Consider it relative to its time. I have to look it as #1 though - when was the last time you saw SciFi with crappy effects but considered it anything but garbage?
To be honest most scifi shows on TV don't have the best effects, as long as the story is sound and engaging it can be good.
So your point is that science fiction stories have a special property that exempts them from the basic rules of "definable quality" that apply to all other types of stories? Could you articulate exactly what this property is, and how you can objectively tell when the property is in application? What about stories like "Minority Report" that have a 'near future science fiction' status? How about 'paranormal' shows like X-Files or Fringe that deal with aliens and other science fiction concepts in the milieu of the modern, non-science fictiony world? And is there a similar state that applies to other types of stories?
The effects don't have to be mind-blowing to convey the idea. Take Dr. Who or any other British Sci-Fi more than 10 years old.
It was for me. I assume it was meant to be the great big secret that won't be revealed to the audience until the end of the season, but I agree it was shot/choreographed poorly. Absolutely, you got me, that was exactly my point. If you put space lasers into anything, it is objectively awesome. Give the snipers in the contemplative anti-war drama All Quiet on the Western Front a ray gun, and all the sudden it becomes All Kickin' A-- on the Western Front. Are you bored by the chess scenes and discursions on life's meaning in The Seventh Seal? Not when Death whips out his light saber, you won't be.
Good points about them being backed in a corner, basically, with the reveal from the original series. Unlike in 1983, we all know they're evil. We all know they're lizards. So to drag that out for 2, 3, 4 episodes... you're right, that's a problem. That said... the overall execution was bungled in many other, smaller places. The sub-plots all felt ham-fisted, the dialogue all clunky. Examples: [FBI buddy]: "Can I drive?" [Juliet from Lost]: "No." (smirk) Just stale, flat dialogue with no chemistry between characters. When Juliet-from-Lost's son comes to see her: "Is this about him? Is this because your dad left you?" Arrrrrgh. Just way too on the nose. I guess I'll give the show another shot, but I don't really see it improving, the problem is in its bones. It's just not well-executed.
I disagree. Alan Tudyk always plays the goofy good guy. The first part of the episode and his goofy banter with his parter were enough that I had already ruled him out as the FBI mole in my mind. It was IMO a fine job of hiding him in plain sight. The same thing with the 'defector' Visitor. I didn't peg him as an alien until he started fighting with the other visitor at high-speed. The whole human wife that he really, genuinely loved and the way that he was ambivalent about the Visitors/Resistance made that reveal unexpected to me. Granted, probably some of this was based on referencing back to the way things played out in the original series (i.e. in the original all the visitors were either absurdly, insanely evil, or were committed freedom fighters for the Resistance), but that is one of the things that is fun about remakes. They did the same thing in BSG quite a bit.
I agree on the relative for its time, and budget, so I will give Dr. Who and Red Dwarf a break. I thought the effects looked a little cheap on V compared to a lot of the Sci-Fi you can get on TV these days. Although I am glad they didn't use the hand held camera, desaturated color, and unsteady zooms like BSG and now Stargate Universe use. The other thing that bothered me is that the acting seems kind of ham handed. Like special effects that is relative, for instance it didn't bother me so much the poor acting on Andromeda, but for a show where drama is one of the main selling points it seems like they could've done a better job. I'm critical but not totally down on the show and will give it a chance so hopefully things pick up in the next few episodes.
I missed the pilot but caught last nights episode...it was ok..I'll have to find the pilot to fill in the blanks, but overall I've seen worse tv...
ABC.com and Hulu are going to show new episodes 4 days after air, not next day. If you can wait a couple of days, it will be on Hulu before the next episode airs.
