Not a lot of surprises in many categories this morning with the Emmy announcements, but yet I see a hopeful trend for anyone who’s ever been Other (and I’m not just referring to Lost’s Juliet). The Gleeks and Geeks got their due, too (although I’m sad that David Tennant’s Hamlet wasn’t recognized--too over the top for the Academy?). Still, Glee and Modern Family did extremely well for new series, and Lost received enough attention to satisfy my six-season love affair. Everyone nominated should be congratulated, of course, but here are the nods that had me smiling the widest.
(So) Long Lost Loves
If only Michael Emerson and Terry O’Quinn wouldn’t have to continue to face off now that they’re away from the island. Just give them each an Emmy and be done with it. I couldn’t choose between them, and I’m afraid voters won’t be able to, either—resulting in neither taking home a well-deserved award for this season’s weirdest buddy TV.
In “The End,” it was all about Jack. He began and ended our story, and Matthew Fox ended what may be his stint of network TV acting with a nomination. As a leader who was sometimes difficult to follow but nevertheless redeemed my faith in network TV, Jack should be an award-winning role.
Director Jack Bender and composer Michael Giacchino also received nominations, but theirs shouldn’t be buried in the “also” category or relegated to those awards given while people head to the kitchen. Their stellar work enhanced my enjoyment of Lost to the point where I’ll never look at another TV series the same way. Their work taught me the importance of how the story is told, where the camera takes me—and when, and which emotions are being plucked like Lost’s harp.
Perhaps I’m not with the majority of Lost fans, but I loved “The End.” I cried—and I’m not a crier (and I didn’t shed tears over those Lost six years because the story didn’t end as I anticipated). Thank you, Darlton—and congrats on a well-deserved Emmy nomination for having the last word.
Lost did well in many categories, from the technical to the biggie—Outstanding Drama. How fitting that a series relying on details and diversity ended up receiving nominations for direction, editing, sound, music, writing, and acting—and I’m probably leaving out a few categories. Well done.
All the Others
It’s cool to like musicals. To keep using a word like “cool.” To buck stereotypes. To get mainstream recognition in a positive way. And maybe to get a few more viewers to pay attention to characters and actors who haven’t been in the spotlight quite so much, but should be.
I’m pleased that Modern Family received so many nominations, even if it and Glee will also face off in several categories. I’m especially happy that Jesse Tyler Ferguson was nominated. I adore Mitchell, even as I want to see him unwind a bit more next season.
Neil Patrick Harris got (only?) two.
What would an awards show be without a nomination for Ian McKellen?
Maybe Emmy will be singing a new tune after Glee gets more recognition for its first season. The odds are good, with so many nominations: Leah Michelle (lead actress), Matthew Morrison (lead actor), Chris Colfer (supporting actress—unfortunately in a category along with Neil Patrick Harris and Jesse Tyler Ferguson), Jane Lynch (supporting actress), and plenty of noms for writers, designers, directors, creators, and guests (an especially big Yay for Kristin Chenoweth). The series also has been nominated as Outstanding Comedy.
Some people may grouse that these nominations are for comedy, a lighter category than Drama with a capital D. I disagree, in light of memorable poignant moments, many by Colfer. Glee is making Main Street grudgingly agree that it’s OK to be who we are (and now “Single Ladies” is stuck in my head for the rest of the day, thank you very much).
Awards shows come and go, and today’s trend is tomorrow’s quaint flashback. Still, maybe this September’s statues will recognize the stature of those who, like Lost, Modern Family, and Glee, pave the way in so many diverse directions for the storytellers of seasons to come.
Showing posts with label Lost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lost. Show all posts
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
LOST: The Book, Blog, and Conference
I'm proud to show off the newly published 3rd edition of LOST's Buried Treasures, which is available from Sourcebooks as well as Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Borders.com, and so on, internationally. I'm a huge LOST fan, and David and I updated this new edition about the theories, characters, locations, and popular culture references through Season 5. It's the fan guide with the scholarly difference.
Because I intend to make separate and frequent posts about new episodes of LOST, I've created a new LOST blog. I'll make my Season 6 comments there. To start off, this week's post is about my recent trip to Hawaii. Please follow or link to
lostsburiedtreasures.blogspot.com
I should also add that my co-author David Lavery has issued a Call for Papers for the LOST conference to be held in--you guessed it--Hawaii in January 2011. I'll add more info about that soon, but you can also check David's website: davidlavery.net for the initial info. The LOST conference will be held in conjunction with the Hawaiian International Conference on Arts & Humanities in Honolulu. In addition to presentations and panels, we're planning events like LOST tours. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Torching Torchwood?
Yesterday's news that Torchwood may be picked up by Fox, may go to pilot, and even may include John Barrowman in the cast quite naturally caused an uproar in Torchwood fandom. One LJer even included a countdown to fandom meltdown (which made me laugh, even as I knew it to be true--I remember those early post-"Children of Earth" days well). For the past 24 hours I've thought about this really quite unsurprising announcement and pondered directions where, were I given some power over programming, I would take the series.
Like many of you, at first I was simply horrified that the series would go to Fox, which hasn't the best track record with science fiction. Maybe I'm still crying over spilt Firefly, but I hold a viewership grudge.
After the horror came morbid fascination, perhaps the second stage in the grieving process when a series switches networks. If Torchwood ends up on Fox (and that announcement sounded like a carefully hedged if, given that the series hasn't even gone to pilot stage yet), I would expect an American Torchwood with a new cast as well as new location. I'm not even getting into speculation how Queen Victoria would fit into all this. I wouldn't be surprised if Captain Jack made a guest appearance at the beginning, or even periodically, but I'm not holding out any hope that Fox will endorse The John Barrowman Show. (I would, however, tune in if they did.)
Now that I'm over the shock of Fox--but not that Russell T. Davies opted to bring Torchwood to the U.S.--I'm already moving on to my major questions concerning this potential move:
What happens to Captain Jack?
How malleable can Torchwood be without becoming an entirely new series?
What happens to Captain Jack?
If Jack returned to Cardiff during Gwen's lifetime, I would be disappointed. After the events of "Children of Earth" and even "The End of Time, Part 2," Jack doesn't seem likely to head back to Wales, out of all the potential places in the universe he can travel. I respect that, and as a Ianto, Jack, and Janto fan, I don't want Jack to mourn or suffer forever, but I don't want to see him re-creating Torchwood 3 just as it was. Let sleeping (or smoldering) craters lie.
One reason I enjoyed Torchwood, even during Seasons 1 and 2, was the character of Jack Harkness, but let's face it, Jack is a much more interesting character when he doesn't have to be anybody's boss. Let's free him of that burden and send him traveling again--but without the Doctor. Surely the universe, if not the Whoniverse, is big enough for both of them.
Jack should be a hero at times, perhaps a mercenary at others, and maybe an increasingly sage wanderer most of all. Let's see how he reacts in a totally new environment, and keep him moving instead of stuck on some backwater planet for 13 episodes.
Now, granted, the BBC doesn't seem like it has a lot of money for travel expenses these days, but surely those about-to-be-constructed studios in Cardiff will have room for one more time traveler.
If Jack pops into 21st century Fox sometime, that's fine, but I hope his vortex manipulator stays fixed and he can leave when his hour is up.
I'd also like to see Jack at different ages--older, humbled Jack is a sexy guy, in or out of Mos Eisley.
And while I'm wishing, I'd like for anyone claiming copyright or intellectual property ownership over the character to allow the Barrowman siblings plenty of leeway to write novels. Hey, if the Beeb or Fox doesn't want Captain Jack, there are plenty of us who do. Let me read new adventures. I can visualize without a TV.
How malleable can Torchwood be without becoming an entirely new series?
I address this issue in much more detail in a chapter I've drafted about the possible future(s) of Torchwood after "Children of Earth," so I won't write another 36 pages about it here. However, the more important "TV issue" question revolves around the nature of a "series" and how flexible a creator can be, within or across networks.
A series like Battlestar Galactica can be re-imagined (30 years after the original) without the majority of viewers getting upset. Sure, there was the Starbuck-is-a-woman issue at first, but Moore and Eick had a lot of room to re-imagine. Even prequel Caprica has a lot of leeway to present information about Cylons and colonists; it's a new series, a spinoff--no one is expecting to see BSG as it was.
Even Lost re-invents itself each season--and the upcoming Season 6 might be the biggest re-invention of all. Yet fans keep watching because they know that at least some of the characters/themes/plot points they love remain in the series.
Torchwood 3: Cardiff died somewhen during "Children of Earth." The elements we knew and loved about that series are gone--at least in that location or format (or body).
So the question becomes Is Torchwood U.S.A. a completely new series? a spinoff of a spinoff? a re-imagining of the British Torchwood? a part of a franchise? If Torchwood 3 fans are going to embrace Torchwood 4, someone needs to establish some definitions.
The CSI franchise doesn't face much CSI fan backlash when a new city is added to the roster. CSI: Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Poughkeepsie--new cast (with opportunity for cross-overs), new location, no problem.
I see Torchwood U.S.A. as being that type of franchise. Just like a new CSI must establish its difference from its predecessors in order to be successful, a Fox version of Torchwood must look different--not necessarily better because or in spite of being Americanized--but it must offer something new. If Torchwood U.S.A. is a part of the Torchwood franchise, then the BBC could, theoretically, have its own Torchwood simultaneously (or that Captain Jack series I'd like to see).
If Torchwood U.S.A. is simply a remake of Torchwood Wales, then I can't see that it will succeed. If it's merely a continuation of Torchwood 3 in a new location, ditto. Torchwood 4 should stand for a brand new (or newly discovered) Torchwood, not the next season of the old series.
Now, just don't get me started on the little-mentioned note in The Hollywood Reporter about Doctor Who gaining U.S. citizenship.
Like many of you, at first I was simply horrified that the series would go to Fox, which hasn't the best track record with science fiction. Maybe I'm still crying over spilt Firefly, but I hold a viewership grudge.
After the horror came morbid fascination, perhaps the second stage in the grieving process when a series switches networks. If Torchwood ends up on Fox (and that announcement sounded like a carefully hedged if, given that the series hasn't even gone to pilot stage yet), I would expect an American Torchwood with a new cast as well as new location. I'm not even getting into speculation how Queen Victoria would fit into all this. I wouldn't be surprised if Captain Jack made a guest appearance at the beginning, or even periodically, but I'm not holding out any hope that Fox will endorse The John Barrowman Show. (I would, however, tune in if they did.)
Now that I'm over the shock of Fox--but not that Russell T. Davies opted to bring Torchwood to the U.S.--I'm already moving on to my major questions concerning this potential move:
What happens to Captain Jack?
How malleable can Torchwood be without becoming an entirely new series?
What happens to Captain Jack?
If Jack returned to Cardiff during Gwen's lifetime, I would be disappointed. After the events of "Children of Earth" and even "The End of Time, Part 2," Jack doesn't seem likely to head back to Wales, out of all the potential places in the universe he can travel. I respect that, and as a Ianto, Jack, and Janto fan, I don't want Jack to mourn or suffer forever, but I don't want to see him re-creating Torchwood 3 just as it was. Let sleeping (or smoldering) craters lie.
One reason I enjoyed Torchwood, even during Seasons 1 and 2, was the character of Jack Harkness, but let's face it, Jack is a much more interesting character when he doesn't have to be anybody's boss. Let's free him of that burden and send him traveling again--but without the Doctor. Surely the universe, if not the Whoniverse, is big enough for both of them.
Jack should be a hero at times, perhaps a mercenary at others, and maybe an increasingly sage wanderer most of all. Let's see how he reacts in a totally new environment, and keep him moving instead of stuck on some backwater planet for 13 episodes.
Now, granted, the BBC doesn't seem like it has a lot of money for travel expenses these days, but surely those about-to-be-constructed studios in Cardiff will have room for one more time traveler.
If Jack pops into 21st century Fox sometime, that's fine, but I hope his vortex manipulator stays fixed and he can leave when his hour is up.
I'd also like to see Jack at different ages--older, humbled Jack is a sexy guy, in or out of Mos Eisley.
And while I'm wishing, I'd like for anyone claiming copyright or intellectual property ownership over the character to allow the Barrowman siblings plenty of leeway to write novels. Hey, if the Beeb or Fox doesn't want Captain Jack, there are plenty of us who do. Let me read new adventures. I can visualize without a TV.
How malleable can Torchwood be without becoming an entirely new series?
I address this issue in much more detail in a chapter I've drafted about the possible future(s) of Torchwood after "Children of Earth," so I won't write another 36 pages about it here. However, the more important "TV issue" question revolves around the nature of a "series" and how flexible a creator can be, within or across networks.
A series like Battlestar Galactica can be re-imagined (30 years after the original) without the majority of viewers getting upset. Sure, there was the Starbuck-is-a-woman issue at first, but Moore and Eick had a lot of room to re-imagine. Even prequel Caprica has a lot of leeway to present information about Cylons and colonists; it's a new series, a spinoff--no one is expecting to see BSG as it was.
Even Lost re-invents itself each season--and the upcoming Season 6 might be the biggest re-invention of all. Yet fans keep watching because they know that at least some of the characters/themes/plot points they love remain in the series.
Torchwood 3: Cardiff died somewhen during "Children of Earth." The elements we knew and loved about that series are gone--at least in that location or format (or body).
So the question becomes Is Torchwood U.S.A. a completely new series? a spinoff of a spinoff? a re-imagining of the British Torchwood? a part of a franchise? If Torchwood 3 fans are going to embrace Torchwood 4, someone needs to establish some definitions.
The CSI franchise doesn't face much CSI fan backlash when a new city is added to the roster. CSI: Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Poughkeepsie--new cast (with opportunity for cross-overs), new location, no problem.
I see Torchwood U.S.A. as being that type of franchise. Just like a new CSI must establish its difference from its predecessors in order to be successful, a Fox version of Torchwood must look different--not necessarily better because or in spite of being Americanized--but it must offer something new. If Torchwood U.S.A. is a part of the Torchwood franchise, then the BBC could, theoretically, have its own Torchwood simultaneously (or that Captain Jack series I'd like to see).
If Torchwood U.S.A. is simply a remake of Torchwood Wales, then I can't see that it will succeed. If it's merely a continuation of Torchwood 3 in a new location, ditto. Torchwood 4 should stand for a brand new (or newly discovered) Torchwood, not the next season of the old series.
Now, just don't get me started on the little-mentioned note in The Hollywood Reporter about Doctor Who gaining U.S. citizenship.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
All About Myself
What a pompous title for a first blog, right? Be forewarned--In this series of blogs, I'll be writing mostly about my current interests. Usually those include the TV series or films I've just seen, books or articles I'm writing, and projects (again, mostly about film, TV, or books) on which I'm working or which intrigue me.
You might also be wondering about the "Books, Films, and Me" title when I write that I'm a university prof who teaches courses about writing and communication. Think of my blog being about books, films, and, of course, me, and the title doesn't sound quite so strange.
Currently I'm focused on four separate work areas:
My real job as a teacher
My books-in-progress, such as a book about science fiction TV heroes, villains, and monsters and a book about Tolkien's hobbits
My just-published books, such as the third edition of Lost's Buried Treasures (Sourcesbooks, January 2010)
A film currently in pre-production that has absorbed my interest: Casimir Effect
For the immediate future, my blogs will be centered around those. I hope you'll enjoy reading them, commenting on them (but please, play nicely!), and sharing them with readers, filmgoers, fans, or anyone else who might enjoy them.
You might also be wondering about the "Books, Films, and Me" title when I write that I'm a university prof who teaches courses about writing and communication. Think of my blog being about books, films, and, of course, me, and the title doesn't sound quite so strange.
Currently I'm focused on four separate work areas:
My real job as a teacher
My books-in-progress, such as a book about science fiction TV heroes, villains, and monsters and a book about Tolkien's hobbits
My just-published books, such as the third edition of Lost's Buried Treasures (Sourcesbooks, January 2010)
A film currently in pre-production that has absorbed my interest: Casimir Effect
For the immediate future, my blogs will be centered around those. I hope you'll enjoy reading them, commenting on them (but please, play nicely!), and sharing them with readers, filmgoers, fans, or anyone else who might enjoy them.
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