Thoughts on Virtuality

I watched the 2-hour pilot of Virtuality on Friday and long story short: I want to see more.

While not perfect, Virtuality is legitimate SF of the kind not seen on network TV. While I'm sure they took some liberties with the physics, Virtuality is plausible Hard SF. Lost, Firefly, Fringe, Battlestar Galactica, Dollhouse, Heroes and every other example of "genre" TV current on the airwaves has at least some elements that could be considered fantastical.

The only questionable item in Virtuality was the virtual reality system they used for R&R and escape from the reality TV cameras. It seemed to be a little too immersive for just the visors but it certainly didn't break any fundamental rules of physics or try to explain why genetic mutations would allow you to fly or predict the future. Cough *Heroes* Cough. This is the kind of SF that could get a new generation interested in space travel.

I was fairly impressed with every aspect of the show. The cast was great. The writing was good. The premise was solid. The effects were better than most on TV. The show wasn't predictable (the events toward the end of the pilot really surprised me). The plot threads they introduced were intriguing. While somethings could have been better, I didn't have too many complaints, especially for a pilot. Compared to Dollhouse or Fringe, Virtuality hit a home run.

I'm not sure why they were trying so hard to screw over the show. Maybe Ron Moore wanted too much money, maybe the SF budget is too high for the expected ratings, who knows? But they did dump the premiere show on a Friday night, in the middle of summer, against the opening weekend of Transformers 2 with almost zero advertisement. I don't get it. What did they expect to happen? Record ratings? Add to the fact that it was also running against specials commemorating the lives of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett and it's no surprise it didn't do well. Pair it against Dollhouse and I guarantee it will find an audience.

Virtuality is definitely marketable. It has the spaceship and SF tropes to connect with the core geek audience but it also has the reality TV and relationship drama that could reach out to female viewers without alienating them with the more extreme SF tropes like aliens or time travel. More than Stargate, Heroes, or Fringe, I feel like Virtuality could be watched in mixed company. I've even heard from a source or two that the eye-candy on board the ship works both ways.

All in all, I'm disappointed that Virtuality did so poorly. The show has a lot of potential and I want to know what was going on. Who is the murderer on board? And what did the victim's last message mean? I would definitely tune in again to find out. The fact that I will most likely never know makes me hate the economics of network TV. Any chance the SyFy channel is looking for another show?

You can watch Virtuality on Hulu here if you enjoy the pain of knowing this decent show most likely died before it even aired.

Reminder Virtuality Airs Tonight

Just a reminder, Ron Moore's Virtuality airs tonight on Fox from 8-10 ET (7-9 CT). I haven't read a ton on it, but I know it deals with crew of astronauts on an extended mission in outer space passing the time using a sort of virtual reality. The astronauts' lives aboard the Phaeton.

Here's the official Fox blurb:

From Ron Moore and Michael Taylor, the minds behind "Battlestar Galactica," comes the World Broadcast Premiere of the new science-fiction thriller VIRTUALITY. As the crew of the Phaeton approaches the go/no-go point of their epic 10-year journey through outer space, the fate of Earth rests in their hands. The pressure is intense, and the best bet for helping the crew members maintain their sanity is the cutting-edge virtual reality technology installed on the ship. It's the perfect stress-reliever until a glitch in the system unleashes a virus onto the ship. Tensions mount as the crew decides how to contain the virus and complete their mission. Meanwhile, every step of the journey and every minute of the crew members' lives are being taped for a reality show back on Earth.

Sounds interesting. I'll be watching and I encourage everyone to do the same, even if it's only leaving the TV on and turned on to Fox. C'mon, who really goes out before 10 anyway? Don't give me Transformers as an excuse. The reviews sucked.

You should watch, and watch live because regardless of quality this "pilot" is one of the few actual examples of speculative fiction with the potential for airtime next year. And it needs to have spectacular ratings because right now, it's just a movie. There's no follow up series without a spectacular rating. I don't know what defines spectacular for a series airing at 8 PM on a Friday night in the middle of the summer with absolutely no advertising but I'm guessing it's unreasonable. I'm confident Fox will manage to outfox themselves again but still; the more watchers the more likely we get an actual SF series.

There's always the possibility that the series will suck, but we will never know unless it gets made. No series is perfect from it's pilot episode so be forgiving and try to stick with it the whole two hours, even if it means leaving the TV and reading a book in the other room. There's always time to cancel it later.

This is just one episode on one day. It's a minor commitment. You don't have to do much, just make sure your DVR/Cable Box/ratings monster thinks that you are watching Virtuality (preferably live). Your geek friends will thank you later.