Anyone else looking forward to "Century City"? (1 Viewer)

[Jason Seaver]

I know I've been anticipating it ever since I first heard about it as a pilot about a year ago, but I was kind of surprised to hear that my mother, who generally doesn't have any interest in sci-fi at all, was looking forward to it, too. I'm hoping this means that it'll get a good crossover audience.

The idea is so simple I'm surprised nobody has done it before; a law firm in the near future (2030, pushed back from 2053) that specializes in cases involving science and technology. It's got decent showrunners behind it - guys who've worked on Law & Order, Homicide, Due South and the overlooked Gideon's Crossing - and a good cast.

And it's science-fiction on a big 3 network... I'm pretty excited to see this, myself.

 

[ChrisBEA]

Wouldn't say I'm terribly excited, but the idea of a sci-fi lawyer show is intriguing. I have it on the tv schedule for at least a couple episode look-see.

 

[Roberto Carlo]

I'll give it a watch. THe premise is interesting, although I think that the last place these issues of technology and society should be resolved is a courtroom. (and, yes, I am a lawyer.) It's got my favorite Canadian import, Kristin Lehman. And, given CBS' track record with HD, that's enough for me.

 

[Patrick Sun]

What's weird is that another episode shows up for this Saturday (according to tvguide.com and my ReplayTV) and it's on after the NCAA basketball coverage (so be prepared to pad 30 minutes if you are recording the Saturday episode).

Tuesday is another busy night for me, so I don't know when I'll be able to watch the recording of the pilot.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Yeah, I noticed that - I don't know whether that's meant to be a promotional thing or just trying to make sure all seven episodes produced run before The Guardian returns in May. Maybe a bit of both.

 

[David C Lin]

It looks interesting. I'll watch the pilot.

 

[Benjamin.D]

I'm looking forward to this. I was a little suprised that CBS would air a sci-fi series.

Ben

 

[David_Blackwell]

I'll check it out.

 

[Erik.Ha]

Not too excited about this one...

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I thought the main plotline with the cloned cells of the cloned boy was rather preachy and blase'. I absolutely loved the subplot about the band whose lead singer refused to get radical plastic surgery. The dynamic was light without being mockery. And the dance number at the funeral, played for laughs as it was, was really sort of touching.

Could go either way. I'm gonna give it a few more episodes, but I don't forsee taping Scrubs on a regular basis for this.

 

[Jason Seaver]

I know what you mean - I sort of wondered how this pilot got picked up as a series. I mean, it's got some great ideas in it, and I liked both plotlines, but the execution of the A-plot kind of left me cold. And I don't get why you hire Viola Davis and Hector Elizondo for what were, at least in the pilot, such small parts.

Still, I'll probably be with it for the duration. It's a unique and enjoyable experience to watch televised science fiction and see that the writer actually bothered to do enough research to find out that cancer is a likely telomerase side effect (or even know what telomeres are), or for there to be something worth discussing even with folks who aren't necessarily fans of the show.

 

[McPaul]

I liked it
I thought the dialog was smart, and the characters were fairly well developed for a pilot. I loved the speech about the mop. Thought the arguments the lawyers made were sound, esp. when they tried to convince the prosecutor to settle. I LOVE the premise of this show

but for some reason, I didn't really like the main plot line. I don't think that the subject of cloning lends itself to tv very well. I think it focuses more on the dialog, (which is fine, in itself), instead of other aspects, and I found the pacing off, and I was getting tired at parts. I also knew as soon as the parents said the wife passed away 10 years ago, that the kid was a clone and the lawyers would need to get the parents involved, and that would be difficult. I would have rather this been pieced together slower, with more of a mystery. On the other hand, I LOVED the subplot around the band.

I like the show, but at this point I'm not sure if I'm willing to devote 1 hour of my time to it each week. I WILL wait for next week's show to see what other subjects they use as their main plot lines. Hopefully something a little less... preaching is a good word I suppose, and hopefully something that lends itself better to tv. Cloning is big right now, or it would have been when the concept for the pilot was devised. I can't wait for next week. (I missed the preview for it).

Don't you guys think they were a little too happy with the holo-displays?

more ideas of futuristic everyday life please! where's the flying cars, robotics, etc... doesn't this show take place in 2053 supposedly??

 

[Jason Seaver]

2030; apparently they looked at their stories and the news and figured that 2053 would be nigh-unrecognizable. I read that they've actually scrapped a filmed plotline (parents implanting GPS chips in their kids) because certain things happening today are too similar (parents giving their kids cell phones with GPS).


Personally, I'm glad they went with a cloning plot, and think it was actually pretty even-handed. Most filmed sci-fi seems to have such a knee-jerk anti-cloning stance that I'm glad Century City was actually relatively non-judgmental about it.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

What I didn't understand was why the clone being legally the father's brother had any bearing on custody. I mean, there are plenty of older siblings that are guardians. Anyone with a more legal-oriented background willing to help me out?

 

[Hugh Jackes]

LA Law in the future.

The black woman was the Alan Brachman (Douglas Rachins) role.

Hector Elizondo was the Richard Dysart (Leland McKenzie) role.

The genetically enhanced blonde was Susan Dey, with a bit of Michelle Green's naivetee blended in.

The lecherous guy who hit on the blond was Arnie Becker.

I can't quite figure out who Ioan Gruffudd was, not quite Harry Hamlin, not cocky and pouty enough. As a Welshman, he is not ethnic enough to be Blair Underwood or A Martinez.

No Roz the power secretary though.

Such static, clichee'd characters. I like the subjects that the producers asked about cloning and I can see merit if they continue to be so adventurous. Geeze though, couldn't they have created original characters.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I am going to relegate this show to weekend viewing of the recording because I wasn't all that impressed by it so far to watch it late Thursday night (after AI, The Shield, and Gilmore Girls, etc...). The Rock Star subplot was actually entertaining enough to spoof the current plastic surgery craze and extend it to absurd level (if technology allowed it). It was funny to see Councilman Hamann (Matrix Reloaded) dancing up a storm.

 

[Vlad D]

I missed it. Does anyone know if they plan on rebroadcasting the pilot?

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Probably not. The networks typically don’t do that.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Actually, when this was first in production a year ago, I recall that Sci-Fi was going to "repurpose" it, much the way USA does with other Universal shows. I don't know if that's still the plan, but check Sci-Fi's schedule in a week or two.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Yuck! I want that hour of my life back!!!

It started out ok, but I soon realized that we have no idea what has gone on between now and then, so the court cases, especially quoting case names, have no reference in real life. Anything could have happened...

They can make up their own rules (laws) as the show goes on, and I am sure that sooner or later, they're going to screw it up.

Just with the cloning, what if the US was the only country in the world that made that illegal?

What if, through some odd stock market quirk, Singapore became the capital of all of Southeast Asia, China and India?

They should can this one until they come up with a reality that I can grab on to.

Glenn