# Help me



## Helpful Corn (Dec 30, 2011)

I've just finished watching Firefly for the ~11th time, and once again I am filled with emptiness and longing.  I finally completed Star Trek: Enterprise, and am left with nothing to fill my space drama void.  I'm sitting here considering starting Star Trek: Voyager or Battlestar Galactica, two shows I know I don't like.  Help me out with some recomendations, and please don't say Dr. Who.  

I prefer something with an ensemble cast 

Anime is ok if it fits the bill (and is in english, I don't want to read my tv)

Must be somewhat believable, (no Death Note)

Something that doesn't feel completely unfinished

I like a good amount of humor

I've seen Sliders

Just hoping I've overlooked some gems, like I did with Firefly for seven years.


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## xist (Dec 30, 2011)

What was it about Battlestar Galactica that you disliked?


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## Helpful Corn (Dec 30, 2011)

I've only seen an episode or two, mostly bits and pieces.  It seemed too serious (lacking humor) yet I am considering it.  Please do advocate why I should invest time in it, it's quite long


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## xist (Dec 30, 2011)

For me BSG remains enjoyable for the characters....there are a wide variety of them and most are well fleshed out (Baltar is far and away one of my favourite Sci-Fi characters). The story mixes up pseudo hokey Religious overtones with the human struggle for survival, and in the main it lacked real evidence of filler episodes.

Yes it's serious (although again Baltar injects some comic relief) and has a dark tone, but i'd highly recommend you give it a go, at least for the first series, before you write it off.


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## Guild McCommunist (Dec 30, 2011)

Helpful Corn said:


> I've only seen an episode or two, mostly bits and pieces.  It seemed too serious (lacking humor) yet I am considering it.  Please do advocate why I should invest time in it, it's quite long



It's dark sci-fi unlike your typical Star Trek affair. It's really good though if you like that type of thing.

Star Trek Voyager is nice, I never understood the hate on it. Good ol' Star Trek show except it had a bit more of a constant plot line with it (kinda like Enterprise with the Xindi thing minus the whole being dumb part).

A friend of mine is in love with Babylon 5. I watched the first episode and almost passed out from boredom. Seemed really dull for me. If my friend wasn't on vacation he'd probably be on here suggesting it to you. I guess you could give it a watch if you're desperate and form your own opinion.

I'm sure you've seen Star Trek TNG and TOS. Although not seeing them is a true sin amongst hardcore sci fi nerds.

Another friend (not the aforementioned friend) is really into Stargate. I've seen a few episodes and it's pretty good. Has your typical mix of sci-fi and corny comic relief but it's all good.

Only anime suggestion would be TTGL (aka Gurren Lagann) if you really consider it sci-fi. Shit rocks although it's not anywhere believable. There's also like a couple hundred thousand different Gundam series to watch.

There's also like a bagillion sci-fi films to suggest. You've got like Star Trek 2, 4, and 6 for the good TOS movies (5 is good if you want a stupid movie to laugh at and 3 isn't bad), First Contact is the best of the TNG films with Insurrection, Generations, and Nemesis from best to worst after it. Then there's the JJ Abrams Star Trek flick which makes me infinitely hard because it's fucking awesome.

I tried watching Blade Runner but didn't like it at all. I watched the Final Cut version of it so I can't cough it up to bad editing. It was really boring and had too much projected meaning for me.

Honestly though I haven't watched too much sci-fi minus Star Trek, Star Wars, and BSG. Maybe the Matrix too, the first one is one of my favorite movies and the other two are meh but watchable.

Odds are you've seen all those though.


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## xist (Dec 30, 2011)

Travesty...Blade Runner is a scifi film noir classic!


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## Guild McCommunist (Dec 30, 2011)

xist said:


> Travesty...Blade Runner is a scifi film noir classic!



I approached it with high expectations but I can't really see why anyone would find it a classic sci-fi flick over Star Wars or Wrath of Khan. There was like little mystery (I mean he was trying to find the Replicants or whatever but all you saw was him zooming in on stuff in a picture, then drawing a conclusion the viewer would never be able to draw). The environment and special effects were cool but some parts were just rather silly (such as Roy or whatever his name is shoving his head through a wall, which made my literally ROFL) and I couldn't find any of the symbolism or meaning. I watched the film with two other guys, one of which read the book beforehand, and we were all rather universal in our negative feelings towards the film.


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## Helpful Corn (Dec 30, 2011)

lol, I've seen TOS and allot (but not all) of TNG, and all of the movies multiple times.  I've read a ton of TOS books and I have the Trek insignia on my right arm, so you could say i'm a fan.  Voyager is a good but not great show, the cast just isn't compelling enough compared to TOS, TNG, and Enterprise. 

Never bought into Stargate or Babylon 5, but it's more likely i'd watch Babylon 5 first only because I've seen less of it.

Not really looking for films, but I also stopped watching Blade Runner three times before I watched the whole thing, it's pretty good in the end.  Similar to Brazil in that it comes highly recommended but for some reason I can't really enjoy it.


I'm gonna boot up the BSG mini series and see if i can get drawn in thanks to you guys.  It seems I don't have many options.  I'm also gonna check out Farscape.  Thanks Nerds!  Suggestions still welcome but it seems there is no Firefly type gem to dig up huh?


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## xist (Dec 30, 2011)

It's different from both Star Wars and Wrath of Khan as it's far more atmospheric and boasts much more implied subtext. Whilst the first two are both effectively action in space, Blade Runner is supposed to feel like a dirty, seedy and depressing detective film, making observations on what it is to be human. If you're looking for an action film then Blade Runner isn't it, but what it is is what Ridley Scott does best...he creates a living breathing world. It's dingy and oppressive, but believable at the same time....and the ending with the fact of between Batty and Dekker is a masterwork of a finale.

Your friend read the book? The screenplay or the short it was based upon (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep). It's very different to the short story in it's scale, but contains the same sense of emotion that Dick's works boast.

Wrath of Khan is a classic too, although having rewatched Star Wars recently i must say i'm a little bored of the series these days.


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## Helpful Corn (Dec 30, 2011)

Star Wars is for kids, Wrath of Khan gets too much credit as I like all of the Trek films equally, they are like my children.  Blade runner doesn't deserve it's status either as it has been equaled or outdone by many films this last decade.  I think we can all agree that Dune is the biggest overrated terd of a sci-fi film, and there are many others vying for that position.  So why fight over films that are quality?


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## xist (Dec 30, 2011)

Dune was awful because the source material was just too bulky to be squeezed into one film and remain intact. Books (well the first 3) were good, film was a disaster...


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## Vulpes Abnocto (Dec 30, 2011)

Oddly enough I just re-watched all of Firefly again as well. 
Solidarity, brother.


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## Helpful Corn (Dec 30, 2011)

@Vulpes: http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1SKPL_enUS430US450&aq=f&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=netflix+firefly

there's a buzz about


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## Vulpes Abnocto (Dec 30, 2011)

I've heard about this. Nathan Fillion tweeted about it obscurely last week. 
(which means it got posted immediately in /r/firefly)

Since I cannot recommend any good sci-fi you have yet to see; have you seen Game of Thrones yet?


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## Helpful Corn (Dec 30, 2011)

hypothetically, if there is to be new season of firefly how would you go about it?

DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN SERENITY



Spoiler



you HAVE to bring wash back, the preacher maybe, but wash is a must.  Do you act like the movie never happened?  Do you go ST11 and say alternate timeline?  Do you go ST3 and have river put his mind in a clone?  Do you claim he was an alliance pilot in the war and him and preacher have clones in storage?  These are serious issues.  The deaths were totally unneeded, and did not help the movie at all.  The only thing they did do was complicate a new season.  I love his show, but I fucking hate Joss Whedon.  There are also the glaring omisions of the blue gloves and simon knowing what was wrong with river.  I think you gotta ignore the film and bring mr. universe on as a crew member.


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## Vulpes Abnocto (Dec 30, 2011)

Spoiler



The movie was made with the conviction that there would never be another show, so of course they were willing to kill off characters willy-nilly. In my mind they continue the Firefly line, without even considering the lines Serenity brought into play. Treat them like they're quite far in the future. Perhaps not an alternate timeline, but a glimpse at the distant future. Eventually Wash will be a leaf on the wind. Eventually Book will meet his Maker, but until then you accompany the crew on their travels through the 'verse and don't concern yourself with those things.


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## jing90 (Dec 30, 2011)

my favorite sci-fi movies are 12 Monkeys and Brazil
you can try A Scanner Darkly or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

for tv series there is Torchwood (doctor who spinoff but a lot darker and mature)

Akira is really awesome and apparently Ghost in the Shell is pretty good (still haven't watched it)

and if they make a new season/movie/something about Firefly I hope they continue from where they left off in season 1 and consider the film as something that eventually happen or that isn't canon at all


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## xist (Dec 30, 2011)

Brazil is great (and again pretty dark but laced with humour) but 12 Monkeys is pretty bad...


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## Helpful Corn (Dec 31, 2011)

Through the mini series which can't be called such, it's really just a pilot.  Starting season 1, this show is interesting enough but completely devoid of humor.  It urks me, I don't care how serious a situation is people still joke and laugh, more so when things get tough.


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## jing90 (Dec 31, 2011)

xist said:


> Brazil is great (and again pretty dark but laced with humour) but 12 Monkeys is pretty bad...


we totally didn't see the same movie... why do you say it's bad?


Helpful Corn said:


> I like a good amount of humor


ok I missed this part before...
you can try Eureka or Warehouse 13
or there's Misfits which is pretty good but some people hate it for some reason...


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## Helpful Corn (Dec 31, 2011)

Loving the presentation/production value, but there are plot holes big enough to fly the whole fleet through.  Feels like they really wanted to do a big galactic war epic so badly that forgot to make it coherent.  I mean FCS, Space Above and Beyond was less campy than this.  Olmos is great along with president stands with fist, and every scene with #6 makes my skin crawl (I asume that was intended), but it's really feels 1/2 done.


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## Gundam Eclipse (Jan 1, 2012)

I would say try Steins;Gate, while it isn't in english yet AFAIK, its still awesome as hell.
If you don't want to, then um, go for Akira, its pretty awesome.
There's also the Gundam series, tons of em actually. Only one i have watched is Gundam 00, and that was p. good, not too bad at all.


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## Helpful Corn (Jan 1, 2012)

I've never really gotten into any anime save Cowboy Bebop (all time top 5) I sorta liked trigun and FMA, the first ghost in the shell they aired here on adult swim was interesting enough.  Anime has dissapointed me mostly, but I respect the medium a a means to tell a story without the budget required for live action.  Most sci-fi in general is underwhelming and disapointing to me in general due to my heavy interest and wild imagination.  Not to mention my superior intelect 

I feel like a spoiled child when knocking these thing as I know they are quality but am far from blown away.

BSG update:  6 eps into season two, i'm on vacation and am gonna marathon this thing through til the end.

Thanks again to everyone for your input and suggestions.


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## Wabsta (Jan 1, 2012)

Voyager and TNG are great series imo. So I vote for those 2! (I'm not really into the scifi genre, I just like ST)


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## AlanWeird (Jan 1, 2012)

Helpful Corn said:


> I've never really gotten into any anime save Cowboy Bebop (all time top 5) I sorta liked trigun and FMA, the first ghost in the shell they aired here on adult swim was interesting enough.  Anime has dissapointed me mostly, but I respect the medium a a means to tell a story without the budget required for live action.  Most sci-fi in general is underwhelming and disapointing to me in general due to my heavy interest and wild imagination.  Not to mention my superior intelect
> 
> I feel like a spoiled child when knocking these thing as I know they are quality but am far from blown away.
> 
> ...



If it was superior, you would not have mis-spelled "intellect"


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## Guild McCommunist (Jan 1, 2012)

Wow, all this talk about Firefly reminded me that I never watched it. Thanks for the reminder, downloading now. I'll make sure to nab Serenity too, I've seen bits and pieces of it but without any context I couldn't pick much up.


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## Helpful Corn (Jan 1, 2012)

Guild McCommunist said:


> Wow, all this talk about Firefly reminded me that I never watched it. Thanks for the reminder, downloading now. I'll make sure to nab Serenity too, I've seen bits and pieces of it but without any context I couldn't pick much up.



watch it in order, don't take in preconceptions, don't make any judgements until you have seen all the eps+film, spend a few days away from it and write a review for us.


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## Gahars (Jan 2, 2012)

Definitely check out Babylon 5; it's probably one of the greatest science fiction shows ever produced (I'd say it's better than TNG, and I love TNG). 

I will warn you that the first season (especially the first few episodes) can be a bit shaky and inconsistent. Stick with it, though; the show finds its stride soon enough.


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## xist (Jan 2, 2012)

Okay...i don't know how it slipped my mind when you were insistent on light hearted sci-fi.

It may look a bit dated and low budget now, but if you want some entertaining sci-fi situation comedy then please do give Red Dwarf a shot. It's one of my warm fuzzy good memory shows...


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## Helpful Corn (Jan 5, 2012)

finished with the whole series, minus the two movies.  moving on to farscape, babylon 5, and red dwarf.  BSG should have been one season shorter.


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## Vulpes Abnocto (Jan 6, 2012)

Guild McCommunist said:


> Wow, all this talk about Firefly reminded me that I never watched it. Thanks for the reminder, downloading now. I'll make sure to nab Serenity too, I've seen bits and pieces of it but without any context I couldn't pick much up.



 you're so lucky and don't even know it yet.
I sometimes wish I could erase my memory of Firefly 
just so I could watch it again for the first time.

(not to mention falling in love with a dirty little mechanic all over again)


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## Foxi4 (Jan 6, 2012)

Helpful Corn said:


> I've never really gotten into any anime save Cowboy Bebop (all time top 5)



Say no more.

Outlaw... Effing... Star. Watch it, it's brilliant.


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## Helpful Corn (Jan 6, 2012)

vulpes have you seen farscape or red dwarf?  i'm just starting both but omg omg omg

I don't regret watching BSG, but these two are just what I was looking for.

EDIT: I never really got into the main female cast, but a certain mrs. r was the hottest on the show.  not to mention mrs. universe.  hey a man can dream.


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## Vulpes Abnocto (Jan 6, 2012)

Corn: I'm so glad somebody caught the veiled Red Dwarf reference. 

Haven't watched much of Farscape, though.


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## Helpful Corn (Jan 6, 2012)

I'm extremely grateful that I get to experience these wonderful things from begining to end at my leisure rather than wait weeks for episodes and years for conclusion.


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## FAST6191 (Jan 9, 2012)

Although I did not mind the film Dune I will say if you can pick up the now just over/around 10 year old SciFi channel miniseries' of Dune and Children of Dune then give them a go.

I have nothing I can suggest as a must watch this- personally I hope as we are now seeing some proper fantasy appear that sci fi also gets a boost. Plenty of stuff that I have enjoyed an hour or two watching but most sci fi I have seen lately is more "a cool technology, let us make a film with just that" and nothing quite like what seems to be being discussed here.


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