Is this the best Sci-fi Show?

Puddle-Jumper

I love sci-fi everything from stargate (as you can see by name) to the alien films but I just think that battlestar has that something that puts it above the rest....I think its how realistic and easy to engage with it is

What do you think?

cyrusdvirus

I wouldn't say it's exactly easy to engage with. I mean if you only started watching it on Sky 1 now, about 1/2 way through S3 you'd be confused and couldn't figure out what's going on.

I get the impression that if you miss an episode you're kinda screwed, whereas with Star trek there was predominantly a case of bad guy of the week.

Stargate is somewhat similar to the BGOTW scenario, which makes them easier to watch (and miss). But i haven't missed any of BSG.

sioda

It has a much more integrated storyline running through it.

Plus i think the acting is a good bit better

excuse my ignorance BGOTW

aidan_walsh

BGOTW = Bad Guy Of The Week

One of the best television sci-fi's at the minute, definately. Whether you rate it as one of the better shows overall really depends on what you look for from your television, IMO.

Suaimhneach

It was better in earlier sessions. Had me at the end of the bed shouting at the screen. I think there is too much plot and not enough action at the moment.

Still it though.

qwertplaywert

finished season 1 on dvd yesterday, it was amazing
currently its my second favourite sci fi show

but tbh it aint fit to be in the room when fireflys boots are being polished

Khannie

qwertplaywert wrote:

but tbh it aint fit to be in the room when fireflys boots are being polished

Them be fightin' words 'round these parts pilgrim!

*khannie watches firefly to check the ludicrous accusations*

qwertplaywert

oh aye, all the power in the verse can't stop the Serenity!
it gorram wins!

Goodshape

I watched some of Firefly, and the film.

Enjoyed the film an awful lot, but really didn't see the appeal of the show. It didn't come close to living up to the hype for me.

robnubis

qwertplaywert wrote:

oh aye, all the power in the verse can't stop the Serenity!
it gorram wins!

Frack off, Galactica hands down. Toaster Lover.

thelordofcheese

i used to like firefly, but after living with a certified [and some would say certifiable] browncoat for the guts of a year, i can't stand it anymore.

And to be fair, in hindsight, it's not anywhere near as good as it's made out to be. Yeah it's pretty good, but not the amazing, all singing all dancing crap of the world.

Ohh yeah, and back on topic, BSG is probably one of the best sci-fi shows in ages. At the moment, things are a bit slow [as much as i didn't really mind "a day in the life" it's not doing it for most people] but i'd imagine the end of the season is going to be great.

Overheal

I reckon it will be some number of years before it takes the crown from Stargate...and several more years before Star Trek gets its lazy-ass off the throne...LOSE SOME WEIGHT, SCOTTY

qwertplaywert

you should hire Boston Legal to get a restraining order against them

MisterAnarchy

qwertplaywert wrote:

but tbh it aint fit to be in the room when fireflys boots are being polished

BSG is the dogs bo***x
First 2 seasons were edge of the seat stuff but season 3 is not as good.
I would get all sweaty when an episode came on ,dont get that feeling much these days.
As for Firefly,though twas woeful stuff.
A poor mans Buffy in space,and Buffy is cack.

qwertplaywert

i agree about buffy.....most of it is cack
exect the first 3 seasons ,which were excellant

User45701

Battlestar is the best i agree, SG1 Star trek and firefly are all amazing firefly rivles BSG but only because it had such a short run so no bad episodes.

Still tho BSG is best but other shows have amazing episodes aswell just not as consistent in greatness as BSG

Pugsley

Probably would rate it as the best sci-fi currently being released, not the best ever, Babylon5 can't be touched, sorry, but definately second best ever. This season has been fairly slow, and I expected it after the extreme CGI fest that was the season 3 opening episodes, probably the greatest CGI in TV history there, mind blowing stuff.

Praetorian

Of course it's the best, and isn't saying otherwise a hanging offense around these parts?

red dave

would heroes be classed as sci-fi? if so it's kicking bsg's ass imo.

Stark

BSG has gone to **** lately. First two seasons were awesome though. Farscape is still top of my list

I disagree with the comment about Firefly being "Buffy in space", it was really good for the short time it was on and it showed loads of potential. I rate it lower than Farscape because Farscape was around long enough to realise its potential, but to be fair to Firefly, the 15 episodes that were made of Firefly kicked the ass of Farscape's first 15 episodes.

Karl Hungus

BSG, to be quite honest, has gone to ****. Two very enjoyable seasons, and one season of unadulterated crap. I don't say that lightly either, because quite frankly, the Exodus 2 Parter was the only episode that I can say I actually enjoyed. Hell, pretty much every episode since has been a chore to sit through at the hope something good will happen. The writing has gone to ****, and the show seems to have lost all focus.

Babylon 5 is the best Sci-Fi Show.

Sure, the special effects have dated horribly, but I've never seen anything that has ever matched the sheer vision, mythic scope, and incredible depth of Babylon 5. Everything about it was phenominal, and it's all down the fact that everything in the show was pre-planned from day one, it set out with a full 5-year story arc behind it, and everything that goes on, from the rise and fall of empires, rising political tensions, conspiracies, the military coup... It's all been outlined from the start and develops so naturally.

BSG simply cannot compete with that, and when a big battle happens in B5, it's not because the writers decided it was time to mix it up with an action episode, it's because of something that was building up for years and coming to a head. Hence anything BSG has to offer is nothing in comparison to when B5 hits the peak of it's crescendo in Season 4, the intensity is phenominal.

Farscape comes in second though.

Khannie

Jaysus Karl. Makin' a good case for B5 there. I might give that a lash too.

Stark

What let Babylon 5 down for me was the filler episodes and the somewhat questionable acting especially in the earlier seasons. The first season was crap with the exception of Babylon Squared. And who forget gems like "Grey 17 is missing", "Walkabout" and those King Arhtur eps. But yes, it was epic overall and the 4th season was intense.

Karl Hungus

Stark wrote:

What let Babylon 5 down for me was the filler episodes and the somewhat questionable acting especially in the earlier seasons. The first season was crap with the exception of Babylon Squared. And who forget gems like "Grey 17 is missing", "Walkabout" and those King Arhtur eps. But yes, it was epic overall and the 4th season was intense.

Oh yeah, it's had it's moments of pure cheese, there's no denying it and the first season was pretty awful. But on the whole, it was incredible.

Khannie

Good to know to expect crap from the first season.

Karl Hungus

Khannie wrote:

Good to know to expect crap from the first season.

Yeah, the first season, is pretty episodic, it doesn't really get into the big arc of the story untill season 2. I think the first season basically establishes a lot of things, such as the setting, characters, but it was fairly shaky acting wise, and SFX wise too.

Still, once it gets into it, you'll hardly care.

Johnny Storm

B5 also had some woeful graphics (got lots better as it went on), occasionally terrible, puerile dialogue and a tendency to pretentiousness.

Had a few good bits too.

My personal fave is 50/50 TOS and TNG.

mewso

Have to come out of the closet and admit I'm a DS9 man. It was deffinately copying B5 to an extent but I did enjoy an awfull lot of the later seasons.

BSG has been dissappointing this season but I care enough about the characters because they have been so well established to stay with it. I'm sure it will pick up.

Firelfly was great. People always tell me I should watch Buffy if I like Firefly but I just say I can accept an aging cynic being a funny smart arse not a group of school kids.

Babylon 5 was excellent. I'm only a recent convert.

Sad I know but DS9 for me. BSG right now.

Karl Hungus

Johnny Storm wrote:

B5 also had some woeful graphics (got lots better as it went on), occasionally terrible, puerile dialogue and a tendency to pretentiousness.

Had a few good bits too.

My personal fave is 50/50 TOS and TNG.

Yeah, the CGI was pretty awful to begin with, and pretty much improved drastically as the seasons when on, but that's really a sign of the time it was made.

The varying quality of dialogue was something I never really did understand, because it was as you say, occasionally terrible and puerile, but other times it was incredible. Maybe it was down to JMS having written most of it himself? Still, I think the good outweighs the bad.

"The avalanche has started, it is too late for the pebbles to vote."

Ambassador Londo Mollari: Physics tells us that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. They hate us, we hate them, they hate us back. And so, here we are, victims of mathematics!

Lord Refa: Why should I do as you say?
Ambassador Londo Mollari: Because I have asked you; because your sense of duty to our people should override any personal ambition; and because I have poisoned your drink

Ambassador Londo Mollari: Everyone around me dies, Mr. Morden, except those who most deserve it.

Citizen G'Kar: I believe that when we leave a place a part of it goes with us and part of us remains. Go anywhere in these halls, when it is quiet and just listen. After a while you will hear the echoes of all of our conversations, every thought and word we've exchanged. Long after we are gone, our voices will linger in these walls for as long as this place remains. But I will admit that the part of me that going will very much miss the part of you that is staying.

"Well take this for what little it will profit you. As I look at you, Ambassador Mollari, I see a great hand reaching out of the stars. The hand is your hand. And I hear sounds, the sounds of billions of people calling your name."
"My followers?"
"Your victims."

"Commander, please. On the issue of galactic peace, I am long past innocence and fast approaching apathy. It's all a game -- a paper fantasy of names and borders. Only one thing matters, Commander. Blood calls out for blood."

"You are touched by darkness ambassador. I see it as a blemish that will grow with time. I could warn you of course, but you would not listen. I could kill you, but someone would take your place. So I do the only thing I can, I go."

"So much has been lost, so much forgotten. So much pain, so much blood. And for what, I wonder? The past tempts us, the present confuses us, and the future frightens us. And our lives slip away, moment by moment, lost in that vast terrible inbetween. But there is still time to cease that one last fragile moment. To choose something better, to make a difference, as you say. And I intend to do just that."

Sorry, I'll stop now.

Maybe JMS just hated certain characters though? I always thought that Londo had easily the best dialogue, whereas Ivanova seemed to get all the hammy crap, except for a few lines near the end.

Johnny Storm

You're obviously getting a lot more out of B5 than I ever did!

JIMHO A few of the B5 actors were very bad too:-

alcoholic security chief - seemed like a nice guy but couldn't act to save his life.
The black doctor - stilted
Bruce Boxleitner - wooden as Pat Kenny
Ivanova - barely adequate

OTOH the late Andreas Whasname who played G'Kar was a great actor and Londo was pretty good too.

Stark

I thought Garibaldi was good.

I agree with the others though, wooden as planks. Still, none of them were as bad as Captain Sinclair. *Shudder*

Karl Hungus

Johnny Storm wrote:

You're obviously getting a lot more out of B5 than I ever did!

JIMHO A few of the B5 actors were very bad too:-

alcoholic security chief - seemed like a nice guy but couldn't act to save his life.
The black doctor - stilted
Bruce Boxleitner - wooden as Pat Kenny
Ivanova - barely adequate

OTOH the late Andreas Whasname who played G'Kar was a great actor and Londo was pretty good too.

That'd be Andreas Katsulas, and yes he was great actor, taken from us far too early.

The Doctor was good too, although I would say stilted is not a valid criticism,, becuase that's part of his character; He's brilliant but he knows it, and he thinks he knows what's right, such in the episode Believers. So yeah, he is kinda up himself, but that being simply him, rather than on the part of bad acting. Another actor taken from us far too young, it might be added.

The security cheif, Garibaldi was excellent too, probably one of the best actors, yet didn't get much of the good lines.

Bruce Boxleitner, nobody is ever as wooden as Pat Kenny, not even the almighty plank Keanu Reeves, but I think you're being unfair, because Bruce definetly became better with time, seeing as he really carried the finale, which pretty much brought me to tears, I'm not afraid to admit.

Ivanova wasn't even 'barely adequate' though, I thought pretty much every line of hers was a groaner, barring a few.

Joeface

hmmm my 2.5cents

BSG has the potential to be awesome , Season one was watchable only , Season 2 was nail bitting edge of the seat ...prob the best season of an Scifi show ever , and 3 started well but i think they blew there budget in first couple of eps and it has gone kind pear shaped since then.

Stargate. is good for one reason only although it had the big bad guys it was filmed like a weekly show which has actually help it last so long , yes i know there are some poor fillers but some were excellent ( ground hog day ep for example)

Firefly : The idea is brilliant .. Its Sci Fi but its not . pity studio heads didnt believe in it .

Now im just after getting my hands on season s1-4 of Farscape so it better be good

With regard to B5 ...never got that show always came across as well pants really ...bunch of second rate cheese ...sorry to the fans of the show but its terrible lol

Johnny Storm

What's happening with the proposed BSG spin-off show set on Caprica before the invasion? Are all the good writers/creative talent being used on that or what?

Jack B. Badd

Tbh, BSG was never gonna live up to B5. Few things would, unless they took a leaf out of JMS's book and wrote the whole thing before starting the show (which they never do )

qwertplaywert

Johnny Storm wrote:

What's happening with the proposed BSG spin-off show set on Caprica before the invasion? Are all the good writers/creative talent being used on that or what?

i thought it is going to be set duiring the first war........?

MisterAnarchy

Jack B. Badd wrote:

Tbh, BSG was never gonna live up to B5. Few things would, unless they took a leaf out of JMS's book and wrote the whole thing before starting the show (which they never do )

Well its a nice ideal but not very practical in this ratings driven age.
American tv audiences and networks are very fickle and ratings pay the way.
No point in planning 5 years ahead when you can be canned after a few episodes.

What's happening with the proposed BSG spin-off show set on Caprica before the invasion? Are all the good writers/creative talent being used on that or what?

David Eick is planning a new series of the Bionic Woman which I fear will be a horrific mess.
I think the writers of BSG are getting stretched and have taken their eye off the ball resulting in the alarming drop in quality in the latter half of season 3 most of which has been poor.

Pugsley

Joeface wrote:

Now im just after getting my hands on season s1-4 of Farscape so it better be good

With regard to B5 ...never got that show always came across as well pants really ...bunch of second rate cheese ...sorry to the fans of the show but its terrible lol

Farscape is superb, first season is fairly slow starting, and pretty damn cheesey at times, but from the 2nd half of season 1 to the end its superb, peaks in later parts of season 2 and all of 3 imo.

As for B5, its not worth watching 1 episode, the whole show is charecter and story arc based, if you watched just sparse episodes I cant see it being very enjoyable, but if you watch it start to finish its phenomonal.

Bazookatone

qwertplaywert wrote:

but tbh it aint fit to be in the room when fireflys boots are being polished

I agree BSG is great, but I dsisagree that it is markedly inferior to firelfly (don't get me wrong, I loved firefly).

Firelfy will always be small but perfectly formed. Because there's only 14 episodes, no one can tell whether it would have continued to be as good. I hate to say this, but Joss Whedon is not infallible, his writing can be lame, formulaic and pedestrian just as often as it is fresh and witty and original.

Battlestar has stayed (reasonably) high quality, engaging and well written and (mostly) well acted for going on three full seasons. As far as I am concerned, it has earned it's reputation. Battlestar can be in the room when firefly's boots are being polished.

Overheal

In people's opinion, which series has/had the best visual effects? I would have placed it on BSG but they let me down a bit with the Centurions: I've never once looked at them and believed them. Ships look fantastic though.

qwertplaywert

Bazookatone wrote:

. I hate to say this, but Joss Whedon is not infallible, his writing can be lame, formulaic and pedestrian just as often as it is fresh and witty and original.

i wont aruge with that........buffy seasons 4 to 7 were stark evidence of this

c0y0te

Up until BSG started I'd have been a B5 fan (top of the list), and would have placed Farscape a close second - if only for the audacity of using muppets!

But then BSG hit the scene and it blew everything else completely away in season 1.

Things got a bit iffy in season 2, but still, we stuck with it.

Then season 3 hit and it's all gone downhill from there.

The coolest sci-fi show on TV at the moment (but it's still season 1 so it's hard to know if it will last the distance) is HEROES. This has been riveting from the first episode, with great character and a mad storyline.

If you haven't done so - get into Heroes, because when BSG let's you down, Heroes is there to pick up the pieces.

Bazookatone

sorry coyote, got to disagree. I've enjoyed every episode of Battlestar. True, roughly a quarter of each season is "filler", but unlike (this is just my opinion) pretty much every other sci fi show I've seen, the "grittiness" of the show is gritty compared to non sci fi programmes.

What I mean is, a "gritty" episode of Star Trek or (shudder) Andromeda was still nowhere as gritty as any episode of "ER". We all gasped at Picard when he was assimilated, and in the episode where they rescue him, you see his face at the end and everyone talks about how the trauma affectes the character for years etc etc. the truth is, Picard was back on top the next week, no big deal.

Or the episode where it turns out Bashir is GM, and he confronts his father and we all go "ooh, that's such powerful emotion", but the truth is, it's not, 'cos by the end of the episode, everyone's friends again. No real damage is done, not really.

In battlestar, people have real problems, and they're plausible problems, and people have real arguments, not the silly macho stylings of other shows (although they're in battlestar too). I've never felt that a character in Trek or B5 was as "real" as the characters in Battlestar are.
The lack of latex masks probably doesn't hurt.

Sorry for the diatribe

Stark

I tend to disagree. A large proportion of Battlestar's characters are whiny, boring and inconsistent. Adama mopes and gives speeches all the time. He occasionally loses the rag and threatens to airlock Cally or Lee but calms down and everyone's friends again. Lee Adama feels like he's being written by 10 different intern writers. Starbuck's turned into an obnoxious cow. Dualla and Cally are boring and whiny. Roslin's either airlocking people who disturb her beauty sleep one week or in kind-hearted schoolteacher mood the next week depending on what writer's on duty. I don't think I can remember the names of the rest of them. Most arguments are resolved by next episode. What the hell happened to Adama and Tighe's former best friend who turned up out of nowhere for an episode? Never seen since.

It has some good characters like Baltar, Six, Tighe and Xenlon but most of the characters don't compare to the Babylon 5 characters, especially the likes of Londo and G'Kar.

Even TNG is overly criticised most of the time for its characters in my opinion. Most of the time, the characters were well thought out and consistent. You could also see a noticeable development in the characters if you watch an earlier season episode and a later season episode.

Bazookatone

Stark, with respect, I feel completely the opposite. Adama's great, Roslin's great, Lee is great. I think that these characters are far more like real people than any main cast in any other long running sci fi show. Although to be fair, you have cited real incidents where the writing wasn't up to scratch. And the writers have gone a little "one tree hilll" (everyone's beautiful, everyone has "issues" etc) which I don't like, but for the most part, the show has been of a consistently higher quality than the vast majority of sci fi.

In a word it is the anti -"Andromeda"

Jack B. Badd

Stark wrote:

I tend to disagree. A large proportion of Battlestar's characters are whiny, boring and inconsistent. Adama mopes and gives speeches all the time. He occasionally loses the rag and threatens to airlock Cally or Lee but calms down and everyone's friends again. Lee Adama feels like he's being written by 10 different intern writers. Starbuck's turned into an obnoxious cow. Dualla and Cally are boring and whiny. Roslin's either airlocking people who disturb her beauty sleep one week or in kind-hearted schoolteacher mood the next week depending on what writer's on duty. I don't think I can remember the names of the rest of them. Most arguments are resolved by next episode. What the hell happened to Adama and Tighe's former best friend who turned up out of nowhere for an episode? Never seen since.

It has some good characters like Baltar, Six, Tighe and Xenlon but most of the characters don't compare to the Babylon 5 characters, especially the likes of Londo and G'Kar.

I have to agree here. BSG started out with a decent range of interesting characters imo but within season 3 the main characters have become homogeneously boring and angst-ridden. They're whiney, and the whininess doesn't seem to vary between the characters. This is not the case at all with the likes of B5 where the characters retain their individuality and if anything become more interesting throughout the run of the show. BSG pales by comparison to B5 tbh.

Bazookatone

I both agree and disagree. I think it's true that too much attention has been given to the angsdty love story, and the show is less for it. But I still think the show has plenty going for it.

If the writers and directors are clever (which I think they are), they'll wrap up most of those stories soon, and get back to the good stuff. Hey, we might have a wholesale kill off of some ofthe characters. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing helo and athena die off, they ARE whiny.

qwertplaywert

c0y0te wrote:

Up until BSG started I'd have been a B5 fan (top of the list), and would have placed Farscape a close second - if only for the audacity of using muppets!

But then BSG hit the scene and it blew everything else completely away in season 1.

Things got a bit iffy in season 2, but still, we stuck with it.

Then season 3 hit and it's all gone downhill from there.

The coolest sci-fi show on TV at the moment (but it's still season 1 so it's hard to know if it will last the distance) is HEROES. This has been riveting from the first episode, with great character and a mad storyline.

If you haven't done so - get into Heroes, because when BSG let's you down, Heroes is there to pick up the pieces.

heroes is ironic.,.......its like a good comic book.its nothing breathaking, but yet you will still read on

User45701

Puddle-Jumper wrote:

I love sci-fi everything from stargate (as you can see by name) to the alien films but I just think that battlestar has that something that puts it above the rest....I think its how realistic and easy to engage with it is

What do you think?

Id Agree i love Star trek been watching it for as long as i can remember, Star Trek TOS when i was 5, almost 22 now so over
16 years of Trek
10 years of SG
3 years of BSG
1 year for Firefly

I dont think its fair to compare them when there is that much of a difference in running time but yes BSG does have that extra something, but there are those that will say firefly is the best in that list and it would be hard to argue any point. Id love to actually check out a well organised but no too long and drawn out debate on what is the best sci-fi show

Jesjes wrote:

It was better in earlier sessions. Had me at the end of the bed shouting at the screen. I think there is too much plot and not enough action at the moment.

Still it though.

Ye but if there was action all the time people would moan at how does the battlestar Re-arm and re-pair itself with no access to supplies, they can’t win no matter what they do someone complains