television!

[jazzfish]

I have a vague desire to drown myself in television. Which of these, o lazyweb, would you recommend? (ETA: I've seen none of these except the BSG pilot)

• Babylon 5
  
• Farscape
  
• Battlestar Galactica
  
• Avatar: The Last Airbender
  
• Something else entirely

(No poll because I'm more interested in the Whys.)

Not that this will be happening anytime soon: the next four months or so are kinda busy. But once we get settled I may do something like 'i made my wordcount for the week so i get another episode of X.'

Comments

[jazzfish]

Even the ending? I'm skeptical because I've heard a lot of reports about it going downhill, but I really liked the two-hour pilot.

[pictsy.livejournal.com]

Okay, the last three minutes were really stupid, but except for that, the finale made me curl up into a ball and cry, like, five times, which I consider to be the best thing any piece of media can do.

[jsciv.livejournal.com]

I'd agree with that. I really enjoyed BSG beginning to end. The last few minutes were what they were. I thought it was amusing in the same way that any series trying to be avant garde with its ending is.

That aside, it's hard to explain without spoilers, but the story they tell morphs over the seasons: it's always the same characters, but the plots aren't what you're expecting from your knowledge of the old show. There is no easy way to say what season 4 or 4.5 are about other than to say that they're not anything like the old show OR the miniseries.

And the focus of the show is almost never the sci-fi, it's the character interaction. That's the part that is both interesting and frustrating: at times I just wanted more space battles or something, but it was all human drama and she likes him but he likes the other woman, and so on. It's GOOD human drama and I dearly loved the show (it'd be #2 behind Avatar for me in recommendation), but it may not scratch the sci-fi itch if that's what you're looking for.

A few thoughts...

[elf.livejournal.com]

First: What jsciv said. BSG is ultimately about a cast of characters (and a full society) that is dealing with PTSD. The back drop is certainly sci-fi, and events/technologies/etc are generally used to explore the characters - as opposed to vice versa. It has it's technical flaws, to be sure - but it's absolutely worth the watch and grabbed me in a way no television show has done before (or since).

Does it deliver everything you end up wanting to? No. But I think the reason it's so polarizing is that it *did* grab so many people, and had such an incredibly invested audience - a feat in and of itself. There were a lot of poor choices made in terms of timing and delivery (for those of us who watched as it came out) that alienated a lot of viewers - and the writers did, in many ways, take on things that were too big for them. Criticisms re: lack of a plan are spot on. But all the same it's a very moving and addictive piece of work.

Farscape is at turns whimsical and entertaining and involves things created by the Henson workshop. It's fun - and while it has some overarching story arcs, there's nothing about it that makes you ache for the next installment. It's like mass market candy or paperbacks - there are things which make it endearing and enjoyable, but on the whole once you step away it's pretty forgettable.

B5 I'm a lot more critical of then anyone on your list so far has been. I thought it looked pretty bad when it came out - and age has done little for it. I've tried watching it a couple of times (and suffered through quite a bit of it), and I found that when I was willing and able to look past the camp, bad acting, and budget issues it's ...okay. From speaking with the fans in my circle(s), the best I can gather is that the love for it is primarily a nostalgia thing. To be fair: I have NOT seen the entire series, so perhaps there's some big pay off at the end I'm unaware of.

I'm a fan of having a well planned story arc in general - and I respect B5 for trying to bring that to an american sci-fi audience weaned primarily on monster/planet of the week series. It just didn't do it effectively (for me).

Long answer short: BSG is absolutely flawed and technically challenged. But in spite of that it's incredibly compelling in a way that neither Farscape nor B5 ever come close to pulling off.

Re: A few thoughts...

[jazzfish]

That is quite a spirited defense of BSG, and much appreciated. Thank you!

Are the 'poor choices in timing and delivery' still problematic (or made worse) by watching it 1-2 episodes a week?

And, I take it you've not seen Avatar?

[jazzfish]

... yeah, okay. That's worth looking into, right there.