:: Captain's Personal Blog ::

Stardate: Thursday, February 20, 2003

The Birds Of Prey Have Been Grounded

Well, I saw the finale for Birds of Prey. (Insert long silence here.)

(Deep breath.) The two-hour finale summed up the spirit of the whole series in it's sub-season run. Full of promise and potential that it didn't really live up to until the end.

This final episode drew from the Batman mythos by pulling in second stringer villain Clayface, and remolding him to be a serious bad guy. Too little, too late. Also, a bit contrived. In this outing, Clayface played the part of Hannibal Lecter, telling Huntress about a "copycat" who is turning his victims into clay. The weak-ish plot held promise when we found out that Clayface was the one that killed Huntress' mother. Unfortunately, this was all overshadowed by the fact that the writers had fallen asleep at the wheel. In my mind, the series had set up that no one, save Helena (Huntress) and the other Birds, knew that Bruce Wayne was really her father. Even if that was common knowledge, though, it certainly was NOT common knowledge that Bruce Wayne was Batman. So, my question is why does Clayface, his son (oh, did I mention that he was the 'copycat?') AND Harley know that Batman was her father?

Everyone mentioning this fact detracted from the storylines greatly. So, all in all the first hour's storyline was weakish, but full of potential. The second hour, however, was much better, if just a little convenient. At the end of the first hour, Harley learned of Helena's secret identity. All season long, she has posed as Helena's psychiatrist, and now she uses this knowledge as leverage to keep Helena in therapy so that she can "help her to find out who she really is." In a truly classic comic book moment, Harley uses a power-transferrence machine to get the power to hypnotize people from another meta-human.

Using this power, she tells most of the citizens of New Gotham to lose their mind. This, is a truly frightening concept, when you think about it, and is one of the best devices used in a series such as this. She not only makes Huntress a little giddy, but forces her to turn on the other Birds. They comandeer the Clocktower.

To sum up, a fight ensues and the good guys win. My only REAL problem with any of that is that Barbara pulls out the old exoskeleton so that she can walk again. I just can't stand that as a plot contrivance. It's stupid and should have been abandoned. It detracts from the seriousness of Barbara's condition.

Anyway, the show ended on a reasonable upnote and would have been a good finale, had they not messed up the last scene.

The last scene, as described, sounds really touching. GothamClockTower.com, summed it up in their spoilers by saying that the episode ends with Alfred communicating with some unseen other person from Wayne Manor, who is asking about how her daughter is. Now, while the very nature of spoilers is inaccurate to begin with, what we actually saw was a bit less thrilling. What it turned out to be was Alfred, apparently calling from Wayne Manor on a telephone. We do not see or hear the person on the other side. It is Alfred who volunteers the information about Helena, which amounts to little more than him saying that she is doing fine.

To me, the scene would have played much better like so:

INT. CAVE
CLOSEUP OF COMPUTER BANK
Lots of flashing lights and a few monitors with various diagrams on them. On the center monitor, is the face of Alfred. In the foregroud, we see the back of a man shrouded in shadow. He is Bruce Wayne.

ALFRED
(On Screen)
You would be so proud of her, sir. She has handled herself admirably.

BRUCE
(Unseen)
Thank you for keeping an eye on her Alfred. I am proud of her. Selina would be too.

ALFRED
(On Screen)
Of course, sir. (pause) Sir, why don't you come for a visit. I'm sure that--

BRUCE
(Interrupting)
No, Alfred. She's just rediscovered who she is. She needs to live her own life, without me. If she ever wants to see me, she'll find me.

ALFRED
(sighing)
Very well, sir. Take care of yourself.

BRUCE
Take care of THEM, Alfred.

ALFRED
Always, Master Bruce. Always.


But, that's just me. The Birds had a good run, but I do think they deserved better. This past television season has been a disappointment to me, for how the networks are treating their shows. BIRDS OF PREY, FIREFLY, FARSCAPE....... While I won't say that BIRDS OF PREY was as good as FIREFLY or FARSCAPE, I think that it again had potential. It could have been great. If only they had had more time.
:: J 9:50 AM [+] ::
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Oh the weather outside is frightful.....

Well, yesterday is a milestone for me. I now feel like a grandparent. I will explain that shortly. Here is my timeline for yesterday:

5:45am: Woke up to check condition of the snow (same time as every morning.) Saw that it was really coming down. Decided to wait to see if the plows would come and get me out

7:15am: After seeing a plow come by once and seeing that the road was covered again in 2 minutes, as well as noticing that the plow was building thick walls around our house, preventing me from digging us out, I decide to call out of work. Unfortunately, given the nature of my work, my boss was less than thrilled about that fact and told me that I had to come in. I understood, but my dad was less than thrilled.

7:25am: Having called the local taxi company and finding out that they are all closed due to the weather, and realizing that there was no other way to get to the train station, I decided to walk the two miles to the station.

8:35am: Finally arrive at the train station, and have to wait for the train.

8:55am: Train arrives. Had to wait on the platform for 20 minutes. Starting to not feel my toes.

9:55am: Train arrives at Penn Station, NYC. Decided to swallow my pride and take the subway to work from there.

10:15am: Arrive at work. Realize that at 9:20-ish, I got a voicemail on my cellphone from my boss telling me that I no longer had to come to work, because enough people had shown up. The only thing preventing me from pulling my hair out was realizing that at that point, I couldn't have turned around if I had wanted to.

Well, I got a lot of work accomplished yesterday, and they even put me up in a hotel. That was nice. Now, I have to spend the rest of today figuring out if I will be able to go home today or not. Hopefully, I will because I really missed my bed last night. Besides, I want to watch Buffy and Smallville from home, and be able to set up my VCR for the BIRDS OF PREY series finale that airs tomorrow night. Oooh, and stay tuned. After I watch the series finale, I will give my final review of the program, and anyone who has actually read this blog over time knows that I had a lot to say about it.......

Now, on to work.
:: J 9:29 AM [+] ::
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The Party's Over

Well, to me, that was the overriding theme of last night's shindig. It was great fun, full of nice comedic moments, and probably the last we're going to see of all that until the First is dispatched.

First Date was the final straw for me. I am now totally convinced that these episodes are the writers talking to us directly. Giles' situation was immediately wrapped up in the first 2 minutes of the episode, as was Spike's condition. Over and done with. Giles killed his attacker and Buffy decided to have Spike's chip removed. Final. Yes, there was a little discussion of both items later in the show, but it really didn't amount to nearly as much as I would have thought it would be. In my mind I heard Joss saying "It's not important. Let it go. Here are your answers, now let's move on, shall we?"

And so we did. We finally find out who Principal Wood is. And let me just say right off that bat that the moment he told us why he was doing what he did, I knew the truth. We all knew the truth. This was probably one of the most lackluster revelations that we've had on the show, but it worked just fine. Besides, it was made up for by the very last line of the episode which makes one wonder if Wood will instantly revert to his bad boy days. And if he does, does this mean that The First wants Spike dead? Or does he want Wood dead, killed at Spike's hands, forcing Buffy to take him out (not on a date) and flipping Spike back to the dark side. It's a nice riddle.

Meanwhile, the subterfuge on this show has reached a fevered pitch! Last week it was Amy giving Willow the business (and totally fooling me.) This week it was Andrew and The First. He also had me totally fooled. It was GREAT!

As for Xander's sub-story, I wasn't sure that this was the one that they should have promoted. All in all, I didn't feel too much of a sense of urgency on that one. I like Xander and all, but since he didn't seem to feel like he was in any danger, I didn't as well. Oh well. Better luck next time Alex.

Overall, the episode was OK. Not one of my favorites, but a last hurrah nonetheless for us fun-loving Scoobies everywhere.

Two minor observations:

1) Buffy watches FOX. I really don't know how to feel about that. In some ways I think to myself "that figures." In other ways, I think I may have lost a little respect for the Slayer. Then again, she hangs with dead people and supernatural stuff all the time. I guess she's just looking for the most braindead television around.

2) I can say that last part because FIREFLY is no longer part of the line up, so she can't be watching that. To that end, I would like to address another reference in the program. The JONATHAN ARCHER reference regarding Xander wanting to be gay (one of the cooler Xander moments I've seen in a while.) While I understand a certain loyalty to UPN, being the network that they air on, I personally would have appreciated a more inside remark. One that would have provoked thoughts around the globe, and would not have been overtly gratuitous.

Why couldn't he say he was thinking of...................wait for it.......................................Nathan Fillion. Then there could be this whole little discussion:

Willow: Nathan who?
Buffy (off-handedly): Malcolm Reynolds.

Everyone turns to look at her. Andrew's and Xander's mouths drop. Buffy looks around, suddenly feeling all eyes on her.

Buffy: What? It's a good show!!!
Dawn: What show?
Andrew: Firefly
Anya: That's the one with the cowboys in space? Hasn't that been done a million times before?
Andrew: That's the funny thing, you see there's this debate going on around the internet about how it is really a rip-off of this anime called "Outlaw Star" because there's this...
Xander: NOW THAT'S JUST NOT TRUE!!!
Buffy: ENOUGH!!!
Andrew (trailing off): but those people are just stupid anyway.


Anyway, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
:: J 12:42 PM [+] ::
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I would like to thank Brian (co-founder of our blog Jossolalia) for bringing this article to my attention.

The First Amendment, Texas-style: Comic books remain dangerous into the 21st century

I think that Brian's reaction describes it best:

I hesitate to forward this anywhere, because I fear it could perpetutate the *inaccurate* stereotype of Japanese comics and animation as nothing but pornography (a stereotype I have experienced first-hand on more than one occasion). Still, the situation this article describes is a shocking injustice, and I feel obliged to spread word of it as widely as I can. (I'm also making a donation to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. The kind of persecution described in the article has no place in the 21st century.)

Brian Z.
MangaManiacs.org EiC
http://www.mangamaniacs.org

I have decided to follow Brian's example and will be placing a donation immediately to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. I urge anyone who is reading this to do the same. This was not only a slap in the face of the comic book industry, but a blatant attack on the First Amendment rights of all citizens of the United States.
:: J 10:50 AM [+] ::
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Here We Go Again:

Here I am, once again, writing about my disappointment in the newest entry to the STAR TREK franchise, ENTERPRISE. This is a very delicate issue, because it is hard to discuss without coming across as insensitive. Tonight's episode, entitled "Stigma," has been touted publicly of late as being an episode that will deal with the AIDS virus and how we perceive it today. Let me say that I am disappointed in the powers that be in the STAR TREK camp.

This is my issue, you see. I have no problem with the franchise tackling modern issues. However, let's do it right, shall we? How could it possibly make sense to set the backdrop of this story with Vulcans? The show has been consistently placing characteristics on Vulcans that do not belong there. Of course, that started with VOYAGER, but who's counting?

I have always had problems with the initial concept of ENTERPRISE, that the Vulcans got there first and refused to share, but let's move on, shall we? Here is my issue to date. Now, on top of all that, Vulcans are bigots. Come on! Having watched this episode, along with last week's re-run (who's name escapes me, but which also dealt with T'Pol and the Vulcans) I am questioning just who the Vulcans are supposed to be. T'Pol does not present herself as the clear-cut member of the central Triad that Spock was. Spock, while having quite a few emotional outbursts on the original series, was a) half human, and b) usually under the influence of an outside force. T'Pol has shown flagrant moments of emotionalism and deceit throughout the show.

The problem that I have is that I do not believe that an entire society could change as drastically as we are expected to believe in the next 80 years. Look at the human race. Yes, over the last 80 years we have gotten a bit more tolerant (in some areas) but overall the human race is instantly recognizable as the way they were then. It would be very easy to believe that T'Pol and Spock, even T'Pol and Sarek (who should be contemporaries) are from different societies.

This is all my point. The subject matter is apropos, but it should have been done in a way that was intelligent. For the most part, characters in the original series were not totally re-written to suit the needs of an episode. Yes there were inconsistencies, but not enough for there to be blatant. I guess I am just an old dog who can not be taught to appreciate this new series.

If I continue to watch, it will just be to watch the last, dying throes of a franchise that could have been great, but will wind up being the ultimate embarrassment to Science Fiction everywhere.
:: J 8:39 PM [+] ::
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My bad

With all the procrastination that I did, I let a very important date pass by. Two Thursday's ago, 1/23, was the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of my blog. Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Blog, Happy Birthday to you!

So much has changed in me since this blog started all those months ago. Times have changed. It's easy to focus on the recent things, but let's get to the large picture. What has happened in the last year, as told by my blog:

(in no particular order)

1) JOSSOLALIA - Brian and I started Jossolalia, a blog devoted to the genius that is Joss Whedon,
1a) Joss gave us a great new show, Firefly which was subsequently cancelled following it's poor treatment by FOX
2) UNOBTAINABLE ENTERPRISE - During the span of this blog, I informed of the purchase of a 33" clone of the shooting model of the U.S.S. Enterprise from the original Star Trek. It came with lights and sound. Having waited many moths for it, I finally received it, only to have to return it due to damage. Unobtainium has subsequently refurbished it's manufacturing line, expects a prototype in March-ish, but can not guarantee shipping by August
3) NEW COMPUTER - I finally went all out and bought a new computer. After posting the stats on my blog, I got more hits from people looking for the speakers that I got (Altec Lansing ADA745 Surround Sound Speakers w/ Subwoofer), than any other single keyword. For those interested, they're great. I highly recommend them.
4) THE SHUTTLE DISASTER - I've expounded enough on it lately. Suffice to say, I'm pissed.
5) EX-GIRLFRIEND STUFF - Now she's into berating me for not going to visit her. I may one day have to drop her like a sack of potatoes. I just wish I had had the money back guarantee (I loaned her $500.)
6) ENGAGED FRIENDS - Two pairs of friends of mine are now engaged. I am so happy for them. I just never realized how old I am.
7) O' BROTHER - My brother has (semi) recently both gotten his license and got accepted to Penn State (his number 2 school, and my old Alma Mater.) Did I mention that I never realized how old I am?
8) STILL SINGLE - What did you expect, really? After all my rants regarding my lack of ability in relationships, did we really think I would be in one, one year later? Come on!! Besides, I like Star Trek, Comic Books, I still like toys and I still live with my parents. Dating material, I ain't.
9) NO ESCAPE FOR FARSCAPE - Probably one of the best Sci-Fi shows on television, Farscape was nonetheless cancelled by the Sci-Fi Channel. What does it mean when good Sci-Fi can't survive on a channel which only shows Sci-Fi?
10) COMICS REVOLUTION - Spider-Man hit it big in theaters. Hulk, Daredevil and X-Men 2 all slated for this year. Spider-Man 2 in the works. Smallville hitting home runs on TV. Now, if only Birds of Prey had been faster to hit their stride. (See earlier rants re: Birds of Prey.)

Well, that's all I can really think of for now. Should probably get going now. Start getting stuff done for the next year........EXCELSIOR!!!!
:: J 10:44 AM [+] ::
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Final Thoughts

You know, having done some more thinking, I really have to talk about one thing in particular that upsets me. Why isn't there someone aboard the ISS whose job it is to inspect the shuttle while it's in space? I mean, isn't that a great job for the ISS? The shuttle pulls in, they rotate the tires, fill 'em with air, wash the windshield and CHECK THE DAMNED THING FOR STRUCTURAL DEFECTS THAT COULD HAVE OCCURRED DURING TAKE OFF!!!

It's easy to say this sort of thing in hindsight, I know. But this is something that I would have thought they would have prepared for and had in place. Stupid me, I thought that every shuttle that goes up there is inspected in space while they're docked. I figured that was part of the whole preparation for return. Looks like I was wrong. I mean, if we have pictures of this thing before they even left the atmosphere, one would have to believe that this sort of thing would have shown up in an inspection done in space.

No one can take blame for this, if it truly is an accident. And, by the way, given time I can't really give credence to my original feelings that this could have been terrorism. Obviously it wasn't. It was a simple accident. An accident that just shouldn't have happened. I hope that the powers that be at NASA and the Government take proper steps to insure that this doesn't happen again.
:: J 8:53 AM [+] ::
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Procrastination Can End In Tragedy

I'm a bit numb, really. You see, last week my computer showed up. I was really excited. I just needed some time to get it together before I started blogging on it. As such, I wanted my next blog entry to be on my new computer. Well, here it is. My first blog on the new computer. Unfortunately, it took a tragedy to shake me from my complacency.

For those who have been living under a rock, this morning the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon reentry in the Earth's atmosphere. All seven astronauts were lost in the tragedy. Of note, the first Israeli Astronaut was on board. Also of note, seven intrepid human beings who, with little public attention, risk their lives for the future of mankind.

It actually hurts me that the space shuttle launches have become so routine that no one bothers to watch them anymore. They have become postscripts to the media day. Among the latest choices on The Bachelor or Joe Millionaire, you would find a tiny little blurb about the shuttle launching, or the crew's progress on the station. I remember when hearing from the crew, while they were in space, was an event. "We're going to talk live with the astronauts in space, stay tuned." Now, we hardly ever see them anymore.

Now, with this latest tragedy, the public has been shaken to the core. But I fear that it may be in the wrong direction. It was brought to my attention during the day that after the Challenger explosion in 1986, NASA was forced (for good reason) to discontinue shuttle launches for two years. It was also brought to my attention that with the changing times, this is no longer acceptable. A pause of that magnitude would be catastrophic for the International Space Station. The ISS can not go two years without supply runs or transfer of personal. While it is possible that other countries would still send missions to space, it would not be acceptable to the world that the US would bow out for two years. We have to get righth back into the game.

Unfortunately (and that word seems to be permeating this post) that may be easier said than done. There has been talk that terrorism has been ruled out of this explosion. I do not agree. Any amount of sabotage could have brought down that shuttle. Especially given the Zipper Effect (a term that was explained to me today as being when one little crack can grow and expand to take out a portion of the shuttle.)

But let's not deal with minutae. Here is the deal. The space station is a boon for mankind. It is the first step in our exploration of space. And according to recent articles there is a move towards atomic powered propulsion that could get us to Mars even faster than before. Unfortunately, this is the sort of talk that has been around for many years. 1950's B-Movie Science Fiction films talked constantly about Atomic Power used in propulsion.

I just feel a bit optimistic that we are almost there. Looking at the new computer before me fills me with hope that technology has reached a plateau where things like that are possible.

Then I am brought back to reality by events such as those that occurred today. Somehow, this is why I feel we need to investigate a possible act of sabotage. According to reports, Columbia was recently overhauled. Before that she had flown on approximately 26 missions. With all that in mind, how could a simple accident like this happen. The engineers gave her a clean bill of health before she took off. Again, I want to know what went wrong.

As to the crew of the shuttle, they were, as are everyone who dares to launch themselves into space, a brave group of men and women who knew the risks and did it anyway. They went with the future of mankind in their hands, did their jobs and expected to secure the hopes for the future.

It is, however, with this in mind that we have to think back to people like Mr. Lance Bass. I would be very interested to know how this has affected him. And what of the future of space tourism? Will it be hindered by this recent event? I don't mean will it no longer be offered. Just because we had an accident, does not mean that the Russians would stop allowing tourists on their flights. What I want to know is if this will have the psychological effect on the public at large that the missions are just too dangerous.

The thing to remember is that the last shuttle disaster happened close to 20 years ago. Recently one would think that we have gotten so good at this that there wouldn't be any more disasters. Now that belief has been proven wrong.

Let me say this. As of right now, I would go on a shuttle launch tomorrow, if I were allowed (of course, I couldn't afford it anyway, but that's not the point.) It's something to be done. We can not let this recent tragedy deter us from moving forward to becoming citizens of the universe (romantic, perhaps, but true nonetheless.) We must hold in our hearts the memories of those who have come before. Those who laid down their lives to advance the cause of humanity, and those who continue to do so.

Finally, let me explain why I put so much emphasis on the importance of these missions to the future of mankind. Unlike Skylab and Mir, the ISS is a global project which has been the first TRUE act of humanity since the start of the U.N. Many countries coming together as one to bring humanity to the universe. To take us from this planet to establish new colonies in space which have the potential to solve some of our problems here on Earth. It has been said in the past that zero-gravity medicine can lead to new breakthroughs in how we treat the ill. Much like stem cell research in some ways.

In addition, there are resources in space which can offset the losses that we are experiencing here on Earth.

I may be an uninformed fool, but our future in space means a lot to me. May those seven brave souls rest in peace. Your sacrifices will not have been made in vain, and you will not be forgotten.

:: J 9:16 PM [+] ::
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