The Return of Sci-Fy to Television

Three scify heavy shows are now on television: Sanctuary, Dr. Who, and Game of Thrones. And though last week was rather "packed full of jam" (thank you, 200th episode of SG1) I did manage to watch them all. Much to the detriment of my productivity. 

By the way, SANCTUARY IS MOVING TO MONDAYS. Now even Garfield can't hate them too much. Tune in tonight for the return of Abby Corrigan in what looks to be a very interesting episode called "One Night."

Anyway, I recommend watching all three, but read on for a few more details why (warning, some spoilers of past episodes).

Game of Thrones (Winter is Coming and The Kingsroad): My impression from the first episode? Straight from the book. In the best of all possible ways. I could see the pages coming to life. The first episode was shot by the shot the first few chapters of the book. And my first reaction was that the actor playing Tyrion Lannister is fantastic. He was in all of two scenes, one which was in a brothel, and he was brilliant. Which is good, cause he's one of my favorite characters in the book. 

The second episode was less literal (I don't remember the queen having a child who died before Joffrey was born), but still excellent. I never realized how well the books were written - the dialouge hasn't really changed, the scenes are how they were described, and the chapters combine to form nicely packaged episodes. (Though I think Bran didn't wake for a much longer time and he has some kind of trippy raven vision)

Notable characters so far: Tyrion Lannister, Jamie Lannister, Ned Stark, Arya Stark, Daenerys

Doctor Who (The Impossible Astronaut): Scaaaaaaaary. I have a massive fear of amnesia. Yes, that's weird. It's also true. So Amy forgetting about the monsters whenever she looked away really freaked me out, more so then the actual monsters. Also, I called her being pregnant halfway through the episode, though Rory clearly doesn't now. I'm also loving the fact that we are clearly going to see a lot more of River Song - and the best part is that she referenced her own death, when the Doctor meets her for the first time in "Silence in the Library." I also like the fact that River is the same, but the Doctor's chemistry in response to her is growing - he's gone from bickering and annoyance to almost flirting. 

As for the plot, very little so far, but it's interesting. The Doctor is messing with his timeline (not to mention his older self was kind of an ass) and that-guy-who's-been-in-every-SyFy-show (aka, Mark Sheppard, right) is playing a very interesting role as the break-the-rules FBI guy who adapts to the Tardis surprisingly well.

Sanctuary (Pax Romana and Hangover): First off, props to the writers of Sanctuary for doing a parody of The Hangover that was absolutely hilarious while still being a good episode. In my opinion, Pax Romana was a bit of a let down. Interesting, yes, and very informative, yes. And I do love Gregory Magnus. But it just didn't have as much excitement as I was expecting, probably cause I'd been waiting anxiously for four months.

That being said, I really am in desperate need of some continuity here. Season 1, Gregory disappeared on an expedition and turned up mind controlled by the Cabal. Season 2, nothing. Season 3, he's been a citizen of Hollow Earth for 65 years and a friend of Rana. So my questions are:

1) How did he give Helen the map for her 26th and 34th birthdays. Had he gone to Hollow Earth already and not been a citizen? Did he need a keystone?

2) If he was captured for long enough that the Cabal controlled him and got info from him, why didn't anyone from Hollow Earth notice?

3) How infrequently does Helen see her father that neither of these issues bothered her before? 

Also, I wish they'd just lampshade Tesla's disappearances between episodes. I'm assuming he was there when they got back or they'd be more worried about how Worth escaped and Druitt got to the city (niiiice twist, by the way). But there's no mention of him in either episode. He just vanishes. I also really wish they'd make him a regular for next season - they probably won't though, cause his character is a bit of a scene stealer, and there really isn't a reasonable way to write him into sticking around.

Hangover was a rather relaxing episode, though not insignificant by far. My favorite episodes of sci-fy TV are often ones that show us the day-to-day goings on. It makes the show seem more real, ignoring, of course, the obvious logistical issues with having an entire Sanctuary run by six people. The actors clearly had tons and tons of fun making this episode, which shows just short of breaking the 4th wall. All in all, a much better episode than Pax Romana, dramatic twists and guest stars aside.

That being said, this season's shaping up to be a good one. John's on the loose with Worth, Helen is blackmailing someone at the UN, and if trailers are anything to be believed, Tesla's getting revamped and there's going to be a Nazi flashback episode. Either that or some really odd war reenactors.