interesting question, that touches on something I've been thinking about recently: when is scifi or speculative fiction too topical, "real", or downbeat? I asked because my younger brother last night was telling me that one reason he didn't like the new Battlestar Galactica was because it was based too much on current issues: terrorism, religious fundamentalism, etc. I've heard others say the same thing, including a guy who quit watching because he felt he was getting hit over the head with a thinly-veiled satire of our times. "I just want good outer space action without all the socio-political stuff" he grumped.
I've heard many others say the same, that they want their scifi/speculative fiction to be escapist fare. They seem to want action, explosions, great fX, BEMs, gunfire, spaceships, scantily clad women, etc., but please: no depression reality intruding on their fantasy! I tend to favor the stuff that's topical, 'cause done right it can be enjoyed years later, even when the subject matter may not be front and center in society at that time. One of the reasons I loved B5 and DS9 was *because* they dealt with real life issues of racism, religion, and politics. And in that same vein, I liked it when "Jericho" viewed our modern world through a lens of (perhaps cynical) reality. For me, the best stuff--even scifi and spec fiction--tells the "truth", or "a" truth. So no, not too cynical for me. -------------- Original message -------------- From: "Tracey de Morsella (formerly Tracey L. Minor)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > What do you think? > > 'Jericho' too cynical for the times? > http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2008/03/27/jericho_too_cynical_for_the_time > > s/ > > By Joanna Weiss > Globe Staff / March 27, 2008 > > In the series finale of the post-apocalyptic drama "Jericho," in an > offhand conversation, a couple of characters voiced one of the show's > underlying points: Don't mess with the Second Amendment. > more stories like this > > That's notable not just because it's a departure from typical Hollywood > politics, or because the episode aired shortly after the Supreme Court > heard a landmark case on the right to bear arms. It also speaks to an > ongoing theme of the show, the notion that the government can't always > be trusted. > > And if that doesn't sound especially radical, think of how it was > received by viewers. Even amid an unpopular war, in a country with no > shortage of cynics, a show this doubtful of the government's intentions > can't seem to draw a mainstream audience. > > "Jericho," which ended its run on Tuesday, did have a small, fervent > base of support, but it never managed to break through. The show was > canceled for low viewership by CBS last spring, then resurrected for a > seven-episode trial run after fans sent nuts to the network offices. (It > was a reference to a we-won't-back-down slogan in the show, as well as > to the Battle of the Bulge.) This season's arc - which drew even fewer > viewers than last year's episodes - played out as a cautionary tale > about the perils of a government that gains too much power. Like HBO's > brilliant "The Wire," which ended its fifth and final season this month, > it was one of few TV shows to take a decidedly cynical view of the > people in charge. > > Most of the time, on TV, we get the opposite message. The detectives, > lawyers, and forensic scientists of the enduring "Law and Order" and > "CSI" incarnations are universally good. The fighting forces of CBS's > "The Unit" sacrifice greatly to save us all. Even the corrupt cops on > FX's "The Shield" are softies at the core, skimming off the top to pay > for family essentials, such as private-school tuition for autistic kids. > And though each season of Fox's "24" has its fair share of government > high-ups gone bad, the traitors are always exceptions, destined to be > caught. > > To the end, "Jericho" made no such promises. If "The Wire" was a > real-time look at corruption and fatal compromise in Baltimore, > "Jericho" was a worst-case-scenario fantasy, spelled out with intriguing > detail. It began with a dread attack: 23 American cities destroyed by > nuclear bombs. It asked what would happen next from the perspective of > regular folks, represented by the good-hearted citizens of a Kansas town. > > This season, the good people of Jericho were occupied by an army loyal > to a corrupt pretender government, which was intertwined with a > Halliburtonesque company called Jennings & Rall. The small-town heroes > had proof that the government was covering up the true source of the > attacks, and may have had a hand in the plot. (In a nice touch, they had > to prove their case to Texas, which had formed an independent republic > and revived its Alamo spirit.) Yes, there were elements of crazed > conspiracy theory here, but the premise wasn't entirely unrealistic; the > vision of an encroaching military was clearly built on fears of > post-9/11 government overreach in the name of national security. > > Maybe because this season was so short, "Jericho" didn't fully live up > to its what-if potential. The show ended up going the easy "24" route of > fingering a single, dastardly mastermind. (Could it be an accident that > he was played by Xander Berkeley, who was prominent in the early seasons > of "24"?) And despite considerable pressure, the core of regular folks > got through with their principles intact. > > Still "Jericho" didn't end on an entirely happy note. The finale offered > a hint of what would have come if the show had won a third season: a > civil war between the forces of good and corruption, and a decent chance > that corruption would still prevail. Perhaps it's no wonder it got so > few takers; on TV these days, we still prefer to focus on the good. > > It's much easier, after all, to sell a show about charitable giving or > cheerful redemption, preferably set to uplifting music. On ABC's > "Dancing With the Stars" the other night, contestant Steve Guttenberg > gushed about how nice this show was for America. And on "American Idol" > this week, on-the-bubble contestant Kristy Lee Cook made a decent effort > to have save herself by crooning Lee Greenwood's uberpatriotic "God > Bless the USA." That song has a widely perceived Second Amendment > message, too. It's just a message that doesn't require quite so much > thinking. > > Joanna Weiss can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more on TV, go to > viewerdiscretion.net > > ------------------------------------ > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
