New telly

[vilakins]

There is new telly!

Has someone on The Big Bang Theory been watching The IT Crowd because "Have you tried turning it off and on again"? Bwahahaha!

The Simpsons had Gemaine and Bret from Flight of the Conchords complete with songs and a Wellington Botanical Gardens failed joke. Plus gratuitous vuvuzelas. Cue more delighted laughter.

"Laughter" is however not a word associated with SGU, even though its sister series didn't lack humour or lightness of either the emotional or physical kind--yeah, you still can't see much on that multiply gloomy set. However I was glad to see that they got round a potential problem that had been worrying me.

Namely the baby. Because I was seriously not looking forward to a baby on a spaceship and one baby shower last season was already two too many. I figured that TJ being shot meant they'd write it out, and they did but rather inventively. I thought it was "all a dream" but no, it seems to have happened. It was good seeing that planet again, though I'm not too sure about such intervention by the godlike aliens as having TJ and presumably said baby being two places at once, and Chloe miraculously healed. Why Chloe? No one else seemed to come in for a spot of divine intervention.

Still not a program I like very much despite the presence of Eli and Rush, but I'll hang in there. I need at least some SF.

Comments

[ianmcin.livejournal.com]

Why Chloe? No one else seemed to come in for a spot of divine intervention.

My suspicion is that the "hijacker aliens" from midseason gave her enhanced healing abilities. I have no idea why, but it makes more sense to me than divine fiat.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Hmm. If Rush also heals up well, that will be confirmed. But Chloe was in a bad way before she appeared saying the bleeding had stopped, so the effect of blood loss seems to be have been reversed. To me, the scene where she looked at her leg was confirmation of TJ's experience having been really (along with the nebula thingy). Maybe the godlike aliens want breeding stock. :-P

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

AHAHAHA

Z said whenever the IT help people ask her that she gets in before them with ab "YEESSSS I HAVE TURNED IT ONANDOFFAGAIN!" Teehee.

I love the IT Crowd so much. Have you watched series 4 yet? I've only seen the Countdown one so far.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

The bomb ep was excellent! Yep, we've seen the lot. There was a bit too much of the sleazy boss for my liking this time.

Have you ever seen Hyperdrive? It's not made any more but it's just as good.

[emerald-happy.livejournal.com]

Urgh, Douglass. I cringe everytime he's on screen. Z got me watching IT Crowd. I have not even heard of Hyperdrive. I rarely watch TV these days that I am not poked to watch (usually multiple times) by either Z, Punkispurple, younger sister or the f-list :-)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Hyperdrive is wonderful: comedy SF! If you like IT Crowd and Red Dwarf, you'll like that, and there aren't that many episodes.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

Which series of BBT are you watching now?

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the writers of BBT included a fan of The IT Crowd. But I think that computer support people have been saying "Have you tried turning it off and on again"? for at least the last twenty years and probably much longer.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

The latest one.

Yes, you're probably right, but it still seems an IT Crowd catch-phrase to me. :-)

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

When you say "the latest one", do you mean series 4? I knew that that was starting in the US round about now, but it hasn't started here in the UK yet and it doesn't seem to be imminent. [Checks on Wikipedia: Series 4 started in the US on 23rd September.]

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Yes, that one. We finally caught up. :-)

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

I'm envious. :)

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

Going back to an old thread:

We eventually got series 4 of BBT over here, starting about three weeks after you. It's been good, but I'm missing Penny, who hasn't been in the last couple of episodes that I've seen. Apparently Kelly Cuoco, the actress who plays the part, had a riding accident and broke a bone in her foot.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Aha, we wondered what happened! Don't worry, she's back soon, probably in the next ep. In one ep she's mainly behind the bar at the Cheesecake Factory, so we figured she had a broken leg or something like that.

Have you met Amy Farrah Fowler yet? She's very funny, pretty much a female Sheldon. Sadly though, she lacks his interest in SF. Why don't they think women like SF, dammit? [is cross]

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've met Amy. She is indeed very much a female Sheldon. Perhaps the writers will see the light before too long and introduce a female lover of SF. (I wonder if there's any way of contacting them to suggest it.)

The last episode I've seen is the one in which Raj's sister appears.

[linda-joyce.livejournal.com]

I got so fed up with all the doom and gloom of the first series of SGU I haven't even started watching the second but the baby on the space ship arc I did want to know about . I think I got it right from your cryptic description and comments. It's nice to know that the baby will grow up in normal conditions.

I get my SF fix from A town called Eureka and Area 13. They are more crack than SF but they satisfy my longing.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Yes, the baby is now on the paradise planet in a log cabin.

I must get back into Eureka!

[pet-lunatic.livejournal.com]

I was wondered what you'd make of their decision about the baby :D

Nic and I agreed that based on the earlier Stargate shows, if they're doing what it looks like they're doing, it might not have been better to set SGU in a completely different universe to its predecessors - otherwise they're limiting themselves to having to explain, at least a bit more scientifically and believably, some pretty bizarre concepts from the earlier shows. After all, SG-1 and Atlantis coming out with largely inexplicable quasi-spiritual stuff didn't really matter, because it suited the context, and the good-natured feel of the show meant nobody really cared anyway. For SGU, trying to reconcile some of that fantasy element with the grimmer, grittier atmosphere they seem to be going for seems like a difficult task. I admit I was slightly disappointed that they couldn't bring themselves to just kill a few people off, instead feeling the need to bring in godlike aliens and a space creche on a magic planet.

Re Chloe - I was assuming the strange fish-people had done something to her (and maybe Rush, too) during her kidnapping - they made a point of reminding us about it in the recap. I don't know whether Rush's insomnia had anything to do with that or not.

I love Rush, but I also love Young. I feel I'm breaking some kind of fandom rule here :)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I doubt they could have killed the baby--TJ's actor might have objected, being a new mother (and really, they ought to write contracts covering actors getting pregnant)--so it was a way out, though I find it very hand-wavy. [rolls eyes] At least there's no baby on board and a yellow sign on the back of the Destiny. ;-) However I have to say that it wouldn't take too much to make me stop watching. There isn't any humour at all--and there is in RL, dammit--and it's just so dark in so many ways.

[pet-lunatic.livejournal.com]

I guess so, but I still find it a little cowardly, if they're going for realism. I don't get how it's ok to kill off a load of adults with hardly a blink, but a baby buys the farm and somehow that crosses a line!

I don't know about humour - there's some stuff I've found funny, especially between Young and Rush, but maybe I'm just warped :)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't know either why they couldn't just say she lost the baby, but I suppose the actor really being pregnant made a difference. Actually I think they should have just filmed her so we couldn't see the damned bump--the sets are certainly dark enough.

[pet-lunatic.livejournal.com]

Lol, true, they probably could've got away with it!

[luinielle.livejournal.com]

I've not watched SGU - the universe seems a bit too dark for my liking.

Have you seen the latest season of 'Eureka'? It was quite fun. :o) Do you ever watch 'Warehouse 13'? That's another wonderfully quirky SF show.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

SGU is very dark and completely lacks humour. I have to say it wouldn't take much to make me stop watching.

I must catch up with Eureka as I do like it. It's the only other SF series I watch.

Warehouse 13 isn't about occulty stuff, is it? I avoid that, though I might be thinking of Fringe. You're the second person who's recommended it and that counts for something. :-) I need my SF.

[luinielle.livejournal.com]

By occulty do you mean similar to 'X-Files' or more 'Supernatural'? Is it the gore that you don't like or the mystical/paranormal aspect? 'Warehouse 13' is more 'X-files' than 'Supernatural', with some science included, much more humour and far less violence/gore than either show. It's not a scifi show along the lines of 'Eureka', where the science is the center of most of the episodes. It does deal with the recovery of mystical/paranormal/supernatural artifacts.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Then I think I'll pass, and stick with Eureka. I'm not keen on mystical/paranormal/supernatural.

[luinielle.livejournal.com]

If you watch the newest season of 'Eureka', there's an episode where one of the characters from 'Warehouse 13' does a guest stint. It is a fun show with Tesla ray guns, Houdini's wallet, and Farnsworth communication devices... but yes, not as science-centric as 'Eureka'.

Oh, your comments re SGU reminded me of something - were you ever able to watch the tv series version of the Hamish Macbeth mysteries? The SGU reference reminded me because one of the actors in the show (Robert Carlyle) was in Hamish (as the lead).

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

No, but I'd love to! The books were absolute crap and I gave up on them very quickly, but I was told last week that the TV series was infinitely better. I shall have to get hold of it.

I've seen Robert Carlyle in several films though and he's always good. :-)

[luinielle.livejournal.com]

Yes, the books are not as interesting as most people seem to think (I prefer Rhys Bowen's 'Constable Evans' series). I really did enjoy the tv series - I hope you're able to get a hold of them.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

THe books weren't even well written. And when I detected hatred of women in them and the Agatha Raisin series (women always do or cause the crime), and possibly hatred of self for being a woman given that the awful Agatha looks just like the author. Ugh. She also liked showing her hatred of groups like girls from Chelsea who were described as monkey-faced in two (at least) books. Bad writing and TMI about the unlikeability of the author. I stopped in disgust after a few books of each.

I heard she hated the adaptation and changes they made which sounds good to me. :-)

I just read an Evan Evans book and liked it! It wasn't the first as the library only has some but it didn't seem to matter. I also like Rhys Bowen's Her Royal Spyness books. In fact I'm reading the latest one.

[luinielle.livejournal.com]

Your observations make me glad I never picked up the Agatha Raisin series. They had looked somewhat interesting but I never got around to reading them. I didn't notice the hatred of women in the Hamish series, but I only skimmed through the first few books and didn't really pay much attention to them.

I just started the 'Her Royal Spyness' series! :o) I bought the first one and planning on reading it (along with a few other books) on the plane. I looked at her 'Molly Brown' series but I didn't find it very interesting.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

The misogyny comes out a lot more in the Agatha Raisin boks, but it made me sensitive to what was in the Hamish books: women behaving stupidly and often nastily. The one with the super housewife taking over the village women was a good example.

Georgie is a really fun character! I've read all three (I think there are only three) now and they were a pleasure. I'll try more Evan Evans ones, especially since I've been to Wales three times, but I can't get all of them from the library. Yet. Next month I'll have access to the North Shore libraries too and I'm hoping books I haven't been able to read will be there. Of course it may take a while for them to get on the online catalogue.

[nautile26.livejournal.com]

I've been watching SGU, and it is pretty grim. I'm finding it hard to really connect with many of the characters. I'm hoping season 2 will be better.

Have you seen Kino webisodes on the MGM site? They add little humour and background to the characters.

http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Kino_webisodes

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I haven't! If you mean "a little", I'll have to check those out. If you're allowed to watch them, then I should be. :-)

And yeah, I don't much care about any of the characters except possibly Eli who started off as geek unexpectedly in space. He's lost that wonder but he's still more human than most of them.

[nautile26.livejournal.com]

I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn't a regional lock-out on them, so yes, you should be able to see them. They're quite short and taken from the perspective of the kino. Some of them sound a bit mawkish so I haven't watched them, I've stuck with the ones that have a bit more humour.