Stargate Atlantis cancelled

Most Malaysians probably wouldn’t have heard of the Stargate SG-1 franchise, let alone its offspring, Stargate Atlantis (SGA). Our terrestrial TV and cable channels never bothered to bring it here. Well, actually they did but just never bothered to promote it, and SG-1 (which ran 11 seasons!) was only shown until season 4 (I believe) until they decided that that’s just enough. Still, some of us followed it online and via, ahem, the “unofficial suppliers” who seem to know that there are fans out there.

When I heard about the news while browsing through Gateworld, I was saddened but not as devastated as I thought I’d be. This is telling, as I was far more devastated by the cancellation of apocalyptic drama Jericho than this.

Season 1 of SGA was good, season 2 was all kinds of boring and wasted opportunities, but season 3 and 4 picked up significantly, and this season – it’s last – sees the inclusion of Robert Picardo, which I thought was a great boost to the show.

But SGA could have been better. A lot of times the show creators seem to shoot themselves in the foot.

Tin Man – Wizard of Oz, 21st century style

Hey y’all. Meet Dorothy. I mean, DG. I have no idea why the powers that be at Sci Fi channel would want to remake the venerable Wizard of Oz, but I suppose Judy Garland singing “Somewhere over the rainbow” is way too quaint for 21st century kids.

So, we have Tin Man. DG is infused with the appropriate amount of cynicism 21st century kids have. And I betcha the tin man who wants a heart is some kinda cyborg. And that the straw man isn’t made up of straw but fibre optics. And that the lion isn’t a lion but some kinda lion-human hybrid.
At least the doggy is still way cute.

This Sci Fi channel miniseries is supposed to start in December and I’m cautious about it. Sci Fi channel original shows, unlike the HBO original series, has a rather spotty reputation. Remember Earthsea anyway? The one that was so widely panned that it shouldn’t be given reruns? Well, let’s hope that Tin Man is something worth our time.

Meanwhile, enjoy the preview below:

Legend of Earthsea … baaaad.

Well, oy. So I managed to see the SciFi miniseries through (cough) unofficial means. Let’s just say that the first ten minutes of the show I’m already saying: “Man. This sucks.”

The acting is so bad you can’t believe, the script stinks and I didn’t even wait long enough to watch the other sections. I know my friend Chris would go ballistic with the mangling of one of her favourite books.

Just hop over to IMDB comments for Legend and you’ll see rows upon rows of incensed reviewers complaining how baaad this show is.

Ursula is not pleased

The Sci Fi channel just screened the miniseries Legend of Earthsea (on Dec 13 & 14, I believe), based on Ursula K. LeGuin’s book and the news has not been pleasant. First, at One Ring, a commentary on the series had this paragraph:

But now the finished film has screened, and I’ve been getting emails from people whose opinions I respect saying things like ‘I watched it and I was sick to my stomach after seven minutes.’ I can’t stand by and let it look as though TORN will recommend and promote any rubbish just because it’s a well-known fantasy series.

Ouch! However, the sternest rebuke came from LeGuin herself, who was more than a little annoyed when the director of the flick claimed that he was true to the book and that he knew what Ursula’s vision of the whole Earthsea universe was. LeGuin wrote a “reply” here.

Daphne and her husband, who have both read the Earthsea series (yes, you can guess I have not read it) said that the one thing they’re annoyed with is that the cast was mostly white. As LeGuin says:

Most of the characters in my fantasy and far-future sf books are not white. They’re mixed, they’re rainbow … This color scheme was conscious and deliberate from the start. I didn’t see why everybody in sf had to be a honky named Bob or Joe or Bill. I didn’t see why everybody in heroic fantasy had to be white (and all the leading women had “violet eyes”). I didn’t even believe it … Ged with a white face is a lie, a betrayal — a betrayal of the book, and of the potential reader. A brown face might hurt sales in the short run, but my books are long-distance runners, and for the long haul, only the truth will serve.

Ah. The race issue.

I believe that many non-readers will still dig the Earthsea miniseries because of the fallout from Lord of the Rings. People are still hungry for fantasy after all. The powers that be chose to cash in on the craze, purity to the book be damned.

Earthsea coming to TV

This is probably old, old news, but Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea series is being made into a mini series.

I have not read the books (bows head in shame), but I’ve heard many good things about it. Basically, the story is the staple of many fantasy stories: boy discovers he has powerful magic. Boy unleashes bad thing in world. Tries to rescue world.

The said boy is Ged, who is going to be played by Shawn Ashmore (pic). Fans of Smallville may be happy to discover that Kristin Kreuk is playing Tenar, a priestess. Isabella Rossellini is Thar and Danny Glover is Ogion. You can read from these lines that I have no idea who they are.

Thanks to the Lord of the Rings, fantasy is gaining popularity in cinemas and tv screens. Once the abode of cheesiness, fantasy has gained respectability since The Lord of the Rings won Oscar for Best Picture this year. Hopefully we won’t get a spew of cheap knockoffs but well-done productions.

Meanwhile, why not visit Sci Fi channel’s official site for Earthsea?

PS: With the cool things the Sci Fi channel has – what with the new revamped Battlestar Galactica series, Stargate: Atlantis and now Earthsea, you would think someone down here would have an idea to bring it down to Malaysia. Apparently they’ve even made a Farscape movie. Anyone? Dying sci-fi/fantasy fans here!