I Wonder Why the Wonderfalls

About a week and a half ago, I finally got around to ordering the Wonderfalls TV series DVD. I was among the 15 or so people who watched the show last year before FOX prematurely cancelled it--a cancellation for which I am still deeply bitter because Wonderfalls was such a great show with a lot of potential. FOX only allowed four episodes to air before the axed it, but actually 13 episodes were filmed and "in the can". The DVD set has all 13 episodes plus a few extra items thrown in.

The show stars Caroline Dhavernas as Jaye Tyler. Back when the show aired, I wasn't sure if I liked the actress (though I loved the character) or not--something about her eyes kind of bugged me--but after watching all of the episodes, I have a new respect for her. Caroline has a very expressive face; many of her scenes don't even require dialogue because the audience can tell exactly what the character is feeling just by looking at her face. She's fun to watch and very funny.

Day After Day

For the last few weeks, I've been temping so as to pay my bills until the new semester starts and I can get back to teaching. I've been working the night shift, something I've done before but not day after day after day like I am now. I've adjusted my routine so that I get my sleep in the mornings and early afternoons. I've found, though, that this night-shift work has warped my sense of time, specifically the passage of days. Like most people, I guess, I've always lived with the idea that I sleep at night and wake and work during the day. Sleeping at night was always the thing that separated one day from another, and so as I imagined time and the recent past, I was always able to recall that Event X happened on "Tuesday" and Event Y happened on "Wednesday." But now, I no longer have that clear separation between "Tuesday" and "Wednesday." Instead of living multiple days, I now have the sensation of living one interminable day that doesn't end. Sleeping in the morning and afternoon feels more like I'm taking a nap, so I undergo the experience of wake, work, nap, wake, work, nap, wake, work, nap, etc. and the day never seems to end.

I need the money, so I guess I'll do this for another few weeks or so--unless I get fired or something. But I'm already counting the days until the fall semester starts and I can go back to a more natural wake/sleep schedule.

I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)

In what may be the final and most convincing proof that I truly am pathetic, the other day I joined Geek2Geek, an online dating site dedicated to--wait for it--geeks. I was a bit wary at first because the look of the site makes one wonder if the whole thing isn't just a parody. But other folks had apparently signed on, so I did too. Perhaps the best part is that it's free to join, unlike certain other online dating sites that charge you $30 a month for the privilege of browsing and contacting their stable of losers.

I dig the brainy chicks, so it made sense that I give the site a chance. But on the flipside, I've been forced to admit that, yes, I'm probably a geek. I guess that wouldn't surprise people who know me, but as they say, the first step is admitting the truth to yourself.

Yeah, I've done the online dating thing in the past, and while I haven't had too much luck with it, I still find it exciting to meet and chat with new people (if only online) that I probably would not otherwise have a chance to meet.

Missing Link

First, I just wanted to say that I am not suddenly becoming a Star Wars blogging freak. The last two posts have dealt with Star Wars, however, a non-SW related post is supposed to have followed the "Twin Cinema" post. Somehow, though, it got deleted. Oh well.

In that mysteriously deleted post, I mentioned that I am spending part of this summer putting the finishing touches on a novel that I've had laying around for several years. The very first draft of the novel was written back in 1992, when I was still in high school. I revised it, with an eye towards publication, sometime around 1996 or 1997, after my first book was released. But soon, my graduate studies took over my life and my plans for this second book were shelved--until last month when I decided to finish it off and send it out. It will be very interesting to see if it gets any interest from publishers (and if it's soundly rejected, what will they say about it?).

One thing that I've noticed as I've been working on it, is just how much American civilization and pop culture have changed in the 12 or so years since the first draft. For example, in the earlier drafts, some of the characters spend their time listening to Walkmans. I've had to change those scenes to include portable mp3 players now. I've also included more cell phone usage among the characters. I could probably introduce some instant messaging and internet reference as well (even blogging!) but I think that might interfere too much with the dynamics among the characters.

We tend to take the cultural advances that technology as offered us for granted, but a lot sure has changed since 1992.

Hey, Hey Spaceman

For many years, I had been haunted by a strange memory that I had from when I was about 3 or 4 years old: I could remember sitting in front of the television set one night watching some sort of Star Wars program on television. The only real memory I had of this was that the show apparently featured Boba Fett, and it also had a lot to do with Chewbacca's family. For years I had no idea whether this had really happened, whether it had been a dream, or whether I had just imagined the whole thing.

Then, about a couple of years ago, I found an article from Salon.com describing the Star Wars Holiday Special, and as I read it, everything clicked. This was the show I had seen! The mystery was at last solved. Since then, I discovered that are several web sites devoted to the show. And finally, a couple days ago, I gave in to my curiosity and downloaded the show, watching it for the first time in 27 years.

The special was two hours long, and rather than it being a straight-forward example of science fiction and adventure--which you would expect--it was instead a bizarre hybrid of science fiction and a comedy variety show. The program not only features the original cast of Star Wars, but it also has characters played by Art Carney (!), Harvey Korman (?!), and Bea Arthur (!?!).

The show seemed to be ill-conceived right from the start. On the one hand, it seems suited best for very young children, such as I was when I first saw it, given its slow, Teletubby pace--especially during the scenes with Chewbacca's family. At the same time, there's a lot of sexual innuendo to be found in the "comedy" bits, which would go right over the heads of pre-pubescent kids (and I can't imagine that any adults would be watching it after the first 15 minutes). The comedy bits feel totally out of place (nor are they funny) and only add to the tedium of the show. Indeed, the only thing that seems to fit in a "Star Wars TV special" is a 10-minute Boba Fett cartoon. Why the producers didn't just make an hour-long Star Wars cartoon special is beyond me.

The program just gets worse and worse as it goes on, building to a climax of absurdity, when at the very end, as Princess Leia, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, C-3PO and R2-D2 have reunite Chewbacca with his family, music starts playing and the camera focuses on Carrie Fisher. At this point, I'm thinking to myself: "Oh no! She isn't really going to . . . ? No! Yes! She is! She's singing! BWAHAHAHAHA!!" Yes, Carrie Fisher ends the show with a song about . . . well, I don't even know what it's about because I can't watch that scene without falling on the floor laughing. She won't be taking home the prize from American Idol: 1978.

Television has been the scene of many atrocities committed in the name of "entertainment" over the years, but surely the Star Wars Holiday Special ranks near the top. Want to see it for yourself? You should be able to find through searching your friendly, neighborhood file-sharing service.