I don't know why the latest trend with the Marvel movies is slapstick comedy. Or an attempt at slapstick comedy. It ruined the last Thor movie. I had posted that Thor's latest movie made him seem like another Inspector Clouseau type of character, instead of the god of thunder.
Well, this latest Antman movie did the same thing. The entire movie was slapstick comedy. It made me think I was watching the Three Stooges. The first Marvel movies, although not perfect, were at least not ridiculous efforts of comedy. They were serious dramas. Which they should be. It was a removal from the tongue-in-cheek movies that Hollywood used to think comic book movies should be. If you'll recall the fist Bat Man and Superman movies were tongue-in-cheek. And bad tongue-in-cheek at that. They were so cheesy that they didn't appeal to the serious comic book fan.
Now that doesn't mean all tongue-in-cheek movies are cheesy. Tongue-in-cheek is one of the hardest genres to make. If you can do it well, it can be a good movie. But the comic book tongue-in-cheek movies were not done well.
Then Hollywood got wise, (which is rare, but it happens,) and made some good comic book movies. The first Marvel movies were pretty good. Now they have regressed and are back to bad humor. If you can put a little humor into a serious drama, that's fine. Even better. But it has to work. This latest Antman movie, as a comedy, like the last Thor movie, didn't work. My sons didn't even like it.
My oldest son was shaking his head saying the movie sucked midway through the movie. I agreed. That's not to say there weren't some good moments in the movie. But overall it was a thumb's down rating. A disappointment. Too bad. Antman is a good character. So is the Wasp. But not in the Hollywood universe. They are cheesy, dumb, and stupid. Like the movie.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Arrow - Same Stories - Flash - Corny Ones.
I'm back to watching Arrow and Flash, and, well, I'm disappointed in the same story lines. Like before, Arrow has a son who he's worried about, and like always, the father-son relationship is strained. The mother was killed, it seems, in the prior season finale, and Oliver Queen, (Green Arrow) has to raise his son as a single father now. But of course, the son is acting like a jerk, and gives little credit to Oliver for his efforts.
Glad my sons aren't like that. It makes for an uninteresting show. You can't help but dislike the character of the son. But whatever. At the same time we have another recurring story line. Once again, Oliver's identity as the Green Arrow has been revealed. And once again he's under investigation by law enforcement for the "crimes" of the Green Arrow. This is so old it's ridiculous. The show has already done this. And it's not interesting to go through it again.
Another reason, besides redundancy, is the fact that everyone recognizes the Green Arrow as a hero. But of course, not the investigators. They always seem to think he's as bad as any street thug, and not the guy who's saved countless lives, and has even saved the entire city multiple times. But does any of that matter? Why, no, he's got to be brought to "justice" for the "crime" of being a good guy.
It's so pathetic, I'm finding myself wondering why the hell am I bothering with this crap. At least Flash isn't rehashing the same story line over again. He's got a new suit which seemed pretty cool with the Tony Stark-like implements that Cisco put in there while Barry was in Limbo. But of course, there's got to be a new baddie who has the power to manipulate the techs in the suit.
Yeah, it's all corny, but at least it's not something they did before on the show, like Arrow. Maybe I'm too old to be watching these shows. My students are watching these shows, and some of them think it's cool that their teacher watches the same shows, so I'll keep it secret that I'm not really enjoying them anymore.
I guess it's true. After about three seasons, shows just seem to run out of stories that made them good in the first place. It happens to almost all shows. I used to love The Blacklist, but it turned into a stupid show. Even Homeland got lousy after season five. At least it had two seasons past it's third that were still tops.
Writers only have so much in them, it seems. Maybe they end up grasping at straws. Maybe they need more collaboration. Maybe they need to think outside the box. Or maybe that's what got them into trouble in the first place. I wonder if the creators are involved. I would think that would be important, meaning the person who created the characters might have the best insight into what should happen to them and how they should respond. Maybe that makes too much sense.
Glad my sons aren't like that. It makes for an uninteresting show. You can't help but dislike the character of the son. But whatever. At the same time we have another recurring story line. Once again, Oliver's identity as the Green Arrow has been revealed. And once again he's under investigation by law enforcement for the "crimes" of the Green Arrow. This is so old it's ridiculous. The show has already done this. And it's not interesting to go through it again.
Another reason, besides redundancy, is the fact that everyone recognizes the Green Arrow as a hero. But of course, not the investigators. They always seem to think he's as bad as any street thug, and not the guy who's saved countless lives, and has even saved the entire city multiple times. But does any of that matter? Why, no, he's got to be brought to "justice" for the "crime" of being a good guy.
It's so pathetic, I'm finding myself wondering why the hell am I bothering with this crap. At least Flash isn't rehashing the same story line over again. He's got a new suit which seemed pretty cool with the Tony Stark-like implements that Cisco put in there while Barry was in Limbo. But of course, there's got to be a new baddie who has the power to manipulate the techs in the suit.
Yeah, it's all corny, but at least it's not something they did before on the show, like Arrow. Maybe I'm too old to be watching these shows. My students are watching these shows, and some of them think it's cool that their teacher watches the same shows, so I'll keep it secret that I'm not really enjoying them anymore.
I guess it's true. After about three seasons, shows just seem to run out of stories that made them good in the first place. It happens to almost all shows. I used to love The Blacklist, but it turned into a stupid show. Even Homeland got lousy after season five. At least it had two seasons past it's third that were still tops.
Writers only have so much in them, it seems. Maybe they end up grasping at straws. Maybe they need more collaboration. Maybe they need to think outside the box. Or maybe that's what got them into trouble in the first place. I wonder if the creators are involved. I would think that would be important, meaning the person who created the characters might have the best insight into what should happen to them and how they should respond. Maybe that makes too much sense.
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
The Vase, Second Chance, and Heart of a Zulu
Since two of my publishers have gone out of business, three of my books are out of print. The Vase, Second Chance, and Heart of a Zulu are no longer available with two exceptions. On Amazon, there are two more books left of Second Chance, and one more book of Heart of a Zulu.
Because of that, the price of Second Chance has skyrocketed. Two hundred forty-nine dollars. That hasn't happened with Heart of a Zulu yet. So if you're inclined to read a true story that takes place in South Africa during the nineteenth century, you'd better jump on that. It's still listed at 14 dollars.
As for Second Chance, well, I don't expect anyone to pay over two hundred bucks for a book. Even if there are only two copies left. I am, after all, trying to find new publishers pretty soon. Unless some collector wants to get the now rare copies of first editions. There are collectors who do that. Usually they are well-to-do people who have the money to spend on thing like that.
The first issue of Superman sold for over a million dollars. And that was a ten cent comic book. So you never know. In fifty years, or a hundred years, anything goes.
Because of that, the price of Second Chance has skyrocketed. Two hundred forty-nine dollars. That hasn't happened with Heart of a Zulu yet. So if you're inclined to read a true story that takes place in South Africa during the nineteenth century, you'd better jump on that. It's still listed at 14 dollars.
As for Second Chance, well, I don't expect anyone to pay over two hundred bucks for a book. Even if there are only two copies left. I am, after all, trying to find new publishers pretty soon. Unless some collector wants to get the now rare copies of first editions. There are collectors who do that. Usually they are well-to-do people who have the money to spend on thing like that.
The first issue of Superman sold for over a million dollars. And that was a ten cent comic book. So you never know. In fifty years, or a hundred years, anything goes.
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Agents? I Wonder
Trying to land an agent again. My first effort resulted in finding an agent but that was short-lived. And nothing happened as a result. I went straight to publishers after that, and had some success. The Vase was seemingly the most popular. It was accepted by five publishers. I went with the publisher I thought would be the best, and it was in several ways. They taught me a lot about writing a novel. And I took that knowledge and applied it to all of my novels, and they are all better for it.
Killer of Killers drew a lot of interest as well. Not just from agents but from publishers. Although only one publisher offered a contract, compared with the five contracts offered for The Vase. But that publisher is still kickin'. Two of the publishers who offered contracts for The Vase, and with whom I signed, folded. Thus the rights are reverted to me. Another publisher with whom I signed had internal trouble, including lawsuits by former staff. I chronicled all of it on the blog here, so I don't need to get into it again. It was a frustrating experience
The bottom line I discovered is that people don't really care about you, or your contracts or your money. They only care about themselves. Of course, I knew that already. So it was no surprise. You can't really trust anyone. Not in the publishing business. Not in any business. It's what I teach my sons. As a matter of fact, my youngest son asked me recently what my most important advice to him would be. I said without hesitation 'Don't trust anyone.' I've told him before. Both of my sons. Many times. You just can't trust anyone is this world and it's a shame really.
Which means being an agent is an oxymoron. An agent is supposed to be someone you can trust. But you can't trust anyone. Still I'm seeking an agent. It's the best chance to make the Big Five. And I do want that. So I have no recourse. We'll see how that goes.
For me, it wasn't an agent, but a publisher who became an untrustworthy entity. Here's a lesson I learned and I did apply it the second time. You cannot trust a publisher who doesn't sign his own contract. I chronicled the happenings here on the blog some years ago. And when a later publisher tried to do the same thing to me, I told them that.
Here's the trick. A publisher will send you a contract unsigned by them. A first time author will sign it and send it back, thinking the publisher will then sign it and send you a copy. But that didn't happen. So I learned a lesson. Then when a second publisher did that to me, this time I knew better. I told them that publishers who don't sign their own contracts are publishers who cannot be trusted. I said that. Straight up. So then they got on the ball and signed it and sent it back to me.
See? Lessons learned and applied. But sadly three of the other publishers who offered contracts for The Vase simply folded. So that's another reason I'd prefer the Big Five. They won't fold.
But you take what you can get. When will I give up? Who knows. You keep trying. The Vase, Heart of a Zulu, and Second Chance will find homes again. We'll see which homes. Soon I hope.
Killer of Killers drew a lot of interest as well. Not just from agents but from publishers. Although only one publisher offered a contract, compared with the five contracts offered for The Vase. But that publisher is still kickin'. Two of the publishers who offered contracts for The Vase, and with whom I signed, folded. Thus the rights are reverted to me. Another publisher with whom I signed had internal trouble, including lawsuits by former staff. I chronicled all of it on the blog here, so I don't need to get into it again. It was a frustrating experience
The bottom line I discovered is that people don't really care about you, or your contracts or your money. They only care about themselves. Of course, I knew that already. So it was no surprise. You can't really trust anyone. Not in the publishing business. Not in any business. It's what I teach my sons. As a matter of fact, my youngest son asked me recently what my most important advice to him would be. I said without hesitation 'Don't trust anyone.' I've told him before. Both of my sons. Many times. You just can't trust anyone is this world and it's a shame really.
Which means being an agent is an oxymoron. An agent is supposed to be someone you can trust. But you can't trust anyone. Still I'm seeking an agent. It's the best chance to make the Big Five. And I do want that. So I have no recourse. We'll see how that goes.
For me, it wasn't an agent, but a publisher who became an untrustworthy entity. Here's a lesson I learned and I did apply it the second time. You cannot trust a publisher who doesn't sign his own contract. I chronicled the happenings here on the blog some years ago. And when a later publisher tried to do the same thing to me, I told them that.
Here's the trick. A publisher will send you a contract unsigned by them. A first time author will sign it and send it back, thinking the publisher will then sign it and send you a copy. But that didn't happen. So I learned a lesson. Then when a second publisher did that to me, this time I knew better. I told them that publishers who don't sign their own contracts are publishers who cannot be trusted. I said that. Straight up. So then they got on the ball and signed it and sent it back to me.
See? Lessons learned and applied. But sadly three of the other publishers who offered contracts for The Vase simply folded. So that's another reason I'd prefer the Big Five. They won't fold.
But you take what you can get. When will I give up? Who knows. You keep trying. The Vase, Heart of a Zulu, and Second Chance will find homes again. We'll see which homes. Soon I hope.
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Homeland - Done - Okay
All right. I'm finished watching Homeland. Not because I didn't like it anymore. I'm done because I've watched the final episode of the final season. Or at least the final season that had been aired. Is there going to be a season eight? I don't even know. As far as I'm concerned, it's okay if there is. I'll probably watch it if there is. As for the season I just finished? Season seven? It was okay. A bit better than season six at least. Well, the two seasons were really one big season, meaning the story arc covered seasons six and seven.
It was about the first woman president more than anything else. Don't know if the producers and writers of the show expected Hillary to win and made their show a parallel story for that scenario. My guess is they did expect Hillary to win, because everyone did. But whatever. The show was on the decline, and even though it leveled out for season seven, I was not much interested anymore.
And that's because of what they did to Peter Quinn. He was a great character, and like I said before, was half the show. Carrie is able to carry the show by herself, but like I said before, without Quinn the show was only half as good. Which was still good, though. And like I said it ended okay.
That is if it is the end. My guess is there will be a season eight, and will pick up where they left off. With Carrie being returned to America in a prisoner exchange with the Russians. After seven months of imprisonment and no meds for her bipolar condition, she looked like a wretch there at the end. Totally off her rocker. Again, Claire Danes is a fabulous actress. I don't think anyone else could have been better for the part.
So now what? Flash? Arrow? Or another show that's been out for years that I haven't watched? I didn't last more than a couple episodes of Empire, nor did I last for more that two episodes of Westworld. And I ended up hating Counterpart. I absolutely loved Limitless, but it was canceled after one season, so there you go. Not much more in the TV world for me, it seems. Not when the shows I love are canceled. Or they just run out of gas like The Blacklist did.
Maybe I'll go back to writing my own stories. But probably not. I'm still trying to find new homes for The Vase, Heart of a Zulu, and Second Chance. And while I'm doing that I'll be improving the prose for them at the same time. Might as well. A book can always be written better, I've found. So I will keep making them better until they are published again.
At that point I may go back to writing new stories. Or maybe not. But I probably will.
It was about the first woman president more than anything else. Don't know if the producers and writers of the show expected Hillary to win and made their show a parallel story for that scenario. My guess is they did expect Hillary to win, because everyone did. But whatever. The show was on the decline, and even though it leveled out for season seven, I was not much interested anymore.
And that's because of what they did to Peter Quinn. He was a great character, and like I said before, was half the show. Carrie is able to carry the show by herself, but like I said before, without Quinn the show was only half as good. Which was still good, though. And like I said it ended okay.
That is if it is the end. My guess is there will be a season eight, and will pick up where they left off. With Carrie being returned to America in a prisoner exchange with the Russians. After seven months of imprisonment and no meds for her bipolar condition, she looked like a wretch there at the end. Totally off her rocker. Again, Claire Danes is a fabulous actress. I don't think anyone else could have been better for the part.
So now what? Flash? Arrow? Or another show that's been out for years that I haven't watched? I didn't last more than a couple episodes of Empire, nor did I last for more that two episodes of Westworld. And I ended up hating Counterpart. I absolutely loved Limitless, but it was canceled after one season, so there you go. Not much more in the TV world for me, it seems. Not when the shows I love are canceled. Or they just run out of gas like The Blacklist did.
Maybe I'll go back to writing my own stories. But probably not. I'm still trying to find new homes for The Vase, Heart of a Zulu, and Second Chance. And while I'm doing that I'll be improving the prose for them at the same time. Might as well. A book can always be written better, I've found. So I will keep making them better until they are published again.
At that point I may go back to writing new stories. Or maybe not. But I probably will.
Monday, July 9, 2018
Homeland Still Not Predictable
I'll say this much for Homeland. It may not be as good as it used to be, but it's still not predictable. That's a good thing, btw. It seems that that Wellington dude is not the guy who made the murder of the general dude happen. It seems he was set up. And it seems to be a good story arc after all.
But so what. The show still blew it with the demise of the Quinn character. He was half the show. And without him, as I said before, the show's quality has been halved. It seems that this Wellington dude is a good guy, but a sappy good guy. He was "played" by a Russian spy to take the blame for the murder of that general who was sent to prison.
So, Wellington, although amiable, is more like the sap I had called him. He was duped by allowing the Russian spy to make it look like he was abusing her, when he wasn't.
Right now I'm about half done with season seven, and once I'm finished with season seven I'll be done with the series. Unless there's a season eight. Not sure if there is. If there is, I may watch it. But I won't miss it if there isn't. That's what happens when you ruin what once was a great show. People stop watching. So whatever. Still have to see the latest seasons of Flash and Arrow. Let's see how they turn out. Haven't been so pleased with them lately either. We'll see.
But so what. The show still blew it with the demise of the Quinn character. He was half the show. And without him, as I said before, the show's quality has been halved. It seems that this Wellington dude is a good guy, but a sappy good guy. He was "played" by a Russian spy to take the blame for the murder of that general who was sent to prison.
So, Wellington, although amiable, is more like the sap I had called him. He was duped by allowing the Russian spy to make it look like he was abusing her, when he wasn't.
Right now I'm about half done with season seven, and once I'm finished with season seven I'll be done with the series. Unless there's a season eight. Not sure if there is. If there is, I may watch it. But I won't miss it if there isn't. That's what happens when you ruin what once was a great show. People stop watching. So whatever. Still have to see the latest seasons of Flash and Arrow. Let's see how they turn out. Haven't been so pleased with them lately either. We'll see.
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Homeland-First Two Episodes Season Seven
Well, after watching the first two episodes of season seven of Homeland, my theory of the new president being drugged seems to be wrong. This Wellington dude does not seem to have taken control and I'm not sure this makes the show better or not.
It's turning out that the other option is what is happening. The new president turned loony. Ultra paranoid might be a better description. And as far as Wellington is concerned, he might be the loony one. Well, insofar as he was willing to murder someone to keep his job.
But none of that matters. My biggest complaint is that the show has turned America, and/or Americans into the bad guy(s). So since season six and now into season seven, we have Americans fighting Americans. It's all a domestic scenario now instead of an international one.
And again, it's not what I signed up for when I started watching the show. One of the reasons I liked the show so much was that Peter Quinn was a bad ass assassin. But now that he's gone, the show seems one dimensional. It's now only about Carrie.
At first Carrie was good enough to "carry" the show. With Quinn's addition, it made the show twice as good. But the character of Quinn was so good, he was stealing the show as I've pointed out before. So they get rid of Quinn and we're back to just Carrie. It was like they tried to improve the show through subtraction. That only works when you had a character who was a detriment to a show. And that was NOT the case with Quinn.
He was an equal hero to Carrie's hero, and now the result is the show's quality has been halved. Add that point to the point that they are changing gears as to the show's antagonists it makes for a huge disappointment to a show about which I had been raving.
No more raves seem to be in store for Homeland. But with seasons one through five, I suppose it had a great run. It seems most TV series tend to run out of gas eventually. It happened to Blacklist after its third season. So there you go.
It's turning out that the other option is what is happening. The new president turned loony. Ultra paranoid might be a better description. And as far as Wellington is concerned, he might be the loony one. Well, insofar as he was willing to murder someone to keep his job.
But none of that matters. My biggest complaint is that the show has turned America, and/or Americans into the bad guy(s). So since season six and now into season seven, we have Americans fighting Americans. It's all a domestic scenario now instead of an international one.
And again, it's not what I signed up for when I started watching the show. One of the reasons I liked the show so much was that Peter Quinn was a bad ass assassin. But now that he's gone, the show seems one dimensional. It's now only about Carrie.
At first Carrie was good enough to "carry" the show. With Quinn's addition, it made the show twice as good. But the character of Quinn was so good, he was stealing the show as I've pointed out before. So they get rid of Quinn and we're back to just Carrie. It was like they tried to improve the show through subtraction. That only works when you had a character who was a detriment to a show. And that was NOT the case with Quinn.
He was an equal hero to Carrie's hero, and now the result is the show's quality has been halved. Add that point to the point that they are changing gears as to the show's antagonists it makes for a huge disappointment to a show about which I had been raving.
No more raves seem to be in store for Homeland. But with seasons one through five, I suppose it had a great run. It seems most TV series tend to run out of gas eventually. It happened to Blacklist after its third season. So there you go.
Friday, July 6, 2018
Homeland Season Six
It sucked. Really. They ruined my favorite character and then killed him off. Yeah, yeah, he died as a hero saving the lives of Carrie and the president-elect, but so what.
To me it was like this. Carrie was the star of the show. No doubt. From the beginning. And Claire Danes did a fantastic job of acting. I believe no actress could have done better. She was tops.
But then they introduced a new character. Peter Quinn, played by Rupert Friend from Hitman Agent 47 fame. And just like he was in Hitman Agent 47, he was a hitman. An assassin. For the CIA. Rupert Friend is a great actor too. He was great as Agent 47, and he was great as super assassin Peter Quinn. I was thinking he might be great as Trent Smith from my Killer Series. (But no, he's too tall: six foot one.) But the character of Quinn was so great that he was stealing the show from Carrie, (Claire Danes.)
But of course we couldn't have that. Meaning we couldn't be allowed to have someone steal the show from Carrie. So what do they do? They turn him into a brain-damaged, handicapped, near crippled sideshow. And then they finished the job and killed him.
Right. So there goes my interest in the show. The entire Season Six sucked. From start to finish. All twelve episodes. In Episode One we saw Quinn's disability, and in Episode Twelve we saw him die. Just great. Not my cup of tea for a fictional story that had a great hero.
Make no mistake, I still believe Carrie is a great hero. Sure she makes mistakes. It was her mistake that turned Quinn into the brain-damaged person he became. And that was not what I ordered. I don't mean any disrespect to any brain-damaged persons out there, but watching the antics of a brain-damaged person was not very appealing to me.
So the two characters who were there from the beginning and are still there going into Season Seven are Carrie and Saul. And what does Season Seven have in store? It seems this new president is going loony. At least that's the impression the final shots of Season Six's finale implied. We see her sitting at her desk with this loony look on her face while everyone who had helped her avoid assassination, including Saul but not including Carrie, is being arrested. It could be she was drugged. No further clues were given.
My feeling is this: There's a new character by name of Wellington. And I predict it's this Wellington guy who is taking over the presidency while keeping the president in a drug induced haze. It's not original. It's been done before. Sheesh, it was the plot of a Star Trek episode from the original series. It was the episode when Captain Kirk and the Enterprise visited a planet that had copied the Nazis. A Federation guy had implemented the Nazi system of economic growth to bring stability to an otherwise floundering native population. But then the Federation guy's chief of staff drugged him and kept him in a drug-induced haze while he took over and proceeded with the original Nazi "policy" of extermination and war.
Yeah, it's a plot that we've seen many times since. So is that what's going on? Is the president drugged, or is the president really going loony? My guess is the former. Will it be worth watching? Don't know. Season six wasn't. That's for sure.
To me it was like this. Carrie was the star of the show. No doubt. From the beginning. And Claire Danes did a fantastic job of acting. I believe no actress could have done better. She was tops.
 |
| Rupert Friend as CIA assassin Peter Quinn |
But of course we couldn't have that. Meaning we couldn't be allowed to have someone steal the show from Carrie. So what do they do? They turn him into a brain-damaged, handicapped, near crippled sideshow. And then they finished the job and killed him.
Right. So there goes my interest in the show. The entire Season Six sucked. From start to finish. All twelve episodes. In Episode One we saw Quinn's disability, and in Episode Twelve we saw him die. Just great. Not my cup of tea for a fictional story that had a great hero.
Make no mistake, I still believe Carrie is a great hero. Sure she makes mistakes. It was her mistake that turned Quinn into the brain-damaged person he became. And that was not what I ordered. I don't mean any disrespect to any brain-damaged persons out there, but watching the antics of a brain-damaged person was not very appealing to me.
So the two characters who were there from the beginning and are still there going into Season Seven are Carrie and Saul. And what does Season Seven have in store? It seems this new president is going loony. At least that's the impression the final shots of Season Six's finale implied. We see her sitting at her desk with this loony look on her face while everyone who had helped her avoid assassination, including Saul but not including Carrie, is being arrested. It could be she was drugged. No further clues were given.
My feeling is this: There's a new character by name of Wellington. And I predict it's this Wellington guy who is taking over the presidency while keeping the president in a drug induced haze. It's not original. It's been done before. Sheesh, it was the plot of a Star Trek episode from the original series. It was the episode when Captain Kirk and the Enterprise visited a planet that had copied the Nazis. A Federation guy had implemented the Nazi system of economic growth to bring stability to an otherwise floundering native population. But then the Federation guy's chief of staff drugged him and kept him in a drug-induced haze while he took over and proceeded with the original Nazi "policy" of extermination and war.
Yeah, it's a plot that we've seen many times since. So is that what's going on? Is the president drugged, or is the president really going loony? My guess is the former. Will it be worth watching? Don't know. Season six wasn't. That's for sure.
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Homeland Peaks, then Flops
I watched through season five of Homeland, and as good as it already was, it was only getting better and better. By the time Season five ended, I really thought it was better than ever. Then came Season Six. Just like Blacklist, it flopped. I've watched the first two episodes, now, of Season Six of Homeland, and....BORING! BORING! BORING!
Sheesh, what a let down. I had been raving about Homeland ever since I first started watching it. And I was all set to continue raving about it after the last episode of Season Five. But now.... YUCK!
First, the star and heroine of the show, Carrie, is no longer working for (or with) the CIA. It's been an on again off again thing the last few seasons, which was frustrating, but they made it work. But now, not only is she not working for or with the CIA, she's working against them. And the show has actually made the CIA and the FBI the bad guys. And to me, that's a load of crap.
Why? Because that's NOT what I bargained for when I signed up to watch this series. But wait. It gets worse. Yeah, you guessed it. The MUSLIMS are the good guys. Or let's put it this way. They are the aggrieved party now. They're the victims.
Look, I know full well there are good Muslims. They are human beings like any other group of people. Good, bad, wonderful, horrible, and everything in between. Like any other people. I've known quite a few myself. But the premise of the show was fighting the radical ones. The ones who are the TERRORISTS. It's no secret that there are radical Muslim terrorists who kill and brag about how they want to kill Americans, and Jews, too, and anyone else for that matter who doesn't subscribe to their version of Islam. Even other Muslims!
And through Season Five, those were the bad guys. And by the way, kudos to Homeland for including in their story-lines, not only the radical bad ones, but the good ones as well. There was a doctor who saved Quinn, for instance. A good man. A good Muslim man. I had no problem with that. But now to turn everything around? For what? For (god forbid,) political correctness? Just like I said with Blacklist and Taken, when they did that, it's BULLSHIT. Why can't we do away with this political correctness crap? It ruins everything, and we didn't need it.
Why? Because Homeland had already established that there certainly are good Muslims out there. Good ones who help America fight the bad ones. Remember Fara? She was a Muslim woman who was also a CIA agent fighting the bad Muslims. Until one of those bad Muslims murdered her. Which I was saddened to see. I really liked Fara. She was one of my favorite characters. Yeah, a Muslim woman was one of my favorite characters. But in Season Six they've made the Muslims the victims and made the CIA and FBI the bad guys! I don't buy it.
Can it get worse? Yes. Another of my favorite characters was Peter Quinn. A total bad ass, who was a great fighter, and a great killer of bad guys. And that doesn't just include Muslim bad guys. One of my favorite scenes was when he had sneaked into the CIA director's personal residence, and warned him that if anything happened to a particular someone, the director would find him in his residence again. Because he "kills bad guys!" You see, Quinn was supposed to kill that particular someone until he realized that that particular someone WASN'T a bad guy.
Of course I loved that scene and that line. It was almost a scene straight from my own book, Killer of Killers and Killer Eyes. Trent Smith could had said the same thing word for word.
But now, in Season Six, Quinn is reduced to a brain damaged, handicapped, drug addict. And it is very annoying to see him in the scenes they have written for him now. It's more than annoying, actually. They've reduced Quinn from a terrific character who was very close to stealing the show from Carrie, to an uninteresting sideshow. It makes me want to stop watching the show.
So, like I said. I'm only two episodes into Season Six. And there's a Season Seven as well. So will I make it that far? At this rate, I'm not sure I'll finish Season Six. They better fix Quinn. And fast. Or I'm done. And they better stop trying so hard to convince me that Muslims can be good guys. Because I already knew that. They had already established that. All they're doing to the show now is turning it into bullshit. And that's a shame. It was so good.
Sheesh, what a let down. I had been raving about Homeland ever since I first started watching it. And I was all set to continue raving about it after the last episode of Season Five. But now.... YUCK!
First, the star and heroine of the show, Carrie, is no longer working for (or with) the CIA. It's been an on again off again thing the last few seasons, which was frustrating, but they made it work. But now, not only is she not working for or with the CIA, she's working against them. And the show has actually made the CIA and the FBI the bad guys. And to me, that's a load of crap.
Why? Because that's NOT what I bargained for when I signed up to watch this series. But wait. It gets worse. Yeah, you guessed it. The MUSLIMS are the good guys. Or let's put it this way. They are the aggrieved party now. They're the victims.
Look, I know full well there are good Muslims. They are human beings like any other group of people. Good, bad, wonderful, horrible, and everything in between. Like any other people. I've known quite a few myself. But the premise of the show was fighting the radical ones. The ones who are the TERRORISTS. It's no secret that there are radical Muslim terrorists who kill and brag about how they want to kill Americans, and Jews, too, and anyone else for that matter who doesn't subscribe to their version of Islam. Even other Muslims!
And through Season Five, those were the bad guys. And by the way, kudos to Homeland for including in their story-lines, not only the radical bad ones, but the good ones as well. There was a doctor who saved Quinn, for instance. A good man. A good Muslim man. I had no problem with that. But now to turn everything around? For what? For (god forbid,) political correctness? Just like I said with Blacklist and Taken, when they did that, it's BULLSHIT. Why can't we do away with this political correctness crap? It ruins everything, and we didn't need it.
Why? Because Homeland had already established that there certainly are good Muslims out there. Good ones who help America fight the bad ones. Remember Fara? She was a Muslim woman who was also a CIA agent fighting the bad Muslims. Until one of those bad Muslims murdered her. Which I was saddened to see. I really liked Fara. She was one of my favorite characters. Yeah, a Muslim woman was one of my favorite characters. But in Season Six they've made the Muslims the victims and made the CIA and FBI the bad guys! I don't buy it.
Can it get worse? Yes. Another of my favorite characters was Peter Quinn. A total bad ass, who was a great fighter, and a great killer of bad guys. And that doesn't just include Muslim bad guys. One of my favorite scenes was when he had sneaked into the CIA director's personal residence, and warned him that if anything happened to a particular someone, the director would find him in his residence again. Because he "kills bad guys!" You see, Quinn was supposed to kill that particular someone until he realized that that particular someone WASN'T a bad guy.
Of course I loved that scene and that line. It was almost a scene straight from my own book, Killer of Killers and Killer Eyes. Trent Smith could had said the same thing word for word.
But now, in Season Six, Quinn is reduced to a brain damaged, handicapped, drug addict. And it is very annoying to see him in the scenes they have written for him now. It's more than annoying, actually. They've reduced Quinn from a terrific character who was very close to stealing the show from Carrie, to an uninteresting sideshow. It makes me want to stop watching the show.
So, like I said. I'm only two episodes into Season Six. And there's a Season Seven as well. So will I make it that far? At this rate, I'm not sure I'll finish Season Six. They better fix Quinn. And fast. Or I'm done. And they better stop trying so hard to convince me that Muslims can be good guys. Because I already knew that. They had already established that. All they're doing to the show now is turning it into bullshit. And that's a shame. It was so good.
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