movietode I am tired of lackluster US Sci Fi and I found a place to get copies of this show, so I decided to try it out. The writing is generally poor and so is the direction. It has the feeling of being produced by a committee. The characters miss glaringly obvious queues of the things going on around them, and there is virtually no effort made to build new stories using continuity from older ones. Several of the characters just keep making the same sort of mistakes in their lives, that in reality would have gotten them tossed out of their jobs. Part of the problem is that the characters don't really grow in their roles, and I really didn't end up caring about any of them (this is the ultimate test of a good show). Space Island One is a sleeper of a show, but still, it was good enough that I watched all the episodes and liked a few. A best-in-class low-budget British show where the characters did grow, the acting was fantastic and the stories layered really well was Blake's 7.

bug_from_space This show did not have a big budget, or action packed stories, but it captured the feeling of the old British sci-fi shows of the 80's.I liked the show for it's distinctive atmosphere, and the easily-likeable characters. It was a good break from Star Trek clone shows (although I generally do like those shows too :).If you liked shows like Blake's 7, this show is for you, although the special effects are distinctly better than the effects in Blake.

siege_b It's a shame this show only lasted for two seasons. It wasn't brilliant by any means, but it was surprisingly easy to get into, and after watching a number of episodes I became quite hooked on it. In Australia it was shown at two o'clock on Wednesday mornings, but I found it was the perfect show to have with breakfast on a Saturday and taped it regularly. Unfortunately, I discovered too late that there were only a limited number of episodes, and the show could not be found on video, so I didn't manage to keep any of them.The show itself is quite remarkable. Unlike most science fiction programmes, it is set in the near future and almost everything used in the series is something that could conceivably be created today. The story lines and acting are a little too cartoonish for the show to be overly believable, but there is a stronger element of believability to this programme than many other science fiction offerings. Produced as a co-operative exercise between England and Germany, with German, British and American actors and characters from Germany, GB, the US and Russia, there is more than one 'double meaning' behind the Space Station's name: Unity (incidentally, the name of one of the modules of the International Space Station). The possible issues of corporate ownership is explored in detail in this series, as are the tensions that arise from isolating a small group of people in a confined space. I wouldn't call the series ground-breaking, but it has it's high points and is worth more attention that it received.

Urtica This is a show that some may think a bit too dry. There are no cool graphics or sound effects. All there is is a good plot and characters with depth. It is not a show to just watch one of -- you will be confused. One of the things that I like about it is that there are very few people and they are within a limited space. Not a lot of visitors or other distractions. Most of the show is how the group acts within itself and to some outside stimuli. It is definitely more of a character study than anything else.If you are looking for flashy, this is not for you. If you want something that has substance, then it may be.