Who Me? Lost? No Way, Way?

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Entertainment, faith, Final Episode, God, Lost, religion, Science Fiction, Television

Regular readers already know that I have confessed more than once to watching too much TV. It is our form of entertainment after a long day on the tractor keyboard, writing witty repartee’ for your reading pleasure.

It is anomalous, given my intellectual perspicacity. (Dumb people don’t use words like that–so you know I do not lie!) But, I have it on good authority that Einstein used to read cheap romance novels in his spare time, so I figure my penchant for cheap Hollywood entertainment ( a word to be used broadly I admit), is entirely appropriate.

So, as you might expect, we spent the evening last watching four and one half hours of Lost. The first two hours being a recap of the six (my time does fly doesn’t it?) years until this seminal moment in time, called the finale.

Now I admit to a love/hate relationship when it comes to Lost. I know we skipped nearly, if not all, of one season entirely, getting so tired of “new episode” being a rehash of the last four. We figured we were being taken to the cleaners as they say. But we could not in the end avoid the allure of a promised “ending.”

Now TV started down the path (the Contrarian would say slippery slope) with the advent of Dallas, that ubiquitous day-time turned night-time soap opera. In other words, instead of each episode being a tidy little entity of it’s own, (bad guy does bad thing, good guy catches, all returns to happy town at the end) we got an ongoing story, with different threads or story lines which developed over the season and usually ended in some major killer final season’s episode cliff hanger.

But Lost claimed a new territory (though Twin Peaks via Lynch did it earlier and at least as weird), the genre known as a complete mystery to be played out over time. More like a novella, along the lines of say Masterpiece Theatre, but not  using, of course, a classic book.

As to Lost, I pondered how this was done. Did the writers have an outline start to finish that they pitched and sold? Or only the beginning–plane crash, survivors, weird island? In other words, it seems that there was never a coherent plot with ending at the beginning, but rather something different. I figure that when the show caught on, they decided to do the honorable thing and actually complete the mystery and end the story at some point.

As we know, they did that last night. The cast, writers and such, as such folks are wont to do, laid it on a bit thick. To hear them tell it, it was the most adventurous, most innovative, bestest written, blah blah blah in the history of western civilization. Which it was not. But, saying that, they did manage to keep everyone (at least me) in some confusion for most of the years, and in the end, coming back for more.

When we lost our DVR last week, we lost the last two episodes prior to the finale, so the recap last night helped a good deal, and as I said, we missed near to a full season, probably the third. But still, I don’t think my confusion can necessarily be laid to that. There were more turns in that script than, well in the Indy 500, run to the end.

Frankly, I felt the ending was great. I really loved it actually, and kinda figured that’s where it was headed, sort of. But in fine style they did keep me unsure until the very end. It was all eternal life, spirit friendly. It was Bobby in the shower after being killed off a couple of seasons before and it all being a dream, but not done so stupidly. (Dallas if you forgot or never watched.)

In other words, I’m not sure the writers knew at the start that everybody died in the crash. It didn’t have that cheap tawdry thematic left turn to it. It seemed poignant and yet joyful, final rest for people who had loved and hated, fought and won, lost, suffered and turned traitor,  only to do it all over again. It was fitting. The characters simply mattered most of all.

I’m very convinced that there are any number of threads that will never be “solved”, will never fit, and are simply dead ends. That is because it wasn’t, as far as I can tell as I’ve said, a fully written out story before production began. So, there will forever be unexplained things. I think the polar bear is one. I suspect it was meant to head somewhere, then somebody got a better idea and the concept, whatever it had been, was discarded.

More faithful watchers can undoubtedly explain things better. No doubt Lost will be the subject in many a film class, but more so in religion, philosophy, psychology, and perhaps even literature classes. There is much to be mined. There will be books, both the obvious “trekkie” type to those which are the result of dissertations submitted in graduate studies.

All in all, they did a good job. But they also expose a problem. Hollywood got lucky here. A hit. But what of the other novella types that are cancelled after a season or so? The Jericho’s and so I’m informed Fast Forward. Will Hollywood be ruled by the dollar or by some sense of responsibility to finish these? Will Damages end in finding the killer? What of the war of the universes on Fringe?

So, we watch, or at least I do, and keep our fingers crossed. But I can tell you this. If too many of these mystery shows are cancelled without resolution, then the public will stop watching. With that, I would like to watch the entire thing again, and with that the Contrarian starts to gag.

Run for Your Lives!

Tags

aliens, Humor, Literature, meteors, Science Fiction

Those of you here to read about “Mother” should note that that post has been postponed until tomorrow, in view of the following breaking news:

Your intrepid investigative journalist is on the scene in Troy Mills, Iowa, location of the first invasion point of the Aliens! I have it on good authority, (my own) that said Aliens, (Martians by best estimate), landed at approximately 10:07 DST/CTZ (Daylight Saving/Central Time).

As we sat watching the Daily Show, a light appeared in the sky, and began to slide across the three windows that comprise our bay front. As it reached the open front door, the light became brilliant, and then winked out suddenly. Thoughts of sheet lightening, or a helicopter with search light crashing, flashed quickly, but problematically through my mind. The evidence was not substantiated. Of course meteor crossed my active mind, but such could not be true, since that is what has been reported by news media far and wide, and so inaccurately, that we know that aliens have already overtaken all means of general communication.

It is being reported that this light was seen across much of the Midwest, which again cannot be true, since I am sure it landed just over the top of the hill north of us. No sound accompanied the event, surely proving that it was no meteor.

Ten minutes later, our lights went out ominously. They winked out I should say. This no doubt was the result of the worldwide effect of the electromagnetic discharge of the static electricity generated by said space ship as it skidded along our atmosphere. Hair was seen raised on the backs of all hair bearing animals, and plants were heard to whine in a high pitch for exactly nine seconds.

During a dream, (the way information is now transmitted among humans unaffected by alien blight), I can tell you what to look for. All strangers, plant, animal or human should be immediately tested to determine whether it is infested with the reptilian Martian entities.

As to plants: excessive leafing is a sure sign that the tree or shrub has a hidden alien within. They are trying to hide after all, so if your trees seem awfully leafy suddenly, chop it down NOW.

As to animals: Examine the rear left foot of all animals–those that have no feet or only two, go to step two. As to the quadrupeds: the left foot will carry an extra toe, the result of too much alien for too little of an animal. They can’t quite fit, and the extra toe is a dead give away. Feed them curry and the alien will flee screaming. As to bipedals including birds: carefully smooth apart the hair where the bellybutton should be, and if you find a spigot, treat immediately with chardonnay, a complete dousing will do the trick. As to animals with no feet whatsoever, ignore. Snakes, well they  are already as bad as aliens, and aliens can’t can’t breath in water.

As to humans: find a way to engage your stranger in a conversation that revolves around the word borscht. Aliens are unable to pronounce it correctly. Their forked reptilian tongues cause them to say “boorist” instead of “boreshhhht.” Feed them peanut butter immediately.

Meanwhile I can assure you that the Contrarian and I have things well in hand here. The Contrarian has been busily ordering all weather gear from LLBean this morning, which will arrive by FedEx tomorrow. Armed with the proper hiking clothes, we expect an expedition to set off when I get home from church on Sunday.

It is our aim, once we get around the corner, to sneak onto the spaceship and destroy all foodstuffs, replacing it with peanut butter and curry. We are told (again by prophetic dream) that insipid silliness will occur to said Mars rejects within 24 minutes. During this time, they are easily scooped up with  pooper scoopers, and returned to their ship.

Said aliens, according to the newspapers found scattered around the meadow, are on a field trip designed to find new locations to plant multiflora roses. Mars has no more room for the noxious weeds which are snarling traffic along most canals on that red planet. Any signs of said plants should be immediately noted and marked for burning. Government troops will be visiting with flame throwers to your block within the next ten days.

Under no circumstances feed the aliens any lobster. They become frantically mean after such ingestion and can be quite cruel to poodles we are told.

We trust that you will remain calm during this crisis. There is no reason to panic. We are in control, and you are safe–as long as you keep the spring onions out of the garden–if you have already planted, go out and pull them up! Do it fast. Ingestion by Martians causes uncontrollable desires to mate with anything that moves, and believe me, you don’t wanna know how they do it to humans. You’re eyes will hurt for days!

If you have no curry or peanut butter, well–good luck. Reports that Martians are stealing all copies of the King James version of the bible are not confirmed, but to be safe, dispose of yours now–there are just so many better translations anyway. Oh, and don’t drink the water until further notice. (That has nothing to do with the aliens, but is just a good precaution at any time of crisis.)

Hopefully we can nip this invasion in the bud. Your cooperation is appreciated. And the password is “Rosebud.”

Confessions of a Sci Fi Junkie

Tags

Entertainment, Literature, Movies, psychology, science, Science Fiction, Technology

Yes, it’s true. I confess. I’ve had an addiction of sorts for many years to science fiction. Actually, us “real” junkies don’t use the term sci fi, finding it trite and the phrase of choice for the truly uninitiated. You know the ones I mean, the kids who really watch Star Wars, and BattleStar Galactica only for the cowboy shoot ’em ups, and not for the deep sociological meaning.

Sociological meaning you ask? But of course. Real fans know that much of science fiction but masks a political statement by the author of the state of the world today. It is critical analysis of our “issues.” Anybody who watched the old Star Trek knows that. Roddenberry wrote scripts that addressed war, racism, sexism, and a plethora of social ills of his day. They are mostly still our ills lo these many years later.

I came to the genre in my late 20’s and held on fast for more than ten years. And this is somewhat surprising since I was never a fan of fantasy, even in my youth. I cannot tell you how many times I sat down to begin Alice in Wonderland, only to throw it aside in disgust as “weird” and “unbelievable nonsense.” I guess you could say I was not a child who had a great imagination.

When I joined the science fiction world, I tended to the hard science writers; those that took technology of the present and “futurized” it. Azimov was a favorite as was Heinlein, Clarke, and a host of others who dropped me into a universe of faster than light travel, robots, and other really neat things like portable phones and touch pads.

We, the science fiction followers, thought of ourselves as ahead of the curve, preparing ourselves intellectually and emotionally for the 21st century, still years away. It was much later that I broadened my landscape to include fantasy and it happened slowly and carefully, just a writer here and there. It broke wide open with Lord of the Rings. I distinctly recall going into the my office one day, and announcing “FRODO LIVES” to much laughter from those who had read the trilogy years before.

Television and movies were not to be found in quantity, and well, quality was even worse. To this day, I enjoy the thrill of really really bad sci fi movies. Sci fi is an apt description, since these were D list affairs, costing thousands to make rather than millions. The actors were either very new at their craft, or very old and still horrid. The plots were predictable, the aliens laughable. As I said, they remain  so bad they are hilarious to watch. (think of watching old episodes of Dark Shadows.)

Today, my but things have changed. Science fiction in all its permutations is big business today. That is true in the land of movie making and television fare. Weird is the new normal. From Lost, to Heroes to Caprica and Sanctuary, the airways are filled with distinctly not normal stories. And, it appears we are eating it up.

If you add together the science fiction/fantasy world and the “reality” TV world, you have cornered the market. What this says about us as humans is hard to gauge. It may be that we are hell bent on escaping reality but then isn’t all such creation just that anyway? Whether I’m entering into an alien futuristic world, or merely watching some other real human’s life, escapism is inevitable.

NASA must be sad these days. Their space traveling days, as creators of rockets and propulsion systems is seemingly over for the time being. We are ending our “adventure in space” in a sense. We will have to hitch a ride in the near future. We are not gearing up for Mars landings and building bigger and better ships to travel faster and further.

But we will, of that I have no doubt. We are a curious species. Not the only one, but the only one both curious and capable it seems to deeply alter their environment. The porpoise may wonder about the universe, but I suspect it has little hope of building a space ship. Our need to know will drive us inevitably into the cosmos. Our arrogance will push us to discover if in fact we are the most intelligent of species in the universe.

That is the promise that drives those of us who love to fall into this world of robots and faster than light travel. It is the dream we dream, yet know we cannot partake of it but in our minds. It is in part also the world of fantasy, since other worlds, we believe will be so incredibly different from us that indeed we may find talking rabbits and “plants” that giggle when touched.

Whether we are escaping, as some suggest, into worlds that are less threatening, is still up for debate. The same can be said for golf and quilting or any “hobby” that becomes a favorite of leisure time. In the end, I’m not sure the debate is fruitful. I’m just mighty glad that I have this opportunity, for however long it lasts, to wallow in the glut of other worldly movies and such. Some suck, and others are true genius as one would expect.

So the next time you hear about sci fi being taught at our schools of higher learning, don’t shake your head and decry the “basket weaving” mentality of college curricula. There’s more to this than meets the eye. Or eyes, as the case may be. Engage!

I’m Just a Fringe Trekkie

Tags

astronomy, Carl Sagan, evolution, exploration, Isaac Asimov, Science Fiction, Star Trek, universe

I adored and admired Carl Sagan and read all his books with great enjoyment. I learned a lot, but one thing that Carl and I did not have in common was his conclusion that there was no better time to be alive as an astronomer than this moment.

I would say nay, nay to such a suggestion. This is precisely the wrong time and place to be alive.  Even before my love affair with astronomy and the great wide universe with all its mysteries came to my attention, I fairly thought there were more interesting times to live in.

I, as a young child, read a lot, and I always sought out stories about ancient Rome. I watched all the movies regarding that time, even the religious ones, because for some reason that time held a fascination for me.

Yet, the great unknown of space was always my favorite, and thus I became a seriously devoted Trekkie back in the 60’s. I never of course missed an episode of the original, and I’ve seen I suspect all of “Next Generation” as well as “Deep Space” and “Voyager.” We have even watched I think most of the “Enterprise” shows though that one finally petered out.

I was not a crazy person along the lines of the nerds on Big Bang Theory. I did not attend a convention, nor did I outfit a basement as a Enterprise “bridge” nor did I buy clothing and dress up as Uhura. (Believe me, I actually know folks who did! I know you are out there Data!!!) I was to all intents and purposes, a normal person.

Yet, I singularly day dreamed of living in a time when travel between the stars was common. I wanted to be aboard such a vessel and travel from place to place and meet all these wonderful sentient beings.

I cannot tell you why this was important. It was, and frankly it still is. I have such a desire to “know.” I am convinced that the universe must be teeming with life. Life, proven on this planet, suggests that it has a tenacity of will that is unprecedented. Life struggles and fights to survive. Any trip to the poles or the deepest ocean depths proves this beyond any suggestion to the contrary.

Life alters itself, adapts, evolves in whatever ways are necessary to live in a world that is alien, even to us humans. No oxygen? No light? No matter. Life on earth can find a way. If you don’t believe in evolution then travel to the deepest part of the ocean, some seven miles down or more, and find weird and exotic life forms, seen only by a handful of humans. No rational God would create life there for no reason except to be seen by a few. No, such life evolved naturally, to accommodate a bizarre and unique place.

Thus, as I see it, life in the universe also struggles and adapts as it needs to to find purchase upon rocks near suns throughout this unimaginably huge space-time continuum. And I assume that it takes forms that are outlandish and perhaps not even understandable to us humans. We might, at least at first, not even recognize it as life. 

To be aboard a ship roving the solar winds in search of explorable planets would be exciting indeed. To wiz from place to place in relatively short time periods. To beam from location to location obviating all that time spent in terminals. Ah, what joy.

A time when illness is rare, where life is long, where work is productive, where there is no poverty, where all have the ability to reach their potential? Yes, I know, this is not given, but surely, it is likely. To reach such astounding technical advancement and not have solved our societal issues, is not acceptable in my way of thinking.

For a number of years, my desire for this future was so strong that I read just tons of science fiction, reveling in the worlds and lives we would or might live in the future. Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Arthur Clarke, and dozens of others plied me with the sweet nectar of “future” worlds.

Perhaps there is something to be said for readers of fiction, science or otherwise. Are we escape artists? Are we looking for something we find lacking in our time and place? Perhaps. Perhaps we are locked into a not recognized mind set that assumes all our daily worries and cares will evaporate in this brave and new world. Perhaps.

The sciency fi type of TV we are finding all over the place today, well, I can tell you that I enjoy a good deal of it. Although, there is so much, with Heroes, and Eureka, Fringe, and Sanctuary, Battlestar Galactica, and Stargate, Lost, and on and on, that maybe I’m getting a bit jaded. Maybe some of the wonder and mystery is fading.

I am not sure, but I still think Carl was wrong. A hundred years or so in the future, I think I’d like to be around then. But then, perhaps, God has plans I have no access to yet. Perhaps I have some space future after this one of which I am as yet unaware. Perhaps I still will sail on ships powered by dilithium crystals to exotic realms. I hope so;  I’m looking forward to meeting Tribbles and the staid Vulcans, and robots galore!

The Thin Line of Reality

Tags

"V", Connecticut, George Clooney, Joe Lieberman, Science Fiction, The men who stare at Goats, TV

I mean, really. Joe does sort of make one feel that the world is upside down. Was it only less than a decade ago that we welcomed him as the Democratic candidate for VP? How can this be?

Either this man has turned as about faced as any one could, or we were duped badly. And that may well be the case, since one must allow that a few folks were duped into actually thinking Dubya had a brain, and we know he was the tin man. Or was that a heart? I can’t remember which.

Joe, clearly a person who thinks of himself as the patriarchal leader of his Connecticut flock rather than the spokesman for said flock, has claimed he will “not allow a public option health care reform bill on the floor of the Senate.” Goodness and mercy me, when did Joe become so powerful? He and he alone controls this power?

Doubly hard since Jon Stewart parodies him so well in that stuffed nose doggy style, making Joey sound like a pathetic minion more akin to the bumbling sidekick to any comedy team you can think of. Who the freakin’ f**k does this buffoon think he is after all? Hate monger and war touter who seems unconcerned with killing folks (long as he is safely at home), has the unmitigated gall to act in direct opposition to the majority of his constituency in making this claim that he will deride any health care bill that doesn’t pass Lieberman cheese muster. A pox on his house!

Okay, that seems to lead inexorably to this next story. Namely that there is a new movie out called as you may have guessed, “The Men who Stare at Goats. ” Note first that it says MEN who stare at goats. Women are just way smarter than men it seems.

Okay, so I figured, George Clooney, sexy George, oh yeah, I can watch this. Somehow it will be good. He’s a fine comedic type after all beyond his allure. Yeah, I can do this. Although how they can make anything rational out of such a concept would be hard. Hard. Right.

IT’S BASED ON A FREAKIN TRUE STORY! I know, I know, but now you see why it said “men” and not women. Some freakin’ brain dead military types actually smelled a bit too much of the gun powder and came up with this idea that you can and should try to think a goat to death. I have no idea why they picked goats. I have no idea why anyone with what appeared to be a loaded brain case would ever in their wildest imaginations consider this possible.

I live in a crazy country, and perhaps in a crazy world. That is my only explanation. This means that it really is true, that with God all things are indeed possible. Man has concluded that everything under the sun, moon, stars, nebula, black holes, quasars, pulsars, dark matter, can and might be true or can happen. End of story.

Come here. Just a little closer. . . . Can we talk? Me and you, Mr. TV producer type? We need to get something straight here.

I’m all aware of how you guys like to be lazy. I mean genre, genre right? A few ago it was reality shows, and now we are all pitching our sorta abnormal, sciencey fiction type stuff? Right? I get that.

But, it is unfair, not copacetic, not within the rules to start ’em and then leave us hangin’, twisting in the wind as it were. Ya just can’t cancel shows without resolving them!

You create these mysteries and then, slam bam, you’re onto something new, and all the while I’m still left in the Everglades with some kinda pods that are erupting there. And there was another thing about some kinda monster along the west coast, swimming around. Never resolved that one either. You claim you will with LOST. Not sure what your intentions are regarding HEROES, but it’s seeming rather disjointed these days. You just kinda slobbered all over GALACTICA didn’t ya?

Time to shape up. And hey, while you are at it, lets put just a tad more thought into all this. You resurrected “V“. Now I understand that that was an old series (my point actually is that you’re being rather lazy doncha think?), and so it’s been clearly established that the Visitors are bad guys. So this just becomes another Law and Order in the old west, individual style? Not exactly inventive would you say?

Why are all aliens out and about to do us in? I mean isn’t this a rather old and pedantic and WORN OUT mantra? How’s about a thoughtful drama about what it means to really try to work with another civilization which is vastly superior? The frustrations and amusements of trying to have meaningful exchanges between what must be akin to chimps and humans? I mean that could cause some real interest couldn’t it? Rather than the old cowboys and Indians type sludge?

Inquiring minds want to know. I’m not holding out a lot of hope for “V” frankly. I mean they wasted zero time in making them enemies. So now its just a lot of spy infiltration, shooting, and killing, and the ending each week is 7 down, and 3,423,756 to go. Not very appealing.

Just sayin’.