N. Eric Phillips

I am really getting into this site, a fictional future called Orion’s Arm. Good, hard sci-fi, perfect for stories, games, etc. Very detailed, with humans and intelligent AIs, and the ability to copy your sentience and be immortal. They have a collection of novellas out (I love the quote by a reader that says ”I hated it. No light sabers.”), plus free stories on their website.

I am always excited by creativity made by a group. The more ideas, the better.

While it is a bit more optimistic than what I would have done, there is a lot of room for darkness as well, and I think I have a good idea for a short story for it. It deals with identity and the ancient question of what makes “me” me? In a universe where you can copy yourself, it gets more complicated. I’ll keep you posted.

I’ve got a new composition called The Trail of Cthulhu. Enjoy it:

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Trail of Cthulhu Download (192k MP3 Zipped)

Only a few hours from the season finale of Doctor Who. “The Wedding of River Song” is supposed to wrap up all the mysteries laid out in this confusing, but interesting season, and some that have been introduced in the 2008 season when the character of River Song was first introduced.

There are some who feel that the plot of the arc is too difficult to follow. I don’t think so. In fact, I prefer that the plot makes me think and try too figure it out, instead of letting my brain turn to mush while I watch it. However, if the seaon ends on some kind of deus ex machina, such as last years finale of the same show, I might not be to happy. Its easy to wrap up a story with “magic;” it is harder to do it without.

Doctor Who has been a kind of anthology show since its early days. With the TARDIS the Doctor can go anywhere and have any kind of adventure. Horror this week, comedy the next, sci-fi after that, and then the comedy-horror-sci-fi episode to knock your senses on their ass. Since the revival of the show (and the search for the Key to Time back in 1978 during Tom Baker’s reign as the TV Time Lord) each year has included an arc to the season. The Ninth Doctor dealt with the mystery of Bad Wolf, which became the template for the seasons to come after. With Steven Moffat as show runner, these arc have become more complex. I do enjoy them, but sometimes I just long for the Doctor to travel and encounter new things, letting the writers create great stories. Story arcs are a bonus, but not essential, and I would back off on them after this year, if I called the shots.

As for this season, it has been up and down for me. It is not the strongest overall (probably the 2008 season was for the revived series, and season 12 of the classic series). Here is a quick review of each episode:

The Impossible Astronaut/The Day of the Moon

Opening two parter. Great alien, with an awesome schtick (the memory thing). Confusing, but full of intriguing questions, a great guest star (Mark Sheppard, aka “Badger” from Firefly), some very creepy moments, but the ending victory seemed too easy. Plusgood.

The Curse of the Black Spot

A classic “it’s not what you think” Doctor Who story. Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) shines as Captain Henry Avery. For old time Who fans, there is even a connection to the 1966 first Doctor story, the Smugglers. Double Plusgood.

The Doctor’s Wife

Penned by Neil “Sandman” Gaiman, a long time fan of the show, this is an imaginative romp mixing humor and horror and one of the most unorthodox marriages in literature. And he brings back the Time Lord Cubes, not seen since they appeared in the last Patrick Troughton episode, The War Games.  Double Plusgood.

The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People

Ambitious story about the nature of sentience and the soul. While good, it mighthave been better as a single episode. As it is, it is a little slow paced. Good.

A Good Man Goes to War

This is the opposite of the previous episode, with the 44 minutes of TV over packed to almost bursting. This would have been better as a two-parter. The plot is hyper fast, sometimes glossing over moments early on, especially the character of Madame Kovarian, but still manages to make the end heartbreaking. Except for me, everyone claims to have seen the big reveal at the end coming. Add in homages to Star Wars, and it is very watchable. Double plusgood.

Let’s Kill Hitler

Best title ever. A fun romp through Berlin during the Third Reich. Great dialog, plus Rory got to punch Hitler. The whole story surround River fills in a lot of her back story and glows with intensity. The secondary story, the time-travelers that take people away right before they die to be punished for crimes is interesting but could have been developed more. This episode also suffers from the “goofy robot” syndrome. This one had weird octopus bots who, if you forget to wear your security bracelet, kill you while being very polite. Plus good.

Night Terrors

A pointless story, with only the production design of the dolls a positive. A real shame as it came from Shelock scribe Mark Gatiss. Skip it.

The Girl Who Waited

Brilliant story with great design and emotional depth. Proves that Doctor Who is more than sci-fi. It is good storytelling. And what would Rory do with two Amy’s? Downside, the goofy robots. Who designs robots without eyes so they can see with their hands? Double plusgood.

The God Complex

Great story made too close to Night Terrors. Both are claustrophobic horror stories. This one is done well, getting into the psyche’s of all the characters, and exploring the Doctor’s relationships with his traveling companions, which was (and is still) rather narcissistic on the good Doctor’s part. Also, great tie in with the Tom Baker era story The Horns of Nimon. Double plusgood.

Closing Time

Sequel to The Lodger, again brilliantly showcasing guest star James Corden. Baby troubles and insecurity are the order of the day for the Doctor and Craig. This is a lighthearted adventure that works well as a break between the tension of The God Complex and the insanity you know will be in the season finale. Also features the return of the Cybermen (and the Cybermat, last seen in 1974), and while they are a cameo, are well used. Double plusgood.

The Wedding of River Song

Check back for my thoughts.

Ande Alvarez

Back in 2001, my production company, like so many other people and organizations, wanted to help out with the recovery after 9/11. We ended up recording a promotional single, and selling it at a local bank to raise money for the United Way. It was a great song, The Phoenix. Gary Bosko (http://www.foolforlifecoaching.com/) produced and mixed. A lot of great players joined us on the project, all friends to us,  including Dan Warner (http://www.afm655.org/about/staff/warner.htm), and Lee Levin (http://www.leelevin.com/). The brilliant vocals are by Ande Alvarez, then a high-schooler, now making a career for herself on stage (check her on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/user/andevon7#p/u).

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The Phoenix (Download, MP3 192k, zipped)

Music & Lyrics (c)2001 Gary Bosko & Amy Sanchez. All Rights Reserved.

The new Torchwood gang, in a rare moment lacking either sex or violence.

I am excited for the conclusion of Torchwood: Miracle Day. First off, I am a big fanboy of all things Doctor Who, but unlike some fanboys (hear me Star Wars prequel apologists), I call it as I see it. Miracle Day  has, at times, been amazing (death of Vera; story of Jack and Angelo), and sometimes it becomes the worst offender of bad writing (Ernie Hudson and his ten pages of exposition in the Middle Men episode). The characters have been good, with the women of the show being the standouts (Eve Miles, Alexa Havens, and Lauren Ambrose; and do not forget Sharon Morgan as Gwen’s mother). A big win for the series is characters. Everyone has their moments to shine heroically, and to deal personally with tragedy, and making us feel for them as people.

A large problem is that the plot tries to be realistic, looking at how the world would deal with a planet wide, life-changing incident. However, the tone of the Torchwood franchise has always been a more over the top than realistic, and the two tones do not always mix well in this series. A bigger problem is the length of the series; ten episodes are about four to five too many. Throughout the series too little was introduced in moving the plot and the audience understanding of what is going on, and then in episode nine so much was introduced. Spreading this across the episodes would have kept us wanting to find out the next fact, rather than just saying “WTF?” week after week.

Best yet, this series goes back to classic sci-fi at the end of episode nine, and gives us the space vagina. I am talking about the Blessing. Not since a toothed gash in the ground named the Sarlacc in Return of the Jedi made us ponder the Freudian nightmare hidden in George Lucas’ subconscious, Torchwood takes it one further by showing us a bloody slit in the Earth that gives some power, and destroys others. Jilly feels the power of it, and revels in it, much I imagine she does naked in front of a full-length mirror anyway.

This is why geeks do not get laid... pure frakkin terror.

Sorry to be away for a bit. Moving, painting, writing… its been a busy time. Keep reading. More to come…

Tim Burton would have made a crappy SuperMovie, but at least it would have been more interesting than Superman Returns, aka "SuperBore."

I agree, mostly, with this article on Cracked.com called 8 (Pointless) Laws All Comic Book Movies Follow. However, after you read it, I have a few thoughts.

First, let me say I do not have a problem with movies changing facts about the heroes, to some degree. Certainly comics have changed the origins and powers of all their heroes over the years. So, I usually look at the film version as its own universe. For example, I think having Daredevil having to sleep in an isolation tank is a neat addition for the Daredevil movie. Where is really breaks down is when they change the characters so that they little resemble the originals. I am talking about Batman and Robin (what up Bane?), or the X-Men movies, where Rogue was actually Kitty Pryde with Rogue’s powers. You know, just make up a new character instead of taking the piss out of a beloved character.

The main problems with comic-book films is the problem many genre adaptations have in common. Producers buy the rights to make the movie because there is a built in fan base, then they get scared that general audiences will not get it, and then make changes that usually result in neither audience liking it. In that respect, super hero movies are better than they used to be. Spider-Man and Batman Begins being the top.  I mean, does anyone think the Dark Phoenix story in X-Men 3 was anywhere as good as the one in the original comic (answer: Fraking no!)? Worse yet, they may adapt the story very well, but change the end to a pile of crap thinking the ending is too smart for Americans (finger pointed at Watchmen). In a semi-comic book fashion (as these stories were adapted into comics over the years), we get the new Conan movie, which instead of adapting some of the great old stories of Robert E. Howard, they make up something new that pales in comparison to the original (and makes it an origin story to boot).

I do think Cracked is almost dead on in this one, except that sometimes the cliché works. Take Spider-Man 2. Yeah he loses his power, but the effect is such a great analogy to erectile dysfunction that it works. This is an example where playing with the cliché in an unexpected way makes it fresh. Writing  a cliché is lazy; reinventing a cliché is genius.

You can never tell much by a trailer. Usually they present a high level of coolness, with scenes of awe, or the best lines in the film, or the coolest sequences. Many times, the trailer is better than the film. I downloaded the Star Wars: Episode I trailer and watched it a hundred times, because it was so amazing; the actual film is a bug pile of dingos kidneys.

This is why I am not going to see Conan, coming out this month. Frankly, the trailer is dark, boring, and completely un-captivating. In it, nothing is a standout. Conan’s lines are lame. Nothing stands out. There is no scene from the trailer I say to my friends, “did you see that part…” What do you think?

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One of my pet peeves is seeing Shakespeare performed in a fake English accent by Americans (please note: I am American). Most actors I have seen have an accent that sounds British but is either a collection of British sounds glued together as to be no real British dialect, or a variant of Cockney, which is the British equivalent of a Brooklyn accent. This is because most actors in America have little instruction in dialects. In England, most actors get training in dialects so they can play people from different areas. England is a small country, but has many more regional accents than here in America.

I have always been of the opinion that if you are performing Shakespeare monologues, do it in your natural speech. Do not go British. In a production, let the actors use a general American accent, or relocate the play (as so many productions do today) to another setting, using the accent that would be there. For instance, Much Ado About Nothing set in Georgia during the Civil War would use Southern accents, or you could go upper crust Boston where you set a play such as Love’s Labour’s Lost.

For more on this, see this article on the Bard Blog: http://www.bardblog.com/a-shakespearean-accent/

Now, some argue that Shakespeare was English, so it should be presented with a British accent is bollocks. The British accent, much like the American accent, has changed much over the last four hundred years. If you saw a Shakespeare play when it was first performed you would hear an odd accent, more guttural, and slightly more American (and I can see that pirate speak was descended from this as well). It is not posh or upper crusty, more urban.

Here is an article from NPR to listen to: 

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And here is a scene from A Midsummer’s Night Dream performed in the Bard’s accent:

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