Rod Serling did it better… but Battlestar Galactica still hot

SPOILER ALERT… don’t read this if you haven’t seen the final episode for 2008!

BSG fans no doubt delighted at the 2008 season finale where all sorts of insane tensions mount between humans and Cylons.

And Xena (oops, I mean Cylon number Three), that ever-enchanting toaster, offers an innocent civilian up to death before a truce is made between humans and Cylons.

Interesting that the truce isn’t achieved by brute force but by human and Cylon goodwill, along with President Apollo’s diplomacy.

All round great job… kudos to all concerned in the production.

Except for one thing… the final scene where Earth is trashed? Rod Serling did it way better.

If you don’t believe me, just check out the episode “Time Enough at Last.”

Cylon’s despair

Cylon’s despair, originally uploaded by earthpages.

Sci-fi fans are all hip to the idea of human beings wondering if they’re cylons… but what about the other side..?

Original Creative Commons photo “Liverpool Street station crowd blur” by David Sim » www.flickr.com/photos/victoriapeckham/164175205/

Are you up to tachyonic speed?

C. F. Fitzgerald, “Tachyons” pp. 421-423 cited in
Tachyons, Time Travel, and Divine Omniscience
Author(s): William Lane Craig
Source: The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 85, No. 3 (Mar., 1988), pp. 135-150

I remember once saying to a friend that the pop group The Clash could have had an influence on the music of Beethoven. She couldn’t really see what I was trying to say and, to make matters worse, I didn’t have the conceptual tools back then to elaborate very well.

But these days the notion of retrocausality has been popularized by Stephen Hawking and other top scientists and philosophers take it very seriously.

So I ask… Are you up to tachyonic speed?

total recall

total recall, originally uploaded by earthpages.

will mankind build on mars? i think it’s only a matter of time…

Mini-review: The Twilight Zone DVD Vol. 10

I’ve been battling a chest cold and not getting as much done as I’d like.

Luckily, just before catching the chill I’d been to the library and taken out a few Twilight Zone videos by Rod Serling.

Growing up in the ’60s I managed to see a few of these classic episodes, but not nearly enough.

What a great time to watch them!

Volume 10 of the multi-volume DVD series was perfect for my slightly feverish condition. All four episodes in this set are about time travel (one of my favorite sci-fi themes).

Anyhow, all were captivating but the real show stopper was an episode featuring Buster Keaton, who travels from 1890 (where the sequences are jumpy and silent) to 1962, where we hear the cinematic legend speak.

Not to be missed! Unless, of course, you already happen to be occupied in…

THE TWILIGHT ZONE!

Star Wars according to a 3 year old

Star Wars according to a 3 year old.

I recently watched the original Star Wars (1977, enhanced edition) for the umpteenth time and was struck by two things–first how groundbreaking it was and, second, how some of the inside sets/scenes seemed to be influenced by Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and to some degree Roddenberry’s Star Trek.

Likewise, it seems that the hanger scenes in Battlestar Galactica-Reimagined (BSG fans are gearing up for the fourth and final season starting in April) borrow from the rebel hanger scenes in Star Wars.

This all reminds me of those culturally backward folks who sniff and snort at the suggestion that sci-fi is myth that builds on myth not unlike any other myth. Why is it so hard for some people to get this? Minds locked in the past…?

Robots galore… The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Arnie’s not in this, I guess he’s too busy these days. But if you didn’t get enuf of good and bad robots coming back from the future in “The Terminator” movies, you might enjoy this TV series. Broadband users can watch it here: http://primetime.ctvdigital.com/primetime/?sid=474

The Sarah Connor Chronicles – trailer

BSG Razor – Way better than I expected

Battlestar Galactica: Razor – Trailer / Preview

Let’s face it. Galactica peaked for a while and then got increasingly lame. So I only had a mild interest when I saw the ads for Razor. But I did watch it. And I’m glad I did. All expectations surpassed. Just like the ‘old’ Galactica Re-imagined before it got all bloated out of shape.

Don’t miss this one (if you like Galactica, that is…). The new character Kendra Shaw (played by Hong Kong-born actor Stephanie Jacobsen) is nothing short of fantastic. Jacobsen charges right into the Galactica scene as if she’d been there a very long time. Impressive, to say the least. And Admiral Cane (remember Ensign Roe from Star Trek TNG?) is pretty good too (even if her hair is a bit different from her previous appearance in the episode Pegasus, which is supposed to be the same time period as Razor).

As for the old cast, they seem to be getting a bit bored with it all. Kara Thrace just doesn’t have the pluck. Admiral Adama is still solid but not quite as soulful as before, as if he’s thinking about his swimming pool while competently going through the motions… And Apollo, well, even he isn’t quite as sparkling as usual.

The cylon blonde (played by Tricia Helfer), however, is far more convincing than before. At least one of the old crew got better with time… even if she is a cylon!

But what I’m wondering is why they don’t give actor Sebastian Spence a fair chance? He played Cade Foster in the cult classic First Wave. And I thought that was a great show (in a campy sort of way). So far I’ve only seen Spence smile and a mutter a word or two on Galactica…

Anyhow, let’s hope that Razor portends the upcoming 4th season of Galactica. For a series that was getting pretty soft, Razor restores the edge.