Okay, I missed this the first time around in '02, but caught the Sci-Fi Channel debut tonight.
Concept-wise, not bad: malevolent force(s?) blow up the Earth. The shuttle Odyssey, in orbit, somehow survives, badly damaged. Power failing, life support failing, the crew is almost dead…and then rescued by the benevolent lone survivor, called The Seeker, of an extinct advanced civilization.
He informs the crew of the Odyssey that he has seen this happen to over 50 worlds, including his own, but he has never arrived in time to see it happen, or save anyone, until now. He can do nothing for them in the here/now, but he can translate their consciousness, their “soul” for want of a better word, backwards 5 years in time, so that they may prevent the Earth’s destruction.
His final piece of advice to them before they retrograde: “Look within.”
Execution: even for a 5 year old series, the special effects look dated. The melodrama on the Odyssey (before and after Earth gets the finger) is more like a badly run corporate boardroom in a cheesy soap opera than a NASA-planned-and-executed space mission. They should’ve chucked the Brit out the airlock toot-sweet; they could’ve saved at least another hour’s worth of O2.
Nothing against Brits; this guy was just a total jackass. I’d find it hard to believe that NASA would let anyone as immature and unstable as that asshole anywhere near a launchpad, even as a tourist.
:smack: Then I remember Lisa Nowak. So I guess asshole Brit guy isn’t too implausible.
The show only ran for two years on Showtime, before it was canceled (according to Wiki it was one of Showtime’s higher rated shows). So I’m assuming that Odyssey 5, like many new shows, settled down a bit and became quite good.
Compared to Flash Gordon, it looks pretty good. But then again, so would a steaming pile of dogshit.
Perhaps a GD thread on the effect of lowered expectations is in order.