“Dry clean only. Cool iron if necessary.”
Category Archives: Media
Jane Espenson’s new web series
Jane Espenson, who has written some of my favorite episodes for my favorite TV shows, is creating a web series! A sneak preview is available on YouTube.
Ignore this
Hey, really, ignore this. I’m just testing to see if this post on WordPress will automatically be picked up by my FaceBook page.
Yep. It does. Now what happens if I edit it in WordPress? Huh. The edits don’t show up. That could be BAD. 🙂
Posted in Media
Harlan Ellison
Yesterday I watched Harlan Ellison: Dreams with Sharp Teeth, a film that covers much of Ellison’s life and work. The man is undeniably and extremely talented, and the film is entertaining, spanning a wide range of topics–much as Ellison’s writing and activism have spanned a range reminiscent of the Rockies.
Among the topics: fandom, childhood, civil rights, TV’s harmful effects, social conformity versus individuality, what it takes to be a writer, religion versus atheism, one’s right to an opinion, anti-intellectualism, life as conflict, the pro-corporate climate at colleges today compared to colleges in the sixties, Hollywood’s mistreatment of writers, getting paid for what you do, cranky old Judaism, love, and lots and lots of anger.
I’m toying with the idea of focusing a section of College Writing R1A on Ellison. Certainly his writing models persuasion as well as masterful prose, so there’s plenty to chew on both analytically and argumentatively.
We could follow Harlan’s advice: “You must never be afraid to go there.”
If you are interested in the film, you can find it on Amazon. The listing includes a video clip you can watch before buying the film.
The Guild
The Guild absolutely slays me.
Speak geek or gaming? Check out The Guild on YouTube.
(Bonus points: the witty gamine, Felicia Day.)
Posted in Cool stuff, Media, Reviews
Buffy season 8
Finally! Dark Horse Comics is publishing what could have been the eighth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer if the show hadn’t been canceled. Zing goes my heart!
Joss Whedon is writing the scripts. What more could I ask for? Cleverly laid-out panels and gorgeously inked pencils? Got that. Xander coming into his own? Got that, too. Geeky goodness galore? Yeup, and yeup again.
Battlestar Galactica
No, I’m not talking about that cheesy series from the late 1970s (although I loved it at that time). I’m talking about the critically acclaimed version of Battlestar Galactica about to begin its third season on the SciFi channel.
Battlestar Galactica has everything (except for Joss Whedon) that I look for in a science fiction show: believable, engaging, and complex characters; thoughtful character development; entertaining, unexpected, and ongoing plot arcs; social and political commentary; suspense and drama; humor and romance—and lots and lots of spaceships. As my dear friend Jennifer Carson says, it’s a truly literary show.
And Battlestar Galactica has the most fan-centric official website I’ve ever seen, full of goodies, including videos, podcasts, blogs, and interviews by cast and crew. Right now, the site is offering new two-minute “webisodes” that lead up to the October 6 start of the third season. (I’m watching these and chewing my nails.) Podcasts offer the show runner’s commentary on each episode, or let you listen to a writers’ meeting as they create the compelling episode titled “Scar”. (The podcasts are full of interesting writerly tips and insight into what makes the TV series so compelling. ) Blogs let you read or watch other entertaining and intriguing information. And there’s a bulletin board with an active community.
A show that takes such good care of its fans is rare.
If you haven’t yet watched Battlestar Galactica, you might give it a try. Watch two episodes in succession, to get an idea of the show’s range: sometimes it focuses on action, sometimes it focuses on drama, and sometimes it’s all about the laughs.
Posted in Cool stuff, Media, Reviews
Science fiction characters I would like to be
Time to embarrass myself. I’ve a list of science fiction characters I’d like to be.
I’d want to be Sara in Anne McCaffrey’s Restoree: rescue (and marry) a hero after being mysteriously plucked from Earth by aliens in a traumatizing experience that everyone I care about would admire me for overcoming. Plus I’d get a new nose. What’s not to like?
Somewhat more ambitiously, I’d get a kick out of blowing everyone away as Aeryn Sun in Farscape. I wouldn’t want to have a baby like she does, although doing the will-we-won’t-we ballet with drool-worthy John Crichton would be delicious.
If I switched genders, I’d want to be Rustum “Bat” Battachariya in Charles Sheffield’s Dark as Day and Cold as Ice: a food-loving, extremely antisocial, relic-collecting hacker-genius.
Or Miles Vorkosigan in Lois McMaster Bujold’s novels: a physically challenged and psychologically damaged yet pedigreed person who comes into his own.
Most of these are tortured characters who have physical or mental problems that I wouldn’t want to have in real life, but I relate to their angst, and I respect the way they succeed despite their problems. I don’t have it in me to do as they do; I’d just curl up in a corner and whine, or stand around with my hands on my hips and complain.
So, one more for the list, someone less angst-ridden. Let me be Kaylee in Firefly: good with engines, always cheerful, surrounded by a loving group of capable and loyal friends, and possessed of (ahem) healthy appetites.
V for Vendetta
I just finished watching V for Vendetta on DVD, and I found it extremely powerful. The question of one’s responsibility in the face of an oppressive regime resonates strongly for me, given the current political climate. References to “America’s war” and the fear-mongering that convinces citizens to give up their rights in return for supposed protection from chaos, terrorism, and biological attack have a chilling relevance today.
Natalie Portman’s performance as Evey is intelligent, nuanced, believable. Stephen Rea’s performance as Inspector Finch offers the audience a sane center in the storm to relate to. And V . . . is insane, dangerous, warped, but thought-provoking.
The film is visually stunning. I don’t know the language of filmography, but the blacks and reds of the high chancellor’s chamber are stark, cold, and scary. In contrast, the brown tones and classic art in V’s lair seem all the more earthy, comfortable, valuable, and human. So many memorable images: the dominos that topple and leave one standing at the end, V’s slow-motion final fight, the pastoral setting and sun-saturated colors in Valerie’s movie, the overhead shot of Evey in the slowly falling rain paralleled by the shot of V emerging from the fiery wreckage of his prison, and the opening shots that show V donning his mask and weaponry intercut with Evey donning her makeup and work clothes. All these have strong emotional appeal.
The script contains nuggets worth mining. I particularly appreciate the line that says artists use lies to tell the truth, but politicians use lies to cover it up. If we citizens are denied the truth by our governments, we cannot make informed decisions; we become disposable pawns, collateral damage, or tools to ends that are not our own.
Personally, I don’t think blowing up Parliament is the way to solve our problems. But I respect the film’s message that we must not be passive as our governments make choices we may not agree with or as individuals consolidate their power over us by concealing truth and pretending to act in our names or our best interests.
Comparisons between the film and Alan Moore’s graphic novel are inevitable. But in this instance, I think the film stands on its own.
Joss Whedon and comics
I’m an enormous fan of all things Whedon—Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly and Serenity, of course, but also any other tossed-off bit of creative genius Joss Whedon cares to grace the universe with. And many years ago, I used to work in a comic store, spending much of my salary every week on comics that I would read and then seal lovingly in plastic bags. So you will understand my delight when I discovered that Joss also writes comics.
Recently, I gobbled up the comic prequel to the movie Serenity, then sank my teeth into Joss’s Astonishing X-Men. Way back when, I wasn’t a devoted X-Men fan; I appreciated them, but never got manic. (My mania was for the Avengers, their close mutant kin less beloved by most comics geeks.) But Joss’s version of the X-Men left me salivating for more.
In that messily drooling state, I trolled the web for tasty Joss crunchies and found a hilarious interview. If you’re a Joss Whedon fan, or you like to see comic and fantasy fans dressed up in costumes, you might get a kick out of the Geek Week video podcast called “Geek Week at Wizard World 2006.”
The podcasters had planned to film a joke about wanting to interview Joss Whedon but failing to find him. But Joss really showed up, pretended to be a fan dressed up as himself, and answered the interviewer’s questions. Much recursive nuttiness ensued. The rest of episode is chuckle-worthy, too: a guy dressed up as Wolverine is a hoot, and I laughed out loud as I watched a fan dressed as Mighty Thor carry a cafeteria tray and get ready to sit down to lunch while the theme music from the old Thor TV show blasts on the soundtrack. (No, I wasn’t laughing at the fan. How could I? I once attended a con dressed as Wanda the Witch: imagine my fat thighs in tights! Or better yet, don’t imagine.)
Here’s the link to the video podcast of the Joss Whedon portion of the episode. (If the URL changes, just go to search in “Geek Week Joss Whedon video.”)
If you’re a science fiction fan but haven’t yet watched Firefly, grab a copy on DVD and see what I’m raving about.