Want to know a sure-fire way to get three geeks all hot and bothered faster than warp 9.5? Easy, just ask them what specious scientific principals are abused most often by sci-fi authors! Dave, Jen and I tackle this topic whole-heartedly in Episode 15 of The Sci-Fi Cast and the results are funny indeed. We also review the week’s news including a nerdy discussion of the new Enterprise, the latest rumors about Doctor Who and just why you have to be naked to travel through time. Head on over to The Sci-Fi Cast and check out episode 15 today!
Tag: bsg
TV’s Chicken & The Egg
Last week IO9 reported that rumors of the death of FOX’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles were greatly exaggerated. Don’t watch The Sarah Connor Chronicles? That’s okay, neither do I. I know nothing about the show, who stars in it or even what it’s about other than it has something to do with the Terminator movies and Wil Wheaton auditioned for a small part. I know that last bit because I used to follow him on Twitter. I stopped because he never, ever responded to any of the @replies I sent him (and I sent him a few). Seems to me you could at least try and answer your fans every now and then Wil. Where was I? Oh yeah, I don’t watch the SC Chronicles.
I also I didn’t watch FOX’s much-hyped “Drive”, or the X-Files rip-off Fringe, nor the lame-ass Sci-Fi Channel remake of Flash Gordon. I’m a total science fiction fan and these shows are made for geeks like me, so why didn’t I watch these shows? The answer is simple. I didn’t want to get hooked because I knew they had about as much of a chance of surviving as a Red Shirt on a routine away mission. Ratings for Fringe are nowhere near what FOX wants, Drive lasted a grand total of 2 episodes and Flash Gordon got cancelled after one season. And although IO9 reports that T:SCC has another 13 episodes coming, somehow I don’t believe it anymore than I believe Knight Rider will survive to make its first turbo jump.
So herein lies the problem. Viewers don’t want to emotionally invest in shows they don’t think will last. But if no one tunes in, then nothing ever becomes successful enough to survive and flourish. I didn’t watch the first season of Heroes partly because I thought it was all hype. Of course the hype was deserved and season one became a mega-hit. When the DVD’s were released, I plunged in and enjoyed season 1 from start to finish. Sadly, season 2 was a waste and I’m starting to get a sinking feeling about season 3 as well.
Given the fact that science fiction shows usually have life spans of Tribbles instead of Trills, how do you as the viewer, decide which series get your attention? I never watched Firefly when it aired, but fans often tell me that it was one of the best sci-fi shows on television. Despite the piss-poor treatment FOX gave it at the time, they say it was well worth the abrupt cancellation to enjoy the few episodes that aired. I find this very difficult to believe.
Often, the fatal flaw for these series are networks that disintegrate them before they have a chance to develop and grow their core audience. What TV shows have you passed on for fear of having the remote snatched away? There’s no guarantee, for example, that the historic ratings success of Battlestar Galactica will translate to the new spin-off series Caprica. But if I know the Sci-Fi Channel, viewers may not even get a chance to set a season pass for Caprica before it’s blasted out the nearest airlock. A note to trigger-happy network executives: if shows like Sarah Connor or Caprica are to earn a place on my TiVo, you have to learn to say “I’ll be back”, and not “Hasta la vista, baby.”
Trek TV Mashups
Found these awesome Star Trek TV Mashups on YouTube last night and I just had to share. It’s amazing what a DVD collection, a video editing package and too much time on your hands can get you these days. The Battlestar Galactica re-mix is my favorite, but I’m a sucker for 80’s TV so the Love Boat and Dallas versions don’t trail far behind. If you liked these, be sure to also check out the Star Trek version of A-Team and the Voyager mix of Buffy Angel. Live Long and Silly!
“Life here, began out there.”
We’ve taken our first steps into a larger world with episode IV of Sci-Fi Cast. Our weekly podcast discussing season 4 of Battlestar Galactica and all things geek, has made the jump (sorry, had to do it) to Apple’s iTunes. You can now subscribe to the show by visiting the podcast section of iTunes.
This week’s episode is sadly missing Krystyn, but we have high hopes she’ll join us for episode V next week. In the meantime, Jen, Dave and I theorize about the internal temperature of Colonial garbage scows, what makes for the perfect BSG episode (according to Jen, it’s all about the act-ion!) and how bad it would suck to have Admiral Adama disappointed in you.
The usual spoiler warning applies, so don’t listen if you’ve not watched “Escape Velocity” yet. It’s kinda like opening your eyes at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. If you do, and you’ve not watched BSG episode 4 yet, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Well, maybe not that long.
Download or listen to Sci-Fi Cast Episode 4 (21 min) here.
PS – On a personal note, I promise never to download a show from my TiVO while using Skype ever again, which is what I was doing during this episode. If you ever want to sound like you’re speaking through a piece of digital cheesecloth, then this technique works great, otherwise ABORT! ABORT!
Futurama & Fracking Airlocks!
Looks like Sci-Fi Cast is now officially a podcast, I mean we’re at episode three right? How many more do we have to do before I consider this a real “gig”? This week’s episode catches us up with events in the season 4 BSG episode “The Ties That Bind” including how the Sci-Fi channel apparently lets 3rd graders edit next week’s previews, Captain Ahab, I mean Starbuck and why Futurama just might be the greatest show in the history of television. Sadly we were missing Krystyn Heide this week (something about having an actual life, I dunno) but Jen Segrest, Dave Caolo and I did our best to be sufficiently geeky to take up the slack.
A bit of a warning, this episode is full of fracking spoilers for BSG’s 3rd episode, so don’t listen if you’ve not watched “The Ties That Bind” yet. Don’t say we didn’t warn you, because once you listen, you can’t un-listen!
Download or listen to Sci-Fi Cast Episode 3 here.
Of Exocomps & Evangelion
Well, we’ve done it again. Blogger buddies Dave Caolo, Jen Segrest and myself were joined by the insightful Krystyn Heide to discuss reaction to episode 4.2 of Battlestar Galactica and the results were a full on geek fest. Topics of discussion this time range from Buffy and Babylon 5 all the way to The Next Generation, Evangelion and lobotomizing those poor little Cylon raiders. Episode 2 of Sci-Fi Cast clocks in at 23 minutes and is available as an enhanced podcast for your listening pleasure.
Of course I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you that the podcast contains spoilers for the first two episodes of Battlestar Galactica’s fourth season. If you don’t want to ruin your viewing experience, best to hold off listening until you’ve caught up. We hope you’ll join us for our ongoing geeky trek throughout this season of Galactica. Enjoy!
Download or listen to episode 2 here.
The President’s New Face
If you’ve been watching season 4 of Battlestar Galactica then you may have noticed things have changed since last season, and not for the better. No, I’m not talking about the 4 new Cylon models or Lee abandoning the cockpit of his trusty viper. I’m talking about what Laura Roslin, or more correctly, Mary McDonnell has done to her once lovely face.
After watching last night’s episode and then doing a quick image search of the actress for comparison, I think it’s safe to say Mary has caved to Hollywood pressure and “had work done”. You can see in the comparison image that her cheek bones, jaw line and most noticeably her lips have all been altered since last year. The tell-tale mark is the up-turned crease at the edge of her mouth which seems to give her a permanent smile. Unfortunately it reminds me of the butchering that actress Rose McGowan gave herself in early 2007.
It’s sad because I happen to think Ms. McDonnell was one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood. She certainly didn’t need to prove anything to us or the establishment by altering her face. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly back in March of 2007, she confesses she had thought about getting a face lift for a long time, but that her husband managed to talk her out of it. Evidently his powers of persuasion aren’t what they used to be because when she appears on BSG now, all I can think is “When the hell did they get a plastic surgeon in space?” Hopefully she’ll turn out to be the final cylon, download and revert to the beautiful Laura we all know and love.
