Lt. Scott, Dr. Rush and Eli – Stargate Universe

O canal Sci-Fi vai exibir hoje (quarta-feira) a pré-estreia da série “Stargate Universe” às 22h. A trama mostra um gurpo de soldados, civis e cientistas que são obrigados a passar pelo famoso portal, o Stargate, depois de sua base ser atacada. Os sobreviventes acabam parando em uma nave antiga que está seguindo um curso pré-programado e agora o grupo terá que tentar descobrir uma maneira de voltar à Terra.

O elenco é recheado de nomes conhecidos, como Robert Carlyle (Dr. Nicholas Rush) Diamond Phillips (Coronel Telford) Justin Luis (Coronel Everet Young), J. Smith (Matthew Scott ) e Elyse Levesque (Chloe Armstrong).

Brad Wright e Robert C. Cooper, co-criadores de “Stargate SG-1″ e “Atlantis” são os  produtores executivos, o piloto da série foi dirigido por Andy Mikita, que também já dirigiu episódios da séries citadas acima.

SGU pretende mostrar um lado diferente das outras séries, com foque na sobrevivência dos humanos e com menos alienígenas. A série que estreou em outubro nos EUA e repetiu o sucesso das outras franquia de  Stargate.

Dr. Rush – Stargate Universe

This is a blog post for wannabe nerds.

So, you want the prestige of being a nerd? You want the smug smarminess of having seen EVERY SHOW on the sci-fi channel ( I refuse to call it syfy) without actually sitting through episodes of Lexx and Ghost whisper? Well I am here to help you seem like you know something. Here’s a nerd’s guide to Stargate Universe.

If you have never seen Stargate Universe, don’t worry, I’ll tell you what I do and don’t like about it. That way if you ever find yourself in a group of nerds you have a handy list to consult to make you seem like you’re in the know.

MUST KNOWS:

-Stargate SG-1 is the original. Basically a group of four people: Leader, sarcastic awesome cool guy Jack played by Macgyver- Richard dean anderson. Token girl/ science geek/ physicist GENIUS Sam. Cool arse, black, muscle alien Teal’c. And archeologIist, glasses wearing, oddly attractive nerd Daniel Jackson. Note: always call him Daniel Jackson, not Daniel. It gives you cred.) Ultimate enemies: The Goa’uld, the Ori.

Say this is your favourite  in the franchise if you honestly have no idea about anything. That way you don’t have to back up the claim with anything substantial. You just have to say, “Yeah but I like it because it’s the original and the best.” and then make everyone else who likes stargate atlantis better feel inferior with haughty glares and smirk’s when they talk about the wraith.

- Stargate Atlantis is a shit-good spin off set in the Pegasus Galaxy. You might want to be more daring and say this is your favourite. Claim the main character, John Sheppard, is a bad arse who is younger and hotter than RDA ( if you dont know what these initials mean, may good have mercy on your soul). Say Rodney McKay is funny ( not annoying), and that Ronan Dex is way scarier than Teal’c. NOTE: You’re a newbie, so don’t get in over your head. Only people who have had  much experience/ detailed argument can get away with saying taylor is the greatest character written. Main Enemy: Wraith

- Travel accross the stars is possible because of the stargate that uses wormholes to link planets. Ships do exist and are important though.

NOW ONTO UNIVERSE: This is helpful guide for both newbies AND seasoned stargate viewers who can’t be bothered with this new installment.

People might not agree with you, BUT if you say these standard things, they will not realise you haven’t actually seen it. Say these phrases ( even if you have no idea what they mean or who you are talking about) to appear legitimate:

1. Doctor Rush Is the Shit.  If you don’t know who he is, don’t worry. Just keep saying ‘you can’t deny Robert Carlyle is a brilliant actor’

2. If you are among people who clearly have problems with the show, join in with the bitching to gain acceptance. The most obvious comment is: “It’s so stupid. They have magical stones which let people swap bodies. Why dont they get carter or rodney or Daniel Jackson in to solve the problem? And if they’re unavaialale, why not Jack? He would at least solve the stupid leadership problems.

3. If the group of nerds is divided the main thing to remember is to STAY COOL. Be in the middle so that no one hates you too much. Say “it’s a good idea, and a different spin on an established franchise. it is a bit soap opera-ish though.”

4. Don’t be timid. the worst mistake you can make is letting on about your ignorance. agree with people loudly. Speak confidently and give people looks of disgust, as though they know nothing. No one will suspect a thing if you act like an obnoxious, know-it -all.

NOW FOR MY PERSONAL GRIPES

So, you’ve made it through this blog and you have seen stargate universe? Good. I finally have someone to discuss it with.

1. started good but is rapidly becoming boring

2. The girls are shit. Why is it so hard for people to write and cast quality females? They’re always lame bitches. grr (note: I like Carter, so don’t get all up in my grill saying i don’t like any girls).

3. about the women on the ship. WTF IS WITH TJS HAIR?! IT IS SO FUCKING RIDICULOUS. IT MAKES ME WANT TO SLAP HER TO DEATH. seriously? Her hair is this idiotic perfect blonde do. They’re on a spaceship, out in the middle of the nowhere. In a galaxy with no other humans, let alone HAIR PRODUCTS. She is both in the army and a medic. I have NEVER seen anyone in those professions with hair like hers on a daily basis. Let alone people stranded on a ship where things are going wrong ALL THE TIME. It is like she is going to a formal/ prom with perfect, intricate twists. ARGH! *has tantrum* it is fucking ridiculous

Here’s a pic:

She has that hair ^^^^^^^ in space…. when they are always life- threatening emergencies…. and there’s no hair products…. and she is an army medic … and no one else notices she looks like she is about to go to a ball!

4. I WANT ALIENS, SHIP FIGHTS, ALLIANCES, PLAUSIBLE ENEMIES AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT THAT ISNT BORING AND OVER_DRAMATIC

5. There’s no sense of friendship and camaraderie. I didn’t know until I watched this, but I like the whole team thing.

6. i dont hate EVERYTHING. Obviously i am still watching. Robert Carlyle rocks and Rush is one of the few characters who is deep without being whiney/ soap opera-y or annoying. I appreciate that it is trying to be different, and a lot of the special effects are cool. Eli mentions star wars sometimes. that’s cool. I like that the stones are there as a way of contacting earth. I just wished that people who are supposed to be smart would grow a brain and send in people who are intelligent/ can read ancient to see if rush is lying/ have proper leadership skills. Keno’s have potential and so does a whole new area of space to be explored.

7. Can I get another story besides “we’re running out of ——- *insert vital need such as power, water, air, food, hairspray here*?

Okay so I no doubt will blog about this again. For the moment I am done ranting. Don’t be discouraged from watching stargate. It rocks. It brings joy to my life. Watch atlantis, especially season four. Watch the original. and try to watch universe. It does have potential and without support it could flop.

p.s maybe I should have introduced myelf/ talked about something worthwhile in my first blog?

…aunque esta en realidad no es tanto asi como de zombies sino de humanos rabiosos… Soy fan del ozcarizado Danny Boyle, incluso elementos permanentes de este espacio pertenecen a ideas sacadas de su trabajo; Trainspotting, Sunshine, Slumdog Millionaire y la precuela del film que hoy quiero presentarles son parte de mi colección de favoritas. El realizador britanico me parece excelente en todas sus chambas y luego de haber difrutado hace ya varios ayeres de “28 Days Later” o “Exterminio” como se llamó en Latino América me había quedado con ganas de ver la secuela que aunque no dirijió el, si produjo y estuvo muy cerca de la filmación.

Así pues un desconocido Juan Carlos Fresnadillo fué designado para llevar a cuadro “28 Weeks Later”(Exterminio 2), el español la verdad que hizo un buen trabajo y ya investigando un poco sobre el en internet, me parece necesario ver “Intacto” uno de sus trabajos anteriores y el corto “Esposados” por el que estuvo nominado al Oscar. Fresnadillo además parece ser apasionado aficionado al fútbol pues en “28 Weeks…” no dejó pasar la oportunidad de vestir a uno de los protagonistas con la camiseta del Real Madrid o usar un descuidado Estadio Wembley para una escena memorable. En la pelí la secuencia inicial es buenisima y desgarradora, asi como grotesca que es algo de lo mas atractivo que manejan las películas dentro de la categoría de “Zombies” o humanos rabiosos que para el caso es lo mismo. Robert Carlyle quien ya habia trabajado para Boyle en Trainspotting como el memorable Francis Begbie, protagoniza en esta pelí con una interpretación destacada en lo que se podría llamar digamos una interpretación doble.

La historia comenzó a contarse en 2002, cuando un grupo de activistas soltaron el virus de rabia en el Reino Unido que terminó por exterminar gran parte de la población. La historia continuó con la novela gráfica 28 Días Después: Las consecuencias para en 2007 estrenar la pelí con los sucesos que se dieron luego de 28 semanas, ya se a hablado de una tercera parte que volvería a dirigir Boyle y que posiblemente se desarrollaría en Francia y Rusia con fecha para el 2011 habra que esperarla ya con mas exigencia para Danny Boyle que ya es director de primer nivel luego de ganar tantos Oscar por Slumdog Millionaire…

Camile (Ming-Na) has the opportunity to reconnect with her partner Sharon (Reiko Aylesworth) in "Life." Photo by Carole Segal and copyright of The Syfy Channel

SPOILER ALERT!! - Using the communication stones, Lt. Scott (Brian J. Smith) and Camile Wray (Ming-Na) use their time back on Earth to visit those they left behind. Camile returns home to spend time with her partner Sharon (Reiko Aylesworth), trying her best to make the strange circumstances normal. Meanwhile, Lt. Scott learns a past relationship might not have ended as he thought.

Aboard Destiny, Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle) supervises the exploration of new areas of the ship. Looking for resources to make their everyday lives easier, the crew stumbles upon a piece of Ancients technology that carries the promise of a way home. While somewhat familiar with the find, Dr. Rush cannot guarantee the safety of using it, bringing him and Colonel Young (Louise Ferreira) to a standoff on what to do. Life airs Friday, November 20th @ 9 p.m. EST on The Syfy Channel.

Lt. Johannsen (Alaina Huffman) gets to know her fellow crewmates a bit better in "Life." Photo by Carole Segal and copyright of The Syfy Channel

Click on the following link for a preview of this episode – https://rcpt.yousendit.com/775690778/4b08ca124aae14688ae85b25b01603cf

As noted above, photos by Carole Segal and copyright of The Syfy Channel, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

Prea lungă pentru o reclamă, prea scurtă pentru o poveste a mărcii.

Cu toate acestea, convingătoare.

Robert Carlyle e un narator desăvârșit pentru povestea-reclamă Johnnie Walker. Cu accentul “scottish” perfect integrat în poveste, dar mai ales inteligibil, ceea ce e mare lucru (nu știu câți ați avut ocazia de a discuta cu scoțieni, au un accent imposibil).

Dacă vă puteți rupe 5 minute din cotidian pentru o poveste fără zâne și zmei, vă recomand.

Petronela, ai legătura…

What surprises will the Kino reveal to Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle) and Eli (David Blue)? Photo by Carole Segal and copyright of The Syfy Channel

SPOILER ALERT!! - Visiting a newly discovered jungle planet, the crew is amazed to recover a Kino by the gate. Downloading its data, Eli (David Blue) discovers a video of the team, which appears to have been shot during an earlier visit. The mystery of the video’s origin becomes a secondary concern as members of the team start falling ill. Unable to return to the Destiny for fear of spreading the infection, the team sets up camp in the jungle to try to isolate the infection there. Little do they know that when night falls, the illness will be the least of their worries. Time airs Friday night, November 13th @ 9 p.m. EST on The Syfy Channel.

Dr. Rush's curiosity could, in this case, be his downfall. Photo by Carole Segal and copyright of The Syfy Channel

Sgt. Greer (Jamil Walker Smith) and Dr. Rush discover something nasty, very nasty, in the jungle. Photo by Carole Segal and copyright of The Syfy Channel

Click the following link for a preview of this episode – http://rcpt.yousendit.com/771441990/373dac76972baacfbe029a654f826f79

As noted above, photos by Carole Segal and copyright of The Syfy Channel, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

Since the first film of the franchise was released in 1994, Stargate has captured the imagination of sci-fi fans the world over. Each incarnation of the franchise – including the mega-successful Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis – carries the hefty responsibility of steering the massive fan base to a new cast of characters and set of circumstances.

Film Production grad John G. Lenic is one of the key players doing just that for the franchise’s newest series, Stargate Universe. The series debuts on Space on October 2, 2009.

John recently took some time out of his schedule to shed some light on how he contributes to the Stargate world.

Hi, John. Could you start off by explaining your role in Stargate Universe, and what kinds of responsibilities it entails?

JGL:   My role at Stargate Universe is that of the Producer.  That means that along with my showrunners, Brad Wright and Robert Cooper, I am responsible for the financial well-being of the series.  That includes the budget, management of the cast and crew, making sure we can bring in the series on budget and on schedule after shooting 20 episodes per season.  We spend approximately $50 million per year and employ approximately 250 people during the course of our shooting season, which runs from February until October.

You’ve been with Stargate for a while now. How has the franchise changed?

JGL:   I have been with the Stargate franchise since December of 1996.  It has changed so much yet so little over the past 13 years.  In my opinion the biggest thing to change over the course of the 3 series has been the cast.  The cast really set the tone for how well a show can work.  We have been so lucky, for the most part, to have a wonderful cast to work with everyday.  Folks like Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, Chris Judge, David Hewlett, Rachel Luttrell, Robert Carlyle, Louis Ferreira, and Ming-Na are a few of the people that have made the last 13 years such an amazing experience for me… such a pleasure to be around them and see them everyday.

The stories on Stargate Universe are also so different then the last two shows.  The scripts this year have been more about relationships and the people as opposed to fighting the bad guy of the week.  The dilemmas are much more internal and far deeper.  I have to applaud the writers for the job they have done on the scripts thus far. The episodes are nothing short of ingenious.

For those who love Stargate, you are going to love this reinvention of the franchise, and for those of you who have never watched an episode, please watch the pilot as you will see that this show really is something new, and Robert Carlyle is phenomenal.  I am personally very proud of the work we have done this year.

For the benefit of current students and recent grads, could you describe your start in the industry? How did you make the transition from VFS grad to Producer?

JGL:  After VFS, my start in the industry came when a Canadian producer, Raymond Massey, came to scout my parents’ house for use in the feature film Whale Music.  I told him that if he needed any help, I would do anything. He told me to come to his office the following week and he would buy me lunch. Well, after that lunch, I never left his office.  I worked with his other assistant, Shauna Bryan (another VFS Film Production grad),  except I did it for free for a while, just absorbing anything I could – from budgeting to scheduling – he showed it all to me.  When we started prepping the movie, the company was able to pay me $25/week.  I learned so much, and with the other friends and VFS grads that were hired on the show, I loved every minute of it and made some great life long friendships.

After that, I went on to be Tracey Jeffrey’s assistant on several TV movies of the week.  I worked with her on 11 of these ultra low budget ($1,650,000 — 16 day shoot) movies.  This was all about being creative, as we didn’t have much money.

In September/October of 1996, I remember hearing that Stargate was going to be shooting in Vancouver and wanting to work on it, because I knew it would give me the opportunity to learn so much about working with everything from special effects explosions to visual effects and green screens.  I got a meeting with Michael Greenburg and Richard Dean Anderson and they hired me to run the day-to-day workings of their personal production company (Gekko Film Corp.) and take care of them on Stargate as well as development for their company, and all the other projects they had on the go at that time.  As Gekko had a financial interest in the show, and with my knowledge of budgets and numbers, Mike and Rick relied on me to stay on top of the budgets and cost reports with their interest in mind.

From there, MGM announced during the first season that the show was going for four seasons, and we decided that development for Gekko should be put on hold while Stargate was still happening.  At that point Brad Wright and MGM offered to get me a DGC membership and move me into a Unit Manager role, as I was performing that role already.

From that point on, I worked under N. John Smith and Brad Wright and they groomed me to take over as a Production Manager in Season 3 and so on and so forth, until they moved me into a Producer/Production Manager role in Season 8 of SG-1.  After that, I went on to Atlantis as the Producer/Production Manager, and then into the position of Producer on Stargate Universe.

It was while working on Atlantis that David Hewlett and I became friends, and went on to produce a low-budget movie between seasons.  We made A Dog’s Breakfast for $120,000, and MGM distributed it.  We decided in October that, come hell or high water, we were going to make a feature in January and set that as the start date.  David wrote the script, cast his sister and some Stargate alumni, and that was that. We did it. We set our minds to it and just made it happen.

What do you think is the most common mistake young film professionals make?

JGL:  I know it will sound cliché, but it’s not truly believing in yourself.  Never lose focus of what your end goal is, but know that it is going to take baby steps to get there.  Make sure you really take the time to enjoy, learn, and focus on each step you take along the way.

Stargate has a large, vocal fan base. How does that affect your job?

JGL:  The fans are fantastic and for as much as they are vocal about things that they don’t like, they applaud and are even more vocal and supportive about the things they like.

It has been hard with the new cast recently because they read everything and often get down on themselves when they read that people aren’t even going to give the new show a chance if Chris Judge or David Hewlett aren’t on it.

I feel bad for this new cast because they shouldn’t be made to feel that way.  It isn’t fair when people knock something before even giving it a chance. The new cast is doing such a fantastic job, it is amazing how these fans affect their mood just by writing those sorts of things.  It happened on Atlantis when SG-1 ended too, but it has been the topic of conversation several times in the last few months.

It looks like you’ve recently joined fellow Stargate alum David Hewlett on Twitter (twitter.com/jglenic). Why did you sign up?

JGL:  Hewlett has been on there for a year or two, and I never really cared about telling people what I was up to, but now, most of the cast from Universe are on there, and I have had so much fun hearing and listening to the things they have written about on a daily basis.  I guess you could say that I gave into the peer pressure to try it out.  So far my favorites are David Hewlett, Ming-Na and David Blue. They always have something interesting to say.  If my perspective can help people, or if I can answer questions that help others on their career path, then I am glad to be a part of it.

After one look at your IMDB page, it’s clear that there’s been a steady upward progression in your career. What do you hope to do next?

JGL:  For now, I love the show I am working on and the people I work with.  It is important to me to focus on working with people that I want to be around and developing projects that I would want to see.  I have a few things in development, and I think it is time to make another feature.  I will keep you posted.

Please do!

Best of luck with Stargate Universe, John!

Source:  Vancouver Film School Blog

…..and as always….

Have A Very Stargate Day!

Ah. Another week, another elementally themed SGU episode. As expected – and mentioned, in the review of Light – the premise of these episodse are becoming a little draining for the discerning viewer, despite them delivering the goods in the end.

This week saw the crew search for water as they gather up the ingredients for the extragalactic picnic basket that is the good ship Destiny. Turns out that the water is running out at a frantic rate on the ship, sowing malcontent among the military personnel and the civilians as they search for the cause. Again, the fact that these disagreements seem petty rather than reasonable are indicative of the writers being unable to match the intensity of the rather more rationally motivated disagreements of BSG. Yes, I’m mentioning BSG again. But it’s really very good. The cause of the water evaporating (see what I did there) happens to be the sentient like ‘Dust’ from a previous episode, that seems to have stowed away on the ship.

This unexplained entity, presenting Scott with a mirage that ultimately saved him on the planet, should always have been more than a device to give us Scott’s backstory, and definitely more than the cause of water leakage on Destiny. It presented us with that rarest of things: a harmonious alien. It was peculiar because its interaction with a dying human, mimicking the devils of Scott’s past (ironically a priest: HAHAHAHA) was part of its very nature and for that, much, much more than our idea of the alien as a man in costume and prosphetics. Should the ‘Dust’ have remained a permanent feature of Destiny’s interior, it would have become a fruitful device for both exploring the stories of our characters pasts, but also for encouraging the larger narrative arc of the season to rear its head.

Which, of course, brings us to that unknown beast. We know our characters aren’t going to make it home for a long time yet – if they ever do – so give us something, please, anything to cling on to. Marauding Aliens will do, contact with ’something else’ will do, mysterious happenings within the ship will do or things awakening inside the ship will do. The world is your oyster writers. The use of such a potentially fruitful sentient in this way was entirely redundant. A chance missed.

Meanwhile, some other stuff happened. Scott and Young went ice fishing; a red jersey got a facelift courtesy of the ‘Dust’; Eli got a little ratty at Rush; Rush was being difficult as per the norm; Dead Senator’s daughter got to cry a bit more. It was all a bit wishy-washy really. Not much to see, not much to ponder and our thirst for more is a little weaker than the week previous, hence why I was so lazy in typing up a review. Hopefully SGU can shrug off its slight dopiness and throw us up in the air a bit next week – with something other than a malfunctioning shower curtain and a look at a periodic table.

This review is of a brand new show in the Stargate family called Stargate Universe. Not even halfway through the first season and I feel it necessary to tell people just how good this show is so far.

Stargate Universe stems away from the cheekiness of both Stargate, and Stargate Atlantis(which I loved), by being a bit darker. This show has a lot more drama to it than we’re used to from the Stargate creators, but fear not, there is still some comic relief. The acting and writing is excellent. Only slightly annoying is Chloe Armstrong, but maybe it’s because she needs bangs. I’m not giving up on her yet.

Stargate Universe is really spectacular. The basic plotline starts when a team of soldiers, scientists, and civilians escape a distant planetary annihilation by gating through a unique Stargate that only goes to one unknown location. This place ends up being an ancient spaceship that was launched over a million years ago that’s mission is to deliver Stargates in uncharted territories of the Universe so that one day, human kind can reach all depths of space.

The story evolves around the lives of the people who are now stuck in this amazing yet dangerous situation on a mysterious ship called Destiny that’s leading its own way to the unknown. They don’t know if they’ll ever make it back to Earth.

There are plenty of surprises on this show so far. The characters are intriguing, and the dialogue is captivating. I will definitely keep tuning in on Friday nights. Lead actors include: Robert Carlyle as Dr. Rush, Louis Ferreira as Colonel Young, and David Blue as Eli Wallace.

I’ll also add that even if you didn’t watch any of the Stargate shows, this particular show can stand on its own and be appreciated regardless. I just wish I didn’t have to wait a whole week until the next episode.

~Darleya~

Ugh! I just had to suffer through yet another ridiculous episode of Stargate Universe in the vain hope that it might have suddenly become tolerably alright, as opposed to utterly shite. Needless to say I was disappointed. Again. This episode was called ‘Water’ (get it? cos the other episodes were called ‘Air’, ‘Darkness’ and ‘Light’, get it?) and basically what happened was they ran out of water this time, and then there were some alien mosquitos, and then they trapped them in a barrel and threw them through the stargate, and then people went to get some ice, and some douche fell down a cravasse but then got rescued and was alright, and then that annoying man in charge mumbled something to the camera. The end.

I’ve given it a fair chance, I really have, and as an avid Stargate fan I am more inclined to leniency than most viewers, but there is simply no way to polish this turd other than to call it what it is. A steaming pile of horse excretia. The moment the action begins all I’m thinking is, who is this person? Why is she listening to an iPod? Is Robert Carlyle aware of how awful this is? Why is the mumbling man ruffing Carlyle’s hair? Why is that angry black guy so angry all the time? What exactly is the point of any of this?! ARGH! After four episodes why the hell do I still not know or care about who any of these people are?!

But Stargate Universe is not the only new and much hyped sci-fi drama which has failed dismally to engage me. Defying Gravity, the ‘Grey’s Anatomy but in space!’ botch offered to us by BBC2 has already been as good as cancelled in the US with rumours of its sets being dismantled and its time-slot moved into the graveyard. Defying Gravity’s problem is the total opposite of SGU in that we are inundated with the reasons why these characters are doing what they are doing, and they say each other’s names alot so there’s no confusion about who’s who. But the fundamental problem remains: we just don’t give a crapolla about them and what they’re up to. This person fancies this person, and that person cheated on his wife and misses her, and they all want to shag each other and might be turning into aliens by the way.

The unforgivable flaw in these programmes is simple. THEY ARE FUCKING BORING. People stand around and talk a lot, and every now and then someone falls over or cries. In the first episode of Stargate SG-1 people got kidnapped and killed, people got together into teams, aliens blew shit up and mangled people, and everybody sets off to kick butt for the American way. In the first episode of Grey’s Anatomy people get shagged and killed, people get together into teams, surgeons sew shit up and mangle people, and every body sets off to kick butt for the hippocratic way.

SGU and DG have both failed to do any of this stuff in four episodes, let alone in their opening pilots. I just don’t get it. Sci-fi is an extremely popular genre with infinite material and potential to exploit. So with all this potential at their disposal, how on earth have the producers of these two programmes managed to fail so miserably? And, more importantly, how on earth were they allowed to produce this tripe in the first place!? Did someone go on holiday? Or take a nap while these programmes were in production?? Was no one keeping an eye on these projects? Did it never occur to anyone involved that “Oh, this is a bit shit and will probably flop and get cancelled”?

People like to spout bollox about studio executives interfering with programmes to make them more populist, generally copying other successful programmes. If this is the case then what the hell were the studios doing while these programmes were being made? Why weren’t they interfering? Asking dumb questions like “so where are all the aliens? This is sci-fi right?” and “where’s the peril?” I fully understand the desire of a writer and a producer to create something fresh within a genre, however, shirking your genre entirely because you are apparently embarassed by it (Stargate Universe I’m talking to you!) is utter folly, and has apparently resulted in two dramas which had so much potential, but which have, ultimately, fallen flat on their arses. And faces.

Dr. Rush – Stargate Universe

From the very first episode, we heard Dr. Rush’s (Robert Carlyle) edicts echoing in our ears: “This ship could be the single most important discovery since the Stargate itself” and “this ship simply doesn’t have the capability to dial Earth.” These pronouncements set up the dilemma of (1) Rush is fascinated by the ship; and (2) what if because of his fascination he does not want to return to Earth and is only saying the Stargate aboard the ship cannot dial Earth. So with these conflicting interests in mind, in “Light” the survivors aboard the alien vessel, Destiny, were confronted with yet another imminent challenge: the ship had failing power reserves and was on a collision course with a giant star.

Faced with death just hours away, the survivors had to act quickly with what little time and resources they had remaining. It was time to decide who was going to live and who was going to die. After gathering everyone together, Col. Young (Louis Ferreira) shared their dire predicament and laid out the rules for a survival lottery. He would select two crew members to pilot the shuttle and another 15 people would be selected through a lottery to join in a last-ditch run for one of the three nearby planets in hope that they could survive. It was a bleak prospect anyway they looked at it. Yet in the end, they were all desperate for that one last chance to get away.

 As the rules of survival were explained, it was noted, “We are having another bad day.” But in the mere days since they escaped attack on Icarus, they have had virtually no calm days. They have been cursed with attempting to survive in an alien craft with little or no resources. Their lives have been reduced to one “bad day” after another. It may have been a heady adrenaline rush initially, but it left a nasty downhill kick as that began to ebb away. This was that day. It was time to face their mortality.

Not wanting to leave their fate up to a lottery, some vied to be one of the two selected claiming to be the right person necessary for the shuttle trip. Finally Col. Young yelled in frustration, “We’re all the wrong people!” For none of them had actually been selected to be there. They were only aboard the Destiny out of a trick of fate. They were the survivors of an attack, not people selected to go on a deep space exploration. Finding it odd that Rush opted out of the lottery, Col. Young asked Rush why. Rush merely replied, “This ship – coming here – is my destiny. My life’s work is to be here – not trying to survive on some rock with a bunch of strangers.”

In the meantime, with imminent death staring them in the face, Eli’s (David Blue) “message in a bottle” Keno became even more popular. For as Eli said, “Let’s do something. Let’s leave something of ourselves behind.” So Chloe (Elyse Levesque) left a touching tribute to her father’s sacrifice, “I just wanted to say that my father gave his life so we could survive another day – and we did.” Camille (Ming-Na) left a heart-felt message to her lover, “Tell Sharon my last thoughts were of her.” And Col. Young tried to say good-bye to his wife, “Hi Emily, I just wanted to say – well you know. You know. . . ” But it was Greer (Jamil Walker Smith) who said it best with, “I can’t think of a better way to move from this world to the next, or whatever comes, than to fly into the most powerful thing in all of creation – a star – out in a blaze of glory. I like that. That’s beautiful.”

 So as Eli and Chloe sat awaiting their certain death as the ship moved closer to the burning sun, Chloe put her head on Eli’s shoulder and held his hand. For if this was to be their last moments, they could only seek solace in the fact that they were not alone. Others recited the Lord’s Prayer; some played cards like it was just another day; some listened to music in remembrance; and some sought solitude. Everyone faced death in their own way.

Then unexpectedly, Rush abandoned his solitude and came running out to find Eli who was bewildered by Rush’s jubilation and said, “What are we so happy about?” To which Rush unabashedly replied, “We’re going to live! I am never more pleased to be wrong in my whole life!” For he had simply assumed that there had not been enough power left for Destiny’s shields to protect them, but it did. That is exactly why there was no apparent power, it was because Destiny had taken all of it to power the shields during its traverse through the star. Destiny needed every bit of it in order to protect itself while simultaneously using the solar energy gleaned from the star to refuel. That is the trick that Destiny employed: it replenishes its reserves by relying on solar power which it can only obtain by traveling through a sun. And then as Eli caught on, he said in awe and amazement, “Guys, we’re in the star. . . “

Later after the shuttle and the lottery winners rejoined Destiny, everyone was triumphant at their survival. Yet when Col. Young invited him to celebrate with everyone else, Rush merely shrugged and said, “Celebrate what? That we’re back where we started?” Col. Young then explained to him, “You actually made a sacrifice — unless you knew Destiny was going to make it all along . . .”

And that is the crux of that matter. Did Rush in fact know all along that Destiny would survive the encounter with the star and then chose to let them all believe otherwise?

What Worked

Surely everyone must have felt like cheering when Eli made the proclamation, “Math Boy!” to Rush when Rush questioned his equation results. That follow-up with Eli’s quick-witted announcement, “why am I watching this on TV?!” before he rushed back to the observation deck was priceless.

It was also cool that Eli remembered to use one of the Keno to be aboard the shuttle as it moved away from Destiny so that those behind could see for the first time what the ship looks like from the outside. Rush was awestruck and grateful as he said, “Thank you, Eli. I never thought I’d see the ship from the outside.” He also thoughtfully told Eli, “I’m sorry I got you involved with this.” To which Eli smiled and said, “Actually, I’m not.” Rush just looked at him and quietly replied, “Yet.”

What Didn’t Work

It was heartbreaking and unnecessary to have a scene where Eli had to witness Chloe and Scott (Brian J. Smith) leaving for one last moment of passion. It felt like a slap in the face and made it harder to believe that he would continue to be Chloe’s shoulder-to-cry-upon even in their last moments of life.

Additionally, it was like kicking a man when he is already down to have Eli dream about his mother nagging him to do laundry and reminding him that he does not have any skills. For when she asked him to do the laundry, Eli had flippantly responded, “Not in my skill set” and she quietly said, “Nothing is.” Eli is supposed to be the “everyman” and it is hard to think that the average TV viewer would allow all the women in their lives to treat them in such a deplorable manner.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

‘Light’ was written by Brad Wright and directed by Peter DeLuise. ‘Stargate Universe’ stars Robert Carlyle, David Blue, Brian J. Smith, Alaina Huffman, Ming-Na, Lou D. Phillips, Jamil Walker Smith, Elyse Levesque, Louis Ferreira. ‘Stargate Universe’ airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on Syfy.

I’ve never been a Stargate fan. I’ve tried watching SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, but never really found them compelling enough. I actually like the original movie with Kurt Russell, but the series never really interested me that much. One of my friends recently bought all of the seasons cheaply. I thought about watching them, but ran out of time. Scalzi is a creative consultant on this series and it looks pretty interesting, so I’ve decided to give it a go.

Now, before any bitching and hating starts― too late, it’s already started, I haven’t bothered to read, review, or watch any of the Stargate series, and I’m not going to. I’ve watched a couple of episodes and didn’t continue. I tried Stargate Atlantis, but didn’t like it. My friend told me that starting season 4, SG-1 was really good. I can’t really comment on that as I stopped watching the series after a few episodes.

Basically, I’m a new viewer of Stargate, but I’m not a science-fiction novice. It puts me in an interesting spot about reviewing this show. My point of view is from someone who hasn’t watched any of the SG shows, so this review and recap should be interesting to those of you who haven’t watched SG before. For the others, leave some comments and start a discussion.

Is the show good or bad? Read on to find out more.

Warning: spoilers ahead

* * * * *

Compared to the two-episode premiere, Air Part 3 was definitely better. Eli is becoming a leader, a role that he seems to be taking quite seriously. There were some beautiful desert scenes and beautiful helicopter shots. I liked how the crew is starting to bond. Scott, Greer and Eli have developed a good partnership, as well as intrinsic trust.

Could have done without the “oh my daddy/husband is dead” part. I hope this isn’t a recurring theme in this show. Otherwise, it was good.

Once again, there is an annoying part in the 6th episode. I’m getting a bit annoyed at the overall theme of these episodes, which is going nowhere quickly. Instead of discovering things about the Destiny or learning stuff about other galaxies, as the Destiny is currently flying through one of countless other galaxies it has visited, the crew seem like beggars. They don’t have any power, they don’t have any food, they don’t have any air.

The Destiny been flying around for hundreds of thousands of years. You’d expect that a ship that still had propulsion would have a lot more systems operational, but no. The crew is having a rough time. I understand that these themes should have been addressed in a few episodes, but we’re already in episode 6 and nothing has really happened.

Once again, I could have done without the “Scott falling in a crevasse” part of the show. It was extremely annoying. We knew that he wouldn’t die. Also Scott kept asking the Colonel how many times he had done the things that he was doing. It wasn’t funny. Eli was getting on my nerves in this episode. As much as he was appearing to be a leader in the other episodes, he was just being an annoying git.

Anyway, I hope that the next episodes are better than this one. Now that they have almost 40% power, they still haven’t explained why they can’t dial Earth. I mean, they should be able to, right? Rush and Young have an argument about this. Rush says that they don’t have enough power. It’s a bit of a lame argument. A Stargate fanboy (deleted your comment!) says that 40% power isn’t enough to dial Earth, but we all know that Rush just doesn’t want to dial Earth. Seriously, 40% not enough? That doesn’t make much sense. How much is enough?

The argument is moot and that is unexplained. Maybe they should just mention that the last chevron can’t be dialed for some reason or the other instead of just leaving it like this.

* * * * *

The Colonel wants to dial Earth, but Rush tells him that it isn’t possible. There are apparently 40,000 liters missing. The Colonel wants Eli to spy for him on the crew. There is a dust creature on board, kind of like the ones that helped them out on that desert planet. The Destiny comes out of FTL and they are in range of a planet. It’s an ice planet, but that doesn’t matter. Ice is water.

The Colonel tries gets Scott, but he’s got his radio off. He’s making out with Chloe again. The Colonel and Scott will go to the planet. That’s stupid. They’ve got 8 hours of air. They also only have two spacesuits. Eli has got an idea. The ice near the gate is poisoned by ammonia and other toxins.

There is a strange tremor on the planet. Eli has used a bunch of Kinos to make a flying plank to transport ice.

The water levels are still dropping. No one has been in there. They still haven’t found any salvageable ice. TJ sees swirling dust behind her. The swirling dust makes a face. Greer calls her. Greer found that Spencer has been smuggling food. They lock him up.

Young has found a frozen waterfall. It contains pure water. TJ tells Rush and Eli about what she saw. Eli makes fun of her. TJ thinks that it might be the same ones that Scott saw on the desert planet. It seems like they were trying to communicate with them. Gorman comes across the swirling dust and starts shooting at it. It retaliates by slicing him open.

Eli decides to inform the Colonel about the aliens, against Rush’s wishes. Rush manages to calm him down. Rush is pissed at him and wants him to stop acting like a child.

The aliens are consuming the water and multiplying exponentially. Greer is sent out to find them. He’s got a home made flamethrower. Scott falls down a crevasse. There are more tremors. Scott’s suit is losing pressure. He’s got about an hour. Another tremor shakes Scott loose. The Colonel is able to get him out.

Greer captures some of the swarm. They stop the vents and the swarm is getting pissed off. A few of them got out. TJ goes down to deal with the situation herself. She has Greer withdraw. She’s going to give them some water to calm them down. She wants a clear path to the gate. They capture the aliens. They throw them through the gate. The aliens see that Scott is unconscious and make another face at him. They get through in time. He’s alive and breathing.

The Destiny winks back into FTL. Gorman is dead.

* * * * *

Relevant Posts

• Stargate Universe S01E01-E02
• Stargate Universe S01E03
• Stargate Universe S01E04
• Stargate Universe S01E05

Sgt. Greer (Jamil Walker Smith) and Colonel Young (Louis Ferreira) in "Water." Photo by Carole Segal and copyright of The Syfy Channel

SPOILER ALERT!! - Despite severe rationing and around the clock security, the water reserves onboard the Destiny continue to drop. Dr. Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle) has no explanation for this latest setback but, if they are to survive, they must find a new water source soon. The only planet within range is a frozen wasteland surrounded by a thin and poisonous atmosphere. Donning two of the ship’s deteriorated spacesuits, Colonel Young (Louis Ferreira) and Lt. Scott (Brian J. Smith) head to the planet’s surface hoping to retrieve enough ice to replenish their water supply. Once there, however, tests reveal that the ice near the Stargate contains traces of highly toxic chemicals. Young and Scott take off in search of drinkable samples, knowing they don’t have long before their air runs out and Destiny jumps back into FTL (faster-than-light) drive. Back onboard the ship, Lt. Johansen (Alaina Huffman) works with the crew to catch an intruder who they believe is responsible for the lost water rations. Water airs Friday, October 30th @ 9 p.m. EST on The Syfy Channel.

Lt. Scott (Brian J. Smith, second from left) and Colonel Young (Louis Ferreira, far right) suit up in preparation for their trip to the ice planet. Photo by Carole Segal and copyright of The Syfy Channel

Colonel Young's and Lt. Scott's mission becomes more complicated than originally anticipated in "Water." Photo by Carole Segal and copyright of The Syfy Channel

Click on the following link for a preview of this episode - 

https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&send_id=759393135&email=2c6518ae6b12f6fc424b6b2403f246bf

 As noted above, all photos by Carole Segal and copyright of The Syfy Channel, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

It all makes sense. They’re executing code red. Step 1: Kill the infected. Step 2: Containment. If containment fails, then Step 3: Extermination.

– Scarlet

The slick-looking 28 Weeks Later is a slight departure from the gritty goodness of Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later. I actively avoided seeing this at the theater, because I thought that it would be a retread of a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo took over the director reigns with Danny Boyle serving as executive producer. This movie is a worthy follow-up.

This story follows a different group of survivors from the outbreak than the previous film. Donald (Robert Carlyle) and his wife, Alice (Catherine McCormack) are hiding out in an older couple’s house when the infected bust into the house. He cowardly leaves his wife behind with the infected in order to escape.

Over the next 28 weeks, the infected with the rage virus have died from starvation. American forces resolve the situation in London. It is declared free from the infection. The rebuilding begins with the survivors.

Fifteen thousand survivors are allowed back in London before they go into quarantine, then the refugee camps. The survivors are living on the Isle of Dogs, a safe haven for the survivors aka District 1. The surrounding areas are contaminated for the dead infected that hasn’t been cleaned up yet.

Donald’s kids, Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton) are reunited with them. They wonder where their mother is at and Donald bends the truth about what happened to her.

After having a nightmare, Andy fears that he might forget what his mother looks like. The kids sneak away from the island where a sniper, Doyle (Jeremy Renner) spots them. They go back to their old house. In the process of getting their, Andy finds his mother hiding in the upstairs. She appears not to be an infected.

She is quartered in a special area of the Island where Scarlet (Rose Byrne) examines her. She determines that Alice contains the virus, because of her genetic mutation is immune to the infection, but she is a carrier of the virus. Unbeknownst to Donald that sees her later on when the virus is reignited.

This movie is more schizophrenic that it’s predecessor. Some sequences were too jarring and frantic for my taste. I didn’t like at the last half of the movie. The texture is a little off trying to make midday into night. There are some inconsistencies and plot-holes that bothered me. I will discuss them in the spoiler section.

There were some interesting ideas in this movie about Andy and how his same mutation could help contain the rage virus.

Judgment: A solid installment in this franchise that does have its flaws.

Rating: ****

(SPOILER SECTION)

The amount of time that the rage virus takes effect varies. When one girl is bitten, she turns in two seconds flat. When Don is bitten, there has to be a minute sequence for him to change.

I don’t understand how when Doyle, Scarlet and the kids got into the car when the nerve gas waft in. They were covering up their mouths. When the infected swarmed the car, why did the kids have to scream with their uncovered mouths?

When Don gets turned into one of the infected, he follows the kids from the containment lab to the streets of District One to that abandoned subway station. Huh?

The last shot of the movie when the infected are running towards the Eiffel Tower. How could that happen? Did they swim the English Channel to get into France?

Every Ten Years The World's Greatest Assassins Gather ... Only One Will Survive

Provavelmente estaremos perante um objecto de culto para aqueles que procuram adrenalina na 7ª Arte. The Tournament é um filme que vive da adrenalina provocada pelas personagens que nele habitam. O filme conta-nos que os maiores assassinos do mundo são reunidos, para entre eles, e só como eles o sabem fazer, se escolher qual é o melhor na profissão. Preparem-se para ver em ecrã grandes cenas de combate, de perseguição e de tiroteio. A premissa que origina o filme é simples e quase que poderia cair num espectáculo medíocre, tipo video game, mas utilizando o força que certos actores põem nas suas personagens, até se torna um bom filme, dentro do género. De Scott Mann com Ian Somerhalder, Robert Carlyle, Kelly Hu, Ving Rhames, Scott Adkins, Liam Cunningham, Rachel Grant, John Lynch, Craig Conway, Andy Nyman, Sebastien Foucan, Bashar Rahal, Iddo Goldberg, Siso Kamburov, Nick Rowntree, J.J. Perry, Camilla Power, Kristina Pavlova, Thomas Craig, Velizar Binev, Bill Fellows, Kitodar Todorov, Harry Anichkin, John Warburton, Chris Kenyon, Rob Kenyon e Oliver Jones.

Ok, Ok. Eu arranjo-te um papel para a Missão Impossivel 5 3/4

Vale a pena deixar de ver a bola e a caneca da cerveja a aquecer para ver isto

SG°U title card, via Wikipedia

I’ve never been a Stargate fan. I’ve tried watching SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, but never really found them compelling enough. I actually like the original movie with Kurt Russell, but the series never really interested me that much. One of my friends recently bought all of the seasons cheaply. I thought about watching them, but ran out of time. Scalzi is a creative consultant on this series and it looks pretty interesting, so I’ve decided to give it a go.

Now, before any bitching and hating starts― too late, it’s already started, I haven’t bothered to read, review, or watch any of the Stargate series, and I’m not going to. I’ve watched a couple of episodes and didn’t continue. I tried Stargate Atlantis, but didn’t like it. My friend told me that starting season 4, SG-1 was really good. I can’t really comment on that as I stopped watching the series after a few episodes.

Basically, I’m a new viewer of Stargate, but I’m not a science-fiction novice. It puts me in an interesting spot about reviewing this show. My point of view is from someone who hasn’t watched any of the SG shows, so this review and recap should be interesting to those of you who haven’t watched SG before. For the others, leave some comments and start a discussion.

Is the show good or bad? Read on to find out more.

Warning: spoilers ahead

* * * * *

Compared to the two-episode premiere, Air Part 3 was definitely better. Eli is becoming a leader, a role that he seems to be taking quite seriously. There were some beautiful desert scenes and beautiful helicopter shots. I liked how the crew is starting to bond. Scott, Greer and Eli have developed a good partnership, as well as intrinsic trust.

Could have done without the “oh my daddy/husband is dead” part. I hope this isn’t a recurring theme in this show. Otherwise, it was good.

Once again, there is an annoying part in the 5th episode. There are some long bits in the shows, ie the sex scene and the montage shots which are supposed to be inspirational. Doesn’t work for me. I think that involving the Telford and O’Neil characters is also a mistake. The other bad bits are when they exchanged personalities and go visit their family on Earth. Gag! I FF through those bits. Didn’t care for them.

Other than that, I think that it’s a good show. I’m looking forward to when they figure out more about the Destiny.

Now that they have got the basics, I hope that they will move onto more interesting aspects of their intergalactic journey, which hasn’t been really featured in the recent episodes. There were some great bits in the first two episodes, but since they had to deal with the basics, no one mentioned them.

I don’t really like Scott and Chloe’s relationship. Sucks balls. Scott is a bit robotic as an actor, but he manages to pull through.

The show should focus on Eli, because that’s the character to which most of the audience can easily relate to.

* * * * *

Colonel Young briefs the crew that there will be a lottery to chose 15 people who will leave on the shuttle for one of the habitable planets. Eli sees that Scott and Chloe have become involved. He doesn’t look happy. Scott and Chloe have sex.

Wray wants Young to choose everyone himself. He said that he would chose two people to guide the expedition. Wray wants to be on the shuttle. Young threatens to remove her name from the lottery. She begs him not to.

Scott thinks that he will be on the shuttle. He is the only qualified pilot, excluding Young. Scott is sure that the Colonel will pick her.

Eli is planning on leaving a message in a bottle for someone to find.

Rush says that the first two planets are no go. The third is hidden behind the sun. They will have to launch the shuttle blind. The odds are good. The orbit is located between the other two. Rush doesn’t want to leave the Destiny. He won’t leave it. Young will choose Scott and Johansen. Rush says that there will be people who will think that the lottery was fixed one way of the other.

It’s time for the lottery. TJ and Scott are already on board. Wray gets on board. James, the hot pilot, gets also chosen. Eli gives the Kino to Sgt Riley.

Young, Rush, Chloe, and Greer watch the shuttle leave. Greer and Young go for a walk. Greer says goodbye to the Colonel, who plans on walking alone. The Destiny enters the sun’s corona. The shuttle gets some readings back from the planet. There is oxygen and nitrogen, but not much CO2, which means that there barely is any vegetation.

Rush starts celebrating. They aren’t dead. The shields are protecting them. Just like I predicted, some kind of ram scoops open up to get some fuel from the planet. The power comes back on board. Systems are coming back online. They are in the star. They have flown through the corona. Rush says that the ship is powered by solar power. A counter starts going. Young communicates with Scott. They need to get back to the ship however they can’t. They are simply too far and the Destiny is accelerating away from them too fast.

Rush tells them to land on the planet. He will send them exact coordinates. He wants Scott to slingshot around the planet to get back to the Destiny. They just make it back.

The Colonel suspects that Rush knew all along that the Destiny would make this.

* * * * *

Relevant Posts

• Stargate Universe S01E01-E02
• Stargate Universe S01E03
• Stargate Universe S01E04

SGU has started fairly strongly.  Despite many thinly drawn characters and a lack of dramatic impetus, the show has grounded us in a very intriguing situation, bolstered by a few key performances.  Robert Carlyle as Dr Nicholas Rush is the obvious stand out, although underplayed in many respects.  The other character is Greer (Jamil Walker Smith), one of the more watachable military grunts trapped on the ancient ship Destiny as it ploughs through space.  Despite starting off holed up in a cell like some kind of McQueen pastiche, Smith reveals nuances to a somewhat stock character that will hopefully develop over the course of the show.   If SGU neglects the character, it could be loosing one of the aces up its sleeve.

“Light” follows the episodes “Darkness,” “Water” and “Air” which follow in the – yes, I’m going to mention it again – BSG innovation of showing the logistical realities of human space travel.  While the idea is still fruitful and interesting, it does have the downside of lacking the dramatic punch if special care isn’t taken to establish a greater arc, and Light does suffer from this neglect.  We still don’t know where the show is going, and because Destiny’s route seems to stretch throughout the universe, there is the feeling that without an arching narrative to compel us to watch, our interest may slip after Destiny stops off in a solar system to refill the dwindling supply of hand soap in the aft deft’s ladies bathroom.

Yet with Light, like Darkness, Water and Air before it, there is a real polish in the way these stories are crafted, and a real sense of discovery and awe amongst the crew of the Destiny that proliferates with the viewer.  While we never for one second believe that Destiny will be destroyed by the Sun, the manner in which it is cleansed and rejuvenated amongst a fiery backdrop is a beautifully crafted sequence.  SGU seems to want to rediscover the wonders of the Galaxy that have been forgotten by Science Fiction.   Kudos must be given to the composition of the accompanying score too, for while it never reaches the beauty of BSG’s various orchestral delights, it delivers the sequence with an aplomb of serenity.

Carlyle’s Rush remains a peripheral figure amongst the greater crew, and the show doesn’t seem to know whether to present him as a silent menace, a hidden enemy or a watchful protector.  It really hasn’t gotten into his head yet, but hopefully when it does, the show will crack open.

I was taking a shower yesterday when a scent filled my nose.  It was an odd yet familiar smell, a bit like gunpowder wafting from the barrel of a gun.  It wasn’t something that I had anticipated and I don’t know where it came from but I was suddenly reminded of TV John McKeever, a character from the BBC series Hamish MacBeth that ran several years back.  That’s him in the photo.  The show was the story of a quirky,small Scottish village and its constable, Hamish MacBeth (played by Robert Carlyle.)  It reminded me of a Highland version of Northern Exposure except that it had more drama and mystery, a whodunit with a bit of humor.

One of the main characters was TV John McKeever,  so named for having been the first in town with a TV, who was more or less MacBeth’s deputy.  He was a tall, mysterious character with a bit of clairvoyance.  He had experienced a premonition of his own death and knew that his death would be imminent when he would smell  a particular scent of pomade, which is a hair gel of sorts.  Think of the Dapper Dan cans in O Brother Where Art Thou? This was a recurring plot point in the series.

So there I was in the shower, thinking of TV John and the smell of pomade that would be to him the smell of death, and I began to wonder, “What if this scent I now smelled was my smell of pomade?”

What if today were to be my last day on this earth?  How would I live it?  If I were able to scan back through this last day, as though the day were a movie viewed through my eyes, what would I see?  Would today be a good day to carry with me as my last day, filled with images that meant something to me?

All this was within a flash of seconds and I found myself realizing that I was taking so much for granted around me.  I was not stopping, if only for a moment, to take in the way things really appear around me.  To take in the grandeur of the trees of the forest that I walked through every day.  To look up at the stars on a cold autumn night and see the way the stars and planets change position in the sky.  To see how a squirrel races through the limbs of the hickories around my house.

Simple things.  Things that I simply forget to take notice of on a regular basis.  But things that give texture and depth to my life, things of which I would want to take notice on that day when the smell of pomade wafted into my nostrils…

I can only apologise for the last installment of ‘Stuff I Watched’, it was so half-hearted that I’m almost embarrassed to have published it.  That said, I’m such a whore for hits that I urge you do go read it, by clicking here.  Hopefully this post will be a little more interesting.

How Not To Live Your Life: BBC HD (Recorded 20th Oct Watched 21st Oct)

Sadly, this was the last episode.  The second series has been even better than the enjoyable first, and this episode was possibly the funniest yet.  The plot veered dangerously close to traditional  sitcom territory; Don agreed to be best man for a boorish school friend and persuaded Sam to be his pretend wife (fake name = Garden Danbury).  It’s all credit to them that they managed to pull off this Terry & June storyline.  It was also impressive how they managed to make the episode sweet and romantic, whilst Don stayed largely in character; where did that come from?

Don has definitely become a more sympathetic character over the course of series 2, but it’s been done really naturally; Sam obviously having an effect on him that Abby never did.  The ending was nicely ambiguous (unless I just misunderstood it); did Don finally put his infatuation with Abby to one side, or was he just thinking with his dick?  If it was the latter, you wouldn’t exactly blame him; Garden Danbury is really quite beautiful.

I wonder where they’d go if there was a third series?  Part of me wants to see Don and Sam together, but it wouldn’t make for a very good sitcom.  Either way, fingers crossed for series three.

Stargate Universe: Sky One (R 20th Oct W 21st Oct)

This doesn’t seem to have really got going yet, but I’m starting to suspect that’s just the vibe that they’re going for.  I quite like the idea of the slow pace, but something has to happen occasionally. Robert Carlyle has been reduced little more than shouting irritably; he plays an potentially interesting character, but he seems woefully underutilised.

With the life support systems being fixed in the first three episodes, episode four saw the failure of the power systems.  With death seeming imminent, the crew took turns leaving ‘talking head’ messages, and these were a real mixed bag.  Some were well acted, but others were absolutely appalling; overall, they were the least subtle way possible to introduce some of the supporting cast.

Eli seems to be the heart of the show and it will be interesting to see how he develops over the course of the season.  It’s also refreshing to see someone on US TV who is neither stick thin nor
comically fat.

Flying in to a star is quite a cliffhanger, but I’m guessing that it’s just going to refuel.  Sadly, I don’t feel that I know enough about any of the characters enough to care their fate.

Hung: More 4 (R 15th Oct W 22nd Oct)

Yet another new HBO comedy drama – what are they trying to do to me?  I feel like they’re mounting a campaign to personally rob me of any free time whatsoever.  Insanity by quality programming – the swines!

Hung is the story of a high-school teacher who has loads of bad luck and ends up having to become male prostitute in order to make ends meet.  It sounds such a stereotypical concept for a quirky, ‘adult’ drama that they could well have used the ‘Quirky Adult Drama Concept Generator’.  The first half of the episode felt as though someone had taken the output from that generator and then just gone through the motions.  This might be a little harsh as I spent the first half of the show writing the Sherby57 post, No Rascal Here, so perhaps I wasn’t giving it the due attention.

At this stage, I was preparing to write that I was only going to give it another episode to prove itself, as I’m desperate to avoid another True Blood situation.  But, the last quarter of the episode grew on me more than I thought it would, so I’m prepared to be a little more lenient.

The Flying Car: Daredevils: Channel 4 (R 20th Oct W 22nd Oct)

Channel 4’s excellent ‘Daredevils’ strand continued with the slightly lacklustre story of two blokes driving/flying to Timbuktu in a car.  I was looking forward to it beforehand but perhaps I was expecting too much.

A flying car conjures up the image of some spectacular George Jetson-style vehicle, but the reality is that it is basically a beach buggy with a fan on the back, with a parachute-style wing hanging off the back.  It’s a great achievement by the designer, but it’s not what you think of as a ‘flying car’.

I was slightly puzzled that, since it was billed as the world’s first practical flying car, this was the first time that was hearing about it.  Surely it must have been on the news at the time of the expedition.  Maybe the press were as underwhelmed by the design as I was.  On their second test flight, on a beach, a gust of wind resulted in them ending up in the sea, which potentially ‘ruined the wing’.  Surely it could be fixed with just a big washing line.

Somehow the documentary was really dull and any adventure was sucked out of it.  The last portion of the trip was all on-road as they had crashed in to a tree and couldn’t fly any more.  Considering that they want to sell them, it all seems a bit unreliable.  That said, I do really want one.

They’ve yet to find a buyer.

Life on Mars ‘USA’: FX (R 18th Oct W 22nd Oct)

I wasn’t going to comment on this, but I felt I had to.  I tried to give the first episode the benefit of the doubt (despite my long list of gripes), but I’m happy to now say that it’s an absolute traversty.
I managed to last to the first ad break before deleting.  At least it’s one less thing to watch per week.