Five Fandoms I Happened to Catch at the Right Time (More Through Luck than Judgment)

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A little while ago, I offered up my list of shows that have an active and vocal fandom. Fandoms which I have utterly failed to become a part of.

On the other hand, through no fault of my own, I have ended up in some pretty cool groups of fans. These are their stories.

Charmed: Season Five

"My sister, the demon magnet."

A clear departure from the dark, mature tone of the previous two years, Season Five is where Charmed starts to go downhill. Following some network meddling to avoid the apparent doom and gloom of the previous season, there's a massive shift towards a lighter, and subsequently more banal form of writing. I do feel like I have to defend the first half the season to many, which features a few of Charmed's better hours, but the second half...not so much. Spoilers and, unfortunately, leprechaun discussion ahead.

Star Trek Enterprise: Unexpected

Klingon Captain: "I can see my house from here!"

By nature I love brevity: Um. When I said in my review of 'Strange New World' that I was hoping for more creative and fresh stories... this is NOT what I meant. Sigh. Fair warning: this review contains discussions of the, er, uncomfortable situations this episode presents. It will also discuss how stupid they are.

Doctor Who: The TV Movie

"By midnight tonight, this planet will be pulled inside out."

After seven years in the wilderness (we'll ignore 'Dimensions in Time'), Doctor Who finally returned to television screens in 1996 with this TV Movie, also known as ‘The Enemy Within’. Intended as a backdoor pilot for a potential new series, this joint production between the BBC, Universal and Fox saw Sylvester McCoy pass the torch to Paul McGann’s new Doctor. Despite strong ratings in Britain, it flopped in the US and all plans for the new series were scrapped. It would be another nine years before the BBC tried to revive Doctor Who again and with considerably more success.

The Outer Limits: Tourist Attraction

Gotta love the bloodshot eyes

A rich man on a fishing expedition catches something monstrous, and things do not go well.

"Tourist Attraction" didn't feel much like an Outer Limits episode to me. Except for the fish monster, of course.

The Wire: Alliances

"Ain't no special dead. There's just... dead."

We're still waiting for the shoe to drop. Or more accurately, for the bodies to show up.

Star Trek: Insurrection

SPOILER WARNING: I will keep the first half of this review spoiler-free, then discuss the spoilers afterwards.

Picard: "Do you remember when we used to be explorers?"

By nature I love brevity: It has its moments, and the story wasn't too terrible, but I think I liked it better when it was called 'Journey's End'.

Five TV Shows That Suffered From Network Interference

Wouldn't it be a fun world if networks just gave creative freedom to creators and showrunners? Sure, sometimes corporate executives know better what to do with someone else's story (one out of fifty times), but in most occasions their meddling is of no help. Let's take a look below at some shows that struggled with network interference and just how much it affected them.

Warning: spoilers follow.

Charmed: Season Four

"Charmed... Again."

And so, whether we like it or not, we enter a whole new era of Charmed.

Doctor Who: Survival

"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace. We've got work to do."

It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for.

Sort of.

Star Trek Deep Space Nine: The Die is Cast

Odo: "I want to go home."

By nature I love brevity: Alea jacta est.* And how irretrievably cast that die is. A superb conclusion to an excellent setup.

Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Improbable Cause

Garak: "I am back."

By nature I love brevity: Dang, this one is good. It's all setup, of course, but you can feel that something is happening. And if I know DS9 (having seen it twice through, I do), the payoff will be epic.