: As far as "improvements" are concerned, we'll have to wait for another 9 months or so, until the 2nd season starts. Actually I do not share your negative view of the show. While I do see points of criticism, which I've posted in earlier messages, I still think that TLW is a remarkably good show, considering that they are in their first season.

You're right. Usually, the first season of any television series is the weakest. Very few shows can come out and find its audience and be a hit within the first year. With TLW, I think the show knows its audience, but the audience hasn't found the show quite yet. I think if TLW were to have more original script ideas and better dialogue, it would get more press time in the TV Guide magazines.

I remember when "Star Trek: Voyager" started to slump in the ratings, the production crew realized that they needed to appeal to a larger audience than just sci fi fans so they brought in the "Seven of Nine" character as a) a plot device and b) eye candy. Shortly thereafter, "Seven of Nine" was on the front cover and the "Voyager" ratings went up. The "Veronica" character has made a couple of small articles in the magazine, but I think if the show had the same quality of plot and dialogue as "Voyager" it would become a cover story, too. The actors are certainly giving a top performance, the effects are improving, and the camera and sound is certainly quality work, but the writers should be taken out back and shot. I was watching "Blood Lust", and there are scenes where Roxton is roaming around in the jungle slowly turning into a vampire. My wife turned to me and said "He's got to feel ridiculous saying those lines." I bet Will Snow probably did.

: Regarding your question about the last two episodes, I didn't notice any significant difference between "Tribute" and previous episodes. "Absolute Power" will be shown here in Germany next Sunday, January 23rd. The minor spoilers I post for upcoming episodes are translations from the website of the German TV station that carries TLW. They have a one-month programme preview. Those of you living in the U.S. should be able to see "Absolute Power" early this week, maybe even today. However, I'm not so knowledgeable about the structure of the American TV market. It seems rather confusing to someone used to a single time zone and nationwide TV stations (and therefore the lack of a syndication market).

I missed "Tribute" and I think "Absolute Power" will be coming up soon if my local broadcaster stops pre-empting the time slot with basketball games. Here in the US, we have local "air" tv stations which are restricted by the range of their broadcast antennaes, and dedicated "cable" stations that cable tv providers carry as part of their offering package. Cable tv providers also carry the local "air" stations so people can get the local news reports and network programs. So, TLW is carried by my local "air" station except when preempted by a local basketball game. WGN is a "cable" station, so hopefully I can find TLW on their schedule. The last episode I saw was "Cave of Fear" with the boy prophet and his people living in a cave by a volcano. A good plot idea hampered by poor dialogue. Acting was good, even by the guest stars, and the effects were nice. But the writing was terrible.

: As far as the "cheesecake-factor" is concerned, I don't think you need to worry about a lack of it. The producers of the show seem to be very ratings-minded in that respect. :) Even if this may seem like a strange thing to say, I really think that Jennifer O'Dell is also doing a good job on an acting level.

I agree. She's done a pretty good job acting - though I've caught a couple of weak scenes where she's been over-dramatic. One of the worst instances was the episode where "Nikko" comes to claim her as his bride but Ned opposes it (I can't recall the title of the episode). The climax, where she threatens to kill herself, was not very well done. A more believable scene would have been for her to just simply beat the snot out of Nikko. The problems are not always her fault though - the guest actors were slow to recite their lines or missed their cues so that the timing was off.

:No female characters involved in the Conan Doyle novel?! Welcome to the 90s (oops, sorry wrong decade) and today's TV market. :)

The book is a good read and a good example of the writing of that period. And its fun, too! I can see why there have been so many movies based on it. But visual media just doesn't have the same "flavor" as the written word, so its a good thing that the TLW show has females in it to balance out the character base for today's audience.

: ...even if the plot doesn't always make sense, the camp factor is usually so high that it's still entertaining.

Which is why I think the show would've died without "Veronica". The character brings a lot of promise to the series. Cheesecake will draw an audience, camp will entertain an audience for a short time, but a good plotline will keep that audience. Veronica in a skimpy jungle costume fighting crocodiles and marauding tribal warriors is one of the better reasons to watch the show week after week, (hey, it worked for all of those "Tarzan" movies) but eventually John Landis will have to quit raiding the Sci Fi section of his local video store for plot ideas.

If I were a writer for this show, I'd take it in a different direction. Instead of having some new bizarre civilization as a plot point each week, I'd focus more on the action and exploration aspect. The jungle can be a dangerous place. Why not take advantage of it? And the natural character to take the lead role would be Veronica. Its her world. It might be Challenger's mission and Roxton's safari, but its Veronica's world. Jennifer O'Dell probably knows this and that's why she plays the character with such strength. A strong female lead is a very rare thing in action-oriented television these days (except for "Xena") so I hope the show can draw a larger following so as to present a positive role model for girls. Hard to imagine that a woman in a leather bikini could be a positive role model, but hey, there's nothing wrong with that, right :)

I'd also have Marguerite's character begin to grow a bit more. We've seen her impression of her upbringing (in the episode where a fungus makes her hallucinate about her mother) and in the pilot movie she flirts with Roxton in her own confused way. I think the logical progression of her character would be for her to behave more like a female version of Roxton - stronger presence, more knowledgable of outdoors living, more physical. It makes sense to me that she'd become attached to Roxton, certainly more logical than a romance between Ned and Veronica. I think a romatic tie between Veronica and Ned wouldn't play as well - I see Veronica as a free spirit at this point.

Anyway, my thoughts on the show so far.

Enjoy!