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| Monday, January 9, 2006 01:59 PM |
| Things I've Watched Recently |
 by Fëanor |
- Star Trek: New Voyages - I posted about downloading the first two episodes of this a while back. The backstory is that a bunch of fans got together and decided to finish the "five year mission" of the Enterprise by producing new episodes of the original "Star Trek" series. The results are surprisingly good! Yes, the acting isn't top notch, and both episodes are a bit overloaded with story and action, to the point where they occasionally became confusing, tiring, and repetitive, but these are small issues; all-in-all, this is an amazing continuation of a great show. The costumes, sets, props, credit sequences, and music are all exact and loving recreations of the originals. The only big change (besides, of course, all new actors) are the special effects, and luckily this is a change for the better; thanks to computer graphics, the Enterprise is now a truly beautiful and amazing machine, able to roll and spin and generally just zoom around like crazy.
I don't want to go into detail about the stories, so as not to spoil anything for you, but the episodes are loaded with references (in terms of dialogue and plot) not only to numerous other episodes of the original series, but also to episodes of later Star Trek series(es?), and to the movies. This means the show is filled with a great feeling of love for Star Trek, and with a great sense of continuity with the rest of that universe.
Both episodes are quite good, but I definitely prefer the second one, "In Harm's Way"; it's clever, action-packed, and loaded with classic Trek tropes, like tons of time travel, and using the deflector dish to shoot some random beam that will fix things. You can also stick through to the end of the credits of this episode for a final fun extra.
Judgement: If you're a fan of the original Star Trek, you need to watch this show. If you're not really a fan, though, you should probably give it a miss. Personally, I can't wait for the next episode, which promises to star Walter Koenig!!
- Doctor Who - Speaking of resurrected sci-fi shows, the Doctor is back in his ninth regeneration (and now tenth, as I understand it) on the BBC! And, luckily for me, my brother knows a guy who knows a guy, and was nice enough to lend me the first two episodes of the new series. I have to say, they are really genuinely good, unlike the original series, which, don't get me wrong, I dearly love, but which also makes me wince and apologize far too much. Anyways, the first half or so of the first episode of this (which is called "Rose," and introduces the Doctor and his new companion to us and to each other) is just absolutely fantastic. As the show goes on, it gets a bit cheesy and corny, but never achieves anywhere near the level of cheesiness and corniness of the original show. The actors are actually quite good, the characters are great (especially the Doctor, who is nuts in an endearing, almost cold-hearted way), the dialogue is often clever and funny, and the stories are quite entertaining. I hope to borrow more episodes from my brother soon!
Btw, I'd say fans of the original "Doctor Who" will get more out of this show, but I think you could come in with no prior knowledge and still enjoy it.
- Serenity - Okay, so we're still speaking of resurrected (sort of) sci-fi shows. So sue me. Anyway, this time it's the movie version of Joss Whedon's fantastic and short-lived "Firefly." The movie, I'm sad to say, disappointed me, but I'm not sure exactly in what way, and it may not be the movie's fault. (WARNING: Spoilers ahead.) I guess I wasn't prepared for major f'ing characters (that's plural!) to be heartlessly whacked by Mr. Whedon. Damn you, sir! Also, two of the mysteries at the heart of the show (the Reavers and River) were finally sort of revealed, and...well...it was kind of a little anti-climactic. The terrible secret that River knows was pretty deep, but it just didn't seem so incredibly mind-blowing and important that Mal and his people would be willing to risk (and lose) so much to get it out there; that it would really cripple the Alliance; and that it would really affect "The Operative" the way it does. I mean, I could see the Bush White House talking their way out of this kind of thing pretty easily, and still holding onto at least 40% approval ratings.
I was also a little disappointed that Shepherd Book's secret past never came out. I always wanted to know more about that guy and what his story was, but no such luck.
But anyway, I really did enjoy the movie, despite the way I'm making it sound, and I would recommend it, especially to fans of the show, although this is another one that I think others might enjoy, as well; it does a pretty good job of getting you up to speed on all the characters and the main storyline early on. Serenity is exciting and funny and moving and clever and all of that. It just left me a little...disturbed. Maybe I just wasn't prepared for the level of darkness, sadness, creepiness, and violence. I think if I watch it again in a little while I might enjoy it a lot more. We'll see.
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