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who the frell is John Sheridan?
I was hoping for Aeryn Sun, but no such luck.
Speaking of Aeryn... I've been thinking about the final episode of Farscape's third season, Dog with Two Bones and I've come to the conclusion first, that's it's one of the best hours of television I've ever seen; and second, (this is important) I couldn't bear to watch it again. It deals with loss in such a direct and raw way that I found it hard to put it out of my mind. Ben Browder and Claudia Black put so much into their performances it almost hurt to watch. This is not your typical cliff hanger: it goes way beyond dark.October 9, 2003 06:24 PM
Comments
I've watched "Dog With Two Bones" twice, and it was infinitely more gut-wrenching the second time.
John Sheridan is the second captain of Babylon 5, which is a distant space station prone to things like alien plagues and angry diplomats with big guns and such. Sheridan is the idealist who grows ever more disillusioned with the government that appointed him, and more sympathetic to and exasperated with the alien governments who are busily annihilating each other in his corner of the universe.
I think any Farscape fan would enjoy B5. Before Farscape, B5 was the show with the well-done aliens and the dark stories. Its downfall was its fifth season; they didn't know if it would be renewed past the fourth, so they wrapped up all the major plots in one jaw-dropping year and didn't have enough left to power the show past that.
The first two seasons were a little shaky. The third and fourth were excellent. I mentioned that Sheridan was the second captain... the first one left the show after the first season, but got to come back (briefly) two years later for a really nifty twist. He was more of an infighter from the beginning. Sheridan had a lot farther to fall.
Posted by: Stephanie at October 31, 2003 07:30 AM
Stephanie, I obviously will have to watch some B5. I've got it on the list for the next time I go to the rental place.
Posted by: Sara at October 31, 2003 08:08 AM
I dunno if the debt-consolidation people followed me here from my blog or what, but... urk.
If you start watching B5 and you want to catch all the little things going on in the background, the Lurker's Guide (http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/lurker.html) is excellent. (And I find it somewhat refreshing that the design hasn't changed since 1997.)
Posted by: Stephanie at November 3, 2003 07:07 AM
Sara, you should check out B5!
I came to B5 kicking and screaming... and now it is one of my favorite series. At first the production seems cheesy... like when you watch a soap opera [that is new to you]: the sets seem fake, the costumes cheap, the acting overdramatic, etc. In the case of B5 - the story hooks you within a few episodes. Also, like most TV shows (especially sci-fi), the series received larger budgets as time went by and the actors became more proficient with their characters. J. Michael Straczynski (JMS) wrote the five year series at once. This made for a really strong story. All of those details that seem insignificant early on become really awesome twists and plot devices later. I used to think that Lt. Commander Susan Ivanova was the toughest sci-fi female character ever - until I was introduced to Officer Aeryn Sun. Check out Seasons 1-3 on DVD (of 5 seasons and several TV Movies). And DO check out the Lurker's Guide site (Stephanie's post); it has a lot of information!
"Crusade" was the following series that didn't make it more than half a season but was well received by fans. If you have a chance to see any of those **after B5:Season 5**, do so.
Another well written show to check out: Roswell.
Just my twenty-two cents. :)
slgn* (Sue G.)
Posted by: slgn* at December 3, 2003 01:26 PM