A Wizard Did It
May. 19th, 2011 08:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vovatThis week's Simpsons episode had an interesting premise, but it gave me the feeling of something that I hadn't seen being parodied, with that whole Bus 23 thing. I did like it, though, especially the part with Bart trying to do something bad with the keys but ending up helping people instead. The Cletus joke was pretty gross, though. Homer's joyride in the Duff Blimp was less enjoyable, but a nice callback, considering how he missed out on the chance of a blimp ride back in "Lisa the Beauty Queen." And all the plots came together at the end, which was a nice touch. One bit where I think they dropped the ball was having Nelson be the one who'd been held back really often. Wouldn't the obvious choice for this have been Kearney? Since Bart and Nelson were in kindergarten together, as per "Lisa's Sax," I don't think Nelson has been held back yet. The Bob's Burgers episode was good, but the Family Guy was all over the place. I mean, I guess it was supposed to be, and it's not like they don't have irrelevant gags that go on too long in most other episodes, but it just felt even more disorganized than usual. Also, did you notice that when they parodied the American Dad opening with Joe, it was the old opening with the newspaper gag?
In other news, I've been thinking about how I'm more of an analytical fan than a critical one. Maybe this distinction doesn't make sense to anyone else, but I guess what I mean is that I'm mostly interested in how imaginary worlds fit together, and that includes accepting material from entries that aren't quite up to snuff. There seems to be a lot of agreement that The Cowardly Lion of Oz and The Scalawagons of Oz are fairly weak parts of the series, but I still use them in my research. I guess I was thinking of this because I saw people being really critical of the Star Wars prequels, and while they do have their flaws, I'm more interested in what they add to the mythos. Mind you, I really didn't like the midichlorian thing, but I've never been all that keen on only people with the right genetics being able to use magic (and The Force is, for all intents and purposes, magic). It's the same way in Harry Potter, really. If you're a Muggle, you're out of luck. I tend to see it more like other skills, where there's a genetic component, but that doesn't mean the people who don't have a natural knack for something can't do it if they practice enough. It's like the Wizard of Oz says in Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz: "Magic is like any other science--it takes practice. Of course, if you are a born fairy like Ozma and the former rulers of Oz, working spells and charms just comes natural--like playing the piano by ear. But if you are not a Fairy, you must study witchcraft and sorcery as I have done with Glinda the Good. It only has been by continuous study and research that I have managed to perfect myself in the arts of wizardry." That's a personal preference, though, and you can make magic work however you want in your imaginary universe. Kind of weird that we wouldn't hear a thing about these midichlorians in an entire trilogy about The Force and the Jedi, however, isn't it?
I do, however, have a tendency to be a bit obsessed with continuity. Getting back to The Simpsons, I realize the show isn't going to have perfect continuity, especially with time passing and the characters never aging. Still, I like a certain amount of consistency, which is why, for instance, I think saying Ned Flanders was sixty was a dumb move. And "Viva Ned Flanders," the episode in which this was stated, isn't even bad. It's just that this doesn't fit with what we knew about the character. I am not, as a general rule, a comic reader, but from what I've read and heard ABOUT the most popular comic titles, the creators seem to want to have it both ways. They'll come up with really complex continuities, then throw them out and reboot everything once they've gotten too convoluted, which sounds like a compromise that will please nobody. I think part of why I haven't gotten into comics is how confusing all the continuity stuff is. I know the main characters, but not everything they've been involved in recently, so where would I start? I have begun reading Neil Gaiman's Sandman, however, since I've had it suggested to me before. I found it a little hard to tell what was going on in the first volume, but the second one is pretty good so far. The convention for serial killers was clever, and I like all the references to mythology. Maybe I'll offer a more complete review at some point.
I was going to close with a bit on Harold Camping's doomsday prediction, but I decided that was better suited for a WordPress post. So I guess that's it for now.
In other news, I've been thinking about how I'm more of an analytical fan than a critical one. Maybe this distinction doesn't make sense to anyone else, but I guess what I mean is that I'm mostly interested in how imaginary worlds fit together, and that includes accepting material from entries that aren't quite up to snuff. There seems to be a lot of agreement that The Cowardly Lion of Oz and The Scalawagons of Oz are fairly weak parts of the series, but I still use them in my research. I guess I was thinking of this because I saw people being really critical of the Star Wars prequels, and while they do have their flaws, I'm more interested in what they add to the mythos. Mind you, I really didn't like the midichlorian thing, but I've never been all that keen on only people with the right genetics being able to use magic (and The Force is, for all intents and purposes, magic). It's the same way in Harry Potter, really. If you're a Muggle, you're out of luck. I tend to see it more like other skills, where there's a genetic component, but that doesn't mean the people who don't have a natural knack for something can't do it if they practice enough. It's like the Wizard of Oz says in Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz: "Magic is like any other science--it takes practice. Of course, if you are a born fairy like Ozma and the former rulers of Oz, working spells and charms just comes natural--like playing the piano by ear. But if you are not a Fairy, you must study witchcraft and sorcery as I have done with Glinda the Good. It only has been by continuous study and research that I have managed to perfect myself in the arts of wizardry." That's a personal preference, though, and you can make magic work however you want in your imaginary universe. Kind of weird that we wouldn't hear a thing about these midichlorians in an entire trilogy about The Force and the Jedi, however, isn't it?
I do, however, have a tendency to be a bit obsessed with continuity. Getting back to The Simpsons, I realize the show isn't going to have perfect continuity, especially with time passing and the characters never aging. Still, I like a certain amount of consistency, which is why, for instance, I think saying Ned Flanders was sixty was a dumb move. And "Viva Ned Flanders," the episode in which this was stated, isn't even bad. It's just that this doesn't fit with what we knew about the character. I am not, as a general rule, a comic reader, but from what I've read and heard ABOUT the most popular comic titles, the creators seem to want to have it both ways. They'll come up with really complex continuities, then throw them out and reboot everything once they've gotten too convoluted, which sounds like a compromise that will please nobody. I think part of why I haven't gotten into comics is how confusing all the continuity stuff is. I know the main characters, but not everything they've been involved in recently, so where would I start? I have begun reading Neil Gaiman's Sandman, however, since I've had it suggested to me before. I found it a little hard to tell what was going on in the first volume, but the second one is pretty good so far. The convention for serial killers was clever, and I like all the references to mythology. Maybe I'll offer a more complete review at some point.
I was going to close with a bit on Harold Camping's doomsday prediction, but I decided that was better suited for a WordPress post. So I guess that's it for now.
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