There is Much Peace in Serenity, and in Condor Photographing
I've just spent about an hour at SYGW and loved it
all from Popeye (kinda progressive stuff - dreams, self-aware
characters, etc.) to reviews of Planet of the Apes movies (where are #4
and 5?) to the review of Serenity, a much-loved movie (and its lead-in
TV series) in the Fra Borealis household.
I just want to add one comment re: the Firefly TV show: How is it that Whedon is able to create such compelling characters? I swear, by the end of the pilot episode, I cared - deeply - about every one of the characters. Mrs. Borealis and I have watched the entire series at least 4x (she's got a thing for Fillion. Me? I'm not saying . . . ) and, at the end of virtually every episode we say, "that's a great episode." Hell, even the minor characters (Mal & Zoe's army buddy, the petty criminal with the bowler hat, etc) are sharply focused and complex.
Also - and now I'm at risk of blabbering - Mrs. B and I both appreciate the fact that, though this i a futuristic, sci-fi, space series, there are no aliens! The drama comes from humans interacting - no need for cyborgs, slimy extraterrestrials, or vaguely vegetable-looking "others" . . . just you and me, pal, and the hard times that living outside the Alliance bring. For a while, you suspect the Revers are aliens . . . but . . . Okay, last point; I prefer my spelling of the Revers because it suggests "reverse" which is, I think, one way of describing what happened to these particular humans.
Thanks for the YouTube link to the Bob & Ray routine, "Condors." What I think is so amazing about this bit (and characteristic of so much B&R work) is the lengthy lead-in . . . it's a good two minutes before one realizes what the joke is (that the expert is an expert by virtue of very dubious evidence). One sits there wondering where this is all leading and, as it unfolds (unravels?), the payoff is that much greater for the investment made . . . I mean, you KNOW it's going somewhere but you're not quite sure where. I guess it's the exact opposite of telegraphing (though some telegraphing can be genius, too, like some repetitive comedy). Also, though Ray,as the interviewer, gets increasingly skeptical of Bob's claims, he never becomes agitated with Bob - he is unfailingly polite and ever-hopeful that the NEXT photo will provide some concrete evidence of the condors. It's such POLITE comedy which makes it stand apart from almost ever other comedy from Fields to Sandler (though by using those names in the same sentence, please don't assume I equate the two - they're simply time references).
Anyway, thanks for the chance to see this comic minimalists at their best.
Tim (Unpaid Consultant "Fra Borealis"), Vermont
I've just spent about an hour at SYGW and loved it
all from Popeye (kinda progressive stuff - dreams, self-aware
characters, etc.) to reviews of Planet of the Apes movies (where are #4
and 5?) to the review of Serenity, a much-loved movie (and its lead-in
TV series) in the Fra Borealis household. I just want to add one comment re: the Firefly TV show: How is it that Whedon is able to create such compelling characters? I swear, by the end of the pilot episode, I cared - deeply - about every one of the characters. Mrs. Borealis and I have watched the entire series at least 4x (she's got a thing for Fillion. Me? I'm not saying . . . ) and, at the end of virtually every episode we say, "that's a great episode." Hell, even the minor characters (Mal & Zoe's army buddy, the petty criminal with the bowler hat, etc) are sharply focused and complex.
Also - and now I'm at risk of blabbering - Mrs. B and I both appreciate the fact that, though this i a futuristic, sci-fi, space series, there are no aliens! The drama comes from humans interacting - no need for cyborgs, slimy extraterrestrials, or vaguely vegetable-looking "others" . . . just you and me, pal, and the hard times that living outside the Alliance bring. For a while, you suspect the Revers are aliens . . . but . . . Okay, last point; I prefer my spelling of the Revers because it suggests "reverse" which is, I think, one way of describing what happened to these particular humans.
Thanks for the YouTube link to the Bob & Ray routine, "Condors." What I think is so amazing about this bit (and characteristic of so much B&R work) is the lengthy lead-in . . . it's a good two minutes before one realizes what the joke is (that the expert is an expert by virtue of very dubious evidence). One sits there wondering where this is all leading and, as it unfolds (unravels?), the payoff is that much greater for the investment made . . . I mean, you KNOW it's going somewhere but you're not quite sure where. I guess it's the exact opposite of telegraphing (though some telegraphing can be genius, too, like some repetitive comedy). Also, though Ray,as the interviewer, gets increasingly skeptical of Bob's claims, he never becomes agitated with Bob - he is unfailingly polite and ever-hopeful that the NEXT photo will provide some concrete evidence of the condors. It's such POLITE comedy which makes it stand apart from almost ever other comedy from Fields to Sandler (though by using those names in the same sentence, please don't assume I equate the two - they're simply time references).
Anyway, thanks for the chance to see this comic minimalists at their best.
Tim (Unpaid Consultant "Fra Borealis"), Vermont