The only two TV shows I follow religiously are The Colbert Show and Battlestar Galactica.
A 2hr flashback special called Razor aired recently. It goes on sale (somewhere) on DVD on the 6th.
I have some criticisms of Battlestar. (It’s “Hollywood” enough to have explosions make noise in the vacuum of space.)
But there’s no other TV show in history that has such strong, complex female characters. Women completely overpower the male actors.
Razor is the best yet. They should study it at film school.
Michelle Forbes plays unforgettable military psychotic Admiral Helena Cain:
Cain later made a name for herself as a smart and ambitious officer in the Colonial Fleet. She was something of a rising star: Commander William Adama later remarks that she was promoted “to Rear Admiral over half the Commanders on the list”.
Prior to the destruction of the Twelve Colonies, Cain’s flagship, the Battlestar Pegasus, was docked at the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards for a major refit. The refit team included a civilian network analyst, Gina Inviere, with whom Cain initiated a lesbian relationship. At the time of the attack, Admiral Cain, like many of her crew, was preparing to leave the ship on shore leave. The initial Cylon strike destroyed five Colonial vessels in Pegasus’ immediate vicinity and severely damaged the Pegasus herself, killing 700 crew members. In a desperate gamble, Admiral Cain ordered a “blind jump” that took the Pegasus out of the combat zone. The stress of losing so many crew members appears to have contributed to Admiral Cain’s later extreme behaviour and possible alcoholism.
Even more fascinating is Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen, a Portuguese Chinese Norwegian English Aussie, born in Hong Kong. She has degrees in philosophy and English literature.
She plays Kendra Shaw, a smart, tough warrior ethically torn by the commands given by Cain. But who obeys. And who rises rapidly in the military hierarchy.
She numbs her pain with drugs.
OK, I want to buy this special as a download. …
Oops — NBC yanked it off iTunes in a pricing dispute. Oops — it’s not available on NBC.com …
Ah, NBC will make it available from Hulu.com … Oops — Hulu is in Beta, AND not available for Mac.
Oh, well. I don’t want to, but I can buy the DVD from NBC. Mail it as a Christmas gift to my empowered women friends.
Oops —
Never mind, if NBC doesn’t want my business, I know how to get their product. Without all the roadblocks to commerce.
Do you see why I am so critical of old media?
Rick McCharles 