Paul Levinson's Blog: Levinson at Large, page 307

Rectify 2.1: Indelible

Rectify returned for its second season the other night.   If the first episode is any indication, it is continuing its presentation of one of the most philosophic, poetic, personally heartbreaking crime narratives ever to hit the small screen.

The story concerns Daniel Holden, convicted of murder when he was a teenager, sentenced to death, but recently released (at the beginning of the first season) on a technicality.   He is likely innocent, but we don't yet quite know that with 100% certainly.   His mother and sister believe in him - and no doubt the real murderer or murderers, if they are still alive - but few else do.   And many want him dead.

He was beaten to within an inch of his life at the end of the first season, just seven days after his release. As he tells us, every one of those days was like a lifetime.  And although part of the power of the series is how Daniel re-integrates into our new digital world, not yet emerged when he was convicted, the real power resides completely within Daniel and his thoughts.

He was put through sheer hell in prison.   But his life outside of prison is only fleetingly better, as glimpses of love, affection, and friendship shine just barely through the clouds that ever surround him. Peace of mind is just not an option at this point.  The best he can hope for is regaining enough of his mind to live some semblance of a normal life.

And his own inner demons are abetted by just about everyone other than his sister and mother and the woman he is beginning to care about.  Only one lawman shows interest in getting the people who nearly beat Daniel to death.   The rest would just as soon see him to dead - to either save face for the wrong prosecution, or because they believe he is a murderer.

In our real world, in which capital punishment in the United States is raising all sorts of justified concerns, Rectify presents a story about what it's like for a sensitive human being to go through most of the process that will stay with you forever.

See also Rectify: Sheer and Shattering Poetry ... Rectify 1.5: Balloon Man ... Rectify Season 1 Finale: Searingly Anti-Climactic

 
another kind of capital punishment story

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Fargo Season 1 Finale: The Supremely Cunning Anti-Hero

A brilliantly satisfying finale to what I hope will be the first season of Fargo - true to its quirky, compelling, and often stunning narrative, in other words, just perfect.   Indeed, as much as I loved the 1996 movie, this reboot of the story was considerably better, and will replace in my mind, from now on, what I took away from that movie.

Gus killing Malvo after Lester surprises Malvo and shoots him in the leg was just as it should be.  Gus, after all, let Malvo intimidate him in that fateful first encounter.  And Lester -

Well, I'm not even completely sure that he's dead.  We see what looks like the top of his helmet under the hole in the ice where he fell through, but then why does Molly later say to the Montana police let me know when you recover the body?   That clearly indicates that Lester's body is not in hand, and, given Lester's astonishingly high quotient for survival, it's by no means impossible that he somehow swam under the ice and got away.

Lester, indeed, in this series, has been one of the most quietly astounding anti-heroes ever on the television or any screen.  From the get go, he manages to crawl his way out of every threat, including, at very least, the death about to be meted out by the arch-killer Malvo.

Speaking of Malvo, the one slight flaw in all the action tonight occurred not tonight in but in Las Vegas.  Why didn't Malvo just wheel around and shoot Lester after killing the other three people in the elevator, including the blonde that he must have had at least a little lustful feeling for?

But given the 90-minute clockwork masterpiece of tonight's episode, that can be forgiven.  Replete with riddles explained (like the fox, the rabbit, and the cabbage, explained by Lester) and those not quite (the two gloves story, which Molly tells Lester  but doesn't elaborate upon when he asks her what it means), Fargo with its snow and ice and Minnesota accents and dialogue has been a nearly letter perfect, one-of-a-kind series.   I hope we get to see more of its next year.

See also: Fargo Debuts with Two Psychos ... Fargo 1.7: The Bungling and the Brave ... Fargo 1.8: The Year



A story about another kind of killer ...  The Silk Code

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Daniel Keyes, RIP

I was very saddened to hear about Daniel Keyes' passing yesterday.  He was 86 years old.

One of the most satisfying things I did as President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (1998-2001), was to choose and honor Daniel Keyes as our "Author Emeritus" at our Nebula Awards ceremony in New York City in 2000.   The night after the ceremony, my wife, two kids, and I had a wonderful, quiet dinner with Keyes and his wife.

All four us in my family had read Keyes' masterwork, "Flowers for Algernon" - I in the 1950s, my wife in the 1960s, and our kids in the 1990s, when the story had become required reading in many a school. All of us loved the story.

Sometimes all it takes is one.   Many writers work over a lifetime, producing an encyclopedia full of novels and short stories, but all of them put together don't have the impact of another author's single shorter work.  Keyes wrote more than "Flowers for Algernon," but, if he hadn't, that haunting, sage story would have established his place not only in the history of science fiction, but in writing itself, putting him right up there in the pantheon with O'Henry and de Maupassant.

To get to talk and dine with such an author, after reading his masterwork as a kid and being moved out of my mind was also a pleasure unique in this world.  Daniel, thank you for the story and your generous conversation.   Your story will be read for millennia to come.

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24 Season 9.8: Clearing the Deck

Well, they didn't have a silent clock for President James Heller in 24 episode 9.8 tonight, but he was apparently killed - as I predicted wouldn't happen - in one of the best episodes of 24 in many a season.

Jack has a history of bringing his bosses to be killed - in one case, doing the actual killing - but never his ultimate boss the U.S. President.   And the episode tonight pulled out all the stops to do it right - Chloe not quite coming through with the goods, the location of the drone command, which have made Heller's self-sacrifice unnecessary; Audrey grieving the imminent death of her father and blaming her husband Mark for not telling her; and, most of all, stoic Jack, unwilling to help make this happen, until Heller tells him about his Alzheimer's.  A potent brew indeed.

And there was no shortage of memorable lines tonight, as well.  My favorites were Jack telling Kate to "wake the bitch up" in a not quite successful attempt to get information from Simone which would have stopped Margot without Heller giving up his life, and Heller's jibe to Jack, "you've done enough damage as a Federal agent - thank goodness you didn't become a surgeon," when Jack excises the location device from Heller's arm.  Often missed in 24 is the gallows humor which crops up amidst the reigns of terror.

And there were some important new plot lines that became clear tonight.  Heller tells Jack that he pardoned him of all charges, four years back and relating to tonight.  How will that affect Mark's presumed plan to turn Jack over to the Russians?  And it looks as if Jordan may yet be alive - how will that affect Steve and whatever his ongoing plot with Adrian is about?   For that matter, it's still not clear where Adrian's ultimate loyalties reside, in addition to himself.  Are they with Margot?

Although this short series is more than half over, tonight's heart pounding episode felt as if the desk has been cleared for a whole back end of which we've so far caught just fleeting glimpses.  I'm looking forward.

See also 24 Season 9 Hours 1 and 2: The Sheer Intelligent Adrenalin Is Back ... 24 Season 9.3: Shades of Disloyalties ... 24 Season 9.4: Brass Tacks and Strong Women ... 24 Season 9.5: Jack and Audrey .. 24 Season 9.6: Expendable In-Laws ... 24 Season 9.7: Silent Clock in President Heller's Future

And see also Season 8 reviews: Hours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5 ...Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hour 8 ... Hour 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hour 11 ... Hour 12... Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hours 15-16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18 ... Hour 19... Hour 20 ... Hour 21 ... Hour 22 ... 24 Forever!

And see also Season 7 reviews: Hours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5... Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hour 8 ... Hour 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hours 11-12 ...Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hour 15 ... Hour 16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18 ... Hour 19 ... Hour 20 ... Hour 21 ... Hour 22  ... Hours 23-24  

And see also Season 6 reviews: Hours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5 ... Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hours 8 and 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hour 11 ... Hour 12 ... Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hour 15 ... Hour 16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18... Hour 19 ... Hour 20 ... Hour 21 ... Hour 22 ... Hours 23-24

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Game of Thrones Season 4 Finale: Woven Threads

Tonight concluded the best finale of the best season of Game of Thrones so far.   It was the best because it tied up so many loose ends, and thereby moved the story forward.

1. I knew Tyrion wouldn't die and Jaime would be the one to save him (I've read only the first novel, so this was all prediction based on watching the series - I said this in previous reviews).  What I didn't see was that Tyrion would kill Tywin, which certainly provides a service to Cersei.   King's Landing without Tywin, though, will leave it less able to defend itself when Daenerys finally arrives.   Nonetheless, Tyrion - who may be on his way to meeting up with Daenerys now - was right to kill Tywin.  I didn't believe a word Tywin was saying at the end, either.

2. Daenerys, though, is having problems with her uncontrollable dragons.   This is an important development.   If she can't control them, how can she effectively deploy them in battle?

3. Arya may be on her way to joining Daenerys, too.   After wandering around with the Hound for who remembers how many seasons, she's off on her own.    And the land across the sea is a good place for her to be - not only safe from her enemies - who would be, who, Stanislaw and Cersei? - but in a strong place to influence events if Daenerys takes her in.   And when you add Tyrion into this mix, you get some even more interesting possibilities.

4. Speaking of Stanislaw, he's finally put to some good, surprising use after his defeat at King's Landing at Tyrion's hands.   Having him and his troops beat Mance Rayder, with the defenses at Castle Black all but exhausted, was a smart move in this complex game of chess that is Game of Thrones.   His command of the north may well provide the best defense of Westeros in the ultimate battle with Daenerys.

5. Bran also had a significant episode, which ends for him in a significant position of power.  Exactly how this will figure in battles ahead remains to be seen.

6.  And I was glad to see John Snow surviving, at least for now.  The first part of this season finale was in effect the end of the single-story episode we saw last week, which was also one of the best episodes in the series.

Looking forward to more next year!

See also Games of Thrones Season 4 Premiere: Salient Points ... Game of Thrones 4.2: Whodunnit? ... Game of Thrones 4.3: Who Will Save Tyrion ...Game of Thrones 4.4: Glimpse of the Ultimate Battle ... Game of Thrones 4.6: Tyrion on Trial ... Game of Thrones 4.8: Beetles and Battle ... Game of Thrones 4.9: The Fight for Castle Black

And see also  Game of Thrones Season 3 Premiere ... Game of Thrones 3.3: The Heart of Jaime Lannister ... Game of Thrones 3.6: Extraordinary Cinematography ...Game of Thrones 3.7: Heroic Jaime ...  Game of Thrones 3.9: A Critique 
And see also Game of Thrones Back in Play for Season 2 ... Game of Thrones 2.2: Cersei vs. Tyrion

And see also A Game of Thrones: My 1996 Review of the First Novel ... Game of Thrones Begins Greatly on HBO ... Game of Thrones 1.2: Prince, Wolf, Bastard, Dwarf ... Games of Thrones 1.3: Genuine Demons ... Game of Thrones 1.4: Broken Things  ... Game of Thrones 1.5: Ned Under Seige ... Game of Thrones 1.6: Molten Ever After ... Games of Thrones 1.7: Swiveling Pieces ... Game of Thrones 1.8: Star Wars of the Realms ... Game of Thrones 1.9: Is Ned Really Dead? ... Game of Thrones 1.10 Meets True Blood

And here's a Spanish article in Semana, the leading news magazine in Colombia, in which I'm quoted about explicit sex on television, including on Game of Thrones.

And see "'Game of Thrones': Why the Buzz is So Big" article in The Christian Science Monitor, 8 April 2014, with my quotes.

Also: CNN article, "How 'Game of Thrones' Is Like America," with quote from me

 

"I was here, in Carthage, three months from now." 

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Making First Amendment Violators Pay

Good news today for the First Amendment  in New York City: the city has agreed to pay out $583,000 to fourteen people whose constitutional rights to peaceably assemble, guaranteed under the First Amendment to our Constitution, were trampled by police officers who arrested them on trumped up charges during the Occupy Wall Street protests at the end of 2011.

That's important and welcome news indeed.  But I'm wondering: what will happen to the NYPD cops who made the illegal arrests?   What will happen to the supervisors, to then Police Commissioner Kelly, and then Mayor Bloomberg?

The answer: nothing.  And that's why these violations of the First Amendment continue.   Violating the Constitution should be a pretty serious crime - after all, it's the Supreme Law of the Land.  And yet, pepper-spraying officers in California, officers in New York who claim demonstrators are blocking when traffic when they are not, continue to act if they're illiterate or other can't understand what the right to peaceably assemble means.

Fortunately, in our age of omni-present video, it's more difficult than it was in the past for police to get away with these crimes.   Tim Pool's video, for example, got Alexander Arbuckle acquitted a few years ago, when he was arrested on bogus charges in New York City during an OWS demonstration. Video also played a role in the city's decision to compensate the 14 people wrongfully arrested with almost $600,000, after the DA wisely decided not to prosecute the nonsense charges.

But what can be done to stop this police and Mayoral abuse in the future?   Putting the culprits behind bars, including the former Mayor, would be a good way to start.




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24 Season 9.7: Silent Clock in President Heller's Future?

Another powerhouse episode of 24 tonight - 9.7 - featuring a wild car chase, with Jack behind the fleeing wheel, that would have made James Bond proud.  What made this car chase different - what gave it a special edge - was that Jack (with Kate and Simone in the car) - was fleeing a drone missile launched on order of Margot.   And he in fact successfully evades several missiles, by not only daring driving but setting forth a car with no driver or passenger, propelled by a big rock on the gas pedal.

Jack was also in peak form in the hospital scene, in which his quick action gets Kate, Simone, and Kate's niece out alive.   As I've noted several times in this new season, Jack has grown, at least a bit, as a human being.  He can't resist applying pain to Simone to get some crucial information (which he fails to get), but he apologizes for that to Kate, explaining that he "hates those people" (i.e., terrorists bent on killing innocent people).

Of course, Jack is not above punching an innocent person out, or applying a gun to an innocent person's head, when thousands or more other innocent lives hang in the balance.  This makes Jack's philosophy solidly utilitarian - the good of the many outweigh the good of the few - which is especially appropriate this season, with the action taking place in England, 19th-century home of the utilitarians James and son John Stuart Mill.

Elsewhere, the voice on the phone to Steve indeed turns out to be the ersatz Julian Assange (Adrian), as I predicted in my review last week.   With his sending out an assassin to kill Jordan, I can only hope now that Steve as well as Adrian get their just deserts, with Steve maybe getting a chance to perform more nobly as he departs.

Which brings us to President Heller, who's positioning himself to give himself up to Margot, since he knows he'll soon have to resign because of his mental condition anyway.  I'm predicting Jack won't allow it - out of love for Audrey.  There may be a silent clock on 24 before this season is over - as there was for Buchanan, Renee, Teri, and eight others in the history of 24 - but it won't be for Heller, at least, not by Margot's hand.

See also 24 Season 9 Hours 1 and 2: The Sheer Intelligent Adrenalin Is Back ... 24 Season 9.3: Shades of Disloyalties ... 24 Season 9.4: Brass Tacks and Strong Women ... 24 Season 9.5: Jack and Audrey .. 24 Season 9.6: Expendable In-Laws

And see also Season 8 reviews: Hours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5 ...Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hour 8 ... Hour 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hour 11 ... Hour 12... Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hours 15-16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18 ... Hour 19... Hour 20 ... Hour 21 ... Hour 22 ... 24 Forever!

And see also Season 7 reviews: Hours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5... Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hour 8 ... Hour 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hours 11-12 ...Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hour 15 ... Hour 16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18 ... Hour 19 ... Hour 20 ... Hour 21 ... Hour 22  ... Hours 23-24  

And see also Season 6 reviews: Hours 1 and 2 ... Hours 3 and 4 ... Hour 5 ... Hour 6 ... Hour 7 ... Hours 8 and 9 ... Hour 10 ... Hour 11 ... Hour 12 ... Hour 13 ... Hour 14 ... Hour 15 ... Hour 16 ... Hour 17 ... Hour 18... Hour 19 ... Hour 20 ... Hour 21 ... Hour 22 ... Hours 23-24

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Crossbones 1.2: Wheels within Wheels

Crossbones put up a good second episode on Friday - good enough that I've decided to regularly review it here.

Blackbeard - he doesn't like to be called that, but it's a better name than "Teach" - pulled off a good play.  Dissatisfied with his notable fellow-pirate's refusal to take part in Blackbeard's complex plan, he decides to kill him.  But how, in a way that doesn't point to Blackbeard?  He gets some guys to attack him, Blackbeard, so convincingly, that it easily fools the audience.  And he's able to pin this attack on his uncooperative colleague.

Actually, we might have seen this coming if we had paid really careful attention to how Blackbeard handled the attack and its aftermath.  After mortally wounding his last living attacker, he pleads with him to divulge who hired him, and he pressures Lowe to use his medical skills to keep him alive a few more minutes.  Lowe is unable to due this, due to the severity of the wound - which should have raised the question, why did Blackbeard wound the attacker so badly in the first place, if he wanted the wounded man to speak the name of the man who sent him?

It's fine tunings like this that may make Crossbones a really superior show, if the wheels within wheels continue on this level.  Meanwhile, it's good to see Lowe and Kate passionately kiss, even if she does profess and evince some kind of love of some sort for her husband, mostly unable to walk, and not 100% clear what else he may be able or unable to do.

Selima is also emerging as an interesting character - someone whose advice to Blackbeard indeed seems to be always be in his interest, a rarity in this world.   Not quite clear, though, is her relationship with Kate, and how one word from Kate saves Lowe from the execution, which we the audience know that Selima was right in thinking Lowe deserved.

All of this is making for an intriguing and even compelling series, and I'm looking forward to more.

See also Crossbones: Slow Start but Possibilities

 
more ancient than Crossbones, and even more erudite

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Turn Season 1 Finale: Good Turns

Turn turned in its season one finale last night, with still no word on whether it will be returning to AMC.   I hope it does.

The finale was one of the best episodes of the first season, which admittedly was mixed, but managed to create some powerful characters and set in motion some subtle and historically interesting plot lines.   Probably the single most significant of those last night was Robert Rogers' exit from his dressing down by the Crown's man, which I think leaves him wide open for joining up with George Washington and the revolution if there is a second season (even though there is no historical record of the real Rogers doing anything other than serving the British).

But Anna jumping off the boat rather than debarking with her newly re-united husband was also good to see, and a fine testament of her love for Abe.   He had a great night, too, making love to his wife - who turned out to be a savvy ally at the end - and doing his best to defuse the confrontation with the Brits with no loss of American prisoners.   And it was of course satisfying to see Simcoe get his due. I'm glad he wasn't killed, though, as he's too despicable and ruthlessly intelligent a character to be absent from a second season.

What that second season could use is a little more grounding in actual history.  The strongest episodes in the first season, other than the finale, were the ones that featured General Washington.  It's been exciting, the past few episodes, to hear Benedict Arnold mentioned as a strong revolutionary general, when we know that he will switch sides to the British before the war is over, and his name will become synonymous with treason in the United States.

I'm looking forward to some subsequent season of Turn showing us this, because that's what the series is ultimately about - who could be trusted and not trusted in this war, and how that led to victory on our side.   A few more appearances by real generals and statesmen could go a long way towards making his series a total winner.

See also: Turn Premiere: Good Historical Drama in Revolutionary New York ... Turn 1.5: Shot in the Arm ... Turn 1.8: Nice, Instructive Turn


 
a little earlier history in ... The Plot to Save Socrates
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Game of Thrones 4.9: The Fight for Castle Black

And what a Game of Thrones 4.9 it was - an entire episode devoted to the battle for Castle Black, with scenes as sweeping and intense as those in The Two Towers Lord of the Rings movie of 2002.  An impressive accomplishment indeed for HBO.

To get right down to the story, I wasn't all that upset to see Ygritte die.   Chances are she would have killed Jon Snow - which would have been a far more grievous loss to the series - and even if not, her lethal arrows might well have won the battle on this night for the deadly hordes.  True, she did hesitate for a moment to let loose her arrow on Snow, and that in retrospect saved his life, but her side was out to destroy what's left of civilization to the south, which is something I don't want to see.

Meanwhile, we were also treated to the best scene with Maester Aemon in the series so far, in a conversation with Samwell, who also had a sterling episode, including that long kiss.   It's refreshing and satisfying seeing an entire episode devoted to one thread of this complex tapestry, which makes me think that maybe Game of Thrones should do this more often.

On the other hand, we're still left not knowing Tyrion's fate, and we saw nothing of Daenerys, Arya, Bran, Brienne, and other notables this episode.   With just one more hour to this season, it's a safe bet that most of those stories won't be wrapped up, and maybe none of them at all.

And there's still the story of Jon Snow.  It was a good move having Snow go out on his own to find Mance - he's right that that's the only way the South can possibly avoid a devastating conquest - but it's hard to see what Snow can do to convince the implacable Mance from pulling back his attack, which means all that this might result in is Snow's death, after all.

This has been my favorite season of Game of Thrones - the last few episodes in particular have been really outstanding - and I'm looking forward to next week.

See also Games of Thrones Season 4 Premiere: Salient Points ... Game of Thrones 4.2: Whodunnit? ... Game of Thrones 4.3: Who Will Save Tyrion ...Game of Thrones 4.4: Glimpse of the Ultimate Battle ... Game of Thrones 4.6: Tyrion on Trial ... Game of Thrones 4.8: Beetles and Battle

And see also  Game of Thrones Season 3 Premiere ... Game of Thrones 3.3: The Heart of Jaime Lannister ... Game of Thrones 3.6: Extraordinary Cinematography ...Game of Thrones 3.7: Heroic Jaime ...  Game of Thrones 3.9: A Critique 
And see also Game of Thrones Back in Play for Season 2 ... Game of Thrones 2.2: Cersei vs. Tyrion

And see also A Game of Thrones: My 1996 Review of the First Novel ... Game of Thrones Begins Greatly on HBO ... Game of Thrones 1.2: Prince, Wolf, Bastard, Dwarf ... Games of Thrones 1.3: Genuine Demons ... Game of Thrones 1.4: Broken Things  ... Game of Thrones 1.5: Ned Under Seige ... Game of Thrones 1.6: Molten Ever After ... Games of Thrones 1.7: Swiveling Pieces ... Game of Thrones 1.8: Star Wars of the Realms ... Game of Thrones 1.9: Is Ned Really Dead? ... Game of Thrones 1.10 Meets True Blood

And here's a Spanish article in Semana, the leading news magazine in Colombia, in which I'm quoted about explicit sex on television, including on Game of Thrones.

And see "'Game of Thrones': Why the Buzz is So Big" article in The Christian Science Monitor, 8 April 2014, with my quotes.

Also: CNN article, "How 'Game of Thrones' Is Like America," with quote from me

 

"I was here, in Carthage, three months from now." 

#SFWApro

Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music