Author: Lynn

Categories
Movies

2012 Movie, science fiction—or fantasy?

Ah, 2012. 2012 the movie I will admit I’ve watched more than an ordinary number of specials on the History Channel and the Discovery Channel of late about the scientific plausibility of 2012 actually meaning anything other than a date two years hence.

That said, I have always had and will probably always have a soft spot for disaster movies. I loved The Day After Tomorrow and I watch it whenever I’m in the mood to see the world changed forever.

The thing is though, after having watched all those TV specials about 2012 and the Mayan calendar ending and the upcoming galactic alignment of the sun with the center of the Milky Way, I still don’t think it all really means anything.

What will be will be and all that.

However, I also learned enough to know that 2012 the movie is more like a wonderfully wrought piece of fantasy than science fiction. Science fiction is fiction based on science. 2012 was exciting, touching, gorgeous, and devastating, but it wasn’t based on any science I’ve ever learned.

I once read a document put out by one of the Geological Society of London’s working groups called Super-eruptions: global effects and future threats. It was my understanding of what I read that 27 days wouldn’t be near the time needed to clear the air of the effects from a Yellowstone eruption, and that’s just one of the many disasters that struck the world in the 2012 movie and changed it—forever, but of which had less than realistic looking  long-term consequences.

The movie was great, nonetheless, but it certainly wasn’t based on science. Is science fantasy a genre? Because that’s where 2012 squarely fits.

If you’re a fan of Mega Disasters and similar TV programs, you’ll probably like 2012. I did. :)

Categories
Science Fiction Television

Sanctuary’s Next Tuesday (with and without commentary) is online at Syfy Rewind

Right now, there are several of the Sanctuary season two episodes available to watch online at Syfy Rewind.

As of this post, you can catch last week’s Sanctuary episode Next Tuesday, along with an enhanced version of the episode which includes commentary. The show is a good one, in my opinion, and well worth watching more than once. There’s one particular touching moment that I appreciated, and it’s nice to see a series truly mourn a missing character.

The commentary-laden episode is worth the commercial interruptions. Besides, that’s the only way you’ll get to see it for now. Season two DVDs will come later, I’m sure. :)

Categories
Sci-Fi Views

Have your TV viewing habits been forever changed by DVR technology?

Last year in an article about Chuck (the TV series), I wrote that my TV viewing habits had been forever changed by my DVR. I think now more than ever, TV networks need to take note of this change, because I know I’m not the only person who has adopted a new way of watching TV.

Years ago, if a show was important to me, I watched live. These days this is exactly opposite of how I treat the TV shows I love and adore.

Here’s what I wrote:

One thing I will say as a last side note, Networks and TV people need to take note of how the DVR has changed tv for so many people. I watch stuff live when it catches my interest but isn’t on my have-to-see list. If I absolutely don’t want to miss a show, it gets recorded.

I don’t watch any of my favorite programs live anymore. I want to be able to see Chuck and my other favorites from start to finish without interruptions–and that includes the commercial content. It’s only the stuff that doesn’t really matter that I watch live these days. I feel it’s important that networks understand this. I’m not the only one with this attitude. The DVR has forever changed my TV viewing habits. (Link: Chuck TV show news article where I made these comments)

Do you depend on your DVR the way I do for favorite shows, but leave live viewing for less-than-beloved series? How do you watch TV these days?

Categories
Science Fiction Television

Dollhouse still getting better, even though it’s too late

Back when it was first announced that Dollhouse had been officially cancelled, I wrote that I didn’t care. I didn’t. But after watching the the latest episodes of Dollhouse (shown as a 2 hour event), I have to say it saddens me to notice how much better the show has gotten lately. If it had been this compelling, this entertaining, from the get go, this series would have stood a much better chance of gaining a wide audience.

In fact, I have 16 minutes left of the 2nd episode and I am pretty sure these two (The Public Eye and The Left Hand) are the best of either season.

Click here to watch these Dollhouse episodes online.

Don’t take it as a bad sign that I’m writing this, since I needed a bathroom break and had my laptop sitting beside me on the couch when I came back. I’m so excited about how interesting I’ve found these episodes that I tried to call a friend who watches but she wasn’t around. There was no one else to share my excitement with, so here you are—a blog post instead. :) Now I really do have to go. I want to see how it ends.

16 minutes later… I’m back.

I love how so many threads have come together and how much of the episode isn’t Echo-centric. Don’t get me wrong, I like Echo, but I think the show is so much better when she’s just a part of a much bigger whole. It’s also nice to see Adele with a backbone but still on the darker side of things…

Ballard isn’t the most interesting of the bunch, but he’s taken a backseat to the more compelling storylines and “Victor” has shown some delightful and seriously talented acting. There’s not much more to say without giving stuff away, but if you’ve been a fan but have been on the fence about whether or not to watch these final episodes, I say give it a shot. You might be as pleasantly surprised as I’ve been.

There’s gold in these episodes and it’s unlikely you’ll be disappointed.

As Todd VanDerWerff said in his recap of “The Public Eye”, “It’s too bad this show has been officially canceled, because "The Public Eye" is the first episode of season two to fully live up to the show’s potential.” Read these engrossing recaps if you have the time. They’re worth it.

Also, don’t miss your chance to watch the episodes. Click here to watch Dollhouse online.

Categories
Science Fiction Television

Fox shop free shipping deal

Dollhouse Season 1 There’s a good deal going on at FOX Shop this weekend. They’re offering free shipping. That would be great if you haven’t gotten yourself or a friend a copy of any of the DVD sets for Dollhouse, Buffy, Angel, or any other sets they might be interested in watching.

Here’s the link: Get Free Shipping on all orders with code FREESHIP from 12/4 – 12/6

Don’t forget to use the code!

Not that the show fits, but the Glee music is on there too, and I have to admit I’ve become a fan. :)

Categories
Science Fiction Television

Veritas Tricky Sanctuary

Click here to watch Sanctuary episodes online.

My attempt at a joke might have backfired on me, but if you got it, thank you veritas much for getting it! ;)

When I started watching this episode tonight (I am always behind it seems—only one more reason to be forever grateful to the inventor of the DVR), I had high hopes something was up. Big Guy dead? So soon after Ashley’s apparent demise? My first reaction was that someone was interested in shaking things up on Sanctuary a little too much for my liking, but then of course, the episode started moving quite quickly and I couldn’t relax enough to worry about what the hell the writers of Sanctuary were thinking by killing off Big Guy.

Good thing the writer’s know better than I how to craft a crafty story. I enjoyed the mystery of this one, and for a while, I admit to being confused and most definitely off the trail. I figured things out just a hair before Will, and I enjoyed every tricky moment of it.

Click here to watch Sanctuary episodes online.

Categories
Science Fiction Television

Dollhouse is done for and I don’t care

Watch Dollhouse episodes

This is probably a surprise, since I run the Dollhouse Fantasies Dollhouse fan site with a friend of mine. But the problem is, we’ve both been feeling the lack of love for this show for a while now.

Although I really enjoyed the new episodes of this season, they’re still not compelling me to feel sad about the demise of Dollhouse. The truth is, I’m sad that the show was never that good, but I’m not sad that the show I’ve been watching is going to be gone.

Although Renee and I won’t be taking that site down (yet), we aren’t actively updating the blog. Unfortunately, I think the show never quite had what it needed to be a really great TV show.

I was interested in how the season was going to unfold, but this is one of those instances where with the cancellation of the show, I won’t be bothering to watch future episodes. Dollhouse is done for. And I don’t care.

Do you?

Watch Dollhouse episodes

Categories
Science Fiction Television

V, a great new tv show that’s just getting better and better!

Watch V episodes

I watched the latest episode of V yesterday and I have to say I’m more excited about this series than I expected to be. Erica and Jack are compelling characters I enjoy watching. And Anna is delightfully enigmatic and dangerous.

This show deserves a good long run and I sincerely hope the show isn’t hurt by the short 4 episode introduction we’re being given now and the long break between the resumption of the season after the new year.

My DVR is already set to record any new episodes of this show and I doubt I’ll hesitate to watch once the series returns. V had been V-ery good!

Are you watching?

Watch V episodes

Categories
Sci-Fi Views

Sci-fi Fantasies gets something of a makeover

You might have noticed me messing around with the Sci-fi Fantasies website over the last couple of days. I’ve been tweaking and playing and I kind of like what’s come of it. I have a particular family member who thinks I’ve ruined the site by changing the header, but since it’s my site, I told her to leave me alone about it. I happen to like the simplicity of the new header and the way it leaves more room for the important stuff—like my opinion. :)

The makeover isn’t huge, but on a few pages, the changes are more substantial than on others. Take the show detail pages. I’ve moved the episode list menus to the top right to make it easier to find.

Comments are welcome, and I’m always interested to know if there’s a bug that needs working out. Thanks!

Categories
Science Fiction Television

SGU and the future of Stargate

This isn’t going to be a long drawn out post about what I don’t like about the new Stargate series, Stargate Universe. There’s more than I had hoped, but I love the concept of the show and I have high hopes that it will continue to improve with every episode.

I admit I wasn’t thrilled by the first few SGU episodes after Air. Air was a good introduction to the characters and series, but the thing that’s getting me about this series is the slowness of it all. I don’t mind waiting for a payoff, but I’ve never been a fan of dramatic series like Lost, Heroes, ER, Grey’s Anatomy, later seasons of Smallville, or any of a number of other TV series. I like the relationship aspects, but I want to see a lot more action and adventure in this show. Why can’t a more character/relationship driven series still have plenty of action?

I like action, humor, and even Battlestar Galactica. ;) However, with the later, I found I could only handle so much drama before I was ready for it to be over with.

The good thing about Stargate Universe is that with “Time“, I saw what could be. That glimpse into the future of SGU has given me great hopes for the show. With “Time,” I know there’s action and adventure to be had and some of the stuff I’ve always loved about Stargate seems to be surfacing at last—the travel, the excitement, the danger…

I saw something special in “Time” and for the first time, I saw myself as a true fan of the show.

Sci-fi fantasies