Category Archives: television shows

Don’t Dumb Down Science Fiction For Women (Surprise! Women Are Smart)

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Sometimes a television show or film will take an unorthodox narrative style. That’s standard. Sometimes the setting is surprising for the story or genre being depicted—an easily recognizable example would be Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, which seems to largely shy away from admitting that it’s set in a version of the DC Universe. But a lot of people enjoyed that, so okay. That’s a stylistic choice.

But sometimes, a science fiction show is written more as a drama, focusing on “the human story,” not because of a genuine stylistic preference but because of, well, sexism. Courting a wider audience. Which translates to: “Courting a female audience.”

I will be honest: I have a vested interest in this topic, as I write fantasy (a broad umbrella term that includes science fiction). I would love to have some books made into television series. I would really love to micro-manage those shows (I’m a control-freak; it’s not an uncommon quality in writers).

But I’m also a viewer. I grew up watching a lot of science fiction (even when I was young enough that I would go and make LEGO reproductions of what I had seen). Stargate, Babylon 5, Farscape, and even Star Trek and Andromeda.

Sorry, Delenn from Babylon 5 can’t hear your preconceived misogynistic notions over the sound of what a terrifying badass female protagonist she is.

There is a lot less science fiction on television right now (especially now that Clone Wars has come to an end after five magnificent seasons). What little there is tends to be these sorts of terrestrial dramas. Campy science fiction like Eureka or Warehouse 13 combined with Battlestar Galactica to, well, kind of destroy science fiction. Wacky adventures with a relatively low-budget or gripping dramas that mostly capitalize on being upsetting aren’t what I want out of any television show. But people are letting networks get away with it.

And to networks? Well, shows that “tell stories about people” (most shows do; I only worry when they repeat that line again and again when advertising a new show) are really saying: “We don’t think that women will watch more traditional science fiction. Research says that women dominate certain markets of television viewership. We want to attract women. Women don’t like science. They like romance.”

Which is, um, incredibly insulting to women.

I’ll admit that any Star Trek series can be weird and episodic and so hit-and-miss that it’s usually easier to watch select episodes that are particularly good or deal with certain story-arcs than it is to watch the Overly Didactic Episodes (TM). But Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis? They told excellent stories with a small group of really interesting characters.

And Babylon 5? Guys, if Game of Thrones were set in space and dealt with alien races instead of human noble houses, it would just be called Babylon 5. Same kinds of excellent story-arcs. Same kinds of characters.

If you want people to watch your show or your films, make a good story. Make a great one. Give it a wonderful setting and execute it properly. Hire the right actors and make sure that your writing is airtight.

Don’t change your story angle because you think that if you use smaller words, girls, who like romantic comedies and princesses, will come flocking to watch your show. They’ll probably see it for being garbage and stop watching and be just as disappointed as your male viewers.

And then girls will actually have a thing against science fiction.

 

PS: Yes, this means you, SeeFee (“SyFy”) Channel. A few years ago, you suddenly forgot that your name was spelled “SciFi” and your programming turned into garbage. I mean, it’s great if you want to watch ghosthunters or professional wrestling. But, as it stands, the SeeFee Channel is an insult to everything that it used to be. Kind of like how Stargate Universe was a big, stupid slap in the face to the previous two Stargate series.



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The Bible Miniseries

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Were any of you able to watch the History Channel’s miniseries, The Bible, all of the way through?

I’ll be honest—I started to watch. I did not make it very far. I did not even make it to what people are calling the “ninja angels” in Sodom. I mostly just saw Noah telling the story of Genesis in a thick Scottish brogue while the ark comically rocks back and forth.

Yes, that’s really how it began.

I did not grow up in a household of an Abrahamic faith, so, aside from reading a passage from the Old Testament in my high school World Literature class (we were comparing Noah’s Ark and a couple of other snippets with The Epic Of Gilgamesh), I had no direct exposure to the Bible until college, when I bought a copy of the Bible for a class (Old Testament Literature, a very interesting class) and read through the Old Testament.

So I was able to get through reading it, but not very far in the miniseries. At some point, I may try again, but goodness it was a little odd.

The main things that I read and heard about from the series were the ninja angels (killing the people of Sodom), Noah’s Scottish brogue (which I had already seen), and Jesus, who was apparently “super hot.” (Thus, the picture at the top of this post)

I’m not much for beards, but yeah, he’s hot. And, for some reason, white? White with a tan is still white.

A lot of people have strong opinions about religion and its portrayal on television. I mean, you have shows like The CW’s Supernatural, which, if you take it too seriously, is all but guaranteed to offend you on religious grounds no matter what beliefs you have. I happen to like Supernatural, but I also know to not take it seriously. Then The History Channel has Ancient Aliens, which is offensive to anyone with a sense of reason, but which also essentially reduces all religious belief to a bunch of confused humans misinterpreting contact with extraterrestrials.

I would like to just dismiss Ancient Aliens by assuming that we live in a reasonable world and that no one takes it seriously. But we live in a world where people believe in vast Illuminati conspiracies and actually take Glenn Beck seriously. Sadly, people will take just about anything seriously.

Personally, I think that putting religious material on television makes sense. If you can write it down, you can put it on television, whether it’s from a holy book (pretty specific to the Abrahamic faiths) or from other religious writings, storytelling, and, especially, history.

The Bible miniseries got a lot of viewers. I have to wonder how many of those were just “the Sunday crowd.” By which I mean, how many people watched it purely because of what it was—because they felt some level of religious obligation to watch it? Kind of like how I really like a few members of the cast of the See-Fee (SyFy) Channel’s new series, Defiance, so I tried to watch it even though it can’t really hold my interest in the long run and some of the makeup is positively cringe-worthy.

(Seriously, I love a couple of those cast members to pieces, but I didn’t make it to the third episode of Defiance and I doubt that I’ll go back to it, even though I want more actual science fiction on television and I love the concept of a television series that is tied to an MMO)

When you make a religious broadcast (or statement), you are bound to offend someone. This miniseries on The Bible followed the Bible’s narratives of events, rather than what archeology and history suggest actually happened. That’s pretty much expected. I’m not offended by The History Channel telling that story. I don’t believe in it—it would be weird if I did, considering that I’m not Jewish or Christian or Muslim.

So, I’m glad that The History Channel did this. It’s certainly better than their Fake History shows like Ancient Aliens and their ridiculous reality shows (stuff about truckers and pawn shops, maybe?).

Speaking of History Channel programming, have you guys seen any of Vikings? I saw the beginning and I really enjoyed it. I haven’t caught up yet, but I love it. And not just because some of my ancestors were vikings. But, yes, also because of that.



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Elementary Does It Correctly

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First of all, it’s May 4th. Star Wars Day. May The Fourth Be With You.

Guys, do you watch Elementary? I know that some of the people who watch BBC’s Sherlock (of which there have been only six episodes because you can get away with that in the UK, apparently) are diehard loyalists. Personally, I’m kind of tired of looking at Bennysnoot Cummerbund* and I don’t even watch the show (his face is just unavoidable on Tumblr), so Sherlock will probably never catch my interest. That said, I am a huge supporter of liking both—do not think of different Sherlock shows as mutually exclusive.

Anyway, I love Elementary. Jonny Lee Miller plays Sherlock Holmes. The beautiful, talented, and flawless Lucy Liu plays Joan Watson. I absolutely love the show—most of the first season has aired. It’s not as good as NBC’s brand new show Hannibal, but then, Hannibal is the best live-action show on the air right now (and definitely my favorite new show of 2013).

Right, so. Elementary. It’s fun. Some people find Jonny Lee Miller very attractive—I don’t. I appreciate his character’s competence, though. I love genderbending of Dr. Watson’s character into a woman (a former surgeon). And, seriously, Lucy Liu is amazing and perfect and if you do not believe me then you have obviously not seen Kill Bill and/or anything else that features Lucy Liu.

The character of “Mrs. Hudson” is not as much of a staple of the Sherlock Holmes universe as the titular character or Professor Moriarty (whom we have yet to see directly), but she is a character in the original stories and in many subsequent adaptations. She is often Sherlock’s landlord and something of a fussbudget about tidiness.

Elementary only introduced their Mrs. Hudson recently. She is an associate (what Sherlock calls his friends) of Sherlock’s. She is a self-taught intellectual who finds herself acting as a “muse” (a mistress) to various men who may be married (in her first episode, she comes to Sherlock for a place to sleep during a break-up with her lover, who is clearly besotted with her and is promising to leave his wife but we all know that story, right?). She is a tall, beautiful woman. She likes things tidy—at one point, she cleans the front room of Sherlock’s brownstone (which Watson is always wanting for him to clean). Mrs. Hudson also rearranges Sherlocks books. He asks how she arranged them. Mrs. Hudson replies:

“By subject matter, then by author. You start with hard sciences on the north wall, then you move clockwise around the room in descending order of academic rigor. That way, Physics by Aristotle is as far away from You Can Learn Telepathy by Morton Zuckerman as possible.”

That was the line with which I really fell in love with her.

And oh, by the way, she’s transgender. Played by a transgender actress.

I think that sometimes people include members of various minorities for the wrong reasons, or in the wrong way. Not every gay character should be a fashion expert (like in real life—I might have perfect hair and always be clean and smell good, but I dress in a t-shirt and shorts as often as possible because I value my comfort). A lot of what happens nowadays with gay characters or certain religious minorities is a step in the right direction but still missing the we’re-all-people point (and kind of reminds me of blackspoitation).

Elementary does it correctly. No one fumbles, accidentally calling Mrs. Hudson a “he” or “it.” Her story is not about the fact that she’s transgender. Her boyfriend isn’t breaking up with her because she’s transgender. She is not being discriminated against or targeted and coming to Sherlock for help because she’s transgender. She’s just a woman in a rocky relationship and she needs a place to stay for a couple of nights. While she’s there, she does some tidying, and ends up being hired by Sherlock to come in periodically to clean.

I want to see more television like this. Transgender characters are not a punchline, and they’re also not all about being transgender. Being born with an anatomical sex that does not match your gender is not the be-all and end-all of a person, and that should be reflected in fictional characters.

Well done, Elementary. I love it. And I love Mrs. Hudson.

 

*Okay, so his name is Benedict Cumberbatch, but that is ridiculous and changing his name every time that you say or write it helps lift you back from the fatigue of constantly seeing his face on Tumblr (because the Sherlock fandom is one of the “big three” of Tumblr, along with Supernatural and Doctor Who. I only watch one of those but I see plenty of the other two anyway). Blanderwort Cumberland will also be the primary antagonist in the new Star Trek film, Into Darkness. So you can expect that I will see the film but also spend much of the time glowering for various reasons.



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Watch This: Twisted

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Did anyone else catch the “sneak peek” pilot of Twisted when it aired a few weeks ago? I did. I am excited for this series.

Personally, I do not usually think of ABC Family as a channel that I am likely inclined to watch. When they air marathons of the Harry Potter films, I watch—because owning the films and having watched them to death does not mean that I can’t watch them again. In fact, I must watch them again. “After all this time?” “Always.”

But, anyway, to me, ABC Family was the network that becomes a No Man’s Land of Endless Christmas Specials And Mandatory Cheer for a few months out of the year. But that’s not really accurate anymore. (I mean, yeah, it’s hell on Earth during the winter, but just avoid it, then).

A couple of years ago, The Nine Lives Of Chloe King aired (a teen supernatural drama). I watched and enjoyed the pilot but did not keep up with the series (but I keep meaning to watch it). Anyway, it was a good pilot, and I was definitely surprised that some of the show’s female protagonist’s actions were “edgier” than I expected from ABCF. Honestly, to me, it was still the channel that had aired Seventh Heaven, so just about everything surprised me.

My point is, however, that the Twisted pilot was absolutely delightful. And they will, of course, re-air it when the show actually premieres. Without spoiling the details of the pilot (or sharing my speculations about the series), let me tell you why I think that you should watch this. (And if you don’t mind spoiled details of the pilot or if you are looking for a write-up of the pilot after you have seen it, read this review)

The plot is that a preteen boy killed his aunt (or, at least, that’s what everyone, including the viewers, are lead to believe, but we didn’t see it) and never told anyone why. The first two people to find out were his two childhood best friends (whose older selves are played by the lovely and talented Maddie Hasson and Kylie Bunbury). This turns their lives upside down. The boy goes to juvie and his two friends never really recover (they both cope in their own ways, but their lives are obviously never the same).

It stars Avan The-Most-Beautiful-Man-In-The-World Jogia (okay, Avan Tudor Jogia is his “official” name, whatever). You may have seen him on Caprica, or in the Nickelodean TV movie Spectacular! He’s probably best known for playing Beck Oliver on Victorious, a show which everyone totally watched for the plot. Or you may have just seen his pictures on blogs of beautiful men.

Jo Masterson (left) and Danny Desai (right).

I suppose that it depends upon how you use the internet.

The show features Grey Damon, who appeared on both The Nine Lives Of Chloe King and as the temporary romantic interest of Faye on The Secret Circle (which was canceled after only one season and I love the The CW but they shall rue the day). It features Denise Richards as Avan Jogia’s character’s mother, who is, socially, a big fish in a small town but whose life is no longer what it once was.

Also, Kathy Najimy is a part of the recurring cast—she is the high school psychology teacher. Not only do I have a major soft spot for psychology teachers (Dr. Anna Peck taught AP Psych at my high school and she and the course were magnificent), but I absolutely adore Kathy Najimy. And not only because of Hocus Pocus. But yes, mostly because of Hocus Pocus. And while she gives a not-terribly-accurate definition* of a sociopath in the pilot, she seems like a character to watch (but they all do).

My favorite character from the pilot was definitely Regina Crane (Karynn Moore), who is beautiful, funny, and has the best lines. It is so easy to identify with her.

But this is not one of those shows where only one or two characters carry the entire episode or series. Danny and Jo (Jo being one of the young ladies who were childhood best friends with Danny) have some adorable dialogue, too. This being just one example.

This brings me to what some of you may be wondering—why am I telling you this? On Zelda Lily, specifically? Because I was pleasantly surprised by the diverse female characters. Specifically, Regina. She’s a bit of a slut—and if you’ve read anything that I’ve written, you should know that that is a compliment. She has a sex drive and she is not ashamed of it. When she gets her sights set on a guy, she’s ready to aim. She is not portrayed as “bad” for this. Quite correctly, the show portrays this as a part of her character and her personality.

Then there’s Jo (Maddie Hasson), arguably the most main of the three main characters. She is not what I would call “sexually adventurous.” Or socially outgoing (which needn’t mean much—some of the most delightful slatterns whom I know, myself included, are total introverts). She does a body shot off of a guy (a hot, douchey one) at someone’s suggestion and, when the guy starts to be pushy with her, instead of slut-shaming Jo for doing what, honestly, is normal and fairly tame for a party, another character comes to her defense. Jo does not have to “apologize for her behavior” or for “leading the guy on.” It’s very clear that that guy is an asshole and that Jo did nothing wrong.

Party Tip: while a couple of several years whom I know arguably started their relationship with body-shots at a party, doing a body-shot off of someone does not mean that you are down for doing other things with that person. Letting someone do a body-shot off of you is also not an invitation to either of you for further contact. Don’t be rapey. Not even a little bit.

These are important ideas for teen viewers (this is a teen murder drama, after all) to see on television, because messages in real life tend to be terrible. The series will premiere on June 11th of this year (following the finale of Pretty Little Liars, which I have not watched but which I have heard that I should). I’m not saying that everyone on this show is a role model (in fact, it’s more likely that no one on the show is a perfect role model), but it’s little things that writers put in when they didn’t have to.

So, watch Twisted. Watch it for the murder mystery. Watch it for the teen drama. Watch it for the beautiful guys and lovely ladies. Watch it for Kathy Najimy who is just a treasure.

 

*The definitions of psychopaths and sociopaths vary, but most reasonable sources define psychopaths as devoid of empathy but typically perfectly normal people who may account for as much of one-percent of the human population. A psychopath can’t feel genuine empathy (I’m no psychopath, but I cannot feel empathy for adult men as a result of PTSD, so I can partially relate), but that does not mean that he or she will feel an impulse to harm anyone. A sociopath is better defined as someone who has a history of disregarding the rights of others. I don’t mean people who are opposed to marriage equality. I mean people who see other living beings purely as resources or means to an end (so, about a third of all soap opera characters). These are the people who marry and then kill their husbands for the insurance money multiple times throughout their lives—simply because they want the money, rather than out of a dispute with the husband or a pressing financial need. A sociopath is someone who might kill a neighbor’s dog or cat over a perceived slight. That said, they didn’t really do anything wrong in delivering the definition of “sociopath” in the pilot. I’m just really nit-picky.



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