Initial thoughts on Avatar: The Last Airbender

Some light spoilers.

On a scale of 1 to 100, where the original series is 100, and the 2010 movie is a, I don’t know, 20 (I think I only saw it once and don’t really want to spend more time thinking about it), I would rank this new series as 90 and 80.  The reason I have the two rankings is, if I had never seen the original show, I’d probably say it was 90.  But being a fan of the original show, I’d give it an 80.

The original series, while tackling some heavy issues, was still a kid’s show.  In the first ten minutes of the new series, we see a guy burned to death.  So it’s very much an adult show.  (Also, I have to assume, the opening was just a flex on the 2010 movie to show what an earthbender can actually do.)  As an adult show, it’s mostly good.  The middle few episodes, kind of dragged for me, but I did enjoy the beginning and ending.  But I think the reason it doesn’t score higher for me, is because there were a few too many “Don’t think about the logic here,” moments.  Like, at one point, there’s an assassination attempt.  Two of our main cast, and two recurring characters, are … ten feet away, and yet they all just walk home.  The adult part of me is wondering why weren’t they stopped and questioned.  There was too big a crowd you say.  Oh.  Too bad there weren’t people there who could, I don’t know, magically form a wall to hold the crowd in so everyone could be questioned and any plotters arrested, you know, like what happens after an assassination attempt.  Or, there’s one part where Aang goes on a side quest that, I would imagine, took a few days even though there’s a rather time-sensitive thing going on.  (Also, was it just me, or did he go an episode without his glider only to have it again?)  Now, no show is perfect, and even the best written show will still have some of these moments, the original show was full of them, but they’re more forgivable in a kids’ show. 

To best explain why, as a fan of the original show I’d give the new show a score of 80, would be to use a criticism I’ve often heard of the MCU.  The criticism is that there will be a serious, dramatic moment, but right after it will be a joke that deflates all the drama.  For this, there would be a scene that would be perfectly acceptable on its own, and then there would be a joke or reference from the original.  I admit, some were good, but there were a lot that were just “Remember this?” Like, if I’d never seen the show, the June/Iroh bit would be funny.  But having seen the original, they should have just cut that entirely.  I know what they hoped to accomplish by doing it the way they did, but it would have been better to cut it.  And some plotlines, if I’d never seen the original I’d just think were odd, but knowing the source material, I was just left wondering why they were shoehorned in that way?  Cough, “The Cave of Two Lovers.”

Now, I don’t want you thinking I hated it because it was different.  I admit, I was worried at first about the character changes in Zhao and Azula, but once I saw what they were doing with them, I was impressed.  And I did like how Azula was set up in this season, instead of just showing up next, as well as the stuff between Sokka and Hakoda.  Knowing what’s coming, I can’t wait to see how that plays out. 

My plan now is to wait and watch all the reviews, then maybe rewatch the original and the new show.  And maybe I’ll write up more thoughts.  We’ll see.

Some thoughts on Good Omens

Spoilers.

Good Omens – the book – is fantastic.  There are a ton of little jokes and references that you can’t always remember, so every time you reread it, you rediscover these gems.  Good Omens – the series – I found … a little meh.

Now I know that books and TV series are different media: what can be easily done in one can’t always be done in the other.  And adapting a book allows the screenwriter to show a different angle of the story, as well as maybe fixing a few inconsistencies, or things that didn’t work all that well.  (I didn’t miss the other Hell’s Angels not being in the series.)  I am perfectly fine with changes being made, as long as the end product works.

First off, I absolutely love the portrayal of Aziraphale and Crowley.  That episode with a half hour showing them throughout history was fantastic, and a great example of a screenwriter filling in some gaps from the original story.  I would watch a cut of the show that was just their scenes.  It’s just that, in my opinion, everything else kind of fell flat. 

For example, in the book the Apocalyptic Horsepersons were very important minor characters.  In the series, they seemed little more than glorified cameos.  This is a weird, personal thing, but whenever I think of the book, I think of this woman I used to know.  She might have been the one who introduced me to the book, now that I think of it.  Anyway, I remember her talking about how she loved this one scene involving War.  A scene that wasn’t in the series.  So in my mind, one of the key elements of the book isn’t in the series. 

While that is a personal issue the makers of the series should not worry about, there is one they should have worried about.  And that’s the Them.  There is a lot of Them cut from the book, and I think that hurt the show.  Instead of spending a lot of time getting to know these characters, we got the CliffsNotes, which cut some important details.  In the book, there’s another gang of kids, the Johnsonites who don’t show up in the series.  Well, Greasy Johnson shows up at the beginning, but I don’t think he’s mentioned or seen again.  In the book there’s a scene where Adam and the Them talk about what it would be like if they completely beat the Johnsonites.  They talk about how things wouldn’t be as interesting without them, and how some of the locals would prefer not having either gang.  And Adam comes to the conclusion that it would be better if neither gang “won.” This is the argument he uses later against the forces of Heaven and Hell.  He uses it in the series, but without the setup.  So one of the components used to stop Armageddon just … shows up basically out of thin air. 

Several of the reviews I’ve seen talk about how great Aziraphale and Crowley are, and I agree.  But I think they were made too important.  I always saw them as major characters, but as part of an ensemble cast.  That we saw more of them is great, but I think too much was cut from other characters.  If they had had an extra episode to include more from the book – especially for the Them – then it would probably be something I’d gladly rewatch whenever I reread the book.  But as is, I’d rather just watch an Aziraphale/Crowley cut.

Thoughts on The Last Jedi

So I watched The Last Jedi a couple of days ago and I’ve had time to think about it and see some reviews.  My thoughts on the movie are … it was okay.  It isn’t the timeless classic of the original trilogy, but it’s not forgettable like Rogue One. 

When I think of the original trilogy, I think of them as joyous, fun, adventures.  To be honest, I don’t know how much of that is a result of it being simpler times and I was young and naïve.  And to be honest I don’t know how much my being more experienced and bitter shaped my reaction to The Last Jedi.  But instead of seeing a fun adventure, I saw more the manipulation of the movie business.

The most obvious manipulation being the porgs.  Let’s be honest, I’m sure Chewie has eaten cuter things while more of the cuter things watched.  When I first saw the porg in the trailer, I rolled my eyes seeing it as a blatant attempt to sell toys.  But when you’re dealing with such an unknown franchise, you have to explore other ways to make money in case the movie bombs.  I mean, the movie itself has made like half a billion in a week, but the $20 porgs will be what finances the next movie, if they decide it’s worth the risk.

But seriously, a more subtle manipulation was the deal with Rey’s parents.  I would bet that Rey’s parentage was determined before her name was.  I’ve heard that nothing was really settled when they started filming Episode VII, which almost horrifies/confuses me.  They spent billions on this property, and then they decide to just wing it?  Really?  But if we found out in The Force Awakens that Rey’s parents were just scavengers on Jakku, or Luke, or whoever, there wouldn’t have been two years of speculation on who her parents were.  And then there wouldn’t be two years of speculation over whether or not Kylo lied to her about her parents being nobodies.  I love that she – for now at least – is just a random nobody, but why couldn’t we have learned that in the last movie?  Or why couldn’t we see the graves of her parents and Rey lives with her grandmother, who is killed in the shootout when Rey and Finn are leaving Jakku, to keep the plot point in The Force Awakens where she wants to go back.  Or maybe only her dad died – so we don’t think her dad is Luke – and her mom went out for a pack of death sticks and just never came back.

These simple manipulations to get the audience to react a certain way are understandable, since that’s what movies are supposed to do.  I can more-or-less forgive them.  What I can’t forgive – and my biggest issue with The Last Jedi – are, I guess you can call them manipulations instead of plot.  For example, why didn’t Holdo just tell Poe her plan of going to Crait?  I mean, you’re going to have to tell everyone at some point so they can get the transports ready and loading personnel and gear takes some time.  The only reason not to make the plan widely known is if you fear there’s a spy who will inform the First Order.  But that doesn’t happen since instead of a spy the First Order has a technobabble solution to following the Resistance ships.  But if Holdo had revealed her plan, then that would negate the entire Poe/Finn/Rose storyline.  Poe and Finn need to do something, they can’t just be on the ship having a singalong to keep everyone’s spirits up. So we’ll manipulate things to manufacture this pointless side-trip to Canto Bight. 

Now I’ve heard some people explain the Canto Bight bit as an example of plans sometimes fail, and how because they went on this sidetrip, brought DJ to the First Order who sold them out, Poe, Finn, and Rose are now responsible for the deaths of hundreds of fellow Resistance members.  I hadn’t thought of that, in part because I don’t think any of the characters have thought of that.  I mean, I doubt there will be a scene in Episode IX where Rose is crying over these deaths and Finn has to comfort her.

But what could they have done?  How about this.  They know they are near an old Rebel base that has shields, communication, and say an ion canon.  The plan is to send a small team – Poe, Finn, BB-8, Rose, maybe some others – to the base to get it ready and send out a call to their allies.  Then in one hour, the fleet will jump to the base luring the First Order into a trap with an ion canon on the ground and more ships in space.  So Poe flies them to the base – perhaps taking damage on the way so they can’t leave – and they find that there was a cave in and the ion canon is destroyed.  But they send out the message and get the shields back on line.  The Resistance fleet arrives, and since they don’t expect their ships to last long being out of fuel, they send everyone down to the base in transports.  But there’s no ion canon and none of their allies show up.  So perhaps Holdo still has to sacrifice herself to save the last bit of the Resistance.  Their plan failed, and now most of the Resistance is dead.  They end up at the same point, it’s just now more streamlined without you questioning Holdo’s command style.

Speaking of Holdo’s command style, I’ve seen some people say that they hated Holdo at the beginning.  And that’s understandable because you were supposed to dislike her, thus making her later sacrifice seem all the greater.  Since people like Poe, but Poe didn’t like her, there must be something up with her.  Maybe she’s a spy, or just incompetent.  Of course, since she apparently doesn’t tell anyone her plan until the last second – which doesn’t make any sense – my lasting impression of her is that she is a tad incompetent as a leader.  Trying to manipulate the large shift from disliking her to respecting her left a bad impression for me.

Now let’s talk about Holdo’s end.  Like everyone my first thought was, “Damn!” But that was quickly followed by, “Why didn’t the other ships do that?” In desperate situations, it is logical that when the only weapon you have left is your ship you use it.  I can think of multiple occasions in Star Trek or Babylon 5 where they go with “Ramming speed.” But has that ever happened in Star Wars?  In the movies at least, I haven’t watched any of the shows.  Well, the reason the other ships just ran out of gas and got blowed up instead of ramming the First Order ships was so that it would be all the more dramatic when Holdo did it.  First you manipulate things so you dislike a character, then manipulate things so their end seems all the more heroic, instead of just having a good character people will hate to see go.

I’ve spent some time going over things I had problems with, but was there anything I liked in The Last Jedi?  Yeah.  One of the issues with the original trilogy – partly based on it being a simpler time – is that the good/evil light/dark thing is rather simplistic.  So I did like the far more gray approach they seem to be going in now.  I also enjoyed the idea of the student outgrowing the master, although I do wonder if they made it a bit more “This is less of a continuation of the trilogy you love so much and more of a new thing.”

I’ve said before that I think I’ve outgrown Star Wars.  I wasn’t excited to see The Last Jedi.  It was just a movie to see so I’d know what everyone was talking about and to maybe get a few blogs out of it.  I watched The Last Jedi trailer two or three times; I’ve seen the Infinity War trailer about ten times.  (Just writing about it made me go watch it again.) But Star Wars doesn’t really do it for me anymore.  I’ll see Episode IX so I know what everyone is talking about, but I’ll probably be more excited for whatever the next big MCU movie is.  I’m sure the owners of the MCU are happy to hear I like their movies more than Star Wars.  The owners of Star Wars, probably not so much.

Thoughts on The Orville and Star Trek: Discovery

I wasn’t really interested in watching either of these shows because, well, the trailers made them look bad.  I’ve now watched the first 2 1/2 episodes of The Orville and the first two episodes of Discovery, and while I may watch more in the future, I really have no plans to do so. 

After I watched the first episode of The Orville, my thoughts were that it was the first draft of a sub-par Star Trek episode that instead of doing revisions to tighten the plot, develop the characters more, or punch up the dialogue, they just sprinkled in bad “jokes.” And I say “jokes” because that’s what they are.  For example, in the first episode they arrive at this science outpost and they call up the director.  The Captain and First Office talk with the director for a bit, then go down to meet with him.  While this is going on, in the background of the director’s office is a dog licking his balls.  Nobody says anything about this, and for a moment I wondered if it was going to be like Airplane where some of the movie’s best humor is the unexplained bizarre shit going on in the background.  But once the Captain and First Office leave to go down to the planet, the camera pans over to two other characters who go, “Did you see that dog licking his balls?” “First thing I saw.” Having to call attention to the “joke” is as bad as having to explain the joke.

So if I’m not impressed with the humor of The Orville, how about the scifi bits?  They’re basic and not that interesting.  I mean, the second episode was your Basic Plot #156c, where a character is unexpectedly thrust into command and they make the wrong decisions and everyone things they can’t handle it, but in the end they dig deep and win over everyone and the day is saved.  It’s something we’ve seen a thousand times before, and there wasn’t anything making it a unique version.

And I only watched the second episode because I saw a bunch of things on Twitter and Facebook about how great the third episode was.  The third episode does deal with an important issue, but I’m not a fan of ham-fisted social commentary.  And it felt like I was being beaten by a whole pig.

Now about Star Trek: Discovery.  First off, the Klingons.  I don’t care for the reimagined Klingons.  I’m sure I had seen a few of the Original Series episodes as a kid, but I grew up with Star Trek with the original movies and The Next Generation.  So I’m used to the TNG Klingon design.  I understand that the reason the Klingons changed was that they now had a budget for the makeup.  Fine.  There was no need to “explain” the difference.  Then came “Trials and Tribble-ations” where someone didn’t recognize the Original Series Klingons and Worf just said something like, “It’s not something we talk about.” If they had just CGId forehead ridges onto the old guys, or inserted new Klingons in place of the old ones, people would have complained, but it wouldn’t have been an issue.  Instead, it just made a mess.  Like, weren’t there videos of the Federation and Klingon Empire signing treaties or something that would be shown in schools?  You’d think such a major change would have been … noticed.  It’s like if during the 1960’s the Russians spoke Portuguese.  It would be an odd bit of trivia that would be the basis for a thousand YouTube videos.

Anyway, Enterprise explained the change as some genetic mutation, or something, which … good enough.  It was a shitty situation, but they made the best of it.  So what’s with the new Klingons?  It feels like if they had gone with the Original Series Klingon design, the old fans would have applauded them for keeping the continuity, but the “Powers That Be” were worried that the general public would look at them and go, “That looks stupid.” So they made demon Klingons to be “scary.” It would be like if they made Vulcans eight feet tall and purple, just to make sure people knew they were aliens.  And then they claim this is still in continuity, and I’m like, “Bullshit.  You painted yourselves into a corner, and then shot yourself in the foot.  You did something stupid, and I don’t have to like it.”

So other than that, what did I think of the first two episodes?  Meh.  It was like, “Wow, the people behind this generic scifi action shows are running a risk of being sued by the Star Trek people for using Klingons, Vulcans, photon torpedoes, etc.  Wait, this is Star Trek?  You mean, like bad fanfic Star Trek, right?”

What did I actually think of the story?  Um, contrived.  I mean, what exactly was Klingon guy’s plan?  We’ll damage this relay, then when a Federation ship arrives to fix it, we’ll just stay cloaked for hours doing nothing, waiting for one of them to fly out in a spacesuit and clumsily kill one of our guys and then wait several more hours until, wait, what?  I mean, what would have happened if the Shenzhou had just fixed the relay and left?  Would they have had to damage it again?  It would have made more sense for the Klingon guy to set off the beacon when the Shenzhou arrived so that tons of Klingon ships would show up and have the shit hit the fan.  But then we wouldn’t have had the all-important Burnham flying through space scene. 

I think the problem I have with both shows is that, twenty years ago I would have been blown away by the effects and would probably have liked the humor more.  I’m not saying that I’ve matured, it’s just that great special effects have become … expected.  I’ve had my fill of whiz-bang, can you give me a good story?  And from what I’ve seen of these two shows, my expectations of them giving me good stories is low.  To be honest, the only reason I might … find a way to watch Discovery, is the Under the Dome effect.  If you don’t know, Under the Dome was a bad show from a couple years ago.  I started watching it out of curiosity, but then I continued watching it because there was a reviewer who would go on these amusing, long winded rants about the show, and I would watch the show just so I’d know what they were talking about.  And there are going to be a lot of people bitching about Discovery.