The series finale aired in 2009, so I consider it strange that I did not experience a strong compulsion to watch this last installment. Maybe it was the so-so reviews from critics and the fan base. Why didn’t I rush out to watch it immediately? Partly the mediocre reviews, but I think also that each episode was so intense, and with the finale, I reached closure on the overall storyline. It would feel odd to go back and open up that box of drama and suspense. Although I was still ambivalent, “The Plan” slowly moved up the Netflix queue and showed up in our mailbox. I watched it Saturday night.

Edward James Olmos directs “The Plan”, a somewhat interesting (more on that later) revisiting of the mini-series and the first two seasons of the show. Told from the viewpoint of the Cyclons, we revisit the attack on the 12 colonies, specific key events from seasons 1 & 2, and supposedly learn more about the Cylons and their “plan.” I gotta be honest that I didn’t find this direct-to-DVD movie all that exciting. For all the talk over the series’ run about the Cylons and their “plan”, it still seems like the “plan” was to eradicate the human species. There is no other plan. The plan goes awry, as the Galactica and nearly 50K human survivors on a multitude of ships escape genocide.

At this point, you realize that the plan is now FUBAR, and there are human-form Cylons living incognito within the fleet The film features all of the human “skin jobs” as they to regroup and continue to carry out their mission, under the sadistic leadership of Brother Cavill (Dean Stockwell.) Dissension in the ranks among the Cylons grows, as each Cylon begins to question the decision to kill off the survivors, and the humans continue to defy the survival odds. That’s basically where the film ends.

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009)

I found Battlestar Galactica: The Plan to be mediocre. There were some illuminating behind-the-scenes moments, and it was somewhat interesting to see the Cylons doubting themselves and the initial genocide plan. The best part was the attack on the colonies, but that is just the first 20 minutes. First of all, there is no plan. The only plan the Cylon’s had, as demonstrated by The Plan, was their plan to wipe out all humans. Well, we already knew about that so I’m confused. For four years, we the fans were told about the Cylons and their “plan.” If it was just genocide, didn’t we know that during the 2003 mini-series?

Within the first twenty minutes of the film the destruction of the twelve colonies sequence has played out, which, I might add, is the best part of the film. The visual effects and the entire momentum leading up and during the attack, is really good. But that’s it. The rest is new material spliced with old clips. Overall, unfortunately, the film doesn’t add enough to make this an interesting film.

I thought Paul was a pretty good movie. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost play two sci-fi / fantasy, convention-going guys on a road trip through southwest USA, visiting sites famous for UFO sightings, including Area 51. On the way, they run into Paul, voiced by Seth Rogen. Paul the alien was the best part of the whole movie. During the course of the plot as they try to get Paul where he needs to be, they’re chased by government agents, and run into rednecks and other strange folks, including Kristen Wiig’s bible-thumper.

Pegg and Frost wrote this film, so there are a zillion sci-fi references, so when you watch this movie, keep an eye open for them.

Paul (2011)

Have you watched Fringe? As per IMDB,

A television drama centered around a female FBI agent who is forced to work with an institutionalized scientist in order to rationalize a brewing storm of unexplained phenomena.

I never watched The X-Files back when it aired in the 90′s, though my sister was more of a fan of the spinoff Millenium. Fringe is a lot like X-Files, as I like the stories, the characters, and the overall arching conspiracy storyline. There are three main characters:

• Anna Torv (who was the voice for the main character in the PS3 exclusive game Heavenly Sword)
• Joshua Jackson (of Dawson Creek fame, though I never watched.)
• Peter Noble (of Peter Jackson’s LoTR fame.)

All three actors are great. I plan to catch up on the 2nd season in the next few weeks, and eventually the 3rd season as well. I know the show has been moved to the Friday night death slot, but I hope it survives. It’s a good show, which means it will get cancelled, but as they old adage goes, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.”

Fringe cast photo

TRON (1982)

Early last year, I decided to rent the original TRON film and watch it again. I wanted to introduce it to my wife, as she never saw the original. I remembered watching it as a child, and being awe-struck by the lightcycles, the tank, and those flying things. The identity discs were cool, and I was intrigued listening to the programs being happy to perform their intended functions on behalf of their users. In some slight anticipation after receiving the Netflix disc, I stuck it into the PS3 and fired it up.

Lo and behold, I was bored. Bored! Oh, the lightcycles, the tank, and those flying things were still cool. The rest of the movie, on the other hand, wasn’t that good. I fast-forwarded through the rest of the film, and returned it in the mail the next day. Sigh. I decided that it was not important for my wife to watch it. I’ve discovered that in the past seven years of being married, it’s important that I don’t make her think I’m insane.

TRON: Legacy, however, was entertaining, which was a relief. It wasn’t a mind-bending film or anything, but it was entertaining. The story was basic, but decent. The movie was directed by first time director Joe Kosinski, and stars Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, and even Bruce Boxleitner in a small role.

Most importantly, it was a gorgeous movie. I liked looking at this fantasy world of glass and light. It was pretty. We watched it in IMAX 3D, but I didn’t notice a lot of 3D, so be warned.

TRON: Legacy (2010)

When implanted in a person’s wrist, a TiMER counts down to the day the wearer finds true love. But Oona O’Leary faces the rare dilemma of a blank TiMER. Her soul mate – whoever and wherever he is – has yet to have a TiMER implanted. Staring down the barrel of thirty and tired of waiting for her would-be life partner to get off the dime, Oona breaks her own rules and falls for Mikey, a charming and inappropriately young supermarket clerk with a countdown of four months.

This was a romantic comedy of sorts, with a dash of sci-fi in there. It didn’t ask a whole lot of probing questions, but it was decent entertainment and the characters were interesting.

Timer (2009)

Haven’t most people seen this film already? I won’t write out the entire synopsis — I’ll copy & paste from the Wikipedia entry.

Inception is a 2010 American science fiction action film written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Ken Watanabe and Cillian Murphy. The film is inspired by the experience of lucid dreaming and dream incubation. The film, a variant on the heist genre, centers on Dom Cobb, an “extractor”, who enters the dreams of others to obtain information that is otherwise inaccessible. His abilities and questions about the death of his wife have cost him his family and his nationality, but he is promised a chance to regain his old life in exchange for planting an idea in a corporate target’s mind. This process of planting an idea, known as “inception”, is less familiar and far more difficult than Cobb’s usual job of “extraction.”

Good synopsis, eh? The film runs 148 minutes, but it was pretty good. I had read so many good reviews that you get the impression that it’s the greatest film ever. I wouldn’t say that. It won’t change your life like the Star Wars original trilogy or The Matrix (yeah, I said it), but it’s an intelligent movie that is entertaining. I couldn’t believe that my wife sat through and enjoyed a sci-fi action film. That’s a testament that this was a good film.

I was happy to see this film. I was happy to see a smart Hollywood film. After experiencing the mindless debacle that was A-Team, it was refreshing to see something that someone with a brain had written.

Inception (2010)

Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (2009)

If you had a TV network called the Sci-Fi Channel, you would expect programming in the science-fiction genre. Science-fiction is a rich genre, and there’s a lot you can program for. Imagine my surprise to find horror and other questionable tv fare on the Sci-Fi channel years ago when first introduced. Those corny movies are a story in of themself. Have you seen the commercial for Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus? Absolutely atrocious. It’s even sadder that it stars Deborah Gibson and Lorenzo Lamas.

Last year, the big network TV honchos elected to rename the network SyFy, in order to broaden the umbrella of what the network meant. SyFy? Is that supposed to be a better name? The programming has still left much to be desired. You’ve got Sanctuary, Caprica, and Stargate Universe, but what else? Oh, the occasional Star Trek rerun.

And now, SyFy has struck a deal to add Friday Night Smackdown to their nightly programming. Furthermore, they are relegating all their popular sci-fi shows to Tuesday nights. What else will the network TV geniuses going to think of next?

Blasphemy, I say. Blasphemy.

1st Generation Apple iPad

It’s been long overdue, but I’m going on the record here and now to say how I think about the matter. I think the Apple iPad is a great idea. Do I own one of the first 300,000 iPads? No, I do not. Do I plan to get one? Probably not. So why do I say that a product I do not own, nor do I plan to purchase, is a great idea?

Two words: Star Trek.

One of the reasons I love sci-fi is that the genre (be it the written word or in film/tv) is an opportunity for the thinker to wonder, “What if?” with a technological angle. What would life be like if….. and you finish the thought. You throw in technology there, and it’s a chance to dream about what the future could be.

Remember the 2002 film MinorityReport? Everyone loves that holographic touch interface that Tom Cruise used. Pretty neat, eh? Well, scientists and engineers at Oblong have been working on a gesture-based interface right now. Check out the sample videos in the previous link and you’ll see Oblong’s interface in action. And don’t get me started on the personalized advertising, the changeable newspapers, and other technology in that film, because companies have been yammering about that for a while.

Remember cars in the pretty-forgettable 1993 movie Demolition Man? Sandra Bullock was riding that electric car that actually drove itself? With the built-in radar and self-parking features in cars today, the electric car industry in nascent stages, and heck, I read people are testing cars that have computers that will drive them all safely in close proximity, isn’t that eerily similar? Is it decades from now? Probably? But you can imagine that we might be heading towards that path.

The Star Trek PADD

There are countless others to mention in the annals of sci-fi literature and film, but you get the idea. Now, the iPad. Uh, yeah, call this a dumb reference, but Star Trek afficionados have seen a computing tablet (original Star Trek series) or PADD (TNG, DS9, VOY) in various Star Trek movie or series. It’s a great concept, and you could easily see yourself using something just like it in real life.

So back to the Apple iPad and the year 2010. Granted, it’s basically a table PC, but sleeker and easier to use, which makes it leaps and bounds better than the Windows Tablet PCs that have not been popular with consumers. Is the iPad perfect? No. I think it should have multitasking, but lo and behold, Apple announced today that multitasking (via a software update) will be available later this year.) It would be nice to have a webcam, but that might be featured in Generation 2. The price is high, but those may come down in successive generations, much like the iPhone did.

So why didn’t I get one so far? It’s too expensive, and I can live without it. However, that doesn’t mean I would never get it. I love the surfing-from-the-couch ability. The idea that I could read my favorite magazines on the train or bus or airport all in one slim tablet. That I could watch movies and shows easily and in a larger screen. It’s all about the versatility and how this device and form-factor can fit into your life and improve it.

From what I’ve read and seen videos of, it’s not geeks or adults who are enjoying the iPad the most. It’s people’s kids who are using it, and are fascinated with some piano app and the vibrant colors of the drawing apps. When you as an adult see some kid enjoying it, you start to be awed, and begin thinking about getting one for your kids too. The entire viral marketing campaign and word-of-mouth interest has been less geek-driven, and more family-oriented. That makes me think, “Wow, cool.” Not only have I read about it, I have a perfect example. My old coworker and friend Jenny Cu got one for her young son, and the kid loves it.

Finally, below is a CNET video of Dan Ackerman showing off the new Netflix app for the iPad. I think it’s pretty fantastic, and after seeing this yourself, you tell me how you wouldn’t enjoy Netflix in your lap in your free time.

The plot of Avatar plays out much like Dances with Wolves or The Last Samurai. From Wikipedia:

The film is set in the year 2154 on Pandora, a fictional Earth-like world in the Alpha Centauri planetary system. Humans are engaged in mining Pandora’s reserves of a precious mineral, while the Na’vi—a race of indigenous humanoids—resist the colonists’ expansion, which threatens the continued existence of the Na’vi and the Pandoran ecosystem. The film’s title refers to the genetically engineered bodies used by the film’s characters to interact with the Na’vi.

So, without giving any big secret away, while the humans may see the Na’vi as savages, they are actually a sentient alien race with ties to nature, which we don’t.  Throughout the movie, there are some definite Native American themes, as well as the injustices done to them.  Nature is good. Humans are thoughtless and crude. We should be one with the world.

Overall, although the movie is long (clocking in at 162 minutes), I felt it went pretty fast. While the themes are nothing new, the movie itself is gorgeous. I read online that the movie is 40% live-action, and 60% CGI. I did hear previously that James Cameron had the movie studio executives nervous with the high price tag ($280 milllon?), but since he’s approaching (or reached) the $1 billion mark in sales, I guess he’s laughing all the way to the bank on this one.

I would recommend watching this movie in IMAX 3D. It’s a beautiful-to-watch movie, and entertaining. Watch it. Dive deep into it. Don’t spill your popcorn.

Avatar (2009)

We’ve also watched Star Wars Episode IV (A New Hope) and Episode V (The Empire Strikes Back) which are slightly over his head, but he asked a lot of questions.  He obviously didn’t get it all, and I did some minor fast-fowarding, but I kept him engaged in the main storyline.  I also made sure he thought Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Chewbacca are all pretty cool.  I think he just likes R2-D2 a lot. He’s already asking when are we going to find out what happens next in Episode VI (Return of the Jedi.) I was happy that at a birthday party a week ago where they had a Prince & Princess theme, he was amenable to the idea his sword was a lightsaber. 

This year, I’ve been embracing my inner geek. All these years, I’ve been too self-conscious to admit to it, but it obviously often showed.  Now, I feel secure enough to let myself…. um, be myself, I guess. I’m a geek.  Nothing wrong with that.  Why be a half-ass geek?  Go whole-ass, I say. Be the techno geek.  The sci-fi geek.  Why not, after all?  There are others out there like me.  As a matter of fact, Wired.com has a Geek Dad column, written by someone just like me. Enjoy it. Love it. Live it!

If I can make my kids enjoy sci-fi too, hey that’s great.  Their journey towards the Dark side will be complete.  I just hope they can get still dates in 10-15 years.