Canada surprising me with Sci-Fi, out of nowhere!
So, the past month has been a bit disappointing for Sci-Fi news... on the fall schedule there's one SF show that I'm definitely interested in (Revolution), and a handful of others that I'll probably give a look to. Fox isn't even doing one new SF show. Not one!
This is a little depressing, because usually there's a couple good new shows each year to pique my interest.
However, to close off the month, my home and native land, Canada, has surprised me with a show that just started on one of our own cable networks. It's called Continuum, and stars Rachel Nichols as a cop from 2077 who is accidentally stranded in 2012 along with a group of terrorists from her time.
It's not perfect, but I found myself rather enjoying it. (minor spoilers ahoy)
The technology looks kind of cool, maybe a bit conservative for 60 years of progress, but if you posit a big period of unrest and instability you might get away with it. I really like how they handle it though, it comes off very much like "person from the future has to get by with only what they happen to have on them"... except, "what they happen to have on them" includes cybernetic implants and smart clothing.
I also think (or at least hope) that, although they look pretty bad in the first episode, the 'terrorists' might end up being right (or at least 'right, but using the wrong methods'). I mean, when the 'hero' was working for an explicitly corporate government in 2077 and the terrorists goal was to restore liberty to the people, it seems a little odd to play that as a straight 'good cop vs bad guys' story.)
There are a few... iffy plot bits, ones that might work out well if they actually deal with them, or might strain credibility if they don't, or bits that hover on the edge of cheesy, but we'll see. One of these is her assuming the identity of a real cop from another city (and country, since it's the US), and joining the local police department in their investigation If it goes unchallenged for too long, that's a definite weakness and I have fears that they will handwave it.
Overall, though, I quite enjoyed it. I was worried it might wind up being something cheesy, and although it has that potential, it could also be quite good, for a time travel story. A pleasant surprise, considering I hadn't even heard about it (or if I had, I'd forgotten it), before the day before yesterday when I saw commercials for the premiere!
Of course, it's only 10 episodes so most likely it'll be over by Fall, so it's really no cure for the Fall TV Blues, but it is certainly nice! And I get to play "Canadian TV Star Bingo!" (in the first episode alone, I've seen two recurring characters from Stargate, one minor character from Stargate Universe, a minor character from Caprica, an X-Files villain, and one of the main cast of Andromeda (there is some overlap). We do a lot of SF, and so the same faces show up a lot. Also nice: It's actually set in Vancouver! So yay, Canadian pride!
Might be worth checking out if anybody on my flist has access to where it plays or... 'other means' of acquiring it. (Don't let the Canadianness put you off, it's hard to tell unless you look for it!)
This is a little depressing, because usually there's a couple good new shows each year to pique my interest.
However, to close off the month, my home and native land, Canada, has surprised me with a show that just started on one of our own cable networks. It's called Continuum, and stars Rachel Nichols as a cop from 2077 who is accidentally stranded in 2012 along with a group of terrorists from her time.
It's not perfect, but I found myself rather enjoying it. (minor spoilers ahoy)
The technology looks kind of cool, maybe a bit conservative for 60 years of progress, but if you posit a big period of unrest and instability you might get away with it. I really like how they handle it though, it comes off very much like "person from the future has to get by with only what they happen to have on them"... except, "what they happen to have on them" includes cybernetic implants and smart clothing.
I also think (or at least hope) that, although they look pretty bad in the first episode, the 'terrorists' might end up being right (or at least 'right, but using the wrong methods'). I mean, when the 'hero' was working for an explicitly corporate government in 2077 and the terrorists goal was to restore liberty to the people, it seems a little odd to play that as a straight 'good cop vs bad guys' story.)
There are a few... iffy plot bits, ones that might work out well if they actually deal with them, or might strain credibility if they don't, or bits that hover on the edge of cheesy, but we'll see. One of these is her assuming the identity of a real cop from another city (and country, since it's the US), and joining the local police department in their investigation If it goes unchallenged for too long, that's a definite weakness and I have fears that they will handwave it.
Overall, though, I quite enjoyed it. I was worried it might wind up being something cheesy, and although it has that potential, it could also be quite good, for a time travel story. A pleasant surprise, considering I hadn't even heard about it (or if I had, I'd forgotten it), before the day before yesterday when I saw commercials for the premiere!
Of course, it's only 10 episodes so most likely it'll be over by Fall, so it's really no cure for the Fall TV Blues, but it is certainly nice! And I get to play "Canadian TV Star Bingo!" (in the first episode alone, I've seen two recurring characters from Stargate, one minor character from Stargate Universe, a minor character from Caprica, an X-Files villain, and one of the main cast of Andromeda (there is some overlap). We do a lot of SF, and so the same faces show up a lot. Also nice: It's actually set in Vancouver! So yay, Canadian pride!
Might be worth checking out if anybody on my flist has access to where it plays or... 'other means' of acquiring it. (Don't let the Canadianness put you off, it's hard to tell unless you look for it!)