It’s very clear that the summer season has become the best time for genre TV shows. Maybe it has to do with there being less competition in the air waves, but in any case this summer has quite a selection of sci-fi, fantasy and horror TV shows either returning or debuting. Leaving out pure garbage like Under The Dome, these are the most anticipated TV shows.
Defiance (June 19): Syfy’s ambitious TV series about aliens and humans sharing an uneasy peace in the future in the town called Defiance returns for its sophomore season. The first season was uneven in quality, but showed potential as the characters were fleshed out and compelling mysteries were explored. Hopefully Defiance can continue going up in quality.
Doctor Who (August): Peter Capaldi’s turn as the Twelfth Doctor begins this August. The long-running sci-series about a time-traveling alien and his adventures is as popular as it was when it premiered way back in 1963.
Dominion (June 19): A sequel to the 2010 supernatural thriller Legion,Dominion takes place in a future where angels and humanity are at war with each other. Legion was so-so, but based on the trailers and its premise, Dominion warrants a viewing or two.
Extant (July 9): Halle Berry stars in this Steven Spielberg-exec-produced sci-fi mystery. She plays an astronaut who after coming home from a solo mission may have brought back an alien life form. That’s because while in space by herself, she became pregnant. Expect lots of jaw-dropping revelations.
Falling Skies (June 22): The alien invasion saga is back for its fourth season. The ragtag humans continue their desperate war against the spider-like Skitters and now the tired sci-fi trope of young alien/human hybrids that age rapidly. Still Falling Skies in the past has been a generally well-done and exciting TV show, so it should pull it off again.
The Last Ship (June 22): Based on the book by William Brinkley, this post-apocalyptic drama focuses on a lone U.S. Navy ship and its crew. An important change from the book is that instead of surviving a nuclear war, the ship and its crew grapple in a world where a pandemic wiped out most of humanity. The previews make it look quite exciting and riveting.
The Leftovers (June 29): Former Lost showrunner Damon Lindelof presents this HBO series set in a world where the Rapture caused two percent of its human population to disappear. As expected, people go off the deep end as fringe cults and chaos comes to the fore.
Outlander (Aug 9): Noted showrunner, Ronald D. Moore executive produces this new STARZ series about a World War II-era British nurse who winds up in Scotland in the year 1743. This romantic time travel drama is based on Diana Gabaldon’s popular books, and it looks like an epic book romance come to life.
The Strain (July 13): This one looks scary! Based on director Guillermo Del Toro’s book trilogy, this FX TV show is about scientists trying to stop a virus that turns people into vicious, deadly vampires. Will this replace our summer vampire fix now that True Blood is ending?
True Blood (June 22): Coming back for its seventh and final season, the HBO vampire drama as expected wraps up its storylines about a world where vampires have come out and struggle to get along in society. Although True Blood isn’t as buzzworthy as in the past, its racy scenes, bloody gore and ever-twisting plotlines still deliver.
Fans of the beloved and quirky sci-fi series Farscape should be pleased to know that concerted efforts are underway for a Farscape TV movie.
In this weekend’s WonderCon in Anaheim, series creator Rockne S. O’Bannon confirmed that one of the show’s writers Justin Monjo is working on the script and while the project is still in the preliminary stage, he is optimistic that it will be made.
Supposedly the film will be about D’Argo Crichton, the son of John Crichton (Ben Browder) and Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black), who was introduced as a baby in the mini-series Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars. The younger Crichton has grown up on Earth as part of an effort to hide him because he is exhibiting unique powers that interested Farscape’s baddies. But now at the rebellious age of 19, D’Argo Crichton is ready to rendezvous with his parents who are still traipsing across the cosmos.
What is interesting about the project is that the film will take place after the comic book stories that followed the show, making it one of the few instances where a comic book story line is actively considered as cannon for a film or TV medium.
Now many Farscape fans will take this news with a grain of salt. A few years ago, there was supposed to be a web-based series but that project was ultimately shelved. But now with Farscape recapturing many fans’ imaginations and bringing in new converts, perhaps the time is right to revisit the slightly eccentric astronaut and his bizarre but lovable alien friends. Finding a way to bring back Ka D’Argo (Anthony Simcoe) would be a nice bonus. But until news that production is underway and the original cast has been reunited, it’s best to stay guardedly optimistic.
It’s hard to believe that fifteen years have already passed since Farscape, one of the best sci-fi TV shows, made its debut. It chronicled the saga of John Crichton (Ben Browder), an astronaut stranded on the other side of the universe. Joining him was a genuine motley crew of alien fugitives such as his eventual lover Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black), fierce warrior D’Argo (Anthony Simcoe), the pacifistic Zhaan (Virginia Hey), insane Stark (Paul Goddard), Chiana (Gigi Edgley), an exotically beautiful con artist, non-humans Rygel and Pilot, and more. Farscape was captivating, exciting and usually off the wall. These are fifteen of its best episodes.
15. “Into The Lion’s Den (Part 1): Lambs To The Slaughter”/”Into The Lion’s Den (Part 2): Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing” The crews of the living ship Moya and her offspring Talyn board a Peacekeeper carrier ship to supposedly help their main nemesis Scorpius (Wayne Pygram) with creating wormholes. In reality, they set about to cripple his and the Peacekeepers’ research.
14. TIE: “Rhapsody In Blue”/”Scratch ‘n’ Sniff” Farscape ran the gamut with both thought-provoking and hilarious episodes and it wasn’t afraid to explore many avenues. “Rhapsody In Blue” is one of the show’s most spiritual episodes as Crichton psychically bonds with the priestess Zhaan to calm her troubled soul. “Scratch ‘n’ Sniff” is one of those love-it-or-hate-it episodes. Moya’s crew take shore leave on a pleasure planet. Hilarity and downright outrageous hijinks commences after the crew are drugged by nefarious types. For a show that prides itself on the bizarre this episode set new levels with its strange imagery and camera work.
13. “Infinite Possibilities (Part 2): Icarus Abides” A running plot line in the show’s third season had John Crichton being duplicated. Soon after, both Crichtons (and other characters) went their separate ways as the ships Moya and Talyn traveled on different courses. In this episode, one of the Crichtons makes the ultimate sacrifice to keep wormhole technology from falling into the wrong hands. The final moments with him and his lover Aeryn Sun were very touching and memorable.
12. “Out Of Their Minds” This episode takes one of the most tired sci-fi clichés, characters switched into different bodies, and makes it fresh and above all hysterical. Credit for this has to go to the actors who perfectly captured the personalities of other characters. An audacious example includes the moment when D’Argo with Chiana’s mind tries to seduce the toad-like Rygel, who is in Crichton’s body.
11. “A Constellation Of Doubt” Depressed after Aeryn is captured by the evil reptilian Scarrans, Crichton retreats to his quarters and watches a video transmission from Earth. It’s a sensationalistic documentary about his and the Moya’s crew recent visit to Earth. Sadly, while humanity’s paranoid and bigoted reactions to the aliens are disheartening, the video provides intriguing insights into the show’s characters with their alien views of life.
10. “Bad Timing” As the final episode of the series, “Bad Timing” couldn’t be more aptly named. It ends in a big cliffhanger where John Crichton and Aeryn Sun are killed off after he proposes marriage to her! Fans were on pins and needles until the mini-series Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars resolved that problem. That aside, the episode was a fitting epitaph for this grand space opera.
9. “The Way We Weren’t” Moya’s records reveal that before Farscape began, Aeryn, when she was still a militaristic Peacekeeper, helped kill Moya’s previous pilot. At first enraged, the current Pilot reveals his own dark past regarding Moya. This disturbing trip down memory lane was a thought-provoking look at forgiveness and letting go of the past. It best illustrated how Aeryn had grown so much since the show’s beginnings when she was antagonistic.
8. “Incubator” The episode focuses on the villainous Scorpius as he reveals his back story. We learn that the half Sebacean, half Scarran was conceived when a Sebacean prisoner was raped by a brutish Scarran. As young Scorpius grows, he is tormented and looked down upon by other Scarrans who think he is inferior. Not only do we learn why he hates Scarrans, but astonishingly, Scorpius becomes someone to be pitied because he is a victim of his tortured upbringing.
7. “Nerve”/”The Hidden Memory” Farscape’s first two-part episode introduces viewers to the lecherous Scorpius, who would become the main villain of the show. Posing as a Peacekeeper to obtain medicine for Aeryn, Crichton’s cover is blown and is later tortured by Scorpius before he can be rescued. The information he unknowingly has about creating wormholes will change the nature of Farscape irrevocably as Scorpius becomes obsessed with gaining that knowledge.
6. “A Human Reaction” Crichton finds a way back to Earth. But John begins realizing that things aren’t exactly right at home. Meanwhile, he is distraught by the increasing hostile reception D’Argo, Rygel and Aeryn get from human authorities. What make this episode stand out more is that the genesis of Farscape’s most important plot thread begins: Crichton meets advanced aliens who can create wormholes and impart this knowledge unknowingly to him. Later on, this information makes him the target of Scorpius and other villains.
5. “The Choice” After the death of a loved one, a grief-stricken Aeryn Sun travels to a planet where the dead can communicate with the living. As she encounters friends and foes from her past, Aeryn must decide where to go with her life. “The Choice” was one of the bleakest and most haunting episodes of Farscape and Claudia Black perfectly emoted the dark and worn mood of her character, who is emotionally raw.
4. “Terra Firma” John Crichton unexpectedly returns to Earth along with the rest of the Moya crew. This time it’s for real. What is supposed to be a joyous occasion turns out to be a mixed blessing for Crichton based on how humanity reacts to his alien friends. Although not as hostile as he feared, humans are derisive enough to make his friends uncomfortable. At the same time, he realizes the old adage about not being able to go home again as he admits to himself that he has changed since leaving Earth.
3. “The Locket” After Moya is stuck in a mysterious cloud, Aeryn goes on a brief scouting mission and returns having aged several decades. She then leaves for a planet that she has called home for years, so Crichton follows her and he winds up marooned there with her and grows old as well. In all that time, they grow closer to each other as they age gracefully with tenderly rendered scenes. This charming character drama was well embellished with the puzzling mystery of their aging, which is tied to Moya’s predicament. However, the heart of the episode is justifiably John and Aeryn’s relationship.
2. “Liars, Guns And Money” trilogy (“A Not So Simple Plan”; “With Friends Like These”; “Plan B”) Farscape excelled with epic three-part sagas. This one was its best. At times humorous, other times exciting, this nail-biting, explosive yarn had it all: compelling drama, sacrifices, dark humor, explosive battle scenes and high adventure. All the components needed for a true space opera. The crew of Moya hatch an overly complicated scheme to rob a highly guarded criminal bank to obtain funds to free D’Argo’s enslaved son, Jothee (Matthew Newton). Their plan includes hiring savage thugs and mercenaries they’ve encountered in past episodes. What complicates matters is that Scorpius arrives at the bank and schemes to capture Crichton. Their final showdown was just spectacular.
1. “Die Me Dichotomy” This second-season closer focuses on John Crichton’s mental trauma. After the end of the “Liars, Guns And Money” trilogy, Crichton is clearly insane with an implanted neural clone of Scorpius in his mind. As his friends try getting him medical help, the clone takes over Crichton’s mind and causes the death of someone close to Crichton and the others. Things get more desperate when Scorpius shows up to retrieve the wormhole knowledge from Crichton who is at the moment in a crippled, near-vegetative state. This pivotal episode exemplifies the animosity between Crichton and Scorpius and the love shared by Crichton and Aeryn. The personal stakes have never been so high or desperate for these characters, who are put through emotional wringers in “Die Me Dichotomy”. With this episode’s emphasis on character in spite of all its many story developments, it was Farscape at its very best.
Honorable mentions: “Fractures, “Infinite Possibilities (Part 1): Daedalus Demands”, “Look At The Princess” trilogy, “Family Ties”, “Crackers Don’t Matter”, “Season Of Death”, “Crichton Kicks”, “Unrealized Reality”, “Coup By Clam”, and the “We Are So Screwed” trilogy.
Batman is celebrating his 75th anniversary this year so let’s take a look at why this character has such an enduring legacy. Batman is a very versatile character that seems to be at home in any era. He got started in 1939 during the Depression and has gone through many changes during the years. One just has to look at his comic books through the decades, the Batman TV series of the ’60s and The Dark Knight film of 2008 to see how easily and successful Batman can be and reflect the times that he is existing on. This means he appeals to a wide audience and will continue to attract fans and not become irrelevant regardless of whether he appears in either comics or movies. Another trait that makes the Caped Crusader interesting is the fact that he has no superpowers.
All of his strengths and arsenal are the result of years of training and brain power. He does not have the luxury of a mutation or any outside force to give him his powers. Batman does it the hard way. This means he can be more vulnerable, but also somewhat more relatable as well. This doesn’t mean that he is not just some wag with a cheap costume. He uses his many resources to make himself into a first class fighter and detective with a formidable arsenal (like the always cool Batmobile or Batwing) to fight crime.
Any discussion of Batman’s popularity must also include his rogues gallery of villains, some of the most interesting in the genre. Obviously the best one is his nemesis the Joker, the insane killer clown. Who wouldn’t be afraid of that? Not to mention other classic characters like The Penguin, the Riddler, his former ally Harvey Dent a.k.a. Two-Face and his sometime love interest Catwoman. All are in their own right fascinating characters who are in some ways as popular as Batman himself. These iconic characters all show up in highly successful comics, movies and video games that are some of the best to have been created.
The 1989 Batman movie was a phenomenon that foreshadowed the super hero craze of today, which includes the critically acclaimed Dark Knight trilogy. He is so popular that he will be featured in the upcoming sequel to Man Of Steel and the eventual Justice League film. The Caped Crusade has also conquered the world of animation with many excellent animated series like Batman Beyond and Beware The Batman.
In regards to other media, the Batman: Arkham video game series for the PS3/Xbox 360/Wii U and soon for next gen systems is widely regarded as one of the best to feature a super hero that has ever been created. These include Batman:Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City, Batman: Arkham Origins, and Batman: Arkham Knight. All of this illustrates why Batman is still, after 75 years, a very popular and relevant character that will continue to entertain audiences for years and decades to come.
The beloved sci-fi TV series Farscape celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. It was a true space opera with epic and inventive storylines and colorful characters. Farscape starred Ben Browder as John Crichton, an astronaut from Earth that got sucked into a wormhole and was stranded on the other side of the universe. Crichton quickly made friends and foes as he first struggled to survive, then tried to find a way to get back home. One such person he met during his travels would become the most important person in his life.
A Star-Crossed Affair
Out of all the exotic alien beings John Crichton met in his spacefaring adventures, the one he connected with the most was Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black). In a clever bit of irony, the show’s creators had her antagonistic alien race, the Sebaceans, look exactly human. Coming from the harsh and militaristic Peackekeeper culture, Aeryn was disdainful toward Crichton, who she saw as weak. Actually she was hostile towards him because she blamed him for being stuck with the Moya crew, who were escaped convicts. She was part of the Peacekeeper force trying to re-capture Moya , a living ship, in the pilot episode, but her fighter ship was accidently pulled into Moya’s docking bay. Though she tried escaping, Aeryn was unable to return to her people because she was considered contaminated from her prolonged exposure to aliens, including Crichton. Eventually she became part of the crew and one of Moya’s fiercest defender. Crichton and her began to feel something for one another but tried to deny them. In the time-travel yarn “The Locket” the idea of them having a relationship was explored when old, future versions of themselves were shown to have been in love with each other.
However, things weren’t so clear cut with them. For many episodes there was a “will they or won’t they” aspect as they bickered with each other and had other relationships. In the second season finale “Die Me, Dichotomy” Crichton admitted his love for her when it seemed that she died. Spoiler: She did die but was resurrected by fellow crewmate Zhaan (Virginia Hey). Things took a strange twist in the third season when Crichton was duplicated by a mad alien scientist (“Eat Me”). During that time the crew of Moya was split up with one Crichton remaining onboard Moya, while the other took off with Aeryn onboard Talyn,Moya’s offspring spaceship. That Crichton and Aeryn fully developed their romance and he actually found a way to return home, but tragically died at the end of the two-part episode “Infinite Possibilities”.
Meanwhile, the Crichton on Moya was unaware of all this and was expecting a happy reunion with her when the two ships finally made their rendezvous (“Fractures”). Instead he found a heartbroken woman who was unable to reciprocate his feelings. As far as he was concerned they were back to square one. This constant back and forth would’ve been tiresome to watch in your standard TV show but this was Farscape; it was provocative and scintillating.
Always In His Mind
John Crichton had an additional emotional bond with another alien, but in the other extreme. He had a burning hatred towards the creepy Scorpius (Wayne Pygram), who first appeared in the episode “Nerve” and quickly became the main villain in the series. Clad in a thick leather suit and tight-fitting cowl, Scorpius had a cadaverous appearance with his pasty white, scaly skin, bloodshot eyes and short, dark teeth. He was a cold and calculating person who spoke in an unexpectedly eloquent and sophisticated tone and who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Scorpius is one of the greatest sci-fi villains and that is due to several factors which include Pygram’s performance and the character’s back story.
As explained in the episode “Incubator” the alien is a hybrid resulting from when a humanoid Sebacean female (who make up the Peacekeepers) was raped by a reptilian Scarran. When his mother died at childbirth, Scorpius was raised harshly by his Scarran caretakers who looked down at him as a halfbreed to be tortured and experimented on. After reaching adulthood, Scorpius escaped and joined the Peacekeepers with the goal of defeating the Scarrans. It should be noted that the Peacekeepers and the Scarrans were bitter rivals constantly on the verge of war. This episode went a long way to explaining Scorpius’ motives and the revelations added more dimension to his character. The viewer understood why he was so ruthless and brutal and why he was so determined to get Crichton. When he is introduced in the two-part episode “Nerve”/ “The Hidden Memory”, he learns from torturing a captured Crichton that the astronaut has buried knowledge in his subconscious on how to create wormholes. Crichton unknowingly received this information by advanced aliens he met in the episode “A Human Reaction”. From then on, Scorpius became an alien version of Javert, who was obsessed with capturing his very own Jean Valjean. Scorpius was desperate to gain Crichton’s buried knowledge in order to construct weapons and use the wormhole-based weaponry against the superior Scarrans.
An interesting development was that before Crichton escaped Scorpius’ clutches in their first encounter, Scorpius implanted a sort of neural clone into Crichton’s mind. During times of great stress or danger, an imaginary version of Scorpius would appear to Crichton, usually as part of bizarre hallucinations. Sometimes this implant saved Crichton’s life, other times it kept him from killing Scorpius. The interactions between Crichton and “Harvey”, as he called the implant, were the highlights of many episodes. Their discussions unveiled many insights into Crichton’s character, sometimes they were humorous, other times they were poignant. Continue reading →
Defiance (June 19): Syfy’s ambitious TV series about aliens and humans sharing an uneasy peace in the future in the town called Defiance returns for its sophomore season. The first season was uneven in quality, but showed potential as the characters were fleshed out and compelling mysteries were explored. Hopefully Defiance can continue going up in quality.
book by William Brinkley, this post-apocalyptic drama focuses on a lone U.S. Navy ship and its crew. An important change from the book is that instead of surviving a nuclear war, the ship and its crew grapple in a world where a pandemic wiped out most of humanity. The previews make it look quite exciting and riveting.
True Blood (June 22): Coming back for its seventh and final season, the HBO vampire drama as expected wraps up its storylines about a world where vampires have come out and struggle to get along in society. Although True Blood isn’t as buzzworthy as in the past, its racy scenes, bloody gore and ever-twisting plotlines still deliver.
