Television
Bandersnatch
One of the better things that happened in the last couple of years is the continued existence of Black Mirror on Netflix. It’s by far one of my favorite television shows and has been blowing my mind with each entry in the anthology series.
The movie trailer for the latest incarnation is about a programmer who is adapting a “Choose Your Own Adventure” style of books. The author of the series apparently “went cuckoo.” And now, maybe, the programmer.
The film is live on Netflix tomorrow, so you have less than 24 hours to watch the trailer over and over again looking for Easter eggs. By the way, this is what a Bandersnatch is.
Curiouser and curiouser.
50 Wonderful Things of 2018
Linda Holmes, of Pop Culture Happy Hour, adds to her annual end-of-year lists. I always find something I need to see, read, or hear.
Penny Marshall, RIP
Dave Pell has my favorite short bio of Penny Marshall, who passed away today at 75.
She directed Big and Awakenings. She “was the first woman to direct a film that grossed more than $100 million, the first woman to direct two films that grossed more than $100 million, and she was only the second woman director to see her film Oscar-nominated for best picture.” But before all that, she was Laverne.
Pop Culture Multiverses
Salim Lamelle writer/producer for MEL Magazine has created video that speaks directly to me―an examination of all the multiverses that litter the pop culture landscape.
With Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse the next example getting blisteringly good reviews, I can’t wait to see it.
Galaxy of Adventures
In May 1977, I was eight years old about to turn nine a month later. I walked into an air-conditioned movie theater while on a Florida vacation and was transported to a galaxy far, far, away. I fell in love with Star Wars right then and there. I went back and watched it again the very next day.
A movie theater experience isn’t what it used to be. It’s loud. It’s expensive. You can’t pause the movie for a bathroom break, especially after drinking a Big Gulp. So, introducing Star Wars to kids the same age I was when I experienced it doesn’t always work. Hence the new project from Disney called Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures.
This series of animated YouTube shorts uses original dialogue and sounds from all the Star Wars films as a way of introducing iconic characters like Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Darth Vader and incredible scenes like when Obi-Wan Kenobi hands Luke the lightsaber and Darth Vader’s Rogue One hallway scene to the next generation.
The series is streaming on the Star Wars Kids website and the Galaxy of Adventures YouTube channel, with the first few episodes ready to watch right now!
The Spectrum of Possibilities
Rob Bricken, in his weekly Medium column Nerd Processor, talks about the upcoming final season of Game of Thrones, how it’s likely to disappoint, and why.
But the problem isn’t really with Daenerys, Tyrion, or all the other characters that may end up ruling Westeros or whether anyone rules Westeros or if it splits back into seven kingdoms or suddenly becomes a democracy or whatever. (Okay, that last one would be very crappy.) It’s that Game of Thrones is so popular and so epic and its ending so anticipated that every possible outcome, regardless of how good or bad it is, is inherently not as exciting as the spectrum of possibilities that precede it.That bit about the “spectrum of possibilities” is deliciously accurate. And it doesn’t just apply to how the Game of Thrones creators plan on ending the series. This problem is inherent in almost all of the upcoming genre television and movies.
How will Star Wars Episode IX wrap up the sequel trilogy? How can it be done without disappointing millions of fans?
How will the next Avengers movie wrap up the Infinity War story? How can they do it without millions of fans crying out in vain?
How will Westworld end? The Expanse? The Magicians? Mr. Robot? The list goes on.
How will the creators of The Big Bang Theory close out the series and will we ever learn Penny’s last name?
I’m not sure there are people wondering how Modern Family, Law and Order: SVU or Criminal Minds will end. Maybe I’m wrong. There’s definitely a fandom for This is Us that’s invested in the characters and timelines. The creators have done a fabulous job of teasing ideas and directions to keep viewers hooked and wondering where and how it will end. The “spectrum of possibilities” is the bread and butter of the show, along with the strong writing and character moments.
Of course, most of the time where characters go after the movie’s credits or show is off the air is in the realm of fan fiction or actual tie-in novels and comics. Want more seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer? They exist in comic book form and written by the guy who created Buffy. What happened after the end of the last Star Trek: The Next Generation movie? Read the novels.
Still, a fandom’s expectation for a satisfying conclusion has got to be a huge headache for the creators. I assume some just don’t care about the reaction and just want to tell their story and damn the torpedoes regarding fans (see Rian Johnson and The Last Jedi). I think other creators may try and walk the line of fan service and servicing the story.
I’d bet JJ Abrams will walk that line with Episode IX. Maybe David Benioff and D. B. Weiss will do the same for Game of Thrones. We will know soon enough. Meanwhile, I’ll write my own versions in my head and try not to scream when the creators do their own thing.
The Inimitable Creativity of Stephen Hillenburg
The story of Stephen Hillenburg by David Sims in The Atlantic is a wonderful look at a creator and his creation. I certainly watched my share of SpongeBob SquarePants episodes with my daughter to get the genius of its creator. Reading the profile/obituary, I learned a great deal more.
Deceptive Practices
Ricky Jay passed away.
I’m not sure when I first started to recognize him. It might have been Deadwood or Mystery Men. I had forgotten he was in Boogie Nights and that’s probably where a lot of people would know him from.
As a magician, he was one of the best up-close card trick guys I’d ever seen. Just watch him do his thing with the four queens.
Everyone is linking to The New Yorker profile, especially for the opening. It begins like this…
The playwright David Mamet and the theatre director Gregory Mosher affirm that some years ago, late one night in the bar of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Chicago, this happened:The 2012 documentary film about Jay, Deceptive Practices, is streaming for free on Amazon Prime Video. I’ve never seen it. Perhaps I should.Ricky Jay, who is perhaps the most gifted sleight-of-hand artist alive, was performing magic with a deck of cards. Also present was a friend of Mamet and Mosher’s named Christ Nogulich, the director of food and beverage at the hotel. After twenty minutes of disbelief-suspending manipulations, Jay spread the deck face up on the bar counter and asked Nogulich to concentrate on a specific card but not to reveal it. Jay then assembled the deck face down, shuffled, cut it into two piles, and asked Nogulich to point to one of the piles and name his card.
“Three of clubs,” Nogulich said, and he was then instructed to turn over the top card.
He turned over the three of clubs.
Mosher, in what could be interpreted as a passive-aggressive act, quietly announced, “Ricky, you know, I also concentrated on a card.”
After an interval of silence, Jay said, “That’s interesting, Gregory, but I only do this for one person at a time.”
Mosher persisted: “Well, Ricky, I really was thinking of a card.”
Jay paused, frowned, stared at Mosher, and said, “This is a distinct change of procedure.” A longer pause. “All right-what was the card?”
“Two of spades.”
Jay nodded, and gestured toward the other pile, and Mosher turned over its top card.
The deuce of spades.
A small riot ensued.
Turkey’s Away is the Best Thanksgiving Episode Ever
Jen Chaney, writing in Vulture, posits the Thanksgiving episode of WKRP in Cincinnati is the best of all TV land.
I haven’t watched it in years, but I’ve seen it so many times the jokes are etched on my brain. Sacks of wet cement, indeed.
The Never-Ending Story
Amanda Hess in The New York Times has a piece that examines how nothing ever ends anymore in regards to intellectual property. Movies go on forever in sequels, prequels, and other adaptions. Cancelled television shows come back. The dead never stay dead.
We needed stories to end so we could make sense of them. We needed characters to die so we could make sense of ourselves.
It’s an amazing essay.
The Only Good Online Fandom Left is Dune
Sean T. Collins at The Outline explains the difference between Dune and the Extended Cinematic Universes of both television and film. There are no warring camps or whiney man babies upset that there’s a girl and a person of color leading many of these franchises. With Dune you just have nods and winks to lines and characters.
Dune references signal shared knowledge to those in the know, and that’s about it. Dune fandom is an un-fandom.
As soon as it becomes some sort of cash cow I think all bets are off.
Apple and Foundation
Benjamin Frisch in Slate has one of the best opening paragraphs I’ve read in a long time.
Apple, a secretive organization staffed by technological visionaries able to predict the future of technology, has ordered a television series based on Isaac Asimov’s Foundation novels, an epic saga about … a secretive organization staffed by technological visionaries able to predict the future of technology. There is one major difference between the two: Apple is located on the edge of the continent, while Asimov’s tale takes place on the edge of the galaxy.
Since the Foundation series is one of my all-time favorites, I’m looking for to this.
The End of the Monday Night Wars
I remember when the end of the Monday Night Wars happened. I was watching WCW Nitro and Vince McMahon showed up at the top of the show telling everyone he bought the company. It was pandemonium.
The Ringer’s David Shoemaker tells the behind the scenes tale and frames it like a series finale. In a very real way, it was.
That night was the last night of Nitro. It was the last night of WCW as its own entity entirely. WWF talked about reviving WCW as its own show under the WWF banner, but it never came to be. And so we were right about the stakes of the Monday Night Wars. WWF won and, a silly invasion feud aside, WCW was gone. And if WWF had ended that night too, it would have been the greatest series finale of all time. It was certainly the end of the best story ever told, because it was a story that actually mattered. For all of pro wrestling’s forced hyperbole, a story line bigger than Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant ended that night, and it was a clean finish. The last episode of WCW Monday Nitro was without question the greatest series finale of all time.
How Heisler Became the Most Popular Fake Beer
Writing for Thrillist, Shannon Carlin tells the story of Heisler. You know Heisler, the Bud Light of fake beers.
The Right Way to Revisit Properties That Can Sell
I can’t emphasize enough how much I enjoyed the latest installment in the Karate Kid franchise. Cobra Kai is well-written with fun nods to our favorite bits from the movies and well-acted, with Ralph Macchio and William Zabka turning in great performances.
Shea Serrano, writing for The Ringer, provides a great overview of the series, explaining the nostalgia while also how the creators turned The Karate Kid upside down.
I think the real star of the series is Xolo Maridueña as Miguel Diaz. His story arc is what the entire season is about. From nerdy kid to “strike first, strike hard,” he anchors the the Johnny and Daniel story viewers thought they were getting. In fact, it provided way more of a generational feel than, say, another nostalgic trip looking to add new, younger characters to the fold like Star Wars Episode 7 and 8.
If you have ever crane-kicked off the side of your bed, Cobra Kai should adequately pull at the appropriate nostalgia strings.
This is Why You Should Hold Fast to Childish Things
John P. Weiss writes and illustrates his thoughts on leaving things undone and reacquaint ourselves with wonder. What do you call people who love good music, books, movies, stage products, company, and conversation?
Happy?
Deep Space Nine Innings
Corbin Smith at Deadspin combines two of my passions into one exciting article. Star Trek Deep Space Nine is fascinated with baseball, and his article explains how it all comes together.
In fact, “Take Me Out To The Holosuite” is one of my top five Star Trek episodes, regardless of version.
Why You Should be Watching The Magicians
I really enjoyed the first two seasons of The Magicians. Chaim Gartenberg writing for The Verge explains better than I why you should watch season three (after watching seasons one and two, of course).
Unlike the whitewashed worlds created by Rowling and C.S. Lewis, the characters in The Magicians are a diverse cast of actors portraying characters with a wide range of sexual preferences. They feel like real people with real problems, from relationship drama to more serious issues like trauma and sexual assault.Yup. Plus, so much more.