Categories
Science Fiction Television

SGU the Complete Final Season DVD is Available

The final season of Stargate Universe is available on DVD. Amazon is offering the set for just over $30 at the moment. (Check the item’s price on Amazon for the current actual price. It might be even cheaper now!)

Stargate Universe Season 2 DVD box cover
Season 2 was the final season of Stargate Universe

Season two ended the run of Stargate Universe. Unfortunately, the series wasn’t drawing enough live viewers to warrant a renewal for another season, despite the marked increase in episode quality in season 2, most notably in the back half of the season.

I had begun to really enjoy the series this season, after having ambivalent feelings about it in season 1. There was even a point when I thought I was done watching SGU, but I ended up returning to the series because of my love for all things Stargate.

There are a lot of special feature and extras on the Season 2 set, including commentary for every episode. I found several of the special features humorous, including the “Pitches” special. It might be my favorite of the entire set, just because I found the spoof of the process for getting a script together and written to be especially funny.

Finally, if you’re a huge fan of Stargate, it’s going to be hard to pass up owning the final season of what might be the final Stargate series for a long while. So, buy the Stargate Universe Complete Final Season DVD set for your collection and get a good deal in the process.

Link: I reviewed the SGU Season 2 DVD set on Stargate Universe Fan.

Categories
Sci-Fi Views

Poll for Stargate Fans Has Little Chance of Success

Not for the reasons you might think, either. 

I’m all for a vote to help save the Stargate franchise, but in this instance, I found myself turned off the vote by the wording of the request for votes.

http://stargate.taosu.net/

They are canceling Stargate! Not only SGU, but the whole Stargate franchise!

But we are already seeing SGU getting better every episode. We want to see more episodes and movies out of the franchise! Also, it’s not only SGU’s own fault for its cancellation. SyFy’s poor slot arrangement of the show largely contributes to its poor performance.

Cast here to show your support for Stargate!

I know why SGU was cancelled. It wasn’t very good in the beginning. In fact, it was part way into season 2 before the show became exciting and interesting enough to bring me back into the fold of SGU fans.

As for this poll, I don’t think it’s smart to put so much emphasis on Syfy as being part of the reason for the show’s failure. Syfy has been a huge supporter of Stargate over the years.

I think SGU had already lost far too many viewers before a time slot move was even contemplated. Denial of the facts isn’t helping anyone. Some people love the show. Many more do not.

Me, I have found a new appreciation for the episodes of Stargate Universe as the series nears its end. But blaming Syfy for the failure of the previous episodes is not a smart move. I won’t vote in this poll, even though I do think Stargate deserves to be saved.

Categories
Science Fiction Television

Stargate Universe Episodes to Date

Stargate Universe is in its final season. Although I had high hopes for the series, it took a little too long to take off with viewers and ended up being cancelled after only two seasons. Still, you don’t want to miss your chance to watch these final episodes of the long-lived, much-loved Stargate franchise.

This list of Stargate Universe episodes that have aired to date includes links to view the episodes at Amazon where you can watch a short preview and choose either the standard version or the HD video version. Catch up quickly, because the final episodes in the series will be airing over the next few weeks.

Categories
Fantasy Science Fiction Television

Sanctuary Returns

Tonight, Sanctuary returned after a long mid-season break with a resolution to the mid-season cliffhanger ending in which it appeared Magnus, Will, Kate, and Henry had been executed. [Oops, I orignally said Tesla, but when I watched to episode I realized I was getting confused…]

Sanctuary TV Series on Syfy

(Easiest way to watch missed episodes is at Amazon – Click here.)

I haven’t actually watched yet though, because I’ll be getting to that tomorrow. Gotta love that DVR. Tonight I watched DVR’d episodes of Merlin from the latest season that I hadn’t had a chance to catch up on yet.

Should I be in a hurry to catch up with the Sanctuary team? I hope so! As I’ve said before, the hollow Earth story hasn’t been that thrilling for me. I’m hoping the season gets a lot better in the back half.

Not to say I didn’t enjoy specific episodes or the show in general this season (season 3), just that I’m not sure the hollow Earth story is something that I find appealing. I’d rather it went away in favor of something better…

Support the shows you love. You can buy Sanctuary episodes cheap at Amazon. They cost around $2 each. You can watch 4 episodes for the price of a paperback these days. And you don’t have to sit through any commercials.

Categories
Science Fiction Television

Fringe Renewed for a Season Four

If you loved the show, why not buy it on DVD? Fringe: The Complete First Season and Fringe: The Complete Second Season.

The news is out that Fringe has been renewed for a set of 22 episodes, making it a full season renewal for the show. Many fans were worried Fox wouldn’t choose to renew the series for a half-season, so this full season pick up for Fringe is good news for lots of people.

TV by the Numbers asks if DVR viewing helped save Fringe from cancellation. In a nutshell, I think the post answers: very little.

I love DVR viewing. In fact, that’s how I watch almost every show I watch on TV, and I do mean EVERY. I even record the news and watch it later. So this is sad news to me. But unfortunately, I’m not willing to give up my time any more than I already do for any of the shows I watch (which frankly feels like too much time a lot of the time anyway!)

I’m a huge fan of television series. I prefer TV over movies hands down and would love to support these shows better, but like many people, the only reason I’m able to watch the television I do watch these days is because of DVDs, DVRs, and services like Netflix, where I’m able to condense an hour of television time down to about 40 minutes.

I wrote a bunch of stuff here that went off on a tangent about ads and television, and how I don’t think ads have to ruin a show. I made it into its own post though because it was quite off the subject of Fringe’s season renewal. I hope you take the time to read it here.

I haven’t watched Fringe for a while, after losing interest in this particular television series early on because of air time conflicts. However, I’ve heard good things about it from the fans who love it, so the day will probably come when I’ll catch up and watch, as long as the Fringe writers don’t do anything stupid and ruin Fringe in the end.

Some series that I loved but will not be buying on DVD or watching again EVER for that very reason: Syfy’s Battlestar Galactica, Quantum Leap, Farscape. Many people don’t find a television series ruined by a single bad episode or two at the end of a show–or a single bad wrap up movie. I’m not one of those people.

For all the fans who care, here’s hoping Fringe has a few more great seasons ahead of it.

Categories
Television

How to Keep DVR Viewers Watching Ads

I’m a DVR fanatic. I use it to record almost everything I watch. Seriously. I even record the news and watch it later so I can cut out the commercials (interruptions) and get to the stuff I want to see.

This is a problem though, because of this (quoted from TV by the Numbers – excellent site if you’ve never visited TVbtN:

That’s not surprising given that all DVR users skip some of the commercials some of the time, with many skipping most of the commercials most of the time.

TV Commercials are Interruptions but They Shouldn’t Be

Yep. I skip them every time, unless I forget or something catches my eye as I’m skipping and I skip back to watch. I’m pretty sure most people can imagine how often that doesn’t happen.

In the end, I think the best idea for product placement is in the show itself. A closer relationship between the advertiser and the television series creators can bring us fun ads that fit right into the series itself. I know it’s harder in science-fiction and fantasy television, but not impossible. I still think the Degree/Eureka partnership was a great example of how it can work. I remember those “ads” that were really just part of the episodes. And it didn’t bother me that they were there. I can imagine it working for many of the shows I love.

I don’t have a problem with advertisements and television. I have a problem with interruptions. Ads don’t have to be interruptions… I’m just saying…

Categories
Science Fiction Television

Eureka to Return in July

“EurekaWriters: Hear ye, hear ye! @Syfy has spoken: #Eureka is back with Season 4.5 in July, folks! http://bit.ly/fXcfwM” (link)

Eureka

Finally, a return date for Eureka. Everyone knows I have a real soft spot for this show. I run a Eureka fan site after all, and there’s not greater show of love for a series than to spend too many hours building a site just to showcase one’s appreciation for it.

Season 4.5 has been a long time coming, and I’m excited to know that it won’t be much longer before I can revisit my favorite weird little town of Eureka.

There’s also been news that Eureka has been renewed for a 5th season.

So, I’m marking my calendar for July and will be keeping an eye out for the return of one of my favorite television shows.

Long live Eureka.

You can catch the last 5 episodes aired on the Syfy website, or just go to Amazon and watch any that you’ve missed.

If you’re a fellow fan, check out the Eureka books too…

Categories
Fantasy Science Fiction Television

Being Human Renewed

Being Human has been renewed for a second season. The announcement came several days ago, which I happened to see on Syfy’s Twitter account.

Just today, I watched the latest episode, Dog Eat Dog, and cannot begin to express how fascinating I’m finding the relationships between Aidan, Bishop, Josh, Sally, and Rebecca. My favorite is the power plays going on inside the vampire culture. (And I don’t even like vampires!)

There are three full episodes online at Syfy for viewing, but your best bet is to catch reruns on the Syfy channel or buy episodes at Amazon or from the iTunes store.

I think the second season renewal is great news and hope the show continues to be so interesting.

What do you think of it?

Categories
Fantasy Television

Sanctuary to Return in April

On April 15, we’ll finally get an ending to the cliffhanger we were given at the end of the first half of the 3rd season.

Sanctuary TV Series on Syfy

(FYI: Easiest way to watch missed episodes is at Amazon.) Who knows what kind of ending that will turn out to be, but at least we’ll find out if anyone died. My bet is on “No.” I don’t have any inside information about that, though, so maybe I’m wrong.

What would I think of Sanctuary if another character died? What do I already think of it?

I’m not sure I would continue to watch, even though I do enjoy the show overall. The fact is, I haven’t felt quite the same about the series since Ashley was killed off, and Druitt went missing for all those episodes, nearly the entirety of the first half of season 3. I did love having Tesla in so many episodes but I have to say in all honesty, I haven’t found the whole “hollow earth” story line to be inspiring or exciting. Kind of dull, in fact. Which is really too bad, because there are some great characters in this show and the actors are wonderful. I guess this is entirely a problem with the writing, since the writers are in charge of plot.

Early in season three of Sanctuary, there was a great set up for a future story that had to do with the death of Big Guy’s priest friend, and then the story was brought to an abrupt and unfulfilling end. Why? Am I the only one who found that disconcerting? I have to think something happened to interfere with Sanctuary’s writers’ ability to pursue that story line to a better conclusion… but I might be stretching it to think there’s something behind it other than bad writing.

I still like the series though and imagine I’ll stick with it as long as Henry, Will, Kate, Helen, Big Guy, Druitt, and Tesla make it out of the season alive. After Ashley, though, I find I have a very low tolerance for character death on this show.

So be warned writers. I’m instigating a zero tolerance policy for crap writing this season. Too many good shows, too little time.

Anyone with me? (Or not?)

Categories
Science Fiction Television

Syfy Series Renewed: Eureka, Warehouse 13, Haven

A recent Syfy tweet announced “And before we start…#Warehouse13, #Eureka & #Haven have all been renewed & we are working on new seasons, airdates TBA” (link)

So there we go.

Warehouse 13 renewed for a season 3.

Eureka renewed for a season 5.

Haven renewed for a season 2.