Surface: The Complete Series (1 Viewer)

[Mark Talmadge]

Hey, everyone. It looks like this series is finally coming to DVD and very soon:

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=5716

This is great news but is this series coming back from NBC or did they officially cancel the series since it's been on hiatus?

 

[Jason Seaver]

NBC hasn't ordered new episodes for fall, so it's done. I suppose it's vaguely possible that Universal could produce more for the Sci-Fi channel, but unlikely.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

I have watched the first 5 episodes on UniversalHD and it is entertaining and silly in my opinion and I will probably watch the remainder of the episodes available to UHD. The series can't possibly be considered good critically or appeal to a wide audience, but the Sci-Fi channel does offer some programming that is only going to appeal to a very small audience so it is possible it could be picked up somehow, although very doubtful.

Chris

 

[Ethan Riley]

Huh??? The show had nothing BUT appeal, IMO. Its entertainment value stretched across many age groups, and the show was terribly underestimated. It was certainly far more family-friendly and appealing than the relatively dull "Threshold" and "Invasion" that it was so often compared to. It was a Spielberg pastiche, true, (or a Spielberg rip-off, depending on how you look at it), but it managed a level of character depth and development that other shows of this season never even attempted. I do recommend this show; until TODAY, I couldn't imagine anyone not liking it.... :frowning:

 

[BrianTV]

I loved this show but why should I bother buying the DVD and give money to the networks when they can't give the show an ending, i.e. a second season. They left things with some pretty big cliffhangers. Why spend my money on that? If anyone from the network is paying attention, this is a series I would have bought on DVD with a proper ending.

 

[Martin_K]

This is a great show. I watched it when it aired early last year, enjoying every second of it. So far I recommanded the show to 3 people who can't get enough. I'm really disappointed that it did not get picked up for the 2nd season. It seems all the new shows I like get axed.

It'd be nice if networks had full 22 episode seasons of cancelled shows like in the 90's, i.e. Nowhere Man.

 

[MarcoAD]

My wife and I enjoyed the show but like mentioned before, how can I possibly purchase this set knowing they just left it hanging. It really isn't COMPLETE but oh well I guess. It seems to be the chance you take now days with new series. If it doesn't pick up quick & stellar ratings, forget it. Instant gratification or nothing at all.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

I understand the series is acceptable family entertainment for a few. I just stated the obvious, the series can't possibly appeal to a large enough audience to survive on one of the networks in prime time. The ratings are in and it didn't. Arguing otherwise is like arguing that Gerald Ford beat Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election. The series doesn't have the excitement, interesting science fiction ideas, or talent to make it, period. I watched the first episode and immediately knew it couldn't possibly be renewed on NBC. The small audience it can find should be happy if it continues on the Sci-Fi Channel, but I suspect the decision has been made and it is history already. I will finish the UniversalHD run, my TiVo is set, but there is so little excitement and it has taken so long for anything to happen. You can only have a tiny mischievous sea monster get into so many cabinets in a teenagers house and there will be no more space for it to hide.

Chris

 

[Kyle McKnight]

This is a small description of the last episode I remember seeing. Could someone tell me if it was the last ep aired...

There was a tour-guide lady talking in front of a volcano which erupted...

Plus, I didn't know this was showing on UHD...I'll have to rewatch some of it.

 

[nickGreenwood]

I started buying the episodes on iTunes cause I had nothing new to watch, I'm strangely addictted to this show. It reminds me of a water version of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" I'm only 6 1/2 episodes in, but can't wait to finish the rest. It's not a great show, but it's good, it's got a good enough plot and simple enough to follow for the most part. Plus Lake Bell is quite good looking

 

[Chris Gerhard]

Yes, and she isn't built like a super model! Her frame is really healthy and sturdy looking.

Chris

 

[Keith I]

It wasn't. She was standing in front of Old Faithful and lava shot out instead. It was an early episode.

I watched some episodes on TV at the beginning, lost interest, then watched the last episode. Seeing it on DVD makes it so much better (as has been reported many times with TV on DVD). The flow is better and the picture (anamorphic widescreen) and sound (Dolby Digital 5.1) are better. It is too bad that it ended without resolve. Add this show to the "No Season-Ending Cliffhangers Until Renewed" thread.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

I made it through all episodes on UHD. At least a lot of big things happened and there is no conclusion and it was all silly nonsense. I can't ever recall watching a show for 13 episodes that lost me with the first, but I love science fiction and there is often something entertaining about bad science fiction. The performances were mostly sub-par but I found the teenager, Carter Jenkins, the worst actor. His expressions for emotions all looked the same. Scared, bewildered, excited, or in love, and you see a close up of the same bland expression.

Chris

 

[Ethan Riley]

I didn't like Carter either; and he didn't even look like the rest of his wasp-ish family; he looked Italian or somethin. ? ? ? Weird casting choice. The red-haired weirdo was funnier at least. Lake Bell was pretty good and the fat guy who played Richard was good. But as far as an intrigue-laden serial, the show just didn't work. It wasn't as serious as say, Lost or 24 and I think that hurt the series. Still, there's weird and intriguing things throughout the series, like that guy walking around on the bottom of the ocean; now that was one whack image! I do wish the show would have finished out the complete season of 22 episodes and had resolved its situation. Now and forever, our friends will stranding in that church steeple, looking down upon the flooded city.


Oh well!!

 

[Michael_Sim]

I read somewhere that the creators wanted Surface to be a family action-adventure show, and less a serious sci-fi thriller, hence the light, family-friendly storylines. But the network probably wanted to use the 'Lost' association to try and garner better ratings, hence any promotion hyped up the thriller / monster aspect which the show doesn't focus that much. I guess expectations weren't met, causing its early demise.

I have to say that the whole Nimrod / Miles plotline irritates me endlessly. Miles is putting everyone in danger by adopting the creature that has been shown to be dangerous and hard to control. Fortunately, the other plotline (Richard & Laura) is far more interesting, and the pay-off at the end of the series is quite spectacular. It's a pity the Nimrod/Miles plotline took an inordinate amount of story time in the first half of the season. If I had watched it on network TV, I'd have given up on it quickly.

I found the series OK, but not particularly memorable. While the overall show is entertaining, it is pretty much derivative of many scifi movie/TV series - Jaws, Close Encounters, ET, Gremlins, The Abyss (or any other water-based monster movie), Godzilla, The X-Files, even X-Men.

Very nice visual effects, though! And a nicer-looking Lake Bell.

Michael

 

[Dean C]

I still haven't opened the set yet that I got. After reading that it was left not finished. I caught one episode and I was hooked.

 

[Todd Stout]

I saw the Surface DVD set at a local Wal Mart yesterday for $19 and change so apparently there was a recent price drop.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

I finally sat down and watched the entire series and I have to say that I'm pissed at Universal. Not only did they fail to continue the series but Universal has failed to produce a finale for the series ... Instead, we're all left hanging, wondering what's happened to the events following the emergence of the creatures and the aftermath of the Tsunami.

 

[Malcolm R]

I'll join you. I'm still pissed at the way the network handled this show. Most of the shows that have since replaced "Surface" only dream their ratings were as high as "Surface".

Given all the crappy films that air on Sci-Fi, one would think a "Surface" wrap-up movie would only be a step up.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

I've been hearing scattered rumors on various sites that have NBC returning the series sometime during the summer of 2008. I don't know if these are just rumors, but I would welcome a telefilm or a television mini series to wrap the series up, like with what they did with the Firefly series as well as with the Jericho series.