Heroes
Monday nights...be there. This is the best show to come along in years! Heroes is the latest of the mutant-abilities shows, however I believe it has a unique approach in that all the characters do not live in the same city or even the same country! Their abilities are all over the place and do not fit into neat x-men-type categories. There are complicated plot lines, time jumping, and cool special effects. There is also liberal use of subtitles for the characters who don't speak English! The characters are not superheroes by any means, but ordinary people trying to deal with what has been thrust on them, many not knowing how to react or control their abilities at all! Each season has a story arch, but they all blend together into an interesting story line. Tons better than any superhero movie you've seen in the theater in the last 10 years. Promise!
Life on Mars
This is a series that lasted two seasons in Britain (where these things are handled differently) and brought to a logical end. It was an excellent, award winning series. It's about a guy named Sam who goes into a coma and wakes up in 1973 (from 2006). He's a police detective in both timelines, but does not travel back and forth. He doesn't really know what's going on, but suspects that he's still in a coma. However there's other evidence that he might really be there in some unexplained way. The themes of the episodes are about how police procedures have changed over 30 years. The American Version which just started this year has been completely recast and reset. They are doing the same scripts with minor adjustments, and I only hope that the excellence in the British version shines through. If this doesn't make it, please go rent or buy the original, you won't be sorry.
House(MD)
A doctor with no redeeming qualities except for his brilliance in medicine leads a team of doctors who investigate the cause of "impossible" medical cases. Dr House is bitter addict who has nothing better to do than to try and get out of as much work as possible, and then nearly kills his patients before he cures them. We've seen every aspect of Dr House; his ability to beat the powers that be, beaurocracy, big money, and the law. It examines every aspect of high level addiction; disfunctionality in his personal life and with his team (they all left at the end of last season) along with an abrupt bedside manner. He's convinced that all his patients or their families are lying, constantly trying the patience of his boss and best friend, spookily insightful on the relationships of others, while clueless to his own. Tune in to see the wonderful Sir Hugh Laurie strut his stuff in front of the camera; you won't have spent a better hour anywhere else.
Burn Notice
I don't know if I can explain why I like this show, I just do. Michael Weston is an international spy who is suddenly left out in the cold. Thank goodness he's home in Florida when it happens. He uses his ability to get things done, to go local, conducting investigations with the help of his girlfriend and a former partner. He is a cool cucumber who can make anyone believe anything, is not afraid of anyone, and knows how to manipulate anyone to do it his way--and he gets his man no matter what. Only problem--his dorky mom keeps calling him to complain about her life. He also investigates and is being manipulated by the people who got him fired. You watch you like--very entertaining!
Doctor Who-BBC America
Doctor Who is back on the air! Starting in 2004, Doctor Who returned with ninth doctor Chris Eccleston. Then in 2005 David Tennant came on the scene. Both have been really good doctors. Chris' doctor was very gentle and caring; David's is very high energy and deep feeling. We've had three companions, Rose- amply played by Billie Piper, Martha for season 3 and Donna season 4. By far Martha was the weakest, and Donna is my personal favorite. There is a reason Doctor Who never dies; it has universal appeal, and never runs out of story lines. The new show is in a shorter format; one hour self-contained episodes with special effects. So if you've ever given up in disgust, please give it another chance! (For further information, please see my Dr. Who Explanation page which explains everything.) This is a British show, therefore we get the seasons after they do, so be careful of spoilers. Also shown on the Sci-fi Channel.
Torchwood
For anyone who is looking for a Dr Who fix, X-files fix or whatever, this is your answer. This is the first ever spinoff of doctor who, using a popular guest star from the show to start his own series. It's set on earth where Captain Jack (long story) and his crew investigate and neutralize any bad aliens or alien technology that might fall into the wrong hands. It started off a bit dorky, then suddenly got really good! Of course if the plots ever bore you, you can always sit back and watch the multi-talented John Barrowman! (This is a British show, so be careful of spoilers.)
Psych
Psych follows Shawn who has developed a keen eye for detail after being instructed by his police officer father to note even the minutest details of his surroundings. After Shawn calls in a tip on a crime to the police, he is actually accused of committing the crime. To try to clear his name, Shawn convinces the police that he is a psychic and he begins solving cases for the police force. Summary from- http://www.tv.com/psych/show/59369/summary.html This is a light hearted comedy/mystery with good-for-nothing Shawn, and his uptight friend Gus, and a nutty police force which could barely find their way out of a paperbag. The leads are all comedians, and the behind the scenes stuff is funnier than the stuff they cut and print. Returning in January. Warning: addictive!
Life
This was a surprise. I did not expect to like this show, but there it is. It has many elements from scifi in it, but not in a blatant way. There is nothing supernatural about Charlie Crews, a police detective who spent years in jail, wrongfully accused of a crime. He is now wealthy due to the settlement, but still wants to work. So he chews up scenery with a wry smile, while doing double duty investigating the crimes he was wrongfully accused of, pals with his female partner, and check out his roommate! who has got to be a closet gay.
Dead Like Me
Originally an HBO series in 2003, it is occasionally shown on Sci-fi channel, which is how I got hooked. The series centers on a young lady, Georgia Lass who gets killed in a freak accident. She finds out (after she’s dead of course) that if there is a grim reaper--he has assistants. She is recruited to join a group of reapers who specialize in accidental deaths. Every morning they meet in the Waffle House restaurant where Rube hands out sticky notes with the name, location, and time of death. They have to be there to take the soul of the person right before they die and help them move on. However this is no Touched by an Angel. It is a biting commentary about life, death and the unfairness of it all. Well worth every minute. Georgia also has to watch her family suffer and move on while she is left waiting in the shadows. Coolest show ever!
Note: there has been a new pilot filmed to bring this back, it's supposed to be aired sometime in 2009.
Chuck
Another show I would not have thought of checking out, since I’m really not into straight comedies. However this show has transcended its origins and has become a decent show. Chuck is a tech nerd who works at a Best Buy knockoff. Somehow he ended up with top secret spy computer files downloaded into his brain. First season started off with poor Chuck running around confused and scared when this starts ruining his life. However by second season Chuck is becoming a new person who has really blossomed and wants to be a willing participant in the CIA type investigations he keeps getting dragged into. I like it when a show is allowed to grow and develop like this one.
24
Jack Bauer is a super organized, super experienced, top-secret CIA type who works for the fictional government agency CTU. Each season is one long drawn out plot. Sounds dumb, but it's very engaging. It tries to keep up as much as possible with current events in a next-parallel-universe-over sort of way; and shows very heartfelt events in the personal lives of the characters. The only unbelievable thing are the timing of the actual events. However who wants to watch someone sleep? Returning mid-January, watch a show where the president is involved in a conspiracy, terrorist plots, assassinations, cover-ups, corrupt agents, etc. all happening at once.
Monk
A former police detective uses his skills in the private sector to solve impossible cases. The twist? he's a highly disfunctional obessive-compulsive who doesn't drive, doesn't touch anything, can't go out alone, panics without a steady supply of handiwipes, doesn't step on the cracks, and has trouble following any normal conversation.
However in an almost autistic way is he able to see tiny details that leads to the solution of each case. He is unintentially hilarious and very sad at the same time. As we see him go though things we can relate to, we see a bit of ourselves in him and alternatively feel sorry for him and root for him when he tries to be brave. At times his police training begins to show through, and at times he's nearly paralyzed with personal problems. But he always gets his man in the end. Returning in July.
Recent Shows
MoonlightI was waiting last fall to see which show would grab me unexpectedly, and this was a surprise. This is a shameless Forever Knight remake and fans should enjoy this attempt. There are differences in the vamp-ology. The actors are good and easy on the eyes. The dialogue is minimal, and the daddy vampire is a shrewd businessman and sex obsessed, and of course there's a little bit of everything, but it doesn't have the depth of FK. Does leave a lot unexplained, but do love those morgue scenes with the vamp morgue attendant, what placement!
Journeyman
A man travels through time to correct mistakes in the past. This Quantum Leap re make isn't so bad, getting better with time. Dan is a journalist; there is no explanation for what is happening to him, as he makes several leaps back and forth per episode taking his body along for company. He tries to fix mistakes that happened in the past, all while tripping over his dead-in-the-future fiance, and trying to explain his absences to his wife in the present. Unfortunately this show bit the dust, but not before a really good season finale that leaves you begging for more.
Farscape
An American astronaut on a shuttle mission is pulled through a wormhole and ends up on the other side of the universe. He travels on a living ship populated with assorted political refugees from different worlds. This show is doing very well and has been renewed for 2 more seasons. Astronaut Crighton, military defecter Aeryn, political refugees D'Argo, Rigel and Chiana and ship Moya have had many adventures together and it has been one wild, wild ride. This is actually an Australian show with Ben Browder being the only american. Wayne Pygram is brilliant as the evil Scorpius and as "Harvey" the spy program. New this season, the "screamer" is gone, replaced by a quieter, more scientific redhead. Also Zhan is finally satisfactorily replaced by a mysterious old lady with supernatural powers. Too bad the show's cancelled at the end of this season. UPDATE: There will be Farscape TV movies along the same vein as the Babylon 5 specials.
Invisible Man
Played by Vincent Ventresca, is a less than ordinary citizen who was volunteered as a subject for an experiment involving an invisibility gland. Different from other invisible man shows is his ability to control it: in common with other shows/movies is the tendency for the effects of invisibility to cause insanity. With the scientist who inserted the gland dead and all records destroyed, Darien is forced to go to work for a government agency where few know of his condition. He acts as an investigator in highly dangerous and unsolvable cases. This is a hilariously funny show, and the graphics are cutting edge. Too bad they ran out of money to continue this wonderful show.
Roswell
Teens living in New Mexico discover they're related to the original Roswell aliens. They tangle with the FBI and intergalactic factions, while trying to figure out who they are and how to use their alien powers. A good thinking, feeling and brooding show with a little bit of everything, from relationships to sci-fi. And charactors who took themselves very seriously and didn't look silly doing it. Unfortunately it just didn't have the fan base in the end, but I'm starting to think the good shows never do anyway. Now being rerun on Sci Fi.
Other Shows
Harry Potter
I am a BIG Harry Potter fan. How did I get into it? What do I think of the movies vs. the books? You will have to click on the above link to find out!
Jonathan Creek
To catch this series, you'll need access to BBC America, or a video rental store that stocks British TV shows. There are only 25 episodes ranging from 1997 to 2004. It is still in production in the typically British way of dealing with shows that have a strong cult following, but aren't popular enough to run every week. This show is a mystery-comedy in the spirit of Columbo and Monk. Jonathan is a magician/researcher. This means he invents illusions and works with practicing magicians, but does not perform himself. Many of the cases he works on involves some sort of misdirection or mind tricks. In the older episodes he is accompanied by Maddy, a red-headed lady with a sharp tongue. She is a writer/reporter who is working on a book chronicling their cases. In the newer eps. Maddy is replaced by Carla, but I don't like her nearly as well. Maddy and Jonathan are absolutely hilarious together. They tease the heck out of each other in an ongoing game of one-upmanship; on their cases and in their personal lives. Not all of their explanations are correct, so keep thinking if the hour isn't up yet.
Prime Suspect
This is a detective show which stars the unstopable Jane Tennisen, ie Helen Mirren as a lead detective of a precint in England. It gets into the weirder side of British life, and it is absolute British in all ways without a nod in our direction. And it's absolutely brilliant. Take it from someone who *hates Law & Order, CSI and that whole franchise, this is a good show, well worth the hours needed to watch it.
Babylon 5 - First season's a slow start. However it really takes off from 2nd season and does everything other shows have been afraid to do and more. Best story arch of any show.
(Intergalatic space station set up as a peacekeeping mission between the 5 major and several minor races of the world.)
Deep Space 9 - Best of the Trek, dark and brooding, killer last season.
(Space station set up between oppressed Bajor and a wormhole that leads to the other side of the galaxy.)
Alien Nation - Very good in it's time, but sometimes can be a little dated.
(Alien prison ship crash lands on earth and it's occupants become the newest minority of San Francisco society.)
Quantum Leap - This show brought out the best of Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. What a range!
(Dr Sam Beckett breaks the barrier of time and sends himself back. However only his mind exists, jumping from person to person, as he assists the people around him in changing history for the better.)
Dr Who - If you can forget the production values and rubber monsters, it's full of high concepts that other shows would do well to copy from. Humaniod aliens look like humans - no forehead gear, and alien monsters are really alien. Each story has 3 times more plot material than most other shows, so pay close attention.
(The Doctor, a highly advanced alien from a corrupted, futuristic society, travels in a stolen time machine with humans and aliens he picks up along the way.)
Blake's 7 - What Voyager could have been; interesting charactors and plots, plenty of suspense and surprises. Warning: this is done on Dr Who production values, however there are no 5-year contracts!
(Blake and other escaped prisoners flee in an AI ship from their corrupted goverment and society.)
Forever Knight - The only vampires ever done right.
(Vampires work the night shift! Wannabe human Nick plays police investigator, using his centuries of experience in tracking down killers, while balancing his own relationships within the vampire community.)
Red Dwarf - If you can get ahold of copies of this british sci-fi/comedy, you will die laughing and know the meaning of things such as the suicide squid and what really can happen in a reverse universe. Now playing on BBC America and on PBS Saturday nights.
(While in stasis, the occupants of his mining ship and the entire human race expire, leaving Lister alone to wander space with a hologram, an evolved cat and an android.)
Space Rangers Here's a show that was over before it began. There were only 6 episodes made, and I'm sure we'll never hear from it again. It had some real problems, however it has some real promise too. The good: a dark and mysterious telepath (not perky!), tiny Linda Hunt as the tougher than nails commander, Marjorie Monaghan as the tough-talking pilot, the idea of a commando police force stationed in deep space. The bad: "Doc's" fake heart was a little hard to take, Jojo's prone pilot's position was stupid, and the Colonel Weiss (Frank-MASH) charactor was a bit too much. What they should have done is gone out on haitus or pulled the episodes, fixed them and tried again, but what's done is done.
Mutant X
A bit hokey, but some episodes are interesting. Genomax, an evil research company played with their subject's genetic material trying to create mutants. Mutants they did create, but can they control them? Ask Adam, their former head scientist and leader of the mutant resistance movement.
Kids Shows:
Greatest American Hero I still like to hope they might show reruns of this one day. Maybe I'll find it's hokier than I remember. I like the idea of Ralph being a regular guy, and not really knowing how to control his powers, ie the suit. Robert Culp was very funny too.
My Secret Identity An Canadian show about a boy who has a kindly mad scientist for a neighbor. Andrew got in the way of an experiment one day and ended up with limited superpowers; the ability to hover and super speed. He eventually combines his abilities with various propellents to allow him to fly very slowly. He never comes up with a disguise, though he dreams about it. Instead he deals with situations using his powers out of sight of others. Only the scientist, Dr Jeffcoat knows his secret.
Ocean Girl This Australian show takes place on and around an oceanic research station. The scientist's kids notice a girl swimming around outside the station and take her in. It seems that she lives on a nearby island, can swim like a mermaid, talks to whales, and doesn't know who she is. Over the course of three seasons, we find out that she is an alien from a water planet and is reunited with her family. Meanwhile evil scientists try to capture her for their own purposes.
Space Cases A cute show about space kids in school who were taking a tour of a ship when it took off along with their none-to-brilliant teachers. The wander the galaxy saving the day and learning about their special powers and each other, since they are all from different planets and have different abilities.
Movies
I like alot of different movies, some popular and some not, some TV movies and some theatrical. Not in any particular order.
Star Trek 4, 6, 7, 8; Fifth Element, Matrix- "You'll remember you don't believe any of that fate crap.", X-Men, Merlin of the Crystal Cave, Excalibur, Real Genius, Mists of Avalon, Mystery Men, The 10th Kingdom, Dr Who-The Enemy Within, Dark City, Gattaca, Braveheart, Dances with Wolves, Smoke Signals, Secret of Roan Inish, Secrets and Lies (British 1996), Hamlet (1990), The Full Monty, Children of a Lesser God, The Ghost and Mr Chicken, Truly, Madly, Deeply; The Truman Show, Star Wars-original 3, Mission to Mars, Back to the Futures 1&3, The Last Starfighter, Window to Paris, Ghost Dog, The Green Mile, The Winter Guest, Best in Show, AI - Artificial Intelligence, The Six Sense, Evolution, The Journey (1997,Saluja) Harry Potter IV, The Royal Tannenbaums, Anger Management (I feel pretty!), The Village (anything by M.Night), The Secret Window, Pan's Labyrinth, and Harry Potter V!