(Display Name not set)July 2006 Archives

After initial high hopes for "Hex," the BBC America's new budding-witch-goes-to-high-school series, my expectations have plummeted as the 10-episode pilot season comes to a close (the last episode airs next week). The series has all the makings of a supernatural hit: It's set in an eerie, gothic, British country mansion that serves as a boarding school for high school students; the central character, Cassie, discovers she's descended from a long line of witches dating back for thousands of years; her best friend Thelma dies in the first episode and comes back into Cassie's life as a ghost; and then there's the hottie Azaziel--the dark fallen angel who's in love with Cassie.

Yet with all the potential of its lore, characters, and setting, the show is very, very low on the witchcraft and high on the sex obsession. The entire season has revolved around Cassie's sex life (and Thelma's lack of one now that she's a ghost): fluctuating between who Cassie will be shagging next and the dire consequences of shagging a fallen angel even though he's really hot (apparently even having sex with angels requires condoms).

The last several episodes, however, have shifted the series from tolerable to absurd. After Azaziel finally gets his heart's desire and 200 Nephilim (scary gargoyle-looking demons, not to be confused with the very human-looking Nephilim from ABC Family's television movie "Fallen," which aired earlier this week), a new character, Ella Dee, shows up to single-handedly cut down each and every Nephilim one by one. Ella even has a fighting stick that looks remarkably like a stake, and she also arrives with her very own ancient-looking chest of various weapons that she can use against the scary demon creatures. Sound familiar (ahem, Buffy)? Oh, and I shouldn't forget the matching attitude and sarcastic wit.

Don't the creators know that television viewers have been there, done that? That we can see how they are copying another famous slayer-girl character? Apparently not. I'll give "Hex" until its season finale to make a final decision, but I'm guessing my days watching "Hex" will be limited to Season One.

Most fans of "The Colbert Report" know by now that its hilariously truthy host Stephen Colbert moonlights as a good Catholic family man. Last night his Catholic leanings were put to the test by his guest, William Donohue, president of the Catholic League, who made quite an impression.

My curiosity was piqued when Colbert announced the name and affiliation of last night's guest at the beginning of his show. I wanted to see how the Catholic Colbert would fare sparring with an arch Catholic conservative such as Donohue, known for his media savvy and controversial public statements. Though the Catholic League's mission is to further "Catholic civil rights" and fighting anti-Catholicism in America, somehow that often translates to a lot of efforts against gay-rights initiatives such as same-sex marriage. And last night, Donohue's rhetoric didn't disappoint, as he went on and on about how the one thing that unites conservative Catholics, evangelical Christians, and Orthodox Jews is the evil, secular left. His commentary was sure to offend just about any group that might be watching, aside from religious conservatives like himself (including liberal women and Jews, gays, and people who are not in support of Bush right now). I searched for the clip on YouTube but so far, no one has posted it (though you can see Donohue go on about the "Jews and Hollywood" if you wish).

The biggest question I was left with following the show: What exactly did Mr. Colbert think of this fellow Catholic? He was rather silent last night and not nearly as hard-hitting with his guest as one might expect. Was he simply overwhelmed by Donohue's sharply stated views or was he somehow agreeing with what Donohue stands for? I certainly hope not. Listening to Donohue reminded me of the perennial question I am always asking myself: Whether there's any place for someone like me in a Church with powerful men who offend me like Donohue does. Public figures like Colbert generally give me hope that indeed there is room. But after last night, a girl has to wonder.

In an article for The New York Times, Clive Thompson reports that video games--at least some of them--are turning their attention away from mangling bodies for pure sadistic pleasure and oggling impossibly endowed women for that other kind of pleasure. Called "serious games," these newfangled video games allow players to try their hands at solving the Middle East peace crisis--as either the Palestinian president or the Israeli prime minister--or fight the Janjaweed, in a game called "Darfur is Dying."

An Israeli-born developer for "Peacemaker" (which is about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict), Asi Burak, told Thompson that "people get very engaged [in the game]. They really try very hard to get a solution. Even after one hour or two hours, they'd come to me and say, you know, I know more about the conflict than when I've read newspapers for 10 years."

The United Nations gives away their own video game for free online called "Food Force," the subject of which is obvious from the title, and MTV is behind the popular "Darfur is Dying," also given away for free. Of the latter, Thompson reports that, "In the first month alone, 700,000 people played it. Of those, tens of thousands entered an 'action' area of the game--political action, that is--where they can send email messages to politicians and demand action on Darfur."

As a former video game addict myself (I had to give it up years ago so I could enjoy a normal life), I know how engaging games can be--drawing a player in for hours to solve a single task just to get to the next level. It's fascinating to imagine what hundreds of thousands, even millions, of young gamers might come up with if, all at once, they were engaged for hours on end, day after day, in solving the Middle East peace crisis. Maybe we'd actually get somewhere.

ABC Family's original movie, "Fallen" which aired last night (Sunday) and promised all sorts of exciting enchantments--prophecies, redemption, destinies revealed, and the lore of fallen angels--fell far short of my hopes for movie magic. In fact, rather than a movie, "Fallen"-- starring Paul Wesley as Aaron Corbett, a boy who wakes up on his 18th birthday to discover that he is half-angel, half-human, called a Nephilim--feels more like a series pilot than a movie that brings closure to its storyline.

The story begins with myth, narrated with images and a voiceover by Aaron who explains to viewers:

When God created man, jealous Lucier mounted a great rebellion in heaven. His army of angels was defeated and forever banished from Paradise. These angels, The Fallen, abandoned Lucifer, choosing to live on Earth among the pleasures of humans. They took more wives and fathered abominations--Children called Nephilim, with the power of angels, but the souls of men. Angry, the Creator flooded the Earth, killing the Nephilim and driving The Fallen into hiding. He sent The Powers, fierce warrior angels to hunt those that survived the flood. But there was hope for The Fallen in a prophecy. A Nephilim would be born who would redeem them and return them to Paradise. So the Fallen watched...and waited....

Of course, Aaron turns out to be the Nephilim prophesized as the redeemer. A large part of the plot involves Aaron discovering this unwanted destiny that will take him away from the family that loves him and put him in the treacherous path of The Powers who want to destroy him. Without the promise of deeper storyline development, however, "Fallen" feels thin on plot and unfortunately comic at moments, since a lot of the dialogue is conducted between Aaron and his dog Gabriel (yes Gabriel, like the angel). The dog-speak is finessed by the fact that Aaron, as the redeemer-Nephilim, can understand all languages including those of the animals, though it was a campy choice for a movie that takes itself very seriously.

Apparently it's not a coincidence that I felt I was watching a pilot episode rather than a fully developed film, since ABC Family plans to air a six-hour sequel mini-series next summer. So viewers have not seen the last of "Fallen," though why ABC would decide to air such an open-ended, "to be continued" story a full year before revealing more is a mystery to me.

And I can't help wondering: What came first, the BBC's "Hex" or ABC's "Fallen"? I only ask because "Hex's" story arc revolves entirely around the Nephilim as well. I'm not sure television has room for two Nephilim-centered stories. One seems enough to me.

The Christian power-house publisher Zondervan, together with Media Group, has plans to release a star-studded audio-version of the New Testament with Samuel L. Jackson playing the voice of God, and Forest Whitaker as Moses--to name just a few Hollywood luminaries showing up on their voice-roster. Also included are: Angela Bassett, Blair Underwood, and Oscar-winning actors Denzel Washington and Cuba Gooding, Jr.

In a recent press release, Zondervan explained the motivations behind such a grand endeavor:

"Inspired By Media Group, producers of the project, selected the TNIV (Today's New International Version of the New Testament by Zondervan) version based on its superior combination of accuracy and readability. The goal of utilizing the TNIV is to increase the audio Bible's reach to the 18-to-34 demographic while simultaneously creating a product that will appeal to the mature consumer."

The All-Star Bible is due to release some time during this October.

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