Burn Notice (random thought 001)

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This is the first show where a character gets more hair as the series continues... Perhaps it indicates the degree of roguery? (Less hair = more rogue... for guys at least.)

There's the opposite trend in Chuck, where the leads (Chuck, Sarah, Morgan) have less hair as the series progresses.

House ended

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and I lost some sleep.

In some ways, TV series are like start-ups... a group of creatives and builders trying to survive the scrutiny and at the mercy of network execs (i.e. VC's, angel sponsors or whatever funding sources a start-up can get).

In other ways, they're unlike most start-ups... i.e. the crew has access to the fancy gadgets and equipment (might be similar to a start-up that somehow leverages the manufacturing capability of an established company).

And also, many of them get axed after one or two seasons (i.e. like a start-up runs out of funding). In House's case, it's almost like the start-up grew and grew and then a profitable buyout. I think it's a good thing that Hugh Laurie decided to end the series before it becomes overripe. FOX network does have a tendency to make some controversial decisions...

By the way, I see a parallel between the House stunt and the Sherlock stunt toward the end of the series finale...

Sherlock (BBC TV series) is making me an insomniac

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I could theoretically go on and on about the character analyses... will have to leave that for another day. Right now I can't get these tunes out of my head... anyway, Fruity Loops (FL Studios) is too much fun...

[Bones and Inception references] A dream...

... that was a blend of real and fictional people, complete with a soundtrack of lush strings. I swear I had heard the melody before but I can't place it. So frustrating...

In the dream, I'm an undercover agent trying to catch the perpetrator who kidnaps unsuspecting standardized test takers into an "alternate matrix" and then runs experiments on them. In religious terms, the "alternate matrix" is like... purgatory? Or the bridge between the physical world and the world of the dead, or something like that.

And... I'm working with Brennan and Booth on this case. (I think this is a sign that I watch too much Bones... and Mulder and Scully might have been a better fit for this :-P) They have already rounded up the accomplices outside the luxurious private school building/ castle/ mansion. Now I have to catch the main perp in the act.

However, he can teleport and switch rooms at will, and there is simultaneous testing going on in different rooms... so I remember dashing up and down the spiral stairs that are covered with elegant and ancient-looking carpets and sided with mahogany handles. What a stupid way to catch a teleporter, I know...

All the while I am running around, I keep hearing an ensemble of orchestral strings playing a melody with a overlay of (1) the Happy Birthday song progression Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8, Mvmt 1 (as I remembered hearing from Minority Report) and (2) Non Je Ne Regrette Rien (from Inception). I recall some students are taking solfege tests on the second floor, but they don't notice me when I poke my head in.

I myself have been taking a strange mix of GREs and SATII... marking an obscene number of Scantron ovals... the horror! I have to ask to leave the testing room to go to the restroom, but I put the proctor in a trance while attempting to catch the perp.

Long story short... I did not catch the perp in my dream because the soundtrack got louder and I felt some strange abdominal cramping and woke up just as I saw Booth frantically signalling me from outside the building...

Seriously... is this like fanfic fodder or what...

On comedic personas

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The guys - Alec Baldwin, Jim Carrey, Zach Galifianakis, Robin Williams
The gals - Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Betty White

I think these comedians represent a good part of the humor style spectrum, ranging from goofy to witty spiced with some crass, with their own idiosyncratic inflections. The guys tend to be either suave (witty) or slapstick (goofy), or both (Robin Williams seems to do both pretty well). The gals are mostly clever (witty) and sometimes goofy, but in a different way than the guys. Somehow it's more acceptable for guys to flaunt themselves than for gals... hmm.

Granted, their style has a lot to do with their native personalities. Whereas Baldwin fits nicely in a boardroom or 007-type scene, I cannot picture him in a tutu (i.e. Carrey's Black Swan parody) or entertaining pre-schoolers (i.e. Galifianakis). Williams is more of a chameleon in this sense because he acts out the "fool" archetype much of the time but also being serious simultaneously, i.e. Mrs. Doubtfire, Patch Adams, etc.

The gals tend to stay true to how they are in real life, I think. We have a self-deprecating geek, an in-your-face no-nonsense go-getter, and a mild-yet-snarky grandma. Their gigs mostly center on these character types and it's difficult to imagine them playing something else. Fey's style is somewhat similar to Galifianakis' in that they often make fun of themselves. I find this rather endearing (probably many people too). This is in part due to my cultural upbringing, but I must say it's the safest strategy in this contemporary atmosphere that is super-charged with political-correctness.

Tangentially related... the Comedian from Watchmen is not funny "hahaha", but funny "I'm gonna make your life a joke". See how this archetype works better in a guy?

http://cynicritics.com/2011/03/21/zacksnyder/

(Unsubmitted) questions to Tina Fey on "Ask Tina"

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(1) As a writer (i.e. content generator), where do you find inspirations, or how do you get inspired? Especially during down times like an epic writer's block?

(2) (Not a question) I totally dig the shout-out to grad students in your 30 Rock episode with the adoption agent.






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Copenhagen (play)

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The title aptly plays on the locale and the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics. This play is about intentions and their interpretations thereof. And the difficulty that arises when things are left unsaid.

Niels Bohr had treated Werner Heisenberg as more than a colleague, closer to a star protégé or a son. And Heisenberg was the prodigal upstart of the physics world who corrected Bohr's math error at a conference when he was a 21-year-old grad student. Thus began ~20 years of collaboration that revolutionized quantum physics until they had a falling-out when Heisenberg insisted on meeting Bohr in WWII-raging 1941... while they were on the opposite sides of the war.

In a way, they are both like experimenters trying to characterize an elusive particle, trying to understand why one wants to meet the other while the potential barrier is overwhelming. (Oh punny puns...) In the attempt to gauge what the other is thinking, they ask questions (make a measurement), all the while tiptoeing around political landmines (stringent experimental conditions).

I would like to think that Heisenberg wanted to warn Bohr about the destructive force of atomic fission and thereby dissuading the governments (on both sides) to develop weapons from it. Or he could have been trying to fish out information from Bohr. Or he missed his mentor after being out of touch for many years. Or some combination thereof. So many eigenstates... whose wavefunctions collapsed into a broken friendship.

All the while, Niels' wife Margarethe stays mostly in the background as an observer, albeit not a neutral one. Like a meta-overseer whose presence keeps the particles from bouncing off into Neverland, i.e. talking in math equations and throwing nerdy references around.

My favorite scene is where Heisenberg likens Margarethe to an atomic nucleus, Niels to an electron who is "here, there, everywhere and nowhere", and himself to a photon trying to find the electron. Upon meeting, both particles are deflected, i.e. affected forever. It captures their dynamic rather well...

As an aside, all the actors are fantastic in this. Daniel Craig (Heisenberg) is probably the most famous of the three in the U.S. at least, and it was fun watching him play a brilliant, troubled, earnest character.






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On some action movies (Tron: Legacy - Iron Man 2 - I, Robot - Matrix - Firefly, etc.)

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CG effects galore! Too much flashing eye-candies can result in a hyperglycemic attention span.

I get bored watching most action films that simply showcase CG effects. What engage me are the philosophical references and/or soundtracks. Tron: Legacy and I, Robot fit the bill. I liked the machine vs. human theme, manifested in the form of zen symbolism and Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics, respectively. Their soundtracks kick ass too.

Iron Man 2, by comparison, was a disappointment after Iron Man 1. Tony Stark is a rather one-dimensional character. I'm not so sure whether he gives The Institvte a good name or not...

I can sort of see why Olivia Wilde took a break from House to star in Tron: Legacy. The zen references make the movie more interesting than it otherwise would be. I wonder if her character's name, Quorra, alludes to zen koans (quorra - query - riddle - koan) That would be a clever trick. She portrays these mysterious characters rather well, while giving them a certain approachability and hence more sympathetic to the audience, i.e. Thirteen from House.

On the other hand, Summer Glau is good at playing the really "exotic" types of characters, i.e. River Tam from Firefly, a child prodigy who becomes the subject of human experimentation. She's like the female equivalent of Keanu Reeves, at least re: their movie roles :-P






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What makes Chuck (TV) great

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(1) Strongly defined characters, each with at least one "powers".
(1a) Chuck - disarming smile, super brain, adorable nerdiness, and the Intersect.
(1b) Sarah - ninja abilities while being model-grade gorgeous...
(1c) Morgan - loyalty, very high courage/skills coefficient
(1d) Ellie - quintessential big sis, also super brain...
(1e) Devon a.k.a. Captain Awesome - all the good qualities of a matured frat boy

(2) And the whole bumbling underachiever to super spy journey is classic epic hero story. Why oh why oh why, cannot resist this type of story...

(3) The will-they-won't-they romance between Chuck and Sarah is tantalizing. Love triangles, quadrilaterals, interconnected polygons...

(4) Nebulous evil organizations (Season 2 & 3). And tragic villain Daniel Shaw (Season 3). And super badass villain(s) Volkoff (Season 4)

We seek the excitement in fantasy.






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Hairstyle of TV characters

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Some of the male characters have more hair in the beginning of the series, i.e. the shaggy look... like Charlie from Numb3rs, Dr. Chase from House, or Chuck/Morgan/Casey from Chuck.

This might be partially related to the fashion at that time, i.e. mid-2000's? Although that is debatable. Another factor might be character development, as the shaggy look (either straight or curly) conveys a more youthful and perhaps inexperienced vibe?

Or just for the sake of variety. Although I have never seen it go the other way, i.e. the character having more hair as the series progresses. :-P






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Hooked on an IV drip of House episodes

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Garwddang that show is addictive. House is too much of a jerk, but a self-aware and unrepentant and entertaining one. I love the foil action with Wilson. Their conversations almost always have philosophical and moral undertones, presenting two contrasting points of view on how to deal with thorny ethical quandaries like to what end should doctors go to save their patients and/or protect their friends and family... Or just how to treat people and behave in society in general.

Except when they are playing stupid pranks on each other involving guitars or chickens. Or should that be... even when?






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Life (NBC TV detective procedual) [Spoiler alerts!]

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Watched the entire series (32 episodes) in 3 days because the main story arc proved too compelling for me... The lead character is unlike most I've seen. Like an Edmond Dantès who space-warps to a Zen Buddhist temple after he gets out of prison. The central difference is that Detective Charlie Crews' (partial) revenge is to protect someone important to him, rather than his desire for vengeance. 

He has a habit of "micro-meditation" during conversations, when he would either stare into space or quote some very Daoist riddles. The actor has done a superb job with this character, who reminds me of a crater lake atop a dormant volcano... deep, dark, mysterious, usually serene yet capable of immensely explosive power.

Crews' foil character has about as much of an angsty past, although she stays rather grounded while often snappy. Their interactions most closely resemble those of the duo in The Dresden Files, although Harry Dresden is mildly klutzy and Crews is very methodical... almost like a Zen master :-P

There are times when Crews actually reminds me of Dr. Gregory House. They both have that rugged (British) look and the dogged persistence that does not let go until the problem is solved. And they rarely smile... if one appears, it is often forced or pained. Le angst! I want to escape to a Zen temple, but there would probably be no Internets, rawr.






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Mirror into the depth of psyche

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(1) So apparently if you're trying to impress someone in a teleconference setting, make your 3D avatar vaguely and subconsciously resemble that person. Hmmm! That should work for the vast majority of people who're not prone to self-hatred. While I'm not really endorsing self-hatred, America does need more people with even a modicum of such tendencies. Case in point: Donald Trump. [gag]

(2) In "The Finder", a recent episode of the TV series Bones that introduced the curious trio of Walter, Ike and Leo, Walter berates a waitress for bringing him decaf that he doesn't think it decaf and why does decaf cost the same even though it takes more processing to extract the caffeine out. Ike explained that people don't like to pay more for something less. Granted, Walter has a rather paranoid and suspicious nature, but this raises an interesting point. Humans are designed to be primarily sensory creatures, so a straightforward correspondence between size and cost (i.e. food) makes sense. Few people would ponder what processing took place behind the packaging, e.g. chemicals used, amount of water used, etc. That reminds me, I should start reading Buyology. Because economics is hardly about mere numerical models, however elegant they might be. Much of economics is behavior psychology, which is fascinating but rather messy...

(3) Ever since I could remember, I've always felt like something was lacking in those "happily-after endings". In fact, one of my favorite pastimes was mocking Disney fairy tales back in the '90s with some co-conspirators around my age. Morally ambiguous characters intrigue me, e.g. Dr. Gregory House, Dr. Remy Hadley (Thirteen), Dexter Morgan, Jack Bauer (and his reincarnated assassin in The Confession)... come to think of it, morally ambiguous female characters in TV are rather rare. Sonia from Crime and Punishment seems to be one. Hmm... Akemi Homura from Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica could be one... at least in the beginning of the series :-P

Random dialogue with Dr. Tony Hill (Wire in the Blood)

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You say that “manifesto” suggests a sense of grandeur,
an illusory perception of reality...
But please, my Dear Shrink,
let me enjoy my fantasies
for just a little bit longer...

Random thoughts

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(1) Healthful food is very important. I feel my brain power increase by 30% when I have such food vs. when I don't. The local farmer's market is awesome.

(2) I should remember to listen to certain music when I'm angsty, rather than defaulting to TV shows. Although for me, watching TV is a response to events in life, and the kind of TV shows I watch is highly correlated with the kind of event that has occurred.

(3) I'm sketching again. I wonder if that's good... I mean, TV show fandom :-P

(4) I need to feel extreme angst or extreme ecstasy in order to be able to write inspired poetry. This is of course conditioned on my ability to be coherent, with attention span longer than about 30 minutes at a time. (I like this poem. I like most poems by this poet, actually.)

(5) The reader can probably tell that my research has been stagnating.

Detective drama locations

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They set the show and define the aura.

1. Numb3rs - Los Angeles

Somewhat serious and cynical, with a good dose of witty sarcasm and a dash of heartwarming sunshine. Before Larry's departure, it was also philosophical at times. World-renowned universities are located close enough to the area.

2. Monk - San Francisco

It's a comedy with neuroses. Usually gentle and mild. And with a certain... orderliness that is sometimes predictable and sometimes not.

3. Psych - Santa Barbara

Off-the-wall, upbeat, and unconventional detective protagonist. Good for a not-so-large sunny SoCal city.

4. Dexter - Miami

Hot, humid, visceral, seedy and cynical. Just right for the brilliant blood spatter analyst by day and psychopathic serial killer by night.

5. Lie to Me - Washington D.C.

The most bureaucratically dense area in the U.S. Where the human lie detector sets up his headquarter as well.

6. The Dresden Files - Chicago

The police-consultant-wizard in the Windy City with its corners of occult. And none of the associations of East Coast or West Coast cities.

7. White Collar (oh oh oh and CASTLE) - New York City

My new favorites! For the first one, think modern version of the duo from Catch Me If You Can. What better place than the cosmopolitan center of the U.S., with its best and worst? And for the second one, I wish Hulu would post more episodes!!

Monk Finale

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Monk ended! (Insert awwwwws)

I think it's a very nice wrap-up. Monk solved the case of his wife's murder. The evidence has been in the last Christmas gift she gave him... 12 years ago... and he never opened it until now. (Well, the series has been going strong for almost a decade now... the longest non-cartoon TV series I have watched and enjoyed.)

[In progress] Dark justice (more spoiler warnings)

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There have been some memorable characters in fiction - some call them messengers of justice, others call them... serial killers. The shortlisted ones are Dexter Morgan of the TV series Dexter, Yagami Raito of the manga Death Note, and Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the numerous novels and movies featuring him. (Spoilers follow...)

They come from different backgrounds and have their distinctive modus operandi, but they are all hyper-intelligent, meticulous, confident about their abilities, and sociopathic. Very charismatic sociopaths who are (or in the case of Death Note, have been) quite successful in hiding what they do.

(to be continued)

[In progress] Detective modalities

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The hypothesis is that fictional detectives are curious characters that illuminate the temperaments of their creators to some degree... though I can't "prove" that without researching about the respective creators. Something I will have to postpone till a later time.

(1) Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The one that inspired many to follow. For the Jungians, a textbook example of INTJ.

(2) Adrian Monk, created by Andy Breckman

The obsessive-compulsive detective.

(3) Kudo Shinichi from Case Closed by Aoyama Gosho

High school student-detective trapped in a six-year-old's body.

(4) Shawn Spencer from Psych, created by Steve Franks

The self-proclaimed psychic with no psychic abilities, though with razor-sharp sense of observation and quick wit.

...

[In progress] Numb3rs chronicled - WARNING: spoilers galore.

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It's refreshing to see a TV series that's not all about doctors, lawyers, politicians, or a combination thereof. And it's also nice to see that certain characters' nerdiness is not objectified as an easy target for humor as in a few other TV programs. Even though the technical details are glossed over for the sake of maintaining the abstraction barrier (and for having commercial breaks), the writers have done an overall good job in presenting said technical details.

The premise is using mathematical techniques to solve crimes, but the show is not just about math -- the characterization and relationships among the characters bring life to the math and the science. As the seasons progressed, the audience can see how the characters develop, how they gain wisdom (or cynicism), and how their relationships grow.