Re: What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomac
This is totally off topic but I love your avatar Brian! Great stuff!
This is totally off topic but I love your avatar Brian! Great stuff!
What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomach?
- Thread starter Colonel Green
- Start date
Re: What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomac
Since Babylon 5 doesn't use "previously on" montages, except in the case of two-part episodes, a certain amount of unnatural exposition finds its way into the characters' conversation. It avoids the repetitive and long-winded nature of "previously on" montages, but it's clunky in its own way, too. I'd say this is my biggest problem with dialogue on the show, although calling it a problem is misleading, because any way you tackle it has its drawbacks.
The Wire, for example, doesn't bother with backstory montages or exposition in dialogue, beyond what is naturalistic to the moment. As a result, it can be impossible to keep characters and stories in line without multiple viewings. And it's a show that takes place in the present day and only runs 10-13 episodes a season. Battlestar Galactica, on the other hand, makes extensive use of the "previously on" montages, which seem to go on and on and on, especially in the later seasons. 24 is especially notable--it employs long previously on montages and exposition that feels unnatural in the body of the episode. Sometimes I think writers are too worried viewers are going to be lost.
Since Babylon 5 doesn't use "previously on" montages, except in the case of two-part episodes, a certain amount of unnatural exposition finds its way into the characters' conversation. It avoids the repetitive and long-winded nature of "previously on" montages, but it's clunky in its own way, too. I'd say this is my biggest problem with dialogue on the show, although calling it a problem is misleading, because any way you tackle it has its drawbacks.
The Wire, for example, doesn't bother with backstory montages or exposition in dialogue, beyond what is naturalistic to the moment. As a result, it can be impossible to keep characters and stories in line without multiple viewings. And it's a show that takes place in the present day and only runs 10-13 episodes a season. Battlestar Galactica, on the other hand, makes extensive use of the "previously on" montages, which seem to go on and on and on, especially in the later seasons. 24 is especially notable--it employs long previously on montages and exposition that feels unnatural in the body of the episode. Sometimes I think writers are too worried viewers are going to be lost.
Re: What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomac
I dislike or do not care for:
-Andromeda. Pretty good premise, horrificly bland execution. Reminded me of what would have happened had Voyager's writers lost their last thread of insanity.
-Smallville. Meh. Superheroes and soap operas do not mix.
-Stargate. I used to love this show, but from Season 6 onwards, it was a shell of itself. Seasons 1-5 were perfectly balanced with action adventure, some very natural character interaction, and humor that didn't feel forced. But somehow this balance became wrecked and the show lost what made it great. Then it started becoming Star Trekified. Atlantis was a wussy version of the unbalanced version of SG-1, and thus, was lame.
-BSG. I've loved it, but it's starting to become tiresome, and I just want to see the frakking end. Enough of this soap opera crap.
-Fringe
-Flash Gordon. One of the most terrifying experiences of my life. I just barely survived by gnawing off my own leg.
-Final Fantasy. Really, I don't see the appeal. With each game, there are increasingly ridiculous plots with increasingly theatrical and dramatic and dark characters to the point where I can't stand listening to their pompous drivel for even a second.
-Wheel of Time
I dislike or do not care for:
-Andromeda. Pretty good premise, horrificly bland execution. Reminded me of what would have happened had Voyager's writers lost their last thread of insanity.
-Smallville. Meh. Superheroes and soap operas do not mix.
-Stargate. I used to love this show, but from Season 6 onwards, it was a shell of itself. Seasons 1-5 were perfectly balanced with action adventure, some very natural character interaction, and humor that didn't feel forced. But somehow this balance became wrecked and the show lost what made it great. Then it started becoming Star Trekified. Atlantis was a wussy version of the unbalanced version of SG-1, and thus, was lame.
-BSG. I've loved it, but it's starting to become tiresome, and I just want to see the frakking end. Enough of this soap opera crap.
-Fringe
-Flash Gordon. One of the most terrifying experiences of my life. I just barely survived by gnawing off my own leg.
-Final Fantasy. Really, I don't see the appeal. With each game, there are increasingly ridiculous plots with increasingly theatrical and dramatic and dark characters to the point where I can't stand listening to their pompous drivel for even a second.
-Wheel of Time
S
Stone_Cold_Sisko
Guest
Re: What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomac
My favorite instances of this were during the 6 episodes to open Season 4, on Centauri Prime.
*Londo walks into his chamber*
*His royal guard person nods*
GUARD: Ambassador Mollari, how are you?
LONDO: Oh, I am just worried about my deal with G'Kar! You see, Emperor Cartagia has gone mad! The only solution is to kill him, and to do that, I need G'Kar's help, so we've made a deal. He helps me kill Cartagia and I set the Narn homeworld free!
GUARD: Very good Ambassador.
THE NEXT EPISODE
*Londo walks over to the Centauri kitchen, inspecting the food*
CHEF: What are you in the mood for Ambassador?
LONDO: Oh, I don't know if I can eat... my mind is pre-occupied about my deal with G'Kar! You see, Emperor Cartagia has gone mad! The only solution is to kill him, and to do that, I need G'Kar's help, so we've made a deal. He helps me kill Cartagia and I set the Narn homeworld free!
CHEF: Would you like Spoo?
LONDO: Yes please
My favorite instances of this were during the 6 episodes to open Season 4, on Centauri Prime.
*Londo walks into his chamber*
*His royal guard person nods*
GUARD: Ambassador Mollari, how are you?
LONDO: Oh, I am just worried about my deal with G'Kar! You see, Emperor Cartagia has gone mad! The only solution is to kill him, and to do that, I need G'Kar's help, so we've made a deal. He helps me kill Cartagia and I set the Narn homeworld free!
GUARD: Very good Ambassador.
THE NEXT EPISODE
*Londo walks over to the Centauri kitchen, inspecting the food*
CHEF: What are you in the mood for Ambassador?
LONDO: Oh, I don't know if I can eat... my mind is pre-occupied about my deal with G'Kar! You see, Emperor Cartagia has gone mad! The only solution is to kill him, and to do that, I need G'Kar's help, so we've made a deal. He helps me kill Cartagia and I set the Narn homeworld free!
CHEF: Would you like Spoo?
LONDO: Yes please
Re: What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomac
The funny thing about that is that Dean Cain isn't Hispanic, he's half-Asian.
Shows I could never get into:
Stargate, any of 'em (though to be fair, I haven't tried that hard and I'm willing to be proved wrong)
Torchwood - love Captain Jack. Can't really get into the show.
Roswell
Space: 1999
Enterprise
Futurama
Not saying I outright couldn't stand any of those, just never could get into them. I outright hated Voyager and Family Guy, though.
The funny thing about that is that Dean Cain isn't Hispanic, he's half-Asian.
Shows I could never get into:
Stargate, any of 'em (though to be fair, I haven't tried that hard and I'm willing to be proved wrong)
Torchwood - love Captain Jack. Can't really get into the show.
Roswell
Space: 1999
Enterprise
Futurama
Not saying I outright couldn't stand any of those, just never could get into them. I outright hated Voyager and Family Guy, though.
Re: What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomac
*gasp* How dare you?? Like Jesus, Superman is pure Anglo-Saxon white and don't you forget it!!
(At least according to some rather short-sighted folks...)
*gasp* How dare you?? Like Jesus, Superman is pure Anglo-Saxon white and don't you forget it!!
(At least according to some rather short-sighted folks...)
Re: What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomac
There are no doubt some who dismiss shows because of an apparent different ethnic appearance. There are also quite a few who dismiss them simply because it's different from there original inspiration, rather than something racial, for example.
There are no doubt some who dismiss shows because of an apparent different ethnic appearance. There are also quite a few who dismiss them simply because it's different from there original inspiration, rather than something racial, for example.
Re: What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomac
I'm glad it was never *really* that bad....
I'm glad it was never *really* that bad....
Re: What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomac
The ultimate tragedy for me was waiting 16 years for Doctor Who to return, then hating every single minute of it since...
(Okay 9 years, since I'm that one fan who liked most of the '96 film).
History will probably repeat itself when Star Trek hits cinemas next year, but at least the wait hasn't raised unrealistic expectations, I suppose.
The ultimate tragedy for me was waiting 16 years for Doctor Who to return, then hating every single minute of it since...
(Okay 9 years, since I'm that one fan who liked most of the '96 film).
History will probably repeat itself when Star Trek hits cinemas next year, but at least the wait hasn't raised unrealistic expectations, I suppose.
Re: What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomac
I forgot to add that I've never had any interest in Harry Potter.
I forgot to add that I've never had any interest in Harry Potter.
3D Master
Rear Admiral
Re: What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomac
Enterprise: my god, how Star Trek can be so bad boggles the mind. It shouldn't be so hard to produce a good Star Trek show. Hell, even Voyager, however bad the premise was executed, at least produced some good episodes.
Buffy S6-S7, and now the comic book S8. Similarly, Angel S5 and beyond: It's turned into a pile of junk. Previously enjoyable characters, heroes, have turned into villainous caricatures of themselves.
Speaking of villainous caricatures:
nBSG: My god! Just how horrible can you make a show! Here's the blueprint: spend your time insulting the show it's a remake of, then use the very stories and plot contrivances you just spent mocking, but instead of interesting likeable characters in them, have your characters be self-absorbed asshole caricatures of humans, sick twisted f's who are more villains then good guys. If half-way through the pilot you're jocking for the "bad guys" to finish blowing the "good guys" out of the sky, you're busy producing shit. And throughout the series, the shit only piles up, getting worse.
Firefly: BOOORINGGGGG! How many time has past? Only five minutes!? GAAH!
Harry Potter: The movies are okay, the books make my sense of language balk.
Star Wars: All of it. It's watcheable, but that's about it.
Stargate: It started out pretty good, and it was for a long time a guilty pleasure (and somehow I'm still watching the tv movies, because I like Vaala and Ben Browder), but my god, there's no drama, ever. Every time they're pressed, the next god-created super weapon out of a machine appears and all is solved again! These people never have to work for anything, everythng just gets tossed in their laps. Everytime there's an interesting moral dilemma, possibly, it's neatly avoided, or simply not talked about.
Doctor Who: I just never could get into it. Not 20 years, not now, not ever.
Enterprise: my god, how Star Trek can be so bad boggles the mind. It shouldn't be so hard to produce a good Star Trek show. Hell, even Voyager, however bad the premise was executed, at least produced some good episodes.
Buffy S6-S7, and now the comic book S8. Similarly, Angel S5 and beyond: It's turned into a pile of junk. Previously enjoyable characters, heroes, have turned into villainous caricatures of themselves.
Speaking of villainous caricatures:
nBSG: My god! Just how horrible can you make a show! Here's the blueprint: spend your time insulting the show it's a remake of, then use the very stories and plot contrivances you just spent mocking, but instead of interesting likeable characters in them, have your characters be self-absorbed asshole caricatures of humans, sick twisted f's who are more villains then good guys. If half-way through the pilot you're jocking for the "bad guys" to finish blowing the "good guys" out of the sky, you're busy producing shit. And throughout the series, the shit only piles up, getting worse.
Firefly: BOOORINGGGGG! How many time has past? Only five minutes!? GAAH!
Harry Potter: The movies are okay, the books make my sense of language balk.
Star Wars: All of it. It's watcheable, but that's about it.
Stargate: It started out pretty good, and it was for a long time a guilty pleasure (and somehow I'm still watching the tv movies, because I like Vaala and Ben Browder), but my god, there's no drama, ever. Every time they're pressed, the next god-created super weapon out of a machine appears and all is solved again! These people never have to work for anything, everythng just gets tossed in their laps. Everytime there's an interesting moral dilemma, possibly, it's neatly avoided, or simply not talked about.
Doctor Who: I just never could get into it. Not 20 years, not now, not ever.
Re: What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomac
It's terrible how fixated on SF I am. I'd rather watch mediocre or even bad SF than most regular TV shows. I would grasp at straws. For instance, I would watch Earth: The Final Conflict occasionally just for Von FloresA Even so, there were some so bad that I had to turn off the TV set!
Most of the action series, like Time Tracker or Cleopatra 90110 or Mutant X.
Most of the horror series, like War of the Worlds.
Lexx.
Firefly. The humiliation getting caught watching this while River was driveling still stings!
Battlestar Galactica.
And most of the new ones (but maybe my tastes are finally maturing?) like Bionic Woman, Terminator and Fringe.
It's terrible how fixated on SF I am. I'd rather watch mediocre or even bad SF than most regular TV shows. I would grasp at straws. For instance, I would watch Earth: The Final Conflict occasionally just for Von FloresA Even so, there were some so bad that I had to turn off the TV set!
Most of the action series, like Time Tracker or Cleopatra 90110 or Mutant X.
Most of the horror series, like War of the Worlds.
Lexx.
Firefly. The humiliation getting caught watching this while River was driveling still stings!
Battlestar Galactica.
And most of the new ones (but maybe my tastes are finally maturing?) like Bionic Woman, Terminator and Fringe.
A Clockwork Lim
Lieutenant Commander
Re: What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomac
I can't stand Firefly. It's just all the dialogue from Buffy crammed into an inplausible setting that makes little to no sense. A dusty backwater bar that has to use wind power just to juice up their refrigerator, but also has a holographic force field window? o.O And, originally, all of it taking place in a single solar system full of hundreds of worlds. Oy.
"Oh, look, our lead is such a rogue. He kicked that bad guy into the jet engine. AWESOME!" Oy.
The only decent thing in the entire show was Jayne, and he was pretty much a stereotype in and of himself. The dumb-as-bricks mercenary with a mysterious past. Ooh.
I can't stand Firefly. It's just all the dialogue from Buffy crammed into an inplausible setting that makes little to no sense. A dusty backwater bar that has to use wind power just to juice up their refrigerator, but also has a holographic force field window? o.O And, originally, all of it taking place in a single solar system full of hundreds of worlds. Oy.
"Oh, look, our lead is such a rogue. He kicked that bad guy into the jet engine. AWESOME!" Oy.
The only decent thing in the entire show was Jayne, and he was pretty much a stereotype in and of himself. The dumb-as-bricks mercenary with a mysterious past. Ooh.
Re: What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomac
I've never actively disliked a show but here are a few I have no or have lost interest in:
Television
Angel/Buffy: Whedon's over reliance on pop culture trivia is annoying. I stopped watching after the pilots. The fact that the protagonists were whining bitches didn't help either. Firefly is ok.
NuBSG: Like many others have stated it started out interesting but has gotten so lame that I want all the colonials to die at this point.
Smallville: When I read the premise back in 2001 I decided to skip this. From what I've heard I'm glad I did.
Terminator: TSCC: The series should have ended with the second film.
Doctor Who/Torchwood: They just enver sparked any interest at all.
Film
The Matrix Trilogy: Just more cyberpunk garbage.
Underworld/Underworld: Evolution: Stylized hollywood crap further screwing with a couple of interesting legends.
Star Wars: I'm never been a Warsie but I used to enjoy the original trilogy. The prequels completely ruined the series for me.
I've never actively disliked a show but here are a few I have no or have lost interest in:
Television
Angel/Buffy: Whedon's over reliance on pop culture trivia is annoying. I stopped watching after the pilots. The fact that the protagonists were whining bitches didn't help either. Firefly is ok.
NuBSG: Like many others have stated it started out interesting but has gotten so lame that I want all the colonials to die at this point.
Smallville: When I read the premise back in 2001 I decided to skip this. From what I've heard I'm glad I did.
Terminator: TSCC: The series should have ended with the second film.
Doctor Who/Torchwood: They just enver sparked any interest at all.
Film
The Matrix Trilogy: Just more cyberpunk garbage.
Underworld/Underworld: Evolution: Stylized hollywood crap further screwing with a couple of interesting legends.
Star Wars: I'm never been a Warsie but I used to enjoy the original trilogy. The prequels completely ruined the series for me.
Re: What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomac
I'd like to add that I don't see eye-to-eye with Harry Potter. Rowling must hate redheads or something, because I was being called Weasely constantly when I was a kid. And I could never get into the books either. I'm rather glad Rupert Grint has stopped looking like me, so I can have my name back.
Oh and any "Stylish Vampire Movie" really grates my nerves.
I'd like to add that I don't see eye-to-eye with Harry Potter. Rowling must hate redheads or something, because I was being called Weasely constantly when I was a kid. And I could never get into the books either. I'm rather glad Rupert Grint has stopped looking like me, so I can have my name back.
Oh and any "Stylish Vampire Movie" really grates my nerves.
Re: What SciFi or Fanasty Series, Film or Franchise can you not stomac
star wars. partly because it never made much sense. you've got some pseudo telekinesis and you choose to fight someone with swords? talk about not using your abilities. also, partly because everyone seem to think it's the best thing ever. 
sorry to all you star wars fans out there, but it's just so over exposed and anymore star wars stuff and i just go
star wars. partly because it never made much sense. you've got some pseudo telekinesis and you choose to fight someone with swords?
talk about not using your abilities. also, partly because everyone seem to think it's the best thing ever. sorry to all you star wars fans out there, but it's just so over exposed and anymore star wars stuff and i just go 
