-
Once and Again: No Buts About It
Once and Again: No Buts About ItIntroductionThe premises of most television shows contain “buts”: plot devices that place the main characters in a situation that seems extraordinary or contradictory to his or her character. These buts are used as hooks to gain an audience: he works for the police, but he is a serial killer; she is a loving mother, but she sells drugs. Once and Again is a show without buts; there is no hook. It shows how everyday situations are extraordinary for those living through them. Instead of focusing on plot it focuses on the characters: their identities, their relationships, their triumphs and tribulations. With Once and Again there are no monsters to slay except the ones that the characters carry with them, inside themselves. They have no means or ability to save the world, though some do try to sort out their own lives, which may be more difficult.Before we can talk about the show, we need to discuss the genesis of the show. To do this, we need to talk about the background of the creators as well as the genesis of a different show. Fresh out of film school and having worked on the drama Family, Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick were offered a chance to create a television show. These two film grads agreed, but secretly hoped for the failure of their show, as they wanted to concentrate on making movies.Their show was called thirtysomething. It followed the lives of several thirtysomethings in the 1980s. thirtysomething was character based; it focused on the personal and professional lives of its baby boomer characters. The show helped revolutionize television by being one of the first primetime shows to include multiple storylines going on within a single episode. It was also one of the first primetime shows utilizing the episodic serial format. This means that while individual problems may be resolved at the end of an episode, there are plot points and references that extend throughout several episodes or seasons. Both of those aspects of the show were almost unheard of at the time.While Herskovitz and Zwick did become eventually make it big in the film industry, for the sake of this paper we will only talk about their television series. After the success of thirtysomething they were involved with My So-Called Life (1994), which chronicles the life of fifteen-year-old Angela Chase. My So-Called Life was critically acclaimed for its realistic portrayal of teenage life. According to Samantha Bornemann, Angela brought about the first wave of teen girl drama (the second and third waves belong to Buffy Summers and Veronica Mars, respectively). In 1996 they worked on a series called Relativity (1996), which was about a twentysomething couple that meet in Italy and then continue dating back in the States.Both Herskovitz and Zwick held several different positions on all the shows they worked on: producing, writing, directing. The background of these two is important here because it is important to understand that the aesthetics used in Once and Again did not start there. Most of the analysis of Once and Again can be applied in a more diluted way to their other series, most notably thirtysomething (Once and Again has often been affectionately referred to by fans as fortysomething). With thirtysomething, Herskovitz and Zwick were trying out a new television aesthetic. By the time they did Once and Again they had perfected it. -
What Is Modernism?
Got OMD’s History of Modern in the mail yesterday. I’ll post a review soon. This is from the CD booklet; I thought it was interesting. 🙂
-
Latest Haul
-
New Berserk Series
It’s official. Check out the teaser clips here. This might be the most anticipated recent anime release since the third Tenchi OAV. As far as I can tell no one is sure if this is a re-telling of the original series, or if it’s a continuation. Personally, I’d like to see more than the first 13 manga volumes animated. Of course, if it’s popular, maybe they’ll start animating the whole thing. Only time will tell.
-
iOffer: eBay’s Slightly Shady, But Lovable Alternative
If one of your favorite television shows has yet to show up on DVD, you’re familiar with the frustration, the impatience, and the uncertainty of never knowing if you’ll ever get to see it again. For years I had waited for season three of Once & Again to come out. While the first two seasons had come out, the third season was planned, a release date given, and then was put on hold indefinitely. One night, my friend Corey had told me about a site that sold unreleased television series. I immediately logged on and was ecstatic to find Once & Again season three, for under $20, even! This was my introduction to iOffer.iOffer presents itself as a place to “Buy, Sell & Trade.” Essentially, it’s a lot like Ebay, but with more freedom. Instead of bidding, items are put up and you can either buy them for a certain price (like eBay’s Buy-It-Now option) or you can make an offer (either monetary or for products that you have for sale). The seller can than refuse your offer or make a counteroffer. They sell anything and everything on there, though the big difference is the amount of television and movies you can find there and nowhere else.Long gone are the days searching eBay daily, hoping you can spot an unofficial DVD set and buy it before it’s taken down. Now they’re just sitting at iOffer, waiting for you to find them. Mind you, when I say unofficial release, I mean that these sets were usually recorded from an actual TV broadcast. They’re pirated boxed sets, though some sellers make labels and boxes.Obviously, these sets break copyright law; they’re illegal. As far as morality goes, if a studio doesn’t release a series I feel it’s fair game for these “unofficial sets” to exist. They’re a last resort. Sometimes it’s your only way to get your hands on a series. So, how come they’re only available on iOffer?Despite having a clear policy on deleting items based on copyright law, I believe iOffer is just a lot more relaxed than eBay on the issue. This is good for the unreleased sets, which aren’t really hurting anything, but some sellers sell rips of official DVDs, which is not only douchey, but also hurts the studios. Sometimes sellers will also steal sets of others sellers who took time to make menus and master a series and then sell it themselves for much cheaper. This is the cutthroat world of pirated media.I’d also like to point out that most (if not all) of these series are available for download via torrent sites. Heck, some are taken from torrent sites. However, there still exists a market for people who want physical media, or who don’t know how or don’t want to burn digital files themselves. Some people like printed cases and labels, even if they’re not official sets.I think the site is great for obtaining forgotten or unreleased media. I’ve talked about television mainly, but they have out of print or never released movies and CDs, as well. I would, however, discourage people from buying unofficial stuff that has been officially released from iOffer. iOffer is great as a last resort to find unreleased stuff, but let’s not deliberately cheat studios out of money when a series has been officially released. They also sell official media, just be careful to read the description. Most sellers are very honest about what you’re getting. -
M
Whenever I have extra money, I’ll sometimes blow $50 on random asian movies. After reading the synopsis of M I knew that I had to have it. The protagonist is Ma-Ri, a seemingly normal Koran high school girl. She has two best friends and Ji-Suk, her high school crush. Unfortunately, Ma-Ri has a “devil inside of her.” When she was born the soul of an aborted baby, M, entered her body. After a terrible string of events Ma-Ri disappears for eight years and her family and friends are told she is dead. Her friends find her working at a hospital as a doctor. Ma-Ri has
amnesia and her family and friends are trying to make her remember who she is. Meanwhile, M is trying to take control of Ma-Ri’s body and seek revenge on the world.This is my first K-Drama, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. The box informed me that this was in the top twenty most-viewed K-Dramas of all time and sparked quite a controversy when it first aired. A lot of the series deals with Ma-Ri rekindling and coming to terms with relationships between her friends and family. Her high school crush, Ji-Suk, is now dating one of her best friends. There’re several soap opera-ish elements like that going on amidst all the supernatural stuff.Like any good drama, M left me wanting to watch the next episode immediately afterfinishing one. It was addicting. That being said, it isn’t perfect. There are some character motivations and plot holes that don’t quite make sense to me. The special effects aren’toverly cheesy. The music is pretty good. The acting was good except for the American doctor who spoke English…it was just awkward. The pacing and direction are a little foggy at times,
but the ending was satisfying.One element here worth discussing is the issue of abortion. Apparently this caused some controversy when M first aired.Whatever side of the issue you’re on, I don’t think this will really influence your opinion
of this series. To be honest, I wasn’t sure this series was saying anything about abortion until the last thirty seconds or so of the final episode. I feel M is a decent drama with some interesting concepts that could have been executed better than they were. The abortion element might give people something to discuss, but this series isn’t especially deep; it’s a love story with a supernatural element thrown in. For all its flaws, M is certainly interesting and definitely entertaining.Rating: 7/10Final Thoughts: Worth seeing if you want something a little different. Not perfect, but worth the watch.Availability: Currently available from YA Entertainment. I got mine from YesAsia for $13. The YA version English subtitles are excellent. -
Chinese Detectives-Are Kisses Out of Fashion?
This album has been long out of print and I was surprised to find it on Amazon from a German seller for under $10. Chinese Detectives are a cover band with former APB member Per Aksel Lundgreen. Essentially, they took some of their favorite 80’s tracks and applied an updated coat of dance-candy. There’s not a bad track here, though obviously some outshine others. Some of the shiner tracks include Hit That Perfect Beat (originally by Bronski Beat), You Think You’re A Man (originally by Divine) , Where Do The Boys Go? (originally by Men Without Hats), and State Of The Nation (originally by Industry). IMHO, the best track on here is Are Kisses Out of Fashion, which was originally a minimalist electro track by Sudeten Creche.Desirèe Grandahl’s vocals really work for the songs and the programming is top notch. I can’t find a track on here that doesn’t get my foot tapping at least a little bit. Usually cover CDs are compilations and the quality of the tracks vary. Are Kisses Out of Fashion is constantly good throughout. Any fans of 80’s music or synthpop should check this one out.Rating: 9/10Final Thoughts: It’s a gem. Get it now.Availability: OOP from Tatra Records. There are a few copies over at Amazon Marketplace.
