I was actually disappointed, though I'm glad people enjoyed it, and definitely mean no offense to them because I want this show to be good. Hopefully it will get better. I knew one of the executive producers (David Eick) from the new Battlestar Galactica was doing this and that's the main reason I tuned in. I was hoping for something along the lines of that show's quality. It wasn't anywhere near that show's dramatic realism and great dialogue, and just shows how important writers are. If any of you like this, you'll LOVE the new Battlestar Galactica, which I encourage you to watch because it's dying from poor ratings.
They changed the sister's role.
The show has had some problems with NBC wanting the pilot redone because they didn't like the blind sister and made her seeing. Ironically, she's not at all hard on the eyes! (I know she's a teen but she's nearly an adult...and a hot one!) Still, I wonder if the original incarnation of the sister would have been more original and offered a different dynamic. In any case, I thought the early scenes of interraction with the sister were quite fresh, especially the part about the father being a liberal political activist who was also neglectful. The sister is a great actress, and that's nice to see, proving that attractiveness and great acting don't have to reach a compromise; there are plenty of great actors in Hollywood in need of work and I'm glad they didn't just get a Jennifer Garner (She just purses her lips and squints her eyes to communicate sorrow or any sad emotion).
Departure of Glen Morgan
Glen Morgan who was a producer on The X-Files left the show in August; his departure may have caused some delays, but I'm glad he left. While he and fellow writer James Wong are credited with some of The X-Files more successful creepy/gory stuff, I always felt they wrote morally-simplistic drama. They completely ruined Chris Carter's "Millennium" in Season 2, when they took over by making it switch to really obvious and dramatically-false dialogue. They added a preposterous conspiracy and made the characters annoyingly self-sacrificing because that's, in stereotypical fashion, what they consider heroes to be. There's a massive difference between the subtle realism and beauty of Season 1 and the embarrassing stuff of Season 2.
Great fight scenes.
The intro was a shocker, especially what happens to Katie Sackhoff's character. The fight scene on the roof was great-looking, too.
The show itself seemed to obsessed with looking slick and cool.
I thought some of the dialogue was alright, but occasionally too self-consciously "cool" and zippy. Lots of one-liners. Miguel Ferrier was nice to see, but he should be challenged with more complexity instead of just reacting so calmly to everything. This was the problem with a lot of the staff. I just didn't think they were acting believably enough to things.
Jamie Sommers reacted with hysteria when she found out about her implants, but that soon vanished, especially after she escaped. When she engages Katie Sackhoff, the older bionic woman, it's without any anger or real hatred for perhaps killing her boyfriend. I didn't even sense any real fear about fighting this femme fatale. Sommers' interaction with Ferrier's character was too confident. She barely seemed concerned for her boyfriend, when she tells them coolly how she's going to relate to them from now on. With almost glee, she tells them "Sarah Corvis says hello."
There are all these high stakes and yet I barely sense enough anxiety and realistic bits of texture from the characters. I did like Jae, though.
Seeing fellow BSG actors was the most exciting. Katie Sackhoff reportedly won over NBC executives watching the pilot with her performance and they weren't wrong. She steals the show. She acts as Starbuck (a quite different but equally tough) character on Battlestar Galactica, along with a flawless cast, and is another reason I'd strongly recommend that show.
Anyway, decent, much better than most shows, but I was hoping for more and I think Mr. Eick can deliver.
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