Paul Levinson's Blog: Levinson at Large, page 362

On Last Night's Obama Triumph in the Second Presidential Debate

The British have a great expression - "face like a well-slapped arse" - which describes Mitt Romney's face to a tee at the end of his debate last night with Barack Obama.   Romney looked tired, drained, flustered, slightly desperate.   As well he should have after his 90-minute encounter with Barack Obama, back in top form, getting the best of every encounter with Romney, and looking much better in the bargain.

In the first debate, Obama let Romney have the last word in almost every exchange.  Not so last night, as Obama challenged just about every one of Romney's distortions and lies, with zest, power, and style.  A signal moment came when Romney tried to badger the President to admit that he and his administration took 14 days to recognize that the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi which killed our ambassador was a terrorist attack.  Romney brazenly challenged the President on his statement that he mentioned terrorism the day after the attack.  Obama coolly let Romney finish his rant, then calmly let moderator Candy Crowley school Romney on his error - Obama had in fact mentioned terrorism in a Rose Garden statement the very day after the attack.  This was also an honorable, admirable moment for Crowley - it couldn't have been easy for her to correct Romney, and the American people owe her a debt of gratitude.

Obama's mention of terrorism was not the only aspect of foreign policy in which he schooled Romney before the American people last night.  Obama took the discussion of the Libyan attack as an opportunity to show how foreign policy should be conducted during an election - not as an occasion to make political points, as Romney and the Republicans sought and are still seeking to do, but as a time to stand up for our people in the field.

Romney tried again and again last night to dominate the discussion with his deceptions and distortions.  And again and again, Obama stopped him cold.   When Romney appealed to moderator Crowley, she schooled him on what was his proper time to speak during the debate.  In the first debate, Romney walked all over moderator Jim Lehrer, as Obama just looked on.  Last night, Crowley as well as the President stood up to Romney's bullying.  You could see and hear the result, as Romney's started whining about his time to speak, and as he reverted to Romney-speak with his talk about "binders full of women".

So now we have a split in the Presidential debate results, with one more to go.   Obama has now done a good job highlighting the differences between him and Romney of most domestic issues, including health care, women's rights, immigration, and the economy.   The exchanges on Libya last night promise a good third and final debate this coming Monday as Obama and Romney discuss foreign policy.

See also On Last Night's Obama Disappointment in the First Presidential Debate and On Last Night's Biden Success in the VP Debate

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Boardwalk Empire 3.5: "10 L'Chaim"

A superb Boardwalk Empire last night, with a multitude of sharp lines and situations.  But my favorite goes to Eddie Cantor - a real entertainer in our history - who not only speaks Yiddishisms, but serves them with a sense of humor.  He tutors Nucky in the toast "L'Chaim" - to life! - and adds that he knows some people in prison serving "10 years L'Chaim".

But there's a dark side to Nucky's relationship with Eddie.  Like the Johnny Fontane character in the Godfather (presumably based on the real life Frank Sinatra), the real life Eddie Cantor in Boardwalk Empire is under Nucky's thumb.  Nucky wants Eddie to star in a new music with Billie.  When Eddie refuses - he doesn't want to renege on a commitment he made to Jerome Kern (another real life musical writer and producer) - Nucky has Chalkie come over and make Eddie an offer he can't refuse.

This is in character for the new, tougher, more violent Nucky that we met at the end of season two last year, when Nucky shoots Jimmy point blank.  Nucky's standing up to everyone in this season - refusing not to get his way - including even Arnold Rothstein, who calls Nucky out on his coming up to New York just to see Billie.  Nucky retorts to Rothstein: unlike you, I'm not dead below the waist.  Good line.

Nucky also tries to take out Rosetti, which, as always with Rosetti, is quite a story in itself.  We see Rosetti at play - first in auto-erotic-asphyxia with a woman, then "joking" with a newspaper delivery boy.  The joke is actually pretty media savvy - as many Boardwalk Empire lines are.  Rosetti asks the delivery boy if the newspaper is new; the boy (about 13-14) assures Rosetti it is;  Rosetti then asks, looking at the newspaper, why "all this stuff happened yesterday"?   That's indeed the reality of newspapers, and one reason why their circulation has been declining in our Internet age.   But back to Nucky: he sends a team to take out Rosettit, whom they find, ropes around his and the woman's neck.  Rosetti manages to grab a gun, shooting ensues, and when the gun play is over Rosetti is fine but the woman and the newspaper boy have been shot to death.   We already knew it wasn't safe to get involved in any kind of joke line with Rosetti, because he was prone to kill the conversationist. This time, even though Rosetti seems to like the newspaper boy, he dies because of his association with Rosetti and his joking anyway.   A chilling O'Henryesque twist.

There are also some good continuing story lines with the fictional Van Alden in Chicago and real life Cabinet Secretaries in Washington.  And it was good to see Dominic Chianese again (he had a good evening, with major role in The Good Wife over on CBS).  But speaking of real life: was Eddie Cantor really ever forced by a mobster to back out of a part in a musical?  I don't know - I'll look into it and see what I can find - but it was an instructive moment in an excellent episode.

See also Boardwalk Empire 3.1: Happy News Year 1923  ... Boardwalk Empire 3.2: Gasoline and the White Rock Girl ... Boardwalk Empire 3.3: The Showgirl and The Psycho


And see also Boardwalk Empire 2.1: Politics in an Age Before YouTube  ... Boardwalk Empire 2.2: The Woman Behind the Throne ... Boardwalk Empire 2.3: Frankenstein and Victrola ... Boardwalk Empire 2.4: Nearly Flagrante Delicto ... Boardwalk Empire 2.5: Richard's Story ... Boardwalk Empire 2.6: Owen and Other Bad News for Nucky ... Boardwalk Empire 2.7: Shot in the Hand  ... Boardwalk Empire 2.8: Pups with Fangs ... Boardwalk Empire 2.9: Ireland, Radio, Polio ... Boardwalk Empire 2.10: Double Shot ... Boardwalk Empire 2.11: Gillian and Jimmy  ... Boardwalk Empire Season 2 Finale: Stunner!
And see also Boardwalk Emipre on HBO ... Boardwalk Empire 1.2: Lines and Centers Power ... Boardwalk Empire 1.10: Arnold Rothstein, Media Theorist  ... Season One Finale of Boardwalk Empire 

"As a genre-bending blend of police procedural and science fiction, The Silk Code delivers on its promises." -- Gerald Jonas, The New York Times Book Review Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music

Homeland 2.3-5: Sneak Preview Review

I've just seen episodes 3-5 of the new, second season of Homeland - courtesy of a screener from Showtime - and I'm here with a sneak preview.   As was the case with my sneak preview review of Homeland 2.1-2 last month, I'm going to tell you enough so you'll know I really did see these episodes when you get to see them, but not every last detail, so you'll still get a jolt or two when you see them.  In other words - there are major spoilers below.

Homeland justifiably won big at the Emmys this year.  As I said in my review of 2.1-2, the new season is even better than the first season - even tighter, with more unexpected twists and turns.  Episode 2.2 ended with a mind-blowing game-changer - Saul saw Brody's video, intended for broadcast after he blew up the Vice President, but in fact in one of Nazir's hideout napsacks in Lebanon - which Carrie obtained in a fabulous chase scene - because Brody never did pull the string on his suicide vest.

Let me first say that there is a game-changer just as profound at the end of Homeland 2.5.  Here are some of the steps along the way of our characters getting there:

The first few minutes of 2.3 are a masterful spy piece in itself, with a cool kicker at its ending.  Saul does not have an easy time of it leaving Lebanon - he's stopped at the airport by a Hezbollah agent, who confiscates a certain computer video card in the lining of Saul's briefcase.  This promised to be a serious setback to the benefits of finding Brody's video.  Saul still would have seen it, which would have given comfort to Carrie, but David and the rest of the CIA would likely not have done much about Brody - now a Congressman - without hard evidence.  I was also concerned that Saul might have been further detained, or kidnapped before he got on the plane, but-

Turns out Saul kept the computer card with the Brody video in his pocket, which the Hezbollah agent never touched.   Score a big one for our side, though defanging Brody and getting Nazir will still be a tall, harrowing, order.

Brody is doing fine as a Congressman, set to give a major speech about wounded veterans, when Roya Hammad gives him a mission: go to Gettysburg, PA and pick up the tailor who made his suicide vest.  The tailor is in danger of being picked up by the CIA, who found his name on some of the other Nazir materials Carrie got out of his lair.  Brody protests to Roya that he can't go to PA with a speech to give that very evening; she says he'll get back in time; and he goes on the mission.  Here's a minor weakness in the story:  given the importance of Brody's political success in the U.S. to Nazir, it doesn't add up that Roya would risk his missing his speech even for such an important mission.

And indeed he does miss the speech, which Jessica effectively gives in his stead.  Brody and Jessica's rocky relationship is one of the best parts of episodes 2.3-5.   He gets thrown out of the house for his unexplained absence.  Carrie's not having a good time of it, either.  Her thanks for getting the Nazir materials - impressive, even though David doesn't yet know about the most impressive thing of all, the confession video - is to get locked out a CIA briefing.  (David is an infuriating character - just doing his job, I know, but infuriating.)

In one of the most powerful scenes in both seasons so far, Carrie comes close to taking her own life.  Saul, significantly, finally gets back to the USA and back in the action, and shows up at Carrie's house - she's moved out her family's house - after she has decided not to die.  Carrie has chosen not to take her life, in other words, even before Saul arrives with the Brody video, which confirms and reaffirms everything she believed and was fighting to bring to the CIA's attention.  That speaks of her inner strength, which is good to see.

Moving into 2.4, Saul shows David the video.  But rather than taking Brody in, they decide to keep an on eye on his every move, in hopes that they can get to other people who are part of Nazir's new strike team.  We meet Peter, whom David puts in charge of this operation.  He's at first a bit of an arrogant jerk to Carrie - but I predict we'll see them in bed before the end of this season.

Carrie still has feelings for Brody, but what they are is not exactly clear - just as it wasn't last year - some mixture of attraction and revulsion.  Part of the CIA plan is now to get Carrie to disconcert Brody enough to go to his handlers, whom the CIA will then reel in.  But Brody disconcerts Carrie as they talk in a bar - when he talks about her shock therapy - and she's convinced that Brody knows she's part of a mission against him.  Paranoia or is she right?   She confronts Brody, tells him what she really thinks of him, and when he looks ready to attack her the CIA takes him into custody.  Did she lose control or was this what she wanted and planned?  You never quite know with Carrie, which is one of the things that makes Homeland so strong.

Episode 2.5 has Peter and then Carrie doing their best to break Brody in the interrogation room.  He's obviously been there before.  Peter has a surprise to deal out as the "bad cop," and as Carrie takes up the "good cop" role, alone in the room with Brody, and ostentatiously turning off the video (but not the audio - which Brody apparently doesn't realize), we're again in a scene in which Carrie's real feelings about him  - undoubtedly a mixture - are brought into play.  In particular, she skillfully uses the real connection she feels with him to get him, at long last, to confess.

And herein is that second game-changer I mentioned before.  Brody not only confesses, but agrees to work with the CIA to get Nazir or at least stop his latest plan to attack America.  Can we trust Brody?  Of course not.  But the question for Brody now, as it's been for Carrie for a while, is how much of what we see him say and do reflect his real feelings?  He's an exquisite liar.  He knows just how much of truth to put into the mix to make it believable.  He tells his wife at the end that he's working for the CIA - which is now literally true - but doesn't say a thing about his previous work for Nazir, which included blowing himself and the Vice President up.

The acting throughout is just wonderful.  Tour de forces by Claire Danes and Damian Lewis and everyone else on hand.  There's not a scene which wasn't riveting in the three new episodes I saw.  At this point, Homeland is contention for being one of the best shows ever on television.

See Homeland 2.1-2: Sneak Preview Review

See also Homeland on Showtime ... Homeland 1.8: Surprises ... Homeland Concludes First Season: Exceptional






"As a genre-bending blend of police procedural and science fiction, The Silk Code delivers on its promises." -- Gerald Jonas, The New York Times Book Review

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On Last Night's Biden Success in the VP Debate

Republicans have been whining all day that Joe Biden "bullied" Paul Ryan in last night's VP debates, and, when the Vice President wasn't doing that, he was grinning inappropriately.  I can well understand such Republican discomfort.  Both actions of Biden - the interruptions and the smiles - were responses to the fountain of Republican lies.   Indeed, it was President Obama's lack of forceful response to such lies last week that damaged him and his positions in that debate.

If anything, even Biden wasn't forceful enough.   When Ryan explained his position on abortion, he allowed that he would not ban them in cases of rape, incest, or where the life of the mother was at stake.  Had Biden asked Ryan how could Ryan then have sponsored the personhood amendment - which, if followed to its logical conclusion that human life commences in its entirety at birth would lead to bans on all abortions - even with that question, Biden would not have been bullying.  He would have been engaging in the noble pursuit of getting at the truth.

Harry Truman famously said, when asked if he would give Republicans hell, that he would speak the truth, and to Republicans that would be hell.  To Republicans today, speaking the truth to them - on women's rights, on the economy, on foreign affairs (here's a list of "24 myths in 90 minutes" told by Ryan last night) - is perceived as bullying. 

Meanwhile, Biden's nonverbal behavior - his smiles and expressions - was also fine.  If anything, once again, a smile is a polite way of responding to a bald-faced lie.   What would Republicans have preferred?  That Biden with a scowl on his face denounced Ryan every time Ryan misrepresented the Democratic positions and the facts - such as unemployment in fact decreasing - and even Republican positions at times?

We move on now to the next Presidential debate, on Tuesday night.  The only thing lacking in last night's debate was that it was the Vice President not the President confronting the Republican misrepresentations.  President Obama will have a crucial opportunity to correct that on Tuesday.

PS: All of the initial polls save one had Biden as the winner of last night's debate.  The one that did not was CNN's - which, it turns out, was based on a sample that had more Republicans than Democrats, which does not accurately reflect the greater number of Democratic registered voters in the country.   CNN had an obligation to immediately and prominently report the basis of its poll results - the skewed nature of its sample.  That CNN did not, until later the next day (today), was unprofessional - and not in the interests of our democracy and the current election.

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On Last Night's Biden Success

Republicans have been whining all day that Joe Biden "bullied" Paul Ryan in last night's VP debates, and, when the Vice President wasn't doing that, he was grinning inappropriately.  I can well understand such Republican discomfort.  Both actions of Biden - the interruptions and the smiles - were responses to the fountain of Republican lies.   Indeed, it was President Obama's lack of forceful response to such lies last week that damaged him and his positions in that debate.

If anything, even Biden wasn't forceful enough.   When Ryan explained his position on abortion, he allowed that he would not ban them in cases of rape, incest, or where the life of the mother was at stake.  Had Biden asked Ryan how could Ryan then have sponsored the personhood amendment - which, if followed to its logical conclusion that human life commences in its entirety at birth would lead to bans on all abortions - even with that question, Biden would not have been bullying.  He would have been engaging in the noble pursuit of getting at the truth.

Harry Truman famously said, when asked if he would give Republicans hell, that he would speak the truth, and to Republicans that would be hell.  To Republicans today, speaking the truth to them - on women's rights, on the economy, on foreign affairs (here's a list of "24 myths in 90 minutes" told by Ryan last night) - is perceived as bullying. 

Meanwhile, Biden's nonverbal behavior - his smiles and expressions - was also fine.  If anything, once again, a smile is a polite way of responding to a bald-faced lie.   What would Republicans have preferred?  That Biden with a scowl on his face denounced Ryan every time Ryan misrepresented the Democratic positions and the facts - such as unemployment in fact decreasing - and even Republican positions at times?

We move on now to the next Presidential debate, on Tuesday night.  The only thing lacking in last night's debate was that it was the Vice President not the President confronting the Republican misrepresentations.  President Obama will have a crucial opportunity to correct that on Tuesday.

PS: All of the initial polls save one had Biden as the winner of last night's debate.  The one that did not was CNN's - which, it turns out, was based on a sample that had more Republicans than Democrats, which does not accurately reflect the greater number of Democratic registered voters in the country.   CNN had an obligation to immediately and prominently report the basis of its poll results - the skewed nature of its sample.  That CNN did not, until later the next day (today), was unprofessional - and not in the interests of our democracy and the current election.

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Bones 8.4: Slashing Tiger and Donald Trump

The topic du jour between Bones and Booth in Bones 8.4 tonight was her semi-serious notion that she might be a good candidate for U.S. President.  After all, she replied when Booth expressed reservations, "Donald Trump" was thinking of running.  Point well taken, and I was thinking of titling this review "Bones for President".  But given President Obama's poor performance in the debates last week, and my concern about what might happen as a result in the election, I just couldn't bring myself to mix Bones and any Presidential election - even though the Trump line was the best in the show.

But "Slashing Tiger" is a pretty good title, anyway, don't you think?  It conveys an aura of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which, come to think about it, was a good title, too.  The beautiful Siberian tiger was the killer in tonight's show - or, at least, cause of death - and Bones' reaction when she finds that someone killed it was a powerful little tableau of who she is.   It's not that she doesn't care about people, but shooting a wild animal is destructive of her deep sense of nature and her place in the universe.   Booth, for his part, brings that point home, by comparing Bones to a wild tiger - a compliment she not only understands and accepts, but which gets her to see that she's too unconventional, too untamable, to be President.

And, not to stretch the metaphor too far, but there was another tiger set loose in tonight's episode.  As I mentioned last week, the writing was on the wall for Daisy, given Sweets' visceral response to Olivia.  And, although as I said last week, I never much liked Daisy, I couldn't help but feel bad for her as Sweets at last unleashed his hidden tiger of wanting to break free of her.  But, consistent with Sweets being his own worst patent, he breaks up with Daisy in the lamest way (though I guess there is no un-lame way to do that).

Hodgins had the best toy tonight - a model plane with a camera that helps with the case, but crashes into a high wire.  A tiger, a Trump line, a crashing toy plane and a broken almost toy relationship - but Booth and Bones are still flying high, and I look forward to seeing them again after the World Series and the U.S. Presidential Election.

See also Bones 8.1: Walk Like an Egyptian ... Bones 8.2 of Contention ... Bones 8.3: Not Rotting Behind a Desk

And see also Bones 7.1: Almost Home Sweet Home ... Bones 7.2: The New Kid and the Fluke ... Bones 7.3: Lance Bond and Prince Charmington ... Bones 7.4: The Tush on the Xerox ... Bones 7.5: Sexy Vehicle ... Bones 7.6: The Reassembler ... Bones 7.7: Baby! ... Bones 7.8: Parents ... Bones 7.9: Tabitha's Salon ... Bones 7.10: Mobile ... Bones 7.11: Truffles and Max ... Bones 7.12: The Corpse is Hanson ... Bones Season 7 Finale: Suspect Bones

And see also Bones 6.1: The Linchpin ... Bones 6.2: Hannah and her Prospects ... Bones 6.3 at the Jersey Shore, Yo, and Plymouth Rock ... Bones 6.4 Sans Hannah ... Bones 6.5: Shot and Pretty ... Bones 6.6: Accidental Relations ... Bones 6.7:  Newman and "Death by Chocolate" ... Bones 6.8: Melted Bones ... Bones 6.9: Adelbert Ames, Jr. ... Bones 6.10: Reflections ... Bones 6.11: The End and the Beginning of a Mystery ... Bones 6.12 Meets Big Love ... Bones 6.13: The Marrying Kind ... Bones 6.14: Bones' Acting Ability ... Bones 6.15: "Lunch for the Palin Family" ... Bones 6.16: Stuck in an Elevator, Stuck in Times ... Bones 6.17: The 8th Pair of Feet ... Bones 6.18: The Wile E. Chupacabra ... Bones 6.19 Test Runs The Finder ... Bones 6.20: This Very Statement is a Lie ... Bones 6.21: Sensitive Bones ... Bones 6.22: Phoenix Love ... Bones Season 6 Finale: Beautiful

And see also Bones: Hilarity and Crime and Bones is Back For Season 5: What Is Love? and 5.2: Anonymous Donors and Pipes and 5.3: Bones in Amish Country and 5.4: Bones Meets Peyton Place and Desperate Housewives and Ancient Bones 5.5 and Bones 5.6: A Chicken in Every Viewer's Pot and Psychological Bones 5.7 and Bones 5.8: Booth's "Pops" and Bones 5.9 Meets Avatar and Videogamers ... Bad Santa, Heart-Warming Bones 5.10 ... Bones 5.11: Of UFOs, Bloggers, and Triangles ... Bones 5.12: A Famous Skeleton and Angela's Baby ... Love with Teeth on Bones 5.13 ... Faith vs. Science vs. Psychology in Bones 5.14 ... Page 187 in Bones 5.15 ... Bones 100: Two Deep Kisses and One Wild Relationship ... Bones 5.17: The Deadly Stars ... Bones Under Water in 5.18 ... Bones 5.19: Ergo Together ...  Bones 5.20: Ergo Together ...  Bones 5.21: The Rarity of Happy Endings ... Bones Season 5 Finale: Eye and Evolution



"As a genre-bending blend of police procedural and science fiction, The Silk Code delivers on its promises." -- Gerald Jonas, The New York Times Book Review

"Daddy, this is the best book I ever read!" - Molly Vozick-Levinson, age 12 at the time



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The Good Wife 4.2: Reunited

The Good Wife treatment of Occupy Wall Street continued in episode 4.2, with the story of an innocent protester tasered to death by a cop out to make his "mark".  In addition to the strong courtroom drama - with Will back in court arguing the case of the victim - the story provides an important reminder of what cops can do and have done when they're set unconstitutionally loose against protesters and people.

Meanwhile, the court also has Will grappling with a new rule that allows jurors to ask questions of witnesses when they're on the stand.  This makes for some humorous and decisive moments in courtroom but, even it hadn't, I like this rule.  It empowers the everyday people who are the bedrock of our judicial system and democracy.

An important continuing story is also introduced tonight, in the person of Maddie Hayward, played by ER's Maura Tierney.   Her character on ER overlapped briefly but significantly with Julianna Margulies' Carol on the same show, and it would have been great to see the two together on The Good Wife in any case.  But their new story seems especially scintillating and complex, spanning business, politics, and, of course, the personal.

Maddie goes out of her way to help Alicia - including giving an unasked-for contribution to Peter's campaign.  But her guardian angel behavior may have a price - she wants to have a drink with Alicia.  When Alicia demurs, Maddie says she just wants to be friends, and Alicia agrees to have a drink the next evening.

We don't see that. The episode ends before that.  But one thing is sure: it's not just friendship that Maddie wants.  Maybe sex is indeed her motive.  But I'm thinking Maddie wants Alicia to run for some office.






See also The Good Wife 4.1 Meets Occupy Wall Street

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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Best New Show on Television: Last Resort

So my pick for the best new show of the Fall television season is: Last Resort on ABC.  Should not be surprising, since Shawn Ryan is the force behind the show, and he was the man responsible for The Shield, one of the two-three best shows ever on television, and arguably the best, period.

But Last Resort, in its first two episodes, has been non-stop superb in half a dozen areas.  The set-up has a U.S. nuclear sub ordered to fire into Pakistan - fire missiles that would kill millions.  When Captain Chaplin - played by Andre Braugher - questions the order, especially because it's come by way of Antarctic Command, only to be used when Washington has been knocked out of commission, which it hasn't - the response from Washington is to attack the Chaplin's sub (the Colorado).  The sub takes refuge on a Pacific isle, which is a little less than paradise, and the battle/standoff with the United States ensues.

What makes the show so strong is the diversity of characters, ranging from sailors and officers who support the Captain to sailors and officers who don't, plus all kinds of interesting islanders, plus a team of Navy seals who were on the sub and cannot be sure whom to support.  There's a strong female role - newly minted Lieutenant Grace Shepard , daughter of a highly ranked Admiral - who is loyal to the the Captain and a good character.  Second in command is also loyal to the Captain, and as the story ensues, we find the government types in Washington trying to manipulate his wife to get XO Sam Kendal to turn against the Captain.  One of the best parts of show is the way Washington is portrayed as willing to do anything to get the job done - the job, in this case, being something apparently evil indeed.  Not since 24 have we seen such a smack-in-the-face portrayal of the government, and it will good to see exactly who are the bad guys and who are the good guys in Washington - including the President -  as the show progresses. 

No character is unflawed, which is what makes the show so compelling.  These are not cartoon, cliched people.  Rather, in Last Resort, the story provocatively hinges on which people will be able to overcome their flaws in time to step up and do the right thing - whatever, precisely, that might turn out to be.  At present, it's clear that being loyal not to the American government but what America stands for is the honorable way to proceed.

The plot is also kick-in-the-gut with twists.  In the second episode, for example, it appears that a U.S. Delta force is attacking our people on the island.  The force turns out to be Russian, who are on the verge of overtaking our people who were sent out to stop them, despite their bravery.  Chaplin is talking to a high-placed Russian, to get him to call off the attack.  But that won't happen in time and-- just in the nick of time one of the Navy seals appears, and takes out the Russians.

There's not a dull moment, barely a moment to breathe, in the first two episodes, and I'm looking forward to more.




"As a genre-bending blend of police procedural and science fiction, The Silk Code delivers on its promises." -- Gerald Jonas, The New York Times Book Review
 

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Fringe 5.2: Saving Our Humanity

Fringe 5.2 gives us another top-notch episode in the future battle against the Eternal Bald Observers, who are now our masters.  As I said last week, I very much like this continuing story - much better than the standalone episodes of Fringe seasons past, often with just a touch of a deeper, continuing tale.

Tonight the main battle is really between the humanity in Olivia and the lack of, or less of, in Ettta, who has been hardened in her constant warfare with the Observers.  She without hesitation uses a horrible aging device as an instrument of torture on a human collaborator.   We can well understand her resolve.  Later in the story, we see the impact on Etta of seeing the head of her partner Foster, who fell into Observer hands.  Peter has all he can do to keep her from opening fire in the Observer labs, which have blown her and Peter's important mission.

Olivia understands this, too.  But she wants something more for her daughter - a reservoir of human decency, which makes the fight against the Observers worthwhile.  For as the cliche has it, what's the point of fighting against a monster, if you have to become a monster yourself to win the fight?  Except in Fringe this gambit feels fresh and emotionally effective.

Etta is an excellent character, and well played by Georgina Haig.  She has elements of both Olivia and Peter - as she should - and a toughness all her own, borne from years of fighting the Observers.  When tonight's episode ends with an act of mercy by Etta, Olivia felt good.  So did I.

The other good thing - actually, cool would be a better word - is Walter addressing himself and our group in the future on videotape (Sony Betamax!) made in the past, just before Walter ambered the Harvard Lab.  The scene had a Hari Selden feel to it - and it was nice to see that, even in this future incarnation, Fringe is still offering homage to great 1950s science fiction - in this case, Isaac Asimov's Foundation series (hey - that's two blog posts in row here that I mentioned Foundation!).

And, actually, there was one more very good thing in this episode - an Observer, who looked like September, who looked at Peter as he and Etta were entering the Observer building. Given Observer time travel ...






See also Fringe 5.1: Paved Park and Shattered Memories

See also Fringe Returns for Season 4: Almost with Peter ... Fringe 4.2: Better and Worse Selves ... Fringe 4.3: Sanity and Son ... Fringe 4.4: Peter's Back, Ectoplasm, and McLuhan ... Fringe 4.5: Double Return ... Fringe 4.6: Time Slips ... Fringe 4.7: The Invisible Man ... Fringe 4.8: The Ramifications of Transformed Alternate Realities ... Fringe 4.9: Elizabeth ... Fringe 4.10: Deceit and Future Vision ... Fringe 4.11: Alternate Astrid ... Fringe 4.12: Double Westfield / Single Olivia ... Fringe 4.13: Tea and Telepathy ... Fringe 4.14: Palimpsest ... Fringe 4.15: I Knew It! ... Fringe 4.16: Walter Likes Yiddish ... Fringe 4.17:  Second Chances ... Fringe 4.18: Broyled on Both Sides ... Future Fringe 4.19 ... Fringe 4.20: Bridge ... Fringe 4.21: Shocks ... Fringe Season 4 Finale: Death and Life

See also Fringe 3.1: The Other Olivia ... Fringe 3.2: Bad Olivia and Peter ... Fringe 3.3: Our/Their Olivia on the Other Side ... Fringe 3.5: Back from Hiatus, Back from the Amber ... Fringe 3.7: Two Universes Still Nearing Collision ... Fringe 3.8: Long Voyages Home ... Fringe 3.10: The Return of the Eternal Bald Observers ... Flowers for Fringenon in Fringe 3.11 ... Fringe 3.12: The Wrong Coffee  ... Fringe 3.13: Alternate Fringe ... Fringe 3.14: Amber Here ... Fringe 3.15: Young Peter and Olivia ... Fringe 3.16: Walter and Yoko ... Fringe 3.17: Bell, Olivia, Lee, and the Cow ... Fringe 3.18: Clever Walternate ... Fringe 3.19 meets Inception, The Walking Dead, Tron ... Fringe 3.20: Countdown to Season 3 Finale 1 of 3 ... Fringe 3.21:  Ben Frankin, Rimbaldi, and the Future ... Fringe Season 3 Finale: Here's What Happened ... Death Not Death in Fringe 
 
See also reviews of Season 2: Top Notch Return of Fringe Second Season ... Fringe 2.2 and The Mole People ... Fringe 2.3 and the Human Body as Bomb ... Fringe 2.4 Unfolds and Takes Wing ... Fringe 2.5: Peter in Alternate Reality and Wi-Fi for the Mind ... A Different Stripe of Fringe in 2.6 ... The Kid Who Changed Minds in Fringe 2.7 ... Fringe 2.8: The Eternal Bald Observers ... Fringe 2.9: Walter's Journey ... Fringe 2.10: Walter's Brain, Harry Potter, and Flowers for Algernon ...  New Fringe on Monday Night: In Alternate Universe? ... Fringe 2.12: Classic Science Fiction Chiante ... Fringe 2.13: "I Can't Let Peter Die Again" ... Fringe 2.14: Walter's Health, Books, and Father ... Fringe 2.15: I'll Take 'Manhatan' ... Fringe 2.16: Peter's Story ... Fringe 2.17: Will Olivia Tell Peter? ... Fringe 2.18: Strangeness on a Train ... Fringe 2.19: Two Plus Infinity ... Fringe the Noir Musical ... Fringe 2.21: Bring on the Alternates ... Fringe 2.22:  Tin Soldiers and Nixon Coming ... Fringe Season 2 Finale: The Switch

See also reviews of Season One Fringe Begins ... Fringe 2 and 3: The Anthology Tightrope ... 4: The Eternal Bald Observer ... 7: A Bullet Can Scramble a Dead Brain's Transmission ... 8. Heroic Walter and Apple Through Steel ... 9. Razor-Tipped Butterflies of the Mind ... 10. Shattered Pieces Come Together Through Space and Times ... 11. A Traitor, a Crimimal, and a Lunatic ... 12, 13, 14: Fringe and Teleportation ... 15: Fringe is Back with Feral Child, Pheromones, and Bald Men ... 17. Fringe in New York, with Oliva as Her Suspect ... 18. Heroes and Villains across Fringe ... Stephen King, Arthur C. Clarke, and Star Trek in Penultimate Fringe ... Fringe Alternate Reality Finale: Science Fiction At Its Best






"As a genre-bending blend of police procedural and science fiction, The Silk Code delivers on its promises." -- Gerald Jonas, The New York Times Book Review

"Daddy, this is the best book I've ever read!" -- Molly Vozick-Levinson, age 12 at the time

"cerebral but gripping" -- Booklist

Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music[image error]

Obama vs. Romney: Social vs. Mass Media

As the dust begins to settle on what just about everyone agrees was a weak performance by Barack Obama in his debate with Mitt Romney on Tuesday night, it's interesting to think about what the most damaging moments have been to both candidates in the campaign so far, and through which media they occurred.

Obama's worst moment, clearly, was his lackluster performance in the debate.  Nonverbally, he looked tired and uninterested.  Verbally, he failed to engage Romney for most of the debate.  In this traditional mass media event on television - seen by 60 million people - Obama was clearly at a loss.

Romney's worst moment, clearly, was the grainy video recording of his 47% remark that was put up on YouTube and further disseminated on cable and network television.   Unlike the debate, the recording and initial postings of this video were not seen by millions of people.  Like all social media - or, what I call "new new media" - the impact of this viral video grew exponentially over a period of time.

The 47% remark cost Romney in the polls.  It's too soon to know what Obama's poor debate will cost him in the polls.  But it's unlikely that a debate seen by 60 million will not have some negative impact.

So we're left, at this point, with a contest not only between Obama and Romney, but between social and mass media.  Social media have thus far helped Obama and hurt Romney.  Mass media, at least insofar as Tuesday's debate and its single broadcast to millions of people, have had the reverse result.

It has been tempting to count the role of mass media out, or at least demote its importance, in our age of social media such as YouTube and Twitter.   But as Isaac Asimov explored dramatically in his Foundation trilogy decades ago, a declining empire (read: mass media of today) can still exert powerful influence in a new age (read: social media).

Media and communications are, of course, by no means the only factors that determine an election.  Further, Obama may well do much better in the next debate.  But  if the current split continues - Romney hurt by social media, Obama by mass media - the election would well be decided by which media have the most power in our world today.

See also On Last Night's Obama Disappointment and Romney's 47% Remark and the Power of New New Media



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