Warp Section

Just a quick rundown of some of my favorite moments in science fiction/fantasy TV from 2006:

“Lucky in Love” Medium

Medium isn’t getting a whole lot of attention from the genre world, but I think it’s brilliant, cutting edge psychological horror. It’s pushing the boundaries of what’s been done on TV with horror. It deals with humanity’s darkest corners, and it doesn’t let the viewer turn away. Instead of cutting to commercial, the show makes you watch, and the images sear into your memory.

This is a heartbreaking episode involving Allison’s brother Michael, who doesn’t believe in Allison’s ability to commune with the dead — an ability he shares. I can’t say too much more without giving it all away. Allison is called in to investigate a bank robbery which resulted in a gruesome murder. Her dream that her brother is somehow involved in the robbery comes true, but not in the way she expects, when Michael meets a woman at a bar who inadvertently draws him into the mess. On many levels, this is a story of redemption, and the outcome left me breathless.

“The Girl in the Fireplace” Doctor Who

The second round of the new Doctor Who has had many, many brilliant moments. The two two-parters involving the Cybermen, among other villains, are not to be missed. But my favorite episode has to be the subtle, quiet, and intelligent “The Girl in the Fireplace.”

The Doctor, along with Rose and Mickey, arrive on a space station which seems abandoned, but is in fact run by mysterious clockwork robots. The station is using a tremendous amount of power to open time portals to various points in one person’s life: France’s pre-revolutionary political figure and royal mistress Madame de Pompadour. The Doctor becomes her protector and friend, appearing at various points throughout her life, from her point of view. Smitten, the Doctor takes it upon himself to get to the bottom of this mystery. Why are the robots obsessed with her? The answer doesn’t come until the end — blink and you’ll miss it.

“Downloaded” Battlestar Galactica

This episode shows us the other side of the battle — the Cylon’s view of things, in particular the lives of Boomer and the Number 6 version known as Caprica. Huge trauma. This is the also the episode that set in motion the events that led to the completely mind-blowing second season finale. And that’s why I pick this one over the many other Galactica episodes that could be counted among the year’s best.

“Episode 8″ Life on Mars

I picked this one mainly as an excuse to talk about Life on Mars. Like Doctor Who, this is a BBC show. It aired on my side of the pond on BBC America. On paper, it looks kind of weird: modern day cop gets in an accident and wakes up in 1973. Is he in a coma and dreaming the whole thing, or did he really travel back in time? We’ve gotten lots of clues but no answers. Superb acting and heartfelt stories make the show a stand-out. It’s part homage to 70s cop shows, part psychological drama. In this episode, Sam (the cop) confronts his father, who abandoned his family when Sam was a toddler, and tries to change the past by convincing him not to leave. The meeting doesn’t go at all as well as Sam hoped it would.

Life on Mars is slated for a second and final season which should wrap things up a bit for poor Sam. I’m biting my nails in anticipation.

Share This

Ah yes. The holidays. Time for singing carols, gathering with friends and family, battling the demon hordes at the local mall…and recalling The Star Wars Holiday Special. This piece of…er, made for TV cinema…can most charitably be called a product of its time. 1978. Think Xanadu meets The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and you’ll be on the right track.

Here’s how I like to describe it:

It’s widely believed that Carrie Fisher spent much of her time working on Star Wars struggling with drug addiction, to put it nicely. (Fisher’s Wikipedia bio) I think it’s a credit to her acting ability that most of the time you can’t tell. Her comic timing is wonderful (”I happen to like nice men…”), and she maintains her dignity and poise throughout. She made Princess Leia one of our greatest screen heroines.

On the other hand, in The Star Wars Holiday Special, she just doesn’t bother.

The full low-down on Wikipedia.

Share This

WARNING! If you’re not caught up on Battlestar Galactica, you probably don’t want to read further!

Well, tonight’s the fall finale of my beloved Battlestar Galactica. To mark the occasion, I’ve done a bit of digging through the vast history of science fiction television to speculate what might happen to one BSG character in particular: Baby Hera, the child of human Karl “Helo” Agathon and Cylon Sharon “Athena” Agathon. Her parents believe she died shortly after birth, but in fact she lived, and during the occupation of New Caprica, the Cylons found her and took her into custody. Will Helo and Sharon discover that Roslin and Adama lied to them about her fate? What will the Cylons do with her? What’s her destiny? There’s no doubt she has a destiny. Baltar’s subconscious tells us so.

What can other hybrid children tell us about what may be in store for Hera?

Scott Hayden, Starman
Scott was a troubled teen who bounced between foster homes almost his whole life until his father — his alien father — returned to find him. They embarked on adventures together.

Like Hera, Scott was separated from his parents at a young age. Maybe, like Scott, Hera will grow up to be angst-ridden and rootless as a result. Then again, she has hundreds of Cylon aunts and uncles to give her a stable family life. She’s totally going to score during the holidays.

As the child of an alien, Scott has some of his father’s psychic and telekinetic powers. Will Hera have some Cylon characteristics? Maybe she’ll be able to tap into the collective that is Cylon civilization. Maybe she’ll be able to jack into computers by sticking electrodes in her veins. Will she be able to download into a new body?

The Starman’s big goal in life seems to be helping people, and he passes these values onto his son. In opposition to this, the big goal of just about everyone in BSG is survival at all costs. This is the world that Hera is going to be raised in. What will her Cylon mentors tell her about her human heritage? Will she also be raised with the attitude that humanity must be destroyed? Will her human side have anything to say about it?

Whatever happens to Hera, I now have this weird image of Helo and teenage Hera traveling the countryside together, helping people.

Elizabeth, V
Elizabeth was the child of a human mother and a creepy lizard alien father. She appeared human, though as a child she grew at a fast rate and shed her skin like a reptile. She had a reptilian twin who died shortly after birth.

Similarities with BSG are much more apparent here, in that the civilization of one of Elizabeth’s parents is involved in a concerted effort to utterly destroy the civilization of the other. Elizabeth becomes a symbol of peace between the two species, clear evidence that the two aren’t so different and have motivation to try to get along.

Hera could serve as such a symbol of peace between the humans and Cylons. In fact, the Cylon obsession with biological reproduction (and their inability to biologically reproduce without human help) suggests that the Cylons can’t afford to destroy humanity completely. Or maybe Hera represents a step forward — with the existence of hybrids raised in their own Cylon philosophy, they won’t need people anymore. She could also become a symbol that humans and Cylons are, in fact, two halves of the same species.

At the same time, Elizabeth’s reptilian twin gave humanity the solution it needed to destroy the alien invaders. For the humans in BSG, Hera might be the clue to Cylon weaknesses that could help humanity overcome their invaders. Like Elizabeth, Hera seems to be one-of-a-kind. Will she stay that way?

Spock, Star Trek
Granted, we didn’t see much of Spock as child, apart from brief glimpses (The Search for Spock, an episode of the animated series). We do know that Spock was always highly aware of his identity as half human, even though he identified as a Vulcan, trained as a Vulcan, and considered himself fully Vulcan. His mother, Amanda, lived as a Vulcan as much as a human being could. But she’s still human, and Spock is reminded of this at every turn.

It looks like Hera is going to be raised as a Cylon. Here’s a question: what do the Cylons know about raising children? Were any of them children, or were they created as fully formed adults? I’m voting on the later, because that’s how they appear when downloaded. Will she consider herself fully Cylon, as Spock considers himself Vulcan? Will she then have to grapple with the human side of her heritage? Will she reject that side of herself, as Spock longs to do? What will be the implications of that? And what is she going to do if she ever meets her parents?

Just an Observation
I find it interesting that in all these cases, the human is mother and the “other” is the father. Hera may be the first time we’ve seen a human father and an “other” as the mother.

Share This

Back when it looked like Stargate SG-1 was going to be cancelled, there were rumours of a third Stargate series to come out around the same time as Atlantis, but SG-1 was continued and we got the Ori plot.

Now that SG-1 is dying off, it seems like that second spin-off will come to fruition.

It looks like it is currently in the concept phase, with no doubt multiple ideas on how the whole thing is going to run. Another galaxy? Another enemy? It will be interesting, though it will never be better than the original Stargate: SG-1 in my opinion.

Sadly, we will have to go a year without having two Stargate shows, as it looks like it should premiere sometime in 2008 or later.

I guess I’ll have to get my ‘gate fix from buying the SG-1 dvd box sets as well as watching Atlantis.

via GateWorld

Share This

For the Hyperadventure uninitiated, start here. Basically, it’s like the Choose Your Own Adventure books you read when you were a kid, but it’s online. And you can add a branch yourself!
—–

Curiosity and hunger overcome shock, and you find your hands reaching for the locker. Of course, being a locker, it is locked. At this point, you’re pretty sure there’s no food in there, but your curiosity has gotten stronger, and the memory of getting yelled at earlier is rapidly fading. Examining the lock, you’re pretty sure you could crack it using the techniques you learned at junior space cadet camp last summer back on Earth. The junior space cadets would hardly approve of such use, though, and you have a feeling the captain might not be too happy about it either. What do you do?
——
If you wish to continue the story, simply write the next branch in your blog/livejournal/myspace, and then come back here and write a comment which links to your piece. The subject line of your comment should be the action you are taking. Unlike a paper-bound CYOA, here you can take any choice you can dream up!

Share This

Now, if you’re really quick on the pickup, you will read the double entendre in the title of my post. (Hint: it hinges on the noun/verb duality of the last word.)

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

Part of me really enjoyed the first episode, but another, more logical part of me, was screaming in frustration. I’m going to vent that frustration, the re-suspend my disbelief and go back to watching. Honestly. Like I said, I enjoyed it enough in spite of its flaws. For your convenience, I have divided my post into “The Angry Part” and “The Happy Part.”

The Angry Part

The “What would you do” Quiz:

1. Imagine you have a gun pointed at someone you don’t trust, and you’re screaming at them not to move. Instead of not-moving, they advance on you, clicking a fountain pen. Do you:
a) shoot them in the head
b) give them a warning shot in the leg
c) back away, asking what the pen does
d) let the bad guy stab you with a lightning-shooting pen.

Apparently, these writers chose (d). If you are too stupid to shoot in this situation, I will nominate you for a Darwin Award when your charred body is sticking halfway out of the ceiling.

2. You are a 6 year old girl. A Bad Man who is not your daddy comes to pick you up from the psychiatrist. Do you:
a) Ask the man who the hell he is
b) Scream and tell the shrink the bad man is scary
c) Go willingly with the kidnapper

3. You have just discovered a magical key that is the craziest thing you’ve ever seen. Do you:
a) Get a body piercing, then chain said key to your body
b) keep it in your pocket at all times
c) Let your 6 daughter play with it as a toy

4. You are a dirty, amoral weasel. You have killed several men already for getting in your way. You have several opportunities to kill, abandon, lie to, cheat, or double-cross the naive cop who is more or less holding you hostage. Do you:
a) lie
b) cheat
c) abandon
d) double-cross
e) give your full cooperation, and then forget one of the most basic rules of the magical objects–that they don’t work in The Room–and attempt your escape at the worst possible time

5. You have just used a magical nail-file to ensorcell your murderous ex-friend. He is sleeping peacefully on the floor. Do you:
a) Try to save your partner, the man he just shot
b) leave
c) Grab the murder weapon with your bare, fingerprinty hands–remember, you are a cop–and stand over the body of your sleeping opponent long enough for his wife to come in and discover you, and then, rather than explaining yourself, run away just in time for this incriminating image to sink in completely

6. You have a magic key. It appears to take you anywhere you want. Do you:
a) Ask it to take you to your missing daughter
b) Ask it to take you to the object you need to recover your daughter
c) hopelessly entangle yourself in complex plot twists

I know this quiz is difficult. If you answered something other than the last option on any of the questions, you qualify to be a better writer for The Lost Room than the current writers.

Simply put, I realize that a good story requires conflict, but conflict does not require idiocy.

The Happy Part

Fun story, good pacing. Making it a miniseries instead of a full series lets us get a lot of action in a short period of time. Peter Krause (of Six Feet Under fame) is as good as I’d hoped. The production quality and special effects are VERY good, considering this is made for TV. Sure, if you look closely you can tell that most of the outdoor shots are green-screened, but who cares?

I like the idea of mysterious objects with random powers. I like the idea that combining them can create strange new effects. So far, it’s very fun. Hopefully the writers don’t use it as an MacGuffin to solve (and create) every problem with new objects/object combinations.

Share This

So I’ve just started watching the new Sci-fi miniseries “The Lost Room” and I have to say I’m liking it so far. Something about the style and subject matter sent my mind wandering back to two older series that I loved as a youth.

The first one was called Nightmare Cafe. From tv.com:

“A mysterious and mystical all-night cafe gives second chances to deserving people. It’s staffed by Fay and Frank, two people who made bad choices in life and whose paths crossed with the cafe in the first episode. There’s also Blackie, another enigmatic figure who has been working with the cafe longer. Together, the three use the powers over time and space that the cafe grants them to help the worthy and punish the evil, just as they themselves have been helped.”

Powers over time and space, you say? You can see why it jumped to mind when I started watching The Lost Room.

The second one was Friday the 13th, no relation to the movies. From the prologue:

“Lewis Vendredi made a deal with the devil to sell cursed antiques. But he broke the pact, and it cost him his soul. Now, his niece Micki, and her cousin Ryan have inherited the store… and with it, the curse. Now they must get everything back and the real terror begins.”

Mysterious powerful items that the protagonists are desperate to collect, you say?

Anyway, thank god for the internet, and for my friends in the sci-fi club who helped me dredge up these old gems from descriptions ringing with eloquent quality like, “you know, that show, with the people… and they were in a restaurant that time traveled? And that other one, like the Stephen King book, but a TV series, with magic antiques?” Yeah.

By sometime tomorrow I’ll have a good review of the first episode of Lost Room. Sci-fi is showing them on heavy rotation, so if you haven’t seen the first 3 (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday), just keep watching.

Share This

Like a lot of teenage girls, I had pictures on my wall of the boys I liked — the teen idols and Hollywood heartthrobs who rocked my world. And you could totally tell by my pictures that I was a prime grade-A nerdling. Hanging on my wall I had:

• Harrison Ford as Han Solo and Indiana Jones
• River Phoenix as young Indiana Jones
• Sean Patrick Flannery as young Indiana Jones (sensing a trend here)
• and Wil Wheaton as Ensign Wesley Crusher

Seriously. I adored Wesley. He was one of my heroes. And to this day, I’m still having to explain to people why.

I think it had a lot to do with being the same age, and having much the same state of mind. I was one of those kids who was too smart for my own good. I’d been reading since I was five, reading science fiction since I was eight, and I used SAT words in normal conversation because I didn’t know any better. When other kids were building models of the Globe Theatre out of popsicle sticks for their Shakespeare projects, I rewrote Julius Caesar so it was set in modern Washington, D.C. Not because I was trying to show off, but because I thought it was cool. I often got along better with adults because the conversation was more interesting. I liked my parents. My interest was literature rather than tractor beams, but Wesley’s out-of-control precociousness was modeled after my own heart.

Wesley was one of those very rare instances when someone like me — grade A nerdling, as I said, and a bit of a social misfit — was depicted on TV in a positive light, making a positive difference on the world around him. (It should come as no surprise that I was also a fan of the TV show Head of the Class.) He wasn’t a nerd caricature. He wasn’t the butt of people’s jokes (except at endless SF conventions, alas). What Wesley Crusher’s presence on the Enterprise told me was, “There is a place for you in the universe, and everything’s going to be okay. Just hang in there and keep doing what you love.”

I can’t stress enough what an important message that was for an angst-ridden teenage girl to have. So much better than, “You’re not pretty enough, you’re not thin enough, and your clothes suck.” I always thought it would be cool to hang out with Wesley. And I think it’s sad that no one who wasn’t a 14 year old overactive nerd in 1987 sees Wesley the same way I do.

Share This

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll state up front that this is a bit of shameless self promotion. I’ll get to that in a minute.

Back in the eighties, writers George R. R. Martin (the Song of Fire and Ice series), Melinda Snodgrass (Star Trek: The Next Generation), and some of their friends started a series of novels asking the question: What would superheroes really be like, if they existed in our world? What developed was the Wild Cards universe: a brilliant alternate history in which super powered people shape the fate of the world. Notice I said people and not heroes, because these guys have flaws. Some of them — even the good guys — are not nice people. This series came out around the same time as Alan Moore’s Watchmen and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, and is rooted in the same dark, gritty realism.

These books were my soap opera all the way through high school and college. I adored them, I adored the characters, especially the Great and Powerful Turtle (a shy telekinetic who flies around in an armor plated VW beetle), Popinjay (a projecting teleporter — he points at you, you end up someplace else), the Sleeper (who changes his form and power every time he sleeps), Peregrine (a woman with wings), and even Carnifex (a general bad ass who seems to be mellowing charmingly in his middle age). The history in these things is real (heroes brought before the House Unamerican Activities Committee in the 50s, that sort of thing). Wild Cards is what happens when some of science fiction and fantasy’s most talented writers get together to play with the whole idea of superheroes.

Well. There’s a new book in the series coming out next year from Tor Books: Wild Cards: Inside Straight. George R. R. Martin has posted a sample chapter on his website, here.

Now for the shameless self promotion: I’m one of the writers. I picked up my first Wild Cards book in 1988 and I’ve read every single one since. I’m a fan. Becoming one of the contributors to Inside Straight — creating new characters and helping to shape this alternate world — is a fangirl dream come true. I’m so excited I could explode. Much like the fabled Wild Cards character who never made it into the series: Nova Boy, who had the power to make the sun go nova…once.

For more information about Wild Cards, see fan site Wild Cards Online.

Share This

A week or so ago I wrote about one season wonder TV show Misfits of Science, (see here). I was working off twenty-year old memories, and thought I’d never get to see the show again. Well, hearing my tale of woe, a friend used his internet wizardry and found copies of a couple of episodes, which I eagerly watched.

And…er…well… It’s not as good as I remember. In fact, it’s downright silly. Chasing cavemen in loincloths down Hollywood Boulevard silly. But I still wanted to note a couple of things:

The show has shades of Buckaroo Banzai, which is cool. Remember at the Yoyodyne labs, there were these experiments going on in the background, very bizarre, which we never learned anything about? I think one of them involved watermelons. The Misfits have the same thing going at their Humanadyne Labs. Imagine Dr. Hayes yelling, “No no no! If they’re both upside down it won’t work!” Lots of fun.

Both episodes — a fairly random sample — mentioned orbital delivery systems for nuclear weapons, i.e. Reagan’s “Star Wars” system. Any TV show (or book, or movie), even and maybe especially science fiction, becomes an artifact of its time — a snapshot of when it was made, preserving everything from the hairstyles (and let me say that 1985 was a banner year for Aquanet) to the music to the news of the day. This detail was a sobering reminder of what was occupying a lot of the country’s attention in 1985.

Share This