By DAN COMPORA <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Source: SyFy Portal <http://www.syfyportal.com> Jun-12-2008
A combination of the 2008 SyFy Genre Awards and Alan Stanley Blairs recent SyFriday column Is This The End Of New Sci-Fi put me in reflection mode. Now that this television <http://www.syfyportal.com/news425115.html> season, for all intents and purposes, is completed, I would like to reflect on what was, overall, a disappointing television season, with a few high points. A few programs, like "Supernatural" (which happens to be my favorite program), "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," and "Pushing Daisies" pretty much met my expectations, therefore I see no reason to comment on them. They were entertaining and generally provided quality entertainment, but failed to surprise me one way or the other. "Battlestar Galactica" is in the middle of its final season, so I have decided not to judge it until "all is revealed." Keep in mind this is one mans list and is subject to my own personal biases, likes and dislikes. I cant watch everything, so if a show isnt on the list, like "Doctor Who," "Ghost Whisperer" or "Stargate: Atlantis," it is because I dont watch them regularly and have no basis to judge the overall season. The Best "Lost" rose from the proverbial ashes to re-establish itself as a high quality drama. The Season 2 introduction of the rear plane survivors cluttered up the cast and took the story too far from the people we grew to care about in Season 1. Season 3 was better, but not by much. A few pointless filler episodes and Sawyer and Kates cuddling in the cage were a bit too much for this viewer to handle. But "Lost" found its way late in Season3 and delivered a solid, and at times spectacular, Season 4. The Good "Jericho's" return from cancellation was a nice midseason reward <http://www.syfyportal.com/news425115.html> for the loyal fans of the show. A tight script, intense pace, fine acting and even some social commentary made this one of the smartest programs Ive seen in quite some time. Too bad so few bothered to watch. They missed a gem. "Chuck" was a pleasant surprise, with an appealing cast, a government conspiracy played with the tongue slightly in cheek, and a generous dose of geeky humor without going overboard (see "Reaper"). Whether "Chuck" can survive the writers strike and abrupt season ending, which saw the last few episodes thrown around the schedule in a seemingly random fashion <http://www.syfyportal.com/news425115.html> , remains to be seen. The show is not without its flaws. Outside of Adam Baldwin, who is superb in his role as an undercover agent, the acting is quite amateurish, but the cast has chemistry and looks to spare. And how does "Chuck" receive upgraded information? Oh yeah, they never bothered to explain that. The miniseries seems to be a dying breed, but somehow, the SciFi Channel has managed to deliver a few solid ones of late: "Battlestar Galactica," "The Lost Room," and now, "Tin Man." "Tin Man" had all of the ingredients of disappointment built in, but somehow managed to deliver a solid, dark extension of the Oz legend. It had the Halmis at the helm, who delivered one of the seasons biggest failures in "Flash Gordon," not to mention that simply revisiting Oz is bound to disappoint and anger someone along the way. I absolutely detest the term "reimagining," but this miniseries paid tribute to the original in a very subtle, understated fashion <http://www.syfyportal.com/pagetogether.php?id=5115&page=2> , then proceeded to tell its own story, which was quite entertaining. The Bad "Flash Gordon" has to be the worst show in recent memory to actually fulfill a full season order. The cast featured a trio of gorgeous girls who undoubtedly were there to bring in the adolescent male viewers, but it wasnt enough. In a normal season with a regular slate of programming, I would have abandoned it, but I watched all of them. I learned to accept it for what it was: low quality entertainment. I actually enjoyed parts of it, but only because I have a very high tolerance for bad science-fiction. With a great franchise name like "Flash Gordon" and the seeming endless array of special effect available today, it should have been better. As it was, it was a poorly written, poorly acted, poorly directed mess. The only thing that could be done is abandon it and try again in the future, when the painful memory of this disaster fades. Nipping closely on the heels of "Flash Gordon" in terms of overall awfulness is "Reaper." Everything that worked for "Chuck" backfired in "Reaper." The show had an excellent pilot, followed by a seemingly endless run of bad episodes. And dont buy into those press leaks that would have you think the show had found its stride late in the season. It didnt. The addition of Tony and Steve, the demon duo, was too little too late. The pointless "green card" story with Ben at the end was ignorant and misplaced. Perhaps there was some social message they were trying to convey, but if so, it didnt work. Ray Wise was spectacular as the Devil, but Tyler Labine was too annoying and over the top as Sock. How this show got a second season is beyond comprehension. The famous theme song <http://www.syfyportal.com/pagetogether.php?id=5115&page=3> from "Smallville" belts <http://www.syfyportal.com/pagetogether.php?id=5115&page=3> out the phrase "Somebody save me." Not even Superman can save this show from the abysmal path it traveled this past season. The sad thing is, I used to really like this show. The addition of Kara Kent was ridiculous in the first place, then to go back to the age old cliché of amnesia? Come on. Be original. The show became a poster child for product placement: meteor rock enhanced Stride gum? Only The CW can renew trash like this and "Reaper." "New Amsterdam" was anything but new. It was a tired old procedural, given a slightly supernatural twist. The cast had no chemistry at all. The plotlines were trite. Quite simply, had it not been for the dearth of programming, I wouldnt have lasted past the pilot. As it was, I watched the whole series and had determined that I would not tune in again, even if it got renewed. But the biggest disaster of the season had to be "Bionic Woman." Poor acting, poor writing, a slow pace, a lack of action, and a death of intelligent storylines killed what could have been an interesting premise. Katee Sackhoff was underutilized, and Michelle Ryan was just terrible in the lead role. This show was not funny, entertaining, action packed or anything. It was just terrible from beginning to end. The Disappointing "Heroes" really stumbled in its second season. It introduced too many new characters nobody cared about, sent Hiro to ancient Japan in a silly storyline that took too long to play out, focused too much on relationships, and failed to introduce a compelling villain to succeed Sylar. When the creator admits things went wrong, you know it had to be bad. It was. Word of advice to Mr. Kring: get rid of Sylar and move the story forward. Learn the lesson Hiro learned: living in the past doesnt work. Only a semi-strong yet rushed season finale keeps this from being considered a disaster. "Journeyman" found a small, dedicated audience, but never recovered from a muddled pilot and a somewhat sluggish pace. The biggest mistake was starting with a complicated love quadrangle and an unexplained time traveling <http://www.syfyportal.com/pagetogether.php?id=5115&page=4> phenomenon. Shows should start simply and build in complexity. It doesnt work the other way around. By the end of the pilot, I simply didnt care. I was patient and stuck with it. I saw the show evolve into a decent program with potential, but it failed to generate much if any emotional response from me when it was canceled. When a show is not hyped and is broadcast on Memorial Day weekend, dont get your hopes up. The A&E miniseries remake of "The Andromeda Strain" featured a big-name cast from Benjamin Bratt and Rich Schroeder to the superb yet relatively unknown Andre Braugher. It even had Ridley Scotts name attached. This miniseries strays even further from Michael Crichtons novel than the original film ever did. Poor dialogue killed this show for me. While it wasnt terrible, I expected more from the names involved. http://www.syfyportal.com/news425115.html [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
