Last night I watched It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, while reading Paul Cobley’s Introducing Semiotics during the (muted) commercials.
That’s got to mean something really profound.
October 28, 2009
October 10, 2009
Stargate Universe
Lights out
Even if it were good, the frequency and duration of the commercials make Stargate Universe unwatchable. Last night I made it to the forty-minute mark. Some guy was having a flashback, weeping uncontrollably; I rolled my eyes, hit mute, and wandered off. It was easy to do.
At the previous commercial break I had gone to the kitchen for a glass of water; stopped at the computer to read the BBC headlines; checked the thermometer; flipped through some paperwork on the desk. When the show came back on I was already disengaging, leaning in the doorway, thinking about getting my book to read during the next commercial.
Even if it were good. But it isn’t. It’s humorless and full of angst, and only nominally Stargate. It’s Battlestar Galactica with Ancient technology. Most of the characters are unsympathetic. Some are deliberately meant to antagonize the viewer. There is an element of emotional manipulation that I can’t exactly describe, but can see and dislike.
Then there’s some kind of motif – call it Shouting In Darkness. Another TV show did this back in the nineties with Marines in Space. Galactica did a lot of it too, but at its best overcame it. The lighting is dim and poorly located; people are upset. Two guys have really bright flashlights, and they’re mad at everyone. The plot advances by running and shouting. Suddenly we’re in a glaring sandy desert. Dying of thirst, a character flashes back to a time of deep emotional distress, when the lights were out.
