Did anyone actually like 'Andromeda'?

[banquo's_bumble_puppy]

Did anyone actually like 'Andromeda'? I found it a bit too hokey. Also, if set in the year 10,000 (or whatever) why were the people still so much like us? I mean other than Harper's data jack, there were no big changes to humanity that I could see (well not exactly true forgot about the Nietchiens).

[V-GER]

First two seasons were great, third ok and 4th and 5th just plain awful.
The show started going downhill after they fired developer Rober Hewitt Wolfe. He had a big 5 season long story arc in mind while the producers only wanted simple minded space action; enter writer Bob Engels and the show was doomed.

[Matherly]

The show started going downhill after they fired developer Rober Hewitt Wolfe.

Amen.

My wife and I loved the show during the first two seasons. We especially liked how Captain Hunt had to manipulate his crew and the situation to get the outcome he wanted. Very Machivellian (sp?).

Of course, when it started that every show had to revolve around the "Herc Kirk" we stopped watching in disgust.

[V-GER]

Of course, when it started that every show had to revolve around the "Herc Kirk" we stopped watching in disgust.

I hung on untill about half way of season 5, then I just couldn't take it anymore. It pained to see how they managed to flush a show down the drain like that. While I always considered it to have been a sort of "Hercules in space" show(but in a good way since I liked Herc) at least it didn't revolve around Sorbo's character in the first two seasons. Like you said, the crew had to be manipulated into doing what captain Hunt wanted plus I loved the concept of a "starfleet" captain acting without any restrictions imposed by his superiors. That all changed of course later.

[Doodler]

So it was produced by FOX, eh? I liked the few early episodes I could get an eye on. I've kinda fallen out with TV of late, even to the point of only ever seeing one Firefly episode. This one looked interesting at first.

[WHarris]

So it was produced by FOX, eh?

No, for once they're blameless.

I liked the first season (the season finale was great!) and part of the second, but the show went seriously downhill from there. I watched the third season premiere and gave up on the show after that.

[Launch window]

The first Season was ok, they had cool ships and action sequences but it was a bit silly like a Xena/Hercules in space, they show lacked a storyline unlike great scifi such as B-5
it was also a shame they killed off the giant bat creature.

[Matherly]

it was also a shame they killed off the giant bat creature.

If the bat creature you are refering to was a part of the crew, then it was "Rev Bem". They didn't kill him off, but the actor Brent Stait developed a latex allergy and had to drop from the cast.

[rdaneel]

I agree with the others. The first season or two had potential, although even then some of the shows weren't well thought through. I thought some of the actors were quite strong, particularly Laura Bertram (who played Trance). Then for some reason they decided to change Trance from a strange purple character with mysterious powers and a tail, which was actually interesting, into a Warrior Princess, which was less so. And the plots became mostly half-baked and Sorbo-centric. From what I've read about it, this was due to some notion that audiences don't like complicated story arcs. As complicated story arcs was what the real creator of the show, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, was trying to do, he was axed.

I believe that if Wolfe had been allowed to pursue his vision, the show might have developed into something. Season One of Andromeda really was of comparable quality to Season One of Star Trek: The Next Generation. That is, very uneven in quality from show to show, but with glimmers of some potential.

[Jim]

... uneven in quality from show to show, but with glimmers of some potential.

I'd agree with that. I enjoyed the show mostly, but there were little things that bugged me. The first two seasons were pretty good; the local station then jiggered the schedule and I lost track of it. When I found it again, Trance was orange and Reb was gone. I lost it again, and by the time I found it, they were stranded on a planet, Rommie was gone... but not really... and the show had gone very metaphysical.

Much potential, not fulfilled.

[Van Rijn]

I agree with the others. The first season or two had potential, although even then some of the shows weren't well thought through.

Yes, much like Earth: Final Conflict there were some interesting ideas and it showed promise. It took a little longer than E:FC to completely fall apart, but it went in a similar direction. There were certain things in the technology for the universe that I liked: Beam weapons were of limited use, most weapons were projectile based, and there were no "deflector shields." On the other hand, ships like Andromeda could repair themselves and manufacture replacement hardware and ordnance (if given raw materials) using nanotech based manufacturing. That's a more "modern" model of future technology than the shield and ray gun model from the mid '20th century.

I thought some of the actors were quite strong, particularly Laura Bertram (who played Trance). Then for some reason they decided to change Trance from a strange purple character with mysterious powers and a tail, which was actually interesting, into a Warrior Princess, which was less so.

Somewhere I saw an interview with the actress where she discussed the change in her look. Apparently the purple makeup would rub off easily and get on everything she touched, so they had to constantly pause to wipe off the set and repaint her. As for the tail, it looked fake and often would get stuck on something, get stepped on, or get in a bad position for a shot. In short, it was a pain to deal with. So, they worked in an "explanation" to change her look to something that was more practical.

[Gillianren]

Very Machivellian (sp?).

"Machiavellian."

[Delvo]

...also known to fans of the REAL "Andromeda" (meaning the first season and a half) as "Nietzschean".

You really have to think of this as two different shows. I loved the first and hated the insulting spinoff.

[TheOncomingStorm]

well like the first two seasons after that it was bad and the worse was the final season.

[Maksutov]

I like Andromeda.

Specifically, Andromeda321.

She's one of our most eloquent members.

[banquo's_bumble_puppy]

might have worked better as a Star Trek - fall of the Federation type show (as I think was Gene R's original idea)....

[publiusr]

The last season was awful.

[loglo]

I stopped wondering why TV producers never seemed to learn any better. Andromeda got 3 years of screening a show that fans thought was horrible, or at least a pale shadow of itself. It must have got high enough ratings though to last that long. So who was watching if not the scifi fans?

Firefly got half a season, rated poorly I assume, and got canned, then went on to become a cult hit and a movie. ST:TOS did little better at the start before doing the same.

My hypothesis: the worst scifi gets the best TV ratings because that is the only type watched by "mainstream" viewers. Good scifi, being less accessible to mainstream viewers, rates poorly with them so tends to get canned.

Personally, though I love scifi and watch virtually everything shown, I think compared to its written form, the overall quality has been generally poor, the script writing mostly abysmal and the plot-lines lacking in originality (and even science). In the TV/film format scifi is never going to be more than light entertainment and I no longer expect anything else. When watched with that expectation its acceptable, just.

[TheOncomingStorm]

the last season sucked alright, andromeda was a syndicated sho so it was up to individual stations to carry it, TOS and Firefly were produced by networks and they fates are directly linked to ratings, plus Firefly was done fox which chops shows pretty fast if they do not perform.
Also andromeda had Romi (to bad she is married to Micheal Shanks).

[Matherly]

Firefly got half a season, rated poorly I assume, and got canned...

Actually, Firefly got pretty good ratings for a show on Friday night. It's a difficult time slot to be in and no, it didn't get "American Idol" ratings, but it was comprable to "The X-Files".

It was cancelled dispite this. I see three possibilities: 1) it didn't get as high ratings a promisied, 2) it was too expensive, or my personal favorite 3) it was killed as part of a powerplay by some executives. The later seems to happen a lot at Fox.

[loglo]

..snip...... killed as part of a powerplay by some executives. The later seems to happen a lot at Fox.

Seems to be a recurring theme in many industries these days. The execs play, the workers get squeezed and the customer suffers. The signal to noise ratio for Western civilisation is at a low point I'm afraid.

[Doodler]

Actually, Firefly got pretty good ratings for a show on Friday night. It's a difficult time slot to be in and no, it didn't get "American Idol" ratings, but it was comprable to "The X-Files".

It was cancelled dispite this. I see three possibilities: 1) it didn't get as high ratings a promisied, 2) it was too expensive, or my personal favorite 3) it was killed as part of a powerplay by some executives. The later seems to happen a lot at Fox.

In Serenity's case, it was #2. FOX was hellbent on being the Reality TV Network at the time because of its maximum shmutz for minimum investment aspect.