Closet Sci-Fi Geek

TV: “Invasion” Out - Can It Be Saved?

Well, big surprise - ABC has officially canceled “Invasion.” Judging from the immediate outcry from the TV Guide announcement, ABC has made yet another stupid mistake here.

“Invasion,” as I’ve said before, had some problems, but got better and better as the season progressed. It’s main issue, however, wasn’t with the show itself, but ABC’s moronic scheduling. I had no idea from week to week when “Invasion” would be on! It seemed like the show would air once, then be off for another three weeks, then on another two weeks, then off for two, etc. etc.

If for some reason some ABC executive ever stumbles across my blog: GET A FREAKIN’ CLUE! You can’t expect your shows to build momentum and high ratings when you keep TAKING THEM OFF THE AIR mid-season.

In other bad news, talks of “Invasion” being picked up by the CW are waning. A “Save Invasion” petition has been placed online today, but I don’t know how much good it will do. As of this writing, it’s only got 180 signatures on it.

As a fan of “Farscape,” I remember how much work it took on the part of fans to resurrect “Farscape” for just one measly mini-series. Fans of “Invasion,” if you are serious about saving your show, you have a LOT of hard work to do now. So get to it!

TV: “Invasion” on the CW?

Word on the net is that ABC will not renew “Invasion,” but it may be picked up by the new CW network. Maybe it’s time for “Invasion” fans to start writing some letters…

Which brings me to another question…once the CW replaces UPN and the WB, will I be able to watch CW shows on my local channels 5 AND 13? What are those local affiliates going to do?

DVD: “Aeon Flux” (The Movie)

It’s been a while since I watched MTV’s adult sci-fi cartoon “Aeon Flux,” but I remember enough of it to be fairly horrified at the treatment it got on the big screen. (Well, thankfully, I waited until “Aeon Flux” came out on video, so for me, it was the little screen after all.)

“Aeon Flux,” the cartoon, was dark and sadistic, perverted, bizarre, and highly confusing in a good way. There was no clear good guy or bad guy in the cartoon. There were no easy answers, and part of the “charm,” if something so warped could be deemed “charming,” was the not knowing, the ambivalence.

“Aeon Flux” was mysterious, abstract, and probably the best thing that came out of MTV studios, ever.

“Aeon Flux,” the movie version, is almost everything the cartoon was not. The movie is straightforward sci-fi schlock that must have had die-hard “Aeon Flux” fans pulling their hair out. I mean, Trevor Goodchild as this wimpy but noble, misunderstood good guy? Aeon Flux shedding tears over her lost humanity? A happy ending? Gimme a break.

If you have never seen the cartoon, then the “Aeon Flux” movie is not bad for sci-fi mind candy. To enjoy the film at all, it must simply be taken on its own - forget the “Aeon Flux” cartoon, because if you try to compare, you’ll just be disappointed.

As a standalone sci-fi picture, “Aeon Flux” isn’t bad. It’s not very good, but it’s not the worst thing I’ve seen. It’s fast-paced and entertaining. What it’s not is believable in any way. I’m all for characters with super-hero powers, crazy stunts, and imaginative fantasy tech. What occurs in the film, however, is just so unbelievable as to be funny at points.

In one scene, Aeon manages to jump off a high tower and grab a gigantic silk banner streaming off the large blimp flying around the city. What happens at the end follows along these lines, only it’s even more stupid. Somehow, she manages to find the shuttle down from the blimp the first time around, and the second time around…well, you’ll just have to see it. It’s one of the most ridiculous scenes I’ve ever seen, ever. I’d love to have the Mystery Science Theater guys pick this one apart.

Charlize Theron, who earned my permanent respect with her amazing performance in “Monster,” unfortunately does not really fill this role well. She’s beautiful, of course, but lacks the stern angular features needed for Aeon Flux. She’s also a bit strained in her attempts to talk in that low, deadpan Aeon voice. (Apparently Theron almost got nominated for a Razzie for this performance.)

Marton Csokas played Trevor Goodchild. If I just throw out my expectations of Trevor from the cartoon, I’d say Csokas did a good job with what he was given in the movie script. I thought he was a terrific leading man (very sexy) and would love to see him in more stuff. But Trevor Goodchild, he was not.

The sets and special effects were fairly decent - and some were quite abstract and mysterious in the classic “Aeon Flux” way - but did not fully capture the alien nature of the setting in the cartoon.

The costume design was likewise pretty good - but what the heck was Aeon doing running around in the middle of the night on a stealth mission, wearing a bright white body suit? Then, during the day, she switches to black. Stylistically, it was kind of cool, but the logic stank.

Which is perhaps the essence of my final review: kind of cool, but stank.

TV: “Supernatural” and Save Our Show Update

“One Tree Hill” won E! Online’s Save Our Show campaign, though I did see one of those Yahoo TV polls where the results were much more evenly spread. “One Tree Hill” must have quite a band of excited followers.

“Supernatural” ended its first season with a humdinger - if you missed it, hopefully you’ll be able to catch it on your Tivo or on the DVD coming out at the end of the summer.

I was absolutely thrilled to hear Triumph’s “Fight the Good Fight” - a good old-fashioned and now obscure rock anthem - starting the show up. Last week, it had been Kansas’s “Carry On My Wayward Son.” I hope they come out with a soundtrack. The music is perfect.

DVD: “The Cave”

“The Cave” came out in theaters just last year and bombed. I didn’t even know the film existed, but couldn’t help but put it into my Blockbuster queue.

The premise is simple: A bunch of explorers get trapped in a cave with superpowerful creatures that have one thing on their mind: dinner.

As you can imagine, the plot is standard B-grade sci-fi. What sets “The Cave” apart is the interesting location (the cave, of course).

As a young child, I remember exploring Luray Caverns with my family. Caves can be quite beautiful, mysterious places, and certainly would make for an interesting film setting.

“The Cave” kind of gets that - but only partially. “Respect the cave,” says one explorer ominously prior to descent. Yet, the film didn’t quite wow with the cave itself. The water scenes were great, but the rest of the cave seemed a bit, well, fake. (Granted, I was watching this on a standard television set.)

I was happy to see Eddie Cibrian of “Invasion” fame playing a leading role. The acting was fine, even though the dialogue itself was straight sci-fi cheese.

The film also stretches credulity at times - seasoned spelunkers would hardly be stepping foot into a huge cavern filled with methane gas (you’d die) - but oh well. I still enjoyed seeing the explorers do their thing, as unbelievable as it was sometimes. At one point, a female, rock climbing, swings herself around on a belay rope like she’s Mary Martin in the stage version “Peter Pan.”

Overall, I found “The Cave” to be entertaining enough to be worth a rental. Your mileage may vary.

TV: “Supernatural” Makes Top Five Favorite Endangered Shows

I’m not surprised - “Supernatural” has made it to E! Online’s Top Five Favorite Endangered Shows.

Now, readers most vote to pick their one favorite show to be saved. My vote is, of course, for “Supernatural.” Once again, you must follow the simple rules exactly: Email tvdiva@eonline.com with the name of your show in the email subject line only. (This will say “Supernatural,” of course.)

The other shows in the top five are: “Everwood,” “One Tree Hill,” “Veronica Mars,” and “What About Brian?”

I’m disappointed, but not surprised, that “Invasion” has not made the list. As I’ve mentioned before, ABC has effectively destroyed the show’s momentum by taking an arc show and screwing with the schedule. I was talking with an acquaintance yesterday who had seen some of the show, and found it interesting, but was completely confused by the gap in showings.

Wednsday’s episode of “Invasion” was very gripping: If ABC does not renew it, I can only hope (without much hope) that some other channel such as the SciFi Channel can pick up. The production costs on it can’t be that high. It’s not like it needs expensive alien puppets like “Farscape.”

Alas - networks rarely pick up other network’s leftovers, even if the show already has a fan-base and some ratings. If only…then we’d still have “Dead Like Me,” “Firefly,” “Farscape,” and a host of other good shows.

DVD: “Spawn” - Yikes!

I caught the Sunday matinee showing of “Spawn” on Fox a few days ago. The 1997 film is, I believe, a comic book rip - a man, killed in a terrible explosion, makes a deal with the devil to lead his army. He is sent back to earth to be reborn as “Spawn,” with all sorts of special powers and a very cool superhero suit.

The movie is mostly a disaster (it’s hard to believe anyone makes these sorts of films with any sense of seriousness), but it’s still entertaining in its way. Part of the entertainment comes from the worst performance Martin Sheen has ever done - he’s the bad guy, and speaks with a bizarre, cheesy, gruff voice that makes it sound like he’s trying to pass a gallstone.

The scenes in Hell are particularly bad - the CGI at the time certainly couldn’t keep up with the director’s vision, though the poor implementation gives Hell a cartoon quality that almost works. Satan himself is a huge hairy beast who opens up a tooth-filled jaw that does not move when he speaks. It’s a riot!

This is one of those clunkers to watch when you’ve got nothing better to do or you are looking for a cheap laugh. I myself was working on organizing my files while the show was on, which was the perfect way to enjoy this little sci-fi disaster.

Save One Show: Both “Invasion” and “Supernatural” on the Fence

It’s not surprising that two of my favorite new sci-fi series, “Invasion” and “Supernatural,” are now on the fence for renewal. “Invasion” has been suffering from ABC’s ridiculous scheduling tactics - it was taken off its time slot for a temporary mid-season replacement, just as the show got good. “Supernatural” has been suffering from a lack of publicity and awareness, and I think being on The WB is not helping it either, as so many more “mature” viewers don’t even touch that channel.

Kristin Veitch over at E! Online is now running her fifth annual “SOS: Save One Show” campaign. You can email her one show you want renewed. You must follow the instructions exactly and email only the title of the show in the subject line, or your vote will not count. (A full list of endangered shows is available at the site. I’m not disappointed to see “Surface” on the list of those to go.)

I’m torn - I have two shows I want renewed. But after some consideration, I have decided to cast my vote for “Supernatural” instead of “Invasion.”

“Supernatural” edges out “Invasion” for a number of reasons:

First, “Supernatural” is probably in more trouble due to the convergence of The WB and UPN. If The WB were continuing on as it had been, I would be much less concerned.

Beyond that, if I were forced to choose which show I’d like to see continue, I’d have to pick “Supernatural.” It’s just a better show overall. It’s not as complicated, and so in some respects lacks some of the intrigue that you’ll find in “Invasion.” But the writing is tighter, the characterizations better, and the shows consistently well done.

“Invasion” has gotten very good, but it still has moments where I’m almost squirming watching it. Quite a few things are unbelievable, and a few of the characters are so poorly written that it’s hard to enjoy the show sometimes. In particular, Russell’s wife, Larkin, provides enough irritation and idiocy that I’ve taken to calling her the “Cousin Oliver” of “Invasion.”

I also feel that “Supernatural” will do well on repeated viewings. It is just built better for syndication, as the shows work better as standalones.

So my vote goes for “Supernatural.”

If you have a chance to vote for either of these fine shows, please do. Let’s support more science fiction on network television.

TV: ABC to Start Streaming “Lost”

Don’t know why analysts are saying this is a bad idea: ABC is going to test out streaming episodes of “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives” after they air on regular TV.

Can I just say: Finally! Duh!

This is what the “media convergence” is all about. We should be able to download TV shows on demand, from the networks themselves…instead of getting them through (ahem) other means.

The New Doctor Who

It’s been a long, long while since I’ve watched classic Doctor Who, but I was a fan of Tom Baker and his famous scarf.

After a long hiatus, they released all new episodes of Doctor Who in 2005, with Christopher Eccleston as the ninth doctor. (The SciFi Channel is currently showing the 2005 episodes.) This year brings us yet another regenerated Doctor, played by David Tennant.

I was fortunate enough to catch the first episode for 2006, “New Earth,” which aired April 15. As my first new Doctor Who episode in years, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

In “New Earth,” we are taken billions of years into the future to the city of New New York on a planet that has replaced earth (destroyed when the sun went supernova). There, our heroes have a run-in with a woman who consists of a brain in a jar and a face made of stretched skin (or “trampoline” as she wryly described herself), and a bunch of zombie-like clones locked up in cages Matrix-style for medical research.

The plot, in and of itself, might be completely ridiculous, except the delivery and execution was simply delightful. The new Doctor Who is just fun. Smart writing and that lovely dry British humor made this episode highly entertaining and funny. (”It’s like living inside a bouncy castle!” exclaims the bad gal as she takes over the young Rose’s body.)

The pacing was terrific - there was hardly a dull moment - and the special effects weren’t that bad, though still filled with the trademark cheesy images you might expect to see in Doctor Who.

Unlike many American science fiction shows, Doctor Who does not strive to be realistic or serious. It is this terrific mix of the absurd and the fantastic that makes the new Doctor Who a welcome relief from the darker science fiction coming out of American studios.

David Tennant is the perfect Doctor, dapper, smart, and slightly wacky. He’s got a great sense of comic timing and he’s also kinda cute to boot. (”I’ve still got it,” he says, after the possessed Rose kisses him.)

As mentioned earlier, the Sci Fi Channel is still a year behind on the new Doctor Who series, but I’m sure we’ll be seeing David Tennant in the states soon enough. Meanwhile, I am looking forward to more of the new Doctor Who, and plan on dusting off some of the old classic series as well.