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< Television ~ Alternate Universes |
| Kate |
 Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 3:47 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 1397
Location: Pacific Northwest
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bart wrote: What are you talking about? They ran a new Invasion last Wed. and there's another new one this week. The "bad seed hybrids" story is really getting into gear and I see a lot of momentum there. Plus, "Lost" can't seem to summon a new show more than twice a month, so I see a lot of lost Lost-ers tuning in for their bizaro fix.
This next one is the last for a number of weeks, it is going on a "hiatus". They are going to try a different show in this slot. Often not a good sign. So, that is what I am talking about. |
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| Melody |
| Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:29 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 2242
Location: TX
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I find myself falling asleep about halfway through Invasion, which is really strange because I actually like the show. It's almost like a subliminal suggestion -- as soon as Lost ends, I feel myself fighting sleep. Consequently, I feel so out of the loop that even the "previously, on Invasion" trailer doesn't help catch me up.
So I have a question about President Bartlett's daughter -- has she given birth to the alarmingly squirmy alien yet? 'cause I'd really like to be awake for that. |
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| bart |
| Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 12:26 pm |
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Joined: 05 Dec 2005
Posts: 2381
Location: Lincoln NE
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| Kate, thanks for the update on what you're talking about. You talk real good, and even make sense. The people at ABC are idiots -- this is not the time to pull the plug, even temp, on "Invasion." |
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| Kate |
| Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 9:41 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Pacific Northwest
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| Bart – I should have added all that into my first post. But I believe we are on the same page. I think this show is actually superior to Lost in the just plain scary fun category. |
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| lotang |
| Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 10:51 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 184
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McBain-
Yes, you made me think of that episode and I just might have to go rewatch it. |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:28 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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The new Doctor Who was on the Sci-Fi channel tonight, which I realized only just in time to tune in at 9. And it was fun, though not as good as I'd hoped. The new Doctor has little charisma or charm, though he seems pleasant enough, and the girl involved reminds me of Jack Bauer's annoying daughter, blonde and bouncy. But I loved seeing so much of London, especially when the London Eye (hey, I've been there!) was pinpointed as the nasty alien monster's transmitter over its lair, a pit that reminded me of the one Buffy was dragged into and then crawled out of with the ax. In fact, a lot of it reminded me of Buffy.
The second episode (there were two, for a two-hour premiere) reminded me more of The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, with a bit of The Last Starfighter thrown in. (I hadn't thought of that charming little flick in years.) And it also had a few Buffy notes, though a major character, the "last pure human" a billion years or so in the future, was unique in my experience--a face, stretched on a rack. The girl called it "the bitchy trampoline" and "Michael Jackson." Good show--just enough of the old Doctor Who to charm, with enough modern effects to evoke the occasional "cool!" |
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| jeremy |
| Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:00 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 6794
Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)
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I think, that attempts to compare the new Doctor Who with, say, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, are not valid. Doctor Who is designed to appeal to both kids and their parents. It is family entertainment in the old fashioned, pre-cable meaning of the word. It’s best watched in the company of children.
I don’t want to oversell the new Doctor Who as I suspect it will not be to everyone’s taste. However, I’d recommended sticking with it or at least not missing four of the the middle four episodes, Dalek, Fathers Day , The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances. Interestingly, all are set on earth, conforming to series regenerator, Russel T Davies’ axiom, “If the Zogs on planet Zog are having trouble with the Zog-monster ... who gives a toss? ... Every story, somehow, should come back to Earth, to humanity, its ancestors and its descendents.” The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances were not written by Davies, but by Stephen Moffat. Russel T Davies is great with relationships and dialogue (the main strength of the new series) but less of an innovative science fiction writer. It is not a coincidence, I think, that in these episodes that ideas and the series innate humanity come together best. They feature a nostalgia for 1940s Britain, an underage mother, metro or rather stellar-sexuality and a cracking concept about life restoring nanobots (a sort of benign grey goo).
At only nine episodes the whole series as a discernible story and character arc. Particularly with respect to the Doctor’s companion, Rose, played by Billie Piper. Previously known as a not incredibly distinguished pop star with minimal acting experience, Piper by common consent, was one of the best things about the series, utterly believable as a young woman from a council estate who progressively grew into an equal for the Doctor.
Quote: You can see the loop that the series is taking Rose on—the same loop as Sam Gamgee's. She starts as someone so thoroughly immersed in the mundane that she thinks the stories she’s told are impossible dreams that she’ll never experience. She then goes on a journey and has some extraordinary experiences, becoming adept in her own way at dealing with them, and enabling us to share her wonder at the sights she’s granted. One day, maybe, she’ll come home and see that leading a fantastic life is something that can only be done, that has to be done, in and with and for the world we’re given |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:18 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Location: NYC
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jeremy: I didn't intend to compare "Buffy" with "Doctor Who"--but for us Buffy buffs who know every episode by heart, there were many parallels between the two, not least the teen blonde with hassles at home. Of course Whedon's universe is quite different from the Doctor Who one, since Whedon has no interest in alien life and "Buffy" is solidly set not just on Earth, but in Southern California.
That said, I couldn't help but think of "Buffy" when they found the fiery monster in the pit beneath the London Eye. And Rose's swinging into action was just what Buffy would have done. It gave me some hope that she wasn't as dumb and helpless as she seemed, and the second episode gave me a bit more faith in her. It's good to know she develops well, and not just from the neck down. |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 8:41 pm |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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| The TV booklet that came with the Sunday paper had an article about Charmed, a show I've never watched. I was surprised to read that Charmed "is the longest-running show on television featuring female leads, even surpassing Laverne & Shirley." |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:05 pm |
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Location: Houston
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Although technically, since one of the girls is a replacement, it probably can't beat out Laverne and Shirley.
I never liked Charmed, an Aaron Spelling show about three witches. Considering it debuted about the same time as Buffy, it looked particularly bad. |
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| Earl |
| Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:13 pm |
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Joined: 09 Jun 2004
Posts: 2621
Location: Houston
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Agreed about the comparison with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the timing.
I was also wondering if the "longest running" distinction was for female leads, plural. It seems as if one of Lucille Ball's shows should have beaten eight years. Plus, there must've been one or two shows which ran longer than eight years which featured a female co-lead along with a male. Although I'm damned if I can come up with one right now. |
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"I have a suspicion that you are all mad," said Dr. Renard, smiling sociably; "but God forbid that madness should in any way interrupt friendship." |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:21 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12890
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| Lucille Ball had three shows which lasted seven seasons each, and a couple of shows which lasted fewer. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:23 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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| Correction, six season each. |
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I had a love and my love was true but I lost my love to the yabba dabba doo, --The Flintstone Lament |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 11:22 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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| Yeh, but The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy are really the same series. |
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You've got a great brain. You should keep it in your head.
-Topher |
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| carrobin |
| Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:33 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 7795
Location: NYC
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| By the way, Joe, I love your Cowboy Bebop avatar. I have a Spike action figure--one of these days I'd like to get a "Buffy" Spike to keep him company. (Otherwise I'm a fairly normal human.) |
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