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Quick Review: Battlestar Galactica Series Finale

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Tonight was the last Battlestar Galactica episode in the four-season series and I was pleased with the way the writers ended the show. One of the biggest problems that television fans generally run into with niche shows like Battlestar Galactica is that they don’t often last too long (in this case, only four seasons) and when they are canceled, the show generally doesn’t have a chance to write a decent ending for the fans. Thankfully, that was not the case with Battlestar Galactica.

I’ll put up a more thorough review of the entire series in the next few days, but I wanted to offer some quick comments on the finale itself.

  • Endings: It was nice that all of the fans of the show were allowed to see the respective stories of each of the main characters come to a reasonable end. It can be assumed that General Adama spent the rest of his life living near to the grave of President Roslin, who we also saw enjoying her last few minutes of life. The sudden disappearance of Kara “Starbuck” Thrace was a little weird, but it speaks to the nature of her being nothing more than a ghost for the last season. Still weird.
  • Connections to Today: I thought the writers added a nice touch by having the planet which the refugees finally landed on be our earth, but 150,000 years ago. And making Hera the “mitochondrial Eve” that made so many headlines a few years back was a nice spin, too. Also, it was a nice touch to have the angel versions of Caprica Six and Gaius Baltar walking around modern day earth with early versions of what could grow to be cylons as part of the backdrop.
  • The End of the Cylon/Human War: The final battle between the Battlestar Galactica and the cylon colony base ship was well done and it looked great in high definition. Also, the way the “war” ended between the two civilizations (complete with the cylon leader blowing his head off) was a good way to end the constant conflict.

So that’s the quick and dirty review of tonight’s Battlestar Galactica series finale. All in all, a great show which answered all of the right questions. Sure, some people will want to know more about how the human refugees went from an extremely advanced civilization to essentially nomads and there might be an opportunity in the future to tell some of that story via a made-for-TV movie or maybe through some quick webisodes shorts or something. However, I think that most people will be content with what they saw and will be eager enough to see the coming made-for-TV movie “Battlestar Galactica: The Plan” this summer!

And for those of you who are a little down now that Battlestar Galactica is over, don’t worry. The spin-off series, Caprica, is coming soon!

Documentary Review: Gentleman’s Choice – The Chris Adams Story

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Wrestling fans will remember “The Gentleman” Chris Adams as one of the top performers in the World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) territory. Adams was one of the top faces (and eventually a top heel) in one of the hottest spots in professional wrestling, the lone star state of Texas. Fewer wrestling fans, though, may know the inside story of Adams’ downfall – a sordid tale of alcohol, strip clubs, and drugs – GHB to be exact.

That’s where Mickey Grant comes into the picture. Grant, one of the founders of WCCW, has put together a phenomenal 96-minute documentary talking about Adams’ life. For some idea on how successful Grant has been in the television industry, when he was working with WCCW their television show was ranked number two in syndication coming second only to Soul Train. Before there was a Monday Night RAW or a Friday Night Smackdown, Grant’s television show was showing in 23 different countries! And after watching his documentary on Chris Adams, I expect that it will achieve the same success.

The documentary gives voice to the various aspects of Adams’ life including his parents, close friends, fellow wrestlers, and even one of his children. Grant opens the movie with a clip of Adams beating Rick Rude for a championship. It then quickly flips to 40,000+ fans filling Texas Stadium as Chris is featured in one of the matches. As someone who is viewing the documentary, you are immediately hit by the superstar status that the wrestlers in the WCCW territory enjoyed.

In fact, former professional wrestler Tony Walsh put it in terms that every male wrestling fan can understand: the women loved Chris Adams and he also happened to be a lovable character. Get it? A good guy who was loved by the ladies for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was the notoriety one received by being a main event caliber talent in WCCW.

Early on in the film Jean and Cyril Adams (Chris’ parents) are introduced. Of all the people interviewed regarding Chris’ life, I felt that the family members were the most penetrating. Mr. and Mrs. Adams talked a bit about their two sons and their national judo championships and how they encouraged their children to pursue higher levels of success with judo. Then at some point Mr. and Mrs. Adams talk about how Chris told them he was going to become a professional wrestler – apparently he had already set up his professional debut and reported it to his family over dinner. Bon Appetit! It is during this part of the documentary that we learn how Chris actually had a very good job working for the local government. Imagine that dinner conversation, “Mom, Dad – I’m going to become a professional wrestler. Yes, I understand that I’m doing well for myself with the secure, government job, but I just want to wrestle.”

And wrestle he did.

The pinnacle of Adams’ success came in the late 1980’s. However, his stark fall took place at the same time and it all started spiraling out of control with an ill-fated airplane ride…

Grant assembles David Manning (a wrestling promoter) and “Killer” Tim Brooks to tell the tale. A group of wrestlers were leaving San Juan to arrive in Texas for a television taping later that day. As it turned out, Chris Adams did not have a role in that night’s show, so he could relax and not worry about the event. As they were flying home, the plane lost an engine. Pretty scary, huh? The plan obviously had to land so things could be fixed and as a way of expressing their remorse, the airline offered everyone on board free alcohol for 3 – 4 hours while plane was fixed. Most wrestlers on the flight had to wrestle later that day so they only had a few beers. Not Chris Adams. He kept drinking and drinking and eventually the crew tried to cut him off. In fact, when the stewardess came over to tell him he was done his response was, “You f*cking c*nt. You can’t f*cking cut the Gentleman off. Do you realize how much f*cking money I make?” Clearly rattled, the stewardess came back with a steward who attempted to cut Chris off. Didn’t work. At that point, the co-pilot of airplane came back and told Adams he was cut off and that if he didn’t cooperate, Chris would be arrested in Miami. That didn’t sit well with the intoxicated Adams who decided to headbutt the co-pilot and put him in a chokehold. Due to this troubling event, Chris went to federal prison.

Amazing how a man’s life can slowly build to be something that it is not and then change in the matter of a few minutes when the demons come rushing out, huh?

The documentary then goes into Adams’ actual spiral downward and his various attempts to straighten his life out. One of the interviewees reported that Adams couldn’t have one or two drinks – he had to take it to the extreme. Eventually, he overdosed on GHB in April 2000 and the experience seemingly scared him straight. He visited a Pentecostal minister after the event and vowed to change his life by quitting the drugs and alcohol, paying the IRS money they claimed he owed to them, and paying back those in his life that he had borrowed money from. It didn’t work out that way.

I won’t go into too much detail on Adam’s final days, but suffice to say that it is a tragic story. If for nothing else, you’ll want to see this documentary to hear the story of his death from the people who were directly involved. It is truly riveting stuff.

The folks at eyesoda.com – the website that hosts this documentary – have also allowed me access to show the following interview with Gary Hart. Gary Hart was a wrestler, manager, and agent and his last ever recorded interview is below. Given the recent tragedy with Andrew Martin passing, I think some of Hart’s words are more relevant now than ever.

A quick note to all of the wrestling fans who are reading this review – you absolutely should see this documentary. In a world of one major wrestling promotion we, as fans, are essentially only exposed to the histories and stories that the one promotion wants us to know about. Meanwhile, the history of professional wrestling is much more varied and far more interesting than what we are shown on television week in and week out. For those of you who are not wrestling fans, I’d consider watching this documentary anyway as Mickey Grant does a superb job of showing the inside of the wrestling business in a way that you won’t find with The Wrestler or any of the made-for-TV specials.

I took a great deal more notes on the documentary than I am able to put in this post and I think that shows the depth of the Chris Adams story. The best part of the documentary were the clips of wrestlers and those in the wrestling business speaking directly about Chris Adams. In fact, I wouldn’t mind seeing these people in other documentaries about professional wrestling. Mickey Grant did a great job of relaying the story of Chris Adams’ rise and fall as well as how his demise affected his friends and family. This information is relayed through the excellent comments from those who knew Chris the best. I give this documentary my highest recommendation.

TV Review: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

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First things first – this review is way too premature in being written. The new Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show has only been on the air for a week and no one can confidently say whether or not it is a hit or a bomb yet. However, since I’m in the mood to write about Jimmy Fallon’s version of the Late Night show, here we go.

I’ve watched a few episodes of Late Night and I think there are definitely some positive aspects of the show. For example, having The Roots as your house band is incredible. Also, Jimmy has been able to maintain a high quality list of guests for his first few days of the show and that’s pretty impressive.

One aspect of the show that seriously needs improvement, though, is Jimmy’s tone during the interviews. There are times when he’s talking to the guests where the volume of his voice lowers to a somewhat inaudible level. I don’t think it’s my television that is creating the awkward sound quality – I think it’s a fluctuation in Jimmy’s voice. All of that being said, let’s be real – if that’s the biggest complaint that I have right now with Late Night, then the show is doing pretty well!

All in all, Jimmy will probably do well with the show, but it’s likely that we’ll be seeing a much different product in another few weeks. That’s how these network television executives are with their new programming – put it on for a few weeks, change it up according to what the demos suggest is working, then crank it to the extreme.

Book Review: A Lion Among Men

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Gregory Maguire’s A Lion Among Men is the third and latest book in The Wicked Series. This series follows the times in an evolving Land of Oz where the Wicked Witch of the West is related to the Wizard of Oz and the current Emperor of Oz may not be the benevolent leader that he tries to portray.

Chances are that if you’ve found this entry via a search engine, then you’ve already read the first two books in this series so I’ll refrain from too much history. If not, then feel free to read my reviews of Wicked – The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and Son of a Witch.

A Lion Among Men begins with the Cowardly Lion (his name is Brrr) meeting with the oracle known as Yackle. Those of you who have read the two previous books in this series know that Yackle has played a sideline role in the Wicked Witch of the West’s life and did a great deal to help Liir overcome almost certain death during his convalescence at St. Glinda’s mauntery. Brrr is sent to meet with Yackle to ascertain what she knows about the Wicked Witch of the West, Liir, the Thropp family, and (most importantly) the Grimmerie (the Witch’s magic book). The interplay between Yackle and her fellow maunts (think of them as nuns) is pretty funny and the reader is led to believe that Yackle actually rises from the dead to speak with Brrr. Once you get to the end of the book, the oddities that take place in the beginning of the book become clearer, but that’s true of any good story.

Yackle proves to be a tough nut for Brrr to crack and for each piece of information that she gives to the Lion, he either recalls a repressed memory or has to speak about some part of his past. His first memory is of him at the young age of three years old, wandering the northern reaches of Oz not knowing who he is and certainly never knowing who he will become. In fact, this memory is where the Lion actually begins to speak to other creatures and finds his first “friend” in Jemmsy.

The story continues with more of the Lion’s memories being played out and, from my perspective as a reader, I thought the revelation of these memories was especially wordy and somewhat drawn out in the beginning of the novel. Maguire could have sped up the process and gotten the reader to some of the more interesting parts of the story quicker.

While Brrr interacts with Yackle, a young woman becomes a member of the The Clock of the Time Dragon – a traveling show that played a large part in the first book in this series. Through this young woman’s eyes, we see the scant relationships of those involved with the Clock. Frankly, these interludes in the beginning of the novel are a bit tedious and don’t make much sense until the end of the story.

Like the two previous novels, Maguire uses a winding tone in his storytelling and wedges in unnecessary sexual scenes. I have to admit, though, that after reading the first two books I could call when the awkward sexual moment was coming in this one (though I didn’t predict the blood – you’ll have to read the book if you want to know more).

After the slow start, the book becomes a fun read and I found myself zipping through it much quicker than the others in the series. What is especially nice about A Lion Among Men is that some of the loose ends from the first two novels are satisfactorily addressed. Lost characters are brought back into the story and unanswered questions are answered.

We’re still in the dark about Candle, Liir, and their child, but I’m sure that will all be addressed in a future story. After the slow start, I enjoyed reading A Lion Among Men and I recommend it to fans of the fantasy genre or those of you who have already read the first two books.

Book Review: Son of a Witch

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Some of you may remember a few months ago when I finished reading Wicked – The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I gave that book my highest recommendation and I was just as impressed with Gregory Maguire’s Son of a Witch: Volume Two in the Wicked Years, though somewhat confused towards the end of the novel (see below).

As the title of the novel suggests, this story focuses on the Wicked Witch of the West’s son – a young man named Liir. Essentially, the entire novel follows Liir’s journey growing up in the weird world of Oz with no discernible family or role models for him to loop up to. In some sense, the book becomes a story of Liir’s progression as a person and his coming to terms with his history while trying to figure out if there is any hope for his future.

Unfortunately for Liir, he has a tremendous bad luck streak which extends from his time as a child through the end of the novel. However, depending upon your view of the novel’s ending (which I won’t relay here), a strong argument can be made that Liir’s entire life story may consist of a series of half-starts and failures, but that the story itself is a triumph for his family. You have to read the book (especially the ending) for my summation to make any sense.

I thought it was fun to read this book as it brings back many of the old characters from Wicked and introduced some great new characters. Also, the reader has the opportunity to continue to watch the evolution of Oz – now in it’s post-Wizard state of affairs. Maguire sticks to his familiar story telling style with an abundance of sexual innuendo throughout the novel (oftentimes wedged in at awkward spots in the story) and a pessimistic tone to the novel’s writing. I enjoyed the pessimistic tone since, I think, the tone is in direct contrast to the idea that is pushed throughout the story regarding Elphaba (the Wicked Witch). Either Maguire wrote this novel with a stroke of brilliance or it just worked out right.

As I alluded to earlier, though, Liir’s personal story of growth gets weird towards the end of the novel. For some reason, Maguire expands the story of Liir’s self-discovery to all aspects of his life – including his sexuality. At one point in the story, Liir uses a well-connected old army buddy to help him complete a major mission that destroys one of the Emerald City’s strongest weapons (I won’t ruin the whole thing here because you should read the book and find out for yourself). Due to these actions, Liir and his army buddy have to get out of the Emerald City before they are hunted down and tried for their crimes. They wind up at a rundown old inn and the story progresses is a regular fashion and then all of a sudden they’re sleeping together! The whole thing is really awkward, but not because of the sexuality question (college students are forced to read enough of that crap in liberal arts programs), but because of how completely unrelated to the core story this twist is overall.

There was little reason to introduce Liir’s sexuality into the equation and the novel could have ended without any of this being included and remained a very strong story. The reader begins this book by reviewing the Liir’s history and current problems and then once you think you’ve grown to know something about the main character, you’re thrown this weird curve ball that really seems forced into the story and completely unnecessary.

I really feel like this “twist” becomes an unnecessary burden on what is a larger, more compelling story. That said, I also received the third book in this series for Christmas and I’ve finished it and will post a review of it tomorrow. It’s funny – the only reason I read Wicked and Son of a Witch is because I wanted to read the book about the Cowardly Lion.

If you’ve already read Wicked, then I recommend reading Son of a Witch: Volume Two in the Wicked Years. The story of Liir finding himself in the corrupt and bizarre world of Oz that Maguire creates is both compelling and entertaining. If you can manage to put aside the forced, awkward twist in Liir’s story towards the end of the novel, I think you’ll find a very strong, very tight story in Son of a Witch.