Farscape or SG-1

POSTED BY: JenDandy
UPDATED: Friday, November 5, 2004 05:21
VIEWED: 18655
PAGE 1 of 1

JENDANDY

Thursday, September 30, 2004 9:57 AM (P)

I'm a Joss Whedon fan with little to no interest in other shows in the sci-fi or fantasy genre.

My top 3 shows are as follows (in order):
1. Firefly
2. Angel
3. Buffy: The Vampire Slayer

...and they're all over (until next year when the movie comes, at least). Soooo...in the interest of trying something new, I've heard great things about Stargate: SG-1 and Farscape. What are your opinions of them? Which is the better show?
Also important - what are the DVDs like?

Sig Rebel

CHRONICTHEHEDGEHOG

Thursday, September 30, 2004 12:04 PM (P)

They're both really good series, though SG-1 has the added bonus that they're still making new episodes (though Farscape does have Peacekeeper Wars coming out) SG-1 has a lot of infuriating moments where the attention to detail isn't as high as it is in Farscape or any of the Whedon shows but they're both really good, well crafted shows.

Can't comment on the DVDs though I'm pretty sure SG-1 has commentaries on every episode.

check out my WIP firefly roleplay system at www.estador.co.uk/firefly

WEISS337

Thursday, September 30, 2004 12:36 PM (P)

I've been a pretty huge Stargate fan for a merry long while and I'd say it's a good show. C'mon, there's an episode where they go back in time to the '60s!
Never watched a bit of Farscape, but then again I don't get around to watching much TV.
Stargate DVDs are pretty bare-bones until season 4, then you have commentaries for every episode and interesting behind-the-scenes things.

JAYNEZTOWN

Thursday, September 30, 2004 1:44 PM (P)

Stargate Sg-1 ,
you might like this a lot but it won't be half as good as Firefly. Those nasty worm creatures that live inside people, the Goa'uld are a mean bunch of aliens, there are other good aliens adding another mean element to the show, tokra, replicators and asghard.
The characters in the show are very good, the show has done very well and there's even a spin-off series coming.

Farscape
-Now you'll either hate this show for being just weird
-or you'll learn to love it for its creativity and story-line
This also was a show cut down before they got to finish the tale. The show starts of slow with little happening, nothing really fantastic goes on during the first Season but it's worth watching otherwise some find the storyline impossible to follow and the show does pick up fast near the end of Season 1. When it was on TV it was hard to find and aired unpredictably, so many viewers were lost. The Farscape show later becomes a great sci-fi with wonderful aliens, like others have said :'it's wild, it's weird, the stories become fastmoving and continuity is great.' As another poster put it : 'if you have patience to and pay attention to the details it develops into a Fantastic show. It then becomes a gorgeous, mind-blowing series with the best aliens ever shown on TV'

http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=8&t=7319

Quote:
..If you haven't seen it, never heard of the bird of paradise, have not seen Harvey, or never knew what happened to the blue plant-girl then you haven't really seen the show
check out the TV
...

all 88 episodes of the series in a weekday marathon from 8 am-4 pm Oct. 1-15. The stunt is a prelude to Farscape PK wars

http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=7&t=2787#94928

LINDLEY

Thursday, September 30, 2004 1:55 PM (P)

Stargate SG1 is an entertaining series which almost never produces bad episodes. It is very strong, with a real sense of progression to it throughout the first 6 seasons. Good humor, great characters.

However, the show's weakness is that the producers aren't willing to make radical changes to the format. For that reason, seasons 7+8 have been a bit on the stale side. Stargate Atlantis, the spin-off, is showing early signs of the same creative stanation, although it is less pronounced.

I haven't seen a whole lot of Farscape. However, from what I have seen, I can say this: Farscape is far more willing to take risks than Stargate. Sometimes it works out great; sometimes it falls flat on its face. But the willingness to risk is there.

Which show do I prefer? Stargate SG-1. Which show is more Whedonish? Probably Farscape, although I haven't seen enough to be certain.

On a related note, another show very much worth trying out is Babylon 5. Its essentially a novel for television, told in 5 parts (seasons), with each episode advancing the plot a little bit more. Season 1 is a bit on the dull side, as the exposition and establishment section of a book usually is, but it picks up quickly.

BIKISDAD

Thursday, September 30, 2004 2:44 PM (P)

I like 'em both. Why choose between them when you can get both and be twice as happy!

However, since you're obviously a big Joss fan, the show more in his style is Farscape. In fact, and this floored me when I saw it, in a season two episode of Farscape, one of the characters even mentions "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" by name. If you absolutely had to choose between the two, I'd go with Farscape.

Apathy on the Rise. No One Cares.

BLUESUNWORSHIPPER

Thursday, September 30, 2004 2:45 PM (P)

Quote:
This also was a show cut down before they got to finish the tale. The show starts of slow with little happening, nothing really fantastic goes on during the first Season but it's worth watching otherwise some find the storyline impossible to follow and the show does pick up fast near the end of Season 1.

While I agree that Season 1 isn't as fast-paced as the later seasons, I actually prefer the tone of Season 1 to some of the later seasons. There was a real sense of discovery in the show...and while I strongly disagree that there was "little happening", I agree that the show was less action-based and more cerebral in the first season. Still a good watch, though, especially the last 5 episodes of the season.

Quote:
When it was on TV it was hard to find and aired unpredictably, so many viewers were lost.

I gotta respond to this with a resounding, "huh?"

The series aired on Fridays at 7 for the first season, Fridays at 8 for Seasons 2 and 3, then Fridays at 9 for the fourth. Hardly unpredictable. I think you're remembering the repeated episodes, which aired at odd times...early Saturday morning, late on Sundays, around 11pm or midnight the nights they first aired. I'd say more viewers were lost during the third and fourth seasons due to the storylines becoming more and more complicated. If you missed an episode during the third season's "Twinning" arc, you were completely and totally lost.

Quote:
Farscape show later becomes a great sci-fi with wonderful aliens, like others have said :'it's wild, it's weird, the stories become fastmoving and continuity is great.'

Hallelujah, brother!

Quote:
As another poster put it : 'if you have patience and pay attention to the details it develops into a Fantastic show. It then becomes a gorgeous, mind-blowing series with the best aliens ever shown on TV'

Again with the hallelujah!

Yes, the show is an acquired taste...but many Farscape fans (Scapers) are also Browncoats (like me) and the SaveFarscape campaign folks participated in the campaign to save Firefly. Lots of us bought the DVD's, which helped convince the fine folks at Universal to make the BDM. So, you might say that Farscape fans rock just as hard as Browncoats, just at a different party!

I heartily recommend Farscape to Browncoats. Start at the first season, and work your way up, and you'll be fine. You wouldn't want to watch the series out of order and lose interest, would you?

;P (CURSE YOU, FOX NETWORK!!!)

- T

CYBERSNARK

Thursday, September 30, 2004 2:59 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by BlueSunWorshipper:
Hallelujah, brother!

Surely you mean "Hell Yeah!"

I too love both shows, despite my inability to watch them "live" (Canada doesn't get them until a season later at the very least).

A fair warning about SG-1: the continuity is complex (it's big for Farscape too, but SG-1 just has more of it). Pretty much every SG-1 ep makes reference to at least one previous ep (this, IMHO, is why it's so good; you can see the universe changing due to the actions of both the leads and even the supporting, recurring baddies).

What all this means is that you shouldn't skip seasons or watch out of order (CH18 Hamilton, I'm looking at you), or you will be lost/spoiled.

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

BROWNCOAT1

Thursday, September 30, 2004 3:10 PM (P)

Definitely Stargate SG-1. Though they are in their final season, there are seven prior seasons you can catch up on which Sci Fi plays every Monday night from 6pm to 11pm, Tue-Thu @ 6pm, and new episodes of Season 8 on Friday nights @ 9pm.

There is also Stargate: Atlantis, the spinoff of Stargate SG1 that comes on Friday nights @ 10pm right after the SG1. They are repeating the first half of the 1st season while the shows are on their summer break.

I really like the characters and depth of the plots on SG1. It is a very involving series w/ great special effects, great writing, and a wonderful cast. I think if you start at the beginning of season 1 of SG1 you will be hooked.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

RADHIL

Thursday, September 30, 2004 3:16 PM (P)

Stargate is a lot like current Star Trek. Only without a ship, and done right. There are always The Good Guys, there are always The Bad Guys. The plots are stories for the week. There are arcs in the same way the Borg had arcs - this week we'll deal with This Enemy. Sounds boring, but it's not, because the makers know just how to make a show like that - keep it light, keep it adventurous, and keep it funny. When it gets serious, it doesn't get overblown. When it geets into the alien stuff, it doesn't dive too badly into technobabble. The characters generally don't change much but they're always written really well and have a great charisma. It's an enjoyable show, and you can learn any backstory that's necessary in five minutes. Worth watching when it's on, but it's never really something I *have* to see.

Farscape, on the other hand... EVERYTHING is overblown and twisted. The start of the show, half the crew of Moya doesn't trust the other half. The characters all have their own problems and angst, and our hero John is literally the runt of the pack to start. The sci-fi cliches that get pulled out are usually stood on end to be a bit zanier, and are used as clubs to beat on our crew, and eventually hammer them together into one hell of a dysfunctional family. The relationships take over the core of the show, really - the sci-fi stuff, their constant on-the-run from enemies, one insane situation after another, all becomes just a backdrop for how these guys start to get along. More importantly, a backdrop for the love story between John and Aeryn, an epic of Herculean and Shakespearean troubles and twists. You can't really miss anything, or you'll miss everything. It gets complicated, it gets messy, and it gets crazy, and then when it gets serious, it gets worse... and that's why the people that love the show, LOVE the show (I happen to be one).

There's your comparison.

Radhil Trebors
Persona Under Construction

Add-on: The DVDs of SG1 are easier to get into - the Farscape sets are one of the most overpriced on the market. I'd just catch each show on TV if you can (Farscape is repeating with it's miniseries coming up), and see if it's to taste first.

Also Babylon 5 - as epic as Farscape is, but with much nobler characters and much less craziness, but no less dire a tale. If Farscape is a Broadway kick-ass rock musical, B5 is the epic opera that inspired it. Well worth getting into, if you can watch it all in order.

MRSKBORG

Thursday, September 30, 2004 3:31 PM (P)

Stargate is great, well produced, good characters, lots of humour specially more recently and never, well very rarely are there any bad episodes. It got a good mythology around it too. Oh and Atlantis is looking good too even after only 10 or so episodes, its got a slightly faster pace than SG1 at the moment.

Farscape is ....well...it rocks, but you do have to pay attention and watch the episodes in order too otherwise you'll get lost. Great arcs, great acting, great special effects and they were never afraid to take risks. There's a great episode in a cartoon format, road runner -ish, which is just hilarous!! Scorpious is fantastic too. Of recent years this is definatly one of the better scifi shows.

IDEFIX

Thursday, September 30, 2004 4:47 PM (P)

if you mention the cartoon EP we'd also have to mention the 'cut like a music video' EP. I don't know how to describe it. it was originally a normal EP and they shot it and cut it and someone said it didn't work. so they remixed it and let John tell the whole thing to Pilot over a drink (only John was drinking, I don't think Pilot does eat and drink). the story isn't all that great in this EP. rather silly and full of plotholes really but that's exactly why it works and Pilot doesn't believe John while he's telling it and it's all one big wild ride. they must have been on drugs while remixing it ;o)

it's also in S3 and it's called "Scratch 'n Sniff"
or somthing like that.

Idefix

BIKISDAD

Thursday, September 30, 2004 4:54 PM (P)

I already posted above, but reading through the other posts, I've noticed a trend that I'd like to try to summarize briefly, if possible:

Stargate is a great show that you could really like a lot.

Farscape is a great show that you could really LOVE.

In some interviews, Joss has talked about "emotional resonance" in his shows. Farscape has "emotional resonance". That's the difference between the two shows that I get from reading the above posts.

Apathy on the Rise. No One Cares.

KIRIKOLI

Thursday, September 30, 2004 5:24 PM (P)

I disagree. I think that Stargate SG-1 is definitely a show that is easy to love...I am, in fact, obsessed with it, and I don't think I've met anyone who has actually watched several episodes and not liked it to a fairly large degree (not to say people aren't out there who don't like it, I'm just citing my experience).

Now I've only seen one episode of Farscape, so I'm not going to say don't try it and that it's a bad show. But, personally, I absolutely hated it and have no interest in trying it again and here's why:

Stargate SG-1 definitely has problems. The earlier sets can get very cheesy and some of the overarching enemies I find very cliche. A lot of the mythology is simply horrendous (Ancient Egyptian mythology being my main hobby) and a few of the episodes (a minority over the eight seasons so far, but still) are boring.

And I still refuse to watch most of season six. :D

But here's why I think it's one of the best shows out there: the characters. First, the actors are great. Richard Dean Anderson is simply a great actor and Michael Shanks plays my favorite character (Daniel Jackson) perfectly. The show tied into the movie from the very beginning and kept to that theme (as someone put as not taking risks) and developed the characters with the continuity that the plots of shows like Babylon 5 and Farscape supposedly have. Overarching storylines are all well and good, but there's a very big risk with TV that other things, like movies or books, don't have as hard a time with (with a movie, a story can make a good character and with a book there's time for everything, lol) and that is if the audience cares about the characters. I don't care about the characters of Farscape or Babylon 5 (which I've seen more of then Farscape and hate even more, lol). And if I don't care about the characters, it really doesn't matter to me how great the stories are.

You will care about the characters in Stargate. You might not care about all of them - hence, why I, for example, find the episodes about Jaffa boring - but you will identify with at least one and that will drive you to watch every episode just for a glimpse of the recurring personality from that one character. You will care what's happening to your favorite characters and that's what makes you love the stories, even if they aren't as complex and overarching as a great novel.

Anyway, that's my justification for leaving the room when my friends turn on Farscape or B5. :D

CHANNAIN

Thursday, September 30, 2004 6:37 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by JenDandy:
I'm a Joss Whedon fan with little to no interest in other shows in the sci-fi or fantasy genre.

I'm a fan of all sci-fi or fantasy all the time. Even if it's bad or personally unsavory (Lexx, ew!), I'm glad to see it on the schedule, because any network that manages to produce a sci-fi show and stick to it (NOT gorram fox) sets an example for those who come after. Some raise the bar, some lower it, but at least they keep trying.

As to the title of this thread, my answer would be - YES! to both, but for different reasons.

FarScape was all twisty-turny with its weekly episodes, you never knew where it was going to go next. And it has John Crichton whose quote from the pilot pretty much set the tone for the entire show.

"Close Encounters? Spielberg had it all wrong."
~John Crichton

SG-1 is about saving the 'verse over and over and over... and over again. But they do it with a lot of humor and intelligent writing. This is the show you can watch with the folks who can't quite get their brain around the strangeness of FarScape.

Bottom line, both have the same basic element that a JW show has - CHARACTER. The secret is to build good characters first, find kick-ass actors to play them, then write stories that revolve around them. That's "character-driven" and it's the only way to go.

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

GHOULMAN

Thursday, September 30, 2004 6:59 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by JenDandy:
I'm a Joss Whedon fan with little to no interest in other shows in the sci-fi or fantasy genre.

My top 3 shows are as follows (in order):
1. Firefly
2. Angel
3. Buffy: The Vampire Slayer

...and they're all over (until next year when the movie comes, at least). Soooo...in the interest of trying something new, I've heard great things about Stargate: SG-1 and Farscape. What are your opinions of them? Which is the better show?
Also important - what are the DVDs like?

Sig Rebel

You might be like me and look for well written shows... I too put those Joss Whedon productions at the top of my list.

Farscape is a terrific production, though it's writing didn't become really terrific until the last couple of seasons. But hey, the show was so much fun who cares? If anything, this crazy thing can go off into any direction... and it does! That's why I kept comming back, to cure my confusion! Isn't it great to be confused by TV? Not a regular experience is it?

Beats SG-1, which is a goof (cheeze factor = 100%) and just rehashes old Star Trek plots but it's got a likable cast.

The new Battlestar Galactica is TERRIFIC. Right up there with Firefly. No worries. Check it!

My two creds.

Sorry but I don't have anything but the Firefly DVDs, but I hear good things about the Farscape DVDs.

GHOULMAN

Thursday, September 30, 2004 7:02 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Channain:
I'm a fan of all sci-fi or fantasy all the time. Even if it's bad or personally unsavory (Lexx, ew!), ...

lol!

CHANNAIN

Thursday, September 30, 2004 8:18 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Ghoulman:
Farscape is a terrific production, though it's writing didn't become really terrific until the last couple of seasons. But hey, the show was so much fun who cares? If anything, this crazy thing can go off into any direction... and it does! That's why I kept comming back, to cure my confusion! Isn't it great to be confused by TV? Not a regular experience is it?

The new Battlestar Galactica is TERRIFIC. Right up there with Firefly. No worries. Check it!

Okay, that settles it. Ghoulman gets *snoogles*

So long as you'll forgive me for the Star Trek genome infused in my DNA (I was brainwashed at an early age), we'll get along JUST fine.

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

BIKISDAD

Thursday, September 30, 2004 10:12 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Kirikoli:
You will care about the characters in Stargate. You might not care about all of them - hence, why I, for example, find the episodes about Jaffa boring - but you will identify with at least one and that will drive you to watch every episode just for a glimpse of the recurring personality from that one character. You will care what's happening to your favorite characters and that's what makes you love the stories, even if they aren't as complex and overarching as a great novel.

Anyway, that's my justification for leaving the room when my friends turn on Farscape or B5. :D

Here's where we differ: My favorite character on SG-1 is also Daniel Jackson. However, when Daniel "died" on SG-1, my reaction was basically, "Oh, that's too bad. I really like that character. I wonder why Michael Shanks is leaving the show?"

Now, when Aeryn Sun "died" on Farscape, my reaction was more like, "Oh my god, NOOOO! Not Aeryn! How can they do that? That's such a tragedy."

That's what I mean by, to continue using Joss's term, the "emotional resonance" difference between the two shows.

I'm not saying that to put SG-1 down. I really like SG-1 a lot. I've watched many of the episodes in re-runs multiple times because I like them so much. I'm just saying that, as good as SG-1 is, Farscape has an additional quality that SG-1 doesn't have. That doesn't make SG-1 a bad show by any means. It's just a difference that, in my worthless opinion (and apparently the opinions of some others above), exists.

Like someone else said above, the best thing to do is buy/watch both shows.

Apathy on the Rise. No One Cares.

KIRIKOLI

Thursday, September 30, 2004 10:33 PM (P)

I came into Stargate sometime in the 7th season and had to watch all the old episodes whenever I could get my hands on them...so I kinda found out that Daniel Jackson wasn't in the sixth season before I actually saw Meridian. But even without seeing the episode, I immediately decided to boycott the sixth seasons except for the epis where he made an appearence...lol, that was just me. But, as an ancient Egypt buff and a geek to the core, I identified with Daniel Jackson from the movie on.

So I guess people will find their own loved characters across a wide range of shows and situations. I still think though, overall, that Stargate characters have more of an instant lovable quality...mainly because I'm in college and am part of a group that basically gets together and watches all this stuff every week. B5 has become agreeable to about half the group...and Farscape...we showed it for the first time last week and it completely bombed with the people who hadn't already been watching it. But everyone enjoys the Stargate epis when I show them and I think and have been told it's because of the good actors and the good characters. *shrugs* It's good stuff. :D And Daniel Jackson rules.

SNIPER

Thursday, September 30, 2004 10:45 PM (P)

SG-1. Hands down for me. Unfortunently, that series will be ending this year, and Farscape has already been finished for a while, save for the miniseries. Go for SG-1, the boxed sets are cheaper.

LINDLEY

Thursday, September 30, 2004 10:52 PM (P)

Quote:

And I still refuse to watch most of season six. :D

I've encountered this position a lot, and frankly, I still find it perplexing.

Season 6 was a refreshing change of pace. And while it took a while to get used to Jonas Quinn, he grew into a very likeable character.

In my opinion, SG1's downward trend in the last two seasons began with the way Jonas was booted off the show at the start of season 7. He could have continued to be a part of the show in a reduced capacity, easily.

Instead, the way his character was treated simply cemented him as exactly what they were trying to avoid him being: "The Daniel Replacement", and nothing more.

BIKISDAD

Thursday, September 30, 2004 10:57 PM (P)

I see why we're disagreeing here - it's not about SG-1 at all. The problem is that your entire opinion of Farscape appears to be based on one or two episodes out of the 88 that exist. I could pick out one or two episodes of Buffy or Angel to show people where they would say "Dude, that show sucks". However, that obviously wouldn't be a valid opinion because they would not have seen all the great B/A epiodes that would cause them to say "What an incredible show!" The same is true of Farscape. There is an episode once in a while where I go "Ugh! Glad that's over". However, that doesn't really detract from the ones where I just sit in stunned silence afterward at the incredibleness of it.

I'm just saying, if you're going to put Farscape down in favor of SG-1, you should really get to know the real Farscape in its entirety and not base your opinion on a very small sampling of episodes.

Apathy on the Rise. No One Cares.

LTNOWIS

Thursday, September 30, 2004 11:10 PM (P)

First off, I'd like to say that previous posters have achieved an incredible level of insight into the pros and cons of the 2 shows. I've never seen Farscape, but I've seen the original Stargate movie, and as many TV episodes as I can get (only 1 a week on evil fox, as I have no cable.). Here's what sets Stargate apart from most Sci-fi: it takes place mostly on Earth, in the present. Sure, they go off and fight aliens and save the day for most of each episode, but they always gate back to the base on Earth. For me there's just something fundamentally awesome about people fighting energy-bolt-armed aliens with MP5s and M-16s. The fact that it takes place in the present also lets you avoid issues about predicting the future and such. In 500 years, people won’t talk like they do today, or have the same hairstyles, etc. And there are always issues about the pace of technological change, like having spaceships but not advanced guns in Firefly. While it’s certainly not as important as characters or writing, you have to suspend disbelief less. Of course, in Stargate the aliens (human and non) mostly speak English, which you have to ignore.

Sometime I’ll need to see Farscape, though, if it’s so beloved.

KIRIKOLI

Friday, October 1, 2004 3:29 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by bikisdad:
I'm just saying, if you're going to put Farscape down in favor of SG-1, you should really get to know the real Farscape in its entirety and not base your opinion on a very small sampling of episodes.

I wasn't putting Farscape down at all. I was just relaying my opinion and the opinion of others. I know some people think it's a great show and that *makes* it a great show...just not to me. And not, in my admittedly extremely limited experience, to a majority of my friends.

You're right, of course, that I should really base my opinion on the entirety of Farscape. But unfortunately, with the number of books and shows out there, not to mention my college life, I simply don't have time to give everything its due chance. I gave Stargate a chance and found I loved it. I gave Farscape a chance (the episode was handpicked by an avid Farscape watcher as a good intro to the show for non-viewers, btw) and I wasn't impressed enough to give it a second go.

I'm not putting anything down. Just relaying my experience. I fully suggest the person who is looking for something new try both.

IDEFIX

Friday, October 1, 2004 3:27 PM (P)

now I'm really curious what EP that was, that was recommended but didn't work.
if you don't know the title maybe you remember some of the plot. I've seen them all several times...

I was lured into Farscape by "The Way We Weren't" an early S2 EP where Aeryns past was explored.
I was recording Voyager at the time with my PC and Farscape was on directly after Voyager (I live in germany) and so I left the TV running while cutting my Voyager recording. and so I've halfways listened to about two EPs (they are badly synchronised over her so it's even harder to get cought by the german airing) and then "The Way We Weren't" came along and I left my Voyager EP on the PC and sat down in front of the TV after 10 minutes or so and then my boyfriend who'd already decided that "muppeds in space" aka Farscape is a dumb show joined my after a few minutes more and when the EP was over I went online and searched for more of that show in english.

now I have all the EPs on UK DVDs and am waiting impatiently for Peacekeeper Wars.

and I will sometime take the time to watch more than a half EP here and there of Stargate, thanks to you all. I've seen only bits and pieces and the movie of course and it all was very boring to me so far so I didn't get into it more. but I found B5 boring too, never could get into the characters all that much. I think B5 is too much plot driven as opposed to character driven. I love the character driven shows more usually. arc or no arc doesn't seem to matter to me so much als long as EPs reference other EPs and it doesn't seem like a new short-movie-of-the-week each time you watch an EP.

and I love this thread and all the different views here.

Idefix

GHOULMAN

Friday, October 1, 2004 3:36 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Channain:
Okay, that settles it. Ghoulman gets *snoogles*

Mmmm... snoogles.

Quote:
So long as you'll forgive me for the Star Trek genome infused in my DNA (I was brainwashed at an early age), we'll get along JUST fine.

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

Well, I'm a big Star Trek fan. I still watch the old shows and love 'em! So smart, so sexy, and let's face it - still beats most Sci-Fi on TV today.

Oh, and Neitzsche was a liar.

About SG-1, there are lots of fans of that show and hey, it's a fun show with a great cast. It owes it's success to a sort of Star Trek lite formula and does it well. It certainly doesn't have the "emotional resonance" mentioned before but as a straight Sci-Fi adventure show it certainly delivers.

But like Star Trek and Firefly, a show must give us what we need to resonate for years to come. I predict Firefly will have the same lasting power as the original Star Trek. And hey, I feel that way about Angel and Buffy too.

Joss is this generations genre king... long live the King!

RADHIL

Friday, October 1, 2004 4:23 PM (P)

Quote:
I was lured into Farscape by "The Way We Weren't" an early S2 EP where Aeryns past was explored.

For me it was "The Locket". I only caught the last few minutes. It was enough.

Which is strange, because I fell into Buffy (and Whedon) in much the same way. Both were shows I largely ignored - Buffy I wrote off as some teen show (and because I saw the movie - blech), Farscape because our cable channel didn't get SciFi and I didn't want to jump in when it finally did.

For Buff, it was last few minutes of "I Was Made to Love You", as I stopped in surf-mode. Anyone who knows the show knows what that led to.

Anyway.... *shrug*

Radhil Trebors
Persona Under Construction

KIRIKOLI

Friday, October 1, 2004 4:24 PM (P)

The episode of Farscape was called Nerve, I believe. And the things I specifically didn't like about that episode was the cliche response of the characters, the mediocre acting, and the dark sets. I absolutely hate when shows are dark all the time. I know it's a mood thing, but honestly, I don't think it's worked since Batman. ;)

Other than that, I was just bored and the hour felt like two. *shrugs* But then, I don't like Buffy or Angel either, so I guess my tastes just run differently.

A good episode of Stargate to watch, if you're looking for one to be introduced with, is Window of Opportunity. It gives a very good representation of the show, it's funny, and it has its serious moment that I think they played very well. :D

CHANNAIN

Friday, October 1, 2004 5:15 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Ghoulman:
Well, I'm a big Star Trek fan. I still watch the old shows and love 'em! So smart, so sexy, and let's face it - still beats most Sci-Fi on TV today.

Sexy... Shatner... sexy... nope. Not going there. Tends to start a gag reflex and I wouldn't want to ruin my lunch. I will agree with the smart and the beats most sci-fi on TV today aspects though. The Great Bird of the Galaxy knew what he was doing, that's for sure and for certain. Too bad he couldn't find himself a worthy heir, but that's a different rant, isn't it?

Quote:
Originally posted by Ghoulman:
Oh, and Neitzsche was a liar.

"Anything is possible in a drawing..." James Gurney

Quote:
Originally posted by Ghoulman:
About SG-1, there are lots of fans of that show and hey, it's a fun show with a great cast. It owes it's success to a sort of Star Trek lite formula and does it well. It certainly doesn't have the "emotional resonance" mentioned before but as a straight Sci-Fi adventure show it certainly delivers.

Like the kind of emotional resonance that shatters your heart into teeny tiny little pieces when its cancelled before its time? THAT kind of resonance? You know what - if a show is lacking some of that resonance, that's okay. Beauty and the Beast broke my heart first - Linda Hamilton decided to leave and all hell broke loose when gorram cbs decided to target another audience. You'd thik a girl would learn. OHHH no. Never ever EVER trust a network. They're all just long strings of commercials with bits of entertainment added on to lure the unsuspecting viewer. It's not about quality writing - never was. It's all about advertising.

Quote:
Originally posted by Ghoulman:
But like Star Trek and Firefly, a show must give us what we need to resonate for years to come. I predict Firefly will have the same lasting power as the original Star Trek. And hey, I feel that way about Angel and Buffy too.

Firefly, most definitely YES. Angel and Buffy, not so much. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed them both while they were on and I catch the reruns now and again, but I wouldn't say they *resonate* with me. I actually spend more time these days predicting which new programs will be cut short before their time. I thought Firefly would last because JW had proven himself - twice - that he could produce quality programming with moxy. I think that's what killed me.

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

RADHIL

Friday, October 1, 2004 5:45 PM (P)

Bah, you got cheated then. Nerve is one of the better episodes - but only if you've watched the rest of the first season before it (Nerve was #19), as it pulls its influence from quite a few of the others.

You'd have no idea how completely John is winging this (he's acting bad because he's acting acting - it never works), that Chiana is still incredibly new to everyone and very much a wild card, no idea where the hell the tech girl came from, no idea why Aeryn's important... none of it would make sense. Scorpius takes time to warm up to also. That ep is really the start of the season-end, and it pulls too many triggers from earlier shows to get it just by itself.

The darkness... I think most of it was the base, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't used a lot in the show.

Of course, as you said, it might just be tastes. *shrug*

Radhil Trebors
Persona Under Construction

GHOULMAN

Friday, October 1, 2004 7:05 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Channain:
Quote:
Originally posted by Ghoulman:
Oh, and Neitzsche was a liar.
"Anything is possible in a drawing..." James Gurney

Drat... out quoted!

I feel your pain Channain about the corporate hoops a visionary story must jump through... look out Joss! That ones on fire! Noooo! Not the burning FOX hoop of death! Iiiieeeeeeeeeeeee *.

And I have a funny feeling Angel can have a great life in reruns... too bad no one is rerunning it! Which really gets on my nerves considering the ratings for Angel were getting impressive. Certainly better than a certain starship show that is renewed automatically it seems.

And Shatner only turns on farm girls, I'm not sure why.

KIRIKOLI

Friday, October 1, 2004 7:14 PM (P)

Not to get off-topic or anything, but could someone tell me real quick why Fox cancelled Firefly in the first place and why it wasn't picked up by another channel? I should prolly know this already, but I just never found out...

WREN

Friday, October 1, 2004 7:19 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by LtNOWIS:
First off, I'd like to say that previous posters have achieved an incredible level of insight into the pros and cons of the 2 shows.

My incredible level of insight is that Farscape is worth watching because Ben Browder looks very fine leather

GHOULMAN

Friday, October 1, 2004 7:26 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Kirikoli:
Not to get off-topic or anything, but could someone tell me real quick why Fox cancelled Firefly in the first place and why it wasn't picked up by another channel? I should prolly know this already, but I just never found out...

Well, I could give you my bitter perception that FOX just wanted to purge any "liberal" materiral from "thier" airwaves (unless it's making them rich = Simpsons!) if not simply revenge on JW for having Fred put a "Dixie Chicks" poster in her office...

Or, someone who has more time than me can hunt down the relevant thread here on Fireflyfans.net? Channain? Anybody...

CHANNAIN

Friday, October 1, 2004 7:56 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Ghoulman:
And I have a funny feeling Angel can have a great life in reruns... too bad no one is rerunning it! Which really gets on my nerves considering the ratings for Angel were getting impressive. Certainly better than a certain starship show that is renewed automatically it seems.

TNT is rerunning it. Unless TNT doesn't count, since they've behaved so badly with B5, Crusade (bad, yes, but still) and Witchblade. 4:00P CST on weekdays.

Quote:
Originally posted by Ghoulman:
And Shatner only turns on farm girls, I'm not sure why.

STOP! I BEG YOU!!

Oh, and stop capitalizing fox. Seriously. They are unworthy of any distinction whatsoever.

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

RADHIL

Friday, October 1, 2004 8:10 PM (P)

I don't have time, but I thought the general gist was that they really wanted a show that was actiony and twitchy. Think Fastlane in space. They wanted Whedon's stamp on it because he carries his own fanbase. They didn't realize those two ideas don't mix well until too late, so they then sentenced it to death via timeslots and meddling (classic network-suit way to kill a show - put it in a bad situation, then blame it on bad ratings that actually stem from the bad situation).

Although given their often gleeful pick-up of great shows that push a bit, only to rapidly drop them, is giving credibility that they're just asshats in a conspiracy.

Radhil Trebors
Persona Under Construction

IDEFIX

Saturday, October 2, 2004 9:05 AM (P)

I have to say while Nerve is a very fine EP it is much too arc-y to pull someone it. you need a good mostly stand-alone EP to do that or one that makes you curious about what came befor and what after not one that mostly doen't make sense without the rest of it. and Nerve is one of those. bad recommendation for a look into Farscape. but then again it's best to start at the beginning, and the pilot of Farscape is really good so why try do jump in later on anyways?

The Locket never did anything for me mostly because I found the old-makeup extremely badly done. it's almost always extremely badly done. they usually don't look old but deformed and that gets on my nerve so much I really can't get into the story. Aeryn's makeup was halfway ok but John's was just bad.

Idefix

GHOULMAN

Saturday, October 2, 2004 2:54 PM (P)

Quote:
Quote:
Originally posted by Channain:
Originally posted by Ghoulman:
And Shatner only turns on farm girls, I'm not sure why.
STOP! I BEG YOU!!

Oh, and stop capitalizing fox. Seriously. They are unworthy of any distinction whatsoever.

lol! Maybe we can get Haken to add a smaller, almost insulting, special fox network font.

Cafe Ghoulman.

GHOULMAN

Saturday, October 2, 2004 3:04 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Radhil:
I don't have time, but I thought the general gist was that they really wanted a show that was actiony and twitchy. Think Fastlane in space. They wanted Whedon's stamp on it because he carries his own fanbase. They didn't realize those two ideas don't mix well until too late, so they then sentenced it to death via timeslots and meddling (classic network-suit way to kill a show - put it in a bad situation, then blame it on bad ratings that actually stem from the bad situation).

Although given their often gleeful pick-up of great shows that push a bit, only to rapidly drop them, is giving credibility that they're just asshats in a conspiracy.

Radhil Trebors
Persona Under Construction

Sure, that's what's been going around. But that's the rational from the PR Dept. Not what actually happened and I see you offer that conspiracy theory too, and thanx. How do I know this? Well, when humans are involved...

CHANNAIN

Saturday, October 2, 2004 5:06 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Ghoulman:
lol! Maybe we can get Haken to add a smaller, almost insulting, special fox network font.

Thing is, even if he did, it would have to be soooooo tiny, nobody would be able to read it.

BTW, Ghouly - can I call you Ghouly? - what I said about Angel not having resonance. Well, okay, turns out I lied. Having written that apparently made my subconscious go "HEY!" and craft a dream where I was the new girl in Angel's bed... I mean life. He'd achieved redemption and humanity, and things were urbanite normal, but then his eyes changed to vampire yellow, so of course impending doom was on the way. I think it was setting me up to write something. I've toyed with Angel fan fic in the past, but never came up with anything good enough to put out in the public light.

I think I looked like the actress playing Lois Lane in Smallville this season too aaaannd this is starting to sound like something Tash would write so I'm going to stop... right here.

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

CYBERSNARK

Sunday, October 3, 2004 7:33 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Lindley:
Quote:

And I still refuse to watch most of season six. :D
Season 6 was a refreshing change of pace. And while it took a while to get used to Jonas Quinn, he grew into a very likeable character.

Agreed. I expected to dislike S6 (after I went and tracked down the ruttin' DVDs), but Jonas suddenly turned into my favourite character.

Yes, he even beat out Carter.

Quote:
In my opinion, SG1's downward trend in the last two seasons began with the way Jonas was booted off the show at the start of season 7. He could have continued to be a part of the show in a reduced capacity, easily.

Hell yeah. I loved the Daniel/Jonas interaction in the S7 premiere, after Daniel enumerates just how bad the situation is and how much trouble they're in.

JONAS: It's fun isn't it?
DANIEL: Yeah!

I think the reason I like them is 'cause they're both nerds who've (in Jonas' case at least) probably dreamed about doing stuff like this since grade school.

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

GHOULMAN

Monday, October 4, 2004 3:31 PM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Channain:
Quote:
Originally posted by Ghoulman:
lol! Maybe we can get Haken to add a smaller, almost insulting, special fox network font.
Thing is, even if he did, it would have to be soooooo tiny, nobody would be able to read it.

BTW, Ghouly - can I call you Ghouly? - what I said about Angel not having resonance. Well, okay, turns out I lied. Having written that apparently made my subconscious go "HEY!" and craft a dream where I was the new girl in Angel's bed... I mean life. He'd achieved redemption and humanity, and things were urbanite normal, but then his eyes changed to vampire yellow, so of course impending doom was on the way. I think it was setting me up to write something. I've toyed with Angel fan fic in the past, but never came up with anything good enough to put out in the public light.

I think I looked like the actress playing Lois Lane in Smallville this season too aaaannd this is starting to sound like something Tash would write so I'm going to stop... right here.

You know, I read right past this and didn't notice the sex at all. What was that she posted again? I can't remember. If this were a senate hearing, I'd have forgotten my charts too.

Oh, send me your work, every writer needs an editor. Trust me, it's a huge help to have a confidant reading your material. Being a big Angel fan I think I might seem a good editor for you?

lol!, Ghouly is great!

STILLSHINY

Monday, October 4, 2004 4:40 PM (P)

Alright 2 copper pennies right here.

Love SG-1. Have the first 4 seasons on DVD. The characters are great. The stories are creative. Plenty of action & gret one-liners.

Haven't seen Farscape, but mean to do so. I've heard nothing but great about it.

Check out my shop!
http://www.zazzle.com/contributors/products/gallery/browse_results.asp
?cid=238187680745956238

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damn." --Joss

COSMICFUGITIVE

Monday, October 4, 2004 7:51 PM (P)

Stargate SG 1 is a great series. The stories get better every week. There hasn't been one episode yet where they've 'jumped the shark'.

There aren't many tv shows that can survive like that...

The characters are good. The character dynamics are always enjoyable to watch.

There are a lot of different types of mythologies on the show. It's not always dependable on the same mythology from the movie - something that might damage a tv show if it strayed too far from its original concept - but it still works really well.

Farscape is a totally different kettle of fish. It has to be seen to be believed. Who knew that Jim Henson puppets could be so devious and loveable? Rygel is brilliant.

The series is action packed, witty, surreal, emotional and entertaining.

I'll admit, I never used to be a big fan of the show (although I still watched it), but I'm still missing it alot.

It's difficult to say which one's better...

I hope that's been helpful...

COSMICFUGITIVE

Monday, October 4, 2004 7:52 PM (P)

Oh Hell, if I had to choose, it would be Stargate SG 1....

JAYNEZTOWN

Tuesday, October 5, 2004 6:10 PM (P)

both are very good
SG1 and Farscape are great shows

here's a Farscape clip
some talk on the new PK wars

http://play.rbn.com/?url=usanet/usanet/g2demand/scifi/farscape/peaceke
eperwars/kemper_192.rm&proto=rtsp

KASUO

Tuesday, October 5, 2004 6:21 PM (P)

I'd say SG1 only cuz I've watched most of the eps in syndication a couple on Sci-Fi channel whenever I get a chance to. I tried watching Farscape during it's first season but it didn't stick with me. I may give it another shot if they reair the entire show in blocks, kinda like how they have Stargate SG-1 Mondays and Andromeda Tuesdays.

FRANCO

Thursday, October 7, 2004 3:22 AM (P)

I was a huge Farscape fan and I am eager for the mini-series. I will say that a few of the episodes were a little silly (bugs bunny stuff) but it was good enough the rest of the time to forgive those. The story line is only fair and it is not hard scifi by any means but the chacterizations are fabulous. You gatta love those guys.

SG1 has become a favorite in the last couple of years. In the early years it was a lot of wandering around in the woods of earthlike planets all over the galaxy meeting cheesy aliens. I assumed it was to keep costs down since the special effects were almost non-existent. As a space nut, I like space in my scifi.

The last few seasons have included almost as much space flight as gate hopping and the writing seems to have improved along with the production values.

EFUMF

Friday, October 8, 2004 12:33 PM (P)

Stargate SG-1 jumped the shark when one of the co-creators left after season 3 and it's never managed to recover. Every other episode is bad (especially those written by M. and M.). I have high hopes for Stargate Atlantis, but it's too early to tell.

A show you need to get on DVD is Babylon 5, I think most Mutant Enemy fans would fall in love with that show half way through its first season. Also another JMS show, Jeremiah is must-watch.

Some other great shows include The Prisoner, Brimstone (not on DVD, sadly) and Batman TAS.

SABACEANBABE

Wednesday, October 13, 2004 2:36 PM (P)

I'm going to weigh in here with a recommendation for Farscape.

I like SG-1. I love Firefly. I love Buffy. I LOVE Farscape.

Although they have no storylines or situations in common, Farscape, Firefly, and Buffy all have wit, intelligence, humor, emotion, great characterizations and character interaction in common. (SG-1 has this, too, just in a different way.)

The difference for me that makes me like SG-1 and love the other 3 is that SG-1 is, imho, plot-driven while the others are character-driven. I've seen plenty of eps in SG-1 where one of them acts out of character to move the plot along, but I can't recall a single ep of the other shows where this has happened. It's kind of a knock-you-out-of-the-story thing when it happens.

If you want DVDs of any of these shows at a pretty good price and free shipping, though, hit www.deepdiscountdvd.com. At least with Farscape, you can get the box sets for nearly half off the regular (exhorbitant) price.

Nebari mental cleansing doesn't get the tough stains out.

In the immortal words of Socrates, "I drank what?"

JENDANDY

Thursday, October 14, 2004 3:21 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by SabaceanBabe:

Although they have no storylines or situations in common, Farscape, Firefly, and Buffy all have wit, intelligence, humor, emotion, great characterizations and character interaction in common. (SG-1 has this, too, just in a different way.)

The difference for me that makes me like SG-1 and love the other 3 is that SG-1 is, imho, plot-driven while the others are character-driven.

Ahh, there's the clincher for me. I definitely prefer great characters above all else. I can think of quite a few Buffy episodes that had some really sorry plots but the character interaction was so great you could look past that. Farscape would probably be right up my alley.

Sig Rebel

BANDANAGIRL

Friday, October 15, 2004 10:29 PM (P)

Hello I'm really new to this board and I'm just figuring out how everything is working. Right now I can't figure out who started this thread but thank you for broadening your horizons. I've met sooooooooo many fans of just Buffy and Angel and refuse to try anything new new. It's like they're afrad of catching germs or something. Usually I'm pretty afraid of Joss Whedon fans since they only seem to feel Angel and Buffy are the only scifi out there.

First off I've never seen a whole ep SG1. I choose not to. For me I'm not a fan of the American military going off doing science fictiony things. That's just me. When Buffy first started I mercelessly made fun of my younger sis for watching it. Then I became addicted during the season 5 cliffhanger and watched a lot of the earlier eps. I think that's what someone mentioned about resonance. Although I rarely watched Buffy (at that point), When I saw Buffy jump off the precipice to save the sister she only had for a year. My Jaw hit the floor and I actually got out of my chair in shock!!!!!! I don't feel I could ever get that from Stargate.

Farscape gives that that same kind of resonance, that that moment on Buffy gave me. Angel did it for me too. Buffy, Farscape and Angel (and other shows to that I won't memtion right now)All have that weight. There was a reason that the season 3 opener os Farscape was the highest rating SciFi channel ever got at that time. The season 2 cliffhanger was horrendous. People were crying. I deemed it cruel and unusual punishiment, to leave people that emotionally distressed for more then a day.

When farscape got cancelled I even crashed my bycycle into a telephone pole since I was so shocked and distracted. I even got a sprained wrist. I don't think that would happen to me with Stargate.

Also I noticed that someone mentioned how SG is the here and now. Well with Farscape, The main character is from the here and now and he makes a lot of references, to current pop culture (and he's a Buffy fan) Also, I don't want to spoil but in season 4 they deal with a HUGE contemporary issue and it dosen't ring hollow like how it felt when Voyager or enterprise did (for me).

To apply an ice cream analogy, to me Stargate is like Vanalla while Farscape is like Mint chocolate chip, rocky road and butterscotch ripple all rolled into one.
If you want I can give a home decor analogy too.
Anyway I'm done.

EMPRESSPIRK

Sunday, October 17, 2004 7:32 AM (P)

Just to let you guys know I’m watching Farscape now and it’s all your fault . Meaning all the posts and comments about the greatness of Farscape I’ve encountered while wandering on these Firefly/sci-fi message boards finally drove me to take a second look. And it’s been a wonderful ride so far (I’m about to finish the 2nd season). Really, there’s gonna be crying?. Nice. I mean, I’m even more excited now .

EDIT: I've watched the 2nd season now and I DIDN'T cry. I just...you know...had something in my eye. Damn, this is great series and there's still so much left.

I also have about 5 season’s worth of experience of Stargåte and I second what Bikisdad said:

Quote:

Stargate is a great show that you could really like a lot.

Farscape is a great show that you could really LOVE.

The "emotional resonance" thing, I second that too.

Both series are enjoyable but the whole Crichton/Aeryn relationship...maybe it’s just a girlie thing.

Anyway, if I should turn into a Scaper in the near future I blame you folks, all the Scaper/Browncoat hybrids out there. Hope you’re happy. Cause, you know, I am.

I’m not taking off my Browncoat. Ever.

Enjoy the Peacekeeper Wars tonight (already Sunday here), I'll catch up with you later.

LUNCHSTEALER

Wednesday, October 20, 2004 12:42 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Bandanagirl:
Joss Whedon fans ... seem to feel Angel and Buffy are the only scifi out there.

Can't speak for everybody, but I think Browncoats are gonna be a broader-minded bunch.

Quote:
Originally posted by Bandanagirl:
When I saw Buffy jump off the precipice to save the sister she only had for a year. My Jaw hit the floor and I actually got out of my chair in shock!!!!!! I don't feel I could ever get that from Stargate.

I'm a biiiigg Stargate fan. Almost as big a fan of SG1 as of Buffy. But I never (or haven't yet) bought the SG1 DVDs for the reason you point out. They did once manage to get something approaching the resonance of The Gift or Grave, but they had to destroy an entire populated planet to do it.

I guess the appeal of SG1 for me is two-fold. One, its nearly as funny as Buffy, and funnier than Angel (except maybe Season 5 - cause Spike & Harm are hilarious). Second, its got the science-geek optimism of ST:TOS or B5. Its a certain idealistic naivete that I respond to. Interestingly, the new show SG:Atlantis, might be more up your alley. More international, less military, and possibly even funnier. I've got a friend who never watched SG-1 that's totally into it. Go figure.

I'd say that SG-1 is more along the Cookies-and-Cream lines. Still mostly vanilla, but with more texture than you give it credit for. Buffy, OTOH, is a Cappuchino Cookies-n-Cream, cause that's about the only thing I've found thats better than C-n-C.

Can't speak to Farscape though. Return of the Jedi was about my limit for muppet-based Sci-Fi, so I never watched it. Maybe it just seems too fancy - like Mint chocolate chip, rocky road and butterscotch ripple all rolled into one. An awful lot of people liked it, though, so It'd probably be a better combo with SG1 than Andromeda (never watched Andromeda, either, though so it might also be an undiscovered gem)

DINGOACTION

Thursday, October 21, 2004 4:57 AM (P)

Yeah, I'm officially joining the ranks of those who got converted to Farscape via Joss people (I specifically blame heroinechic.net, actually, but you lot didn't help ). I'm crazy in love with this show, and I'm only half way through season 3. Oh, the glorious tears I shed...seriously, I've never cried over a tv show like that. (eta: ok, maybe The Body...and the Gift. But it doesn't happen often.)

uh, topic. Big fan of SG-1, too. But honestly, comparing the two's not fair. Stargate's the kind of thing you can have on in the background while you type a paper; that never works with Farscape--I last about a minute and a half before I completly leave my desk.

---
There'll be my side and your side! My side your side!

UNCHARTEDOUTLAW

Thursday, October 21, 2004 2:34 PM (P)

Far. Scape. It is better written, better acted (nothing against MacGyver, tho), better filmed, and overall smarter than SG-1. The SciFi Channel simply confirmed my suspicions that it is run by a bunch of inbred, buck-toothed, gorram, idjits (nothing against people living in backwater areas who fit the description above) by dropping its best show ever and not only continuing, but expanding, Stargate. Stargate was a neat movie, but it's a lame series!

Can you tell I'm biased? And apparently have some venting to do?

-Taylor

Uncharted Outlaw!

Haulin' goods from one end of creation to th' other. Keepin' my nose clean 'round the Alliance. See my Firefly Store: http://www.cafepress.com/NorCalRiviera

SPACEFILLE

Friday, October 22, 2004 8:38 PM (P)

There are already 56 replies but I figured I'd throw in my own two cents... I'm a huge fan of SG-1. Been for 7 years. I find that the characters are addicting and you end up watching it for them. Stargate SG-1, for me, ended up replacing Star Trek (as I was kinda raised on Star Trek). It's well done and enjoyable, though probably a bit hard to get into. (It took me two or three episodes to "get addicted").

As for Farscape, I've watched about a half a season of various episodes and I just can't get into it at all. I do agree that it is very innovative, which is nice to see, but a huuuuge drawback is the fact that I can't stand approximately half of the main characters on there. Also, I don't know if this is a factor, but I don't find Crichton hot, unlike most of my female friends. And admittedly, if one isn't drooling over Crichton, there isn't much else on that show for the women to look at if you know what I mean. Lots of beautiful women for the men, however. ;)

TMURRIE

Friday, October 22, 2004 10:42 PM (P)

I didn't really ever see Farscape in order, I saw one from this season, this other one from this season. I never really got it until it moved from YTV(a kids channel, I live in Canada you see) to the space channel. But even so, I haven't seen a whole bunch of it.

As for stargate, I love it. People say it can be dull and dry but I just really like it. But where the heck can I catch the spinoff show? They made a spinoff show? where was I for this? oh right...canada.. Anyways whats this new show like? Stargate:Atlantis, right?

LINDEN

Saturday, October 23, 2004 12:51 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by JenDandy:
Soooo...in the interest of trying something new, I've heard great things about Stargate: SG-1 and Farscape. What are your opinions of them? Which is the better show?

Which is the better show, you ask? Well...

Stargate SG1: I like Stargate SG1 a lot, I like the characters and I enjoy the stories a great deal and there is a lot of great humour and chemistry between the actors. But I don't love it. Here's why: I don't feel enough of an emotional connection to it. I don't feel like they take enough risks with the material. They don't go all the way. They could do so much more. But I still watch because it still entertains me, just not on a deeper level.

Farscape: It took me a while to get into Farscape and a lot of that had to with the weirdness of that entire universe. These are not your everyday huggable, loveable characters. They fight with each other, they argue, they make many mistakes along the way and the puppets annoyed me at first. BUT! the emotional aspects are very much there. I connect with the stories. I connect with the hardship that especially Crichton and Aeryn have to go through. There are tears and then there are more tears on top of that. Damn it, they're good!

So basically: Farscape is the better show, IMO, but there's still a lot of fun to be had with Stargate.

Quote:
Originally posted by Bikisdad:
Stargate is a great show that you could really like a lot.

Farscape is a great show that you could really LOVE.

Sums it up.

Quote:
Originally posted by Bikisdad:
I see why we're disagreeing here - it's not about SG-1 at all. The problem is that your entire opinion of Farscape appears to be based on one or two episodes out of the 88 that exist. I could pick out one or two episodes of Buffy or Angel to show people where they would say "Dude, that show sucks". However, that obviously wouldn't be a valid opinion because they would not have seen all the great B/A epiodes that would cause them to say "What an incredible show!" The same is true of Farscape. There is an episode once in a while where I go "Ugh! Glad that's over". However, that doesn't really detract from the ones where I just sit in stunned silence afterward at the incredibleness of it.

I'm just saying, if you're going to put Farscape down in favor of SG-1, you should really get to know the real Farscape in its entirety and not base your opinion on a very small sampling of episodes.

And I agree with this too. It's not fair to judge a show based on only a handful of episodes here and there, IMO. The relationship between Aeryn and Crichton is at the very core of Farscape in much the same way that Buffy and Angel was at the core of Buffy for its first three seasons.
Die Me, Dichotomy and Infinite Possibilities... Lordie, lordie, I thought I was gonna pass out from crying too much.

Quote:
Originally posted by wren:
My incredible level of insight is that Farscape is worth watching because Ben Browder looks very fine leather.

And of course, there's that.

I'd give Stargate Atlantis a try as well. It's new, it's fresh and I actually like it more than SG1.

Oh, and Babylon 5 rocks!

MELISSAKSC

Saturday, October 23, 2004 1:06 AM (P)

Quote:
Originally posted by Spacefille:
As for Farscape, I've watched about a half a season of various episodes and I just can't get into it at all. I do agree that it is very innovative, which is nice to see, but a huuuuge drawback is the fact that I can't stand approximately half of the main characters on there. Also, I don't know if this is a factor, but I don't find Crichton hot, unlike most of my female friends. And admittedly, if one isn't drooling over Crichton, there isn't much else on that show for the women to look at if you know what I mean. Lots of beautiful women for the men, however. ;)

You gave me quite the image - put Captain Tightpants on my left and Crichton on my right. It would be a tennis match of drooling!

Not to continue the tennis analogy, but Love/Love - I've come to the conclusion that I love Firefly and Farscape for similar reasons. They both have amazing universes populated with wonderfully written and performed characters. Also both of the shows can plunge you emotionally to the depths of despair with the characters and then dust you off and set you to rights again with the most wonderful sense of humor.

I hope to work my way through any and all science fiction shows out there. I haven't seen SG1 or Andromeda yet.

LTNOWIS

Saturday, October 23, 2004 4:41 AM (P)

Quote:
Also I noticed that someone mentioned how SG is the here and now. Well with Farscape, The main character is from the here and now and he makes a lot of references, to current pop culture (and he's a Buffy fan)

Yeah, I kinda thought someone would correct me about this or something. Not that this makes what I said any less true. With Stargate, the fate of the Earth is at stake. Setting-wise, at least, it does feel very real.

Of course, people have said that it's plot driven, has shallow characters, etc. I think I actually value exciting plots and complex, intricate universes over deep, continually developing characters. It’s like I said to my dad, about Lost: In real life, not everyone is an interesting person, and not everyone has a back-story. Likewise, people will do things that are out of character in real life. For me, Stargate just appeals to me. Every episode leaves me reflecting on. Whenever I’m depressed I can just think “Damn, I really love Stargate,” and marvel at the Stargate universe. Or Star Wars, or D &D. Firefly, despite its transcendently spectacular stories, does not have a rich, well developed universe. Part of this is due to its tragically early cancellation, but without aliens, I don't know if it ever would've been that achieved that level.

Quote:
First off I've never seen a whole ep SG1. I choose not to. For me I'm not a fan of the American military going off doing science fictiony things. That's just me.

I respect that. I frankly can’t understand that point of view, but whatever. It’s not like I’m super-rational either. However, I think that you’re not really qualified to judge SG1, if you haven’t seen all of an episode.

Like I said, I’ll check out Farscape eventually. As soon as I’ve watched every Stargate episode.

AX

Sunday, October 24, 2004 11:21 PM (P)

Quote:
It’s like I said to my dad, about Lost: In real life, not everyone is an interesting person, and not everyone has a back-story. Likewise, people will do things that are out of character in real life.

I strongly disagree with your first comment. Everyone has a backstory--you may not think so, but everyone has a story to tell somewhere in their life. We are all made of moments, and yeah maybe they aren't all that big, but they're real and they are what makes us who we are.

As for the thing about people doing things out of character. Well, yeah, of course that's true. We aren't robots, but if it's really a show with the in-depth developing characters like you're talking about then there will be moments when the characters don't do what you would think. Rygel is a great example of this on Farscape, but it's true of all of them at one moment or another. That unpredictablity is one of the things I really love about the show.

IDEFIX

Monday, October 25, 2004 12:58 PM (P)

and here I am again.
now I've watched the first season of Stargate and then some EPs and I'm not gonna stop watching anytime soon as long as it's not getting worse. but it is in no way comparable to Farscape. it's not necessarily worse but it's so entirely different.

I love this thread becaue it's going on forever and everyone says what they think and feel and it's not degenerated into a shouting match about peoples intelligence yet, so I'd say we browncoats rock.

about the shows again: I think it's plot-driven vs. character-driven but even more so it seems to be mind vs. heart. SG1 is a lot like Star Trek Next Generation I think. it's a bunch of people exploring space and trying to do good for the people they meet and for themselves. it's plot driven and it's about getting you to think about the 'problem of the week'. Farscape on the other hand is about a bunch of fugitives running for their lives and trying to be happy whenever they can. both crews save the world or the universe on occasion but it's not the focus, that would be more B5 I think. Farscape tries to make you feel for the characters, not think about the moral ambiguities of their decisions or discuss it with your friends. it just makes you cry and then it makes you laugh and then it makes you insanely happy for just a second and you're speechless because of it all.

the "like SG1" but "love Farscape" analogy hits home for me too. and it's not about one being better than the other but more about one being emotional and one being rational.

and thanks to all of you for making me watch SG1, I really enjoy it so far.

Idefix

LTNOWIS

Thursday, October 28, 2004 3:21 AM (P)

Quote:
I strongly disagree with your first comment. Everyone has a backstory--you may not think so, but everyone has a story to tell somewhere in their life. We are all made of moments, and yeah maybe they aren't all that big, but they're real and they are what makes us who we are.

But does it qualify as a "backstory" if it's not that compelling or dramatic? I agree that everyone has a story, but it might not be a big dramatic thing like "Lost" has been having. Not that everyone needs a big, complex origin. Wash didn't really, and he's a great character. I guess I kinda misspoke earlier.

I agree with Idefix's statement that SG1 vs. Farscape is like Mind vs. heart. I, on the other hand, often prefer the mind element of sci-fi to the character elements, especially in low-characterization stories like Heinlein. I think that it's sometimes more work to watch a story like Firefly, where there are convoluted, deep character issues underneath the more immediate plot issues. Each SG1 episode is fairly simple and bounded; that's both a good and bad thing.

Anyway, I do seriously intend to give Farscape a chance, based on this thread.

AX

Thursday, October 28, 2004 6:31 AM (P)

Quote:
But does it qualify as a "backstory" if it's not that compelling or dramatic? I agree that everyone has a story, but it might not be a big dramatic thing like "Lost" has been having. Not that everyone needs a big, complex origin. Wash didn't really, and he's a great character. I guess I kinda misspoke earlier.

Well, I think it does count as backstory--actually I think I'd agree with you that it shouldn't be big and complex. It's subtle details that I enjoy(Wash is a great example). I haven't seen Lost yet, so I was mostly just refering to other things I've seen. It may very well be that you're right, and Lost does go overboard.

BANDANAGIRL

Friday, November 5, 2004 5:21 AM (P)

Hello I've come back. You know one day I'll try Stargate. I will, when I can find it. Just to say I sat through a whole ep. I must say before Farscape I was a HUGE Star Trek fan, it just started to die out for me when Voyager started. I would like to say that over time there is a huge plot thing going on with Farscape which starts about halfway through season one up to and including the mini series. Thaere are also many other real life moral issues things that Farscape deals with which can cause a whole ton of discussion. the main one is

Select to view spoiler:

Weapons of Mass Destruction. Imagine if only one guy figured out Nukes and everyone was on the brink of war looking for an advantage. That's where John is. Considering the current political situation I think this is a really current issue. Also there's morals in the middle of Season three, things start to get really murky. Are John and crew the good guys? Is scorpy the bad guy? Whose really doing the right thing? It's not black and white. I love the shades of grey

THere are some big ethical issues with Farscape and there are always consequences for your actions. Anyway, I'm glad this thread is still going. Also if there are any Candians who get the SPACE we'd love to have more browncoats hanging out on the space board forum

http://community.spacecast.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum&f=1&su
bmit=Go

I also think after the Serenity movie comes out Browncoats will have some stuff in common with how scapers are feeling with the mini right now.