6.06.2007
IPTV Snippet
I'm a big proponent of IPTV. It will be the future. MSN, it seems, is just now waking up to that.
Here's a brief blog on the subject from one of PC World's editors
Also:
An interesting look at the hopeful demise of Nielson ratings and the rise of DVR stats
Here's a brief blog on the subject from one of PC World's editors
Also:
An interesting look at the hopeful demise of Nielson ratings and the rise of DVR stats
6.03.2007
Season 4 to end the BSG Legacy
I read the official announcement last night that Season 4 will conclude the epic and awe-inspiring story of Battlestar Galactica. The critically acclaimed but pop-culture shunned series has been in an uphill battle for ratings since its initial conception as a mini-series remake of the horrid original series remembered for being one of television's greatest cheese-fests. Due to that sci-fi connection the new series never caught on with the masses, despite it being one of the greatest written television dramas of our time, and I don't think I'm being excessive when I say that.
The fortunate side of being a show w/ constant budget cuts and the looming cloud of cancellation floating overhead has been the added passion and courage from the writers and production staff to ensure something special and anti-network formulated. Ronald Moore and David Eick have treated their creation with the utmost respect and sincerity, never letting one script fall to the ravenous network wolves who think they know best when it comes to quality vs. ratings. This is so much so that scripts were even written as a slap in the face to the Sci-Fi network which once attempted to dictate a plotline to the creators, a dangerous yet bold move.
Another plus side to this final season is that it was ultimately the direct decision of Moore and Eick. The creators knew that extending past 4 seasons was running the risk of the show canceling according to network requirements and lack of ratings. They also realized about halfway through the third season that they were entering the 3rd and final act of the story as already foreseen to a particular degree by Moore. That being the case, what does this mean for the narrative of the 4th and final season?
Well, from some of the sources I've read, it should mean that there are relatively zero filler stories. No Black Market type eps with stories that have little to no repercussions on the plot as a whole. In an interview with Eick, he stated a solid commitment to wrap up many of the loose ends and explore some rabbit trails that have been left open in past episodes. All this, obviously, leading to the epic conclusion of the show.
I truly believe each episode will be an essential story to bridge us to the conclusion. I'm ecstatic to see what Moore puts together, and I'm sure some big surprises will be at every turn. Ultimately this means I'm very happy that the creators chose to end the series with this 4th season installment. While I'll miss the characters and the incredible drama that ensues with them, I'm confident now that the show will end strong, not limping into redundancies, rabbit trails, and unanswered questions (think X-files and potentially Lost).
Razor, the BSG movie that highlights the initial adventures of Pegasus just after the Cylon attack is due to air this November. Season 4 should begin in January. Expect the DVDs for S3 this August. Oh, and make sure you buy the DVDs! This show uses that revenue to beef up their production budgets. Help the series go out with a bang!
Labels: battlestar galactica, bsg, entertainment, sci-fi, tv
Better than Hex?
I finally got my cable setup at the new apartment, probably a mistake in the long run considering I need every bit of encouragement to wander outdoors into the Seattle streets for exploration. Nonetheless, I have it, along with a brand spanking new HD LCD TV and HD DVR.
To test run the DVR and ensure I have all the wonderful and expected options, I stumbled upon a marathon running on BBC America. The show: Hex. I decided what better to test my DVRing skills than a complete marathon. Little did I know that I'd end up spending the better part of the day wrapped up in the supernatural mellow drama.
Okay, so it's nothing phenomonal. I mean, it is, essentially, a British rip off of the campy small network show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Regardless, whether it was the British charm or the anti-episodic story arch plot, the show is incredibly entertaining. Don't get me wrong, it's B-fluff, but fluff done right, like a really good Frank Miller graphic novel or an engaging Joss Whedon space opera (oh Firefly, how do I miss thee).
The story takes place in the modern English countryside amidst ancient castles and humble farms, and without giving too much away, it involves a group of fallen angels trying to bring about the false messiah, fathered by one such fallen by the name of Azazel (a real character in Jewish mythology...an added bonus in my mind). The team of protagonists include 2 witches (falsely titled in my opinion) one of which is an "Annointed One" whose duty it is to weed out and destroy the fallen agents of darkness. To help the witches not witches is the standard clan of teenage ignorants oh, and also a lesbian ghost (long story). To top it off, there's a big focus on the nephilim legends spawned from Genesis 6, an intriguing subject in and of itself.
Be warned, however, the show is surprisingly vulgar. Though some verbiage is edited out, they leave quite a bit in. Also some of the character interactions involve a rather sordid mix of sexual escapades, all of which are capitalized upon for the sake of ratings, I'm sure. Still, the show holds a great deal of intrigue. Despite the inconsistencies with true and sound nephelim mythology (and I use that word loosely), the writers are relatively gutsy in where they take the story, and I'm anxious to see where they take it next. The acting's hit or miss, though there's been some great surprises by the female leads (it might just be the British accents). The overall composition becomes something that takes the entertaining campiness of old and mixes it with some unique narratives and compelling paths of plot.
The show just began its second season last night on BBC America. Check your local listings for schedule lineups. I think it's pretty much every Saturday. If you're a fan of Buffy (which I'm not) or you just love creative supernatural fiction, than I highly recommend the series. Just always remember to practice safe Hex (wow...that was sappy).
Labels: bbc, bbc america, entertainment, hex, supernatural, tv
5.23.2007
naomi = hanso
5 minutes after the season finale, and I'm already blogging. I've become one of the "others." Over-zealous,over-opinionated, and over-blogging. Nonetheless. Here's my take:
Initial kudos to the writers for the exceptional back story. I first anticipated the rouse when I noticed he was using a modern cell phone. I brushed it off as a production oops, but I should have known better. Deep down I want this to mean that the writers will break their season 1-3 flashback writing formulas as they approach the 4th. Unfortunately, I had similar wishes at the end of season 2.
If you recall, the end and cliffhanger was a scene that took place outside the island at that arctic base. I hoped it would mean season 3 would actually explore the A-story narrative outside of the island. Or at least give us a few peeks here and there. Unfortunately, however, they not once went outside the island with the A-story, not even in the finale (it was a flash-forward and still very much a B-story).
Where am I going with all this? I highly doubt they'll do more flash-forward narratives, if they couldn't even grow a pair to explore the A-story outside of the island. But, we'll see.
Must keep expectations low...must keep expectations low...mustn't be disappointed again...
Ahh...okay. Back to Naomi.
Admittedly, I was duped into believing she was working for Penny when she first appeared. In fact, I was so sure, I wrote a fan-fic describing the scene. When she explained that flight 815 had been found along with bodies in a later episode, however, I realized she was probably full of ... I then surmised she was working with Mikhail, since he came to the call of the flair so quickly and understood her many languages, particularly when she said "I am not alone" in Portuguese. It was then I made the Hanso connection in particular relationship to some key facts presented in the Online Experience. I think, now, after the finale, those connections ring true, but not quite in the way I imagined.
Here's my take: Naomi works for Hanso. She was very much aboard the large freighter commissioned by the organization to find, again, the island. This was made factual by the online experience. Here's the lowdown on that in a nutshell.
FACTS:
Alvar Hanso and the Degroots (the hippie couple) start the Dharma Initiative in an attempt to use the island and research to change core values in the Valenzetti equation, thus preventing the end of the world. Outside of the island, something very bad happens to the organization. The administration is taken over by a few elite and very shady characters. Alvar Hanso is placed under house arrest, and it's left to Alvar's daughter to investigate his disappearance and find the truth. What she finds is that the new leader of the foundation is on a rather passionate quest to locate the island that, in his own words, they have lost communication with. A large freighter is put together and fitted with some very special customizations that can't be explained. From the blue prints they look like very peculiar storage areas. It's left to the ship to find the island in hopes of reigniting the Dharma Initiative once again, but this time without the direction and perhaps accountability of its founders.
THEORY:
The ship is actually fitted not only with special cargo holds, but also an ice breaking hull. Naomi flew off the ship into the direction they hypothesized the island might be. Essentially she was telling the truth when she said she was doing a grid search. I wager, however, that it was perhaps over ice and not ocean. If you remember the look on Penny's face when Charlie tells her they're on an island. Her surprise suggests that that idea seems a shock, even though she already knows the relative location of the island based on the information presented at the very end of season 2. And yes, I still can't get Walt/Hugo's comic book out of my mind. I'm holding on to the arctic theory till it blows up in my face.
Regardless, however, the "bad guys" are indeed coming. Ben's right. It was this that threw me off. My best guess is that as Dharma was being poisoned by bad leadership, some information about the foul intent came through the pipeline forcing the "hostiles" to take drastic actions to cut off the initiative from the outside world and place the island again into obscurity. Ben is believed to be a messiah-type figure to the "hostiles" because he can communicate with Jacob (no theories on this yet), but in reality, Ben is more a survivor, a selfish one at that (thus the reason why he shot Locke). For whatever reason, however, the foul intent of this rogue group that's taken over Hanso is so intense that it transcends Ben's selfish endeavors.
This group probably endeavors to "fix a mistake" and create a cover-up. That's why Ben fears they'll kill everyone on the island. I also think the strange cargo holders might exist to transport some very unique equipment off the island. This is where I think time travel might enter the equation. A friend shared an interesting blog link to a time-travel theory associated with the show. Check out my blog entry about the subject. I thought it interesting, but not worth taking to seriously, since it was kind of shaky in its evidence. Watching the Lost: Answers clip show last week, however, seriously changed my mind. The producers are dispelling the notions that they would follow a purgatory, heaven, or hell storyline. Damon Lindelof says something of particular interest. "Everyone on the island is very much alive and exists somewhere in our space time continuum." (paraphrased) Why would he bring up the space time continuum? Anyway, I won't dive into the theory. Check out my other entry to get the full scoop.
In a last look, I can say this much. The writers have definitely created a final catalyst to both wrap up the story and develop a very new plot crisis that can permit some very creative narrative efforts. Couple that with the fact they placed a dead end on the show (3 more seasons), and we're left with a recipe for a grand conclusion. (Remember your mantra Matt) I will not get my hopes up, but I will give the premier a shot, come January. If the writers move forward with gutsy and progressive writing. If they break past formulas, and find a proper balance again with plot progression and compelling character development, we might just have a winning show again. Only time will tell, however. Let's make sure we don't press the execute key and begin the cycle again.
Labels: entertainment, Lost, Naomi, tv, writing