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Dude, they really should rename this show “Ghost Taunters.”

It’s November and that means NaNoWriMo! Doing it again this year, probably won’t finish this year either, but it won’t be for lack of trying!

And this year I’m a NaNoWriMo Rebel, in the Finisher’s Club. Yep, I’m going to add 50,000 words to my already written novel.

My NaNoWrimo

It’s amazing with all the money being thrown around in Hollywood and with all the high-profile action sci-fi shows these days, that the old gems-in-the-rough from yesteryear still outshine most of the stuff on TV. No matter how many times I try to sit down and watch some newfangled sci-fi show, I always just find myself going back to the classics.

Of course by classics, I don’t mean the Star Trek’s or Lost in Space’s of yesteryear, though those certainly do have their appeal. I’m talking about those small gems that maybe lasted one season or two, that really were better than anything out there on TV at the time and were most likely ahead of their time and under the budget they should have had. The shows with characters you cared about that favored content and meaning over style and substance.

So the other day I finally sat down and watched a few episodes of Jericho. Not a bad show overall. Some good writing, enough intrigue to keep you interested and some very powerful imagery. But after three episodes, I went to go watch the fourth, paused, and decided what I really wanted to see was one of those old “classics,” a little-known post-apocalyptic Showtime show from the early 2000s called Jeremiah.

Now just to get it out of the way, yes, my name is Jeremiah, and maybe on some level I initially bought the Jeremiah DVDs for that reason, but if it was a factor, it was only a small one. Truth be told, it’s another name attached to the project that grabbed me: J. Michael Straczynski. For those that don’t know that name, JMS is the genius behind Babylon 5 and countless comic books and other shows and movies. When I saw that he did a post-apocalyptic show, and one with my name to boot, in to the basket it went.

The first season of Jeremiah is a mixed bag for me. The pilot, much like the Stargate pilot, was a totally different animal from the actual show, aimed at making a rough adult…well…Showtime show…complete with the obligatory pointless nudity and swearing. But despite the posturing, even the pilot had that certain JMS spark, which when paired with a surprisingly exceptional performance from Luke Perry and a not-so-surprisingly exceptional performance from Malcolm Jamal Warner left me hungering for more. The rest of the season dropped some of the gratuitousness of the pilot replaced a few actors and overall went up from there (with the exception of a few duds of episodes).

And then there was the ending. Ouch. There are cliffhangers and then there is Jeremiah. It doesn’t get any more cliffhanger-ey than the first season. And not only did the show end on a major cliffhanger, the movie studios pulled one of their worst stunts that they have in ages, almost on the caliber of the Firefly cancellation, though in some ways worse because it wasn’t so clean.

First off there were the battles with JMS and the movie studios. It was supposedly one of those epic things that to this day they involved parties won’t ever work together. And, gasp, revolved around creative control. Of course the battles weren’t what really hurt, it’s what happened as a result…

Season 2, thank God, got made. And yes, JMS had creative control, once again, thank God (I’m seeing a theme here). But the stupid station only aired half of it. Fans rioted until there was almost a real Armageddon (well maybe not really) and the station, thank God again, aired the second half, but called it season 3, huh?

Fast forward a little bit. DVDs for season 1 are released and generally flop, probably due to lack of marketing more than anything, and… no season 2 or 3. Fast forward some more and still none. And then the movie studio got bought out and the show ended up in lost TV show hell. The worst part. Season 2 is good…damn good. Better than 90% of the shows on TV good. And it was lost for good, at least that’s what those of us stuck in cliffhanger hell thought. And then came iTunes…

So this new movie studio (does it really matter which one?) had this old dusty sci-fi show sitting around and didn’t really want to take any risks. So, why not stick it on a risk-free media and see how it does. And, they put it on iTunes…and then Amazon…and then Netflix. And I think it did pretty well. Of course without season 1 and it’s cliffhanger ending, season 2 will feel like you’re dropping in the middle of everything. And surprise, they did not release season one on iTunes, at least not at first (God, are all TV execs morons?). So Jeremiah will probably never get it’s due or it’s second season on DVD (grumble grumble yes I did write the movie studio to complain).

So, cut to now. I’m finally sitting down and watching Season 2 of Jeremiah and man I am loving it. And the best part, it’s still as fresh and as exciting as watching anything from nowadays. Jericho can wait. Heroes, pfft forget it. JMS already did it all years ago with a budget that was probably pennies compared to Jericho. And with a cast that was amazing enough to pull it off (except a few of the generic extras. JMS always seems to spend all his casting dollars on the main actors and hires a bunch of bums for the extras). Sean Astin steals the show by far, (yes, the Samwise Gamgee, Sean Astin) which is saying a lot considering how good Malcom Jamal Warner and Luke Perry do.

But most of all it’s the writing that knocks you down. Very few writers can ease you in and then hammer you with thought-provoking and heart-wrenching drama like JMS at his best. And that’s just in the first four episodes. Somebody get this man doing TV again. And not just crappy Babylon 5 reunions. Joss is back with Dollhouse, let’s get JMS back too!

So in light of this recent article I figured I’d point out that www.soapyblog.com does not receive any money for the reviews published in this blog. However if anyone is looking to pay me money to rip apart your product or TV show, I would be more than happy to accept payment. And to all my multitudes of loyal readers, I promise that if any fool wants to throw money my way for my blogging, then I will be sure to fully disclose how much money those idiots decide to waste.

SO…Bring on those review sponsorships already!!!

FTC: Bloggers must disclose payments for reviews

WATCHMEN MOVIE REVIEW

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Finally got to see Watchmen. I’ve been looking forward to it for a while, if just because it got made. Watchmen is often considered one of those comic holy grails that never should be made into a movie. The entire premise alone is to be an antithesis to the whole superhero mythos, the exact opposite of what Hollywood superhero movies represent. If there ever was a non-Hollywood comic, it was the Watchmen. Just looking at the rocky history it has too is evidence of this. So was it all worth it in the end?

I’ll start by saying that I haven’t read the comic. Reviews of the movie often fall into either “have read” or “have not read” with the former being mostly mixed reviews (where’s the squid?!) and the latter either “I didn’t get it” or “It rocked.” Having not read the comic, I can say that the movie made sense and was coherent, which is something many people worried about with condensing an epic story like this. However, the whole movie does suffer from “I bet that is explained in the comic” syndrome. Most notable is the “lynx” (looks like a coeurl to me) and the Silk Spectre and Night Owl characters. The villain also is totally overlooked making the ending only surprising because, oh hey, I forgot that guy was even in the movie. But on the whole, I think Snyder managed to carry the bulk of the story over.

Yays!

• Rorschach, The Comedian and Doctor Manhattan: They carried the entire movie. Their gritty, disturbing portrayals of their characters gave the film the edge it needed. Particularly Rorschach should have been given an Oscar for his amazing portrayal, but alas, only Batman gets Oscar nods.
• The tone of the film: Many fans complained about the brutal violence which was not in the comic. I think it adds to the film. The story works best as an “anti-heroes in a world without hope” and the dark violence adds to it.
• Trueness to the comic, most notably the prose. The narration is straight from the comic and Moore’s poetic narrative is fucking amazing. It’s nice to have a Director who doesn’t turn the dialog into one-liner drivel like so many comic movie directors. And the imagery was also straight out of the comic which was really awesome.

Nays!

• Silk Spectre II Night Owl II and Ozymandius: Bad casting, poor character development and crappy costumes. Silk Spectre being the worst all together, I wanted to cringe every time she opened her mouth. Ozymandius was the biggest shame. As the primary villain, they really needed more development. And changing his costume from a cheeseball Roman thing in the comic to generic latex crap actually hurt his character more than it should have. We got that he was really smart and fast, but that’s about it.
• The lynx (coeurl?) In the comic the lynx was Ozymandiuses best buddy and his death is supposed to be a symbol of how far he will go for his Utopia. In the movie you’re like WTF is that cat doing here, and then oh, he killed his cat, so what.
• The squid. I hate to say it but the movie needed a squid. Seriously, the Comedian is in tears because Ozy makes Doc Manhattan into an international scapegoat? Doesn’t cut it. That one thing totally bugged me about the movie and then I read about the comic ending and it all made sense. Yes, the squid is as cheesy as it gets, and yes there is no way possible to make it believable onscreen, but without it, it’s not the Watchmen.
• The sex scene. Bleach. Plastic girl and macho geek man getting it on in a spaceship to one of the most poignant and incredible songs ever? 3 minutes of my life that I want back.

So on the whole despite some flaws, I really liked the movie. The final bubble is there specifically because of Rorschach’s performance.

Do you remember that old site? The one where you used to go every day until the next big thing came along? Or that old online email you set up years ago, back before Google became your messenger of choice? So what ever happened to all that stuff?

Makes you wonder what we are all leaving behind. All those old logins, sites with your information on them. And how many of us actually go back and delete accounts? Or how many of the sites actually delete data after you delete the accounts?

Just a trail of digital breadcrumbs following behind. Discarded memories in zeroes and ones. Forgotten but not gone.

Finished up Season 1 of Sanctuary. Must say that it definitely improved as the season progressed. It was a fun show with a lot of potential and there were some great episodes (the one in the submarine stands out as a highlight of the season). Hopefully season 2 starts to realize some of the potential and makes the show great like it could be. On the downside, they neutered a lot of the style from the first few episodes later in the show. Magnus’ wardrobe got significantly less flashy to the point of being almost frumpy and the daughters wardrobe also got boring. Removing the glasses and spiking the main characters hair was also annoying, but I can see that it was done to mitigate Daniel Jackson comparisons, which IMHO weren’t warranted in the first place (especially considering that he ditched the glasses later about when he miraculously stopped getting allergies as well). Worst of all though was the groan-worthy season finale, with the un-shocking cliffhanger ending.

I’ve also been watching Heroes. I’m partway through season 2 now. Now there is a show that had a killer first season. Very tight, well planned, intense, dark story line that doesn’t let up until the finale. Definitely one of the best first seasons of a sci-fantasy show I’ve seen in a while. Though the cliffhanger of the week does get annoying after a while It really is astounding that with such a huge cast and as many subplots that only one or two of them are dropped (most notably who the hell the shapechanger lolita is and why they pulled her out of nowhere all of a sudden and what happened to the woman that can control computers).

The biggest problem I’d say with Heroes is that the first season was so good, that it was a lot for the second season to live up to. Thus far I have not been that impressed with season 2 in comparison. Some of the antics are getting old, the samurai stuff is cute and touching but kind of annoyingly fluffy at the same time. I like how everything has gotten muddied up and there is no real clue of who is good or bad any more, but the “save the cheerleader” crap once again is getting old. Also the villains from season 2 are nowhere near as interesting as Sylar, and Sylar should have totally just died.

Complacency like a blanket, covers and smothers;
like a shroud it ensconces,
the delirium of internal dissonance sending waves of indecision and inhibition.
Repetition, repetition—a broken record—echoing out its hammering doldrums
through the sensual murmur of longing;
hope the only solace in a mundane world.

So I started watching the Sanctuary TV show. I’m only 3 episodes in, so I am reserving final judgment until I give it a little more time (heck, the first season of Buffy was pretty sucky). Also, I’ll preface with the fact that I have never been an Amanda Tapping fan and this show so far hasn’t changed that. So, without further adieu…

J’s Official Recipe for “How to Make Sanctuary a Freakin’ Awesome Show”

1. Develop your characters. Most of the characters are completely 1-dimensional. Take for instance the butler who looks straight out of a Geico commercial (insert obligatory “it’s so easy a caveman can do it” joke here), who if you read up on the cast is supposed to be Big Foot? Huh? Or the ever-popular Beat-em up Buxom Bimbo Babe with a Bad Dye Job⁄®. Even Amanda Tapping’s character is remarkably shallow for being 150+ years old.
2. Embrace the darkness. Take whoever designs Amada Tappings costumes and promote them to the visual designer for the show. There are some awesome stylized moments of gothic genius here. We need more! Let’s get more “Underworld” and less “X-Files” in the style department. If you’re doing an all CG show then the sky is the limit, so embrace it. Look at Sin City or Sky Captain or 300 if you want to see green-scene done right.
3. This is Sanctuary! My biggest problem with Samantha Carter has always been that she is just too damn happy-go-lucky. This show suffers from the same thing. All of the primary cast in this show is agreeable most of the time. And I’m not talking about the phony “I’m a disobedient teenage daughter” nonsense, I mean get some seriously flawed characters in there and shake things up. These people are living on the edge of the underworld, not an amusement park. They need more strife in their lives.
4. Hire Joss Whedon. Barring that find some other competent screenplay writer. In the first three episodes we’ve already had a number of standard scifi cliches, boring parent-child relationships, muddled character development and gaping plot holes. Fire your writers and get some new ones. You have a more than capable cast, excellent FX, a cool premise, cool style all of which are dragged down by really bad writing. Seriously, you’re supposed to save the lame “cryogenically preserved witches from the middle ages who telepathically can speak modern English” episodes for the third season lull.

Finally got to see Wanted the other day. I had high hopes for it. Nightwatch and Daywatch were two of the best movies in a long time. Unfortunately the same can’t be said of Wanted which suffered from Hollywood-itis big time.

My overall impression: take 1 part Night Watch, 1 part Fight Club, then remove all semblance of a plot, add a few unsurprising twists and then remove a bunch of character development. What you will end up with is a beautiful, gritty 2 hour fight scene with a few moments of brilliant dark humor and a whole bunch of, well, over-the-top violence.

Oddly enough, the movie had a decent, albeit odd premise that might have been a good basis for a movie if the only mention of it hadn’t been a short exposition in the middle in between the relentless action.

Don’t get me wrong, Timur Bekmambetov is definitely a directorial genius. This movie was really a visual masterpiece with some of the best action to grace any movie in a long time, perhaps since the Matrix revolutionized the medium (well maybe not, House of Flying Daggers and Crouching Tiger take that honor). But it was wonderful to see what Bekmambetov could do with a decent Hollywood budget. Yet, after Night Watch, I expected a good dark gritty plot to go with it.

The cast did a good job considering and the lead did really well evoking Norton’s performance from Fight Club. It was also fun to see the cameo by the lead of Night Watch. I was even impressed with Jolie’s performance, which is surprising these days.

But good acting, eye candy and action can’t save a lack of plot.
So overall I’d give the movie a

for artistry
and a

for content
rounding out at a