Who are the best distinctive non-humans (by distinctive I mean to exclude the human non-humans like Aeryn Sun who are pretty much human in all but name) in Sci Fi TV. I nominate G'kar from B5 and Spock from Star Trek.
Ambassador Kosh.
The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote.
Kosh was pretty much awesome but I think he loses for lack of exposure.
Does B5 explore him at all past his death. I always was curious about him but I tabled B5 after the war ended
themightypuck on
“Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.”
― Marcus Aurelius
Path of Exile: themightypuck
0
Options
Bloods EndBlade of TyshallePunch dimensionRegistered Userregular
edited January 2008
G'Kar is so badass. The Legends of the Rangers movie was built on him being awesome. I'd watch a show of him called "G'Kar and crazy psychopathic Telepath go on magic adventures."
G'Kar is so badass. The Legends of the Rangers movie was built on him being awesome. I'd watch a show of him called "G'Kar and crazy psychopathic Telepath go on magic adventures."
Make the fucking show. I'll watch it.
Edit: also OP change the eyeliner thing to the G'kar thing.
themightypuck on
“Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.”
― Marcus Aurelius
I've been watching a lot of the new seasons of Doctor Who, here
It's seriously becoming one of my favorite shows. Especially from season 2 onwards...the Tenth Doctor is so, so awesome.
I think I might have missed the last series. David Tennant is really very good but he seems to be constantly struggling against some of the worst writing in British television.
Mojo_Jojo on
Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
0
Options
Bloods EndBlade of TyshallePunch dimensionRegistered Userregular
Kosh was pretty much awesome but I think he loses for lack of exposure.
Does B5 explore him at all past his death. I always was curious about him but I tabled B5 after the war ended
Kosh has stuff to do until "Falling Towards Apotheosis" in Season 4. We don't see much of him after that, but his fingerprints are all over just about everything that comes after that.
Kosh on the Narn/Centari conflict:
Kosh: They are alone. They are a dying race. We should let them pass.
Sinclair: Who -- the Narn or the Centauri?
Kosh: Yes.
Kosh on Sinclair being a tool:
Sinclair: No-one knows exactly what you look like. That makes some people a little nervous.
Kosh: Good.
Kosh on things that don't make sense:
Kosh: Ah, you seek meaning. Then listen to the music, not the song.
Kosh on technology:
Kosh: You are not ready for immortality.
Kosh on the future:
Emperor Turhan: How will this end?
Kosh: In fire.
On Zha'ha'dum:
Kosh: I will do as you ask. But there is a price to pay. I will not be there to help you when you go to Z'ha'dum.
Sheridan: Yeah, you already said, if I go to Z'ha'dum, I'll die.
Kosh: Yes. Now.
Kosh has stuff to do until "Falling Towards Apotheosis" in Season 4. We don't see much of him after that, but his fingerprints are all over just about everything that comes after that.
...
...
The dude is like Yoda in his quotability.
Indeed. I was just always curious about him in that he is very different than the rest of his ilk.
themightypuck on
“Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears.”
― Marcus Aurelius
Path of Exile: themightypuck
0
Options
ThomamelasOnly one man can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me! Registered Userregular
edited January 2008
Vir Cotto had the best line from the show I belive:
I'd like to live just long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I would look up into your lifeless eyes and wave, like this. Can you and your associates arrange that for me, Mr. Morden?
Vir Cotto had the best line from the show I belive:
I'd like to live just long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I would look up into your lifeless eyes and wave, like this. Can you and your associates arrange that for me, Mr. Morden?
that's some great shit right there. Stuff like that is why I love B5 so damn much
Vir Cotto had the best line from the show I belive:
I'd like to live just long enough to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors come with too high a price. I would look up into your lifeless eyes and wave, like this. Can you and your associates arrange that for me, Mr. Morden?
I've been watching a lot of the new seasons of Doctor Who, here
It's seriously becoming one of my favorite shows. Especially from season 2 onwards...the Tenth Doctor is so, so awesome.
I think I might have missed the last series. David Tennant is really very good but he seems to be constantly struggling against some of the worst writing in British television.
Still more bearable than the second season of Heroes. :P
Since this thread is still alive, I'll go with my own list, which should include some suggestions that may not have been mentioned yet:
My top 3:
1- Firefly: there's nothing in it that turns me off. Plus, years before it ever came to be, I'd already come to the conclusion that the only way to rejuvenate the Star Trek franchise would be to show the Federation and its environment from a fresh perspective, such as from the view of a small smuggler ship flying under Starfleet's radar (most of the time.) I know Firefly isn't a Star Trek show, but remember, TOS was sold as a western in space, too.
2- BSG: used to be my #1, but the fact that the dramatic intensity never lets up gets tiring. The show needs a few more humorous moments, and some more instances of the tension going down, so that when it goes back up, it's all the more exciting. Good shows are like rollercoasters with tension: it builds up slowly, then suddenly everything explodes, until things slow back down a bit and you get to relax a little, then you reach a new climb, and the tension starts building up again. BSG is just all rising tension.
3- Babylon 5: The first time I saw it, I quit before the end of season 1. It just seemed like a poor Star Trek copy, with a few rare original ideas thrown in, but with bad acting and tired scifi episodic plots. I completely missed all the arc stuff, and how it was, in many ways, a kind of anti-Star Trek, in that it dealt with a lot of things in a more adult and less dogmatic way than Star Trek (with the exception of DS9 when it's at its best). Later, I heard so much gushing over that show that I revisited it. By watching 2-4 episodes per night, I got through S1 quickly enough that it didn't seem as bad, and some of the arc patterns started to emerge. Where the equivalent ST episode would end, B5 would have an "extra" epilogue that would tie the "monster of the week" back into the overall narrative.
And then I got to season 2, and by then I was totally hooked.
I agree that season 5 is a bit of a let-down, compared with the rising tension and outright war of the previous seasons, but I was still captivated. Plus, it dealt with things that are rarely dealt with elsewhere: the aftermath of a major upheaval. I still don't like that song that Byron's followers sing, but after a while, it does what it's supposed to: turn a sweet little melody into something haunting and dark.
Other shows I've really liked:
Lexx: it's cheesy, b-movie stuff in many ways, but it also does many things right, even with plot holes the size of the universe. And the fourth season is hilarious. Farscape fans should love it, but they often hate it, probably because it takes itself even less seriously, while treading on similar ground.
Red Dwarf: we need more Sci-Fi comedies, especially if they can be written this well. But if you want to cringe, look for the lame US version's pilots. I think it could work now, but it could never have worked then. Bonus: Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax on DS9) as Cat in the second (unfortunately very short) pilot.
V: The original miniseries is impressively good. It has a depth rarely equaled in the genre, and a story that, unlike most Sci-Fi shows, can be related with by non Sci-Fi fans, which is why it was so huge an event when it came out. The second miniseries is still good, but not as good. The subsequent series suffered the same problems as most Sci-Fi shows in the mid-70's to mid-80's: the episodic nature meant that very few Earth-shattering events (such as what happened in the miniseries) could ever happen. Now, TV producers understand that an episodic TV series can have deep arcs that can totally change the dynamic during the course of a series, but then, shows in that genre needed that reset button at the end of every episode.
The new Doctor Who: I'd never really seen any of the older stuff, but after lots of prodding from friends and family, I got into it. Surprisingly good stuff, and they're not afraid to mix humor with really edgy stuff. US TV producers should really watch this and learn from it.
Shows I could never get into:
Farscape: for me, it wasn't the muppets, but I think they're peripherally responsible for my annoyance: it all has to do with that show's sound mix where, to make sure the voices of the muppets sound as real and present as the actors' voices, everything was mixed as though all the voices were re-recorded later. So all the voices sound like they're not really there. It's always jarring to me, and it prevents me from enjoying the show.
Stargate (SG1 and Atlantis): Loved the movie, but never got the opportunity to get into the series. The few season 1 episodes I saw were too much in the "monster of the week" mold, as in, they basically would retread ground that Star Trek and many other series had already been through. Saw a few later episodes, as well as some from Atlantis, and while the initial problems seem to have gone away, I still can't bring myself to care for any of those people, because I feel like an outsider, having not seen all the previous episodes. I might at some point get into these series, though, as it looks like they might have the kind of stuff I usually like.
In general, I think that most American Sci-Fi on TV should let itself be inspired by what the BBC are doing. With much smaller budgets, they make compelling scifi that pushes the limits, and is generally consistent, episode-to-episode. The reason? They don't have to make 22-26 episodes per year. Hell, Red Dwarf was only 6 episodes per season (8 for the last two seasons), and sometimes, they'd wait more than a year before coming back with more. Result: not one bad episode (unless you're really picky.) Compare that with, say, Star Trek, where they actually have to budget in some "make-up" episodes where most of the action happens on standing sets (the ship) with few or no guest stars (less make-up work) to compensate for the more explosive episodes. Yes, once in a while, that leads to some really great, philosophical episodes, but it often devolves into "go into the weird nebula, something weird happens, we fix it, and go on our merry way."
Bloods EndBlade of TyshallePunch dimensionRegistered Userregular
edited January 2008
I just watched the first season of Farscape.
I'm pretty sure that this is my most favoritest sci-fi show now.
Everything about it, the characters the effects, the villains, the setting, everything just works so well. It's action packed, hilarious, and at times touching.
Farscape: for me, it wasn't the muppets, but I think they're peripherally responsible for my annoyance: it all has to do with that show's sound mix where, to make sure the voices of the muppets sound as real and present as the actors' voices, everything was mixed as though all the voices were re-recorded later. So all the voices sound like they're not really there. It's always jarring to me, and it prevents me from enjoying the show.
O_o
You sure you don't just have shitty rips or something?
I'm pretty sure that this is my most favoritest sci-fi show now.
Everything about it, the characters the effects, the villains, the setting, everything just works so well. It's action packed, hilarious, and at times touching.
It's so great.
I'm joining the Scorpius/Harvey group. The bestestest villain in TV. Just wait until he gets rolling.
Farscape: for me, it wasn't the muppets, but I think they're peripherally responsible for my annoyance: it all has to do with that show's sound mix where, to make sure the voices of the muppets sound as real and present as the actors' voices, everything was mixed as though all the voices were re-recorded later. So all the voices sound like they're not really there. It's always jarring to me, and it prevents me from enjoying the show.
O_o
You sure you don't just have shitty rips or something?
I was wondering the same thing. I've never noticed any problems with the audio when I watched them originally air.
I would imagine so, it was pretty much the most popular sci-fi show on television for quite some time. Though it was somewhat questionable in its sci-fi content after awhile, when they started hitting the
Farscape: for me, it wasn't the muppets, but I think they're peripherally responsible for my annoyance: it all has to do with that show's sound mix where, to make sure the voices of the muppets sound as real and present as the actors' voices, everything was mixed as though all the voices were re-recorded later. So all the voices sound like they're not really there. It's always jarring to me, and it prevents me from enjoying the show.
O_o
You sure you don't just have shitty rips or something?
I saw it on a few different TV channels. It always sounds like that, to me. I haven't heard any other shows that sounded like that.
I would imagine so, it was pretty much the most popular sci-fi show on television for quite some time. Though it was somewhat questionable in its sci-fi content after awhile, when they started hitting the
God is responsible for the Leaping thing.
Anything particular about it?
I loved QL right up until the very last episode, and the very last words on the screen...
"Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home."
Ruined it for me. I don't know why, but I always thought it was horribly sad that he never earned himself a retirement from saving the world one life at a time.
Ruined it for me. I don't know why, but I always thought it was horribly sad that he never earned himself a retirement from saving the world one life at a time.
Wasn't the point of that not that
he never earned the right to go home, but that he never took Bruce McGill (that barman guy pops up all over the place - he played McGyver's buddy as well) up on his offer of returning home. The barman told him the leaps were about to get harder, but that he could stop going on them if he wished, and then in the epilogue we discovered that he never went home, and thus never chose to stop helping people.
It's been a fair old while since I saw that ep though, so I could be wrong.
I loved QL right up until the very last episode, and the very last words on the screen...
"Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home."
Ruined it for me. I don't know why, but I always thought it was horribly sad that he never earned himself a retirement from saving the world one life at a time.
Oh, I remember the last episode.
He totally did earn the right, he just realized that he'd found his calling. He'd found a sort of immortality that was both moral and generally satisfying. I'm not sure I would have stopped, either.
Dracomicron on
0
Options
Bloods EndBlade of TyshallePunch dimensionRegistered Userregular
edited January 2008
Please tell me there is someplace to buy Crichton's outfit from the beginning of the second season. It is unbelievably badass.
I loved QL right up until the very last episode, and the very last words on the screen...
"Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home."
Ruined it for me. I don't know why, but I always thought it was horribly sad that he never earned himself a retirement from saving the world one life at a time.
Oh, I remember the last episode.
He totally did earn the right, he just realized that he'd found his calling. He'd found a sort of immortality that was both moral and generally satisfying. I'm not sure I would have stopped, either.
Well, also you have to consider that he completely NEUTERED his own timeline by going back and helping out Al Calavicci in that final leap.
Well, also you have to consider that he completely NEUTERED his own timeline by going back and helping out Al Calavicci in that final leap.
All the more reason, if you ask me.
He did what he (and, apparently, God) thought was best for his best friend, against his own best interests. He sacrificed, like a martyr. What do martyrs do? They keep going. All the way. Thematically it works.
Well, also you have to consider that he completely NEUTERED his own timeline by going back and helping out Al Calavicci in that final leap.
All the more reason, if you ask me.
He did what he (and, apparently, God) thought was best for his best friend, against his own best interests. He sacrificed, like a martyr. What do martyrs do? They keep going. All the way. Thematically it works.
You see though, he did that before and was able to continue along...
Sam neutered the timeline once before, turning Al into some butler-like dude with a stick up his ass, and no recollection of Al, with a complete prior timeline backing him up. By the end of the episode, he fixed the problem and Al showed up again.
The similarities between Quantum Leap and Journeyman were astounding.
Seriously if they end every season with him going "WHAT?...... WHAT?" I'm gonna stop watching. It was bizarre the first time, and just annoying the second.
Posts
― Marcus Aurelius
Path of Exile: themightypuck
Ambassador Kosh.
The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote.
― Marcus Aurelius
Path of Exile: themightypuck
Make the fucking show. I'll watch it.
Edit: also OP change the eyeliner thing to the G'kar thing.
― Marcus Aurelius
Path of Exile: themightypuck
It's seriously becoming one of my favorite shows. Especially from season 2 onwards...the Tenth Doctor is so, so awesome.
Kosh has stuff to do until "Falling Towards Apotheosis" in Season 4. We don't see much of him after that, but his fingerprints are all over just about everything that comes after that.
Kosh on the Narn/Centari conflict:
Sinclair: Who -- the Narn or the Centauri?
Kosh: Yes.
Kosh on Sinclair being a tool:
Kosh: Good.
Kosh on things that don't make sense:
Kosh on technology:
Kosh on the future:
Kosh: In fire.
On Zha'ha'dum:
Sheridan: Yeah, you already said, if I go to Z'ha'dum, I'll die.
Kosh: Yes. Now.
The dude is like Yoda in his quotability.
Indeed. I was just always curious about him in that he is very different than the rest of his ilk.
― Marcus Aurelius
Path of Exile: themightypuck
that's some great shit right there. Stuff like that is why I love B5 so damn much
Hence why I haven't changed my sig in months.
Still more bearable than the second season of Heroes. :P
My top 3:
1- Firefly: there's nothing in it that turns me off. Plus, years before it ever came to be, I'd already come to the conclusion that the only way to rejuvenate the Star Trek franchise would be to show the Federation and its environment from a fresh perspective, such as from the view of a small smuggler ship flying under Starfleet's radar (most of the time.) I know Firefly isn't a Star Trek show, but remember, TOS was sold as a western in space, too.
2- BSG: used to be my #1, but the fact that the dramatic intensity never lets up gets tiring. The show needs a few more humorous moments, and some more instances of the tension going down, so that when it goes back up, it's all the more exciting. Good shows are like rollercoasters with tension: it builds up slowly, then suddenly everything explodes, until things slow back down a bit and you get to relax a little, then you reach a new climb, and the tension starts building up again. BSG is just all rising tension.
3- Babylon 5: The first time I saw it, I quit before the end of season 1. It just seemed like a poor Star Trek copy, with a few rare original ideas thrown in, but with bad acting and tired scifi episodic plots. I completely missed all the arc stuff, and how it was, in many ways, a kind of anti-Star Trek, in that it dealt with a lot of things in a more adult and less dogmatic way than Star Trek (with the exception of DS9 when it's at its best). Later, I heard so much gushing over that show that I revisited it. By watching 2-4 episodes per night, I got through S1 quickly enough that it didn't seem as bad, and some of the arc patterns started to emerge. Where the equivalent ST episode would end, B5 would have an "extra" epilogue that would tie the "monster of the week" back into the overall narrative.
And then I got to season 2, and by then I was totally hooked.
Other shows I've really liked:
Lexx: it's cheesy, b-movie stuff in many ways, but it also does many things right, even with plot holes the size of the universe. And the fourth season is hilarious. Farscape fans should love it, but they often hate it, probably because it takes itself even less seriously, while treading on similar ground.
Red Dwarf: we need more Sci-Fi comedies, especially if they can be written this well. But if you want to cringe, look for the lame US version's pilots. I think it could work now, but it could never have worked then. Bonus: Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax on DS9) as Cat in the second (unfortunately very short) pilot.
V: The original miniseries is impressively good. It has a depth rarely equaled in the genre, and a story that, unlike most Sci-Fi shows, can be related with by non Sci-Fi fans, which is why it was so huge an event when it came out. The second miniseries is still good, but not as good. The subsequent series suffered the same problems as most Sci-Fi shows in the mid-70's to mid-80's: the episodic nature meant that very few Earth-shattering events (such as what happened in the miniseries) could ever happen. Now, TV producers understand that an episodic TV series can have deep arcs that can totally change the dynamic during the course of a series, but then, shows in that genre needed that reset button at the end of every episode.
The new Doctor Who: I'd never really seen any of the older stuff, but after lots of prodding from friends and family, I got into it. Surprisingly good stuff, and they're not afraid to mix humor with really edgy stuff. US TV producers should really watch this and learn from it.
Shows I could never get into:
Farscape: for me, it wasn't the muppets, but I think they're peripherally responsible for my annoyance: it all has to do with that show's sound mix where, to make sure the voices of the muppets sound as real and present as the actors' voices, everything was mixed as though all the voices were re-recorded later. So all the voices sound like they're not really there. It's always jarring to me, and it prevents me from enjoying the show.
Stargate (SG1 and Atlantis): Loved the movie, but never got the opportunity to get into the series. The few season 1 episodes I saw were too much in the "monster of the week" mold, as in, they basically would retread ground that Star Trek and many other series had already been through. Saw a few later episodes, as well as some from Atlantis, and while the initial problems seem to have gone away, I still can't bring myself to care for any of those people, because I feel like an outsider, having not seen all the previous episodes. I might at some point get into these series, though, as it looks like they might have the kind of stuff I usually like.
In general, I think that most American Sci-Fi on TV should let itself be inspired by what the BBC are doing. With much smaller budgets, they make compelling scifi that pushes the limits, and is generally consistent, episode-to-episode. The reason? They don't have to make 22-26 episodes per year. Hell, Red Dwarf was only 6 episodes per season (8 for the last two seasons), and sometimes, they'd wait more than a year before coming back with more. Result: not one bad episode (unless you're really picky.) Compare that with, say, Star Trek, where they actually have to budget in some "make-up" episodes where most of the action happens on standing sets (the ship) with few or no guest stars (less make-up work) to compensate for the more explosive episodes. Yes, once in a while, that leads to some really great, philosophical episodes, but it often devolves into "go into the weird nebula, something weird happens, we fix it, and go on our merry way."
Check out my new blog: http://50wordstories.ca
Also check out my old game design blog: http://stealmygamedesigns.blogspot.com
I'm pretty sure that this is my most favoritest sci-fi show now.
Everything about it, the characters the effects, the villains, the setting, everything just works so well. It's action packed, hilarious, and at times touching.
It's so great.
You sure you don't just have shitty rips or something?
I'm joining the Scorpius/Harvey group. The bestestest villain in TV. Just wait until he gets rolling.
I was wondering the same thing. I've never noticed any problems with the audio when I watched them originally air.
Critical Failures - Havenhold Campaign • August St. Cloud (Human Ranger)
I would imagine so, it was pretty much the most popular sci-fi show on television for quite some time. Though it was somewhat questionable in its sci-fi content after awhile, when they started hitting the
Anything particular about it?
Critical Failures - Havenhold Campaign • August St. Cloud (Human Ranger)
I saw it on a few different TV channels. It always sounds like that, to me. I haven't heard any other shows that sounded like that.
Check out my new blog: http://50wordstories.ca
Also check out my old game design blog: http://stealmygamedesigns.blogspot.com
I loved QL right up until the very last episode, and the very last words on the screen...
Ruined it for me. I don't know why, but I always thought it was horribly sad that he never earned himself a retirement from saving the world one life at a time.
Wasn't the point of that not that
It's been a fair old while since I saw that ep though, so I could be wrong.
Choose Your Own Chat 1 Choose Your Own Chat 2 Choose Your Own Chat 3
I don't think I've ever laughed so hard at the end of such a sad moment.
Also "Voyagers!"
Oh, I remember the last episode.
All the more reason, if you ask me.
You see though, he did that before and was able to continue along...
The similarities between Quantum Leap and Journeyman were astounding.
WHAT?!