Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do: State of the Union

For as long as I can remember, people have been saying that "people don't read books anymore". Obviously, this is an exaggeration, but with the rise of the internet, it's a safe bet that reading is on the decline (and before there was internet, television was to blame). My point here is that it is much more rare today for someone to read a book that will change their life. Therefore, I feel fortunate to have found Peter McWilliam's Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in Our Free Society.

I came across this book in a used book store in Ann Arbor. I was looking around the place with my (now ex-)girlfriend, and started looking at the section on law books. I will be starting law school in less than a month (from now), and I was interested in seeing what I was getting in to. This book stood out; I found the hardcover version, which has a very colorful dust jacket, depicting a few Renaissance-era paintings. The title caught my attention; I had never heard the term "consensual crime" before, but I was familiar enough with the idea, and I agreed that consensual crimes were harmful. Since the book was used, and therefore, offered at a discount price, I bought it. Let's begin by saying that even though I agreed with the title, I had no idea what information I didn't have.

McWilliams gives a solid definition of "consensual crime": an act that one or more consenting adults (this is important) enter into that does not harm the person or property of a non-consenting party. The fact that children aren't included means that if pornography were to lose any sanctions, child pornography would remain illegal, since children cannot give consent. Throughout the course of the book, McWilliams makes arguments against consensual crimes that appeal to people on both sides of the political spectrum. Human rights violations appeal to the bleeding heart liberals while arguments about how consensual crimes impede business (McWilliams makes some incredible points about how gambling and prostitution would help the economy) are targeted towards money-minded conservatives (note: I am poking fun at the political stereotypes that McWilliams also tends to lampoon in the book). He also traces the roots of laws against consensual crimes, which are based on religion (which he uses the Bible to refute) and racism.

I will expand on the above ideas in a moment, but I would first like to point out one of the most interesting aspects of the book (which, amazingly, has nothing to do with the consensual crime laws themselves). When I wrote about Recount, I noted that it wasn't something that I'd normally write about, since it was not an other world. It was our world. Ain't Nobody's Business also takes place in our world, but it was published in 1996. At the end of the book is a chart that lists all 50 states and shows what is illegal in each state (it looks at hetero and homosexual oral and anal sex, assisted suicide, fornication, cohabitation and adultery). I immediately looked at the chart before reading anything else in the book to see how my home state of Illinois, as well as New York and California (two states I can see myself moving to some day) compared to other states (these three states are some of the most lax about consensual crimes, so awesome!). One thing I noticed was the fact that there was a distinction between straight and gay sex acts (oral sex between straight people may be legal in a given state, but illegal in the same state if done by a homosexual couple). This caught my eye, because I knew that the Lawrence v. Texas case of 2002 struck down all sodomy laws, meaning that there are no longer laws that prohibit the aforementioned sex acts, and do not discriminate against gay couples (at least not on the surface). Knowing this, I thought that they book would be interesting, but outdated. As it turns out, this was nearly the only thing out of date in the book. It was almost terrifying how little things have changed in 12 years.

McWilliams examines both obvious (drugs) and more obscure (non-traditional religious beliefs) consensual crimes, and he is careful to point out that there is a difference between something being negative for the body and something being illegal. A point he continuously stresses is that drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, are not exactly good for the body, but if someone chooses to use them, it should be their choice, provided they don't harm the person or property of another in the process. If this book had been written after the release of the film Minority Report (yes, I'm very aware that it was a story by Phillip K. Dick, but McWilliams used lots of film quotes in the book; he has definitely read a lot, but I don't know how much sci-fi he has read), he could have made a joke about how a common reason given for criminalizing drugs is similar to the idea of pre-crime. People are afraid that people will get hopped up on drugs and commit crimes. To prevent this, we outlaw the substance. But people commit crimes while drunk, and yet alcohol is perfectly legal. Speaking of which, he often points to Prohibition as an example of the worst-case scenario of making a consensual act a crime. Organized crime was a result and people had to drink dangerous liquors, since there was no regulations regarding the purity or proof of the alcohol. He uses a lot of history in the book, tracing the roots of drug laws to racism (opium was criminalized as a way to make life difficult for Chinese immigrants in the 19th century), religion (moralizers like Jerry Falwell make sure that drugs stay illegal, though these people are more concerned with pornography and sodomy) and business decisions (marijuana was hurt because William Randolph Hearst didn't want wood-based paper to go out of business due to competition from hemp-based paper).

McWilliams points out that consensual crimes not only divert police attention from dangerous criminals and hurt people who enter into an activity under their own free will, but keeping activities illegal hurts the economy. When people pay for these goods and services, the money is not taxable (who's going to declare their earnings from prostitution?!), and prices are driven up. If these things were legal, the federal government could work towards eliminating the national debt (though, one must remember that this was published in 1996, before the present... situation).

The book is divided into different sections, and one deals exclusively with the Bible. He criticizes extremist evangelists and challenges the idea that they've ever actually read the book they use to condemn anyone who doesn't think like them. After a while, the section drags on a little, but the information presented in it is extremely useful and enlightening.

The book did raise a few questions for me, mostly in the area of traffic laws. Most traffic laws, such as speed limits, aren't arrestable offenses, but they are still activities that may be considered "consensual crimes". He doesn't address these ever, but I would wonder if opponents of McWilliams could try to discredit him by saying that by his logic, we should abolish traffic laws. The law that he did mention was drunk driving; even though a drunk driver isn't guaranteed to injure someone else, he reasons that the risk is too great to remove the drunk driving laws. To a practical person (I hope), this seems like a good idea, but I wouldn't put it past people to claim that the same logic holds true for drug laws. Unfortunately, this is an extremely complicated debate that probably won't be solved by a single book, no matter how good it is.

Up next: Have a Ball...

Who's Business?

I know that I said that Alan Ball's works would be next. However, I finished up an incredible book yesterday, and I would like to address it now. It will be a single post, that will serve as somewhat of a review of the book, since it is nonfiction.

After that, I will get back on track and begin my post series on American Beauty and Six Feet Under. After that, I will look at the emerging internet series culture by looking at Dr. Horrible (first time after completion) and The Guild.

Up next: The times are a-changin'?

Brian K. Vaughan: Ex Machina

What would happen if a former superhero ran for public office? If it were anything like how Brian K. Vaughan imagined it, said superhero would want to think twice before taking the oath of office. Ex Machina follows Mitchell Hundred, a civil engineer who became the superhero known as "The Great Machine" after a strange device on the Brooklyn Bridge exploded. The device gave Hundred the ability to "speak" to machines, allowing him to influence them to do his bidding. He can command complex machines (simple, circuit-less machines, like bows and arrows don't respond); Hundred can change the television channel by asking it, can jam a gun with a yell, and has gained a sort of mastery over engineering (he subsequently built a jet pack and a laser gun).

Hundred spent about a year and a half as the Great Machine, but quickly became disenchanted with the job, since he seemed to do as much damage as he prevented. He is neither muscular nor invulnerable, so being a superhero is a very dangerous job. And in addition to dealing with criminals, he has to avoid the police, who want to arrest him for vigilantism. Unlike Commissioner Gordon of Batman comics, New York Police Department's Commissioner Angotti does not see the Great Machine as a solution to New York's crime problem. Hundred eventually decided to take off the jetpack and run for the position of Mayor of New York. Running as an Independent (woot!), Hundred is initially dead last in the polls until one last job as the Great Machine propels him into the positive side of public sentiment.

Ex Machina takes place in the "real" world; Hundred is the only superhero (though a supervillain eventually came to power) and real-world events come to pass (the 2003 blackout in the Northeast provided the backdrop to one story arc). Of course, due to the events of the series, there are certain divergences in history. The "one last job" was 9/11; after the first plane hit the North Tower, Hundred suited up and stopped United 175 from hitting the second tower.

The narrative begins on Hundred's inauguration day in 2002; as we see his tenure of mayor face numerous trying situations, flashbacks to his time as the Great Machine are juxtaposed to show why Hundred tackles the situation the way he does. His relationship with Angotti, whom he retained as commissioner, is somewhat strained, especially when he uses his powers to prevent an assassination attempt. But his fear to actually suit up and use his powers to fight criminals comes from his experience with an adversary named Pherson.

Reviewers have referred to Ex Machina as "West Wing meets The Rocketeer". I can't fully comment on this, since I've never seen either of those (I know, I know, The West Wing is really good; it's on my list), but the meaning is true. This book interestingly weaves together politics and superheroics; often, the exploits of the Great Machine and the political work of Mitchell Hundred are fairly separate. But the fact that the Machine and Hundred are one person forces him to tie the two together. Since people know that Hundred is the Great Machine, he cannot do anything as the Machine that goes against his politics. Though that would be a bigger problem if he as Hundred didn't have to continually worry about the fallout from the decisions he makes as mayor (such as presiding over a gay marriage).

Ex Machina has a planned ending, but it has not yet reached it yet. I am also behind, since I am a trade-waiter (for non-comic book fans out there, trade paperbacks are the bound collections of issues that are available in mainstream bookstores in addition to comic book stores; people who wait for the trade paperbacks to come out, as opposed to buying individual issues, are known as trade-waiters). Therefore, since I don't have the whole story, I will not go in depth into the book's themes. As of right now, the book seems to be about the political divide in America as well as a realistic look at the superhero genre.

Up next: Back to the real world...

Brian K. Vaughan: Runaways

Runaways was the first Vaughan book that I read, and is one of the first comic books that I read regularly. It was recommended by a friend who has been a substantial influence on my taste in film and television. The story revolves around a group of teenagers (and one or two preteens) who make the shocking discovery that their parents are a group of powerful supervillains. Each teen has their own superpower or skill, and they vow to use their abilities to right the wrongs that their parents have committed.

Personally, I found this idea fantastic from the very first time I heard it, but I can understand how the premise can but off-putting, especially since regular teenage dramas can end up being awful. Fortunately, Vaughan is a very competent writer who not only knows how to write convincing adolescent dialogue, but knows how to handle high-concept premises. The characters act like kids their age would; they bicker, they defy authority (a central theme), they can sometimes be slaves to their hormones (but this never gets overly sappy), they are brash (causing them to make lots of mistakes) and they try to hide certain aspects of themselves that they do not like.

The central theme of the book is that authority should always be questioned. Certain characters are more counter-cultural than others, such as the misfit socialist Gert who is gung ho about opposing her parents and goth Nico who is a little more wary to take on her parents, but is still willing step outside of cultural norms to do her own thing. But there are a few who need some convincing; Chase dislikes his abusive parents, but his role as a lacrosse player has given him a fairly cushy life at the top of the social food chain. Sort of hippie Karolina strives for normality, and has a tougher journey than most of the other runaways, since there is so much about herself she finds abnormal. Preteen Molly is too young to question authority on her own, and needs the other runaways to convince her to go along with them (I'm surprised that Vaughan never fully explored the idea that no one, not even the runaways, has all the answers). And Alex is kind of caught in the middle; he is a gamer who occasionally argues with his parents over internet issues, but it's likely that he has never questioned adults to the degree that Gert or Nico had. But when the opportunity to become a real leader, he jumps at the chance. These are just the original runaways, but all new recruits have some sort of issue with adults.

It is not just the parents of the runaways who let them down, but all sorts of adults (including bona fide superheroes, which I will slightly touch on later). The idea that all adults are out to get you, an idea held by many teenagers, is nearly a reality for the runaways, and vastly influences their outlook on life. The runaways are the countercultural opposites to the the Young Avengers, Marvel's other popular teen team, who tend to idolize the adults in their life (except for Stature, who claims that she planned on joining the runaways before she learned about the Young Avengers). Whereas the Young Avengers represent more clean-cut (on the surface at least; even the most normal-looking kids have their demons, after all) teenager, the runaways are the outcasts who may be a little too smart for their own good.

Of the three Vaughan books I'm looking at, Runaways is the only one that takes place in an established universe (Marvel's Earth-616). This has both benefits and detriments. Though the runaways tend to stay in their little corner of the Marvel Universe (they live in Los Angeles, whereas most Marvel heroes live in New York City), when they do interact with other Marvel characters, Vaughan's themes can be applied to well-established characters. It is an interesting take on superhero stories when we see the runaways opposing major superheros like Spider-Man and Iron Man, due to their mistrust of adults. Of course, Runaways fans unfamiliar with these characters may not get the full experience of the story. Along these lines, Vaughan also has to deal with continuity. Like I said, the runaways do tend to stay removed from most big stories, but they couldn't escape the Civil War or the Secret Invasion (both times pairing up with the Young Avengers, who are almost as awesome as the runaways; hopefully their series will return soon). The result of the Civil War has made life even more difficult for the runaways, forcing certain aspects of the story to change.

Fortunately, more often than not, Vaughan is able to use the setting of Runaways to his advantage, and effectively spins a compelling story of cynical kids learning how to handle themselves in a somewhat cruel world (it's not as dark as I just made it sound, but this is certainly not a cheery story).

Up next: Superhero for mayor...

Brian K. Vaughan: Y: The Last Man

I'm sure that there has been a time in every (heterosexual) man's life when he has wished that he was the last man on Earth, so that chasing after women would be infinitely easier. Brian K. Vaughan thinks so, and thus is the basis for Y: The Last Man, the story of Yorick Brown, the last man on Earth.

Y: The Last Man may be a comic book, but it is definitely worthy of literary analysis. There was actually an article in the Chicago Tribune yesterday about how more and more comic books are achieving the status of literature, and Y is full of themes, excellent characterization and plenty of social commentary. The story begins with a horrible and seemingly unexplainable event: with one exception, every male on the planet suddenly and violently dies. The only survivor, Yorick Brown, is a 22-year-old amateur escape artist. He is an average man; he is thin but not overtly muscular, has a sense of humor that not everyone gets and is reasonably good-looking. He was on the phone with his girlfriend, who was in Australia on an anthropology trip, and was about to propose to her when the incident occurred. The phone went dead before he could finish his question, and this "inconvenience" regarding the phone was the first of very many setbacks.

With the instantaneous loss of 3 billion people, things are naturally going to go to hell. But even worse, these 3 billion people are the ones more likely to work in blue collar industrial jobs. More men than women (in America at least) work at power companies, and this results in losses of electricity across the country. And not only power, but the food industry crashes, cars driven by dead men are backed up on the freeways and the economy crashed (ok, so men also dominate white collar jobs). This is not exactly what we had in mind when we thought of what it would be like to be the last man.

Yorick's mother is a Congresswoman, and she introduces him to a special agent, known only as 355, to protect him (more on that in a second) and a noted geneticist, Dr. Allison Mann, who will study him to determine why he and his male pet monkey (the event wiped out every mammal with a Y chromosome, including Y-carrying sperm) were the only survivors. The trio was going to go from Washington, D.C. to Boston to go to Mann's lab, but are forced to head to California to go to her secondary lab when the first is burned down. As I said, Yorick needs protection, and the people he needs protecting from burned down the lab.

In the wake of the "gendercide", an organization called the Daughters of the Amazon rose up, believing that Gaia finally cleansed the male "scourge" from herself. They travel the country tearing down the shrines built to honor the dead loved ones, attacking male impersonators who make money by, um, servicing the needs of women, and hording rare food items. When they learn that a man has survived the purge, they make it their mission to complete the work of Gaia. Furthermore, a group of Israeli soldiers are tracking Yorick down in order to preserve the Jewish people. They fear that if Israel's enemies can repopulate first, the Jews will finally be eradicated. Their fears engender terrorist tactics in their pursuit of Yorick that put the lives of his friends at risk.

On Yorick's journey, he encounters various reactions to the unmanned world, which serve as reflections of the way the our world works. For example, when Yorick impregnates a woman he meets in an abandoned Catholic church, a group of nuns descend upon her, believing that her baby is the Messiah. The Church has been in shambles without men, since the Pope cannot be a woman. When the baby is born female (remember, all Y sperm died too), they abandon her. There is also a story taking place in a town with functioning utilities. The twist is that the town is populated by ex-cons who learned how to work factories while they were incarcerated. These "dregs of society" are functioning better than the "normal" people. And these are just the stories that take place in the US. Eventually, Yorick's journey takes him across the world, where we see how various other nations have coped with being the last generation of humans. Some countries have descended into drug use to dull the pain, while others have learned to adapt.

I'm not sure if this was a theme that Vaughan intended, but one thing that I pulled from this story is the seemingly paradoxical nature of men. One of the explanations given for the gendercide (and the one that I adhere to) references the idea that men may be obsolete, since in the age of test tube babies and clones, all women need to continue the human race is sperm. However, if there were no men, where would new sperm come from? Furthermore, we see a world that is at first torn apart, but then learns to cope with the absence of one of the genders. And finally, as a character points out, in a story about a world full of women, the lead character is still a man.

Up next: Defy authority...

Give A Hand To The Flaming Nose

The other day, I saw a comment from a contributor to The Flaming Nose blog. She told me that The Other Worlds has been put on the Favorites list over at The Flaming Nose. I was very flattered, and went over there to check out their operation. My assessment: pretty fucking good. The Flaming Nose is staffed by a group of people who have worked in television, thus giving them more resources and time to post than some law student-to-be working out of his house.

I am writing this to both say thank you to them for finding my blog worthy enough to feature with on a site written by people who actually work or have worked for television, as well as to give my readers unfamiliar with The Flaming Nose a new and excellent blog to check out.

But don't forget to stick around here as well for some great Other Worldliness!

Up next: A world without men...

The Comic Works of Brian K. Vaughan

And by comic, I don't mean comedic. Brian K. Vaughan has started to branch out into writing television and film, but he got his start in comic books. The next series of posts will look at his three original series: Y: The Last Man, Runaways, and Ex Machina. Y has been completed, and is regarded by many as his magnum opus. Runaways is an ongoing series, but Vaughan handed the reigns over to Joss Whedon a few years ago (who has now given the writing duties to Terry Moore), while Ex is still ongoing. It has a definite ending, and has probably not reached as wide an audience as the other two, but it is still an amazing series that is worth looking at.

After that, I will feature Alan Ball's American Beauty and Six Feet Under, to be followed by a look at two web series. Dr. Horrible has already been featured on The Other Worlds, but I have yet to examine it since it was completed. The other is The Guild, written by and starring Felicia Day, who has worked closely with Joss Whedon on both Horrible and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Up next: But first...

The Dark Knight: Anarchy

Three years later, after Christopher Nolan reteamed with Christian Bale and Michael Caine to do The Prestige, the movie that broke countless box office records and proved that a comic book movie could be art arrived in theaters. I know I'm gushing, but The Dark Knight was an incredible film. Beware of some spoilers.

Knight continues working on the theme of fear that was introduced in Begins, but it looks at the nature of heroism as well, and touches on order vs. anarchy. But let's begin with fear. Batman's crusade of terrorizing Gotham City's criminals has worked well enough to reduce the various mob families into a single group trying to take back the streets. This has created a bit of a power vacuum, since the crime families no longer rule the street, and this has allowed small-time criminals to attain a level of power. One such small-timer was the Joker.

The Joker is unlike the mob, though. He uses theatrics, disguises his identity and is a loner. Sounds kind of like Batman. Allow me to take this opportunity to clear up my labeling of Batman as a terrorist. I find the character of Batman to be an interesting one (much more so than Superman), and he is truly a dark superhero. He breaks the law to protect innocents. There is an adage that claims that, "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter". George Washington fits that description; he was a terrorist to the British, but he did what he did for very principled reasons. Osama bin Laden may believe that he is helping a cause, but his violent acts are not justified, since he targets innocents. Batman may break the law, but he attacks the guilty, and does not kill.

The Joker is much closer to bin Laden, except he doesn't seem to be fighting for anything except chaos. Alfred summed it up best in the lines from the very first teaser trailer for the film:



The Joker uses fear against citizens, but does so in a way much more dangerously than the way Batman uses fear against the city's criminals. Batman strikes fear into the hearts of criminals to make them easier for him to take down. But it takes the truly crazy genius of the Joker to scare the citizens into doing his dirty work for him. The Joker believes that fear can force people to do anything, even turn against each other. For example, when a Wayne Enterprises employee threatened to expose Batman's identity, the Joker broadcasted a message to Gotham City telling them that if said employee weren't dead within an hour, he would blow up a hospital. And then, people listened. Fearful that a hospitalized loved one would die, they made the choice to take the life of another to prevent it.

Of course, the Joker isn't above doing some dirty work of his own, and he truly relishes it, making him all the more scary. Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker was beyond incredible; he effectively played a character devoid of morals or humanity. He knew no fear, not even of death (he was willing to blow up an entire roomful of people, including himself, to prevent being killed by a mobster)... or at least, he effectively convinced people he had no fear. But praise also goes to Aaron Eckhardt, playing District Attorney Harvey Dent. Referred to as Gotham's "White Knight", Dent brought hope to the people of Gotham because he was able to bring down the mob through legal channels. Dent's role in the film was to contrast with that of Batman; one is a vigilante and the other is an elected official. Both are heroes in their own right, each with their own limitations as well abilities that the other does not have. Eckhardt's portrayal of a man willing to do anything within his power, even if it meant self-sacrifice, to uphold the law was incredible. And then, when Dent became the man (men) he was destined to become, Eckhardt's performance changed into something even more incredible.

Of course, the entire cast deserves praise, as do Nolan, Goyer, and everyone involved. The Dark Knight once again proves that summer blockbusters can be smart and well-acted. Nolan is contracted for at least one more Batman movie (Bale I think has two more on contract), and I walked out of The Dark Knight wishing that the next one was already being filmed.

I do want to end this by talking about a couple of things I thought of while watching the movie, all of which had to do with a scene taking place towards the end. Therefore, if you haven't yet seen the movie, you may want to skip to the end. (Woot! Spaced reference!)

During the scene where two ferries were launched from Navy Pier (ok, so it wasn't Navy Pier in the film, but it was shot at Navy Pier), I started to wonder what the Joker's real intention was. When he radioed the boats to tell them that each boat had the detonator for the bomb on the other boat, I thought that he was lying, and that if a boat were to turn the key, they would blow themselves up. I also thought that the prisoners were going to be the noble ones and throw away the detonator (which is what actually happened), but I also thought that the citizens were going to go through with their plan to destroy the prisoners' boat (which, if I was correct about the detonators, would have blown themselves up). The Joker would be able to point out how crazy society is, and that "honest, law-abiding" citizens could be just as cruel and crazy as the people we lock up. Of course, this would have ruined the idea that people are redeemable (and further proves how sadistic I am when it comes to fictional characters; when I saw WALL-E, I hoped that, at the end, WALL-E would not regain his memory, and the end credits would show EVE teaching WALL-E how to be human, just as he originally taught her).

Up next: Last men, elected superheroes and Runaways...

Batman Begins: The Power of Fear

After doing a bunch of low-budget independent films, all of which received critical praise, Christopher Nolan said that it had always been a dream of his to direct a summer blockbuster. He didn't want to forsake his roots, and the result is one of the smartest and best-casted "blockbuster" ever produced. Batman Begins is a reboot of the Batman film series, since Warner Brothers wanted a clean slate after Batman and Robin (insert any joke you want here). I don't know how much of the planning of the movie can be credited to WB and how much to Nolan (I'm guessing the style was more Nolan and David Goyer's idea), but unlike the previous four Batman films, which were certainly "comic book movies", Batman Begins would be based in reality.

The first 45 minutes or so are presented out of chronological order; it begins with Bruce Wayne in a Bhutanese prison, where he willingly fights the other inmates with a kind of sick enjoyment. He is released by a man named Henri Ducard, who promises to teach him how to be a one-man force of justice. As Wayne trains under Ducard and Ra's al Ghul, we see how he came to be in an Asian prison. Childhood tragedy, disillusion with the legal system (the mob in Gotham City either owns the law, or they kill the idealists) and scared into leaving his home city brought him to Asia, where he fell in with criminals in order to develop the skills to take on Gotham's criminals. When his training with Ducard and Ra's al Ghul is complete, he learns that their definition of justice is slightly different from his own; al Ghul's League of Shadows believes that it is their job to eliminate (read: kill) not only criminals, but societies that "pose a threat" to the rest of humanity. Gotham City is next on their hit list, and they ask Wayne to lead a strike force to take down the crime-ridden city. Wayne vows that he will never kill in the name of justice, and destroys Ra's al Ghul's home during his escape.

He returns to Gotham City, masquerades as a clueless billionaire playboy by day, and develops the Batsuit and Batweapons with his butler Alfred and employee Lucius Fox. After a shaky start, he becomes a feared vigilante, a kind of spook story for criminals ("Be good, or the Batman will get you"). In a single night, he does something the cops and the District Attorney's office had been trying to do for years: take down the Falcone crime family.

But he soon learns that Falcone was up to something a little bigger than normal, involving a creepy psychiatrist named Jonathan Crane. Crane, also known as the Scarecrow, has developed a toxin that forces people who inhale it to experience their fears come to life. And that is as good a segway as any to discussing the film's major theme: fear.

The power of fear is prevalent throughout the film. A lot of Bruce Wayne's training involved conquering his fear of bats that he developed when he fell into the Batcave as a child. This fear is what caused him to ask his parents to leave the opera with him, leading to them getting shot, something he blamed himself for throughout the rest of his childhood. When Wayne returned to Gotham City, he chose the mantle of a bat, since he wanted to turn his fear onto those who use fear against the innocent. He uses detective skills, martial arts, and parlor tricks to confuse and frighten criminals with sudden appearances and quick takedowns. And he must prevent the Scarecrow's toxin from bringing the entire city to its knees with fear.

The Scarecrow and his boss are terrorists; they employ fear to achieve their goals. But then, so is Batman. To quote the first X-Files Movie, "The rational object of terrorism is to promote terror", and that is just what Batman does. On that note, I would like to share an interesting article I found on The Onion's AV Club; they reported on an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal that claimed that the new Batman film, The Dark Knight, is a parable for the presidency of George W. Bush (gag reflex!). Check it out. Now, assuming none of the things the AV writer said were true (which they all are; there is a difference between a vigilante and an elected official), the fact would remain that the WSJ writer called the president a terrorist. Very interesting.

But Batman Begins is held together by more than just a compelling and well-applied theme (something usually lacking in summer blockbusters). The story and cast are wonderful. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, Rutger Hauer and Katie Holmes make up one of the best casts ever assembled for a big-budget blockbuster (pretty much only trumped by the cast of the sequel), and they are all at the top of their games. And the real-world style of the film, which redesigns many aspects of the Dark Knight's world and arsenal, makes disbelief easier to suspend than ever.

Batman Begins was a triumph. Not just for comic book films, but for films in general. It showed that superheroes can be serious, that blockbusters can be well made, and that intellectual themes can be backed up with great action scenes. But it was nothing compared with what was to come.

Up next: Darkest before the dawn...

Comic-Con: Dr. Horrible, LOST and Heroes Updates

Sorry to interrupt the flow of Christopher Nolan posts, but I stumbled across some very interesting updates from the currently occurring Comic-Con '08. Special thanks goes out to Ain't It Cool News for these stories.

First up is LOST. As much as I love this series (it wasn't #3 for nothing, after all), I have criticized the producers for promising certain things and then not delivering. We have been promised an explanation for the 4-toed statue ever since the middle of Season 3, and despite assurances that it would occur during Season 4, it still hasn't happened. But now, it appears we finally have the beginnings of an explanation. I won't give out details, since not everyone will want to be spoiled (I got a little more information than I would have preferred for both LOST and Heroes), but I will post the links below. Attendees were also treated to a new video with the Chinese DHARMA scientist of the many names. This one may be the most revealing of all, and I would link it here, but it has been removed from YouTube. Lame.

As for Heroes, there are plenty of (invisible) details for the third season that I started to look at, believing them to be merely hints. But I abruptly stopped once I realized that they were much more spoilericious than I thought they'd be. But the news that really caught my eye is the inclusion of a "lost episode" on the Season 2 DVD set. The end of Season 2 was changed due to the writers' strike, and upon learning what the original ending was, I became even more incensed, since it was far superior to what happened (and I'm bitter that one of my favorite characters may have been killed). This episode, which was filmed before the strike (and may or may not be fully produced) took place in the original continuity. This alone may cause me to buy the Season 2 DVD, since I am intrigued, though I think the final decider will be the quality of Season 3... I still can't believe how bad aspects of Season 2 were.

Finally, Joss Whedon has confirmed that there will be more Dr. Horrible coming! Speaking of which, I will probably do a post about the impact of Dr. Horrible on the internet, as well as looking another web series starring Felicia Day.

LOST Article

Heroes Article

Update: Ok, the video seems to be back up, so I will embed a link. Hopefully, it will stay up.



Up next: Na na na na na na Bat-Nolan!

The Prestige: Real Magic

I am doing this movie out of release date order since I want to keep the two Batman films together; The Prestige was released in between the two of them. This movie was adapted from a book written by Christopher Priest, and is probably one of the best adaptations ever produced. This is not because of the faithfulness to the plot; for the most part, it is the same story, but changes are made for dramatic and medium purposes. Nolan is obviously a man who understands that books and film are two completely different media, and something that may work in one may not work in the other. No, this is a great adaptation because the movie stays true to the themes of the book, most notably, the idea of obsession.

Taking place in London at the end of the 19th century, The Prestige follows the careers of two stage magicians, starting at their humble beginnings and following them through their struggles, their fame and fortune, and their obsessions, which threaten to tear them apart. However, we don't see these occur in that order. The story begins toward the end, chronologically, and we are filled in on past events through diaries. To make matters even more complex, Christian Bale's Alfred Borden reads the diary of his rival (Hugh Jackman's Robert Angier), much of which is comprised of Angier reporting on the findings from reading Borden's diary. We often see events from one perspective that take on a new meaning once we see them from another (sort of like misdirection, a staple of all magic tricks).

Most of the action is from Angier's perspective, and we are endeared to him as he tries to compete with the shadowy Borden. Angier is a terrific showman; he can add class and flair to any illusion. Unfortunately, he needs to have the methods of illusions explained to him. It is very hard for him to discern where the trick lies on his own. Borden, on the other hand, is a master of illusions, but he needs help developing his ability to entertain. Each man strives to be a great magician, and if they were to work together, their success would have known no bounds. Unfortunately, due to a tragic event, they become bitter enemies.

Initially, Angier becomes obsessed with getting revenge on Borden, believing he is responsible for the death of Angier's wife. When Borden unveils a phenominal teleportation illusion, Angier's new mission (obsession) is to understand how it works. Borden's obsession is protecting his secret at all costs. Angier, along with his engineer and on-stage assistant, stage a knock-off that impresses audiences due to its flashiness, but Angier's obsession with performing the trick the way Borden does threatens everything else in his life. Of course, Borden's life is no easier, despite what Angier believes. Borden is so protective over his secret that he keeps his own family in the dark about it, and stays in character as his on-stage persona whenever he is in public, much to the chagrin of his wife.

The lengths that each man goes to in order to fulfill their obsession are incredible. I've talked about obsession before, in my posts about Sweeney Todd, where I noted that it can destroy the obsessor. The situation is no different here; death may not be the result, but as the old saying goes, there are fates much worse than death. Each man is willing to lose nearly everything (one does have something they truly care about aside from themselves), even forsake things they once held very dear.

Of course, watching how obsession destroys us would be pointless if we didn't care about who was being destroyed. Nolan effectively creates intriguing characters that we can feel an attachment to withing the first act of the film. And not only that, he does so by revealing bits and pieces of their history out of order. Granted, he had great source material to work with, but Priest had much more time to set things up since books can be as long as the author wishes.

Up next: Fear itself...

Memento: Mori

Amnesia as a plot device is pretty much a cliche; it has been done to death in books, films and television. Even the best of stories aren't immune to how lame it can be (24's first season was great except for Teri Bauer's amnesia storyline), since it is much easier to do poorly than to do well. Memento is something different. I'm sure that there have been other stories about anterograde amnesia, but as far as I know, none have gained the following that Memento has.

Unlike retrograde amnesia, which erases the memories you already have and forces you to piece everything together, anterograde amnesia prevents you from making new memories. All memories up to a given event are preserved, but after that, everything you experience seems to take place directly after said event. I'm sure that not knowing who you were can't be easy to live with, but not knowing who you have become, not knowing why you are where you are or are doing what you're doing must be worse.

Most of Nolan's films are not told chronologically, but Memento has one of the most interesting storytelling devices I've encountered. The very first frame we see is the one that takes place at the end of the story being told. The movie runs backwards, and the end of each scene replays the beginning of the scene that preceded it. A set-up like this requires that the viewer pay close attention to events, so that they remember why the current scene is significant. But this also puts us in the mind of Leonard, the protagonist. If we don't know what happened, we are working with just as much information as him.

Leonard lost his ability to make new memories one night when two thugs threw him into a mirror. He woke up when he heard noises, and found his wife being raped by one of the men, and when he tried to help her, the other knocked him out. Since then, he has been trying to find the thug who got away, hoping to avenge his wife, who not only was raped, but died as a result of the incident. Since he can't remember anything he does for longer than five minutes, he is forced to take notes about the case (many of which he tattoos on his body) and take Polaroid photos of people he meets so that he can prove to himself that he knows them. His situation makes him a ridiculously easy mark for people trying to scam him, so he takes extreme precautions to avoid being taken advantage of.

This system of note taking means that he can only rely on what he's written. This may seem like a fail-safe system, especially since he only pays attention to notes written in his own handwriting, but he doesn't account for the fact that something you may believe to be true at one time may turn out to be false. If a normal person were to make such a realization, their attitude towards the information they once thought true would change, but if Leonard doesn't have access to a writing utensil or some other way to make sure he can make a not of the realization will mean that the new information will be lost.

And even if Leonard had a perfect system for taking notes, memories do more for us than to just keep us informed of events. Without them, Leonard can never truly make a new friend, since every time he runs into someone he's met, he is meeting them for the first time (in his eyes). And even more than that, he no longer remembers who he is. A recurring line throughout the film is that Leonard Shelby is the name of the man he was, not the man he is now. Leonard can never remember if he's happy or sad, whether his life is fulfilling, and, most importantly, he will never know if he has avenged his wife.

In a science fiction class I took during my undergrad years, we watched the movie Total Recall, which dealt with whether "we are our memories". The film made the claim that our identities are not dependent on our memories, but I think that the idea is much more complex than presented in Recall. We are not just our memories because we live in the moment; we often make spontaneous decisions and, hopefully, have the ability to experience the present. However, our memories, our experiences dictate the decisions we make. We sometimes ignore old mistakes, but most of the time, our decisions are based directly on past decisions we've made. Furthermore, our personalities are shaped by our memories; cynics are cynical because of memories of being let down, while memories of people doing good deeds tend to give us a positive outlook on humanity. But as I said, it's more complicated than that; some personality traits may be genetic or gleaned from parents. After all, some people are assholes for seemingly no reason at all.

The first time I saw Memento, I thought that I was seeing a good movie, but I wondered how Nolan would end the film. We'd seen the end of the chronology, so what kind of twist could he spring on us? At first, I thought the film would end with us seeing the incident that gave him his amnesia, but after seeing a flashback to it mid-way through, I was perplexed as to how it could end. So when the end finally came, I was floored by what actually transpired. This was the first Christopher Nolan movie that I fully remember (I've seen Insomnia, but I don't remember it too well), and it gave me undying respect for him as a director and a writer (though I'm not sure how much credit he should get for that, since he adapted it from his brother's short story Memento Mori).

Up next: Mysteries and magic...

The Films of Christopher Nolan

To celebrate the release of The Dark Knight (which was so very awesome), I am going to devote the next series of posts to a selection of Christopher Nolan's films. I have not seen every movie he has directed, but the ones that I have are all incredible. In addition to the great acting and Nolan's expert handling of non-linear storytelling, all of his movies are thematically rich, plumbing depths of character motivation and philosophies that many movies barely even attempt to reach. Using Memento, The Prestige, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, I will examine the nature of memory, vengeance, obsession, fear and heroism.

After this series, I will finally get to Brian K. Vaughan's work in comics, since I finally finished Y: The Last Man while I was working on The List. After that, I plan on doing a series on Alan Ball's American Beauty and Six Feet Under since (1) I recently finished the latter, and (2) Ball's new series will soon be starting.

Up next: Take a picture...

The List: #1 Buffy the Vampire Slayer

#1
Number of Seasons: 7
Years Active: 1997 - 2003
Network: The WB, UPN

Come on. Could it have been anything else? My complete adoration for the works of Joss Whedon is referenced throughout The Other Worlds, so how could any show besides his magnum opus have filled the #1 spot on this list? As I said in the last post, the quality of the two shows that are set in the "Buffyverse" are pretty much equal. I chose Buffy the Vampire Slayer to occupy the #1 spot alone because it is a more important show than its spin-off.

Buffy the series is itself spun off from a pretty awful movie (I could only watch the first 30 minutes before turning it off in disgust). The film Buffy was Whedon's first solo project, but due to a scared studio and difficult director, the movie became the exact opposite of what Whedon wanted. A few years later, Whedon was offered the option to make his failed film into a series. He agreed on the condition that he'd have full creative control, and the rest is geeky history.

Over the course of seven years, the story of the Slayer and her friends captivated critics, intellectuals, geeks and teenage girls alike. Although most mainstream audiences wrote the show off as teenage girl-power fluff (like they would later do again with Veronica Mars), the people who took the time to actually watch the show were rewarded with stories about great characters and full of incredible metaphoric lessons.

Don't get me wrong, this show is not perfect (but what is; I could probably find 5 negative things to say about each series on this list) but it is damn close. The writing and acting were consistently superb, and the serialized storytelling still allowed for excellent stand-alone elements. Buffy the Vampire Slayer struck a near-perfect balance between serial and episode, and Whedon's incredible gift for storytelling is responsible. Furthermore, big events could happen in any episode. While most series wait for episodes before big breaks (season and mid-season finales) to reveal information or kill off a character, anything can happen at any time on Buffy, and believe me, it does.

Joss Whedon once compared this show to a symphony (he was referring to the nature of the Angel series final compared to Buffy's final episode), and I can't think of a more appropriate description.

Up next: Broken chronologies...

The List: #2 Angel

#2
Number of Seasons: 5
Years Active: 1999 - 2004
Network: The WB

I actually think that this series is pretty much tied for my favorite show with the show that occupies the #1 spot on this list (it's pretty easy to figure out what it is, but for those of you who don't know, I won't ruin it), but I've separated them for certain reasons that I will address while talking about that show.

Anyway, Angel is the spin-off to the fairly successful cult classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Featuring Angel, the 250-year-old (I guess he's actually 350 years old due to the events of the end of Buffy's second season) vampire who fell in love with the Vampire Slayer, this series is about adult life. Using demons and magic as metaphors, Angel tackles issues such as getting a job, making ends meet, finding your first apartment, and eventually parenthood and finally becoming successful, even if you have to sell your soul to do so.

The show began as an anthological "supernatural detective show", but 2/3rds of the way through the first season, the writers realized that, like with Buffy, the heart of Angel was in its characters. Angel and his coworkers/friends are some of the best-written characters to grace the small screen that I've ever observed. Everyone has a complete human personality; they react to situations in ways that never waver from their established traits, have strengths and flaws, and each one has a purpose on the show. Their journeys through adulthood are believable, despite the fact that they deal with outrageous fantasy elements; its no exaggeration to say that this series, featuring vampires and demons, was one of the most human dramas ever on television (and this claim was made by many reputable publications about both this show and its predecessor).

Unfortunately, Angel was canceled while it was still in its prime. The stories were as good as they'd ever been (the addition of a certain cast member, though done by network mandate, worked better than I'm sure anyone could have possible imagined) and viewership was at an all-time high (I'm pretty sure; if not, it was approaching that lofty height). Joss Whedon claimed that The WB cancelled this show because it was the only series on the network that wasn't trying to be Buffy, and he was certainly right. Nearly every other show dealt with teenage or family issues. Angel was a very dark show about adult life (family was a part of it, but not the focus). It's too bad, because the loss of Angel robbed us of a very high-quality series.

Up next: #1...

The List: #3 LOST

#3
Number of Seasons (To Date): 4
Years Active: 2004 - Present
Network: ABC

There are two seasons left for this highly ambitious series. LOST is a show that could not go on for many seasons; at some point, there would have to be some sort of ending, since there is only so much the survivors could do on an island without the situation becoming dull. The pacing in Seasons 2 and 3 suffered a little, but ABC decided to give the writers a set end date to allow them to tell the complete story in a timely manner. And while the events that transpire in the final two seasons may move this show up or down on this list, LOST currently holds this prestigious position at #3.

To this day, it surprises me how successful this show has been. Remember when I was talking about the runaway success of Heroes? That is nothing compared to that of LOST; here is a genre show (that effectively hid many of its genre elements for most of the first season) that has great production values, incredible writing and impeccable acting. The plot twists take us by surprise, and we are endeared to the phenomenal, but very flawed characters.

After a trans-Pacific flight crashed onto an uncharted tropical island, the survivors attempt to make their lives on the island as comfortable as possible while they await rescue. But this is no ordinary island, and this fact frightens many of the survivors. There is some sort of "monster" that haunts the jungle, various other crashed vessels, some of which deposited survivors who still roam the island, mysterious antiquated scientific outposts and a creepy group of "natives". Then again, there are a few survivors who embrace their situation, believing that the island is where the are destined to be.

LOST mixes excellent character drama with mind-bending mystery. Viewers tune in every week both to see what happens to their favorite characters as well as to get answers to the bizarre goings-on that occur on the show (though, for the first few seasons, these answers were few and far between). This is certainly one of the most intriguing shows in production; close, attentive viewing is rewarded due to the extremely deep mythology of the series. Hopefully, in two years, we'll have a good sense of closure.

Up next: #2...

The List: #4 24

#4
Number of Seasons (To Date): 6
Years Active: 2001 - Present
Network: FOX

It wasn't too long ago that 24 would have been at the top of this list. The series is exciting, has some great plot twists (sadly, there are a few not so great ones as well, but the good outweighs the bad) and amazing action. This was one of the first serialized dramas I started watching, and pretty much set the stage for my changing taste in TV. So why is this no longer #1? We'll get to it.

24 is presented in (almost) real-time; each hour (42.5 minute) long episode represented one hour of time in a day in the life of Jack Bauer. Each season is comprised of 24 episodes, and covers one full day. Bauer works for the Los Angeles division of the CIA's Counter Terrorist Unit, and every year (day), he has to diffuse a threatening situation. Over the course of the days, Bauer has to deal with double agents, "ticking clock" threats (great for drama, but not very realistic, no matter what Justice Scalia says) and saving his daughter from some outrageous situations (cougar attack!).

This series has plenty of strengths; most of the actors, especially Kiefer Sutherland (Bauer), are in top form. The terrorist plots are challenging to the protagonists, and there are plenty of times when the villains score major victories over Bauer and CTU. There is plenty of good drama that is derived not only from the CTU vs. terrorists stories, but also the internal politics in CTU AND the terrorist circles. Unfortunately, in later seasons, the writers tried to create some non-work-related drama (example: Chloe's pregnancy) that didn't really work well. I don't know if it was because a pregnancy doesn't really compare to a threat of a nuclear bomb going off in LA or if the dialogue relating to said plots just isn't written well, but these storylines just don't work as well.

24 is a cultural icon; the audience has grown by large amounts every year, and it has garnered significant critical acclaim. But in its position as such a prevalent aspect of society, it has become a lightning rod for controversy due to some of its subject matter. This is a subject that would work better in a post series devoted to the show, but let's just say that there is no shortage of debate over the morality of this show. I guess the only thing that I will say about it right now has to do with whether or not 24 endorses torture. There is plenty of it on the show, and it often leads to the heroes getting the required information just in time. However, it is clear that years of torture have taken their toll on Bauer, who slowly becomes more and more withdrawn over the course of the series.

Up next: #3...

The List: #5 Firefly

#5
Number of Seasons: 1
Years Active: 2002
Network: FOX

Of course this show had to make the list; after all, this was the very first topic to appear on The Other Worlds. Of Joss Whedon's three shows (that have aired as of now), this is the one that I am most upset about cancellation. Buffy wrapped up perfectly, and while Angel deserved at least one more year, it got five great seasons. Firefly, though, never got a chance to truly shine.

A hybrid of science fiction and westerns, Firefly is a show about life on the edge of society. A few years after an interplanetary civil war, Malcolm Reynolds leads a hard life. He fought against bringing the rule of law of a central government to every colonized planet and lost. Disillusioned by the overall benevolent but ineffective government, Reynolds resolved to defy the law in an effort to assert his freedom and independence. Commanding a Firefly-class starship, he and his crew pull heists across various planets to make their living. It's a tough life, but they seem to get by and have formed a kind of family.

When two fugitives board Serenity (the ship), Reynolds is forced to determine just how far he is willing to go in sticking it to the government. The right thing to do would be to help them, since they are victims of a corrupt branch of the government, but he isn't known for always making the right decision. The episodes that were filmed revolve around the reason the manhunt is so intense, and it is pretty much the only storyline that ever gets resolved on film (albeit, in the film continuation Serenity).

As I said, the cancellation of this show was painful. There were numerous plotlines that were hinted at throughout the course of the series (and there were a few that were so subtle that they passed over viewers' heads until the creators referenced them in the DVD commentaries). Fortunately, Dark Horse Comics is churning out some Firefly/Serenity comics that will reveal a few of the unanswered questions (the upcoming A Shepard's Tale will shed some light on Shepard Book's past). Still, I would have at least liked to have seen a few of Joss Whedon's planned seven seasons make it to air.

Up next: #4...

The List: #6 Battlestar Galactica

#6
Number of Seasons (To Date): 4
Years Active: 2003 - Present
Network: Sci-Fi

A lot of articles about this show talk about how it was one of the best new series (that's certainly true) of 2004, but I listed its start in 2003, since that is the year the miniseries pilot aired. Unfortunately, many people who would love this series don't give it the time of day (metaphorically speaking) due to the fact that it's a science fiction show and bears the name Battlestar Galactica. The original 1979 series was a cheesy Star Wars rip-off (I've seen about 5 minutes of it and couldn't stand it) with clear-cut heroes and villains. This new version is anything but.

It's incredible that the original series could be so lighthearted, seeing as how it's a story of genocide. The updated version is considerably darker in tone, and makes for great drama. The human race is reduced from a population of about 10 billion to less than 50,000 after being attacked by their own creations. The cylons, a race of robots created to do manual labor for humanity, rebelled against the humans, "evolved" to appear human, and infiltrated man's defenses in order to wipe them off the face of the 12 planets they lived on. Unfortunately, the cylons didn't plan on one antiquated battlestar without networked computers; the plan relied on spreading a computer virus throughout the military's computer system to disable any resistance, but since the Galactica could not upload the virus, it survived to fight another day. Galactica rounded up the surviving human ships and vowed to lead them to a new home.

The loss of nearly everyone else has led to some pretty crushed spirits in the fleet. The remaining 50,000 humans are in for a few years of discomfort and heartache, which would be true even without dealing with the flaws of the various characters. But seeing as how they are human, there are plenty of flaws to be found, and they are responsible for some of the show's best dramatic moments. An alcoholic has to put up with a limited supply of liquor (and the fact that he's a high-ranking military officer), an apolitical woman is thrusted in to a position of power, and a man in love has to deal with a terrible secret about the woman he loves.

This is one of the most human dramas on television; there is nary an alien to be found. The show is about how humanity deals with tragedy; we see man at its best and worst, often in the same episode. Despite Galactica being a genre show (or perhaps because of it?), it tells a universal story.

Up next: #5...

The List: #7 Arrested Development

#7
Number of Seasons: 3
Years Active: 2003 - 2006
Network: FOX

FOX made a huge mistake when they canceled this show. Shot as a documentary with narration by Ron Howard, Arrested Development tells the story of the fucked up Bluth family. Patriarch George Bluth, Sr. turned a tiny banana stand into a successful development company that has provided his family with obscene wealth. But everything is taken away from them when the SEC discovers that he's engaged in some creative accounting. Good son Michael is the only one prepared to deal with this turn of events, since he is the MOST normal (he does have his share of problems) member of the family, and is the only one aside from George, Sr. with any real job experience.

Michael had planned on leaving with his son in order to escape the selfishness and schemes of his family, but when his father is taken to jail for his crimes, Michael decides to stay in California to help keep the family together. Hilarity ensues. The rest of the Bluths can't seem to prevent themselves from inadvertently screwing things up or causing problems for Michael.

The family conflict is only part of the humor. Like the previous show on this list, Arrested Development is extremely clever. This show requires the viewer to pay very close attention to both the plot of the show, the events surrounding production of the show, and real life news and current events. There are numerous references in the show to both previous and upcoming episodes, which makes repeat viewing mandatory. There are numerous jokes that are funny out of context, but once certain events happen later in the serious, they become genius. Furthermore, there are other references that, once again, are funny enough to the layperson, but take on extra meaning if the viewer is aware of what was happening with production. For example, when FOX cut the episode order of Season 2 from 22 to 18 episodes, the Bluth Company was moved from the 22nd floor to the 18th floor of their building. And then there's the wonderful episode "S.O.B.s", which takes shots at nearly every gimmick shows uses to garner ratings.

Arrested Development is TV for professional television viewers. It requires a big commitment, but it pays off in laughs over 100 fold.

Up next: #6...

The List: #8 Veronica Mars

#8
Number of Seasons: 3
Years Active: 2004 - 2007
Networks: UPN, The CW

Veronica Mars, girl detective. It sounds stupid, I know. I know this because when I first heard the premise of Veronica Mars, I thought that it sounded like a terrible idea. But then I kept hearing good things about the series. In fact, the reviews claimed that this is the type of show that would seem like a guilty pleasure, but it is so good that it is just a pleasure, hardly a guilty one. And that is a correct statement; plainly stated, Veronica Mars was a pleasure to watch.

Ok, so Veronica is a teenager with detective skills, but Nancy Drew she ain't. Her father is the ex-sheriff of Neptune, CA and is currently an expert PI, and he has taught her a few tricks of the trade. But her desire to learn said tricks wasn't to indulge her cute fantasies or some such. She chose to learn from him in order to give herself tools to handle herself in life. She had a tough sophomore year of high school, wherein she changed from wide-eyed naive socialite to hardened, cynical counterculture outsider. After a series of horrible events, with the death of her best friend at the focal point, she lost her innocence (along with a few other things) and resolved to never be a victim again.

The series begins in her junior year, where she uses her newfound skills to help her classmates for a price as well as help herself stay ahead of the pack through bribery and blackmail. She tends to associate with the lower class of Neptune (there is no middle class, which leads to some strained relations between the haves and the have-nots), because of her prejudices towards the rich. Granted, a lot of them are not unfounded; like the town on Twin Peaks, there are few innocents in Neptune. Of course, this extends to the people in the lower class as well.

The first two seasons have a season-long mystery (due to network mandates, this format was changed for the final year) that guide the course of the story. Individual episodes tend to have a mystery of the week that takes up most of the plot each week, with a few clues and revelations about the big mystery popping up every now and then. But, like most of the series on this list, the character growth is as important, or perhaps moreso, than the plots, and this is something that is present in ever episode. The characters react to the situations that occur, and they change their behavior accordingly (the only character who is slightly resistant to this growth is Wallace, who never got the respect he deserved from the writers).

Like many shows that are a little too clever, Veronica Mars was canceled before its time. The bright side of this is that the show got three great seasons as opposed to one. In an effort to keep the show going, though, the creators changed the formula up for the third season, and even tried to move up their timetables for a fourth season that wasn't to be (basically, they were willing to jump ahead in time 4 or 5 years to do a story that was originally going to be for around Season 7). But as I said, we got three great years, so at least that's something.

Up next: #7...

Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog: Preparing For The End

So far, two Acts of Joss Whedon's internet series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog have been released, and they are terrific. I wouldn't have expected anything less from Whedon. You can go here to see the show for free until Sunday, July 20th. After that, you'll have to download them from iTunes or buy the DVD (don't know when that will be out).

But the purpose of this post is to throw out my theories for how it will all end. The final act will be posted tonight, and I am very excited to see how everything will end. To sum things up, Dr. Horrible is a supervillain who has become disenchanted with society accepting the status quo. Captain Hammer is a jackass superhero (Horrible refers to him as a corporate tool) who exists to maintain it. Dr. Horrible is trying to change the world (and get into the Evil League of Evil), while Captain Hammer strives to keep it the same. Meanwhile, they both are interested in a young woman named Penny, who wants to make the world a better place by changing it a little at a time.

Dr. Horrible ended the last Act by vowing to kill Captain Hammer in order to prove to the Evil League of Evil that he is worthy of admission and prevent Hammer from taking Penny. I think that, true to the theme of the series, the status quo will be maintained. Dr. Horrible will be defeated by Captain Hammer again. But, maintaining the status quo means that the new homeless shelter Captain Hammer promised Penny won't get built after all, which will disillusion her with the hero. I'm not sure if she and Horrible will end up together, but if they do, I think that they will resolve to make the world a better place together, and without the aid of heroes like Captain Hammer.

Also, I don't know if Bad Horse, the leader of the Evil League of Evil will show up. He probably would work better as an unseen character due to limited budget and the fact that our imaginations could probably do a better job of picturing him, but if he does show up, he must be played by Joss Whedon. And if Whedon does play him, he must do the dance of evil (Angel fans will get that joke). So tune in tonight for what will be a very thrilling conclusion. Same Horrible time, same Horrible place!

Up next: Back to the list...

The List: #9 The Simpsons

#9
Number of Seasons (To Date): 19
Years Active: 1989 - Present
Network: FOX

The Simpsons is probably the most quotable show ever, and to prove it, I will put a quote at the end of every sentence. "You gave both dogs away?! You know how I feel about giving!" The show has been on for 20 years, and while it has declined in the last 7 years or so, it was near perfection for the first 10 years or so. "Poke the monster with a stick! Tuppens a jab! Come on, queue up lads!" Some of the greatest comedic stories of the last quarter century have happened in Matt Groening's Springfield, USA. "Don't call me Mr. Scorpion, Homer. My name is Mr. Scorpio. But don't call me that either."

The Simpson family, led by the moronic Homer, is partially based on creator Groening's own family. "You've been rubbing it in my nose since I got here! Your family is better than my family, your beer comes from farther away than my beer, you and your son like each other, your wife's butt is higher than my wife's butt! You make me sick!" I don't know what that was like for him as a child, but his family became a gold mine in his adult years. "Excuse me, Mr. Hutz. Are you a shyster?" Homer the simple-minded, Marge the frustrated homemaker, Bart the troublemaker, Lisa the misunderstood genius and Maggie the baby seem to be wacky adventure prone; every week, something bizarre tends to happen. "Hello, Jerry? Homer Simpson. Remember last month when I paid back that loan? Well now I need YOU to do a favor for ME." They have been on every continent except for Antarctica, been targets of a homicidal maniac, saved the career of Krusty the Klown multiple times, and have been at the center of a murder investigation. "What? How dare you! If I ever find out who this is, I'll staple a flag to your butt and mail you to Iran!"

The series satirizes American life and morals. "Bart, you're the closest thing to a man in my life...and that's so depressing, I think I'm gonna cry." With maybe one or two exceptions (like Ned Flanders), the entire city of Springfield is morally bankrupt. "Oh, and you must find the jade monkey before the next full moon." Most characters are based on archetypes, such as the teacher who is jaded with the system, corrupt politicians, the town drunk and the evil businessman. "But sir, we found the jade monkey. It was in your glove compartment." But the characters are far from one-dimensional; these archetypes are used as a launching point for characterization, but characters are fleshed out far beyond their initial joke. "And the ice scrapers and the road maps?"

The Simpsons is a cornerstone of American pop culture. "They were there too, sir." Few other shows have gained as huge a following for the right reasons as this series. "Excellent. Everything is falling into place." For about 10 years, The Simpsons presented us with some of the most intelligent and biting satire on TV. "The only monster here is the gambling monster that has enslaved your mother! I call him Gamblor and its time to snatch your mother from his neon claws!"

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