2008
The Downfall of K in Kabul
This may be stale news to many, but to me it is
refreshingly new and amusing. Afghanistan has banned
television networks from broadcasting Indian soaps as
they are said to be lowering moral standards. The
soaps apparently represent too much freedom for the
liking of the custodians of Islamic faith.
Nevertheless, some tv stations have ignored the ban and continue to broadcast the soaps, only after blurring out exposed midriffs and naked arms and deleting scenes of worship.
I read that people in Kabul become excited at the very mention of Tulsi's name. Their eyes light up and they can go on and on, epitomizing her role as an exemplary wife in Kyun Ki Saans Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (Because the Mother-In-Law was Once a Daughter-In-Law). Very amusing indeed.
I too think Indian soaps are lowering moral standards, but for taking us back in time with their regressive outlook, which is where I respectfully disagree with the clerics. But one is not making creative use of time by banning anything! It is certainly not democratic, but I wonder if democracy is the value being questioned here.
Before we make any contemptuous comments, is it not fair to say that all countries struggle with finding a balance between authority and freedom? Even in India, we are constantly banning films that we think are too liberal. Perhaps, there is no one cogent definition of free will.
Nevertheless, some tv stations have ignored the ban and continue to broadcast the soaps, only after blurring out exposed midriffs and naked arms and deleting scenes of worship.
I read that people in Kabul become excited at the very mention of Tulsi's name. Their eyes light up and they can go on and on, epitomizing her role as an exemplary wife in Kyun Ki Saans Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (Because the Mother-In-Law was Once a Daughter-In-Law). Very amusing indeed.
I too think Indian soaps are lowering moral standards, but for taking us back in time with their regressive outlook, which is where I respectfully disagree with the clerics. But one is not making creative use of time by banning anything! It is certainly not democratic, but I wonder if democracy is the value being questioned here.
Before we make any contemptuous comments, is it not fair to say that all countries struggle with finding a balance between authority and freedom? Even in India, we are constantly banning films that we think are too liberal. Perhaps, there is no one cogent definition of free will.
What the Frak is Going On?
If you've watched the three seasons of Battlestar
Gallactica you'll love this 8 minute review of the
show. It's hilarious!
Man - The Doggone Dog God
A few thousand years ago, man
played god and a dog was born. Ever since, man
hasn’t stopped playing god. While there are many
men who have created dogs in every imaginable
shape and size, with every imaginable trait,
deserving to be loved and admired, there are
some that are embarrassing mistakes. Saying just
that is probably enough, but I absolutely want
to say more about the dog and the dog god! =)
I always assumed that dogs, like humans were a part of evolution, or that they evolved over time just as humans did. While that may be true, there’s more to it.
That we are human is a result of 85 million years of changes to the physical form and structure of a species. It has to do with “natural selection”, where in, a species naturally changes over a period of time, by retaining favorable traits and rejecting unfavorable ones to adapt to the changing environment. If ape became man it is because, at some point in time, ape had to become man in order to survive. That is the divine design! I say divine design, not to call attention to the role of god, but even if there is no god, the divine design is just that there is no intentional intervention.
Dogs on the other hand were a result of “artificial selection”. They are actually wolves that were selectively bred by humans in many different ways and for many different generations, and even interbred with other species like jackals and foxes, to suit our needs. Clearly, needs we have many! Even if it's with dogs!
What is most baffling is that more than half of the existing dog species today are only 150 years old. What is 150 years, in comparison with 3.7 billion years of life on earth! It is one of the world's newest species and most definitely the world's newest mammal.
Dogs are the biggest victims of eugenics, or the science of perfecting a species. Now, why they were put through it, is a long story and a very interesting one. I saw an amazing show on National Geographic called “The Science of Dogs” that explains just that and more.
The show has some of the most astonishing examples of how man created dogs that today serve as our companions, protectors, guides, hunters, crime fighters and entertainers. It introduces us to the science of creating a dog, of finding cures for diseases, of nurturing a species, of destroying a species. What more? It is about the history of classes and cultures. How something as uncomplicated as a dog can can have such a complicated saga to it is remarkable.
The show starts with an example of
Dogo Argentino of Texas. The breed was designed
over a period of 25 years with just one aim in
mind – to find the recipe for the perfect dog
that can attack and hold a wild boar weighing up
to 400 pounds.
From the official website, here’s the formula that lead to the creation.
1) the Fighting Dog of Cordoba, to which he added blood from
2) the Pointer to give him a keen sense of smell which would be essential for the hunt.
3) The Boxer added vivacity and gentleness;
4) the Great Dane it's size;
5) the Bull Terrier, fearlessness;
6) the Bulldog gave it an ample chest and boldness;
7) the Irish Wolfhound brought it's instinct as a hunter of wild game;
8) the Dogue de Bordeaux contributed it's powerful jaws;
9) the Great Pyrenees it's white coat and
10) the Spanish Mastiff gave it's quota of power.
Another example from the show was
the Sulimov, a trainable bomb-sniffing dog. A
Soviet expert mated several breeds of hunting
dogs with wild jackals to arrive at the Sulimov.
Its sensitive nose can detect 12 different
chemical compounds used in explosives and can
even sniff out an explosive that’s a size of a
small sand grain in a large airport with lots of
activity. There are only 40 Sulimovs in this
world, all of which are a protected property of
the Soviet.
The show takes us back in time, to the Victorian era, in the mid 19th century, when the industrial revolution transformed our landscape. The industrial revolution was when the Railways came into being. There were major changes to the manufacturing and transportation industries. It was also the Age of Enlightenment, when systematic thinking influenced all areas of human activity. All the progress during this time gave rise to a large upper middle class society. People began to emphasize their status and class hierarchy became very important. Gardens and Architecture became signs of wealth and prestige. Fascinatingly, dogs too became a status symbol and about 320 species were instantly created. The pure breds we know today were in fact the ones that were created at this time. They conformed to set breed standards that were established so as to distinguish superior dogs from the inferior ones.
But, over time all the tinkering of genes came with a huge price. Today, one out of every four pure breds has some sort of serious genetic problem or the other. The shallow gene pool resulted in dogs with eye problems, deafness, heart problems and other ailments. Moreover, as man and dog share the same environment, the dogs have a lot of the same ailments that men do. They suffer for the same cancers and poxes that we do and it is all our fault.
Whatever the fate of dogs, all this has proved to be a blessing for man. Now research on dogs is helping man fight his own genetic problems and find cures for diseases. And in all likelihood, the cure will eventually help the dog as well.
There is no mammal on earth that exists in as many varieties as the dog. There are no cows with curly tails, or pigs with long legs. But, if you’ve ever wondered why, it is simply because dogs have the most malleable genes. Humans didn’t have to know this to breed dogs, dogs just happened to be most susceptible to modification.
Here is a fact t omarvel at. A two-pound Chihuahua and a 250-pound Mastiff share 99.8% of the same genes. It is just one small tweak to a single IGF-1 gene fo a dog that causes the changes in size, shape, personality and everything else that varies from breed to breed.
It is that single gene that makes a great dane different from a dalmatian, a poodle different from bull dog. It is that single gene that makes some dogs better at sniffing out cancer, and some capable of jumping 25 feet, some better at sniffing out explosives, some capable of running at 40 mph, some friendlier, some more aggressive, some with defects that make them chase their tales in circles until they throw up, some with spots on their bodies causing deafness… the list goes on.
Now, in creating dogs and dog breeds, and doing what we did, we have unknowingly protected a species and facilitated the process of evolution in a smooth way. In taming the animal, we have made it possible for it to survive with us in a way that no other mammal has been able to. But, all this does little for the actual wolf, whose natural habitat is rapidly facing destruction.
The final segment of the show
focuses on the differences in the temperament of
the wolf and a dog to show how much the
human-canine interaction has altered the very
nature of the species. The experiment show us
how the dogs have become dependent on humans for
survival. They look to humans for instructions
or ideas on how to work things. When given an
obstacle, they expect humans to help them with
their problems. The wolf on the other hand,
works independently. It may have a pack leader,
but that pack leader is definitely not human!
All said and done, I don’t know what to make of this science project. In fact, we have gone way beyond judgement time. The dog is here to stay, whether it is good, bad or ugly. We can just marvel at the creation of a species and at the same time deride some of the terrible outcomes, and hope that progress will only lead us to the creation of a real Superdog and not a four-legged Frankenstien.
On a totally non-scientific note, I am wondering how we managed to generate so many stray dogs in this world! =)
Them Beauties Face Reality!
Finally they make changes!
Miss America will remove stupid from the competition... or so they hope!
This time competitors have no idea what they are getting into. Unfortunately, the real winner is going to be a brainy one! The show is called Miss America: Reality Check, where 52 contestants will live together and get unpageanted as they participate in challenges that will test their intellect and update their look (no overly hair-sprayed, puffed up hairdos and those weird polyester Cinderella gowns). With no vote-offs, they will all stay till the end of the series and keep us entertained.
I saw the last half of one episode yesterday where Miss. Pennsylvania struggled to find her state flag in one challenge, causing her team to fall behind. But the judges seem to have thought she kicked ass in the second challenge where each team was given a controversial topic (gun control, gay/lesbian rights.. ) to discuss. By the end of the show she made it as one of the top three contenders!
... i personally believe that U.S. Americans and beauties such as are able to do so, because, uh, some people out there like such as in, brainyness stuff and uh, everything like such as I can relate to uh, will be able to build up our future for our children. =)
TV TV TV
The list with get much much longer =)
Babylon 5 (TNT)
Imagine a futuristic sci-fi drama with endless possibilities, limited only by your imagination. Imagine earth politics, and our life on earth multiplied by a thousand times with different species on different planets, interacting with each other. The magnitude of this incredible interstellar politics, the issues you will need to deal with is beyond comprehension. If there is no limit to science or philosophy or the philosophy of science and the science of philosophy, if there are more players fighting for power or supremacy, then that situation is what is theme of Babylon 5. Set in the 23rd century, Babylon 5 is a large space station created to be a mediating ground between different species to make transactions and help with negotiations, but it soon becomes the base for all political conflict. The dominant species are the Humans, the Narns, the Centuris, the Minbaris and the Vorlons. The less powerful species form the League of Non-Aligned Worlds.
This is the only tv show with a story arc taking place over 5 seasons and was conceived as a “novel” with a defined beginning, middle and end. Still, it allows for enough trap doors in the event of an actors unexpected departure from the series.
Don’t let the initial graphics in the first few seasons fool you. Although the visual effects may seem outdated today, it was the first tv show to use computer technology for visual effects. As the seasons progress the graphics get more and more sophisticated. Babylon 5 was also the first to anticipate the shift to HDTV and planned all their shots for 16:9 even for the first seasons and compressed them to fit our current 4:3 screens. The show also is the first sci-fi to explore political and social issues relevant to our current landscape. It was the first show to denotatively refer to same-sex relationships. It takes on an array of issues, ranging on broad scale from religion, war, political ideologies like authoritarianism and free-will, to scientific advancements and even themes involving the subconscious mind. Definetly one of the more philosophically profound sci-fi series I have seen.
Battlestar Gallactica (Sci-fi Channel)
This ambitious sci-fi series takes on a lot of complex issues about rationality, religion and philosophy through the lens of scientific speculation. The politics of human society is now the politics of (human-like) people, of a system and of time. There’s internal conflict between the government, the military and the freedom-fighter terrorist and more importantly an external conflict with the Cylons who have acquired human form and have the ability to duplicate themselves and even program themselves as sleeper agents who don’t realize that they are Cylon until activated. Battlestar Galatica questions what the state of being real means and if the belief in God and reincarnation is restricted to humans and even questions if there really is some truth to it. Apart from all this, there’s brilliant performances and a fantastic depth in relationships, and great dialogues that are provocative and sometimes amusing, and a spectacular visual feel. What it does not have is comic relief, but that is anything but a drawback. One drawback however is that some of the technology seems inconsistently outdated - the computers, cameras, tvs, radio, mics...
Boston Legal (ABC)
A didactic legal comedy with some of the most distinctive and hysterically funny characters that television shows have seen. And yet, it is insightful and offers a whole lot of wisdom on everything from current politics to ethical concerns to attitudes and relationships. Alan Shore and Denny Crane sitting in the balcony with their cigars and scotch and reflecting on things is the ultimate benchmark of success and friendship.
Eureka! (Sci-fi Channel)
This is one of the least demanding sci-fi series there is, a quirky one with some humor and drama, but sort of wishy-washy in terms of the overarching premise. Like Torchwood, Eureka! too starts off with an interesting plot in each episode and takes on some really amazing subjects, but the ending of each episode is always lame, formulaic and doesn’t live up to the rest of the plot. After a point, you even stop expecting convincing explanations to all the bizarre occurrences. You just sit back and enjoy the feeling of tense excitement. The bright colors and the visual effects are exceptional.
The story is simple. Eureka is mysterious town in some remote part of the US, populated by the world’s greatest geniuses working on government-sanctioned experiments. It all began after World War II, the town which is the brain child of Einstein and funded by President Truman was a technological haven created with the belief that a peaceful world can only be secured through scientific advancement.
What mainly bothers me about the plot is how the US Marshall, who is the only average person in the town, somehow finds solutions to problems that the geniuses are completely clueless about. But, if you can laugh about it, you will love this rollicking series.
Firefly (Fox)
A fantastic sci-fi drama set in the 2500s with a recycled Western theme. It’s about the renegade crew on a Firefly-class spaceship called Serenity, who fly into space smuggling goods for survival and escaping the Alliance, which is the central government formed by the two surviving superpowers- United States and China. Except for the advancement of technology and humans occupying a lot of planets and moons, nothing else has changed. I really like how the wrongdoers are the protagonists with very hero-like qualities. They are a robinhood-like team - good guys who are prey to circumstances and love adventure. The dialogues are extraordinarily good. And the visuals have a very space opera kind of feel, with a western theme and some oriental elements. The characters are charming as hell. The series has only 14 episodes, 11 of which were aired on Fox, but didn’t do well because of Fox’s screw up, but the DVDs are super popular and worth buying.
Friends (NBC)
Needless to say, this series is about a group of friends, more or less living together, messing around, messing up and then pulling through with each other's help. What makes it unique is its ensemble format where no one protagonist dominates the show. Each of the six friends is charming in their own way, with peculiar traits and quirky personalities. There are seasons in between when they become annoyingly cranky and cynical, but for most part they are delightful. Although there were many TV shows with the Friends theme before, this one is really the trend-setter, more like a modernizer that became a genre in itself, setting popular culture and influencing everything from language to fashion. There’s much to be said about the endearing qualities of each character and certain recurring themes, but essentially this covers it.
Heroes (NBC)
This series is about seemingly ordinary people with extraordinary abilities. Each story arc builds slowly revealing the powers of the protagonists and how they learn to deal with them and use them to save humanity. There are many obvious gaps in the plot, with things left unexplained or not adding up, but the plot sucks you in and is addictive enough that the errors can be discounted, which says a lot about the other qualities of the film – great dialogue, acting and concept.
House (Fox)
House needs to be watched for House. He is a stubborn, sardonic, non-conforming medical genius, easily unraveling medical mysteries like he’s solving the Rubik’s cube. Dr. Wilson makes a great sidekick, and that he is a good friend of House is probably a testament to the sensitive side of House and the enduring quality of Dr. Wilson.
How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
This is yet another variant of the Friends sitcom, except it happens in flashback. In 2030, Ted narrates the story of how he met his kids’ mother to them. The show has a very interesting narrative structure with nested flashbacks, multiple points-of-view and telepathic conversations and is awash with awkward or amusing events and intriguing characters.
Inside the Living Body (National Geographic)
Wired magazine calls it “organ porn”. This is a human science lesson at it’s best. It demonstrates the metamorphosis of human bodies from birth to death with vivid and realistic visuals of the natural body. The film uses endoscopic high-def cameras to explore deep inside the body and sheds light at the minutest level on how and why our bodies do what they do. It’s like seeing how a diaphanous human body functions beneath the skin.
King of Queens(CBS)
This is (was, cos it ended in May) a generic “couple” sitcom, about a goofy blue-collar couple living in Queens with an odd-ball dad. Most of the episodes have them acting scrupulously or immaturely. It's fun to watch.
Live from Abbey Road (Sundance)
This series features a unique mix of music artists as they record songs at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London. Each show showcases three music bands rehearsing their performances for their recording. Their awe-inspiring performances will leave you with goosebumps and long-lasting memories. Unlike a lot of television series, this one is filmed in hi-def using 35mm lenses so that it “looks like a movie and sounds like a record”.
Orangutan Island (Animal Planet)
As the destruction of the Borneo forests and illegal logging operations threaten the lives of Orangutans, the Nyaru Menteng center rescues hundreds of orphaned and homeless orangutan babies and teaches them the skills that they need to survive in the wild. The center has created a groundbreaking project, whereby the orangutans are sent in batches to live in a protected sanctuary called Orangutan Island after they are taught the essential skills of survival, like building nests for the rainy season on top of the trees, fearing deadly reptiles and foraging for food.
The show introduces us to 35 orangutans who are dropped off at the island, and takes us on their journey of survival, as they form friendships, share knowledge and protect each other from external threats. This is very unlike the lives of wild orangutans, who live solitary lives and travel across endless territory every day and learn to fend for themselves. The baby orangutans in the wild live with their mothers for over 8 years and slowly learn to survive on their own. This fact alone makes the plight of the little orphaned primates on the island very heartbreaking. They have only experience to teach them the consequences of a bite from a deadly snake.
As the show progresses, you get to know the orangutans by their names and their personalities and fall in love with all of them and begin to feel concern when they are sick, and admire them for learning a new trick. It is a touching and emotional roller-coaster, but more than that, it is very entertaining. These kids are funny and lovable as hell. If they don't win your heart, you may need your head checked for marbles.
Scrubs (NBC)
This comedy-drama is a funnier and more innovative version of ER with lots of narration and daydreaming scenes. The show does extremely well in weaving multiple storylines together into a single seamless theme. The best part however is the verbose dialogues. Scrubs, is probably one of the most entertainingly talkative or talk-intensive shows there is. Unlike most TV shows today, Scrubs uses single-camera production, which makes the editing style even more unique and interesting.
Seinfeld (NBC)
This has to be the greatest comedy series of all times. It’s a celebration of disaster and the lack of moral conscience depicted by insanity, dishonesty and tons of completely ridiculous schemes. There’s Jerry Seinfeld, the main protagonist, a fictionalized version of the real Jerry Seinfeld, who is the “voice of reason” in the show.; there’s George Costanza, the insecure loser, always in the act of doing something terrible and then getting caught; Elaine, the more intelligent one, dealing with the eccentric people in her life; there’s Kramer the ever-scheming nice guy who is the wackiest of the lot; and then there is the despicable Newman, who is Kramer’s evil accomplice in his ploys. This is the first series since Monty Python whose characters fit the postmodern genre. Each episode has a very interesting story arc, where the events of one character somehow affect a seemingly unrelated event of another leading to an unexpected conflict that’s miraculously resolved in the end.
Sin City Law (Sundance)
This reality crime series is very revealing of the American justice system and the "sinful" side of the city of Las Vegas. Each episode takes viewers inside the recent criminal trials in Vegas. It's extremely suspenseful as it moves quickly from witness interviews to strategy sessions of attorneys, defendants, judges, investigators, victims and family members. The portrayals are possibly the most honest that viewers have seen. The conversations among lawyers and cops and their biases or casual attitude towards the crime, or sometimes their cut-throat mentality is easy to relate to and at the same time very telling of how criminal trials are handled.
South Park (Comedy Central)
Despite all the off-color humor, South Park is a lot of fun to watch. The parodies in the series, or more specifically the “children” don’t spare anyone. The show satirizes all the current events and everyone and everything that’s newsworthy. The topics are always controversial and provoke objections, but that’s apparently what it’s going for.
There’s Stan, the oversensitive leader of the group who tries to do the right thing when it comes to solving some really outrageous problems. There’s Kyle, the skeptical jew who is also the guy with the moral conscience. There’s Cartman the evil, conniving, anti-hero. There’s the hooded Kenny whose speech can only be understood by Kyle, Cartman and Stan. He’s usually the victim, when he is not dead or going about on his grotesque killing rampage, and then there is Butters the nervous and gullible kid. The south park residents as such, the protagonists’ families and school staff included, are as flamboyant as you can imagine and generally judgmental but quite unrestrained by any real sense of right and wrong.. but they try. =)
I like the cutout animation, where the characters are always directly facing the screen even as their walk around or talk to each other. I personally detest the vulgar humor, the only thing that keeps me from completely enjoying the show, and it’s a huge part.
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
This has to be one of the wittiest sitcoms of this era. It is about a group of socially inept super-genius scientists. Leonard and Shelldon’s passion for physics is as interesting as their views on the complex subject of women. Rajesh and Wolowitz complete the geek squad and make an impression with equal aplomb.
The Green – Big Ideas Small Planet (Sundance)
This series, dedicated entirely to the environment, inspired me to make a ton of changes to my life, from the way I live to what I do for a living. What ecoist and eco-designers produce to make a difference, like clothes out of recycled soda cans and recyclable hybrid cars made almost entirely with reused material is astonishing to say the least. It’s high on enlightenment and watching it is definitely the best first step to take towards an active, sustainable way of life.
The IT Crowd (NBC)
This one, I would highly recommend and even make it a mandatory requirement for all sitcom fans. =) It's about a technically challenged girl stuck with two nerdy IT guys in a dingy, untidy basement of a huge british corporation, the rest of the building very modern with stunning views of London. The show has ample doses of call center humor, social ineptness, lots of stupidity and situational humor. It has some elements of The Big Bang Theory and some of The Office. The casting is phenomenal and the chemistry between the protagonists is a delight to watch. They are the cutest characters I have seen and their accents too add to the fun.
The Universe (History)
Exploring the universe has never been as much fun. The series takes viewers into space and reveals everything scientists know and hope to unravel, as space probes travel all the way to the end of our solar system and send back astonishing images and videos of life in other planets. That we are a small speck in our galaxy and a small galaxy in the universe, and that we know nothing about our neighbors and that worlds are colliding and new worlds are forming is a tough one to grasp and knocks your head back, even though they are known facts.
Torchwood (BBC America)
This is a very lame show about a group of people hunting down aliens. It's an example of a show that can be exceptional, but just doesn't rise above a mediocre plot. England looks beautiful and the visuals make it worth watching.
Traveler (ABC)
This was an exciting drama-thriller series about two Yale university students who become terrorist suspects when the Drexler Museum in New York is bombed. They are on the run, trying to the escape the terrorists and the FBI, while tracing clues and uncovering the conspiracy. Unfortunately, the series was cancelled despite fans trying hard to revive it. The creator delivers closure and answers questions about Traveler on his blog.
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Two squabbling, diabolically opposite brothers, one of whom is a cool suave affluent casanova and the other is a nerdy free-wheeling divorced dad of a really lazy kid, live under the same roof, in this really witty sitcom. The dialogues, the decisive arguments, the snappy comebacks and all the theories on relationships (mostly from a man's point-of-view) is extremely gratifying to watch. The episodes with the stalking neighbor Rose are particularly hilarious. The housekeeper Berta too shows brilliant comic timing.
Babylon 5 (TNT)
Imagine a futuristic sci-fi drama with endless possibilities, limited only by your imagination. Imagine earth politics, and our life on earth multiplied by a thousand times with different species on different planets, interacting with each other. The magnitude of this incredible interstellar politics, the issues you will need to deal with is beyond comprehension. If there is no limit to science or philosophy or the philosophy of science and the science of philosophy, if there are more players fighting for power or supremacy, then that situation is what is theme of Babylon 5. Set in the 23rd century, Babylon 5 is a large space station created to be a mediating ground between different species to make transactions and help with negotiations, but it soon becomes the base for all political conflict. The dominant species are the Humans, the Narns, the Centuris, the Minbaris and the Vorlons. The less powerful species form the League of Non-Aligned Worlds.
This is the only tv show with a story arc taking place over 5 seasons and was conceived as a “novel” with a defined beginning, middle and end. Still, it allows for enough trap doors in the event of an actors unexpected departure from the series.
Don’t let the initial graphics in the first few seasons fool you. Although the visual effects may seem outdated today, it was the first tv show to use computer technology for visual effects. As the seasons progress the graphics get more and more sophisticated. Babylon 5 was also the first to anticipate the shift to HDTV and planned all their shots for 16:9 even for the first seasons and compressed them to fit our current 4:3 screens. The show also is the first sci-fi to explore political and social issues relevant to our current landscape. It was the first show to denotatively refer to same-sex relationships. It takes on an array of issues, ranging on broad scale from religion, war, political ideologies like authoritarianism and free-will, to scientific advancements and even themes involving the subconscious mind. Definetly one of the more philosophically profound sci-fi series I have seen.
Battlestar Gallactica (Sci-fi Channel)
This ambitious sci-fi series takes on a lot of complex issues about rationality, religion and philosophy through the lens of scientific speculation. The politics of human society is now the politics of (human-like) people, of a system and of time. There’s internal conflict between the government, the military and the freedom-fighter terrorist and more importantly an external conflict with the Cylons who have acquired human form and have the ability to duplicate themselves and even program themselves as sleeper agents who don’t realize that they are Cylon until activated. Battlestar Galatica questions what the state of being real means and if the belief in God and reincarnation is restricted to humans and even questions if there really is some truth to it. Apart from all this, there’s brilliant performances and a fantastic depth in relationships, and great dialogues that are provocative and sometimes amusing, and a spectacular visual feel. What it does not have is comic relief, but that is anything but a drawback. One drawback however is that some of the technology seems inconsistently outdated - the computers, cameras, tvs, radio, mics...
Boston Legal (ABC)
A didactic legal comedy with some of the most distinctive and hysterically funny characters that television shows have seen. And yet, it is insightful and offers a whole lot of wisdom on everything from current politics to ethical concerns to attitudes and relationships. Alan Shore and Denny Crane sitting in the balcony with their cigars and scotch and reflecting on things is the ultimate benchmark of success and friendship.
Eureka! (Sci-fi Channel)
This is one of the least demanding sci-fi series there is, a quirky one with some humor and drama, but sort of wishy-washy in terms of the overarching premise. Like Torchwood, Eureka! too starts off with an interesting plot in each episode and takes on some really amazing subjects, but the ending of each episode is always lame, formulaic and doesn’t live up to the rest of the plot. After a point, you even stop expecting convincing explanations to all the bizarre occurrences. You just sit back and enjoy the feeling of tense excitement. The bright colors and the visual effects are exceptional.
The story is simple. Eureka is mysterious town in some remote part of the US, populated by the world’s greatest geniuses working on government-sanctioned experiments. It all began after World War II, the town which is the brain child of Einstein and funded by President Truman was a technological haven created with the belief that a peaceful world can only be secured through scientific advancement.
What mainly bothers me about the plot is how the US Marshall, who is the only average person in the town, somehow finds solutions to problems that the geniuses are completely clueless about. But, if you can laugh about it, you will love this rollicking series.
Firefly (Fox)
A fantastic sci-fi drama set in the 2500s with a recycled Western theme. It’s about the renegade crew on a Firefly-class spaceship called Serenity, who fly into space smuggling goods for survival and escaping the Alliance, which is the central government formed by the two surviving superpowers- United States and China. Except for the advancement of technology and humans occupying a lot of planets and moons, nothing else has changed. I really like how the wrongdoers are the protagonists with very hero-like qualities. They are a robinhood-like team - good guys who are prey to circumstances and love adventure. The dialogues are extraordinarily good. And the visuals have a very space opera kind of feel, with a western theme and some oriental elements. The characters are charming as hell. The series has only 14 episodes, 11 of which were aired on Fox, but didn’t do well because of Fox’s screw up, but the DVDs are super popular and worth buying.
Friends (NBC)
Needless to say, this series is about a group of friends, more or less living together, messing around, messing up and then pulling through with each other's help. What makes it unique is its ensemble format where no one protagonist dominates the show. Each of the six friends is charming in their own way, with peculiar traits and quirky personalities. There are seasons in between when they become annoyingly cranky and cynical, but for most part they are delightful. Although there were many TV shows with the Friends theme before, this one is really the trend-setter, more like a modernizer that became a genre in itself, setting popular culture and influencing everything from language to fashion. There’s much to be said about the endearing qualities of each character and certain recurring themes, but essentially this covers it.
Heroes (NBC)
This series is about seemingly ordinary people with extraordinary abilities. Each story arc builds slowly revealing the powers of the protagonists and how they learn to deal with them and use them to save humanity. There are many obvious gaps in the plot, with things left unexplained or not adding up, but the plot sucks you in and is addictive enough that the errors can be discounted, which says a lot about the other qualities of the film – great dialogue, acting and concept.
House (Fox)
House needs to be watched for House. He is a stubborn, sardonic, non-conforming medical genius, easily unraveling medical mysteries like he’s solving the Rubik’s cube. Dr. Wilson makes a great sidekick, and that he is a good friend of House is probably a testament to the sensitive side of House and the enduring quality of Dr. Wilson.
How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
This is yet another variant of the Friends sitcom, except it happens in flashback. In 2030, Ted narrates the story of how he met his kids’ mother to them. The show has a very interesting narrative structure with nested flashbacks, multiple points-of-view and telepathic conversations and is awash with awkward or amusing events and intriguing characters.
Inside the Living Body (National Geographic)
Wired magazine calls it “organ porn”. This is a human science lesson at it’s best. It demonstrates the metamorphosis of human bodies from birth to death with vivid and realistic visuals of the natural body. The film uses endoscopic high-def cameras to explore deep inside the body and sheds light at the minutest level on how and why our bodies do what they do. It’s like seeing how a diaphanous human body functions beneath the skin.
King of Queens(CBS)
This is (was, cos it ended in May) a generic “couple” sitcom, about a goofy blue-collar couple living in Queens with an odd-ball dad. Most of the episodes have them acting scrupulously or immaturely. It's fun to watch.
Live from Abbey Road (Sundance)
This series features a unique mix of music artists as they record songs at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London. Each show showcases three music bands rehearsing their performances for their recording. Their awe-inspiring performances will leave you with goosebumps and long-lasting memories. Unlike a lot of television series, this one is filmed in hi-def using 35mm lenses so that it “looks like a movie and sounds like a record”.
Orangutan Island (Animal Planet)
As the destruction of the Borneo forests and illegal logging operations threaten the lives of Orangutans, the Nyaru Menteng center rescues hundreds of orphaned and homeless orangutan babies and teaches them the skills that they need to survive in the wild. The center has created a groundbreaking project, whereby the orangutans are sent in batches to live in a protected sanctuary called Orangutan Island after they are taught the essential skills of survival, like building nests for the rainy season on top of the trees, fearing deadly reptiles and foraging for food.
The show introduces us to 35 orangutans who are dropped off at the island, and takes us on their journey of survival, as they form friendships, share knowledge and protect each other from external threats. This is very unlike the lives of wild orangutans, who live solitary lives and travel across endless territory every day and learn to fend for themselves. The baby orangutans in the wild live with their mothers for over 8 years and slowly learn to survive on their own. This fact alone makes the plight of the little orphaned primates on the island very heartbreaking. They have only experience to teach them the consequences of a bite from a deadly snake.
As the show progresses, you get to know the orangutans by their names and their personalities and fall in love with all of them and begin to feel concern when they are sick, and admire them for learning a new trick. It is a touching and emotional roller-coaster, but more than that, it is very entertaining. These kids are funny and lovable as hell. If they don't win your heart, you may need your head checked for marbles.
Scrubs (NBC)
This comedy-drama is a funnier and more innovative version of ER with lots of narration and daydreaming scenes. The show does extremely well in weaving multiple storylines together into a single seamless theme. The best part however is the verbose dialogues. Scrubs, is probably one of the most entertainingly talkative or talk-intensive shows there is. Unlike most TV shows today, Scrubs uses single-camera production, which makes the editing style even more unique and interesting.
Seinfeld (NBC)
This has to be the greatest comedy series of all times. It’s a celebration of disaster and the lack of moral conscience depicted by insanity, dishonesty and tons of completely ridiculous schemes. There’s Jerry Seinfeld, the main protagonist, a fictionalized version of the real Jerry Seinfeld, who is the “voice of reason” in the show.; there’s George Costanza, the insecure loser, always in the act of doing something terrible and then getting caught; Elaine, the more intelligent one, dealing with the eccentric people in her life; there’s Kramer the ever-scheming nice guy who is the wackiest of the lot; and then there is the despicable Newman, who is Kramer’s evil accomplice in his ploys. This is the first series since Monty Python whose characters fit the postmodern genre. Each episode has a very interesting story arc, where the events of one character somehow affect a seemingly unrelated event of another leading to an unexpected conflict that’s miraculously resolved in the end.
Sin City Law (Sundance)
This reality crime series is very revealing of the American justice system and the "sinful" side of the city of Las Vegas. Each episode takes viewers inside the recent criminal trials in Vegas. It's extremely suspenseful as it moves quickly from witness interviews to strategy sessions of attorneys, defendants, judges, investigators, victims and family members. The portrayals are possibly the most honest that viewers have seen. The conversations among lawyers and cops and their biases or casual attitude towards the crime, or sometimes their cut-throat mentality is easy to relate to and at the same time very telling of how criminal trials are handled.
South Park (Comedy Central)
Despite all the off-color humor, South Park is a lot of fun to watch. The parodies in the series, or more specifically the “children” don’t spare anyone. The show satirizes all the current events and everyone and everything that’s newsworthy. The topics are always controversial and provoke objections, but that’s apparently what it’s going for.
There’s Stan, the oversensitive leader of the group who tries to do the right thing when it comes to solving some really outrageous problems. There’s Kyle, the skeptical jew who is also the guy with the moral conscience. There’s Cartman the evil, conniving, anti-hero. There’s the hooded Kenny whose speech can only be understood by Kyle, Cartman and Stan. He’s usually the victim, when he is not dead or going about on his grotesque killing rampage, and then there is Butters the nervous and gullible kid. The south park residents as such, the protagonists’ families and school staff included, are as flamboyant as you can imagine and generally judgmental but quite unrestrained by any real sense of right and wrong.. but they try. =)
I like the cutout animation, where the characters are always directly facing the screen even as their walk around or talk to each other. I personally detest the vulgar humor, the only thing that keeps me from completely enjoying the show, and it’s a huge part.
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
This has to be one of the wittiest sitcoms of this era. It is about a group of socially inept super-genius scientists. Leonard and Shelldon’s passion for physics is as interesting as their views on the complex subject of women. Rajesh and Wolowitz complete the geek squad and make an impression with equal aplomb.
The Green – Big Ideas Small Planet (Sundance)
This series, dedicated entirely to the environment, inspired me to make a ton of changes to my life, from the way I live to what I do for a living. What ecoist and eco-designers produce to make a difference, like clothes out of recycled soda cans and recyclable hybrid cars made almost entirely with reused material is astonishing to say the least. It’s high on enlightenment and watching it is definitely the best first step to take towards an active, sustainable way of life.
The IT Crowd (NBC)
This one, I would highly recommend and even make it a mandatory requirement for all sitcom fans. =) It's about a technically challenged girl stuck with two nerdy IT guys in a dingy, untidy basement of a huge british corporation, the rest of the building very modern with stunning views of London. The show has ample doses of call center humor, social ineptness, lots of stupidity and situational humor. It has some elements of The Big Bang Theory and some of The Office. The casting is phenomenal and the chemistry between the protagonists is a delight to watch. They are the cutest characters I have seen and their accents too add to the fun.
The Universe (History)
Exploring the universe has never been as much fun. The series takes viewers into space and reveals everything scientists know and hope to unravel, as space probes travel all the way to the end of our solar system and send back astonishing images and videos of life in other planets. That we are a small speck in our galaxy and a small galaxy in the universe, and that we know nothing about our neighbors and that worlds are colliding and new worlds are forming is a tough one to grasp and knocks your head back, even though they are known facts.
Torchwood (BBC America)
This is a very lame show about a group of people hunting down aliens. It's an example of a show that can be exceptional, but just doesn't rise above a mediocre plot. England looks beautiful and the visuals make it worth watching.
Traveler (ABC)
This was an exciting drama-thriller series about two Yale university students who become terrorist suspects when the Drexler Museum in New York is bombed. They are on the run, trying to the escape the terrorists and the FBI, while tracing clues and uncovering the conspiracy. Unfortunately, the series was cancelled despite fans trying hard to revive it. The creator delivers closure and answers questions about Traveler on his blog.
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Two squabbling, diabolically opposite brothers, one of whom is a cool suave affluent casanova and the other is a nerdy free-wheeling divorced dad of a really lazy kid, live under the same roof, in this really witty sitcom. The dialogues, the decisive arguments, the snappy comebacks and all the theories on relationships (mostly from a man's point-of-view) is extremely gratifying to watch. The episodes with the stalking neighbor Rose are particularly hilarious. The housekeeper Berta too shows brilliant comic timing.
