Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress

reviewing 3 Body Problem; Black Doves; Bosch; Citadel; Criminal Minds; Dark Matter; Dexter: Original Sin; Dune: Prophecy; For All Mankind; Foundation; Hijack; House of the Dragon; Luther; Outlander; Presumed Innocent; Reacher; Severance; Silo; Slow Horses; Star Trek: Strange New Worlds; Surface; The: Ark, Day of the Jackal, Diplomat, Last of Us, Way Home; You +books, films, music, podcasts, politics

George Santayana had irrational faith in reason - I have irrational faith in TV.

Friday, December 31, 2021

Podcast Review of Station Eleven 1.6-7

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 232, in which I review episodes four and five of Station Eleven on HBO Max.

Podcast review of Station Eleven episodes one to three ...episodes four to five

Written blog post review of Station Eleven 1.6-1.7

Check out this episode!

Station Eleven 1.6-7: Time, Blake, and Bosch

First, let me say in this review of Station Eleven 1.6 and 1.7, up on HBO Max today, that I thought episode 1.7 was the best so far in this superbly powerful series.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

The vehicle of the adult Kirsten, poisoned by darts in the present, going back to Frank's apartment in Chicago to interact with her younger self, as she observes her younger self along with Frank and Jeevan, was brilliant and brilliantly executed. My single favorite of moment of that: Kirsten assuring her younger self not to worry, she'll see Frank again, because, the person who is saying that, the older Kirsten, is right there in Frank's apartment, was a perfect meta-gambit to make this point. A close second was discovering at the end that the adult Kirsten may have actually been there, in the physical apartment in the present, with Frank's dessicated corpse in the bed.

If truth be told, I've liked these earlier-set episodes, from the first episode through the airport last week to tonight's episode 7, a little more than the episodes that take place in the future (or the present, depending on how you look at it). Probably because the near future day-after-tomorrow story is just easier to relate to.

The troubadour future, though, has its tapestry and its moments. Episode 1.6 tonight felt like a new William Blake poem, wrapped in a Bosch painting (mostly the Dutch painter with a bit of the Amazon Prime series), with lots of choices for appropropriate music. (Back to 1.7: The rap song by Frank was off-the-charts great. Dan Romer gets credit for the music -- I have no idea if he wrote it or chose it. Either way, kudos!) If I could choose a song to add to that 1.6 tapestry, I think it would be "You Know My Name" by the Beatles. I can't exactly tell you why. Maybe because it's at once such a negation and triumph of a song.

And my favorite moment of 1.6 was learning that that airport was the Museum. That's a clever stroke, too. If you think about it, airports and museums have a lot in common.

At this point, although there is a lot of competition, I'm thinking Station Eleven is up there or down there with best post-apocalypse narratives I've seen on the screen.

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Meet the Alternative History: What If Hillary Clinton Had Run for President in 2004?

Doubling back to review the second episode of Chuck Todd's Meet the Alternative History podcast -- the first was about what if Bill Clinton had resigned in 1998, the third about what if JFK had lived, which I reviewed before the second episode because the topic is so transcendent. This second episode finds Todd talking to Curtis Sittenfeld, whose 2020 novel Rodham (which I've yet to read) is an alternate history in which Hillary and Bill don't marry.

The conversation about the novel is fun and a good entree about how authors ply their craft. The idea that Hillary Rodham would have had an incandescent public life not as Hillary Clinton is of course a paean to Hillary, and one which certainly seems plausible. But I thought the real payoff in this podcast episode comes when the two discuss Todd's notion that Hillary Clinton, pursuing the exact same path as she did in our reality up until 2004, might well have won the U. S. Presidency had she run for that office that year.

Among the nuggets Todd reveals in that conversation is what David Axelrod told him about something that happened in 2009: that Trump had called Axelrod offering to run the early Obama dinner which the Salahis notoriously crashed. Axelrod never returned (or was very slow to return) Trump's call. Trump in turn didn't turn against Obama until a year or two later. Todd says Axelrod wondered: could Trump have been an ally of Obama and the Democrats had Axelrod graciously accepted Trump's offer back then?

It's a fascinating conjecture about the very stuff of alternate history: little, seemingly inconsequential interactions or non-interactions that can have massive effects on subsequent history, aka the butterfly effect. If ever those was a person in politics whose path was filled with those butterflies it would be Hillary Clinton. She came razor close to winning the Democratic primaries in 2008, and in fact won the popular vote in 2016. Todd also offers his view that, fifty years from now there may well be more books written about Hillary than Bill, and he may be right.

Listen to Meet the Alternative History on Spotify, Goodpods, or Podchaser

Meet the Alternative History: What If JFK Had Lived?

A superb second episode of Chuck Todd's Meet the Alternative History podcast, in part because Todd's conversation was with Michael Beschloss, the de facto Historian Laureate, and in part because their main topic was what if John F. Kennedy had not been assassinated, pretty much the gold standard or apex of time travel objectives (see my Loose Ends) and alternate history speculation, informed and otherwise.

My two favorite consequences of JFK surviving in this highly informed conversation were

JFK ends the Vietnam War in 1966, after being elected to a second term (a sure thing) and after it was clear that the U. S. was fighting a losing battle over there. Beschloss explains that Kennedy didn't have the do-or-die commitment to not backing down in a military confrontation that Lyndon Johnson and his closest advisors in Texas had in their bones, and Kennedy also would have been better at explaining what was happening in Vietnam to the American people. A wonderful scenario to consider.
RFK (also not assassinated) wins the election in 1968 (after first beating Johnson in the primaries) and appoints his brother JFK as Secretary of State. The very thought is what makes Beschloss so effective as an historian of the real world -- he has a way of mixing the personal with the international that puts life on this planet in a relatable, comprehensible tableau.

One point I wish Todd and Beschloss had considered is what would have to the U. S. space program if JFK had survived? I always thought that we got to the Moon in 1969 because everyone working on this challenge were determined to fulfill the slain President's commitment to landing a person on the Moon by the end of the decade. (See my The Missing Ingredient for my thoughts and feelings about the real progress and lack of in the effort to get off this planet.)

Prior to discussing JFK, Todd and Beschloss also briefly considered what would have happened had Lincoln survived. Their discussion provided an astute political dimension to the many alternate histories about the Civil War, and is well worth listening to in its own right.

Listen to Meet the Alternative History on Spotify or Goodpods or Podchaser

another alternate space travel history

The Loose Ends Saga

Podcast Review of Dexter: New Blood 1.7-8

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 231, in which I review Dexter: New Blood 1.7-8 on Showtime.

Written reviews of Dexter: New Blood 1.7 and Dexter: New Blood 1.8

Written review of episodes in all eight seasons of Dexter (the original series):

Reviews of Dexter Season 8 Premiere: Mercury in Retrograde, Dexter Incandescent ... Dexter 8.2: The Gift ... Dexter 8.3: The Question and the Confession ... Dexter 8.4: The "Lab Rat" and Harry's Daughter ... Dexter 8.5: Just Like Family ... Dexter 8.6: The Protege ... Dexter 8.7: Two Different Codes? ... Dexter 8.8: "A Great Future" ... Dexter 8.9: The Psycho Son ... Dexter 8.10: Watch Out, Buenos Aires ... Dexter 8.11: "Not the Old Dexter" ... Dexter Series Finale: Solitude, Style, and a Modicum of Hope

Reviews of Dexter Season 7.1-3: Sneak Preview Review ... Dexter 7.4: The Lesson in Speltzer's Smoke ... Dexter 7.5: Terminator Isaac ... Dexter 7.6: "Breaking and Entering" ... Dexter 7.7: Shakespearean Serial Killer Story ... Dexter 7.8: Love and Its Demands ... Dexter 7.9: Two Memorable Scenes and the Ascension of Isaac ... Dexter 7.11: The "Accident" ... Dexter Season 7 Finale: The Surviving Triangle

Reviews of Dexter Season 6 Sneak Preview Review ... Dexter 6.4: Two Numbers and Two Killers Equals? ... Dexter 6.5 and 6.6: Decisive Sam ... Dexter 6.7: The State of Nebraska ... Dexter 6.8: Is Gellar Really Real? .... Dexter 6.9: And Gellar Is ... ... Dexter's Take on Videogames in 6.10 ...Dexter and Debra: Dexter 6.11 ... Dexter Season 6 Finale: Through the Eyes of a Different Love

Reviews of Dexter Season Five Sneak Preview Review ... Dexter 5.4: Dexter's Conscience ...Dexter 5.8 and Lumen ... Dexter 5.9: He's Getting Healthier ... Dexter 5.10: Monsters -Worse and Better ... Dexter 5.11: Sneak Preview with Spoilers ... Dexter Season 5 Finale: Behind the Curtain

Reviews of Dexter Season 4: Sneak Preview Review ... The Family Man on Dexter 4.5 ...Dexter on the Couch in 4.6 ... Dexter 4.7: 'He Can't Kill Bambi' ... Dexter 4.8: Great Mistakes ...4.9: Trinity's Surprising Daughter ... 4.10: More than Trinity ... 4.11: The "Soulless, Anti-Family Schmuck" ... 4.12: Revenges and Recapitulations

Reviews of Season 3: Season's Happy Endings? ... Double Surprise ... Psychotic Law vs. Sociopath Science ... The Bright, Elusive Butterfly of Dexter ... The True Nature of Miguel ...Si Se Puede on Dexter ... and Dexter 3: Sneak Preview Review

Reviews of Season 2: Dexter's Back: A Preview and Dexter Meets Heroes and 6. Dexter and De-Lila-h and 7. Best Line About Dexter - from Lila and 8. How Will Dexter Get Out of This? and The Plot Gets Tighter and Sharper and Dex, Doakes, and Harry and Deb's Belief Saves Dex and All's ... Well

Season 1: First Place to Dexter

Check out this episode!

True Story: Truly Excellent

As the year quickly draws to a close, I wanted to tell you that True Story, a seven-episode mini-series my wife and I finished watching last night on Netflix, has to be one of the best crime dramas of year. That's right. Clean out of the ballpark with a fast-moving story that manages to pull the rug out at the end of just about every episode.

[Spoilers ahead ...]

It starts when Kid, a stand-up comedian just become a big action-hero movie star, wakes up to find the woman he was with the night before dead in bed beside him. Great performance right there and throughout by Kevin Hart as Kid, and, while I'm at it, by Wesley Snipes as Carlton, Kid's brother, who wakes him up on that fateful morning. Snipes has always been one of my favorite actors, and he hasn't lost a thing.

Now, one thing Carlton and Kid really didn't do is carefully check to make sure the woman was dead, and that made me think that maybe she wasn't, and Kid was being set up for some kind of scam. And that's indeed what we discover at the end of this story. But I didn't mind being right about the plot, and the story of how True Story got from the beginning to the end was worth watching every minute.

One of the issues explored in depth is the nature of fandom, how it can be exploited by the star, what's really going on in the head and the heart of the fan. Gene, well-played by Theo Rossi, will go down as one of the most memorable fans in history, given the noble sacrifice he makes at the end.

The Philadelphia ambience was also good to see, and I thought True Story captured the Philadelphia convention scene -- which I know quite well as science fiction writer -- to a tee. The bad guys in the story -- Ari and his brothers --- were something we've seen before, but still packed at least a couple of surprises. Hats off to Eric Newman -- who also produced the superb Narcos series -- for a great job. I'd love to see a Season 2.

Monday, December 27, 2021

Podcast Review of Don't Look Up

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 230, in which I review Don't Look Up, and offer up a rare pan (for me) of a science fiction movie.

Written blog post review of Don't Look Up

Check out this episode!

Don't Look Up: Look Elsewhere

I'm going to check in with a rare pan for me of a science fiction film. Rare not because I love every science fiction movie I've ever seen, but because I usually review only movies that I think are worth seeing. But I'm making an exception with Don't Look Up, because the issue it addresses -- the end of human existence -- is obviously so important. The Netflix movie serves up a variety of narratives and storylines, and, in the end, I think most of them are not worth watching.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Let's start with what is worth seeing in this movie, about a comet that's six months away from an extinction-event impact with our planet. I liked some of the satire of our media and politicians, and I liked the acting.

But I didn't like the pessimistic, deeply dispirited ending. Not only did the three major attempts to stop the comet by launching a missile or missiles at the comet fail -- the first one turned back, the second blew up on the launch pad, the third was supposed to hit the comet with multiple explosives, but some of them failed to arrive or ignite, and the result was not enough to knock the comet off course -- but even the attempt to cryogenically save humanity by sending some people on a multi-millenium voyage to an Earth-like planet way out there in space fails as well, as voracious birds attack our people as they come out of their suspended shells, including gobbling up the U.S. President's head. That was a little funny in a perverted slapstick way, but not worth the enduring message of death it delivered.

Now, I'm not saying that both or either of these methods of saving our species would work. But why make a movie that makes that hopeless point? The lampooning of politics and media here on Earth could have worked just as well with at least some ray of hope for our species in the end. (There was a last man on Earth ala The Twilight Zone episode at the end of the movie, but no indication was given that humanity would survive via that guy, either. I suppose it’s possible that if he survived, other people did, too. If so, that should have been shown. It would be a little difficult for one person to re-propagate our species.)

Watching movies and television series, for me, is a form of entertainment. The reality which it describes and plays off of can be dangerous and deadly. But it's not hopeless, and I don't like and wouldn't recommend a movie that traffics so completely in despair.

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Dexter: New Blood 1.8: The Hug in the Car

An excellent, satisfying Dexter: New Blood 1.8, even though we knew pretty much exactly how this episode would end.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Meaning, there was no way that Kurt was going to kill Harrison, however close he came to doing that. Harrison is too important a character, in this season, and I hope in seasons that I hope will follow. But Kurt came pretty close. And all I regret about that scene in his cabin with Harrison is that I couldn't have some of that venison, because it sure looked good.

But the single best moment in this episode is Harrison hugging Dexter in the car, after Dexter tells his son about that dark passenger that he and Harrison have within them. That hug in itself will be the basis of everything that comes after, everything we'll ever see between Dexter and Harrison.

And the ball is now in Angela's court. She's beginning to get some evidence to confirm her suspicion that we saw emerging last week, that Dex is the Bay City Butcher. And it's tough to see how this will be resolved, with just two episodes left to this season. I can't quite see Dexter throwing her off track, at this late date. But I can't see Dexter killing her or going to prison, either,

I suppose Dexter might allow himself to get locked up, if that some way safeguarded Harrison. But how could Dexter protect Harrison, if Dexter were behind prison bars? The future is always opaque, especially in these concluding episodes of the season, and that's a good thing for this series.

See you back here next week as we get another glimpse.

Hightown Season 2 Finale: Brilliant End-Up, Looking for 3

You know, I've been noticing over the years that the penultimate, aka next to last, episode in a television season is often better than the finale. Last week's episode of Hightown was superb, powerful, hard to surpass. And I've just seen the finale. And, you know what? It's even better than last week's episode. There may be a pattern of finales not being as good as the penultimates, but in Hightown Season 2, this ain't it.

So ... where to start. My wife who watched the whole season said right away that Charmayne should've been given more of an armed escort on her trip to Boston. I had a feeling that she wouldn't get there as soon as I saw her in the car with Jackie and Leslie. It's not because they are women. It's because Charmayne needed more coverage, given her importance. And as soon as Leslie told Charmayne the car wasn't stopping for anything, I had feeling she would escape.

Jackie is brilliant in her instincts, but unseasoned. Her emotions, including empathy, are always close to the surface. So her response to Leslie was predictable -- as was Leslie turning on her the day after.

On to Frankie and Osito. It was good to see what happened to Frankie in prison. He deserved it. But is he dead? I'll once again cite one of my principles in reviewing: if you don't see someone's head cut off or riddled with bullets there's always a chance that the recipient survived. We'll just have to wait for Season 3, and at this point, Hightown has yet to be renewed. I think Starz would be crazy not to renew this superb series, which got better and better, from Season 1 to 2, and as Season 2 progressed.

In a third season, we'd get to see Osito in charge. I've been saying through both seasons that Atkins Estimond's character is one of the most memorable in this series, in which there are many. Monica Raymond as Jackie was also outstanding, a lot more vivid than she was in Chicago Fire. James Badge Dale as Ray and Riley Voelkel as Renee were also especially excellent.

Speaking of which -- I'm glad to see them together. But, given that Renee's shooting of Jorge was accidental, I'm wondering why she can't just tell Ray exactly what happened? I guess that reluctance, and several other things, shows there's still not 100% trust just between them.

Dohn Norwood as Alan also deserves a shout-out for that incandescent scene in which he lets Ray know exactly how he feels about that "lateral" move to "bodies" aka homicide. That call from Boston will give him some strong material to get his spot back in Season 3.

So bring it on, and I'll be back here with weekly reviews.

Friday, December 24, 2021

Podcast Review of Station Eleven 1.4-5

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 229, in which I review episodes four and five of Station Eleven on HBO Max.

Podcast review of Station Eleven episodes one to three.

Written blog post review of Station Eleven 1.4-1.5

Also mentioned in this podcast: blog post written review of Season 3 finale of Succession.

Check out this episode!

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Station Eleven 1.4-5: Shakespearean Prophet

Well, if you thought Station Eleven wasn't dead serious, you'll give up any hope that it wasn't after you've seen episodes 1.4-5, up on HBO Max today. No, only kidding, of course. This is a series about the near extinction of the human species, so how could it not be deadly serious? But I wasn't really kidding, if that makes any sense. As serious and to-the-core frightening as this narrative was from the get-go, it's even more, a lot more so, after these two new episodes.

Before getting into why, let me say that the cinematography and music in this television series is an Impressionistic triumph. The images range from the watercolor fields of Monet to the rage and confusion in oil of Van Gogh (nice phrase, right?). And the music is some kind of riff on Debussy, though as far as I know none of the music in this TV series that is more like a movie was actually written by him.

[Ok, time for just one big spoiler ... ]

I guessed pretty early on in 1.5 that Tyler was, or would grow up to be, David aka the Prophet. And in 1.4, we learn why Kirsten tried to kill him, and why he deserved to be. I said in a review of the Succession season 3 finale that that ultra-contemporary series was Shakespearean. Not to throw too many compliment bouquets, but the post-ultra-contemporary Station Eleven is Shakespearean, too. It shouts that out literally from the stage at the beginning of the very first episode with King Lear. And it continues that, with actors who speak as if they are on stage not screens,* in situations which are exquisite human tragedies.

Tyler's voyage in that airport was a sight to behold. Although Station Eleven had this quality all along, that airport story for the first time tipped the balance from science fiction to horror, though the action was psychological, not blood and gore. I'll also say, as the series completes its midpoint, though I know already that I'm going to think the series will conclude its first season far too soon. And that's because it's taking so much time to tell its story, and I'm luxuriously bathing in, with a wary eye, every minute.

Station Eleven is quickly shaping up, with not much time left to contest it, as the best new science fiction series from a non-classic source on 2021 television.

*You can hear my Bronx accent in the audio podcast of this review:

Meet the Alternative History: What If Bill Clinton Had Resigned in 1998?: Political Analysis Meets Alternate History

I don't usually review podcasts here. But given my love of alternate history -- as reader, viewer, interviewer, reviewer, and writer -- how could I resist. I saw Jeff Greenfield this afternoon on Meet the Press with Chuck Todd, talking about the special four-episode Meet the Alternative History series on Chuck's Toddcast, and I just finished listening to the first episode.

First, a word about how I've come to be such a devotee of alternate history. As an author of time travel science fiction, it's hard not to encounter alternate history, since any trip to the past is always on the verge of engendering an alternate history (see this Zoom lecture I gave last week to a Science Fiction and Philosophy course in Germany for more on that). Sometimes the consequences can be major (you stop the assassination of JFK), sometimes they're just a tasty flourish (I had Joe Biden elected President in 2008, in my 2014 novel, Chronica). As a reader and viewer, Philip K. Dick's 1962 The Man in the High Castle (in which the Axis powers won World War II) is among my all-time favorite novels, and the Amazon Prime series adaptation of the novel among my all time favorite television series (see my in-depth interview with Rufus Sewell, who starred in the series). So alternate history fiction is as familiar and welcome to me as a walk on the beach on Cape Cod Bay, or a cool sunny day anywhere.

To be clear, the conversation between Todd and Greenfield in this podcast episode is not alternate history per se -- or not "alternative" history, an alternate name for alternate history which I don't like as a name as much as alternate history. The conversation is rather, just that, a conversation. But it's a very informed conversation, in which Todd and Greenfield consider all the political ingredients and possible political consequences of Bill Clinton resigning in 1998. Al Gore becomes President. Would Joe Lieberman have been his running mate in 2000? Probably not. It could have been Dianne Feinstein. And what about 2004? Would Gore have run again? Where would Barack Obama have been in 2008, with Gore finishing his second term as President (assuming he ran and won)? What about Hillary Clinton? What about Trump?

If politics and alternate history are your cup of tea, this little podcast will be delicious listening. Not that I agreed with everything Todd and Greenfield said. Both loved only the first season of The Man in the High Castle on Amazon Prime, whereas I loved it all except the ending of the final season (see, again my interview with Rufus Sewell). But, though Greenfield has written some alternate history (which I'm now more likely to read), the alternate history of science fiction is neither his nor Todd's speciality. Politics is. And the result is a great conversation, bubbling with effervescent scenarios, which I look forward to hearing more of, with additional guests, in the next three episodes.

Listen to Meet the Alternative History on Spotify or Goodpods.

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Podcast Review of The Matrix Resurrections

Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 228, in which I review The Matrix Resurrections.

Written blog post review of The Matrix Resurrections.

Check out this episode!

The Matrix Resurrections: Great Mix of Deep Philosophy and Fast-Moving Action

I just saw The Matrix Resurrections on HBO Max. It may be the best Matrix since The Matrix -- that is, the first movie, so I'm saying Resurrections may be better than the two earlier sequels, certainly better than the third in the original trilogy, Revolutions.

One of the reasons I'm thinking this is how well the meta angle is handled in Resurrections. We find Neo working as a programmer, whose great accomplishment was writing a computer game called "The Matrix". He's sucked into a journey in which reality vs. fiction as an explanation for what is happening vie for our attention at every incandescent turn, and there are many of them.

[Note: For once, or as a rarity, there WON'T be any big spoilers ahead ... ]

Let's talk about the acting. Keanu Reeves as Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity were excellent. I was prepared to be annoyed at Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Morpheus and Jonathan Groff as Smith, because their original incarnations by Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving were so brilliantly, searingly memorable. But the new actors for these crucial characters were quite good. In the first three movies, Smith was for most part the more keenly acted and therefore more unforgettable character -- delivering such now immortal lines as, to Neo, "How can you speak if you have no mouth?" with perfect laser, razor precision -- and even though Groff is not quite as knife's edge as Weaving, his Smith will be somewhat memorable, too.

Among the new characters, by far my favorite was Neil Patrick Harris as The Analyst -- a big step up from Doogie Howser, MD but in a related medical profession -- and I very much liked the unpredictable villainous kindred relationship between him and Smith. Both had a fair share of bon mots, and if I had to choose the most profound it would be The Analyst's observation that feelings make fictions real. In addition to these lines that could have come from Plato -- who notoriously distrusted both feelings and art (see his Republic) -- we also get some good ultra-contemporary commentary from some of the characters. I guess my favorite would be the Merovingian's, a returning character, who lashes out at both Facebook and Wikipedia in a tense, verge of bursting into action scene. It's probably worth noting that Facebook didn't exist when we last saw Merv in Revolutions in 2003, and Wikipedia was just a tiny three years old, so his denunciation of these two social media giants is understandable, if not fair to Wikipedia, which has done far more good and much less damage than Facebook.

Without telling you anything more about the plot, I'll say it's plausible, exciting, and works well with its three predecessors. The action and special effects were outstanding, as always, and the characters' awareness of the deep philosophic issues that underlie their exploits endows this movie with a refreshing intellectual heft. I'd say The Matrix Resurrections is a triumph of a reboot, and one of the best now around in the burgeoning genre.

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Time Travel: Reading, Watching, Writing It

The complete lecture (with captions) I gave via Zoom to Michael Waltermathe and Christian Weidermann's Science Fiction and Philosophy class at Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany 16 December 2021.

Interview in Chinese Journal

Honored to have this interview with me (by Liangyi) just published in China (cover of journal and 1st page of interview in photos) -- interview about my media theory, science fiction, and music.

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Hightown 2.9: Heroes and More Seasons

A classic next-to-last episode 2.9 of the season tonight of Hightown on Starz, which, if it follows the lead of much current television, may well be better than the season finale in two weeks.

[Spoilers follow ... ]

Hey, the episode had a happy ending: Ray and Renee in each others' arms. In addition: Jackie's hunches and stick-to-it-iveness finally paid off, and even impressed Leslie. And just for good measure, Alan was happy, too.

But that expression on Frankie's face as he saw Renee and Ray hugging shows the two are not out of the woods, or home free, or pick your cliche, just yet. Frankie is a highly intelligent, resourceful bad guy. He'll now do anything in his power to kill Renee and Ray.

How much will he be able to do behind bars? Well, if last season was any indication, he can do plenty. He can call the shots, hire hitmen, the whole enchilada. Of course, he won't have Osito to help him. Osito will likely be out of prison, soon. He may well leave the life of crime to be with his physical therapist. If he stays in crime, it certainly won't be as Frankie's lackey.

The finale should tell us some of this. It's doubtful Ray will get everything he wants -- back with the police, living happily ever after with Renee and Frankie & Renee's son. But I hope he gets at some of this -- with any luck he'll be with Renee when she has his baby,.

But that's getting pretty far ahead of the story, and may await season three. Yeah, no formal announcement has been made, but given the power of season two, and it's inevitably unfinished story. I'd say a third season of Hightown is a likely certainty (how's that for an oxymoronic phrase). In the meantime, I'll see you here with a review after the season two finale.

Dexter: New Blood 1.7: Dexter vs. Kurt

The big question for Dexter in Dexter: New Blood 1.7 was whether Angela and the police would arrest and convict Kurt or would he, in Dexter's inimitable inner voice, end up on Dexter's "killing table".

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

But the episode ends with Dexter being kidnapped by one of Kurt's tools. The significance of this is what has been clear all along: Kurt is a capable opponent of Dexter. He's unflappable under all kinds of questioning. He's fast on his feet, quick to come up with a plausible and savvy explanation for his DNA on the bit of skin on Iris's tooth. Kurt says it's his father's, whose DNA of course would be similar but not identical to Kurt's, but in a deteriorated sample which could lose those differences, or make them unclear, with the result that Kurt could not be successfully prosecuted.

So Dexter has no choice but to go after Kurt, and get Kurt on that killing table, but it won't be easy. Not only is Kurt cunning, but Dexter has to get Kurt on the table under Angela's nose. And though she and Dexter drew closer in this episode, no small feat given that she had discovered Dexter's true identity, Molly who has turned out to be pretty sharp is now getting Angela suspicious of Dexter maybe doing more than just taking on a new identity.

Meanwhile, Dexter has something of a breakthrough with Harrison, actually a big breakthrough in realizing he has to tell Harrison about the serial killings Dexter did in Miami, but it's impossible to know how that will work out. It conceivably could strengthen Harrison's impulse to violence, which is precisely what Dexter doesn't want for his son.

With just three episodes left of this outstanding rebooted series, here's a prediction: Harrison's predilection to cause people bodily harm will help Dexter, maybe even save his life, in Dexter's battle with Kurt.

See you back here next week.

"challenging fun"
- Entertainment Weekly

e-mail received from a reader:
Dear Paul, I just dreamed of airships flying between raindrops. I just returned from 2042 CE, where I sold my hardcover copy of The Plot to Save Socrates for seventy million Neo-Euros, because it had your response to this e-mail from way back in 2007 scotch-taped onto the inside of the cover. A Paul Levinson collector paid top Neo-Euro, because of the authentic archaic e-mail printout from you. It turns out that not many of your e-mails from before your tenure as CEO of HBO/Cinemax and terms as United Nations Secretary General will survive that far into the future. So, please respond to this e-mail, to help found my great-grandchildren's fortune. My Will will stipulate that they must share with your great grandchildren. Thanks! Tom

I of course happily replied...

42 reviews of The Plot to Save Socrates!