SFFTV: Falling Skies — Another Monumental Disappointment
I’m done with TNT’s Falling Skies. This is the second science fiction TV show they’ve produced that I’ve given up on and I’m starting to see a trend. The first was The Walking Dead, which suffered from many of the same issues that make Falling Skies such a weak piece of science fiction. Namely, the moronic use of the generic/subgeneric conventions (for The Walking Dead, post-apocalyptic zombie survival; for Falling Skies, post-alien-invasion post-apocalypse survival). But if failing to use the clichés of the genre effectively weren’t bad enough, perhaps the series’ blatant political agenda and its wishy washy handling of normally interesting and relevant subjects (to Americans) kills the show for good. Falling Skies, essentially, is about how conservative America—in the current conception of that ideal—can save mankind
SFFTV: Outcasts (Ep. 2) and Falling Skies (Ep. 3)
The second episode of Outcasts is another strong showing. A handful of escape pods have made their way to the surface of Carpathia, leaving the citizens of Forthaven the task of finding them and bringing their inhabitants to safety. But there are other people out in the wilderness of Carpathia. People thought to be dead. People who have a dark history with Forthaven and its first settlers. And they’ve taken a survivor from the CT9, the first ship to arrive in Carpathia in five years, well after the pulse beacon from Earth went silent… I love this show. I really do. Everything about it screams “I am good.” The cast is solid, the characters diverse, three-dimensional, and interesting, and the production quality, as I’ve already said, is remarkable. The first episode set the
SFFTV: Outcasts (Ep. 1) and Falling Skies (Ep. 1+2)
Two of the more interesting science fiction shows hitting U.S. airwaves this year are BBC’s Outcasts and TNT’s Falling Skies. The former has already had its run in the UK (cancelled, sadly) and is only now getting its fair shake on BBC America. The latter is the much anticipated, and heavily pushed, Noah Wyle vehicle. Both show remarkable promise. The first episode of Outcasts is an eye-opener. As a Doctor Who fan, I’ve been used to seeing science handled with a heavy dose of humor on the BBC. Outcasts is everything but a humorous show, though it tries hard to lighten the mood with a few jokes. It’s a fine display of what the BBC can do when it puts its mind to serious SF, with a strong cast and beautiful CG and cinematography. Outcasts focuses on the first settlers on the planet Carpathia, who have been specially selected to pave the way for future
New Content: SFFTV
Jen here and I’m just going to come out and admit it: I’m a TV whore! In my defense, the vast majority of what I do watch is science fiction and fantasy genre television, but that doesn’t really lessen the fact that I watch way too much television. To that end, we’ve decided that I should just run with this sad little obsession of mine and share it with all of you. This means I’ll be sacrificing my summer for hours and hours in front of the boob tube, but I think I’ll manage (as long as someone is willing to bring me margaritas). So check back with the Skiffy and Fanty show for reviews, news, and probably some ranting, about all things Science Fiction and Fantasy TV. Summer SF/F TV True Blood HBOs True Blood is entering its fourth season, which will loosely follow the story of the fourth book of Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Mysteries, Dead to the World. This means we’ll get more werewolves, were-panthers, witches, fairies, and sex with Eric Northman (guess what I’m most excited about). HBO has done an amazing job taking what is a solid summer reading urban fantasy series and turning it into a dark, well-crafted television show with enough variation from the original books that readers are still left guessing what is going to happen next. I was blown away by the first season, less enamored of the second, and am still catching up with the third, but I have yet to be disappointed. Teen Wolf Teen Wolf premieried on MTV on June 5, 2011. That means it should be easy to catch up on, but at an hour in length and the fact that it’s MTV programming and targetted at people half my age – this is going to be torture. Those of us who remember the original Teen Wolf movie will be sorely dissappointed by this “reboot.” The only things that have stayed the same are apparently the name of the main character and the fact that he’s in High School. Gone is basketball, fuzzy dad, and Michael J. Fox; in is Lacrosse, a werewolf bite, and some kid named Tyler Posey. I’m just hoping I don’t get completely sucked into it, because the only thing redeeming about it might just be the fact that the werewolf teenager falls in love with a girl from a family of werewolf hunters. Haven When Haven debuted last year it took me a few episodes to get into it, but once the show had me in its claws… Well, let’s just say I’m looking forward to Season 2. Haven is loosely based on Stephen King’s The Colorado Kid, which I haven’t actually read, but I imagine that was enough to give the show some street cred to draw viewers in initially. The show was intriguing enough, with low enough production costs, that it’s back for a second season. It centers around an FBI agent, Audrey Parker, who traveled to the small town of Haven to hunt down an escaped criminal. She stays after discovering that the town is beset with supernatural emergencies and that her mother may have a connection with it. I’ve enjoyed the dynamics between the characters of Haven, but I’m hoping that in Season 2 we’ll see that the rest of the town is actually beset with “The Troubles,” as opposed to the few highlighted in each episode. Haven has just enough mystery to keep me coming back for more, but I have a feeling there are only so many tricks up their sleeves. That said – the cliffhanger last season was REALLY weird and left me with my jaw dropped, so we’ll see what happens! Warehouse 13 A series about a couple of Secret Service Agent screw ups who are relegated to a super secret Warehouse full of supernatural artifacts? What’s not to like! It’s like watching the Raiders of the Lost Ark, MacGuyver, X-Files, and Moonlighting all at the same time. Warehouse 13 is quirky, humorous, and exciting, with just enough darkness and dramatic tension to keep it from becoming completely ridiculous. Unfortunately, at the end of Season 2, Myka – one half of the dastardly duo – left Warehouse 13. The relationship between Myka and Pete was such a large part of the charm of this series, that the show may suffer for this decision. That said, they did struggle with finding a balance between Pete and Myka as a romantic possibility, and Pete and Myka’s familial comaraderie. However, the testorone quotient jumps up with Myka’s replacement and SyFy risks alienating their 50% female viewership. Eureka Ahh, Eureka, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… Eureka has been going strong for four seasons, and based on the twists presented in Season 4 I don’t see it losing steam anytime soon. There were some nearly show-killing plot decisions in Season 2 and 3, but the veritable reboot at the beginning of Season 4 has almost erased that, leaving a world of possibilities open for the quirky little town of Eureka. Throw in some Felicia Day and more WIl Wheaton and we should have a good summer on our hands. SyFy had some issues (I honestly don’t know what they were) releasing Season 4.5 (usually they have a winter season), but those episodes have presumably become the Summer session episodes. Hopefully the exceedingly long gap, with only 10 episodes in the previous season, won’t kill the viewing numbers, because Eureka is the only thing in Summer television that I actually look forward to. Falling Skies Six months after a devastating Alien invasion, the few survivors of Earth have banded together to fight back. Falling Skies stars Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, and Will Patton, so we’re at least assured of a great cast and solid acting. TNT has aired some excellent programming and with Steven Spielberg as Executive Producer, it’s hard to come out and say that this show is going to fail, but it
Question of the Week: What new scifi/fantasy TV series are you looking forward to (or currently enjoying)?
Apparently the folks down in Hollywood have decided that maybe regular people kind of like science fiction and fantasy! Yay for geek and nerd-dom! At least, that’s how it appears based on the sheer number of new science fiction and fantasy based television series that are slated to come out this year. Granted, the folks at SyFy did just cancel Stargate: Universe, but they also have a new Battlestar Galactica series on their books, so maybe they’re not completely evil. With all these new shows coming to the tube, we want to know which ones you’re looking forward to (after the fold):
