Program scripts from week of September 5, 2012
My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media. TV, radio, the movies and more. I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion. Call this the View from the Phlipside.
Star Trek Continues
I’ve said it here before I am not a fan of relaunches, remixes or reboots of classic movies, books, TV series, whatever. I find them generally disrespectful of the original artists and ideas too often. Plus I think it’s a cheap way of trying to avoid coming up with some a little more original.
But I may have to make an exception.
Let me start by noting that this week (Saturday in fact) marks the anniversary of the debut of Star Trek in 1966. What Trekkies call “TOS” or The Original Series, that which began it all. It’s easy to forget that TOS only ran for three seasons. And that’s where this new idea finds its starting point.
“Star Trek Continues” is a web based video show that aims to finish out the initial “five year mission”. The trailer currently available picks up in the final moments of the final episode. The set and costumes appear to be top flight and the cast would seem to be quite acceptable.
This apparently is the brain child of big time video game and animation voice over actor Vic Mignogna through his company Farragut Films. Mignogna will star as Capt. Kirk. What will really jump at most people is Mythbusters Grant Imihara as Sulu and Chris Doohan, son James Doohan, stepping into his father’s uniform as Montgomery Scott.
The whole thing is just mind blowing from so many different directions. First of all the company avoids my major complaint with these kinds of projects. They clearly LOVE the original Star Trek and are not interested in giving it some new spin. The sets and costumes are straight out of the ‘60s original and the actors are clearly trying to create faithful versions of the originals. That’s not a small task, to be faithful to the originals without it becoming a parody or caricature. I’m not sure how they managed to overcome the legal hurdles or where they got such precise replicas of scenery and costumes but it looks like a top quality job.
“Star Trek Continues” hits home for this long time Trekkie. It may finally complete that original mission that has always felt like it was stolen from us. For that reason alone they deserve a chance to win our hearts and minds and to allow us to boldly go just one more time.
Return of Michael J. Fox
I need to take a slightly personal moment right here and talk about something that has very close ties to my life. It’s still about the media and it’s really about the courage of other people.
For as much as I have dumped on the Peacock network the last couple years they are willing to take a chance on something that hasn’t been done much if ever on popular TV. Starting next fall NBC will debut a new series starring Michael J. Fox. Fox already has two massively popular TV series on his resume “Spin City” and “Family Ties” plus the mega-hit “Back to the Future” movies. Even though he stepped away from his acting career 12 years ago he remains immensely popular with audiences.
The reason why he stepped away is also what makes this new TV series so interesting. Fox has Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder of the nervous system. And so will the character that he will be playing on the show. That’s what really made me sit up and take notice. If there is one sure fire truism for our culture it’s that we don’t like to talk about people who are sick. When we do it’s usually to make them either tragic heroes taken too soon by their disease or victorious heroes that triumph over their adversity. The base outline for this new show seems to be neither. Michael J. Fox will play a character not unlike himself. Father of 3, husband, working in New York City. And suffering from Parkinson’s.
Here’s where I need to acknowledge my personal connection to this story. I am the child of someone who suffered from Parkinson’s disease. Over the final years of my father’s life I watched this horrible disease take it’s toll. An intelligent, articulate vital man was reduced to a shuffling, mumbling shadow of himself. I applaud Fox for his work over the last decade to raise the profile of this disease, and his willingness to put that into public view through this show. I also applaud NBC for the decision to move forward with an idea that might be a little uncomfortable.
In Michael J. Fox they have the perfect actor to take America by the hand and introduce them to living with Parkinson’s. If he can bring to bear the sharp wit and fun loving personality that made him famous it might just be the most important show out there next fall.
Fake Reality
Seems like I commented on this before but I don’t think I was doing this program the last time the concept of fake reality rolled around.
Now let me be clear that I understand that all of TV and the movies are in fact “fake reality”. They are intended to look real but they aren’t. This includes the last decade’s worth of “reality tv” which by and large is really not all that real. How many times have we heard after the show is over, even on one of my favorites - “Biggest Loser”, that what looked like major conflict on the screen was much more a creation of the editing room rather than the ranch?
No, what I’m talking about now goes beyond even that. How about a reality show that isn’t a reality show? It’s been tried once before (or maybe twice) back in 2003 on Spike with a show called “The Joe Schmo Show”. The other possible precursor was around that same time with Fox’s “The Millionaire” where women competed for the affection of a guy who it turned out wasn’t really a millionaire.
But “The Joe Schmo Show” was the really amazing one. It featured an unsuspecting contestant who thinks he’s on a reality show searching for the next great bounty hunter. Except he’s not. He doesn’t know it but everyone around him is an actor. Think the “Truman Show” but slightly more cynical. I’ve maintained for years that the underlying allure of virtually all reality TV is the reassurance to the viewer that “At least I’m not them”. It’s designed to make us feel better about ourselves by giving us someone we can feel superior to, with or without any justification for that feeling.
But I’m just not sure that I can push myself to go that extra mile for the the announced return of Joe Schmo on Spike some time soon. On all the other shows the contestants know that they’ve signed up for something that will drag them through a variety of humiliations for the public’s entertainment. The concept for this show sounds way too much like the worst kinds of high school hazing of the new kid. Set him up on a date with the Prom queen and then yank his pants down in front of everyone.
If this is what entertainment looks like in the 21st Century maybe I’ll start watching more stuff from Netflix.
Call that the View From the Phlipside.
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