A realisation about sci-fi series

[Vyperion]

In recent months, maybe years, I have been far more vocal about sci-fi shows than I used to be.

 

When I was twelve sci-fi was a rarity and I only had free TV so it was hardly ever on. Every ounce of sci-fi was savoured from BSG 1978 to Start Trek and any show which had a hint of science-fiction.

 

In the last few years I have loathed some sci-fi or got bored with it so much more quickly. I try and keep an open mind but hve become ever more dispondant to the point where I have torn apart Torchwood's first two episodes like a zombie horde from a George Romero movie eating generic victim number 16.

 

Aside from the fact that I know have accesss to more sci-fi thanks to cable I have realised what my turning point was - Farscape.

 

BBC 2 started shwoing this Australian sci-fi show which I thought 'might not be good but I'll give it a try' since most previous Australian sci-fi I'd seen were mostly kids shows.

 

Oh my god! A great show. Starting with the simplest concept of all - average joe in space.

 

The simplest question about what would we do if we were thrust into a futuristic environment where space-travel is common-place and aliens mingle in everyday topics.

 

A show which doens't have 99% of it's main characters looking like humans with pieces of plastic and latex on their noses or eyebrows.

 

An all-blue alien woman who's a plant

A huge, angry alien with a tongue that knocks you out

A toad/goblin who's actually dominaar of 600 billions subjects

A pilot with four arms who's actually grafted into the ship with a head big enough that you could serve a four course meal on.

A setting where not everyone is a buxom, beautiful female or a handsome, spit-shined man or, again, walks around on two legs with two arms and basically just a human in make-up.

A place where average joe isn't the well-spoken 'hero' of the story all the time.

 

I think Farscape was my 'heroin' of sci-fi. Once I started I became addicted and wanted more like it not content with the lower-grade 'cannabis' of Star Trek and others like it which were still very much one-hit episodes, self-contained with little plot advancement from one to the next so they could be repeated out of sequence.

 

That's why I loved Firefly/Serenity and love BSG 2003.

 

I only found about Firefly from accidentally catching an episode while channel-surfing but it seemed good for somethign stuck in a post-midnight timeslot. Then I watched another and another and was hooked on it only to find that the series had been cancelled four years before I started watching it.

 

I had been following the BSG story from years before with the production battle between what is now the 'Ronald Moore' produced version and Richard Hatch wanting to continue the old series from where Galactica 1980 left off. When the mini-series hit I was awe-struck.

 

Series 27 of Doctor Who (Eccleston) has adopted some of that contiguous storyline elements as well as the hgih-grade effects. The shadow of Bad Wolf kept me watching as well as the longer stories which often bled into the next epiosde or returned soon after combined with other remnants. The Rift, the Slitheen, the Daleks, Satellite 5 it all spread itself through the series. With such a great jump-start it was always going to be harder to repeat although Series 28 (Tennant) has been somewhat more intricately impressive, despite some reservations (although I have heard Satan is returing).

 

This is what has ruined newer shows for me, in particular, Torchwood.

 

What has particularly got to me is that the stories are very basic and at heart are still very much Who stories. Take away the sex, (extreme) gore and swearing and you could have the Doctor and his assistant running round trying to stop the big bad of the episode.

 

Stargate SG-1 has nose-dived into this too. Season 8 became a very continuity-heavy series partiucalry towards the end as they wrapped up the series. There was a five-part story before the two-part finale and the season started off with a two-part opener AND the mid-season clifffhanger AND one of the episodes was extended... then came season 9.

 

Season 9 should never have happened. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it to begin with but as it went on it just settled back into the formulaic as soon as Carter came back.

 

They had proven to themselves and every else that they can do continuity if they wanted to but they were too scared to start another spin-off so soon after Atlantis.

 

I said the same thing when I first heard they were doing Enterprise right after Voyager. Part of what ruined it was the fact that it was so soon after one series and they just wanted to make more money from the franchise. It just became the same tired plots for season 1 althought they started doing more continuity reliant epsiodes in season 2 especailly with Minefield and the follow-up which had Reid still aching from his leg injury.

 

That said Season 3 got it right for me. The whole season had a clear, overshadowing story arc which led to a more epic season than ever. I waited with baited breath for each new episode especailly towards the end. Season 4 was a little too chaotic for my tastes. Instead of one big story they came up with mni-arcs, some I really liked, others I disliked.

 

Star Trek has the benefit of being around so long and it was one of the first sci-fi series I watched, my dad being an avid collector of TOS and TNG (until he passed away).

 

The problem is that more shows like these come out and engage my mind. Currently the genocide issue with the latest episode of BSG. The characters have more substance to them than just being able to sum up in one sentence and their actions make sense. You can see the logic or emotional attachment behind it due in part to the acting ability of their players. It's harder to see where they get their inspriations from or even if they copied it from elsewhere.

 

Torchwood is not a new show. It's a spinoff which carries the weight of Dcotor Who behind it just like SG:Atlantis carries the weight of SG:1 and TNG carried the weight of TOS behind it. In fact I recently saw an interview on Top Gear with Patrick Stweart and he said how in the early days of TNG they were hated it because it didn't measure up to Kirk and co.

 

I have been quite merciless recently but I hope that I will be more fair-handed now I know where this anger and frustration stems from. This is partly a rant but I hope it will be more for reference of where my negativity stems from.

 

And I'm also asking how many of you who have also been quite merciless on Torchwood in particualr or any sci-fi which you thought was demeaning, rubbish or shallow if you have a similar understanding of being exposed to high-grade sci-fi and finding others lacking?

[Guest c4evap]

Interesting. I haven't seen Torchwood but I agree with you on Firefly/Serenity. I also got hooked. Did you know there are a few episodes that were never aired? I believe there are four.

 

I too am starved for good scifi tv. I've just recently began watching Eureka. I know there are some on this board that don't care for this show but I find it enjoyable (not scifi but another great show: Weeds). Anyway, I await, with baited breath, the new Star Trek movie due out in 2008. We can only hope they inject some much needed freshness into the franchise. Of course, going back to the begining does tend to make me think it will be a stinker (maybe worse that Star trek V)...we can only hope at this point. Oh well...*heavy sigh*

 

c4 B)

[Guest Mrthumps]

Interesting. I haven't seen Torchwood but I agree with you on Firefly/Serenity. I also got hooked. Did you know there are a few episodes that were never aired? I believe there are four.

 

I think that might only apply to Fox not airing them as Space here in Canada did all them with the series during Firefly's numerous runs on the station.

 

 

 

[Hilander72]

(not scifi but another great show: Weeds)

I have to admit: I love that show! :)

Can't wait for the next episode (currently on a midseason break).

 

...............

 

What shows you like and dislike is a personal preference. I think it might have to do with how much sci-fi you have watched over the years. Many 'new' popular shows that relies on old concepts are propably more appealing to the new to scifi viewers (usually ppl that hasn't seen anything like it before). Those of us that have watched scifi since the 70's/80's are more likely to enjoy shows like Battlestar and Firefly with an original concept, with more depth and insight, that stimulates the mind in more ways than pure action and 'slapstick' oneliner can do.

 

We have already watched dozens of shows and we want something new, original, mindblowning and never done before in scifi. :)

 

[Guest Mrthumps]

Does anyone else think that given the recent years serving of Sci-Fi shows that the fanbase in general could be close to being "burned out" just due to sheer amount that's been on TV?

 

Could that have an effect to people's views?

[Tenebrae]

I'd probably agree with you about most things you said Vyperion.

 

Torchwood feels like with a few tweaks, it could just be Doctor Who... actually, it could probably be any sci-fi show. It's done little to make itself unique, beyond... y'know gratuitous sex and violence, which aren't even particularly enjoyable. SG-1 clearly should have ended with season 8... and not with a pointless time travel episode that had the sole purpose of getting a ZPM.

 

There has been good and bad... Sci-Fi has given us BSG, for which we should be glad... let's hope they don't do a Farscape.

[Soval]

Myself I've watched how sci-fi has evolved over the last few years. I can't say I like it because they all look alike, play alike, and progress alike. BSG is different and somewhat fresh but what we need is a new sci-fi concept, not just a rehash of something done before. That's what plagued enterprise throughout its run. Action and violence aren't needed to make good sci-fi. Neither are nudes or sex on tv, that kind of thing can be relegated to other tv genres (like Bravo or those late night channels).

[Antipodean]

You have to keep in mind that Sci-Fi is a pop genre, and as such, just like pop music, you can't expect all of it to be innovative and fresh. But just like a Britney song that sticks in your head, shows like Stargate's more recent seasons don't need to get all intellectual or creative to have a place on our screens or viewing lives. Me, I still love to come home from work or whatever and chill out to the latest SG: 1 episode.

 

Of course, you'll find the real meat, and a great deal more satisfaction with shows like Battlestar Galactica, Serenity and Farscape (damn I loved how that show took Sci-fi TV to psychological places its never been before! And toyed with the conventions of Sci-Fi!).

 

What I'm getting is that all of the different made for TV Sci-Fi programs in recent history have their own time and place, and their own particular value. Comparing them I reckon, can be a bit like comparing apples and oranges. They're all tasty, it just depends what you're in the mood for. Of course, I'm a science fiction junkie, so what else would you expect me to say!!!

[Amnot Borg]

To me, even a formula laden scifi show can be interesting and entertaining if it has things in it that make you think or imagine where the show is going instead of just a deadend plot. Also, the characters make me want to watch.

 

EUREKA is an excellent example. It is basically the old story of throwing a few geniuses into a room and see what comes out, only it's been modernized into an entire town providing military and business ideas and products. The characters are great. I like it even though it is not the greatest possible show on television because I never know what the writers are going to throw into the mix this week. Is the show going to be silly, smart, or suspenseful?

 

HEROES is very formulaic as it's about superheroes but it's entertaining also because we have no real idea of where the story is going. Are the heroes created or born? WIll they use their abilities for good or evil? I tune in because it's a character driven plotline with a suspense element.

 

Still, it really is a matter of taste and mood as to what individual people want to see. Burnout? I don't think so. Most just want to see things in a different light than has been shown before. They are tired of the everyday and want real entertainment.

[Tenebrae]

If you say Heroes is formulaic, I don't think you know what the word means.