Closet Sci-Fi Geek

A Few News Tidbits & Thoughts

Good news: Reaper and Eli Stone have been renewed! I was a bit worried for both (Reaper seemed to be very much on the bubble) and I am glad to see both will come back. Reaper is not high art, but it’s fun, with some really great moments. I have unfortunately not been able to keep up with Reaper as much as I’d like this past season due to all the scheduling changes and writer’s strikes and…my life, but I plan to catch up on all the episodes before next season.

Eli Stone has become hands down my favorite new show, surpassing even my other new favorite Pushing Daisies. (Pushing Daisies may creep back up again, however, once I start watching it again.)

Jericho fans are pushing SciFi to pick up the series…of course, SciFi will probably do the stupid thing and ignore them. Once again, Bonnie Hammer is going on about expanding the network to reach more than adolescent geeky boys. I guess this is one of the reasons why they don’t have spaceships anymore?

Excuse me, Bonnie..I am a 30something female, relatively attractive (or so I’m told), who does yoga and also happens to like spaceships. Please stop stereotyping women by suggesting we need “relationships” to get into a show!

I am so itching for new spaceship shows that I’m thinkly fondly of sci-fi gone by. Even sci-fi I didn’t like that much. I used to find Space: Above and Beyond a bit too shoot-em-up and not enough aliens…but I’m really dying over here to see SOME SPACESHIPS for a change, and now I look back on the days of Space: Above and Beyond, Star Trek franchises, and Babylon 5 with much fondness. Ah, the 90s.

Finally: Welcome to our newest contributor, LarryJP!

New SciFi Channel Series…

Ho hum…I just can’t get excited about anything SciFi does anymore…but in case you are curious…

http://weblogs.variety.com/bags_and_boards/2008/03/sci-fi-picks-up.html

The Strike is Over! More Lost!

The WGA strike is over, just in time to make more episodes of Lost this season. A brief review of what’s staying and what’s going sci-fi-wise:

Lost will have at least five more episodes filmed this season.
Reaper and Supernatural will be returning with more new episodes, hurrah.
Bionic Woman and Journeyman are canceled (good call).
Pushing Daisies is coming back in the fall for a proper relaunch by ABC (smart move).
Heroes will probably take the summer to regroup.
All episodes of the midseason Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles have been shot for now, no word on renewal for next year.

Star Trek Movie Teaser Trailer

Here it is…ugh…J.J. Abrams looks to be making Star Trek into a pretentious overblown, serious drama. I have liked Abrams’s TV shows (Alias, Lost) but have no interest in seeing an Alias or Lost-like Trek.

The casting of Winona Ryder then confirmed it for me…this Trek movie will not be Trek. It was, after all, when people like Christian Slater started appearing in Trek films that they got bad. How about a Heathers-Trek?

Some Trekkies have a greater concern - the use of torture in Abrams’s other shows. Check out:

http://trekkies.againsttorture.com

Heath Ledger’s Sad, Untimely Death

I wouldn’t normally be talking about Heath Ledger here, but with his upcoming role as the Joker in the next Batman movie, The Dark Knight, this is sci-fi news. I have not been a fan of Heath Ledger; he has only been in my consciousness somewhat vaguely and I haven’t seen most of the films he’s been in. Still, I was really shocked to hear the news that he died yesterday. Absolutely shocked.

Today, speculations are arising over a rolled up $20 bill found in his apartment, which indicates possible cocaine use. What surprises me is how many fans are up in arms over this news, saying that the media is making “assumptions” that they shouldn’t be making. It’s an interesting look at how people relate to actors, and how they alternately vilify them (Tom Cruise) or make them into saints (Heath Ledger) when the middle ground is more likely true.

I have lived in Los Angeles for many, many years and I have seen a lot. And I can tell you that there is absolutely no reason to have a rolled up $20 in your home unless someone was doing some blow. Generally speaking, if you are not the type of person to do that sort of stuff yourself, you aren’t likely to sit quietly while your friends do it right in front of you, leaving their paraphernalia lying around in your living room.

Furthermore, if someone can’t get more than two hours of sleep on two hits of Ambien, that’s another indication that cocaine is a factor. Cocaine will easily keep you up all night.

Drug addiction does not make someone a bad person, but it does make them a sad person. Compassion can still be given to Ledger, not because he was drug-free, but precisely because he apparently wasn’t. I’ve known a few addicts in my time, and these folks aren’t evil - they are lost souls.

This will make watching The Dark Knight all the more poignant.

Bonnie Hammer is Outta There…Well, Sort Of…

Hallelujah! Bonnie Hammer is stepping back from the day-to-day operations of the SciFi channel, and Dave Howe will be replacing her. I’m not sure if this is great news, however. The crowing puff piece in Variety gushed about both of them, saying that they turned SciFi into a profitable enterprise by moving the channel towards a “non-geek” audience.

Meanwhile, no mention was made in the article of how universally hated Bonnie has been amongst sci-fi fans, nor how most of their new shows have tanked miserably in the ratings.

While we’re all breathing a sigh of relief that Bonnie is no longer in charge, it remains to be seen whether Howe will return SciFi back to its science fiction origins or continue to dangerously dilute the channel in search of that ever-elusive “non-geek” audience. Because heaven forbid, we certainly don’t want those horrible geeks as customers. Yeesh.

Streaming Video on Hulu.com

Well, this is what the Writer’s Guild is striking about: TV and film being streamed online and writers not getting paid for it. Hulu.com is a new website where you can watch a variety of full television episodes (and a few select feature films) for free. The advertising is quick and painless (usually 15 seconds and not overly intrusive). The video quality, on my computer and connection, is fantastic. At full screen it’s just as nice as my television.

There’s a variety of sci-fi content already available, including some more obscure stuff such as Land of the Giants and Nanny and the Professor (a show about a Mary Poppins type character). Other shows of interest include: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the Outer Limits, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica (old and new), Heroes, Cleopatra 2525, one-season wonder Surface, and even Rod Serling’s Night Gallery!

Now, you should be aware that some folks are calling for a boycott of online streaming while the WGA is on strike, due to the writers not getting a fair deal on the revenues. My feeling (as is with others) is that it’s not helping the writers to show that online streaming isn’t a viable medium. So I don’t think it will hurt the WGA cause to watch. But that’s just me, and I could be wrong.

I still have to catch up on Battlestar Galactica season three as well as Heroes…and maybe now I will finally getting around to watching Firefly. It’s bad enough I still haven’t seen the full Dresden Files - the Firefly omission on my part is pretty horrendous, I know.

The Golden Compass - Please See, if Just to Counter the Boycott

The Golden Compass is a fine fantasy film in it’s own right…but now that certain crazy extreme Christian elements are boycotting it, I think it’s all that more important for sci-fi and fantasy lovers to go see it in the theater.

(For example, see Group to protest ‘Golden Compass’ - but beware of the massive spoiler for the trilogy at the end of the article.)

The irony here is that these so-called Christians (let’s not offend real Christians) are upset because they think the film and the books are trying to make children into atheists. At issue is the portrayal of an all-powerful religious organization patterned after the worst excesses of the Catholic Church in its power. The “Magisterium” suppresses scientific knowledge and wields dictatorial control over the populace.

Now. If you are a Catholic or Christian and upset about this movie, you are basically giving credence to the critique that Christianity (particularly Catholicism) became warped and was used for evil in the wrong hands. Think about it. Because if this is just a fictional portrayal of a religious sect out of control, why even care? (Or, are we trying to whitewash the past and pretend that the entire Inquisition never happened?)

And yet, here these so-called “Christians” are, acting just like the evil people in the film, by trying to suppress information and other ideas. Most of the people protesting haven’t even read the books or seen the film. They are just following the orders of their church leaders. How completely ironic.

The Movie Itself

Enough with the political commentary, on to the film. I have not read the books yet so went in with a fresh slate and no expectations. I found the film to be very enjoyable. The plot was a bit complex and moved a little fast, but still flowed well enough. There was constant action - it never got boring, especially once the basic story was outlined.

The casting was superb. The girl was terrific - she was well-cast and truly made the movie with her performance. Nicole Kidman was also super freaky as the evil Mrs. Coulter. Sam Elliott brought some much-needed levity and personality to the film about halfway through.

Visually, the film was stunning - the sets were absolutely fantastic and the mood created perfect. I just love this type of fantasy sci-fi, where there’s technology mixed with magic and everything is decked out like it’s the late 1800s. Gorgeous.

The film is a bit dark and as such may not be for young children but should appeal to teens and adults. The fight scene between the two polar bears is positively gruesome, but powerful.

In short, I truly do not have many complaints about this film. It is not high art but decent entertainment. If you sit back and enjoy the ride you will find much to appreciate in The Golden Compass.

List of Shows Affected by the Strike

I fully support the writer’s strike, but I’m sad to hear there will only be nine episodes of Pushing Daisies this season now because of it. (Happy to hear that Reaper will have all 13 episodes and Supernatural is mostly done.) I am tearing my hair out over Lost, especially!!

The LA Times has a list of shows and how they are affected by the strike.

Friday Night Dresden Files Virtual Sit-In

Seems like this is the time for TV activism. If the Writers Guild strike is not inspiring you, perhaps you’ll want to join The Dresden Files Virtual Sit-In, organized by the Dresden renewal community. At 6:45 pm EST, fans are being asked to descend upon the SciFi.com bulletin boards to show support as they watch The Dresden Files in rerun. Continue reading Friday Night Dresden Files Virtual Sit-In…