As we return to the Subjectively Obscure Sci-Fi Primer, we hit upon possibly the most obscure show yet: little known 90’s show and companion to The X-Files, VR.5. Debuting in 1995 and set in 1995, it’s about as “near future” as sci-fi can get. It lasted for one 13-episode season, although several of those never even aired, since it was yet another victim of Fox and the Friday Night Death Slot. As you might guess from the title, this cyberpunk show deals with the concept of Virtual Reality–specifically a multitude of different levels of virtual reality, with the eponymous 5th level referring to perfect immersion, indistinguishable from reality. Or almost, anyway, as we’ll see in a moment.

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So if you’ve got your main characters, and they’re the heroes. Once in a while, they’ll end up fighting against people who aren’t so bad, and maybe are even heroes themselves. That doesn’t mean they stop being heroes, though, right? But just as there are honorable or well-intentioned villains, there can be heroes who do things that will even cause the villains to stare on in shock. The heroes perform actions that are almost (or sometimes are) unjustifiable, and they don’t always see the problem with that. So, here are 4 of the worst, most questionable actions done by sci-fi “heroes.”

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At long last, an episode with a lot of answers! Finally! And on top of that, we got Lady Sif guest starring and a few superpowered fights. Also, this is the 100th post on this site. Yay!

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This week in sci-fi, we’ve got a surprising lack of franchise stuff for once. Original stories? Awesome! Also, Harrison Ford scared everyone by crashing a small plane on a golf course, but he seems to be doing okay now.

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When making TV shows, there are a lot of people involved in the process. Writers, actors, directors, producers… the list goes on. And often times relationships and life events (or sometimes even global events) that either develop during the course of the show, or those that the creators bring with them, will turn out to have an effect on the show itself. Sometimes this is a fairly simple, small thing, like Riker’s trombone playing in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Jonathan Frakes played trombone, and they worked it into his character. Other times, it ends up having a big effect on the show, altering the course of the plot and forever changing the characters. Knowing this real life context can make these moments more hilarious, more poignant, or just more interesting. So here are 4 moments improved by reality.

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We’re back at last to Agents of SHIELD, picking up after the epic December finale. I’m going to try to change this up some and have the review be more “review” and less “Recap.” What this really means is they might be shorter, but they’ll have more of (what I hope) is the important part. Let’s get going!

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It’s a sad weekend for sci-fi fans. Leonard Nimoy has passed away, making him the third member of the Star Trek TOS cast to be lost after DeForest Kelley and James Doohan. His character of Spock has meant a great deal to me, and likely to you as well. He’s become a pop culture icon, one of the few figures to transcend genre and possess an almost universal popularity, due in no small part to Nimoy’s talents and contributions. And as we the fans mourn, let’s not forget the loved ones he left behind.

Still, there’s other news out there. So let’s continue on, heavy hearts or otherwise.

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In the days of episodic television, there were always villains of the week, showing up just in time for the next episode and being dispatched within the hour. Usually, they had little explanation and even less characterization, and that was okay because no one really cared about the background of this one episode bad guy. Once in a while, though, a villain would appear on the scene who warranted more. He was skilled, not just another in an endless line of mooks. He had a code of honor. He had things he believed in and fought for, and just as often, died for. And for once, we in the audience were forced to stop and rethink the position of our heroes. These 4 bad guys below were doing their jobs, exactly as the heroes do, and from another perspective, they might even be a hero.

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This month’s edition returns to a show that had its moment in the Obscure Sci-Fi Primer spotlight just a few months ago. Like so many other Fox shows, Space: Above & Beyond was canceled before it had a chance, after being yanked around by the network for a few months. From the start, the creators had hoped the show would last at least 5 seasons, which in and of itself is a pretty common desire for showrunners (5 seasons times 22 episodes equals 110 total, enough to secure syndication, which in the 90s is where the big money came from). And while this show is hardly a well-planned out 5 year arc like Babylon 5, the creators, James Wong and Glen Morgan, did have some plans for Space: Above & Beyond season 2 sketched out before the show was canceled (and even discussed the possibility of a theatrical continuation). So let’s dig in and find out where this very military show might have headed had it continued.

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Not a lot going on this week, but I’ll share what I saw. Like this picture of Jason Momoa as Aquaman. But he’ll always be Ronon Dex to me.

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