Vikings 3.4: They Call Me the Wanderer

That was one of the main refrains - "They call me the wanderer" - of what is probably Dion's greatest song as a solo artist, "The Wanderer".   It also could have been the title of Vikings 3.4, given the strange character who takes his leave of our three Scandinavian heroines in the cold, muddy town of Kattegat.

There has always been a little bit more than a flirtation with the actual mystical in this otherwise outstanding television series.   That the Vikings believed in a set of gods who walked among us is indisputable history.   That Vikings on the History Channel should show us how these beliefs animated the lives of our heroes makes sense and is excellent narrative.   But when the gods become real to us the audience - that is, when they move from how the Vikings saw their worlds to how those worlds actually were - well, that's verging into Games of Thrones territory.  And while I love Game of Thrones, I love Vikings in a different way, for different reasons, and I enjoy appreciating the two stories in separate ways.

There was an enormous amount that was compelling about Harbard the Wanderer without hinting that he was superhuman.   He might have really taken some of the pain away from Ragnar's young son through laying of hands or just the sound of his voice.  He might well have seduced Aslaug because she was indeed very lonely and emotionally in need.   The boys might indeed have wandered off to find them, and Siggy followed, which led to her death, without any of the supernatural overtones.  As it was depicted, we get a rendition of a new Norse legend, rather a tableau of Norse historical life.

Meanwhile, over in England, we get some important personal developments, highlighted by Althelstan and Judith finally making love, and Lagertha putting a break on her relationship with Ecbert, or at very least refusing to dissolve her own considerable power in their affair.   Ragnar also gets some quality time with Kwenthrith, after she urinates on his wound, probably the best scene of that nature since Chandler peed on Monica's leg in "The One with the Jelly Fish" episode to, well, relieve the pain of the jelly fish's sting.

I'm more than ready for Paris.

See also Vikings 3.1. Fighting and Farming ... Vikings 3.2: Leonard Nimoy ... Vikings 3.3: We'll Always Have Paris

And see also Vikings 2.1-2: Upping the Ante of Conquest ... Vikings 2.4: Wise King ... Vikings 2.5: Caught in the Middle ... Vikings 2.6: The Guardians ...Vikings 2.7: Volatile Mix ... Vikings 2.8: Great Post-Apocalyptic Narrative ... Vikings Season 2 Finale: Satisfying, Surprising, Superb

And see also Vikings ... Vikings 1.2: Lindisfarne ... Vikings 1.3: The Priest ... Vikings 1.4:  Twist and Testudo ... Vikings 1.5: Freud and Family ... Vikings 1.7: Religion and Battle ... Vikings 1.8: Sacrifice
... Vikings Season 1 Finale: Below the Ash

 
historical science fiction - a little further back in time

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Revolution 2.1: "The Last Surviving Friend"

Revolution was back for the debut of its second season tonight, with a line that typified how far civilization had fallen.   Walking through a ravaged excuse for a carnival town, a barker inveighs Charlie with the opportunity, right in that tent, to see David Schwimmer, "the last surviving friend".

This is what the United States has come to, in the wake of the nuclear missiles that were launched in the brief window of time in which the electricity was back on:  Atlanta and Philadelphia were destroyed, and our band of heroes is in worse shape than ever.   Not only is the sad sack of Friends the only survivor of that crew, but life is even harder and meaner in the three places we visit, in the Plains state (where Charlie is), down south in Texas where Rachel and Miles and Aaron now reside, and the outskirts of ruined Atlanta where we find the Nevilles, father and son.

Tom, like most of our major characters, is majorly depressed over the missile holocaust.   And Tom is more upset than most, since he still can't find his wife.   The lies of the US government snap him out of this and give him a purpose.  The US claims that Monroe and Foster launched the WMDs.  Tom and we in the audience know better.  In a very nice touch, we see the White House, gone to weed in the blackout, being reclaimed. Ordinarily, this would be an inspiring scene.  But as Tom tells Jason, the people who claim to be our original government are probably being run by someone else.

But the original lines of hatred still burn strong.  Charlie, after declining her chance to see Schwimmer, runs into Monroe in another tent and sets out to kill him.   Rachel's father, a doc, tells Miles to leave because he's not good for his daughter.

And either he's not a very good doctor, or there's something strange going on with nature in this neck of the woods.  Aaron looks to have been killed, and is pronounced dead by the doc, but comes back to life in a literally gasping twist at the very end of the show.  Given that this is the wrong channel for The Vampire Diaries, what's going on?

It may have something to do with the fireflies that Aaron and then his woman see in the sky.  At the very least, they could be a good source of light - as I went into in my 1999 science fiction novel, The Silk Code.

See also Revolution: Preview Review  ... Revolution 1.2: Fast Changes ... Revolution 1.14: Nanites and Jack Bauer ... Revolution 1.15: Major Tom and More 24 ... Revolution 1.16: Feeling a Little Like the Hatch in Lost ... Revolution 1.17: Even Better Nanites ... Revolution 1.18: Whodunnit? ... Revolution 1.19: Cheney's Bunker ... Revolution Season 1 Finale: Good Pivot




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Episodes: Sneak Preview Review

Hey, I caught the delightful complete debut season - seven 30-minute episodes - of Episodes, to start on Showtime, Sunday, January 9, courtesy of a Showtime advance screener.   If you're in the mood for a deft, daft mix of classic droll British humor and California fine ass funny - which, come to think of it, I always am - you'll love Episodes.

The basic story: the creators/writers of a successful comedy show in the UK are brought over and out to California to recreate their series right here in the USA.   The creators are a young, happily married, breezily and often profoundly witty couple.   You know that they won't be in for smooth sailing over here, just by looking at the opening credits (one of the best I've seen in a while), which feature a manuscript picked up in the wind in England, winging its way to California, only to be shot down right over the big white Hollywood sign.

Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Greg, two relative little knowns here in the States, play the "lucky" British couple Sean and Beverly Lincoln, and they're excellent.   Trouble starts pretty much as soon as they're told that the British actor who played the lead in their comedy will be replaced by an American - none other than Matt LeBlanc, who plays himself, and delivers a performance every bit as a good or better than Joey from Friends.  Indeed, the script makes satisfying, explicit reference to all manner of Joeyisms, including at least one on which the somewhat surprise ending hinges.  (I saw it coming, but still loved it.)

Even the secondary characters are striking - Daisy Haggard as Myra Licht doesn't say much but makes some of the best blond faces you'll ever see, and Mircea Monroe as Morning is luscious (well, maybe more a primary than secondary character).

But really nothing about this comedy is secondary.   If you like laughs a minute, sarcasm to the max about both American and British popular culture, Episodes will be just your cup of tea - or coffee.

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The Plot to Save Socrates


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