Young Avengers: The Next Generation

I don't know if I've ever expressed this sentiment on The Other Worlds, but teen drama, when done well, is very entertaining. More times than not, teen drama is done poorly, overflowing with melodrama and forced sentiment (Smallville the Buffy movie), but when done right, it is incredible. The television Buffy, Veronica Mars, Runaways, and Robert Kirkman's Invincible are all great examples. After I got into Runaways, the same friend who turned me on to that series told me about Young Avengers, another Marvel Universe teenage superhero team. The two teams have so much in common, yet are very very different.

Most members of the Young Avengers are somehow related to members of the Avengers, Marvel's premier superhero team (within the story; I'd say the most well-known team to our world is the X-Men, but the Avengers are the mainstream team within the Marvel Universe, as opposed to the X-Men, who are feared by most humans in the story). In 2004, comics writer Brian Michael Bendis took over writing for The Avengers, and the first thing he did was dismantle the team in his Avengers: Disassembled storyline (a play on the rallying cry "Avengers assemble!"). In the story, three characters, Ant Man II, The Vision, and Hawkeye, were killed as a result of a mental breakdown suffered by the heroine Scarlet Witch, who had powers that could alter reality. The team broke up in response, and the New Avengers eventually rose from the ashes. But before they reformed, a group of teenagers began mimicking the appearance of four of the original Avengers and tried to fight crime. Iron Lad, Patriot, Asgardian (later Wiccan), and Hulkling wanted to follow in the footsteps of their fallen heroes. Later, they were joined by Stature, the daughter of the late Ant-Man II (the only Young Avenger who is actually related to the Avenger he/she is honoring), Speed, and Kate Bishop (the only character who has no relationship to any Avenger).

That there is one of the biggest differences between Young Avengers and Runaways: the Young Avengers honor and look up to the adult heroes who came before them, whereas the Runaways are inherently wary of authority figures. The Young Avengers are a much more traditional superhero team; they wear costumes, use codes names, and are relatively more powerful than the Runaways (though the Runaways are more resourceful). That doesn't mean that the Young Avengers don't have problems or varied personalities and motives. Bishop is very gung ho about being a hero based on her sheltered upbringing. Stature is rebelling against her superhero-hating mother and step-father, and identifies with her father. Speed isn't exactly as moral as some of the team's other characters. And Patriot... well, let's just say that he has problems that many role models have in our society these days. As for Wiccan and Hulkling, they share a secret that can make them social outcasts due to public opinion in our country. And yet these people with different outlooks on life and morality choose to work together to help people who can't help themselves.

There are only 12 issues (and 1 special) of the actual Young Avengers series; at this point, most of their appearances have been in other books. The writer, Allen Heinberg, does a lot of TV writing, and is known to be a bit of a perfectionist. This makes the issues very well-written, but it also causes delays adn his other committments have prevented him from continuing. Sadly, because the team has been so involved in events of the Marvel Universe, the team is in a much different place than they were when Heinberg left, and some of his hinted at plotlines may no longer be feasible.

One such plotline invovled the search for Wiccan and Speed's true Avengers predecessors. As I said, only Stature is related to the Avenger that she is honoring. The next closest is Patriot; at first glance, he looks like he is referencing Captain America, which is true, until he reveals that the famous Captain America is not who he is imitating. In fact, the US government experimented on black soldiers before perfecting the super-soldier serum that was administered to Steve Rogers, and Patriot's grandfather was the only surviving test subject. Speed takes after Quicksilver, but he took up that mantle after he had learned the truth of his lineage. Wiccan's original name was Asgardian because he dressed like Thor, Hulkling took after the Incredible Hulk, and Iron Lad after Iron Man. Iron Lad was the most removed from the Avengers (aside from Bishop, who later took up Hawkeye's mantle), but was still related to the Avengers in some way. Much of the plot of the series revolves around finding out the true origins of the Young Avengers, and the team learns that they are much more tied to the events of Avengers: Disassembled than anyone could have thought.

So far, there have been two crossovers between the Runaways and the Young Avengers (I have only read one), and there are more than a few parallels. The first crossover featured covers with like characters on them (each team has a magic user, each team has an alien, each team has a robot, each team has someone without any actual superpowers), and each team is rebelling in their own way. However, as I previously stated, the Runaways are rebelling against all adult control, whereas the Young Avengers rebel against adults who want to stop them from being heroes. The Young Avengers rebel to prove themselves. The two books hit many of the same themes because adolescence affects everyone in similar general ways, but the two books differ in the paths the characters take.

Up next: Parodies and flip-sides...

Dollhouse: Blue Sun Rising

I promise I will get to my Young Avengers posts that I promised soon. But there's been so much going on in television that I cannot ignore it. Last week, we had the end of Battlestar Galactica and the first episode of Dollhouse that laid the groundwork for the overall mythology of the series. This week, the curtain got pulled back a little farther, and we learned a little about an evil corporation that is (probably) funding the Dollhouse as well as the reason Caroline was forced to become Echo. Also, while last week's episode was the first one to show Whedon's trademark emotional center, this was the first episode to show off his trademark wit.

First of all, the title of this post is a Firefly reference; Blue Sun was the mega-corporation that was partially responsible for the tests on River Tam, but due to the early cancellation, we never really learned anything about them. It looks like this time around, Whedon is wasting no time in bringing the sinister Rossum Corporation to the forefront (though I really liked how, in Firefly, even though we never formally met Blue Sun, there was plenty of evidence of its existence throughout the series). Rossum is a drug manufacturer that is performing all kinds of unorthodox experiments. Caroline was an outspoken opponent of Rossum, and when thesy caught her breaking into their labs, Rossum shipped her off to DeWitt, where she became Echo. Based on the little we saw, Rossum is clearly evil, but I really hope that Whedon finds a way to partly justify what they are doing or show that things aren't exactly what they seem. The "evil corporation" thing is much too simplistic for a Whedon story; one of my favorite Whedon quotes is that the best villains are the ones who are partly right...

Elements of this episode kind of reminds me of Buffy's "Band Candy" episode and Angel's "Spin The Bottle" episode (and kind of Buffy's "Tabula Rasa", but that one was much more emotional in regards to the relevant elements); this episode dealt with a drug created by Rossum that broke down mental processes and turned people into goofy children. Topher and DeWitt's reaction to the drug was, in my opinion, the best because those two really went all out with the lunacy. I think that DeWitt's Brit-bashing comments and trampoline adventure were brilliant in their simplicity. Boyd and Dominic also had great moments (though I think Dominic's best line was when he was still sober; after Victor had a special agent personality imprinted, Victor started ordering Dominic around, which pissed Dominic off to no end).

The drug's effect on the dolls, on the other hand, caused them to "glitch", and they started remembering past imprints, events from their inactive states, and, in Echo's case, her life before the Dollhouse. Echo's journey into Rossum in the present mirrored her last experience before joining the Dollhouse, and her inability to fully remember everything yet still know what she was doing was creepy to watch, but will have interesting effects on her character if the effects don't wear off.

As for Ballard, he didn't get much screentime this week, but we learned that not even an attack on Mellie (can I start calling her November yet?) and a suspension won't deter him from pursuing the Dollhouse. In fact, it has strengthened his resolve. Why is Mellie (November?) being extracted? I would think that now, more than ever, DeWitt would want her in place to monitor what he was doing. Oh well, now we'll get to see how she interacts with the other dolls. Hopefully, the series has run through its purely stand-alone episodes (although, there was still some arc stuff in the first five), and from now on, we'll get episodes like this and last week's.

Oh, and is anyone else wondering where Alpha is?

Up next: That's not our name, by the way...

Dollhouse: The Purpose

Um, wow? I have certainly enjoyed the previous five episodes of Dollhouse, but "Man on the Street" really took things to the next level. At long last, this finally felt like a Joss Whedon show. We now know for certain that there is a bigger meaning to the Dollhouse than just dealing in the fantasies of the super-rich. We don't know what that purpose is yet, but we certainly know it exists, along with Dollhouses in 20 other cities aside from Los Angeles. This episode was packed full of stuff, from hints about who is pulling the strings to effects that non-actives can have on the dolls.

First of all, the sanctuary of the Dollhouse has been shown to be anything but this week. Dr. Saunders discovered Sierra has had sex in her inactive state, and it turns out that someone has been raping her. But even more importantly to the overall story, there is a mole inside who reprogrammed Echo before her encounter with Ballard. Yes, they finally met this week, and the encounter was spectacular. Wait, that should say that BOTH encounters were spectacular. At first, it looked like Echo's mission-of-the-week would involve being the wife of an internet billionaire, but that mission was quickly scuttled when Ballard burst in and forced Langdon to whisk Echo back to the Dollhouse. Echo's belief that her "husband" made it big with porn never ceased to be hilarious. But the ensuing conversation between Ballard and Patton Oswalt's character was incredible. Oswalt admitted that he was seeking a fantasy, but told Ballard that his quest to free Caroline was also based on a fantasy, in addition to justice.

After we watch Ballard's relationship with his neighbor Mellie develop, we get a second meeting between Echo and Ballard, and this time, she has been imprinted with a kick-ass personality who is supposed to take him down. Unfortunately for the Dollhouse, they have a mole, and Echo was reprogrammed to tell Ballard to lay low for a while. Could this have been a calculated move by the Dollhouse to get him to back off for a while? Ballard obviously poses a threat because they have had TWO dolls tasked to keep him busy (fool me once Joss Whedon, shame on you, but fool me twice, especially after reading that two actors were "originally set" to play dolls before removing those characters from the story, then shame on me). But if the Dollhouse really is as powerful as Echo says it is, how could Ballard be a threat? And what would they gain from telling Ballard that the fantasy business is the means, but not the ends of the Dollhouse? Anyway, my guess is that, if there truly is an informant, it is Topher's assistant. I realize that she is the obvious choice right now, but I have no idea who else it could be. Maybe Dr. Saunders? But perhaps the most interesting development is the idea that the Dollhouse can be used for good in rare circumstances...

This episode absolutely rocked on multiple levels, and I have never been more excited to see the next one.

Up next: The next generation...

Battlestar Galactica: This Island Earth

To quote Six Feet Under, everything ends. And so, after over 5 years (remember, Season 4 was split over two years and the miniseries pilot aired a year before the series proper began), Battlestar Galactica has finally come to an end. The show has come a long way from where it started back in 2003. The miniseries was a response to 9/11. The series debuted in 2004, the year of the serialized hour-long (LOST, Veronica Mars, and (I can't believe I'm about to type this) Desperate Housewives). Over its 4 or 5 years, the series would examine our world through the trials and tribulations of the crew of the Galactica, including an excellent Iraq War parallel that cast the show's "heroes" as the Iraqis and the show's "villains" as the Americans. Then, halfway through Season 4, on a show that was all about depressing bleakness, the bottom fell out: Earth, the planet that the remaining 50,000 humans had spent years searching for, in hopes of finding a new home, was discovered. But it was a nuclear wasteland, and had been for millenia.

Since then, we witnessed people lose all hope, we saw a mutiny, and we saw a woman betray everyone she once loved to help her new master. Last week, Adama decided that Hera, the hybrid baby, was worth rescuing. Something about her was special, and if humanity wanted to survive, they would need to get her back. So how does it all end?

The two-hour final episode basically has two parts: the battle and the aftermath. The battle was absolutely incredible; Ron Moore obviously spent a lot of money for this episode, and although the CGI on the show has never been cinema-quality, everything still looked damn good. I still think Baltar's last-minute change-of-heart about fighting was slightly out of character, but I'm glad he was there, and he was finally able to show everyone that his preaching skills were useful for something (and he finally admitted that he probably is insane). In other parts of the battle, Boomer and Athena had their final showdown; I knew that things would come out the way they did, and while that result feels better, I almost wish that the one who died survived and the survivor had died, just for the tension it would have created. Then again, that desire went out the window when I thought that Helo died (and as much as I love Helo, I kind of wish he had died to make Athena that much angrier). And then there was the Tyrol incident. Poor guy can't catch a break. First, his true love turns out to be a cylon sleeper agent. Then he starts getting depressed and wants to attempt suicide. Then, after marrying another woman, he goes through the hell that was New Caprica. After that, he learned he was a cylon, and his wife kills herself because of it. Or did she? We know the truth about that, and that bit of information led to a result that could have ended humanity and the cylon race right then and there.

The aftermath section, on the other hand, was more about tying up loose ends and showing where everyone would go on to do once the fighting was over (somewhat similar to Six Feet Under). I believe it was necessary, but it dragged a little in some parts. And the absolute last scene was ridiculous. But still, it was great seeing the various characters planning the rest of their lives.

Oh, but what the hell was up with Starbuck? A reviewer from the Onion AV Club postulated that she was an "angel", like Head Six and Head Baltar, that everyone could see, who had been sent to lead everyone to where they needed to end up. I guess I'll go with that one for now. Oh, and how was she the "Harbinger of death" that would lead everyone to their end?

Not every question was answered, but after the dust all settled, I was very happy with the way Galactica ended. There were a few dips in quality, but it has proven to be one of the best science fiction series I've ever seen. Hopefully, the spin-off Caprica will be just as good.

Up next: That's not its purpose...

Watchmen: The Unfilmable

For years, people thought that Watchmen would never be made into a movie. The story is very layered and takes place over a span of 40 years. Not only that, but half the story is told in flashbacks; the main narrative takes place in 1985, but the events leading up to the main story are just as important as the plot itself. Furthermore, superheroes were seen as a children's genre for a long time, but Watchmen is an adult story through and through. But with the success of The Dark Knight, which proved that superhero movies could be deep, and 300, which proved that R-rated comic book movies could be successful, Warner Bros. realized that the time had finally come for a film adaptation of Watchmen.

For the most part, the movie is extremely faithful to the book. The biggest change (as opposed to omission) is the ending, which stays true to the theme of what happened (to a degree anyway; there was an interesting article on Ain't It Cool News about why the changed ending isn't as thematically similar as it appears to be, but I can't seem to find it). There are omissions, because there is only so much of the 12-issue story that can be crammed into (almost) 3 hours. Most of the details of the original Minutemen were excised, some of the details of Nite Owl II's and Silk Spectre II's backstory were cut, and the "Tales of the Black Freighter" story was cut entirely. Although "Freighter" seems superfluous on its face, its deeper meaning and relevance to the "villain's" plan takes away some of the "villain's" sympathy.

Speaking of which, the portrayal of the "villain" was, sadly, not as impressive as a few of the cast members. The actor seemed to give off a sense of menace as opposed to... well, I can't say, but he/she didn't really strike the right tones. For the most part, the actors all did great jobs in their characters (especially Jackey Earle Haley as Rorschach), but there were a few weak links. I shouldn't go too far into this in order to avoid giving away various identities, but I was happy overall with the performances.

Watchmen wasn't a perfect adaptation, but it was still a commendable job. I'd say my biggest pet peeve is that Zack Snyder needs to lay off the slow motion, so at least it had nothing to do with the story. I still think that a miniseries would have worked better, but what we got was definitely a lot better than it could have been (especially based on previous versions of the script).

Up next: The end...

Dollhouse: Building Up

We're five episodes in to Dollhouse, and while it still isn't yet on par with Joss Whedon's other three shows, that doesn't mean it's not good. First of all, let's remember that Buffy and Angel each needed a season to find their footing. But more importantly, this is a much different kind of show, and I think that Whedon wants to establish the world that Echo lives in for a while before pulling back the curtain on the secrets, and for now, I'm very ok with that. I do want to know who is pulling the strings and what is up with Alpha, but for now, I want to see how the Dollhouse and the Actives function in the world.

So far, Echo's various imprints and engagements have been interesting (with the exception of her job as a backup singer), but even more interesting is the way she, Victor, and Sierra have been acting in their wiped states. Oh yeah, Victor; I'm still kicking myself for not realizing that the Lubov personality was merely an imprint (after all, I was fully aware that his "original" role was that of a doll, as told by Wikipedia). But these three dolls have started showing signs that they aren't as wiped as DeWitt and Laurence Dominic, the head of security, would like them to be. They are almost friends, and Echo and Sierra seemed to show that they remembered certain things from some of their imprinted personalities (sadly for me, one of these instances was the stupid "shoulder-to-the-wheel" motion that drove me insane). And let's not forget Victor's "man-reaction" to Sierra in the shower.

But let's go back to Mr. Dominic for a second. Another important thing that the dolls are remembering from their imprinted states is Mr. Dominic. Echo especially has had reasons to dislike him due to things he has done and said to her both in her active and wiped states, and she is beginning to show signs of hostility toward him in her wiped state. This does not bode well for him. I really hope that he becomes a regular next year, but at the same time, I have a feeling (and an almost equal but opposite hope) that he won't survive the year. He has legitimate reason to be afraid of Echo; she is showing signs of retaining her personalities in a way very similar to Alpha, the insane doll that somehow remembered all of his personalities. This "composite" personality made him extremely intelligent and deadly, and Dominic has every reason to not want another Alpha situation. However, I'm guessing that he could be a victim of either Alpha or Echo by season's end. On the other hand, maybe Echo will end up saving him.

Next week's episode is written by Joss Whedon, and is supposed to be blow-your-mind good. Judging by the trailer, Echo and Ballard will meet, and with any luck, we'll get to meet Alpha. But even if we don't, if it's half as good as we've been hearing, I'll still be happy.

Up next: The Watchmen according to Zack Snyder...

Watchmen: There Are No Heroes Here

It is very hard to call Watchmen a superhero story because few, if any, of the main characters are "heroes", and only one of them is "super". The story takes place in an alternate 1985 (the 1985A timeline in Back to the Future Part II has a great reference to one of the alternate aspects), which has been affected by the presence of costumed crimefighters. The epic storyline reaches back to the 1930s, and examines the rise of masked vigilantes, a group of people who were inspired by superhero comics to put on gaudy outfits and fight crime outside the law. By the 70s, the public had come to revile their "heroes", and by the time of the present-day narrative, costumed crimefighters have been made illegal by an act of Congress. The story is one that uses adults in an adult world to examine adult themes, which had been pretty much unheard of in the superhero genre.

Moore wanted to examine what the world would be like if we actually had people running around stopping criminals while wearing tights. Although there is some over-the-top violence (in the sense that it likely could not happen in real life, but not over-the-top in the same sense as the movie adaptation), the characters are (almost) all human, and they cannot rely on superpowers to save them. Some of the heroes are in peak physical condition, and others have near-genius levels of intellect, but all of them could conceivably be found in our world as well. With one exception, that is. One character, Dr. Manhattan, AKA Jonathan Osterman, had the obligatory superhero "tragic accident" that turned him from man to superman. And I chose that term for a reason; Moore specifically used Manhattan as a Superman analogue. The difference between the two is that Superman is basically the world's most powerful boy scout while Manhattan is completely detatched from humanity. Moore posited that someone with godlike powers probably wouldn't be able to comprehend humanity. Granted, Manhattan is probably slightly more "godlike" than Superman, but both of them are indestructible, superstrong, and nearly omnipresent. Things that are potentially enormous problems for a human are meaningless to someone like Superman or Dr. Manhattan. What's more, the American government treats Manhattan like a weapon, which probably doesn't help his sense of humanity.

Dr. Manhattan may be the only character with superpowers, but he certainly isn't the only one with issues. Like real people, the members of the Crimebusters (the superteam that the six main characters belonged to for a short time) all have their own strengths and weaknesses. The Comedian/Edward Blake is very good at stopping crime, due to his powerful physique and love for violence, but these two things also put him in the criminal category at times (sometimes objectively, such as when he attempted to rape another costumed crimefighter, and sometimes subjectively, such as his activities in the Vietnam War). He is basically a bully who found a way to continue his love of beating up and degrading people he doesn't like. When the Keene Act passed, there was a loophole allowing former vigilantes to continue their work by doing it for the government. The Comedian didn't want to give up hurting people for a living, and under a conservative political administration, he was able to fight for values he believed in.

Rorschach/Walter Kovacs is another ultra-conservative Crimebuster who chose to continue his work after the Keene Act passed. However, he did not go to work for the government, so he is a criminal under the law (although he doesn't see himself this way; he can't, otherwise he would have to take his own life). Like the psychological tests he gets his name from, everything is black and white to Rorschach. He believes in moral absolutes and people are either good or bad. Good people need protection and bad people need to be punished. However, he believes every criminal deserves equal punishment, no matter what their crime is. For all intents and purposes, Rorschach is mentally unstable, but he is still able to discern the "innocent" from the "guilty". Then again, his definitions of those two words are nowhere near the definitons of a reasonable person.

On the other side of the political spectrum is Ozymandias/Adrien Veidt, who is probably the second-closest character to actually having superpowers. He is billed as the world's smartest man, and likely its strongest. He is in peak physical condition, extremely agile, and has an off-the-charts IQ. He became a masked crimefighter in order to make the world a better place. He ultimately gave up vigilantism because he felt he could do more as a buisnessman and philanthropist. However, these same strengths feed into his weaknesses. He is reluctant to see other people's points of view because he puts so much stock in his own. And he believes that the world can be helped in one fell swoop instead of a little aid at a time, due to his ability to rationalize.

Nite Owl/Dan Dreiberg and Silk Spectre/Laurie Juspeczyk are both "second-generation" crimefighters. Each one took up the mantle of their aliases from their originators; Dreiberg took over from a man he admired while Juspeczyk inherited the title from her mother. Dreiberg voluntarily became Nite Owl in order to feel special and important; as a man, Dreiberg is meek and impotent, but as Nite Owl, he can make a difference in people's lives. Juspeczyk on the other hand was forced into her life as Silk Spectre because her mother had trouble giving up the glory days (Incredibles reference!), which has caused Laurie to resent her mother. These two are probably the most "heroic" characters in the book because they legitimately want to help people as individuals, as opposed to wanting to help the world or punish criminals. But that doesn't mean they aren't flawed.

Up next: Did I fall asleep?...

LOST: That 70s Show

Sorry, I should have announced this as coming before Watchmen, but I didn't think about it until right after that last Administrative post. Anyway, LOST's fifth season just kicked into high gear with the episode "LaFleur". It was interesting watching the survivors stuck on the island shifting through various times in the history of the island, but it was time for them to settle somewhere. Although I would have liked a little more time in the distant past with the four-toed statue (mainly to see if Richard Alpert was still there), I'm happy to see them in DHARMA time. Ben's flashback episode "The Man Behind the Curtain" gave us an interesting, but brief, look into the DHARMA Initiative, but now that we have our main characters stuck there, we should be getting a much more in-depth look into their activities.

This episode did a great job showing us how Sawyer, Juliet, Jin, Miles, and Daniel got involved with DHARMA and showing us where they are "now" (by now, I mean the new present day for those characters), but there is still a lot to know about the three year interim. The thing I am most interested in is how Daniel is doing. He was incredibly upset by Charlotte's death; so upset in fact that he vowed that he would change his actions to alter the timeline, something he himself said was impossible. We know that he is part of the crew building The Orchid, but aside from that, we don't really know how he is dealing with his new temporal location. Sawyer, Juliet, Jin, and Miles seem to be doing just fine. Jin can finally speak English and Sawyer and Juliet have settled down together (things are going to get awkward when Jack and Kate find out).

Speaking of Jack and Kate, I can't wait to find out how those two and Hurley get used to the 70s. Also, did Said and Sun travel back in time as well, or are they stuck in the present with Locke, Ben, and the two new characters? If Sun isn't in the 70s, Jin is going to be extra-pissed (he probably won't be happy that she came back and abandoned Ji-Yeon, but if she came back and was unable to be reunited with him, that will be salt in the wound).

"LaFleur" was definitely the best episode of the season, and I cannot wait to see where things go next.

Up next: The world will look up and shout, "Save us!"...

The Real and the Young

The Watchmen movie comes out today, and I think that it is time to do a brief Watchmen analysis. But at the same time, I have had the Marvel series Young Avengers on my mind. It started when I lent a friend my collection of Brian K. Vaughan's Y: The Last Man. Vaughan also wrote Runaways, which I tend to associate with Young Avengers for reasons I will explain in the post series, and I wanted to discuss that series.

Up next: There are no heroes here...

Harry Potter: Modern Myth

One great thing about the Harry Potter series is that it builds upon real mythology to create a world that is so different from our own, yet seems almost familiar. Various creatures from our myths and fairy tales exist in Harry's world, including werewolves, unicorns, dragons, and centaurs. The wizarding world's relationships with the various creatures, both sentient and feral, are varied and reflects real-world concepts like racism and fear of the unknown.

Humans have long enjoyed a position of superiority over most of the other magical creatures, which probably derives from the fact that humans can walk among muggles and not be thought of scary or different. Wizards do everything possible to keep their world a secret, which includes keeping muggles blissfully unaware of the existence of dragons and such (which probably has to be especially hard with the dangerous and/or wild creatures). Centaurs, which are sentient, are highly resentful of humans because of the way centaurs and other "half-breeds" are treated. Werewolves, another "half-breed" species are second-class citizens due to fear of uncontrolled bouts at the full moon. In a way, this is a rational fear, but as we come to learn, there are potions that mitigate the effects of the full moon. Not only that, but one of the most moral and pure-hearted characters in the series is a werewolf. Goblins, which are not half-breeds, are tolerated for their shrewdness at banking, but I doubt a single wizard has ever been friends with a goblin. Then again, the goblins don't really try and change things themselves; they are very happy with their selfish practices, and wouldn't change them to try and improve relations with humans.

Things get complicated with feral beasts, like dragons, boggarts, and basilisks. In his seven (sort of) years at Hogwarts, Harry had more than a few encounters with exceptionally dangerous creatures. In our world, we have animals like lions, tigers, and bears (um, sorry), which are extremely dangerous, but things like dragons and basilisks make our beasts look like kittens. Harry's battles with the dangerous creatures were definitely exciting, but there were some times when I thought that no one with the kind of experience Harry had could have survived. I guess that is why this is fiction. In addition to the incredibly dangerous beasts, there were also feral creatures that were more pest than beast. Pixies and gnomes seemed to exist in order to annoy the hell out of wizards.

One thing that I thought Rowling handled well was that she reminded us that Europe isn't the only area of the world with mythology, and creatures from different mythologies are native to those regions. For example, Asian dragons, which are more serpent-like, are found in Asia, while the more dinosaur-esque European dragons are found in Europe.

There were a few creatures that Rowling created for the series, most of which served symbolic or thematic purposes. Dementors represented the concept of fear and emptiness; they were the guards of the wizard prison and they were extremely effective at their job because they could suck the hope and lifeforce out of the inmates. Thestrals, on the other hand, served as a juxtoposition for the meaning of death; only people who had witnessed a death occur could see them, and they were in many ways horrific in appearance. On the other hand, they are extremely gentle and have a kind of twisted beauty to them. Death is something that most people fear, but it is a natural part of life, and is required for us to move on as a society.

Rowlings vast imagination allowed her to recreate various fantastic creatures and create a few of her own to make the world of her stories incredibly interesting and diverse. But these creatures served not only as escapism into another world, they also reflected our own.

Up next: 2 superhero stories...

Battlestar Galactica: The End Is Nigh

I must say that the opening paragraphs of the review for "Someone To Watch Over Me" from The Onion AV Club really rung true for me to a point. I am quite glad that Boxey didn't become an important character, but I tend to prefer that writers have a plan for series like this, especially when we were told for 3 years that the cylons had a plan! Is that plan still around? I guess so, because the final entry into the Battlestar Galactica canon (aside from Caprica) will be a TV movie called -wait for it!- The Plan. Granted, we probably never would have seen the amazing New Caprica occupation had they planned everything out, because that story was the impetus for creating the Final Five (we saw the cylons voting, and why wouldn't the five models we were unfamiliar with get a vote?).

Having said all that, holy crap that was great. I have no idea how this show will end in three (or four, since the last one is double length) episodes because it seems like there is still so much that has to happen. Watching Tyrol's heart get ripped out for the who-knows-how-manyth time was as painful as ever. And watching Boomer, the Sharon-8 that we once sympathized with, do something so despicable was incredible. Meanwhile, Athena, the Sharon-8 who was fully aware of what she was when she helped the cylons back in Season 1, only to be won over by love, had to watch Helo have sex with Boomer. Damn...

I won't lie and say that I have a few problems with the inconsistencies in the show's mythology, but this remains one of the best series on television. I will be very sad to see it go.

Up next: Magic mythology...

Harry Potter: A Family Affair

Harry Potter may be an orphan, but that doesn't mean that his story is bereft of families. The wizarding community is relatively small, and family is an important value for wizards. Most half-bloods and pure-bloods at Hogwarts were already acquainted with each other, but there is also plenty of animosity. Like real families, the families in the world of Harry Potter have prejudices, secrets, and black sheep.

SPOILERS

It's almost a little strange to think about how nearly every character in the book is somehow related to another important character (Ron states at one point that one reason wizards and witches married muggles was to avoid incest, otherwise the wizards would have died out because the community was so small). Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, for example, comes from the illustrious House of Black, which is as full of turmoil as it is huge. Sirius is one of the most heroic, although extremely flawed, characters in the book, but his belief in equality with muggles and muggle-borns is what makes him a black sheep in his family. He was one of the sole Griffindors in a long line of Slytherins. His cousin, Nymphadora Tonks, was despised for the same reasons, but she didn't bear the name of Black, so the family was better at ignoring her. Sirius' other relatives include Narcissa Black Malfoy and Bellatrix Black Lestrange, two very important villains. Narcissa is the wife of Lucious Malfoy, a promient Death Eater, and they are the parents of Draco, Harry's main adversary at school. Bellatrix is an insane woman who joined the Death Eaters and took a sick pleasure in torturing muggles and their supporters. She is responsible for the lifelong institutionalization of Frank and Alice Longbottom, two very powerful wizards, and the parents of one of Harry's friends at school.

On the other side of the spectrum is the Weasleys, the family of Harry's best friend Ron. It is an oversimplification to say that every member of the Weasley family has the same values, but they are all firmly planted against Voldemort. Having said that, there are issues that arise among the Weasleys; Ron's brother Percy is a bit of an outcast because of his ambition. Unlike Voldemort, he doesn't desire magical power and immortality, but rather he wants government power. Like our world, the wizard government is fairly corrupt and inefficient, which most of the Weasleys recognize, except for Percy. Mr. Weasely works for the government, and has a front-row seat into the corruption, but Percy only sees the idealism. Two of Ron's brothers, Fred and George, are twins who choose to help the war effort by opening a joke store. It may not seem like the best way to help out, but they are incredibly talented, and many of their creations are more efficient at warding off evil spells than things created by the government.

Unfortunately, the only muggle family we got to know was the Dursleys, Harry Potter's awful relatives. His mother was a muggle-born, and her sister a muggle. When James and Lily Potter died, Harry was sent to live with Lily's sister and her family, and they were, to quote one of the Hogwarts professors, the worst kind of muggles. We may have "met" Hermione's parents once, and even then, it was very brief. It would have been nice to have the perspective on the war of non-magical people, but I honestly don't know where Rowling would have fit it in.

Of course, there was also the matter of Voldemort's family. The sixth book was devoted to the backstory of the Dark Lord, and let's just say that Ron was right about intermarrying. Descended from in-bred wizard equivalents of backwater hillbillies, things only got worse for the Dark Lord. His mother was a somewhat mentally challenged witch (the result of in-breeding) and a muggle father who was under a love spell. His mother died in childbirth, and his father abandoned him to an orphanage, where his anger and loathing festered.

The family stories of Harry Potter not only reflect real-world family dynamics, but remind us that most of our beliefs are created from our home lives. Although we have the ability to ultimately decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong, as Sirius Black did, many of us follow in the footsteps of our parents, like Draco. Or, for those of us who come to despise where we come from, we end up like Voldemort...

Up next: Some interludes...