Thursday, February 19, 2009
Cylons, Humans, Whatever.
Now that Lost has slipped into nonsensicality and 24 has become a parody of itself, Battlestar Galactica stands alone at the pinnacle of television, notwithstanding last week's episode devoted entirely to exposition. BSG's final season is confounding viewer expectations and opening up entirely new themes. The biggest question now is not why are cylons and humans fighting and who will win, it's just what the hell are the cylons, especially the Final Five.
The scifi website io9 offers this analysis:
My own theory based on the recent episodes is that the Final Five cylons were humans back on "Earth" before they became Cylons. The Final Five invented the resurrection process when they were still humans. They died during the destruction of Earth by the centurion cylons but when they went through resurrection and their minds, their memories, and perhaps even their souls were downloaded into new bodies, they became cylons. The Final Five are, therefore, the consciousnesses of human beings implanted into android bodies.
My preference for the big season finale is that there be a final battle between cylons and humans. Many of the humans we've followed during the series die but resurrect into new android bodies and begin new lives as cylons.
-tdr
The scifi website io9 offers this analysis:
"Some stuff from last week's "No Exit," which could have some bearing on upcoming episodes, cleared up by the show's writers. Humans probably originated on Kobol, then spread to the colonies. Earth was destroyed because the skinjob-style Cylons living there built their own Centurions, who then rose up against them. Cavil is the only "skinjob" model to know the Final Five's identities, because he corrupted the other six models' programming so they'd never speak of the Final Five or search for their identities. (So he had to box D'Anna when she learned the truth, or it would destroy his "house of cards.") The Cylon events summarized by Cavil in "No Exit" may be seen more fully in "The Plan" TV movie.
Now that Adama has agreed to use Cylon technology to repair the cracks in Galactica, he's admitting there's no longer any difference between humans and Cylons, and also that Galactica is in as bad shape as Tyrol says. This will set up a lot of the rest of the series. And there will be more Boomer development coming soon." (Here.)
My own theory based on the recent episodes is that the Final Five cylons were humans back on "Earth" before they became Cylons. The Final Five invented the resurrection process when they were still humans. They died during the destruction of Earth by the centurion cylons but when they went through resurrection and their minds, their memories, and perhaps even their souls were downloaded into new bodies, they became cylons. The Final Five are, therefore, the consciousnesses of human beings implanted into android bodies.
My preference for the big season finale is that there be a final battle between cylons and humans. Many of the humans we've followed during the series die but resurrect into new android bodies and begin new lives as cylons.
-tdr
Labels: Battlestar Gallactica, Science Fiction, TV
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Digital TV Arrives In San Diego.
The federal government may have pushed the date back for conversion from analog TV broadcasts to digital but 4 of the 7 English-language stations in San Diego are making the switch today. (Here.) And why not? Only 5.9 percent of San Diego households aren't prepared for the conversion. It's not like they haven't had plenty of advance notice to get cable, satellite, or a little converter so they can continue watching TV. 94.1 percent of the rest of us are ready to go.
Not that those who didn't prepare for the transition will be deprived of TV. Three stations, including the Public TV station, haven't made the change. And Mexican Spanish language stations won't make the transition at all. This could be a good opportunity to learn a second language and become hooked on telenovelas.
-tdr
Not that those who didn't prepare for the transition will be deprived of TV. Three stations, including the Public TV station, haven't made the change. And Mexican Spanish language stations won't make the transition at all. This could be a good opportunity to learn a second language and become hooked on telenovelas.
-tdr
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Scifi Channel Movie: Wyvern
Watching Scifi Channel's Saturday night movies is a hit and miss endeavor. Yesterday's airing of Wyvern was a hit. The movie is a classic monster- terrorizing-remote-small-town genre flick. In this case, a dragon from Norse mythology known as a wyvern, and a small town in northern Alaska, called Beaver something or other. Beaver Creek, Beaver Falls, whatever. The choice of name gives the producers the chance to name the town's restaurant, run by the local beauty, The Beaver Pelt. Enough said about that.
So, anyway, the movie gets off to a good start in setting the scene with some coy references to Northern Exposure. The cast includes some actors from that TV show, who play variations on their roles from the series. The town doctor, not played by the actor from Northern Exposure, is very clearly based on the big-city doctor in the series.
The movie does the monster genre things right. The computer graphics are very good and the plot pushes all the right buttons: monster suddenly appears, vague sightings, animals and people getting killed off, the monster revealed, the town isolated and under siege, the townsfolk trapped in a restaurant, the humans fight back, loved ones die, the hero resolves his conflict, and victory. Think Tremors.
Wyvern also does some non-genre things right. The film is written by the award winning Jason Borque, who has a solid career making documentaries, television shows and movies, and feature films. (Here.) His script show literary talent.
In the story, the wyvern is unleashed on the world when human-caused global warming melts a glacier in which the dragon had been trapped by Odin millenia ago. The wyvern's release is a direct result of humanity's greed and arrogance, which causes people to do what they want regardless of the consequences.
Meanwhile, the movie's hero is a guilt-ridden big rig trucker who blames himself for the death of his brother. His brother has died in a truck accident that happened when the ice melted and the truck fell into the water. The hero was driving the truck and couldn't save his brother. The hero blames himself for this brother's death because his own greed and arrogance caused him to take the job and push on down the highway, even though he didn't need the money and he knew the ice road was at risk.
Resolution comes in the movie when the hero faces down his guilt and lures the dragon into a final conflict that directly parallels the accident that killed the hero's brother. It gives nothing away to say that the hero saves the day, atones for his sin, and gets the small-town girl.
When Scifi Channel repeats Wyvern, as it inevitably will, check it out. It's worth the time. And if you need another reason, it's the final movie with actor Don S. Davis of TV's Stargate. Davis passed on unexpectedly last year. (Here.)
-tdr
So, anyway, the movie gets off to a good start in setting the scene with some coy references to Northern Exposure. The cast includes some actors from that TV show, who play variations on their roles from the series. The town doctor, not played by the actor from Northern Exposure, is very clearly based on the big-city doctor in the series.
The movie does the monster genre things right. The computer graphics are very good and the plot pushes all the right buttons: monster suddenly appears, vague sightings, animals and people getting killed off, the monster revealed, the town isolated and under siege, the townsfolk trapped in a restaurant, the humans fight back, loved ones die, the hero resolves his conflict, and victory. Think Tremors.
Wyvern also does some non-genre things right. The film is written by the award winning Jason Borque, who has a solid career making documentaries, television shows and movies, and feature films. (Here.) His script show literary talent.
In the story, the wyvern is unleashed on the world when human-caused global warming melts a glacier in which the dragon had been trapped by Odin millenia ago. The wyvern's release is a direct result of humanity's greed and arrogance, which causes people to do what they want regardless of the consequences.
Meanwhile, the movie's hero is a guilt-ridden big rig trucker who blames himself for the death of his brother. His brother has died in a truck accident that happened when the ice melted and the truck fell into the water. The hero was driving the truck and couldn't save his brother. The hero blames himself for this brother's death because his own greed and arrogance caused him to take the job and push on down the highway, even though he didn't need the money and he knew the ice road was at risk.
Resolution comes in the movie when the hero faces down his guilt and lures the dragon into a final conflict that directly parallels the accident that killed the hero's brother. It gives nothing away to say that the hero saves the day, atones for his sin, and gets the small-town girl.
When Scifi Channel repeats Wyvern, as it inevitably will, check it out. It's worth the time. And if you need another reason, it's the final movie with actor Don S. Davis of TV's Stargate. Davis passed on unexpectedly last year. (Here.)
-tdr
Labels: Movies, Science Fiction, TV
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Jack Bauer's Justice.
Fans of the once innovative TV show, 24, know the show is a mere shadow of its former glory. Yeah Right blogger Snowden touches on some of the problems of the show. (Here.) What was once exciting, dramatic, and innovative television is now tired, predictable, and cliched.
Others have written about the crisis of conscience among 24's staff over Jack's use of torture against the bad guys. (Here.) Let's stipulate, torture is bad, mm-kay. But let's also stipulate, 24 is not real. The crisis of conscience about 24's representation of torture was symptomatic of the most serious problem with the show. It takes itself too seriously. That seriousness of purpose led producers to think the show needed to have more political relevance. Big mistake. Some of the worst violence on the show recently wasn't done to the bad guys tortured and killed by Jack Bauer. No, the worst violence was done to the dialogue by the writers as they struggled to present political intrigue.
This season looks like it might be more of the same. Jack is back but he's been taken under arrest to Washington, D.C., for hearings into his use of torture. In the real world, Jack would deserve trial and punishment for the things he's done. In the world of 24, Jack should be roaming the badlands doing what a man's gotta do to set things right. Jack Bauer is Shane. He's the gunslinger from the frontier who breaks the rules to protect civilization and then rides off into the frontier once his job is done.
The producers were on to something when they put Jack in Sangala, a fictional lawless African country, to start this season. A place like Sangala could use somebody with Jack's kind of do whatever it takes to set things right morality. Unfortunately, the show's guilt-stricken producers didn't see it that way. They had him in Africa to do penance and make up for all the bad things he'd done fighting evildoers.
The mistake the producers have already made this season is pulling Jack out of the lawless frontier that is Sangala and bringing him back to civilization, with all its rules, to face justice and be tamed. Jack doesn't need taming. Tame Jack and 24 will become just another cop show. Who needs that?
-tdr
Others have written about the crisis of conscience among 24's staff over Jack's use of torture against the bad guys. (Here.) Let's stipulate, torture is bad, mm-kay. But let's also stipulate, 24 is not real. The crisis of conscience about 24's representation of torture was symptomatic of the most serious problem with the show. It takes itself too seriously. That seriousness of purpose led producers to think the show needed to have more political relevance. Big mistake. Some of the worst violence on the show recently wasn't done to the bad guys tortured and killed by Jack Bauer. No, the worst violence was done to the dialogue by the writers as they struggled to present political intrigue.
This season looks like it might be more of the same. Jack is back but he's been taken under arrest to Washington, D.C., for hearings into his use of torture. In the real world, Jack would deserve trial and punishment for the things he's done. In the world of 24, Jack should be roaming the badlands doing what a man's gotta do to set things right. Jack Bauer is Shane. He's the gunslinger from the frontier who breaks the rules to protect civilization and then rides off into the frontier once his job is done.
The producers were on to something when they put Jack in Sangala, a fictional lawless African country, to start this season. A place like Sangala could use somebody with Jack's kind of do whatever it takes to set things right morality. Unfortunately, the show's guilt-stricken producers didn't see it that way. They had him in Africa to do penance and make up for all the bad things he'd done fighting evildoers.
"In various incarnations, Jack would begin the season digging ditches, building houses, tending to orphans, providing security for an embassy or escorting around a visiting dignitary. 'One of the themes we discussed was penance, that Africa was a place Jack had gone to seek some kind of penance. Some sanctuary too, but also penance for things he's done in his life,' [head writer Howard] Gordon says." (Here.)Well, that's a mistake. Jack doesn't need to do penance and he doesn't need redemption. Jack needs to be doing what he does best. Killing bad guys so the good guys don't have to.
The mistake the producers have already made this season is pulling Jack out of the lawless frontier that is Sangala and bringing him back to civilization, with all its rules, to face justice and be tamed. Jack doesn't need taming. Tame Jack and 24 will become just another cop show. Who needs that?
-tdr
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Olbermann's Constitutional Unoriginalism.
The worst journalist in the world weighed in the other day on Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia won the "worst person in the world" honor on Keith Olbermann's joke of a news show. What was Scalia's offense? Upholding the right of Americans to keep and bear arms. You know, the one that's right there in the Second Amendment.
It's inevitable in arguments over the meaning of the Second Amendment that the person who wants to disarm Americans will mock "original intent" or "strict construction" by saying something like what Olbermann says in his rant about Scalia:
Americans' right to travel embedded in the Privileges and Immunities Clause (here) is not limited to interstate travel on foot, horseback, carriage, or sailboat. Americans' right to petition their government for redress of grievances is not limited to sending notes by messenger to their elected representatives. The United States Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce is not limited to goods that travel by wagon, barge, or sailboat. Finally, Americans' freedom of speech is not limited to publishing pamphlets on hand-operated printing presses or standing on a soapbox in a local park and ranting at passersby. Although come to think of it, Olbermann's phony news show, and especially his very special comments, are the television equivalents of a crazy person standing on a soapbox in a local park ranting at passersby.
Today's worst constitutional scholar in the world: Keith Olbermann.
-tdr
It's inevitable in arguments over the meaning of the Second Amendment that the person who wants to disarm Americans will mock "original intent" or "strict construction" by saying something like what Olbermann says in his rant about Scalia:
"Despite years of fog created by the NRA and right-wing organizations, that isn‘t very complicated; for the purposes of forming a state militia, you‘re entitled to keep and bear arms. Obviously, those would have to be the kind of use in arms since 1791, when the Bill of Rights was passed, the musket, the wheel-lock, the flint lock, the 13th century Chinese hand canon. Stuff like that." (Here, scroll down.)Of course, Olbermann's point is a stupid one.
Americans' right to travel embedded in the Privileges and Immunities Clause (here) is not limited to interstate travel on foot, horseback, carriage, or sailboat. Americans' right to petition their government for redress of grievances is not limited to sending notes by messenger to their elected representatives. The United States Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce is not limited to goods that travel by wagon, barge, or sailboat. Finally, Americans' freedom of speech is not limited to publishing pamphlets on hand-operated printing presses or standing on a soapbox in a local park and ranting at passersby. Although come to think of it, Olbermann's phony news show, and especially his very special comments, are the television equivalents of a crazy person standing on a soapbox in a local park ranting at passersby.
Today's worst constitutional scholar in the world: Keith Olbermann.
-tdr
Labels: America, Guns, Law, Media, TV
Friday, November 09, 2007
YES!!!!!!!
Although 24 has fallen prey to the Hollywood writer's strike, fans of the best little animated scifi show ever made can rejoice. Futurama is coming back!! The straight to DVD movie, Futurama: Bender's Big Score, is slated for release on November 27, 2007. November truly is the month for giving thanks. Pre-orders are available at Foxstore.com. (Here.) A preview is available though Comedy Central's Insider blog. (Here.)
-tdr
-tdr
Labels: Futurama, Science Fiction, TV
NOooooooooooooo!
The best adult Saturday morning serial broadcast at night is being delayed by the writer's strike. Jack Bauer won't be kicking butt and taking names on Fox Network's 24 come January. (Here.) The show is postponed indefinitely. Where's the Pinkerton Detective Agency when you need it? (Here.)
-tdr
-tdr
