Defiance

The Scy Fy channel has joined the post-apocalyptic television trend with its own offering, Defiance. Set on Earth, decades in the future; but it is not the Earth that we know.  Years of terraforming (following an extensive war) have transformed the landscape of the world, making it barely recognizable. The cause of the apocalypse was the invasion of the Voltan (a conglomerate of seven species) and the war that ensued.  The series begins shortly after both sides declare a truce.

The two main characters in the series are former Marine Joshua Nolan (played by Grant Bowler) and his "adopted" daughter, Irisa (Stephanie Leonadis).  The fact that Irisa happens to be Irathien (think Klingon but cuter) adds to the quirky relationship that the two share.  Nolan's character is your characteristic tough guy who knows how to handle himself in a fight, but there is also another side to him that just can't help from trying to do what is right- despite the trouble it gets him into.  Irisa, like others of her species, just loves a good fight and is anything but the kind of girl who needs daddy to protect her in an apocalypse.

The pair, who are trying to get to Antarctica (the legendary Shangri-La of post-apocalyptic Earth), get side-tracked to the city of Defiance. The city, formerly known as St. Louis, made its mark on history by being the first place that Earthlings and Voltans defied their leaders by putting down their weapons and vowing to live together in peace.  Joshua and Irisa soon learn that the peace in Defiance is only skin deep.  Beneath the surface are enough power struggles, intrigue, and drama to last a life time.

This is the first "pure" science fiction show to come out this decade and good visual effects along with a strong story line may elevate this series above the list of failed shows like V and Terra Nova. For the Scy Fy channel, it is a change from their usual entertaining Scy Fy comedies like Eureka and Warehouse 13, but is strongly reminiscent of the wild west feel of Firefly.  Unlike many recent science fiction shows, Defiance has an underlying sense of hope: a hope that the new inhabitants of Earth can somehow pull together despite their differences.

Defiance is still a diamond-in-the-rough. The characters need more time to develop and the writing could use some tweaking, but the potential is there for a show that can be both entertaining and thought provoking.  As we watch the handful of species struggling to understand the strange customs and worldviews of each other, we cannot help but draw comparisons to real life situations going on around us.  Yes, there is a lot of potential for Defiance, but we'll just have to wait a few more episodes to see if the show will live up to that potential.

Oblivion

There is a lot of buzz about Tom Cruise's newest film, Oblivion, which premiers in theaters on Friday, April 19th. The trailers are real teasers; giving us just enough to whet our appetites, but not enough to give away the story line behind the movie. Touted as an "intelligent sci-fi action" film, the movie is set 60 years in the future- after Earth has sustained an alien attack.  The movie revolves around Jack Harper (played by Tom Cruise), who is the last man on Earth.

Trivia: This is the third movie in which Tom Cruise has played a character named Jack.  The other two are Legend and Jack Reacher.

In a recent interview with Fandango, Tom Cruise talked about his perspective of the movie, which is unique in several ways. To him, the movie expresses the personal, emotional journey of Jack Harper. (A large part of the movie is made up of solo scenes with Cruise.) Along that journey, our protagonist finds love when he meets the tough and sexy, Julia (played by Olga Kurylenko). Jack and Julia's romance is set among a backdrop which Fandango calls "visually stunning."

For those who have been disappointed with the recent flood of predictable and recycled sci-fi offerings, this movie is for you.  Oblivion is reputed to provide a fresh and unexpected story line with lots of plot twists and surprises.  Be on the lookout for the scene which Cruise calls "the most unique fight scene I have ever done."

If the previews are any indication of the movie, Oblivion seems destined to be a hit.

The Nerdist

I became a fan of Chris Hardwick after watching his highly entertaining show, Talking Dead, on AMC. His quirky sense of humor and knowledge of all things geek were the perfect combination for a talk show centered around a zombie apocalypse. (It also helped that he is a southerner like me.)It was a pleasant surprise when the network decided to expand the show from 30 minutes to an hour because of its popularity with the viewers of Walking Dead.

Now, television viewers in Britain have discovered the hilarious Hardwick and given him his own show on BBC America.  The Nerdist comes on Saturdays at 10 PM, following the hit series, Doctor Who. This season's first episode aired immediately after the premier of part two of Season 7 and, appropriately, covered what was going on with the Doctor and Clara.

The second episode covered the zombie craze, a topic of which Hardwick is well versed.  The Nerdist does not allow itself to fall into the quagmire of talk shows in which the guests just sit around and talk about themselves. In this most recent episode, guests Michael Rooker and Robert Kirkman played "Fantiques Roadshow," in which they attempt to rate the worth of several collectibles.

Another highlight was the appearance of former Doctor Who companion, Karen Gillan (Amy Pond), as a zombie in a series of faux commercials for post-apocalyptic cosmetics.  Only Amy Pond could make a zombie look beautiful, sexy, and scary- all at the same time.

Slated to appear on upcoming episodes of The Nerdist are Arthur Darvill, Elijah Woods, Betsy Brandy, and Eliza Dushku.  I don't know about you, but I plan to grab a cuppa, turn on the telly, and enjoy season 2 of The Nerdist.

What's Up With The Hobbit?

It is practically impossible to take a novel and make it into a movie that its readers like, but Peter Jackson managed to do it in Lord of the Ring. His daring epic series consisted of three three-hour movies, but that was fine.  After all, three movies to cover three books wasn't at all unreasonable or unexpected. LOR fans would have been disappointed with anything less.

However, more is not always better; and this is painfully true in the case of Jackson's newest production.  The Hobbit, stretched to another trilogy through the addition of material from other Tolkien manuscripts, is not the hit with fans that the LOR movies were. With part one, An Unexpected Journey, now out on DVD and part two, The Desolation of Smaug, hitting theaters in December; much of the hype surrounding the LOR movies is missing.

Now, there is no question that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey delivers on action and special effects.  It is a good movie in and of itself. However, fans of Tolkien's book (published in 1937) will hardly recognize the book and the movie as being one and the same.  While Jackson largely remained faithful to the original in his LOR series, he takes sweeping liberties with The Hobbit.

Unfortunately, the fate of The Hobbit trilogy seems to be the sad but common tale of the desire to make a buck outweighing the desire to make a great movie. There is no question that Warner Brothers will make money from the trilogy.  Already, the first installment has grossed more than a billion dollars. With two more to go, these movies will keep Warner Brothers in the black for some time.

But while the studio prospers, it is the hard core Tolkien fans that suffer. We may never get to see a movie made that is closely based on the original book.  In the meantime, I'll still go and see the remaining two movies.  But I won't buy the DVDs.