88 Things To Do On A Gloomy Day
Gloomy, gray day today. Makes me want to curl up under the covers and watch Farscape. Nothing like a darkly beautiful, cosmic love story to soothe the soul on a shadowy day. Don't know why every romance reader doesn't salivate over the TV series. Kick-ass heroine forced by circumstances and love to look beyond her aggressiveness. Beta hero forced by same to look beyond his normal instincts and become alpha. Both falling in love while fighting for their lives. Clever writing about the nature of humanity, hope, and war.
Not to mention one of the all-time greatest, most interesting and creepy villains ever. Yes, I know he looks...well, strange. But he more than compensates for his looks. Manipulative, sick with hatred for himself and others, powerful, driven to save the universe by taking everything from John--including his sanity.Life and death far, far away--and right up close.
What is it about sci fi that puts people off?
It's such a great way to comment on our own time and place. The most romantic line ever written by anyone comes from Farscape:
"Do you love me?" Aeryn asks John.
His reply? "Beyond hope."
God, shoot me in the heart. What an amazing, off the nose way to say "more than anything."
Hope is central to the series. Hope that in the end, despite the overwhelming odds, the bad guys won't win. That the plan, no matter how stupid and desperate, will work. That the vulnerable universe won't explode even if the most powerful weapons are aimed at it. That the confused hero won't go crazy, though he's seeing things that aren't there. That love and friendship are worth any sacrifice. Can't get more American than that.
Of course the series was written before, during, and just after 9/11. And we've become so much more fearful and so much less hopeful since.
Be interesting to see if hope comes back into fashion with a new administration. Or if the war and the economic meltdown keep us as gloomy as this day.
If so, we may all need a dose of Farscape. There are 88 episodes and a miniseries to tie up the story. Plenty of great stuff to remind us not to give in or give up.
Labels: annie solomon, annie's world, Farscape, hope, John and Aeryn, Scorpius
posted by Annie Solomon at
10:52 AM
6 Comments:
Oh Farscape! I don't think I could add to your elegy, except amen! and ditto to your why doesn't everyone love this show?!?
Yes the beyond hope is an amazing line.
I think people don't like sci-fi because it represents pure imagination. In that way its like poetry. In both the reader has to do almost as much work as the writer in order to make meaning, to make that world come alive. I think people don't like to do that much work.
(P.S. I had no idea they were making an Outlander movie! That's so exciting!)
Interesting to think of sci fi being like poetry. It is a lot of pure imagination. A kind of world-building within the poem in the same way it is in sci fi. And yeah, people don't like to work, but you don't have to work hard with FS. You just have to enjoy. I think it's the unwillingness to suspend disbelief. Too much of a stretch, at least for some. And also--so much sci fi is so badly done. Too bad FS gets tainted with that brush, because so much about it is amazing--acting, directing, set design, lighting... OK, I could go on and on.
Re Oulander. Hope it's good...
I think I watched one episode of Farscape and it didn't click for me. Perhaps I should try again. However, I do relate to the gloomy day outside and being on my couch in the early morning under covers watching some frivolous show on TV. And never made the connection between sci-fi and poetry. Interseting!
Hey, Jill--you made it! So exciting. Still don't understand how you can look at those pictures of John and Aeryn and not fall in love with them and their story. Sigh. Some people must just be Scape-proof...
Well, one reason why some people don't like sci-fi could be that it sometimes goes hand in hand with horror. And as for badly done sci-fi... Sometimes it can be done SO badly, that it's actually fun to watch, just to see what silly stuff they have done. Just check out Code Name: Eternity the episode guide and Mr. Dent's Guide
To 101 Ways to Die or be Defeated!:
http://fp.culttv.plus.com/ukculttv/exclusive/codenameeternity/codenameeternity.htm
You know, minna, you're so right. I was talking about this with some other 'scapers and we were saying the same thing about how awful some sci-fi is. Too bad it all gets tarred with the same brush. I mean there are bad movies and TV shows of every kind. Somehow sci-fi seems to get more of a bad rap than other genres. Unless, of course, we're talking romance, which has the baddest rap of all. Sigh...
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