Rocket Man

The Jetsons are here in the 21st century at last. Or maybe it's a super hero. The music that was put on it is absolutely perfect.

When the new century broke my complaint was "Where are the flying cars? They promised me flying cars!" Apparently I wasn't the only one because someone did a commercial that said just that with the commander of Deep Space 9. But in thinking about it there are inherent problems with flying, whether in a car or a jet pack. What if the power gives out? Of course you will plummet to your death, but imagine that there are as many flying cars as there are cars right now? We would have a dozen cars falling every day, causing all kinds of damage when they hit.

So there will be no flying cars or jet packs in everyday usage until they solve that little problem.

Painkiller Jane

Sci Fi Friday is back! Yay! It's about time, I really hate the long hiatus that most shows seem to have these days. Although I have to admit that Stargate is getting a bit old, the two shows seemed like they'd been done before. I mean, how many impossible, absolutely inescapable situations can they get out of? Last season for Stargate SG1, I don't think I'll miss it except I'll be sorry to see Ben Browder out of work again. He's going to start thinking he's cursed. Stargate Atlantis seems a bit ho hum, too. I'll still watch it, after all, even mediocre sci fi is worth watching.

But the good news is there's a new show on this time, Painkiller Jane. I was expecting it to resume where the movie left off but instead they started completely from scratch, new characters, new concept, everything. I liked how this time no one knew why she was different including her. She falls from 46 floors and survives, and she's as surprised as anyone. And then there's Kristanna Loken, what's not to love about a big, beautiful Viking woman, yum. Must be my Scandinavian heritage coming out. Too early to tell how good the series will be but I definitely like Loken and will definitely be watching next week.

The Dresden Files - The Book

I finished Storm Front, the first of the Dresden series and I've got to say I'm a quite disappointed. Story was good and it was well written, nice flow to it and easy to read, I like that and hate books I have to plow through. Use of magic was well done, especially when he wrapped some sunlight in a napkin then pulled it out when being attacked by a vampire. The sunlight burned her and saved Harry's life, quite clever.

What disappointed me was the character, the way Jim Butcher writes him he's a total loser who makes a mess of everything and manages to succeed - and stay alive - by sheer luck more than anything else. Twice people sneak up on him and beat him up. What good is it to be a wizard if people can sneak up on you? In both instances Harry should have died and didn't through no effort of his own. When he gets in a battle the first thing he does is lose his staff so he can't fight well, and he spent half the book dressed in sweatpants and cowboy boots because he didn't have anything else to wear. Not a good image.

If I hadn't been watching the TV series and already liked Harry because of the excellent job Paul Blackthorne does I might not even have finished the book. As it was I wasn't sure if I was going to buy another one, but eventually decided I would just to see if he makes Harry any more competent in the future. I can understand him not wanting to make a wizard character too powerful and to keep him more human and vulnerable but he went too far in the other direction to the point that I had to wonder how a doofus like this ever became a wizard. Then he'll suddenly have Harry doing amazing deeds of awesome power. Very inconsistent. But, like I said, I will buy the second book to see what he does with Harry next time - when I get around to it. No real rush.

The Dresden Files

When the Sci Fi channel started the show I was pretty excited, I love combining a detective story with either a futuristic premise or a magical one. Purely by accident I picked up a book called Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison about a year ago. She created a new modern world where all the magical beings in stories became real and commonplace, and the main character was a detective, I had no idea this was becoming a new genre, but I was hooked. I was planning on reading some more series in this genre when The Dresden Files came out.

I was a bit disappointed with the first episode, not much of a story and not much magic, and Harry was too nice a guy. When I bought the first book just last Sunday (see previous blog) I could tell in a few pages the book was far better than the show. Last night I watched Sunday's show (DVR is great stuff) and it was the book! What a surprise, and it was suddenly good, too. Lots of magic everywhere and Harry suddenly has some edges to him, a main character has to have some edges to be interesting.

I know what must have happened, last Sunday's show was the pilot but some executive, who probably should be handling the money and not the creative end, got scared that it was too far out there. What the hell does he think a sci fi viewer wants, anyway? So the first few episodes were made first to ease people into the magic aspect of it then they showed the pilot, and suddenly this is a good show. I hope they didn't lose too many viewers with the earlier episodes.

They did get a few things right from the beginning, though. The first was Paul Blackthorne as Harry, he does a great job and is probably the main reason I kept watching. The second was taking Bob out of his skull (in the book he's just a talking skull but I've just started it). Having Bob as a real presence for Harry to talk to was brilliant. So now that the series has some teeth to it I'm hoping for some good stuff.

A Trip To The Bookstore

Few things in life are more fun than a trip to Barnes & Noble and I scored today. Got the latest Skeptic and Skeptical Inquirer. The subtitle of SI is Science, God, and (non)Belief - YUM! Also got my favorite magazine Scientific American Mind, all kinds of stories on the latest research into the mind. It only comes out quarterly so I love it when I get one. Then there's the books, I've been dying to get the first Dresden Files by Jim Butcher ever since the Sci Fi Channel's show came out and I found it. Just a little way into it so far and he's got a pleasant, easy to read style. And it's written in first person narrative, a favorite of mine, probably from reading all those Heinlein books as a teenager. Then a surprise find, something in the same genre as the Dresden Files but by a writer I never heard of, Charlaine Harris - Dead Until Dark. It just had a whimsical feeling to it that looked interesting so I gave it a try. I'll write reviews on all these as I read them but it will take a while, I'm a slow reader. This stuff will keep me busy for months, heh heh.