Post by Forever Xena on Sept 4, 2005 7:59:34 GMT -6
Cast chemistry keeps `Stargate' appealing
By Maureen Ryan
Tribune staff reporter
Some older TV shows -- and we're too kind to name names here -- settle into a state of suspended mediocrity, puttering along and recycling old stories as they wait for someone to cancel them.
"Stargate SG-1," which is in the middle of its eighth season, is not one of those. The episode airing at 7 p.m. Friday on Sci Fi is a treat, and it should be as much fun for "Farscape" lovers as for "SG-1" fans.
Claudia Black, the steely Aeryn Sun of Sci Fi's canceled cult series "Farscape," guests as Vala, a wily woman who manages to hijack a spaceship that belongs to Earth's secret Stargate program, which battles various baddies across the universe. When not shooting at him or otherwise trying to take him down, Vala also attempts, with some success, to seduce "Stargate" scientist Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks, at his bemused best).
Given the chemistry between Black and Shanks, things should get mighty interesting next season, when Black is set to appear in at least five episodes of "SG-1." Not only will the delightfully devious Vala return, but Ben Browder, Black's love interest on "Farscape," joins the cast of "SG-1" next season as well. Is it any wonder that some sci-fi mavens have jokingly begun to refer to "SG-1" as "Fargate"?
The truth is, "Stargate SG-1" has always had a good measure of what made "Farscape" such fun: an irreverent attitude, a sprinkling of pop-culture references (watch for an amusing Han Solo mention) and a cast whose chemistry is almost palpable. And though the long-running program may not often show the wild inventiveness of "Farscape" at its best, clearly the "SG-1" producers know when to mix things up -- heck, even the desk-bound Gen. Hammond (Don S. Davis) has some commando-style adventures on Friday's episode.
By the way, if you're looking for more military-flavored adventures, tune in to "Battlestar Galactica," the new series that has been contributing to Sci Fi's impressively competitive Fridays (in the last two weeks, the network's Friday lineup has been the top cable attraction among viewers 18 to 49).
In Friday's episode, fighter pilot Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) admits her role in the death of one of Commander Adama's sons, which prompts Adama (Edward James Olmos) to say, through gritted teeth, "Get out of my office while you can still walk." It's a gripping scene in a strong episode.
Dramatic re-enactments in historically themed programs can sometimes seem a little cheesy, which is why "Pompeii: The Last Day" (8 p.m. Sunday, Discovery) is such an impressive surprise. A well-crafted hybrid of fictional re-creations, which depict the final hours of the city's residents some 2,000 years ago, and compelling narration, "Pompeii" is informative and downright interesting.
The program's stunning visual effects re-create the ancient city as well the fearsome eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. A smoky plume rose miles into the air above the deadly volcano before descending to earth to kill innumerable residents, who had no idea that the mountain posed any danger.
Some residents were killed by a deadly form of steam from the volcano, which was, the narrator says, "five times hotter than boiling water."
Also this weekend, "Trading Spaces" designer Doug Wilson debuts a new home-decor series, "Moving Up" (7 p.m. Saturday, TLC).
On the show, "viewers follow a chain of [three] new homeowners who move into one another's homes and begin the design and renovation process," according to the program's press kit. Two of the three sets of homeowners then go back and see what the new owners have done to their old places. Wilson, the host of the show, doesn't have a hand in the designs or renovations, which are done by the homeowners themselves over the course of a few months.
It's a good idea for a series, though it's harder to explain than the less extensive "Trading Spaces" (in "Moving Up," entire houses are made over). The first episode is engaging, but let's hope the witty Wilson isn't quite so mild-mannered in future installments.
By Maureen Ryan
Tribune staff reporter
Some older TV shows -- and we're too kind to name names here -- settle into a state of suspended mediocrity, puttering along and recycling old stories as they wait for someone to cancel them.
"Stargate SG-1," which is in the middle of its eighth season, is not one of those. The episode airing at 7 p.m. Friday on Sci Fi is a treat, and it should be as much fun for "Farscape" lovers as for "SG-1" fans.
Claudia Black, the steely Aeryn Sun of Sci Fi's canceled cult series "Farscape," guests as Vala, a wily woman who manages to hijack a spaceship that belongs to Earth's secret Stargate program, which battles various baddies across the universe. When not shooting at him or otherwise trying to take him down, Vala also attempts, with some success, to seduce "Stargate" scientist Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks, at his bemused best).
Given the chemistry between Black and Shanks, things should get mighty interesting next season, when Black is set to appear in at least five episodes of "SG-1." Not only will the delightfully devious Vala return, but Ben Browder, Black's love interest on "Farscape," joins the cast of "SG-1" next season as well. Is it any wonder that some sci-fi mavens have jokingly begun to refer to "SG-1" as "Fargate"?
The truth is, "Stargate SG-1" has always had a good measure of what made "Farscape" such fun: an irreverent attitude, a sprinkling of pop-culture references (watch for an amusing Han Solo mention) and a cast whose chemistry is almost palpable. And though the long-running program may not often show the wild inventiveness of "Farscape" at its best, clearly the "SG-1" producers know when to mix things up -- heck, even the desk-bound Gen. Hammond (Don S. Davis) has some commando-style adventures on Friday's episode.
By the way, if you're looking for more military-flavored adventures, tune in to "Battlestar Galactica," the new series that has been contributing to Sci Fi's impressively competitive Fridays (in the last two weeks, the network's Friday lineup has been the top cable attraction among viewers 18 to 49).
In Friday's episode, fighter pilot Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) admits her role in the death of one of Commander Adama's sons, which prompts Adama (Edward James Olmos) to say, through gritted teeth, "Get out of my office while you can still walk." It's a gripping scene in a strong episode.
Dramatic re-enactments in historically themed programs can sometimes seem a little cheesy, which is why "Pompeii: The Last Day" (8 p.m. Sunday, Discovery) is such an impressive surprise. A well-crafted hybrid of fictional re-creations, which depict the final hours of the city's residents some 2,000 years ago, and compelling narration, "Pompeii" is informative and downright interesting.
The program's stunning visual effects re-create the ancient city as well the fearsome eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. A smoky plume rose miles into the air above the deadly volcano before descending to earth to kill innumerable residents, who had no idea that the mountain posed any danger.
Some residents were killed by a deadly form of steam from the volcano, which was, the narrator says, "five times hotter than boiling water."
Also this weekend, "Trading Spaces" designer Doug Wilson debuts a new home-decor series, "Moving Up" (7 p.m. Saturday, TLC).
On the show, "viewers follow a chain of [three] new homeowners who move into one another's homes and begin the design and renovation process," according to the program's press kit. Two of the three sets of homeowners then go back and see what the new owners have done to their old places. Wilson, the host of the show, doesn't have a hand in the designs or renovations, which are done by the homeowners themselves over the course of a few months.
It's a good idea for a series, though it's harder to explain than the less extensive "Trading Spaces" (in "Moving Up," entire houses are made over). The first episode is engaging, but let's hope the witty Wilson isn't quite so mild-mannered in future installments.