Category: Media

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

Thanks to Slashdot for pointing out Boston.com’s top 50 Sci-Fi shows.

Starting from the, urh, bottom:

50. “Earth Final Conflict” — I’m not sure I even remember this one. However, it was on television when I was right in the middle of the hottest part of my consulting and writing business; had started at a dot-com; had watched the dot-com fail; moved from Portland, to Vermont, to Boston, to San Francisco; oh, and got divorced. I don’t think I watched a lot of TV.

49. “The Wild Wild West” — Loved it.

48. “Third Rock from the Sun” — Didn’t follow it strictly but did watch from time to time. Cute. Liked the daughter, she could kick butt.

47. “Buck Rogers in the 25th Centruy” — Now what is there about spandex that isn’t to love? This was disco sci-fi, and campy, as Batman was campy. Speaking of which, will probably show in the list later.

46. “That was Then” — Now, I did manage to catch this, and the premise was very interesting. They never give shows such as this enough time to find their audience. Speaking of Serenity, this will probably be showing up later, too.

45. “The Greatest American Hero” — The good thing, about the only good thing, about this show is that my cousin, Robert Culp, was in it.

44. “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” — Gag me.

43. “Nowhere Man” — Again, I saw this because I’ve always liked Bruce Greenwood. Blinked and it was over.

42. “Science Fiction Theater” — I was too young for this show. Yes, there is actually a television show that I would be too young to remember.

41. “Futurama” — Never saw it.

40. “The Thunderbirds” — Come on, folks! Puppets in rockets! How cool is that?

39. “The man from U.N.C.L.E” — I had a crush for the longest time, way into my adulthood, for Illya Kullyakin. And I prefer dark haired guys typically.

38. “Batman” — See? Told you! Two guys in tight spandex…Holy Butts, Batman!

37. “Space 1999″ — I really liked this show. I thought it had an odd feel to it that set it apart from other shows of the time. The only other program that came close in feel was The Prisoner — remember that one? And the bouncing ball?

36. “The Bionic Woman” — Okay, I confess: I liked this show. At least in the beginning; towards the end, it became bizarre.

35. “Battlestar Galactica” — A cut above, both the historical show and the modern one. Especially after last night’s show of the modern edition, which I consider to be one of the finest television shows dealing rape and the objectification of women I have seen.

34. “The Avengers” — Lovely show, wonderful actors, great accents, interesting stories. A classic.

33. “Lost in Space” — Never missed a show. Again, this seemed like a typical show of the time at first glance; family values and all. But it explored some very interesting concepts, and the writers demonstrated imagination with some of the story lines.

32. “My Favorite Martian” — It never really rang my bell.

31. “Alien Nation” — Wonderful show that matured in concept as it aged in time. How best to look at our own problems of racial fear and bigotry than by creating another species and using them as object lessons. Spoiled milk, anyone?

30. “Voyage to the Bottom of the Seas” — Another great show. Is it just me or could Sci-Fi channel dump their abysmal made for TV movies and replace them all with these wonderful old shows? And improve hugely?

29. “Six Million Dollar Man” — Never cared for Lee Majors, so didn’t like the show.

28. “Adventures of Superman” — Oh now, this is the old one and I do remember these. Loved it — strong female lead, wholesome man with bulgy muscles in tight…wait, we’ve been down this one before.

27. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” — Loved the show, except for the last year or so when it started getting strange. Except that I did like it when Buffy and Spike, well, remember the carpet?

26. “Stargate Atlantis” — Watch it as part of the Friday night lineup. Not the best of sci-fi though.

25. “The Jetsons” — Cartoon, so just never got into it. I liked Marvin the Martian and Warner Brothers, but that was about it. Don’t like games either. I was not a fun child.

24. “Wonder Woman” — When I was younger and a little more gravity defiant I was told I looked like Wonder Woman. No, really. Some homeless guy on the street assured me it was so.

23. “Tales from the Crypt” — not my thing.

22. “Andromeda” — Lot’s of pretty people going nowhere. Didn’t care for it.

21. “Quantum Leap” — Some of the most imaginative scripting in television. Some amazing stories.

20. “The Hitchhiker” — The premise was good, but the execution was flawed.

19. “Dark Angel” — Haven’t seen it. Is it on now? Where?

18. “V” — I liked this show. I didn’t love it, and didn’t go out of my way to watch it, but I liked it.

17. “Firefly” — Just number 17? Idiots. Best show on TV. Ever.

16. “Flash Gordon” — I saw the movie, which was deliciously cheap and tinselly; but never the television show.

15. “Logan’s Run” — Take a great story line and really screw it up and you have Logan’s Run.

14. “Star Trek: Voyager” — I never got into this one. I think I was getting tired of Trek about then. No where near as good as many later in the list.

13. “Outer Limits” — I loved this show. Remember the one where the person from the future came back in time and seduced a woman to return with him, but then by doing so, changed history and he wasn’t there? Reminds me of weblogging.

12. Xena: Warrier Princess” — I like tough women who can kick butt, but this show left me cold. I guess I’d rather do than watch. Hee. Just joking.

11. “Lost” — I didn’t watch the first year, but I’m thinking of renting it. It seems to be intriguing.

10. “Sliders” — This was a good show. Again, not a great one, but good.

9. “Mystery Science Fiction Theater” — If you don’t like this, you lose your Sci-Fi good fandom badge. What better way to watch the old, bad movies?

8. “Dr. Who” — Don’t hit me, but I never watched Dr. Who. Why, I don’t know, except every time I would try to watch, there was so much that seemed to be assumed. I may try this again.

7. “The Twilight Zone” — Some of the finest, brightest, and most adult television of all time.

6. “Stargate SG-1″ — I like this show, and the humor that’s an implicit component. I’m not sure about the new cast, though. Other than I really enjoyed Vala as a character.

5. “Babylon 5″ — I liked Babylon 5. Another show with strong female leads. “Sooner or later, we all go boom!”

4. “X Files” — The most disturbing show I have seen on television was from the X Files. It was the one where the folks were heavily in-bred, and it was too much for me. I was sometimes a fan of the show.

3. “Star Trek the Next Generation” — Oh, of course I liked this show. How can I not like Woof? This show demonstrated that one can be older and sexy. In fact, it demonstrated that one can’t really be truly sexy until one is older. I like that in a show. (Oh you young, firm things — lighten up, your turn will come.)

2. “Battlestar Galactica” — Oh hey, it got a slot of its own. Well, after the recent shows, I agree with this. Very powerful, especially the one last night. How can a station that puts out the crap it does on Saturday night host this amazing series boggles. It really does.

-and I know what 1 will be, it will be-

1. “Star Trek, the original” Of course. If it weren’t for Star Trek, I don’t think we would have the sci-fi channel, or even the movies we’ve had. It kept the genre alive through a very dry period, and then re-sparked it again when we were ready.

Want to know what my router is named? “trekkie”

Watching Pirates of the Caribbean sounds like a wonderful idea tonight. I’m getting nothing else useful done — certainly nothing with you -know-what. Arrrr! DF!

Danny Ayers has a great talk like a pirate entry. He also has another good entry on the whole “RDF” discussion.

As I was fortuitously reminded, Serenity opens up in a few short weeks: September 30th. I and my roommate have decided we both wanted to see it on the day it comes out, but the where is still open. I also found out that Archon 29 the big St. Louis Fiction and Fantasy convention is going on at the same time, and I considering attending it and the showing there.

For being a big science fiction and fantasy fan, I’ve never been to any kind of convention. Not a Star Trek convention, or one for Dungeons and Dragons and any of the generic fandom type of events. The one at St. Louis promises multiple tracks of presentations, and features some rather fascinating sounding events.

For instance, on Friday night the convention is featuring a showing of Pirates of the Caribbean, inviting all comers to dress like pirates, and then shout out favorite lines from the movie. The convention is hiring pirates and providing all sorts of goodies to make the event one of a kind. I loved Pirates of the Caribbean — did I happen to mention that I adore Depp?–and oddly enough for being a retiring subbie, this party appeals. If the showing is at the Holiday Inn, we can bring our pints o’ rum. Otherwise, we’ll have to settle for the more sedate refreshment at the Convention center.

Outside of the movies, I’d like to attend the event and take photos of people. I think that would be much fun, and add a little variety to all my shots of flowers, birds, bees, etc.

Then there would be Serenity. The people attending Archon are planning on dressing up as their favorite characters in the movie, which I imagine could pass fairly easily for dress on the street. Still, there promises to be a sea of brown.

So, any of you going to see the movie, and if so, are you making a special event out of it?

I am actually very fond of the online site for the local newspaper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I’ve found over time that the site tends to provide a more balanced viewpoint on issues than not. And usually covers news with a strong sense of humanity. I think this is a mark of home town newspapers.

Anyway, I’ve just read several very interesting articles related to Katrina I wanted to point out.

A division of the Missouri national Guard has been assigned to New Orleans for a month, beginning with escorting folks to their homes in a parish that isn’t flooded, to pick up what belongings they can. While there, they got a surprise:

About noon Sunday, east of Baton Rouge, the Missouri National Guard soldiers saw a familiar sight: At least seven buses emblazoned with a big, blue “M” were westbound on Interstate 10, heading toward Baton Rouge. The buses were packed with people and accompanied by a police escort and several church vans. Metro sent the buses to New Orleans on Friday to assist with the evacuation.

Another story discusses the intercom system at the Astrodome and gives a glimpse into life at this shelter. Included also is a discussion of the work of Technology for All.

This article discusses how local, state, and federal governments have been ignoring a report that came out of the 1993 floods. Though this would not have stopped the flooding, if the report had been adhered to, the damage would have been much less. What is the good of having experts give advice if elected officials refuse to act on said advice.

The paper ran a poll asking people what they thought of the federal government’s handling of Katrina. The following is a screenshot of the reactions of this solidly red state. Solidly red in the last election that is.

 

Sylvester Brown, my favorite columnist, had some pithy, sharp words for those who focused on the ‘race’ issue and looting:

No, I’m not up in arms about the recent charges of the media’s “racial insensitivity.” The accusations rise from two photos circulating on the Web showing people wading through waist-deep water carrying groceries. The caption under the black person describes him as “looting,” while another describes a white couple “finding bread and soda.”

I don’t give a rat’s patooty about “looters” – black or white. As we discuss the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, “looting” should be far, far down America’s list of concerns.

I was knocked for a loop after reading Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s warning to the “hoodlums” in her state. National Guardsmen had arrived, she boasted. Their M-16s are “locked and loaded.” They know how to kill; they are more than willing to kill, and they will kill, she told reporters.

Excuse me. “More than willing?” Oh yeah, Blanco, that’s just what New Orleans needs – more dead bodies floating up and down the streets.

Brown made me rethink my earlier opinion of Nagin. Perhaps I haven’t given Nagin the slack he deserves, considering he’s only been mayor less than two years. But a mandatory evacuation only 20 hours before the storm hit–he doesn’t deserve medals for his actions.

Here’s another perspective on stories about hotel people being evacuated before those at the Superdome. A St. Louis lawyer and his wife and several guests from two hotels paid 45.00 each for tickets on buses leaving the city. However, when the buses arrived, they were confiscated for the Superdome evacuation effort. As easy as people could get in and out of the city, why did it take so long to evacuate the people?

Anyway, I thought you might find a St. Louis perspective on the events to be interesting. Missouri is one of the states that is opening up shelters for those currently in Texas, as well as schools, and colleges for students who can’t attend Gulf state colleges.

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

I watched the movie, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou on DVD tonight. It starred Bill Murray and a host of other well known actors. Critics hated it, or loved it — in about equal measure. I also loved it and hated it, in about the same measure.

It’s a odd movie with odd sets and an odd story. I would watch one scene and decide I disliked the movie; in the next, though, I would be laughing over some dry piece of visual or verbal humor, and the confusion would start all over again.

Ultimately, though, I liked this movie. I liked it a lot. I liked the odd sets, including the cut away ship, exposed to the camera like an ant farm. I liked the music, which enters at odd moments. I liked the characters, but not all of the time. And I loved the end. I loved the end so much, I watched the last set of chapters on the DVD three times, and may watch it once more before going to bed. All I will say is that I came close to crying, and still may. And I have a burning desire to hear the Beatles “Yellow Submarine” again. For the first time.

A. O. Scott at the NY Times wrote:

As someone who was more annoyed than charmed by “Tenenbaums,” I should have been completely exasperated with “The Life Aquatic,” with its wispy story and wonder-cabinet production design, but to my surprise I found it mostly delightful.

Save the money you might spend watching that piece of crap Dukes of Hazard and rent The Life Aquatic. If for no other reason than a good David Bowie song, and for the visual delight.