B7 Re-Watch: Cygnus Alpha

Where can I watch it?

http://youtu.be/IWsErfomZcE

Synopsis:

Cygnus Alpha is the third in a three part arc that served to kick off the show. The show opens on the titular planet where two people in priestly robes are watching the London enter orbit. 

Maybe this whole banished to a penal planet won't be so bad. 

We switch to the London where the Captain is recounting to his log the events of Space Fall. We don't tarry long however before we move back to Blake and company onboard their new hotrod. 

No joking. This is the coolest bridge ever. 

The trio quickly find an armory that will only let you take one gun. Stingy jerks! They then set about figuring out how to fly the ship by way of pushing random buttons. Hey, that's how I work blu ray players so why not. The ship takes a chance to make telepathic contact with Jenna. 

It's true. Blondes do have more telepathic contact. 

Unwittingly Jenna names the ship liberator. The group meets Zen the ships main computer who looks like a hexagon shaped 1980s Macintosh complete with blinking cursors. 70s Sci Fi reasoned that the future would be filled with blinking lights. That's how you knew it was the future. 

He was a sassy computer. They were lovable scamps. Together they'd have wacky adventures and be home in time for tea. 

Zen gives them information about the ship but will not answer questions about its makers prompting a running joke of Avon saying how he needs to reprogram it. At the same time the London drops the remaining prisoners on Cygnus Alpha. They conveniently ignore the fact that they had at least four more months of travel time. The prisoners encounter more priestly figures who tell them that God has poisoned them and they must take daily treatments to live. 

Yeah, he looks like he'd be down with Captain Tripps. 

Meanwhile liberator arrives in orbit to "rescue" the prisoners. I say rescue it the truth is despite being the hero of the story Blake really only wants to save them to be part of his crew not for their own sakes. Avon is opposed to their rescue because he's only concerned with his own interests. In his way he's the most honest of the two. 

While exploring the ship the group discovers what they believe to be a teleport system. This serves two purposes. One, it gives them a technological edge over their enemies. Two, it saves a fortune on special effects. It's essentially the same reason Star Trek used transporters. 

Blake makes an initial trip down and is attacked by the priests. When he is brought back up he just happens to forget to tell the others. Again, Blake is not above manipulating the others. On returning he meets the head priest. And of course is captured. 

Back on the Liberator Avon is busy trying to convince Jenna to abandon Blake. Hey, if you can't trust your friends who can you trust? Blake and several prisoners stage a breakout where several men who were supposed to be regulars are killed. As I previously said the script called for a full seven. Except the budget wasn't there. Since Terry Nation was the 70s BBC version of George R.R. Martin he just brutally murdered said characters rather than let them go to waste. 

Despite Avon's protests Jenna teleports Blake, Vila and Gan back aboard. Except the head priest tags along to try to take the ship. Before he is teleported into space and exploded he tells them that the sickness is really a mild poison. His forefathers tricked the convicts into believing in the disease to create a religion that would control the population. 

But he had such a trustworthy face. 

Blake now has his crew. He also has his polar opposite in Avon. They're scanned at the last minute by Federation Hunter/Killer ships before running off. Because the best way to start a revolution is to run away. 

Closing Thoughts:

While not as immediately dark as the pilot I think Cygnus Alpha is almost it's equal. If a little more subtle about it. We have Blake who is singlemindedly fixated on his goal. He's willing to use and manipulate others to further his plans. We have Avon who is willing and wanting to leave Blake and take the Liberator as his own. He even admits to Jenna that she would be next. We have a subtle dig at the abuse of religious power. The only moral character in this episode is Jenna and she wavers noticeably between supporting Blake and following Avon. I think this episode gets 4 out of 5. It's a nice close to the first three stories even if there are a few plot holes and weak points. 

Love and Shotguns

I've been saving this post since last Sunday. For Valentines my wife offered to help me buy a new shotgun that I've been eyeing. I went duck hunting for the first time this year and was hooked instantly. Now, I have an old double barrel that still works great and I had a fair amount of success with it. At least for an utter newbie. But it's a 16 gauge. Fun to shoot. Works like a charm. Ammo is a pain to get. To get steel shot around here you have to order it online. Thus the new shotgun. It's more economic to buy a new 12 gauge than to special order ammo just to shoot waterfowl. 

My wife has been stupendously supportive of this even though she didn't go into a marriage expecting her husband to be a hunter. She even went out and bought me a nice pair of waders to get me started. Believe you me, insulated waders are a life saver when you are stomping through icy water at 4:00 in the morning in January. 

So, post season she asked me how I liked it and what other equipment I needed. I'm kind of a minimalist guy. If I don't need it I'll usually just pass on it. Good waders? Check. Nice jacket? Check. Shotgun? Double check. Hey, it's got two barrels. But I mentioned, just in passing, how my hunting buddies commented that they were surprised how well I did with an Elmer Fudd gun. Hannah didn't bat an eye.

"Do we need to get you something better?"

"Nah!"

Except what guy can just say no to a new shotgun? A sissy guy that's who. Well, I ain't no sissy. The more I thought about it the more it seemed like a good idea. The better the idea seemed the more I wanted one. I initially chose to wait till this summer but my wife likes to spoil me. Meaning she couldn't wait that long either. So last Sunday we got my V Day present. A Browning BPS 12 Gauge.

Receiver: Forged and machined steel

Barrel: Ventilated rib • 28"
Action: Bottom ejection • Dual steel action bars • Top-tang safety
Stock: Maple• Matte black finish
FeaturesThree Invector-Plus choke tubes • Silver colored front bead sight

Gauge: 12ga

Capacity: 3 rounds. 2 3/4" or 3"

Weight: 8lbs 1oz

Best. Valentines. Gift. Ever! 

Which I immediately had to pose with despite being ready for bed. 

Nothing says tough guy like flannel PJs. 

Why did I wait until today to talk about this? Because today we got to go break it in. 

Hot and can shoot a gun. Damn I'm a lucky dude. 

This is a big part of why last night was dude date night. We had to load up on skeet and shells for today's excursion. 

We left Simmons with a case of ammo and two cases of skeet. Many dead clay pigeons ensued. Holy cow this gun ran like a charm. Straight out of the box it operated flawlessly. We definitely got what we payed for. And dang can my wife shoot. I'm a decent shot. My wife schooled me. And I ain't scared to say it. 

Now, when does Teal season start again?

B7 Re-Watch: Space Fall

Yes, this show was created by that Terry Nation. 

Where can I watch it?

http://youtu.be/rlgOCsQI23s

Synopsis:

The story opens where we left off. Our hero and his new companions are en route to Cygnus Alpha aboard the London.

Row row row your boat, gently down the stream. 

We are quickly introduced to the bridge crew of the ship. Long range scanners show a meteorite shower in their path but it's supposed to be clear before they get there. Riiiiigght. The Captain is shown to be a generally compassionate man stuck doing a distasteful job. Unfortunately his crew is far from being as caring. We see him instruct his second in command, Mr. Raker, to keep the suppressants as high as possible to keep the prisoners docile. He is also told to "be discreet" with their female prisoner Jenna. 

What rhymes with Raker?

Now, my definition of discreet and his definition seem to differ. Mine doesn't include sexual overtures or violence when rebuffed. But hey, maybe things are different in the future. 

Raker gets down to the business at hand, being an ass, while Blake gets down to the business of getting gone. Extra encouragement comes from Vila by way of a rumor that penal ships don't actually make the full trip. Rather, they fly halfway, dump the "cargo" out the airlock and pick up their check. 

Luckily for everyone Kerr Avon the number two hacker in the whole federation is onboard. Too bad he's a self serving narcissist who is already contemplating helping the London crew cover up murdering all the murderers and thieves in its hold. 

Help us Kerr Avon, you're our only hope. 

Blake brings him around to their side by way saying "hey, they'd probably kill you afterwards for kicks and giggles" and "you're too pretty to make it on Cygnus Alpha."

Dammit, I am too pretty. 

Of course they have to try to reach the computer center and take over the ship RIGHT NOW! Because Blake can't be bothered to take his time to plan this out. We only have months of travel ahead of us. No time to waste!

At the same time that Blake and his team are planning a takeover the bridge crew learns that the meteorite shower from earlier is actually a giant space battle taking place. Luckily it doesn't involve Federation forces so they can just detour. Unfortunately the blast waves are still reaching the ship and it's getting knocked around pretty badly. 

How could this state of the art vessel ever be destroyed?

In the midst of all this the prisoners make their move. Gan, a giant, distracts the guard while Avon uses a service shaft to get to the computer core. Because an obvious escape route should just be left wide open. When Avon takes too long, due to having to fight off a crew member, one of the conspirators goes into the shaft after him just as the ship takes another hit. He quickly gets the red shirt treatment and their escape route is now blocked. 

Meanwhile the bridge crew detects a VLO, very large object, headed their direction on a collision course. With Avon having knocked out the computer, because unlike the rest he can follow the plan, they can't dodge. Which, ordinarily would be easy, space being kinda big and all. 

Blake, being impatient and unable to stick to the plan, decides they have to break out. They over power the guard. Yes. THE guard. One. Singular. Because a hold full of career criminals really only needs minor supervision. I digress. They overpower the guard and escape. Just as Avon does his job and opens every door on the ship. 

The prisoners bumble around until they find guards to surrender to, Avon's words not mine, as Blake and Jenna meet up with Avon. In an effort to force them out of the computer core Raker begins executing prisoners. Blake surrenders because despite being crazy is sympathetic. Raker of course kills one more prisoner on principle. Because murdering an unarmed prisoner, in front of witnesses, on camera is sure to get you that promotion. Although this is the Federation. The crew regain control just as they intercept the VLO. 

This warship is particularly effective against opponents with a fear of needles. 

Determining that it must be abandoned and probably lost in the space battle they send over a boarding party. The uniforms are white but they still have the souls of red shirts. We know this isn't going to end well. And of course as soon as they board the ship communication is lost amidst the tortured screams of the damned. Not being able to leave well enough alone we send another crew member to feed whatever Old One is aboard the alien ship. 

Moar soulz pleez. 

The captain, being concerned with the better part of valor, wants to call it a day. But Raker convinces him to send Blake, Jenna and Avon over to find out what happened to the missing crew members. What they find is a sort of psychic anti intruder system that first drives you mad and then kills you. Sort of like being married to an overbearing wife I guess. 

But no psychically induced death trap can defeat Blake. He does what any good action star should do and shoots it. Thus answering the age old question. A smuggler, a hacker and a political dissident walk onto an alien flight bridge. What do they do? Deciding they should take her out for a spin, and maybe skip the stop over at Cygnus Alpha, they take off just in time for Raker to be sucked out of the airlock. Huzzah!

Final Thoughts:

I remember not really enjoying this episode the first time I watched it. The pacing felt uneven and it felt like lots of filler time. To be sure there is an element of that but this time around I enjoyed it a lot more. I feel it holds up fairly well. I'm giving it 3.5 out of 5. 

Hopefully this weekend I'll find time to review the third episode in the trifecta Cygnus Alpha. 

Free at Last!

Work:

Are we there yet? 3:00 can not come soon enough. Sheesh. Had to bring out my sternest teacher voice just to get my beginners to pull out their instruments. I did the count down from five and everything. Which always amuses me. You start counting down and suddenly they take you seriously. 

Run faster, he's already to three!

Junior High came at their usual time. I'll be honest, I didn't even try to have class. The day before Spring Break is always a nightmare. If you try to have class it's a headache. If you put in a movie. It's a headache. And we aren't allowed to sacrifice any of them to prove a point. 

Kali Ma! Kali Ma!!

This is when I'm glad it's only thirty minutes. Less time for them to induce a stroke or an aneurism. But, I have one student who has an ongoing comic that he writes and draws called Fartman. Can you tell he's a 7th grade boy? But for some reason I think it's the funniest thing. I told him that I expect a new issue when we get back. 

Got suckered into watching another teachers Power Hour. Apparently Everyone took off today to get a jump start on their break. And of course there aren't enough subs to go around. Sigh. I will never do that again. For the most part the kids were at least quiet. But there are always a small group who have to challenge the teacher. I don't know if they just feel like they have no control elsewhere but by golly they're gonna rebel up in here! 

Does this jacket make my rebellion look sexy?

Which kills me. I've spent an inordinate amount of time this year advocating for my students. Counseling them. Just helping them plan for life. If only some students would realize that we're on their side. Quit trying to fight with us and let us help you. I suppose it's the drowning man syndrome. Sigh. 

Advanced band finally made it all the way through Contempo. More or less. Irish Air is sloooooowwwwly becoming something pretty. Maybe not beautiful yet. But pretty. Girl next door pretty. I'll be honest I just want to bring home something higher than what we got last year. We're not going to discuss what that was. But it's Spring Break! I'm free for a whole week. Although freedom is relative. I'm free from school. I'll be at the optical all next week. I've even already been roped into doing a half day on Saturday. I'll probably come back more tired than when I left. Ah well. It pays the bills. 

Fitness:

The first workout for the open has been released. It's not terrible per se. 

10 Minutes. As many rounds as possible. 

30 Double Unders

15 Power Snatches

The only problem here is that I can't do double unders. I can shuffle, crossover, skip on one leg, jumping lunges, jumping jacks and even run while skipping. I can do singles faster than most people can do doubles. I can't do double unders. Dang it. 

Writing:

I got a little under 500 words written today on Thorn in the Side.  I'm about halfway through a chapter. I write short chapters usually aiming for about 3-4k words each. I'm hoping to finish three chapters in time for Issue 2 and put the last few chapters in Issue 3. When Issue 4 drops I'll put the I individual pieces out as a novella. I expect it'll come in between 20-25k words. So, a little over 100 pages. I'm stressing over my deadlines. Although I suppose it's not that big of a deal. It's not like I have people clambering for each issue. Not yet at least. 

Date Night:

My wife dubbed tonight dude date night. We went to Simmons and Lowes. Don't let her fool you though. We went to Lowes to buy supplies for a buffet that she'd like me to build her. Not that I mind. I like working with my hands and I'm always game for a project. Simmons was to pick up supplies for tomorrow. What's tomorrow? I'm glad you asked. I'll tell you tomorrow. But it's big! At least to me. 

Blakes 7 Rewatch: The Way Back

When I was growing up we caught four channels. One of those channels was PBS. Now, PBS' normal fare is Sesame Street, Nova, educational type stuff. Except on Saturday nights. Late that night they would show British Sci Fi. I would stay up hours past when everyone else went to bed and huddle in front if the TV to watch these shows. Mostly it was reruns of Doctor Who but occasionally they'd branch out. I got exposed to Red Dwarf, Star Cops and my all time favorite show Blakes 7.

Blakes 7 originally ran from 1978-1981. Yeah, it ended when I was about two months old. But man what an ending! Let me not get ahead of myself though. The heavy hitters in the Sci Fi world were Star Wars and the original Battlestar Galactica. Movies and shows with deep budgets. Blakes 7 had a budget of about £40 a week. The costumes were crap. The sets wobbled. Some of the scripts were Swiss cheese in the plot department. And it was still groundbreaking. 

Since they couldn't go head to head with other shows in the special effects dept. they chose to focus on strong characters. That became their bread and butter and the source of their enduring cult following. It was also unique, at the time, for it's uber dark tone. These days it's nothing to have highly flawed main characters or sympathetic villains. Blakes 7 in many ways pioneered those style shows. Heroes that have questionable reasons for doing what they do. Heroes that don't always win. Even heroes that die trying while their comrades have to keep going. Initially B7 was pitched as the Dirty Dozen in space. They scaled that back to seven people following a rebel named Blake. Except, they ran out of money. As you'll see it's more like Blake's five. But who is really counting. 

I've been in the market for a show to rewatch and blog about. I debated Star Trek for a while. I recently re watched the franchise or at least the vast majority of it. But that show is lengthy and very often reviewed. Likewise so is Doctor Who. I toyed with the idea of BSG. The remake not the original. That still didn't grab me although I love that show. Today I forced a coworker to watch the pilot episode of B7 and all of a sudden this just felt right. B7 doesn't have much of a following in the states. At least not like across the pond. As a matter of fact it's completely unavailable except on old VHS. No DVDs, iTunes or Amazon Prime for us yanks. Damn snobby Brits. Still, where there is a will there is a way. The first episode, The Way Back, can be found here http://youtu.be/Km9GdKM9pa4. 

Let's get started shall we? Be forewarned, there will be spoilers. 

Synopsis:

Who couldn't take that curly haired British Adonis seriously?

Roj Blake, our eponymous hero, is lead outside of a domed city by a pair of characters who's names won't matter in the next ten minutes. He has been told not to eat or drink for 48 hours. Surgery? Nah. The Federation, do not think Trek here, uses drugs in the food and water to control it's subjects. We're also told that going outside is a category 4 offense. How bad is that? No idea. Why would we bring that back up later?

Outside he meets with a dissident group who are using civil unrest to protest the Feds totalitarian regime. It's revealed that Blake was once a leader in the movement but he was captured and brainwashed into supporting the Government. He's also told that in retaliation his family, who are supposed to be colonists on another planet, we're executed. 

The face of a revolution. 

While he is wandering around what appears to be an abandoned subway station, sans graffiti, Federation Troopers arrive because surprise surprise there is a traitor in their midst. This is where things start taking a turn for the holy crap. Unarmed citizens who surrender and ask to be treated like the citizens they are get brutally gunned down by faceless soldiers. 

Oh crap! Were these supposed to set to stun?

Blake is captured and taken back to the city where the Ministry of Justice is left trying to decide how to get rid of him. The ministry apparently consists of two stuffy British men and a chubby woman who looks like she should have a tub of chicken and a pack of menthol lights. It's revealed that the only way his memories can return, which they are, is if he has a nervous breakdown, which he has, so they figure that he gots to go. Realizing that killing him will only him a martyr they trump up charges of child molestation to frame him. Yeah, our hero has mental issues and has been accused of pedophilia. Did I mention that this was dark?

Blake is appointed a public defender, because that's gonna help even if this wasn't a kangaroo court, but succeeds in convincing him to dig further. The "justice machine" declares him guilty by way of flashing lights and cheap doorbell sounds and Blake is carted off to a holding cell. Said holding cell is a waiting point before being deported to the penal planet Cygnus Alpha. There he meets two of our future characters Vila Restal a thief and Jenna Stannis the smuggler. Sounds like a bad D&D game doesn't it?

Who brought the ten sided dice?

While Blake sweats it out his defender, who's name I can never remember, proves that Blake was framed and that he was telling the truth about the massacre. He learns this just in time for he and his wife to be assassinated. In the mean time they've moved up the launch of the London, the penal transport, and Blake immediately pisses off a guard. It must be his people skills cultivated as a political leader. As he watches Earth fall away he swears that he'll be back. 

Let's run down the list of darkness in this first episode. 

Massacre? Check

Totalitarian Regime? Check

Hero with a case of the crazies? Check

Charges of pedophilia? Yeah, got that. 

More murder? Of course! Why wouldn't we?

So, how does this episode hold up? Pretty good to be so dated. It suffers from what a lot of sci fi shows at the time did. They were sure all doors would swish open and clothes would be polyester. Because why not? But the story itself is fairly solid at least as a psychological thriller. Future episodes will obviously be more of a space opera but this episode already sets the tone of dark characters doing dark things. I give it a 4 out 5. Stay tuned for episode 2 Space Fall. 

Sorry Honey It's Thursday

I'm gonna try a slightly different format for this post. Instead of just going through the day I'm going to split it into sections. Work, writing, fitness and misc. 

Work:

Beginning band is still moving along. I have my lone clarinet working on simple technique stuff. I've started my brass players on long tones and lip slurs sooner than I normally would. It's a catch 22 doing that. Long Tones, Lip Slurs and Scales will improve playing faster than anything else but you have to sorta know what's going on to do them. Oddly enough though it's working at least semi well. 

Junior High was a wash. The National Honors Society was having their induction ceremony on stage right outside the band room. That put the kabosh on us playing since the last thing my room is is soundproof. Luckily they were able to control their natural inclination to yell at the top of their lungs for the thirty minutes I had them. Yes, by the time they walk up to my building I have about thirty minutes with them before they have to walk back. 

Fourth block, my advanced band, started off a little rough. I had to resist the urge to lose my patience with them. Again, it's not really their playing it's their constant lack of attention. I honestly felt like I was just going through the motions. Ok band let's do exercise 1A. Ok lip slur 2. E Major Scale. But we muddled through and actually made some good progress. Still have not worked all the way through Contempo and that scares the snot out of me. 

Two days till Spring Break. I'm very ready for some time off. I'm scared of having to make up that lost time before festival. We have two weeks from the time we get back to get ready. In that time I believe we also have ACT testing. I think. I'll have to check on that. 

Had a little down time between school and choir rehearsal at the church. Arrant came into my office to do paperwork so I forced him to watch Blakes 7.  I don't think I've made a fan but my indoctrination shall continue. Perhaps I should do a rewatch of the series and post some reviews here. 

Made it to church right at 5:30. I was on track to be early but I got caught on a conference call before I left Farmerville. Man. Found a new song for my choir based on Beulah Land. It's cute as all get out. It's also hard as can be. But we've got it worked out. Mostly. Made it home by 7:30 for some red beans and rice. Dang my wife can cook some RB&B! Had a busy night scheduled of catching up on Pretty Little Liars, Greys Anatomy and Scandal. Yes. All chick shows. I'm secure enough for that. 

Fitness:

Today is a rest and recovery day. For some people that means lots of stretching, mobility stuff and some light exercise. I tend to prefer total rest. I'll do stretches and mobility on an as need basis. I do up my calories somewhat on recovery days. If your body is putting itself back together you have to give it materials to work with and time to do its job. That's just me though. Your mileage may vary. I still have to figure out when I'm going to work out tomorrow. AM or PM? 

Writing:

Got a thousand words done on Thorn in the Side. I'm hoping to get another 9,000-12,000 words done on it for Issue 2. I need to do some heavy revisions to Thy Judgment Come. The rough draft is finished but rough is the right word. It has plot holes, bad grammar and uneven dialogue. Probably gonna have to add a few scenes to make it work. Ah well. All part of the job. 

But Creepercasts review of Carrier is up. You can find it at http://www.creepercast.com/carrier-by-stewart-felkel-review/

I'm very pleased with this review and this is a site with a fair sized following. Hopefully it will generate some interest. Still very much in the name building phase of my writing endeavor. 

Hump Day!

I woke up around midnight to see a figure standing by our open window last night. It took me a minute to process that it was a person and not the dog scratching at the window. Being a man of action I jumped out of bed with my hands up yelling at the top of my lungs. Which sent my poor wife into panic mode since she was just trying to close the window because of the rain. Oops. My bad! But hey, at least we know I can go from dead sleep to fight mode in no time. 

The alarm went off at 4:15 and I promptly leaped out of bed. And reset it for 6:00. I just can't seem to get motivated to get up early these days. I guess I don't want it as bad as I thought. 

On checking my email while eating breakfast I had a reply from a book reviewer. I wrote him last week and asked for a review of Blackthorn Knights. He very politely declined. Bummer. Hopefully one of the others I wrote will take a look at it. 

Actually made it to school more or less on time. More or less means right at the bell to let kids enter the building. Of course prior to that there was a fight. A chick fight. I always miss the fights! Dang it! And of course that's all my students wanted to talk about instead of practice. But they are making progress finally. Another few weeks of individual practice and I'll probably try some group work again to see how it goes. 

Struggled to get my junior high to even set up. "But do we have to play?"

Then had a kid drop her flute, which was donated to the school last month, on the floor right in front of me. Sigh. 

Got a few hundred words written on Thorn in the Side between that class and concession duty. That's a start at least. Got to do some reading during power hour but didn't have time to practice my trumpet any. 

My high school band is still more interested in playing around than learning their music. Crown Point March went good but it's the easiest of our three pieces. Unfortunately with a band this small good will never earn us better than a three. Irish Air, which is absolutely gorgeous in its simplicity, is a half grade above CPM but light years beyond us. I finally just walked off the podium I was so frustrated. Not just in the wrong notes and rhythms but in the blasé attitude towards the mistakes. 

Actually made it to the box! And then got peer pressured into signing up for the Crossfit Opens. Zach threatened to take my Bro Card. Way to be a conformist Stew! 60 overhead presses later my shoulders feel like they just might go on strike. 

Finally home around 6:15 to shower and eat. Not to mention getting to see my wife. As you can see, that's a rarity. No wonder I thought she was an intruder! 

Finally got to watch the latest episode of True Detective. Wow! This show is just brilliant. Dark, moody, slightly Lynchian and just so dang confusing. 

Supposedly www.creepercast.com has done a review of Carrier. Waited all day and it never popped up. Maybe if I'm really lucky it'll be up in the morning. Anyway, that's all I got. Good night all of you who have stuck with me on this.