Firefly Disc #3 Part 1

The countdown to the movie is on! Only two more weeks and two more discs to review.

Out of Gas – Probably one of the best all-round episodes. As Mal struggles to fix Serenity he flashes back to two levels of the past: The far past when he bought the ship and brought the crew together, and the more recent past when Serenity breaks down and life support stops. The three levels of time are intertwined as Mal moves through the ship, with only lighting changes to help the audience adapt.

But more important than the technical aspects is the crew and their initial impressions. We find out that carefree, mustachioed Wash didn’t initially make much of an impression on Zoë. Free-lovin’ Kaylee made a big impression… it also explains some of her attraction to Simon. But the most important meeting was with Jayne… we now know where his true loyalties are, Jayne is only loyal to Jayne.

The final scene still raises the hairs on the back of my neck. Mal is staring off in the distance while a used-space ship salesman tries to interest him in something. And what is Mal so interested in? Serenity, sitting apart from the others, looking as serene as her name implies.

Ariel – As Kaylee so succinctly sums up at the end, first they kill Simon and River, then they steal some medicine, then they spring the others that got snatched by the feds. River’s pursuers are defined a little more in this episode. The men with the blue hands don’t seem to be feds from the Alliance, nor do they seem entirely human. Their eerie “Men in Black” creepy weapon makes their slow but inexorable chase seem that much more horrible.

Everyone manages to escape intact, the crew has some booty, and Simon has some medical information that could help River. But even he seems perplexed by what “they” did to her. The movie promises to explain all.

Also in this episode, Jayne’s treachery comes to fruition. But a last minute flare of humanity saves him from being sucked out to space. The others may not be aware of what has happened, but Mal will never forget.

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LIBRARIANS: the GPS locators in a wilderness of information.Some day when I grow up, I wanna be a librarian.

I love a man in a uniform!

Lately I’ve been raving about that upstanding sword of justice, Hugh Beringar of Maesbury, deputy sheriff of Shrewsbury. Let’s now fast-forward about 900 years to an upstanding service revolver of justice. I’m talking about Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, head of the British branch of the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (U.N.I.T.)



The Brig (as his giddy fans like to call him) is a major ally to the Doctor in the British series “Doctor Who.” After that fiasco with “Monarch of the Glen” I have finally gotten back to watching every episode I can find of Doctor Who. I just finished “Spearhead from Space” the episode that introduces Jon Pertwee as the third Doctor. The Brig had been seen earlier in “Web of Fear” where he was just a Colonel in the British Army. The attack of robotic Yeti made the army consider a special taskforce to combat alien invasion. Their first trial was in “The Invasion” when the newly promoted Brig gets to fight the dreaded Cybermen. All this was with Patrick Troughton’s Doctor.

“Spearhead from Space” marks the beginning of the UNIT episodes of the Earthbound Doctor as well as introducing Liz Shaw, the Doctor’s latest companion. Liz is a prickly witch in this first episode, especially when she is dealing with the Brig. Unlike a stereotypical military man, the Brig is very much a gentleman and (unlike Liz) extremely open-minded when it comes to the possibility of alien invasion.

I attribute this to his very practical nature. Aliens have invaded before, and aliens might invade again… and if you see an alien, then shoot first and wonder about it later. It’s good to have a practical man on your side with a loaded service revolver, especially when so many people want to be all Steven-Speilbergy about aliens and take them home to cuddle. Some aliens don’t want to cuddle; they just want your planet. So, HOORAY for the Brig… Five rounds rapid!

The DVD of “Spearhead” features a very nice “UNIT recruitment film” which features the Brig and clips from over the years. Commentary is given by Nicholas Courtney who played the Brig and Caroline John who played Liz Shaw. This is a very nice package and a very nice addition to any collection.

N.B. – Jon Pertwee (Doctor Who #3) is the father of Sean Pertwee (Hugh Beringar.) It’s an acting-family thing.

<*<*<*<>*>*>* >
LIBRARIANS: the GPS locators in a wilderness of information.
Some day when I grow up, I wanna be a librarian.

Alaska Ho!

I’m mid-way through “RVing Alaska and Canada” by Sharlene “Charlie” Minshall. This book is all about traveling to the North Country in an RV and the adventures that Charlie had in her three trips there. The beginning is a bit dry as it simply lists helpful hints to those who are planning the trip. Since I’m not going anyplace interesting for a while, I settled back to enjoy another person’s adventures and mis-adventures.

The main part of the book is a bit choppy since it tries to relate three different routes on three different occasions. But, with a decent map in front of you, you too can travel along with Charlie. (I’m getting nostalgic for John Steinbeck all of a sudden.)

She relates unflinchingly the mistakes she made along the way so that you don’t make the same ones. She also tries to relate the beauty of Alaska and Canada, but only a million more pictures could help. There are a few black and white photos scattered about but none can express what is truly there.

I am enchanted at the moment by a library in Eagle Pass, Alaska where, says Charlie, the town gathers during the long, dark winter nights to get books and tapes. I am putting this library on my list of libraries to visit. I also would like to see the university library in Fairbanks.

This books really makes you want to go and live your dreams!

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LIBRARIANS: the GPS locators in a wilderness of information. Some day when I grow up, I wanna be a librarian.

The Hue and Cry for Hugh

“Monk’s Hood” the third Cadfael mystery by Ellis Peters is a great read. This books dives deeply into the herbal lore that is so appealing to me. Cadfael’s Monk’s Hood oil, used to relieve pain is used instead to murder. He bravely protects the innocent while keeping out of the way of the abbot-by-proxy, Prior Robert.

The worst aspect of this book is that Hugh Beringar doesn’t make an appearance until about three-quarters of the way through. And even then he is off hunting clues while Cadfael has to go to Wales alone to confront the murderer.

In the video/DVD, Hugh (played by Sean Pertwee) shows up a good deal sooner and gets more involved. Oh joy!!


Just so you don’t think it’s just me who finds Hugh so appealing, check this link out for an interesting essay on “One Corpse Too Many” and the introduction of Hugh Beringar.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/monkshould/HughBeringar.html

<*<*<*<>*>*>* >
www.netflix.com provides me with all the DVD’s I can handle.
As for books, my thanks go out to www.amazon.com, Borders (a chai latte, please!) and all the used book sales I can get to.
For anything I can’t find in any of these places, I go to my local library. (Interlibrary Loans are SHINY!)

LIBRARIANS: the GPS locators in a wilderness of information.Some day when I grow up, I wanna be a librarian.

Cartoons, Anime and Manga… oh my!

My Saturday mornings are taken up with as many cartoons as I can handle. Between 4Kids TV and Kids WB I watch “Yugioh”, “Winx Club”, “Shaolin Showdown”, “Teen Titans”, “Shaman King”, “One Piece” … and anything else I stumble across. I also surf to Nickelodeon to see “Danny Phantom”, “Kim Possible” or “Fairly Odd Parents.” I leave Cartoon Network for evenings only because during the day all they seem to show is “Scooby Do.” I didn’t like that show when I was a kid and I don’t like it now. But Cartoon Network shows a great deal of anime, some of which is crap. In the crap pile is “Lupin III” one of the crappiest anime I have ever seen. Others include ones whose names I can’t even remember, that’s how crappy they were. In the NOT crap pile is “Inuyasha”, “Cowboy Bebop”, “The Big O” and “Samurai Jack.” SJ is not strictly speaking an anime since it didn’t originate from a manga or from Japan, but its one of my favorites.

It’s funny to watch the bizarrely watered down versions of Japanese anime… not fun, just funny. Cigarettes turn into toothpicks or lollipops, guns and blood disappear entirely and buxom women get an extra layer of clothing. I would much rather watch the real version, which is why I rent discs. “Yu Yu Hakusho” is a particular favorite of mine and is particularly violent. Demons get split down the middle in geysers of blood and gore. People get drunk, smoke, swear, and punch each others faces into bloody pulp. But none of this happens in the American version. Even though it was shown late night on Cartoon Network, it was still edited to within an inch of its life.

But even the anime can’t compare to the manga. Shonen Jump, the weekly Japanese manga has made a monthly version for North America. There you can see the original “Yu Yu Hakusho” and be amazed at how gory black and white can be. I’m a bit behind on my manga reading, so maybe I’ll review some of those later. Right now I just got “Dr. Strange: Essential Vol. 1” which reprints Strange Tales #110, 111 & 114-168. In other words, the first appearance of Doc Strange way back in 1963. This is going to be a treat.

If you’re not into comics or manga, I recommend “Understanding Comics” by Scott McCloud. It is a deep, philosophical, but FUN book about comics. This is a Doctorial Dissertation in manga form! After reading this book you will never look at comics the same again.

<*<*<*<>*>*>* >
www.netflix.com provides me with all the DVD’s I can handle.
As for books, my thanks go out to www.amazon.com, Borders (a chai latte, please!) and all the used book sales I can get to.
For anything I can’t find in any of these places, I go to my local library. (Interlibrary Loans are SHINY!)

LIBRARIANS: the GPS locators in a wilderness of information.Some day when I grow up, I wanna be a librarian.

News and Notes

My friend “Rita” has started a blog here at Blogger. Find out what Rita’s reading at http://ritabook.blogspot.com

I taped most of “Rome” week on the History channel so I will be reviewing them in fits and starts. I noticed that I don’t talk a lot about the regular television shows I watch because I don’t watch too many. But here’s a breakdown day by day.

Sunday – “Law and Order: Criminal Intent”: I once was a big fan of the original LI show, but when Michael Moriarty left I didn’t stay with it too much longer. But this show is closer to the traditional British mystery than most American shows. Vincent Donofrio plays the intensely intelligent (and vaguely non-social) lead detective who likes going to a library. This season with the addition of Chris Noth (from the original L.I.) the “street smarts” factor will be upped. I hope this isn’t a bad omen. I really like the “book smarts” factor.

Monday – This summer I’ve been watching “History Detectives” on PBS. But for a while now, the show is increasingly disappointing. Two of the four “detectives” are just antiques dealers and I don’t trust their expertise… only when it comes to saying how much a family heirloom is worth, which to me is not the point of historical interest. I’d like to think that behind the hosts is a phalanx of librarians and professional researchers getting the story straight.

Also on Mondays is “Weird USA” on the History Channel by two guys from New Jersey. When I lived there I remember their kooky magazines “Weird N.J.” The show is very much the same as the mag and great fun to watch.

Wednesdays I try to watch “Mythbusters” on the Discovery channel. But lately a great deal of the show is taken up with other people besides Jamie and Adam, the regular hosts. There’s Lidia the tattooed lady, Punky Brewster (all growed up!), and Soul Patch, the man with no personality. I don’t much like these other people and so I don’t watch the show as much. I don’t mind a few kooky characters on occasion, but Jamie (the pretend military guy) and Adam (the pretend adult) are about as much as I can handle.

Everyday during the week I get all the news I need from the Daily Show and occasional visits to the Weather Channel. I’m not interested in the fluff and nonsense that goes on in this world unless it is portrayed as fluff and nonsense as on the Daily Show.

Saturdays are a big deal, so more on that later.

<*<*<*<>*>*>* >
www.netflix.com provides me with all the DVD’s I can handle.
As for books, my thanks go out to www.amazon.com, Borders (a chai latte, please!) and all the used book sales I can get to.
For anything I can’t find in any of these places, I go to my local library. (Interlibrary Loans are SHINY!)

LIBRARIANS: the GPS locators in a wilderness of information.Some day when I grow up, I wanna be a librarian.

Firefly Disk 2, part 2

Our Mrs. Reynolds – This episode shows the bad side to being a trained companion… seduction for the purpose of killing people and stealing their things. Jealous Inara realizes she really likes Mal and kissed him in haste (only to regret it a second later.) And we are introduced to Vera, Jayne’s favorite gun. Generally speaking, it’s a fun episode.

Jaynestown – Watching this episode must be what it feels like to go insane. The premise is so outrageous that it’s hard to laugh… but laugh I do! Jayne’s act of stupidity makes him a folk hero in a mud pit (literally!) of a town. But when hero-worship goes too far and someone sacrifices himself for Jayne, even the big lummox wonders what it all means.

Despite his uncertain and somewhat shady past and his generally surly attitude, Jayne is trying to evolve into the semblance of a human being. He has plenty of time to stumble on the way, but for now, the seed of uncertainty has been planted. What does it all mean? Indeed.

Favorite line: Simon (slightly drunk) calling Jayne a “box-dropping man-ape gone wrong.” Earlier he said he was “like a trained ape, without the training.” Okay… that’s two lines, but it’s a funny episode. Oh... and then there’s Wash wanting to go “to the crappy town where I’m a hero.” And Jayne singing the Jayne song, “The man they call…ME.” And Inara’s reaction when she discovers Jayne is the “Hero of Canton.” And River being frightened by Book’s hair. And well… just watch the whole episode.

<*<*<*<>*>*>* >
www.netflix.com provides me with all the DVD’s I can handle.
As for books, my thanks go out to www.amazon.com, Borders (a chai latte, please!) and all the used book sales I can get to.
For anything I can’t find in any of these places, I go to my local library. (Interlibrary Loans are SHINY!)

LIBRARIANS: the GPS locators in a wilderness of information.