Red DwarfB: Ever since my friend Elliot gave me the first pair of tapes (or Bytes One and Two, as they are labeled) from this British sci-fi comedy, I've been becoming more and more of an addict. The typically low-budget British special effects add to its charm, and as with other good British shows, it doesn't feel the American need to play to the lowest common denominator. Clever, fun, and incredibly funny, this is definitely one of my favorite shows ever. I'm halfway through season five (of eight), and it just keeps getting better.
B: I picked up Red Dwarf Season 8 while I was in Australia, and it is every bit as good as the previous stuff. It's a bit of a different style of season - a much larger cast (they are back on the reconstructed Red Dwarf) and higher production values, but just as clever and funny as when it was just the smaller group. I only hope they eventually put the show out as a DVD collection...
Buffy the Vampire SlayerB: By now you've probably heard the occasional comment how good this show is, but you might not believe it. After all, it sounds goofy, it's strongest demographic is teenage girls, and besides, wasn't there a bad movie in the 90's of the same name with Luke Perry and Rutger Hauer?
All of those things are true, but I say to you nonetheless: this is one of the best television shows currently on the air of any genre, and certainly the best of the whole speculative fiction group. The writing features some of the sharpest dialogue you will ever hear in a television show - consistently funny or poignant or both - the characters are deep and complex, the plots are fascinating and above all: Joss Whedon is a complete and utter bastard to his characters. He is not at all afraid to put his characters through an emotional wringer that has the audience squirming with shared pain. These characters are as real as they come, folks.
Two episodes in particular stand out as some of the best television I have ever seen. "Hush", from season three I believe, was one of the creepiest, sharpest, most riveting hours I've ever seen on television...and there is no dialogue for over 45 minutes of the show. I would have probably picked that as the best episode until "The Body" from season five (the last new episode that has aired as of this writing). It's impact might be lessened somewhat if you don't know and feel for the characters, but I think that even those who had never seen the show would be hard pressed to make it through without breaking down in tears at least once (I'm not afraid to admit that I lost it in the first five minutes and was pretty much a wreck for the rest of the hour). The great thing about this episode is that while both show off what an amazing writer/director Joss Whedon is, "The Body" gives you and idea just how strong the actors are on this show. This is a script that succeeds or fails entirely on the strength of its actors, and they do not disappoint.
If you liked X-Files because of the excellent plots and sharp dialogue, I think you will like Buffy as well. In fact, I'll go out on a limb here and say that while I think that X-Files seasons 2-5 was some of the best writing I've seen on television, Buffy at its best is not just as good - it's better.
Babylon 5B: I suspect that rating will get pushed up to a "9" once I get my hands on Seasons 2 and 3. But if I'm fair I can't give this show the higher rating it probably deserves, having only seen seasons 1, 4 and 5, mostly because 5 is a bit "tacked on" due to the problems that plagued the show during production (i.e,. they didn't think they'd get to do 5 at all).
I think this is the best pure science fiction show ever made. Period. However, that comment comes with a caveat - don't bother watching the show unless you plan to be in for the long haul and watch the entire five seasons (now on Sci Fi channel, and hopefully eventually on DVD). This is basically a novel done on television. It has a beginning and an end, builds to an incredible climax (in seasons 3 and 4) and even has an epilogue (which is basically what season 5 is).
Stracsynski went into this series knowing pretty much how it was going to play out from beginning to end, and it is so tight that it is hard to tell whether some things that happened were due to real life issues or whether they were planned from the get go (Sinclair leaving at the end of season 1 and Sheridan taking over, for example). But what is amazing is going back and watching early episodes - in particular the pilot "The Gathering" with largely different characters - and realizing that Stracsynski set things up in the first episode that he genuinely wouldn't resolve until season 5.
I highly recommend catching this series if/when they run it in the sci-fi channel again. It is well worth your time.
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