Ellen Leventry: March 2007 Archives

Once upon a time there was a skeptic and a believer who teamed up to solve mysteries on a popular FOX drama. But, with the X-Files' cancellation in 2002, television audiences lost the delightful facts-vs.-faith parrying of FBI Agents Mulder and Scully. While Scully often played skeptic to Mulder's alien acceptance, it was Scully's deep, abiding Catholic faith and Mulder's open contempt of organized religions that provided viewers with a delightfully complex, realistic relationship; a relationship of agreeing to disagree.

Thank goodness for "Bones." The show, starring "Angel's" David Boreanaz as FBI agent Seeley Booth and Emily Deschanel as Dr. Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist and best-selling author, changes up the format a bit with Booth being the devout Catholic and Brennan the atheist.

In this week's episode, Dr. Brennan and team are called to a church graveyard whose inhabitants have been unearthed by a water main break only to discover that one of the corpses is a fairly new addition. Brennan and Booth set out to discover the victim's identity.

The older parish priest, Father Donlon, is offended that Brennan isn't paying proper respect to consecrated ground. "Am I supposed to walk on eggshells because someone believes that a plot of earth has supernatural properties because someone waved a wand over it," Brennan asks Booth.

"There's no wand. The church doesn't use wands," Booth sputters, clearly taken aback.

"Fine. Magic water," replies Dr. Brennan.

"Magic? Holy water," says an exasperated Booth who decides he doesn't want to work on the case since Brennan is attacking his beliefs. "Can't you just be satisfied that if I'm wrong about God I'll burn in hell," retorts Brennan.

Thanks to Boreanaz's and Deschanel's comedic timing, these lines come off as neither crass nor hollow and remind me of many discussions of religion amongst friends. And when Brennan explains to the curmudgeonly Father Donlon that the Yew tree was, in fact, sacred to the Druids first, you almost believe that she was just trying to strike up "friendly conversation."

My only problem with the show is that, as an anthropologist, Brennan shows appropriate respect when dealing with other belief systems--Voodoo, Chinese folk practices--but openly derides Booth's Catholicism; then again, perhaps it's because they have a personal as well as a professional relationship. And it's just one of the many delightful tensions fueling their relationship.

Much like "The X-Files," this science vs. spirituality motif is not often the main plot point, oftentimes simply coloring the corpse-of-the-week storyline. But, no bones about it, when the writers of "Bones" do touch upon matters of faith, it's a divine dramedy.

Watch "The Priest in the Churchyard" here.

Fears that a Tom Cruise-controlled United Artists studio will produce Scientology-influenced cinema have spread beyond Hollywood all the way to Hamburg, Germany. Really.

The grandson of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg--the man who managed to set off a bomb in Adolf Hitler's Wolf's Lair in 1944 killing several members of Hitler's inner circle but not the Fuhrer himself--is unhappy that United Artists is set to produce the story of his grandfather's failed coup attempt with Cruise in the starring role.

Or as MSNBC's Scoop so cheekily puts it, "Tom Cruise is set to play the role of a man who tried to kill Adolf Hitler--but the descendants of the would-be assassin are saying 'nein' to the casting."

"I have nothing against him [Cruise] and can even separate his work from his beliefs in Scientology," the described staunchly Catholic Stauffenberg told the Scotsman. "But I and other family members are worried that the picture will be financed by the sect and be used to get across its propaganda."

Unfortunately the family Stauffenberg can do nothing about this. My grandfather is a figure from history," Stauffenberg added.

The Germans have been wary of Scientology for years; after all, they've had experience dealing with secretive and authoritarian groups. The government considers Scientology a secular organization that takes pernicious advantage of its membership. It keeps the organization under the surveillance of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The recent opening of a 43,000 square foot Scientology Center in Berlin has sparked renewed debate about the group.

Obviously, Cruise is trying to get back in to the good graces of both Hollywood and the heartland by trying to wipe the couch jumping memory right out of the public's head by playing an inspirational figure who represents right and good. But why choose Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg? This is a man who hails from a country whose government inherently distrusts the very religion that people blame for Cruise's career meltdown. Perhaps it's a wily publicity stunt--or a potential Oscar-caliber performance.

Or perhaps the greatest challenge Cruise will face with the film is not the controversy it foments, but as one publication has noted, Stauffenberg's Bavarian accent.

By now everyone should have been able to get to their recordings of "Battlestar Galactica," and we can safely discuss the riveting season finale. If you still haven't gotten to this Tivo'd episode ... stop reading and go watch it now!

All season finales are cliffhangers by nature, giving you a tantalizing glimpse into next year's storylines. But Galactica is the ultimate television tease. Thanks to its screwy schedule, viewers won't find any resolution until 2008. That's a real shame, because while the airwaves are full of shows that are ripped-from-the-headlines, Galactica really goes beyond the headlines--exposing layer after meaty layer.

The finale wrapped up the trial of Gaius Baltar, former president of the colonies and alleged collaborator of the Cylons, who are man-made machines bent on destroying humankind. Not only was he being tried for war crimes committed while he was acting as president on New Caprica under Cylon occupation, but Baltar set the entire drama in motion by supplying Number 6, a seductive Cylon, with the password that would disable the defense systems.

But Baltar, unaware of Number 6's true identity, did not realize until the very moment of Caprica's destruction what he had done. Afterwards he thought that perhaps his secret was safe, but unbeknownst to him, then Secretary of Education and current President Laura Roslin had seen him with Number 6.

The defense is having a very hard time making it's case. To top it off, Lampkin puts his co-counsel Lee Adama on the stand to testify that his father, Admiral Adama, who is acting as one of the three judges, is prejudiced against Baltar and that he should be removed from the case.

Instead of ratting out his dad--who did in fact make prejudicial statements--Lee begins to testify, in both the legal and religious sense of the word. Baltar, Lee says, did not break any law, since there was no intent of conspiracy in his delivery of the code. Lee also alludes to the fact that Baltar is in fact humanity's savior. Finally, in a brilliant speech, Lee says that most everyone has been forgiven for the crimes and discretions they've commited, but they are not willing to forgive Baltar.

The judges vote to acquit Baltar, including Admiral Adama. Read into it what you will, but the trial (and Lee's speech about forgiveness) capped a season full of complex references to the situations in Iraq, Gitmo, and on Capitol Hill.

Meanwhile, Col. Tigh, Anders, Tyrol, and Tory have all been hearing things--strains of an unfamiliar tune--and acting oddly. Coming upon each other in an unused workout room, the four of them come to the horrific realization that they are Cylons. They are four of the five unknown models that came before the seven models that we Galactica fans already knew about.

Spurred on by Tigh's refusal to believe he is a Cylon, Troy and Tigh head back to their positions assisting President Roslin and Admiral Adama, respectively. The song the four have been hearing? Bob Dylan's "All along the Watchtower," a tune full of apocalyptic, biblical imagery.

So, who's the fifth? Could it be President Roslin whose cancer has returned, forcing her back into the role of Moses--the dying leader who will never see the Promised Land but must fulfill the prophecy? Could it be Baltar who, with his Christ-like goatee and long hair, has been painted as an unsavory savior of mankind and has been petitioned to bless a child by at least one citizen?

Or could it be the presumed dead Starbuck who returns in the last scene of the episode promising Lee that she has found earth and will lead the fleet to it? And what of the two half-human/half-cylon children, Hera and Nicky? The new Adam and Eve? These final five are fundamentally different from the rest of the cylons. And what does this have to do with the cylon's God?

Of course, like many metaphysical matters, the answers will remain mystery, at least until the new year. But we can be thankful for small blessings, as several illuminating "history" episodes telling stories of the Pegasus and Admiral Cain (Michelle Forbes) will be delivered unto us in September.

I'm not in any way a gearhead. Give me spirituality over sparkplugs any day of the week. But I do love listening to National Public Radio's "Car Talk." So, yesterday when the Tappet brothers, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, said that they had a very interesting letter from Sanjay Shah (a Hindu listener from California) my ears perked up.

"Hey guys, I have a macabre question," started the missive. "I'm both Hindu and a car enthusiast. "

Hindus customarily get cremated when we die. I'm putting together my will and would like to require my ashes to be deposited into the gas tank of my favorite car," Shah wrote. "Then I want the car driven down my favorite river road in California. This is how I want my ashes poetically spread. My question is: Will this also poetically destroy the car? If so, I need to make sure the car is then driven directly to a Pick-N-Pull [auto dismantlers]."

The brothers agreed that, most likely, the ashes would get stuck in the air filter and that the car would go for a while. But a tow truck would be needed to help the car back to the garage once the filter gets clogged. One of the brothers suggested that Shah simply ask to have his urn sit in the back seat. But brother number two insisted that, this being Shah's last will and testament, his ashes should be able to be spread out in the exact manner he wished.

They also suggested that he could attach the open urn to the hood of the car, allowing his ashes to be spread amongst his favorite landscape as the car drove down the road.

The brothers answered the question just like any other question they receive--seriously, but with a good-natured, respectful sense of humor--the very reason I listen to the show. Not only did I find it to be refreshing fare on radio waves often full of shock jocks trying to get a guffaw from the latest "odd news" story, but it stood out as a surreal moment of religious pluralism.

Remember the days when "Ally McBeal" was only kind of quirky... before the dancing baby? Can you recall the name of the show that became the scene-chewing extravaganza known as "Boston Legal?"* Remember the thought-provoking "Picket Fences?"

Apparrently, the producer of all those shows, David E. Kelly, doesn't, judging from his latest foray into the dramedy field, "The Wedding Bells." The story of three sister wedding planners--Jane, Annie and Sammy Bell, get it?--who inherited their business, The Wedding Palace, from (irony alert) their divorcing parents! Along with a gaggle of zany characters--the sassy assistant, the passionate chef, the wedding singer with aspirations, the playboy photographer--the sisters deal with everything from Bridezillas to "gay" grooms to their own (more irony on its way) relationship problems.

Perhaps it's like medical professionals who just can't get into medical shows, but having once planned weddings to subsidize my graduate studies, I was less-than-engaged by the show's pilot--filled with wedding stereotypes, cookie cutter characters (the chef who is overly passionate about his food and his boss) and hard-to-swallow plot points (the youngest sister sleeps with one of the groomsmen; generally, a big no-no. And tacky, too).

Yet, every once in a while, a wonderfully crafted, heartfelt line would find its way above the fray and pull me back in, or I'd find myself smiling at an amusing moment that only wedding planners would nod knowingly at.

Last week's episode was more of the same: Although Sammy doesn't sleep with the usher who's in love with her, she just shoots him with a pellet gun in the... well, you get the idea. It's the photographer who ends up sleeping with a member of the wedding party. The storyline with the eccentric groom whom everyone assumes is gay because he wears feathered boas, and has his groomsmen sport purple boas, saved the episode with its delightful tale of a straight man raised by gay parents.

If you are looking for a zany, romantic dramedy to fill your Friday nights, then "The Wedding Bells" is a great catch. Personally, I've got commitment issues.

* The Practice

It recently charged past the video game behemoth known as "Madden NFL '07" to the number one spot in sales on Amazon.com. But could "Who Rules?": The Almighty Edition be enough to cause a group of 30 somethings to huddle...

Please note that the following review concerns only the centerpiece documentary "Addiction," which is part HBO's multi-faceted, multi-day "The Addiction Project."Let it be said that "The Addiction Project," HBO's multi-platform effort to educate the general public about the disease of...

Just once, I would like to be able to watch a movie and not have to worry about whether I should feel guilty about enjoying it. "300"--a stylized sword-and-sandal take on the epic Battle of Thermopylae, based on Frank Miller's...

Poor Madonna, she just can't catch a break--unless she's falling off a horse, that is. Once again, the Material Girl is catching flack, or should we say flap, for her choice of Purim party attire. According to MSNBC's Scoop, Madge...

Just as fashion magazines regularly christen every color of the rainbow to be "the new black" for the season, Hollywood A-listers seem to be saying so long to last season's Kabbalah and hello to Scientology. "Scientology is the Kabbalah of...

How much do we love Battlestar Galactica? Not only does this show deliver some of the most erotically charged, unconventional love scenes on television, but it also satiates our less carnal appetites while delivering some of the most metaphysical and...

How did you feel last week? Was everything running as normal, but something--something you couldn’t put your finger on--was different? Did you notice a certain "hotness" missing, even though the weather was mild?Perhaps you too were suffering from PHWS--Paris Hilton...