This sucks.
Although I absolutely love the name “Jethro Nededog.” I’m tempted to change MY name to that.
http://www.businessinsider.com/hannibal-season-4-isnt-moving-forward-with-amazon-netflix-2015-7
All posts by Eric Robert Nolan
My movie and television reviews
Whether you’re sitting down in front of the silver screen or the television screen, see here for all your nerd needs:
My movie and television reviews.
“Gotta go!!”
“Gotta go!! This is a Disco world and I am STRICTLY Ballroom.”
— Peter Parker, shortly after arrival in the “Marvel 2099” universe’s New York, in “Spider-Man 2099 Meets Spider-Man,” Marvel Comics, November 1995. Written by Peter David and illustrated by Rick Leonardi and Al Williamson.
“The echo of your faintest cry becomes a spring and an autumn in her breast.”
“Oftentimes we call Life bitter names, but only when we ourselves are bitter and dark. And we deem her empty and unprofitable, but only when the soul goes wandering in desolate places, and the heart is drunken with overmindfulness of self.
“Life is deep and high and distant; and though only your vast vision can reach even her feet, yet she is near; and though only the breath of your breath reaches her heart, the shadow of your shadow crosses her face, and the echo of your faintest cry becomes a spring and an autumn in her breast.
“And life is veiled and hidden, even as your greater self is hidden and veiled. Yet when Life speaks, all the winds become words; and when she speaks again, the smiles upon your lips and the tears in your eyes turn also into words. When she sings, the deaf hear and are held; and when she comes walking, the sightless behold her and are amazed and follow her in wonder and astonishment.”
— Kahlil Gibran, “The Garden of the Prophet”
(for Kathleen Nolan!)
Damn it, I just GAWLO’ed again.
(Grudgingly Agreeing With Len Ornstein.)
Stop CHALLENGING my preconceptions, you articulate conservative bastard!!
“Those were the dark days of America’s infancy.”
Following up on yesterday’s blog post about Nathan Hale for July 4th — I actually wrote briefly about Hale and New York’s revolutionary history in “The Dogs Don’t Bark In Brooklyn Any More.” It was background information about Brooklyn’s Prospect Park; the novel’s story, of course, takes place in a fictional future.
I actually made up the “local legend” about Hale’s ghost brooding around the arch. I have no doubt that the park has its share of ghost stories, but this one was only a bit of poetic license on my part:
“[Prospect Park] is a haunted place. Many men have died in the vicinity of its gently rolling hills, though the occasion of their passing predates the park’s mid-nineteenth century creation. The area around Prospect Park is the site of the Revolutionary War’s first and largest major battle, fought in the waning summer of 1776, not two months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
“The fledgling United States fielded its first official army there, with heartbreaking results. The Battle of Brooklyn was a disaster for America, whose sons were outnumbered two-to-one by 22,000 English and Hessian soldiers. George Washington, flush with his victory at Boston, found his forces routed. He barely escaped to Manhattan in a desperate, stealthy evacuation of more than 9,000 troops. On the morning of August 30, he and his retreating men were met along the Brooklyn hills with a miraculous surprise – a dense morning fog that concealed their perilous exit. To Washington and his war-weary comrades, it must have seemed like nothing short of divine intervention.
“Those were the dark days of America’s infancy – Nathan Hale would not long after be captured on a mission of espionage in Manhattan, disguised as a Dutch schoolteacher, and would be hanged, after his immortal lament that he had but a single life to give for his country. The defeat in Brooklyn also cleared the way for the Crown’s capture of all of New York City. The Great Fire of 1776 would ravage Manhattan. And the city would remain in England’s hands until the end of the war.
“Ironically, the park’s principal monument is devoted to another war entirely – one in which America turned upon itself. This is the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch, a massive structure dedicated to the Union Army during the Civil War. If there is an afterlife, then perhaps it might break Washington’s heart – and Hale’s – to see the Arch as it stands today, a memorial to Americans killing Americans. Indeed, a local legend holds that Hale’s ghost occasions the site of the Arch and hangs his gaze upon it, glum with the knowledge of a nation divided and torn.”
DAMN IT, this is good idea!
Soooooo. Yesterday’s July 4th marked America’s 239th birthday … next year will be its 240th. That’s 240 years. Or 24 decades.
THIS WILL BE NEXT YEAR’S NATIONAL THEME SONG:
I propose that every American citizen endeavor to kill or capture at least one terrorist on July 4th of 2016. In the event of failing this objective, he or she will be responsible for yelling “DAMN IT!!!” at least five times over the course of the day.
The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, Section 1.
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
A mixed review of “The X Files,” Season 9.
[THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS.] Well … it pains me to admit it, but even a diehard fan of “The X Files” has got to admit that its quality waned in the last season of its regular run — 2001’s Season 9 was pretty uneven, with great “monster-of-the-week” episodes and surprisingly disappointing final entries into the show’s over-arching “mythology” episodes. I’d give this season a 7 out of 10, and that’s from a biased fanboy who loves this show in much the same way that others love Star Wars and Star Trek. Frankly, I’d recommend that you peruse Wikipedia’s episode list to select the standalone eps so that you can watch only those. Skip the conspiracy eps entirely — even if you’re a lover of the long running mythology, as I am. (You’ll only be disappointed.)
Again, a few of the single stories really shined, and weren’t symptomatic of the creative problems that visibly plagued the show near the end of its 90’s era run. At the top of the list is the outstanding “Release,” in which the murder of John Doggett’s son is resolved. This episode had everything that made “The X Files” great — good guys, bad guys, and ambiguous guys all working at cross purposes; a tragic mystery; a haunted past; pathos; twists and red herrings; and great emotional interactions among key characters. Plus … wrath and gunshots. Damn cool.
“Release” also highlighted Cary Elwes’ wonderful talent. What a great, darkly ambiguous character he made Brad Follmer. I liked him far better in this role than his comic caricature in “The Princess Bride” (1987) or his traumatized victim in the “Saw” movies. This show could have taken on great new directions if it had emphasized the triangle among Doggett, Monica Reyes and Follmer, instead of belaboring past stories so much to retain fans of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.
Other episodes shined as well. “4D” and “Audrey Pauley” were like great episodes of the classic “The Outer Limits” (1963). “Audrey Pauley” benefited from a fantastic actress (Tracey Ellis) in the title role. “Hellbound” frighteningly pushed the limits of gore and shock-horror. And “John Doe” was a pretty decent old-fashioned Hitchcock-type crime tale.
Let’s … just not dwell on “Improbable,” the utterly stupid … “numerology episode.” They bagged an amazing guest actor like the iconic Burt Reynolds and subjected him to this?! If anyone can tell me the significance of those two unidentified Italian men crooning in the episode’s coda, I’d be eternally grateful.
The mythology episodes … sigh. They failed to please. I know that many fans point to David Duchovny’s absence as the reason, but I disagree. This is the story of a decades-old, global, inter-planetary conspiracy. It isn’t just one man’s story, and we’d followed Fox Mulder’s quest for the prior eight years. We can have a coherent and logical continuation of the story without him. And the writers and actors of “The X Files” did just fine in introducing more crusaders that we care about — two great characters in the form of Doggett and Reyes. Robert Patrick was terrific; Annabeth Gish wasn’t perfect, but had room to grow, as Gillian Anderson did in the early years. And of course Anderson’s immense talents still made Scully a perfect heroine. You know what would have been a daring creative decision? Martyring Mulder to motivate the survivors. (Duchovny wanted to leave anyway, didn’t he?)
For me, two other problems were responsible for the show’s decline. The first was structure, and the second was the redundancies with past seasons. Season 9 was all over the place — at this point, I’d bet the viewers had largely lost hope that the show’s long-running mysteries would be resolved. Subplots were raised and dropped with little impact; the episodes concerning baby “William” were maudlin and tiresome. The season moved forward with minimal clues and exposition. Its penultimate episode, “Sunshine Days,” was … a mythology episode? Or not? I’m not sure — we have a new superpowered character whose unique gifts might be “the answer to everything.” Well … that’s pretty much the same plot point with which we left off with Gibson Praise in a prior season. It was a nebulous plot point that wasn’t well supported in the script then, and it’s even less believable now. And the final episode was a cobbled together rush job, in which past guest stars cameoed in a literal trial for Mulder. (Admittedly, I, for one, thought Chris Carter did a decent job of wrapping up pre-existing story arcs.) The we leave off with a kind of … distant-future cliffhanger … which was subsequently unaddressed by the second feature film in 2008.
But the recycled story arcs were worse. Instead of a conspiracy, we have “a new conspiracy.” Instead of superpowered Alien Bounty Hunters with a little known Achilles’ heel, we have … “super-soldiers” with a little known Achilles’ heel. (And this silly story device seems like something out of the old “Roadrunner” cartoons.) Instead of a credulous guy and a skeptical lady, we have a credulous lady and a skeptical guy. I’m not sure what Carter was thinking, except that he must have been consciously paralleling past seasons that had proven so popular.
Oh, well. It’s still “The X Files.” And it wasn’t all bad. Check it out on Netflix and decide what you think.
Happy Fourth of July, To One and All!!!
Maybe it is a bit rainier here on the East Coast than we had hoped, but we’ll still find some way to blow something up. (We’re Americans, after all.)
Please don’t drink and drive. Also, please keep your pets indoors. (I’m told that more pets are lost on July 4th than any other day of the year.)
Everyone have an awesome national birthday party!!!
Eric Robert Nolan, Author 