Storytellersunplugged

Where Words Meet

Addiction

by John B. Rosenman

I’ve got a confession to make. A painful one.

I’ve become addicted, folks. I’m a junkie, and I need a fix.

Lately, I’ve needed that fix more and more. No, it’s not a needle in a pumped vein I need, and my addiction, despite a hearty habit, does not involve sex or thick burgers at Hardee’s. As far as I know, the particular monkey on my back lacks a name.

Okay, here it goes. I’ve kept you in suspense long enough. I’ve become addicted to . . . boxed sets.

I’m talking TV series here, the kind you can buy in thrift shops, discount video stores, and on e-bay. To mention a few, there’s The Twilight Zone (both old and new), The Outer Limits (both old and new), West Wing, Smallville, Lost, The Pretender, The Ray Bradbury Theater, 24, Carnivale, Lois and Clark, House, Medium, Masters of Horror, Tales from the Crypt . . . and the list goes on.

So many shows and so little time, especially since I work hard during the day and don’t have time to pop that DVD in until 11 at night or so. Yes, I need that fix more and more, but usually I resist the craving until it’s time to hit the bourbon.

I suppose I should have seen this coming. When I was a kid, I loved 50’s SF and Horror movies. Them!, War of the Worlds, The Thing, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms . . . I must have a couple of thousand movies in the house, oldie goldies and “creepy crawlies” as my wife likes to call them, not to mention Hitchcock, other suspense flicks, mainstream movie classics, and just about anything else you can imagine. While the leap to DVD TV series may be just the logical next step, it’s acquiring the compulsive, demented quality of the career collector who wants to own EVERYTHING, especially every genre movie or TV series ever made.

Addiction, they come in all kinds.

Lately, I noticed that I could buy the first season of The X-Files in pristine condition at a local Cash Converters for $30. Never mind that I was never a rabid fan of the show. It’s a cult classic, for Gawd’s sake. Still, you have to pick your spots, right? I mean, you can’t own everything, especially when your bedroom already resembles a cluttered Blockbuster’s.

Okay, enough preamble. Here’s my main point: Many of these series are remarkably good examples of writing and story-telling, and we can learn a lot from them. And even those that are seriously flawed are interesting in their own right. In general, TV series can be divided into two categories. One is the anthology series, where the episodes are basically self-contained, non-sequential. While they usually share a theme or gimmick (e.g., The Twilight Zone, Tales from the Crypt), they don’t tell or emphasize an ongoing story. In the second category (Lost, 24, etc.) they do tell such a story, and often use suspenseful cliffhangers to keep you watching.

Tonight, I’m going to talk about three series of the second category: Smallville, 24, and Carnivale. Please note that I reserve the right to revisit this subject in the future.

1. Smallville, 2001-. I’ve always liked Superman, partly because he’s a nice guy fighting for Truth, Justice, and the American way” and also because he has a painful, frustrating secret that keeps him – or Clark Kent – from scoring with Lois. Then again, I grew up with EC comics and dig people with super powers. And, if they are also potential saviors of the human race who can rescue us from a demonic, dastardly threat, all the better. This particular show has a lot that’s good going for it, beginning with a really rousing theme song (”Save Me”) and near-perfect actors playing the roles of Clark Kent, Clark’s adoptive parents, Lex Luthor and his father, Lionel. Plus there are neat villains and the gals ain’t bad either. Basically, the show centers on the archetypal contest between Good vs. Evil, especially as it involves Clark and Lex/Lionel. Lex, who struggles with a sinister dark side, is complex and especially fascinating. We sense he could go either way, but knowing his comic-book origins, we can guess which direction the scales will tip.

Still, it is the episodes in which Christopher Reeve appears that stand out the most in my mind. Reeve, arguably the best Superman ever, plays the role of Dr. Virgil Swann, a scientist who knows Clark’s secret, and serves as a wise mentor who can help Clark overcome his own demons and Show Him The Way, his sacred destiny. The episodes in which Reeve appears shine and elevate the series artistically. Sadly, though, Reeve died, allowing cheesy tendencies in the show to dominate.

The greatest flaw in the series is what even some fans call “a Freak of the Week” pattern, thanks usually to Kryptonite exposure. In episode after episode, someone challenges Clark for ascendancy or otherwise complicates his life. To consider just a few of the females, there’s one with the power of erotic pheromone persuasion; another who sucks the age out of people to keep herself young; a gal who gives people horrible hallucinations with a mere kiss. Hmm, I once knew a girl like that. Even sweet Lana is not exempt, having her body possessed by a 17th century witch. The trouble is, special powers are supposed to be special. When everyone (including a dog) has them, they lose their punch and dramatic power. Often, Clark becomes merely ordinary, especially when his powers are stripped away and given to someone else. Sometimes gimmicks work; unfortunately, at times, these almost sink the show.

But hey, that may be just my personal opinion. To tell the truth, I’ve had a problem with the X-Men for the same reason. Then again, “a freak a week” is faithful to the comic book. Still, I think this show could have been much better if its writers (notice that word!) had exercised more restraint.

2. 24, 2001-. Yes, it’s true. 24 is as good as folks and its awards say it is. If you ever wanted to learn about fast-action plotting, about throwing endless, seemingly insuperable obstacles in the hero’s path, just watch this show. Yep, once again Jack Bauer will not only save America’s ass, but he will do it even after the enemy stops his heart and he dies. And you thought Superman had special powers! Perhaps the most amazing thing, the guy never seems to have time to grab a sandwich or even take a dump.

I’ve heard of people who buy the boxed sets and stay up 24 hours straight just to watch them. On top of the non-stop action, there’s good characterization and good guy-secret villains who will fool you. If you tune into this show, be sure to check your blood pressure frequently. I take medication and the last time I checked, I had the blood pressure of a 14-year-old girl. Still, this show is . . . intense. You may want to break it up with Gilligan’s Island and Leave It to Beaver.

Does this show have any flaws? Hmm, perhaps a slight problem with credibility. I’m in the middle of the third season, and Jack once again manages to turn the tables by getting the drop on a guard. Somehow, he always seems to do that. But then, if you accept the baloney in James Bond and Mission: Impossible movies, you should have no trouble swallowing this. Get yourself a big bag of chips or popcorn and dig in.

3. Carnivale, 2003-2005. I have saved Carnivale for last, because it may be the best series I’ve ever seen. Like Smallville and 24, it portrays the battle between Good and Evil, Right and Wrong. Here, though, the battle is richer and deeper because it avoids the comic-book action schlock that mars Smallville and perhaps even 24. But it’s more than that. This series, which “follows a traveling carnivale as it wends its way across the Dust Bowl” during the Great Depression (official site), resembles an intricate, richly suggestive Symbolist poem. A crooked tree is not just a crooked tree, it’s a demonic parody of the Christian cross. A deck of cards (probably the show’s central symbol), is not just a deck of cards, but the battlefield on which the final battle of Armageddon will be fought. Or maybe it’s something else.

And the texture – have I said that it’s rich, intricate, and murky? Imagine a complex tapestry where the figure in the carpet interacts with other figures, all of them building up to something hugely significant. Watching it, I feel I can experience it over and over and not exhaust its allusiveness, never quite plumb its depths. As for the characters, they don’t exactly come out of Central Casting. In addition to sideshow freaks, we have other quirky characters, some deeply mysterious, such as Henry Scudder, the hero’s father. All these characters are fresh and different, and they dance sexually and otherwise to the music’s slow, haunting beat.

Have I intrigued you enough to watch it? I hope so. The sad part is that only two twelve-episode seasons of this already cult series were completed, leaving everything unresolved. At this point, I’ve seen seventeen episodes. I’m saving the last seven like they’re glasses of the world’s rarest, most exquisite wine. 24 may be gulped non-stop because it’s mass entertainment. However good, it doesn’t compare to this atmospheric masterpiece which must be savored, ideally in a boxed set without commercial interruptions.

Okay, that’s enough for now. Yesterday, I saw that the complete set of the late 60’s series The Prisoner is available at Cool Stuff for under $60. Great deal, huh? I’m off to buy it – that is, if some other addict hasn’t beaten my time.

Wish me well.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.