Ok so it wasn't great but maybe it willl get better?
http://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...review-20140110,0,7080214.story#axzz2q3wFWgOv
http://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...review-20140110,0,7080214.story#axzz2q3wFWgOv
Helix Syfy channel
- Thread starter Gillvane
- Start date
Jon Starr
Veteran
I haven't seen it yet (I will check it out soon), but Ron Moore has really gone down since BSG. It started in the last season of Battlestar, then Caprica, a few small things, and now this doesn't seem to be anything special. I'll hope that he brings something new, but it's hard to top off the first two season's of Battlestar. He was at the height of his career then, and he's still riding that pony.
I'll see. So far it just seems to be a B-movie idea, some virus in the antarctic. I'm going to guess the theme is "you shouldn't fear the virus, but the people" which seems to be akin to all virus and zombie stories?
Anyways, we shall see.
I'll see. So far it just seems to be a B-movie idea, some virus in the antarctic. I'm going to guess the theme is "you shouldn't fear the virus, but the people" which seems to be akin to all virus and zombie stories?
Anyways, we shall see.
Jon Starr
Veteran
I have to disagree. Yes the fans wanted more BSG, however even as a show on it's own, it just lacked soul. The characters were depressing and boring. I honestly didn't care about anyone, at all, and could care less if they wanted to commit suicide, or died, or found themselves in compromising situations. For that reason the stakes were never high, and I was just left with an empty feeling, and boredom. I really wanted to give it a chance, and it was clear a few episodes in that it wasn't BSG, but it just never worked even as a show.
But to each their own I guess.
I liked Caprica. Didn't really care for Battle Star Galactica. What was cool about the orginal series IMO was the Cylons. There were the battle units and the command units, and they hired an evil human to work for them.
Whenever aliens or robots are suddenly just humans because they took over a body, or are in disguise, or whatever bogus explanation you come up with I'm immediately skeptical and cannot suspend my disbelief UNLESS you are doing invasion of the body snatchers....again. Otherwise it always comes off as a cheap way to avoid doing make up and FX.
Gee, how convenient. Cylons look just like....Hollywood actors. As soon as they went there they lost me.
Jon Starr
Veteran
I'm not saying you should love BSG, I just find the reasoning behind why you dislike it very strange.
If you followed BSG, there's a far more captivating reason why they look human, and what it has to do with the human race, and the cylon race. On top of that it never felt like it was a cheap trick to avoid FX. They had hundreds of FX (probably the most any TV show has had at the time), as well as plenty of chrome metal cylons walking around. The ones that looked human were placed within the human population. Some were sleeper agents who thought they were human and didn't know they were cylons, while others just went undercover to cause chaos. I see it as a very very good reason to create human like robots.
I decided to check out Helix, I stopped it after 20 minutes. It's not my thing, and I was just bored. I skipped ahead and still nothing. This one missed the ball for me.
I saw Helix. it was OK. The old gub'mint conspiracy story again. I was hoping for something more along the lines of the original The Andromeda Strain movie (and not that god-awful TV remake). I might watch future episodes...or I might not.
BSG (remake) was one of the best shows on TV - period!
BSG (remake) was one of the best shows on TV - period!
I want my aliens to look, well, alien. Even if you just put some make up on their foreheads like the old Star Trek. The minute they look like humans, I"m like, oh sure. That's convenient. They're aliens, but they just happen to look EXACTLY like humans. Just, no. Come up with something else if you want to keep my interest.
Jon Starr
Veteran
I get what you're saying, but the claim is that they decided to have the Cylons look human for budget and ease, then came up with a reason for it. However what's clear from the beginning is that they look human to integrate and hide amongst the humans. That combined with the fact they do have many chrome cylons, and plenty of CGI (meaning they had the budget), showing it's not about ease or budget. It's about story, which is why it works.
Honestly, the fact that they looked human also gave them a certain vulnerability throughout the series. Humans treated them with a disgust, a hate, something that creeps up your spine. You start to sympathize with some of the cylons, partly because they're still very human like. You can see that they feel, they have emotions, passion, hate, anger, love, disgust, and you connect.
What I don't like is when Star Trek simply places some bumps on the forehead and calls it an Alien. I get why they do it, but there isn't a REASON for them to look human-like, nothing in the story, and it's all about budget. Upright, two arms and two legs I get, but at least do something more unique than a wrinkle or a bump, or a blue pattern on the cheek.
Jon Starr
Veteran
Of course there are many great make-up examples in Star Trek, even non bipedal creatures. I'm simply talking about the simple make-up jobs, the ones that looked too human. Basically just small decal work, a touch of swirls here, a small bump there, etc.
The original Klingons are a good example. It's just some foundation and a bit of facial hair, eyebrows, and ta da! Aliens! But I like that better than just, oh, they're exactly like humans.
https://www.google.com/search?q=ori...;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klingon;400;304
Anyway, I'm not sure what Helix is missing, but it's just kind of slow and so far hasn't capitivated me. I can tell you right now I don't want to stay in that one research facility in the Arctic for an entire series.
I"m really interested to see where the crew in the Walk Dead is going to head to now that they've lost the prison.
I finally got around to watching Helix, and my initial thoughts are...
- Low budget show ( lots of it feels cheap )
- The story reminds me of all the worst elements of LOST, where nobody knows what's really going on, and I'm bored watching this mess
- I strongly suspect an extraterrestrial tie-in, especially given the location of the base
- Plot pacing is way too slow to capture an audience ( Caprica was slow, Helix is glacial )
- I'll end up hating this show almost as much as I hated LOST when it finally ended
- Low budget show ( lots of it feels cheap )
- The story reminds me of all the worst elements of LOST, where nobody knows what's really going on, and I'm bored watching this mess
- I strongly suspect an extraterrestrial tie-in, especially given the location of the base
- Plot pacing is way too slow to capture an audience ( Caprica was slow, Helix is glacial )
- I'll end up hating this show almost as much as I hated LOST when it finally ended
I think you pinpointed the problem. The plot pacing. A lot of stuff going on without advancing the plot. That doesn't make for a good show.
There is actually a part in DS9 where Cisco, Dax, Worf, O'Brien, and Odo are transported back in time, and they see the old Klingons, and Worf is questioned about why they look so different now, but all he says is that Klingons don't like to talk about it.
That said, I really like Helix.
j1clark@ucsd.edu
Veteran
If we are 'talking' about a TV show... that's all there is... talk is in fact cheaper than whiskey...