Earth Final Conflict - Was It Ever Good?

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by The Wormhole, Nov 24, 2010.

  1. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    This post was inspired by the Andromeda thread, and was originally meant to be a post there, but while I was writing it, I felt it should be its own thread.

    So anyway, the opinions of Earth Final Conflict traditionally follow:

    -The first season was universally recognized as "the best" and quite a few people only accept it.
    -Seasons 2-4 do have fans and supporters, but aren't generally as popular as season 1.
    -Everyone hates season 5.

    Now then, I spent this past summer re-living Earth Final Conflict on DVD, and I got to say, that is one show where the memory lies. I remember really enjoying this show when it first aired, I would literally be pumped when each episode aired. I was actually surprsied later on when I found out a lot of people only thought highly of the first season, to me season 2 was when the show really kicked into gear, and I felt seasons 2-4 were some of the best episodes on television. However, I agreed with everyone that season 5 was shit.

    And yet, after re-watching most of the series on DVD this year, I'm wondering what I was thinking. Mind you, I was 12-16 when the first four seasons aired, and I'm 25 now, so maybe that had something to do with it.

    But anyway, season 1 was just unbelievably dull. William Boone was hardly a very compelling lead, the Taelons were so enigmatic that Jonathan Doors looked like a paranoid freak mobilizing a personal army against them. Maybe that was the point, but I feel if you're going to set up the show so that the heroes are supposed to be against the aliens, show a damn good reason for it. And a lot of the episodes were basically normal every day Earth problems in which aliens get involved.

    Season 2 was a step in the right direction, though I'm not entierly thrilled with how they handled Boone's departure. I know I said he wasn't a very compelling lead, and I do think Liam Kincaid is the better lead. But Boone still deserved a better send off than that. But still, with the introduction of the Jaridians and seeing that the Taelons did indeed have a hidden agenda, the show had some potential now, but was still bogged down by mundane episodes.

    Season 3 was pretty much more of the same. Though there were some stand out episodes, like the one with Lily Marquette believeing she's returned to Earth, or the one where they find an ancient Roman in stasis aboard a buried Taelon ship.

    Season 4 is actually the best of the series, with the Taelons at death's door and Zo'or getting increasingly psychotic we finally have a legitimate reason to distrust them, and it seems as though they were no longer welcome on Earth. Plus the Jaridians were finally playing their hand, and it all built up to a rather enjoyable finale, which as far as I'm concerned is the series finale. Also, Sandoval had some really cool stuff this season with episode like Trapped by Time and Attonement being excellent episodes for the character. However, despite the quality over the previous seasons, the episodes were still mostly average, and not the best I've seen on TV.

    I haven't bothered with the season 5 DVDs. My memories of when it first aired are of a really shitty show, and I have no desire to relive that on DVD.

    So, there we have it. A show that was one of my favourites during my teenage years I now see as a disappointment in adulthood.

    How about the rest of you, what thoughts do you have to weigh in on EFC?
     
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2010
  2. PsychoPere

    PsychoPere Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    I loved season one, and still love it. It's the only season that I bothered buying on DVD, having ignored the releases of seasons two through four (although if they were still in print, I would now consider getting them since season one is now out). Season two was mostly crap, especially in the first half. I hated Liam, and especially hated the alternate universe episodes. By the end of the season, I was a little more accepting of Liam since it felt like the writers had toned down his ability to do anything and everything. The season finale was actually damn good. Season three was still crap, though season four seemed to get things somewhat back on track. Season five should never have existed.
     
  3. Caliburn24

    Caliburn24 Commodore Commodore

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    I watched it as it aired, but only during season one. For reasons, and I believe a scheduling change, that I have forgotten I never continued with the show. I caught snippets here and there of later seasons but it never hooked me.
     
  4. Lindley

    Lindley Moderator with a Soul Premium Member

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    It's a show worth seeing. Through season 4, anyway. But it's not a classic.
     
  5. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I was a fan of Liam not so much Boone. Season Five is just terrible. I remember everyone used to call Renee the Atavus Slayer. The series finale is one of the worst finales for a show EVER. Sandaval finally gets what he deserves but I don't think any long term fan got any sanctification from the finale. The Fifth Season just was plain weird.
     
  6. 23skidoo

    23skidoo Admiral Admiral

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    I tried getting into it, but I just couldn't. And there was one time I managed to avoid watching it for an entire year and then just happened to tune in with a new episode and it pretty much was the same as one of the episodes I remember watching a year before. No change.

    The concept was good (and I'm sure a few people have made the V comparison), but like the original V I think it would have been a stronger show if it had been confined to either a mini-series, or a UK-format limited run series of maybe a half-dozen or dozen episodes a season. I didn't feel it had enough to really sustain itself, and viewers interest, for 22 or so eps a year.

    Alex
     
  7. Dream

    Dream Admiral Admiral

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    Season one was the best for me. I started to lose interest fast after Boone left the show.

    The biggest problem I have with the EFC is all the characters kept leaving the series. There is a reason why nearly all shows keep the same cast for its entire run.
     
  8. stj

    stj Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Didn't see a minute of season one. Skipped most of season five. Season two, three and four were watchable for one reason: Von Flores as Sandoval. Sandoval had several personalities but Flores gave each and every one his all.

    But if you don't really like one of the actors, the show had no other redeeming virtues.
     
  9. The Borgified Corpse

    The Borgified Corpse Admiral Admiral

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    Actually, Aliance Atlantis recently released Seasons 2-5 on DVD in Canada, which is good because Season 2 wasn't previously available anywhere. This has also caused Season 3 to come down drastically in price. And while the American versions of Seasons 4 & 5 are still very expensive, Amazon is selling the Canadian versions for under $30.

    Agreed. Von Flores is frikkin' awesome. I wish they'd put him on something else. :( (The only other thing I recall seeing him in was when he had a small role as a gangster that was killed at the beginning of Darkman III.) I've been watching a little bit of Season 1 on DVD and I'm not so impressed with it, largely because Sandoval doesn't really get anything to do most of the time.

    I still think there were some big missed opportunities for Sandoval in Season 5. I think they should have, at least briefly, made him a good guy after Howlyn banished him from the Mothership. And when Zo'or lost her virginity, I think she should have lost it to Sandoval. Considering all of the stuff they'd been through in Seasons 2-4, it would have been a delightfully sick moment.

    I think that was the point. It was supposed to be a show about shades of gray where you weren't supposed to know who to trust. It wasn't until Zo'or showed up that they started more strongly pushing the idea of the Taelons as bad guys.
     
  10. lennier1

    lennier1 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    The first season had its faults, but it held the promise to turn E:FC into a great show.
    After that the execs were continually screwing with the concept, making it worse and worse, until it lead to that space zombie crap in the 5th season.
     
  11. Noname Given

    Noname Given Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I liked Season One; but that's it. Past that it just devolved into tripe garbage (imo).
     
  12. PsychoPere

    PsychoPere Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    Unfortunately, the packaging seems to be receiving some very negative responses. Otherwise I'd consider purchasing from Amazon CA.

    Another "agreed" right here; Flores was definitely great. Looking at his IMDB page, it appears he's been steadily working since the end of EFC, but I can't say that I've heard of anything he's done.
     
  13. The Borgified Corpse

    The Borgified Corpse Admiral Admiral

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    They weren't space zombies. They were oversexed space vampires!

    Really? I haven't heard that. What's the issue? (Other than really inaccurate box art. Seriously, they've got William Boone front & center on the Season 2 set. But then, the earlier ADV releases had the same problem. Da'an was prominently featured on the front of Season 5 even though he never appeared in Season 5 at all except for possibly in the clip shows.)
     
  14. PsychoPere

    PsychoPere Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    ^ Yeah, I noticed that about Boone on the season 2 set. I wish he had still been in season 2. Some of the comments include remarks about the discs routinely falling out; discs piled on top of one another, rather than in spindles; and scratched discs.
     
  15. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I swear one of the sets, all the discs fell out as soon as I opened it up for the first time. Worst. DVD Packaging. Ever.
     
  16. Technobuilder

    Technobuilder Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    TBH, I think I just watched EFC because it was in my wheel-house of "sci-fi".

    Gene Roddenberry's name did what it was supposed to do. It ignited the interest of a young Star Trek: TNG fan, who was old enough to know he enjoyed Trek, but not necessarily old enough to understand why.

    I watched the first couple of seasons, but the show never really went anywhere more satisfying than an episode here or there. The cast kept changing and that was really annoying to someone trying to follow a faux arc-based series (which was in reality more of an episodic one.)

    Overall, the attempt was shallow. The plot line and main series ideas were decent ones, yet they were executed poorly and on the cheap. (Not just financially, but artistically)

    I wouldn't classify it as a pure fluff fantasy/fiction series, as unlike those types of shows which had no need to fall back on substance, EFC had just enough of both to make it unremarkable.

    As a serious compelling character drama, it falls far short of shows like Babylon 5, Highlander and Farscape, as a light and fun action-adventure series it's never as enjoyable as Hercules, Xena, or Farscape.

    Man, Farscape just did everything well.
     
  17. Jack Bauer

    Jack Bauer Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    The first season was really good. If they had kept the same cast and the original showrunner it would probably be considered a near classic sci-fi show. The second season was horrible especially at the beginning but it did show some improvement later on. Seasons 3 and 4 (and especially 4) were a lot better. It never topped season one though.
     
  18. Pauln6

    Pauln6 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Season one had a fascinating, paranoid, mysterious feel that they could never keep forever if they wanted to move the story forward. I like Da'aan being more ambiguous and felt he became a bit too 'good' later on. I dislike it when leads are replaced between seasons - it's always better to give them a proper send off part way through a season so that you can build up a relationship with potential replacements instead of just having one step into their shoes the second they're written out. The changes in season two were just a bit too jarring for me - it was watchable but only watchable instead of good. The latter seasons suffered from scheduling in the UK and I don't think I've even seen seasons 4 & 5.
     
  19. Marc

    Marc Fleet Admiral Premium Member

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    if you think it's bad for the viewers with the leads being being replaced between seaons, think about the actors for second!

    Kevin Kilner didn't know he was being replaced until the scripts for season 2 didn't turn up.
     
  20. Angel4576

    Angel4576 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Season 1 - Good
    Season 2 - Very good
    Seasons 3 & 4 - Meh
    Season 5 - Sh1te

    Personally I thought it was better than Andromeda, it produced a few standout episodes, and in Sandoval had a pretty decent character.

    Sadly, it lost its way and never lived up to the initial promise.