April 24th, 2008 by 2xKnight
I got a very good comment from Marc on a previous post about Battlestar Galactica theories. I just had to point it out for those who may have already read that post.
I’d also like to invite you to share your ideas about BSG
I’ll hide the full post to keep it spoiler safe. There could be a lot of speculation flying around.
Last warning, there probably will be spoilers.
March 14th, 2008 by Shiny1
A Fannish First Look
Stargate, the Ark of Truth, a Stargate SG1 feature-length adventure, was released March 11, 2008. It should not disappoint die-hard Stargate fans. While it’s definitely not a stand-alone movie…most viewers will not care. Writer-Producer-Director Robert Cooper and the cast made this one for the fans. The Ark completes the Ori story arc, leaving few threads unraveled. There are several Bonus Features.
Before watching the movie, I started with The Road Taken: Prelude to The Ark of Truth. Its nine-minute capsule of brain jogging scenes begins with Cam Mitchell joining the team, and continues with a few germane Vala snippets, such as her spawning of the Orici, Adria. Moving into the Merlin story line, and Adria’s ascension; it concludes with the shared Asgard upgrades, and Cam Mitchell stating that they need a new plan, “a damn good one.” If, as you’re reading this, you say, “what is she talking about,” then don’t bother to watch The Ark of Truth until you’ve seen at least some of the Season 9 & 10 SG1 episodes. This Prelude reminds us how we (SG1 & fans) got here, but certainly won’t do much to enlighten non-series fans. Pardon me if this doesn’t bother me too much. I’ve been waiting for this DVD, and pre-ordered my copy from Amazon. Short and sweet, the Prelude sets the tone for The Ark feature.
Slight Spoilers
Spoilers may be contained from here on: Proceed at your own peril. However, if you want extensive spoilers, go here.
The Ark of Truth opens in an Alteran (aka Ancients) underground meeting long ago, with scientists arguing about, and ultimately deciding not to use, the Ark of Truth. This Ancient device can apparently cause people to believe whatever is programmed into it. The Alterans are considering utilizing it to disabuse the regular folk into believing that the Ori are gods. In the latter part of the movie, Vala seems to reveal that the device can only brainwash people into believing that which is true.
We skip on into present day Dakara, with Michael Shanks returning as Daniel Jackson, Christopher Judge as the inimitable Teal’c, and Claudia Black as Vala Mal Doran, searching for the Ark of Truth. Daniel has been experiencing visions of Merlin, whose non-corporeal appearance is believed to be caused by Daniel-Merlin’s residual memories. Those grail-ish visions provide clues to the Ark’s location. Daniel and Vala are bickering about how to open a chest believed to contain it. Sam
and Cam are guarding the perimeter with an SG contingent. Teal’c says, “Quiet! As Daniel and Vala turn to him in surprise, Tomin and an army of soldiers for the Ori overtake them. With the aid of the Ori dampening device, SG1 prevails, and gains a convert in Tomin. This sets the proverbial stage for the quest for The Ark of Truth.
Beau Bridges smoothly reprises his gruff but lovable SG1 series character, Major General Landry.
Tom Guinee, who portrays Ori commander Tomin as well as Vala’s nearly ex-husband in the series, is key in two intense scenes. The first is an interrogation scene between Tomin and Marrick, Woolsey’s IOA replacement. Marrick is played with fanatic intensity by first-timer Currie Graham. Marrick starts out with an ultra-soft query about Tomin’s position…and ratchets it up to hysterical emotions when he asks Tomin how many innocent people he has been responsible for slaughtering. It’s a little over the top, but without this hysteria, we might not find Marrick’s continued prominent and nefarious role as believable. This scene, in turn, sets up the second emotional scene with Tomin and Teal’c, who, for the first time, tersely addresses living with his own blood-soaked history as Apophis’ First Prime.
The physical quest for The Ark involves taking the Odyssey, souped up with Asgard technology, through the SuperGate to Ortus Mallum, with Marrick in tow. When Cam reluctantly takes the Captain’s chair after a verbal altercation with Marrick, a momentary nod is given to their own SG1 200th episode and to Star Trek Next Gen when Cam says, “Weapons to maximum” and “Make it go.”
Sam (the irreplaceable Amanda Tapping) and Cam (the irrepressible Ben Browder) must leave Daniel, Teal’c, Vala, and Tomin on Ortus Mallum (Place of Origin), while they return to the Odyssey. Marrick has activated the Asgard core, creating a signature the Ori can use to locate them.
Our old friends, the Replicators are back, courtesy of the IOA.
Meanwhile, back on the planet, Teal’c is shot, and the others captured by the Ori and taken to Celestis, creating a two-front crisis for the split team of SG-1. Teal’c has some incredible scenes crossing snowy mountains and arriving at Celestis. Robert Cooper credits Teal’c as being the hero of the story. He does INDEED have a very significant role to play. He also has some interesting assistance from an Ancient.
Julian Sands cameo as the Ori chief Prior Doci in Celestis is small, but Sands is a past master at portraying wickedness in all its varied forms.
“Merlin’s ghost” (ably reprised by Matthew Walker ), Morgan Le Fay (Sarah Strange), and Adria (Morena Baccarin, a favorite Firefly alum) all return in the direct Ark story arc [sic].
IOA idiocy nearly scuttles the quest/mission in a spectacular manner. There are a few surprises here and there in this epic, but IOA’s misjudgement is just business as usual!
A Terminator homage is included, and it’s all really good fun.
More BonusFeatures
The “Uncovering the Ark of Truth” making-of-the-movie video segment is worth the watch. I didn’t get through the additional entire blow-by-blow audio commentary with Robert Cooper, but I will at some point. I know audio commentary has become a staple, but I wish they had compressed it a bit, as there are long moments as each scene comes along and sometimes; there just isn’t a lot to say. The information, when it does come, is fascinating.
We learn that Christopher Judge did his helicopter-shot mountain vista scenes in person, with no stunt double. We hear Cooper talking about the danger they unwittingly created for Judge in their ignorance of the helicopter’s maneuvering to accomplish long camera shots. Ben Browder apparently takes a punch so much better than most, that they structured scenes to cameo it in conjunction with their Terminator moment.
The Ark of Truth, Stargate at Comic-Con is highly amusing, especially for someone like me, who has yet to be able to get into an actual convention panel at DragonCon to see them. (okay, so I don’t like to get up before dawn to stand in line for a panel, my bad). They take questions, and answer them with humor and aplomb.
The soundtrack was impressive. Composer, Joel Goldsmith uses the original Stargate movie theme, by David Arnold, as a familiar springboard into a new epic movie score.
Overall, I thought The Ark of Truth was well done. It was shot in 35 mm, instead of HD, to give a more cinematic feel and texture to the story. It works for me. I can’t be entirely objective, because I have always been a fan of Stargate SG1.
I followed the transition from “old school” with Richard Dean Anderson to “New School” with Ben Browder, Claudia Black, and Beau Bridges. One of the highlights of The Ark of Truth for me: The “new” characters that struggled a bit during SG1 season 9, and who were just getting comfortable in Season 10, were fully realized in this feature. There wasn’t a single moment of “Cam-Crichton” in the entire epic, cross my heart. I say that as a certifiable Farscape fan.
The characters have always been the magic in SG1 for me. I’m glad I stuck it out. In the next feature, “Continuum,” Jack O’Neill returns to rescue his former team. I look forward to his return even more than I would have, now that the “New School” characters are comfy in their universe.
Shiny1 is often known as Patricia deVarennes.
March 5th, 2008 by Shiny1
Having just returned from two weeks in splendid [self imposed] isolation, I’m tempted to declare that I was on a spiritual retreat, or writing the next Great American Novel.
Read more
February 6th, 2008 by Shiny1
I’m planning to write an intermittent series of articles about Eureka in this space, so kindly offered to me by Jason. Don’t look for episode recaps, or cast interviews. Those are best found HERE and HERE. I won’t be writing about the Writers Guild strike and its impact on the show (but as a writer, I do support it). I will be writing about Eureka from my own personally skewed perspective. Why? Because whenever I watch Eureka, it reminds me of family, friends, and acquaintances.
As someone who grew up and lived for many years near a plethora of high security military bases of all stripes, and quasi-government installations (such as NASA), Eureka satisfies (albeit fictionally) that “what the heck are they doing over there?” part of me. As someone with family members who could settle in and be at home in Eureka, it has a familiar feel. It’s classified as “sci-fi lite”, and while that may appeal to those who aren’t hardcore science fiction fans, I think it is a disservice to the show in the end. Eureka is ultimately a show that explores what it’s really like to be human beings in occasionally absurd and/or often extraordinary circumstances.
Eureka has come under some criticism from geeky bloggers who complain that it represents the scientific community in an absent minded, stereotypical fashion. I have a response to that. Yeah, it does. And your point is…? They also portray the sensible scientists, er, um, scientist quite favorably.
I have had the good fortune to work with some brilliant folks in my time (along with the usual idiots we all endure). Eureka’s citizens reminds me of some of them…the brilliant ones, that is. Once upon a time, I walked outside into the parking lot after work. There I discovered a brilliant team member standing in the pouring rain. He was no doubt contemplating some secret of the universe far beyond my ken (you may think I’m being sarcastic, but I’m not). Like the urban legendary and proverbial much maligned turkey, he had his mouth open (they actually panic and run), and he was staring up into the sky. I slowly walked up to him and spoke to him. No answer. I called his name. No answer. LOUDER. No answer. He was soaked to the skin, taking on water, and might even have choked or drowned, etc. I don’t know CPR, and it’s possible the brilliant man might have died. and it would have all been my fault. Clearly, I had to save us both. I reached over, shook his arm, and said his name really loudly (okay, so maybe I yelled). He startled out of his reverie. I told him it was raining. He shook himself a bit, looked at me with confusion, thanked me and went to his car. I waited to leave until he was gone. I wasn’t really anxious to drive out with him. I hope he gets a smart car just like Zoe’s some day…that is, one that includes the mobile SARAH (Self Actuated Residential Automated Habitat).
On the family front, my own grandfather (a research pathologist) once inadvertently locked a Staten Island city official in an elevator shaft. Old grandpa was working on polio vaccines during an epidemic. The poor city official rode up and down in the elevator for hours, trying to get out. It was actually all Mrs. Takebi’s fault – she was one of several unused research monkeys on the back porch (grandpa used horse serum), but that’s another story. So you see, Eureka seems almost like home to me.
As you may have guessed by now, I tend to identify with Sheriff Carter, the overarching, quasi-parental figure in the town of Eureka. While he struggles to be a good parent to his teenage daughter, Zoe, he has to keep the brilliant folks in Eureka from blowing up their town, and possibly the world. It’s not always easy, and I know just how he feels.
Still, Sheriff Carter has evolved since the series start. That is, his shortcomings in th
e quantum physics, string theory, DNA genome department are still apparent, but many of the good intentioned, if distracted folks of Eureka have accepted him. Still he remains the self-questioning “everyman,” who occasionally has flashes of intuition and an almost Holmesian instinct for clues. His foibles are human, in a town where human foibles are often the undoing of scientific method. He’s a sheriff in a town where human spontaneous combustion and invisibility are just average days at work. Besides, he’s cute and appealing in that hapless way that endears him to women who like puppies with three legs.
While I often find myself in the dubious Sheriff Carter seat, I do have my favorite scientist characters in the town, just like anyone. Next time, I’ll visit a few of those.
(Blogger “Shiny1″ is also known as Patricia deVarennes)
December 29th, 2007 by 2xKnight
Futurama will no longer be a part of Cartoon Network’s [adult swim] programming block. Futurama is moving to Comedy Central.
There is good news though. Futurama is moving because Comedy Central will have new episodes of Futurama. Don’t ask me when, because I’m not sure.
I kinda expect the recent Futurama DVD, Bender’s Big Score, to air on Comedy Central fairly soon after the move. I haven’t heard anything about it, that’s just my prediction.
[adult swim] really needs to get it’s act together. It’s been going downhill for a while. Now it’s losing one of it’s best shows. Maybe that’s the kick in the ass that Williams Street needs. Don’t bet on it though. Futurama will probably be replaced with more live action crap.
October 29th, 2007 by 2xKnight
I was pretty happy when I heard the people from the new Battlestar Galatica were involved with bringing back the Bionic Woman. They did an excellent job with Battlestar after all. The new Galatica is one of the best shows on television. So I was pretty surprised when I didn’t like the new Bionic Woman. After watching the episodes so far, I think I know why it sucks. I also know how to fix it.
Jaime Sommers is the biggest problem with the show. Not the actress playing Jaime, the character itself is bad. I’m sure Michelle Ryan could play a great Jaime Sommers, it’s the creative team behind the camera that won’t let her. The main character is saddled with problems that are supposed to make her human. They don’t, they make her dull.
The web site for the show says “Ultimately, it’s Jaime’s journey of self-discovery and inner strength that will help her embrace her new life as the Bionic Woman…”, but that’s inaccurate. She has no inner strength. Sure she can leap 50 feet into the air and punch through a brick wall, but she can’t stand up to her little sister. Her dealings with the shady agency she’s now working for aren’t any better. One minute she seems like she’s standing up for herself and the next she’s slinking off to do whatever they tell her to. She had her legs and right arm replaced. What she needs is a backbone.
Wait, wrong show. Katee Sackhoff plays Sarah Corvus, the first Bionic Woman. Unfortunately she’s gone just a tiny bit crazy. Bad for her, great for the viewers. Sarah is almost the only thing that makes this show tolerable. Seriously, I barely pay attention when she isn’t involved.
If the creators want this show to be any good at all they’ll surprise everyone and kill off Jaime Sommers switch focus to Sarah Corvus and pretend like they planned it that way. That would be talked about across the country the next day and the following episode would be at the top of the ratings. They could even have some fun with the press. “Hey, the name of the show is Bionic Woman, not Jaime Sommers, Bionic Woman. Sarah Corvus is Bionic. Sarah Corvus is a Woman. She was the star all along.”
Will they do that? Not likely.
Will the show get better? Also not very likely.
: Fandoms, TV, Sci-Fi, Action, NBC, Bionic Woman, Jaime Sommers, Michelle Ryan, Sarah Corvus, Katee Sackhoff October 15th, 2007 by 2xKnight
Simon Pegg and John Cho join the cast of the new Star Trek movie. Simon Pegg will be playing Scotty. John Cho will be playing Sulu. In a comment to StarTrek.com about the casting of Cho as Sulu, George Takei said…
“Sulu’s in good hands. John Cho is an exciting actor. I’ve seen Cho in many productions at East West Players and he always brings a vigorous sense of individuality to his roles. Under the leadership of J.J. Abrams, the Star Trek franchise is being infused with new energy and I hope John Cho plays a critical part for many years — and films — to come.”
—George Takei, October 12, 2007
I agree with Mr. Takei that John Cho is a talented actor. I’m still unsure if anyone has enough talent to take on such an iconic role and not be seen as a poor substitute.
Mr. Scott’s shoes will be just as hard to fill. Simon Pegg may have a tough time living up to the character so closely associated with James Doohan.
I believe both actors are capable of performing their roles very well. Most of my worries come from the fans. I don’t know if enough fans will be able to accept new actors portraying characters that are so dear to them. I just hope Star Trek can survive if they don’t.
: Fandoms, Star Trek, Casting, Sci-Fi, Movies, Sulu, George Takei, John Cho, Scotty, James Doohan, Simon Pegg, J.J. Abrams October 6th, 2007 by 2xKnight
Best quote of the season.
“I swear to God, if this thing turns into a zombie attack, I am quitting.” — Sheriff Jack Carter.
Since this is a recap, there are spoilers. You have been warned.
September 14th, 2007 by 2xKnight
Don’t you just hate it when a site doesn’t have comments enabled? I just found out how much it bothers me. Normally I don’t really care, but there are times when it drives me up the wall. Here’s a good example.
I was just reading a RevolutionSF article about Eureka. While I agree with most of the points made, such as Eureka not getting enough love, I saw at least 2 major mistakes. Not spelling or grammar. I’ve read enough stuff on the net to overlook that most of the time. The mistakes made undermined the entire article. At least, I think so.
Character development in a Sci Fi show? Ha!
As with any ensemble show,in the first season, a lot of time had to be spent introducing all the characters and getting everyone established within the storyline
There was major development during the first season. The sheriff’s daughter Zoe was a different person by the end of the season.
Dream a little dream of me.
Imagine the most embarrassing dream you’ve ever had, and then imagine that other people are sharing that dream with you. Whether it’s Jack dreaming of being naked in public or resident junior geek Fargo having a romantic fantasy about his secret crush, which she happens to share, the results are hilarious.
BZZZZT! Wrong! Thanks for playing. That wasn’t Fargo’s dream. They made a big deal about that in the episode. It was supposed to look like it was Fargo’s, but the person really having that dream was Jo. The only way to miss that would be if you didn’t watch the episode.
Guess I just had a Eureka! moment myself.
August 17th, 2007 by 2xKnight
Man, time is flying by. I still have tons of stuff to get done, like my Space Ghost stuff. I still need to write up a couple of blog posts to go up automatically. Just in case I can’t write up anything while I’m there. Yep, lot of stuff to get done. I’m excited that it’s almost here though.
Things are being switched around in the hotels. Since the Marriott is undergoing construction the dealers room has been moved to the Hilton. That sucks for me because I’m staying in the Hyatt. That’s a long walk. It’s made even longer since they’re closing the street between the Hyatt and Marriott to foot traffic at “peak hours”. So I won’t be hitting the dealers room nearly as much this year. That could be a good thing, maybe I won’t spend as much money.
Fewer trips to the dealer’s room should free up some time for me to get more pictures. I need to get a few shots of cosplayers for Anime Fans Online. I also need to see if there are any good anime events scheduled. I know there’s an AMV contest, but I’m not sure how I’d write up a post about that. I just hope they set up a site with the winners I can link to.
Looks like there are some great guest this year too. Here a few people that are supposed to be there.
Just a few of the guests I’m looking forward to seeing.
You can never tell when someone will have to cancel, like these folks did.
Too bad Starbuck won’t be there. That means both Apollos will be there, and both Starbucks won’t.
