![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
So, I've been following Stargate: Mongo Flash Gordon for the first three episodes. And I'm continuing to watch, because I did put up a stink earlier about people not giving shows a chance. While I was directing that comment towards the network execs and business types, I do feel it a bit hypocritical to trash a show based upon one or two bad episodes. After all, the first episode of The Dreseden Files didn't really work for me. But by the third episode, I was pretty happy with Dresden. Unfortunately I cannot say the same about the new Flash Gordon.
Now, here's the thing, I kind of feel, and please correct me if I'm wrong, that Sci-Fi missed the boat on this one. I know people talk about the acting, etc, but I think the problem is that they don't actually get what made Flash Gordon interesting in the first place. I think it was exciting because it was three lone adventurers taking on hostile alien environments...without the resources and recourse of being home. This show feels like just another variation on the whole Stargate concept, except that instead of a fixed portal and a variety of worlds, we have one destination and portals that can be opened up anywhere. Mind you, I haven't really followed the whole Stargate franchise, just caught an episode here or there, so my comparison might be a bit faulty. But people get tired of seeing the same concept re-hashed ad nauseum. That's part of what happened to Trek. They got hung up in the whole being Trek that they wandered away from what made Trek exciting. People in space ships with laser guns taking on alien environments and strange situations. That's a lot of what Flash Gordon should be about. But it doesn't feel like that, at least not from these first few episodes. It's supposed to be Space Opera, and this doesn't fit the bill.
And yes, Ming is boring. I yawn when he takes the stage. His henchmen don't even seem to be really afraid of him, why should I? His daughter is less interesting than Paris Hilton. Dale....are they trying to empower her? I know in the old material she was meant primarily to be the damsel in distress, but um, this Dale doesn't even seem to have that going for her. I get no sense of agency about her, despite their attempts at making her a modern woman. Flash might be okay, but with the material they've got going on, we'll never know. And Zarkov....wow, from brilliant mad genius scientist to this sniveling worm who is more annoying to watch than pretty much anyone I've ever seen. It's like every possible bad geek stereotype hopped up to the max. And the plotting a little silly. I mean taking this last episode for example: they go to obtain a cure and bring nothing in trade. Not even, say....WATER. You know, clean water, which the "native guide" Balin should have suggested, or perhaps they should have just thought of on their own. They know its valuable, and basically free here on earth. Show up with a couple two gallon jugs of Poland Spring and you should have no problems negotiating. Even if they wouldn't have traded for the water, there's just no reason not to be trying it.
So okay, they got it wrong. I'm not even close to being the first person on the net to suggest it. But what's more than just that they got this wrong, is what I see as a bigger problem. Why is Sci-Fi pulling back from Sci-Fi? It seems as if more and more wrestling is showing up on the channel. I don't really have a problem with wrestling. But there are, after all, a billion freaking sport channels, and assorted other places for this on cable. Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror get dumped into this one place. One channel for all your genre needs. And that, my friends is what I think the real problem is. There's no competition. Sci-Fi can be lazy. They can put in more wrestling to keep up their ratings. They can not care to invest in quality shows, because they seem to know they are the only venue on the block. Where else would you get those shows on the air? There's no one else trying for that market. It's a basic market flaw, lack of competition. If someone else, one of the other big networks were willing to take a bit of a loss leader, I think we'd see a lot more programming. Sure, there'd be a lot of B movies, probably along the lines of MegaSnake. Good stuff would get people watching. Look at Lost, look at Heroes. There's a lot of people watching genre that might not even know it, and they like it. There's more than enough room on the dial for another station. And I think that might raise the bar.
It's not that they get everything wrong. There are Sci-Fi shows that are fun. It's just that, as the only game in town, I feel like we're stuck taking whatever they feel like dishing out. And if it's umpteen variations on Stargate, and you don't like Stargate? Tough. Think what the state of the genre would be like if there were only one publisher who put out SF & F?
I think that makes the case.
And yes, Ming is boring. I yawn when he takes the stage. His henchmen don't even seem to be really afraid of him, why should I? His daughter is less interesting than Paris Hilton. Dale....are they trying to empower her? I know in the old material she was meant primarily to be the damsel in distress, but um, this Dale doesn't even seem to have that going for her. I get no sense of agency about her, despite their attempts at making her a modern woman. Flash might be okay, but with the material they've got going on, we'll never know. And Zarkov....wow, from brilliant mad genius scientist to this sniveling worm who is more annoying to watch than pretty much anyone I've ever seen. It's like every possible bad geek stereotype hopped up to the max. And the plotting a little silly. I mean taking this last episode for example: they go to obtain a cure and bring nothing in trade. Not even, say....WATER. You know, clean water, which the "native guide" Balin should have suggested, or perhaps they should have just thought of on their own. They know its valuable, and basically free here on earth. Show up with a couple two gallon jugs of Poland Spring and you should have no problems negotiating. Even if they wouldn't have traded for the water, there's just no reason not to be trying it.
So okay, they got it wrong. I'm not even close to being the first person on the net to suggest it. But what's more than just that they got this wrong, is what I see as a bigger problem. Why is Sci-Fi pulling back from Sci-Fi? It seems as if more and more wrestling is showing up on the channel. I don't really have a problem with wrestling. But there are, after all, a billion freaking sport channels, and assorted other places for this on cable. Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror get dumped into this one place. One channel for all your genre needs. And that, my friends is what I think the real problem is. There's no competition. Sci-Fi can be lazy. They can put in more wrestling to keep up their ratings. They can not care to invest in quality shows, because they seem to know they are the only venue on the block. Where else would you get those shows on the air? There's no one else trying for that market. It's a basic market flaw, lack of competition. If someone else, one of the other big networks were willing to take a bit of a loss leader, I think we'd see a lot more programming. Sure, there'd be a lot of B movies, probably along the lines of MegaSnake. Good stuff would get people watching. Look at Lost, look at Heroes. There's a lot of people watching genre that might not even know it, and they like it. There's more than enough room on the dial for another station. And I think that might raise the bar.
It's not that they get everything wrong. There are Sci-Fi shows that are fun. It's just that, as the only game in town, I feel like we're stuck taking whatever they feel like dishing out. And if it's umpteen variations on Stargate, and you don't like Stargate? Tough. Think what the state of the genre would be like if there were only one publisher who put out SF & F?
I think that makes the case.
Tags: