Still more theater events

A remastered version of the two-part Star Trek episode "The Menagerie" will hit theaters in a couple weeks for a handful of showings on November 13 & 15. Tickets are $12.50 and will include a screening of the episode, as well as a vid from the son of series creator Gene Roddenberry, and a look at how the show was remastered from the original negatives.

Check here for theater info & to order tickets.

BSG Razor on the big screen

I wish I'd known about this sooner, but some geek-friendly sponsors are bringing Battlestar Galactica Razor to theaters in eight US cities, twelve days before it airs on the SciFi Channel. Tickets are free, first come first served. Unfortunately, the registration site went live earlier today, so your preferred theater might not be available. Go here to find out.

Oh, and I'll be at the AMC on 42nd street in Manhattan for the 10p showing. Woo fuckin' hoo!

Sneezelantis

I've been battling some autumn crud for the past few days, making lying in front of the tv especially appealing. Tonight's episode of Stargate Atlantis was entertaining enough, though the commander who kidnapped Sheppard could have sucked less. It seems as though every time they meet a civilization with any reasonable degree of technological advancement, it's run by people who don't get the value of combining resources to face an indiscriminate enemy like the Wraith. Oh, and they're into kidnapping.

So, this is the...third? Ancient battleship they've run across now. I wonder if they'll ever find one they get to keep.

Last week's ep, with the nasty nightmare-inducing alien, was a fun one to watch. I sure do like it when good characters go bad, and EvilSheppard works really well for me. I like the addition of Jewel Staite, who's playing Dr. Beckett's replacement, though I'm not sure yet what I think of her character. Oh, and I'm definitely bummed that they offed Heightmeyer, the hottie psychologist. How unfair is that shit?

Btw, Atlantis has been renewed for a 20-episode fifth season, production to begin early next year. Yay!

Bionic uncertainty

Too long without posting! Maybe I should watch less tv, and write more....

So, I'm still trying to decide if Bionic Woman is actually good, or if my appreciation for Katee Sackhoff is blinding me to its faults. It's not like I think it's a perfect show; in fact, the music frequently makes me cringe. However, I do think it's all right and could be pretty awesome once it finds its legs. At only a handful of episodes in, it's hard to tell.

The writing seems to vary a little wildly, sometimes sharp and clever, then abruptly cheesy and stilted (stiltoned?). I definitely like several of the characters, though. The supporting cast mostly overshadows the bionic woman herself, though I don't have a particular problem with that. Of course, Sackhoff's Sarah Corvus wows me, but I also really like Jonas' severe colleague, Ruth, and it's nice to see Mark Sheppard (Badger on Firefly, Romo on BSG) as the elder mad scientist in the family, Anthony Anthros.

An interesting production note: the ep a couple weeks ago, "Paradise Lost," was directed by Tim Matheson, who some might remember from 1978's Animal House ("Eric Stratton, rush chairman, damn glad to meet you!"), as well as a bunch of other movies & tv shows. In addition to acting, he's got a fairly impressive list of directorial jobs, including an episode of Eureka. Hunh, who'da thunk it?

Cue Atlantis season four

I'm all caught up with Stargate Atlantis, which means I've seen "Sunday," the episode in which Beckett dies. It didn't come as any surprise, as I'd read spoilers for it already before it aired last season. That probably made me even more sappy about it when it finally happened. I spent the episode feeling anxious, until the painful explosion scene, then I cracked and cried until the end. Through the aforementioned anxiety, I was very happy for all the light moments that preceded Carson's death. It was a really enjoyable episode and it had a pretty strong effect on me.

So, now that I'm up to speed, I have another thought or three about the series. This show is definitely a good bit heavier than SG-1, serving up more intense situations & circumstances. The Pegasus galaxy is a rough playground, populated by some serious nasties and made more dangerous by the irresponsible actions of some very un-lofty Ancients. It's been nice, actually, to learn more about how not-perfect the Ancients were, as I always thought they were a lot too ideal as far as they were understood on SG-1.

The Wraith have become more interesting to me as we've gotten insight into individuals. Sheppard's experience with the Wraith prisoner in s3's "Common Ground" was surprisingly enlightening, not only regarding Wraiths' abilities, but also their capacity for negotiation and cooperation when the situation is desperate enough. Which reminds me, just how gullible are our intrepid heroes? I refer to the s2 finale, "Allies," wherein a Wraith queen comes to Atlantis with a super sweet deal, offering up incredible amounts of intel & assistance on a silver fucking platter. The situation reeked and too many of those dumbass humans were actually surprised when they realized the Wraith played them.

Pleasantly, I can't say I have a favourite character. I like Sheppard a lot, and not just because I think he's hot. Rodney, of course, is a big geek and won me over very early on. It's not hard to imagine some Shep/McKay slash in my future. *ahem* Ronon gets some of the best lines and I really like his "why should I set it to stun?" attitude. When Ronon doesn't like the plan, I usually agree with him. Unfortunately, I'm not overly keen on any of the female characters, though the occasionally recurring Dr. Heightmeyer is really nice to look at. Teyla's okay and sometimes I think she has some pretty great moments; Weir I'm just not that crazy about.

Some of the recurring characters have been a pleasure. Michael is fantastic and I was happy to see him again at the end of s3, all angry and brilliant. It's nice to know they're not rid of him yet. Lucius the "Irresistible" & "Irresponsible" was ridiculous and funny. I'm kind of surprised I liked those eps as much as I did. If he shows up again, the episode ought to be called "Irrepressible." "Irresponsible" leads me to Genii nutcase Kolya. I'm really not sure if I liked him or not. He was definitely a slimy badguy, right up my alley, but I think he might have been just that little bit too slimy. Either way, I liked the eps he appeared in, and I was definitely glad when Sheppard finally killed him.

I could go on for awhile, but I'll save further observations for another time. Now that s4 is underway, it's kind of nice to watch the twists & turns unfold slowly.

Still giving Flash a chance

I actually liked Flash Gordon last week. I say "actually" because I know it's not a very good show and really isn't hitting a home run within fandom. It's not the worst thing on tv, but it's nowhere near on par with shows like Battlestar Galactica or Heroes. I'm probably a little cynical & jaded, but I'm guessing Flash Gordon has lower production costs than many shows, making it more likely to stay on the air awhile, regardless of its quality.

Anyway, the past couple eps have been enjoyable. As nice as it is to see the actor playing Barin [Steve Bacic], I'm annoyed by Barin & Aura's foreplay. Their extreme dislike for each other is none-too-subtly contrived, and her acting is just difficult to watch. Maybe things'll get better when they fall for each other.

This week's episode will feature the big fight between Flash & Barin, which I'm looking forward to.

The Flash Gordon of the 1980 movie, Sam Jones, made a guest appearance in this most recent ep as the prisoner from whom Zarkov & Flash learn about Flash's dad. Maybe he'll show up again in a future ep, to help Flash find the missing scientist...or, maybe we'll never see him again.

Like satisfying a jones

Aspects of this week's Heroes tweaked me just right. Claire's revelation about her father made me really unhappy, but I like what it does for the story. She knew he used to have a pretty dirty job, but I think having its proof so up close & personal made it more starkly real for her. He used to be responsible for doing pretty much what he's now trying to protect her from. Oh yeah, and if the painting Mohinder found is any indication, he will not be successful. Ouch.

I like what's happening with Hiro & Kensei, though Hiro's choice to stay behind doesn't entirely sit well. It seems out of character for someone who's so very aware of his potential to change history. Of course, if it means more David Anders, I'm for it. I guess we'll see how that pans out. It's nice that Hiro found a way to get a message to Ando and I hope Ando is able to take a more active role in Hiro's escapades again soon.

Though she was only onscreen for a matter of seconds, it sure was nice to see Nichelle Nichols. Wouldn't it be a hoot if we found out she's "different" too. And that leads us to Niki. I'm bettin' Jessica's not going to be so cooperative when it comes to being "cured." That oughta be interesting.

If you've been following along at home, you can guess at my reaction to Sylar's reappearance. Heheh, boy, do I like 'em bad! While he does confused and pained well enough, he really nails evil. Unfortunately, things aren't looking so good for him of late and I'm very curious to know what happened to all his abilities.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Some days ya just wake up and ya gotta make some changes. I got tired of the picture at the top of the blog, so I ditched it. I also added a bit to my profile. Each day sees me sinking deeper and deeper....

Eureka's decent, if not entirely satisfying, second season

Eureka's second season came to an end last week, not exactly with a bang, but at least not a whimper. Though the tension was notched up a bit overall, it didn't have a very different feel than last season. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I sure wish it had been darker. However, light & fluffy doesn't mean unenjoyable, and Eureka isn't so bad as a mostly happy place.

As much as I like this show, I thought the pacing of the season left a lot to be desired. It seemed as though there was a many-episode-long vacuum wherein virtually nothing to do with the grittier aspects of the show were explored. Every episode or two we'd get a brief teaser scene, just to remind us that there were things going on beneath the surface, but not nearly enough real substance to the arc. I think that's part of why the mystery of the artifact failed to really hook me. Of course, my preference is for a story rather than a one-off type of episodic series, and I should probably just accept that Eureka is not the show to satisfy that desire.

Thankfully, it satisfied on other levels. Because I'm that kind of a sucker, I took a definite interest in the romantic entanglements of this little town's remarkable population. As much as I like Jack & Allison together, Stark managed to turn me around over the course of the season and I found myself happy with how that triangle played out. Of course, there's no saying how things might change; it is a chaotic universe, after all. Then there's the enticingly dangerous Deputy Jo. Since the end of the first season I was pulling for Jo & Taggart, and it was very disappointing to watch her develop a relationship with pretty boy genius Zane. Oh, Zane's not awful; in fact, he's even charming, if a bit cocky. But, "Tag" is really so much cooler. Finally, maybe my disappointment with Jo & Zane heightens my appreciation for Zoe & her geek boyfriend. Zoe is a great character and I like that she's settled in Eureka and seems to be handling the trials of being a teenager fairly well.

So, the season finale didn't actually give us any revelations regarding the artifact, and it definitely left us hanging as far as Beverly's locale. Maybe I missed something, but it's not clear to me why the mystery of where Beverly took off to wasn't pursued. If she didn't screw up her escape, we know she had to be within a kilometer of Global Dynamics, so why didn't Allison order a search for her? Perhaps, as Henry suggested, she's just superfluous now and it's easier for all concerned to let her disappear. Also, it's totally cool that GD actually developed transporter technology, dangerous & uncertain though it might be.

I definitely did not like watching Henry get taken away in handcuffs. Partly I just like him a lot and don't want to see the character in such a shitty situation, but also I think so much more could have been done with him during the season. To have him accept such an unhappy resolution, after spending the entire season struggling to learn the details of Kim's death, was sad and empty.

Well, there's a good chance we haven't been left hanging entirely, as far as remaining mysteries are concerned - the SciFi Channel announced Eureka's renewal for a third season, scheduled to begin sometime next summer. Yay!

I hope to have a black hole named for me someday

This is just a bit of random cool: scifi icon George Takei [Star Trek's Hikaru Sulu, and Hiro's father on Heroes] has had an asteroid named for him. Asteroid 1994 GT9, located between Mars & Jupiter, was renamed 7303 Takei, in honour of the actor's activities with the Japanese American Citizens League and the Human Rights Campaign, and his work in scifi. That's just neat.

Ever more surprises on Heroes

It's been a busy week for tv, not to mention the real world, so I've got a few posts in the works. First up is Monday night's Heroes. All around a pretty good episode, with some nice story development. I like what's going on with Bennet & Mohinder, but I wonder how long it'll be before the Company is on to them, or before we find out the Company's been on to them all along. I definitely gasped & cheered when the Haitian showed up again, and I was thrilled when he gave the Company the slip, then showed up at Bennet's copy shop.

So, Kensei is more than just a folk hero. Now that was a nice twist. I could have been okay with Hiro being the "real" hero, but I really like that Kensei is considerably more than he appears. How much more we've yet to see, but signs so far are promising.

Peter's situation, dangerous though it might be, is boring thus far, not to mention a little pedestrian given the rest of the show. I mean, he just happens to show up in the middle of an Irish mob war? Oy. Maybe I just think the situation is a little silly, and the teaser with The Box is a lot silly.

I'm not sure whether I'm more intrigued by Claire's new friend, who's determined to blow her cover, or by Claire herself, who's struggling so much just to be who she is. I know Claire irritates some people [what teenage girl doesn't?], but for some reason I really like her and barring a few complaints, I'm happy with the way she's written.

Maya & Alejandro have me wondering even more. They are quite the pair and I really hope we get a little more enlightenment soon. They & their crazy eyes make me think of Molly's frightening visions, and I wonder if they're connected, or if Molly is seeing someone entirely different [like a new incarnation of Sylar...?].

And speaking of my favourite uber-badguy, we should be seeing him again soon and getting a little bit of insight into where he's been for the past four months. I hope he's been doing something cool, and evil.

Nothing like a drug trip

Flash Gordon isn't exactly winning me over the way I'd like it to, but the promise of Battlestar Galactica "Razor" flashbacks is enough to convince me to make sure I catch the next several episodes, starting tomorrow. The flashbacks are two-minute clips designed to set up the story for next month's two-hour special episode. Of course, if watching Flash Gordon seems like torture to you, the "Razor" flashbacks will be available on the SciFi website after they've aired.