Electric Boogaloo: The Wild Untold Story Of Cannon Films(2014): Review

I saw Electric Boogaloo: The Wild Untold Story Of Cannon Films finally last night, and it was bittersweet. At first after I watched it I liked it. But after sleeping on it and doing my own research on Cannon and their library I came away with a completely different opinion on it, which can be summed up in two words.

Not Satisfied.

Why? Because ironically enough this film is not a love letter to Cannon films. It is instead an exploitation movie. And that is not what I expected at all. And for a documentary? It kinda sucks at it's job. If you are a fan of Cannon films? You already know about 90 percent of the history the film is telling you. You really don't learn much of anything new other than wild and crazy stories about the Golans or crazy on the set tales. Other than that? It offers a drive by history of the company for the curious and the people who are unfamiliar.

Also there is a disturbing amount of shit talking about Cannon in this documentary. Hence why I called it an exploitation film. So many bitter haters having their bitter thoughts about the company recorded and shown for all the world to see. Some of them? I can't blame them for feeling that way. Others? Sounded like they had grudges. This kind of thing would not be so bad if it was balanced out. But in this film it most certainly is not. There is a considerable shortage of positivity for Cannon films and the Golans. Also there is no presence of genuine passion for the company behind the camera. No interviews with die hard fans or anything. The whole documentary seemed at times to just be an excuse to milk Cannon films for outrageous stories than anything else. And the outrageous stories are fun, and they are genuinely hilarious. But they alone cannot carry the film.

This documentary also glosses over so much of the company's film library and it's stars. Michael Dudikoff is interviewed but he only has maybe 2 minutes at best of screen time. Alex Winters has more and he was an extra in Death Wish 3 for fuck's sake. You have the American Ninja and you only give him less than two minutes of screen time? Shame on you Nick Hartley. Shame. It completely misses talking about some of the infamous unproduced Cannon films like Spider-Man. I am sorry a quick flash of the poster does not count in my book. Big missed opportunity there. They don't even talk about the last film produced by Cannon either. Or their time in the direct to video era.

This film was an incomplete history of Cannon that further solidifies my theory that filmmaker's intention from the start was to make a Cannon films exploitation movie. It lacked a heart. It had it at points at the start but then it just started an avalanche of Cannon blasting that got very tiresome after awhile. It even shit talked the logo for chrissakes. Entertaining at points documentary but ultimately an unsatisfying biased piece of exploitation.
**1/2

American Gods: The Final Chapter

 

What a letdown. Man was this ending disappointing. If the lackluster final battle wasn't enough, the story ends with a whimper rather than a bang. I was afraid of this the most. Usually if a book is this long it has some lame ass ending. And what do you know? This had the same problem too. This is just from personal experience though. Maybe I need to read better books? 

The way this ended at least for me just did not make the long journey it took to read this book worth it in the end. All of this build up, all of this fanfare, all of this originality and twisting of genre conventions for an open ended and lame conclusion. The only way it could have ended worse for me was if it ended with a sequel bait denouement.

So why do I think the ending sucks so much? Here is why.

The whole subplot about bringing Laura back to life at any cost? Not mentioned again throughout the book and really could have ended the story with a nice bow and would have been a lot more appealing. Plus the whole reason and truth behind the kid stealing plotline I thought was lame. So this guy or god Hinzemann protects the town by taking its children and killing them? What the hell? Who the hell would make that deal? What are these townspople deaf and dumb? I don't care if it is a god. I am not sacrificng my kid so my town can be safe. This whole plot point was just really ridiculous to me, even for a novel about living gods in the USA. I frankly felt it was ludicrious and a really lame conclusion to that part of the story. Shadow's anti climatic defeat of the God didn't help matters much either. 

Then came even more unnecessary plot points that seemed to have been drawn out of thin air much like Sweeney's coins in his coin trick. Multiple incarnations of Odin? Gaiman just got lazy there. What? No new god? Just another version of Odin? Really, really lame dude. And then the whole novel ends with Shadow doing a coin trick for this second Odin? Really? That's it?

Over 500 pages and that is what you are rewarded with for your troubles? A lame ass final battle that left absolutely zero impact on me, a lame reveal of the missing children storyline's true motivations, and a coin trick for an ending for the audience of another Odin who showed up out of freaking nowhere? 

Shame on you Neil Gaiman. Shame on you.

This was a boring limp ending to a rather boring and dull book. It wasn't completely pointless, at the end of the day I was glad I read it once for some really clever interpretations and uses of gods and goddesses but the story failed in its execution. Especially the ending. Which really just kinda stops. That's it. Shadow does a coin trick and heads down a hill. No resolution, no lessons learned, no nothing. At least this is how I interpereted it anyway. Overall would I recommend this book? Not really. Only for die hard Neil Gaiman fans and people who are deeply interested into Mythology. But for the everyday reader? Nope. Too long, too dull, and it has a shitty ending that really doesn't make all the 500 pages or so worth reading in the first place.

Remembering Willow

I absolutely adore Willow. Screw the Lord Of The Rings, Willow is the real masterpeice of fantasy filmmaking. I think why I love this movie so much is because it is associated with my childhood so much it has become a part of me. A part of my spirit, my essence. I never understood why this bombed so badly when it came out and why people don't talk about in the same high regard as George Lucas's other productions like the Star Wars Trilogy. I think the accusations that Willow is just a Star Wars rip off are unfair. Star Wars itself isn't even uniquely original. It borrowed elements from so many other movies it would take a full length essay to list them all. Just because Willow wasn't one hundred percent original doesn't mean it was a bad film.

In 1988 Willow had everything you could ask for a good time at the movies. A great story, a unique approach, excellent special effects by ILM, a grand scale, a rollicking score, a thrilling pace, plenty of humor and more importantly a sense of fun about the proceedings. It didn't take itself so damn seriously like LOTR did. Which is in large part why I love it so much. The film is just so lovable. From the characters to the effects to the score to world it creates it is just so captivating and wonderful to watch. You want to be a part of this world and walk around and experience it for yourself. You want to go on a grand adventure with Madmartigan and Willow Ufgood on a battle against Queen Bavmorda and the forces of evil. It has a saturday morning feeling to it that just places you back in the time of captain crunch cereal and reruns of Masters Of The Universe. I think that saturday morning feeling it gives me though isn't felt by everyone though. Some of us didn't get to experience this magical adventure when they were young so they don't have such fond memories associated with it. Hence why they don't care so much about Willow.

I remember watching Willow so many times on VHS that the tape got worn out and my parents had to buy a new one. I know the film like the back of my own hand. I can quote dialogue along with the film, I am a Willow fan, and a big one too. I have the VHS, the Laserdisc, the DVD and The Blu Ray. I have the poster magazine from 1988, I have not one but two copies of the comic adaptation one in black and white and one in color, I also have the novelization which I read so many times the spine is worn out. If I could walk around town with a Willow T Shirt I would, but for some reason there aren't any I can find for sale anywhere. Because Willow for some reason is a cult film. One of those movies that if you watched it like I did as a kid religiously you have devoloped a taste for it. I think there are a lot of people that appreciate it now but not as many that love the film to death like I do. Where are the Willow conventions? The Willow fan films? Maybe they exist but they sure don't get advertised all that much. Probably because sadly the movie made next to nothing when it came out and was considered by many to be one Lucasfilm's greatest failures. I swear to god Howard The Duck got talked about more in the 80's than Willow did. I happen to like that film too but the point is still rather ridiculous. One of the worst movies of the 80's gets more pub than one of the best fantasy flicks of all time? What the fuck?

Who talks about Willow nowadays? Go on the internet and you will find a few fansites here and there, and a handful of reviews on you tube but in the end not much. And for a big fan of Willow that really saddens me. It seems much like the film did in 1988 it has gotten lost in the shuffle. This film is great. I don't care what anyone says. No film can make me feel like a kid again as much as Willow does. I still feel the same exact way that I felt watching the film for the first time when I was eight. A sense of wonder and awe at the sheer spectacle of the film, a sense of fear of the evil queen. Especially the scene where she turns Willow and his friends into pigs. That scene still freaks me out til this day. Excellent make up effects. And the two headed dragon is still bad ass. The stop motion may look a little dated now but it is a hell of a lot better than CGI in my book. And no end fight between a hero and a villain has made me cheer as much as the final battle between Madmartigan and General Kael. I loved the look of General Kael too. I mean he has a fucking skull helmet. Darth Vader is a pussy compared to General Kael.

If you see this coming for you? You are already dead.

 

That final fight like I said earlier was just so bad ass. Early in the film Madmartigan was dressing in drag and cracking jokes and being a big goof but as soon as he lays that memorable strike that knocks the jaw clean off of Kael's skully face Madmartigan is truly the greatest swordsman that ever lived. Then he stabs him in the chest with two swords and he is a god. So epic. A perfect finale to such an epic film. 

 

 

Sure there are plenty of other great moments that I remember from the film, like the thrilling shield sled sequence, the beautiful scenes with the fairies in the woods, the hilarious expressions baby Elora makes, the romantic trysts between Sorsha and Madmartigan, the dragon fight, the final fight with Bavmorda just to name a few. I am sure there are even more great moments I forgot to mention. 

Willow is one of the greatest movies of all time in my book, and no one can tell me different. My pick for my favorite fantasy movie of all time. It might have flaws but I don't care to see them or care about them. To me Willow is a perfect film, and exactly what I look for in a movie. If you haven't seen it yet, you are missing out on quite the adventure.

American Gods Part Trois

Well the whole pointlessness I mentioned earlier that I feared the novel would continue to do? Well it stopped doing that. Well kinda of anyway. There were a few moments here and there I thought were kinda of lame but other than that I slogged through this chunk of the novel with not too many bumps in the road.

I actually found this part to be the most interesting. Things really started to kick into gear in regards to the overall point of the novel and more importantly it became more focused and hooked me with a pretty ballsy series of plot points. For one the plot involving a bunch of missing kids was rather dark but oddly appealing to me. I for one like stories that have the balls to talk about kids in danger or kids being killed. Not because I am a psychopath. Far from it. It just makes for a more thrilling story the fact that no one is immune or spared from the danger in the tale. Everyone's lives are at stake here. The men, the women, and the children. It really makes the events of the novel have even more impact. Think about it. What is one of the most horrifying things imaginable? The death of a child. The tragedy of the situation hits home to all of us.

In this part of the novel it also continued to bring in even more gods and regonizable names from literature and fables. Johnny Appleseed makes an appearance as well as the god of Easter. And no it isn't the easter bunny. I liked that Gaiman did not take that approach. There are things about this tale that could be considered silly but nothing as ludicrous as a talking easter bunny. Talking crows, but hey I saw that in Willow and I love that movie so it's ok.

The one twist in the plot I did not see coming though was the death of Mr. Wednsday. That was quite a shock. And the fact that this leads to a battle between the old gods and the new is a really exciting turn of events. It was at this point in the novel where the term "a storm is coming" which was repeated ad nasuem throughout the novel up to this point started to make sense and because of that became a great example of clever foreshadowing.

At this point in the novel too is where the fantasy elements of the story really started to come to a head. There were moments earlier like talking birds, a ravenous sex starved cat woman and other fantastic beasts, creatures, dead women, and gods but here it really started to click. I think the whole mentioning of Loki and Odin which are some of the most familiar gods helped with this matter. But maybe that's because I saw Thor recently and I had that flick on my brain.

There are many more surprising revelations in this block of the novel like Shadow being Wednsday's son for instance. That really came out of left field. But it also explained why someone of great power would select some ex con to help him rather than another god so to speak. Because Shadow really was a god. A god in hiding so to speak. Finding out the true nature of Mr. Wednsday and the fact that he is Shadow's father really made the death of Wednsday even more powerful.

The sacrifice that Shadow makes to help the win the war is also quite compelling, and the visual imagery of the land of the dead was striking and quite horrifying. Overall I like where this story is leading, but if I had any issue? It is almost too descriptive and detailed. It is easy to get lost in the story and as a result lose interest real fast. And the final battle? Really wasn't that epic at all. Especially for a battle between the gods. I know Gaiman is trying to ground this tale in reality, but if there was ever a time to go over the top it would be here. I hope the ending makes up for it but I was glad I read it once though. Some really powerful imagery.

Staying on the killing kids angle..To further illustrate why this is so crucial to a story's impact I wanted to share this scene from the underrated 1988 remake of The Blob.(Since I can't find the scene by itself here is a compliation of all of the death scenes. You will know it when you see it though)

La Jetee

What a visually stunning short film this is. Do I find it particularly great? Yes and no. I think it is a bit of both. Great and also not so great. The visuals, the way it is edited, and the atmosphere are all fantastic and some of the most arresting imagery I have seen in film. I mean the filmmaker took something as banal as welder's goggles and made them look like the embodiment of evil. Plus almost the entire movie is made out of still pictures that fade in or ease in or out at different intervals and speeds. It is honestly more of a slideshow than an actual film. But there is one scene where it breaks this trend and creates a really vivid and surprising image with a dreamlike quality when the scene of the woman comes to life for a split second. The themes, the ideas, even the way the film is shot and edited are simply brilliant. 

But if all of those elements work so well, why is the film not one of the greatest masterpieces of cinema? Well, in all honesty it is a dull slog to sit through. Sure it looks pretty but it is not a particularly entertaining movie to watch. It feels dated at points, the narrator sounds like a pretentious ass and the whole idea of black and white pictures telling the story makes the experience of watching La Jetee more like watching a slideshow during health class back in the days when slide projectors were still the preferred method of teaching.

Now I could deal with how boring with movie is and still call the film a masterpiece in the long run. But for me what hurts the film the most is also what many feel is its calling card and its biggest strength. The whole pointlessness of it all is really frustrating. 

Why is it pointless? 

Let me elaborate why I feel that ultimately this short film is a complete waste of time. The narrator is untrustworthy. You cannot trust what he says because in the end nothing is ever resolved or clarified for the audience watching the movie. It is nothing but speculation.  There is no proof that there ever was a WWIII or that our protagonist even went back in time. This is what makes the narrator in many ways a complete liar. This movie is playing a trick on its audience. And for a first time watcher it may make an impact, like it did for Christopher Nolan who is one of the film's biggest fans. Which probably inspired the spinning top ending of his film Inception which I hated with a passion. 

But for me personally? This pretty looking movie that ultimately is nothing but a bunch of speculation, with a narrator who is full of it and characters that may or may not even exist is not brilliant. To me it is ridiculous and is a poor film. If any other film used this template of a movie that has no point in the end because nothing is proven to be fact or fiction it would get drawn and quartered by critics til the end of time. But since it is black and white, narrated by a french guy and is "experimental" it is a defining moment in cinema. I am sorry, but I call bullshit on that. This is about as defining as an episode of the Twilight Zone. As a matter of a fact there are episodes of The Twilight Zone that are better, more entertaining, and actually have a point. I find this to be one of the most overrated films of all time. It looks great. It does a good job with it's visuals. But then again John Carter looked pretty too. And that movie was a steaming pile of crap. This has no ending, and is a boring film to watch. Why the hell would I ever want to watch this again? It literally has nothing to offer other than some really good visuals.

I understand why people like it though, and why pretentious film snobs praise this as one of the medium's finest works. Because it appeals to that side of the critic, the side that pats their own egos on the back. Since it is left up to interperetation you can be as pretentious as you could ever dream to be regarding the overall meaning of the film, and turn up your snobby noses at people like me who think it is a waste of fucking time.

So in conclusion, La Jetee is a beautifully made film but its structure is horrid and is not revolutionary at all. A story that has a lying narrator and no definable ending? That isn't even a story let alone a film. I hate to think what an entire movie would look like if it followed this movie's template. I probably would have never been able to finish the film since I would have been asleep.

If I want to see this plot done that makes some semblance of sense I will watch 12 Monkeys again. That film at least has a good story to go along with its grand visuals. And it also has the benefit of Bruce Willis. Anything is better with some Bruce Willis. He made the ridiculous as hell flick Hudson Hawk a fun time, he can make anything better and more watchable by default. 

So yeah, not a fan of boring pretty looking pointless art flicks like La Jetee. It is like that dumbass piece of art where a guy just erased a painting and put the blank erased piece of paper in a frame and called it art and made millions. That was an empty frame holding nothing just like La Jetee.

Nausicaa: Of The Valley Of The Wind

I for one have always known that a well written comic book could be a fine alternative to the novel, and Nausicaa is no exception. As soon as I could figure out the right way to read the japanese comic I found myself lost in the world it created instantaneously. This was a fun, thrilling read.

Nausicaa has some really fantastic vivid imagery throughout it's black and white pages. And yes you heard that right, the whole comic is black and white not in color. And it really doesn't effect the overall enjoyment as much as you might think. It doesn't need bright and pretty colors to grab your attention the idea and the story it tells is interesting and entertaining enough by itself.

The story at least in volume one anyway, centers on a princess named Nausicaa who is said to have this great power, and is the only one that can save this world that has become polluted and infested with giant insects that mutated because of man's insistence of trashing the planet it lives on. At its core Nausicaa is a tale of the costs of pollution. By polluting the earth with chemicals and trash mankind has destroyed the plants and killed the birds which is a sobering future that really isn't that far fetched when you think about it. Now giant killer mutant insects? Yeah, that is definitely a fantasyland creation. But the killer insects really add to the intrigue and excitement of the tale since they are in a lot of exciting sequences which I am sure looked fantastic on film, and one of these days I will sit my butt down and watch the film adaptation of this manga.

Since I am an action guy, my favorite parts of this volume were it's action scenes. Specifically the scenes with the flying gunships. I loved the way the gunships were designed too. They literally were ships that had the front of the barrel of a gun as part of their design. It was a very clever design choice. Also the way the artist draws these scenes with so much speed, fluidity and motion really made these scenes come alive and at points read like they were going to fly off the page and start battling the giant insects in the middle of your living room.

This was only volume one of a multi volume series, and my curiosity has been piqued and I already want more. I can see why so many people love this series, the film and what they represent. The originality, and the uniqueness of it all is something you rarely see in american publications let alone back when it was originally published but even now to this day. There is a sincerity to it that just pulls the reader's heartstrings, and it has plenty of action to win over the most jaded adrenaline junkie. Even if it isn't what you would call your cup of tea? I recommend giving Nausicaa a look. Whether you end up liking it or not it is without a doubt a unique experience.

Speaking of american pulbications..Back when the animated feature film version was created and released in japan uncut? The US decided the original version didn't cut it, and took a butcher knife and destroyed the original version and created the abomination that was Warriors Of The Wind.

 

 Gotta love that Star Trek II: Wrath Of Kahn font. So 80's.

Above is the trailer. Again So 80's.

Pryia Sharma-Rag & Bone

 "I am a person, not a piece of meat."

This was quite the captivating tale. It really was a wonderful showcase for a bleak and brutal future where the rich continue to get richer and with important everyday resources like food, water, and other everyday necessities we take for granted dwindling every day, new alternatives have arisen in their place. Since food is scarce now since all of the animals have been eaten up and there is none left to reproduce, man has resorted to literally eating itself.

This is a horrible image in it's own right but the fact that in Sharma's future present in Rag & Bone that only the wealthy get the prime cuts? That's even more horrifying. Probably because it hits close to home. If this future were to occur? The wealthy would be the ones to get the choice cuts of meat. The lower and middle class citizens would be lucky to get the scraps. These wealthy and powerful cannibals are cleverly named The Peels. This quote from the story really makes my skin crawl and emphasizes the idea of the wealthy getting the best meat in town.

"The Peels keep people in tanks like fish, cutting off the bits they want."

The author could have chosen to actually show this horrific scene of events in greater detail, but instead went the more subtle route and that makes the story twice as effective. It allows the reader to use their imagination to fill in the blanks. The whole story is written in a very subtle tone. Which makes the gross subject matter have even more impact that it would if it was written as a blood and guts tale.

It even does a great job speaking to us about what it truly means to be human. Are we just nothing but flesh and bone? Is there more to us than that? In this future one's soul or talents is not important or valuable. The most valuable commodity is the flesh, making man and woman into nothing but pieces of meat ready for the slaughterhouse. The very idea of that is unsettling and this story pulls no punches with it's approach. Even in the scene where Tom our lead is attacked after his tryst with Sally, the way it is portrayed is not unlike a description of a cow being slaughtered. Jessup is stabbed in the neck, then he is hit over the head with a blunt object much like a cow would be, and then Tom even asks Sally to help him "Hold his legs." which is very similar to the slaughter of a cow as well.

Even the somber ending fits the story like a glove. Rag and Bone's future is a dystopian nightmare just like any other futuristic night terror but without the high tech skyscrapers and the feel good pills. This story is not bright in any way. There is no brightness to be found here and that really makes the piece stand out. The sense of overwhelming dread that permeates throughout the story is quite telling and sticks with you long after reading it.

Another great example of the rich feeding on the poor is the excellent underrated horror flick, Society(1989) directed by Brian Yuzna. Here is a peek at the film's unforgettable and disturbing ending. 

Orson Welle's: The War Of The Worlds

Panic, hysteria, alien invasions all part of a day's work for Orson Welles in 1938.

On October 30th, 1938 a radio broadcast would go on to leave a lasting impression on not only the annals of Science Fiction history but on the american history books as well. Orson Welles is most well known to many as the man who was responsible for bringing one of the greatest movies of all time to the screen in Citizen Kane, but none of that would have been possible if it wasn't for the fame that Mr. Welles' garnered for scaring the daylights out of radio listeners with his infamous War Of The World's radio show.

The original broadcast wasn't originally intended to be a fourth wall breaking bit of fright and terror,but CBS the radio station that employed Welles' thought it would be fun thing to do for Halloween to write a script based on H.G. Wells famous novel, The War Of The Worlds that depicted the events as if they were actually happening via fake newscasts. When the show was aired on Mercury Theater On The Air on October 30th of 1938, The first two-thirds of the 60 minute play was a contemporary retelling of events of the novel, presented as news bulletins interrupting another program. As the show went on more and more people started to believe that Aliens really were in their backyards and some actually went as far to as packing up their things and getting out of dodge. The number of people who fell for this fake newscast was highly exaggerated. A fact that was not really mentioned that much in the American History documentary. A lot of the guilable audience members and their actions were embellished by the media in order to sell more papers. But the effect of the spoken word real or not did get to quite a few people and caused quite a stir. So much of a stir that CBS executives had to interrupt the radio play to tell the listeners that what they are listening to is not true and it's all just a show. There are no Aliens in New Jersey. 

After the play which ended exactly like Wells' novel did with the Aliens succumbing to the earth's bacterias, Welles informally breaks character to remind listeners that the broadcast was a Halloween concoction, the equivalent, as he puts it, "of dressing up in a sheet, jumping out of a bush and saying, 'Boo!'". Popular mythology says that this "disclaimer" was hastily added to the broadcast at the insistence of CBS executives as they became aware of panic inspired by the program, but in fact, it had appeared in Koch's working script for the play.

The Aftermath of the radio play is in many ways even more memorable than the night War Of The Worlds aired. Rumors spread like wildfire of legal actions against CBS. And historians and scholars used the information gathered that thousands of americans fell for a joke broadcast hook line and sinker as examples of how "gullable" we are. Hundreds of letters poured into the CBS offices ranging from all different types of people and reactions. Some listeners loved the show and as the documentary pointed out wanted to send Mr. Welles' a bottle of Scotch as a reward for his excellent entertaining ruse. Others weren't so happy and wished that Orson would get his ass to mars where he belongs.

But in the end everything worked out fine for both CBS and Orson Welles. Orson did his best acting job of his career in front of a courtroom full of people and displayed his humility for the broadcast and what he had wrought upon a handful of listeners who were foolish enough to believe such nonsense. And everyone bought his charade, which is really hard to believe they did, especially since when you look at his face and the footage of his hearing nowadays? He over exaggerates every little thing and he looks like a complete ham. But the charges against him were dropped, CBS got a new sponsor for the Mercury Theater On The Air in Campbell's Soup a first in Radio broadcasting history, and Orson Welles got to live his dream in Hollywood signing a record setting contract with RKO pictures which resulted in him garnering even more infamy and worldwide fame with his film Citizen Kane. 

Orson Welles' career would never reach the heights of Citizen Kane or his War Of The Worlds radio broadcast ever again after his ill fated trip to south America to shoot the documentary "It's All True" in 1941 a film that was shut down by RKO during production to over abundant production costs among other things. Orson himself would go onto blame a Voodoo curse placed on him by one of the Witch Doctor's of a tribe he was filming as the cause of the documentary's cancellation and the death of his career as a director in Hollywood. For the rest of the WWII era anyway. After "It's All True" his career as an actor continued to build steam and by the end of the war he was back in the director's chair as a sought after hot commodity again. Some voodoo curse. Maybe the witch doctor should have used the Extra Strength curse instead. Orson would continue to get acclaim and work until his death in October 10th of 1985. One of his last roles as an actor was voice over work for Unicron in Transformers: The Movie in 1985. Unicron is what I will always remember Orson for the most.

Listening to this broadcast now in the 21st century, it all seems quite tame and obviously fake, but at the same time entertaining and fascinating to listen to. The best way to appreciate this landmark of science fiction and american history is to try your best to put yourself in an american's shoes on that fateful day of October 30th, 1938. If you can find a way to do that in today's technological age you will be rewarded with a genuinely fun blast from the past. 

 Citizen Kane? Bah! War Of The Worlds? Lame. Transformers: The Movie. Now that is the real masterpiece of Orson Welles' career.

Neil Gaiman's American Gods Part Deux

Hoo boy. This book is quite the doozy. I really find myself not knowing what the hell is going on half the time or where it is going. And that is usually the sign of a bad thing, but it actually works. The fractured, randomness of this book actually works in its favor.

It is one of the many ways it sucks you in and traps you in it's web of mythology, horror, and something I would like to call "Whatthefuckness."

This 200 page or so block that I have read so far is full of many memorable images like Shadow's smoking hot dead wife continuing to come back and help Shadow when he needs the help the most. She is like a zombie guardian angel and that idea in itself would make an interesting book or story. The rapid fire use of mythological gods and godesses is done in a way that if you just speed read through the thing you will miss out on tons of references. My favorite is the Osiris funeral parlor. Now that is really clever. Especially if you know the context behind it. I think Anubis showed up somewhere around here too. And according to this book you can get to the Nile river by following the Mississippi river. It's the same thing. There are so many moments like that in this book. Where the real world just does a freeze frame and this batshit insane fantasy world takes over. It never overstays it's welcome though. The fantasy elements of the book are well written, well executed and never dominate the entire the story. The fantasy elements of the book are in many ways just filler. The real story is the one connected to the real world.

Overall, in the block of time I have read so far, really not much has happened. If you took out the whole mythological gods aspect of this story it would be quite quaint, and normal if not boring. But because it takes such a realistic take of a fantasy element, reality and fantasy combine into a delectable combination.

One of my favorite segments is the one where Lucy comes to life on the television set and asks Shadow to join her, and help her in the TV land where she works. In this scene Lucy isn't really Lucille Ball, she is a recruiter for the new gods who want Shadow on their side, because they see something in him that maybe Mr. Wednsday doesn't or does already know. I kept thinking back to that scene in Willy Wonka and The Chocalate Factory where Mike gets shrunk and put inside the TV. The very idea of a television being a portal to another realm or dimension is quite appealing. and at the same time terrifying. I know I would be scared shitless if the Crypt Keeper started talking to me while I was watching a re run of Tales From The Crypt.

Overall, I like what I am seeing so far, but the randomness at points can be a little distracting and in my opinion unnecessary. I find myself losing interest in the book when it strays away from the main story to talk about these side stories that I hope at some point actually connect to the main story, because there is nothing I hate more than pointless shit. And if these stories which consist body swapping Djinn Cab Drivers, and Immigrant Gods coming to America end up being proven wastes of my time then safe to say I won't be reading this book again in the future. I just find these side stories distracting and they take away from the flow of the book and the story it is trying to tell. Plus, I find them incredibly boring for the most part. Hopefully the book eases back on the side stories and leaves the main story some room to breathe in future chapters.

Nathaniel Hawthorne-Rappacini's Daughter

 

Let's just say this story wasn't at all what I expected. I expected shall we say a more traditional example of Science Fiction. Especially from one of the earliest stories that are featured in this volume, but I was pleasantly surprised once I thought on this story for awhile after I read it and was able to full understand its themes, and it's use of language. I am one of those that find reading stories from the 1800's and before really difficult at least on the first try. 

In a way this story is the precursor the the popular Batman super villainess, Poison Ivy. Both Rappacini's Daughter and Ms. Ivy have a lot in common. Both have poison running through their veins as well as an affinity for the botanical. The tale is quite an interesting one where a father decided to perform a cruel experiment with it's roots dating as far back as the time of Alexander The Great, that detailed the use of poison being administered to a child right from birth. This according the legend when Alexander The Great was sent a present of a beautiful woman from an Indian prince. But with a catch. The present was walking, talking death. Since she was raised on poison she became a vessel for it, and would use her feminine wiles to lead poor souls to their death. 

But in Hawthorne's tale the woman with the poison blood is portrayed as a symphetic character not a sexy harbinger of doom. There is even reference to an antidote that could reverse the effects of the years of poison fed to young girl. There is a romantic vibe to the tale too. It is quite beautiful in it's approach with it's language, and even the way it describes the characters and situations in the story.

It is also a tragedy. The way that the story ends is something straight out of Shakespeare's greatest works. A man meets this beautiful woman. Discovers that she has been exposed to something horrible that has changed her in dangerous ways that make it impossible for her love anyone and he searches long and hard and finds what might be an antidote, and as soon as he gives it her and she drinks it she dies a horrible death in front of her father and the man that she loved. And adding even more drama is the character of Bogoloni who insists that Rappacini is performing mad experiments on not only his own daughter but on Giovanni as well. Giovanni doesn't believe him, so he takes matters into his own hands and creates the antidote for Giovanni to administer to Beatrice. Not only is Giovanni devastated by Beatrice's demise but doubly so for Bogolini who finally beat Rappacini at his own game but the victory is bittersweet due to the unfortunate death of poor Beatrice. 

It seems that this story is a cautionary tale of doomed love and the cost of revenge. Tropes that would continue to be used for decades after this story was published and for years since. 

Thoughts On...Firefly

Ah. Firefly. The show everyone including my friends love to death, and I never understood why. "I was like it's just a tv show dammit!" But after seeing the Pilot I can see why people love this show because I felt the same way.

What a breath of fresh air. Especially when it comes to television. In particular science fiction television. For the longest time if you were watching a sci-fi show it was usually a star trek clone of some kind. Babylon 5 comes to mind. Heck that even had Chekov himself Walter Koeing in it. I thought the show was ok at best but nothing groundbreaking. Then comes Andromeda the pathetic show staring Hercules as the captain of the USS Not The Enterprise and that left me clamoring for the boring diatrabes of Babylon 5 and GASP! Even Deep Space Nine. So watching the pilot for this show and seeing how fresh, fun, witty and more importantly unique it was was a welcome change in my usual schedule of sci-fi tv programming. I had been looking for another cool show to watch after Farscape ended and I think I found it. But what sucks is that Firefly only lasted a mere season. It had everything you could ask for in a hit show. A great cast, solid special effects, brilliant writing, and it was more importantly tons of fun to watch. What the hell happened? How was this a miss?

If I were to take away anything from this show other than how awesome it was(yes I have only seen the pilot. But do I have any reason to believe the rest of the episodes won't be just as awesome?), is how badly Fox screwed the pooch with this show. Let's see don't air the pilot which is damn near close to feature film quality. Strike one. Air the episodes out of order. Strike two. Cancel the show as soon as it was starting to get a good following? Strike three. Literally as soon as the show was starting to gain traction and getting interesting Fox pulled the plug. Shame on you.

Anyway now that I have got on my soapbox. Let's talk about how this show brilliantly combines western and science fiction tropes into a very entertaining blend of humor and action. The sci-fi elements are obvious. It takes place in the future, there are spaceships and all kinds of futuristic weaponary involved that are used by the cast and crew, plus there seems to be a vast array of planets and outposts that spans across multiple galaxies. All of this alone is good enough for a top notch sci-fi show. But Firefly isn't satisfied with just that. It takes things up the eleven by adding a western element. The western elements really make the show stand out from the rest of it's peers. From it's country western score, to it's gunslinging Han Solo in training star, all the way down to the action and it's crew of smuggers and outlaws it's like Bonaza but in outer space, with punchy dialogue.

Usually Westerns are one of my least favorite genres so that genre being added really shouldn't have meant that much. But it does. It makes all the difference and is why this is a show that I will be watching the rest of sometime soon as well as the feature film again and hopefully I will understand what the hell is going on this time around.

Firefly fans. Here is a fun video with a bunch of drunks playing the Firefly board game while shitfaced out of their minds. Loads of fun to watch even for people who aren't fans of the show. 

Neil Gaiman's American Gods So Far...

 

First off before I delve into my thoughts what I read so far in this wonderful novel. I have to thank you, Mr. Craig for assigning this book. If you didn't make that choice I would have never read this and would have missed out on an amazing masterpiece of storytelling.

Anyway, now that the thanking is out of the way. Let's talk about American Gods. More specifically how this book bends it's genres as many times as a contestant on Ru Paul's Drag Race bends his gender. This book takes all different genres and forms throws them into a blender and instead of creating a disgusting mess that would make you retch just if you caught a whiff of it he makes a delicious strawberry smoothie with the ingredients instead. 

This type of concoction especially one that tastes so good is not an easy recipe to follow. I think Gaiman though had a head start since he has been twisting genre conventions like a pretzel since he started on the comic Sandman. Ever seen his movie Mirrormask? I dunno if it's a fantasy movie or a sequel to Tarsem Singh's The Cell. His work here in American Gods is no different than what he has done before it is just more epic in it's storytelling that the majority of his previous works in comics and film.

How many genres are present in just the first 161 pages of this novel? Let's count em. 

Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Romance, Comedy, Science Fiction

There is probably even more but that is all that I can come up with at the moment off the top of my head. It is defnitely a fantasy because of it's plot involving gods living in the USA. There are scenes with leprechauns in them. But not your Warwick Davis type. Nope. More like Shamus from WWE instead of Hornswaggle. Big burly Irish dudes. There is also fiction related moments in the story that seem so real. The beginning of the novel feels like a scene straight out of The Shawshank Redemption. As for the Horror elements? They are scattered throughout but one in particular really tingles my spine. More on that later. As for the others? Romance, Comedy, Science Fiction? They are all there too. Romance obviously for Shadow's relationship with his wife both alive and dead, Comedy for the numerous moments of black humor littered throughout the tale, and Science Fiction for the presence of the new gods in particular ones whose power emanates from technology. I am sure if I spent even more time with this book I could find almost every genre known to man in here, at least a semblance of them at least. 

Now for the finale. 

I thought of how to end this post and I thought why not talk about the most memorable moment of the book from what I have read so far? So here it goes.

On pages 25-28 There is the one scene with distinct horror elements. It comes out of left field and leaves you stunned and retching.  It is only a few pages in length but it hits hard. The image of a virile man in the throes of a passion with a call girl who proceeds to literally absorb him while he is calling her a goddess and praising the heck out of her is burned in my mind. In particular this passage. 

"He feels the lips of her vulva tight around his upper chest and back constricting and enveloping him. He wonders what this would look like to somebody watching them. He wonders why he is not scared. And then he knows. 

    "I worship you with my body", he whispers, as she pushes him inside her.  Her labia pulls slickly across his face and his eyes slip into darkness.

I'm getting chills just reading that. Talk about a horrifying scene. That is near the top of the list for me. This is the type of sequence that would make David Cronenberg the master of body horror feel uncomfortable. The image of a man literally being dissolved into a woman's lady parts is sickening and disturbing as hell. I always thought a woman's genitals looked freaky but damn. Not like this. This is the type of scene that would make one want to forgo sex all together. 

Anyway, that's American Gods so far. I have really enjoyed it. It has been a very interesting fun ride, and there is still a lot of twists and turns left to go. 

Speaking of killer vaginas..there actually is a movie about Killer Vaginas..It's a movie with bite. 

James Tiptree Jr.: And I Awoke And Found Me Here On The Cold Hill's Side

This story by James Tiptree is kind of a tough nut to crack. There seem to be many conflicts or themes present in the tale. One of them dealing with the tried and true cliche of drug use and it's effects on humans and aliens alike but also a rather controversial and risque theme that is ultimately the story's main hook.

Gay Aliens, and a straight man who has the hots for them. Is he going to come out of the closet? No one knows because the story doesn't go that far ahead into the future to tell us the answer to that question. Gay aliens is really simplifying the subtle nuances of this story quite a bit because in the scene where our hero interacts and gets wood for a sexy gay alien dancer really doesn't appear homosexual at all. In all honesty it appears as more Androgynous than anything else. The way it is written is just like any typical scene with a sexy chick is written. It talks about the creatures curves, it's unbridled sexuality the whole nine yards. Nothing sexy is left out. When the revelation is made that the alien that seemed so alluring is actually a man. I was just as shocked as the main protagonist was. And I believe that was precisely the author's point. He wanted to find a way that wasn't entirely offensive to introduce the idea of a future where homosexuals still exist and even span across the outer realms of space. With the character of the newsman who is completely a dispicable character talking about how all aliens should be destroyed, and that humans shouldn't love them under any circumstances is definitely a product of the time. This piece was published in 1972. When the homosexuals were coming out of the shadows and openly celebrating their unique sexuality.

In this piece the author explores the feelings that americans felt when the gay revolution was beginning by using the androgynous aliens as a focal point to point out said feelings as well as leave them up for debate.

This wasn't one of my favorite pieces, but I can see why it is considered an important piece of science fiction writing. It touched upon a very touchy subject at the time that had yet to be handled in the realms of science fiction at least with as deft and appreciative of a hand that James Tiptree Jr. did. Not every important work of art or story has to be appealing to you personally to appreciate it, and this story is just one of many examples where this notion applies. A lot of the themes and tropes present in this story are still talked about to this day. Americans are still freaking out about the homosexuals, and don't get me started on the transsexuals.

To put things into perspective. Just recently in the year 2014, a bill was passed around to make it legal for businesses to throw homosexuals out of their establishments if they deemed them as unfit or a distraction. This bill didn't pass but the fact that it even made it to congress is appalling. I guess things haven't changed that much since 1972 after all.

On a lighter note, here is one of the most absurd pictures I have ever seen and one that you will not forget any time soon. It fits within the context of the story and it is one of those so weird it's funny creations that could have only came from a uniquely twisted mind. I'll never look at a Predator the same way again.

Thoughts On...Forbidden Planet(1956)

I recently checked out this sci-fi classic from 1956 for the first time. At least all the way through anyway and it was for what it was a really good flick. Sure it had some corny moments. The chef who just wanted Robby The Robot to make more booze? Some cringe inducing dialogue, and a not so faint feel of rape sprinkled throughout the film, but the cringe inducing dialogue at least induces laughs in the audience but there is nothing funny about the rape and it really cheapens the experience. Also the music score is horrendous. Grating and irritating to the max.

But what Forbidden Planet gets right it really gets right. The newcomer Robby The Robot is a scene stealer and I can see why he became a phenomenon for years after the film's release. The acting for the most part is really good. Walter Pigeon is phenomenal as Doctor Morbius and he really commands this viewer's attention in every scene he is in. Leslie Nielsen is also really solid as the Captain proving that he can pull of playing it straight and that he isn't just the comedy type. If there is a weak link when it comes to the acting it is probably Anne Francis. She is nice to look at but man she is wooden.

Wooden acting by the female lead aside what really makes Forbidden Planet a sci-fi classic is it's subject matter. The themes and tropes present in it, aren't really anything that hasn't been seen before.(I.E. Aliens creating technology man doesn't understand, and etc.) but it had never been seen on the screen before in such spectacle. The special effects in this film are a major highlight and the production design of the Krell's endless machine is quite impressive to look at even now in the year 2014. And the the creature design of the ID monster and the execution of it is top notch.


The thing that really stands out in the end is the ID. It steals the show right out of Robby's cold metal hands. It is a terrifying creation that had to have kept 50's kids up at night for weeks. It is a very violent creature. Especially for 1950's standards. I am shocked it even got past the censors. The idea that unbeknowst to you that your bad thoughts and inclinations could manifest themselves physically is a sobering and scary one that really sticks with you for days after viewing the film.

 The monster within us all.

Overall, Forbidden Planet(1958) is one of those films that has earned it's "classic" reputation and stands the test of time with it's messages and themes that will always be powerful and relatable to any generation. Current or future.

Robby The Robot would return in Fred Olen Ray's crapfest The Phantom Empire, starring Sybil Danning.

Kate Willhelm-Forever Yours, Anna

 

This was a sweet sentimental tale that even though it has a sad touch to it at the end it leaves the reader feeling bittersweet rather than just completely bitter. As I was reading it, it at first glance felt like a mystery. Gordon Sills was going to find out who this Anna was who was writing about the love shared between her and his client Mercer if it was the last thing he was going to do. As the story progresses however he discovers that the mystery isn't a mystery at all. At least the one he was trying to solve. Instead the mystery of how in the world he slipped in time comes to a head. And that is a mystery he cannot solve. 

The idea of learning the future before it occurs is one that a lot of us want to experience for ourselves. This story shows both the positive and negative sides of this situation, and really hammers it home. Knowing who will fall in love with who is not necessarily the greatest thing. It leaves your life with no sense of intrigue or suspense. Plus if you slipped in time once, isn't there a chance you could do so again? And if you do what will happen that time around?  And in Gordon's case, he knows the tragic future of this poor Anna's future which involves the untimely death of the man she loves. And even though he knows this now he can't tell her 20 year old self who knows nothing of this Mercer fellow if he tried. She'd think he was a lunatic. So just like the story says he'll just be there to comfort her when that sad day does come. It's another example of a paradox of sorts but yet another tale that doesn't end in world or universal destruction just a slow chipping away of one poor man's soul with the realization that he has a concrete vision of the future and it is one that isn't the end of the world but equally as devastating.

Speaking of slipping in time here is an awesome episode of one of my favorite TV shows, Tales From The Darkside called Slippage starring David Patrick Kelly, Sully from Commando in a chilling tale of a man losing his grip on time and reality.

Stanislaw Lem-The Star Diaries(The 7th Voyage)

This story was confusing as hell. But I think that was precisely the point. It depicts an insane voyage stuck within a neverending time warp that repeats itself constantly in a loop. So much so that multiple different incarnations of the story's main character develop and then begin to reproduce. By the end of the story you are having a hard time telling if the Wednesday me is actually the Saturday me and so on. I still am having a hard time making heads or tails of this voyage. I know how it ends and somehow the dang rudder gets fixed and by kids that somehow were created at one point. A point that I have no clue when it occurred or how. I don't think that point is made clear either. It could just be a figure of speech by the author. Beats me. It's not that I didn't enjoy the story I ultimately liked it. It was a quick and engaging read. It was just very hard to follow and the whole tale got mixed up multiple times by the story's end.

But like I was mentioning earlier, this chaotic nature of the story is ultimately what the Seventh Voyage is about. If you somehow got stuck in a time loop this is a very likely scenario and very close to what you would experience if you were in the protagonist's shoes. It's both funny but at the same time terrifying. Because if you get any of the yous future or past mixed up things could go wrong. Likewise the idea of remaining in the loop is a horrible and humbling one. In the end things end up ok but you just know in the back of your mind just like the lead in the story that this is a voyage that will not be forgotten any time soon.

The worst enemy in The Seventh Voyage is in the end you. All incarnations of you. The thing that is holding the hero in the tale back is himself. And that is quite evident numerous times in this story. He even warns himself and he doesn't listen. He thinks its all a dream. And you can't blame him when he first sees himself warning himself for not buying a single word he was saying to himself, but you can't say he didn't warn you of things to come. And he did, and just like what many of us would do in the same scenario we didn't listen. So if I could take one concrete message out of this confusing tale, it would be the tired and true old adage of trust in yourself and your gut instincts. If something doesn't feel right go with your inner gut reaction to the situation. If you don't, you could end up in an annoying ceaseless time loop for all your trouble.

Speaking of errors in time...Here's is a fun scene from a corny 80's movie called The Ice Pirates that comes to my mind when I think of the times when time goes screwy...

Robert A. Heinlein-All You Zombies

Now this was quite an interesting read. I still am trying to wrap my brain around the story's ending. Is the unmarried man one and the same as the older grizzled time cop? It sure appears to be the case. Heinlein's approach to gender is also quite fascinating and way ahead of it's time. You really feel for the character of the unmarried man. A bastard child, an orphan, and a hermaphrodite. He/she was never really either a man or a woman at birth. Even when she has SRS surgery forced upon her into a man, she still isn't really truly a man and never will be. It is so tragic and heartbreaking. And to discover that the only person that seems to have anything in common with him/her is him/herself? Double bummer.

I also love the time cop aspect of the story. Not just because I am a huge fan of the Jean-Claude Van Damme film but because it really does set up the story perfectly for its wild twist. Without the temporal agent storyline the revelation in the end would not be possible. It also shows an example of a time paradox that doesn't end with the entire universe exploding or anything of that sort. It just continues to go on like the meeting had never happened round and round like an endless circle. Like the author writes so eloquently the unmarried man is "The Snake That Eats Its Own Tail, Forever and Ever." The unmarried man also knows where he comes from since he has figured that out not once but twice with the same effect, but everyone else around him feels empty and hollow to his gaze. Hence why he remarks the words that inspire the title of the story Heinlein is telling.

"Where Did All You Zombies Come From?" 

These zombies are not the living dead variety who are looking to feast on people's brains. No they are completely normal human beings. But to The Unmarried Man they might as well be. He can't relate to them, he doesn't trust them, he sees nothing but a long line of faceless beings shuffling about aimlessly not really knowing what their destination is or what their future holds in store for them.

"You aren't really there at all. There isn't anybody but me-Jane-here alone in the dark.
I miss you dreadfully!"

This last quote really solidifies the supreme isolation The Unmarried Man(Jane) feels. Being both a man and a woman but in the end being neither is just too much for one human to bear and this identity crisis leaves the protagonist with no one to care or a shoulder to cry on. What is he/she? Does Gender really determine who you are? Is all that makes us who we are a series of different sex organs and characteristics?

A lot of questions are brought to mind while reading this story, and that is a wonderful thing. I love stories that make you question what is really going on in not only the story but in life as well. And Heinlein's "All You Zombies" poses plenty of deep thoughts.


And just for fun and on a lighter note here is some appropriate music for this story and your listening pleasure.

TV Picks-The Star(80's Twilight Zone)

The Star by Arthur C. Clarke is not only a great short story but an equally wonderful television adaptation from the New Twlight Zone from the 1980's, which is my personal favorite rendition of the iconic tv series. I love this show dearly and find it highly underrated. It's a shame to me that not many people speak about this show and it's brilliance. Episodes like The Star are reasons why more people should.

The Star was the last segment of an already solid holiday themed episode that had included the lovely remake of a old Twilight Zone favorite, Night Of The Meek and a so so but entertaining fantasy scenario But Can She Type?, but The Star really sends the 13th episode of the first season off with a bang. In many ways The Star is a lot like Arthur C. Clarke's The Sentinel in it's approach and goals. It is one of the many episodes of the show's great first and second seasons that really strikes an emotional chord within me.

Before you go on to reading the spoiler ridden synopsis and my final thoughts on this episode, Give it a watch. It's only 12 minutes long and I don't think you'll regret it. 

Synopsis: On an interstellar journey, far in the future, a medical doctor and a priest debate about the existence of God in the wonders of the universe. Dr. Chandler(Donald Moffat) believes them to be random patterns, but the priest, Father Matthew Costigan(Fritz Weaver)—also an astrophysicist—believes it is God's grand design. While having their friendly debate and wishing each other a merry Christmas, their ship picks up a subspace signal from a long-dead world. Father Matthew claims it is impossible that a civilization could have survived its star going supernova. The planet was so far from the star when it exploded that it escaped the worst. Upon landing on the now-dead planet, the explorers discover that the planet holds the last remains of a race which was destroyed when the supernova hit. Their civilization was quite advanced, with remnants of art and other pieces of their culture. Along with a computer record of their entire history comes evidence that they had had a thousand years of peace before their extinction. The captain requests Father Matthew to determine when the star went supernova. He calculates that the star exploded in the year 3120 B.C.

To his dismay, however, Father Matthew realizes that it would have taken 3120 years for the light from this explosion to reach Earth, in the Eastern Hemisphere. This star was the same star that shone down on Earth the day Jesus was born, "The Star of Bethlehem". In front of Dr. Chandler, Father Matthew cries out to God, to question why it had to be these people who had to lose their lives, why it could not have been a star with no life around it. Dr. Chandler attempts to comfort him by reading a poem he found among the archives of the advanced culture. It says that no one should mourn for them, for they lived in peace and love and saw the beauty of the universe. It says to grieve for those who live in pain and those who never see the light of peace. Dr. Chandler says that "whatever destiny was theirs, they fulfilled it. Their time had come, and in their passing, they passed their light on to another world. A balance was struck, and perhaps one day, whenever we've fulfilled whatever destiny we have, maybe we too will light the way for another world." The doctor's words and this quiet artifact consoles and encourages the priest.

Final Thoughts: The connection this story makes with the tales of the bible and the birth of Jesus Christ are amazing, and have haunting and tragic reprocussions that stick with the viewer for days after viewing. The episodes production values are fine for the television budget it was given and for it's time frame. Some effects don't hold up as well nowadays but it was never a story about the effects being the forefront, it was a story about it's message and the moment in time when two men discover a sad truth about one of the most wonderful births, the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. You don't even have to be deeply religous to feel this story's impact. It is so well written and preformed by Fritz Weaver and Donald Moffat that it can touch anyone's heart. I remember fondly the first time I saw this episode. It took me for a loop with it's conclusion and really affected me emotionally. So much so that I actually shed some tears at the episode's end. Now I try to make it a christmas tradition to watch this episode every year, and try to share it with those who are willing to give it a watch and appreciate it as much as I do.

 "Whatever destiny was theirs, they fulfilled it. Their time had come, and in their passing, they passed their light on to another world. A balance was struck, and perhaps one day, whenever we've fulfilled whatever destiny we have, maybe we too will light the way for another world."

Those are ambitions for all mankind to strive for in my book. To by the time our world does come to an end to light the way for another world.