7.29.2009

Fembots

Battlestar Galactica Season 4.5

5 episodes in and I'm enthralled once again at what is one of the best TV shows ever. In an effort to avoid any spoilers I'll stay away from specific plot reveals but Season 4.5 of BSG appears to be about the price paid for lost dreams. At the end of Season 4.0, the fleet and its Cylon allies arrive at Earth only to discover it's a nuclear wasteland from a war that happened long ago. The time-line of this war seems confused but I've read that it comes into focus over the course of the final episodes. The mystery behind Starbuck's death/resurrection gets more complicated and the final Cylon's identity is revealed in either the first or second episode. I'm glad the writers chose to avoid having the final season devolve into a who's-the-last-Cylon affair to be revealed in the final episode because it might have lessened the series. I'm sure all this sounds hugely geeky (and it probably is) but there are several scenes in the first few episodes that are as dramatically polished and brilliantly acted as I've ever seen on TV - or in cinema. Edward James Almos and Michael Hogan face off in a long awaited confrontation between Tigh and Adama that must be seen to be believed. Katie Sackhoff has grown as an actress immensely over the course of the series to become one of the best characters in the show. The cast, sets, writing, direction and effects are all top notch. You either get BSG or you don't and that's just fine. Those who can't get their heads around the space-opera lunacy of the show or its incredibly bleak version of humanity are probably right to skip it. I think if the mini series didn't grab you, the 4.5 seasons that followed won't change you mind. For the rest of us – this series has been a sublime experience. Thank Gods it lasted as long as it did.

Dollhouse Season One

Season One of Dollhouse, on the other hand, has been a bit of a disappointment. I'm hit and miss with Josh Whedon, having never quite got into Buffy (I didn't dislike it, I just didn't care) and then being completely taken by the short-lived series Firefly. At the heart of the Dollhouse premise is the ability to wipe out memories and imprint a specific personality into a living, breathing human. All sorts of possibilities present themselves as the mega-rich line up to buy a weekend with their perfect match week in and week out. Sometimes the dolls are love muffins, sometimes they're assassins and sometimes they're both. The concept seems a good one - it certainly opens lots of doors to varied plot lines - but the lead actress left me a bit flat and the whole thing began to feel like a 20-something variation on the Stepford Wives meets 90210 by about the 3rd episode. The biggest problem with Dollhouse isn't so much the plots as their unlikelihood. Everyone knows what would happen if you could hire some young beauty to do with whatever you wanted and know that no one would find out what that was (including the beauty whose memory is erased right after you return him/her). You certainly wouldn't go hiking and then hunt down your perfect match with a compound bow (a la The Most Dangerous Game from episode 4).

At its root, Dollhouse is a little like a fantasy baseball league, except it's about a white slavery ring with all the seedy undertones that that implies. They haven't gone down that path yet but the series just feels a little dodgy at its slightly creepy core. I could be doing some imprinting here – the thought of having a vacant and clueless Kadas covered in butter, wearing nothing but a smile and a pink beret dancing around Segredos for a whole weekend sounds great in theory, but I think this series – like my naked-one-man-(Drop)kick-line-dance-fantasy - is a little more disturbing than it seems at first glance. I'd say pass.

Oh... and sleep tight Kris. I'll be thinking about ya.

Sporgey.

15 comments:

the coelacanth said...

ha! i haven't watched ANY BSG, but plan to do the whole shebang this winter after much prodding from tom, kris, you, and pretty much every other person who rents at the buff. also to watch this winter (which i've seen none of before): complete sopranos, complete the wire, burn notice, and the complete works of ingmar bergman. what? no, i haven't been living under a rock. please don't fire me...

dollhouse - how far have you watched? i've not seen any of it (surprise!) but have heard from at least half a dozen people (friends or blogs/reviews online) that the first few episodes are really tough to get into, but you have to watch the full season to get the real effect, as the series really evolves into something different and quite amazing, and ends far from where it began. although, you have to ask yourself if plodding through the first few episodes is worth it...regardless, another one on my list to check out (this winter).

thanks for the reviews, you've really piqued my interest in both series, and thanks for the incredibly disturbing, though mercifully small, glimpse inside a sick, sick mind...

Chandles said...

I started watching Dollhouse last week. I think I only made it through three episodes. After the first one I wasn't exactly drawn in, but after the second I was a bit more enthused about the concept. However the biggest problem is that the overall story arch in these initial episodes seemed really minimal. I'm sure that Helo is supposed to fill that role but I needed more of a reason to tune into the next episode other than watching a babe be all babey and perfect.

And on the battlestar note (don't worry, not a spoiler): http://g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/blog/post/697780/Battlestar-Galactica-Changes-the-UN-Charter.html

It really is just the greatest.

Worsenfunk said...

Amazing! BattleStar in the Un! Is it just me or is Mr. Olmos kind of crazy in that video? Skiing on blazing white powdery slopes or what?

La Sporgenza said...

Funk Child....

At first glance I thought your statement “BattleStar in the Un!" was some new street adjective for being hip, cool, the shit, tight, phat, the bomb, off the chain, etc.

You know like “Tom's shoes are in the Un!"

I felt old and out of touch.

Then I watched the coke-addled Olmos interview on Kendall's link and discovered it was the fucking United Nations you were on about.

...and I've been telling everyone all day that they're just "not in the Un". Seems I will need to explain my error.

Sorry Joe. What I meant was you're just not that cool.

S

Worsenfunk said...

Oh the collateral damage of an 'Un'- capatalized letter N. Here's too being informed.

La Sporgenza said...

Almost as confusing as the inappropriate usage of "too" where you mean "to"

...or do you?

I'm so lost

the coelacanth said...

look at mr. know-it-all picking apart the most minute and trivial typos after you yourself wrote "interact" (previous post) and "Edward James Almos" (this post). can you please somehow work "expresso" into your next post? tsk, tsk, tsk...

J.P said...

I've Watched all of season 4.5 except the last episode not sure if will. I cant let it end the Wire that was to painful, kinda went threw a difficult time after that tried to move to Baltimore realized it was to real for me.It
didn't work out...

La Sporgenza said...

Lotta talk for a guy that contributes a list of movies twice a month that he cuts and pastes off metacritic. A least I'm forming whole sentences that I think up and try to write myself.

The Omlos error was mine to be sure but the word "interac" auto-corrects to "interact" on my word processor. You too English grads are definitely not in the Un, btw.

the coelacanth said...

i know you're kind of joking, but i hope that's not what you think i do - i actually put much time and effort into compiling those lists - i physically write down on paper every dvd that we get in the store (minus the big hollywood ones), type them into here, hyperlink to their respective imdb pages, then write short descriptions, some of which i find funny/informative. if i know nothing about the film, i'll look at its synopsis on imdb then conflate a few paragraphs into a sentence (my own words).

regardless, they're kind of a pain in the ass to do, and you're right, i guess they don't have much value. ah well, i was only trying to help customers check out some cool titles they may have otherwise passed on. more work than it's worth though, so there won't be any more of them for the time being.

J.P said...

I Bought my firt set of Anal Beads today and I used them this morning.

La Sporgenza said...

Crybaby .... Relax for Christ's sake.... You're turning into Kadas (mmmmmMMM ...Kaaadddaaaasss). I don't recall ever saying the release lists were a waste of time. You've said it several times, but I haven't.

(and just cut and paste them in from metacritic you fool - that's what I do)

La Sporgenza said...

Back to the matter at hand... Dollhouse. I skipped ahead a few episodes and watched a couple from the middle of the season and can report it does improve substantially. Like most TV I suppose, it takes a while to get going. It isn't outstanding or anything, just better.

the coelacanth said...

good to hear - i'll likely watch it either way. i mean, who doesn't like to stare at dushku?

Dropkick said...

i feel olive oiley