The OA

Title: The OA
Outlet: Netflix
Net: A show built on a mystery, centered on a character you want to understand.

As I said in the post which contains The List, I realized, as I was discussing "TV" shows with people, I had begun to forget to recommend "The OA."  And that's too bad!

The problem with trying to get people to watch "The OA" is that telling them almost anything about the plot spoils something which gets revealed in such an entertaining way, often in such a profound way, that it seems unfair to do that to a friend.

Here's kinda what I mean.

When Sherry and I started the first episode of "The OA" the ONLY thing we knew about it was that it had been recommended to us by people who we trust - people who know the kind of thing we enjoy watching.  Whoever it was (please take credit if you were among the people who recommended it; I simply can't recall; I have this feeling it was Lucas and Amelia, but maybe not...) also told us to watch it without knowing anything.  And we did.

Each episode unwraps more and more of the mystery -- while, of course, adding new mysteries which need unwrapping -- without ever (ever!) seeming like a typical "red herring driven" or "you know this is not the answer because there's still 20 minutes left in the episode" mystery.  This is not some "whodunit?"  It's a "what's going on?!?"

Did you ever watch "Lost?" If you did, and you were drawn in as so much of the viewing public was, the "hook" of that show was the surprise endings that might have sorta/kinda answered some small part of a mystery, while at the same time shocking you with a NEW mystery you couldn't wait to see unfold next week.  Well, at its best, "Lost" was good at that.  "The OA" is at least that good.

Now I know at least one person who was not hooked after watching an episode or two, so I must accept that this show is not for everyone.  But I think if you just start watching episode one on a Friday night, and you give it your full attention, you will finish the season by Monday.  At least for us, it was binge-worthy on the order of "Stranger Things."

And I still haven't told you what it's about.  Maybe, someday, I'll add some spoilers to this.  But not now.  I will not spoil the thrill you can get if you walk in with just a recommendation.

It's good.  Start it.  Pay attention.  

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Title: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Outlet: Amazon Prime Video
Net: Great story; lots of laughs; wonderful characters; Almost everyone will like this!

Introduction: Miriam Maisel has the perfect life as the perfect Jewish wife in New York in the 1950's.  And it's no wonder - she's been working at it for years, and she's very good at what she does. She has two children (a boy AND a girl), an apartment in the same building as her parents, and a husband with a good job. Her husband even has an unusual interest in addition to his good job, so Miriam supports him, working her Midge magic to get him better opportunities.  Everything is perfect.  Until it isn't.  Her perfect life is thrown into ruins -- at least, "ruins" using the definition she, her friends, her family, and her upper-class Jewish culture all agreed on. Now what?

OK, folks, here is one of the "reviews" I'm going to write which will be in two sections.  This first part contains no spoilers.  I bet if you've heard even a little bit about this show, you know more than I'm going to tell you in the non-spoiler section.  But there are some things I can say without spoilers.

This is a very funny show!  The writing is crisp, the comedy very well built on reality, on pathos, on character.  Speaking of characters, there may be no more lovable character in the shows on The List than Miriam Maisel.  And her father is played by Tony Shaloub of "Monk" fame.  Think about this: have you ever seen Tony Shaloub in something and not enjoyed it?  He plays a college math professor, completely entrenched in the 1950s role prescribed by his job, culture and status as father and husband.  Though he is not the primary character in this show, he has foils in his daughter, his wife, and his wife's father-in-law, and those interactions are worth the price of admission.

But it's Miriam's show.  Sometimes called "Midge," Miriam has to figure out how to adapt to a very different life than she planned, while dealing with the outrageous (but historically and culturally accurate) expectations placed on her.  As you'd expect, she faces trials and roadblocks, but she starts to find her way into a new normal -- a normal that is quite abnormal, in the eyes of everyone she knows.

I can recommend this show to everyone.  Now, admittedly, there is a little brief nudity, so if you are completely put off by that (I think there are still a few people in the world) then have someone tell you when to close your eyes for 2.7 seconds.  The nudity is actually important to the story.  And, yes, there are some "bad words" but nothing out of the ordinary for mature fare these days.  And a few sexual innuendo comedic moments.  But seriously?  You will laugh.  And you will fall in love with Mrs. Maisel.

(This post is part of The List.)

OK, now I put in the SPOILER buffer so I can say a bit more to people who don't mind that sort of thing, or who have seen the show and want to see what I have to say about it.

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Most of what I'm about to write comes from the very first episode.

Miriam's husband, Joel, wants to be a stand-up comic.  Or, at least, he wants to work at it enough that he and Miriam leave the two children with her parents and their housekeeper on some evenings and go to a club where he can try out his act. After one disappointing night at the club, Joel informs Miriam that he doesn't like the life he has, and leaves her.  Just like that.

Now, Miriam is suddenly a woman whose husband has left, and is on a path to becoming a divorcee.  This is not the path she planned for.

There is nothing about this situation which is Miriam's fault.  Yet, in the 1950s social web in which she lives, the repercussions fall hard on her, as does the blame, and the responsibility to fix her situation.

Overwhelmed by her complete lack of control, Miriam gets very drunk, goes to the club where Joel had performed, gets on stage, and tells the audience her troubles.  And she makes them laugh.  Oh, does she make them laugh!

She also gets arrested.

For the rest of the 10 episode season, the consequences of that fateful sequence of events transform her life, as Miriam has to figure out what to do now that she is not the wife in a married couple, and now that she has seen a skill in herself she had never dreamed she had.

A couple of other character notes.

Alex Borstein plays Susie Myerson, who recognizes the raw talent Miriam displays, and wants to throw her lot in with the hero.  But she is no ordinary sidekick.  Not by a long shot.

Luke Kirby plays Lenny Bruce.  Yes, THAT Lenny Bruce.  I want to believe this show is based on history just so I can imagine this is what Lenny Bruce was really like.

And Jane Lynch! Jane Lynch has a role I am not going to spoil.

If this show only had one season, it would be a great show.  But I am pleased to say it has another coming out soon.  Thank goodness!  I'll laugh and laugh and love Mrs. Maisel.

The Chilling Adentures of Sabrina

Title: The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Outlet: Netflix
Net: Not for everyone, but if you enjoy creative horror and can handle gore, and blatant Satanic mythology, you will find creative ideas and a very likeable hero.

Introduction: Sabrina Spellman is a young half-witch living in Greendale. She attends a normal high school with her mortal friends, but lives with her witch aunties, Zelda and Hilda, in their house, which is also the town mortuary.  As the series begins, she is approaching her sixteenth birthday, which naturally (or supernaturally, I suppose) occurs on Hallowe'en when a blood moon will appear.  On that birthday, she will be expected to sign her name in the book of the Dark Lord, and leave her mortal world behind.

None of what I've written so far is a spoiler.  You learn all of this within the first act of the first episode, and presumably you've started watching this show because of its premise.

Here are some other things you might know, or you might not.  They helped me decide to give this series a try.

Sabrina, the character, is from the "Archie" comic universe.  A very wholesome universe in the comics.  She was far more interesting a character than most of those found in Archie's hometown of Riverdale.  And, from my recollection, she was sweet and good-hearted.

Sabrina has had at least one other TV adaptation. I won't go look it up to see if there were more because the one I remember, which influenced me to try this one, starred Melissa Joan Hart.  It was a sitcom, and was, like the comics, sweet and wholesome.  (Hart was the perfect match for this, having come from Clarissa Explains It All, a Nickelodeon show which was one of the best "children's shows" which existed while my kids were growing up -- but I digress.)

Now, before you get the wrong idea, I was pretty darn sure that this new interpretation of the world of Sabrina was not going to be wholesome.  I've heard of the WB show Riverdale, and what I've heard makes it clear that it does not have a typical "Archie" flavor.  I have not seen it, at all, but I've been told.  So, I expected the new "Sabrina" to push the envelope.

Boy, does it!

Caveat:  At the point when I am writing this, I have only seen the first 5 episodes of the ten-episode first season.  If I decide to revise this review after seeing the full season, I will add to the bottom of this review.  Right now, at this moment, having finished 5 episodes, I wanted to capture my feelings.  I think it's important.  Here's why.

I almost stopped watching this series three times before episode five finished.  But now I am hooked.

As I said above, the Archie-verse, in the comics, is wholesome.  Even Sabrina, in the comics, though she's a witch, never deals with the evil side which is part and parcel of witchcraft in lore, legend and culture.  I knew this Netflix-produced show would be able to break through and incorporate some traditional horror.  I just didn't know how deeply they'd wade into that material.

They don't wade.  They dive!

The Witch Coven of Greendale serve the Dark Lord, but they don't just leave him with that name which has also meant Voldemort and other fictional enemies.  No.  They name him: Satan.  Well, OK, then.  This show is going to just flat out jump into Judeo Christian mythology.  (The real world Church of Satan is already angry at the show.  Google it if you want to find out why.  At this point, I don't know, nor do I care.  At this point.  Maybe in the future.)

OK, so bringing Satan into the mythology is going well past wholesome.  Would that stop me from watching the show?  No.  So, what else made me pause?

The overt grotesqueries involved in the witch world.  Like what?  Well, see, on her birthday, Sabrina is going to participate in a ceremony.  Auntie Zelda matter-of-factly states that blood is needed for the Dark Baptism, and human blood is best, so isn't it a good thing a fresh body has come in to their mortuary just a couple days ahead of time?  Yuck!  I've only mentioned this one thing, but there are many, many more.  And they almost made me stop watching after Episode 1.

Sabrina is played by actress Kiernan Shipka.  I've never seen her before, but she is very pretty, very young-looking (playing 16 at age 18, I think) and plays Sabrina as a kind, sweet girl (most of the time.) Yet she also seems completely accustomed to the unique environment in which she is being raised.  And she shows glimpses of being a bit more than your typical wholesome heroine, even in Episode 1.  So I gave the show a break, but I came back.

As I said, I almost gave up on the show more than once.  Another aspect which pushed me towards dropping the show was the gore.  Some horror productions imply gore, some have bits of gore, and some embrace it.  At the beginning, I thought this series was going to imply it, then it moved to bits, and by the third episode or so, it was embracing gore.  Here's this sweet, pretty teen-aged heroine, and she's in scenes with guts and ... well, gore.  So, if you cannot handle gore, you will not get through this show.  I'm sure WB (the network home of "Riverdale") decided to create this on Netflix rather than on their network for many reasons, and the gore was certainly among them.

So if I'm so disturbed by those aspects of "Sabrina" why am I still going on?

Episode 5, and "Sleepy Hollow."  Let me deal with those in reverse order.

A few years back, there was a network TV show called "Sleepy Hollow."  Very few people I know watched the show, but I really liked it.  It was a "horror" show loosely based on the mythology of the Washington Irving story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," mixed with the concept that the supernatural world was very much a part of the world during the American Revolution.  Ichabod Crane (the "protagonist" of Irving's story) pulled a Rip Van Winkle -- slept for a couple hundred years, and woke up in modern day New England, where he ended up partnering with a very capabile police detective, and soon they were fighting supernatural evil in and around Sleepy Hollow in the 21st century.

Being a network (Fox) TV show, it could not go very far in its gore, sex, religiosity and so on, but each week the story arcs advanced, and each week history and the supernatural were cleverly blended to build a mythos and give our heroes quests and enemies.  It was great fun.  I don't know where you can stream it, but if it sounds fun to you, I bet it will be.

Anyway, the first season of "Sleepy Hollow" dealt, primarily, with a story arc which arose from the premise of the show: Ichabod Crane had faced the Headless Horseman during the Revolutionary War, and now the Horseman was back.  But, the show also found a way to tell tangential horror stories.  These stories were primarily one-off episodes.  You could watch them without having seen the full story so far and enjoy them for their clever ideas.  Want a story about a Banshee?  A Will-o-the-Wisp?  There you go - you have one.  Now, for the series faithful, the one-off episodes would drop in a bit of information to advance the big story plot, but these single story episodes were well done.

That's Episode 5 of Sabrina.   If you have reached the end of Episode 4, as I had, and you think "I'm not sure I can go on" try episode 5.

It's still gory.  You have to accept that.  And by this point in the series, "wholesome" is out the window (except, not really -- it's still there, as long as you can separate the heroic from the Satanic.) But the story -- the story -- is great fun.

Anyway, I'm going to keep watching this series through the end of its first 10-episode season.  I'm not exactly sure what they are trying to accomplish in this first main story, but it certainly has something to do with our hero growing up a bit and dealing with the consequences of sticking to her principles -- a common theme, to be sure, told in an uncommon way.

This show is not for everyone.  But for now, I think it's for me.

Addendum: I figured out one more thing that bothers me about this show.  Auntie Zelda (and a couple other characters) are as pious in their Satanism as the most stereotypical Evangelicals are pious in their Christianity.  It bothers me to hear "Praise Satan" every time something happens that Zelda likes, just as it would bother me to hear "Praise God" if the character were Christian.  I wonder if that's one of the points the writers are making?

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This post is part of The List.

Shows I've Watched - Anchor List

This is the list of "TV" shows I want to talk about in the blog, and remember for the future.  Need more explanation?  See the Explanatory Post.

The List

• The OA (Netflix) - the show I realized I was forgetting about when talking about great shows I had seen.
• The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Netflix)
• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime)
• Sense8 (Netflix) 
• Jessica Jones (Netflix)
• The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)
• Godless (Netflix)
• Stranger Things (Netflix)
• Orange is the New Black (Netflix)
• Longmire (now Netflix)
• Game of Thrones (HBO)
• The Crown (Netflix)
• Downton Abbey (BBC/PBS available on Amazon Prime)
• Altered Carbon (Netflix)
• Breaking Bad (AMC available on Netflix)
• House of Cards (Netflix)
• Salvation (CBS available on Amazon Prime)
• Penny Dreadful (Showtime available on Netflix)
• Mr. Robot (Amazon Prime)
• Black Mirror (Netflix)
• This Is Us (NBC) - because way too many people don't watch "network TV" anymore, and they are going to be sorry they are missing this!

That's The List as of now.  I am quite confident I have forgotten at least one show that should be on The List.  I am also certain I will watch shows in the future which should get added to The List.  I hope to remember to do that.  But for now, The List is full enough I can start writing "Reviews" of them.  When a Review is written, I plan to come back to this post and put the link to the Review post.

One more thing: I KNOW that there are some shows which would belong on The List if YOU wrote it.  Many people have seen "13 Reasons Why" and "The Man in the High Castle" and "Making A Murderer" but I have not.  So those shows are not on my list.  The only shows on The List which I have not watched fairly completely (so far) are Game of Thrones and Mr. Robot.  GoT is a special case. Mr. Robot is a show I had forgotten I needed to get back to watching until I started putting The List together!

So, you are welcome to comment on this post and recommend something I should see.  If I HAVE seen it, I will be grateful for the reminder.  If I have NOT seen it, well, maybe I'll start another List Of Shows I Should Try Sometime.

Anchor Post Exposition - Shows I've Watched in this Golden Age

 I'm not the first to say it, but I certainly believe it -- we are in a "Golden Age" for what are typically called "TV" shows.

There are so many outlets for "TV" shows these days, and so many of those outlets are investing heavily in creating their own new content, that the number of shows is almost unbelievable, if you are old enough to remember a time before HBO started creating its own content -- outside the boundaries of the "Big 3 (or 4 or 5 if you counted Fox and whatever other then-lesser networks were around -- UPN, I'm talking about you) plus PBS."

But I did not start this post to talk about the past.  Everyone who enjoys watching "TV" these days knows that some (most?) of the very best television is created outside the broadcast networks.  With streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and the like competing with networks and the film industry for our leisure time, many stories are being told which never could have, under the old Network options.

So, like most of you, I have watched some of them.  We can't, any of us, watch them all.  But I've watched quite a few.  On this most recent business trip, it occurred to me that I was beginning to forget that I had even watched some of them.  I don't want to forget!  So, what should I do?

When I first started this blog, one of the staples topics was Micro-Reviews.  I wrote micro-reviews primarily for the purpose of remembering.  If I wrote a micro-review, I was more likely to remember more about the film than if I did not.  And yes, I enjoyed knowing that a few other people would read my reviews and might enjoy them.  But the instigating goal was helping me remember.

So, since I am now starting to "forget" the shows I've watched, I decided I may as well take some time, while on a trip, to record my thoughts about various series I have seen.

This entry will be the Anchor.  As I write this post the first time, I will list the "shows" I'm talking about, and then over time I hope to write "reviews" about them.

And, because I think most people who will read this in the future (including myself) will not want to scroll down through this overly long introduction to get to my list, I will create a post which is the Shows I've Watched - Anchor List.

If you've read this far, thanks.  I hope the list and the reviews I plan to write are worth your time.  But if you find they are not, just remember -- you don't have to read them!  We each only have so much leisure time in our lives, and if reading my blog is not worth your time, go find something else to do!  There are many options.  Like the shows in my list, for example!

Breaking Bad - Complete

Well, I finally did it.  I didn't start watching Breaking Bad until it was all over, and somehow I was able to watch the whole thing without finding out any spoilers. 

I wish I had recorded, somewhere, the date when I first began watching Season 1.  I know Sherry and I watched the first two episodes together, but, as we'd expected, this was not Sherry's kind of show. 

So, to watch the rest, I had to rely on times when I could see episodes myself.  Mostly, this happened in hotel rooms while I traveled.  But for the end of the series, I have taken advantage of having a Netflix-capable blu-ray player connected to the TV by the treadmill.  As I work to get my 10,000 steps in each day, it's been good to be able to follow the final installments in this masterwork of the episodic form.

Seriously, there are stories which can only be told in movies, but there are also stories which need to be told over longer periods of time.  Breaking Bad is one of them. 

I'm impressed by the creators involved in Breaking Bad.  I'll miss it.  But I'll remember it fondly! 

And now, finally, I know Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, two of the iconic characters of our shared American mythos. 

Bad Lip Reading - Walking Dead Season 4

Seriously, I think, even if you don't watch "The Walking Dead" this is funny.  But if you DO watch the show, it's freaking hilarious!

Oh, and before I forget, all the scenes are from Season 4, so while none of the words in this "Bad Lip Reading" will give away anything, I suppose there are some spoilers in the images.  So, be warned.

Man, this is funny!  I have to see more of these "Bad Lip Reading" videos.



Carl's rap is laugh out loud funny!

Repost - The Wisdom of Linus at Christmas and a Christmas photo

According to the statistics blogger keeps, this post from December 18, 2009 has never had any hits.  I find it hard to believe.  But since it has one of my favorite Christmas photos, and also has a reference to "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown," I thought it was time to repost it.

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Christmas is special for the celebrations, for the family, for the friends, for the food, for the giving of gifts, and for so much more. Yet, behind it all is the Birth, the Grace, and the Peace.
Charlie Brown: "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"
Linus: "Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights please."
Linus: Luke 2:8-14 (KJV)
Linus: "That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."
Have a Merry and Blessed Christmas, everyone.

Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee

This is how the Internet works.  This is how marketing works.  This is how you find out about new stuff.

Last week, I was listening to NPR because I hadn't put the next CD of my current Great Course in the car, and I heard the very, very end of an interview with Jerry Seinfeld talking about his latest project: a web series called "Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee."  I thought to myself, "I should remember to check that out."

But I forgot.

Then Sunday I was checking the blogs I follow, and sure enough, one of them -- smacksy -- did her weekly Sunday post with links of things she wanted to share with her readers and, sure enough, CICGC was one of them.  Why did she mention it?  Because of the car Jerry and his guest, David Letterman, drove to get coffee.  But that doesn't matter.

So, yes, then I watched an episode.  And I will watch more.  I laughed.  I truly did.  Because, you see, when people are truly comedians -- when they are experts at finding humor in the situations of life -- it's far more enjoyable to watch two of them go out for coffee than it is to watch most TV sitcoms.  More enjoyable, and funnier.

And, while one or two of you will have heard about this series before, I am confident most of you have not. Mr. Seinfeld is already in his second season, folks, so it's not like this is brand new -- it's merely new to me.  And probably you.  So I am telling you about it.

And most of you will not click the link.  This is how the Internet works.

And then some of you will hear about it again.  And then you will watch it.  This is how marketing works.

The West Wing - Re-Impressed

I may have mentioned before the break, but I have started watching The West Wing again.  In case you didn't know, it's one of the many TV shows you can stream on Netflix.

One of the reasons I stopped blogging for a while is because this show, and Battlestar Galactica, are too engaging.  You see, while I sit home alone (or, before Sherry was in school, while I sat home with her) watching TV, I could compose the first drafts of many of my blog entries.  Most TV does not take up my full attention, so it's quite easy to start a topic and just keep rolling as the TV show entertains part of my mind.  Typically, blog entries which are written in this manner require some editing, but they are still mostly-written, and that's progress.

The West Wing, however, is too engaging, as I said.  I remember loving this show when it first aired, of course, so I expected to like watching it again.  What I had failed to factor into my blogging schedule, however, was how important it was to pay close attention as the stories unfold.  No, wait -- "unfold" is not the word.  Aaron Sorkin's writing does not "unfold" - it flows like a river swollen from a good spring rain.  The dialog is so fast-paced, but so wonderful, that I feel a need to immerse myself in it.

I am reminded once again of why I waited with such anticipation between episodes.  And, since I am streaming it, all by myself, I typically don't force myself to wait.  I move from the end of one to the beginning of the next with as brief a break as possible.  This has meant very little time for any sort of serious brain work, once the show starts streaming.

I suspect over the next several weeks, I will have more than one post dedicated to aspects of this remarkable show, and what I appreciate so much about it.  But for now, let me just say that one of the causes of my month-plus absence from Snippets and Wisps was this wonderful show.

I'm not sorry.  At all.

Netflix TV - the Future is Here

Many years ago, or it seems many years ago now, I was happily buying seasons of my favorite TV shows on DVD.  I remember discussing the future with my family.  I clearly remember saying how great it would be when, one day soon, we'd have enough DVDs that we could create our own nightly programming on TV.



I envisioned a time when we could watch an evening, for example, of three episodes of Star Trek, from three different series, on Monday, followed by a Tuesday with some exciting dramas, a Wednesday with X-Files, a Thursday with comedies (if we could agree on comedies we'd all like) and a Friday with Stargate plus whatever Star Trek series we had not seen on Monday.

Oh, yes, life was going to be grand, then.  We would not have to watch commercials, and we could skip whatever formulaic shows the networks decided we needed to see.

As the years went by, I added more series to my future line-up.  Series such as Lost and Battlestar Galactica and (for nights when I would be alone) Monty Python's Flying Circus.  And now, finally ...

I don't need any of them.  (Almost.)

Netflix exists, and its streaming line-up contains pretty much every television show I purchased during those years, plus series which I thought we worthy, but which not even I could convince myself were worth my limited "fun money."

Tonight I found myself alone in the house again, and the networks were showing nothing (almost) worth watching.  "Reality" TV shows about getting in shape, or finding made-for-TV love are not interesting.

I had exercised on the treadmill after work today, and as I typically do, I watched an episode of a Star Trek series.  (I am into Voyager right now.)  So when I saw the line-up on the TV schedule, I decided I would finally implement my future.

So what was tonight's line-up?

Here it is.



Eureka, which I am watching for the first time, because I have heard it's the kind of show I will like (and that's true.)

The West Wing, which was a remarkable show for its pace, its cast, its ability to address real issues while also being engagingly dramatic.

And, yes, Battlestar Galactica - one of may all-time favorites. It's not a Science Fiction show, no matter what it may look like; that is, while some of the ideas for the story are speculative science, it is far more. The series examined themes of government and military, religion and science, democracy, freedom, and inalienable rights.  And it did it with the threat of total annihilation of the human race in the balance.  The creators took great advantage of its setting to tell gripping stories of what it means to have faith, to endure suffering, to struggle, to fail to live up to ideals, and succeed in upholding them; in short, what it means to be human.

I am not upset that I bought all those DVDs.  Truly.  For one thing, Netflix doesn't have every series I want, and for another, there are definite advantages to having DVDs (not every TV in my home is Netflix-connected .... yet.)  Instead, I am glad I can finally realize my longed-for evenings of seeing things I want to watch.

Of course, I don't have a personal schedule which supports five nights of TV shows.  I probably never did.  But the core idea is still there.  We have options today, and we have access to material we've seen, and material we didn't see the first time around, and it's good.

The future is here.  I like it.

Castle Gets Traffic

 If you've read this blog for long enough, you've seen me write about many movies (I do have that "Movie Micro-Review" series that has reached its 90th edition, after all) and several TV shows.

Of those TV shows, I've probably written about Star Trek most -- in one form or another.  But the TV show which receives the most traffic on this blog is:

Castle from ABC.

You might be surprised.  I know I was.  But every time I go check the statistics which Google keeps for this blog, there is one post which shows up on the list of "Top 5 most recently viewed."

Castle is a Gem from October 17, 2011 is, by far, the post from this blog which has been hit more than any other.  It's not even close.  And it seems like when I post a review for one of the "Castle-written" Nikki Heat books, and tweet about it, I get more readers than any other book review.

Blogger (Google) also provides information about what directs people to find this blog, and most of them are Google searches with "Castle" in them -- whether people are looking for character photos, or specifically looking for one or more of the characters, the"Gem" post has them.  For some reason, Google presents that "Gem" post quite high when people search on those topics.  And that means SnW gets hits.  It feels pretty cool thinking all those people see something I have written.

I'm not going to turn this blog into an "All Castle - All the Time" thing, but I certainly admit that I love the show, so it's easy to talk about it.  This season, the main characters have moved into a new phase of their relationship, which has been written exceptionally well.  But while Castle would not be the show it is without the relationships, it is about more than that -- the mysteries are very well done, and the ensemble cast is remarkable and has great chemistry.

Speaking of the ensemble, I cannot end this particular post without mentioning one of the other characters - a character I left out of the "Gem" post because of her small role in the episodes I had just seen when I wrote it.  Tamala Jones plays Lanie Parish, a medical examiner for the NYPD, and true friend of Detective Kate Beckett.  She is smart, confident, and plays a great role.

So, dear reader, while I will still be talking about Great Courses and Movies and Knowledge (new post tomorrow) and Games, people will be finding their way to this blog because "Everybody Loves Castle (and Beckett)" -- that's just the way it is.

Aliens and Zombies

The setting: Earth, in which 95% or more of the population has been killed - mercilessly.

The protagonists:  A small group of survivors.

Discussion:

This is a fairly common setup for a speculative fiction story.  From this basic premise, however, several different genres of tales emerge.  Due to the kinds of TV dramas I've been watching lately, I've noticed how similar, and how different, the narratives can be.  It seems to me each variation has its own viewpoint which touches us psychologically, but with one key theme which is shared, and another theme which is specific to the genre it represents.  I'll discuss two today - alien invasion, and zombie apocalypse.

 In this blog, I've already written about Falling Skies, a summer show on TNT.  In that show's world, the merciless agent -- the cause of so much killing and the destruction of our way of life -- is a hostile alien invasion.  The protagonist group we follow consists of a wide range of people, few of whom knew each other before the disaster.  It's been very entertaining, often quite dramatic, and it's something Sherry enjoys watching with me


In the. past couple of weeks, I've seen another cable show which has two seasons under its belt -- as Falling Skies has.  This one is The Walking Dead.  As you might guess by its title, in this show's world, the merciless agent is not aliens -- it's zombies.  Sometimes single zombies, but most often hordes of them, drawn to living humans with the sole purpose of eating those humans and, as a result, turning whatever might be left of the dead humans into zombies. Again, the protagonists are a diverse group.  I find it entertaining, dramatic and -- yes -- gross and horrific.  For these reasons and others, Sherry has no interest in watching it.

Certainly there are similarities between the shows -- I've already mentioned the basic set up, and the protagonist groups.  Additionally, the "good guys" are clearly marked by their humanity, and the bad guys by their non-humanity.  But, because these are stories written about how people will behave when the structure of civilization has been removed, we also find out that some of the humans are pretty inhuman, too.  We see that the survivors want to reestablish a place where they can be safe, and be civilized again, but we see that some of them are willing to assert control over weaker members of the group, and many of the dramatic threads come from the people who are closest to being heroes dealing with people who are less than heroic.

With so much in common, then, are the stories the same?  Are we dealing with the same ultimate themes?

I believe it's pretty clear the answer is no.

Both types of stories deal with a loss of civilization.   They both examine what it might mean to have to live by our wits, without most of the comforts or certainties our lives contain.  In both kinds of stories, we have to face the fact that, ultimately, none of us are really in control of our surroundings. We could be placed into situations in which we would have to adapt or die very quickly.

In the case of Falling Skies,  the force which caused this mess is alien.  That fact makes the themes of these stories focus on "Us vs. Them."  THEY caused it.  WE are the aggrieved party.  The world might never be exactly the same as it was before, but if WE can get rid of THEM, WE can WIN.  So, in that sense, Falling Skies is an optimistic show, which plays to our love of US, our hatred of THEM, all while trying to get us to see that ALL of humanity is US.

This is very different from The Walking Dead.  A "zombie apocalypse" story has antagonists which are US, but dead.  There is no THEM in the premise of this story.  Yes, as previously mentioned, some "bad guys" might try to do us harm, but the true villains are the Zombies.  And what do they represent?  They are DEATH made incarnate.  We're all going to die at some point, says the Zombie Apocalypse, and it's not pretty.  We can try to run, try to hide, try to fight it, but Death keeps coming.  And so, in this way, The Walking Dead and other Zombie Apocalypse stories are essentially pessimistic -- or perhaps better - nihilistic.  And yet.  And yet.

As we watch Rick Grimes, the central character in the group of survivors at the heart of The Walking Dead, we see a hero.  Perhaps he's a tragic hero, in a sense, but we see a bit of optimism in him and most of the people around him.  Despite the overwhelming odds, he keeps fighting, keeps resisting, keeps persevering -- and all the time trying to do it with a sense of morality and integrity.  He doesn't always get it right, but he does keep trying.  And this has a hint of optimism in it.  Here he is similar to his counterpart in Falling Skies, Tom Mason.

Ingrained into most of us is a need to see a hero.  (Some might say "all of us" but that's a topic for another time.)  We want a person who will stand in for us and face the challenge while trying to do the right thing.  Depending on the type of story, we don't need that person to ultimately win but we need to see the effort.  And in that sense, each of these stories has an underlying hope for the ultimate value of our humanity.


===================================

This entry owes a great deal to my good friend, Michael Hacker, who has done much deeper analysis on the psychology behind story types --  specifically horror subgenres.  I wish I had been able to hear him as a panelist at the Greater Los Angeles Writers' Conference, where he got a chance to discuss this. Anyway, Mike, feel free to add your knowledgeable two-cents.

"Stargate: Universe" - A Satisfying End

Last night, I finally finished watching "Stargate: Universe."  I blogged about the show when we started watching it in 2009, and then again when the second season started in 2010.  However, due to schedule conflicts (and the fact that I am still denying myself the glory which is Digital Video Recording) I saw very little of that second season.

However, when Season 2 came out on DVD, I bought it, knowing that I would get a chance to see it at some point. 

Sherry and Leah had both seen the entire series.  They assured me that, unlike other shows (in their opinion) this show had a very good ending, preceded by some excellent shows. 

They were right.

Of course, it makes me a little sad that the show was cancelled. They were really starting to come into their own with characters and story mixing very well.  But I truly appreciate that the creators took advantage of the knowledge that the show was going to end -- they gave us a storyline to wrap up the series which was emotionally and dramatically satisfying.

While I am on record as having liked the end of Lost and Battlestar Galactica, I will admit that the end of Stargate: Universe was more clearly "closed" without being predictable.  Our heroes had to use science, and reason, and courage as they approached and dealt with the final challenges placed before them in the last few stories.  They did it well.

So long, SG:U.  I'll miss you.

Star Trek Continues

I don't know how this came about, but a web series is getting set to begin which continues the stories of Star Trek (the original series).  I'll point you to their site for complete information. ( http://www.startrekcontinues.com/)

Watching their initial clip, it is clear they are trying to faithfully recreate the series.  This is not a "reboot" -- like the latest movie was.  This allows the "five year mission" to continue, with new stories, using the same elements used in the original series.

Here's the clip. It appears to be the last several minutes of the episode "Turnabout Intruder" -- the final episode of the original series. The people behind Star Trek Continues describe it as "a vignette that bridges our new series to the original."



As a fan of all things Star Trek, I am looking forward to seeing this new entry take its shot at being worthy of the franchise.

Dollhouse and Farewell

A few weeks back, on the recommendation of Leah, our youngest child, Sherry and I joined her in watching Dollhouse, a short TV series from 2009-2010.  We finished the series last night.

This series was created by Joss Whedon, a creator whose works always seem to resonate with me, though I -- for some reason -- don't see them until after they are well-known to others.  (The Avengers being the notable exception, because I saw that immediately!) Other Whedon projects include Firefly, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Toy Story (screenplay) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV show).

Dollhouse starts with a science fiction concept, but doesn't stop there.  The concept: a corporation has invented technology which can store your "mind" and then replace it with other constructed minds.  The corporation ("Rossum") enters into contracts with young, fit, attractive people to compensate them generously in exchange for being able to use their bodies for five years as "dolls."  These dolls are hired by wealthy people, after having specific personalities and skills placed into the dolls' minds by the people who run the Dollhouse.

Our heroine is a doll called Echo (played by Eliza Dushku), and from the beginning we can see that she is special, even for a doll.  The first few episodes, we get what almost anyone would have done with this concept - Echo becomes a lover, an undercover bodyguard, or someone ho has to solve a mystery.  If it had remained this, I would have gotten bored.

Before long, though, the characters surrounding Echo -- half of whom are involved in either running the Dollhouse, or trying to discover and destroy it -- begin to show how such a technology would be very dangerous to society.  And, in fact, this is clearly the overarching theme of the series.  At some point, Whedon and the others must have been told they would have a very limited run, so rather than just put out episodes, they built the series into a 26-episode TV novel.  The consequences of the technology are well thought out, and we care very much about the characters involved -- both dolls and others.

I recommend this to anyone who would like a series with such a science-fiction concept, especially if you appreciate a complete story -- something where the end follows logically from the beginning, and doesn't seem like a "how the heck do we tie this all together?" ending (as many people reacted to "Lost" for example.)

I will always remember this series for the satisfaction it gave with its creative story telling.

But that is not all.

Over the years, Sherry and I have watched many TV series, and many of those with one or more of our children.  Leah, as the youngest, has been around for more of those series than anyone else.  Over the past few years, it has seemed we were constantly watching one series or another with her.

Last night, Leah pointed out that Dollhouse is probably the last series we will ever watch with her.  Soon, she will "leave the nest" in a very permanent way.  Tomorrow, we will put her on a plane for Ireland, where she will finish up her final courses in her college career.  And then, in August when she comes back to the States, we will move her to The Cities where she will begin her next chapter of life.

For that reason, Dollhouse is likely to represent Leah, and her passage from "child" to "adult" even more than it represents a good story.  

Leah, you recommended it, and it was an excellent choice.  What parallels!  Echo learned who she was, and became even more than anyone expected.  You have learned about yourself, and you have gained exceptional experience and skills.  Now, you are ready for what's next.  I look forward to your visits, as often as you can make them.  But in the meantime: Farewell, you amazing, intelligent, beautiful young woman! 

Star Trek Voyager - Running to Season 4

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you probably know I watch Star Trek episodes when I am getting exercise on my treadmill.

During today's run, I watched the final episode of Season 3 of Star Trek: Voyager.  That means the next time I go for an indoor run, I get to start Season 4!


I am excited.


Why?

I'll give you Nine guesses.

And if you get Seven of them right, you'll know.

Welcome, Jeri Ryan, and the introduction of the character who added the most consistently interesting story lines to the series.  Seven of Nine.

What I've Been Writing

[Warning to the reader: This is a very strange entry today.  Too many thoughts.  But it's how my Muse was pulling me late last night.]

Slow days in "Snippets and Wisps" lately.


I have written a lot lately.  Just not here.  My material has mostly been:

1. Stuff for work (but I don't blog about work [not here in SnW, anyway].)
2. Discussions, Essays and Devotional material about Christianity and Faith (and you've seen a portion of that here)

... but primarily I've been writing ...

3. The Dungeons and Dragons campaign my groups are playing.

So, the work stuff is right out.  And I can't very well put that DnD stuff in the blog, can I?  I mean, my players don't all read this, but some of them do.  No spoilers here.  [Just a teaser.]

So, if you see a few faith-based entries here in the days to come, just realize that it's about the only thing I've been writing which even remotely fits into this blog.

I can hear some of you now:

"Wait, Steve, does that mean that some of what you publish here has been used somewhere else?  Some of the things I read on 'Snippets and Wisps' were not solely for your 'SnW' audience?"

To which I reply, emphatically:

"Oh.  My.  Yes."

In fact, I try very hard not to write the same thing twice, but I often think the same thing multiple times, so it's not hard to imagine that I might write about the same thing multiple times.  But, if I've written it once, I try to use it again, if the topic needs to be addressed again.  I do it at work:  All.  The.  Time.  [Are we all tired of that rampant idiom yet?  So.  Over.  Used.]   I suppose "SnW' is the writing venue where I do the least re-use of material, but I certainly re-use when it makes sense.

For example, these days when I get into an extended "conversation" with someone on Facebook, I often think "This would make a great blog someday."  So I try to capture it for later re-use here.

The thing is, long discussions on Facebook are most often about religion and/or politics.  So if I re-use my thoughts from fb here, they will almost certainly get into one or both of those topics.  [For example, I would gladly join a group of "Liberal Christians Opposed to Rick Santorum" but according to his 2008 interview, he wouldn't believe we existed.]  And once I get started down that road, this blog could just turn into another politics blog, and there are too many of those around, don't you agree? 

Plus, to be fair, politics doesn't interest me enough to think about it often.  [Games do.]  And my belief in Christianity, while it does interest me quite a bit, is among the least-read topics when I post here.  [But when I mention "Castle" or "X-Men" or put up a great photo of one of the beautiful women in my life, I get more traffic. Go figure!]

So, all this is to explain why there has been a relative dearth of material here lately.  And it might continue.

But hey, it could change!  I am very motivated to make people happy.  I love knowing I have an audience.  I'd be happy to write about specific topics, if requested (and appropriate.)  I've solicited topics from readers before and gotten the proverbial crickets chirping in response.  So, I reissue the offer.  If you really wish I'd write about one of my many topics, drop me a line or write a comment.

And now, just to prove my point [well, one of my many points] I will put in a photo of Stana Katic as Detective Kate Beckett and Nathan Fillion as (the "ruggedly handsome") Richard Castle.  My hit rate will quadruple.

[I am two episodes behind on watching this wonderful TV show, by the way.  Why?  Three consecutive weeks of Dungeons and Dragons.  Fantastic.  Gotta love it.  And thank goodness for "On Demand" viewing so I can catch up.]


So, that's all for today.  Maybe, after seeing "Gone with the Wind" and "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" this past weekend it's about time for another edition of Movie Micro-Reviews.  That's always good for a quick blog.  [Teaser: One of these movies is much, much better than the other.  And we all know which one that is.  So really, it's not much of a teaser, is it?]

Matthew Broderick's Side-By-Side Day Off

I am so glad someone actually did this side-by-side comparison.




It was my favorite Super Bowl commercial. Not the most amazing, or funniest, but it was the best. Here is the link to the "full" version.

The Illusion of Choice

I find this interesting.

And, yes, I follow Robert Duncan McNeill on Twitter. 

And Jewel Staite.  And (as I have mentioned before) Wil Wheaton and Nathan Fillion.