Buffy, gothicism, postmodernism

[Beer_Nut]

Now I really see where you're going with this. The trickster certainly would be a transitional character and I can see some aspects of it in Buffy's character. The way I see it both Buffy and the villans could play the part, since the trickster can be both good and evil.

I definitely would link gothic culture with times of doubt and fear in society. Perhaps it is the trickster who writes a gothic story in order to make us face our "darker halves" and question societies problems by allowing us to view society from a darker perspective.

The more I think about it, the less I like the trickster archetype. To me it is contradictory to have an archetype that is both good and evil, especially when there is no direct motive for the change. It definitely seems to stem from chaos theory and leads me to think that trickster's part in the scheme of things is nothing more than a chance occurrance.

I think that a possible way to look at it is that society's woes are reflected in the rise of gothic culture, which in turn prepares us for the snowball effect of change that will sweep in to "fix" the problem. (it makes sense in my head)

Anyways I've babbled alot now and if the majority of it is nonsense I blame it on the fact that I haven't slept in 36 hours.

 

[goldenboy]

"”Was looking for trends with architecture too:


"...there remains a portion of the religious population that refuses to let classic church design fade quietly into the natural progression of things. When they hear the word "church," it conjures up images of a neo-Gothic sanctuary: soaring spires, stone arches, leaded stained glass and heavy, ornate furniture. Such devotees are the reason some architects say a neo-Gothic revival is on the horizon.

"They want glass and shadows and color and all those things that make them want to pray," explains Ethan Anthony, president of HDB Architects in Boston, Mass. "If everything is revealed and seen and there's no ambiguity, their imagination has nowhere to go..."

"...while modern architecture professors often discourage studying buildings from the past, the Neo-Gothic Movement (1890-1940) was inspired by the Gothic Revival. Like the Gothic Revival, neo-Gothic architecture is based on ecclesiastical architecture of the medieval period from 1000 AD through the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, about 1535. "Unlike the Gothic Revival, which had to be historically accurate, neo-Gothic was meant to be a living continuation of the principles of Gothic architecture adapted to today's conditions of construction and society in new and inventive ways..."

"...The neo-Gothic Movement halted, however, with the end of the Second World War. "The generation that returned to civilian life resumed interrupted educations and learned to design in International style," Anthony explains. "Having seen the world both threatened and then saved by technology, [this] generation embraced a technology-based approach to life." As such, new commissions for schools and other public buildings went to the new style of architecture. "

http://www.churchbusiness.com/articles/141feat1.html


"”Growing up, going to Catholic school, attending Mass, I wanted, craved the traditional. Didn't like our modern-looking church, hated the sing-songy guitar Mass, yuck. The more ornate, and "gothic" the churches, the stained glass, the music, the better. I can't remember not having that preference.

So, neo-goth in church design apparently stalls immediately after WW2, as do overt, serious goth themes in American film (I suspect).

 

[goldenboy]

Sci-fi, Fantasy and Horror Return to TV

"So what made "X" stand out? "My theory," Spotnitz says, "and I could be wrong, is that on network television, you start from reality. The premise needs to feel credible, like it could be happening in the world we all live in. Without that, there are just too many people in the large, large tent that network television represents who aren't even willing to give it a try.

"You need to make it feel like a show they would watch, a mystery show, a police show, then introduce the far-out element."

As did "The X-Files," Grillo-Marxuach thinks "Lost" may be helping to change the perception that genre shows aren't for grown-ups.

"If we have helped genre television get to the adult table, that's great," he says. "Genre television has done a lot of growing up in the last few years. There's a willingness on the part of writers to approach it the way writers of literary science fiction do, which is to make it about things that are important to the audience, which is character and all that, and not think of it merely as a vessel for eye candy and cool stuff."

Fans may have enjoyed the alien-conspiracy subplot on "X-Files," but they loved Mulder and Scully. On "Lost," if we ever see the invisible menace, would we care if our beloved Jack, Sawyer, Hurley, Kate, Locke and the rest weren't in mortal danger? Special effects can't compensate for cardboard characters or hackneyed plots.

"At the end of the day," Grillo-Marxuach says, "it's not whether you're doing reality, genre or procedural, it's whether you're doing it really well and the audience responds to it."

http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271|95816|1|,00.html



"”So, somewhat gothic sci-fi and fantasy is apparently coming back with a vengence this fall after the death of X-Files, and in the wake of Lost"”the last truly large, mainstream successes (no offence to Buffy/Angel)

I think I agree with this Spotnitz guy. Mass popular success for a fantasy "genre" series requires that it be grounded in a credible earthly reality. X-Files and Lost have that in my opinion. You can accept that the characters exist in a "real", (non-genre) setting"”and seriously freaky stuff just starts to happen. It just lets the mainstream masses accept a show. I like it all, myself.

I think Joss could have been Chris Carter, David E. Kelly huge on TV had he been interested in a more "real-world" series. But I'm certainly glad he does what he does.

I wonder what percentage of these new shows will actually survive a full season?

 

[goldenboy]

Surface (NBC) Sept. 19 mon

Ever wonder what life would be like if a new form of sea life began to appear in locales all over the Earth? Naval officers in the South Antarctic Sea, a family in San Diego, the Oceanographic Institute in Monterey, and fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico are about to find out. The organisms are beautiful, but are these innocent creatures more than what they seem? Embark on this unfathomable journey to discover what might be lurking just below the surface.
  
Cast:
Lake Bell, Jay Ferguson, Rade Sherbedgia, Carter Jenkins, Leighton Meester

http://www.nbc.com/NBC_First_Look/newseries/surface/





Supernatural (WB) Sept. 13 tues

The WB has a rich tradition of interweaving character dramas and the world of the supernatural. It began with Buffy The Vampire Slayer and continues today with hits like Smallville and Charmed.

This fall, The WB will usher in a new generation of storytelling set in the dark world of the unexplained. Filmmakers McG (Charlie's Angels, The OC), Eric Kripke (Boogeyman), and Midas' touch director David Nutter are teamed to take audiences on the next WB thrill ride.

Gilmore Girls' breakout star Jared Padalecki and Smallville's Jensen Ackles are Sam and Dean Winchester; two young brothers bound by tragedy and blood to a dangerous, "other-worldly" mission. Crisscrossing the country in their '69 Chevy Impala, they carry on their missing father's quest to seek out and silence the supernatural forces responsible for their mother's murder twenty years ago.

A Warner Bros. Television Production Inc., in association with Wonderland Sound and Vision. From executive producers McG and Peter Johnson with writer/executive producer Eric Kripke and director/executive producer David Nutter (Without a Trace, Smallville, Band of Brothers, The West Wing, ER, The X Files).

http://www.thewb.com/Shows/Special/0,11116,230079||,00.html





Invasion (ABC) Sept. 21 wed

From famed writer/producer Shaun Cassidy (Cold Case, American Gothic, Cover Me) comes a suspenseful tale of a blended family trying to recover from a devastating hurricane and its mysterious aftermath.
For centuries man has searched the skies for signs of intelligent life forms. What if those life forms were already here? And what if some of the natural disasters we've been experiencing of late were merely smokescreens to mask something far more ominous?
For dedicated park ranger Russell Varon (Eddie Cibrian, Third Watch), a divorced father of two who is expecting a third child with his new wife, local television reporter Larkin Groves (Lisa Sheridan), the hurricane proves to be merely the beginning of a long journey into the unknown. Always skeptical about the paranoid conspiracy theories of his wayward brother-in-law, Dave (Tyler Labine, ABC's That Was Then), Russell may have to revise his thinking when a number of bizarre occurrences start taking place in his community. Though Russell's young daughter, Rose (Ariel Gade), claims to have seen hundreds of lights floating towards the water during the storm, Russell initially dismisses her claim - until he begins to suspect that something is very wrong with his ex-wife, Dr. Mariel Underlay (Kari Matchett, Angel Eyes). The morning after the storm, Mariel is found naked in the water -- with no memory of what transpired the night before.
As the tiny town of Homestead, Florida struggles to rebuild itself, Sheriff Tom Underlay (William Fichtner, 2005's The Longest Yard, Black Hawk Down, Armageddon, Go, Contact) -- who is married to Russell's ex-wife -- suspiciously orders the entire area quarantined. Russell starts to investigate the strange goings on and unknowingly begins a fight for the survival of his family, his community, and what might ultimately be the whole human race.
Shaun Cassidy created the series and serves as executive producer. Lawrence Trilling (director -- Alias, Nip/Tuck, Scrubs) is co-executive producer and multiple Emmy Award-winning director Thomas Schlamme (The West Wing, ER, Sports Night) is executive consultant. Invasion is from Shaun Cassidy Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Production Inc.

CAST
William Fichtner: Sheriff Underlay, Eddie Cibrian: Russell, Lisa Sheridan: Larkin, Kari Matchett: Mariel, Tyler Labine: Dave, Evan Peters: Jesse, Ariel Gade: Rose, Alexis Dziena: Kira, Aisha Hinds: Mona Gomez

http://abc.go.com/primetime/schedule/2005-06/invasion.html





Night Stalker (ABC) Sept. 29 thurs

There are things in the dark, things adults deny but children are right to fear"¦
When a pregnant woman is snatched from her home, the shocked citizens of L.A. believe it's an act of domestic violence. But crime reporter Carl Kolchak suspects that the truth is far more complicated. That's because 18 months ago, Kolchak's wife was killed in a bizarre fashion and he has been the FBI's #1 suspect ever since.
Kolchak's determination to find out the truth behind his wife's mysterious murder has led him to investigate other crimes that seem to have some kind of supernatural component. But he's trying to piece together a puzzle that keeps changing its shape. Who or what is committing these crimes? How are they all related? And why do some victims end up with a strange red mark on their hands in the shape of a snake? With sidekick Perri Reed, a sexy if skeptical fellow reporter in tow, Kolchak will go to any lengths to answer these questions. But when he does discover the truth "“ will anyone believe him?

CAST
Stuart Townsend: Carl Kolchak, Gabrielle Union: Perri Reed, Eric Jungmann: Jain McManus, Cotter Smith: Vincenzo

http://abc.go.com/primetime/schedule/2005-06/nightstalker.html





Threshold (CBS) Sept. 16 fri

In the middle of the ocean, a cargo freighter makes a chilling discovery: an extraterrestrial craft has landed on earth. Enter Molly Anne Caffrey (Carla Gugino), recruited to await the planet's first contact, along with a carefully assembled team made up of a brilliant physicist with strong religious beliefs, a language and communications expert and a highly trained covert operative. Together they implement the long-gestating Operation: Threshold, charged with finding out the purpose of the landing and the fate of the ship's crew, and preparing for the worst-case scenario of an alien invasion.

Cast
Carla Gugino as Molly Anne Caffrey
Charles S. Dutton as JT Baylock
Brent Spiner as Nigel Fenway
Rob Benedict as Lucas Pegg
Brian Van Holt as Cavennaugh
Peter Dinklage as Arthur Ramsey

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/threshold/





Ghost Whisperer (CBS) Sept. 23 fri

Jennifer Love Hewitt returns to series television in a riveting look at the link between the living and the dead, between life and death. Inspired by the cases of famed psychic James Van Praagh, it focuses on a young newlywed endowed with the unique ability to communicate with spirits, who has spent her entire life coping with this extraordinary gift, but who also yearns to lead an ordinary life--if only the dead would stop talking. And what they are saying leads her to some unusual psychic investigations.

Cast
Jennifer Love Hewitt as Melinda Gordon
David Conrad as Jim Clancy
Aisha Tyler as Andrea Moreno

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/ghost_whisperer/





"”OK, the Big Three each have an alien-invasion-aquatic-creature show. What's up with that? Which one will survive?

"Supernatural" is the most generic name for a show since "Friends". Ugh. Seems like the premise may be too narrow. Sounds more like an arc for part of one season rather than a whole series. Cruisin' around in a '69 Impala sounds good to me though. If "Charmed" can last for years...

The re-make of "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" could be good. That's the show that helped inspire Chris Carter to create "The X-Files".

http://www.scifi.com/kolchak/overview/