Last post of 2021: Lists from Twitter!
There’s some memes going around twitter about “10 things to know me” - specifically movies, books, tv shows, and comics (Oxford comma for the win!) - so I did those, plus a “5 favorite Star Wars characters” list to round out this post! A whole post based on listicles!
First off, 10 Movies to Know Me (time of recording, stealing a great joke from the awesome youtube channel Casually Comics) (did I just…link her channel using the video where she explains my favorite comic book character? Yes, yes I did):
Serenity (2005) - the movie that got me into TV, first by introducing me to Firefly, the series to which is was a sequel, after which I watched Buffy and most of Angel - but also a movie which has so many filmic techniques I love (oners! Focus pulls! Shots with half of a face in them!), and the central theme that humans cannot make humans more morally perfect - and any attempt to do so will result in much, much worse humans.
Peter Pan (2003) - This movie made me want to grow up at a time when I was really afraid of growing up (just before I went to college). And it has one of the most beautiful scores by James Newton Howard of all time.
A Man For All Seasons - the classic film for people who love great dialogue and great moral drama. Historically suspect, perhaps. But wonderful, wonderful crystallization of character, integrity, and poetry.
The Incredibles - The best superhero movie ever written - so tight, so intelligent, so full of warmth and love. And despite falling into the “father screws up best” cliche of the 90s and early 2000s (and probably today, still, though I’ve not done a pattern analysis of animated and family films recently), it still has a father who is utterly committed to his wife and kids. Plus the best score Michael Giacchino’s ever done - I don’t care that he’s won Oscars or whatever since - this is the best one.
Batman Begins - This movie not only got me into Batman comics (see the next film for more), but it finally gave me words for the discomfort and frustration I had with revenge movies. “Justice is about harmony. Revenge is about you making yourself feel better.” I am excited to see the new Batman film with Robert Pattinson, but the tagline of the latest trailer - “Justice equals vengeance” - has me very concerned. Could still be great, and I’m not going in hating it - but still. That’s the opposite of the message I think a Batman movie should have.
Spider-Man 2 - This is the movie that probably got me into comics, period. I really wanted to know more about Spider-Man after seeing this film on DVD at college (I actually saw the first film on DVD on a trip to the same college my senior year of high school the year before, so it felt very fitting). That transitional time of my life was very strongly paralleled by the journey of Peter Parker, and the comics I found - Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, the run of J. Michael Straczynski (from 2000-2007), and Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Bendis really dropped me into the delights of long stories, soap opera plotting (interconnected character arcs that overlap the stories of the week). Of course, Spider-Man also betrayed me - in 2007, they broke up his marriage to Mary Jane in one of the absolute worst comic book stories, and Spider-Man 3 came out. A lesson in not devoting your whole life to one franchise without being able to pull back - or critical distance, as I like to call it.
Return of the Jedi - Star Wars is a huge part of my imaginative life - there’s so much to it - the moral questions, the military aspect, the visuals - and though it’s got a lot of weaknesses in story structure and thematic depth, Return of the Jedi has the best space battle, some great themes by John Williams (of course), and a really great moral journey for Luke Skywalker.
Emma (2020) - a bit of a cheat - this film stands in for my love of Jane Austen, films based on her works, period drama, and adaptations in general. I do love this film a lot, though as you’ll see in my TV shows to know me, I tend to prefer miniseries adaptations to really get into the meat of a book. Emma is my favorite because I really see myself in the main character’s moral struggles with apathy, failing to live up to her potential, constrained world, meddling in other people’s lives badly, and hopefully, growing up and finding love. Plus, on the commentary, the screenwriter quotes my favorite Jane Austen literary critic, Marilyn Butler (Jane Austen and the War of Ideas), who I first read when I got into Jane Austen at 17, devouring books of criticism from my local university library, so it gets so many points from me!
Ever After - one of the first films I saw in theaters (I didn’t see many growing up), and a very sweet romance (despite my hating the whole Soulmate nonsense). And a truly wonderful score by George Fenton (I do love movie music, and am very disappointed in the Hans Zimmer domination of the genre in the past decade that has largely destroyed the tunefulness of the market)
Tangled - I love animation, and despite my dislike of musicals (West Side Story excepted), Tangled is a really lovely film. Some insightful though lost zoomers have said that if you love Tangled, you are deconstructing your faith right now - and I can see why they said that, but I am not. I am more firmly committed to my faith now than I was when I saw this film (not that it ever wavered that much), but I do see the appeal of feeling left out of a very strict family, finding a new “real” family, and having adventures when you first leave the home. But to some extent, I think most kids who grew up in a protective environment (and I think that’s the best place for most kids to grow up in) will have a sense of adventure and guilt when they make decisions for themselves. Like Spider-Man, that’s just life and growing up, and I think Tangled does a much better job with that more universal experience than the painful deconstruction process.
So there you have my films. Now to my 10 Books to Know Me (time of recording):
Emma - as I mentioned before, this is my favorite Jane Austen - but here, I’ll also mention the sheer gorgeousness of the prose. Austen is so well measured - not much description of physical places or people, but such vivid and powerful descriptions of character and relationship. The best novellist I have ever read.
Till We Have Faces - I had to have some C. S. Lewis on here, and Till We Have Faces has the most amazing structure - a first person novel which also basically has two points of view, based on circumstances. It feels so amazing that Lewis could hold in his head so much, make it all make sense with the massive perspective shift in the middle - and blow you away with emotion as well.
The Silmarillion - I love the Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion is the one that takes my heart out and freezes then thaws it. The passion of Feanor, the destruction of the Trees, the fall of Gondolin and the love of Tuor and Idril, and the wonderful and terrible victory over Morgoth, at such cost - the Battle of Unnumbered Tears - it’s a tragedy with hope, a eucatastrophe, as Tolkien coined.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes - one of the first adult books I loved. I have fallen out of love with the short story form, largely (in prose - I still like it in comics and tv) - but this is the way I enjoy it best - puzzles with strong emotions attached, problems with solutions, a hero who is flawed but still a modern day knight, saving those who cannot save themselves. I choose this particular collection because I love so many specific stories, from the heartwarming return in The Empty House, to the chilling codes of The Dancing Men, to the fiendish hiding place of the Norwood Builder, to the wild revenge of Charles Augustus Milverton - and so many more. Many think Holmes was never as good after he “died”, but I say there’s still plenty to love.
The Man Who Was Thursday - first read this book in Switzerland in a night when I was 14. It changed the way I think - gave me a passion to become a rebel against rebellion (very different in effect than a conformist, though you do take many of the same positions). I also loved the symbolism of the 7 “days”, and the sheer madcap hilarity of every ridiculous revelation. Some people think it’s a nightmare - to me, it’s just so funny and adventurous!
Gaudy Night - a book so full of character, romance, and the love of books and language and higher learning - it didn’t convince me to go to college or to become an English major, but it certainly helped set my love in that direction at 14. I didn’t understand so much of it when I first read it, but I still adored it, and I love rereading it as I get new things out of it every time.
Star Wars: X-Wing: Solo Command - I read the Star Wars movie novelizations before I saw the films, when I was 10. I never got into the kids books that much, except for the dreadful Jedi Prince series (now a major motion picture - see The Rise of Skywalker!) I love the 90s novels - especially the ones written by Timothy Zahn and Aaron Allston. Allston in particular shaped my love of military science fiction (long before I read Ender’s Game or Starship Troopers) - the band of brothers, the moral and ethical decisions you have to make, and even the morals and ethics in dating and falling in love. I find so much use and inspiration from Allston’s characters, trying to live the best life I can, just as they do, screwing up and picking myself up again. Hearing Allston talk about how he himself was very introverted and isolated, having a difficult time in social situations, makes so much sense of why I fell in love with so many of his characters, like Myn Donos, Lara Notsil, and of course, Wedge Antilles.
Star Wars: Vision of the Future - The book that could serve as the “end” of Star Wars, but also the springboard to so much more (that was sadly squandered 7 years later when editorial and Troy Denning decided to retell the prequel movies, destroying the main characters in the process). Timothy Zahn manages to combine so many plotlines in such a clear and elegant way, and on rereading twice in the last two years, accidentally tells a story our time needs to hear about tribalism, bigotry, redemption, healing, and hope.
Batman: Year One - cheating, and since I decided to do comics too, redundant, but I do think these four issues of comics - just about 88 pages - are a masterpiece I am not afraid to put up next to Jane Austen and J. R. R. Tolkien. The passion, complexity, storytelling, and art by David Mazzucchelli are simply of such high quality that it stands the test of time.
Ender's Shadow - Most people say Ender’s Game if they include a book from this series, but the character of Bean - who processes everything intellectually first, because he doesn’t understand his own emotions that aren’t instant reactions of survival - speaks to me on such a deep level - and his ability to find his way to being a leader despite a complete lack of interest and inborn ability inspires me to try harder in my own life to be a better friend and influence.
I am primarily a book guy, and this list was hard to pick (other than the first three), so the next list of TV shows was easier (though not necessarily a lot!)
Firefly - The first adult TV show I loved (I loved things like Wishbone, Reading Rainbow, etc, as a kid, but I don’t rewatch most of them - though I admit to watching some of the Wishbone Jane Austen adaptations on youtube, since you sadly can’t buy them). The characters, dialogue (futuristic patois), worldbuilding, and moral exploration is peak material - and finding so many zoomers and millenials discovering the show today and reacting to it on youtube is one of my very favorite things to do today.
Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett) - this and Pride and Prejudice are the only TV shows on here that I watched before I got to college. TV shows on DVD weren’t big in my youth, and my parents didn’t let us do a lot of TV as it was on (for which I’m genuinely grateful). This show helped me decide what I wanted to look like - wearing all black, embracing a more formal dress style instead of shorts, sweats, and jeans, and helping me figure out how to comb my hair instead of hating it sticking up all the time. Though my mother despaired when I picked up the star’s twitchy smile, I found his energy, romantic melancholy, and commitment to intelligence and justice (contrary to the current idea that he doesn’t care about morality or other people) incredibly magnetic and inspiring. Plus the strong filmic quality of the series and the very interesting way it interacted with the original texts got me fascinated in adaptation and comparison in analysis. Perhaps one of my very favorite things to do ever - comparing multiple things that are similar - from different flavors of soup, to the dozens of actors who played Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (I’m a Watson fan more than a Sherlock fan, despite my love of Jeremy Brett’s look and manner).
Terriers - Everyone watched Breaking Bad except for me - I followed Tim Minear from Firefly to this show - once again a half season show - that told a dark, bleak southern California noir tale of two private detectives too small to fail. The acting of the two leads (plus the younger one’s girlfriend) is just so strong, and the writing so sharp, it simply sticks with me. And I’m still so frustrated it’s not on DVD.
BBC Pride and Prejudice 1995 - Not quite perfect, but pretty darn close. It does have passion, though not as obviously as the Kiera Knightley/Matthew Macfadyen version - and it gives Jane Bennet (my true favorite character in the book) so much to do! (I do love Jane Bennet in nearly every version, even the bad ones like Lost in Austen.)
BBC Emma 2009 - A very different adaptation approach than Andrew Davies with P&P - Sandy Welch doesn’t really trust Jane Austen’s dialogue, but she does really grasp so many of the details that a film has to compress. Her use of Emma’s desire to see the sea is particularly well realized, and something I really identify with, since I didn’t really visit the ocean until I was in grad school (living in Minnesota means you see a ton of lakes, but no oceans :) ).
BBC Little Dorrit 2008 - the series that converted me from a hater of Charles Dickens to a deep fan. I still don’t love everything he wrote (Tale of Two Cities still bothers me with his attempts to meld his fantastical style with the real horror of the Revolution and the Terror), but this one manages to get me into the vast economic storyline, the drastic shifts in fortune, and the sheer decency of the two romantic leads (and I much prefer Matthew Macfadyen here than in Pride and Prejudice).
Elementary - where I show my contrarianism. Everyone loves Sherlock, and so few people know Elementary, despite the fact that it went for 7 seasons. The adaptation is harder to see than in the gaudy, surface level Sherlock, but it’s there in deep and exciting choices that invigorate the tired cliches of Moriarty, Irene Adler, and so many other standard tropes of Sherlock on film. It also convinces me with a gender and race swapped Dr. Watson, which is very difficult. So much wonderful acting talent, and a lot of really sharp visual directing, especially from co-star (Watson) who directed many episodes Lucy Liu, who really thought about her visuals.
The Wire (sans season 2) - I feel like a cliche for including this show, since I hated how everyone said it was the best show ever. But…it really is one of the best shows ever. The writing, though of course stylized, has a weight and reality about it that hits you like a brick. Each season is basically an episode of a Law and Order type show, but expanded to 10 episodes, and explored through the villains’ perspective as well as the heroes - showing the heroic quality of the villains, and the villainous failings of the heroes. Season two is exploitative and frustrating, but the other four seasons are masterful in their portrait of moral and political failure, yet also hope in human connection.
The Crown - Claire Foy from Little Dorrit drew me to this show initially, as did my love of Peter Morgan’s continued writing about the halls of power that he did so well in The Queen and The Special Relationship - and the show itself blew me away. A story of a family centered around one woman, and the damage it does to them, but also the aspirations and ideals that keep people, flawed and destructive, still dedicated to that one woman. (With all that being said, I’m still firmly American, and glad of it.)
Superman and Lois - perhaps a bit premature, as only the first season is out - but this show captured me after Batman v. Superman made me fall in love with Superman (such an odd reaction, I know, but here it is), showed me my absolute favorite Superman and Lois meeting ever in the first 4 minutes, and balanced the family of four (parents and twin sons) so delicately, all the while telling a very inspirational, corny, power of love Superman story that still gets me excited now.
Every time I talk about my favorite shows, I feel like I’m actually a very old person who loves shows for old people - so I’m glad to say that my comic book loves are just the same - comics that show that I love the period from 2000-2011. :)
Batgirl: Stephanie Brown - the series that took a character I liked a lot, and turned her into my absolute favorite. So much so that when the reboot in 2011 erased her from existence, I stopped reading all DC comics for 3 years. Stephanie Brown is an outsider - someone who doesn’t quite fit - but who finally finds her place and grows up a lot - and continues to struggle and grow. There’s so much wonderful craft in the writing, and so much lovely art by three incredibly talented pencillers (plus great coloring by Guy Major) - this gem of a 24 issue series deserves to be read and reread by anyone who loves comics.
Birds of Prey (Gail Simone) - The first really long run I love from beginning to end - though the cheesecake art can be offputting, there’s so much moral drama, relationship development, and character depth - I still adore Huntress and Oracle above almost all characters not named Stephanie Brown today.
Wonder Woman (Greg Rucka) - Turned me into a Wonder Woman fan, though perhaps ruined me for all the reboots and changes to her character done in 2011. A true greek tragedy, but one with a sense of hope and heroism that transcends the selfishness of gods and men.
Batman: Year One - see my books for my love of this comic.
Batman: Black Mirror - An actual sequel to Year One, but set 20 years later (does it actually work with the timeline? Nah - but it’s still such a masterful look at Gotham after two decades of Batman, and the struggles against evil by Batman’s children).
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane - A truly lovely manga-style slice of life comic about Mary Jane, Spider-Man’s true love, in high school, before she knows anything but that Peter Parker is a cute, kind nerd, Spider-Man is everything she wishes she had, and the trials of friendship in delicately crafted one-shots with careful character development through 28 issues (two miniseries and an ongoing run). I’m very glad this was recently reprinted, and hope that many people discover it and love it as much as I do. When I reread this comic, it makes me remember how much I can love comics, and always makes me prune what I’m buying today, because it doesn’t match up to the sheer quality of the writing and art.
Superman: Up in the Sky - Originally 12 one shots published in Walmart anthologies, this story by Tom King and Andy Kubert helped me continue to fall in love with Superman - showing how he never, ever gives up, through a crazy journey to save one little girl in a galaxy far, far away. The sheer storytelling energy of Kubert, despite my dislike of his actual drawing, reminded me to look at things outside of what I find instantly appealing. (I use this title as my Tom King choice, since King’s controversial Knightmares arc is what actually got me to fall in love with Bruce Wayne, after 10 years of strongly disliking the Batman who rejected Stephanie Brown until she killed herself trying to prove herself to him).
Deathstroke (Priest) - A villain book - generally not something I like at all - but Priest keeps the morality of what’s going on so clear (his Christianity really shines through here) - with a story with massive twists and turns all the way through, and wonderful callbacks all the time, showing a writer who’s used to crafting something in iterative layers, one of the benefits of serialization instead of trying to tell something all at once.
Astonishing X-Men - Another really early comic - the stunning glory of John Cassaday’s art, Laura Martin’s slick and textured coloring, and Joss Whedon’s slick and polished dialogue and sense of structure - a really great introduction to comics and the story potential you can get in a run of comics. Though I’m very glad I didn’t try to read it as it came out, but instead read it in trade (starting by reading it in airports while I flew back and forth between college and home).
X-Wing: Rogue Squadron - a comic I found in high school, because of my love of the X-Wing books - and one that highlights Michael Stackpole’s ability to develop a larger cast much better than his laser focus on Corran Horn in the prose novels allows. From Wedge’s perfect origin story (sadly destroyed by the frustratingly copycat version given in the Rebels TV show), to the story of Baron Fel, the Red Baron of the Empire, this series is an ensemble cast, military scifi book done right.
And lastly, as a bonus, my five favorite Star Wars characters! Thanks for sticking with me!
Mara Jade Skywalker - Recently put into the (sadly dull) mobile game Galaxy of Heroes (despite the dullness, I’m very happy to have earned the character!), Mara Jade’s journey from assassin for the Empire, enemy of Luke Skywalker, to brilliant warrior for the light and love of that same Luke is incredibly powerful. The recent Black Widow movie, flawed and frustratingly unsatisfying though it was, made me wish all the more that we got some kind of new Mara Jade content today. Though not in the current continuity. I have no desire for them to write themselves into another corner, and killing her off AGAIN (lest anyone tell you that Disney in the only thing that’s ruined Star Wars, I have a Troy Denning series to show you).
Wedge Antilles - Like Terry Pratchett’s lovely Sam Vimes, Wedge is the veteran who rose in the ranks who wishes he were still on the front lines because he feels most alive pulling the stick of a starfighter (or walking on dirty cobblestones in tattered boots), but his sheer integrity, intelligence, talent, and leadership keeps getting him promoted beyond where he wishes he could be. An inspiration to someone who’s deliberately chosen to avoid ambition because I don’t want to deal with the politics and hurt that come with it.
Tycho Celchu - the Star Wars Captain America (thanks to Rogue Podron for this insight) - the man devoted to ideals, service, and integrity in such a powerful way that I can’t help but love him.
Bastila Shan - the Jedi torn between passion and duty, but less frustratingly dumb than Anakin, voiced by the wonderful Jennifer Hale. I probably should have put Lara Notsil or Myn Donos here, as their struggles with isolation and morality are much more compelling, but I do love Bastila too, so I don’t regret anything!
Canderous Ordo - the man who turned me from a Mandalorian hater because Boba Fett does NOTHING impressive in the movies, and yet has so many fans - into someone who really likes the Mandalorians in Knights of the Old Republic 2 - quite impressive. And I love this icon I created for livejournal back in the day!
That’s it! For my new subscribers, I hope you enjoy this ridiculously long listicle! Let me know if you did, or didn’t!