The Constellation Awards...

[fajrdrako]

The Constellation Awards are media awards given out at the SF convention Polaris, which used to be Toronto Trek. I attended the con last year. They've announced the nominations and I was amusing myself trying to figure out how I would vote. Here's my thoughts:


1) Best Male Performance in a 2006 Science Fiction Television Episode.

1. Anthony Michael Hall, The Dead Zone, "Independence Day"
2. Ben Browder, Stargate SG-1, "Company of Thieves"
3. David Tennant, Doctor Who, "The Girl in the Fireplace"
4. Jared Padalecki, Supernatural, "Croatoan"
5. Jensen Ackles, Supernatural, "In My Time of Dying"
6. Masi Oka, Heroes, "Genesis"

I didn't see 1, 4, or 5 - not those particular episodes of those shows, anyway, so I can't comment on them. I saw "Company of Thieves" and was not impressed, though I like Ben Browder in general. I do not like him, however, nearly as much as I like Masi Oka or David Tennant, and the problem is choosing between them.

And it's a testiment to how stupendous they both are that it isn't easy to decide. I loved "The Girl in the Fireplace" and I loved Tennant's performance in it - especially the scene where the Doctor was drunk, but the whole thing was great...

I think my vote goes to #3 David Tennant. Much as I adore Hiro, his performance in "Genesis" doesn't particularly stand out, and Tennant's range in incomparable.


2) Best Female Performance in a 2006 Science Fiction Television Episode.

1. Billie Piper, Doctor Who, "Doomsday"
2. Billie Piper, Doctor Who, "School Reunion"
3. Claudia Black, Stargate SG-1, "Memento Mori"
4. Elisabeth Sladen, Doctor Who, "School Reunion"
5. Hayden Panettiere, Heroes, "Genesis"
6. Katee Sackhoff, Battlestar Galactica, "Torn"

This may be the first time in my personal television history that there have been so many good female leads in so many wonderful TV shows. I didn't see "Memento Mori", but I know how good Claudia Black is - and sexy, too. I have seen and loved all the others. How to choose?

I don't like Billie Piper's looks much, or even her acting style, but she (and those great scripts) made me love Rose Tyler, which is a remarkable achievement in itself. Her acting in "Doomsday" was utterly wonderful. Hayden Panettiere is also magnificent, though again, "Genesis" doesn't stand out for me as her best work. Katee Sackhoff.... oh my goodness. Do I want to vote for her or for Elizabeth Sladen, who was so good as Sarah Jane Smith in "School Reunion"? Both were brilliant. Starbuck was sexier, and got to me on deeper levels, but I can think of many reasons Elisabeth Sladen deserves the vote: her acting was more subtle and clear, her role more unusual. And, I confess, a twinge of prejudice for the 'older female role'. My vote, then, to Elisabeth Sladen in Doctor Who, "School Reunion".

But they all deserve awards.


3) Best Science Fiction Television Series of 2006.

1. Battlestar Galactica
2. Doctor Who
3. Heroes
4. Stargate SG-1
5. Stargate: Atlantis
6. Supernatural

Difficult again, though I can easily ignore #4, #5 and #6, which I don't like. That leaves three shows I think are as good as television gets, except maybe for Firefly. So. Doctor Who is my favourite of the three, as the most original and clever - but it also has the most variation in quality. Battlestar Galactica is just so good - but loses a few points for being grim. Maybe. And Heroes. I can't think of any rationale to choose here. Three shows that are so well written I can't believe it.

I'll vote for Doctor Who just because I love it most. Sheer emotional partiality. That counts for something.


4) Best Male Performance in a 2006 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie, or Mini-Series.

1. Brandon Routh, Superman Returns
2. Clive Owen, Children of Men
3. Hugh Jackman, X-Men: The Last Stand
4. Hugo Weaving, V for Vendetta
5. Nathan Fillion, Slither
6. Peter Krause, The Lost Room

I didn't see Slither, though of all those men, Nathan Fillion is my favourite actor in general. I saw only a few minutes of The Lost Room and was not impressed at all. Brandon Routh was very good in Superman Returns, good looking and nicely understated, but also not very compelling. Hugh Jackman was maybe the best thing about X-Men: The Last Stand, but for reasons I can't articulate, that was probably the point at which I stopped liking Hugh Jackman as an actor. Hugo Weaving, I always like, but didn't think his performance in V For Vendetta was his best, and certainly doesn't compare to Clive Owen in Children of Men, which I thought the better movie. So #2 gets my vote.


5) Best Female Performance in a 2006 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie, or Mini-Series.

1. Elle Fanning, The Lost Room
2. Julianne Moore, Children of Men
3. Kate Beckinsale,Underworld: Evolution
4. Kate Bosworth, Superman Returns
5. Keira Knightley, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
6. Maribel Verdú, Pan's Labyrinth
7. Natalie Portman, V for Vendetta

I didn't like The Lost Room. Haven't seen Pan's Labyrinth or Underworld: Evolution, though I think Kate Beckinsale is beautiful. Kate Bosworth was not particularly impressive in Superman Returns; or Natalie Portman; neither was Keira Knightley in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, though she was fine, and very, very attractive. So Keira would get my vote if it were looks or style I was voting for, but ... performance? Julianne Moore was good in Children of Men, but I didn't think her role (which was reasonably small) or her acting were particularly remarkable. So I guess Keira Knightley gets my vote, almost by default.

It shows that in my opinion, currently, the great female roles are on television, not in movies.


6) Best Science Fiction Film, TV Movie, or Mini-Series of 2006.

1. Children of Men
2. Pan's Labyrinth
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
4. Superman Returns
5. V for Vendetta
6. X-Men: The Last Stand

I saw 5 out of the 6, and all except Children of Men were forumulaic. No, that's not fair, V for Vendetta was not formulaic, but I thought it worked better as a comic than a movie. So: Children of Men gets my vote.


7) Best Technical Accomplishment in a 2006 Science Fiction Film or Television Production.

1. Battlestar Galactica, Visual Effects (Zoic Studios)
2. Children of Men, Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki)
3. Doctor Who, Music (Murray Gold, Composer)
4. Supernatural, Cinematography (Serge Ladouceur)
5. Supernatural, Visual Effects (EntityFX)
6. X-Men: The Last Stand, Visual Effects (John Bruno, Eric Saindon, Craig Lyn & Michael Vezina: Visual Effects Supervisors)

What, they're comparing music and special effects? Isn't that apples and oranges? Well, unquestionably, I choose #3, Murray Gold, for the Doctor Who music, which is superb.

Yes, the cinematography in Children of Men was superb too, and amazing technical and artistic achievement. But the music in Doctor Who means more to me.


8) Best Overall 2006 Science Fiction Film or Television Script.

1. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J.Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus, & Hawk Ostby)
2. Doctor Who, The Girl in the Fireplace (Steven Moffat)
3. Heroes, Six Months Ago (Aron Eli Coleite)
4. Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro)
5. Stargate SG-1, 200 (Brad Wright & Robert C. Cooper)
6. Supernatural, In My Time of Dying (Eric Kripke)

Aaargh. Okay, #4, #5, and #6 are out: don't like or didn't see. So: there are some Heroes scripts that might give me pause, but "Six Months Ago" wasn't a favourite. So that means I have to choose between "Children of Men" - one of the best-written movies I've seen in a long time - or "The Girl in the Fireplace", which was wonderful, and which was by Stephen Moffatt, whom I already loved from "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances".

I guess it really isn't much of a decision. Though I preferred a couple of other Doctor Who scripts in 2006 (like "Army of Ghosts" and "Doomsday") I loved "The Girl in the Fireplace" very much indeed, so it gets my vote.


9) Outstanding Canadian Contribution to Science Fiction Film or Television in 2006.

1. Battlestar Galactica
2. Doctor Who
3. Evangeline Lilly
4. Michael Shanks
5. Stargate SG-1
6. Supernatural

I don't even know what this category means. I'll vote for Doctor Who because I love it best. Evangeline Lilly and Michael Shanks are both gorgeous, so if I were voting for Canadian beauty - but I don't like their shows so much. Battlestar Galactica is a very, very close second place.