Post by mjm800 on Mar 3, 2005 21:40:02 GMT -5
seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/213275_tv24.html?searchpagefrom=1&searchdiff=4
'Enterprise' fans, it's time to switch ships to 'Galactica'
Listen, I'm all for people doing everything they can to save their favorite shows, an annual hobby that tends to pop up near the end of February sweeps. Please, flood networks with food items. Bargain with critics and get other viewers to notice worthy, underappreciated series such as The WB's "Jack & Bobby" and "Arrested Development."
But -- and I cannot stress this enough -- know when to throw in the towel. Some programs are simply lost causes. "Star Trek: Enterprise" fans, I'm peering in your direction.
We professional TV sponges understand your passion. We hope SaveEnterprise.com and TrekUnited.com's rallies, starting with tomorrow's march on Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, attract huge crowds.
But, let's be honest: "Enterprise," which airs on KSTW/11 Fridays at 8, will never achieve mass or even medium appeal. The "Star Trek" universe has had a satisfactory run, with a consistent television presence in some form for the last 18 years. It could use a rest. You know, allow people to miss it again. That includes the movies. Halt the campaigning.
UPN's moving on after May 13.
It's "Battlestar Galactica's" time now.
Nowadays, we're more attuned to the sensibilities embodied in the Sci Fi Channel's new hit, airing at 10 p.m. Fridays, with all of its explosions, sieges of paranoia and existential ruminations. Where "Trek" has always been the domain of a very specific, devoted crowd, "Battlestar Galactica" is among the few unapologetically science-fiction series to appeal to a growing number of viewers who recognize great television, regardless of genre.
Noticing this, Sci Fi has signed off on a second season of "Battlestar," but also announced it has no intention to save "Enterprise."
Can you blame it? "Battlestar" has bestowed a fresh complexity upon TV science fiction: Its future, as reimagined by Ronald D. Moore, suits the world as we currently know it. We're propelled by technology-assisted introversion, fear of dangers that brought enemies within our cities, and divided by stridently clashing religious beliefs. Which makes our Earth-tethered lives very much like those on "Battlestar's" galaxy-hopping fleet.
This kind of a vision makes the original "Star Trek" concept look outdated. Yes, that's a sad thought. But surely Gene Roddenberry couldn't have foreseen our paradigm shift when "Star Trek" first launched in the late '60s. His dream for the future saw humankind moving beyond its racial and cultural differences to work in concert, reaching out and attempting to form bridges between worlds that could be violently different.
Now, the bunker mentality driving Commander Adama (Edward James Olmos) seems much more relatable. He's a grim man of few words and little patience for negotiation who lets his deeds do the talking (familiar, no?), occasionally listening to the counsel of President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell).
If that kind of depth is the last thing you want on a Friday night, "Battlestar" has ripping battle sequences. It also has Number Six, an exceedingly intelligent, ruthless fembot played by a former underwear model, Tricia Helfer.
Pulchritude's a plus, but the story line's mind games are a powerful seduction by themselves. Unlike the villains in the first "Battlestar," a "Star Wars" imitation that aired in 1978 (before pathetically transforming into "Galactica 1980"), the new Cylons are mechanical creations made by humans that eventually evolved beyond mankind.
These Cylons look like us -- gorgeous versions of us, we might add -- and are intent on wiping humans out of existence. There are many versions of the same model, some operating within the fleet while others are strewn throughout the galaxy.
A few of these imitation humans don't even know they are Cylons. Raptor fighter pilot Sharon "Boomer" Valerii (Grace Park) exists as two versions, a "sleeper" on Galactica and a fully Cylon-conscious model on the conquered planet Caprica, where she toys with Boomer's partner, Helo (Tahmoh Penikett). Galactica's Boomer has an inkling of what she is, which she finally admits out loud in tomorrow's episode.
This complication enables "Battlestar" to explore sensuality not as a stunt, or a side-effect of alien contact, but as both a celebration of minute-by-minute survival and a tool of manipulation. One regrettable affair with Number Six has brought scientific genius Gaius Baltar (James Callis) to his knees, as she commands his every move and makes his mind flit between reality and illusion. Rarely, if ever, has sex appeal and science fiction melded as convincingly.
She is a strong example of "Battlestar's" superior female characters, all of whom are tougher and possessed of more depth than any on "Enterprise." On "Battlestar," you have Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (Katee Sackhoff), a fighter pilot so fierce she can fly the guts of a living ship to survive. Where "Trek" femmes exist primarily as nods to an egalitarian future, Galactica's women are proactive, bold and ferocious.
At any rate, those unfamiliar with these insiderish references to "Battlestar" shouldn't let the mythology scare you off. Each episode sums up previous developments during the opening credits, and, even if it didn't, it doesn't take much to get it. One good episode -- and they've all been pretty good thus far -- is all it takes to pull you in.
P-I TV critic Melanie McFarland can be reached at 206-448-8015 or tvgal@seattlepi.com.
'Enterprise' fans, it's time to switch ships to 'Galactica'
Listen, I'm all for people doing everything they can to save their favorite shows, an annual hobby that tends to pop up near the end of February sweeps. Please, flood networks with food items. Bargain with critics and get other viewers to notice worthy, underappreciated series such as The WB's "Jack & Bobby" and "Arrested Development."
But -- and I cannot stress this enough -- know when to throw in the towel. Some programs are simply lost causes. "Star Trek: Enterprise" fans, I'm peering in your direction.
We professional TV sponges understand your passion. We hope SaveEnterprise.com and TrekUnited.com's rallies, starting with tomorrow's march on Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, attract huge crowds.
But, let's be honest: "Enterprise," which airs on KSTW/11 Fridays at 8, will never achieve mass or even medium appeal. The "Star Trek" universe has had a satisfactory run, with a consistent television presence in some form for the last 18 years. It could use a rest. You know, allow people to miss it again. That includes the movies. Halt the campaigning.
UPN's moving on after May 13.
It's "Battlestar Galactica's" time now.
Nowadays, we're more attuned to the sensibilities embodied in the Sci Fi Channel's new hit, airing at 10 p.m. Fridays, with all of its explosions, sieges of paranoia and existential ruminations. Where "Trek" has always been the domain of a very specific, devoted crowd, "Battlestar Galactica" is among the few unapologetically science-fiction series to appeal to a growing number of viewers who recognize great television, regardless of genre.
Noticing this, Sci Fi has signed off on a second season of "Battlestar," but also announced it has no intention to save "Enterprise."
Can you blame it? "Battlestar" has bestowed a fresh complexity upon TV science fiction: Its future, as reimagined by Ronald D. Moore, suits the world as we currently know it. We're propelled by technology-assisted introversion, fear of dangers that brought enemies within our cities, and divided by stridently clashing religious beliefs. Which makes our Earth-tethered lives very much like those on "Battlestar's" galaxy-hopping fleet.
This kind of a vision makes the original "Star Trek" concept look outdated. Yes, that's a sad thought. But surely Gene Roddenberry couldn't have foreseen our paradigm shift when "Star Trek" first launched in the late '60s. His dream for the future saw humankind moving beyond its racial and cultural differences to work in concert, reaching out and attempting to form bridges between worlds that could be violently different.
Now, the bunker mentality driving Commander Adama (Edward James Olmos) seems much more relatable. He's a grim man of few words and little patience for negotiation who lets his deeds do the talking (familiar, no?), occasionally listening to the counsel of President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell).
If that kind of depth is the last thing you want on a Friday night, "Battlestar" has ripping battle sequences. It also has Number Six, an exceedingly intelligent, ruthless fembot played by a former underwear model, Tricia Helfer.
Pulchritude's a plus, but the story line's mind games are a powerful seduction by themselves. Unlike the villains in the first "Battlestar," a "Star Wars" imitation that aired in 1978 (before pathetically transforming into "Galactica 1980"), the new Cylons are mechanical creations made by humans that eventually evolved beyond mankind.
These Cylons look like us -- gorgeous versions of us, we might add -- and are intent on wiping humans out of existence. There are many versions of the same model, some operating within the fleet while others are strewn throughout the galaxy.
A few of these imitation humans don't even know they are Cylons. Raptor fighter pilot Sharon "Boomer" Valerii (Grace Park) exists as two versions, a "sleeper" on Galactica and a fully Cylon-conscious model on the conquered planet Caprica, where she toys with Boomer's partner, Helo (Tahmoh Penikett). Galactica's Boomer has an inkling of what she is, which she finally admits out loud in tomorrow's episode.
This complication enables "Battlestar" to explore sensuality not as a stunt, or a side-effect of alien contact, but as both a celebration of minute-by-minute survival and a tool of manipulation. One regrettable affair with Number Six has brought scientific genius Gaius Baltar (James Callis) to his knees, as she commands his every move and makes his mind flit between reality and illusion. Rarely, if ever, has sex appeal and science fiction melded as convincingly.
She is a strong example of "Battlestar's" superior female characters, all of whom are tougher and possessed of more depth than any on "Enterprise." On "Battlestar," you have Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (Katee Sackhoff), a fighter pilot so fierce she can fly the guts of a living ship to survive. Where "Trek" femmes exist primarily as nods to an egalitarian future, Galactica's women are proactive, bold and ferocious.
At any rate, those unfamiliar with these insiderish references to "Battlestar" shouldn't let the mythology scare you off. Each episode sums up previous developments during the opening credits, and, even if it didn't, it doesn't take much to get it. One good episode -- and they've all been pretty good thus far -- is all it takes to pull you in.
P-I TV critic Melanie McFarland can be reached at 206-448-8015 or tvgal@seattlepi.com.