Not every Ronald D. Moore show holds up as well as Star Trek and Battlestar Galatica
As a seasoned gamer and sci-fi enthusiast with over two decades of experience under my belt, I’ve seen my fair share of promising series that never quite lived up to their potential. The unfortunate tale of “Helix” is one such instance.
Recently an article from Giant Freaking Robot popped up that caught my eye. In it, the author talks about a former SyFy series called “Helix”. The show was a science fiction horror series and was helmed by legendary writer Ronald D. Moore. The famed sci-fi genius, who made Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica into must-sees was trying his hand at a new genre and its first season went as well as you could hope.
This zombie story was quite typical, starring Billy Campbell (Star Trek’s Thadiun Okona) and Hiroyuki Sanada, along with Kyra Zagorsky who has been in several science fiction and supernatural series. The writing had depth, as it was penned by Steven Maeda, a well-known X-Files writer. With such talented actors and renowned writers from the sci-fi world, the show seemed poised for success.
The show appeared to be destined for success, with nearly two million viewers tuning in at its premiere. This viewership was quite close to the highest-rated shows on the network, such as Eureka (4.1 million) and Battlestar Galactica (3.2 million). If Helix had managed to maintain fan support around that level, it would have likely received the standard ‘SyFy 5’ renewal. However, the show was undermined by subpar writing and complex themes like immortality and a holistic cult, which ultimately contributed to its downfall.
The foundation of the show began to crumble towards the end of its first season. Initially, it had a powerful start, but it struggled to expand beyond a compelling initial concept. Situated in the Arctic, an incident reminiscent of a zombie outbreak occurred on the lower level of a research facility, triggering the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to intervene by dispatching their agents.
Initially, it seemed like the foundation for this idea might resemble The Walking Dead or World War Z, even some Star Trek episodes focused on the Borg. However, likely because the zombie genre was becoming stale in 2012, Helix veered off course.
The final episodes of this season became overly complex with hidden betrayals, unusual themes, an everlasting child character, and other persistent ideas that left viewers feeling disenchanted. Contrary to our expectations, it didn’t live up to being a masterpiece. Despite the excitement among Star Trek fans about Jeri Ryan rejoining the cast for the season, they didn’t feel they received as much value as promised as the show progressed.
In the second season, the entire plotline disintegrated. Although Steven Weber provided captivating moments, the overall charm of the narrative began to fade, and anything promising seemed to perish alongside the necessary changes implemented to maintain the series’ continuation.
While some might view this as a long-lost masterpiece by Moore, I recall it as a spectacular failure that held immense promise. If you decide to watch this series, you may end up feeling increasingly disillusioned with the potential greatness it could have achieved if produced during a different time.
Read More
- MANA PREDICTION. MANA cryptocurrency
- LDO PREDICTION. LDO cryptocurrency
- VET PREDICTION. VET cryptocurrency
- Wicked: Part Two release date, cast, plot and everything you need to know
- Silver Rate Forecast
- CHR PREDICTION. CHR cryptocurrency
- USD MXN PREDICTION
- LUNC PREDICTION. LUNC cryptocurrency
- REQ PREDICTION. REQ cryptocurrency
- Everyone hates Spider-Man 3 for the wrong reason
2024-12-17 04:23