Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda

Introduction to Jammer's Andromeda Reviews

September 13, 2000

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So, why am I reviewing Andromeda? There are several reasons. First of all, there's an apparent, logical audience for the reviews themselves. If there wasn't any perceived interest, there'd likely be no reviews. (I like writing these things, but if they don't get read then what's the point?) Anyway, it seems to me that a reasonable number of current Star Trek fans would be particularly likely to cross over to watch the Andromeda universe unfold. Some of the people who read my Deep Space Nine and Voyager reviews are people who understand the Trek universe both in terms of story and in terms of the creators behind the scenes. Therefore, they might be aware that Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Andromeda's head writer, was a prolific DS9 scribe.

That brings me to reason number two: Wolfe himself. He was one of DS9's best writers, and the fact that he's running the writing staff for this new show has me expecting that it can be quality entertainment. I've passed up a lot of other sci-fi (Farscape, Earth: Final Conflict, Babylon 5, others) simply because of a lack of viewing time. When I first heard about Andromeda (about a year ago on TrekToday), it piqued my interest, which brings me to the next reason for my picking up the pen: The concept of the show and the buzz generated has been pretty good. Although I have only a very basic knowledge of the general storyline, I was intrigued by the hints of a galaxy in chaos featuring a Federation-type organization (the Commonwealth) in turmoil.

Other reasons were more personal in nature. I'd reviewed DS9 and Voyager concurrently for a few years, and when DS9 ended I toyed with the idea of picking up a second, newly premiering television series — perhaps even a non-sci-fi series. Last fall I even briefly considered reviewing the new show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. I abandoned that idea, however, on the account that there just didn't seem to be a logical niche for the reviews. I also decided I wanted the break from the extra writing. (And frankly, given how messy and unfocused SVU's first season was, I'm glad I sat on the sidelines without struggling through the commentary.) Now after a year of reviewing one show, I find that I'm ready (I hope) to tackle the juggling act again. Writers have to be disciplined, and if I ever hope to write professionally I need to increase my discipline and output volume. Picking up a new series seems like a good way to force the extra work upon myself.

Lastly, there was also the fact that Ashley Miller bribed me into reviewing the show with unmarked, non-sequential 100-dollar bills, but that really wasn't the biggest factor. (I'm kidding of course — although Miller, a former Internet reviewer himself, did say he'd like the extra objective input.)

So I guess the reasons I'm going to be reviewing Andromeda simply boil down to "because I can" and "because I'm interested."

Anyway, I think Andromeda has promise. The writers have made comments in interviews (on SlipstreamWeb and elsewhere) that have me optimistic that we'll see stories that invest a little bit more heart and a little less of the calculated, by-the-numbers demographic pandering that Voyager has been offering up lately. Voyager seems to get more stale as it ages, and Andromeda might just be the perfect alternative to that aging Trek. I was of course a big fan of DS9, and it seems that the series structure will have a bit more emphasis on stories with consequences rather than the completely episodic reset-to-zero approach that's common with nearly every Voyager episode. I will be watching Voyager and reviewing it, but I see Andromeda as something appealing to the part of me hungry for something new and fresh. From what I've heard about the technology aspects of the show, for example, there will be many concepts envisioned differently from the familiar Trek — and I think that's important.

Talk of the more up-to-date production attitude also has me interested. A faster-paced filming technique might give this show an edge that makes it feel more like the non-sci-fi TV shows that I enjoy today.

How do I hope or expect Andromeda to turn out? Simply put, I really don't have any explicit expectations yet. If you're being fair, specific expectations don't come until well into a series' run. I want this show to be entertaining and well-written, of course, but as with any new series I will be reacting to what the creators put on the screen during the course of this first season. I honestly have no predisposition of what this show should "be." I will say that I'd like to see characters who are people worthy of our attention in addition to serving to advance a story.

But overall I look forward to a fun ride that benefits from some reasonable character depth. So I hope to see you at the premiere.

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