BSG Finale thoughts

I had a few things - 3000 words or so - to say about the BSG finale over at DreamLoom. If you care, you should take a look.

But for me what BSG meant is something different. I felt when watching, particularly when watching the long goodbyes, absorbed in a sweeping epic. Characters I cared about and had traveled with for half a decade fought, drank, screwed, cursed, fraked up, lived, and died. As the final hour was unwinding, especially the last 30 minutes, I wanted it to last longer.

Against all rules of narrative, I wanted to know I could come back next week and watch BSG: Little House on the Prairie, where Baltar and Caprica build themselves a log cabin. I wanted to know I could watch BSG: The Highlander, where Galen Tyrol started speaking with a French accent, wearing a kilt, and running around saying, “there can be only one.” I wanted to watch Hera grow up, learning to hunt and farm and build a house from her human daddy and Cylon mommy. I wanted to watch Michael Hogan and his amazing acting eye as Saul Tigh taught the protohumans all about fermentation and distillation. Each week a new delicious alcoholic beverage could be discovered.

Damn it, I wanted Kara and Lee to have a happy ending.

Read the whole thing here.

She really needs to pick up a non-genre book...

I could make a cottage industry out of posting snarky rebuttals to the piffle Jo Walton spits out on the Tor blog. It's like she was specifically crafted in a lab to drive me insane. Last time, it was because she whinged about how she doesn't like to read the SF output of *superior* writers (ie: those not in the SF/F ghetto) because they don't understand the tropes. This time?

"Rosa sat so Martin could march, Martin marched so Barack could run, Barack ran so our children can fly."

Everybody seems to be quoting this without attribution, and I’d love to know who wrote it. The thing that struck me about it was how very science-fictional it felt. It’s got the ring to it of something from a future history book, or one of those oracular poems with deep special meanings you sometimes run across in fantasy. I hope everyone’s children can fly, but we’d better get working on the spaceships.

The comment I left:

I don't want to be really rude, but I can't remember a post of yours that didn't make me shake my head at least a little. This one's pretty severe.

The quote is not "science-fictional," neither does it have "the ring to it of something from a future history book, or one of those oracular poems with deep special meanings you sometimes run across in fantasy." It's a standard rhetorical trope, familiar to anyone who reads broadly and outside of the SF and Fantasy worlds.

It builds power and tension through repetition, similar to this quote from MLK:

Press on and keep pressing. If you can't fly, run; if you can't run, walk; if you can't walk-CRAWL.

If you've seen similar in SF and Fantasy, that's because it is a very old form with which you should be familiar. For example, if you thought the line I quoted above was *original* in Firefly, you really need to get out more.

N.B. I corrected a typo I had in my comment. Not trying to hide anything, but I see no reason to quote myself and leave it uncorrected.

Who knows: maybe y'all'll disagree with me and think she's really hit that thar nail on the head. Though I suspect my few readers are a bit more well-rounded than Jo, so it seems unlikely.

The Protocols of Pulp

Jaysus! And this is why so many SF writers *deserve* the goddamn ghetto they find themselves in.

The Time Traveler’s Wife isn’t the kind of book I normally read. It’s a bestseller (an "international bestseller" according to the cover of my edition), a romance, and it’s SF written by someone who doesn’t read SF and doesn’t know SF-writing protocols. I read it because people I knew really liked it, and because libraries exist to let people try books with no strings. I got my own copy because I knew I’d want to read it again. It’s a strange book, but really powerful.

(Emphasis mine.) Really, that's great. It wasn't written by a genre hack, using some formula that was hoary back when John W. Campbell had a no-aliens policy. So happy you decided to lower yourself to read SF that wasn't up to your usual standards.

Borders? You seem to be making smart choices lately. I wouldn't waste space stocking Jo Walton and her blindered ilk either.

G'Kar in Queens

The Museum of the Moving Image got an awesome gift from some serious fans of Babylon 5.

Eleven fans of the epic science-fiction television series Babylon 5 —all previously unknown to one another, and living in places from Washington State to England—purchased a pristine prosthetic mask used on the show and donated it to Museum of the Moving Image. Worn by actor Andreas Katsulas in his role as the exiled alien ambassador G’Kar, the mask had been put up for auction on eBay. The donors pooled their resources to purchase it and then gave it as a gift to the Museum, so that the mask would be accessible to fans and to the general public.

The museum galleries and theater are closed for a major renovation right now, scheduled to open in the winter of 2009-10, but they've still got some interesting shows going on over the next few months at outside spaces.

SciFi channel reschedules and retargets

I've got a new piece up at Pop Critics on SciFi's recent decision to reschedule Charlie Jade in the ever-popular Monday 3am slot.

I can’t be too upset by this. Clearly the show was underperforming on Friday nights and the programming wizards at SciFi needed to move it. What impresses me is the depth of analysis they performed to figure out its new home. Who knew Charlie Jade did so well with insomniacs and people who buy Flowbies?

Mostly, I discuss what SciFi did wrong and why they might have done some of that intentionally. I also prognosticate on the future of that channel and the future of science fiction on television.

Please click over and read and comment. If you're a social networking type, go ahead and forward that link to your friends, Digg it, Stumble it, etc.

Charlie Jade recap

My recap of the Charlie Jade pilot is up at Pop Critics.

Check it out if you caught the show. If you did *not* watch Charlie Jade, check the SciFi website for a replay. You'll thank me.

Guest post on Pop Critics

Today is my first guest post at Pop Critics. It's a preview of Charlie Jade, premiering on the SciFi channel on Friday, June 6. Trust me when I say, if you're a regular here (TheWife excluded,) you're probably going to love Charlie Jade. Please head on over there and comment on my piece.

While you're there, take a look around. Pop Critics is a great, burgeoning site run by Jason and Mike that tries to focus on *good* popculture. I highly recommend it, despite my presence.

I'll be doing recaps for CJ as well as Burn Notice or Pop Critics this summer.

Super Cally Frak-a-listic!

She blasted Boomer
Who's now got Stockwell syndrome
Spaced, her whining ends

Open the Iris, the Toyota's Coming Through

Crap, crap, crap! I need a new cellphone. Not nearly enough resolution on my phone's camera to do this plate justice. Absolutely, without compare, the nerdiest license plate I've ever seen. On a Rav4, driven by a - larger woman - and in a plate holder that indicated she was a heckuva big SG1 fan.

MY DHD

I just feel bad that I *know* what the plate is so nerdy.

To Boldly Nominate

From John Scalzi, here is the 2008 Nebula Awards Ballot. I am over the moon excited by this, because under the Scripts section you'll find:

"World Enough and Time" - Zicree, Marc Scott and Reeves, Michael (Star Trek: New Voyages, http://www.startreknewvoyages.com, Aug07 (Aired 8/23/07))

The New Voyages are essentially fanfic, filmed with pretty high production values. The episode in question is well worth seeing. George Takei reprises his signature role as Hikaru Sulu in an episode as well written as any TOS episode (other than maybe "City on the Edge of Forever"^*.) It's heartbreaking in just the right ways, funny in just the right places, and tight as a drum.

It almost definitely won't win, but just the fact that it's nominated is really encouraging to me.

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^*Did you think I *wouldn't* put Ellison's WGA winner ahead of this???

A Man and His Film

There's a great, ranging interview with character actor/writer/director LQ Jones over at Rotten Tomatoes tonight. The crux of the interview is about his classic SF film, A Boy and His Dog. Now, I'm a huge fan of the trials and tribulations of Vic and Blood in all media - obviously I've read Harlan Ellison's original novella and seen Jones's film, and should even have a copy of the Richard Corben illustrated version somewhere - but I honestly never thought much of the movie. Now I know why.

I've only seen a 2:3 version, on VHS. Jones shot the film in 'scope, so I've missed more than I've seen. Fortunately, that is about to be amended, as there's a brand new print being released. If I were in LA (godDAMN I need to move) I'd be at the Nuart this Friday, but I'm hopeful it makes it to one of the art theaters here in the valley sometime this year.

Amongst the many great anecdotes and revelations in the interview, we find out that Jones *loved* working with Tiger, the dog who played Blood. Here's just a sample of what he had to say:

LQ: Jason Robards, at the time probably the best actor in our business, Jason's in the picture. So he asked about something and I said listen, "If you pay attention to Blood, and you hit your marks, and you say your lines like Blood, I'll make a star out of you." And he knew exactly what I was talking about.

I'll take you one step further, to the scene [where Vic] says we may never see each other again, they are truly parting. And if you see it on the big screen, the goddamn dog cries. Tears ran down his fur! I've been acting for fifty some-odd years, and I have a tough time crying on cue. When I cut the shot, I looked around and half the crew was in tears.

What happened to Tiger, the dog?

LQ: I tried to buy him, and they said we're making too much money with him. I said I'll give you enough, to where it's worth your while. I just wanted to retire him. I said I'll make you a guarantee, I will not be your competition, I will not let him work in anything unless I do another Boy and His Dog. But nope, they didn't want to do it. At that point in time he was maybe seven. He was dead by the time he was nine. But I would have loved to have had him for just those two years.

You've all seen Tiger before; he used to be the Brady's dog.

Shoot me! I'm not afraid to die

There's video above, FeedReader

Note to the AMPTP: this is "promotional use". Not a full episode streamed online, not a series of webisodes with original content, and not whatever other hare-brained ideas your accountants and lawyers tell you can be pulled off. This promotes the show; it is not itself the show.


There's video above, FeedReader

Then again, it's BSG. It doesn't really need any promotion. The end is nigh.


via A Mike Life

BSG Razor Webisode the last

Well, I've got a better idea how important Adama is to the Cylons. I also think I know why the first Cylon War ended. And I still feel dirty for having watched this "new media".

Not something you see every day...back of your own head

There's video above, FeedReader

Celery, cricket-wear, and a sonic screwdriver, all in the same Tardis control room? At the same time? That's gotta be a paradox!

On a five year mission to...what? We're canceled already? Crap. Fine. Let the Earth Explode!

I'd be more thrilled by this if I got SciFi in HD; however, because I have the one-and-only HD DirecTivo, I can't get all the new MPEG-4 channels. We figure in a few months, after the floor, after the holidays, we'll explore our options through DirecTV and *gulp* Cox cable. Until then, just a handful of HD channels.

Anyway, starting this Friday on SciFi, they'll be re-running Odyssey 5. This was a great show that I caught a couple years back after it had been shit-canned by Showtime. Unfortunately, it only lasted one season instead of the five that Manny Coto had planned out. Still, this is a great little show with a nice blend of serialized mythos - they are, after all, trying to save the Earth from certain destruction - and episodic story-telling. A little The X Files in feel, but fewer scenes shot in dark tunnels.

It stars Buckaroo Banzai as Chuck Taggart and has a great cast, including the criminally under-appreciated Jake 2.0 as his son Neil.

If you liked The X Files, or any of the since-canceled dark, serial SF shows, give this one a shot. Or, just buy it here.

WE'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!

There's video above, FeedReader
I frequently feel as though I'm going the wrong way, too Katee.

Lost Tales, Found on Doorstep!

Had a crap day today. Spent most of it trying to get GWT working with a Sourceforge library that adds access to the map api. Yeah. That didn't work so well. Wouldn't build when I finally managed to get everything stitched together, and my initial assumption was yet another Mac problem. So I decided to confirm on Solaris. Right. Except GWT is built on SWT, and I decided I didn't want to work around that, too. So GWT is out.

So it was with great joy I found B5 waiting for me on my doorstep. It's been far too long since I got to enjoy these characters and these stories. Unfortunately, all I got was Sheridan¹ and Lochley. Man, how pissed is JMS at Claudia Christian that he couldn't have called her back home. Lochley. Ugh.

The efx looked good, though there was one chroma scene where the cgi guys didn't put enough depth of field into the background and it looked like an old-style rear-projection shot. Also, the exteriors were a little too video-gamy for my tastes. I'm impressed with what JMS accomplished with a small budget, but I've been spoiled by BSG: I want battle-scarred dull steel space vessels, not floating, spinning kaleidoscopes.

Clearly a lot of the budget savings on The Lost Tales were on cast. This was the definition of spartan². Seven, no eight, on-screen speaking roles and a couple of OS lines. And one of the on-screen speakers had one line. Much more like a two-act play that was filmed (with some efx) than an episode of the finest SF show ever created. There weren't even enough extras to make the station feel like its old, bustling self.

JMS used this disc as an opportunity to work on his directing skills (I guess he already had his guild card from Sleeping in Light). I hope he's picked up some good tricks to bring to bear on the next disc. And I want my damn Garibaldi story!

So, it was worth the $15 bucks. It was worth the time to watch - the low-key memorial to Andreas Katsulas and Richard Biggs would have been worth the price and time alone to me - and I recommend it to any fans. If I were to compare it to its siblings, I'd say it was better than Crusade, better than Legend of the Rangers, but worse than about 60 of the original flavor episodes.

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¹ Not to imply there's ever anything unfortunate about watching Scarecrow work. He's always a joy.
² Okay, sure. It's not the definition of Spartan. There were no Greek warriors anywhere in sight, and not once did someone get kicked in the chest by a scantily-clad dude in a beard. Also, there were chairs. A special point was made about chairs. No throw pillows, but chairs.

Harlan Ellison writes for TV again

Huh. So it wasn't my imagination. It's been eight years since HE wrote for television.

Coming August 25 to ABC, the fourth and final episode of Masters of Science Fiction. A nice break from the normal summertime network fare of all-reality, all the time.

It is he who will cause the horrors you have seen

T-minus 55 days to Babylon 5 - The Lost Tales

NBC announces fall schedule

NBC can't find a way to put any new sitcoms on its fall schedule (they've got The IT Crowd on the books as the inevitable mid-season replacement) but they sure can fill the hours with a lot of dreck. First up, here's Chuck, a comedy-thriller that I enjoyed a lot when it was called Jake 2.0. Of course, that was actually a good show. This? I won't even watch for Jane, aka My Bodyguard.

Then, the great mystery of our time is answered: who is the creative genius behind BSG? Ron Moore or David Eick? Clearly, Ron Moore. This crap makes me long for Oscar Goldman. Again, it really doesn't matter that the pilot features Katee Sackhoff in all her sexy glory. I'll just watch a BSG ep on dvd instead of wasting an hour with not-Lindsay Wagner and this bad, bad show.