of control and of freedom in the same way,” said Hurran. “Freedom of choice, how much should we be allowed to have in our society of freedom. So, in that way, there are parallels of someone leaving a world and waking up in this extraordinary place for a reason that wants to be discovered. As in the original, there’s The Village. It’s an ideal world where everything will be provided for you. For us, you’ll be endlessly happy. Everything will be fulfilled for you, as long as you don’t ask questions. You won’t have the freedom to ask why, to say, ‘I’d like to leave now.’ And Six is the only one who questions that and says, ‘No, I’m not going to just take a number and join your marvelous world. I’m going to ask why and why is everybody else like this.’ We follow his challenge to question it and try and find out.”

McKellen, who conceded that he didn’t watch the original “Prisoner” when it first aired and only caught it in reruns years later, seems happy with the fact that AMC’s re-interpretation will be far less open-ended than its predecessor.

“One of the characteristics of the original was that in 17 episodes, the questions that you were invited to ask as to why and who is in charge and what are their motives, was never really answered, hence the enduring fascination,” said McKellen. “The viewers are still guessing as to what was the meaning of it all. Well, this is different. By episode six, you know everything about The Village: Where it came from, where it’s going to, who created it, why they did it and what it’s like to actually live there.”

McKellen also agrees with the decision to abandon the unabashedly British nature of the original. “Even though the location was in Wales, it didn’t feel like that,” he said. “It felt like a little English Disney place. Frankly, I’m more attracted to (screenwriter) Bill Gallagher’s notion of ‘The Prisoner’ and The Village and it’s on a world scale. The implications are for us all. To have an American character at the center of it seems appropriate in a way it would not have been to that curious English feeling that saturated the original series.”

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Seven shows that just don’t get enough love

January 8, 2009 /

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to put together a list of my favorite television moments before the end of 2008, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t spend an inordinate amount of time in front of the tube. (Come to think of it, maybe my television addiction was the reason I didn’t have the free time to write about the best of 2008. Hmm.)

Anyway, here is a list of seven terrific shows that seem to be flying under the proverbial radar.

1. “True Blood” (HBO)
Alan Ball, the writer of “American Beauty” and the creator of “Six Feet Under,” brings us a series based on vampires in the Deep South. The series is based on Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series of books and stars Anna Paquin — whom I argued, under the moniker of Eli Cash a few years back, would have made a better Penny Lane than Kate Hudson — as a mind-reading waitress in a small town in Louisiana. The first season was excellent, though it got off to a bit of a slow start. Paquin is the key, but her best friend Tara (played by Rutina Wesley) often steals the show.

2. “Dexter” (Showtime)
Everyone’s favorite serial killer is back for a third season. Dexter Morgan works for the Miami Police Department as a blood splatter analyst and he spends his night hunting and killing the worst criminals in South Florida. This series has been excellent from the start, and shows no signs of slowing down. This season brought in Jimmy Smits as an Assistant District Attorney with a serious dark side. After “Six Feet Under,” I thought I’d always see Michael C. Hall as the openly gay David Fisher, but now I can’t imagine him as anyone other than the dark and secretive Dexter.

3. “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (FX)
Maybe this show just too crass to be mainstream, and thinking about it, that’s probably what makes it so great. “Sunny” really hit its stride in the third season, and the fourth season was even better. The show follows a group of friends (and Danny DeVito) that own a bar in Philadelphia. Every episode has its own completely ridiculous premise, but once you accept that every single character is a selfish, narcissistic moron, it becomes that much funnier. As far as sitcoms go, for me, the excellent fourth season put it in the same tier as “The Office,” “30 Rock,” “Weeds” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and that’s some good company.

4. “Summer Heights High” (HBO)
Anyone who dug the U.K. version of “The Office” should check this series out. It’s an Australian mockumentary that follows three characters — the effeminate drama teacher Mr. G, the snotty private school transfer Ja’mie and the disruptive Tongan student Jonah — which are all played by the same actor, writer/creator Chris Lilley. Watching a grown man run around in a school dress is ridiculous, but that’s part of the fun. Lilley is extremely talented; it can’t be easy to morph into three very different characters every week. The humor is outrageous and the situations (especially involving the clueless Mr. G) can be David Brent-type awkward.

5. “Supernatural” (CW)
This sci-fi/fantasy series started off in typical “freak of the week” fashion with a different monster to defeat each week, but as it got into its third season, it really developed some serious, serialized chops. Now in its fourth year, the show continues to follow two brothers who are “hunters,” i.e. they fight all manner of evil — demons, vampires, ghosts, etc. Even in its first year, the show held my attention, but with all the happenings of the last two seasons, new episodes don’t sit on my TiVo for very long. Viewers who like sci-fi/fantasy should definitely check out “Supernatural.”

6. “The Unit” (CBS)
I think a lot of people write off “The Unit” as a typical CBS show like “CSI” or “NCIS” (or some other acronym), but as the show as worn on, it’s simply gotten better and better. The subject matter is ripe with storylines; the show follows members of a Special Forces unit (led by super-badass Jonas Blane, played wonderfully by Dennis Haysbert) and their families. A quick look at the production staff reveals a couple of big names — David Mamet (“The Untouchables,” “Glengarry Glen Ross”) and Shawn Ryan (“The Shield”) — that instantly give the show some serious credibility. Early on, the series could get a little “hooah!” and focus on the wives a bit too much, but the later seasons have struck the perfect balance between the professional and the personal.

7. “Brotherhood” (Showtime)
It doesn’t have as high of a profile as “The Sopranos” and maybe it’s not as addicting, but “Brotherhood” has the same feel and the same quality of writing. It follows two brothers in Providence, Rhode Island. One is a corrupt state congressman trying to do right by his family and the other is deeply involved in organized crime. Those that miss “The Sopranos” or “The Wire” should definitely rent the first season of “Brotherhood.”

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It’s time to set your TiVos…

January 5, 2009 /

There are a number of new (and returning) shows making their season debuts this month. Here is a list of the scripted shows that premiere in the next two weeks (through 1/19):

SCRUBS (ABC)
1/6/09 at 9:00 PM & 9:30 PM
8th season premiere

NIP/TUCK (FX)
1/6/09 at 10:00 PM
5th season winter premiere

10 ITEMS OR LESS (TBS)
1/6/09 at 11:00 PM
3rd season premiere

DAMAGES (FX)
1/7/09 at 10:00 PM
2nd season premiere

FLASHPOINT (CBS)
1/9/09 at 9:00 PM
2nd season premiere

MONK (USA)
1/9/09 at 9:00 PM
7th season winter premiere

PSYCH (USA)
1/9/09 at 10:00 PM
3rd season winter premiere

24 (FOX)
1/11/09 at 8:00 PM
7th season premiere – special night and time

KYLE XY (ABC FAMILY)
1/12/09 at 9:00 PM
3rd season premiere

THE BEAST (A&E)
1/15/09 at 10:00 PM
(from A&E’s press release, November 2008) A&E Network will premiere the original scripted drama series, “The Beast” on January 15th at 10PM ET/PT. “The Beast,” starring Patrick Swayze and Travis Fimmel, centers on an unorthodox but effective FBI veteran, Charles Barker (Swayze), who takes on a rookie partner, Ellis Dove (Fimmel), to train in his hard-edged and psychologically clever style of agenting. In the premiere episode of “The Beast,” the mischievous Barker hazes Dove as they go undercover on their first case to infiltrate a weapons smuggling ring. Barker brilliantly manipulates situations, constantly tests his new partner’s abilities and pushes him to delve deeper into the roles of the undercover characters he creates. Although Dove takes a liking to Barker, the new job takes its toll on him. The stress and danger of being an agent quickly makes him realize that he can no longer maintain normal relationships outside of work. Yet that’s not the worst of it. The rookie is confronted with a larger challenge: An FBI Internal Affairs team feels Barker may have gone rogue and they try to enlist Dove as a double-agent in the bureau’s investigation of his mentor.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (NBC)
1/16/09 at 9:00 PM
3rd season premiere
(Note: I’ve been watching this season and it’s as good as it has ever been.)

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (SCI-FI)
1/16/09 at 10:00 PM
4th season winter premiere
(Note: Be sure to check back for our weekly blog of the final season.)

THE L WORD (SHOWTIME)
1/18/09 at 9:00 PM
5th season premiere

BIG LOVE (HBO)
1/18/09 at 9:00 PM
3rd season premiere

FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS (HBO)
1/18/09 at 10:00 PM
2nd season premiere

THE UNITED STATES OF TARA (SHOWTIME)
1/18/09 at 10:00 PM
(from Showtime’s press release, June 2008) Showtime Networks has fast-tracked the pickup of THE UNITED STATES OF TARA, a new 12 episode half-hour comedy series starring Academy Award(R)-nominated actress Toni Collette (“Little Miss Sunshine”) as a wife and mother who suffers from disassociative identity (formerly multiple personality) disorder, it was announced today by Robert Greenblatt, President of Entertainment for Showtime. The comedy series, a co-production of Dreamworks Television and Showtime Networks, will delve into how a dysfunctional family, including Tara’s working husband played by John Corbett (“Sex and the City”), copes with the various identities that may appear on any given day and range in age, temperament and even gender.

SECRET DIARY OF A CALL GIRL (SHOWTIME)
1/18/09 at 10:30 PM
2nd season premiere
(Note: I’ve seen the first few episodes of the second season and there was no fall off.)

Check back on 1/19/09 and we’ll have another list of debuting shows for you. If you can’t wait, the Futon Critic has a complete list of January premieres.

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