The Top Three Sci-Fi TV Series Have One Thing In Common

What can Star Trek and Stargate have in common with this motley crew?

That's right folks, and if you haven't already guessed it, there is one thing that Star Trek, Stargate & Battlestar Galactica all have in common...

That being rather directly or indirectly all of them in some way have to do with ancient pagan religions!

I doubt you would have thought that you would have heard these prolific science fiction shows used in that way... But it is quite true!

One of things that Star Trek, Stargate & Battlestar Galactica have in common is in the shows some of the characters worship pagan gods like, 'Ares' God Of War!

Lets take the most obvious one first, let's talk about Stargate...

Apophis (Played by: Peter Williams), is an example of one of the more famous ancient gods that played a prominent role in Stargate SG1

Stargate was a series that more so than the rest of the shows that I am about to mention, heavily utilized the ancient gods, but in this case the ancient gods were actually a parasitic race that forced human hosts to enslave ancient humans, and in the beginning of the series are the race that modern mankind fights against!

A scene from the remake of Battlestar Galactica that had to do with religious significance during their search for, 'Earth.'

And now Battlestar Galactica... In this show they may not actually show the deities... But Battlestar Galactica has to do with an ancient but technologically advanced race that was the predecessor of mankind on Earth.

Now this race followed the Greek Gods.

Commander Sisko confronting a Bajoran spiritual leader... The Bajoran religions having similar attributes to ancient Roman worship.

And finally with Star Trek... Now this one is a little bit different... You see, this series does not actually have characters that do follow the ancient human deities...

But with the series following certain elements of mankind through out time (I,e... The Romulan Star Empire, being modeled off of the, 'Roman Empire',) A lot of Star Trek's alien races religions follow elements of the ancient deities on Earth.

Battlestar Galactica Season: 1 - Episode: 8: 'Gun On Ice Planet Zero Part 1' (1978) - TV Episode Review

Official Score = 3 1/2 Devils 

It's been awhile since I did a Battlestar Galactica review... I apologize for that, I kind of stopped just when it was starting to get better and better... Well the truth is, is this series kind of started off rough, and I hate to say it, but I got distracted by other things... For that I must apologize...

The reason I mention this is because this show is just starting to get better and better, with better special effects, better writing... Hell even a better intro!

I discovered this when I checked out Episode: 8 'Gun On Ice Planet Zero Part 1' (1978)!

Believe it or not... This Cylon is actually looking at a Computer readout!

. Starring: Richard Hatch (Star Trek: Axanar), Dirk Benedict (After Hell), Herbert Jefferson Jr. (Star Trek: Renegades), Noah Hathaway (The Chair), Roy Thinnes (Broken English), James Olson (The Andromeda Strain), Christine Belford (Ruffian) & Richard Lynch (The Lords Of Salem).

"Muffy wanted to see snow!"

- Noah Hathaway (Boxey)

In the latest episode, a deep space patrol is sent out, when they reach an ice planet, one of the new recruits discovers a device that is sending off, 'flares'... When he goes to investigate, he discovers that what was pulses is actually a new major weapon, and most of the new recruits are killed trying to destroy it (except one who is captured by the, 'Cylons'...)

The powerful new weapon as it is taking out Colonial fighter after Colonial fighter! 

Well despite the fact that the Cadets went after the gun against orders, Starbuck (Dirk Benedict), feels guilty about it, and so when Adama orders a strike team to head down to the planet to destroy the gun, Starbuck gets himself and Lt. Boomer (Herbert Jefferson Jr.) placed on the team... Also along for the ride is a stow away that will complicate matters for Apollo!

In the end, what I said above... That is all true, and so much more, this episode is truly an amazing evolutionary leap from the pilot to this episode... I can see why people kept reviving this show, both as a show, and movies!

The last thing that I wanted to say is that, where as it is true that, 'Boxey' (Noah Hathaway), has been seen in episodes since the pilot, he has always played a very supporting role in the series, but this episode has a substantial role, and does an excellent job with it!

So rather you have been following the series from the beginning, or have just started, check this one out, you won't regret it!

Five Classic Songs From Five Classic Sci-fi TV Shows

Space 1999, A classic Sci-fi show with an interesting theme song!

I got to thinking about it recently, one of the things that TV stations and productions really do quite nicely is that they have made some truly amazing soundtracks... Primarily there theme songs! So I thought it might be a little bit of a fun reminder to you guys of some of those awesome songs!

At number 5: The X-Files:

At number 4: Star Trek: Deep Space 9:

At number 3: Harsh Realm:

At number 2: Battlestar Galactica:

At number 1: The Twilight Zone:

There are certainly more out there, but these I have found to be rather fun... And I hope you do to!

Five Classic Sci-fi/Horror TV Shows That Would Eventually Be Put To Print

One of the great  things about the 1990s is that the 90s on TV, saw a rise in the number of truly amazing Science Fiction & Horror TV Shows, a couple of great examples of this of course being: Star Trek & The X-Files... Well one of the things that happened with a lot of these classics, it is something I noticed around the mid 90s, and that is that some of the best of  the best of the Horror & Science Fiction genre on TV were being put to print!

With that said I thought that I would give you guys, '5 Classic Sci-fi/Horror TV Shows That Would Eventually Be Put To Print'!

At number 5: Star Trek



In number 4: Buffy The Vampire Slayer



 

At number 3: The X-Files



At number 2: Angel



At number 1: Battlestar Galactica



As a side note, all of these were not only made in to books, but also in to comics!

Ancient Gods On TV... A Great Concept In Sci-fi TV

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="555"] 'Hercules: The Legendary Journey' & 'Xena: Warrior Princes' two great Fantasy shows that had to do a lot with the Greek Gods![/caption]

I am sure that we have all seen the shows like, 'Hercules: The Legendary Journey' & 'Xena: Warrior Princess', and their use of the, 'Greek' gods in the TV show... The truth is though, is that the show takes place, not in the real ancient world, but in the mythologized ancient world where that could happen.

Two great shows, but in all truth, definitely shows that would be considered to be, 'Fantasy' shows... What I wanted to talk about today is their use in writing Sci-fi TV... And I will say this, it truly is a great writing concept!

What do I mean by this? Well lets first take a look at some of the ways that they have been used on TV...

One of the earliest examples of this that I can think of, and it is one of the more famous episodes of Star Trek, and that is the episode, 'Who Mourns For Adonais?"

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="422"] The original series episode of, 'Star Trek' called, 'Who Mourns For Adonais' is a great example of the use of the Greek gods in a Science Fiction TV series![/caption]

In this episode, Captain Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise are in orbit around the planet, 'Pollux' when they are taken captive by an Alien that as it turns out is the Greek God, 'Apollo'... And will ultimately have to fight their way out of his clutches!

Another great example of this, Battlestar Galactica (Both original and remake series...)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="565"] The Battlestar Galactica with it's refugee fleet, is another fun show that has utilized the concept of the ancient Greek Gods![/caption]

Now this show ultimately ended up using the, 'Greek Gods' in their show... But they are A: more a part of the series then an episode, and B: a secondary part of what makes up the series... But this is done in such a way that it is... You could almost say like what the ancient Greek society might have been like if they had been given the opportunity to survive and colonize the universe!

And the last last example that I wanted to give here before I go on to the next part is, 'Stargate.'

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Stargate... A great example of a kick ass series that has man versus the old gods...[/caption]

Now this franchise took a distinctly different turn when it came to how they perceived the, 'Gods' (and I do mean gods, as just about all of them are mentioned in this franchise.)

Well in the case of the Stargate franchise, the story is, is that the United States Government ends up initiating a program that would allow mankind to travel to other planets, when in the 1920s, an Archaeologist uncovers a giant ring (that would eventually be called, 'Stargate',) that in the modern time they would end up discovering how to use it!

After a mission is sent through the gate to discover what lies ahead, the team ends up coming face to face with an Alien race that has subjugated a portion of the ancient human race and has made themselves in to the, 'Gods' of the Ancient world... After destroying one of them, they come back through the Gate and the program is shut down.

Well after an attack by another of the Ancient gods, mankind is thrust in to a war that will ultimately decide the fate of either god or man!

Sounds great right?

Well the concept is there folks, and the one things that, that I have found in the examples that I have given is this... Using the Ancient gods in a new and innovative way in your TV series or in your web series is a something that will almost certainly always catapult what you are writing in to something (that if done right, and done smart) will catapult your episode or show in to the more popular bracket...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Apophis, maybe the embodiment of pure evil, but his appearance and the rest of the ancient gods appearance on TV over the years has definitely made for some great TV![/caption]

Now you might be wondering what I am talking about... Well lets take a look at the examples I mentioned above shall we?

The Star Trek episode, 'Who mourns for Adonais' is one of the more famous episodes to have been produced for that series, Battlestar Galactica... Besides the first series, has seen one reboot, one remake, a spin off, and several movies and mini-series, and, 'Stargate' has so far had a TV series, a couple of spinoff series, and almost half a dozen movies!

In the end, is it profitable? Sure, but one of the things that I have learned as a writer, is that if you can do it right, you will find that the Ancient Gods are a great concept to add to Sci-fi TV!

http://youtu.be/Budt6ucBIAY

http://youtu.be/Rz508DAx68U

http://youtu.be/NMQrORyQnEA

http://youtu.be/CLlMiqDaDbE

Battlestar Galactica: Season 1 - Episode 6: 'The Lost Warrior' (1978) - TV Episode Review

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignright" width="220"] Official Score = 2 1/2 Devils[/caption]

You know, being such a huge fan of the most recent Battlestar Galactica remake, I was surprised to say that the original series... Not all that impressed!

The main problem that I had with it is that everything seemed to have this epic (almost theatrical) feel to it... This made Lorne Greene's roll of, 'Adama' to be extremely irritating...

But this latest episode, 'The Lost Warrior' (1978) not only seemed to loose this useless (and kind of annoying) theatrical style to the show, and just made it a sort of a fun sort of pseudo Sci-fi/Western, that was just exactly the type of change that I think this show needed to get better!

Written by: Donld P. Bellisario (Quantum Leap) and Directed by: Rod Holcomb (Chains Of Gold). Starring: Richard Hatch (Star Trek: Axanar), Dirk Benedict (The A-Team), Lorne Greene (Earthquake), Herbert Jefferson Jr. (Apollo 13), Noah Hathaway (The NeverEnding Story), Laurette Spang (Airport 1975), Terry Carter (The Phil Silvers Show), Katherine Cannon (The Hidden), Lance LeGault (Mortal Kombat), Claude Earl Jones (Dark Night Of The Scarecrow), Red West (Roadhouse) & Johnny Timko (Prophecy).

This episode tells the tale of how Apollo (Richard Hatch), who has been detected by the Cylons ends up drawing them away from the Galactica and it's refugee fleet... The problem is that Apollo has run out of fuel and lands on the planet, 'Equellus'.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="352"] Apollo sitting talking to a malfunctioning, 'Cylon' in a western style city on the planet, 'Equellus.'[/caption]

With out options, and after being discovered by, 'Puppis' (Johnny Timko) and his mother, 'Vella' (Katherine Cannon)... Apollo decides to settle in to the simple life of living with this frontier family (at least until he can find some way to get back to the, 'Galactica'.)

Meanwhile, on the Galactia, 'Starbuck' (Dirk Benedict) and the rest of the squadron decide to distract, 'Boxey' (Hathway), from the fact that, 'Apollo' isn't home yet... Due to the fact that she, and the rest of the fleet can't go and search for Apollo until after the Cylon's leave!

Well during this time, Apollo has discovered that a lone Cylon that call's itself, 'Red Eye' has decided to work for an evil human leader by the name of, 'Lacerta' (Claude Earle Jones), and decides to figure out how Lacerta is connected to the Cylons so that he can figure out a way to get home!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] The space cowboy as he looks for a way to ride off in to the sunset![/caption]

In the end, I also liked how the planet is set up sort of like, 'the old west'. But there are definitely some major plot holes that are a little distracting in the episode... Still this episode in my opinion despite any negative stuff, I have found to be one of the better episodes, and if you check it out, you might find the same thing as well!

http://youtu.be/vFAfta-BIZk

5 Great Crews Of 5 Great Starships On The Small Screen

[caption id="attachment_2885" align="aligncenter" width="450"] The bridge crew for the U.S.S. Enterprise (the rebooted version.)[/caption]

I have noticed to some extent a trend in the sci-fi world of TV shows being brought to the big screen... Most of the time after the show has gone off the aire and their fans have complained about it so much that it was brought to the big screen after awhile.

A great example of this is the show 'Firefly' (2002)... Now Firefly was a show that had been created by Joss Whedon (The Avengers) and told the story of the crew of a small vessel and the adventures that they would have...

Well this show, which aired in 2002, was taken off the air way to early, and with enough pressure from fans ended up getting it's own movie, in the form of, Serenity (2005)!

[caption id="attachment_2886" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Nathan Fillion (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Gina Torres (Angel) & Alan Tudyk (I, Robot) in a scene from, 'Serenity' (2005)[/caption]

With the crew of the Firefly getting their chances on the big screen, I thought that I would mention 5 other bridge crews that went on to greatness.
At number 5: The crew of the original, 'Battlestar Galactica':

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="360"] 'Boxey' (Noah Hathaway) as he comes to talk to 'Adama' (Lorne Greene) who is hard at work on the bridge of the, 'Battlestar Galactica'![/caption]

At number 4: The crew of the, 'Prometheus' from Stargate SG1:

[caption id="attachment_2887" align="aligncenter" width="320"] The bridge crew of the, 'Prometheus' the earth ship from, 'Stargate SG1'![/caption]

At number 3: The crew of the, 'Tardis' from, 'Doctor Who':

[caption id="attachment_2888" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Not quite a bridge... Or a crew... but the same concepts apply![/caption]

At number 2: The crew from the remake, 'Battlestar Galactica':

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="330"] The bridge of the, 'Battlestar Galactica' hard at work in the 2004 Syfy channel remake![/caption]

At number 1: The crew from the first, 'U.S.S. Enterprise; from Star Trek:

[caption id="attachment_2889" align="aligncenter" width="450"] The bridge crew for the original U.S.S. Enterprise from the original series![/caption]