SciFi Channel Friday Night Lineup Thoughts
Well this week was the first time we got the full new SciFi Fridays lineup from the SciFi Channel. They’re running Stargate: SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica back to back and making a big thing about it. And they may have a point. It certainly makes for a hell of an evening of science fiction viewing.
Stargate SG-1, is onto season 8 now and with season 9 already in planning, its rapidly heading to become the longest running genre show on US tv. This week’s show was fairly heavily mired in the continuity of the series, but since they try to keep that continuity fairly simple it wouldn’t have been hard to pick up.
One major plus point to SG-1 was that it featured the replicators who are in a lot of ways far scarier than the regular series villains the Goa’uld. One minus point though was that they featured the human form replicators which are substantially lessscary than the original replicators.
This was a story who’s main purpose seemed to be to re-establish the replicators as a major threat to earth and the Asgard. In that at least it succeeded and it was entertaining enough, but for a big opening episode to the second half of the season, it came off as rather weak.
Stargate Atlantis is SG-1’s younger brother. Its first season has shown impressive ratings, but the episodes themselves seem uneven and I feel it hasn’t really found its groove yet. This week’s episode was the second part of a two part story which again showed some of the problems I have with this series. On the one hand the storyline itself was quite compelling and effective, on the other, I find several of the characters just plain annoying or even worse irelevent. Its encouraging that even this early on the writers do seem to have some sort of larger story that they are building up to, but it wouldn’t hurt to either cull a few characters from the show or revamp them a bit. There’s only so much random bickering in the name of “character development” I can take.
And finally we come to what turns out to be the crown jewel in SciFi Fridays. Something no one would have expected 18 months ago I’m sure. Battlestar Galactica may well be the best science fiction series on tv right now. Remember what science fiction is really about (hint: not space ships and laser guns), Battlestar Galactica is taking situations and issues that resonate today and exploring them in a futuristic setting.
This week we had a terrorist/freedom fighter and a hostage situation. There’s nothing incredibly original about that story, but setting it in the future allowed them to approach the situation from a number of different angles without getting bogged down in real life politics. It was a nice touch to have Richard Hatch playing the terrorist too.
As with the last two episodes of Battlestar Galactica, this one seemed to flow seamlessly on from the previous one. They really seem to be trying to tell one continuous story here. Small elements from previous episodes crop up as major elements later on. There are a number of running sub-plots too which could potentially open up the series to whole new directions. Its all very intriguing.
Eoghann Irving is amongst other things the creator and Editor of Solar Flare. He has a life long interest in all forms of science fiction and fantasy and a pressing need to share this interest with anyone who will listen. Find out more at his personal website eoghann.com..
One Comment, Comment or Ping
Jeff Harrell
I wouldn’t stop with “the best science fiction series.” With the lamented demise of “The West Wing” and the recent tendency for “Lost” to be all sizzle and no steak, I’d go ahead and declare “Battlestar Galactica” the smartest, most complex and all-around best drama on television right now.
There were two parts of this week’s episode that put it head and shoulders above the rest of the fray. The first came in the conversation in the second act between Adama and Roslin. It started out with Roslin saying that Zarek was a freedom fighter and a prisoner of conscience, and ended with her declaration that “we do not negotiate with terrorists” and her order to Adama to send in the Marines. Not because either character argued the other into it, or because either character changed his or her mind, but simply because both of these characters see both sides of the question. It’s a complicated issue, and there are no easy answers.
And other winner was the ending, of course. The situation was resolved in the only way it realistically could have been, not with a massacre or a capitulation but with a compromise.
And if you’re having fun with the continuity now, just wait. There’s a thing coming up involving Starbuck that’s just going to make your day.
Jan 23rd, 2005
Reply to “SciFi Channel Friday Night Lineup Thoughts”