Stargate: Universe

Robert Carlyle as Dr. Rush

I’m a major nerdo loser and as such I’ve always loved Stargate in both its original form and its spin-off, Stargate: Atlantis.  In comes the new series in the Stargate franchise, Stargate: Universe.  This series has taken a much grittier approach than it’s predecessors and has a couple of big names attached (Robert Carlyle and Lou Diamond Phillips).  Add to that the fact that there is no longer any other Stargate to satiate the fans and you have a recipe for a potentially successful show.

I should say that the show so far looks to be a little unsteady and if you are expecting to get into this one just be careful not to get your hopes up.  The acting isn’t brilliant (aside from Robert Carlyle, but even he is slightly off on occasion), the editing seems a little frenetic and tough to follow, and the plot is… well, slow.  Barely anything has truly happened in four episodes (counting the two hour premier as two episodes).  That being said, I’m willing to stick by this one and see where it goes – it does have a lot of potential but it has dauntingly huge shoes to fill so the ride from here could be bumpy.

FlashForward

FlashForward: Not a documentary

Shunned by some viewers for its casual disregard for realism (it’s a sci-fi about everyone in the world simultaneously passing out and having premonitions, come on people how much realism are you really after here?) I am taking the “lets wait and see” approach to this one as well.  Similar to Stargate: Universe it doesn’t exactly have a stellar array of actors, but the show’s premise alone is intriguing enough to impress and leave this observer wanting more.  If you are immediately drawn out of shows with bad acting and the occasional plot hole you might want to give this one a miss.  That being said, I’m in the school of people who think that many of the plot holes are actually deliberate mysteries waiting to be covered in later episodes.

At least do yourself a favour by giving the pilot episode a look.  The final scene alone will leave you with a near irresistible urge to find out what the fuck is going on.

Dollhouse

Eliza Dushku is hot and also an actor in Dollhouse

Okay so this one isn’t technically a brand new show, but season 2 is starting up and I’ve only just found out that the show even exists.  If you haven’t seen this show you should check out the first season and see what you think while the second season is still young.  The cast is fantastic and a little off-beat in that deliberate “we’re not taking ourselves seriously” kind of way.  On that subject, I think that is the main reason this show appeals to me.  It stays fairly light hearted while maintaining an uneasy edge to it that keeps you engaged and genuinely interested in what’s going to happen next.

The premise of this show is a little strange, and hard to wrap one’s head around since it just seems a little bit silly.  The “Dollhouse” is a place people go to have their memories wiped completely during a process whereby they are turned into “Actives”. These Actives are then like a blank slate (the show refers to this state as “tabula rasa”, a neat little nod to John Locke that makes incredible sense given the context) that can have any personality implanted into them, complete with memories and knowledge.  Rich folk then hire these Actives for various purposes – the main draw being that the Active remembers nothing of the ordeal afterwards.  At any rate check this one out, it’s neato.

5. Gabriel Gray (Sylar)

Gabriel Gray (Sylar)

Who is he?

Sylar is the bad guy from the TV show Heroes.  If you haven’t seen the show, you should watch it purely for this character, particularly the first season.  He is one bad ass dude.  He gets bonus points for having the brains to change his gay name from Gabriel Gray to Sylar, and for removing his gigantic coke bottle glasses and frumpy Donald Trump hair to become a sinister looking bad guy.

Why is he so bad ass?

Sylar has the ability to steal powers from other people which is pretty awesome because it means he ends up with a kick ass combination of really powerful shit that he can do.  It gets even more bad ass than that though because to steal the powers, Sylar has to cut off the top of the person’s skull and tinker with their brain, usually leaving them dead.  Sylar has a constant conflict between being good and being evil so aside from all that other cool stuff he’s just a generally great character to watch.

Oh, and Sylar killed his own mother and that makes him pretty ruthless in my books, so put another tick next to bad ass for that one.

4. Arvin Sloane

Arvin Sloane

Who is he?

Arvin Sloane is the bad guy from Alias, that show with Jennifer Garner in it which ended up really shit after the second season.  Sloane is the director of SD-6, the shady underground organisation that the CIA is fighting against in Season 1 of the show.

Why is he so bad ass?

He was tortured by Quentin Tarantino and didn’t reveal a thing.  That’s right, Quentin Tarantino made him look at his squinty mongoloid head for a full minute and Sloane revealed nothing.  I’m kidding of course, although it was indeed Quentin Tarantino playing the ruthless McKenas Cole who managed to break into SD-6 and torture Sloane for information using what he calls “fire needles” which apparently burn incredibly hot when stabbed into someone’s skin.  It’s hard to appreciate how bad ass it is unless you’ve seen the particular scene, so you may just have to take my word for it.

3. Dr. Gregory House

Dr. Gregory House

Who is he?

Dr. Gregory House is the protagonist from the TV show House M.D.  Being a medical doctor and all, you probably wouldn’t expect to see him on this list, but read on to find out why he makes it.

Why is he so bad ass?

Dr. House has done some seriously fucked up, bad ass shit in the show’s five seasons, all in the name of saving lives.  As with Jack Bauer and Peter Petrelli, House has also died several times throughout the TV show.  When his friend Dr. Wilson’s girlfriend (Amber) was involved in a bus crash, House was there but too drunk to remember anything.  So when Amber becomes deathly ill it’s up to House to remember what symptoms she was displaying before the crash.  Here’s the bad ass bit: House allows his colleagues to dig into his brain with electrodes risking permanent irreversible brain damage in order to stimulate his memory and bring to light the details he had forgotten.  Now that takes some serious balls.

2. Jack Bauer

Jack Bauer

Who is he?

Jack Bauer is some dude from a fictional government organisation called CTU, from that awesome show 24.  Played by Keifer Sutherland (having a movie star play the character adds bad-assedness)  Jack goes through a bunch of complete and utter shit every season of 24 and still comes back to kick ass next time round.

Why is he so bad ass?

Jack Bauer has literally died several times in the show, one time in particular he was tortured to death and then brought back for a little more torture when the bad guys realised that dead people aren’t very useful when it comes to answering questions.

He was arrested by the Chinese and held in a Chinese prison for almost 2 years.  Luckily, the US government arranged to have him released from the prison, thank god right?  Wrong, they did this because a bunch of terrorists wanted Jack’s head, and the government couldn’t deliver that with Jack in the pen.  That’s right, after two years in a Chinese prison the US government finally gets around to freeing him so they can give him to terrorists who want him dead.  Of course, Jack takes this all in stride like a big fucking manly man and just kinda shrugs a bit before saying “Sure guys, whatever”.

1. Peter Petrelli

Peter Petrelli

Who is he?

Peter is that guy from Heroes that you probably remember for his super emo hair.  Lucky for Peter’s likability, he lost the emo hair in Season 2 while simultaneously becoming completely bad ass.

Why is he so bad ass?

Okay so he started off with that whole emo fringe thing and was kind of a moody bitch, but Peter has really come into his own.  In the second season he realised he could shoot lightning out of his hands and shit, which is pretty fucking bitchin.  He also suffered from amnesia, meaning goody-two-shoes Peter was left behind and a more kick ass version was here to stay.