I started watching two dead sci-fi shows this week. One, gone a couple years. The other, in the virtual ground since the mid-90’s.
I’d been intrigued by Space: Above and Beyond for some time. Creators Glen Morgan and James Wong had come off The X-Files, and would go on to write some of the most brilliant TV imaginable during their tenure on Millennium. It also helped that one of the leads is Kristen Cloke, again for my money immortalized in Millennium. I’m about three episodes into its single season and - I’m underwhelmed. The writing is spotty. The acting is fair. The effects are nigh abysmal, though I try to cut it some slack - it was 1995. There are some cool ideas, and certain elements - the military lifestyle - would be echoed in the Galactica reboot years later. I’ll keep watching - and hope that things improve.
On the other end of the spectrum, I had no high hopes for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, despite the fact that it seemed to possess a rabid fan-base and some decent reviews. I’m now two episodes into this series - and I like it quite a bit. Showrunner Josh Friedman plays with the inherent mythos of the first two films, disregards the third almost entirely, and comes up with some plausible expansions. And - while I’ll no doubt take some heavy flak for this - I so prefer Summer Glau as female terminator Cameron to her turn as River in Firefly. Never could stand her in that show; for me, she was the weakest link. In this show, however, she truly shines as the seemingly naive, badass cyborg, and steals every scene.
I look forward to finishing these both through to the end.
