Hello, and welcome to my Stargate Atlantis Rewatch! We have been plugging along through season three and we have finally reached the mid-season cliffhanger episode, "The Return Part 1." Today's discussion will include spoilers for the episode as well as all that came before it.
Ready or not, here we go...
What Happened
Teams in the Pegasus and Milky Way galaxies have finally harvested enough gates for the gate bridge (remember the gate bridge?) that will shorten travel time between Earth and Atlantis from three weeks to thirty minutes. This is especially good news considering Atlantis no longer has a ZPM. The bridge works by using a macro that instead of rematerializing travelers when they reach the destination gate instead forwards their information along a series of gates until they reach the midway station poised between the edges of the two galaxies. Exiting one gate at midway, the traveler then steps through a second gate, the first in the series of gates for the destination galaxy, which forwards them on to their final stop (the SGC or Atlantis). With the gates in place, the SGC and IOA are eager to test out the bridge to ensure that it works. Since construction of the midway station is not yet complete (it hasn't been enclosed yet and is just a structure holding the two gates), they are sending John in a puddle jumper to do the test, with the Daedalus stationed at Midway to monitor the proceedings.
The first round of the test, from Atlantis to Earth, goes off without a hitch. During the test, however, Rodney does pick up an anomalous, though unrelated, reading on his sensors. They have picked up an object traveling at .999 the speed of light and it seems to be headed toward the Daedalus. Rodney is unable to determine what the object (presumably a ship, but no telling what kind) actually is because of the Doppler shift from traveling so close to the speed of light. When John arrives back at Midway Caldwell orders him to bring the jumper aboard the Daedalus rather than returning to Atlantis, due to the mystery object. Rodney, of course, wants to know what the heck the object is and Caldwell is inclined to oblige him. They can't match the object's speed, the ship wasn't designed for that, but if they max out the sublight engines they should be able to get close enough to the object for long enough as it passes to catch some readings.
The object flies by and Rodney is astounded to realize that it appears to be an Aurora class Ancient warship. Given the ship's speed, relativity would be in effect, meaning that the people on the ship would only have experienced a handful of years over the last several thousand. Meaning that the people on the ship are probably living, breathing Ancients. Rodney immediately wants to send the ship a message before it gets out of range, and as he and John debate with Caldwell over what it should say, the Ancient ship begins to slow down, basically slamming on its breaks. A holographic image of a woman in typically horrid Ancient-style fashion appears on the bridge. She announces that she is Helia, captain of the Lantean warship Tria. She states that her ship has suffered damage to the hyperdrive. A scan of the Daedalus has revealed that it has hyperdrive capability. She asks for the unknown vessel to render assistance. Rodney replies immediately to the holograph, forgetting that Helia can't actually see or hear him. Caldwell then opens up a channel to the Tria and replies that they would be honored to help.
Upon learning the current state of affairs in the Pegasus galaxy and that her people no longer inhabit Earth, Helia asks Caldwell to return her crew to Atlantis. All told there are about a hundred Lanteans. She explains that her ship was damaged and recalled to Atlantis toward the end of the war. Before they returned home, they were told of the evacuation to Earth and decided to just press on straight there. The damage was extensive, however, and their hyperdrive gave out before long. Still, they decided to press on as fast as they were able, even knowing that a million years might pass in "real" time before they reached Earth.
Elizabeth eagerly meets Helia and a handful of her people when they are beamed into the gate room upon arrival, along with John and Rodney. Helia thanks Elizabeth for the care the expedition has taken of the city. She then asks to speak to the person who might speak for all of the people of Earth. Elizabeth is a little puzzled at this but replies that it can be arranged. She asks why, and Helia makes a motion, causing a pedestal to rise up from the ground. She presses a few buttons and all of the expedition's computers attached to the Ancient systems and database go dark. She then replies to Elizabeth that the expedition's guardianship of Atlantis has come to and end and she is now in control of the city.
Woolsey and O'Neill are sent to Atlantis to speak with Helia on behalf of Earth and the expedition. She explains to them that she and her people had given up any hope of ever seeing their home again. Now that they have returned, they need some time to readjust to all that has passed in their absence. Alone. She wants the expedition gone. They implore with her to let the expedition remain, pointing out all they have done in defense of the city and galaxy, but Helia will not be swayed. Elizabeth, John, and Rodney are gathered in Elizabeth's office, extremely upset. O'Neill comes in and tells them that Helia has given them forty-eight hours to vacate the city. He says he knows they are angry at losing the city and Elizabeth chirps up that it isn't just that. They are also losing the chance to speak with and learn from living Ancients. O'Neill says that he thinks eventually Helia will be willing to let some of them back. Speaking with Elizabeth privately, he also reveals that the Ancients are willing to let one person remain behind to liaise between Earth and Atlantis in the hopes of building a future alliance. Before Elizabeth can jump at the chance, however, he stops her, saying that the IOA is demanding that Woolsey be that person.
Everyone begins packing up and preparing to leave the city. Ronon and Teyla stop by John's quarters to say goodbye to him. Teyla reveals that the Ancients don't even want the Athosians remaining on the mainland. They have found a new planet and are relocating her people. She and Ronon will be going with them, since they aren't welcome in the city anymore either. It is a big letdown for Teyla's people and for Ronon, since they had always thought that the return of the "Ancestors" would be a joyous affair, not a summary dismissal. John makes the offer to Teyla and Ronon to come back to Earth with the expedition but they decline. Neither is ready to leave their responsibilities in the Pegasus galaxy behind. Teyla extends an offer to John to stay, but he also declines, doubting the Air Force would let him. Carson, Radek, and Rodney are packing up in a lab and discussing where they will each be going next. Radek says he will probably be going to a university back in his country to teach and do research. Carson has been offered a position at the SGC, and Rodney will probably go to Area 51. As they discuss this it dawns on them all that they are approaching a true parting of the ways and the air is full of the sadness of the moment.
The time comes for the last of the expedition to leave Atlantis. Rodney dawdles until the last possible moment, giving Helia all sorts of updates on the status of the city (damaged areas and suchlike). Eventually Elizabeth calls him down to the gate and he grudgingly goes down. Ronon and Teyla have stayed behind to say farewell to their friends. Elizabeth, John, Rodney, and Carson walk towards the gate together, though Elizabeth stops and turns around to take one last look at the city before stepping through.
Flash forward to Earth about six weeks later. John is returning to the SGC from a mission with his new (and very green) team. He is obviously kind of disappointed by them, lamenting out loud that he never could have believed he would miss having Rodney on his team. As they clear out from in front of the gate it activates once more. Landry tells John to stick around, as it is probably O'Neill calling in from Atlantis. John is surprised that O'Neill went back but Landry explains that the Ancients needed someone to help them deal with Woolsey. Woolsey and O'Neill report that talks are proceeding, but then they throw out that the Ancients have picked up an Asuran ship (remember the Asuran replicators?) headed toward Atlantis. John tenses but O'Neill comments that no one seems that worried about it. When John asks why, Woolsey pipes up that the Asurans have a law in their base code preventing them from attacking Ancients. They are heading toward Atlantis expecting the expedition. If they continue to attack once the Ancients make their presence known, they will be in for a nasty surprise.
Later John is on the phone with Rodney, who is griping that he hates his new assignment. He admits to being lonely and missing a lot of the people from the expedition. For example, he tells John, Elizabeth has completely fallen off the radar, refusing to answer any calls or letters. John tells Rodney to cheer up and we learn that Rodney is actually flying in the next night and will be having dinner with John and Carson. Rodney isn't the only one who has noticed Elizabeth's withdrawal. Carson drops by her place in a surprise visit. She is kind of a mess, and clearly having a hard time accepting her situation and adjusting to life outside of Atlantis (as indicated by her ponytail). She tells Carson she is just trying to move on but he is skeptical. He tells her that Rodney is coming into town the next night and invites her to join their dinner. He doesn't give her the chance to say no.
The Asuran vessel drops out of hyperspace over Atlantis. O'Neill watches nervously as they send up a lone jumper to warn it to turn back. They open communications and Helia announces that the city is back in Lantean control, ordering them to stand down or face the consequences. The Asuran vessel makes no reply, just blasts the jumper out of the sky and continues on toward the city.
Elizabeth, John, Rodney, and Carson are at dinner, catching up with each other. Things are starting to wind down when suddenly Elizabeth, John, and Rodney's phones all blow up with calls from the SGC. Carson exclaims in dismay that he didn't bring his and asks what is going on. They head back to the SGC and Landry shows them a databurst he received from Atlantis. O'Neill and Woolsey called in, telling them that Atlantis was under replicator attack. The Asurans somehow managed to rewrite their base code to be able to attack Ancients. They have pretty much taken over the city. O'Neill requests immediate evacuation and the transmission cuts out. Landry tells the team that O'Neill and Woolsey never made it through the gate. He demands to know how the hell the Asurans managed to overwrite their base code and Rodney realizes he might have enabled that when he altered their code during the last encounter.
Per O'Neill's standing orders Landry has already sent the Daedalus back to Atlantis to nuke the city. They cannot allow the Asurans to have access to Earth, or to the gate bridge--he fears they could just rewrite the code to come out at another gate in the Milky Way galaxy without a shield like Earth's gate. The Daedalus will arrive in four days, he tells them, and then he asks them what is the best way to get a nuke through the city's shields. Everyone immediately starts to protest, wanting to mount a rescue. Carter has just developed some new weapons, anti-replicator guns (ARGs), specifically designed to fight replicators. They think with those they could easily take back the city. Landry refuses though.
After the meeting, the four of them gather in John's office to go over the situation. They refuse to just sit back and let the Daedalus blow up Atlantis if there is anything they can do to stop it. Rodney points out that he should be able to rewrite the macro so that instead of Atlantis it takes them to another Pegasus gate, such as perhaps the one on the new Athosian planet where Teyla and Ronon are. He also admits he built a back door into the Atlantis gate shield. That should allow him to keep the Asurans from raising it if they gate into the city. They agree that they have to try. They just need to "borrow" some of the ARGs and the jumper the SGC is studying.
Unfortunately, Rodney has been denied access to the SGC jumper, so they will need to get around that. Dr. Lee is in charge of the project. Access can only be granted from his office, which he is in, so Rodney takes Elizabeth along to distract Lee. While Rodney gives his keycard access to the jumper lab, Elizabeth talks World of Warcraft with Lee and flirts (badly). With all of that taken care of, they gear up and sneak to the jumper lab. On the way they encounter one of John's new teammates. He realizes John is going on a mission without him and they stun him and stick him in a closet so he can't alert Landry. Then they get to the jumper and stun Siler, the scientist on duty in the lab (this is really funny if you also watch Stargate SG-1, Siler is always getting knocked out). They fire up the gate and head to Midway.
At Midway, they pause for a few moments so that Rodney can rewrite the Pegasus macro to take them to the Athosian planet instead of Atlantis. While they are waiting, the Milky Way gate activates and Landry sends a transmission. He orders them to turn back immediately, starting to promise retribution if they don't, but John cuts the transmission. Rodney gets the rewrite done and they gate to Pegasus.
Ladon Radim of the Genii is paying a visit to Teyla and Ronon in the Athosian settlement. Having learned of the expedition's eviction from Atlantis, he realizes that the Genii are now the most likely source of serious resistance to the wraith. He has come to try to recruit Teyla and Ronon to work with his people and fight back. They decline and he leaves, but Teyla seems to be considering the offer. She is discussing it with Ronon when John and the others step out of the night. She and Ronon are overjoyed to see their friends again but quickly realize that something must be wrong. John briefs them on the situation and tells them that they have a plan to take back the city and rescue O'Neill and Woolsey from the replicators. He asks if Ronon and Teyla are in and they are of course eager to join. They all load up in the jumper and John dials Atlantis. Rodney sends a signal through the gate and when the Asurans try to raise the shield they are unsuccessful. Sheppard takes a deep breath and flies the jumper through the gate.
To Be Continued...
Commentary
This episode sees the payoff of a lot of little things that have been building up so far over the course of the season. It is actually really impressive how the writers managed to drop so many casual hints throughout the previous episodes to set the stage for these events. It really is a case of reaping what you sow. As Elizabeth told Landry, they only messed with the Asuran base code because they believed it was their only option for saving Atlantis. Yet that very thing might see it lost forever. The readiness with which John, Elizabeth, Rodney, and Carson (only one of them a soldier, mind you) are willing to defy Landry and the SGC to try to save the city, despite the odds, is really telling about how much the expedition sees Atlantis as home. They know their chances are slim to nonexistent, but they'd rather die trying to save Atlantis than just sit back and let it be destroyed, knowing it is lost to them forever. I find it fitting that it is in this season where the expedition manages to really separate itself from the SGC, given that the final season of SG-1 ran this same year.
This episode is also a wonderful character piece. All of the actors were going at full tilt, very convincingly portraying a wide range of (often conflicting) emotions. Watching this episode it is so easy to believe these people are a true family. Seeing them torn apart without any sort of regard for that fact is gut-wrenching.
For the record, my least favorite character in all of Stargate Atlantis? Frakking Helia. What. The. Hell? It is my firm belief that she was a low-level, underachieving, unpopular officer (probably due to incompetence--her lack of personality sadly probably didn't hinder her at all given the other Ancients we've met) who agreed to do the whole "head back to Earth at not-quite-light speed" because she knew that meant she wouldn't have to report her screwups to anyone when she got there. I imagine she ran into the Daedalus, learned that her crew (a group of people already inclined to taking orders from her) were the only Lanteans left in existence, and realized with glee that she could easily take over Atlantis. The whole time she was riding on the Daedalus she was probably thinking, Mine mine mine! Bleah. Clearly she couldn't let the expedition stay because they were actually capable of getting things done, it would only make her look bad by comparison to have them around.
Um, where was I? Oh, right. Sorry about that. All of that is to say, it is hardly a surprise that everyone was let down by their encounter with true Ancients. Everything they have learned since coming to Atlantis (and probably even before then) should have prepared them for the fact that these guys had kind of gotten away from themselves by the time they decided to abandon Atlantis.
Anyhoo, I have to say, one thing that I love about this franchise as a whole is how the stargates in each galaxy look a little bit different. It tickled me pink that you can very clearly tell the Milky Way and Pegasus gates apart at Midway. That made for a happy Cori.
Favorite Quotes
"You're just mad you didn't get to fly the maiden voyage yourself." (Landry)
"General, I am quite fond of both maidens and voyages. I mean, put the two together and..." (O'Neill)
"You're not a test pilot anymore Jack." (Landry)
"That's what the President said." (O'Neill)
"You're taking this rather well." (Elizabeth)
"Actually, I'm pissed. For one thing, I'm only a quarter of the way through War and Peace." (John)
"It is impossible for them to harm us." (Helia)
"I could use some enemies like that." (O'Neill)
"What's going on?" (Landry)
"I don't know, sir. The gate just started dialing on its own." (Walter)
"It doesn't do that!" (Landry)
"I know that, sir." (Walter)
"My turtles!" (Carson)
"What?" (Elizabeth)
"I just bought some wee baby turtles and no one knows to feed them!" (Carson)
~*~*~
That leads us in to the mid-season hiatus. When this season originally aired, Syfy waited seven months to broadcast the back half of the season. It was...frustrating is the nicest thing I can think to say about that. Especially since in Canada and Britain the season resumed after only a few weeks. Avoiding spoilers was not fun, let me tell you. Luckily for you, I am not nearly that mean. You only have to wait until Monday for our discussion of the conclusion of this adventure. Join us then for "The Return Part 2," won't you?
Showing posts with label Syfy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Syfy. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Friday, October 7, 2011
Does "Genre" Even Exist Anymore?
In the grand scheme of things, it's probably just a little thing, but this time of year, it is a thing that gets pushed in my face repeatedly and thus works its way under my skin. At some point in the last ten or fifteen years, the genre of "horror" has been completely lumped in with science fiction. I don't get it. I don't get it, and furthermore, I don't like it.
I think that's because in the last five or six years I have come to realize that I don't really care for what passes for horror these days. This coming from a girl whose all-time favorite author is Stephen King. (He's still doing it right.) But horror movies these days? None of them appeal to me at all. (Because they are crap, and derivative, uncreative, and very rarely scary in a good way.) Suspense, I can get behind. Supernatural mythology, sure. Horror, not so much. I can't even remember the last time I voluntarily went to see a "scary" movie and actually enjoyed it.
And that's fine, really. Normally I don't have to give it much thought. But this time of year? With Halloween rolling in? Gah. I can't escape it. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate the occasional made-for-TV-B-movie that is so terrible it's good. The kind of stuff that Mystery Science Theater 3000 would love to tear apart. But this time of year, we are flooded with "horror" movies, in the theaters (which means I end up having to sit through commercials for them when I watch the shows I want to watch) as well as on television.
But it's also there on my science fiction sites. Somewhere, somewhen, some marketer somewhere decided that the people who like horror and the people who like science fiction are clearly the same people, so why not just push all of the horror stuff on the science fiction audiences? Because really, it's all the same stuff, right? Grr. I am putting that marketer on my list of people to go back and slap once my time machine is built.
Now, I can fully admit that the same assumption exists with science fiction and fantasy. Outside of those fan pools (and also a little bit inside), very few people see any distinction between the two. This really doesn't bother me at all, and I am sure it is because I actually enjoy both of those genres.
Obviously, there is a lot of overlap going on. There are lots of horror stories in which the element of horror is caused by a science fictional (or fantastical) element. There are also lots of science fiction (and fantasy) stories that are scary, downright horrific even. But to assume that any two (or all three) of those genres is the same thing because there is overlap is to do all of those genres a disservice.
But maybe I am on the losing side of this argument. These days it seems like the lines are blurring between all kinds of genres. Romance and historical fiction and fantasy and horror and science fiction and mysteries, and so on. Clearly people who enjoy any one of those may enjoy another. Science fiction, for example, has spawned oodles of of subsets over the last century: alternate histories, distopian, post apocalyptic, steampunk, and so on. Elements of all of these kinds of stories are slipping their way into the mainstream (thankfully, since specialized channels seem to be struggling to stay both viable and true to their fan base*). People who would never consider themselves fans of science fiction loved Lost. People who would never consider themselves into fantasy totally devoured Harry Potter. Writers considered "mainstream" are coming out of the genre "closet" and slipping genre themes into their work, or outright changing camps.
As it stands right now, it seems to me that the only reason "genre" still exists is so that people who want to sell us things have a nice pre-packaged way to describe what they are trying to make us buy. But I don't know how much longer they are going to be able to keep that up. It won't be too long before the stories will completely stop fitting in those neat little descriptions. Maybe that's not a bad thing. Maybe it's time to just start calling it all "fiction" and leaving it up to the reader to check out the book jacket or listen to word of mouth to make up her own decision on whether or not it is worth her time. Just a thought.
I still wish people would stop trying to shove that crappy "horror" stuff down my throat though.
Peace out, folks. Enjoy the weekend.
*That's right Syfy, I'm looking at you.
I think that's because in the last five or six years I have come to realize that I don't really care for what passes for horror these days. This coming from a girl whose all-time favorite author is Stephen King. (He's still doing it right.) But horror movies these days? None of them appeal to me at all. (Because they are crap, and derivative, uncreative, and very rarely scary in a good way.) Suspense, I can get behind. Supernatural mythology, sure. Horror, not so much. I can't even remember the last time I voluntarily went to see a "scary" movie and actually enjoyed it.
And that's fine, really. Normally I don't have to give it much thought. But this time of year? With Halloween rolling in? Gah. I can't escape it. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate the occasional made-for-TV-B-movie that is so terrible it's good. The kind of stuff that Mystery Science Theater 3000 would love to tear apart. But this time of year, we are flooded with "horror" movies, in the theaters (which means I end up having to sit through commercials for them when I watch the shows I want to watch) as well as on television.
But it's also there on my science fiction sites. Somewhere, somewhen, some marketer somewhere decided that the people who like horror and the people who like science fiction are clearly the same people, so why not just push all of the horror stuff on the science fiction audiences? Because really, it's all the same stuff, right? Grr. I am putting that marketer on my list of people to go back and slap once my time machine is built.
Now, I can fully admit that the same assumption exists with science fiction and fantasy. Outside of those fan pools (and also a little bit inside), very few people see any distinction between the two. This really doesn't bother me at all, and I am sure it is because I actually enjoy both of those genres.
Obviously, there is a lot of overlap going on. There are lots of horror stories in which the element of horror is caused by a science fictional (or fantastical) element. There are also lots of science fiction (and fantasy) stories that are scary, downright horrific even. But to assume that any two (or all three) of those genres is the same thing because there is overlap is to do all of those genres a disservice.
But maybe I am on the losing side of this argument. These days it seems like the lines are blurring between all kinds of genres. Romance and historical fiction and fantasy and horror and science fiction and mysteries, and so on. Clearly people who enjoy any one of those may enjoy another. Science fiction, for example, has spawned oodles of of subsets over the last century: alternate histories, distopian, post apocalyptic, steampunk, and so on. Elements of all of these kinds of stories are slipping their way into the mainstream (thankfully, since specialized channels seem to be struggling to stay both viable and true to their fan base*). People who would never consider themselves fans of science fiction loved Lost. People who would never consider themselves into fantasy totally devoured Harry Potter. Writers considered "mainstream" are coming out of the genre "closet" and slipping genre themes into their work, or outright changing camps.
As it stands right now, it seems to me that the only reason "genre" still exists is so that people who want to sell us things have a nice pre-packaged way to describe what they are trying to make us buy. But I don't know how much longer they are going to be able to keep that up. It won't be too long before the stories will completely stop fitting in those neat little descriptions. Maybe that's not a bad thing. Maybe it's time to just start calling it all "fiction" and leaving it up to the reader to check out the book jacket or listen to word of mouth to make up her own decision on whether or not it is worth her time. Just a thought.
I still wish people would stop trying to shove that crappy "horror" stuff down my throat though.
Peace out, folks. Enjoy the weekend.
*That's right Syfy, I'm looking at you.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
The Thing About Eureka
So this past week the internet (well, the part of it that I frequent at any rate) has been all abuzz about the breaking news that Eureka was "cancelled." I put the quotation marks in there because I honestly feel that "cancelled" is not actually an accurate term for what has happened here. The actual situation is this: Syfy officially decided not to renew the series for a sixth season. Currently airing on Syfy right now? The back half of season four. Season five is currently filming and about to wrap up, but will be aired in full next year.
In my mind, a show has been cancelled when it has a season in filming and the plug is pulled in such a way that filming shuts down at that point and/or the network yanks the show from the air, declining to show the remaining episodes (or burning them off in the summer well after the show is pulled from the regular schedule). Alternatively, I would consider a series cancelled when the current season has finished being produced, but not aired, and the series is not allowed any sort of chance to resolve the story of the show. Neither of those situations is the case here.
Now this isn't to say I'm not still upset about the news. It's just a little hard for my nerdrage to get a full head of steam when I know that there is a full season (and then some) left to go before I have to actually say goodbye to these characters and this story. Also, unless Warehouse 13 is also not picked up beyond Eureka's swan song, it isn't as if we won't still have an avenue to revisit these characters. With the crossovers the two shows have been doing of late, the door is wide open for characters from the quirky little town to meander over to the warehouse from time to time.
Do you want to know what really upsets me over this whole thing? It's not that a show I truly love is going away--that happens all the time, I am sadly getting used to it, and I will have the entire series on DVD to watch again whenever I want. It's not even that just last week, Syfy had gone on the record as stating that six episodes had already been ordered for the show's sixth season (said statement having been issued in order to reassure the fans that the show hadn't been cancelled, no less). No, what bugs me is that, justified or not, I think that this is just an idiotic move on Syfy's part.
Lemme 'splain.
The reason that Syfy has given, officially, for choosing not to pick up a sixth season is that right now the cost of producing Eureka can no longer be justified by the ratings it is receiving. Okay. That makes a modicum of sense, until you actually stop to think about it. Because there is still an entire season of this show to be aired after the current season wraps up (and a holiday episode). Has Syfy all of a sudden started employing fortune tellers? Do they already know what Eureka's season five ratings will be? Somehow, I don't think so.
Look, there are a number of factors that can influence a show's ratings. Among them are things that Syfy totally has within its control, such as what time of year to air a show, what day of week, what time of day, etc. Then, there is the show itself. As of yet there is no telling how this season's finale will impact what the viewership looks like when the show returns for its fifth season. In between the fourth and fifth seasons Syfy will have plenty of time to crunch some data and decide if and where to move Eureka on their schedule to attempt maximizing viewership and determine if the series is worth a sixth season pick up or if it is not. Based on why Syfy says it declined to continue the series, this only makes sense if they aren't planning to air the fifth season. That realization makes me nervous. While it would seem a ridiculous waste of their precious money to go that route, the network's track record isn't really reassuring.
I completely one-hundred percent understand their position that right now it doesn't make financial sense to renew the series for another season. The problem with that position is that it technically already has been, they are looking at the season after that. So why does that decision have to be made right now? Granted, I am not a television producer and I have no desire to get into the business. At all. But if it were me? I would have decided to wait and see. I would have held off on ordering/beginning production on anything for season six and given the show the first half of season five to find out what was up. Then I would make my decision. From what I can tell (thanks to my trusty friend, the internet) that is, after all, still the standard procedure for scripted television these days.
My suspicion is that it has to do with the cast. For one thing, there are contracts to consider. Five is a nice round number, and for many shows the goal in order to allow syndication. I don't think syndication is really a concern of Syfy, and Eureka tends to have shorter seasons, so that's likely not a factor. But maybe the actors' contracts were all originally for only five seasons and Syfy doesn't want to undergo the process of renegotiating and renewing them, especially given that doing so would probably mean they would all get a pay bump. Then, there is the matter of availability. Surely the actors need to know if and when they will need to be available to start producing the new season so that they can take that into consideration when offered or seeking other work. This trickles down to the crew as well, I am sure. But it sounds like the internet was informed before any of the cast or crew about the show's denial of a sixth season (another trademark bonehead move on the part of Syfy). Those that I follow seem genuinely surprised and upset about the situation. I think it is more than possible many of them would have accepted that the decision on season six had been delayed as long as they had a date on when they would be told for certain yes or no so they could get on with their lives in the mean time. But I am (more or less) an eternal optimist.
Putting all of that aside, however, this is still a frankly stupid move on Syfy's part, the way this went down. Because this? What this says to me, and to all of the other people out there who pay attention to this kind of stuff:
"Sorry kids, we just have no faith whatsoever in Eureka season five. We think it is crap. Don't even bother watching."
That can't be the message they are trying to send, not with a whole season of the series left to air and viewers to lure to their network, can it? But that is sure as hell how it sounds. Wil Wheaton has been heavily involved in season five, however, and he seems to think it is actually going to be a pretty fun ride. As he is a gentleman of discerning taste, I think I will go with his recommendation, rather than Syfy's mixed messages. They have already (frequently) proved themselves to be of questionable judgement. At the very least, I would like for someone at the network to sit down and reexamine the way they are producing these shows. Short seasons are fine, but call them what they are, don't give us six months (or more) between halves of one season. I would be perfectly fine if you wanted to break up the year into three or four "seasons" with six to ten episodes a season and have a year between full seasons as long as that's what we are admitting is going on. The British model is fine, it actually makes for some much tighter and much more amazing story telling. But the way you are trying to do it, Syfy? You are doing it wrong. Don't produce stuff so far in advance that you have no way of knowing if the expense will be justified. These practices aren't working for you, Syfy. Just stop.
I just feel like this network is on its way out. I am incredibly saddened by this, because Syfy has been the home to many wonderful, innovative shows that I just can't imagine on any other network currently in existence. I don't know where else we can go. But even though they keep trying out new shows, they always seem to be too scared to move much past the trial period, rather than giving the shows time to actually gather some steam--unless that show is not actually science fiction. But in trying to rebrand itself, Syfy has completely lost all sense of identity that it once held. It has consistently alienated the people it orginally (as Sci Fi Channel) set out to cater to. There is something to be said for sticking by the people who have been there with you from the beginning, rather than shoving them out the back door as soon as the general public starts to take notice of you. But Syfy isn't listening any more. Not to us. It is not enough to be financially/business savvy. You also have to build a loyal customer base, and you can't do that without a quality product. But once you have that loyal base? You have to maintain it, folks. Acting like you don't really care about them any more is only going to make them turn away, and that will make it triply hard to get them back once you realize you still need them. Yes, you're a business, but even if all you want is our money? You have to make us feel like we matter to you, too, or we'll go spend our time and money elsewhere.
Sigh.
I totally didn't mean to turn that into a rant. I guess my nerdrage did managed to kick in after all. The whole point of writing about this was to point out that I don't think the ending of Eureka, as much as I love it, is worth a rant. I just think it's stupid. Once it's over will I miss the show? Yes, I think I will. It was fun and silly and interesting and entertaining. I do my best to watch it live. I voted with my wallet and bought it on DVD. Syfy didn't think that was good enough. It is their call to make. I just wish sometimes that I didn't keep getting the message--especially from a network that started its life catering to exactly my kind of crowd--that what I like isn't worth it, you know?
In my mind, a show has been cancelled when it has a season in filming and the plug is pulled in such a way that filming shuts down at that point and/or the network yanks the show from the air, declining to show the remaining episodes (or burning them off in the summer well after the show is pulled from the regular schedule). Alternatively, I would consider a series cancelled when the current season has finished being produced, but not aired, and the series is not allowed any sort of chance to resolve the story of the show. Neither of those situations is the case here.
Now this isn't to say I'm not still upset about the news. It's just a little hard for my nerdrage to get a full head of steam when I know that there is a full season (and then some) left to go before I have to actually say goodbye to these characters and this story. Also, unless Warehouse 13 is also not picked up beyond Eureka's swan song, it isn't as if we won't still have an avenue to revisit these characters. With the crossovers the two shows have been doing of late, the door is wide open for characters from the quirky little town to meander over to the warehouse from time to time.
Do you want to know what really upsets me over this whole thing? It's not that a show I truly love is going away--that happens all the time, I am sadly getting used to it, and I will have the entire series on DVD to watch again whenever I want. It's not even that just last week, Syfy had gone on the record as stating that six episodes had already been ordered for the show's sixth season (said statement having been issued in order to reassure the fans that the show hadn't been cancelled, no less). No, what bugs me is that, justified or not, I think that this is just an idiotic move on Syfy's part.
Lemme 'splain.
The reason that Syfy has given, officially, for choosing not to pick up a sixth season is that right now the cost of producing Eureka can no longer be justified by the ratings it is receiving. Okay. That makes a modicum of sense, until you actually stop to think about it. Because there is still an entire season of this show to be aired after the current season wraps up (and a holiday episode). Has Syfy all of a sudden started employing fortune tellers? Do they already know what Eureka's season five ratings will be? Somehow, I don't think so.
Look, there are a number of factors that can influence a show's ratings. Among them are things that Syfy totally has within its control, such as what time of year to air a show, what day of week, what time of day, etc. Then, there is the show itself. As of yet there is no telling how this season's finale will impact what the viewership looks like when the show returns for its fifth season. In between the fourth and fifth seasons Syfy will have plenty of time to crunch some data and decide if and where to move Eureka on their schedule to attempt maximizing viewership and determine if the series is worth a sixth season pick up or if it is not. Based on why Syfy says it declined to continue the series, this only makes sense if they aren't planning to air the fifth season. That realization makes me nervous. While it would seem a ridiculous waste of their precious money to go that route, the network's track record isn't really reassuring.
I completely one-hundred percent understand their position that right now it doesn't make financial sense to renew the series for another season. The problem with that position is that it technically already has been, they are looking at the season after that. So why does that decision have to be made right now? Granted, I am not a television producer and I have no desire to get into the business. At all. But if it were me? I would have decided to wait and see. I would have held off on ordering/beginning production on anything for season six and given the show the first half of season five to find out what was up. Then I would make my decision. From what I can tell (thanks to my trusty friend, the internet) that is, after all, still the standard procedure for scripted television these days.
My suspicion is that it has to do with the cast. For one thing, there are contracts to consider. Five is a nice round number, and for many shows the goal in order to allow syndication. I don't think syndication is really a concern of Syfy, and Eureka tends to have shorter seasons, so that's likely not a factor. But maybe the actors' contracts were all originally for only five seasons and Syfy doesn't want to undergo the process of renegotiating and renewing them, especially given that doing so would probably mean they would all get a pay bump. Then, there is the matter of availability. Surely the actors need to know if and when they will need to be available to start producing the new season so that they can take that into consideration when offered or seeking other work. This trickles down to the crew as well, I am sure. But it sounds like the internet was informed before any of the cast or crew about the show's denial of a sixth season (another trademark bonehead move on the part of Syfy). Those that I follow seem genuinely surprised and upset about the situation. I think it is more than possible many of them would have accepted that the decision on season six had been delayed as long as they had a date on when they would be told for certain yes or no so they could get on with their lives in the mean time. But I am (more or less) an eternal optimist.
Putting all of that aside, however, this is still a frankly stupid move on Syfy's part, the way this went down. Because this? What this says to me, and to all of the other people out there who pay attention to this kind of stuff:
"Sorry kids, we just have no faith whatsoever in Eureka season five. We think it is crap. Don't even bother watching."
That can't be the message they are trying to send, not with a whole season of the series left to air and viewers to lure to their network, can it? But that is sure as hell how it sounds. Wil Wheaton has been heavily involved in season five, however, and he seems to think it is actually going to be a pretty fun ride. As he is a gentleman of discerning taste, I think I will go with his recommendation, rather than Syfy's mixed messages. They have already (frequently) proved themselves to be of questionable judgement. At the very least, I would like for someone at the network to sit down and reexamine the way they are producing these shows. Short seasons are fine, but call them what they are, don't give us six months (or more) between halves of one season. I would be perfectly fine if you wanted to break up the year into three or four "seasons" with six to ten episodes a season and have a year between full seasons as long as that's what we are admitting is going on. The British model is fine, it actually makes for some much tighter and much more amazing story telling. But the way you are trying to do it, Syfy? You are doing it wrong. Don't produce stuff so far in advance that you have no way of knowing if the expense will be justified. These practices aren't working for you, Syfy. Just stop.
I just feel like this network is on its way out. I am incredibly saddened by this, because Syfy has been the home to many wonderful, innovative shows that I just can't imagine on any other network currently in existence. I don't know where else we can go. But even though they keep trying out new shows, they always seem to be too scared to move much past the trial period, rather than giving the shows time to actually gather some steam--unless that show is not actually science fiction. But in trying to rebrand itself, Syfy has completely lost all sense of identity that it once held. It has consistently alienated the people it orginally (as Sci Fi Channel) set out to cater to. There is something to be said for sticking by the people who have been there with you from the beginning, rather than shoving them out the back door as soon as the general public starts to take notice of you. But Syfy isn't listening any more. Not to us. It is not enough to be financially/business savvy. You also have to build a loyal customer base, and you can't do that without a quality product. But once you have that loyal base? You have to maintain it, folks. Acting like you don't really care about them any more is only going to make them turn away, and that will make it triply hard to get them back once you realize you still need them. Yes, you're a business, but even if all you want is our money? You have to make us feel like we matter to you, too, or we'll go spend our time and money elsewhere.
Sigh.
I totally didn't mean to turn that into a rant. I guess my nerdrage did managed to kick in after all. The whole point of writing about this was to point out that I don't think the ending of Eureka, as much as I love it, is worth a rant. I just think it's stupid. Once it's over will I miss the show? Yes, I think I will. It was fun and silly and interesting and entertaining. I do my best to watch it live. I voted with my wallet and bought it on DVD. Syfy didn't think that was good enough. It is their call to make. I just wish sometimes that I didn't keep getting the message--especially from a network that started its life catering to exactly my kind of crowd--that what I like isn't worth it, you know?
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Strange Convergences
I know I said last week that on Friday my friend and I were going to go out and see The King's Speech, but unfortunately it didn't pan out. The show was sold out when we arrived, because apparently I failed to take in how ridiculously hopping the 7th Street Movie Tavern would be last Friday. Sigh. So we were bummed we couldn't see the movie, and there didn't seem to be anything else playing soon that looked interesting to us, so we decided to just grab dinner instead. It would give us the chance to chat anyway, rather than just sitting next to each other in silence. We picked a restaurant, went in, and were told it would be an hour's wait. Sigh. Nope, not so much.
While I had been driving around looking for a place to park (the garage was, like the theater, packed), I had noticed that I ended up close to a restaurant called Dos Gringos. Now, I have driven past this restaurant often in the twelve years I've been in Fort Worth, and I have mocked its name relentlessly in that time, but I have never actually eaten there. But, it was off the main stretch, away from the throng of hipsters who were thwarting our evening out, and the price point seemed to fit what we were looking at, so we figured what the heck and gave it a try. Okay, the food, it was not spectacular, and the service was a weensy bit lacking, but it wasn't terrible, and my friend and I had a mostly enjoyable meal and some good conversation, so the evening was not a total loss. We had fun, it was good. But I gotta say, the place was weird. My friend commented on how it just had a lot of pieces that didn't seem to fit together correctly, as if someone had dumped the pieces of two different puzzles in one box and mixed them up. The primary example of this was the live band in the bar. I'll be honest with you, I didn't even realize the band was live until about halfway through dinner, I really just thought they had a classic light rock station on. What's that, you say? Classic light rock in a Mexican restaurant? (Well, Tex-Mex.) Not Tejano? Not Country? Nope. Strange. Even the list of songs they played was a strange mix--ranging from Neil Diamond to Tom Petty's "Last Dance With Mary Jane." Also, their bathrooms were freezing.
Oh well, at least now I have a valid reason to mock the place, right? Also, my friend and I had a good time, which was the important thing.
I have to say, I was a little bummed I wasn't gonna get to get my Colin Firth on though. So I was super excited on Saturday when I discovered that Syfy's cheesy movie of the week was one I hadn't seen starring Kavan Smith. Yay! This week's monster flick, Iron Invader, was actually pretty darn amusing to me, I have to say. It had a super silly plot about alien bacteria that feeds off of metal taking over a big statue made out of scrap and wandering around a small town in Idaho, killing people by sucking all of the metal out of their blood. The effects were spectacularly low-budget (I am pretty sure the "bacteria" was just neon green paint with iron fillings mixed in that were manipulated with a magnet). But it was the casting, man, the casting is what really got me.
Here is the conversation I imagine the casting people had when putting together this movie:
"Hey, who is our lead for this one?"
"Kavan Smith."
"Oh, hey, yeah. He's cool. I loved him in Stargate Atlantis, and isn't he on Eureka now, too? Oh, and he had a brief appearance in Battlestar Galactica....dang, I think he's been in just about all of our big franchises, hasn't he?"
"Huh. I guess he has. Hey, you know what would be funny?"
"What's that?"
"Let's cast a bunch of people from all of the other Syfy shows he's been in!"
"Yeah, right on!"
So....this resulted in the cast being rounded out with:
Nicole de Boer, who appeared in the Stargate Atlantis episode "Whispers."
(Interesting fun side fact number one: She was also in the movie Cube with another SGA alum, David Hewlett.)
Donnelly Rhodes, who you may know better as Doc Cottle from Battlestar Galactica.
Paul McGillion, who you may know better as Doctor Carson Beckett from Stargate Atlantis (and who in this film for some strange reason had a southern accent, even though he was playing a small town sheriff in Idaho).
(Interesting fun side fact number two: Donnelly Rhodes was also a series regular on Canadian series Da Vinci's Inquest--which is, as far as I can gather, the equivalent of Law & Order in the Canadian acting community--and Paul McGillion made a guest appearance on that series back in the day.)
Chris Gauthier, who you may know better as Vincent from Eureka.
(Interesting fun side fact number three: Paul McGillion and Christ Gauthier and Kavan Smith have all made guest appearances on Syfy's Sanctuary.)
I know people joke about Syfy owning the actors that appear in their original series and "forcing" them to do these silly made-for-television movies, but dude. My head was seriously about to explode going over how connected all of these actors were. It was crazy. In the most awesome way possible.
I think that, along with The Room at the End of the Hall (or The Nightmare at the End of the Hall, depending on which country you are in), Iron Invader will be one of those television movies that I regularly record whenever it comes on. You gotta love those guilty pleasure movies, eh?
While I had been driving around looking for a place to park (the garage was, like the theater, packed), I had noticed that I ended up close to a restaurant called Dos Gringos. Now, I have driven past this restaurant often in the twelve years I've been in Fort Worth, and I have mocked its name relentlessly in that time, but I have never actually eaten there. But, it was off the main stretch, away from the throng of hipsters who were thwarting our evening out, and the price point seemed to fit what we were looking at, so we figured what the heck and gave it a try. Okay, the food, it was not spectacular, and the service was a weensy bit lacking, but it wasn't terrible, and my friend and I had a mostly enjoyable meal and some good conversation, so the evening was not a total loss. We had fun, it was good. But I gotta say, the place was weird. My friend commented on how it just had a lot of pieces that didn't seem to fit together correctly, as if someone had dumped the pieces of two different puzzles in one box and mixed them up. The primary example of this was the live band in the bar. I'll be honest with you, I didn't even realize the band was live until about halfway through dinner, I really just thought they had a classic light rock station on. What's that, you say? Classic light rock in a Mexican restaurant? (Well, Tex-Mex.) Not Tejano? Not Country? Nope. Strange. Even the list of songs they played was a strange mix--ranging from Neil Diamond to Tom Petty's "Last Dance With Mary Jane." Also, their bathrooms were freezing.
Oh well, at least now I have a valid reason to mock the place, right? Also, my friend and I had a good time, which was the important thing.
I have to say, I was a little bummed I wasn't gonna get to get my Colin Firth on though. So I was super excited on Saturday when I discovered that Syfy's cheesy movie of the week was one I hadn't seen starring Kavan Smith. Yay! This week's monster flick, Iron Invader, was actually pretty darn amusing to me, I have to say. It had a super silly plot about alien bacteria that feeds off of metal taking over a big statue made out of scrap and wandering around a small town in Idaho, killing people by sucking all of the metal out of their blood. The effects were spectacularly low-budget (I am pretty sure the "bacteria" was just neon green paint with iron fillings mixed in that were manipulated with a magnet). But it was the casting, man, the casting is what really got me.
Here is the conversation I imagine the casting people had when putting together this movie:
"Hey, who is our lead for this one?"
"Kavan Smith."
"Oh, hey, yeah. He's cool. I loved him in Stargate Atlantis, and isn't he on Eureka now, too? Oh, and he had a brief appearance in Battlestar Galactica....dang, I think he's been in just about all of our big franchises, hasn't he?"
"Huh. I guess he has. Hey, you know what would be funny?"
"What's that?"
"Let's cast a bunch of people from all of the other Syfy shows he's been in!"
"Yeah, right on!"
So....this resulted in the cast being rounded out with:
Nicole de Boer, who appeared in the Stargate Atlantis episode "Whispers."
(Interesting fun side fact number one: She was also in the movie Cube with another SGA alum, David Hewlett.)
Donnelly Rhodes, who you may know better as Doc Cottle from Battlestar Galactica.
Paul McGillion, who you may know better as Doctor Carson Beckett from Stargate Atlantis (and who in this film for some strange reason had a southern accent, even though he was playing a small town sheriff in Idaho).
(Interesting fun side fact number two: Donnelly Rhodes was also a series regular on Canadian series Da Vinci's Inquest--which is, as far as I can gather, the equivalent of Law & Order in the Canadian acting community--and Paul McGillion made a guest appearance on that series back in the day.)
Chris Gauthier, who you may know better as Vincent from Eureka.
(Interesting fun side fact number three: Paul McGillion and Christ Gauthier and Kavan Smith have all made guest appearances on Syfy's Sanctuary.)
I know people joke about Syfy owning the actors that appear in their original series and "forcing" them to do these silly made-for-television movies, but dude. My head was seriously about to explode going over how connected all of these actors were. It was crazy. In the most awesome way possible.
I think that, along with The Room at the End of the Hall (or The Nightmare at the End of the Hall, depending on which country you are in), Iron Invader will be one of those television movies that I regularly record whenever it comes on. You gotta love those guilty pleasure movies, eh?
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Merry Christmas, Have Some Eureka!
Alas, the SGU mid-season hiatus has begun, so no Stargate Wednesday for a while. To tide us over for a bit and get us into the holiday mood, however, last night Syfy did air all-new holiday episodes of Eureka and Warehouse 13.
While I enjoyed them both immensely, the main effect these had on me was to remind me how psyched I am for the back half of Eureka's current season to start airing. The holiday episode that aired last night (in both cases, actually) was a completely stand-alone episode. It didn't touch on any of the current season's plot lines (other than to keep up the status quo with the altered time line established in the first half of the season). There were hints at some of the romantic pairings we've seen so far this season, but nothing overt, so that anyone watching wouldn't assume something was going on if they didn't already know about it. Also, sadly, there was no Deputy Andy. (Three guesses who plays Deputy Andy. The first two don't count.)
The casting tidbits alone for the rest of the season have my inner geek practically salivating. Wil Wheaton appeared in a couple of episodes in the front half of season, and from what I have heard around the web, he is back in a big way when the show returns. In addition, Felicia Day will be coming on with a fairly meaty recurring role for the rest of the season. Other lined up guest stars include Wallace Shawn, Aaron Douglas, and Dave Foley. The idea of any of these people puttering around in America's secret little genius haven is splendid, but all of them?!? Now, please!
Eureka is one of those shows that I absolutely adore, but also somehow manage to forget about when it is not airing. But then, as soon as it starts back up, I fall in love with it all over again. There is a lot in it that should be cliched or trite, or has just plain been done before. It shouldn't be nearly as awesome as it is. But somehow, every time the episode starts, and the problem is identified, you think to yourself, Oh, I know where they are going with that! and then the show promptly does a 180 and heads off in a completely different direction altogether. The show deals with some heavy issues without ever forgetting its lighthearted base. It also completely embraces the quirkiness of the premise and refuses to take itself too seriously. Viewers have fun watching this show because this show is not afraid to have fun with itself.
Seriously, how many shows would make the main character's house one of the major secondary characters on the show? And then give that house a boyfriend? (The town's artificially intelligent police deputy, no less.) And oh yes, that plot line will apparently continue throughout the season at least. Color me delighted.
Also, the writers (who are all insanely talented) realize that the true heart of this show is its characters, and they continue to focus on them season in and season out. We care about these people, we want to see them succeed and grow and find happiness. This is helped along not only by the crazily talented writers but also by the wonderfully talented cast. These people exude a charm and chemistry with each other that hands down beats that of almost any other show on television. My mom and step-father, neither of whom would remotely consider themselves genre fans, absolutely love this show too. And the reason for that is because it is a completely fantastic television series that just happens to also be a science fiction show.
People often wonder why genre shows have such a hard time succeeding in today's entertainment world, and I think that there is a very valuable lesson to be learned from Eureka, as well as the other successful genre shows, of which I can actually think of a few off the top of my head. Start with your basic premise, and if it happens to be science fiction, that's great, but when you go on to build the actual show, if the only thing you're focusing on is the science fiction aspect of it, well, you're going to lose people. Focus on the show itself--on the people and on the stories they have to tell. That is what keeps people coming back for more, regardless of what category the show might get filed under. "Good" is a cross-genre category, my friends.
And now, for your Wednesday viewing pleasure, and apropos of nothing, I leave you with this--The Princess Bride with light sabers:
Good day to you!
While I enjoyed them both immensely, the main effect these had on me was to remind me how psyched I am for the back half of Eureka's current season to start airing. The holiday episode that aired last night (in both cases, actually) was a completely stand-alone episode. It didn't touch on any of the current season's plot lines (other than to keep up the status quo with the altered time line established in the first half of the season). There were hints at some of the romantic pairings we've seen so far this season, but nothing overt, so that anyone watching wouldn't assume something was going on if they didn't already know about it. Also, sadly, there was no Deputy Andy. (Three guesses who plays Deputy Andy. The first two don't count.)
The casting tidbits alone for the rest of the season have my inner geek practically salivating. Wil Wheaton appeared in a couple of episodes in the front half of season, and from what I have heard around the web, he is back in a big way when the show returns. In addition, Felicia Day will be coming on with a fairly meaty recurring role for the rest of the season. Other lined up guest stars include Wallace Shawn, Aaron Douglas, and Dave Foley. The idea of any of these people puttering around in America's secret little genius haven is splendid, but all of them?!? Now, please!
Eureka is one of those shows that I absolutely adore, but also somehow manage to forget about when it is not airing. But then, as soon as it starts back up, I fall in love with it all over again. There is a lot in it that should be cliched or trite, or has just plain been done before. It shouldn't be nearly as awesome as it is. But somehow, every time the episode starts, and the problem is identified, you think to yourself, Oh, I know where they are going with that! and then the show promptly does a 180 and heads off in a completely different direction altogether. The show deals with some heavy issues without ever forgetting its lighthearted base. It also completely embraces the quirkiness of the premise and refuses to take itself too seriously. Viewers have fun watching this show because this show is not afraid to have fun with itself.
Seriously, how many shows would make the main character's house one of the major secondary characters on the show? And then give that house a boyfriend? (The town's artificially intelligent police deputy, no less.) And oh yes, that plot line will apparently continue throughout the season at least. Color me delighted.
Also, the writers (who are all insanely talented) realize that the true heart of this show is its characters, and they continue to focus on them season in and season out. We care about these people, we want to see them succeed and grow and find happiness. This is helped along not only by the crazily talented writers but also by the wonderfully talented cast. These people exude a charm and chemistry with each other that hands down beats that of almost any other show on television. My mom and step-father, neither of whom would remotely consider themselves genre fans, absolutely love this show too. And the reason for that is because it is a completely fantastic television series that just happens to also be a science fiction show.
People often wonder why genre shows have such a hard time succeeding in today's entertainment world, and I think that there is a very valuable lesson to be learned from Eureka, as well as the other successful genre shows, of which I can actually think of a few off the top of my head. Start with your basic premise, and if it happens to be science fiction, that's great, but when you go on to build the actual show, if the only thing you're focusing on is the science fiction aspect of it, well, you're going to lose people. Focus on the show itself--on the people and on the stories they have to tell. That is what keeps people coming back for more, regardless of what category the show might get filed under. "Good" is a cross-genre category, my friends.
And now, for your Wednesday viewing pleasure, and apropos of nothing, I leave you with this--The Princess Bride with light sabers:
Good day to you!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Speculating on My DVR Leftovers
So I have been clearing out my DVR of late, and yesterday I finally watched Syfy's Red: Werewolf Hunter again. Well, that's not entirely true. I watched parts of it (mostly the parts with Kavan Smith and the fight scenes) while fast forwarding through the boring or overly dedicated to kind of crappy CGI werewolf transformation parts. Um, suffice to say, this thing did not hold up well to a second viewing, you guys. It still had a kind of fun feel, but I no longer want to add it to my permanent collection.
I'll admit, when it first aired, I was so super jazzed about a movie including Kavan Smith, Felicia Day, and werewolves, that I probably gave it a much wider benefit of the doubt than I normally would have. I mean, I thought the ending was terrible on the first watch through, and that didn't change the second time around. I still don't know what the hell the grandmother was thinking. I understand that the writers needed the wolfy Nathan to get free in order to further the plot, but they didn't even try to have the events leading up to the escape make sense. The grandmother's actions felt completely out of character for her. They tried to give some half-assed explanation about her husband having gone through a similar situation that ended badly, but it still didn't ring true. I could totally buy her deciding to kill Nathan in order to spare Virginia the pain she went through, but the way she went about it was just incredibly lame, and didn't at all live up to my expectations of her as a former badass werewolf hunter and the revered and respected head of this family of hunters. I was literally screaming, "Oh come on!" at the screen when she was trying to shoot him with a silver-loaded shotgun from three feet away and kept missing, repeatedly. While he was in a cage. What the heck is up with that? Again, this is a woman who spent her entire life hunting these things down and from everything that has been said up to this point, she was pretty damn good at it. Does not compute.
And the movie was completely full of these kind of weird little out of character moments and actions that were the writers simply trying to further the plot. The other one that kind of irked me the first time around and really got to me the second was that everyone was throwing a fit about Virginia deciding to get married, because other people don't understand their way and they must remain apart. Um, how the heck has your family line survived for all of these generations to fight the werewolves if they haven't been bringing in new blood so they could procreate? I mean, Virginia is the last female in a line of what is vaguely shown to be a strongly matriarchal family. It makes total sense that she would want to go find someone to help her make babies so that her legacy can continue. It also seems to make sense that she would choose someone she cares about and can put up with so that he can be staying home taking care of the kids while she's out hunting. But whatever.
I frequently DVR the cheesy Syfy original movies. If they've got a Stargate actor, dragons, or something archaeological going on, I'm probably gonna give it a try. At least half the time, I"ll watch the first 30 minutes and then just delete the whole thing and move on with my life. I can't say any of the ones I watch in full are ever good, but they are at least entertaining enough for me to watch through once. I don't think there's ever been a Syfy original movie that I've purposely set out to watch twice until now.
But here's the funny thing: I end up watching a lot of Lifetime movies because they often feature Stargate actors as well (there are a lot of cheesy movies being made in the Vancouver area, folks, what can I say). But time after time, I always end up engaged enough in the stupid Lifetime movies to watch all of the way through, and there are a few now that I have purposely watched more than once. Case in point, in addition to having Red: Werewolf Hunter hanging out in my DVR, I also had The Room at the End of the Hall (alternately called The Nightmare at the End of the Hall) in my DVR as well, awaiting a second watch (yes, this one also featured Kavan Smith. There was an abundance of cheesy cable movies featuring Kavan Smith in October, it seems. I am not ocmplaining). I watched that Sunday evening fully intending to put it on in the background while I was reading a book, and to just pay attention to the bits featuring Kavan Smith. Except I totally got sucked into the story, even though I had already seen this movie before.
It really disturbs me that I tend to enjoy the cheesy Lifetime movies so much more than the cheesy Syfy movies. I don't know what that says about my psyche, at all. I think part of it is that my expectations for the Lifetime movies are pretty low, whereas I always (okay, usually) have high hopes for the Syfy films. But I also think it is because at this point, whoever makes these movies that Syfy snaps up for their Saturday night time slots has realized that the movies are gonna get bought and aired at least once, so they are just churning them out. Okay, yes, I am sure Lifetime is just churning them out as well, but theirs are so often "based on a true story" or adaptations of Danielle Steele novels that this seems to require them to go for a slightly higher quality of production than the Syfy flicks.
So, there you have it, one of my dirty little secrets. So help me God, I actually enjoy cheesy Lifetime movies (so long as they feature one or more of my preferred Stargate alumni, at least), and while I try, I just can't get behind the cheesy Syfy films. Go figure.
Also, upon further reflection, the werewolves in that movie just totally sucked, you guys.
That is all.
I'll admit, when it first aired, I was so super jazzed about a movie including Kavan Smith, Felicia Day, and werewolves, that I probably gave it a much wider benefit of the doubt than I normally would have. I mean, I thought the ending was terrible on the first watch through, and that didn't change the second time around. I still don't know what the hell the grandmother was thinking. I understand that the writers needed the wolfy Nathan to get free in order to further the plot, but they didn't even try to have the events leading up to the escape make sense. The grandmother's actions felt completely out of character for her. They tried to give some half-assed explanation about her husband having gone through a similar situation that ended badly, but it still didn't ring true. I could totally buy her deciding to kill Nathan in order to spare Virginia the pain she went through, but the way she went about it was just incredibly lame, and didn't at all live up to my expectations of her as a former badass werewolf hunter and the revered and respected head of this family of hunters. I was literally screaming, "Oh come on!" at the screen when she was trying to shoot him with a silver-loaded shotgun from three feet away and kept missing, repeatedly. While he was in a cage. What the heck is up with that? Again, this is a woman who spent her entire life hunting these things down and from everything that has been said up to this point, she was pretty damn good at it. Does not compute.
And the movie was completely full of these kind of weird little out of character moments and actions that were the writers simply trying to further the plot. The other one that kind of irked me the first time around and really got to me the second was that everyone was throwing a fit about Virginia deciding to get married, because other people don't understand their way and they must remain apart. Um, how the heck has your family line survived for all of these generations to fight the werewolves if they haven't been bringing in new blood so they could procreate? I mean, Virginia is the last female in a line of what is vaguely shown to be a strongly matriarchal family. It makes total sense that she would want to go find someone to help her make babies so that her legacy can continue. It also seems to make sense that she would choose someone she cares about and can put up with so that he can be staying home taking care of the kids while she's out hunting. But whatever.
I frequently DVR the cheesy Syfy original movies. If they've got a Stargate actor, dragons, or something archaeological going on, I'm probably gonna give it a try. At least half the time, I"ll watch the first 30 minutes and then just delete the whole thing and move on with my life. I can't say any of the ones I watch in full are ever good, but they are at least entertaining enough for me to watch through once. I don't think there's ever been a Syfy original movie that I've purposely set out to watch twice until now.
But here's the funny thing: I end up watching a lot of Lifetime movies because they often feature Stargate actors as well (there are a lot of cheesy movies being made in the Vancouver area, folks, what can I say). But time after time, I always end up engaged enough in the stupid Lifetime movies to watch all of the way through, and there are a few now that I have purposely watched more than once. Case in point, in addition to having Red: Werewolf Hunter hanging out in my DVR, I also had The Room at the End of the Hall (alternately called The Nightmare at the End of the Hall) in my DVR as well, awaiting a second watch (yes, this one also featured Kavan Smith. There was an abundance of cheesy cable movies featuring Kavan Smith in October, it seems. I am not ocmplaining). I watched that Sunday evening fully intending to put it on in the background while I was reading a book, and to just pay attention to the bits featuring Kavan Smith. Except I totally got sucked into the story, even though I had already seen this movie before.
It really disturbs me that I tend to enjoy the cheesy Lifetime movies so much more than the cheesy Syfy movies. I don't know what that says about my psyche, at all. I think part of it is that my expectations for the Lifetime movies are pretty low, whereas I always (okay, usually) have high hopes for the Syfy films. But I also think it is because at this point, whoever makes these movies that Syfy snaps up for their Saturday night time slots has realized that the movies are gonna get bought and aired at least once, so they are just churning them out. Okay, yes, I am sure Lifetime is just churning them out as well, but theirs are so often "based on a true story" or adaptations of Danielle Steele novels that this seems to require them to go for a slightly higher quality of production than the Syfy flicks.
So, there you have it, one of my dirty little secrets. So help me God, I actually enjoy cheesy Lifetime movies (so long as they feature one or more of my preferred Stargate alumni, at least), and while I try, I just can't get behind the cheesy Syfy films. Go figure.
Also, upon further reflection, the werewolves in that movie just totally sucked, you guys.
That is all.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
That's Okay Rangers, You'll Do Better Tonight
Game one of the World Series has come and gone with a Giants win, sigh. BUT, it was just game one after all. We can still do this. Watching the game last night I was struck by a funny realization. I have crocheted in exactly two baseball stadiums. And do you know which two? That's right, the ballparks for the Rangers and the Giants. I even have photographic evidence, see:
Right next to me that's my mom (knitting) and then my little sister (who lives in the bay area, which is why we were at that game). I was making a shawl for one of my best friends for her wedding at this game. AT&T Park really is a beautiful ballpark, especially at night. Also, the seats in front of us had cup holders attached to the back that made a perfect yarn holder!
Of course, I have also crocheted at the Ballpark in Arlington, my home team's home:
I was making a dish towel there. I've done a few other crochet projects at that stadium (including my first pair of socks) but I can't find any other pictures. It was frikkin' hot that day and we were directly in the sun, until about a third of the way into the game, after which it got much better. This was Baby Girl's first baseball game. You can see her on the right sitting in her daddy's lap, trying to chew her way through the cap on the Sprite bottle.
It didn't even dawn on me until I was talking with my sister on the phone today that it is both of our home teams going up against each other in this series, that's just crazy! So naturally there's been a little bit of good-natured ribbing. I have a feeling whichever team wins, one of us will have teasing ammunition for a while to come! My poor mom doesn't know who to root for (though I think she's leaning towards the Giants) but my grandmother told me she's rooting for the Rangers for me. It is possible we're a baseball family.
Adding to the blow of my team losing the opening game of the series, Syfy officially canceled Caprica last night. Sigh. Remember that rant from Tuesday, about how I am not too sure that Syfy actually cares about its scifi programming anymore? Yeah. They aired half a season, waited until the start of the next television season to air the back half, after moving it to a new night where it was up against some extremely stiff competition, and gave it four episodes before pulling the plug. Way to show faith in your programming, Syfy. They're not even going to burn off the remainder of the season and let us end the year with a bang. Oh no, they're holding off the rest of the season until some unspecified time in 2011's first quarter. Grr. Argh. Think happy thoughts Cori, think happy thoughts.
Hmm...happy thoughts...ooh! I did get my new comic books for the month yesterday!
In the top photo, clockwise from the top left corner we have the newest issues of Dragon Age and Buffy Season 8, the first issue of Warlord of Mars (based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series), and the newest issue of Angel Aftermath (a.k.a Season 6). In the bottom photo, clockwise from the top left corner we have issues 3 and 5 of The Wheel of Time: The Eye of the World (they sent me issue #4 last month, ah WOT comics, you are eccentric), the newest issue of The Last Unicorn, and the first issue of Star Wars Knight Errant.
Ooh, I am excited to do some comic reading! I realize I have absolutely no credibility as a comic book geek, since all of the series I read are either adaptations of existing novels, series set in various video games or scifi franchises, and continuations of canceled television series. But that will not stop me from getting excited about my new comics nonetheless! Maybe I should keep the stack close by during tonight's game to read in between plays, just to keep my spirits up....
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| San Francisco Giants v. Colorado Rockies September 23, 2008 |
Right next to me that's my mom (knitting) and then my little sister (who lives in the bay area, which is why we were at that game). I was making a shawl for one of my best friends for her wedding at this game. AT&T Park really is a beautiful ballpark, especially at night. Also, the seats in front of us had cup holders attached to the back that made a perfect yarn holder!
Of course, I have also crocheted at the Ballpark in Arlington, my home team's home:
 |
| Texas Rangers v. Boston Red Sox August 15, 2010 |
I was making a dish towel there. I've done a few other crochet projects at that stadium (including my first pair of socks) but I can't find any other pictures. It was frikkin' hot that day and we were directly in the sun, until about a third of the way into the game, after which it got much better. This was Baby Girl's first baseball game. You can see her on the right sitting in her daddy's lap, trying to chew her way through the cap on the Sprite bottle.
It didn't even dawn on me until I was talking with my sister on the phone today that it is both of our home teams going up against each other in this series, that's just crazy! So naturally there's been a little bit of good-natured ribbing. I have a feeling whichever team wins, one of us will have teasing ammunition for a while to come! My poor mom doesn't know who to root for (though I think she's leaning towards the Giants) but my grandmother told me she's rooting for the Rangers for me. It is possible we're a baseball family.
Adding to the blow of my team losing the opening game of the series, Syfy officially canceled Caprica last night. Sigh. Remember that rant from Tuesday, about how I am not too sure that Syfy actually cares about its scifi programming anymore? Yeah. They aired half a season, waited until the start of the next television season to air the back half, after moving it to a new night where it was up against some extremely stiff competition, and gave it four episodes before pulling the plug. Way to show faith in your programming, Syfy. They're not even going to burn off the remainder of the season and let us end the year with a bang. Oh no, they're holding off the rest of the season until some unspecified time in 2011's first quarter. Grr. Argh. Think happy thoughts Cori, think happy thoughts.
Hmm...happy thoughts...ooh! I did get my new comic books for the month yesterday!
In the top photo, clockwise from the top left corner we have the newest issues of Dragon Age and Buffy Season 8, the first issue of Warlord of Mars (based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series), and the newest issue of Angel Aftermath (a.k.a Season 6). In the bottom photo, clockwise from the top left corner we have issues 3 and 5 of The Wheel of Time: The Eye of the World (they sent me issue #4 last month, ah WOT comics, you are eccentric), the newest issue of The Last Unicorn, and the first issue of Star Wars Knight Errant.
Ooh, I am excited to do some comic reading! I realize I have absolutely no credibility as a comic book geek, since all of the series I read are either adaptations of existing novels, series set in various video games or scifi franchises, and continuations of canceled television series. But that will not stop me from getting excited about my new comics nonetheless! Maybe I should keep the stack close by during tonight's game to read in between plays, just to keep my spirits up....
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Out With the Old, In With the New
TUESDAY PSA: Don't forget, new episodes of Stargate Universe and Caprica tonight on Syfy starting at 8 p.m CST!!!
With The Guild wrapped up for another season, and the Legend of Neil series finale getting ready to air tomorrow, there is a sad empty spot in my heart that was once filled by web series. But, never fret! Syfy has the answer (scary as that may seem)! A new web series is premiering today on the Syfy website called Riese: Kingdom Falling. Here's the "about" blurb for the series:
Riese: Kingdom Falling takes place in Eleysia, a dying kingdom where distrust and anxiety have clouded people's minds, causing a regression into primitive ways of thinking. Rituals and mythology have resurged, and the darker side of mankind has begun to reveal itself. Riese, a wanderer, travels across the decaying land with her wolf, Fenrir. Marked as a heretic by religious group The Sect and the new Empress, Riese must evade their assassins and discover their true intentions for Eleysia.
Narrated by Amanda Tapping (Sanctuary), the series stars a cavalcade of talent from the world of popular speculative drama including Christine Chatelain (The Bone Collector); Sharon Taylor (Stargate Universe); Ben Cotton (Harper's Island), Allison Mack (Smallville); Ryan Robbins (Caprica); Patrick Gilmore (Stargate Universe); Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica) and Emilie Ullerup (Sanctuary).
Of course, this isn't actually a new series. Riese was running under it's own steam for at least one whole story arc before the creators brokered a deal with Syfy and pulled all the episodes off the air so it could be retooled and they could have exclusive rights to it. I watched the first episode about a year ago and was very intrigued. I didn't get a chance to delve too deep into it before it was pulled though, so I am really excited that it has come back. I can only hope Syfy does it justice.
Though looking at their website I can already see a big issue. They don't seem to understand that part of what makes web series so popular is that they don't follow the BS scheduling practices of network and cable television. They've got its scheduled "air time" plastered all over the page--which isn't until 11 pm CST. What the heezy? Sigh. Once the episode is up, it should be available for viewing at any time though (hopefully), but still. Come on, Syfy, don't jerk us around and try to make us dance to your schedule--that defeats the whole purpose of a web series. If I get excited because Tuesday is web series day, that means I get excited because I can hop on my computer at any point on Tuesday and watch my shows, not have to wait until the end of the day or the next day for you to get it put up. At that point, you may as well just decide that Riese day is Wednesday, not Tuesday. I really do want this series to succeed though, because it truly does have a fantastic cast--those listed above don't even start to list all of the awesome people involved.
But this just reminds me again that the heyday of the SciFi Channel is long long gone. There was the name change, of course. I'm not going to get into my rant about that, it's been done already and often, and has been done well. Plus, there's the wrestling thing. Look, I am not a fan of professional wrestling. I really just don't get the appeal. Many people I know (my brother-in-law in particular) love it, and I am totally cool with that. Not everybody enjoys science fiction on the level that I do, after all. To each his own. BUT. Syfy is supposed to be a specialized cable channel. Changing the spelling of your name doesn't change the expectations a name like "Syfy" is going to give your viewers. The programming decisions that the network has been making over the last several years has made it very clear to me that the people now running the show don't believe there is an economically sustainable demand for a purely science fiction and fantasy channel. So they've got this Ghost Hunters crap, and they've got wrestling. And they keep making ridiculously substandard monster and disaster movies instead of devoting those resources to well-done series.
Update: It looks like the first episode is already up and can be watched here. Thank goodness for Ryan Robbins' FB account keeping us all in the loop! Though, this does make me wonder, why the heck do you even have an air time listed on your website at all Syfy?
The decision to move Stargate Universe and Caprica to Tuesday nights is another clue that the people running the show don't really care about the actual scifi programming anymore. They moved the shows primarily because they got Friday night wrestling and didn't want to risk losing any of those shiny new viewers by changing the night of the program, so they decided instead to screw over all of the existing viewers by canceling the long-standing SciFriday and shunting our programming to Tuesday nights. The argument was that this should actually help these shows succeed because their summer programming does so well on Tuesday nights. Okay, see, here's the thing, summer programming that is original is going to do better simply because it isn't reruns. But your fall shows? Why would you put them on against such a seriously stacked existing Tuesday night lineup on other channels? An io9 article yesterday stated that SGU and Caprica are "circling the drain" and it made me bristle--but it's true. The ratings have been abysmal. The shows themselves have been outstanding, but there is simply too much competition on Tuesday nights for anyone who isn't a straight up fangirl/guy to bother about watching the shows live in the days of DVR. The +7 day numbers for SGU, at least, are something like an additional 70%. What does that say when 70% of your viewers aren't watching your show live? It says it's on at a bad day and time. The end of the year is coming up, and along with it the decision of whether or not to give these two shows new seasons. I think the yea or nay here is going to say a lot about the network's devotion to its scifi programming, because the move to a new date should definitely be taken into account when they start crunching numbers. I try to keep watching this channel, because the genre shows it does air are a lot of my favorites, but it is getting harder and harder to trust the people behind the scenes to look out for my viewing interests, I'll tell you that.
Hmm, well, that was a kind of unintended rant. Sorry about that. I'll wrap up with some costuming updates. I only ended up having one party to go to last weekend because one got called on account of rain and rescheduled for a few weeks from now. As predicted, no one at the party recognized my costume, but that's alright. Here's a reminder of what I was going for:
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| Karen Gillan as Amy Pond |
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| Cori as Amy Pond |
Considering I am a bit shorter and quite a bit rounder than Karen Gillan, I think I pulled it off rather well. I do think however, that when I do wear this to a convention, I'll probably just go ahead and invest in getting my hair colored, because when push came to shove, I couldn't bring myself to wear the wig. Here's what it looked like with the wig though, in case you're curious:
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| This wig adds +6 to Silliness. |
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| Baby Girl checks out her costume. |
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