3 January 2010: Holiday report

Friends, I hope that all your holidays were happy! Janice and I enjoyed relatively quiet workweeks at the end of December 2009, and we drove to Upstate New York on Christmas Eve. We feasted on lasagna at her parents’ home and stayed at the Country Inn & Suites across from the Great Escape amusement park.

The next morning, we exchanged gifts with Janice’s parents and her middle sister Shelly’s family. Among other things, I got some DVDs, a Jedi costume, and books. Thanks to Amazon.com, I exchanged most presents online and through the mail with my own family in Virginia. Janice and I then headed down to the house of her youngest sister, Melinda, for a Christmas dinner of ham.

I gave comic books and Lego sets to my nephews David and Joshua, and we played pool and Wii video games with grandpa Marvin and brothers in law Melvin and Gary. My nieces Laura and Amanda played Dance, Dance Revolution, while Becky texted her boyfriend Tristan. I also caught up on videos, including the mildly amusing G-Force
and Night at the Smithsonian.

The day after Christmas, the children went sledding, and we enjoyed a sloppy Joe (what Janice’s family calls “barbecue”) lunch before returning to Massachusetts. On New Year’s Eve, Janice and I got vaccinated for the H1N1 flu virus and screened Sherlock Holmes at the new Showcase Cinemas at Legacy Place in Dedham, Mass. I liked the steampunky film, which I’ll try to review in more detail in the coming week or so.

We also had lunch at Qdoba and picked up my subscription at New England Comics in Norwood, despite the snow. That night, we went to local New Year’s Eve celebrations, including a Celtic music concert, some square dancing, an ice sculpture, the Needham Concert Society, and the Homegrown Coffee House. It was also interesting to visit various churches, which served as venues for the civic events. We had dinner at The Rice Barn, a good Asian restaurant.

On Saturday, 2 January 2010, former co-worker and fellow genre fan Ken G. and his girlfriend Kahmmie came over to play more Wii games. Thanks to Ken, I finally got my Wii hooked up to the Internet, and we ate nachos and macaroni and cheese. We had considered going to Avatar, but snow and mixed reviews led us to postpone seeing James Cameron’s latest blockbuster. We did watch an episode of the geek comedy The
Big Bang Theory.

I liked the finale of Doctor Who: the End of Time, which I’ll also try to review in the coming weeks, along with other genre entertainment. The D&D4e “Vanished Lands:
the Faith-Based Initiative” fantasy campaign has finally wound down, amid some
contention among the role-players and clearing the way for one-shots and
miniseries.

Since my circles of acquaintances suffered through layoffs, divorces, and other stresses over the past year, let us hope that 2010 is better for everyone!

Tuesday, 20 October 2009: Second takes on genre TV

Fringe wallpaper — The truth is still out there…

The most popular genres of fiction on television right now are the perennial
favorites of murder procedurals, ensemble dramas, situational comedies, and so-called
reality shows. This season, paranormal conspiracies, exemplified in the past by
shows such as Friday the 13th: the Series and The X-Files, are again all the rage.

So far, Fringe is arguably the best of the bunch, with a good balance of “monster of the week” episodes and an overall story arc. The actors and characters are quirky and sympathetic, the dialogue is clever, and the science fiction/horror aspects aren’t too
unbelievable, if frequently explicitly grotesque.

I’ve been watching Sanctuary, but I hope the SyFy’s cryptozoology show can successfully blend the steampunk tone, globe-hopping adventures (thanks to computer-generated backdrops), and a dysfunctional family-based team better than it did in its shaky first season. Over the summer, the artifact collectors of Warehouse
13 proved to be fun to watch because the writers didn’t taking themselves too seriously despite some heavy themes of betrayal and fate.

I may drop Flash Forward, in which people try to figure out how and why almost everyone on the planet blacked out at the same time, in the interest of time. The Lost wannabe isn’t bad, but with programs like Heroes, V, and the aforementioned shows, I’m already watching enough large casts pursuing numerous plot threads.

Eastwick is one of the few new shows that I’ll probably continue to follow. The frothy witchcraft soap opera is more like early Buffy: the Vampire Slayer, Reaper, or Pushing Daisies than later Charmed or Supernatural. Upcoming conspiracy shows in which I’m interested include the remakes of action decoy Human Target, alien invasion V, and espionage paranoiac The Prisoner.

In nonfiction, Janice’s and my DVR is filling up with the PBS documentary on Latin
music and this week’s IFC profile of the “Monty Python” British comedy troupe of the 1970s. More to come!

Monday, 31 August 2009: Work, food, and Ponyo

On Tuesday, 18 August 2009, I received a minor promotion from assistant site editor to associate site editor at TT. In addition to my existing duties at the technology journalism company, I’m helping to coordinate coverage of this week’s VMworld conference in San Francisco and taking on more Web page management responsibilities.

On the bright side, I’ve already been treated out to sushi lunches at Fuji in Needham,
Massachusetts, twice by current and future managers! I’m flattered that they’ve had such confidence in my organizational abilities after only three months, and I hope to earn their trust.

On Monday, Aug. 24, Janice and I met with former CW co-workers Michele D. and Bob R. for a pleasant dinner at the Watch City Brewery on Moody Street in Waltham, Mass. I still hope to get together with other former colleagues, including Monica S., Donna S., and Brian F.

On Saturday, Aug. 29, I met Ken G. for lunch at Rawbert’s Vegan Café before going to an exhibit on comic book history at the Wenham Museum. The big news in the world of superheroes is that Disney is buying Marvel. I don’t expect any immediate changes in the comics or movies, but the move puts more pressure on DC Comics and Warner Brothers to try to catch up.

On Sunday, Janice and I had brunch at the ’50s Diner in Dedham, Mass., and went to the Dedham Community Theater to screen Ponyo. A few months ago, I saw and liked the subtitled version of the latest Miyazaki anime, and I found the English-dubbed
version to be better paced. I’d still give this PG-rated variation on The Little Mermaid an 8 out of 10, or a B+.

Although I’ve had to cancel this coming week’s games, I did catch the first-season finale of BBC America’s supernatural melodrama Being Human, which may not have the popularity of True Bloodor Twilight, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. The regular autumn genre television season begins in the next few weeks, but first, I’ve got lots of work to do!

27 August 2009: District 9 review

On Saturday, 22 August 2009, Janice represented the Animal Rescue League of Boston as a volunteer at the “Blues and Brews” festival in Westford, Massachusetts. I met Brian W. and a friend at the AMC Framingham cineplex to screen District 9.

We enjoyed the science fiction film, which was an overt allegory about apartheid (although some viewers seem to have missed that). Sharlto Copley plays Wikus van de Merwe, a clueless employee of a government contractor managing camps for extraterrestrial refugees nicknamed “Prawns.” The abject poverty, casual racism, and enclaved middle class are all the more believable because of the South African setting. Footage of actual riots is used for some scenes.

DirectorNeill Blomkamp poses the uncomfortable question of who are the monsters — the marooned aliens or ruthless humanity? Other movies, such as Alien Nation and Enemy Mine, have warned “civilized” audiences to beware of the brutality lurking just under
our skins. The first half of District 9 plays like a documentary, while the second half is more of an action/horror flick, similar to Aliens or The Fly.

Despite a modest budget, the special effects are impressive as van de Merwe inadvertently
becomes the center of attention by the government, the news media, the Prawns, and a criminal warlord. District 9 is rated R for graphic violence. This may explain why five of the six trailers we saw before the movie were for horror flicks, with the last one inexplicably for
Where the Wild Things Are.

Producer Peter Jackson, best known of the Lord of the Rings adaptation, no doubt helped this movie get a wider release, which it deserved. I’d give District 9 an 8.5 out of 10, or an A-. Despite Hollywood’s reliance on established franchises, it’s nice to see something relatively original.

Coming soon: Gaming, work, dining out, and superheroes!

Wednesday, 29 July 2009: SFTV and Comic-Con

As my last blog post noted, comic books have inspired several successful movies in the past several years, so it’s no surprise that Hollywood had a major presence at the 40th annual San Diego Comic-Con last week. “Beautiful downtown Burbank,” or the television industry, was also well-represented, with actors rubbing shoulders with costumed fans.

I’ve been a fan of slacker comedies such as Reaper, partly because popular directors such as Kevin Smith and Judd Apatow represent my generation (if not necessarily its work ethic or supposed lack thereof). Espionage spoof Chuck and sleuth homage Psych have been consistently entertaining, but I think The Middleman has the best mix of fanboy allusions, witty writing, and empathetic acting. I would have liked to have been at the live reading of the “lost script,” which will eventually come out in comic book form, completing Middleman‘s life cycle.

As with their graphical origins, TV metahuman melodramas have continued, despite mixed reviews. I think Heroes has room for improvement, but many disillusioned viewers may forget that most genre programs have their ups and downs in terms of story and quality. We’ll also see whether Smallville‘s slow approach to the Superman mythos, including a Justice Society episode, will help it overcome its dependence on tired tropes. The latest version of Human Target has a narrow premise, but I like its cast.

G4 had extensive coverage of the Star Wars panel at Comic-Con, marred somewhat by the forced hijinks of usually appealing hosts Kevin Perreira and Olivia Munn. Many of my friends stopped following George Lucas’ space opera franchise after realizing that the prequel films were aimed at a younger audience than us, but I’m looking forward to Season 2 of the computer-animated Star Wars: Clone Wars on the Cartoon Network. I may also try to get tickets to the upcoming musical concert tour if it comes to Boston.

Speaking of cartoons, Batman and the Brave and the Bold, like Spectacular Spider–Man, revels in Silver Age goofiness rather than Bronze Age funk. A musical episode, classic voice casting (including a bombastic Aquaman), and clever use of obscure characters from across the DC universe make Brave and the Bold worth watching.

Marvel Comics has been more successful in print and movies than DC, but it’s only now catching up to the latest wave in animation. Wolverine and the X-Men and Iron
Man have been decent, but Marvel Superhero Squad (premiering 19 September 2009) might capture more of the old-school, child-friendly humor and action of comics’ Silver Age. The anime-style Iron Man and Wolverine might also be good.

More serious is the just-released direct-to-DVD Green Lantern: First Flight, continuing DC/Warner Brothers’ strong lineup of Justice League: New Frontier, Batman: Gotham Knight, Wonder Woman, and the upcoming Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Andrea Romano is a voice-casting genius, and I’ll review Green Lantern‘s first cosmic foray (and other recent DVD acquisitions) separately.

Speaking of interstellar adventures, but back to live action, the Doctor Who panel didn’t reveal many new tidbits about David Tennant‘s final outings (for now) as the Gallifreyan Time Lord, but I wish his successor Matt Smith luck in taking on a role inhabited by 10 predecessors. I don’t think a remake of alien invasion series “V” is necessary, but it does sport decent production values and casting.

I’m among those who have criticized the rebranding of the SciFi Channel as “SyFy,” but I’ll keep watching what few genre shows it has left rather than wrestling, schlock horror, or so-called reality programming. Cryptozoology series Sanctuary has room to grow, but the promotion of Stargate: Universe as being more like the revisionist Battlestar Galactica or even Joss Whedon’s prematurely canceled Firefly/Serenity than the solid Stargate SG1 is a turnoff to me.

Admittedly, I have lower standards for Smallville or the syndicated fantasy Legend of the Seeker, but I’ve already spent a few years following them instead of other popular arc-driven shows such as Lost. Sword-and-sandals fans may also enjoy Spartacus, which may not match the adult content of HBO’s Rome, but it won’t be Xena: Warrior Princess, either (for better or for worse), despite Lucy Lawless’ participation.

AMC‘s upcoming miniseries remake of Patrick McGoohan‘s paranoid Prisoner has a combination of the things I like about genre television: nostalgia with a modern twist,
solid casting and production value, and (I hope) good writing. I’ve also just started watching Being Human, a drama about a vampire, a ghost, and a werewolf as roommates, on BBC America.

Coming soon: Last but not least, comic books and games!