To New Beginnings...

By John Crawford

As I find the energy to get this site going, The 4400 season finale will air tomorrow night. The 4400 is, by far, the one show I look forward to seeing the next episode. Each episode is a new and exciting adventure, the plots are not too complex and the momentum is just just right.

By contrast, Battlestar Galactica's first few episodes seemed to just drag on. Last years season finale, and the first 3 episodes this season were all the same day in the story line. Not to fret, BSG does have plenty of action to keep the senses aroused. It has that same up-close and personal feel of war, much like the "Saving Private Ryan" movie.

There are so many variables about BSG that could provide more than a few years worth of episodes, made for television movies, and quite possibly the big screen. For example, there's a lot of history that we only get a peak at, and only a brief glimpse in the first episodes.

What makes the show, but really doesn't pass the reality test is their society still follows it's laws, it's one remaining political official, and the military's authority. Imagine a post-apocolyptic scenario on Earth where the "machines" have taken over, something like the Terminator. Imagine the last 47,000 of Earth's inhabitants escaping on spaceships, and waging a war in space against an enemy like the Cylons. The language barriers would paralyze us by itself. There'd be 10,000 splinter cells, every person and family for themself. Would anyone care or acknowledge the authority of the President? or of any military? Remember the movie The Postman? Well, it makes for good entertainment however contrary to reality it may be.

This seasons' Stargate SG-1 hasn't been all that exciting. While they've added Beau Bridges, Ben Browder, and several guest appearances by Claudia Black, Louis Gossett Jr. and Lexa Doig (aka Andromeda), the story lines haven't been all that exciting. The loss of Richard Dean Anderson as a regular character has deflated my interests. After all, the Jack O'Niell was there from the beginning. I like the strong character of Gen. Landry, a very good replacement for Gen Hammond (Don S. Davis). What made SG-1 a fun show to watch was the adventures, they were exploring the galaxy above all else. The last two seasons, that's seems to have gone by the side.

Let's go back about 18 years, to a show that set the standard for all other Sci-fi shows, Star Trek: The Next Generation. Ever wonder why it's still the blue print? Why it's still wildly popular in reruns? Every Sci-fi show should take a lesson from TNG. Every episode of TNG was a new adventure. The storylines were not too complex. If you had never seen or heard of Star Trek before, you could watch an episode of TNG and NOT be confused about what happened, or who the good guys were or who the bad guys were. They were explorers; they explored the galaxy and the human condition. It was good, clean entertainment that you don't have to be afraid to let your kids watch.

Unfortunately, all the Star Trek series after it lost pieces of that concept, till finally Star Trek: Enterprise was prematurely cancelled after four seasons. On Enterprise, they stopped being explorers, hense then end came. The same could be said for the movie Star Trek: Nemesis. August 27th, 2005

John Crawford is computer geek by day and a scifi fan by night.