Firefly/Serenity

*SPOILER ALERT*

Firefly/Serenity is a scifi western created by the genius Joss Whedon (also the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel).  The show takes place after the battle of Serenity between the Alliance and the Independents. Most of the time in movies/shows the underdog wins the fight, but instead the controlling central government wins.
The show follows the firefly class ship "Serenity" and its crew as they travel throughout the universe finding jobs, most of them illegal. Two runaways, Simon and River Tam (brother and sister), hide away on Serenity under the protection of Captain Malcolm Reynolds, an ex-sergeant who fought for the independents. His crew consists of his first in comand, Zoe Washburne, his pilot, Hoban Washburne (Wash), the weapons expert/extra gun hand, Jayne Cobb, the mechanic, Kaylee Frye, the Shepherd Derrial Book, the companion, Inara Serra, the Doctor, Simon Tam, and the seer, River Tam. The Alliance is hunting after River and Simon because River, who can read minds, saw a secret embedded in the mind of one of the high ranking Alliance members. But because she is insane, she doesn't even know she knows it.

Since Joss Whedon is a huge feminist, I thought it only appropriate to mention his use of strong female characters in his shows. Zoe is a warrior woman. She can fight and take care of herself. Inara is strong in a completely different way. She is strong in her sexuality, it is more of a religious experience then anything else. She chooses who she gives her body to, whether they be man or woman. River shows her strength in her intelligence. Even though she is insane, she is a genius, who was stripped of her self control by the Alliance. Kaylee is an adorable bubbly character who is handy with machines. Her job is one that is stereotypically seen as a man's job. Joss Whedon spoke at the "Equality Now Tribute Address" and talked about how people always ask him why he writes such strong female characters. He replied to it multiple times but the answers that touched me the most were these two

"Why are you even asking me this?! This is like interview number 50 in a row. How is it possible that this is even a question? Honestly, seriously, why are you -- why did you write that down? Why do you -- Why aren’t you asking a hundred other guys why they don’t write strong women characters? I believe that what I am doing should not be remarked upon, let alone honored and there are other people doing it. But, seriously, this question is ridiculous and you just gotta stop."

and

"Because equality is not a concept. It’s not something we should be striving for. It’s a necessity. Equality is like gravity, we need it to stand on this earth as men and women, and the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition. It is life out of balance and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and women who’s confronted with it. We need equality, kinda now."  

 I think my favorite thing about this show is the message behind it. The secret that River carries is that the Alliance made a planet then tried to control the aggression of the people who lived on it with drugs (pacs) This evidently caused everyone on the planet to either become so passive that they just laid down and let themselves die or had the opposite effect and became overly aggressive to the point of cutting up their own faces and raping and killing people without remorse. Those who had the opposite reaction became what is now known as Reavers. The crew of Serenity has to fight to get the message out to the people, that you can't make people "better" They cease to be human anymore.

My favorite Character is Hoban Washburne (Wash) played by Alan Tudyk. He is the adorable Pilot who is married to Zoe. They are by far the cutest Whedon couple ever! My favorite scene with Wash is in the first episode when he is introduced. He is playing with dinosaur figurines and making little voices for each of the figurines he is holding. I am so pissed that Joss Whedon killed him off so suddenly in the movie. Joss Whedon always does that. You love a character in the show and by the end they are dead, maimed or sent somewhere far away.


Even with Joss Whedon's cruelty to characters, he is a genius and Firefly/Serenity is just another amazing piece of artwork from his collection. If you loved this show definitely watch everything else he has made, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Dollhouse.

Hannah, out.

Sanctuary

*SPOILER ALERT*

Sanctuary is a tv show that airs on the Syfy channel. It follows a 157 year old british scientist named Helen Magnus who leads the Sanctuary network. She runs the Sanctuary with her daughter Ashley, Forensic Psychiatrist Will Zimmerman, Techie Henry Foss, and personal assistant Bigfoot. After her daughter's death Kate Freelander takes the roll of the spunky, sarcastic female bad ass, who becomes like a daughter to Helen Magnus. The Sanctuary is basically a place for strange and unusual creatures or beings (Magnus calls them Abnormals) to come and be safe from the outside world or are taken in to keep the outside world safe from them. They have everything from mermaids to giant snake type things to furbie looking creatures that make your hormones race.

Helen Magnus has to be my favorite character in Sanctuary. Of course because she is a strong female leader, plus she is british and you can't go wrong with that. She lived during the victorian era and was one of the only female doctors. She joined forces with John Druitt (Jack the Ripper), Nikola Tesla, James Watson, and Nigel Griffin to experiment with an ancient sample of pure vampire blood. (They called themselves the Five.) They then decided to inject themselves with the blood to see what the reaction would be. Each of them were blessed or cursed with a different
vampiric ability. Helen's was the simplest gift. She became immortal and would not age. John got the power of teleportation, which also inevitably drove him mad and caused him to murder all those women. Now though we are learning that it was an electrical entity that attached to him during teleportation which caused him to go crazy. James Watson was blessed with great intelligence, which enabled him to prolong his life using machinery. He eventually died when they were on the hunt for the source blood. Nigel Griffin was given the gift of invisibility. As long as he wasn't wearing any clothes he could turn completely invisible. He died before we could meet him in the show, but his gift was carried on my his granddaughter, Clara Griffin. Nikola Tesla's reaction to the source blood was the most vampiric. He essentially became a vampire. He could control electricity, he was very intelligence, he was immortal, and he grew fangs and nails and his eyes turned black when he became angry, etc.

I'd have to say my least favorite character is Will Zimmerman. He is just annoying. Even after all he has seen in the Sanctuary, he still questions whether or not things are possible. You would think after seeing a mermaid and knowing that your boss is 157 years old and has not aged, you would be open minded to anything. But no! Will still insists that things are impossible. Such as the Morgana in episode three. Magnus explains that they could have been kept in stasis for thousands of years and have not aged etc. Will then tells her that that is crazy and that could never happen. HELLO! YOU ARE TALKING TO A 157 YEAR OLD WOMAN WHO DOESN'T LOOK A YEAR OVER 35!!!!! Also Will give up on the lame dad jokes. No one thinks they are funny. I think that is probably the only part of the show that upsets me sometimes.

What I think is amazing about the show is that it is filmed on green screen. Save for a few props and the occasional on site filming, Sanctuary is filmed in all Green Screen. This way they are more eco-friendly and can do so much more with so little. The show started out as a webseries before it was picked up by the Syfy channel and the green screen effects allowed them to expand what they could do on such a low budget. I also think that the sanctuary wouldn't be as cool as it is if it was just built on a set. Most of the time you can't even tell that hallway they are standing in isn't really there, or the car that just drove by was just a gust of wind from a fan.

I feel like the abnormals on this show are definitely worth mentioning. They include creatures from Myths and Legends, such as the mermaid, werewolves, and vampires; to completely original characters such as Big Bertha, the folding man, and a Stenopelhabbilis. There are also abnormals that are just humans with certain abilities, such as the ability to turn invisible or the ability to read minds.

If you have a love for scifi with a flair of fantasy and myth, you will love Sanctuary. This is not your ordinary creature feature. It perfectly blends action, adventure, strong kick-ass women, and amazingly original creatures into an amazing show. Now getting onto it's 22 episode third season. They hope to delve more into the past of the characters and bring a bigger story arch to the season.

This is a fun and interesting scifi show to watch with the family. So if you are a new scifi watcher or looking for something to escape into every night. This is definitely the show to watch!

Hannah, out.

Battlestar Galactica (2004)

*SPOILER ALERT*
Battlestar Galactica (2004) is a remake of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica TV classic. It starts off after the Cylon War between machine and their creators. The Cylons moved to another part of the galaxy to live out their existence. The humans set up an embassy in space between their planets and where the Cylons were believed to be living. Every year the humans sent an ambassador to the embassy but the Cylons never came. Then one day they did. Twelve new Cylon models were created to look like humans with infinite copies of them. They infiltrated the colonies and worked from the inside to take down the colonies' defenses. Eventually all the colonies were bombed by the Cylons and only around 50,000 humans survived in ships.

This show is basically about the survival and hope of the only living human being left in the universe and their quest for the legendary Earth. I love the way the creators put in the legend of Earth and when Earth is eventually found, it is a barren rock. This show is not for those who like happy endings. Everything in this show is a surprise you never really see anything coming. And even when the show ended there were still questions left to be answered.

The characters on this show are so multidimensional. Every single one has flaws, that makes them more like real people then television entities.  My favorite character is President Laura Roslin. What you have to know about me is that I am a feminist and I love strong female characters in science fiction shows. I feel like they make wonderful role models for young women. I love that Laura character is just thrown into a leadership position and even with her ever present cancer, she still holds strong against all obstacles in her path, such as the military trying to over power her. I also love her relationship with Adama and how that builds over time. In the beginning of the show they absolutely hated each other and in the end they are completely in love with each other. Which is so sad when in the end the cancer takes over and she dies after they have made it to their new home. Adama's character is also a favorite of mine. The struggle he has with his son, Zack dieing and his son, Lee's disobedience is interesting. Although Lee can get a little annoying. Of course there is Kara Thrace (Starbuck) the reckless pilot who doesnt know what she wants and gets herself into a lot of trouble and Anastasia Dualla (Dee), the former communications officer on the BSG and former XO of the Pegasus. She was married to Lee until she found out he was cheating on her with Kara Thrace and she decided to leave him. There is also Saul Tigh, Adama's Executive Officer (XO) on Battlestar Galactica. He has an alcohol problem and a strange love/hate relationship with his floozy wife Ellen. (she is probably my least favorite character... besides Gaius of course.) Gaius is a scientist, who thinks he is the greatest thing ever created by the Gods. He let the Cylons have access to the defense main frame which caused the holocaust of the colonies. Okay he didn't do that on purpose, but he is still an asshole. His ex girlfriend, Caprica Six, haunts him. He sees her everywhere and she gives him advice on what to do to get out of a situation. We find out later on that Caprica sees an image of Gaius in her head as well that does the same thing. Of course they aren't explained until the very last episode that they are actually God. I assume that they are one entity projecting itself as two separate beings, a man and a woman.

I love the concept of god in this show. I like that the colonials are polytheistic with Gods and Goddesses based off of Greek legend and the Cylons follow the Christian religion of one true God. It is interesting because the Cylons are viewed as the bad guys trying to control and smite those who would stand in their path. I love that God is played in two separate parts by the image of Caprica Six and Gaius Baltar in the heads of their counterparts. They don't do anything themselves but they influence their charges to do their bidding and serve their plan. God put the humans through this experience with the Cylons to teach them a lesson, not to rely on technology and evidently destroy themselves, but we see that didn't work when it goes into the future of New Earth and you see us as we are now going through the cycle of relying on technology and straying from God, that will eventually lead to the same end as the characters in BSG, like a never ending cycle. (Now I am not a religious person but I think I understand the concept that the creators of BSG were trying to get across)

I also love the story arch with the Cylons and the history of the Final Five. The Final Five being Saul Tigh (XO of the Battlestar Galactica), Samuel Anders (former Pyramid player), Tory Foster (advisor to President Roslin), Ellen Tigh (Saul Tigh's wife), and Galen Tyrol ("Chief" head of the mechanics on BSG). I love that they were from the original Earth and were reborn after the holocaust there and sent to live out their lives on the colonies with no idea what they were. I also love that a song brought them all together to reveal who they were. (except Ellen Tigh who was revealed later on) I really liked that D'anna was the one to go searching for the Final Five. Although I wished they would have gone more into her story and why she was getting these visions of them and Hera.

Hera is a very important aspect to this show. The Cylon's main goal is to be able to produce children which they cannot do themselves. Hera is one such child. She is born from Athena and Helo. (One of the cutest couples on the show) One thing the creators neglected to mention was Galen Tyrol's child with Cally. Technically he is half Cylon as well but that is never addressed. Neither is why Athena or Galen were able to produce a child with the humans. Is there something special about them? Is love the only thing the cylons need to produce a child? Also how did one of the Six's become pregnant with Saul Tigh's child? They are both Cylon. I feel like that was a huge part of the show that needed to be explained but never was.


Over all this show was fracking amazing and is so worth watching. Also if you enjoyed this show you should check out its prequel show Caprica. It explains more about the history of the Cylons and the colonies before the holocaust at the beginning of BSG.

Hannah, out.

First Post= WAREHOUSE 13

So my first post as a science fiction blogger is about the amazing masterpiece that is Warehouse 13. (be aware that this blog will have spoilers. Read at your own risk)

Warehouse 13 is a steam-punk styled science fiction show that airs on the Syfy channel. Here is a short description of the show from Syfy.com

"After saving the life of the President, two Secret Service agents find themselves abruptly transferred to Warehouse 13 -- a massive, top-secret storage facility in windswept South Dakota that houses every strange artifact, mysterious relic, fantastical object and supernatural souvenir ever collected by the U.S. government. The Warehouse's caretaker Artie (Saul Rubinek) charges Pete (Eddie McClintock) and Myka (Joanne Kelly) with chasing down reports of supernatural and paranormal activity in search of new objects to cache at the Warehouse, as well as helping him to control the warehouse, itself."

 Let me take a second to talk about my favorite aspect of this show that makes it differ from every other show, the relationship between the characters. Usually in a show with a female and male main character there is that sexual tension where you know the creators want them to eventually get together. In Warehouse 13, Pete and Myka have a completely brother and sister relationship. They bicker about almost everything but still deeply care for each other in a completely platonic way and you can tell that the writers etc don't want them to end up being a couple. They even go out and date other people and there is no jealously between them. Artie is the father figure to the whole group. He cares deeply for everyone under his charge but is also stern and disciplines them when needed. Claudia Donovan is the spunky little sister of the group. To Artie she is the baby, who he has to constantly watch over and fix her mistakes. Pete and Claudia relate on the same level because they have similar personality types. Pete gets to act like a teenager around Claudia and not be judged by it. Myka and Claudia's relationship hasn't been able to develop a lot until recently. Myka is kind of a mother/sister figure to Claudia. She cares about her and wants to put her on the right path (send her to college etc) but they still have that light relationship that a sister would have. Mrs. Frederick is kind of like the scary Aunt that comes to visit once a year at the most inopportune times. She seems to care for Artie and those under his charge and helps give them a push in the right direction. I'm not quiet sure what Leena's relationship to everyone is. She doesn't have a lot of one on one scenes with the characters and no offense but she is my least favorite character. I am not sure what her purpose is on the show...


Along with the relationships, the element of steampunk used in the technology and sets of Warehouse 13 are breathtaking, the farnsworth and the tesla being the most widely used pieces of steampunk technology in the show. I'd have to say Claudia's Farnsworth is my favorite because it looks so much more badass then all the other farnsworths. I'm also in love with Artie's computer with the old typewriter looking keyboard and such. Also just the layout of the warehouse and everything in it is steampunk style.

For all those people who say this show has been done before... explain to me how? Where has a science fiction show brought history, comedy, drama, adventure, perfectly portrayed platonic relationships, and steampunk into one show? Also now with the recent crossover of Eureka and Warehouse 13, they have just expanded their universe and there is so much they could do with the vast array of characters and scenarios in each show. I think they could do so much with the vast universe they just opened up.

The show is currently in it's second season and I'm hoping it has a lot more in store for it. I feel like this show has so many great directions it can go. If there was something I would like to see on the show it would probably be a Claudia centered episode. She is my favorite character and I would love to learn more about her past, like how her parents died and what happened in the mental institution, and put her into a situation where she has to do something she wouldn't normally do. She brings a great balance to the show. Even during a serious situation she knows how to make you laugh and she is always wearing an amazing outfit (so props to the costume designers)
Sort of on that note I am excited for the Pete and Myka body switching episode premiering next week. Body Switching episodes are always hilarious and this one should be interesting since they are complete opposites. it will be fun to see the actors try to plays each other as it were because the actors are actually very similar to their characters in real life.

Anyway if you haven't already definitely check this show out it is worth watching. It gets "Gold stars all around."

Until next time! :]

Hannah, Out.