Greetings students,

This week, I’m going to continue looking at space ships in popular culture. There are obviously millions of choices in considering all of the science fiction space ships that people have developed. This time, I’d figure I’d look exclusively at some of the most popular space ship designs in movies and television shows. In particular, this week’s list will contain ships from Battlestar Galactica, Farscape, Robotech, and Independence Day. Only one of these is a movie, but all of these products depict long distance space travel as being feasible using one of the ships that they present. In Battlestar Galactica, the ship serves as home to the last surviving members of the human race. In Farscape, the ship is an actual living entity that is a key character in the show. Robotech had humans and aliens in space ships; the key factor that sets Robotech aside from any other science fiction alien invaders scenario was the fact that the space ships could transform (like Transformers but way more military minded) into fighting robots. Lastly, I thought I’d mention Independence Day because the aliens had some pretty cool looking spaceships that were supposed to be stylish and functional.

Battlestar Galactica (both the original and the remake) are awesome series that pose a lot of interesting solutions to the problem of long-term space travel. For one, the series considers that large space ships capable of housing thousands of humans are plausible and a good way to transport humans through space. In this series, the humans aren’t the only ones that have space ships; the cylon vessels in the series are quite different in design and principle. For those who don’t know, cylons are the robotic nemesis of the humans. The main difference between the human and cylon ships are that the cylon ships were devoid of decoration (since they are inhabited by robots), the cylon ships have superior engines and firepower. Another interesting design note is that the human ships have variety; no two human ships are identically alike (except for the fighters). The cylon ships are all identical. Here’s a video clip of the new series.

Farscape was an excellent franchise that featured a human astronaut (John Crichton) who finds himself sucked through a wormhole on a trail spaceship test only to board a living ship filled with aliens. There are a myriad of space ships that appear throughout the series, but the main ship is a living organism that is born in space and bonds with a humanoid pilot who then merges biologically with the vessel. The show has far too many different ships for me to list individually, but I hope the video below will give you an idea of how creative the show’s producers were in coming up with a means for the characters to travel through space.

Robotech was one of my favorite childhood shows. It was not until far later in life that I reflected on the show as pretty creative and imaginative. The giant fighting robot craze spread to America with the production of this show. I mentioned in the introduction that these vessels were similar to Transformers, and they are. Where Robotech is different from Transformers is that the vehicles did not have personalities of their own. Instead, the vessels were given certain design and function traits that matched the personality and character of the pilot. This show also has aliens that invade Earth, and they are worth talking about. The Zentradi were a race of giants that had specialized mechs and space ships. Another race of aliens (that had much slicker space ship designs) were the Invid. In both cases, I believe that the creators of the show dedicated quite a bit of time to thinking about the design and function of the actual spaceships. Here is a video from Season 1 that explains the ship:

Our last video is from the classic movie, “Independence Day.” I really enjoyed this movie, and I think that one of the main reasons for that had to do with the attention to detail and design in the alien ships. For those who haven’t seen the movie, the plot is incredibly simple: aliens attack, they destroy most of earth, and the humans figure out the aliens’ weakness and exploit it right in the nick of time. What is hard to explain is the way in which the alien space ships were designed and talked about during the movie. Let me just say that at a certain point, the protagonists visit Area 51 where an alien ship has been rebuilt and formatted for human use. The most haunting battle occurs close to the beginning of the movie when the humans learn that their weapons are ineffective against the alien technology.

That’s all for this week! I’ll catch you next week,

Class dismissed!

Sgt. Angle Reporting for Duty!

Recent television news has sparked my interest in spreading my own preferred programming. Pilot news: Shit My Dad (William Shatner) Says based on a Twitter feed (as I wrote about a while back), Kathryn Bigelow directing the pilot “The Miraculous Year,” a drama revolving around a New York family as seen by a charismatic Broadway composer, and Frank Darabont’s adaptation of the comic “The Walking Dead”.

Darabont and Bigelow have directed television before — he an episode of “The Shield” and the pilot for the short-lived and fun Jeff Goldblum detective show “Raines”, she a few episodes of the great “Homicide: Life on the Street”. “The Walking Dead” will prove to be right up The Mist director’s alley in terms of character and microcosmic town environments over a grand scale, and the source material provides more than enough foundation for a series to last several years. Meanwhile, for Bigelow’s “The Miraculous Year”…not much to be said at the moment, other than it’s written by John Logan (Gladiator, The Aviator).

The recent rise of filmmakers transitioning to television should excite you, but in no way should it prevent you from enjoying great television from years past. Here are some TV shows that, if still on the air you need to get addicted to, and if no longer on the air then you should speed watch DVD box sets with no remorse.

1. “The Wire” — Creator David Simon wrote “The Wire” as a love song to his hometown of Baltimore, and like any great love song, the meat is in the heart of the series, the incredible cases, the layered and complicated stories, and the diverse plots which converge into one stream at the end of each season. Season one is a detective story, on the trail of an inner city drug kingpin who evades capture while claiming territory, and the pawns who are the drug dealers. Season two brings us a virtually all-new cast as we head to the port of Baltimore — where all the drugs come in. Each character’s tale is gripping, from the detectives and their murder cases, to the police commissioner’s ongoing political strife; to a young mayoral candidate and his political aspirations, to a school classroom’s deterioration in the face of the drug world. All is not well in Baltimore. But, as the threatening rogue Omar would say, “It’s all in the game.”

In the game of television, “The Wire” is proof of the power that television can hold, and the educational value of watching something you love fall apart. Too bad the audience never grew too large, but perhaps that was a blessing to those of us who watched all five seasons on the edge of our seats. From Variety: “Whatever its commercial fate, however, “The Wire” has secured its place as one of the most demanding and thought-provoking series ever to grace television”

2. Sportsnight — For anyone who didn’t have a chance in the 90s to catch hold of Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men or The American President, “Sportsnight” came along and wiped the floor clean for all television sitcoms of the future. It’s too bad that converging elements brought out the hook all too soon for this gem of a show. Here’s the stage as it was set: The behind-the-scenes relationships and happenings of a late night sports news show a la ESPN’s Sportscenter. A strong female lead producer (Felicity Huffman), two charming yet arrogant sportscasters (Peter Krause and Josh Charles), the young rookie (Joshua Molina) and the sage, wise protector of his staff (Robert Guillaume). Directed by the great Thomas Schlamme, “Sportsnight” was the first of its’ kind to have a complete, fully operational set built on a soundstage — all four walls. This meant the camera can go anywhere it pleases, and because it was set behind-the-scenes ON a soundstage, the camera could film a lighting crew or a boom op and it would all be a piece of the scenery.

Steadicam chews up the halls as characters walk and talk through 50-page scripts reading Sorkin’s breakneck dialogue. He gave an interview in which he stated that he sold the pilot before writing the script, and wrote it the day before he was to pitch it. Of course, it sold at the same time as “The West Wing,” a pilot script that was once considered the best pilot ever written in Hollywood. After season one fazed out the network-imposed laugh-track and shifting time-slots, Sorkin split his weeks — and his brain — between “Sportsnight’”s comedy and “The West Wing’”s social relevance. Writing both shows each week, ABC decided to suck all the air out of “Sportsnight” because of low-ratings and expenses. Were it not for “Sportsnight“‘s innovative set design and directing, single-camera techniques, etc., perhaps we wouldn’t currently have “The Office”, “Arrested Development”, or any number of other single-camera comedies on the air now.

3. Deadwood — David Milch is one of those creators who won’t stop, and doesn’t seem to care that his brake lines have been cut and he’s barreling at us at 100 MPH’s. And that’s just what makes for great television. Set in the late 19th Century US Midwest, Deadwood was a real town with real characters — including the grungy, manipulative, and perhaps mad Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) — that David Milch turned into a dirty place where dreams die quick, guns are drawn quicker, and saloons become meeting rooms as much as they are festering dens of thieves.

HBO canceled the series all too early, a decision which Milch was devastated by, but understands. Everything has an end, and even episodes by themselves must come to a conclusion. But whatever we’ve missed in the deleted season four we can make up for by watching Wild Bill meet Swearengen, and Calamity Jane’s grief in a bottle over and over again.

4. Breaking Bad — Perhaps one of the greatest first seasons in television in the past twenty years, Breaking Bad started off with a terrific pilot episode and concluded its’ first season in just seven episodes, all taking place over just three weeks in the timeline of chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston), who says so much by doing much and saying little (fathom that!). Walter is already struggling to support his wife and teenage son, taking on a night job to wash cars in his New Mexico town. After getting diagnosed with cancer, Walter doesn’t want to break the news — or the costs -  to his wife, and joins his brother-in-law on a drug bust. The suspect, a meth dealer, escapes, but Walter recognizes his former student’s car, and comes up with a proposition: Walter cooks, Jesse (Aaron Paul) deals, and they keep doing so until Walter can save up enough for his family after he dies. Walter uses his insanely brilliant skills as a chemist to cook the finest, purest form of meth that the southwestern US has seen — bringing him unwanted noteriety in the criminal world, a slew of dealers to contend with over territory, and the heat of the DEA — including his brother-in-law.

And that’s just the first two episodes. “Breaking Bad” hands you, the viewer, in a meth-covered glass dish, the chance to watch a good man go bad — for good reason. No matter how much you fight it, you want Walter to win. He’s a character built out of failure and circumstance, out of devotion to his family rather than his passions. Is it too late to make things up for your past mistakes, even if it means breaking the law? Season three begins in March…catch up now, and catch on. “Breaking Bad” airs on AMC.

5. Friday Night Lights — I know, who cares enough about high school football to want to watch a show about it? What’s in it for me? Well, if you’re a soldier like I am, then you know how discipline and dedication play into all aspects of your breathing existence we’ll call life. That’s what :Friday Night Lights” is about. It’s not about the game, it’s about the in between — those moments alone when you think you have failed, the moments you have with your family you wish you could get back, those moments when you think you’re in love and happy forever only to discover that life finds a way to step in. “Friday Night Lights” focuses on the Texas town of Dillon and the high school football team, the players, the coach and his family, and the town citizens who love nothing more than watching their team play and win. But it’s more than that. It’s about the people behind the players, the fans, and the coaches.

Season four just wrapped up on the DirectTV channel a few weeks ago, and over the last few years, the show has tackled the following topics: love, death, birth, divorce, affairs, paralysis, abortion, religion, steroids, racism, one-night-stands, broken promises, deteriorating friendships, reconciliation, and gangland shootings. That’s just on the surface. Featuring one of the top (dare I say) three actors on television today as Coach Taylor, Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights should not be missed.

6. Battlestar Galactica. I don’t need to mention this modern masterpiece of a show, because if you haven’t heard of it by now, you’re clearly not of this planet. It’s not just a science fiction program. This is a genius work of art, a steady, worthy contribution to the history of television, and one of the best shows you will see, as a fan of sci-fi, solid acting, strong characters, and good television. Need I say more? See below for my final argument: Edward. James. Olmos.

You are dismissed!

Sgt. Angle

Sgt. Angle reporting for duty! Short and sweet this week, as I’m on deadline for resting mine eyes.

I’ve just been pontificating what’s in store for all you heavy readers and viewers out there in the upcoming MYTHOI: BIRTH issue to be released soon, and words cannot describe what only pictures can. See for yourself.

Then again, words cannot describe all that music has to offer. Music has that uncanny ability to actually represent more than the lyrics tell you. Thanks to contrasting melodies, choral harmonies, and dizzying sound engineering, music can be known to make our hearts beat faster, or stop them all together. Which brings us to Michael Jackson (Effing Segues). THIS IS IT is the documentary revolving around MJ’s rehearsals for his final “curtain call” tour of London. As of today, “…It” has earned over $34 Million at the US BO. I haven’t offered money to the Jackson Family Fund seen the film yet, but I hope that you do, sirs and madams, and that you tell us about it. However, I do know that Jackson’s dance steps will live forever, just like Keanu Reeves is immortal, and was AKA King Charlemagne. Or a vampire.

Until you get the chance to watch the source of Neverland Ranch dressing King of Pop in his final dance moments, you can think long and hard about how to spend the next five years of your life building on the moves and creations of others.

For instance, you can join the recent Hollywood trend of remaking character-driven foreign films to fit the American filmmaking mold.

I don’t have a large axe to grind with remakes. The Departed was a fine film. So was 3:10 to Yuma. What I have a problem with is the idea that American audiences “on a wide scale” cannot already see “Let the Right One In” as it was intended to be seen, in the glorious Scandinavian snow quality. Why remake it at all? Why not plop down a huge chunk of change if you love the movie so much and blast it out into theaters across the country, tell the audience “you should see this,” instead of allowing the director of “Cloverfield” to lay his handheld fingers on it? Just screen the original. If you screen it, they will come.

I want that to be your mantra as you also think about the movie reboot of Battlestar Galactica. This is a property that has been a cult favorite ever since the original TV series in the 70s, and has already had a spectacular “reboot” which began in 2004, thanks to the creative, adaptive vision of Ronald D. Moore.

The Moore reboot added layers of philosophy and religion, of humanity in every one of the characters, and developed an entire universe that is similar yet unique from our own. What will Bryan Singer bring to the table, and why now? Could he be capitalizing on the recent success of Moore’s series and the title in question?

A type of reboot I can usually get behind is the movie-to-TV launch of a popular film, or at least, a film worthy of deeper exploration. Think of Friday Night Lights, and I’ll take you there. What Peter Berg was able to lift out of the book for the film, he made fly for the TV series. Now entering its’ fourth season, FNL is more than football, more than teenage drama. It’s about heart. It’s about hope. And it’s about a coach who still stands for integrity and decency despite his losses, because in life, it’s not about losing, it’s about how you deal with the loss. Have clear eyes (a clear vision for your future) full hearts (pumping blood through your veins and hope through your mind) and you can’t lose (you will always emerge victorious). This is a show that began as a true story, was written in a book by H.G. Bissinger and adapted into a film starring Billy Bob Thornton. The characters beat through the heart of America, and their weekly lives have become a dramatic mirror of clarity for millions of viewers.

I can think of reboots that work (Star Trek, Casino Royale, even) and remakes that are terrible and unnecessary (the wood block of Keanu Reeves gave only stiffness to The Day the Earth Stood Still, and is Leo DiCaprio seriously thinking of tackling The Third Man? Orson Welles shall roll over in his grave!). Can you? Perhaps venture into foreign lands and discover the French films of Jean-Pierre Jeunet before he jumped over to the Alien franchise (again, another reboot) to see how original movies from other lands can be. Broaden your horizon over the ocean once in a while, please.

But back to the subject at hand: This Is It. Michael Jackson. Did he have a heart worth beating for another 50 years, or did it just give up because he thought he’d lost everything? Dance your words into our comment section, and tell us: Is This It?

So Say We All.

Sgt. Angle