Paul Levinson's Blog: Levinson at Large, page 37
April 29, 2023
Citadel 1.1-1.2: Memories and Questions
Saw the first two episodes of Citadel on Amazon Prime Video -- all that are available this week. Very good, recommended, and --
[Spoilers ahead ... ]
The key ingredient in this series so far is: memory. Or, more precisely, memories. We see in the first episode that the memories of Citadel agents can be remotely erased. (So, obviously, this takes place in the future.) This erasure makes lots of sense if you're part of an international organization of good spies (Citadel) at war with an international organization of evil spies (Manticore), because if the bad guys capture you, your top-secret information can't be stolen. And then we learn in the second episode that Citadel uploads and stores all the memories of their agents, and keeps them in vials which, when injected into their bodies, brings back the memories of the agent that were previously erased. This makes lots of sense, too.
It also raises lots of questions, which may or may not be explored in the episodes ahead. For example, if Agent X's memories are injected into Agent Y, or any other human being, will that recipient suddenly have Agent X's memories? Or what happens if one person is injected with two or more other people's memories?
But the story is just beginning, so we'll just have to see. What we do know, by the end of the second episode, is that Mason Kane and Nadia Sinh's memories were at first erased, but only Nadia has recovered hers because, well, it looks like the vial with Mason's memories was damaged and some of the vital fluid leaked out when the bad guys attacked him and Bernard (see below), but who knows, which is to say, I don't really know, because maybe there's still enough of that fluid left in the vial for Mason to at some point recover his memories?
Which raises another question: is there any other way that lost memories can be recovered? Mason and Sinh both seem to have bits in their heads of who they were, which come to them in brief flashes and dreams (which I assume are longer than the flashes, who knows). And while we're at it, can memories in vials or otherwise be copied of cloned, so that we could actually have two Masons and Nadias running around?
Bernard (always good to see Stanley Tucci on the screen), who was in charge of Mason and Nadia before they lost their memories, and apparently still is, would likely know. But he has been wounded and captured by Manticore. And, also, I'm not clear if he is the ultimate head of Citadel, or just Mason and Nadia's superior.
Anyway, lots to discover in this high octane, fast-moving futuristic spies series, and I'm all in, even if, as you may no doubt already know, I'm grumbling that it's being doled out to us on a less than bingeable basis.
***
If you like science fiction about memory on the screen, check out Remembrance, Rememory, and Mnemophrenia.
April 23, 2023
The Diplomat: West Wing Meets Bond
My wife and I just binged the first season of The Diplomat and loved it.
[Spoilers ahead ... ]
To begin with, it seemed like for most of the first episode -- in fact, until to the very end of that episode -- we were watching an updated, 2023-rendition of West Wing, on a more global scale. Which would have been very welcome. But the news at the end of this first episode made The Diplomat much more than that. Almost a James Bond, without the central character being an MI6 agent with a license to kill. So think The West Wing in politics, and Bond in terms of intrigue bringing the world to the edge of nuclear war, and that's even more welcome than just an updated West Wing. More welcome, that is, as fiction on the screen, not of course as reality.
Speaking of which, I'd say The Diplomat is the best treatment of world politics in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine I've so far seen on the fiction screen. The attribution of the attack on the British ship to the Russians instantly moves the whole rest of the story into the dilemma of what can be done to punish the Russians, given that Putin has already threatened, many times, to unleash his nukes on Russia's enemies in our off-screen world.
And then there are the twists, the biggest being the one near very end of final episode of this season, that the attack on the British ship was ordered by the British PM, apparently as way of enabling him to be a Churchill of our time, and show Britain and the world how his country deals with deadly aggressors. I didn't see that coming -- not at all -- and yet it all makes sense in retrospect.
Before I get, though, to the big question, let me say that the acting was superb, on every level. Keri Russell as the diplomat, Kate Wyler, US Ambassador to the UK, was outstanding, delivering her lines, her facial expressions, and body language with sheet perfection, exceeding her previous peak performance in The Americans. And Rufus Sewell as her husband Hal was equally outstanding, though I wouldn't say he exceeded his performance in The Man in the High Castle, because that was in a class of its own. So what I will say is his Hal in The Diplomat is his best performance, other than as a character added to the TV adaption of a science fiction novel that almost single handedly defined a genre. And in The Diplomat, Russell and Sewell, individually but especially together, were a pleasure to see. And the same for everyone else.
Meanwhile, plotwise, I'm still not 100% convinced that their marriage wasn't working out, even though Kate explained that to Hal and us at least a dozen times. But maybe that's the point -- that Kate feels the need to say -- most of the time -- that they can't make it as a couple, because she knows how deeply she loves him, and still hasn't really convinced herself that the two need to split.
And let's get to the very ending: a car bomb in London that may have killed Hal, Stuart (Kate's second in command in the US Embassy), and Ronnie. There are tears in Kate's eyes when she gets the news in Paris. This means that at very least all three did not escape unscathed. If I had to bet, I'd say Ronnie was killed and Hal and Stuart survived, both headed to the hospital. All three dying would dramatically change the basis of the story -- and that would be more true of Hal dying than Stuart dying, so, of the three, I'd say Hal is the most likely survive. But I'd put my money on seeing Stuart next season, too.
I also have no idea if a decision has even been made as to who will be returning in Season 2. All I can tell you for sure is that my wife and I will be watching Season 2 of The Diplomat that day that it comes up on Netflix.
April 9, 2023
'It's Real Life' on Captain Phil's Planet
Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 349, in which I visit Captain Phil's Planet on WUSB Radio (Stony Brook University) where he plays and we discuss the radio play "It's Real Life," adapted from my short story, narrated by Bobby Roberto, produced and streaming on Killerwatt.co Radio.
listen to the radio play on Killerwatt.co, streaming free, where you'll find complete credits for the performances and production of the play, as well as an additional interview with me right after the radio play, and the three songs heard on the radio play read my original short story (free) adapted into the radio play my interview with Anne Reburn, who sang "Real Love" in the radio play Anne Reburn's YouTube video of "Real Love" as performed in the radio play my interview with Spencer Hannabus, who sang "If I Traveled to the Past" in the radio play
Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
March 31, 2023
Paul Levinson interviews Anne Reburn
Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 348, in which I interview YouTube star cover artist Anne Reburn, who did the cover of John Lennon/The Beatles' "Real Love" in the It's Real Life radio play adapted from my short alternate history about The Beatles, streaming on Killerwatt Radio.
Links:
It's Real Life radioplay the original "It's Real Life" short story video of this interview with Anne Reburn video of Anne Reburn's cover of "Real Love" Anne Reburn's covers and original music on YouTubePaul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
March 29, 2023
The Night Agent: Right Good
The wife and I binged The Night Agent on the Netflix the past few nights, and enjoyed it. Both the story, and the fact it was streaming rather than spun out episode by episode over ten weeks, or shown in two parts.
Shawn Ryan put it all together. He did The Shield, probably the best cop show ever on television, and Timeless, not the best time travel ever on television, but pretty good. I'd say The Night Agent is better than Timeless and not as good as The Shield, but that means The Night Agent is well worth watching indeed.
It's the most reminiscent of 24, even though it takes longer to unfold than a day, and there's no clock literally ticking. In fact, two of the medium important actors from 24 -- D. B. Woodside and Kari Matchett -- had important roles in The Night Agent, and they both did well. Woodside played a President (of the United States) in 24, and Matchett plays the same in The Night Agent.
The two lead characters -- Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland who works for the Night Agents and Luciane Buchanan as Rose Larkin -- who evolves from depending on Sutherland for her very life to saving his more than once -- are a sharp, spunky couple, and I look forward to seeing them again, whether in another season of The Night Agent (just renewed for a second season) or in other shows.
The villains are probably the weakest part of the story, on all levels, because we've seen something like all of them in one way or another many times before. But they propel a plot with surprises in every episode, and take part in lots of superb action scenes.
So, yeah, see The Night Agent, hold on to your seat, and enjoy.
March 25, 2023
The Ark 1.8: "Follow Your Future Selves"
Checking in with a review of The Ark 1.8. If it seems that I'm posting this review a little later than usual, you may be right. On the other hand, that may just be your perception. Maybe, in reality -- whatever exactly that may be -- I actually posted this review a day or two ago. It only seems to you that I'm posting this now, because we're traveling faster than than light, so what happened yesterday or the day before yesterday seems like it's happening now.
That makes sense, right? Don't ask me, because if I'm traveling faster than light I probably wouldn't know. Now, last time I checked, we here on Planet Earth are not traveling faster than light. We're traveling at whatever speed it takes for our planet to circle around the sun, in what we call a year.
Is that clear now? Of course not. But I've got to give The Ark credit for presenting this enigma on the screen in a way that almost does make sense. Alicia, genius that she is, has figured out how to retrofit Ark 1 with the faster-than-light drive that powered Ark 3. This was developed in principle by Trust but actually put in motion by Trust's successor. So Trust understands it, or least how to make sense of being on a ship that's moving faster than light, and he helps guide his wife and Alicia to get to a place on Ark 1 where the three catch up to their future selves, i.e., things seem normal on Ark 1, which presumably now is close to Proxima B.
His wife, by the way, is the jealous type. Sooner or later she'll walk in on Trust when he's pursuing his proclivities, and who knows what might happen then. With any luck, someone on the ship will increase its speed even faster -- analogous to exceeding Mach 10 like we saw in Top Gun: Maverick -- and that could shake the wife's confidence in what she thinks she's seeing.
Star Trek has portrayed faster-than-light travel ever since 1960s. Creds to The Ark for portraying it in a way I haven't seen before. About the closest might be John Stith's murder mystery on a ship traveling ftl in Redshift Rendezvous -- but, hey, that hasn't been as yet made into a movie or TV series as yet. So to see it on a screen -- assuming you haven't seen this yet -- follow your future self and watch this episode of The Ark.
See also The Ark 1.1: Worth Watching ... 1.2: Why I'M Enjoying It ... 1.3: Asteroid and Comet ... 1.4: Hallucinations ... 1.5-1.6: More than One ...
a second ship around Proxima Centauri B, too ...
March 21, 2023
It's Real Life radio play
My alternate history short story about The Beatles -- "It's Real Life" (which you can read for free here) -- has been made into a radio play, which you can listen to for free, anytime here. Among the people and places you'll find in this 24-minute radio play, followed by an 18-minute interview with me: Pete Fornatale, Dennis Elsas, The Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, WFUV Radio, Barnes & Noble, with musical performances by The Bangles, Anne Reburn, and Spencer Hannabus. Enjoy!
March 15, 2023
The Ark 1.7: "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)"
The Ark 1.7 offered a dazzling array of concepts and developments, and was the best episode so far in this new series. If I've said this before, that's an indication of how good The Ark has become. Even if I haven't said that, The Ark has moved into some fine science fictional territory.
[And there will be spoilers ahead ... ]
So, I said in my review last week that I thought that other Ark floating motionless out there in space was The Ark 5, carrying William Trust, the creator of The Ark project, who had planned on going out to Proxima B in The Ark 5. And, though Trust plays a big role in episode 1.7 (see below), turns out that the motionless Ark is not 5 but 3. I got the name but not the number right. Reminds me of that Beatles songs, "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)".
But how did that later Ark get to this place before The Ark 1? Here the series pull out an old but still surprising science fiction chestnut: The Ark 5 had faster than light travel, developed by Trust's successor. It, too, was disabled, most of its crew destroyed, by some kind of powerful, unexpected force. Which turns out to be ... The Ark 15. Hey, once you can travel faster than light, you can travel faster and faster, right? That's logical, as Spock might say.
And as icing on the cake of this fine episode, here's the big role that William Trust plays: at the end of the episode, two of our favorite characters, thinking they have only seconds left to live, are about to kiss ... when a code that only William Trust could know is delivered just in time to save them. Thanks Brice for bringing Trust out of suspended animation just in time. You can always trust Dean Devlin to deliver an excellent episode.
See you back here next week with my review of what I hope is the season one (not series) finale.
See also The Ark 1.1: Worth Watching ... 1.2: Why I'M Enjoying It ... 1.3: Asteroid and Comet ... 1.4: Hallucinations ... 1.5-1.6: More than One
a second ship around Alpha Centauri, too
March 13, 2023
Press Play: Time Travel Via Cassette
So, I just watched Press Play on the Hulu. I don't know why I didn't come across this movie sooner. It has the two most important elements in my pop cultural life, time travel and music, and, you know, it's quite good.
[Some spoilers ahead ... ]
Here's the set-up: Laura meets Harrison in a vinyl and cassette shop in Hawaii run by Cooper (played by Danny Glover). They both have a love of mixtapes, and fall in love. Then, four years after Harrison is killed on the way to surfing by a car, Laura discovers that she can go back in time, to before Harrison was killed, every time she plays a song on a mixtape that she and Harrison were making. When the song ends, she's back in the future in which Harrison was killed four years earlier. She warns Harrison to be careful about that car, but he dies anyway in a different accident. So, the gist is: Laura can change only the circumstances of Harrison's death, not his death itself.
That's a pretty nice set-up writers James Bachelor and Greg Björkman put together. Glover is always good to see on the screen. Clara Rugaard was winsome and winning as Laura, and Lewis Pullman was sensitive and cerebral as Harrison (first time I've seen Rugaard, and Pullman was good in Outer Range). The music was appealing, too, and new to me.
Now, I generally prefer science fiction to science fantasy -- in time travel, that would be a time machine vs. click your heels together -- but Press Play had such a sweetness, a refreshing innocence, that I'm fine with its fantasy. It kept within the contours of its story -- music takes us back in time, all the time, in our minds, so why not play with the fantastical possibility that it can also take us back in time in reality -- and the ending was ...
Well, see it yourself, and see if you agree with me that the ending was right.
March 12, 2023
The Last of Us Season One Finale: The Limits of Utilitarianism
Well, the season one finale of The Last of Us, just up on HBO Max tonight, was everything it could be and even more.
[And there will be spoilers ahead ... ]
So, first, here's what happened. Turns out, at least as far as the docs in the hospital that Joel and Ellie finally get to, think: only by destroying Ellie's brain can her immunity to the fungi be disseminated to the rest of humanity. We never find out if they're scientifically right or wrong, because Joel, once he finds out what the docs plan to do with Ellie, kills the doc about to perform the surgery and everyone else in his way so he can make good his escape with Ellie.
So here, then, is the question: was Joel right to do this? Was he right to go against the fundamental principle of utilitarianism of the greatest good for the the greatest number, and deprive humanity of its rescue from death, all so one person, Ellie, can survive? I tend to be utilitarian in many things, but ...
I would have done exactly what Joel did, had I the lethal prowess, to save Ellie. Does that mean I'm weak? Did Joel ignore logic and give into his emotions? Well, he did follow his emotions, but that doesn't mean he was weak or even illogical. Maybe there's a higher logic at work here. The logic of going with your deepest emotion, if that emotion is love.
Joel acted on that principle, but he's not a philosopher. He unconsciously refuted the utilitarian principle, and then he compounded that ethically dangerous action by lying. Parents often lie to their kids -- the younger the kids are, the more often they're not told the truth, presumably for their own good. I said Joel was right to save Ellie. The docs could have been wrong. Even if not, he was right to save her. But was he right to lie to Ellie at the end of the episode when she asked him if had told her the entire story of what had happened back at the hospital? Here I'd say, probably not. I'm pretty sure I think he owed Ellie the truth.
But being right one out of two times in these hellish circumstances ain't bad. And The Last of Us was 100% right to give us such an ethically wrenching season finale. I'll certainly be back here with more reviews when the series resumes.
See also The Last of Us 1.1-1.2: The Fungus Among Us ... 1.3: Bill and Frank ... 1.4: Gun and Pun ... 1.5: Tunnels ... 1.6: Joel ... 1.7: Riley's Wise Advice ... 1.8: Ellie vs. the Resort
I talk about The Last of Us, beginning at 40mins 40secs
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