Slashdot Mirror
Farscape & Stargate SG-1 New Seasons Tonight
marekk writes "Frelling A! The fourth season of Farscape, arguably the best Sci-Fi currently on television premieres tonight on the SciFi Channel. You can catch the premiere episode, titled "Crichton Kicks" at 9PM CST. Afterwards, you can watch the premiere of Stargate SG-1's sixth season, "Redemption"." I've been watching the SG1 season 1 box set and am
impressed. Its a solid show, and I'm looking forward to season it without the
benefit of syndication lag, even if there are problems.
As for Farscape... well, Duh!
Should be interesting.
Most of the crew is gone, Talon and Kreis are dead, Moya was sucked in to a workhole and John was left floating in space all alone with no fuel.
What a way to start a new season.
Article X: The powers not delegated... by the Constitution...are reserved...to the people
I think SG-1 air's first at 9PM, and then Farscape airs at 10MP.. Well at least here in ATL.
with the demise of Tick, X-files, Futurama and now Stargate moving, fox has finally completed the transition to nothing but crap and soft core porn. Congrats Fox
Looks like the Farscape game is shaping up nicely as well...
Comic Book Guy: "There is no Groening in my store."
I'd love to get all of the episodes on CD or DVD somehow - unfortunately only the first season seems to be available, and for a hefty price. I'd rather wait until they're all available before starting a collection since there's no guarantee they'd all be released.
There's lots of info on Farscape at the BBC Online Farscape Cult page.
I didn't even know a new season was starting tonight, nor do i have time to go home to record it. That's when I remembered that my Tivo should be smart enough (fingers crossed) to record it on it's own.
If you are considering Farscape on DVD, be sure to get the European versions if at all possible.. They come in 6 packs for only 50% more than US 2-packs... (aprox $30 for 6 pack vs $20 for 2 pack)... In the long run, it would actually be worthwhile to buy a region free DVD player if you plan to collect the whole set and live in the US... Hint: look for APEX 600A on ebay... and do a google search for "loophole menu"....
Note: The APEX 600A will also disable CSS copy protection allowing you to copy ANY DVD onto VHS!
In the long run
Or equally as good, when will the cable companies come up with a decent pricing format?
Guh. We've been over this ground before, but I don't feel like finding a link to the old thread now. When you buy cable TV service from the cable company, you're buying the bandwidth and the wires and all of that transport-layer stuff. You're not actually buying the program content itself. That's paid for by advertising. (Except for premium channels, of course.)
The fact that you only watch 5 of the 50 channels doesn't really make any difference to the cable company. It costs them the same to provide you with the wires and whatnot. So it doesn't really make sense for them to charge you by the channel.
Not having Showtime, I've been following SG-1 on Fox (with all their time-jumping and out-of-order episodes) and the last ep I saw was the cliffhanger when Chronos's (err, our) mothership, and Apophis's ship just came out of 'hyperspace' from running away from the star that Carter made go nova, propelling them entirely outside the galaxy (note that anyone who doesn't already watch SG-1 probably never will after reading that sentence, really, the show's not so contrived).
My question is, now that we're jumping from syndicationto first-run, how many seasons, if any, will I be skipping, and how will I be able to catch up, since apparently Fox is giving up the show (Are they?) and the DVDs are only out for season 1 so far. Anyone know?
Thanks,
Kevin Fox
You'll just be skipping season 5. The second part to the episode you mention is called Enemies, and is quite good.
One thing you might want to do is watch the season 5 opener, as you'll understand a lot more about what's going on in season 5 (but still not quite. You'd probaly need to watch 3 or 4 season 5 episodes to know exactly what is going on and the progression of the Earth and others vs. Goa'uld plot). Episodes can be found in some newsgroups if you want to download them.
Check out this link if you want to know spoilers for season 5:
http://www.gateworld.net/s5/index.shtml
Overall, I'm really looking foward to season 6 on sci-fi.
Stargate SG-1 was originally a SHOWTIME show. The episodes that run on Fox (aka, syndication) are actually a season behind the Showtime run. When SG-1 ended its fifth season on Showtime, it immediately jumped to Sci-Fi for its sixth season. The Fox run (which is still on season 4) still has another season to go.
Last I checked, Fox was NOT dropping their run of SG-1. It's Showtime that's no longer running it. So, those of you without cable or satellite can rejoice; you still have at least another season.
As close as I can tell, there is only one season between the last (new) epsiode broadcast on Fox (which was the season finale for season four) and the epsiode being broadcasted tonight on SciFi (the preimer for season six). Season Five was only on ShowTime, though there are rumors that SciFi is going to run all of the old Stargate SG-1 episodes in the afternoon like they do with Babylon 5 in the future.
I only saw the first 12 or so episodes of season five on ShowTime before I moved (and lost access to pay channels). The linked slashdot article basically sums up the fifth season. I hope they turn it around now that ShowTime is no longer in control.
-------------------------------
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." - Phil. 1:21 (KJV)
Fox wasn't carrying the show, if I understand right - it was your local Fox affiliate. Here, in Seattle, it's been UPN.
:( )
According to TiVo, I've been watching most of the 2001 episodes lately, which should mean I'm nearly caught up to Season 6.
(Regarding DVDs, I made a post about this as well, but to add to the concept, it'd be great if we could at least *rent* the DVDs of the shows, even if they don't let us purchase them yet.. I know I'm still seeing episodes I've never seen before and I'd love to be fully caughtup. The ep you mention, I haven't seen yet.
Of course, there are plenty of plot holes. Like why....
I'm pretty sure that all of these things fall into the category of stuff that makes the show possible. If the show were totally realistic, you never could have gotten a suspenseful, engaging story out of it.
Besides, the stuff you mentioned just isn't that big a deal, unless you go looking for things to complain about. While everything you said is valid, none of it jumped off the screen and prevented me from enjoying the show.
thats not entirely true. .50 cents pers channel you suscribe to.
They do pay for there channels, and if they find too few people watch a certian chanell(becasue noone will pay for it) they can quit carrying it.
so You might be able to have a min. mo. payment of like 10 bucks, just to have service, then
Cable an sat. companies do charge too much for there service. They should be allowed to have cometition on the cables. There monopoly has been around long enough to re-coup the cost of laying cable, and they could split maintainence costs amongs all there competitors that use the same cables.
You will never see fair pricing from a for profit orginization, without competition.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
...but I just can't watch SG-1. I find it dull, its writing unimaginitive, and the stories old and done. After watching season 1, I was actually surprised that it caught on. It must just hit the right nerve.
Farscape, OTOH, is one of the top 3 sci-fi TV shows ever.
number one is ST(original). Mostly because they where doing things that where ahead of the time, saying stuff that needed to be said, and had a lot of interesting concepts.
number 2 and 3 kind of switch between Bab5 and farscape.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
I thought that SPACE carried up to season 4.
No offence, and I do not intend this as a troll, but WTF? As a survivir of the great BattleStar Galactica "frack off", I can tell you first-hand that swearing in "Sci-Fi"-onese will destroy your chances of ever getting a date.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
Im not sure Id say that. I do like Farscape, but there are a lot of times that it is weird just for the sake of being weird. The episode that made me roll my eyes the most was the one where they ended up on a planet occupied by mostly lawyers.
Ugh.
*Really misses Doctor Who*
"Derp de derp."
Those of you who haven't explored the Sci-Fi news slashbox may be interested in my review of the first season of Stargate SG-1 on DVD that CmdrTaco mentioned. (Season two is due on September 3, if you care.)
</blatant plug>- W. Blaine Dowler
http://www.bureau42.com
"if you think otherwise, you're a loser. no flame intended - just good ole self-evidence."
I hate when people say stuff like this. A show doesn't have to be universally accepted as 'good' for somebody to enjoy it.
I'm a Deep Space Nine fan. I even like the bad eps of DS9 because I have found something I really appreciate about it: it's overall visual quality. The sets are very nice and the effects are top notch.
Do I expect everybody to like DS9? Nope. I found something in particular I really like about it. There are a lot of people that say it sucks. So what? It just means that those people don't appreciate the same stuff that I do.
Call me a loser over it, however, and all you're doing to do is convince me that you judge people for petty reasons. "You suck because you like shows that I don't."
You can't measure somebody by the shows they watch. All you're doing is giving other people a means to judge you, negatively.
"Derp de derp."
To put a real serious rant here....
I've been a SG-1 fan from the beginning. The cultures are thought out, the government reactions to the cultures have a certain "truth is stranger than fiction" ring to them. The Air Force was on the one hand treating the gate like a hole to be plugged up, and on the other hand wanting to exploit what it could find on the other side.
But my favorite aspects are...
1) No captains chairs. No bridges, no ship to ship bantering. Don't get me wrong, I liked Star Trek the first for this, and TNG did it right but SG-1's lack of it was refreshing.
2) Earth is the star in every episode, terribly outnumbered, flawed, and childishly ideolistic, and the series is ready to show that.
3) Episodal. I think anyone who wants "story arc" really wants to watch a soap opera. Really they do, except they don't get the geeky "holier than thou" satisfaction of telling people they like daytime television.
Now, whats wrong with this picture? I've recently watched some taped season 5 episodes, and guess what. Here's what must have happened, a bunch of out of work writers that filled such shows as Babylon 5 and Star Trek DS9 with charectar drama (read paralysis by analysis), story arc (read soap opera), and captains chairs with lots of ship to ship banter have rewritten the SG-1 universe. It has to be.
One episode the major science words were "Miosis" and "Mitosis" used in a way that made me think they never got past JR High biology. Another had the Gould in a captains chair saying "I'm the great God Osiris, I have nothing to fear". Yet another had a symbiot telling Capt Carter that his former host loved her, I mean really loved her, like really really loved her.
So I say, "Oh well". What ever these writers are the keep getting jobs can do what they want with SG-1, its basically ruined now. At least we had such episodes in season 5 as "the Tomb" and four other seasons of fun episodes.
General Hammond looks bored now, nothing for him to do now that SG-1 has taken off on their own (and everyone seems to have forgotten all the other SG teams up to like 24.) Retire General Hammond, and I'll share some beach sand with you remembering the days of good science fiction that took research and thought to write.
I find it ironic that someone like yourself would use a word like 'frelling' in your subject.
Until last year I didn't have the Sci-Fi channel so I'd never been able to watch Farscape. Even after I got the SFC I'd usually find something else on TV or just not watch it at all. Then it hit me, the Farscape marathon from last week. It is very rare that I end up so interested in a TV show. Now I can see why there is all the hubbub about the series, it is pretty damn awesome. I've found it to be the perfect mix of space opera and true sci-fi. There are sci-fi elements that make it intriguing and pique geek interest and then there are dramatic elements that easily transcend genres but make the show much better by fleshing it out and humanizing the story. Some parts of the story arc still confuse me but I've just started to watch the show. I wish Enterprise's writers would write some better drama which would really intrigue the audience. Another reason for not watching Farscape is I had it confused for a while with Lexx which actually hurt me on the inside.
I've been watching SG-1 since it first aired on Showtime (at which point it actually had some nudity). The first two seasons went by pretty slow and it took a while for the series to really hit its stride. I think since season three started it really has. Like others have said, there's no captain's chair or any of the other sci-fi staples we've come to expect. There's aliens but they aren't masterful overloads of MIB, they're real badasses with laser guns trying to kill the characters. I liked the movie so I figured I would give the series a shot and found that I did indeed enjoy it. The things over the years I haven't liked is the increasing amount of Carter-delivered technobabble and the decline of witty banter. O'Neil and Jackson had some of the best banter that was well performed and didn't seem entirely out of place. Both actors delivered it well and the scene didn't pause for the punchline which I absolutely despise. It is a sitcom tactic to pause for a punchline. Now the banter seems entirely one sided with O'Neil delivering lines to no one in particular or saying some sarcastic remark at entirely the wrong time. The technojargonbabble is just crap. Carter is a decent character but I really dislike when she get used to deliver some technospeak that has no real point other than to give O'Neil an oppertunity to come back with a faux witty remark. I'm glad it was picked up by SFC though, it makes a good addition to their lineup. It will be nice to be able to watch the latest season rather than Fox's saturday behind the times filler syndication.
I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
* WARNING - Farscape Spoiler Below *
I actually liked Lexx. Never watched it till about 6 months ago, and then I managed to find nearly all the episodes and catch up.
Yes, its a very childish show, and at times brings back memories of very bad 70s German Soft-porn. But they did stuff on that show that no other show would dare to do.
The one distinct advantage Lexx had over Farscape was that the main characters were always the same. Stanley, Xev and Kai. Sure, Xev changed to Zev, you got Lykka for a while, and Prince for a while, but the Crew of The Lexx were always the main three characters.
Whereas Farscape added Chiana, Jool and New Chick from tonight, and lost Zhaan. And man is Jool annoying!
I'm still trying to get a few of the S4 Lexx episodes I've never seen. I do think that S3 of Lexx was a masterpiece.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is kinky.
So much more happens in the 3rd series that, well, suffice to say it'll blow your socks off when you do get to see it.
NZ Electronics Enthusiasts: Check out my Trade Me Listings
You WANNA watch ads and their vehicles?
MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
Ironically, even though the shows generally avoid story arcs (and it's usually a disaster when they do), the series has some of the best continuity on television. Unlike some other shows I could mention, you don't watch episodes in frustration as the characters forget an easy solution covered in an earlier episode.
But the series as a whole is on an arc to support the possible spinoff series Stargate: Atlantis.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. -- H L Mencken
I enjoy the fact that Farscape is relatively true to life. It constantly evolves, the same character's continue to be important, but new characters enter and old ones leave. I mean really do you still have all the same friends you had in high school? In college? Time changes everything and while they may still have importance to you, you don't always see them, or even think about them as much.
The ever changing landscape of characters is extremely interesting. Some are annoying, some are cool, and all of them add new elements and depth to the plot.
Overall I find it superior to the shows that are only episodic and always have the same characters with no chance that they'll die or evolve. Data from ST:TNG is a perfect example. I can't think of how many different shows they had him learn emotions or different elements of being human only to have him revert back to emotionless android the next time.
Farscape's risk taking with new characters and plot is to be commended. It resembles life better, though I will admit that their occasional flights of fancy and wierdness both delight and scare (the cartoon episode).
Overall it's a wonderful show that makes for some damn good entertainment.