How bad is Andromeda?

[Weyoun 251]

Just getting towards the back end of season 4 - one big thing I've noticed from S3 onwards (although S1 and 2 did it at times) was that every other episode feels like a clip show or at least heavily utilises old footage to act as reminders of events to help inform the story being told

Gets a bit too thick with that but at times it was a really good way of cost saving and reminding me of what had come before.

Will say though that one of my favourite episodes of the whole series is a semi-clip show (The Unconquerable Man) which depicts how events would have transpired had Rhade killed Dylan and then been revived 300 years later

 

[Saul]

And his five year plan, when you read what he put out years later, sucked

I didn't think so, especially compared to what we got.

 

[Christopher]

Just getting towards the back end of season 4 - one big thing I've noticed from S3 onwards (although S1 and 2 did it at times) was that every other episode feels like a clip show or at least heavily utilises old footage to act as reminders of events to help inform the story being told

That's strange, because the behind-the-scenes book said that one of the executive mandates in season 3 was to keep continuity to a minimum and emphasize standalone episodes so as not to "confuse" the short-attention-span viewers that the executives believed the show should cater to.

Will say though that one of my favourite episodes of the whole series is a semi-clip show (The Unconquerable Man) which depicts how events would have transpired had Rhade killed Dylan and then been revived 300 years later

Yes, that's one of the cleverest clip shows ever made, because it incorporates the clips into an alternate-timeline narrative that offers a fresh perspective on the whole series to that point.

 

[Weyoun 251]

That's strange, because the behind-the-scenes book said that one of the executive mandates in season 3 was to keep continuity to a minimum and emphasize standalone episodes so as not to "confuse" the short-attention-span viewers that the executives believed the show should cater to.




Yes, that's one of the cleverest clip shows ever made, because it incorporates the clips into an alternate-timeline narrative that offers a fresh perspective on the whole series to that point.

I guess with the amount of material used for the flashbacks/clips it essentially solves the problem by no one having to remember and therefore catering to those just fading in and out.

The storyline through S3 was semi-serial I'd say; for S4 I'd say it is fully serialised as it tracks the Commonwealth Civil War, the Collectors, Hunt's trial, Tri-Jema's fall from grace, brings back The Patriarch and Rev for their own episodes, and even Beka's storyline from almost joining Tyr, to having a latent strain of The Abyss within her and more.

I too remember reading about the change - I'd suggest that there was far less ambiguous morality and questioning their mission and it becoming far more clear and direct around them being "the chosen ones".

 

[Christopher]

What I recall from the time is that the studio had a tendency to overcorrect -- when fan letters complained about the continuity being too hard to follow, they said "do only standalones from now on," and when the fans started to complain about too little continuity, they said "Okay, make it fully serialized." Or maybe it was the other way around in revoise, as Bugs Bunny would say. That was when I realized that you can't be too guided by audience reactions, not to the point that it overrides the creators' own judgment and artificially alters the story. Particularly since (as I also learned back at the time) audience comments/letters will always be biased toward negative reactions, since dissatisfied people are more motivated to speak up than satisfied ones. So audience dissatisfaction always seems greater than it actually is, which is why you shouldn't be overly influenced by it.

 

[Anwar]

And his five year plan, when you read what he put out years later, sucked.

I wouldn't say it SUCKED, it was certainly wild and unexpected though.

 

[tharpdevenport]

Is there a good video talking about what the plans were?


I finished season one today.
I found the closing episodes of season one to be a step down from the opening bulk, felt like fillers that didn't go anywhere and lacked the depth of earlier episodes, but still, it's not like they were bad.

The final episode was a thrill ride though, but it hinges on the old annoying trope: Hey, what is that? Maybe I should touch it...

Hey, you know what would have come in handy in the final episode and other episodes, when trying to get away fast, that handy anti-gravity belt device from the pilot. Never seen again.

 

[FredH]

Will say though that one of my favourite episodes of the whole series is a semi-clip show (The Unconquerable Man) which depicts how events would have transpired had Rhade killed Dylan and then been revived 300 years later

That was an unusually good episode, far better than the series usually was.

 

[Christopher]

That was an unusually good episode, far better than the series usually was.

I've said before, the season 3 episodes by Zack Stentz & Ashley Edward Miller are vastly better than the rest of the season. They were basically still writing the same show they wrote in seasons 1-2, even though nobody else was.

 

[tharpdevenport]

Could you recommend their season three episodes (my plan would then be to skip the others)?

 

[Sketcher]

Point of the Spear was another oddly good one from season 3. Also one of the few times the show utilized Andromeda's random new crew to full effect.

 

[FredH]

Is there a good video talking about what the plans were?

This appears to be a link to Wolfe’s “Coda” script that effectively sums up his plans in-story:

Home

 

[Christopher]

Point of the Spear was another oddly good one from season 3. Also one of the few times the show utilized Andromeda's random new crew to full effect.

Indeed. Looking over my old BBS reviews from the time (which I saved), I considered "Point of the Spear" the best episode of season 3. I wrote: "I'm no fan of space-battle stories, but this one was an excellent entry that actually held my attention. Instead of tedious, gratuitous, random action, this was a tightly structured narrative, with every phase of the strategy and tactics spelled out in the dialogue as it developed, so that it all held together as story rather than mere spectacle."

 

[Weyoun 251]

That was an unusually good episode, far better than the series usually was.

I think when the series was at its best it was as good as anything else out there but at its worst it really plumbed some depths.

Also had a love for the season two mid season episode Into The Labyrinth (James Masters as Charlamagne paying off the S1 episode bringing the Sabre Jaguar together and just chewing the shit out of the scenery) and while the season finale wasn't perfect I liked Zhukov (whose actor was in The Bill which explains his very British accept and posturing - screamed Victorian/Edwardian nobility), his begrudging respect for Harper, and the mini arc it set up with those aliens (which to me were reminiscent of the Homeworld ship from the game of the same name)

@Sketcher - that is a very good use of them...that said sometimes the extra crew really did leave something lacking. I think it is the episode where Trance is using her little tree to test different possibilities and the two guys backing up Tyr looked more like security at Tesco then Commonwealth trained officers!

 

[tharpdevenport]

I'm keeping track of Trance and her tail and Tyr and his arm jaggons and how and wen they vanished, and if there is any explanation.

So far...

Spoiler: Trance's tail

Shot during an attack in season two's "Last Call at the Broken Hammer" and had to be removed in surgery. Also, noted point: her hair style changed without reason in the prior episode.

 

[Weyoun 251]

I'm keeping track of Trance and her tail and Tyr and his arm jaggons and how and wen they vanished, and if there is any explanation.

So far...

Spoiler: Trance's tail

Shot during an attack in season two's "Last Call at the Broken Hammer" and had to be removed in surgery. Also, noted point: her hair style changed without reason in the prior episode.

There is an in universe explanation given for Tyr - but won't say what to avoid spoilers

 

[JD]

Could you recommend their season three episodes (my plan would then be to skip the others)?

According to the Wikipedia episode guide, the wrote:
Episode 4: Cui Bono
Episode 5: The Lone and Level Sands
Episode 10: The Unconquerable Man
Episode 12: The Dark Backward
Episode 16: Point of the Spear
Episode 20: Twilight of the Idols
Episode 21: Day of Judgement, Day of Wrath