Andromeda: Worth watching?

[Jetfire]

The only reason I would watch Andromeda is for Laura Bertram/Trance Gemini & Farscape for GiGi Edgley/Chiana. To be honest I didn't mind either series too much.



[edit] I really should add photos...both lovely ladies.

 

[Tyson]

Andromeda is absolute crap and it's fans (what few there are) are even more retarded than people who loved Voyager.

 

[Jetfire]

^
Nice trolling.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I still get upset thinking about Andromeda.

The first two seasons were great, and then-- as others have said-- they fired the show's creator and dumbed it down. It was very sad. This show had the potential to be in the same class with Star Trek, Babylon 5, Stargate et al. Great storyline, great writing, great cast (even Sorbo was good in his part at first). And don't listen to anybody who knocks the production values; the show had distinctive, appealing visuals.

I would go ahead and buy the first two seasons. Then just pretend it was canceled and don't torture yourself by watching any more.

As for Farscape, that's probably worth another look, too. I could never get into it. I never liked the main character and the others were just boring. But the show had consistent quality in writing (if a bit juvenile at times) and grew more exotic as the seasons went by; definitely in the same quality class as Star Trek, Babylon 5 et al.

 

[Goji]

I really liked the cast, characters and the fictional universe the show was set in, so at the time I forced myself to watch basically right up until the end (I jumped ship halfway through the fifth and final season, I just couldn't take it anymore).

There are still a handful of episodes in the later years I remember fondly. Rommie's best episode, "A Symmetry of Imperfection" comes in late season 4, with season 3's "Day of Judgment, Day of Wrath" coming in second place. The military aspects of the premise were never realized better than in season 3's "Point of the Spear". "Harper/Delete", also from season 4, is dumb but fun because Harper was always such a lively character.

But for the most part, everything after Robert Hewitt Wolfe was fired is absolute garbage. The first season is also, in hindsight, wildly uneven. I'd take almost any episode from the later years over "A Rose in the Ashes" or "Sum of its Parts".

The first half of season 2 is the strongest run of the show, which makes the second half of the season that much more painful. Everything about the series looked to be evolving, from the new sets and improved costuming to a greater consistency in the writing and fewer ridiculous action sequences.

And then it all goes so terribly wrong.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

I think the only post-Season 2 episode I actually liked was "The Unconquerable Man". Gaheris Rhade rocks. And it was an original take on the alternate timeline trope.

Beginning in early Season 3, I was often shocked though that some episodes didn't even seem to contain a plot anymore. Often it was just: Andromeda gets attacked and boarded for some completely irrelevant reason, Andromeda's crew fights back, Sorbo saves the day.

 

[John Clark]

I thought Andromeda had potential. It just didn't live up to it in my opinion though I did stick with it until the end.

Over here, the dvds are well overpriced for what I'd be willing to pay for the series.

 

[MNM]

Unfortunately, after Wolfe left the series ,it all went to hell.

Meh, Wolfe wasnt some kind of beacon of quality. There were good epsiodes when he was around and some bad, and there were good episodes after he went and some bad. The show was cheesey action hour from the start, it's not like it suddenly became that after Wolfe left.

Watch the first four seasons, there is no huge difference between the quality of those than the series you mentioned you liked. I cant comment on if it's similar to Farscape because I have only seen the odd small bit of that show.

Dont bother with season five, that is by far the weakest of them all, mainly due to being stuck in the dull Seefra system and a criminal lack of Lexa Doig for most of it due to her pregnancy.

On a personal note, I think season four is great. The best one they made.

 

[Truth_Seeker]

No offence to the Andromeda fans in the forum, but the answer is NO. Plain, simple, illogical, without any redeeming qualities, except maybe the hot chicks in the main cast. Too bad they used Gene Roddenberry's name to promote it.

 

[RandyS]

except maybe the hot chicks in the main cast.

Even those weren't enough to keep me interested.

 

[DarKush]

I'm in agreement with just about everyone else here. The first season was solid and a good deal of the second season. After that there is an erosion that grows steadily after the third season IMO. The fourth and fifth seasons were terrible. But to be fair, I think I like the first season so much because it was the only one that came close to realizing the potential of the show in light of the later seasons. Even the first season had poor costuming, alien makeup, and uneven acting. The production values felt bare bones at times. It was always something of a guilty pleasure and didn't have the substance of Star Trek, Babylon 5, or Farscape. Though it could have if it had stayed true to its premise, and it steadily junked that after the first season. I remember reading the All Systems University entries online before the series started, and I got really excited because it seemed like TPTB had really thought this show out and were going to give us some pretty cool aliens that could stand up against any of the Trek or B5 aliens. But I was disabused of that notion after watching the premiere, but I stuck with it, and I liked some of the characters and their interaction and I still think the Magog were a great big bad. If you are a space opera junkie, I recommend it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to spend too much time or money obtaining it.

 

[Navaros]

The show was cheesey action hour from the start, it's not like it suddenly became that after Wolfe left.

Totally disagree. Season 1 - 1.5 of Andromeda had very deep characterization and storylines going on, which was not the case after Wolfe was fired. In fact, that is exactly why they fired him - so they could deliberately remove all of that in order to appeal to LCD viewers.

 

[Training]

I think the only post-Season 2 episode I actually liked was "The Unconquerable Man". Gaheris Rhade rocks. And it was an original take on the alternate timeline trope.

Beginning in early Season 3, I was often shocked though that some episodes didn't even seem to contain a plot anymore. Often it was just: Andromeda gets attacked and boarded for some completely irrelevant reason, Andromeda's crew fights back, Sorbo saves the day.

Oh yeah. That was a good episode. That and the Season 4 Finale where the Magog attack those peaceful crazy people.

The rest of S2.5+ was basically just Sorbo doing things. Everybody talking about Sorbo. Sorbo getting his ass kicked. Sorbo shouting "oh come on". In fact. I pretty much hate Sorbo now. I used to rate him because of Hercules and the beginning of Andromeda.

Oh and on Farscape. I've seen a few episodes and tbh. I could barely watch any of them. They were all so shit. But then again. That is my opinion. If you guys like it then i feel bad for you. I heard it got mistreated and canceled with unfinished storyline..

Oh, don't worry. We fought hard and they eventually filmed an ending, and it was spectacular.

Is it that peacekeeper wars thing your talking about? I saw a bit of it. Looked like the main guy died though.

 

[Rowan Sjet]

He didn't, he just got a bit poorly for a while.

 

[Warped9]

Andromeda. Worth watching?

Uhh... No.

 

[MNM]

The show was cheesey action hour from the start, it's not like it suddenly became that after Wolfe left.

Totally disagree. Season 1 - 1.5 of Andromeda had very deep characterization and storylines going on, which was not the case after Wolfe was fired. In fact, that is exactly why they fired him - so they could deliberately remove all of that in order to appeal to LCD viewers.

And yet, for example, the very first scene of the very first episode had Dylan jumping down vertical stairwells while quipping away. The point I'm making is that Andromeda was not some vestige of intellectual science-fiction that changed into cheesy, no need to think, action as soon as Wolfe left. There was some very good episodes under his guidance sure, like "The Mathematics of Tears" for one, but there were some very crappy ones too, like the one with the aliens that looked like the Borg. I simply find the idea that it was all golden quality while he was there, and all went to hell of bad acting and dodgy plots/dialogue after he left to be quite revisionist. It had the same mix all the way through.

But hey, what do I know, one of the last Wolfe epsiodes (I'm pretty sure it was anyway) was "Last Call at the Broken Hammer". I remember watching that and loving it, logging onto the slipstream message board after it and finding most people on there whining and bitching at how crappy it was and how it was a tragedy that Trance's tail had gone etc...

 

[DWF]

^^^Robert Hewitt Wolfe's last official ep. was Ouroboros.

 

[MNM]

Alright, so Last Call... was about six episodes before he left then.

 

[RoJoHen]

Is it that peacekeeper wars thing your talking about? I saw a bit of it. Looked like the main guy died though.

Yep, it sure did look like that.

 

[cylkoth]

Alright, so Last Call... was about six episodes before he left then.

And the remainder of s2 was still influenced by his work as the season had been mapped out by then..it's just how they went about realizing it shifted from ambitious to...making things simpler.