Which means a very sudden lack of free time. Sorry I took so long to update, but the first book recommendation is finally here, and damn, it was hard to write. I think I need to rethink my recommendation formula for books, because I don’t think this one turned out so hot. I’m planning to do a format change for future books, and add some interesting stuff like ‘favorite quotes’ and maybe a brief ”recommendation” of any movie versions there might be. We’ll see what happens, but check out the recommendation, and check out the book, cause it really is awesome.
And, because I took so long in putting this recommendation up, I added an extra bonus: Podcast Recommendation! I’ll do these every once and a while and most often lump a website recommendation with each of them, as I did with this one. That’s all, enjoy.
My discovery of the website happened though my discovery of the podcast, so I will describe both in that order. I really love podcasts. My Zune (yes a Zune, not a shitty conformist Ipod) has way more space dedicated to podcasts than it does to music. For those of you who are completely sheltered from the world of portable listening devices, podcasts are shows that you can listen to weekly on your MP3 player. They usually consist of a group of people who talk about a specific subject for an hour or so for your listening pleasure. They’re really fun to listen to while you’re doing chores, or making lunch or any mindless activity, and I always stockpile about ten hours of them for any road trip. My first introduction to podcasts was through videogames, a popular subject in the podcasting world. I tried out a bunch and found a few favorites that I listened to regularly. It was through these more main stream videogame podcasts that I heard about GiantBombcast. It had been going on for a few months before I checked it out and I got hooked pretty fast.
The Podcast was started by Ryan Davis and Jeff Gerstmann, two ex-gamespot employees, and was originally called Arrow Pointing Up. Once plans to create Giantbomb.com were underway they created the Giant bombcast with two other ex-gamespot employees, Vinny Caravella and Brad Shoemaker, who both left gamespot to work at Giantbomb. In short, the podcast is four normal, funny guys talking about videogames and frequently going on random tangents. Each episode has a loose structure where they first go around the table, each talking about the games they’ve been playing, then they talk about recent videogame news, then new releases, then they answer e-mails. It’s a pretty standard video game podcast formula, but what makes it so awesome is the guys that are in it. They’re all good friends and make tons of jokes and crazy bets with eachother. It’s fun, it’s funny, and it’s free. Also it has the best theme song of any podcast ever. You can find it on the itunes store, in the Zune Marketplace or on the site.
So I started with the podcast, and moved to the website, and have been provided with hours of free entertainment ever since. The site, Giantbomb.com, is similar to the podcast. It’s just these four guys (plus two others) making funny videos and writing reviews. The site also boasts the worlds largest editable video game data base, which is pretty cool. I will say that the only thing I’m not a big fan of on the site is the written reviews. They’re good, and I mostly agree with them, but I feel like I can find better ones in other places. Luckly, the site is much more about its videos than its reviews. The site has a few different video series such as TANG (this ain’t no game)–where the very funny Ryan Davis reviews such cinematic masterpieces as Uwe Boll’s House of the Dead–and Quick Looks– during which any combination of the four guys play about twenty minutes of a new game real time while providing insightful comments and making funny jokes. My favorite series though would have to be the Endurance Run. This is similar to a quick look in that it’s two of the guys, Jeff and Vinny, playing a game while commenting on it, except they’re playing the entire game. The game is Persona 4, a notoriously long and weird Japanese RPG, and you watch them play it while they comment on everything that’s going on. They release a video every week day, and have been playing the game for about 90 hours, all of which is broken into 30 minute episodes (on average) for your wathcing pleasure. It sounds lame on paper, but it’s really funny, strangely addicting, and a great distraction from homework. A description that does it justice: Mystery Science Theater 3000 meets an especially weird JRPG. Check out the first episode here.
The site itself looks well designed to me. The home page features the videos in a nice horizontal scroll fashion in the foreground, and below are links to the articles and other features. I’m not really a website expert, but it’s looks good and it’s functional. One of the best aspects in my opinion is the lack of ads. Any page on the site that you navigate has no more than one ad, while on other video game sites there are at least three. It’s refreshing.
There’s not much else to say. It’s a fun diversion from a lot of other video game sites which can seem way too serious. At Giantbomb youfeel like you actually know the staff, and like they actually care about you. Every once in awhile there are fun little behind the scenes videos that let you see what really goes on during a normal work day for these guys, and they do alot of other stuff to make thier users happy. Although I’m not really a part of the community it seems way nicer than most just from the comments alone, and they’re really supportive of the site. So check out the links, download a podcast, and you will be entertained.
I’m the kind of guy who puts about five books on his Christmas list every year. I’m not trying to brag (and I shouldn’t be, cause it’ll take me about a year to get to all of those), I’m just saying that I enjoy reading. But one thing I’m completly paranoid about is getting a book that seems totally awesome (from whatever Amazon costumer review I read of it, or whichever first page I skim over) and is totally not. I’ve been scorned too many times. This makes me the kind of guy who also looks up various ‘top ten’ or ‘best of…’ lists online. Last Christmas I stumbled upon Another Roadside Attraction on a list that was something like ‘best books for teenage guys’. I thought whoever made the list had old fashioned tastes because of the five or so autobiographies on Theodore Roosevelt, but I managed to find this little gem. Fast forward to Christmas morning, me unwrapping the book, me reading the book, me loving the book. And here we are. It was written by Tom Robbins whose other novels include Even Cowgirls get the Blues and Still Life with Woodpecker. Those other titles were just chosen from a list on the back cover because they sounded cool, meaning I have never read any of his other books or even heard of him before coming across this one. He looks like kind of a douche actually, and sounds like one too; with his description calling him a writer who has “approached rock star status”.
But I’m here to recommend a book, not an author. So here we go.
The Synopsis:
It’s kind of a hard book to synopsize. The two central characters are John Paul Zimmerman and Amanda, a couple who run a road side hotdog stand/flea circus/juice bar. She’s a psychic, he’s a really good drummer from Africa, and together they create a crazy weird super mystic hippie team. Through thier road side attraction they meet Marx Marvelous, a scientist turned philosopher who is a serious head trip. The only discernable plot in this book comes from Zimmerman’s best friend Plucky Purcell. Plucky, while walking through the woods in the middle of the night, stumbles upon a dead body and then a hidden monastery. Through a bizzare series of events he becomes a monk, trains in kung-fu, and travels to the Vatican to protect the Pope. During an earth quake he finds himself in a hidden tunnel under the Vatican where lots of sacred religious stuff is hidden. Among it is the body of Jesus Christ, which he steals, and brings back to John and Amanda at thier hot dog stand. The rest of the book is about deciding what to do with this information that Jesus was never really resurrected; a fact that could kinda shatter the whole Christian belief system.
The Good:
I’ll start by saying if you like Kurt Vonnegut than you have no reason to read the rest of this recommendation, just stop, and go buy this book. It reads like Vonnegut, has a philosophy like Vonnegut, and even quotes Vonnegut twice. I guess this also means that if you don’t like Kurt Vonnegut you too should stop reading, because this book won’t appeal to you. But for those of you who have no idea who I’m talking about, read on, by all means. This book is food for thought in it’s purest form. The Jesus thing is the biggest meal to savor, but the book is filled with plenty of other philosophical morsels. To some, that could sound like a really boring book. But what makes Another Roadside Attraction good is that on top of all it’s intellectualness, it’s really funny. And not just funny in the smart snobby way, but funny in the crude sex jokes and ridiculous violence way. The book is a perfect blend of accessible and clever that leaves you thinking about it for weeks after. The character’s are great–unique and bizarre while still seeming realistic. Marx Marvelous would have to be my favorite, as I think the author intended him to be. One of my favorite parts in the book is when he describes the origin of his name. He made it up himself, and he wanted it to be something that middle America would absolutely abhor, so he took the name on the Marx for to inflame the communism hatred in us all, and the gayest word he could think of, marvelous, to spark our latent homophobia. There’s not much more I can say. The writing is good. Tom Robbins is very clever in both plot and prose. He keeps the book quick and interesting, mixing in letters, and journal entries, and doing a cool little sleight of hand with the narrator. It reads like a testemonial from someone who was there for the whole story, and he frequently addresses the reader in funny ways. It’s a book that gives you ideas about religion and science and human nature (as cliché as that term is) that will keep you up thinking late into the night.
The Bad:
Well, there’s not much to say here either, much less to say than in the good, which is why this is a recommendation. I suppose there’s an argument to be made for how full of itself this book is. For its many nuggets of wisdom the novel has a few phases here and there that try to be “insightful” but are just abstract and stupid. The ending could have a better pay off too. I should mention for all you ladies out there that this is a guy book. It has sex. It has crude jokes. The narrator is male. And the one prominent female character is pretty slutty (in an enlightened kind of way). I’m sure there are tons of girls who would very much enjoy this book, but it’s much more tailored for a male audience. I should also mention for all you altar boys out there that this book is for atheists. Okay, it’s not only for atheists, but this isn’t a book for those of you who have inflexible religious. It questions science as well as faith, but the whole Jesus-not-being-resurrected-thing could be a major turn off for any devout Christian readers.
The Final Few Sentences:
Another Roadside Attraction goes down like popcorn and stays with you like wheaties. That was a pretty retarded simile, but my point is that Tom Robbins has created a rare thing in this book. It’s a novel that’s fun and quick but still stimulates the mind. I already told you who need not apply, but if you don’t fall into either of those categories than go for it. Clever, funny, well written. Check it out.
See Also These Other Books That I’ve Never Heard Of:
Whoa theme change. I just wanted to address the fact that I have at this point done two video game recommendations, two show recommendations and zero book or movie recommendations. Frankly, shows and video games are way easier to review than books, and I really don’t watch that many movies. But don’t worry, recommendations for those are on the way, but it’s probably gonna be a 2 to 1 ratio from now forward. My Bioshock review went much quicker than I thought, so my book recommendation for Another Roadside Attraction will be out before the end of this week. Another fact I figured was worth addressing was that both video games I have recommended so far are more than a year old, and their sequels are due in roughly six months. Once the new fall games start coming out I’ll start writing recommendations for newer games. Also something I’m considering is quick reviews for new show pilots in the fall. We’ll see how everything pans out. Enjoy the Bioshock recommendation; I made it as full as I could because after I posted my Mass Effect recommend I remembered like five things I forgot to talk about.
Before I got my 360, I spent hours online searching through the two year back-catalogue of games that I had to chose from. But, at that time, the best of them hadn’t even come out yet. Bioshock was at the top of my ‘most wanted’ list from the moment I began the search. I’m a sucker for dystopias, and this was the most successful representation of an utterly unsuccessful utopia I had ever seen, especially in a video game. But I guess I should save that for ‘the good’. Bioshock first graced consoles and comps in August of 2007. It was met with a tidal wave of critical acclaim and now sports an impressive 97 metacritic score. It was published and developed by 2K Games. The man most responsible for the magic is Ken Levine, president and creative director for 2K Boston as well as writer for Bioshock. Since its release Bioshock has enjoyed a mountain of awards, and the sales to match it. Masterpiece
The Synopsis:
You, an un-named faceless protagonist, are dropped into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean during a small plane crash in 1959. A conveniently placed ring of fire forces you toward a massive metal monolith on a small island. You enter the strange looking skyscraper and see the giant bust of a man staring down at you, holding a banner saying “No gods or kings, only man.” With Beyond the Sea playing softly in the background, you walk down some steps and discover a metal pod ready to dive into the ocean. And of course, because this is a video game, you walk into this pod, pull a shiny lever, and Bioshock begins. You’re literally plunged into the underwater city of Rapture, a place that has long since gone to ruin. The city was created by a man named Andrew Ryan, a very rich dude with very Rand-esque political tastes. His vision was to create an underwater city; free from the oppressive governments of the world. Here, scientists were able to conduct research “unshackled by petty morals”. As a result Adam was discovered, a bizarre substance with surreal capabilities. Using Adam, scientists were able to create powers and abilities that people could inject into themselves called Plasmids. Shockingly, this didn’t work out so well. People became addicted to the abilities, and destroyed the city as a result. These addicts are known as ‘splicers’, ultraviolent, disfigured psychopaths who would do anything for a fix of Adam. This is the world you’re dropped into, and splicers are pretty much the only people you’ll meet. You’re guided by a kind voice with an Irish accent who calls himself Atlas. He leads you through the dark and twisted world so you can find his family and the man who started it all, Andrew Ryan. On the way through Rapture’s varied environments, you pick up your own Plasmids and weapons and audio diaries that help create unforgettable game play. You’re met with a host of cracked characters, some moral choices, and a few plot twists. And when the game finally comes to a close, the pieces fit together to create a brilliant narrative, and an ingenious experience.
The Good:
Jesus, there’s so much. I guess I’ll begin with the game play mechanics. So this is an FPS, and the gun play is…good. For a game so fantastic you would think it would be better than “good”, but gun play isn’t what this game is about. Never the less, it’s good. The guns themselves look fantastic, and fit the time period. There are Tommy-guns and pistols that look just fine, but what I’m really talking about is stuff like the chemical thrower, and the grenade launcher. Of course they didn’t have this tech in the 60s (let alone the 40s, when Rapture was created), but the way the gun models are designed makes you believe that they could have. There are upgrades you can find for each weapon that create this sort of “steam-punk-but-more-modern” look. For example the clip upgrade for the pistol simply bolts an extra clip on the side that bulges comically off the pistol. But better than the gun play is the Plasmid play. Plasmids, as mentioned, are the powers you acquire throughout the game. At the beginning of the game you can only carry two plasmids, but through upgrades and Adam collection you can carry up to five and switch them out using Gene Banks positioned around each level. Once selected your hand pops into view instead of a gun. It often glows with fire, or lighting, and with a flick of the wrist you can freeze enemies solid or literally blow them away. Combining these powers can create the most fun you’ll have in any game. You can set enemies ablaze, and when they dive into the well placed pools of water to put themselves out you can pull a toaster-in-the-bathtub and electrocute the water that surrounds them. Other items to acquire and upgrade include Tonics that provide additional help and abilities, and special types of ammunition that can be more pr less effective against certain enemies. All of it is well thought out, and easily managed.
There are essentially three types of enemies in the game. The first, as already mentioned are splicers, which branch off into a few different classes each with special strengths, weaknesses and abilities. The next are the bots, which include flying sentries and fixed turrets. Hacking comes into play with the bots once you stun them and complete a quick and clever pipe mini-game. After hacked, the bot will ignore you and attack everyone else. The third, and by far most interesting, are the Big Daddies. In the city of Rapture you will frequently find demonic looking little girls wandering the halls, puncturing corpses with syringe-guns. These creepy kids are called “Little Sisters”, and they were created to collect Adam, which they can apparently extract from dead bodies. Yet, as creepy as they are, Little Sisters are harmless. The problem is, there are scores of Adam junkies searching for a fix, and Little Sisters are the best source. So Big Daddies were created. These guys are not so harmless. Clad in an old school diver’s suit and armed with a gigantic drill, the Big Daddy will do whatever possible to keep you away from his Little Sister. And you do want to get to his Little Sister, because, once the Daddy is out of the way, you can harvest Adam from her, which can be used to buy more plasmids, tonics, slots and upgrades. Battles with the Daddies are the toughest in the game, and during them you’ll have to be especially clever. But what’s really cool about Big Daddies is that they aren’t really your enemy. You can run circles around them and fire your guns like a mad man, but as long as you don’t do direct harm to them or their Little Sisters you’ll be completely ignored. This leaves you free to place prox mines and trip wires, to have your best plasmids ready and to equip your most powerful gun before you start the fight. And you should, because if you just run in guns blazing, you’re likely to die a few times before you can claim the Adam reward.
And this brings me to the overall atmosphere of this game, because even being shot in the face and killed by a Big Daddy is part of this work of art. On the very surface are the visuals, which are gorgeous. When the game begins, and you swim to the surface of the Atlantic, you’re guaranteed to wait a few seconds before realizing the cut-scene is over. The whole game looks that good. But it’s easy to have gorgeous graphics, any game can, it’s style that makes visuals incredible, and Bioshock oozes with it. The environments are varied and fascinating and all fit in with the Art Deco style. Rapture is all about being big, bright and glamorous, while still being functional. It’s an underwater city after all, things need to work, and it all looks like it could. But that’s still not what makes Bioshock a standout in the visual department. What does is the fact that Rapture didn’t work. It failed, horribly, and everywhere you look you see the remnants of this once beautiful and well-designed utopia.
But the game not only uses visuals to let you imagine what Rapture once was, it also uses sound. Besides having an amazing original score, Bioshock has songs and jingles strait from the forties that play eerily in the background to further immerse you. But there’s more auditory stimulation than just music. One of my favorite parts of the game was scouring every map for audio diaries. These old-school recorders can be found all around Rapture, and act as glue for the Bioshock narrative. Each diary is a short monologue from citizens of Rapture’s past. These devices become their own characters as they relay the history of Rapture to you through recordings of people’s secrets and true feelings. Once you collect them all, and listen to them in succession, people you’ve seen and places you’ve been link together to give you an idea of who you are, what Rapture was, and what happened to make the city what it has become.
The last piece of this game worth mentioning would have to be the unbelievable cinematic feel that carries throughout. The cut scenes are few and far in-between, but they’re done right, with amazing animation, camera work, and voice acting. But the aspect of Bioshock that supports the majority of the cinematic feel is its plethora of scripted events. In video games a cut scene is when you stop playing and just watch. You have no control over what your character does, where he looks, what he sees; or what you see. A scripted event is when you do have control over all these things, it’s when you walk into a room and something happens and you can watch it or look away or do whatever you want while it’s going on—like you’re actually there. This game is full of them, and they’re all brilliant. In Bioshock scripted events are when you see a Little Sister for the first time, kneeling on the ground and humming while gently prodding a corpse with her syringe. You watch through a window as a splicer sneaks up and pistol whips her. You watch as a Big Daddy bursts into the room and shoves a massive drill through the splicer’s chest. In Bioshock scripted events are when you walk out of an elevator and hear piano music from somewhere up ahead. You walk into a theatre and see a masked man playing the piece while a phantom voice from above screams insane advice to him. You walk closer and the man stands up and yells “Cohen you sick fuck, let me out of this!” right before his piano explodes, turning him into a lump of shriveled black skin. They’re fantastic and shocking and horrifying and moments you’ll never forget. Here’s what I mean:
All of the things I’ve just talked about—the game play, the visuals, the style, the music, the cinematics, the story—fit together to make something that could truly be called a work of art. In this generation of consoles the name of the game is immersion. Making players feel like they’re part of a new world, and making that world almost tangible is something I believe game developers around the globe are trying to achieve. With Bioshock, 2K has achieved it. They’ve created, not just a game, but an experience.
The Bad:
So now that I’ve kissed Bioshock’s ass for about six pages, it’s time to talk about the bad, and even in a game as amazing as this one, there is certainly some bad to be talked about. Let’s get right to the point; even with the plasmids and the tonics and the cool guns the majority of Bioshock is a fetch-quest—meaning in most parts of the game you’re running around the map colleting something in order to proceed. There are parts of Bioshock that do this in a very clever way. There’s Neptune’s Bounty where you have to search for a specific type of splicer and bring pictures back to an insane fisherman. There’s Fort Frolic where you have to murder Sander Cohen’s artistic disciples and use their dead bodies to complete his masterpiece. But there are parts of the game where it gets a little too generically fetch-questy. These are the sections where you’re just walking around and picking up pieces or parts, those of you who’ve played the game know the levels I’m talking about. While the environments and exploration that surround these levels are both fun and interesting, the task you have to complete isn’t. These more boring sections are still amazing in comparison with many other games, but in comparison with the rest of Bioshock, they fall a little flat. Another bad thing is the unfortunate placement of these bad fetch-quest levels. They’re in the last third or fourth of the game—creating there’s a noticeable drop in quality.
But the worst of the game has yet to come. While the few not-so-good levels in the game I’ve mentioned above are excusable, the final boss battle is not. It’s just bad. Plain bad. First off, it’s easy. Bioshock in general is a pretty easy game, but the last fight is child’s play, even on the hardest difficulty setting. Second, it’s unoriginal to the core. The boss himself is boring and poorly designed as a character. The fight is generic; anyone who has ever played an adventure game will instantly see the boss’s weaknesses and tells, and the conclusion is ultimately unsatisfying. And lastly, it’s the final boss fight of Bioshock. When surrounded by the awesome that is the rest of the game, the downright mediocrity of the final boss looks much much worse.
Those are my only legitimate ‘big’ problems with Bioshock, but stating them won’t stop me from explaining the small and illegitimate problems I have. The hacking mini-game that I praised as quick and clever can very quickly become dull and tedious. Luckily, with the research camera you get early in the game, there’s a way around it, but it takes a while to get to that point. The environments that I lauded as unique and gorgeous aren’t quite varied enough (this one is really more of a personal thing). So I get that Rapture has gone to hell and is in shambles and all that, but would it kill the game to have one—just one—bright and pretty environment? Every single level in the game, while stunning graphically, is dark and dirty. I wish there was just one area that had been persevered, so we could actually see the Rapture of the past. Something that annoys me, but doesn’t really have to do with the game, is the douchbags it has spawned. There are more than a few people out there who have played Bioshock and now think of themselves as ‘intellectual’ gamers who are above the lowly Halo and Gears of War players. I do consider Bioshock as a work of art, and it is worlds deeper than a lot of mainstream games, but playing it does not make you a connoisseur. Also, this game does not teach you about objectivism. The game may be inspired by Ayn Rand works, and there are certainly some of her politics involved, but the only part of the game that could even be perceived as teaching you about objectivism is Andrew Ryan’s 30 second speech in the beginning of the game.
The final thing that annoys me about this game is how the creators and players tote it as a game with morality. Once you defeat a Big Daddy in Bioshock you have the option to kill its Little Sister and take all of her Adam, or change her back into a normal little girl and get a smaller amount of her Adam. Depending on whether you killed or saved the Little Sisters throughout the game, you get a ‘good’ or ‘evil’ ending. This is why Bioshock is the worst example of the morality craze that has been going on in video games lately. It treats morality as black and white. You’re either a saint who gets the sickeningly sweet ending or an evil dick who gets the wrist-slashingly depressing ending. The only thing that would have made it better for me is if you were actually hindered by being good, because it would have been really interesting to see if gamers would sacrifice game play elements in order to save the Little Sisters. And this is what I thought it would be like with the difference in the amount of Adam you receive depending on what you do. But after you save three Little Sisters in a row they leave you a gift box filled with enough Adam to make it so it doesn’t really matter if you save all the Little Sisters or kill them. It all evens out in the end. The only moment that’s really decided by your moral choices is a 60 second cut scene at the end of the game.
Thankfully, the most glaring issues of Bioshock are the people who made it and the people who play it. And when all is said and done, the problems that are in the game itself are easily overlooked in comparison with the majority of Bioshock.
The Final Conclusion:
For anyone who’s making an argument for video games as art; Bioshock should be the first title you mention. It has a deep narrative, a rich setting, and stunning design. It’s true that many games are up their own asses with ‘art’ without being good. But that’s why Bioshock pulls it off, because it is good—because on top of its well crafted visuals, story, and atmosphere—it’s fun. When it comes down to the core game play, Bioshock is a blast. That’s why I’m not putting any caveats to this recommendation. I don’t care what you’re favorite genre is, I don’t care what console you play on, I don’t care what you’re play style is. If you like games buy Bioshock. It’s that simple.
For other games that should be called art see also:
My first posts were put up rather hastily right before I left for a trip, so I wanted to do a second intro to better explain what this site is all about. The base line explanation I gave before was accurate; I’m using this blog to recommend things that I like to you. The format, for the most part, will be a short explanation of how I discovered whatever I’m recommending, a synopsis, the good, the bad, and a conclusion. My recommendations will be for books, movies, video games, and shows. The only thing I really won’t recommend is music, because musical taste is the most subjective thing in the world, and also really hard to put into words. The entertainment I will recommend are things that I won’t try to force on you, but hopefully persuade you to check out if they sound at all interesting. In future recommendations I’ll post pictures, and maybe videos (or at least links to videos), to spice things up, and I might do some “what’s next” posts. I’ll try my best to do one recommendation a week, and hopefully you’ll find some stuff here that will entertain you too.
Hello internet users, I don’t expect very many of you to read this, but you all could if you wanted too, so I’ll address the majority. This isn’t really a proper introduction, I’ll do one of those next week, but know that this is my blog which I am using to recommend things I like to you with the hope that you’ll like them too. I have three recommendations today, two shows and a video game so read those until I figure out how to use this blog better.
I thought it would be more interesting to begin with something more obscure. I discovered Dead Like Me while browsing through the Netflix library a few months ago, and found a kind of hidden gem. The show comes to us from producer/writer Bryan Fuller. What Fuller does, better than anyone else, is create really awesome, bizarre, quirky comedies that are praised by critics and loved by fans, but apparently hated by the general public. I say this because, of the three shows Fuller has created, exactly zero have made it past season two, and one of them didn’t even make it past its first thirteen episodes. He has also worked on Heroes as a writer, and created some of the best episodes. For those of you who watch the show, he wrote all the material for the character Claire throughout season one, who had a very good story arc. And now, after he’s left the show, Heroes is going into its fourth season, even though it turned into complete shit after it’s first. But anyway, Dead Like Me
The Synopsis:
The show follows, and is narrated by, Georgia Lass, a snarky, sarcastic, twenty-something who has dropped out of college and is living with her parents. On her way out to lunch at her new temp job she gets hit by a flying toilet seat that fell from a space station. She dies. She becomes a grim reaper. Hilarity ensues. She meets up with a group of rag tag reapers that teach her the ways of grim reaping. As a reaper George looks like a normal person and can talk and interact with other normal people. The only supernatural catch is she has to take people’s souls and she cannot age or die. Because of the ‘rules of reaping’ she has to leave her old life behind and start anew. Everyone who was involved in her past life can’t recognize her, and she’s forbidden to interact with them. Every morning she meets with her new found reaper friends and gets the name of someone who is going to die, when they are going to die, and where they are going to die. She assigned to find this person before they die and take their soul. To take a soul all she needs to do is find whomever the name on her post-it note belongs to, and touch them. After the person dies their soul follows her around until it goes off into heaven (or something), which happens to be very blue and shiny. Throughout the show she deals with her own death, her family post mortem, creating a new life, and all the souls she has been charged with helping. So now we’ll move on to
The Good:
The way I’ve described the show above could seem misleading. It makes the show sound kind of like a supernatural drama, with all that “self-fulfillment” and “moving on” stuff. But this show is a comedy, and a funny one. Sure there’s sentimental sappy stuff, how can there not be with a show that revolves around death, but for the most part Dead Like Me will make you laugh. It has some great black humor moments, with animal rights activists getting mauled by a bear that they were protesting to have set free, a couple dozen fat people dying because they all used the same brand of one if those “fat buster” vibrating belts which electrocuted all of them, and of course the flying toilet seat. It all sounds over the top, and a lot of it is, but the show makes it work, and makes it funny. The stoic and sarcastic narration by Ellen Muth also adds lots of laughs, as well as the interaction her character has with her fellow reapers. There’s a British dead-beat druggie, a hard-ass meter maid, a bubbly thrill seeker, and the cool mentor type guy. Which brings me to the acting, which is good. The aforementioned Georgia Lass is played very well by the aforementioned Ellen Muth, and there’s Mandy Patinkin, who instantly makes anything awesome. The supporting cast supports just fine, nothing special, but good enough. I’m no expert about camera work, but it all seems pretty standard here—it doesn’t really add anything, but it doesn’t take anything away. There’s some CGI involved too, in order to create little impish creatures called ‘gravelings’ as well as the shiny blue place that each soul goes to, and it all looks great.
The Bad:
This show has kind of an accelerated life span because of some fatal issues behind the scenes. You know that bubbly thrill seeker I mentioned in ‘the good’? She leaves after the fifth episode. The actress who played her (who wasn’t bad) accidentally killed a child, way before she was in the show, in of a car accident and thus the studio execs fired her because her role was as a grim reaper. Then, half-way through the first season, Bryan Fuller, the creator and creative force behind of the show, quit. Throughout the rest of the first season the show seems to be a little confused as evidenced by not one, but two clip show episodes within the first thirteen. In my opinion the show got back on its feet during season two but then was, of course, canceled. Another bad thing to come out of the behind the scenes mayhem: Daisy. After the thrill seeker character left the show she was replaced by a new character named Daisy Adair. Daisy, while not too bad to look at, is pretty fucking annoying. Her character was an actress before she became a reaper, and therefore she acts like a bitch. The writers try to make her seem slightly more layered by having her all depressed sometimes, and then having her find religion (sort of), but these attempts are half hearted and made me hate her more. Luckily, she’s a pretty ignorable character. What’s next on the list to complain about is the mythology. In order to really like this show you have to be in specific place where you’re interested in the supernatural stuff, but not too interested. The rules and inner-workings of the grim reaper world in Dead Like Me are pretty out there, but they’re also kind of inconsistent. If you’re not into the mythology of it at all then you won’t like the show, but if you’re too into it, the inconsistencies make themselves pretty apparent. So enjoy the interesting ‘lore’ of the show, but don’t look too closely. Lastly, what I haven’t mentioned so far is that this show was on Showtime, where anything goes. So ‘the bad’ for some people might be the copious amount of f-bombs dropped, as well as some inappropriate story lines, but in my opinion it just adds to the funny.
The Final Word:
Dead Like Me is a good show, and a funny show. It has its problems, but most of them are easily overlooked. There are so many places the show could’ve gone, which is why it’s so sad that it was canceled. But even though it was short lived, it had a good run, and a satisfying conclusion. My advice to you: watch the pilot. This is a show that could easily turn a lot of people off, and if you watch the pilot you’ll know where you stand. Dead Like Me is available to watch on Netflix Instant Play and free on Hulu. See Also from Bryan Fuller: Pushing Daisies
Wonderfalls
Be warned, these shows were canceled too fast also: Pushing Daisies
Wonderfalls
And now for something not so obscure. I should preface this recommendation by mentioning that LOST, which happens to be the best show on television, is also my favorite show of all time. So, I’ll restrain from writing this like a total fan boy, but expect some bias. Another thing I should mention is that, as of today, LOST is not yet finished, so I will be judging it based on seasons one through five. Lastly, LOST is a show full of surprises and plot twists, all of which would be a crime to reveal to LOST virgins, so don’t worry about it, this recommendation will be ‘spoiler-free’. Ok, preface over. LOST first aired way back in 2004, and has since grown into a world renowned hit that has paved the way for science-fiction television for years to come. Originally it was going to be a mix between Cast Away and Gilligan’s Island where a group of plane crash survivors inhabit an unmapped Island. By the first episode the survivors had already created a hut village and were playing games of coconut bowling. Luckily this piece of shit was shifted into the very capable hands of J.J. Abrams. Abrams has a pretty impressive list of credits that I don’t feel like listing here, but trust me, he’s a pretty awesome guy. He teamed up with a guy named Demon Lindelof and together they made TV greatness. The Synopsis:
I’m not going to summarize every single season of LOST here, but I will give a base line of information for those of you who’ve never watched the show. On September 22, 2004, Oceanic Flight 815 crashed on an island. There were 47 survivors who landed on a beach, but the show only concentrates on 14 of them. Once the show gets going it works in a flashback format. Each episode revolves around one of the 14 central characters. The episode follows this character on the island, and, through flashbacks, reveals who they were off of the island. Of the fourteen in the first season there’s a doctor, a fugitive, a con man, a washed up rock star, a multi-millionaire, a pregnant woman, an Iraqi soldier, and a Korean couple who can’t speak English. The survivors soon learn that when their plane crashed it was over a thousand miles off course, no one is coming for them, and that they are not alone on the island. Throughout the five seasons they discover the different aspects of the island that make it un-like any place on earth and become entangled in its mysteries. The Good:
Everything. Okay, maybe not everything, but seriously, this show is damn near perfect. Because of the flash back format, the cast is truly an ensemble. Every episode there’s a different main character, and every flash back adds more and more dimension to that charecter. Each season has a different sort of theme to it, and season one is all about the character expression, and the relationships the characters have with each other. The relationships that form are surprising, and the secrets each person keeps are even better. Throughout the show new characters are added seamlessly, and all of them much more integral than they first seem. One thing LOST definitely excels at is shocks and twists and cliffhanger endings. The reason why LOST is way better to watch on DVD is because every single episode makes you want to watch the next episode, and with the DVD you don’t have to wait a week to do it, you don’t even have to wait five minutes. The acting is great, and every actor perfectly fits their character. The reason for this is that the creators of the show, instead of forcing the actors to conform to preconceived roles, created parts that fit each actor best. For example, Hurley, one of the best characters on the show, didn’t even exist until the actor who plays him (Gorge Garcia) came in to audition for a different part. The creators liked the actor so much that they made a part tailored specifically for him. But even without this clever casting process, these are a fine bunch of actors. The show is shot in Oahu so it’s a pretty setting, and most of the camera work shows off the beautiful island well. Another thing that the directors do great is juxtaposing the island setting with the flash back settings. If the island story consists of shots with bright blue sky and lush green trees you’ll probably see a lot of muted colors, and concrete buildings in the flash back. This adds variety and extenuates how different the survivor’s new lives on the island will be. The set construction in this show is also fantastic. When they created the plane crash set on the beach in Oahu there were actually people who saw the set and called the police to tell them a plane had crashed. Pretty stupid people probably, but once you watch the pilot you’ll understand why. As the show goes on you’ll see more and more complex sets that all look great. The CGI involved in the show is some of the best around, and often you can’t even tell that it’s in use. There’s not much else to say. One of the best aspects of LOST, by far, is the mythology. The lore of the show is so thick that you’ll find yourself lost in it. The writers have created a story that allows hours of scrutiny and exploration. Every little piece can mean something big, and everything fits. In many episodes the writers include little hidden things that take a quick eye to catch, but can reveal some pretty cool stuff (take a closer look at the shark’s belly in the third episode of season two to catch an easy one). This show excels at everything it does, and excels so well that you’ll want to keep watching and never stop. The Bad:
I did say this show is damn near perfect, but it’s not flawless. The first season is (in my opinion) the best, and afterwards there’s a slight dip in quality. Season two begins with that dip but luckily picks up quickly, and gets back to the good stuff. And, as with every show, there are hit and miss episodes. Once the show gets to season three, it seems that the writers have some problems with the flashbacks. After each character has had three or four of them already, there’s not too “off-island material” left to work with. The addition of new characters helps this immensely, but there are a few flashbacks that even I absolutely hate. The worst example would have to be when the show told the origin story of a tattoo the doctor has. Yes, there was a whole flashback devoted to a tattoo. Luckily, it’s not a frequent thing, and the writers had the foresight to do a little format change for season four. Oh, and you know when I said they integrate the new characters “seamlessly”? Well I lied. There was one case where the integration wasn’t seamless at all. In season three the writers introduced two new characters who we had never seen before but were apparently in the plane crash and had been on the Island all along. The show uses a lot of extras for the forty-odd survivors of 815, but they use the same extras every episode. So these two characters suddenly being brought to the forefront when they had never been acknowledged before wasn’t exactly welcome. But again, the writers were smart enough to fix their mistake, and created one of the best stand-alone episodes that was used to kill these two characters off in an amazing way. That’s pretty much it for me, I think everything else is gold, which is why I’m making a special section for LOST called The Not Actually Bad:
This section will be to address the things that people who are idiots think about the LOST. The absolute number one thing that stupid people think is bad is the complicated nature of the show. Yes the show is complicated, and that’s part of what makes it amazing. The mythology of the whole thing is so intricate that you can’t help but notice the careful construction that went into this show. But so many idiots are so used to mindlessly watching an episode of CSI and then forgetting it before next week’s episode that a show like LOST is completely beyond them. LOST is a heavily serialized show, meaning that each episode plays an integral part in the overlying story arc. Think of it this way, LOST is like a book and each episode is like a chapter. A lot of people (really really stupid people) think they can just miss a few episodes and then jump right back in. And then, when they have no idea what’s going on, they complain that the show is “too confusing”. Have you ever started to read a book, decided to skip a few chapters, and start reading again! No! Not if you wanted to understand the book! So treat serialized shows like books, you need to watch every episode, and if you can’t retain the information for a week, the show will even waste at least a couple minutes of its precious time recapping what happened in the previous episode. Another thing that assholes who’ve never watched the show love to say: “they make it up as they go along”. THEY DO NOT FUCKING MAKE IT UP AS THEY GO ALONG. Just because something is elaborate and complex, doesn’t make it random! If you really watch the show, and you’re not a retard, then everything makes perfect sense. The writers are not going to spell every little thing out for you; you have to think for yourself. And they’re not picking plot lines out of a hat, everything in the show fits. The Final Verdict:
As much as I love LOST, I should say that this show is not for everyone. Each season brings radically new elements to the show, and there is definitely a sci-fi/supernatural vibe to it. If you can’t keep up then don’t watch it. That being said, I acknowledge that LOST is complicated, which is why it’s so much better to watch on DVD, one episode right after the another. But, because the makers of this show are so awesome, they’re giving you every episode for free on Hulu. LOST is a fantastic show, there’s nothing more I can say. Even if you inclined to avoid the show with every fiber of your being, just watch the pilot. It’s free, it’ll only take about 90 minutes, and if you still don’t want to watch afterward I’ll understand, but you should know that you have no soul.
