30 Rock (10/10)

Posted by SternMystic in , , ,

Having viewed an episode here and an episode there of 30 Rock, had been planning to watch the entire series. Turned out to be quite an experience, as I watched all 21 episodes of Season 1 of 30 Rock in the last 24hrs. It was "unputdownable" as the critics would say about books. The level of creativity, the variety of presentation and a certain charm that is only achievable in the city of NewYork has paved the way for a series that is certainly among the most "fresh" in recent years. Personally, I consider a show to be really good whenever I feel like I would have given up almost anything to have played any part in its existence. In this case, I specifically found myself wishing I had been involved in writing this show but would have been satisfied even if I had been the hotdog man on the street that Tina Fey frequently buys from. Quite similar to the way I felt while reading Stephen Hawkings book on black holes, it was so simple and yet so advanced that I wish I had written that book. When such a huge cast with veteran notables come together, it would really be the whole support crew that needs to be praised. While I will refrain from self-evident praise around the good talent by most of the cast, I would like to point out Rachel Dratch who I began noticing from the second episode. She has done a remarkable job portraying various roles from pet lady with a kitten named runt (which conveniently serves to beep out a curse word ending with "unt" directed at Tina during throughout the episode) to the hooker that hooks up with Jack and goes to party at Tracy's house while he is roleplaying with his wife on Valentine's day. Finally, most noteworthy, is the absence of the omni-present very much annoying "laugh track" that has come to dominate small screen comedy. Finally, I can tell when people around me do not get the joke and quickly turn around to laugh at them.

Some Trivia:
Fey's hubby Richmond composed music, including the awesomely jazzy theme
Emily Mortimer, who appears in a few episodes was also in Pink Panther
Tina was the casting director and most of the cast are her friends from SNL
Rachel Dratch was supposed to play Jenna. Replaced by Jane Karkowski

Ending quote:
Try saying "Rural Juror" with a mid-western American accent.



Star Trek (6/10) Die Hard: Space Walk (8/10)

Posted by SternMystic in , ,

As a trekkie, I felt completely let down by this movie being called a Star Trek movie. It should have just been made as the fifth sequence of Die Hard :)

Ofcourse, all this did'nt stop me from enjoying the movie. All I had to do was repeat 3 times:
"This is not Stark Trek, it is Die Hard: Space Walk"
"This is not Stark Trek, it is Die Hard: Space Walk"
"This is not Stark Trek, it is Die Hard: Space Walk"

Spolier Alert: Very Minor spoilers ahead but nothing that should change your movie experience

Not that I did not see this coming. I guess I need to brace for and face the fact that teenage humour sells mroe than middle aged honour. Take Stargate Atlantis for exmaple, a series that was doing so well and building up to be an eternal saga. The powers that be decided they could make more money getting kids to watch it, so they axed the show in the 5th season and are working on bringing up StarGate 90210, with the theme being a college in space with teenagers and their stargate adventures. Not that I mind this, infact I'll probably even watch it, I am simply furious that my show got axed to make way for this. The Star Trek that I grew up to had honour first, then adventure and as brief respites, peppered humour. This movie on the other hand was like a National Lampoon's Star Trek. Between Kal Pen joining Obama and John Cho manning the thrusters, I wonder if our world will soon be run by pot smoking, glue sniffing teenage hormones. It is unthinkable that an officer on the bridge will not be trained enough to not be able to take off because he forgot the inertial dampeners. Then there was that irritating Russian accent which was milked for eternity, seemingly because JJ thought it was humourous. I could go on and on, about obvious and tantalising deviances from set customs of Star Trek such as the kissing scene with Spock. I have'nt seen a more un-natural chemistry between two humans (well one half-human). And who promotes a suspended cadet to first officer in 5 minutes? The cast might as well have had Charlie Sheen as Kirk, Steve Martin as Capt. Pike and Vince Vaugh as Spock junior. At least I would'nt have had to assume it was a trekkie movie. My rants, I realize are a lost cause. The movie has one good aspect, it brought all non-trekkies together and made them watch it. They love it and are now walking around claiming themselves as trekkies. Market analysis and profit milking have taken over which is only natural for those investing in it, I can hardly blame them. All I can hope for now is that there are enough fuddy duddies like me that prefer old school enough to keep this slapstick movie seperate from the saga that we have always enjoyed.

Ender's Game

Posted by SternMystic in ,

My favourite author growing up has been R.K. Narayan, mostly due to his simplistic writing style. Although, I am no stranger to word play or plot complexity, these must be used with care and in as sufficient amount as they are required. With this in mind, I highly recommend Orson Scott Card's Sci-Fi accomplishment, Ender's Game to anyone with a heart for science fiction novels. As a huge fan of Dr.Isaac Asimov, I have never felt the same connection with any other work as I did with the Foundation Series, until now. While Dr.Asimov's protagnosit is a scientist at heart, Orson's is a human prone to logic, confusion and compassion. Much contrast there. And a lasting impression.

Tech Specs: This book was primarily read under the following ambience, apart from a few hours at coffee shops and briefly in the waiting room of Dr.Wong. Alone at home, on a comfortable leather couch in the evening, having shirked of the social calling's of a Friday evening, by the yellow rays of the light bulb, listening to Pearl Jam's Ten in its entirety in the background.

Warning: Do not (at any cost) read any portion of the books summary, cover review, prologue, or any other supporting documents or talk to friends or foe about it prior to reading the book.