MindsBase

You probably know that I don’t have TV service at my home, preferring to use Netflix. However, there are two current shows I’ve been keeping up on through Hulu that I want to review before Summer Break*.

Once Upon a Time

Seriously, this show shouldn’t be good. Retellings of fairy tales are often old or too weird and in my experience, they never break new ground that follows any kind of believable logic. At best, they are parodies (though sometimes good ones — like Shrek).

But Once Upon a Time keeps me coming back week after week. Sure, I already know the story of Pinocchio and Little Red Riding Hood and all the others; I know the platitudes embedded within, to warn youngsters about various vices and evils. But as OUaT explores these characters both in their fairy tale origins and in our own modern world, a new depth emerges! Pinocchio has finally learned to be a good boy, but tragically late. Red has more fire in her (or shall we say, wolf?) than we ever saw in the original story, making her a worthy descendant of spry old Granny (in both the traditional tales and OUaT. The Huntsman is colorful, Jimminy Cricket is sympathetic, and every week surprised me with the interesting backstories of this character drama. I was pleasantly surprised for the Mad Hatter week that they expanded outward from strict Grimm’s stock characters.

It’s Mr. Gold (Rumpelstiltskin), though, that I have my eye on. The wicked stepmother has some interesting backstory but her acting is a bit flat. I can take or leave obtuse Emma. Henry, the boy, enh. Snow White does better in the fairy world than in the modern one, and don’t get me started on Prince Charming. Blech. But really, who reads fairy tales for the heros? They’re always bland white hat characters. But these writers have built Rumpelstiltskin into a twisting shapeshifter that keeps my attention every scene he’s in. I love the actor, I love the character, I love the dialogue and I wonder where they’ll go with him in Season Two. I loved the moment when he thought August was his long-lost son.

Overall, OUaT has some stilted dialogue, some bland acting, but the storytelling is excellent. TV is made for these kinds of deep character studies.

Legend of Korra

And that brings me to the other great new character series by Mike and Brian, who brought us Avatar: The Last Airbender, the best family TV series in… I don’t know, maybe since Cosby? Everyone in my family could sit down to watch Airbender together: laugh, cheer and thoroughly enjoy the characters and story without any uncomfortable situations or language. Entertainment should always aim for such heights!

(Please note I'm talking about Nickelodeon's anime series, not the ATROCIOUS Hollywood movie of Airbender.)

Enough about Airbender. We anxiously anticipated the opening episode of Korra, and were enticed by the new type of story it represented. The setting is urban rather than a rural quest, and that is a fundamental difference. Korra and the other characters are also older, which changes the game a bit, as well. I worried that my seven-year-old would find it too mature and lose interest, but he hasn’t. There are just enough hybrid animals and silly Flinstoney jokes and animation to keep him interested. After each episode, we’re having great family discussions about the story elements: the tension between Benders and Non-Benders, the heavy-handed Metal Benders, the goals of the villian Eman, how Korra is going to develop and learn Airbending, and so on. Clearly Mike and Brian, et al, had more stories up their sleeves and I have every confidence we’ll see a steady build of great storylines for three “books” (as they call the seasons). One question: since Book one is titled “Air”, and Korra already knows the other elements, what will Books two and three be? Hmm. Let’s all keep watching to find out!

Enjoy!

*Our fam, in order to enjoy the pleasures of the outdoors more this season, is taking a break from our internet connection, effective immediately! So don’t go away, stay tuned, and I’ll be back in September for more reviews of books, film, TV and whatever else strikes my fancy. Have a great summer!

Since I mentioned My So-Called Life last post, I thought it’d be fun to review the short-lived TV series that first sparked my passion for storytelling for young people.

I was a big fan of this show when it first aired in 1994, and was devastated when it was pulled after a mere 19 episodes, leaving the romantic storyline forever frozen in a sad cliffhanger. Apparently they were looking for another 90210, when what they got was a non-glamorous, tender, real portrayal of one teen girl’s life, including all the people that surrounded her. The show was neither glitzy nor gritty. It walked the extremely-fine line of averageness — even made it beautiful — so that it has become a treasured favorite of regular-ole people like myself.

I don’t understand how the studios messed this up: when they hired Winnie Holzman — who had worked on The Wonder Years and thirtysomething — to create My So-Called Life, they should have known they’d get something more nuanced and deeper than your average teen drama. I have a favorite scene in the series, where Angela removes her new-looking boots to trade them for a homeless girl’s shoes. It shows her thinking about it, then unlacing and switching the pairs of shoes. Sounds pretty ordinary, doesn’t it? But it was cinematic music… it held the beat just a little long to emphasize something without even saying a word.

So, in case you were too old or too young, or too busy or too male to enjoy it on first run, please go add it to your Netflix queue today. Don’t be afraid of a little flannel and a lot of “like”s and “I mean”s. It’s the Pride and Prejudice of its era, transcending the trends of its day, just as enjoyable today as when it first came out. See the episodes in order, and tell me what you think!

This modern classic gets an unabashed five nods from me:

Not really for kids. Deals with teen issues of sexuality, guns, drugs, so it’s great to see as a teen or with a teen.

Here, I’ll get you started. Enjoy:

Okay, I normally review movies that are out on DVD, since a lot of other folks are reviewing the latest and greatest — and I’m not committed to seeing everything during its first run. But I happened to see several movies at the theater recently and thought I’d give you a rundown.

First, The Karate Kid. I enjoyed the first forty minutes of this movie, but it’s pace was so slow — not slow, exactly, but definitely geared for older teen/ adult audiences so that my boys (under 10yo) were not wholely engaged. Henceforth, they asked me if we could skip over to Toy Story 3 instead — which we did, leaving my husband and daughter to finish out Karate Kid. All reports are that it was good, but didn’t tread too much new ground once you get over the obvious improvement that it was set in China and led by very good actor Jaden Smith. I think I would have enjoyed it, but I don’t for one second regret heading over to Toy Story 3…. though I was reluctant at the time.

See, I am a huge fan of Toy Story. I think it is a master class of storytelling. It constantly dug for the truths about each of those toys, and didn’t treat them as mere children’s playthings (in spite of Woody’s assertion… or perhaps he was paying a high complement). Fun fact: did you know that Joss Wheden was a credited screenwriter on the first Toy Story movie? I enjoyed Toy Story 2, too. Maybe slightly less. But I didn’t know where they could go from there. I feared Toy Story 3 would be a rehash of the plot of either 1 or 2. I didn’t think they’d let Andy GROW UP, for crying out loud.

When the boys and I sat down in the nearly full theater, and the first scene ended with Andy heading off to college, I felt sad — even hopeless! — for both the toys’ prospects and for mine as a moviewatcher. Alas, I couldn’t have been more wrong. But lets get back to that later, since I like to end on a high note.

A week later, I saw Despicable Me with my sister’s family. They had watched it the previous night and wanted to go again. That’s how much they liked it. Well, sorry sista, but I don’t think I cracked a smile once. I didn’t get it at all. In thinking about it, I’ve decided that I couldn’t like a movie about a villian who has paper-thin motivations for being bad. He actually likes tormenting a child by making a balloon animal, giving it to the child, and then piercing said animal with a pin? Really? I couldn’t get on that train. Most villains have a reason for acting evil. They actually think they are heroic. It just strains credulity for someone to enjoy meanness… and if he truly enjoys meanness, I don’t want to watch a movie about him. Plus, I kept wishing I was over watching The Last Airbender, which I had originally thought was not playing at my theater.

Speaking of which, the NEXT night I was fishing for doubt trout… no, that’s another story. I took my daughter to see The Last Airbender, the movie I had been on tenterhooks waiting for. I heard it wasn’t very good, but I had to check it out, because we’re huge fans of the Nickelodeon animated series. What can I say about it? I’m at a loss. I want you all to go see it so that they make the next two movies (and, dare I hope, tread some new ground in a fourth??) but I can’t pretend I wasn’t disappointed.

First, I didn’t realize until halfway through that they were only attempting to portray the first season of Airbender, so that was a letdown. It makes no sense to make a movie out of one season, really. Television seasons are set to end on cliffhangers, so that you’ll tune in after the long summer hiatus to see what happens. A movie, even a trilogy, needs more tie-up than that. The second movie of a trilogy can get away with more unfinished plot lines, but the first? Think Pirates of the Carribean, or Star Wars: A New Hope or The Bourne Identity. The first in a trilogy must be a good standalone.

Second, they removed absolutely all of the humor. Whaa? That’s like taking Harry Potter and removing the magic. Airbender is awesomely funny. The kids are kids, not little adults. They like the funny. They are the funny. It is integral to their goodness.

So, you take out a satisfying ending, tread ground the series did with more depth, and do it with nary a smile. What then are we left with? Live actors who try in vain to simulate animated expressions and postures, and computer graphic effects that are dwarfed by bigger-budget movies. I’m getting despressed. Airbender deserved better. If you haven’t, NO MATTER what your age, go put the entire TV series of Airbender in your Netflix queue. Airbender has the best mythology of any epic show since Star Wars.

Don’t believe me? Check out this fan-made movie trailer:

But back to Toy Story 3. If you pick one summer family movie to see, this is it. I’m telling you. Grab a nephew if you’re embarrassed to see it without a kid… or better yet, grab me. I’m looking for any excuse to see it again. No matter your age, you’ll laugh, you’ll even cry, you’ll be wowed and you’ll care about the outcome. And, you haven’t lived until you see what Mr. Potato Head turns into in this movie. Barbie and Ken, oh my! And Buzz, oh, Buzz. Go. See it. And comment when you get back, dahling, I’ve enjoyed our chat.

Or Visitors — whichever meaning you espouse for ABC television series “V”. I had high hopes, but just haven’t felt the need to keep up with it. Yes, it makes for an interesting allegory of terrorism and guerrilla warfare, but the individual stories feel a little lackluster and the characters seem cardboard.

So I want to point you toward two other shows I’m just starting on DVD.

Jericho

This CBS show only made it through a partial second season, and I’m just a few episodes in on season one, but this is a show that is tugging at my emotions already.

But let’s back up. Here’s what CBS says Jericho is about:

Returning for a second season as a result of one of the most unprecedented and impassioned displays of fan support on behalf of a television program, JERICHO is a drama about what happens in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion in the once peaceful town of Jericho.

In other words, it is near-future post-apolcolypse sci-fi. This could have gone very grandiose and epic (kind of what V is doing) but instead, the episodes have featured small, immediate problems, like a little girl with a bruised windpipe and a stranded woman getting picked up by escaping ex-cons. How people deal with these immediate problems — rather than the obvious one of the apocolypse itself — is great storytelling!

Also, it has a rather charming small-town-pulling-together-in-crisis thing going on. It’s a great exploration of how a town would have to transition from denial (people still trying to go to work) to survival (everyone pooling resources and sharing tasks).

Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles

Another show that has already hit the skids — (when will the networks learn?) — is Fox’s Terminator series. This one is more small-cast and personal, dealing with Sarah and her teenaged future-leader-of-the-resistance son some years before the world is taken over by machines. An artificial intelligence called Skynet, to be precise.

Same brand of fun as the movies — hand-to-hand action, some explosions, some suspense. It does aim a little higher, though, with some thought-provoking tie-ins through Sarah Connor’s voice-over narration. Perhaps it must dig a little deeper to compensate for the TV budget, but I think this is a good thing. Sarah wrestles with whether she should kill one man to help save humanity, or how to protect a son who is destined to risk it all to save the world, and so forth. Keeps it interesting.

I also enjoy strong female leads, and Sarah is good, but Summer Glau as the girl terminator is perfect. They have fun playing off the idea that people would underestimate small-statured women. Not unlike Sydney of Alias, now I think on it. By the way, this is one complaint I have with Jericho, at least in the few episodes I’ve watched. There is a fair amount of “help the poor girl” going on. In the early episodes that featured young women, both heroines were ultimately saved by Jake, the hero. Ah well, can’t have it all. There may never be another Alias.

What, you haven’t watched Alias? Okay, before you try Jericho or Terminator, GO WATCH ALIAS. If you can get past the occasional fake blood and torturous screaming now and again, you’ll find a smart, exciting mystery/romance with one of the strongest lead women characters ever on TV. Sydney Bristow.*

* And I don’t mean strong as in physical, because that would probably be the terminator girl. Sydney can handle herself physically, but her real strength lies in her quick thinking and her caring and humanity that shine through even the toughest situations. She’s the kind of woman you want your daughter to be as she faces her own demons in life.

Human / Visitor relations

Well, at the request of my loyal fans, I’ve got some thoughts about the “V” premiere from Tuesday. I shuffled my tail down to my mother’s house for a DVR session on her big screen Wednesday.

I have to agree that it was a little disappointing, but you saw my over-the-top expectations so… in a way, I expected to be disappointed. However, here are the good points of the premiere:

1. They understand sci-fi storytelling pretty well. They answered the important audience questions of believability when they arose, for the most part. For example, when Anna’s HEUGE image first appears on the underbelly of the starship, she speaks in English. I had barely formed the “oh yeah?” question about her speaking English when the scene cut to television images of other cities, where Anna was speaking the native language of each region. Good save, guys. And good implications. These aliens know more about us than we think. They know our languages, yet they’ve just arrived? Hmmmm, she says, with a sinister eyebrow raise.

2. Anna did beautifully in her role. Her interview with Chad Decker (I can’t stop thinking of “Party of Five” when I see him — and what’s with his teeth? Are they dentures?) was wonderfully tense, and made you wonder what Chad is made of. And Chad, in my opinion, is in the most interesting character position, rubbing up directly with the main villain. I’m interested to see what scuffles they put him in and what decisions he makes. I hope they build him into someone more than just a pawn. He’s positioned to be a rook, at least, against this queen. Maybe even a knight.

3. SPOILER ALERT! Alan Tudyk — okay, could they have blindsided us more with his — ahem — reptilian side? Wash is an alien! I was sort of sad, because I love Alan and wanted him with the good guys. Well, my big hope is that his character arc includes him becoming a traitorous visitor and fighting with the humans. Can they twist him back around over the course of a season? I think so, and it would be divine storytelling. But will they? Not sure. Think Alias, guys! Twist those characters! Shapeshift them! We love it!

4. And speaking of traitorous visitors, I am so glad they are setting up more than a good humans/bad visitors dynamic. They’ve hinted at all sorts of shades of gray. Ryan Nichols as the visitor that has gone native, who promises that there are other traitors that will help the humans. Now, just because we see reptilian underbody, we can’t assume they are bad. NICE. Then, we have Erica Evans son, Tyler, joining the young nazis ambassador program and getting entangled with the visitors. Will he be used unwittingly against his people, or even willingly choose to fight with the visitors?

Okay, so there are some great mystery boxes set in place during this pilot. (I’m calling it a pilot, though that may not be the correct term since the show is picked up already [for now].) Here are the problems:

1. Biggest problem, I think, is that it was an hour pilot rather than a ninety-minute pilot. Sci-fi needs those extra minutes to establish a) the world, b) the problem and c) the characters fully. So, we got the world, the problem, but we were a little thin on the characters. All the character threads had to be set in motion, and it’s a large cast to introduce. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the Firefly pilot must have been ninety. It had to introduce nine crewmembers, all coming from very different backgrounds and with distinct motivations. “V” needed ninety. In sixty, we got a little about each of the main character’s backgrounds, but we didn’t get more than cliche motivations and value systems. Of course Erica goes running to find her only son at a time of crisis. Of course Ryan runs to his fiance. Ho, hum.

Here’s what I hope: that future episodes explore deeply ONE main character’s conundrum rather than trying to move all the characters forward equally in each episode. Use the story to tell us something deeper about someone. Don’t skim the surface with all of them at once. Trade off. Do I think this will happen? Not sure.

2. Other problem. I saw the story being butchered a couple times. Gives strength to my theory that there may be a lot of cooks in this kitchen. For example, the most important line of the hour, the climax — the thesis, if you will — was this (wording is not exact):

They [the visitors] are forging a terrible weapon here. Devotion.

Waaa? Devotion is not a weapon. You can’t hit someone with Devotion. Devotion is something they give you. The story required the use of the word at the other end of that stick — a much more important word. A word that tells what you (the visitor) are hitting people with. What you are giving them and then turning around and using against them. Do you know what that word is? It’s upstream from DEVOTION. It’s a four-letter word…

Got it? Leave your guess in the comments. Come on. We all know what makes a great story. We are consumers of story all our lives. What word did they need to use there?

And why didn’t they use it?

My theory is that someone thought it would be construed as some kind of political statement. So they sacrificed the storytelling. I found that pretty cowardly. Tell the bold story. People may read into your words things you didn’t intend, but at least they’ll feel something. DEVOTION was a cowardly choice. The story required a word that has been used and misused over the centuries! The same word used by Hitler and Jesus. By devils and gods –  just what the visitors are.

So what word is it?