Sometimes, I wonder about myself.  Most recently, I've concluded: busy being antisocial.  Oh, I don't know.  Getting me to check Facebook has always been like pulling teeth, so this is hardly a new thing.

Anyway, for the past six months I've been watching every Sci Fi TV show I can get my hands on.  At the moment I'm following Sanctuary and Doctor Who as the episodes are aired and Farscape on Netflix.  Aside from the fact that none of these shows originate in the US (Canada, the UK, and Australia, respectively) I've noticed something else interesting; Farscape and Sanctuary are complete opposites.

Sanctuary began airing in 2008.  It is notable for avoiding the 'monster of the week' feeling to even its most episodic episodes (well, once it got out of the webisode range, at least).  It doesn't make me think "Oh look, there's a new person.  This person seems dodgy.  Oh look, I was right.  Why did none of the characters see that coming?  *facepalm*."  This is a good thing, as its snappy plotting is generally enough to distract me from the complete and utter lack of characterization taking place.  I mean, seriously.  Sock puppets have more character than these people.  Plus, what little characterization they do have is made rather wibbly by poor dialogue.  It's gotten better as the series progresses, but if you weren't able to make it past the first couple episodes due to the awfulness of it all, I sympathize.  I really do.  When the most awesome and interesting character on the entire show is a supporting character (Nikola Tesla, magnificent basterd), you know you've inadvertently cast cardboard cutouts to play all your leads.

One last thing of note: the sets are created using CGI.  All of the acting happens on a green screen.  Many of the monsters (oops, I mean abnormals) are computer generated, too.  This gives the show enormous scope and possibility when writing which is probably what contributed to the wonderful plotting.  It is a truly 21st century show.

Farscape began airing almost a decade before Sanctuary, in 1999.  Quite often, the episodes resolve into threat/gimmick of the week plots (the body-switch, the carnivorous monster, the inter-dimensional splinching, the one where they all go frelling insane, to name a few).  However, the characters have character.  They can do an episode a la Rashomon and make the repeated retellings of events interesting because each one can be analysed--the retellings are the viewpoints of the characters made tangeable.  In Zhaan's version, John and D'Argo are really touchy-feely (hilariously so--by the end of it, they're practically arm-in-arm), while in D'Argo's version John is basically reduced to a sycophantic follower.  Stark, interestingly enough, reported that D'Argo said "John - give me the word and I'll break [Crais's] neck," as though he saw John as having some sort of control over D'Argo (everyone else only reported the "I'll break Crais's neck" part).  Ahh, the nuances!  In summary, while the plot devices are, at times, barely rudimentary, they are used to explore the wonderful characters that inhabit the Farscape world.  Generally, I am distracted enough by the character interactions that I don't care that the plot is meh.

Also, as this show is more than a decade old, they used good ol' fashioned puppets n' prosthetics for the aliens.  And they are very well done.  None of this green bubble-wrap monster of doom crap (I still love you, Doctor Who circa 1975)--these puppets are main characters, and they're damn convincing.

Phew.  Just had to get that out of my system.