eason Two Picks Right Up Where The First Season Left Off
The last time we checked in at SyFy's Warehouse 13, the Warehouse had been infiltrated by MacPherson with the help of Claudia (Scagliotti) and Artie (Rubineck) had been apparently killed when the tunnel leading out of the facility erupted in flames.
Ever since the Doctor returned to our screens in 2005, each season of the show has tried to create a season-long story arc, with varying degrees of success. In the first season, Bad Wolf proved to be a fun novelty, let down by its resolution.
Part of the problem with the previous season story arcs was that the concept of the arc often proved to be far more interesting that the execution and resolution. For all its trying, the new series has yet to have a truly satisfying season finale.
Throughout its history, SyFy has tried to revitalize or rebuilt a number of genre franchises with varying degrees of success. Battlestar Galactica was a home run, while their two attempts to build a series around Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld books have left a lot to be desired.
Falling somewhere in the middle of that pack is their latest revival attempt, the two-part, four-hour miniseries The Phantom.
It's interesting to read that the latest episode of "Doctor Who" is creating waves in the UK for a scene in which actor Matt Smith may or may not have been naked and whether or not you could see certain parts of his anatomy. To me, this screams of a certain segment of the viewing audience having way too much time on their hands and, more importantly, missing the forest for the trees.
This summer, HitFix television blogger Alan Sepinwall is looking back at Joss Whedon's "Firefly."
Sepinwall is looking at one episode per week in the intended viewing order and kicked things off this week with his thoughts on the pilot episode, "Serenity."
Reviewed by: Michael Hickerson (Slice of SciFi Editor) As I said last week, the episodes I was most looking forward to this year were "The Hungry Earth" and "Cold Blood," if only to see the new series take on the Silurians. The Silurians were some of the best man in a rubber-suit monsters from the [...]
Reviewed by: Michael Hickerson (Slice of SciFi Editor)
hungry_earthEver since "Doctor Who" returned to our screens, we've had rumors (lots of them) about which classic series monsters or villains might be up for a return appearance. With each coming season, we've heard rumors of Ice Warriors, Zygons, Sea Devils and Silurians possibly making a return.
When he took over the reigns as show runner, Steven Moffat said that in his mind, "Doctor Who" was the story of the companion and their journey through time and space. No where is that more evident than in the latest installment of the modern series, "Amy's Choice."
Like a less bizarre Twin Peaks or an American Gothic without the overt supernatural elements, Happy Town appears to be a mystery show with a side of suspense and a dash of soap opera shenanigans thrown in for good measure.
When the news broke that the Weeping Angels would put in a return visit for the current season of "Doctor Who," my initial reaction was "They were a great one-time monster, but will they work in a recurring role?"
This attitude completely overlooks that at one time or another all the monsters on "Doctor Who" were brought on as one time foes for the Doctor to face, going back all the way to 1963 and the introduction of the Daleks. (Just watch the first Dalek story and you'll see they were pretty much intended as a one-time thing.) It also went in the face of one of my bigger criticism of the modern series--that it hadn't created any really memorable monsters that could play a prominent, recurring role.
If the first two episodes of the Matt Smith era were solid triples, then "Victory of the Daleks" is an inside the park home run. It didn't quite knock it out of the park, but it had just enough energy and enthusiasm to it to get the extra push it needed to be another solid entry in this new era.
Last week, Matt Smith and Steven Moffat hit the ground running to kick off their era of "Doctor Who." This week, things slow down a bit to a bit more of a leisurely stroll, allowing this new era to breath a bit.
After getting a new Doctor, a new companion and a new TARDIS interior last week, it was nice to see the series take 40-minutes to catch its breath with a straight-forward story. We also get to see Karen Gillian and Matt Smith really stepping into and inhabiting their new roles, expanding on the glimpses of what we saw last week in "The Eleventh Hour."
Review by: Michael Hickerson (Slice of SciFi Editor)
eleventh_hourThe first story by any new Doctor is one that fills fans with anticipation and trepidation. Get it right and you launch the new era with style, grace and winning over the idle fan who may be tuning in to see what this new Doctor is like. Do it wrong and you risk alienating now only the casual fan but also your core audience.
Reviewed by: Michael Hickerson (Slice of SciFi Editor)
Slice of SciFi Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0
A Solid, Dark and Compelling Return
The good news for fans who were enjoying the first season of "Stargate: Universe" is that when the series returns Friday to SyFy nothing has changed. That bad news for fans who didn't like the series is that nothing has changed.
After the pilot episode of "Caprica" hit DVD last year, many fans (this one included) walked away cautiously optimistic about the series' potential and curious to see where and how this world would be expanded and explored on a weekly basis.
Slice of SciFi #457: Slicers in Black Watch the video edition of Slice of SciFi #457 Welcome to weekend-eve and the Friday installment of Slice of SciFi! It's time for some listener feedback. This mean we'll comment on your comments about our comments. Yes, circular logic does make you dizzy, but at least there [...]
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Joshua Shear: The Flash. Joshua Shear: But we already have Roger the Alien from American Dad.
waelse1: Won’t miss Sanctuary. Syfy still has better shows like Eureka (through this year), Haven, Warehouse...
Jay Nedds: Alphas, Lost Girl, Merlin, Warehouse 13. only shows left I watch…
Samuel Sloan: KJ not only do I live ya, but I love ya too! Samuel Sloan: KJ, you know I live ya, but I got go with Summer & Hicks on this one.
John: I haven’t been to a 3D version of a movie in awhile. Theaters already had the big displays out for...
Mike H: People say that global warming or nuclear war or even the Mayan apocalypse of 2012 will spell the...
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