Does it wreck my nerd cred…

…that I watched the Bionic Woman pilot over the weekend, and found myself wishing a bit for the, well, niceness of the old show.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Battlestar Galactica revamp, but in that case the original show sucked. And I remember how cool it was when Marvel introduced ‘darker’ characters like Wolverine and the Punisher, and then how lame it got a few years later when suddenly *every* character was darker.

Certainly the writing on the BW pilot was pretty good (although not great), and it was one episode, true. However, kick-ass women perhaps are finally becoming a bit of a bore, and I don’t know, a little sunniness now and again would maybe not go amiss.

I actually enjoyed Reaper a lot more, for what that’s worth. Although that show’s tone might be harder to maintain well. And Chuck I found more engaging, too, in a minor way. Indeed, I wonder if for all the dark material, what really has made Heroes such a hit isn’t the show’s heart, Hiro. If they descend too much into the blackness, they may end up losing a good hunk of their audience.

Maybe Bionic Woman will hit its stride, soon, but until then, I have my doubts.

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Dan Coyle

Doesn’t wreck your nerd cred at all. I found it so unbearably dour I exited before the 15 minute mark. Plus, Katee Sackhoff is so much more compelling than Michelle Ryan it’s almost sad.
Ericb

Though when you consider that the alternative to the current reign of dour would probably be a return to 90s snark (ala Scream)it doesn’t seem so bad.
Ken Begg

I didn’t really tie this in, but really, this gets back to my basic problem with the newer Outer Limits program: It was a ‘redo’ of a series that was overwhelmingly optimistic, and instead presented a ridiculously pessimistic tone. Dark and deep are not really the same things, although a lot of TV writers seem to think so right now. (And obviously dark *can* be deep when done right–but then, so is light.)

I guess I’d just like to see a little more joy and happiness in my TV viewing, at least on some of it. Maybe that’s another reason Mythbusters is one of the only shows I watch right now: The people on are it actually having *fun.*
Terrahawk

I think that is a great point Ken (sounds of kissing up to the high priest). Going back and watching ST:TNG or Babylon 5, you see a massive difference. Both deal with some serious issues, but both also throw in some nice humor and light episodes. That is one reason I don’t care for the new BSG. The characters have little to no humor, even gallows humor. Even in dire situations, people have the capacity for humor.

You have to believe in something outside of yourself to have an optimistic outlook. Modern man only believes in himself.
The Rev. D.D.

Dammit, I forgot about Reaper! I hope there’s a rerun coming up…

I meant to tape BW last night but I misprogrammed the VCR and didn’t get it. Maybe I didn’t miss much, though.
Dan Coyle

I didn’t mind the darker tone of the All-New, All-Different Outer Limits until it put every single episode on a very, VERY predictable path, so you could figure out the story beats before the opening credits were over.

Telling, then, that what I consider some of the better episodes of that iteration are the ones with semi-happy resolutions.
Ken Begg

Dan, I think that’s exactly right. The dark tone of Outer Limits just became too entirely predictable. I suppose you could say the old show’s (generally) optimitic tone was just as consisent–although actually I’m not sure it was–but I do find constant pessimism a bit more wearing.
The Rev. D.D.

The original Outer Limits had its moments though…”Soldier” was kind of a downer, and the endings of “The Zanti Misfits” and “The Galaxy Being” don’t exactly make humanity look like shining beacons of awesomeness…and I’m sure I’m missing others.
Meanwhile, I can only think of one newer episode with a happy ending…don’t remember the name, but it’s the one with the prehistoric slugs or worms that hop up people’s noses and make them amoral beasts, and were allergic to sunlight.