Starhyke

There are some very different opinions on this series. Having recently watched it, it deserves a lot of the criticism, but not all.

The pacing is a problem, for a start. It needed to pack more action/dialogue/gags in, but it often seemed that the cast were pausing for a laugh track that was never added.

The humour is not up in Red Dwarf territory, but the series does improve as it goes on. The scriptwriters certainly knew the genre they were sending up. But by the end, I could see why it didn't get a second series.

Enjoyable in parts, slow, sometimes clumsy, often showing the limits of the budget, could have been better in many other ways too... but quite likable, in its own confused way.

This series is just not funny. I bought it from ebay after seeing Claudia Christanson was in it. Loved her in Babylon Five but I can only assume she is in need of a quick pay slip if she agreed to do this.

Starhyke is a comedy without any jokes. There is no real plot beyond the basic idea, each script just feels like nobody cared. That as long as there was a long enough running time nobody involved in making this cared what anyone said or did.

claudia does her best but seems slightly bemused, jeremy bullock and the actors who played reg and vilma make more effort than this deserves but the rest of the cast do literally nothing to make this better.

FX are decent but even fan films have good x these days.

I figured it would be unfair to review this show after only one episode despite very strong urges to pan it straight away, so I held out and watched the lot. Unfortunately the first episode is an excellent indicator of what is to come.

The program is not totally rubbish as many claim and there are redeeming features to be found. Some of the characters are quite amusing, such as the doctor, Sally and Dotty the cyborg. Rachel Grant is Hot, the Reptid makeup is quite good and doesn't look cheap, the special effects are excellent (as they should be by 2009), and there were a couple of places that genuinely made me laugh but they were surrounded by so much nonsense that I cannot for the life of me remember what they were.

Almost everything else about the show is bad. Most of the jokes are painful, and there are too many characters to properly develop. Many scenes go absolutely nowhere and are abruptly ended and forgotten about. Bearing in mind the episodes are only 23 minutes, that is particularly disappointing.

Forget comparing this show to Red Dwarf. Forget comparing this show to Hyperdrive. Starhyke doesn't compare to anything that has actually been shown on telly, which is probably why it has never been shown on telly. It may however be possible to edit the series into a passable hour-long special or pilot.

All that said, I applaud the creators for at least giving it a go and they have done well to complete a whole series on what is clearly a tiny budget, especially going up against the BBC's finest. It does show some promise, but it needs some decent writers or the actors need to have a little think about their characters because I get the impression they are not necessarily being portrayed as the writers intended. Maybe that is the director's fault.

I would probably watch a second season... well, the first episode at least.

I'm not going to blame the actors; I mean everyone's got to eat right? It's plausible that they're capable of recreating something that could pass for human emotion, they've simple chosen not to.

This leaves only the writers and directors of this catastrophe, and I DO hold them accountable! Try to imagine every awkward moment from various sci-fi shows you've ever seen and mash them together in montage of mental cruelty. Sadly this doesn't even fall into the "so bad it's good" category; just sit there and fight the urge to skip to the next scene. I mean it must get better at some point? Nope.

I'm sorry for all the people involved with this production. Please, please, run your script by a target audience. Do they look bored out of their gourd? Yeah, that means you're just not quite there yet.

For reference point, Red Dwarf rules! So I'm not a genre hatter, I'm just disappointed. You can do better, we deserve better.

Look, I took the show at face value and thoroughly enjoyed it! Some of the jokes didn't work but it was fun and well made on a tight budget. I found the ensemble cast interesting and engaging although I would have liked more character development and a bit more straight acting - which really does scan when it comes in (liked the 'Reboot' episode exactly BECAUSE it knew it was doing a cliché (and very funny Gandalf scene!), but the humour is not awful as some have said - it's amusing, and the show is FUN. Some very clever nods to other shows, very engaging skirts and martinis. I want to see more! (and work on it).

People, we can all moan away about small areas where shows don't hit the mark, but when I watch a whole series in one sitting it's gotta be good.

The always engaging Claudia Christian does a great Kirk/Janeway, and Jeremy Bulloch was hilarious. The always lovely Rachel Grant is solid and puts in a surprisingly good performance reminding us that she did actually study acting and shouldn't be labelled as tits 'n ass Nina forever (lovely though she is!) and I'd like to see her given a chance to do more serious acting, and the biggest surprise? Another victim of 'presenter typecasting'; the very underexposed Suanne Braun is developing an interesting character here who you root for at the end. Also the Crocker/PopyertopOff (the names are too silly, yes) relationship is well played and I especially like the energy of talented newcomer Stephanie Jory and really freaked at her Superman experience in the finale. Genuinely jarring! The cast are all very easy on the eye and turn in good performances. The supports are all reliable and I found the show as good as if not better than tired Red Dwarf and unengaging Hyperdrive, but this series is constrained by limited episode running time.

Buy it simply for the genius ensemble from classic SF and its unassuming charm and very pretty cast! BEAUTIFUL CGI & make-up too! Many nods to the past. If you don't get some of the jokes... you haven't watched much Sci-Fi. Many are cleverly executed 'easter eggs'.

Shame there weren't 8 eps to develop characters and resolve one plot-point intentionally left open in the finale, so we have to buy the DVD to get season two!