Paul Levinson's Blog: Levinson at Large, page 290

Banshee 3.1: Taking Stock

Good to see Banshee back in business with its third season last night, in a largely taking stock episode which confirmed what we saw at the end of the second season.   The appropriate couples are all having sex - including, significantly, Kai and his niece Rebecca, which I guess is not the most appropriate, but it makes perfect sense in this series - so all's in its place, at least as far as beds are concerned, as Banshee begins.

The most significant piece of business, not unexpected, but one with far-reaching consequences, are Lucas, Siobhan, and Brock taking out Emmet's skinhead killer.  This is not so significant for Lucas and Siobhan, but it brings Brock thoroughly into the Lucas fold now - the head deputy is not likely to do anything to seriously oppose Lucas, given that they both just took the law into their own hands, along with Siobhan.

The most important piece of potential business was signaled at the very end of the last episode of Season 2. With Alex dead, who will lead the tribe?  Nola certainly thinks she'll be the one,  but Chayton Littlestone has other ideas.   He's probably the only one who can best Lucas in a fight - sometimes - and for that reason alone, not to mention his passion and no-holds-barred drive, he'll make a worthy antagonist, not just for Lucas, but for Kai.   So, once again, we'll have the tense and complex situation of Lucas and Kai having reason to be natural allies, but not quite able to do that, mainly because of Lucas.

Rabbit's absence could leave a hole in the narrative, seeing as what a dangerously worthy opponent he was.   Littlestone can't take his place, so Banshee will either have to proceed with a different kind of story, or bring in a master villain currently not known to us.  I'm looking forward to this season either way.

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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Predestination: Treat for the Intellect and the Senses

Just saw Predestination on Google Play.  The movie is based on Robert Heinlein's "All You Zombies," in some to many ways the best time travel story ever written. Accordingly, a movie in most to all ways faithful to the original story should be in many ways the best time travel movie ever made.  Predestination was and is.  I enjoyed it just immensely.

Of course, I saw it having already read the story - how else would I be able to say it's in many ways the best time travel story ever written.  I therefore can't quite fathom what it would be like to see the movie without having read the story first - which, to spell it out, means you know the secret that ingeniously weaves its way throughout the entire story.   The last thing I'll say here without getting into that secret - which is to say, the last thing in this review which will be spoiler free - is that possibly the best way to see the movie if you haven't read the story is on Google Play, or some other suitable site that allows you to stop, ponder, and re-wind if necessary.   That, combined with the fact that the movie is largely narrative, with no big action scenes involving armies or mountains, may mean that the best way to see this movie if you haven't read the story is not in the theater.

And that secret, so brilliantly executed in the story as well as the movie, is that all the major characters except one - Mr. Robertson - are the same person.  That includes people who look not at all alike, male and female, baby, child, teenager, and old man.   And the story that ties them together - literally - is not only plotted perfectly, but given to us in just the right details.

My favorite touches in time travel stories are those that are almost casually dropped, having no seeming earthshaking significance at the time, but turn out to be major pointers to what is really going on in retrospect.   Shortly after we meet the character played by Ethan Hawke, whose face is badly burned, we come to see that he looks like Ethan Hawke because of the plastic surgery to repair his face. Not long after the hermaphroditic character played first by Sarah Snook claims her->his manhood, he gets the good news that he's no longer "shooting banks".   This sets up the biggest payoff in the story, in which he (still played by Snook) sleeps with her (younger) self, she gets pregnant with a baby that is her (yes, both her and hers, and, for that matter, also his, making the baby a kind of clone), and eventually she out turns to be the he who becomes Ethan Hawke.   If all of this sounds a little awkward and a lot complicated, it is, but the magic of both the story and the movie makes it mostly mind bogglingly wondrous.

Indeed, the story is so seamless, and seamlessly portrayed, that even Mr. Robertson (a Mr. Smith ala The Matrix kind of character, not in Heinlein's original 1959 story) looks a little to a lot like Ethan Hawke, which only increases our growing awareness that almost everyone is everyone in this time looped masterpiece.   The environments are filled with nice touches, as in the bar scene with the lady's and gent's rooms right next to each other in the background, subtly symbolizing that the lead character - who in the bar is literally talking to himself  (Snook, now a man, with Hawke) - is both a man and a woman at one time or another.    And the scene between Snook the man and slightly younger Snook the woman is also perfectly played:  he falls for her because he's in love with him/herself, the supreme narcissist, and she falls for him because he knows her so well, something everyone wants from someone they've just met.

I have no idea what you'll think of all this if you don't have a taste for time travel.  But as a connoisseur and practitioner of the genre - I wish I could say of the actual activity - I can tell you that if you are similarly inclined, you'll find Predestination a preternatural treat and feast for the intellect and the senses.



 three time travel novels: the Sierra Waters trilogy


two time travel stories (with more to come)


The Chronology Protection Case movie

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Further Thoughts on Charlie Hebdo: Where We Go From Here

Usually, governments have been the worst opponents of journalists, satirists, and those who not only believe but daily practice freedom of expression.   In the case of totalitarian governments in the 20th century and dictatorships throughout the ages, those in power often imprisoned and killed those who dared to criticize them in print or any medium. Democracies have been a little better, but even Turkey recently arrested and imprisoned a journalist.  The United States has been known to do the same - certainly numerous journalists were arrested here during Occupy Wall Street, in blatant violation of our First Amendment.

Recently, corporations have engaged in a kind of self-censorship, which has been destructive of the public's right to know.  Sony's initial pulling of The Interview out of movie theaters is a recent regrettable example. And even last night, in the reporting of the Charlie Hebdo attack, progressive stalwarts such as MSNBC refused to show some of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons deemed so offensive by the murderers in Paris.   But not showing those cartoons is an offense to those who died, and everyone who believes in freedom of expression.

The world changed yesterday.  Journalists have long been in danger on the front lines of war reporting.  Now they are in danger in their very offices.   Now more than ever, governments and corporations need to give those brave guardians of our democracy their maximum support.



my comments yesterday about the Charlie Hebdo attack



world response last month to Turkish media crackdowns



Sony media hack fiasco Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

Further Thoughts on Charlie Hebdo: We're We Go From Here

Usually, governments have been the worst opponents of journalists, satirists, and those who not only believe but daily practice freedom of expression.   In the case of totalitarian governments in the 20th century and dictatorships throughout the ages, those in power often imprisoned and killed those who dared to criticize them in print or any medium.  Democracies have been a little better, but even Turkey recently arrested and imprisoned a journalist.  The United States has been known to do the same - certainly numerous journalists were arrested here during Occupy Wall Street, in blatant violation of our First Amendment.

Recently, corporations have engaged in a kind of self-censorship, which has been destructive of the public's right to know.  Sony's initial pulling of The Interview out of movie theaters is a recent regrettable example. And even last night, in the reporting of the Charlie Hebdo attack, progressive stalwarts such as MSNBC refused to show some of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons deemed so offensive by the murderers in Paris.   But not showing those cartoons is an offense to those who died, and everyone who believes in freedom of expression.

The world changed yesterday.  Journalists have long been in danger on the front lines of war reporting.   Now they are in danger in their very offices.   Now more than ever, governments and corporations need to give those brave guardians of our democracy their maximum support.



My comments yesterday about the Charlie Hebdo attack

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The Charlie Hebdo Attack Will Only Invigorate Journalism

I spoke yesterday with Samantha Liebman about the attack on Charlie Hebdo and how it will only invigorate journalism and freedom of expression. Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

The Interview: The Review

Well, I just saw The Interview - on Cablevision - for three reasons: 1. I said the movie was "moronic," based solely on seeing the trailer, in an interview of my own on Arise TV conducted by Francesca Maxime before Christmas (see below for video).   So I figured I had some kind of ethical obligation to see how much my trailer-based review was justified.  2.  I'll be interviewed about "The Interview" again, next week, by Bob Mann on his "Let's Consider the Source" radio show on XM/Sirius Radio, and I thought it would be good to at least know a little about what I'd be talking about.   3. I'm a Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University.  The movie will no doubt be discussed in some of my classes in the Spring term - see, again, my above point about it being a good idea to know at least something about what I'll be talking about, a credo I try to follow as much as possible as a professor.

That I felt obligated to write such a long, detailed paragraph about why I saw The Interview itself says a lot, or at least how little I thought of the movie before seeing it.  And what did I think of the movie after actually seeing it?

Though parts of it were moronic, a lot of it was not - indeed, it was funny in lots of places without slapstick - and, moreover, it has a political message, and, most important, a heart.   At its best, The Interview was like a long Saturday Night Live skit, replete with fingers bitten off and blood spurting, which were never the high points of SNL in any case.   But as geo-political humor writ large, as the CIA and potential world conflict both lampooned and taken seriously for important fleeting moments, The Interview was quite good.   I enjoyed it - much of it - and laughed out loud a bunch of times.

The worst parts of The Interview were the incessant "butt" and "poop" jokes - a little less of which would have gone a long way.   But the two wild and crazy guys banter between Skylark (James Franco) and Rapaport  (Seth Rogen) throughout the movie was funny, and the bit of caricatured James Bondian romance with Rapaport and a hot North Korean propaganda minister worked well too, with a nice political payoff for the story in the end.

In short, though The Interview is no great movie or comedy for the ages, it's much better than not half bad, and I'm glad I saw it.   Good that Sony finally did the right thing and made the movie available.



I stand by most of things I say here ...



has nothing to do with The Interview, but it does have an Asian theme Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

The Good Wife 6.11: Kalinda for Cary

The Good Wife was back last night with a roaring good episode - typical for this superb season - and a resolution, for Cary at least, of his legal nightmare story.

The resolution was a sweet piece of work.   On the verge of being shipped off to prison, after several close calls of having his sentence reversed, negated, or whatever they call it, Cary in fact is set free in a breathless and satisfying moment. Except - at what price?  Kalinda, not seeing any other way to help Cary, has done something illegal, which ironically proves not necessary.  So, Cary is freed but Kalinda is now vulnerable - and the cop she's framed has an expression on his face that says he's not likely to let this slide.

Meanwhile, we also get a delightful set piece of Alicia honing her debate skills with a variety of flawed and fine partners including Peter.  This signals that the campaign is pretty far along, and it will be fun to see if it's all settled this season.   The best part of that whole story last night is Alicia suddenly kissing her campaign manager, because she's just overflowing with joy about Cary's release. An important lesson here: women don't always kiss you because they like you, or want to sleep with you - sometimes it's an expression of something else that has little to do with you.

Last night was also one of the best we've seen on The Good Wife for a while for Diane, whose outrage over what was happening to Cary in the courtroom was admirable.  She's had less to do on the series this season than usual, and it's good to see her arguing with her unique blend of logic and emotion.

The Good Wife continues to redefine itself, almost with every episode now, and I'm looking forward to more.

See The Good Wife 6.4: Run-up to Running ... The Good Wife 6.10: Cary's Fate

See also I Dreamt I Called Will Gardner Last Night

And The Good Wife 5.1: Capital Punishment and Politicians' Daughters ... The Good Wife 5.5: The Villain in this Story ... The Good Wife 5.9: Reddit, Crowd Sourcing, and the First Amendment on Trial ... The Good Wife 5.11: Bowling Bowls and Bogdanovich ... The Good Wife 5.13: NSA on Television ... The Good Wife: 5.15: Stunner! ... The Good Wife 5.19: Tying Up Loose Ends ... The Good Wife Season 5 Finale: Musical Chairs

And see also The Good Wife 4.1 Meets Occupy Wall Street ...  The Good Wife 4.2: Reunited ... The Good Wife 4.3: "Template-Based Link Analysis Algorithm" ... The Good Wife 4.5 Meets The Sopranos ... The Good Wife 4.20: Anonymous ... The Good Wife Season 4 Finale: Good Twist!
And see also The Good Wife 3.1: Recusal and Rosh Hashanah ... The Good Wife: 3.2: Periwigs and Skype ... The Good Wife 3.7: Peter v. Will ...  Dexter's Sister on The Good Wife 3.10  ... The Good Wife 3.12: Two Suits  ... The Good Wife 3.13 Meets Murder on the Orient Express ... The Good Wife 3.15: Will and Baseball

And see also  The Good Wife Starts Second Season on CBS ... The Good Wife 2.2: Lou Dobbs, Joe Trippi, and Obama Girl ... The Good Wife 2.4: Surprise Candidate, Intimate Interpsonal Distance ... The Good Wife 2.9 Takes on Capital Punishment ... The Good Wife 2.16: Information Wars 
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                                   the Sierra Waters trilogy Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

The State of my Short Fiction at the Start of 2015

Hey, I don't talk enough about my short fiction, which I enjoy writing every bit as much as my novels.   But it's been percolating along with publications the past few years, so I thought I'd provide a little summary of what's been going on and what will be happening in 2015:

"Ian, George, and George" is the most recent story I've had published in Analog (December 2013).   It's the 3rd story in the "Ian's Ions and Eons" time travel series, and the 14th published in Analog over all.  I expect to be getting all of these up as Kindle ebooks this year.  I've already started with my 1997 novella,  Loose Ends, nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon Awards. "The Chronology Protection Case," first published in Analog in September 1995, was reprinted for the fifth time in The Mammoth Book of Time Travel (July 2013), a best seller on Amazon. The novelette was the basis of The Chronology Protection Case short film made by Jay Kensinger in 2002, recut with a new extended ending in 2013.  You can also read it free on Wattpad.    It's being used again in 2015 as reading in an enlightened class at the College of Dupage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois."Extra Credit" was published in BuzzMag - where it's available free of charge - in July 2012.  It was reprinted in December 2014 in the Altered States cyberpunk anthology, for which I also had the pleasure of writing the Introduction.  And it will be reprinted again, in Chinese translation by He Daokuan, in The Essential Levinson, 2nd edition, to be published in China in 2015 by Remnin Press."Synchronicity" was published in Buzzy Mag, where it's available free of charge, in May 2014."Sam's Requests" - the strangest story I've ever written - will be published in Buzzy Mag in a just a few days - January 9, 2015.  You've heard of space opera?  I consider this space rock 'n' roll, literally.   Mark your calendars. "The Wallet" - science fiction based on something that actually happened to me - will be published in the Sci Phi Journal early this year (likely February, in issue #4).  Here's what an earlier issue of this magazine at the intersection of science fiction and philosophy looked like. "The Kyss" will appear around Valentine's Day in Speculative St. Valentine's Day Drabbles, edited by Jorge Salgado-Reyes and Roy C. Booth, the same guys who put together Altered States.  At 100 words, "The Kyss" will be the shortest story I've ever had published - not that I believe in short kisses, but a "drabble" is supposed to be just 100 words."The Last Train to Margaretville" is the first "shared world" story I've written.  It will likely be the last, because even though I loved writing it, I still like writing more in worlds of my total creation.   It was published in the Walk the Fire 2 antho edited and conceived by John Mierau in December 2013.  You can hear me do a reading of it here. And to end on a charitable note: I contributed two new stories, "Transfer of Power" and "The Chimps Shall Lead," to Something to Read, published in December 2014, a special charity anthology edited by Stella Wilkinson,  for which all proceeds go to a children's hospital in England.   Why England?  I do the like country and that's where the invitation came from.   Happy to do the same for an American charity, or for that matter, any charity on this or any other planet.So that's the long of it about my short fiction, for now.  I'll try to keep this page updated, or maybe make these summaries a yearly thing.  Hey, I still love the long form, too - and below are six of my novels you can get in a heartbeat on Amazon.




thanks to Joel Iskowitz for illustrating the six above covers Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

Frontera: Powerful Border Movie with a Minor Problem

Just saw Frontera on Netflix.  Released this past summer without much fanfare, the movie brings to the screen many of the simmering issues presented in The Bridge - on FX for two seasons and now departed.  Ed Harris puts in a standout performance as a retired sheriff whose wife is killed, and devotees of Rectify will be happy to see Aden Young (Daniel on Rectify) as Harris's erstwhile deputy and now successor.   Also on good hand are Michael Peña (just seen as Mark Solano on Gracepoint) and Eva Longoria.

The story has some major twists and surprises, and I won't give any of them away.   But I can say that the movie really excels in a variety of intersecting plots that not only include family life on both sides of the border but sharply drawn differences in decency and brutality, intelligence and not so bright, in the the major and minor characters.   It's a measure of how well presented a movie is when you can remember minor characters such as an older women who helps a younger woman who's pregnant, and a sheriff's assistant who does the right thing.   At the same time, though we think we know the major characters pretty well, our expectations are slapped in ways that keep the story percolating and largely unpredictable - no mean feat in such a well-trodden area.

There was one small part, however, that bothered me, because it presented a conspiracy theory as if it were a matter of confirmed reality.  At one point, the people from Mexico being escorted to the United States by a "coyote" spot two in their group in Islamic prayer.  A bit later they freak out when they hear them talking Farsi.  As far as I know, the idea that political enemies of the U.S. from the Middle East - i.e., would-be terrorists - are entering the U.S. through the Mexican border originates in the over-active imagination of conspiracy theorists and some Republicans in Congress.   True or not, this played no role in the movie, and therefore its inclusion in the movie makes no sense - unless the makers of the movie were trying to smuggle in a half-baked political statement.

That said, I would still strongly recommend Frontera, for its great acting and memorable human stories.


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Secrets and Lies: Excellent Australian Whodunnit

Hey, I want to recommend to you Secrets and Lies, an Australian TV mini-series which I just saw on Netflix.   The story is very much in the Broadchurch/Gracepoint new tradition - a boy is found murdered, and there's no shortage of suspects, including and especially family members and people who live on the same block.  But Secrets and Lies, maybe because of the evocative Australian countryside, but also because of its pacing, has a winning style all its own.

The acting is excellent.  But what especially caught my attention was Anthony Hayes as the lead investigator Ian Cornielle.   He has a quiet power that you don't usually see in cops on any continent - or, at least, how they are portrayed on television - that's almost reminiscent of Mickey Rourke.

The ending was genuinely surprising, if a little rushed, but it certainly made sense in retrospect.   One problem with these Broadchurch kinds of stories is that you soon realize that every new suspect, regardless of how suspicious and convincing, is just a straw man or woman to occupy our attention until the end of that episode.  I'm not sure what can be done about this narrative predictability, because it's so fundamental to the story.   But Secrets and Lies worked quite well anyway.

In fact, so well, that ABC here in America was impressed enough to commission an American version of this same story, from a brand new script.  I'll probably watch it, but it likely won't be quite as good as the Australian original, just as Gracepoint, though it had its moments, generally fell a little short of Broadchurch.  The problem is that however much the remake may change some of the details, we already know the story.   It may well be that the whole notion of remakes needs to be re-examined in this age in which we can easily see TV series from overseas on cable, Netflix, and Amazon.

So my advice is see Secret and Lies as soon as you can, and then decide about its American remake.


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