The JackB

"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'." Groucho Marx

Television

The Lost Series Finale

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It is a few minutes after 1 A.M and Jack the vampire boy is wide awake and thinking about the LOST series finale. I watched every episode of that show from start to finish. I wouldn’t identify myself as one of the hardcore fans who followed it with religious adoration, but I was a regular.

A regular who very much enjoyed the series and found many of the episodes to be outstanding. Not just outstanding but intriguing. They did what a good show is supposed to do, they drew me in and made me feel. They engaged my mind and made me ask questions about what was happening. In that respect I am sure that I was quite similar to millions of other fans.

So while I was sorry to see the show end I was pleased to have the opportunity to have those questions answered. As the the final episodes ticked away I grew more interested and more intrigued by what the finale would share with us.

And I prayed that it wouldn’t fall into the same trap as The Sopranos Finale. Ok, it is an exaggeration to say that I prayed for something better, but I was hopeful that the writers would find a way to end it that left some of the magic intact.

Unfortunately it fell just short of the mark. It was great until the final ten minutes and then the writers succumbed to the easy way out. That ending was far too predictable and quite unsatisfying. To me it wasn’t much different from a thousand episodes of Gilligan’s Island.

Every week the castaways would discover a way to get off of the island and every week their escape/rescue would be foiled by Gilligan making some bumble headed mistake. I wanted more out of it. As a writer and a fan I wanted more, but I didn’t get it.

Granted I recognize that it is not always easy to take a story and thread the needle the way this one needed to be threaded. My own fiction is riddled with inconsistencies, cliches and weak plot lines that could use polishing and development. One of my concerns with writing a book is that I don’t fall into that cesspool of ridiculous writing.

But then again I am not paid a very healthy salary to work as a writer. I like to think that if I was I could do better. I like to think that I would have found a way not to take the easy way out. I like to think that I wouldn’t have opted for the choice that they made.

Or so I think. I am sure that many others will consider the finale to be a masterpiece. They won’t be bothered as I am or concerned because it didn’t answer as many questions as I would have liked.

In any case I am appreciative of the time and effort that cast and crew put in. They did a good job of entertaining us and that is worth more than a little.

Tales of a Third Grade Somebody

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And now friends, family and neighbors I bring you the results of the great election of 2009, the rumble in the jungle, the third grade election extravaganza. Damn if I don’t wish that Howard Cosell was here to provide the color commentary.

On a side note I just sat through that entire clip of Cosell and Ali- I miss those days. Sometimes that is. I don’t really miss that wacky 70’s fashion, but at least I can say that I wasn’t responsible for buying it.

Anyway, in the words of this reporter the election was quite the spectacle. Damn again, people just don’t do Howard Cosell impressions anymore. And you don’t hear about Nipsey Russell  or Match Game either.

My relatively shy and unassuming third grader talked his way right into office. It was very cool to see how excited he was about it all and kind of funny to hear him tell me how many of his friends have already asked for political favors.

“Dad, they want me to make recess longer and to get new snacks.”

The look on his face when I told him that none of those things were possible was priceless. He liked all of those ideas and had every intention of trying to make them come to fruition. And thus began his introduction to politics.

Wonder where this will all lead, if anywhere, at all.

ER- The Series Finale

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Fifteen years ago I was a single guy living in my own place. I had a television but no cable so reception was often spotty. I really didn’t watch much television. If I did it was usually to watch the Lakers or Dodgers play, or to catch a movie on my VCR.

Occasionally my girlfriend and I would watch this new show called ER. It wasn’t bad and over time I found myself drawn to it. I don’t think that I have seen every episode. I know that there have been periods of time where I wasn’t into it and I either missed the shows or barely paid attention to it.

So I find myself feeling a bit surprised to say that I am kind of sad to see it go. Not totally sure why. Perhaps because it seems a bit like a bridge between now and that time when I had no responsibilities.

When they got it right they really did it well. There were some stories that really captured my attention.

The series finale was good. It was strong. Didn’t go out on some sort of wacky tangent. Didn’t find myself shaking my head like I did for Life on Mars or Battlestar Galatica.

They didn’t tie up every loose end and I appreciate that. Life doesn’t always work out exactly as we plan. I really appreciated the ending of the finale because it felt honest.

Goodbye ER, I think that I just might miss you.

Battlestar Galactica

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I was a bit late getting into the current incarnation of Battlestar Galactica but I am quite glad that I have. While the cylons aren’t as much fun as those I used to see at Universal Studios it has been a lot of fun.

I am not going to spend any time discussing whether the show offers a metaphor for what is happening in the real world. No time talking about whether Cylons are really Soviets and Humans are Americans.

In general I stay away from that sort of crap. I watch television shows for one of two purposes. It is either educational or entertaining. It just kills me to spend time talking about what the writers really meant. Sometimes water is just water and a red shirt is just red.

Life is far too complicated as it is.

Anyhoo, I loved this latest episode. I like seeing the momentum build towards the final few episodes and I still don’t buy into who they have set up as the final cylon.

Let’s Remake The Love Boat

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In a time when Hollywood seems unable or unwilling to develop and execute new ideas for movies I’d like to take a crack at remaking The Love Boat.

I suppose that you can say that I got the idea from this story:

“(CNN) — A 30,000-ton luxury cruise ship outran pirates off the coast of Yemen this weekend, the ship’s owner said Monday.The Nautica was in an area patrolled by international anti-piracy task forces when two small skiffs appeared to try to intercept it, Oceania spokesman Tim Rubacky said.

The ship took evasive maneuvers and accelerated to its full speed of 23 knots or 27 mph. One of the smaller craft closed to within 300 yards and fired eight rifle shots at the cruise ship, he said, but the ship was able to pull away.

It was the first report of a pirate attack on a passenger ship of its size this year, said Cyrus Mody of the International Maritime Bureau, which runs a piracy reporting center.

“There have been a couple of passenger yachts hijacked, but they were much smaller,” he said. It is “quite common” for pirates to target ships the size of the Nautica and even larger, he said, but they tend to be cargo ships, not passenger vessels.”

In my Love Boat they’d have a series of adventures as they sailed through the horrible pirate blockade. There’d be lots of different characters:

A robot who’d say cool stuff like “Danger Shmata Queen”

A captain who’d be modeled sort of along the James T. Kirk character.

A goofy bartender who’d be a cross between Isaac and Moe.

And of course I’d make my own guest appearance as the quiet passenger who just happens to be an expert in whatever sort of expertise the plot of that episode required. Kind of a cross between Macguyver and the Professor.

It is rough, but there is potential. What do you think.