Poldark Rebooted on PBS

Poldark was back on PBS last night, in a brand new rebooting of the series.  (Hey, rebooting can have a literal, original, nondigital meaning here, since there are lots of boots in the muddy terrain of this narrative.)  My wife and I loved the original two Poldarks back in the 1970s - adopted from the books - right up there with Upstairs, Downstairs and I, Claudius as the best-ever on PBS, to this very day.

What always attracted me to the story was the reverse of what we in America usually see in the aftermath of our successful 1776 revolution.  To England, that war as a humiliation, and those who returned to the isle got no big rounds of applause.

Certainly not Poldark, presumed killed in the war, who returns to find his true love on the verge of marrying his cousin.  Poldark is slow to react - this is a hallmark of the man, who will learn the hard way that he needs to move more quickly on his feelings, and forget about what he thinks may be the right or courteous thing to do.  In that sense, Poldark is parable about Britain casting off its traditional moorings, and, though, they may not like to admit this, becoming more like wild, irreverent America.

The heart of the story is indeed the crumbling caste structure, against which true love struggles to find a way.  There's a tendency whenever you see a remake to compare it - usually unfavorably - to the original.  Robin Ellis was just outstanding as the 1970s television Poldark, as were Angharad Rees as Demelza, full of sauce and soul, and just about everyone in those two series.

It's too soon to tell if Eleanor Tomlinson will be as good as Demelza in the 2015 version, but Aidan Turner seems to have all the right up-right stuff for Poldark, and I'm looking forward to more.

See this more detailed recap and analysis of the new Poldark in The New York Times.


 
Sierra Waters series, #1, a little further back in time

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Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman Cites Asimov's Foundation Series as Inspiration

A great moment on the PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer tonight, when new Nobel Laureate in Economics Paul Krugman was asked by Lehrer what inspired him to become an economist. Krugman replied it was reading Isaac Asimov's Foundation series as a teenager, and seeing how social scientists saved galactic civilization.

That's the second reason I'm really happy that Krugman won the Nobel Prize - and even more important than the first, which was that Krugman is on the honor roll of guests insulted by Bill O'Reilly.

The Foundation series is much more important. Written as a series of short stories for Astounding Magazine in 1940s (later and presently Analog Magazine), expanded and published as the Foundation trilogy in the 1950s, this has easily been my favorite reading of all time - since the days I first read it at age 12, and ever since. I list the Foundation trilogy among my favorites on Facebook, MySpace, and all the online places I hang my hat and can list my favorite books (actually, I rarely wear a hat). I included Asimov among the four thinkers who most influenced my work in my 1997 The Soft Edge: A Natural History and Future of the Information Revolution - mostly because of the Foundation trilogy. It also inspired me to think and write science fiction.

And its story is: The galactic civilization looks good on the outside, but is already crumbling within. Hari Seldon develops "psychohistory," a way of mathematically mapping all trends in human behavior, and using the equations to predict the future. He sets up two Foundations, at opposite sides of the galaxy, to further refine and take advantage of psychohistory to shorten the galactical dark ages. Of course-

No, I won't tell you any more, in case you haven't read it. Suffice to say, I've read it at least three times. Asimov and others wrote sequels, and some of those novels were excellent. But none as riveting as the Foundation trilogy.

Congratulations Paul Krugman - on winning the Nobel Prize, and on your great taste in science fiction...

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See also, for a little deeper reading, my The Invigoration of a Philosophic Issue in Science Fiction: How Pierre-Simon Laplace’s Demon Finds a Stage in the Foundation and Dune Trilogies.  It was first published as a  Google "knol" but was reprinted here after the knol system was shut down. It does have spoilers.

Judy Woodruff and the Fine Art of the Interview, with Ron Paul

My student Mike Plugh called this gem to my attention late yesterday - Judy Woodruff interviewing Ron Paul on the PBS NewsHour.



What's so commendable about it?

It's an interview. A real interview, not a slugfest, or worse, an interviewee as punching bag.

An interview. An intelligent conversation between two people. An opportunity for viewers and listeners to really learn something of what and how the interviewee thinks.

Once upon a time, not all that long ago, this was the way most interviews on television were conducted. But that civilized approach somehow was replaced by interviewers who somehow saw their job as interrupting their guests as often as possible with bellicose jabs and nasty cracks.

This is not really a question of politics or liberal vs. conservative. Chris Matthews is almost as offensive in his style as is Bill O'Reilly. I'm much more in tune with Matthews' politics than I am with O'Reilly's, but neither of their interview styles - the self-righteous interruption - does much to enlighten me.

I'll even admit to often enjoying these barkers, especially when the object of their attack is someone I don't agree with. But I can't say I ever felt truly educated or really informed or even just good after seeing their shows. At best, the result is a coarse thrill (same as when I've been a guest on O'Reilly's show). The crooked joy of seeing someone you dislike get bashed, or someone you admire somehow manage to get a word in edgewise.

Not so Woodruff's interview with Ron Paul. Watch it, and see for yourself.

Wouldn't it be nice if, among the other revolutionary developments in this political season, we are beginning to see the recovery of the almost lost art of the interview, the revival of the fine art of intelligent talk on television.

Ron Paul at PBS Debate: Against Federal Death Penalty

I was delighted to hear Ron Paul say at the Republican Presidential debate on PBS that he is opposed to the Federal death penalty. He indicated that this was one of the few positions he changed his views about over the years - at one time, he supported the Federal death penalty - and his reason was that DNA evidence has shown too many innocent people found guilty.

My position, all of my life, has been against death penalties on all levels. Even before DNA evidence, it seemed to me that juries are fallible, they are capable of error, and putting a person to death on the basis of a wrong jury decision was one of the very worst things a civilized society could ever do. Life in prison without parole was a strong enough punishment, and one which allowed reversal in the event that new evidence came to light or old evidence proved faulty.

As on so many other issues, Ron Paul's libertarian distrust of government, and his sheer logic, have led him to an enlightened, humanitarian position. My only disagreement with Ron Paul on this issue is that I would like to see capital punishment outlawed on a state level, too. (I wonder if he would support an amendment to the Constitution that outlawed the death penalty.)

Meanwhile, it's also worth noting about this PBS Republican debate that Giuliani, McCain, Romney, and Fred Thompson didn't bother to show. Apparently Tavis Smiley's African-American moderation of the debate was not to their GOP liking.

No real matter. Nothing any of the four might have had to say would have stacked up to what Ron Paul said tonight.

Beautiful Harmony Never Dies: The Starland Vocal Band in 2007

That's the Starland Vocal Band, performing this summer - 2007 - on PBS.

Their Afternoon Delight was my favorite song of 1976, and has been pretty close if not at the top most years since. Exquisite, zesty, soulful harmonies - not to mention a cleverly truthful lyric, if ever there was one.

I gave them a shout out a few months ago on Light On Light Through - did that term even exist in 1976? - and now, the more I listen to this song, I'm thinking it's not only up there with the best of the Mamas and Papas, it's even better (except maybe for 12:30 - "Young girls are coming to the canyon..." - my favorite Mamas and Papas song).

But Bill and Taffy and Margot and Jon are up there, singing their hearts and souls out, as good as they ever were, just a few months ago. What other harmony group can you say that about?

I put the Starland Vocal Band on my MySpace Top Friends section, and I'm going to keep them there forever. Check it out - and their great page on MySpace, too. And while you're there, take a look at Bill Danoff's page, and the pages for other members of the group. On Bill's, for example, you'll find a real gem of a video - John Denver, singing a song he wrote with Bill and Taffy, singing it down in Australia in the 1970s ... "Take Me Home, Country Roads"...