Paul Levinson's Blog: Levinson at Large, page 257

Book Review: Do You Want to Know a Secret? The Autobiography of Billy J. Kramer

The music of the 1960s was unique and extraordinary, and typified and accompanied the events of that age - the good and the bad, the Civil Rights movement, women's rights, getting to the Moon, but also the Vietnam War, riots in the streets of America, and the assassinations - and made that music an indelible emblem of that decade, much as Shakespeare's plays did for the Elizabethan era, and Impression for the end of the 19th century.  Hegel termed such spearheads of artistic endeavor the "spirit of an age".

When you're actually living through such times, though, rather than looking back at them in history, it can be tough to say that this or that creative surge is really a spirit of an age.   Possibly we love those creations because we just happened to grow up with them, not because they have enduring relevance. When, in the 1970s, I had characters in a time-travel story listening to the Beatles in the 1990s (the story later became Loose Ends), several editors asked me if was sure that the Beatles would still be on anyone's mind 20 years from then.  I was sure.   But only time could prove that.  As indeed it has.

The Beatles were at the top of that enormous accomplishment, followed by Dylan, the Rolling Stones, and you can debate who follows on that list. But the accomplishment of the Beatles was and continues to be in a class of its own, with the group's recordings still listened to daily by millions of people around the world.

We naturally want to know as much as possible about these geniuses. Autographies are great, but, let's face it, everyone wants to make themselves look good, and the impulse to leave out details that make you look not so good is likely irresistible.   Biographies can help with this, but they suffer from another problem, usually being too removed from the action as it's happening to provide a completely responsive and accurate account of lives and events.

Here is where Billy J. Kramer's autobiography, Do You Want to Know a Secret, comes in, providing not only Billy's own story, but what he witnessed first-hand of the Beatles, Lennon and McCartney in particular, who wrote most of Billy's greatest songs.   This makes Billy's account refreshingly original, real, and important.

Billy himself was a singer, somewhere between Elvis and Ricky Nelson, with a joie de vivre all its own, as you can see in this video of him singing my favorite of his recordings, "From a Window," released in October 1964 in the U.S. at the height of the first wave of Beatlemania.   (He's still a fine singer - see my review of his performance at the 50th Anniversary British Invasion Concert in Tarrytown, New York, last year.)



We learn in the book that the song was written by Paul McCartney - news to me, because I'd always though its lyricism was Lennonesque, and now I have an even more impressed view of the early McCartney and his songwriting skills.   Later in the book, Kramer (born William Howard Ashton in 1943 in Lancashire, England) tells us how he now regrets turning down another song McCartney offered to him a year later - "Yesterday".   Kramer went on to record a Bacharach and David song - "Trains and Boats and Planes" - but Dionne Warwick had the bigger hit a year later, and this was the beginning of the end of Kramer at the top of the charts.

But his memories are as peerless as ever, and are presented in this volume with a fabulous set of photographs, and a keen eye for detail.   We learn yet again, for example, that Lennon could be a bit of a jackass, as when he lashes out at Billy - saying "you're nothing and we're [the Beatles] the greatest" - after Lennon tried to grope the girl Billy was standing with and Billy objected.

And lots of other makers and shakers from that era come to life Kramer's book.  Brian Epstein, who managed Billy as well as the Beatles, staunching opposed Billy's recording of "Little Children," a non-Beatles song, as a little weird - which it is, but it still became a huge hit for Billy J. Kramer and the Dakatos.   Billy loved Sonny Bono's "Needles and Pins" and Jackie DeShannon's "When You Walk in the Room" - I do, too, especially "Walk in the Room," one of my all-time flat-out favorites - but the Dakatos didn't, and as preposterous as it might seem that a bunch of sidemen, however talented, could have their way in this, they did, and the songs went on to become big hits for the Searchers, much to Billy's expectation and regret.

We're fortunate indeed that Billy has given us such a vibrant, colorful, incisive, and fact-filled book. Grab a copy if you want to be aptly informed for your children or grandchildren - or, hey, just for yourself.



Roy Green interviews Billy J. Kramer and Paul Levinson about George Martin, March 2016


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The Walking Dead Season 6 Finale: Who Was It?

The Walking Dead Season 6 finale was about as good as a season finale can get - with a cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers.

First, we of course all know or have heard about who dies at this juncture in the comics which are the source of this television series.  But the series has diverged from the comics before, and could do so again.

So who are our candidates for Negan's bat?  We know it can't be Carole or Morgan, because they're not on their knees, and in fact represent the only chance for our heroic characters in the future.   It could be one of the lesser-known characters, and that would be good, because it would cause much less pain, but the history of The Walking Dead says that's not going to happen (though it would be nice twist if it did, just saying).

It's not Carl, because Negan has threatened to cut his other eye out, if anyone overly objects to Negan carrying out his killing, and feed that eye to Rick, which means it can't be Rick, either.

So that leave all of other major characters on their knees.  Glenn is the victim in the comics, and he seems likely to be the target here, because he did break out of formation when Maggie was threatened - even though Negan said he understood the emotional moment - and it looked as if Negan may have deliberately skipped past Glenn when Negan was reciting his "Eeny, meany" on the way to selecting the final recipient of his horrendous, lethal lesson.

So, ok, Glenn is the most likely, in this post-apocalyptic update of Who Shot J.R.?   Now it's not who tried to do the killing, not even who did the killing, but whom did the killer kill?

As another question, I'm wondering if the victim has already been selected, or if that will happen as the next season begins to take shape on paper (or actually, in words on the screen)?   Or perhaps the victim has already been selected, but that decision can be changed?

In any case, I'm hoping it's Abraham not Glenn.  Both have been living on borrowed time.  Abraham has recently found true love, so that makes him a suitably poignant candidate.  It's most likely Glenn, but I'm pulling for Abraham.

See also: The Walking Dead 6.1: The Walking Herd

And see also: The Walking Dead 5.1: The Redemption of Carole ... The Walking Dead 5.3: Meets Alfred Hitchcock and The Twilight Zone ... The Walking Dead 5.4: Hospital of Horror ... The Walking Dead 5.5: Anatomy of a Shattered Dream ... The Walking Dead 5.6-7: Slow ... The Walking Dead 5.8: Killing the Non-Killer ... The Walking Dead 5.9: Another Death in the Family ... The Walking Dead 5.11: The Smiling Stranger ... The Walking Dead 5.12: The Other Shoe ... The Walking Dead 5.13: The Horse and the Party ... The Walking Dead 5.15: The Bad Guy ... The Walking Dead Season 5 Finale: Morgan and Optimism

And see also The Walking Dead 4.1: The New Plague ... The Walking Dead 4.2: The Baby and the Flu ... The Walking Dead 4.3: Death in Every Corner ...The Walking Dead 4.4: Hershel, Carl, and Maggie ... The Walking Dead 4.6: The Good Governor ... The Walking Dead 4.7: The Governor's Other Foot ... The Walking Dead 4.8: Vintage Fall Finale ... The Walking Dead 4.9: A Nightmare on Walking Dead Street ... The Walking Dead 4:14: Too Far ... The Walking Dead Season 4 Finale: From the Gunfire into the Frying Pan

And see also The Walking Dead 3.3 meets Meadowlands ... The Walking Dead 3.4: Going to the Limit ... The Walking Dead 3.9: Making Crazy Sense ... The Walking Dead 3.10: Reinforcements ... The Walking Dead 3.11: The Patch ... The Walking Dead 3.12: The Lesson of Morgan ... The Walking Dead 3.13: The Deal ... The Walking Dead 3.14: Inescapable Parable ... The Walking Dead 3.15: Merle ... The Walking Dead 3.16: Kill or Die, or Die and Kill
And see also The Walking Dead Back on AMC ... The Walking Dead 2.2: The Nature of Vet  ... The Walking Dead 2.3: Shane and Otis ... The Walking Dead 2.4: What Happened at the Pharmacy ... The Walking Dead 2.6: Secrets Told ... The Walking Dead 2.7: Rick's Way vs. Shane's Way ...  The Walking Dead 2.8: The Farm, the Road, and the Town  ... The Walking Dead 2.9: Worse than Walkers ... The Walking Dead 2.11: Young Calling the Shots ... The Walking Dead 2.12: Walkers Without Bites ... The Walking Dead Season 2 FinaleAnd see also The Walking Dead 1.1-3:  Gone with the Wind, Zombie Style ... The Walking Dead Ends First Season
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 a different plague here


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The Americans 4.4: Life and Death

Great to see The Americans back, with a season that is quickly shaping up as one of the best for the series.

Paige's knowledge of what her parents are doing - or, at least, a significant part of what they are doing - could well have posed an almost insurmountable challenge for the narrative.   Her telling the pastor about her parents upped the ante even more.  But The Americans has done a good, taut job working out of this vortex, with Elizabeth and Peter first planning on killing the pastor, and then interrupted in this plan only by the deadly pathogen that almost killed Gabriel and didn't infect Elizabeth after all.   That part of the story was an outstanding piece of television.

The Martha story has yet to be resolved, and the possibility of Stan running into Philip as he makes one of his appearances with Martha hangs over the series like a sword of Damocles.   This is both good - because it injects peril into every scene with Martha and Stan, and indeed with Philip in disguise - but also a tiny bit annoying already, because it's beginning to strain creditability that Stan hasn't happened onto this already.   But he is proceeding ever closer, which promises some exciting, likely deadly, times ahead.

Speaking of deadly, Nina's death at the end was certainly a shocker, but was actually the best way of ending this part of the story.   Releasing her, getting her back to America, in Stan's arms, or maybe Oleg's, would have been an impossible hill to climb.  Her death, and especially the way in which it was done, provided a stunning and important lesson about the adversary facing America in the 1980s. We are no angels, not then and for that matter not now, but the way in which Nina was killed puts America in at least a somewhat better light.

The Americans continues to be a great history story as well as one relevant to our present-day world at every turn, and I'm looking forward to more.

See also The Americans 3.1: Caring for People We Shouldn't ... The Americans 3.3: End Justified the Means ...  The Americans 3.4: Baptism vs. Communism ... The Americans 3.6: "Jesus Came Through for Me Tonight" ...The Americans 3.7: Martha. My Dear ... The Americans 3.8: Martha, Part 2 ... The Americans 3.10: The Truth ... The Americans 3.12: The Unwigging ... The Americans Season 3 Finale: Turning a Paige
And see also The Americans 2.1-2: The Paradox of the Spy's Children ... The Americans 2.3: Family vs. Mission ... The Americans 2.7: Embryonic Internet and Lie Detection ... The Americans 2.9: Gimme that Old Time Religion ...The American 2.12: Espionage in Motion ... The Americans Season 2 Finale: Second Generation

And see also The Americans: True and Deep ... The Americans 1.4: Preventing World War III ... The Americans 1.11:  Elizabeth's Evolution ... The Americans Season 1 Finale: Excellent with One Exception

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Like a post Cold War digital espionage story?  Check out The Pixel Eye


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Outlander 2.1: Split Hour

Outlander was back for its long awaited second season last night, following the first split-two-part season with an hour that was split itself into two very different kinds though of course intimately related stories.

Once again, I'm reviewing this as someone who's more interested in the time travel than the romance in these stories - though the romance is good - and who has not read any of the novels upon which this television series is based.  I sometimes like doing that, because it enables me to see what's on the screen with fresh eyes.

It gradually becomes clear, in the first half hour, that Claire has been away from her present and Frank longer than the time that elapsed last season - two years, in fact.  This tells us an important part of the metaphysics of this time travel universe: so far, at least, the amount of time Claire has spent in the past stays in synch with the amount of time that has elapsed with her absence in the present.   It doesn't have to be this way, and often is not, in time travel stories, in which the time traveler can spend years in the past, but return to the present just a few seconds after she or he left in the first place.  Or not - with a proper time machine, the return time can be adjusted.

Of course, Claire doesn't have a time machine, she has that strange hill in Scotland, which has a mind or at least some inner workings all its own.   Frank and Claire's going off to America is thus an important move in this part of the story, because it prevents either from just walking or driving over to the site of the time travel - unless, of course, there's a similar hill in Cambridge, MA.  Hey, I've been to Harvard lots of times, and I may know some places ...

But, meanwhile, in the past, it's fun again to see Claire's knowledge of the future come into play as she tries to prevent disasters and bad occurrences in history. And the big question now, of course, is what she can do the prevent Jamie's death.   Should be some good hours ahead ...


See also Outlander 1.1-3: The Hope of Time Travel ... Outlander 1.6:  Outstanding ... Outlander 1.7: Tender Intertemporal Polygamy ...Outlander 1.8: The Other Side ... Outlander 1.9: Spanking Good ... Outlander 1.10: A Glimmer of Paradox ... Outlander 1.11: Vaccination and Time Travel ... Outlander 1.12: Black Jack's Progeny ...Outlander 1.13: Mother's Day ... Outlander 1.14: All That Jazz ... Outlander Season 1 Finale: Let's Change History

 
Sierra Waters series, #1, time travel

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Vikings 4.8: Ships Up Cliff

Here's what I most loved about Vikings 4.8:  Ragnar is still a strategic military genius, and Floki can still implement Ragnar's visions.

That was refreshing to see, given what we've seen of both Ragnar's and Floki's deteriorations in so many ways.   And it was necessary - otherwise, Ragnar would be no match for Rollo, who already beat Ragnar in a first, disastrous encounter.

But hauling the ships up the cliff, so they can get at Paris from another vantage point, was sheer genius on Ragnar's part.   Bjorn understandably has doubts, but, significantly, obeys his father's instruction.   That's because Bjorn ultimately still has confidence in his father's prowess, despite what Bjorn has been seeing with his own eyes.

And speaking of witnessing, Ragnar's two younger sons witnessing his father's drowning of the Chinese emperor's daughter was a powerful scene, too.   What was their ultimate take-away from that?  Not that their father is a monster - I doubt that, though the two boys were certainly shaken by what they saw.  But more likely a recognition that this is what kings, maybe even husbands, sometimes do in their world.   And that might be more frightening than that their father is a monster.

Great acting by these two boys, by the way, especially the older one, who conveys the perfect mixture of slight horror and recognition into the camera.   The acting in this series is uniformly superb, by the way.   Gisla's almost a completely different character as a partner with Rollo this season, and Morgane Polanski carries this off just right.

As has been the case ever since season 3, I find the drama and action in Paris much more compelling than what's going on in England and Scandinavia, but that's ok, because even 30 minutes in or near Paris make this hour one of the very best on television.

See also Vikings 4.1: I'll Still Take Paris ... Vikings 4.2: Sacred Texts ...Vikings 4.4: Speaking the Language ... Vikings 4.5: Knives

And see also Vikings 3.1. Fighting and Farming ... Vikings 3.2: Leonard Nimoy ...Vikings 3.3: We'll Always Have Paris ... Vikings 3.4: They Call Me the Wanderer ... Vikings 3.5: Massacre ... Vikings 3.6: Athelstan and Floki ...Vikings 3.7: At the Gates ... Vikings 3.8: Battle for Paris ... Vikings 3.9: The Conquered ... Vikings Season 3 Finale: Normandy

And see also Vikings 2.1-2: Upping the Ante of Conquest ... Vikings 2.4: Wise King ... Vikings 2.5: Caught in the Middle ... Vikings 2.6: The Guardians ...Vikings 2.7: Volatile Mix ... Vikings 2.8: Great Post-Apocalyptic Narrative ... Vikings Season 2 Finale: Satisfying, Surprising, Superb

And see also Vikings ... Vikings 1.2: Lindisfarne ... Vikings 1.3: The Priest ... Vikings 1.4:  Twist and Testudo ... Vikings 1.5: Freud and Family ... Vikings 1.7: Religion and Battle ... Vikings 1.8: Sacrifice
... Vikings Season 1 Finale: Below the Ash

 
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Banshee 4.2: Carrie and Rebecca

The biggest reveal for me in Banshee 4.2 was the realization that Carrie and Rebecca look very similar, mainly because Carrie has been made to look much more like Rebecca than she has in previous seasons.  I'm too lazy to look for photos or take screen shots, but see for yourself in episode 4.2.

And this, in turn, leads me to a completely different hypothesis about who killed Rebecca:  maybe the intended victim was Carrie, and the killer got Rebecca by mistake.   We see Rebecca almost killed in 4.2, and she certainly has plenty of enemies, but putting Carrie into the target zone opens up all kinds of additional possibilities.

Meanwhile, it's of course good to see that Job is alive, if not entirely kicking as of yet.   His survival couldn't be a surprise, seeing as how much Hood has been tormenting himself about Job's presumed death and Hood's doing nothing about it - as of course everyone around Hood has been joining in with the refrain of why did you stop looking for Job.  Given that set-up, Job just had to be alive.

As to what Job will do once he escapes, that's a wide-open question, though there have been plenty of hints that his ordeal may have cured him of his devotion to Hood.  But you know what?  I don't quite believe that's the way its going to go down, either.

Back to what the characters look like - I think Hood looked better in previous seasons, but what do I know?  While I'm complaining, I also miss Siobhan more than I expected, though the new deputy shows some promise.   Fortunately, Proctor and Burton look the same, and that's reassuring, as the last season of Banshee moves into higher gear.

See also Banshee Season 4 Debut: Whunnit?

And see also Banshee 3.1: Taking Stock ... Banshee 3.2: Women in Charge ...Banshee 3.3: Burton vs. Nola ... Banshee 3.4: Burton and Rebecca ... Banshee 3.5: Almost the Alamo ...  Banshee 3.6: Perfect What-If Bookends ... Banshee 3.7: Movie with Movie ... Banshee 3.8: What Did Rebecca Find with Burton? ... Banshee 3.9: Loyalty ... Banshee Season 3 Finale: Subtractions and Additions

And see also Banshee Season 2 Premiere: Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee 2.2: Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee 2.3 Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee 2.4 Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee 2.5: Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee 2.6: Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee 2.7: Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee 2.8: Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee 2.9 Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee Season 2 Finale: Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee Season 2 Finale: Just Right and Shattering


Like crime stories that involve the Amish? Try The Silk Code
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Banshee Season 4 Debut: Whodunnit?

Banshee was back tonight for the start of its final season on Cinemax with a great new plot with just about every important player in a new position.  Read no further if you'd like no spoilers.


Rebecca has been murdered, not too far from where Hood has been living the hermit's life for the past 18 months.  This, in fact, is the only part of this debut that I deeply regret.  Rebecca was one of my favorite characters on the show, and I'd much prefer seeing this last season with her alive, and not knowing her fate until the very end.  As it is, we'll have no make do with flashbacks, which are pretty good, given that Rebecca is so striking on screen even in retrospects.

But all the other changes are top-notch.   Kai is Mayor of Banshee - love it - and Brock is sheriff, which is pretty cool, too.   Both have all kinds of plot possibilities. There's also a hot new deputy. Meanwhile, the white-supremacist turned deputy last year is back in the same position, but now he's sleeping with his brother's wife, who also is a violent lunatic.   Welcome to the club, and there will no doubt be some powerful stories ahead in this sector.

Job is missing, which means he'll sooner or later turn up - he can't be dead, as Hood may think - and this will no doubt be at the most opportune time.  About the only person still where she was last season is Carrie, who we see in a flashback being furious at Hood's giving up on Job, after an unsuccessful attempt to find out where Job is.

Clay actually is where is he was last season, too - though protecting Kai as both Mayor and Amish mobster now - and that's good to see, too, since he along with Rebecca are my favorite characters.

So who killed Rebecca? That's what Hood and Kai and everyone in the audience wants to know.  The question now is: have we already seen the killer, or is he or she yet to be introduced?  The most likely killer now is the guy whose wife is in his bed with his brother - he has the violent profile, but he's too easy a choice at this point.  I have a few suspicions as to who the killer could be - but all I'll say now is that I'm pretty sure we've already seen him.

One last point: any chance that that's not really Rebecca lying there?  I'd say, sadly, no - unless she has twin sister we don't know about it, highly unlikely.

See also Banshee 3.1: Taking Stock ... Banshee 3.2: Women in Charge ...Banshee 3.3: Burton vs. Nola ... Banshee 3.4: Burton and Rebecca ... Banshee 3.5: Almost the Alamo ...  Banshee 3.6: Perfect What-If Bookends ... Banshee 3.7: Movie with Movie ... Banshee 3.8: What Did Rebecca Find with Burton? ... Banshee 3.9: Loyalty ... Banshee Season 3 Finale: Subtractions and Additions

And see also Banshee Season 2 Premiere: Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee 2.2: Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee 2.3 Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee 2.4 Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee 2.5: Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee 2.6: Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee 2.7: Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee 2.8: Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee 2.9 Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee Season 2 Finale: Sneak Preview Review ... Banshee Season 2 Finale: Just Right and Shattering


Like crime stories that involve the Amish? Try The Silk Code
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Black Sails Season 3 Finale: Throckmorton

Who exactly is Captain Thockmorton and why is he important to the season 3 finale of Black Sails, just shown on Starz?  Well, he has a great name, doesn't he, but I'll say no more except stay tuned to the end of the episode.

Until that great send-off into season 4, we're treated to a great sea battle, with Jack, Anne, and Blackbeard in top clever and conquering form, and an equally rousing fight on the land, in which Flint and freed slaves literally rise up to beat the English. It's nights and fights like these that show why the Brits lost the American Revolutionary War.   They're good, but ultimately no match for Western hemispheric intelligence.

And the Pirate Republic thing is, as I've mentioned before, a template for the American Revolution, in terms of the limits of British power and the restless, irrrepressible success of the democratic impulse.

Interestingly, the season ends short of the battle for Nassau, with Eleanor and Rogers still the devoted couple, and Vane still hanging from the public gibbet.   Our pirates are seated around a table in the last scene, intercut with a reading by Max of a letter by John Silver, introducing the aforementioned Throckmorton, and signed Long John Silver, which has the effect of making his name, the sound of his name, something to be respected and feared, along with Throckmorton.

Earlier and throughout the episode, in a crucial conversation with Flint, Silver explicates what it is that now makes him unique among this pirate force: he is not only feared but liked, and that's a powerful combination, unique into its capacity to truly move the men.

It will seem like just a blink before season 4 continues the story, and I'll be in my customary front seat in the audience, right in front of my big glimmering television screen.


See also Black Sails 3.1: Restored ... Black Sails 3.2: Flint vs. Sea ... Black Sails 3.3: Gone Fishin' ... Black Sails 3.4: Mr. Scott's People ... Black Sails 3.5: Alliance ... Black Sails 3.6: The Duel ... Black Sails 3.7: The Blackening of John Silver ... Black Sails 3.8: Whether Vane? ... Black Sails 3.10: Wither Vane

And see also Black Sails 2.1: Good Combo, Back Story, New Blood ... Black Sails 2.2: A Fine Lesson in Captaining ... Black Sails 2.3: "I Angered Charles Vane" ... Black Sails 2.4: "Fire!" ... Black Sails 2.5: Twist! ... Black Sails 2.6: Weighty Alternatives, and the Medium is the Message on the High Seas ...Black Sails 2.7: The Governor's Daughter and the Gold ... Black Sails 2.9: The Unlikely Hero ... Black Sails Season 2 Finale: Satisfying Literate and Vulgar

And see also Black Sails: Literate and Raunchy Piracy ... Black Sails 1.3: John Milton and Marcus Aurelius ... Black Sails 1.4: The Masts of Wall Street ...Black Sails 1.6: Rising Up ... Black Sails 1.7: Fictions and History ... Black Sails 1.8: Money

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Vikings 4.5: Knives

A startling, shocking twist in Vikings 4.5 last week - which, once it happens, makes 100% sense.

Lagertha stabs Kalf, her betrothed, and then seals his death with a last kiss.  It's a powerful and instructive scene, which tells us how loyal Lagertha is to Ragnar, and, even more so, to his prowess as a world conquerer.

It was clear to the audience, and therefore must have been to Lagertha, that Kalf intended to kill Ragnar.  Since Bjorn would have been bent on avenging his father, had he not died trying to prevent what Kalf intended, Lagertha had no choice but stop Kalf in his tracks.   The destiny conveyed in her sudden thrust of the knife thus made it an exhilarating scene, all but obscuring any scent of betrayal the stabbing also presented.

And it was not the only significant knife in the episode.   Ivar suddenly stabs a boy he's been tussling with as part of a game, except there was nothing playful in the stab, which kills the boy.  Ragnar puts a knife to much better use, as part of a strangely compelling seduction of Yidu, who significantly says she's a daughter of the Chinese emperor.

Meanwhile, there are symbolic knives - in the back - over in Paris, as that Emperor's ear is filled with tales from Gisla as well as poor Odo's mistress that he's disloyal to the Emperor.   These knives will have important results for our story.   A Paris deprived of Odo will be more vulnerable to Ragnar and Lagertha's attack, and will make the oncoming battle a classic duel between brothers.

England will also figure into this in some profound way, and I'm looking forward more than ever to the return of our Scandinavian Vikings to Europe.

See also Vikings 4.1: I'll Still Take Paris ... Vikings 4.2: Sacred Texts ... Vikings 4.4: Speaking the Language

And see also Vikings 3.1. Fighting and Farming ... Vikings 3.2: Leonard Nimoy ...Vikings 3.3: We'll Always Have Paris ... Vikings 3.4: They Call Me the Wanderer ... Vikings 3.5: Massacre ... Vikings 3.6: Athelstan and Floki ...Vikings 3.7: At the Gates ... Vikings 3.8: Battle for Paris ... Vikings 3.9: The Conquered ... Vikings Season 3 Finale: Normandy

And see also Vikings 2.1-2: Upping the Ante of Conquest ... Vikings 2.4: Wise King ... Vikings 2.5: Caught in the Middle ... Vikings 2.6: The Guardians ...Vikings 2.7: Volatile Mix ... Vikings 2.8: Great Post-Apocalyptic Narrative ... Vikings Season 2 Finale: Satisfying, Surprising, Superb

And see also Vikings ... Vikings 1.2: Lindisfarne ... Vikings 1.3: The Priest ... Vikings 1.4:  Twist and Testudo ... Vikings 1.5: Freud and Family ... Vikings 1.7: Religion and Battle ... Vikings 1.8: Sacrifice
... Vikings Season 1 Finale: Below the Ash

 
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Colony Season 1 Finale: Not Quite Enough

Colony concluded its first season last week, much as it has been conducting itself in the previous nine episodes: excellent action on the ground, and between the major characters, but not enough in what's happening above and on top of all of this.

In the case of Colony, that's more than metaphor.  The Earth has apparently been invaded - we've become a colony, or maybe a series of colonies would be a better way of putting it  - but by whom?  In episode 9, we were treated to what looked like a robot arm.  Or, was it really just some sort of cybersuit?  Concealing ... what?  An alien?  Or maybe a human?

In the season finale, we get to see more or less of this complete exterior of the alien - but with no further indication of what was inside it.   This lack of revelation is a clearly a deliberate decision on the part of the show's creators.

One of them, Carlton Cuse, has a history of television series with a lack of sufficient revelation - in fact, his series (with Damon Lindelof), Lost, is justifiably the most celebrated series with insufficient revelation throughout its narrative.   And this led to a profoundly uneven story, with some of the best episodes and even seasons ever on television in any series, and also some of the worst.

The frustrating thing about Colony is that it's doing a fine job down here on Earth.  I'd have no complaints at all if the story was not about a presumed alien invasion, but maybe a fascistic revolution in the near future right here in the United States.  (Hmm...  looking at what's going on in the Republican Party these days, that's all too plausible.)  But everyone in the action keeps telling us that's not what's going on.

And that being the case, I really wish we'd see a little about the invaders.   Well, I'll give this show at least one more season to see what it does - and maybe that was the idea in the first place.

See also Colony 1.1: Aliens with Potential ... 1.2: Compelling ... 1.5: Questions ... 1.6: The Provost ... Colony 1.7: Broussard ... Colony 1.8: Moon Base and Transit Zones ... Colony 1.9: Robot Arm


not exactly aliens, but strange enough ...  The Silk Code

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