The Decade’s Best, Part I

We near the end of another decade and I thought it was time for some reflection. It was a monumental one for me. I got married, had a child, and became an uncle. I said goodbye to friends, family, mentors, and heroes who passed from this world to the next. I stormed Scotland. I braved Disneyworld. And I chased ghosts… lots and lots of ghosts.

I published two novels, dozens of short stories, a handful of comics, and I saw my artwork grace the covers of a whole host of works by some of my favorite writers in the field.

And in a decade that saw me turn forty, I can honestly say it has been the best decade of my life.

I have a lot to be thankful for, but even more to look forward to. I can only hope that the next decade is as magical as this one has been.

Now, let’s close this blog entry out with a bang with the Decade’s Best in Television Entertainment (according to yours truly):

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THE BEST TELEVISION OF THE ‘OO’s

1. LOST

Not only the best show of the first decade into the 21st Century, but the best show ever. It’s mythic in scope — epic in vision — and all-out mindblowing in execution. It is an action packed adventure on an Island littered with rabbit holes that lead the viewer to ponder theoretical physics, comparative mythology, classical literature, and Jungian psychology. LOST is the proverbial enigma wrapped inside a riddle, but at its heart, LOST is about characters and therein lies the hook.

2. Supernatural

The 21st Century’s answer to the Hardy Boys, Sam and Dean Winchester are caught up in the ultimate battle between good and evil. Sure, they hunt and slay ghosts, monsters, and demons, but it’s more than that. Supernatural is about family ties… the bond of brotherhood… and it’s about the strength found in that bond that carries you through, even when faced with the deepest and darkest horrors imaginable.

3. Veronica Mars

If Supernatural is a modern take on the Hardy Boys, then Veronica Mars is this Century’s Nancy Drew. It lasted only three seasons, but television has rarely been better. Veronica Mars was smart, whitty, and everything you could ask for, with compelling mysteries and fantastic characters that week in and week out left you begging for more. It was a crime that it wasn’t renewed for a fourth season, but the three we were blessed with still resonate.

4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel

It’s hard not to bow down at the altar of Joss Whedon. He turned the world on its ear with the creation of the Slayer, a teenage girl destined to battle the forces of evil while quipping wisecracks and maintaining an impeccable fashion sense. Add the stoic Angel into the mix — a vampire curshed with a soul — and you have not one, but two shows that reinvented the genre and made an indelable mark on pop culture.

5. Survivor

The ultimate reality show, Survivor took the world by storm by taking a group of normal, everyday people and sticking them in the middle of nowhere in a fierce competition for One Million Dollars. A psychological experiment played out for our entertainment, we watched as these survivors manuevered, plotted, and schemed against one another, hoping to outwit, outlast, and outplay their teammates to win the coveted monetary reward. Rarely has watching 16 people slowly starve to death been more fun.

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There you go, kids. Chew on those for a bit and watch for my ruminations on the Best of the Decade in both Movies and Books in the days to come... and please accept my thanks for helping to make the start of the twenty-first century one for the ages.

“Abandon All Hope” — Supernatural (S5:E10)

Season 5 Episode 10

“Abandon All Hope”

SAM AND DEAN FACE OFF AGAINST LUCIFER — Sam (Jared Padalecki), Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Castiel (Misha Collins) track down the Colt and head off to find Lucifer (guest star Mark Pelligreno) to send him back to Hell. It’s a hunters’ reunion when the crew joins forces with Bobby (Jim Beaver), Ellen (guest star Samantha Ferris) and Jo (guest star Alona Tal) for what could be their last night on Earth. Phil Sgriccia directed the episode written by Ben Edlund (#510).

I was going to go on ad nauseum about last night’s “Abandon All Hope” but Maureen Ryan’s account hit nearly all the points I was aiming for… give her a read HERE. Week in and week out, Ms. Ryan delivers the best Supernatural coverage. Her love and devotion to the show is greatly appreciated.

Now, I would like to address one thing which sort of ruffled my favorite Winchester Brothers’ recapist’s feathers: the fact that Lucifer didn’t just go ahead and deep six Dean when he had the chance. Why let Michael’s Vessel live when he had the opportunity to deliver a crippling blow to God’s favorite son?

My answer is simple. It’s because it would be too easy.

Lucifer wants to face Michael, brother to brother… each dressed in their Winchester finest.

Anything less would cheapen the victory.

Lucifer has been nursing this grudge for millennia.  He doesn’t want this bloody showdown to be anything less than epic. Besides, Old Scratch thinks he’s right and when he beats Michael down he wants the archangel to know that it was when he was at his best.

There were a lot of great moments in last night’s episode. I think it was the best of the season and certainly one of the best of the series as a whole. “Abandon All Hope” had it all… rich character interactions… epic, mythology driven plotting… emotional highs and lows…

Terrific work by all involved… and that makes the coming hiatus all the harder to face. Supernatural has pulled out all the stops and delivered on every level, and, with a fraction of the budget that other shows that I love have (such as LOST, Fringe, and FlashForward), the Supernatural team elevate the genre by producing nothing short of pure magic on the screen.

Supernatural next airs on January 21, 2010.

This week on Supernatural…

It’s SNEAK PEEK time…

“Abandon All Hope”, airing Thursday November 19th, will be the last original episode of 2009 and it looks to be a return to form as this season’s arc takes an even darker turn with the introduction of the demon Crowley.

Tonight on Supernatural

“I Believe the Children Are Our Future”
Season 5 Episode 6

Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) investigate a series of odd murders that strangely resemble fairytales and urban legends. The brothers track down an 11-year-old boy named Jesse (guest star Gattlin Griffith) and realize that whatever Jesse believes is coming true. Castiel (Misha Collins) tells Sam and Dean that Jesse is a serious threat and needs to be eliminated. Charles Beeson directed the episode written by Andrew Dabb & Daniel Loflin

Tonight on Supernatural

Tonight on Supernatural

Fallen Idol

Supernatural – The End

The End

“We make our own future.” – Dean Winchester

Another brilliant episode. “The End” introduces us to the Supernaturalverse five years from now and my how the world has changed. The Croatoan Virus is running rampant, the Angels have vamoosed, Bobby’s dead, Castiel’s a pot smoking – orgy loving hippy, Dean’s a hardass survivalist, Sam’s got the Devil in him… and Sarah Palin is President.

You couldn’t have asked for a better episode. This was Dean’s wake up call. After dismissing his brother, proclaiming them better off apart (even after learning Sam was Lucifer’s Vessel), Dean is treated to a glimpse into the future by way of Arch-angel Zach… and it wasn’t pretty.

Zach’s plan was, of course, to inspire Dean into accepting his role as Michael’s Vessel, and Future Dean tried to impress this same thing upon his time-challenged self, but in the end it brought Dean to the realization that he and his brother needed each other, that it was their only chance to face what was coming and still cling to their humanity.

It’s compelling stuff, wrestling as Supernatural does with the family dynamic. It’s what keeps the show fresh and exciting, grounding it in reality despite the “supernatural” trappings.

It’s why Supernatural works.

Unfortunately, ratings continue to be middling at best.

Still, I’m in for the duration. It’s my second favorite series and a top notch thrill ride that fails to disappoint. I can only hope that the saga of the Winchester Brothers continues on course toward an epic conclusion to its five year run. If the show continues after I’ll be surprised, but in the end, five years is enough so long as they go out with the Colt blazing.

Oh, and next week… we get this:

Thursday Night Television

Someone has it in for me in Hollyweird. Bones, FlashForward, Fringe, The Mentalist, Survivor, and Supernatural… all on the same night? Are you kidding me? Thankfully I already walked away from The Vampire Diaries or I’d be in some real trouble. When so many other nights are filled with utter dreck, why on earth would you pile this much quality programming into three hours on a Thursday?

Let’s start with last night’s premiere of FlashForward (ABC / 8pm). Wow. Move over LOST. FlashForward really hit the ground running with a tightly drawn introduction to a world gone mad when seemingly everyone on the planet “blacks out” for 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Except “black out” isn’t exactly accurate. Instead, nearly everyone has a brief glimpse of their future selves 6 months down the road… I was glued to the television and despite some hiccups in dialogue, overall this was as good as science fiction on the small screen gets. Next weeks continuation will not come soon enough.

Next I watched Supernatural (CW /9pm). The fifth season’s third episode finally drew us closer to where i was expecting the story to go all along. We had already learned that Dean was the vessel of the Archangel Michael, but now we’ve learned that Sam is the chosen vessel of Lucifer. Now we’re talking. This was the obvious direction for the series to move toward… Sam vs Dean. Oh, it’s coming. I just wish more people were watching.

I capped the night by watching the second season premiere of The Mentalist (CBS / 10pm) and I don’t know why I keep coming back. The actors are great from top to bottom and I truly enjoy the characters, but the writing is just terrible. I’m not sure if I’m going to make it to the end of the season. Something needs to give and this was not an auspicious outing for the show. The cast deserve better mysteries to become embroiled in…

Friday is catch-up day. Thank the gods for online viewing.

Survivor is Survivor. Nothing to talk about here, though I will say that Evil Russell is a hoot.

Bones continues to be an entertaining procedural. Booth and Brennan are a delight, as usual, and the extended cast fills the show out nicely. Someone should invite the writers from The Mentalist over for a little show-and-tell.

And Fringe? Well, its second episode of the season was gripping. Walter, as usual, stole every scene he was in, but the real star of the show last night (well, this morning for me) was the mutant baby thing. Damn, was that shit scary. Loved it…

As you can see, Thursday nights have become a cornucopia of dynamic television and it’s freaking killing me. I’m going to end up wearing my VCR out.

Sympathy for the Devil

Season 5, Episode 1
“Sympathy for the Devil”

Supernatural’s fifth season hit the ground running with not only the rising of the Prince of Darkness but perhaps the Hand of God making a play for some storytime as well… And in a nutshell I believe this is the central theme this season will be exploring: the father and son dynamic, or on a more broader scale, the idea of family and forgiveness.

I know, shocking isn’t it?

It’s been a common theme throughout Supernatural right from the start. Now we see the ultimate father and child conflict taking shape, that of the creator and his creation.

We also see the idea of sacrifice played over and over again, from Father John’s deal with the demons, to Dean’s own barter with the same… and with last night’s sacrifice made by the Winchester Brother’s surrogate daddy, the irrepresible Bobby Singer, one can’t help but wonder when the cycle of sacrifice and redemption will end.

The boys’ relationship is left lying in pieces, with Dean having lost all faith and trust in Sam, and not without good reason… and we see this mirrored in the poignant performance by Bellamy Young as the voice of Lucifer who pleads his case in the guise of an angst ridden widower’s late wife. The widower, played pitch perfectly by LOST’s Mark Pellegrino, is the chosen vessel of the Morning Star and easily manipulated into welcoming Lucifer in so as to extract revenge for God’s absentee daddyhood.

Add in some comedic relief in the form of the Prophet Chuck and an earnest Sam-loving,  fan fic-writing messenger… a blade wielding, ass whupping Castiel… and what you have is a fantastic start to a season with a lot of promise…

Next week’s second episode, Good God Y’all, will not come soon enough.

Tonight, the return of Supernatural

APOCALYPSE NOW — Picking up where the finale left off, Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki) watch as the Devil (guest star Mark Pellegrino, “Lost”) emerges from Hell. The brothers and Bobby (Jim Beaver) deal with the aftermath of Lucifer rising and the stunning news from Chuck the Prophet (guest star Rob Benedict) that Castiel (Misha Collins) was blown to bits by the archangels. Robert Singer directed the episode written by Eric Kripke

Supernatural airs at 9pm on the CW following the debut of The Vampire Diaries.

Thursday just might be the new night for “Must See TV”.

Two more days…