Sci fi glut

Recently an online friend sent me a link to an archive site which has connections to numerous uploaded TV and movie files. I am not sure of the legality of the whole thing but I have watched several of the sci fi serials that I have missed in recent years due to living on planet moif.

Battlestar Galactica. (The new ones). I already knew a lot about these from the SF Fandom forum so I had a good idea what to expect and was thus not disapointed. I doubt I would have been disapointed even if I hadn't though since I was a fan of the series as a child but retained no illusions about it. Sure enough, the new series fails to deliver that which moif craves. Essentially this series is 'America in space' with current American social issues being hashed out in a space opera setting with a whole lot of militaristic fetishism and 'pew pew' fleshing out the tedium. There seems to be a lot of maudling self pity being reenacted on screen especially with the idea of the Cylon's being 'invisible' after having taken on human form. Frankly I wasn't impressed, this is something seen endlessly. Its 'invasion of the body snatchers' meets al qaeda and squeezed into a sci fi format where 'our brave girls and boys' can fight back! Alas, all they end up doing is having the same petty intrigue and romance drama's that characterize all other soap's. Boring. Predictable. Without humour or redemption.

Doctor Who, (seasons 2 & 3 of the new). I'm not sure why these are called seasons 2 and 3 by the BBC but they are. The Beeb seems to have decided to start a-fresh with the Doctor and this is obvious from the moment the programmes begin. Where BSG was Americans in space, Doctor Who is Brits in Space, and with a vengeance! There seems to be just as much biased nationalist perspective in Doctor Who as there is in BSG, and yet it manifests itself in a much more left leaning manner. The Doctor, who is now a Jarvis Cocker clone, tumbles thorugh time and space, and some how always seems to manage to land in London, where alien invasions and monsters threaten the human race and must be thwarted... Now, quite why London is suddenly a magnet for the intergalactic forces of evil is any one's guess, but (according to the writers of DW) it is. The bottom line is, Doctor Who reinvented is a bit naff. Long gone are the stories of adventure and mystery on distant worlds and in their place is a strange navel gazing pantomime where the Doctor acts out contemporary British morality as a sort of universal code of conduct. Its not nearly as bad as BSG and thanks to the idea of multiple writers, some of the programmes are far better than others.

The Daleks make numerous appearances, but they are not the menace of old. Now they have been relegated to a position of ridicule with the Doctor harping on about their weaknesses as he easily dispatches them by some trick or other. Where once the Daleks were worthy enemies now they have become caricatures of themselves with one Dalek actually developing human morals and suddenly becomng a good guy *yawn* only to be exterminated by the other Daleks. I like the new Dalek bodies and the way they were done, but the writers need to be exterminated for what they've done to the Daleks.

Firefly. Now, this ought to be another botched job, but it isn't. Essentially 'cowboys in space', Firefly actually has more originality than BSG and more consistency to its sci fi premise than Doctor Who. Some of the stories are a bit weak, and the whole American civil war in space theme was very strange, but over all the idea for the series was quite good. Humanity has decamped to a new star system which has numerous inhabitable planets and the crew of the good ship Serenity travel from adventure to adventure with an unfashionable enthusiasm that is missing from most contemporary space opera. Alas, since it was choked off after only one season (and a film to tie up the loose ends) it retains a crispy edge that might otherwise have grown stale with age. I liked it despite myself.

The Tripods. Season 2. When I was a young teenager, 'The Tripods' was one of my all time favourite shows and I'm sure I could write a lot of self analysis as to why I identified with young men fleeing the tyranny of the giant tripods. For some reason I've always been hypnotized by the notion of giant three legged beings striding the Earth and bring destruction to humanity. I have no idea quite why, though I blame Jeff Wayne (music being apowerful tool to influence young minds). I have season 1 on tape so I've seen it quite a few times, but season 2 has always eluded my grasp, until now. Watching again, after all these years, I was amazed at how much I'd remembered wrong, but also at how much I'd never percieved at all. 'The Tripods' is incredibly camp and I'm glad to say I'm not the only person to have noticed this!



Homoeroticism aside, I enjoyed the reunion with my old favourite. The acting is appalling and the special effects are a bit dated. When it was made this was the most expensive series of programmes the BBC had ever undertaken and the irony is, they never made the final season and none of the actors ever worked again.

Star Trek: Enterprise. I can't make up my mind about this one. I'd read a lot of negative press about it from various sources and I can understand why people might not like it, but I'm actually enjoying them. I'm about half way through the episodes now and so far, its been simple fun n games. There is an insular sense of 'Americanism' going on, but its not as in your face as with BSG. 'Enterprise' is not fantastic, but its okay. Its not as pretentious as some of the other Star Trek serials nor as up its own arse as Doctor Who. Best of all, its pure space opera. People in space craft having adventures. There is some moralizing but it never reaches the hysterical.
The uniforms are a bit of a problem though (why does every one in the Star Trek world wear a uniform?) and the opening music is just plain awful. Apart from that its okay.

The X Files. Seasons 1 -4. I've saved the best for last. I've always loved the X files, especially the earlier seasons. I love the idea and I enjoy its execution. Both actors play their parts perfectly and the mystery's they uncover are well written, well done and thoroughly enjoyable. Despite taking place in the USA, the X Files never devolves into a national perspective. It retains a universal perspective, and I feel sure this is the main reason why it was so popular. Any and every one could watch it and enjoy it for what it was. Certainly some of the monsters were far fetched, and sometimes I yearned for The Dark Ones to appear, or the Aliens to make a move, but this never detracted from the pleasureof viewing. My only criticism of the show is its length. They dragged it on for too long. Mulder and Scully should have gotten together and the show ended some where at the end of season six.