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Where were you *23* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

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  • Where were you *23* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)
• Where were you *23* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

• Where were you *23* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  august > January 15th, 2005, 10:30 PM

  The week of January 17.... a holiday weekend kicking it off, in fact......  does this bring back any memories?
  
  
  

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  tez > January 16th, 2005, 12:09 AM

  i have no idea

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  Boomstick > January 16th, 2005, 06:22 AM

  I don't recall that promotion specifically, but it's been a while. By that point I had lost my cable by moving out of the dorm, and reception at the house was sketchy at best, so I missed lots of Cleo!

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  Bailey 1729 > January 16th, 2005, 05:29 PM

  I remember some TV ads that gave the impression that it was going to be absolutely horrible. Then I remember being amazed (as I've said before) at what great TV SF it was! (Also as I've said before, I've gotten very tired of SF that uses a SF premise merely as a setting to tell a story that could equally well be told in a variety of other settings, that is the story doesn't explore the SF implications). And then ... around April I think I found the old SUSA Cleo forum.

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  Strife > January 18th, 2005, 03:01 AM

  I vaguely remember that...but my memory really sucks sometimes, can't tell you much about when I saw it.

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  Boomstick > January 18th, 2005, 03:26 AM

  Bailey 1729 Wrote:(Also as I've said before, I've gotten very tired of SF that uses a SF premise merely as a setting to tell a story that could equally well be told in a variety of other settings, that is the story doesn't explore the SF implications).

  
  Interesting. Any examples of such?

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  Bailey 1729 > January 18th, 2005, 10:26 PM

  Hey that's sort of mean, asking me to back up my sweeping generalization with specific examples! One problem with answering you is that I've almost stopped watching TV completely, so it would be difficult to give current examples. But maybe you can help me out: most of the popular SF TV series have used a format where each episode is self-contained (no continuing overall plot, unlike B5 for example and yes also Cleo 2525). So this already limits what can be explored in terms of SF implications (the viewer would have to be familiar with details of the SF world as revealed in earlier episodes, but this format precludes this). I think that in most instances of TV SF of this type, the story of most individual episodes could be re-written so as to take place in a contemporary or historical setting, and still tell basically the same story. So here's where you can help me: come up with some of the popular SF TV series that fit this pattern, that is, figure out whether most of the stories of the individual episodes could be transplanted to a non-SF setting and still be the same story.

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  moonchain > January 18th, 2005, 10:57 PM

  I feel so nostalgic now. I looked up my user name on Google and found that somewhere in the bowels of Universal's message boards, all of our old stuff is saved. And I found that RainaRose saved all the old hotlesbianacti- er... all the old fanfics we wrote. *sniff* I miss the good ol' days. Has it really been five years?

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  Boomstick > January 18th, 2005, 11:52 PM

  The old boards are still online? I was never a member, but I'd love to dig around if they're available!

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  moonchain > January 19th, 2005, 01:57 PM

  It's really hard to find them since Universal doesn't have direct links to them anywhere. And if you find a link to one of the threads and try to just go up to the main Cleo thread list, it gives you a blank list. Basically, you have to know what threads you want to look for. Tis sad.

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  august > January 19th, 2005, 07:40 PM

  Shhhhhhhhhhh! :tongue:
  
  

  To view, use your mouse to select the text:

  Here's the link to both. Let's just keep it a secret, so that Studios USA/MCA/NBC-Universal/GE/Vivendi/Opie Taylor's Eagle Club never has occasion to remember that they left it up. :bg: Click here for the old Cleo board, and here for the Jack board. If you don't see any messages, go to the box where you can chhose how many days' worth of topics to show, and choose "show all topics." Now keep it under your hats!

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  Bailey 1729 > January 19th, 2005, 11:00 PM

  Let's see, several things: (1) moonchain!, so good to hear from you! what you been up to?; (2) the spoiler text doesn't seem to work the same, when I try to select the text with my mouse all the text in the whole window is selected; (3) amazingly it's easy to find some old threads, try google on "Bailey 1729" for example (use the quotes to search for phrase); (4) although it's not possible to do searches you know where, you can still see all the threads by going up one level from a thread and selecting show all topics; (5) Boomstick you're not helping me out with that discussion; more on that with next post.

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  Bailey 1729 > January 19th, 2005, 11:09 PM

  Some common examples of self-contained episode type SF TV formulas are strange alien of the week and strange world of the week; ok so I'm claiming that these stories could often be transplanted to a contemporary or historical setting - visitor from another country with strange foreign ways and a mysterious secret, visiting another land (this would probably have to be a historical setting now with globablization) with incomprehensible customs, that kind of thing - and still tell the same story. As a counterexample, consider the Cleo 2525 episode Double. I can't figure out how to tell the same story without the SF world and background that was set up in the previous episodes. The only way that I can think of to tell a similar story in a contemporary or historical setting would involve a fantasy element.

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  Boomstick > January 19th, 2005, 11:12 PM

  Thing is, as I see it, most Sci-Fi could be set in a contemporary time.
  
  Star Trek is known for taking contemporary issues and spacing them out.
  
  Stargate is set in current times.
  
  Andromeda is sort of a knock off series, taking elements of Star Trek and augmenting it with buckets of action and humour, so while I can't see it set in a conterporary time, that's not to say it's outstanding sci-fi.
  
  Remove the space aspects from Farscape and you've got a soap opera.

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  Bailey 1729 > January 19th, 2005, 11:36 PM

  Yes exactly! It's not great SF unless there is an inherent SF element to the story is what I'm trying to say, and those are examples of (usually) mediocre SF (not to say that they aren't good stories necessarily). I qualified that with "usually" since there are individual episodes in some of those that are great SF. Trek's City on the Edge of Forever comes to mind for example. I quit following Farscape, but in the first or second season I remember ... I think it was a 2-part episode, maybe a season finale ... there was an episode (or 2-parter) that was just absolutely wonderful (and great SF) ... there was an awful lot of strange alien of the week though, which turned me off (at least in those early seasons, I don't know what happened later). Most of the Stargate episodes I've seen (and that's only a few) seem to be of the strange alien / strange world of the week type. Andromeda started off with a continuing plot, but apparently they decided to change the format, possibly in the middle of the second season. I'm really not knowledgable enough about Andromeda to make any comments ... only saw a few scattered early episdoes (plus premiere episode and only a few after that). There have been a lot of series where I saw the premiere episode, random scattered episodes in the middle, and series finale, and never felt like I missed anything ... I could fill in the blanks, so to speak. For some reason I really liked Firefly A LOT! ... at first I have to admit I didn't really take it seriously, but the idea of what seemed to be a Western in space just seemed so ludicrous that I couldn't help not liking it, but then there were some SF-type mysteries introduced (inherent SF element?), via a continuing plot ... and then it was cancelled.

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  Boomstick > January 20th, 2005, 01:10 AM

  While I see what you're saying, I feel that many times the best science fiction is that which relates to us. As such, I see Star Trek as something with a message, but Cleopatra 2525 is just entertainment for me. Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you.

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  moonchain > January 20th, 2005, 03:28 PM

  S'up Bailey? I ain't been up to much. I just finished college last August and now I'm desperately looking for steady work. Ah, the life of a college grad. There's always grocery store work, I guess.
  
  And I never thought to look at the topics button. I just saw a blank page when I went to the main section. I was like, "Aw, so sad," and closed the browser.

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  Bailey 1729 > January 20th, 2005, 11:10 PM

  Hey moonchain, my daughter's starting the second half of her second year of college. How time does fly. Well, for me it does. I'm pretty sure I remember that when I was around my daughter's age a year lasted about 10 times longer than it does now.
  
  Boomstick, good stories sometimes have messages (it seems to me), but sometimes they don't: a good story is one that first of all absorbs you, and then inspires you, or moves you, or makes you seriously think (ones with a message?), or makes you laugh so hard it hurts, or whatever, depending on the type of story. So I think a good story in a SF setting could be any of these types, PLUS in order to be a good SF story there has to be an essential dependence of the story on the SF elements, otherwise the SF setting is unnecessary and distracting. For me Cleo 2525 was a great SF story (and it was a continuing story, ending prematurely unfortunately). In the case of Star Trek there was no continuing story, so we have to talk about episodes: there were a few good SF stories, probably some good stories but not good SF stories (I don't have any particular episodes in mind), and being honest, quite a few episodes that were not particularly good really.

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  august > January 20th, 2005, 11:18 PM

  Note: I have in-depth observations on this, which I'll post when I get a chance - probably over the weekend. But LOVE this discussion, because I'm firmly in the camp that loves Cleo not just for the obvious - hot babes doing comedy and kung-fu w/ Matrix-style FX in a sci-fi setting - but especially for the revisionist/reinvention component of the show. I'm not sure too many of the plots could have been done outside a sci-fi setting - maybe "Last Stand" and "Creegan," and a few others - but what always impressed me was how they utterly turned traditional genre motifs upside down.
  
  For example, "Double." Anyone can do an evil-clone/robot/double plot, from Trek to Get Smart to Buffy. But it's pretty rare where the evil clone is bubbly and bouncy and funny and sympathetic. And unique where out of the blue, the heroine ends up bonding w/ the evil clone, as she is the only one who understands the loneliness and isolation of the heroine. Whoa - suddenly, a sci-fi clone plot turns into an isolation/loneliness plot. As Marty McFly might say.... heavy.

• Where were you *19* years ago? (the answer: watching Back 2 Back Action!)

  Bailey 1729 > February 1st, 2005, 11:47 PM

  August, we are all waiting for your in-depth observations with baited breath (which is of course much stronger than bated breath).
  
  There don't seem to be any message icons for bait or breath. I guess I'll go with the arrow; imagine that it's a fishhook.
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