Twilight Zone Drinking Game

Here's the Twilight Zone Drinking Game:

Take a sip:

-every time someone gives an insane laugh

-every time space travel is involved.

-every time space travelers disembark from an alien world

   -2 sips if they're wearing space suits    

   -3 sips if they actually wear helmets. 

Take a big gulp:

-every time the episode's protagonist dies.  

 - 2 gulps if it turns out they have been dead the whole episode  

 - 3 gulps if they turn out to be in Hell.

-every time the host appears as a character.

-every time a robot appears.

-every time a woman screams enough to break your speakers.

-every time you get totally lost in the plot line. 

-take 2 sips every time an immortal/ageless character is involved.

  -4 sips if it's a mytholigical/religious character such as satan or death

  -take 6 sips if they die. 

-take a gulp every time someone is paranoid about aliens

  -take 2 gulps if the aliens are real

  -3 gulps if the suspicions of malicious aliens were correct

  -if the aliens DON'T win, finish your beer immediately 

-take a drink if Nuclear War starts and destroys the world

  -take 2 if it already had at the beginning of the episode

  -if the world ISN'T destroyed chug your beer and empty it. 

-take a gulp every time someone thinks the protagonist is insane.

  -take 2 gulps if he really is. 

-take a gulp every time paranoia tears 2 or more people apart.

  -take 2 if they kill each other

  -Chug your beer if they DON'T

and last but not least, empty a six pack if the episode has a happy ending. 

Lost: some sources

I don't know if some of you have stumbled upon these already, but after Googling and searching and culling some of the less interesting sites I found, here is a selection that may prove useful.

By the way, this method of doing online "research" is acceptable, although not a replacement for the use of scholarly articles or reviews/articles from professional publications (such as American Cinematographer which often has articles on TV shows). But, for newer shows that have not built up a great deal of scholarly writing, finding fan-based writing may be of some use, provided it is intelligent, insightful and/or illuminating in some way.

A website called "The Spoon" has some character analyses worth looking at.

This guy fancies himself a a bit of a philosopher and writes an analysis of virtually every character in the show. I was not too terribly impressed with his insights but then I did not read all of his posts....probably worth a look, if not for useful quotes at least for study of viewer response/blog-based criticism.

This site contains a number of links to discussions of a death pool analysis which is kinda interesting if you are one of those people interested in real or fictional death pools.

This one will probably require some sorting of wheat from chaff but hey, THE online forum devoted to Lost must be of some interest.

Then there is Lostpedia, which includes among many other things a very useful breakdown of Jung, Vogler and Campbell's heroic myth archetype so check it out...

...and here is a blog post also discussing the heroic myth as it applies to John Locke...

Now this one is interesting: I am not sure how much writing there is on Lost in this blog (you can link to more from this post), but seeing as this writer predicted in 2005 that there would be a character named "Hume" on the show (given the other literary, scientific and philosophical namesakes), this one might be worth a look...

The reviews at Salon.com are always worth reading, though I prefer former Salon critic Joyce Millman's writing to Laura Miller's (Millman has become the Boston Phoenix's TV critic).

I have no idea if this is meant to be tongue in cheek or not, but I don't care. This blog actually provides scientific analysis of character activity in terms of many spiffy, colorful PIE CHARTS. Wow. Or should I say, Yum.

Here is an excerpt from the book Living Lost which looks interesting.

This writer borrows their initial plot summary description from Wikipedia, but then goes into some interesting commentary that seems quite thoughtful and fairly insightful, if a bit esoteric (but then some of us like that kinda thing).

And here is an observation: a blog post/essay/online article that claims to be an "in-depth analysis" in all likelihood, isn't. I tend to distrust people who say they are really good at stuff until such time as they prove it to me (this pertains most especially to musicians, writers, and, well, use your imagination), so, anyway, that's my two cents, be gently forewarned.

Pushing Daisies and Carinvale's Death-Defying Powers

Pushing Daisies premiered this season to much critical acclaim and worry.  It's the type of beautiful, story rich, and quirky show that is usually cancelled one week in.  Luckily it found an audience rather quickly and has been picked up for next season.  This show is full of many supernatural plot lines and trademarks we've seen in other shows viewed this semester, especially our most recent viewing, Carnivale.  However, hopefully it will not repeat the frequent trend of an early cancellation.

Pushing Daisies centers on the story of a boy, Ned, who discovers at a very young age, that he has the ability to bring dead beings back to life.  He also discovers that with this great power also comes consequences, if he touches the formerly

dead person (or animal, or fruit, etc) it will instantly die yet again.  However, if this being is allowed to live for more than one minute another equal entity will die as a result.  These two rules are exemplified when his mother is saved from an aneurism, but a neighbor passes a moment later.  Unfortunately Ned learns a little to late about the "no re-touch" rule a little too late and his mother also passes after a goodnight kiss.

In HBO's Carnivale, one central character, Ben Hawkins, must handle the ability of granting returned life in a similar fashion to the Pushing Daisies' lead.  He has the ability to bring others back to life, but he must accept that someone else has to die in order for this to happen.  Unlike Ben, Ned has some control over his gift (maybe Ben just never learned the one- minute-touching/no re-touching rule).  While Ned's decisions often lead to tension, they never cause any tangible strain on his relationships or prevent him from using his gift.  That is until Chuck discovers the truth, that is.  Chuck (the girl next door growing up) is Ned's childhood sweetheart brought back to life, and his allowing her to remain alive causes the death of an funeral home undertaker (granted he was stealing from dead people, so there's no remorse for his loss of life).  Additionally, it was Chuck's father's death that allowed Ned's mother to return to life for a brief period of time.  Here Ned and Ben's struggle to manage their abilities is most paralleled.  Both have been granted an amazing power, that they are often called on to use, for better or worse.

In addition to the life bringing death comparison, both shows also deal with dualities.  This is clearly evident in Carnivale where its two main characters, Ben and Justin, are pitted against each other in the opening monologue.  One is the creature of darkness, the other of light.  In Pushing Daisies, there is no such specific plot line, however a major theme is of pairings.  Ned has two loves in his life, his true (but untouchable) love Chuck, and the woman in love with him, his coworker Olive.  Additionally, characters introduced are often brothers and sisters, Chuck has two aunts that cared for her after her father's death and Chuck was searching for caring a pair of monkeys when she was murdered (the importance of this has yet to be explained). 

While Carnivale takes a look at good and evil through the power to give some life and take it away from others, generally its more lighthearted on Pushing Daisies.  For the most part, this is a love story about two star crossed lovers brought together by supernatural powers.  And who could use a little of that in our Sci-fi world.

Tarot Cards & Carnivale

Tarot cards have a rather extensive and complicated history. The first documented painted deck was created in Italy in the 15th century. They were first widely publicized by Alliette, a French occultist, shortly before the French revolution. Tarot cards became increasingly popular in 1910, thanks to the publication of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot. In the 20th century a vast number of different types of Tarot decks were created. Tarot cards continue to be a popular mode of divination.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Tarot card readings: the deck is first shuffled by the subject and then laid out by the reader in a ‘spread’ (certain pattern). The reader then turns over each card and interprets its meaning based on the placement of the card in the spread, the position of the card (inverted or upright), and the card’s inherent symbolic associations.

(Visit this site for more general Tarot information)

Carnivale’s opening sequence is heavily imbued with Tarot imagery. It also is really quite stunning. The sequence won an Emmy for “Outstanding Main Title Design,” in 2004.

Wikipedia eloquently describes the opening credits:

“The opening title sequence itself begins with a deck of Tarot cards falling into the sand, while the camera moves in and enters one card into a separate world presenting layers of artwork and footage from iconic moments of the American Depression era; the camera then moves back out of a different card and repeats the procedure several times. The sequence ends with the camera shifting from the "Judgment" Tarot card to the "Moon" and the "Sun", identifying the Devil and God respectively, until the wind blows away all cards and the underlying sand to reveal the Carnivàle title artwork.”

HBO has a rather in-depth explanation of the title sequence on its site.

The opening sequence includes, in order of appearance, these Tarot cards: “The World,” “Ace of Swords,” “Death,” “King of Swords,” “Temperance,” “The Magician,” “The Tower,” “The Sun,” “The Moon,” and “The Judgment” card.

All of the cards, with the exception of the two “swords” cards are from the major arcana. Depending on your Tarot source, or what type of deck you use, Tarot cards can have slightly different interpretations. The HBO site gives a rather general (and Carnivale specific) interpretation of the cards used in the opening. Nonetheless, HBO’s interpretations (which are set apart in quotes) appear fairly accurate in their generality:

The World – stands for “Completion, Perfection, and Eternal Life.” It is the world as imagined by the show— a place where good and evil both exist and battle one another. A world where hopefully good will pervade over evil.

Ace of Swords - “Ardent love, Ardent hate, A vanquisher is born.” Extremes of love vs. hate or good vs. evil are ever thematically present. The vanquisher in this case is Ben Hawkins, perceived vanquisher of Brother Justin

Death- “Transition, Change, Death” The images shown along with this card in the opening credits include scenes with the KKK, Mussolini, and Stalin. Brother Joseph would also be a manifestation of this.

King of Swords – “Powerful commander, a wise counselor, a judge.” I would think Samson or “management” would be what this card most directly refers to.

Temperance – “moderation, balance, harmony” Perhaps the balance between good and evil? That one is a bit tricky.

The Magician – “originality, confidence, skill. Inverted: lack of will” This is said to represent Ben Hawkins as well. Because the card is inverted, he has “lack of will” or a certain amount of unease with the gift of healing that he possesses.

The Tower – “sudden change, disruption, downfall” This represents the conflicts that the characters go through in their fight against evil (and each other).

Judgment Card – “renewal, rebirth.” Almost the “who will win: good or evil?” card in its placement with The Moon and The Sun (to the left and to the right).

The Moon – “deception, disillusionment.” Direct link to the devil or evil, Brother Justin

The Sun – “success, joy” Direct link to God, as represented by Ben Hawkins.

Now, I’m by no means a Tarot card expert, but Sandra Thomson is and she wrote a brief synopsis of the Carnivale series in relation to Tarot cards in a post dated November 1, 2003 (the series hadn’t ended yet).

In my search for information on this, I also found a fun “Carnivale” Tarot card game.

Interesting Fact: Carnivale has its own limited edition Tarot card deck. Purchasers were severely disappointed when the expensive cards had very simplistic designs, not the beautiful imagery of the cards shown in the opening sequence.

Twin Bricks

Twin Peaks in Lego. Fantastic.

But DAMN if she isn’t the most annoying character ever…

Now I generally don’t go for the whole anime “thing,” but I couldn’t resist this one.

Based off the Kirosawa film “the seven samurai” the show is called “Samurai 7”… pretty straightforward. However, it takes the principle of the story and puts it in a crazy universe of giant mechanical bandits, flying warships, and traditional ideas of honor and duty.

The samurai themselves seem to possess superhuman strength and agility. They can jump hundreds of feet into the air and slice through giant airships. The universe itself is populated with many odd creatures and has a strange and intricate history.

Among some of the other characters are a family of water priestesses, who have a magic crystal that they use for divining. The crystal can be used most basically for finding water, but the water also helps them do other things. The crystal can tell the priestess if someone is a good or bad person, or if she is in love. In the later episodes, the crystal seems to take on its own role and plays a bigger part in the story. The only drawback to the priestess family is the younger sister Komachi. Her English voice is the most irritating voice I’ve ever heard, and the character itself is just a plain annoying little girl who never shuts up. I’ve managed to get past this though, except that she has her own summary section at the end of every episode where she sums up whatever happened through her own childish idiotic point of view.

If you can get past this issue though, the show is straight pimpin, HELLA nasty. The samurai own up on all manner of things, and all prove their mettle.

Another thing I find interesting about the show, was what we were discussing in relation to Carnivale about the heroes journey. Each samurai has their own version of a journey that they go through. Katsushiro has arguably the most interesting arc, because he starts out as the naïve young samurai and matures when he comes in contact with battle. But Kambei Shimada has a great heroes journey as well, since even though he’s an all around badass, he is at first reluctant to join the crew. Kikuchiyo on the other hand, is overeager to joint the group, and Kambei allows him to follow them, but doesn’t accept him as part of the crew until he discovers Kikuchiyo’s hidden motives. Even the farmer Rikichi has somewhat of a hero’s journey as he proves himself more and more useful.

It’s a great show, and even if you don’t like anime, it’s just a good story. It’s also only about 25 episodes long, so it’s a very self-contained series, something that I find distinctly Japanese. Whereas in America if something is successful, they see how long they can draw it out and still make money, with this show it has a distinct beginning and ending, and when it’s over, it’s over.

Here’s some links, just the imdb page and wikipedia, in case you want to check it out.

Night of the Living... aww hell with it...

Of course, that should have been, "Night of the Living Dummy," going back to the good old days of Goosebumps.  Yes, I know Goosebumps were books, but it did make it to television for 4 whole seasons between 1995-98.  I think it warrants a little discussion, especially considering a great deal of inspiration for R.L. Stine's spooky tales came straight from from past television shows, specifically from my favorite and yours, The Twilight Zone.  

Some episodes of Goosebumps are dead ringers for the sci-fi classics from days of yore. Night of the Living Dummy (link goes to the second version) is one of them, paying homage (or ripping off, whichever you prefer) to Night of the Living Dead.  However the story itself gains some of its content from another source... an episode the the Twilight Zone entitled "The Dummy." In it, a ventriloquist dummy seems to take over the life of his puppeteer, and they end up doing a little switcheroo, in which the puppet starts working the other man's strings.  The Goosebumps version plays right off the idea presented in the Twilight Zone,  the owner of the puppet gets the blame for all the misdoings of the dummy.  

Another Goosebumps episode in particular is one called "Click"  Here, a boy figures out that a remote control he just bought controls more than just the tv and stereo, he can stop, pause, and rewind everything around him.  The Twilight Zone version, "A Kind of Stopwatch," a man who gets a special pocketwatch that's able to stop time, starts abusing his gift for all sorts of debauchery, breaks the watch, and is stuck in a world where time is completely stopped, the same fate as the boy in "Click."  (Which also happens to be the title of a rather poor Adam Sandler movie, just to mention)

While some may say this is kind of a rip off of these classics, (which in a way, it is) it's also bringing these stories that entertained many a viewer in the 60's, to the kids of the 90's.  It got kids to read, and when on TV, brought many fond memories of rushing home from school to a darkened basement with a few good friends and getting ready to be scared.  And in my own case, it actually sparked my interest in the Twilight Zone, as I really wanted to know where these stories came from.  

(More Goosebumps, just for fun!)