SyFy's Invasion Roswell - So Bad, It's Good.

Invasion Roswell – SyFy Channel – 2013

Every now and then, one must bow to the utterly ridiculous.  Invasion Roswell premiered on Syfy last night and I decided that I wanted to see it.  I didn’t know what to expect, but from what I’ve seen in the past for SyFy’s original films, I didn’t expect much, and didn’t get much.  But then, from what I saw, this film wasn’t meant to deliver very much.  It is most definitely the most ‘B’ movie I have seen in a very long time, as I believe it was meant to be.  It was so bad, that it was good.

The film opens with a desperate battle being fought between an army of aliens and five humans.  The aliens, small greys, are marching toward the team, known as the Exterminators, without weapons while the Exterminators mow them down.  Suddenly, the battle comes to an end and we find that the team is fighting an army of holographic aliens.  We learn that the Exterminators are, and have been for many years, training for an expected alien invasion that hasn’t happened, and as far as the government is concerned, will not happen in the future, after all it has been 59 years since the Roswell incident.  The exterminators are informed that they are to be pensioned off, and scatter to the four winds.

Seven years later, a giant alien craft is detected heading for the earth, and it becomes apparent that the invasion is actually on.  Ala Independence Day, Several smaller craft break from the giant mother ship and take up positions over many of Earth’s major cities, and Roswell.

After his home is destroyed due to aliens trying to retrieve some device, the former leader of the Exterminators, Patrick Conte, leaves to put the team back together.  I feel it necessary to mention here that when the house was destroyed, Conte’s wife was inside, but Conte didn’t bother with any period of mourning for his deceased love one.

One by one, Conte puts the team back together.  David is a tough outdoorsman type, James has become a gamer, but he argues that it has kept him sharp, and George is a pilot that can fly anything.  Further, George claims to have been abducted and “probed” by aliens, as well as receiving an implant.  The final member of the team, played by Denise Crosby (I never did catch her character’s name) and seems to have a past with Conte.

After several attempts of the team trying to fight the invasion, it is accepted that conventional weapons will be no match for the alien forces.  So the Exterminators are reinstated.

The team learns that there is an alien craft hidden at the Roswell Air Force Base, and it is the one that crashed in 1947, but it didn’t simply crash, we learn that it was actually shot down by American aircraft, and the aliens have returned for some payback.

Again, ala Independence Day, it is determined that the only way the alien invasion is going to be stopped is to deliver a nuclear weapon to the mother ship.  It is also learned that George’s implant is in communication with the aliens’ devices and he is chosen to fly the mission, along with David and Patrick.  The nuke is delivered, the mother ship is destroyed, and all of the smaller ships that are parked over the major cities begin crashing, and crashing into the cities, while everyone at the Roswell AFB celebrates wildly.

If you are looking for great cinematic art, this ain’t it.  And it wasn’t intended to be.  It is simply a romp that was so bad, and so poorly made, that it was actually fun to watch.  For me, it was reminiscent of the really bad sci-fi and horror films that were played on the late night Creature Feature shows on years gone past.  This would be something that MST3K would have a field day with.

The script is bad, but it is propped up with several one-liners that made me chuckle from time to time.  The “high tech” weapons used by the team look a lot like the rifles that are used by color guards in marching band field shows.  The special effects aren’t special at all; the miniatures used for the AFB are obviously small, cheap models (perhaps toys picked up at the local Toys ‘R’ Us), and the flight scenes are absolutely bottom notch.

This movie doesn’t take itself very seriously, and it doesn’t ask the audience to do so either.  It’s just a bit of silly fun, if you have two hours to kill, and there’s nothing else but “Reality TV” on the tube.

Oh, I am still trying to figure out why Denise Crosby was in this, aside from lending her name to get all of us Sci-Fi Fans to tune in.

Well, there it is…

QaplaH’?

There's No Denying That DEFIANCE Is A Good Show!

I have now watched three episodes of the new SyFy series, Defiance, and so far I am enjoying it.

Votan Ship Arriving at Earth

Defiance is set in the future on a ruined Earth.  While searching the galaxy for a suitable place to settle, a group of aliens known as the Votans mistake Earth for an uninhabited planet.  After being allowed to settle in a few colonies, the Votans are viewed with suspicion and distrust by the earth’s population and an eventual war breaks out between Votans and Humans, leading to widespread distruction on the planet.  The Humans eventually win the war and Votans are allowed to live among humans in the ruined cities.

The Town - Defiance

The series takes place in and around the settlement of Defiance, which is the former City of St. Louis.  Everything has changed, resources are scarce, and the tension between the Human race and the Votans continues in an uneasy peace.

It needs to be pointed out that the Votans are not a single race of aliens, but are rather are made up of several different races of aliens that have distinct characteristics as far as culture, appearance, and behaviors are concerned.  At this point in the series, the story is concentrating mostly on Humans and the Votan races of the Castithans, the Irathients, and the Indogenes. 

I have read that fans of Firefly will especially be attracted to this show because of the frontier-like appearance of the characters and of the sets.  But this is not a replacement for Firefly, the entire premise of Defiance is completely different.  As for myself, it actually feels more like Bonanza or Gunsmoke than anything else.  There is definitely a frontier western feel to Defiance which is one of the aspects that appeal to me; there are heroes, villains, and undefined characters that will make future plots interesting.

The pilot episode was quite complicated as it introduced the main characters and their struggles.  The second and third episodes are a combination of one-off stories with an underlying story arc that will develop over time.  One story arc that is well founded in the tradition of a western is a power struggle by two of the most affluent members of the community.  Rafe McCawley is a very rich and powerful man who has gotten used to getting his way over the years, while he doesn’t intend to circumvent the law, he does feel that he can take it into his own hands when he believes that justice isn’t being served.  McCawley’s  struggle is mostly with the Castithian Datak Tarr who acts as a Votan representative and advisor to Amanda Rosewater, the Mayor of Defiance.  Tarr is outwardly aristocratic, but secretly the only thing on his mind seems to be to seize power, and is apprantly not above all kinds of subterfuge including Allowing his son, Alak to marry McCawley’s daughter, Christie.  But Datak is not the only one who is power-hungry; as is often the case, behind every ambitious man is an even more ambitious woman.  This role is being played by Datak’s wife, Stahma, who is quite adept at manipulating others, but especially Datak, while still allowing Datak the illusion that he is actually the person pulling all of the strings.

Datak, Mayor Amanda, and Rafe McCawley

Josh

Amanda works hard as Defiance’s mayor to maintain peace in the community amidst the strife that is taking place.  She is assisted by the newly appointed sheriff, Josh Nolan, a former Marine who was just passing through, but became involved with the settlement’s population while helping to defend the town against an attack.  In the third episode, we learn that Josh is actually a native of St. Louis and witnessed the arrival of the Votans as a young man.

Another story arc that is slowly unfolding involves the former mayor of Defiance, Niki and a mysterious individual who seem to be doing what they feel is the right thing for Defiance by setting up attacks and sabotage against the town.  I think they are trying to undermined the Votan influence in Defiance with acts of what can only be labeled as terrorism.

As the Long Branch Saloon served as a place for everyone to interact in Gunsmoke, so is the Need/Want saloon, brothel, and gambling establishment owned and operated by Amanda’s sister, Kenya.  A few scenes in the Need/Want have revealed much of the social structure of Alliance and really adds to the frontier feel of Defiance as a television show.

It is obvious when one watches the show that SyFy has invested a lot in this show.  It has great special effects, rather complicated but good story lines, great costuming and makeup work, and a cast that works well together.  The characters are well written and well directed so that the viewer can immediately take an interest and care about them.  In a word, I would have to call Defiance a well balanced show that is worth the time to watch.  But be warned, this is definitely an adult series as some of the themes are not appropriate for young children.

Well, there it is…

Q’aplaH!