^Thanks for that. It's actually quite helpful. It really is just talking about the different principles, such as matching and revenue recognition.
Bar and Grill 4: The Conversation Pit
- Thread starter Orac Zen
- Start date
^ Yep. Accounting theory is where it's at. If you understand the theory behind what you are doing, life is alot easier....at least on the financial accounting side of the house.
However, in tax, there is no rational theory to apply. You gotta just memorized craploads of rules. And then next year, when the rules change, un-memorize those rules and memorize a bunch of new ones.
Wheee!!!!!
Since I'm lazy as hell, I prefer financial accounting.
I practiced tax for a number of years...but give me a really complex Statement of Cash Flows to figure out any day of the week, as opposed to a relatively easy S-Corp tax return with 15 state returns spinning off of it...all 15 of which have different seemingly random (not to mention mind-numbingly boring) rules to apply.
Oh. Wait! Isn't your dad a tax guy????
However, in tax, there is no rational theory to apply. You gotta just memorized craploads of rules. And then next year, when the rules change, un-memorize those rules and memorize a bunch of new ones.
Wheee!!!!!
Since I'm lazy as hell, I prefer financial accounting.
I practiced tax for a number of years...but give me a really complex Statement of Cash Flows to figure out any day of the week, as opposed to a relatively easy S-Corp tax return with 15 state returns spinning off of it...all 15 of which have different seemingly random (not to mention mind-numbingly boring) rules to apply.
Oh. Wait! Isn't your dad a tax guy????
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^
However, in tax, there is no rational theory to apply. You gotta just memorized craploads of rules. And then next year, when the rules change, un-memorize those rules and memorize a bunch of new ones.
I know that feeling. My dad is a tax accountant, which seems to be a lot more different than financial accounting. Of course I only really see the bookkeeping part of it, but I know when my dad talks, he just talks a lot about the Tax law and I always wonder when does he get to the good stuff like FASB or GAAP.
^ Well, he doesn't. Not if he's in a smaller sized local tax practice...which I always got the impression he was in.
Unless he has a client that needs reviewed financial statements for a bank or something, he likely doesn't even need to do the bookkeeping on a book basis (GAAP). He might just do the bookkeeping on a tax basis since it will be going directly to the tax return anyway.
But I come from a different world. I worked for two of the big international accounting firms (Arthur Andersen and Deloitte & Touche), and then a large local firm here in Atlanta before moving into a large corporation (doesn't get much larger than IBM, you know.
) I'm a career auditor - financial accounting and financial reporting is my specialty. I'm the one who is responsible for those massive annual reports with a billion pages of footnotes and disclosures. And since coming to IBM, I've been working on areas specific to the software industry - things like VSOE (Vendor Specific Objective Evidence). Here's an article that I just googled which discusses the issue I'm working on:
http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2005/405/essentials/p38.htm
So your father's professional experience and mine are quite different, I would guess.
I'm sure that listening to him talk and reading my posts are like night and day.
But that is the good thing about this profession - we may all be bean counters...but we have a pretty wide variety of beans to pick from.
Unless he has a client that needs reviewed financial statements for a bank or something, he likely doesn't even need to do the bookkeeping on a book basis (GAAP). He might just do the bookkeeping on a tax basis since it will be going directly to the tax return anyway.
But I come from a different world. I worked for two of the big international accounting firms (Arthur Andersen and Deloitte & Touche), and then a large local firm here in Atlanta before moving into a large corporation (doesn't get much larger than IBM, you know.
) I'm a career auditor - financial accounting and financial reporting is my specialty. I'm the one who is responsible for those massive annual reports with a billion pages of footnotes and disclosures. And since coming to IBM, I've been working on areas specific to the software industry - things like VSOE (Vendor Specific Objective Evidence). Here's an article that I just googled which discusses the issue I'm working on:http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2005/405/essentials/p38.htm
So your father's professional experience and mine are quite different, I would guess.
I'm sure that listening to him talk and reading my posts are like night and day.
But that is the good thing about this profession - we may all be bean counters...but we have a pretty wide variety of beans to pick from.
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Roswell Update:
Okay...I am STILL not done with this show.
I think it's cus I don't want it to end...so I keep putting off watching it. Sorta like I did with that last DS9 episode years ago: if I didn't watch it, DS9 wouldn't be 'over'. So I didn't watch Time's Orphan for years, until I could no longer avoid it in the DVD sets.
Anyway, I am now down to the last 4 episodes. Since I posted last I have watched Samuel Rising through Chant Down Babylon.
Samuel Rising was the Christmas show this year, and was a bit heart wrenching. Good story about this autistic kid who Max couldn't heal. But was good in that at least Isabelle dreamwalked the family to the child being able to communicate with his parents.
A Tale of Two Parties was the New Year's show, and was good enough, but nothing earth shaking or anything. Although I did like the Crashdown rockin' New Year's Eve with the senior citizens counting down at 10:30.
I Married an Alien was frakkin' HILARIOUS in the Bewitched-like storyline. And of course the story about Jesse's reporter friend was great. Although one point that simply boggles the mind is why Jesse didn't get pissed at his buddy for basically trying to ruin his wife's life. It wasn't about the lying, IMO, as much as it was about this friend intentionally trying to ruin Isabelle's life for personal profit. Because if he has published that story, whether true or not, Isabelle would have been swamped with all sorts of attention - police, media, and otherwise. Some friend.
Anyway, I was disappointed that issue wasn't addressed. But other than that, a great episode.
Ch-Ch-Changes, Panacea, and Chant Down Babylon were all very good and were back on my favorite topics - the drama between Liz and Max...and Maria and Michael. This three-parter is probably my favorite group of episodes so far in season 3. Can't get enough of that shipper drama...and these episodes were chock full of it. Liz getting sick and acquiring sort of quasi-powers (and I loved how Kyle got all neurotic that it would happen to him too - good stuff there!), Liz going to boarding school, Max dying and coming back to life, etc. The Maria recording contract was a bit incredible...but is only a small nit as they didn't spend too much time on it. I was glad when she showed up at Liz's boarding school and was done with that little recording contract arc.
And now, of course, Jesse knows...so the next episode will likely be about that. Good stuff how he found out...with Isabelle getting shot and Michael finally having to kick his ass into not calling 911 because his wife wasn't human!
So now there are only 4 episodes left. I'll probably finish one or two tonight...and maybe the other two tomorrow.
Sorry to see this show end. I think it's an excellent show. I may even watch it again...although at a much slower pace now that I know what happens. I was watching it so fast (at least fast for me) that I'll likely not remember everything the way I'd like.
EDIT: Oh yeah...I've been meaning to mention this for some time - I love the season 3 credits, how they make the alien characters' names in alien characters first, and then morph them into their real name. Nice touch. It's a little thing, I know...but I think it's cool.
Okay...I am STILL not done with this show.
I think it's cus I don't want it to end...so I keep putting off watching it. Sorta like I did with that last DS9 episode years ago: if I didn't watch it, DS9 wouldn't be 'over'. So I didn't watch Time's Orphan for years, until I could no longer avoid it in the DVD sets.
Anyway, I am now down to the last 4 episodes. Since I posted last I have watched Samuel Rising through Chant Down Babylon.
Samuel Rising was the Christmas show this year, and was a bit heart wrenching. Good story about this autistic kid who Max couldn't heal. But was good in that at least Isabelle dreamwalked the family to the child being able to communicate with his parents.
A Tale of Two Parties was the New Year's show, and was good enough, but nothing earth shaking or anything. Although I did like the Crashdown rockin' New Year's Eve with the senior citizens counting down at 10:30.
I Married an Alien was frakkin' HILARIOUS in the Bewitched-like storyline. And of course the story about Jesse's reporter friend was great. Although one point that simply boggles the mind is why Jesse didn't get pissed at his buddy for basically trying to ruin his wife's life. It wasn't about the lying, IMO, as much as it was about this friend intentionally trying to ruin Isabelle's life for personal profit. Because if he has published that story, whether true or not, Isabelle would have been swamped with all sorts of attention - police, media, and otherwise. Some friend.
Anyway, I was disappointed that issue wasn't addressed. But other than that, a great episode.
Ch-Ch-Changes, Panacea, and Chant Down Babylon were all very good and were back on my favorite topics - the drama between Liz and Max...and Maria and Michael. This three-parter is probably my favorite group of episodes so far in season 3. Can't get enough of that shipper drama...and these episodes were chock full of it. Liz getting sick and acquiring sort of quasi-powers (and I loved how Kyle got all neurotic that it would happen to him too - good stuff there!), Liz going to boarding school, Max dying and coming back to life, etc. The Maria recording contract was a bit incredible...but is only a small nit as they didn't spend too much time on it. I was glad when she showed up at Liz's boarding school and was done with that little recording contract arc.
And now, of course, Jesse knows...so the next episode will likely be about that. Good stuff how he found out...with Isabelle getting shot and Michael finally having to kick his ass into not calling 911 because his wife wasn't human!
So now there are only 4 episodes left. I'll probably finish one or two tonight...and maybe the other two tomorrow.
Sorry to see this show end. I think it's an excellent show. I may even watch it again...although at a much slower pace now that I know what happens. I was watching it so fast (at least fast for me) that I'll likely not remember everything the way I'd like.
EDIT: Oh yeah...I've been meaning to mention this for some time - I love the season 3 credits, how they make the alien characters' names in alien characters first, and then morph them into their real name. Nice touch. It's a little thing, I know...but I think it's cool.
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Roswell Update: the final four episodes
Who Died and Made You King? - Well, of course I'd like this one. What's not to love about Michael on alien power-crack, after all? But in this one we got to see why, back on Antar, Max was king and Michael was his 1st in command. Because Michael on the warpath is NOT to be fucked with. But is perhaps not the must 'circumspect' of the group members.
Anyway, was glad to see Max get back the seal at the end...but I loved seeing those guys beat the crap out of each other, alien style.
Crash - Well, of course, while you are watching this episode, you really don't know what it truly is about. You think it's about rescuing the fighter captain, etc...but of course, what it really is is set-up for the next episode, when we discover that the crashed UFO was Tess, returned from the home world with Zan.
This one also was a strong, high adrenalin episode - I like those episodes on this show and they do them very, very well. But of course, the big event is....
Four Aliens and a Baby - So...Tess is back with Zan, lying through her teeth about how they can't kill her because she is tied to the baby.
I loved the way Liz went after her at first - using her alien powers to throw Tess up against a wall and then yelling "Get up, bitch!" After which she did it again. What a great fangirl moment that was! And then it gets even better when Kyle comes in and says to Michael "Why haven't you killed her?"...to which Michael replies "Max wouldn't let me." As if killing her was a given otherwise.
Yeah...ole Tess didn't exactly come home to a warm fuzzy welcome.
Anyway, the running all over town, hiding from the law was great...and I was glad to see the Evans parents finally get their answers without freaking out TOO badly.
And I was glad to see Tess do the right thing in the end by sacrificing herself for all of them.
And finally, Max giving up Zan for adoption was quite moving...and was really the right thing for him to do. But then, Max is like that. Good scene with Mr Evans there - well played!
Only one small nit in this one....but it is kinda annoying. How was Liz able to get Tess out of town to the base? I mean, if Max and Michael were unsuccessful earlier, how in the world did Liz accomplish it...and accomplish it without incident?
Anyway...I'll try not to thing about that nit...because the rest of this episode was great.
Graduation - Well, the last episode of the series. And fortunately, it does not end in a horrible Farscape-esque cliffhanger.
This does not mean that the episode wasn't exciting though. With the law closing in, I can only imagine how terrifying it was to see that speaker get up on the stage at graduation...when they thought the 'hit' was gonna take place at the UFO convention.
In characteristic style, Max decides to sacrifice himself so that everyone else could get out...but also in characteristic style, Michael illustrates that he has alot more love than he pretends to have by rescuing Max at the last minute.
So then they all drive off into the sunset. Isabelle leaves Jesse behind, which I suppose was the right thing to do. And poor neurotic Kyle presents part of his reason for going with them as his terror over what he would do if his latent alien powers begin to present themselves. Adorably neurotic until then end, that Kyle.
I like the way Liz sends her journal to her father in explanation for their disappearance. And the wedding was fitting enough.
However, I find myself trying not to think too hard about what happened after the end to the series. I mean, how could they live?
In an odd way, it's kinda like the ending to The X-Files...with the characters we love leaving and on the run...but together as is fitting.
How odd that The X-Files and Roswell would end so similarly...since they were flip sides of the same alien coin....
Anyway, overall, this was a very strong series. Bottom line - I loved it. I loved every minute of it, in fact. Obviously, things happened that you didn't want to see happen - particularly where Tess and Alex were concerned. But these things were necessary for the dramatic effect of the show...and were well executed.
I think all of seasons 1 and 2 where very strong...and the last half of season 3 was very strong as well. The beginning of season 3 lagged a bit and had a couple of stupid bits...but even those episodes had some very strong moments and were not 'bad'. Just not as good.
Here are my best/worst lists:
Favorite episode: The Departure (season 2 ending)
Least favorite episode: To Have and to Hold (the season 3 close brush with shark-jumping which featured Isabel's wedding)
Best Action Episodes: The Departure (season 2 ending), The White Room/Destiny (season 1 ending)
Best Shipper Episodes: Heat Wave (season 1 - for both Max/Liz and Michael/Maria), Sexual Healing (season 1 - for Max/Liz), The Departure (season 2 - for Michael/Maria)
Funniest Episode: I Married an Alien (season 3), Viva Las Vegas (season 2)
Most Ridiculous Episode: Busted! (season 3 opener, which features the convenience store robbery)
Saddest Episode: The End of the World (season 2 - Future Max convinces Liz to break up with current day Max)
Favorite main character: Michael (favorite episodes include: Balance, Independence Day, The Summer of '47, How the Other Half Lives, Viva Las Vegas, The Departure, Michael the Guys and the Great Snapple Caper, Who Died and Made You King?, Graduation)
Least favorite main character: Jesse (He was just boring. We were supposed to hate Tess so she doesn't count.)
Most Improved Character: Kyle (in season 1, he was annoying as hell, but by season 3's end, he was one of my favorite characters)
Biggest missed opportunity/dropped storyline: The New York Dupes
Who Died and Made You King? - Well, of course I'd like this one. What's not to love about Michael on alien power-crack, after all?
But in this one we got to see why, back on Antar, Max was king and Michael was his 1st in command. Because Michael on the warpath is NOT to be fucked with. But is perhaps not the must 'circumspect' of the group members.Anyway, was glad to see Max get back the seal at the end...but I loved seeing those guys beat the crap out of each other, alien style.
Crash - Well, of course, while you are watching this episode, you really don't know what it truly is about. You think it's about rescuing the fighter captain, etc...but of course, what it really is is set-up for the next episode, when we discover that the crashed UFO was Tess, returned from the home world with Zan.
This one also was a strong, high adrenalin episode - I like those episodes on this show and they do them very, very well. But of course, the big event is....
Four Aliens and a Baby - So...Tess is back with Zan, lying through her teeth about how they can't kill her because she is tied to the baby.
I loved the way Liz went after her at first - using her alien powers to throw Tess up against a wall and then yelling "Get up, bitch!" After which she did it again.
What a great fangirl moment that was! And then it gets even better when Kyle comes in and says to Michael "Why haven't you killed her?"...to which Michael replies "Max wouldn't let me." As if killing her was a given otherwise. Yeah...ole Tess didn't exactly come home to a warm fuzzy welcome.
Anyway, the running all over town, hiding from the law was great...and I was glad to see the Evans parents finally get their answers without freaking out TOO badly.
And I was glad to see Tess do the right thing in the end by sacrificing herself for all of them.
And finally, Max giving up Zan for adoption was quite moving...and was really the right thing for him to do. But then, Max is like that. Good scene with Mr Evans there - well played!
Only one small nit in this one....but it is kinda annoying. How was Liz able to get Tess out of town to the base? I mean, if Max and Michael were unsuccessful earlier, how in the world did Liz accomplish it...and accomplish it without incident?
Anyway...I'll try not to thing about that nit...because the rest of this episode was great.
Graduation - Well, the last episode of the series. And fortunately, it does not end in a horrible Farscape-esque cliffhanger.
This does not mean that the episode wasn't exciting though. With the law closing in, I can only imagine how terrifying it was to see that speaker get up on the stage at graduation...when they thought the 'hit' was gonna take place at the UFO convention.
In characteristic style, Max decides to sacrifice himself so that everyone else could get out...but also in characteristic style, Michael illustrates that he has alot more love than he pretends to have by rescuing Max at the last minute.
So then they all drive off into the sunset. Isabelle leaves Jesse behind, which I suppose was the right thing to do. And poor neurotic Kyle presents part of his reason for going with them as his terror over what he would do if his latent alien powers begin to present themselves.
Adorably neurotic until then end, that Kyle. I like the way Liz sends her journal to her father in explanation for their disappearance. And the wedding was fitting enough.
However, I find myself trying not to think too hard about what happened after the end to the series. I mean, how could they live?
In an odd way, it's kinda like the ending to The X-Files...with the characters we love leaving and on the run...but together as is fitting.
How odd that The X-Files and Roswell would end so similarly...since they were flip sides of the same alien coin....
Anyway, overall, this was a very strong series. Bottom line - I loved it. I loved every minute of it, in fact. Obviously, things happened that you didn't want to see happen - particularly where Tess and Alex were concerned. But these things were necessary for the dramatic effect of the show...and were well executed.
I think all of seasons 1 and 2 where very strong...and the last half of season 3 was very strong as well. The beginning of season 3 lagged a bit and had a couple of stupid bits...but even those episodes had some very strong moments and were not 'bad'. Just not as good.
Here are my best/worst lists:
Favorite episode: The Departure (season 2 ending)
Least favorite episode: To Have and to Hold (the season 3 close brush with shark-jumping which featured Isabel's wedding)
Best Action Episodes: The Departure (season 2 ending), The White Room/Destiny (season 1 ending)
Best Shipper Episodes: Heat Wave (season 1 - for both Max/Liz and Michael/Maria), Sexual Healing (season 1 - for Max/Liz), The Departure (season 2 - for Michael/Maria)
Funniest Episode: I Married an Alien (season 3), Viva Las Vegas (season 2)
Most Ridiculous Episode: Busted! (season 3 opener, which features the convenience store robbery)
Saddest Episode: The End of the World (season 2 - Future Max convinces Liz to break up with current day Max)
Favorite main character: Michael (favorite episodes include: Balance, Independence Day, The Summer of '47, How the Other Half Lives, Viva Las Vegas, The Departure, Michael the Guys and the Great Snapple Caper, Who Died and Made You King?, Graduation)
Least favorite main character: Jesse (He was just boring. We were supposed to hate Tess so she doesn't count.)
Most Improved Character: Kyle (in season 1, he was annoying as hell, but by season 3's end, he was one of my favorite characters)
Biggest missed opportunity/dropped storyline: The New York Dupes
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^ Well, I'm glad you enjoyed the show. 
I Married and Alien was definitely hilarious, yeah. I also agree with you that Jesse should have gotten really pissed at his "friend". I mean, the guy was trying to exploit his wife for a story and he just takes it like a little bitch. I would have kicked his ass so hard it would hurt for a month, LOL.
Yeah, I really enjoyed the bits with Liz needing a break and going to boarding school and Max's body being taken over by the old dude and all that. Morgan Fairchild cannot act though. Whoever decided to get her on the show really screwed up IMO. And all the stuff with Isabel getting show was quite intense. If it wasn't for the cliché "body taken over by someone else" and the oh so annoying Morgan Fairchild, I would have loved those eps. I still enjoyed them quite a bit though.
Watching the show at a slower pace might definitely be a good idea. I know I plan to do that someday, just not soon.
I did like the morphing of the letters in the new credits, but I still missed the old ones. They just felt less UPN-ish if you know what I mean.
Ah yes, the Michael vs. Max power struggle. I actually felt the episode was a bit contrived, but I still enjoyed it for the most part. Probably because Michael is just such a great character. And those two kicking the crap out of each other was definitely... to put it mildly, VERY enjoyable. Hehe.
Crash was a good ep, yeah. I was kinda expecting Tess to show up at the end, but yeah the ep was fun and entertaining.
Ok, Liz throwing Tess against the well with her alien powers was just one of the coolest things ever. Like, in all of TV and movie land. Shiri totally pulled that scene off, even though it could have been very hokey. And the exchange between Michael and Kyle about killing Tess was awesome as well. Again, those two delivered those lines superbly.
And yeah, Tess sacrificing herself to save the group was fairly nicely done. It was predictable and a bit cliché, but it actually worked. I think the reason for that is that all these characters (with the possible exception of Jesse) are just so well written you know?
Yeah, I was also wondering how Liz got Tess out to the base. Maybe the two of them joined their powers into a Deus Ex Machina, haha.
Max giving up his son was definitely the right thing to do. I mean, honestly there's no way that kid would have a normal life, had Max decided to keep him.
Graduation... oh man how I love that episode. The whole thing works really well. Max sacrificing himself and Michael showing up on the bike to save him. I'm glad Isabel left Jesse behind... he was just so wrong for her. And yeah, Kyle's last moments were great to. I was really glad he got a chance to say goodbye to his dad. Again, that scene worked SOOO well. Nick Wechsler and Bill Sadler really were awesome in every one of their scenes.
And those final scenes, with Liz and Max getting married (hot damn Shiri looked good) and her dad reading the journal. I also loved that they went back to Liz narrating the show. It worked really really well in the finale. Beautifully written and nicely done by Shiri. I have to admit just thinking of those last scenes is getting me all choked up. I just loved all those characters (the main ones at least) to bits.
Anyway, one of my complaints about the last episodes of S3 was that the whole thing felt a bit rushed. Like, they could have stretched out the last couple of episodes to maybe five or so.
So again, I'm really glad you enjoyed the show. It was cool reading all of your recaps and sort of reliving the show without actually watching it. Thanks for taking the time to write all of your thoughts down.
I Married and Alien was definitely hilarious, yeah. I also agree with you that Jesse should have gotten really pissed at his "friend". I mean, the guy was trying to exploit his wife for a story and he just takes it like a little bitch. I would have kicked his ass so hard it would hurt for a month, LOL.
Yeah, I really enjoyed the bits with Liz needing a break and going to boarding school and Max's body being taken over by the old dude and all that. Morgan Fairchild cannot act though. Whoever decided to get her on the show really screwed up IMO. And all the stuff with Isabel getting show was quite intense. If it wasn't for the cliché "body taken over by someone else" and the oh so annoying Morgan Fairchild, I would have loved those eps. I still enjoyed them quite a bit though.
Watching the show at a slower pace might definitely be a good idea. I know I plan to do that someday, just not soon.
I did like the morphing of the letters in the new credits, but I still missed the old ones. They just felt less UPN-ish if you know what I mean.
Ah yes, the Michael vs. Max power struggle. I actually felt the episode was a bit contrived, but I still enjoyed it for the most part. Probably because Michael is just such a great character.
And those two kicking the crap out of each other was definitely... to put it mildly, VERY enjoyable. Hehe.Crash was a good ep, yeah. I was kinda expecting Tess to show up at the end, but yeah the ep was fun and entertaining.
Ok, Liz throwing Tess against the well with her alien powers was just one of the coolest things ever. Like, in all of TV and movie land. Shiri totally pulled that scene off, even though it could have been very hokey. And the exchange between Michael and Kyle about killing Tess was awesome as well. Again, those two delivered those lines superbly.
And yeah, Tess sacrificing herself to save the group was fairly nicely done. It was predictable and a bit cliché, but it actually worked. I think the reason for that is that all these characters (with the possible exception of Jesse) are just so well written you know?
Yeah, I was also wondering how Liz got Tess out to the base. Maybe the two of them joined their powers into a Deus Ex Machina, haha.
Max giving up his son was definitely the right thing to do. I mean, honestly there's no way that kid would have a normal life, had Max decided to keep him.Graduation... oh man how I love that episode. The whole thing works really well. Max sacrificing himself and Michael showing up on the bike to save him. I'm glad Isabel left Jesse behind... he was just so wrong for her.
And yeah, Kyle's last moments were great to. I was really glad he got a chance to say goodbye to his dad. Again, that scene worked SOOO well. Nick Wechsler and Bill Sadler really were awesome in every one of their scenes.And those final scenes, with Liz and Max getting married (hot damn Shiri looked good) and her dad reading the journal. I also loved that they went back to Liz narrating the show. It worked really really well in the finale. Beautifully written and nicely done by Shiri. I have to admit just thinking of those last scenes is getting me all choked up. I just loved all those characters (the main ones at least) to bits.
Anyway, one of my complaints about the last episodes of S3 was that the whole thing felt a bit rushed. Like, they could have stretched out the last couple of episodes to maybe five or so.
So again, I'm really glad you enjoyed the show. It was cool reading all of your recaps and sort of reliving the show without actually watching it. Thanks for taking the time to write all of your thoughts down.
^ Thanks. I had fun watching Roswell and appreciate your remarks. It was a really great show. In fact, I'll wait a while before saying so for certain, as I don't think it is really looking at things in perspective to say "Oh wow - one of my favorite shows ever!" right after you get done watching it....but suffice it to say that this show will probably end up being somewhere in my top 5. Great show.
Although I have to admit that I do find myself wanting to know what happened to them after they left. There was alot of potential still left in that show. I think the writers did a good job of wrapping stuff up and not leaving us with any cliffhangers. But it would be nice to know what happened to them.
So now, my next DVD watching adventure, I have decided, will be Smallville, another show that I've never watched. This one will take alot more time, since there are already a ton of seasons out on DVD - I think six seasons, IIRC. At my rate, that ought to take me about a year.
So anyway, I got season 1 and 2 from DDD, and started watching it last night. I ended up watching 4 episodes, which is HUGE for me...but I wanted to get a good running start on this show to get interested in it. Roswell moves pretty fast into it's arc, right from the first moment of the first episode...but Smallville is taking a bit more time to get going. Good character development...but the stories are fairly stand-alone at this point.
Still, so far, so good.
Has anyone in this thread watched Smallville?
I think Smallville might be the 'last holdout' of the fairly major scifi shows (ones lasting more than a couple of seasons) that I've not seen. I've got about a season and a half of ENT that I could go back and watch...and I have about 2 seasons out of the middle of Angel that I've not seen yet (I really just wanna watch that from the beginning, with a rewatch of both that AND Buffy simultaneously)....but I don't think there are many other major scifi shows I've not seen through - some, like DS9, B5, and The X-Files several times.
Oh...I just remembered one other - I've not seen The Dead Zone. So I could still watch that.
It's kinda funny...but I was talking to one of my friends the other night - a classic film buddy whose only scifi experiences have been Buffy, Firefly and Smallville, with a little bit of 'classic' Dr Who thrown in from when he was a kid. He was surprised when I commented that being a hard-core scifi fan takes ALOT of time....but then when I started listing everything for him, even I was stunned.
700+ episodes of Star Trek plus movies
5 seasons of B5, 1 season of Crusade, plus movies and The Lost Tales
9 seasons of The X-Files plus 1 movie, with another on the way
4 seasons of Farscape plus the movie
7 seasons of Buffy and 5 seasons of Angel
3 seasons of nuBSG, plus the old series and Razor
3 seasons of nuWho, plus about a billion series going back decades and 2 seasons of Torchwood
10 seasons of Stargate SG-1
4 seasons of Stargate Atlantis
3 seasons of Roswell
7 seasons of Smallville
Don't know how many seasons of The Dead Zone
Can't remember how many seasons of Adrian Paul Being Hot...erm...I mean, The Highlander..plus movies
4 seasons of The 4400
2 seasons of Eureka
Blocked out how many seasons of Andromeda, except for the part about Keith Hamilton Cobb being hot
2 seasons (I think) of Jeremiah
However many seasons of Quantum Leap
8 (I think) series of Red Dwarf
However many seasons of Sliders (another show I've not seen any of yet!)
PLUS
small stuff like Firefly, The Dresden Files, Earth Above and Beyond, Wonderfalls and other shows that didn't last very long. And borderline scifi like Lost and Alias.
And that's before you even start on feature films or on older series like The Prisoner, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Blake's Seven, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Time Tunnel, UFO, etc....
After I got done with all that, even *I* was surprised! That's alot of TV watching, right there!
I wonder if there is anyone who has actually watched ALL of it.
Although I have to admit that I do find myself wanting to know what happened to them after they left. There was alot of potential still left in that show. I think the writers did a good job of wrapping stuff up and not leaving us with any cliffhangers. But it would be nice to know what happened to them.
So now, my next DVD watching adventure, I have decided, will be Smallville, another show that I've never watched. This one will take alot more time, since there are already a ton of seasons out on DVD - I think six seasons, IIRC. At my rate, that ought to take me about a year.
So anyway, I got season 1 and 2 from DDD, and started watching it last night. I ended up watching 4 episodes, which is HUGE for me...but I wanted to get a good running start on this show to get interested in it. Roswell moves pretty fast into it's arc, right from the first moment of the first episode...but Smallville is taking a bit more time to get going. Good character development...but the stories are fairly stand-alone at this point.
Still, so far, so good.
Has anyone in this thread watched Smallville?
I think Smallville might be the 'last holdout' of the fairly major scifi shows (ones lasting more than a couple of seasons) that I've not seen. I've got about a season and a half of ENT that I could go back and watch...and I have about 2 seasons out of the middle of Angel that I've not seen yet (I really just wanna watch that from the beginning, with a rewatch of both that AND Buffy simultaneously)....but I don't think there are many other major scifi shows I've not seen through - some, like DS9, B5, and The X-Files several times.
Oh...I just remembered one other - I've not seen The Dead Zone. So I could still watch that.
It's kinda funny...but I was talking to one of my friends the other night - a classic film buddy whose only scifi experiences have been Buffy, Firefly and Smallville, with a little bit of 'classic' Dr Who thrown in from when he was a kid. He was surprised when I commented that being a hard-core scifi fan takes ALOT of time....but then when I started listing everything for him, even I was stunned.
700+ episodes of Star Trek plus movies
5 seasons of B5, 1 season of Crusade, plus movies and The Lost Tales
9 seasons of The X-Files plus 1 movie, with another on the way
4 seasons of Farscape plus the movie
7 seasons of Buffy and 5 seasons of Angel
3 seasons of nuBSG, plus the old series and Razor
3 seasons of nuWho, plus about a billion series going back decades and 2 seasons of Torchwood
10 seasons of Stargate SG-1
4 seasons of Stargate Atlantis
3 seasons of Roswell
7 seasons of Smallville
Don't know how many seasons of The Dead Zone
Can't remember how many seasons of Adrian Paul Being Hot...erm...I mean, The Highlander..plus movies
4 seasons of The 4400
2 seasons of Eureka
Blocked out how many seasons of Andromeda, except for the part about Keith Hamilton Cobb being hot
2 seasons (I think) of Jeremiah
However many seasons of Quantum Leap
8 (I think) series of Red Dwarf
However many seasons of Sliders (another show I've not seen any of yet!)
PLUS
small stuff like Firefly, The Dresden Files, Earth Above and Beyond, Wonderfalls and other shows that didn't last very long. And borderline scifi like Lost and Alias.
And that's before you even start on feature films or on older series like The Prisoner, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Blake's Seven, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Time Tunnel, UFO, etc....
After I got done with all that, even *I* was surprised! That's alot of TV watching, right there!
I wonder if there is anyone who has actually watched ALL of it.
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Andromeda ran for a woeful five seasons, something I thankfully know more from hearsay than actual experience.
And, of course, even your list is just limited to live-action television sci-fi... with some fantasy, now that I think of it; Buffy and Angel aren't sci-fi as far as I know.
It's kinda funny...but I was talking to one of my friends the other night - a classic film buddy whose only scifi experiences have been Buffy, Firefly and Smallville, with a little bit of 'classic' Dr Who thrown in from when he was a kid. He was surprised when I commented that being a hard-core scifi fan takes ALOT of time....but then when I started listing everything for him, even I was stunned.
And, of course, even your list is just limited to live-action television sci-fi... with some fantasy, now that I think of it; Buffy and Angel aren't sci-fi as far as I know.
^ Well yes, Buffy and Angel are more 'fantasy' than scifi....but I really meant to include fantasy too, without saying it. Which is why I included stuff like The Dresden Files and Smallville, for example.
The convo was with this friend who counted both Buffy and Firefly among his 'scifi experiences'...and really one is more fantasy and one is more scifi.
But anyway, you get the point. Lots of stuff to watch!
The convo was with this friend who counted both Buffy and Firefly among his 'scifi experiences'...and really one is more fantasy and one is more scifi.
But anyway, you get the point. Lots of stuff to watch!
But not, say Hercules and Xena?^ Well yes, Buffy and Angel are more 'fantasy' than scifi....but I really meant to include fantasy too, without saying it. Which is why I included stuff like The Dresden Files and Smallville, for example.
I've never watched Smallville so I wouldn't be sure where to categorise it, but as the lead character is an alien being from another planet whose weakness comes from a bizarre mineral, one could argue it as as sci-fi in the fairly broad definition of the term. No idea really about The Dresden Files, but that is fantasy for all I know.
PKTrekGirl, here's my reply to your post.
Yeah, Roswell definitely had potential for more interesting storylines. But at least the show got a proper goodbye. And I'm not quite sure whether or not Roswell would be in my top five. Let's see, you've got Buffy, Angel, Farscape, DS9, and BSG. After that I'd put Roswell, B5 and Firefly (despite the short run). So it's definitely in my top 10, but yeah I'm not sure I'd put it in my top 5. I would really need to watch it again to decide.
Smallville... Yeah, I've been watching the show from the beginning. I'll be honest with you, I've never been a big fan of the show. It has it's good moments, and it's fairly enjoyable for the most part, but I'll put it this way, I would rather watch just ONE awesome episode of one of my favourite shows then all of Smallville.
Another thing I noticed when watching Roswell... you've got the cute/hot that the main hero longs for on both shows. They're both dating a jock (Liz dating Kyle on Roswell, Lana dating... was it Whitney?... on Smallville). And there are probably other similarities between the two girls. And yet... Liz is just a much much better character then Lana. Liz is basically how the writers on SV could have written Lana.
Anyway, I don't wanna get into spoiler territory so I'll let you watch Smallville with posting anything more. Besides, me being sick at the moment isn't helping with making my sentences more coherent.
There is a lot of stuff that a real sci-fi fan should watch isn't there. I have seen a lot of it, and yet I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. I've seen most of the more... modern stuff, including shorter shows like Surface and Dark Angel. But I honestly don't have a huge desire to watch older stuff.
Speaking of sci-fi, I've been having a bit of a BSG marathon lately. I'm home sick this week (got a pretty bad cold) so I've had plenty of time to watch TV. I've almost finished S2 of BSG, so I cannot wait for my copies of S3 and Razor to arrive in the mail (should be any day now). I've also come to a realization... someone really needs to give Edward James Olmos an award for his work on BSG. He is absolutely amazing on the show.
Yeah, Roswell definitely had potential for more interesting storylines. But at least the show got a proper goodbye.
And I'm not quite sure whether or not Roswell would be in my top five. Let's see, you've got Buffy, Angel, Farscape, DS9, and BSG. After that I'd put Roswell, B5 and Firefly (despite the short run). So it's definitely in my top 10, but yeah I'm not sure I'd put it in my top 5. I would really need to watch it again to decide. Smallville... Yeah, I've been watching the show from the beginning. I'll be honest with you, I've never been a big fan of the show. It has it's good moments, and it's fairly enjoyable for the most part, but I'll put it this way, I would rather watch just ONE awesome episode of one of my favourite shows then all of Smallville.
Another thing I noticed when watching Roswell... you've got the cute/hot that the main hero longs for on both shows. They're both dating a jock (Liz dating Kyle on Roswell, Lana dating... was it Whitney?... on Smallville). And there are probably other similarities between the two girls. And yet... Liz is just a much much better character then Lana. Liz is basically how the writers on SV could have written Lana.
Anyway, I don't wanna get into spoiler territory so I'll let you watch Smallville with posting anything more. Besides, me being sick at the moment isn't helping with making my sentences more coherent.
There is a lot of stuff that a real sci-fi fan should watch isn't there. I have seen a lot of it, and yet I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. I've seen most of the more... modern stuff, including shorter shows like Surface and Dark Angel. But I honestly don't have a huge desire to watch older stuff.
Speaking of sci-fi, I've been having a bit of a BSG marathon lately. I'm home sick this week (got a pretty bad cold) so I've had plenty of time to watch TV. I've almost finished S2 of BSG, so I cannot wait for my copies of S3 and Razor to arrive in the mail (should be any day now). I've also come to a realization... someone really needs to give Edward James Olmos an award for his work on BSG. He is absolutely amazing on the show.
But not, say Hercules and Xena?^ Well yes, Buffy and Angel are more 'fantasy' than scifi....but I really meant to include fantasy too, without saying it. Which is why I included stuff like The Dresden Files and Smallville, for example.
I've never watched Smallville so I wouldn't be sure where to categorise it, but as the lead character is an alien being from another planet whose weakness comes from a bizarre mineral, one could argue it as as sci-fi in the fairly broad definition of the term. No idea really about The Dresden Files, but that is fantasy for all I know.
I think Hercules and Xena would be fantasy. I have seen a bit of each and I can live with them being fantasy.
I guess I consider Smallville fantasy because it comes out of the world of Superhero comics. But I can live with scifi for that. It might even be both, to be honest.
The Dresden Files is about a modern-day wizard. So I think that is squarely in the camp of fantasy.
But all of this stuff is shown on The Scifi Channel...so I guess what I'm saying is that my friend did not make the distinction for purposes of his question...so I didn't for purposes of my answer.
My post was not about making distinctions between scifi and fantasy. My post was to make the point that this SF&F genre is pretty vast.
PKTrekGirl, here's my reply to your post.
Yeah, Roswell definitely had potential for more interesting storylines. But at least the show got a proper goodbye.
Well, my favorites as they stand right now are:
DS9
B5
Buffy
The X-Files
Farscape
nuBSG
Firefly
I can't say for certain yet because I always give things a few months to 'settle in'...but I think Roswell will likely bump Farscape out of 5th place.
And I'll tell you the chief reason why: Roswell was much more CONSISTENTLY good. When Farscape was good, it was very, very good. And there were a few episodes of Farscape that were better than anything on Roswell (that Into the Lion's Den multi-parter, for example). However, when Farscape was bad, it was very, very bad. And there are a not-so-nice handful of Farscape episodes that, well...really, really suck.
And try as I might, I can't think of a single Roswell episode that really sucks. There were a few that really stood out as being super-amazing-excellent. But I can't think of a single Roswell episode that I would consider to be 'below average'. That show really stayed on track, kept moving at a good pace, followed up on important storylines regularly (with the exception of the New York Dupes) and was well written....and consistently written.
Farcape was far more 'uneven'.
Now, I've not seen all of Angel yet, as I mentioned - I've only seen seasons 1 (on DVD) and 4.5 thru 5 (live when they aired). And even those I saw out of order - I saw the last half of season 4 and all of season 5 before I got the DVDs and watched season 1. So I can't really judge Angel fairly. Therefore, knowing the quality of Buffy and Firefly, Angel might well be the wildcard that could upset the applecart yet again.
But anyway, that's the way I see it shaping up right now.
Humm...that doesn't bode well. You and I generally like the same stuff.
I guess I figured Smallville might be worth the time because it was one of the main reasons Roswell didn't go on longer. IIRC, it did much better in the ratings.But then, ratings don't always tell the story, do they?
So far, I totally agree with you. In fact, in the four episodes I've watched, Lana has been my main disappointment. She doesn't even hold a candle to Liz...who you loved from practically the nanosecond Roswell began.
By the end of the first episode of Roswell, not only did you understand why Max was in love with Liz (even then)...but you loved her yourself! But Lana? Not so much. Clark is a good character, and Tom Welling is so far very convincing in his interactions with other characters (not to mention being exceedingly gorgeous!). But I don't feel the chemistry between Clark and Lana at all. And it's not even in the same BALLPARK as the chemistry between Max and Liz...or even Michael and Maria, for that matter.
Lana is just another female character. Liz is up there in the same category as Aeryn Sun and Delenn, however, in my book.
And as for the two jocks, well, you know who wins THAT contest. I just think Kyle ROCKS in about a thousand different ways...and that guy on Smallville is nothing next to my favorite Buddha Boy!
In fact, in my own personal fantasy off-screen 'ending' to Roswell, Isabelle dumps boresville Jesse from the road (since she can't go back anyway, right? And he needs a life, so it's only right!) and hooks up with Kyle.
The Perfect Ending.
Well, I think you are doing fine. But I'm sorry you are sick, just the same.Anyway, I don't wanna get into spoiler territory so I'll let you watch Smallville with posting anything more. Besides, me being sick at the moment isn't helping with making my sentences more coherent.
Yeah...I have not seen those two shows. But I've seen most of the shows on my list above. Not tons of old stuff - not even that much classic Dr Who, to be honest. I mainly like Dr Who because I just love David Tennant beyond all reason. But the older Whos don't interest me as much. I'll try and watch some of them...but they are not a top priority.
Well, you have been watching it all along, right?
Or not?
Yeah...you have, because I remember talking to you about loving season 3 when everyone else was ragging on it.
Anyway, I agree with you about EJO. He is by far the best actor on that show. Although Jamie Bamber gets the award for Best Looking in a Towel.
BABY!!!!But I digress.
I like BSG very much - I love it's edginess and grit. It's the next step beyond DS9 and B5 in that regard, and I'm glad they pushed that envelope past DS9 and B5 and took that next step. I also love the characters and think they are gritty and cool too. No Mary Sues in THAT show, that's for sure!
Flaws all over the frakkin' place!However, I like certain parts of that show more than others. And I think my likes are oftentimes the exact opposite of, say, the likes of alot of people in the BSG forum. For example, my favorite part of the entire series so far is the Cylon occupation arc at the beginning of season 3. Those episodes are, in fact, among my favorite in all of scifi! Scifi doesn't get any darker and grittier than those!
But there seems to be those in the BSG forum who thought they were too grim. *shrugs*
But not me. I thought they were near perfect.
But then, I can't get enough gritty scifi. DS9 and B5 made sure of that!
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^ Hey, sorry that I haven't replied to your post yet. I've just been crazy busy lately. I barely found the time to post the DS9 avatar contest voting thread today.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I do plan to reply to your post, I just need to find some free time.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I do plan to reply to your post, I just need to find some free time.
Smallville Update
Okay...so I finished season 1 of Smallville.
Long story short, it's a pretty decent show. I like all the characters so far (although I have also watched the first couple of episodes of season 2, and can see why they got rid of Whitney - he really didn't add much to the show. He's no Kyle Valenti, that's for sure! ) and the show is interesting enough. It felt pretty focused and the actors are pretty decent.
One thing I do have to say is that I really love the sets on this show - I LOVE the Kent farm. I wish we saw more of it, because I think it's a beautiful place from the outside...and the kitchen and the barn loft are nice too.
Of course, Lex's house is very impressive too, although in some places (particularly in hallways) you can tell you are not in a huge house for real. Nevertheless the main set for the Luther castle is neat.
My favorite characters so far would probably be Clark and Lex...but then, that is probably how they hope it will be as these two really are the future of the show. Lana is okay...but yeah...when you stack her up against Liz there is no comparison.
We'll see how it goes with season 2. I think I read somewhere that season 3 and 5 are supposedly the best seasons. Any thoughts on that?
Anyway, that's about it for now....
Okay...so I finished season 1 of Smallville.
Long story short, it's a pretty decent show. I like all the characters so far (although I have also watched the first couple of episodes of season 2, and can see why they got rid of Whitney - he really didn't add much to the show. He's no Kyle Valenti, that's for sure!
) and the show is interesting enough. It felt pretty focused and the actors are pretty decent.One thing I do have to say is that I really love the sets on this show - I LOVE the Kent farm. I wish we saw more of it, because I think it's a beautiful place from the outside...and the kitchen and the barn loft are nice too.
Of course, Lex's house is very impressive too, although in some places (particularly in hallways) you can tell you are not in a huge house for real. Nevertheless the main set for the Luther castle is neat.
My favorite characters so far would probably be Clark and Lex...but then, that is probably how they hope it will be as these two really are the future of the show. Lana is okay...but yeah...when you stack her up against Liz there is no comparison.
We'll see how it goes with season 2. I think I read somewhere that season 3 and 5 are supposedly the best seasons. Any thoughts on that?
Anyway, that's about it for now....
I like the search feature. It makes things easy to find.
Hello Niners. How ya doing. It's been such a long time since I posted in this forum I've been thinking about coming back to it lately. Of course I haven't been watching much DS9 lately (For some reason this summer I've been addicted to Voyager and realized how much I like that series) but I'm still interested in the show as one of the best shows I've ever seen. It's also amazing that this thread has been somewhat ignored and I hope that maybe I can give it a boost.
Basically, if you're new, what this thread is is pretty much a place where we can hang out and talk about various stuff not having to do with DS9. I really liked that PK allowed this thread to exist in that you always get the attitude of "this should go into ____________ fourm". Well, what good is that when people go to different forums. So pull of a chair, have a drink and take a load off.
So what's up all. It's been a long time hasn't it? I've been well, almost ending another quarter and then leaving for the east coast (Baltimore, Washington DC and Orlando) next week. Can't believe how fast this year has gone.
Hello Niners. How ya doing. It's been such a long time since I posted in this forum I've been thinking about coming back to it lately. Of course I haven't been watching much DS9 lately (For some reason this summer I've been addicted to Voyager and realized how much I like that series) but I'm still interested in the show as one of the best shows I've ever seen. It's also amazing that this thread has been somewhat ignored and I hope that maybe I can give it a boost.
Basically, if you're new, what this thread is is pretty much a place where we can hang out and talk about various stuff not having to do with DS9. I really liked that PK allowed this thread to exist in that you always get the attitude of "this should go into ____________ fourm". Well, what good is that when people go to different forums. So pull of a chair, have a drink and take a load off.
So what's up all. It's been a long time hasn't it? I've been well, almost ending another quarter and then leaving for the east coast (Baltimore, Washington DC and Orlando) next week. Can't believe how fast this year has gone.
Wow, 24 hours later and no takers. Maybe this forum has really changed.
Well, hi. I can believe how fast the year's gone. I have been immersed in politics for some time, and it has been so very interesting that time has flown by.
I've stuck my head in from time to time, pretty inconsistently mind you, so I've never struck up a conversation for that reason. It is surprising that this thread it isn't used more. Maybe the B5 thread is where people hang, unofficially.
So, I'll just slap my "Ed was here" leaflet on the wall and say, "Aloha." Until later. :wave:
I've stuck my head in from time to time, pretty inconsistently mind you, so I've never struck up a conversation for that reason. It is surprising that this thread it isn't used more. Maybe the B5 thread is where people hang, unofficially.
So, I'll just slap my "Ed was here" leaflet on the wall and say, "Aloha." Until later. :wave: