Reviews

Is anyone else losing patience with fifties themed fluff? Ascension feels like a fifties diner in space. Except for the missing Elvis and racial tension (although there is a character named "Duke" ROFL) And it is as if the show itself couldn't decide if it wanted to be SciFi, a conspiracy drama, or Firestarter. I was going to wait until I saw all six hours but after five hours I am forced to conclude that the best part of the show were the teaser commercials where they just show the altered American flag. All hope that they blow my mind in the last episode has been dashed by what I have seen in the online commentary.

I wanted to like it. Our entertainment landscape is desperately short of SciFi and I want to give anyone who makes an honest effort extra credit.

But I can't.

I knew it was a bad sign when I saw Tricia Helfer. It was as if they could borrow come credibility from the somewhat better Battlestar Galactic. Indeed, they were successful in this regard, see for yourself with the myriad comparisons to BG on this forum alone. But poor Ms. Helfer must have been underwhelmed at the quality of her dialogue and utterly unsurprised that she would be expected to strip for many of her scenes. That last must have seemed particularly unfair to her as she is clearly the best actor on the project.

Now the show has some slight redemption in that it has a couple of surprises. I say that as a person who thought television entertainment was devoid of the ability to surprise us.

For the benefit of having some scifi on TV, and for those who would get some work out of the project, I guess I hope it gets picked up. In any case I won't be watching unless it gets a complete overhaul.

I've been a fan of H. Jon Benjamine since I first stumbled across the obscure "Home Movies." His unmistakable voice and better than brilliant comic timing could carry CPAC reenactments. He plays the lead in this show and, admittedly,Bob's Burgers does take some getting used to, but for those willing to brave some very uncomfortable characters and have the attention span to watch closely you will be rewarded with brilliant dialogue and great subtlety. Now nearing the end of the third season I am rewarded almost every episode with huge belly laughs as I watch incredibly imaginative characters and situations I doubt I could ever have come up with myself.

In the vast wasteland of trite garbage that is children's' programming this is a brilliant gem of a show. If we've been watching TV for more than an hour when this show comes on I'm probably more excited by it than my little girl.

Without a word of dialogue (ever!) the show imparts a rich narrative to which any kid, or any adult who remembers what it is to be a kid, can relate.

This show, more than any other, holds the key to good children's' programming: engage the children without driving the parents insane. This show is as fun for me as it is for my daughter.

Of the little TV I'll indulge my daughter in, this is probably our favourite. In fact, if I turn the TV on, she often asks for this show specifically.

My daughter is three and there is no shortage of crap television aimed at teaching her morality and safe play and etc etc (yawn.) Note to children's programmers: Don't teach my kids this stuff. That's my job. Your job is to entertain us.

And Peep does just that. Like a young child Peep is naive and every show is about her finding something banal (like snow or sand) for the very first time and showing us all how fascinating it can be.

What more can I ask for my three year old? This show is AWESOME.