Confessions of a Pagan Geek: You aren’t going to go all Twilight on me?

 tv  2 Responses »
Jan 192011
 

I have to admit, I tuned in to Syfy’s new series Being Human last night strictly out of curiosity.  The new show is based on the BBC series of the same name and as I have written here before, I am already a fan of the British show.  Series 3 of the original is scheduled to premier in the UK next week, but it hasn’t yet been announced when it will be aired it on BBC America.  When I first tuned in to the Syfy version I got an awful taste in my mouth.  It was nearly a scene for scene recreation of the original pilot episode but with American characters and the gratuitous insertion of American topics and slang.  I feared they were quickly sliding down the path once taken by NBC’s remake of the series Coupling where they inexplicably reused the original scripts without changing a word.  However, the American Being Human managed to capture my imagination by the end when they made some interesting plot changes that might take this show in a new direction from it’s British counterpart.  What does all this have to do with Paganism and Pop-Culture?  Well, nothing really.  But I do pay close attention to science fiction television since it tends to be the most common platform for magic and witches to be showcased.  I don’t think that Being Human will win any awards, but I’ll give it another shot.

However, one thing I am extremely excited about is Fringe returning this Friday at 9pm.  Remember, folks, that this is a time slot that is considered the Death Slot for television shows – just ask Joss Whedon about Firefly.  Speaking of Firefly, however, it seems that producers of Fringe are not without a sense of humor since they named this first Friday night episode after the short lived space western.  We left off before the holidays with Olivia trying to recover from coming back up the rabbit hole and trying to get back into her normal life.  The final scenes of the previous episode Marionette were heart wrenching and I can’t wait for more.  Don’t let this innovative series die because it has moved to Friday nights.

In more directly related Pagan news, HBO’s True Blood has already begun promoting their “Season of the Witch”.  It will be airing this summer.

 Posted by Laura at 12:49 am  Tagged with: , ,

Confessions of a Pagan Geek: The Sadness of Fringe

 tv  No Responses »
Dec 142010
 

As Yuletide approaches, the first half of network television season is going on a midwinter hiatus.  That means geek favorite Fringe will be off the air until after the new year.  This past week’s episode was a sad and beautiful note on which to leave the story.

Our favorite Girls Underground heroine, Olivia, made it back to our universe with the help of an ally in the alternate one.  As she tries to re-integrate to her life at home she is dealing with the reality that alternate-Olivia was living her life for those several months she was away. The story-of-the-week was a haunting version of a Frankenstein story that advanced the emotional aspects of the story if not the plot.  It is through this case that Olivia understands the true gravity of what has happened and is finding it hard to put herself back together.  Just like it must be for Dorothy or Alice or other girls underground, it is hard for Olivia to come home even if she wants to be there.  One of the episodes final scenes was a gut-wrenching exchange between Olivia and Peter (played flawlessly by Anna Torv and Joshua Jackson)

Fringe will be moving to Friday nights in January. Pagan Geeks – don’t let this favorite show become a victim of the Friday Night Death Slot.  Make sure you watch it. Especially if you happen to be a Neilsen Family.  Have Fringe parties!  Make sure this show gets at least another season.

 Posted by Laura at 2:24 am  Tagged with:

Confessions of a Pagan Geek: Through The Looking Glass

 tv  No Responses »
Nov 112010
 

 

Television has been good to me lately.  I was very excited about the post-Baseball return of Fringe on Fox and it was the highlight of my television viewing.  The build up of Olivia being trapped in the alternate universe is finally coming to a climax – she knows she doesn’t belong in their world and now she just has to figure out how to get back.  Walternate and his evil scientist assistant performed  some experiments that pushed her into our universe for mere seconds and all I wanted her to do was run away so maybe she could escape the pull back to their’s.  Olivia has also been plagued by a vision of Peter giving her hints and clues about her real origin.  This tactic, which I reviled in Caprica, seems to work for me in Fringe.  It brings back the feeling I got when I watched Head 6 interact with Gaius Baltar in Battlestar Galactica rather than just a rehashing of the series tried and true story lines.  This episode was all about duality and about switching – the episodic plot of twins switching places multiple times to cover for one another mirrored Olivia’s struggle perfectly.  The only downside to this season is that they have been switching episodes back and forth between our universe and the alternate universe and while I am dying to see the fate of our Olivia in the wrong world, in tonight’s episode I will have to watch our universe move the story forward instead. 

Caprica has been on hiatus, for which I am not disappointed.  I wish the show had turned out better than it has. 

Also this week was the second episode of The Walking Dead.  I would love to be able to connect this show with more Pagan themes, but as of yet is strictly a Zombie show with solid acting and a great story line.  This week’s episode featured new characters, racial tension, extra-marital affairs between people who think their partners are actually dead but aren’t, and high speed car chases.  Still loving the Atlanta scenery on the small screen, even if it is littered with flesh eating Zombies.  If you like horror movies, it is not too late to jump on the Walking Dead bandwagon. 

The Zombie Craze isn’t just limited to basic cable.  The Halloween episode of NBC comedy Community was a riot of zombie goodness.  If you have never seen Community and are a fan of off-beat comedy you need to do yourself a favor and watch it.  The most recent episode “Aerodynamics of Gender” might be the funniest episode ever and featured a little shout-out to Pagans that many people may not have caught.  It is available on your cable’s On Demand.  

Lastly, I just have a short social commentary.  There are commercials for Metro PCS featuring stereotypical “Indian Call Center” Characters named Ranjit and Chad.  Every time I hear these commercials, my blood pressure rises.  I wonder why Indians in the Call Center are the current cultural fad that it is still appropriate to poke fun at.  So, I found myself angry that NBC would feed into this exploitation by airing a television show like Outsourced.  I know television has a long history of cultural stereotype exploitation, especially in the 1970′s.  No group was apparently immune - The Beverly Hillbillies, Sanford and Son, Good Times, and All in the Family come to mind but there are countless examples.  However, in the interest of fairness I didn’t feel it was appropriate for me to rant about Outsourced without actually watching it.  What I learned is the show appears to be harmless and even kind of grudgingly funny in parts.  The main premise is that Todd, the American call center manager, is more of a “Fish out of water” trying to teach American pop culture to his Indian employees while learning about their culture in the process. I may not watch it again, but I didn’t find it offensive.  That does not, however, make the Metro PCS commercials any more palatable.

 Posted by Laura at 2:19 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , ,

Confessions of a Pagan Geek: Zombies, Robots and Time Travel

 tv  2 Responses »
Nov 032010
 

Caprica, a television show with a lot of Polytheist promise, has managed to do just what I and several Internet critics predicted and got itself canceled.  It will finish this season which is actually the second half of season one but not be renewed for season two.  The last two episodes were much more of the same semi-badness that the season has provided to far.  Two weeks ago they aired an episode called “Things We Lock Away” which finally got back to Zoe and Tamara in V-World but I’m afraid it didn’t have that sense of wonder that “There Is Another Sky” provided last year.  We find Zoe being influence by a psychological version of herself way too reminiscent of “Head-6″ who spent a lot of time appearing to Gaius Baltar  during Battlestar Galactica.  There might be a reason for it  but since the show isn’t renewed we’ll never know.  Last week’s episode “False Labor” showed more of Tauron culture but instead of the beautifully nuanced spiritual nature of the Tauron people we simply see them as ultra Mafia and it becomes less than palatable. Most fans agree it was pretty cool to see the first Cylon in action in this episode, but the introduction might have been too little, too late.

In other television news, a new series premiered on AMC on Samhain night. The  new show called “The Walking Dead”,  based on a graphic novel of the same name, appears to have kicked off brilliantly.  Pagan?  Not really, except that I imagine that some Pagans are as interested in the Zombie uprising that has been a part of popular culture over the last couple of years as I am.  I think this series could go far and I am even willing to face my own fear of horror movies to watch it. I have to be honest, one of the reasons I like it so much is that it was filmed and takes place primarily in my home town of Atlanta Georgia.  It is pretty cool to see my own city on TV where I can point out things and say “I’ve been there! Looks so different after the Zombie uprising!”  If you’re interested  but you haven’t heard of it yet, you have plenty of time to catch up as the second episode doesn’t air until Sunday night.

Coming back to Fox Thursday of this week is Fringe, which has been on a short break due to World Series baseball.  I am terribly excited about this.

Also, I learned today that there is a Witchy movie in the future of Doctor Who actress Karen Gillan.  Since the newest season of Doctor Who premiered I loved the fiery red-headed companion Amy Pond and connected her to the Maiden Goddess archetype.  There isn’t more info on this movie yet, but I’ll be sure to keep an eye out.

 Posted by Laura at 12:06 am  Tagged with: , , , ,

Confessions of a Pagan Geek: Caprica Premiere and Fringe

 tv  3 Responses »
Oct 082010
 

Caprica premiered on Syfy this Tuesday, October 5th.  Caprica, the prequel companion series to Battlestar Galactica, isn’t quite as good at it’s predecessor but has moments of satisfaction.  The first episode of season two has set the tone for the future as being very much about the conflict between followers of “The One True God” and the polytheistic population of the 12 colonies.  In fact the only real mention of the Gods in this first episode was in relation to the terrorists that run the monotheistic Church.  I am interested to see how this season plays out.

However, the highlight of this year’s fall science fiction television schedule is still Fringe.  If you ever think  “I really miss the X-Files…especially when it was good.” you really owe it to yourself to pick up this Fox show.  Season three began September 23rd with the explosive episode titled “Olivia”.  Picking up where season two left off, it was a real showcase of the talent of Anna Torv as Olivia Dunham.  If you aren’t familiar with the series, the truth is there isn’t any magic or truly Pagan themes that would jump out at you.  Unlike the X-Files the real drive behind the stories on this show is Fringe Science – strange and unexplained but entirely possible.   The overarching story is the idea that there are infinite possibilities and those events are all happening at the same time in alternate realities.  Episodes two and three were equally as engaging as “Olivia” but went back to the episodic solving of an individual case while still masterfully weaving those into the story arc.  Right now Olivia is trapped in the alternate universe and I’ sit at the edge of my seat each week to see if she can manage to return from the “underworld”.

 Posted by Laura at 12:35 pm  Tagged with: , ,

Polytheism in Television

 culture, tv  4 Responses »
Aug 272010
 

My fellow bloggers have been doing a fantastic job covering the occurrences of Wicca on television and in the movies.  I am also grateful that these things exist because any exposure to Paganism for “The Mainstream” is a good thing, even when it is poorly represented.  That being said, where is the television for Hard Polytheists, Reconstructionists or other Non-Wiccan Pagans like myself?

There is a very rich pool when it comes to movies and anything that is pre-Christian/historical can fall   into that category.  Television is a harder sell, though, because television viewers tend to have shorter attention spans.  Many shows today are exact replicas of each other.  Once a network finds a formula that works, they exploit it.  For instance, turn on the television and just try to find something that isn’t “Law and Order” or “The Closer” or a similar show with similar themes. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

There have been some notable television offerings for the non-Wiccan. I would love to explore them all, and perhaps I will  over time.  A classic would be a little show you might remember that aired on Syfy/Sci-Fi a couple of years ago: Battlestar Galactica.  This re-imagined series (for which the term “re-imagined” was coined) was gritty, powerful and well produced. The human race were hard polytheists living on 12 planets called the 12 Colonies of Kobol.  Their religion resembled that of the ancient Greeks.  Accuracy be damned, too, because they were in another part of the galaxy and who knew what Greek Polytheism looked like in their universe. That being said, the writers seemed to care about their characters and the belief system they portrayed. The spin-off/prequel Caprica is surprisingly enjoyable and begins again in January with its second season.

There are also historical dramas, with heavy emphasis on “Drama.”   HBO’s series Rome is a prime example.  While religion wasn’t a main plot point, it was an important part of the lives of the characters so they were able to treat the subject fairly.  The history was a little sketchier but that is why it was a drama and not a documentary. The show featured a cast of phenomenal actors and characters we could really identify with, in spite of passage of time.

That brings me to another show that would be a draw for non-Wiccan Pagans that I have recently rediscovered.  It was a little show that only lasted 8 episodes in the us and 13 in Australia.  In 1997, Fox Television produced a show intended to compete with the Xena and Hercules franchises.  The show, called Roar, was produced by Shaun Cassidy (yes, THE Shaun Cassidy) and stared a very young and incredibly talented Heath Ledger. The show centered around a young Celtic prince who lost his family to a waring tribe.  The Romans, however, were knocking at the door of Ireland and he feels if the tribes don’t unite they will fall victim to the conquerors.  It is a strange mix between Paganism and Christianity and the show is set in 400 AD.  Though the historical accuracy is lacking, the characters are shown as being connected to the land.  I love the character of Fergus who constantly shows his disapproval of situations by exclaiming “Sweet Brigid!”

On top of the clearly Polytheistic shows, there are other offerings that touch on Pagan topics whether the writers know it or not.  My absolute favorite show on television right now is Fringe, which is about to enter its third season.  There is nothing specifically Pagan about the show, except the archetypes! I love Fringe for the Girls Underground theme.

These are, of course, just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.  What other examples of Polytheism or non-Wiccan Paganism are out there on Television?

 Posted by Laura at 1:40 am  Tagged with: , , , , ,

Confessions of a Pagan Geek: Television Recap May 4th – May 8th

 culture  3 Responses »
May 122010
 

I’ll start by saying that I did watch LOST this past week, and I was as blown away as everyone else on the internet seems to be.  I am refraining from any additional comments right now – I have big plans for that show once the series is over so stay tuned. 

I will also say that I did not watch the much hyped episode of Bones with its Wicca-based storyline.  I thought about it, but I don’t actually like the show (not enough Vampires or Aliens, really).  Instead I watched FlashForward, a show apparently at risk of being cancelled but that I still enjoy for its theme and great cast.  What I like about the theme of FlashForward is the contrast between destiny and free will.  Are these futures absolute or just possibilities?  It makes me wonder if there even is a Pagan consensus on the ideas of free will and fate since traditions tend to very wildly.  For my position, I’m a free will kind of girl, but I think Homer might actually disagree with me that the Gods don’t involve themselves in the affairs of mortals.  Sometimes they do, I suppose, when they are bored.  

Fringe is my favorite show on television right now. If you like sci-fi and haven’t checked it out, I highly recommend it. Walter Bishop, played by veteran actor John Noble, is one of the best characters on television right now.  My current fictional-character-crush on Peter Bishop also makes the show quite palatable.  The newest episode was a loving homage to The X Files; a real passing of the torch. Yes, JJ Abrams, I want to believe!  Like FlashForward, Fringe also has a “Free Will” v. “Fate” theme but in a much different way.  Our choices create infinite universes and possibilities.  Come to think of it, so does LOST.  I wonder if this trend in television is tapping into a spiritual subconscious in which viewers find themselves struggling questions about purpose. 

The newest episode of Happy Town, however, had the most blatant Pagan imagery on the shows that I watched this week.  What I loved most about it was the apparent revelation of what is likely the entire plot of the series in just the second episode.  It can’t possibly be that simple, right?  We met someone who might actually be the series bad guy and we also met a good guy who may have done something horribly wrong kicking off the entire storyline. Pay special attention to a mysterious tool featuring a goat head; it appears to have significance.  Oh, and the golden eagle who seems to be some type of messenger from the gods.

This week’s BBC America airing of Doctor Who was the first of a two part episode bringing back the Weeping Angels  from the 10th Doctor’s Episode “Blink”.  I’m excited to see the second episode of this two-parter next week.  I was also in love with the “Maze of the Dead” in the episode – an elaborately designed temple to the ancestors that looked like a great Greek temple. As I was watching it I thought about how lovely this underground maze would be to honor the ancestors.  That is, until I learned the secret of the show.  No, I’m not going to tell you that, you’ll have to watch for yourself. 

I’ll be back with more television philosophizing next week.

 Posted by Laura at 12:05 am  Tagged with: , , , , ,
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