Subj : Re: Stargate To : alt.tv.farscape From : Ken McElhaney Date : Wed Sep 21 2005 08:41:23 From Newsgroup: alt.tv.farscape TNW7Z7Z7Z12345 wrote: > Ken McElhaney wrote: > > > > TNW7Z7Z7Z12345 wrote: > > > Finnigann wrote: > > > > (stuff snipped) > > > > > > Can it possible that the movies are exerting a trend towards the flash rather > > > > than the script? They (the movies) can afford both where as the small screen is > > > > not so well endowed. > > > > > > > > > Actually, these days I think the best writing is to be found on TV. BSG > > > and Lost are amazingly good. > > > > I think it is well known my feelings about BSG, it's overwritten, > > poorly cast, and still cannot convey a solid storyline without > > interrupting it with needless "character" development which slows > > things down to a crawl. Still, it is the best sci-fi show on tv today > > which unfortunately is saying very little. > > Are you still watching? I thought you had stopped, and I was going to > say that I thought BSG was worth a second look. I think it gets better > as it goes on. I caught about 20 minutes of the "reality tv" episode and lost interest. If this were 4 years ago, it would've been an interesting idea, but now... > I'm beginning to think it does a better job dealing with contemporary issues > than most anything else that's on. Hmm, just like the old "Star Trek" series ("A Private Little War", "Let This Be Your Last Battlefield"). Well, if you're going to rip off another series, at least rip off the good stuff... > "Who's the Cylon in our midst" > perfectly mimics today's fear/confusion. > And after the London bombings, > the fact that some don't yet know they're Cylons has new resonance (like > the person next door who hasn't yet been recruited). That idea has been around a loooooong time. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" anyone? The 1950's paranoia about the cold war, the dangers of nuclear radiation, who is friend or foe (communists in our mist) and fears of the end of the world were reflected in monster/suspense films like "Body Snatchers", "Them!", etc. So there's nothing really new here. So far, the recent episodes of BSG I've seen haven't handled this subject as well as it could, but hey, there's always room for improvement. > And the most intriguing part is the Cylons' monotheism versus the humans' > "false" (according to the Cylons) Gods. Can't wait to see where that leads. It is one of the few strengths of the series. It gives BSG an overarching theme (something it desperately needs) that clues us in on the Cylon's motivations. After all, since the Cylons had left humanity alone for so long, I wonder why they bothered to attack at all since "Humanity" didn't seem to be much of a threat. But they gotta, gotta, gotta dump this "democracy" movement garbage. The episodes I've seen with this as the subject are dull, pointless, and make little sense. I mean, how many refugee movements bother to gritch about political freedom when they could be wiped out at any moment? > > "Lost" has had an amazing run for a first season, managing to balance > > character background with real suspense and mystery. I cannot believe > > that the writers can keep this up, especially once the "big" mystery is > > explained (what is the connection of the passengers OUTSIDE the fact > > that they were on the same plane, which has been hinted at all season). > > So this could turn into the 21st century version of "Twin Peaks" next > > season. > > > Perhaps if the characters' journeys are interesting and surprising > enough, that will carry the show beyond the big mystery. It's a tough challenge, I'll be interested to see how they handle it. If it is true that the "big" mystery will be revealed this season, they better replace it with another, bigger mystery or viewers will lose interest. > > > Seems to me that SG-1 is breaking every > > > rule of good storytelling. And they have run out of ideas. In the > > > early years there were interesting stories in the midst of fighting the > > > bad guys. Now it's all "bad guy, threat to earth, find out bad guy's > > > weakness, prevail." And within that framework, there's nothing > > > interesting in terms of character development, irony, plot twists, etc. > > > > I agree, although I'll add that they simply lack an overarching > > storyline (like Farscape had) that ties everything together. Something > > that Farscape ditched during the first half of the fourth season much > > to its detriment. > > > I don't know. I can see the overarching storyline, and they do tie up > loose ends... Well, what I mean is that the show needs the "big" threat which permeates each episode, like the oncoming Scarren/Peacekeeper War did for Farscape. That adds fuel to each individual episode, even if the subject is different. > I think the execution is what's so awful. As I mentioned > in some post - instead of revealing information via the story/plot and > corresponding dialogue, they give characters (especially Daniel Jackson) four > paragraphs worth of exposition to fill us in. (i.e., the difference > between a slowly unfolding story/play and someone's detailed summary of > that story/play). Basically, what we're seeing is lazy, boring > storytelling. Very different from the early years of the show. Typical for a show entering it's final phases. Even with the casting changes, it's just too tough to recapture the energy & interest a show had in it's early run. But again, as long as the ratings are good, SciFi ain't gonna dump it. > > > > I feel like we're watching the end of the original Star Trek where every > > > episode became Kirk fighting someone (or some thing) to save the > > > Enterprise. Boring, uninspired, just going through the motions. > > > > Hmm, "Day of the Dove" was an exception....one exception. Although you > > have to admit "The Way to Eden" is a real hoot, even if for all the > > wrong reasons. > > > I agree those were interesting. I don't remember much about the order > of episodes, so a few good ones may have come at the end. I just > remember too many pointless ones compared to the earlier episodes. "The Way to Eden" was horrible, but in a way that's hilarious. "Day of the Dove" along with "The Enterprise Incident" were the two standouts from Season 3. Ken .