Featured below are selected writing samples.
Links are provided under each sample to the original posts.
Writing Sample #1:
A Review of the "Promised Land Complete Series DVD" Set
I just finished watching the entire series on DVD last night. It holds up as drama today far better than I thought it would. I don't know why I distrust my memories of its first run so, but I always like to check myself from time to time just to make sure my memories aren't getting overly gilded.
Seasons 1 and 2 are absolutely classic, with very few average episodes (though they are there, especially in a couple of unfortunate "topical" episodes, similar to when the TV show Quincy stopped being a crime drama and instead became a "political hot-topic of the week" show). I kind of enjoyed the fact that though the Greenes were more or less on their own, Monica, Tess, and Andrew could show up at any time and the Greenes just had to deal with it. Richard Thomas as Russell's brother Joe was very effective as Nathaniel's troubled hothead absent father. His ultimate redemption was satisfying, even if a bit hurried.
The main cast is nothing short of inspired. Every man would be privileged to have a family like Russell Greene's. Heck, every man would love to BE Russell Greene, played with understated homespun wisdom and strength by Gerald McRaney.
Wendy Phillips' eyes as she plays Claire are a wonder to behold; all of Claire Greene's care, compassion and concern is there, right in those eyes as she inhabits the character so naturally.
Celeste Holm was already long a Hollywood legend. Amazingly, all of that star-power does not diminish or upstage any of the other actors. She is as comfortable in an ensemble as she is as a major Hollywood star. She plays Hattie with an impish twinkle in her eye that is endearing.
Austin O'Brien, Sarah Schaub, and Eddie Karr, as young as they were then, were already amazing, world-class actors. Fortunately, the writers gave them great material to play every week. It's sort of a shame that none of them are on stage or screen today, though I'm sure all of them eventually found their true calling.
Season 3 remained strong, despite some rather soapy subplots and Mr. Moonves' meddling in the series format. The presence of God in the Greenes' daily lives was sadly downplayed. However, "A Day In The Life," which I never saw in the first run because they pulled it from broadcast following the Columbine shootings, was a punch in the gut, even though you could see them telegraph the ending right from the teaser.
As Season 3 went on, some of the new secondary characters were inspired. I particularly enjoyed how the writers made Dinah a friend to misfits and social outcasts, sometimes with failure, always with pathos. My favorite of these was Margot (with a "t", played by the delightful Ashleigh Norman). As different as she was from her peers, it actually showed she had a self-confidence she would never have admitted to in order to completely embrace her "born-out-of-time" persona. Unexpected among these characters was "Mouse," the tech geek who had resigned himself—with some healthy good humor—to the fact that he would never be any more than a joke in student society. I would have loved to have seen how his character might have developed in a hypothetical Season 4.
There must have been reasons why Hattie was absent for most of the second half of the season, and for Josh's gradual transformation into a morose, angsty teenager who didn't get very many storylines beyond pining for unwed mother Bobbie. Shuffling Hattie off to visit her sister suddenly was unsettling. Instead of engaging me, it made me wonder what was going on behind the scenes of the Promised Land production.
I missed Josh's presence in the series as he gradually got upstaged by LT. LT grew on me, though, but I thought the writers softened his hard edges perhaps a little too quickly. I did not like that his sister seemed to disappear after their father's funeral.
I also sorely missed the recurring appearances of Ossie Davis' Erasmus, though he did make a brief appearance early in the final season.
Had Les Moonves not monkeyed with and eventually cancelled the series, it would have been interesting to see how the Promised Land producers—and our beloved Greene family—would have handled 9-11 (which would have happened probably just before a hypothetical Season 5 premier) and our subsequent entry into war.
Overall, I'm very glad I had the privilege to rewatch Promised Land, truly one of the best television dramas of the 1990s. In a few years, I'll pull it out again, and be just as entertained as the very first time.
As for the quality of the VEI DVD release, the picture quality is quite good considering the video source material—which can never be updated to HD. The disappointing feature of the set is the audio. Except for the pilot episode on disk 1, all the audio for all episodes has been mixed down to mono, so the "Dolby Surround" logo on the end credits of each episode is unfortunately misleading. I don't know what the reason for choosing mono audio over the original stereo broadcast audio, but it unfortunately made the episodes a little less absorbing and immersing as it was when it first was broadcast on CBS.
Despite the audio problems, I highly recommend this set, as this is currently the only way to view this incredible series.
Seasons 1 and 2 are absolutely classic, with very few average episodes (though they are there, especially in a couple of unfortunate "topical" episodes, similar to when the TV show Quincy stopped being a crime drama and instead became a "political hot-topic of the week" show). I kind of enjoyed the fact that though the Greenes were more or less on their own, Monica, Tess, and Andrew could show up at any time and the Greenes just had to deal with it. Richard Thomas as Russell's brother Joe was very effective as Nathaniel's troubled hothead absent father. His ultimate redemption was satisfying, even if a bit hurried.
The main cast is nothing short of inspired. Every man would be privileged to have a family like Russell Greene's. Heck, every man would love to BE Russell Greene, played with understated homespun wisdom and strength by Gerald McRaney.
Wendy Phillips' eyes as she plays Claire are a wonder to behold; all of Claire Greene's care, compassion and concern is there, right in those eyes as she inhabits the character so naturally.
Celeste Holm was already long a Hollywood legend. Amazingly, all of that star-power does not diminish or upstage any of the other actors. She is as comfortable in an ensemble as she is as a major Hollywood star. She plays Hattie with an impish twinkle in her eye that is endearing.
Austin O'Brien, Sarah Schaub, and Eddie Karr, as young as they were then, were already amazing, world-class actors. Fortunately, the writers gave them great material to play every week. It's sort of a shame that none of them are on stage or screen today, though I'm sure all of them eventually found their true calling.
Season 3 remained strong, despite some rather soapy subplots and Mr. Moonves' meddling in the series format. The presence of God in the Greenes' daily lives was sadly downplayed. However, "A Day In The Life," which I never saw in the first run because they pulled it from broadcast following the Columbine shootings, was a punch in the gut, even though you could see them telegraph the ending right from the teaser.
As Season 3 went on, some of the new secondary characters were inspired. I particularly enjoyed how the writers made Dinah a friend to misfits and social outcasts, sometimes with failure, always with pathos. My favorite of these was Margot (with a "t", played by the delightful Ashleigh Norman). As different as she was from her peers, it actually showed she had a self-confidence she would never have admitted to in order to completely embrace her "born-out-of-time" persona. Unexpected among these characters was "Mouse," the tech geek who had resigned himself—with some healthy good humor—to the fact that he would never be any more than a joke in student society. I would have loved to have seen how his character might have developed in a hypothetical Season 4.
There must have been reasons why Hattie was absent for most of the second half of the season, and for Josh's gradual transformation into a morose, angsty teenager who didn't get very many storylines beyond pining for unwed mother Bobbie. Shuffling Hattie off to visit her sister suddenly was unsettling. Instead of engaging me, it made me wonder what was going on behind the scenes of the Promised Land production.
I missed Josh's presence in the series as he gradually got upstaged by LT. LT grew on me, though, but I thought the writers softened his hard edges perhaps a little too quickly. I did not like that his sister seemed to disappear after their father's funeral.
I also sorely missed the recurring appearances of Ossie Davis' Erasmus, though he did make a brief appearance early in the final season.
Had Les Moonves not monkeyed with and eventually cancelled the series, it would have been interesting to see how the Promised Land producers—and our beloved Greene family—would have handled 9-11 (which would have happened probably just before a hypothetical Season 5 premier) and our subsequent entry into war.
Overall, I'm very glad I had the privilege to rewatch Promised Land, truly one of the best television dramas of the 1990s. In a few years, I'll pull it out again, and be just as entertained as the very first time.
As for the quality of the VEI DVD release, the picture quality is quite good considering the video source material—which can never be updated to HD. The disappointing feature of the set is the audio. Except for the pilot episode on disk 1, all the audio for all episodes has been mixed down to mono, so the "Dolby Surround" logo on the end credits of each episode is unfortunately misleading. I don't know what the reason for choosing mono audio over the original stereo broadcast audio, but it unfortunately made the episodes a little less absorbing and immersing as it was when it first was broadcast on CBS.
Despite the audio problems, I highly recommend this set, as this is currently the only way to view this incredible series.
Writing Sample #2
A Review of Glass Hammer's "Valkyrie" CD
Don't let the moniker "concept album" daunt you, because Glass Hammer's "Valkyrie" is dark, yet beautiful to the core, with haunting melodies propelled by stellar musicianship, complicated and playful prog, and a sense of genuine compassion.
Composers Steve Babb and Fred Schendel have woven some incredible soundscapes, handled by the band with sensitivity and virtuosity. They even put in a few musical nods to those who have come before (Genesis, ELP, Deep Purple, King Crimson, Zappa, RUSH), and even some of their contemporaries (Spock's Beard, Steven Wilson, Tool). Susie's vocals are angelic and enchanting. I could listen to her for hours. I haven't been able to distinguish between Steve's and Fred's lead vocals, but they represent themselves well. Steve's bass is a war machine all on its own, along with Aaron's martial drumming and Alan's soaring guitar. At times the music and the tale evoke that of Genesis' "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway," "A Trick Of The Tail," and "Wind And Wuthering", especially Fred's superb emulation of Tony Banks' ARP lead synth sound. And Fred's handling of the Hammond organ is thrillingly deadly.
The tale is of a WWI doughboy who, because of "shell-shock," believes he can never go home again, destined to live his war over and over. The prayers, love and persistence of the wife he left at home fight another war—to drive away his darkness.
The only thing that knocks it down to 4 stars is that the mix often buries the lead vocal in favor of louder accompaniment. However, this had the effect of making me listen closer to the lyrics than I would have normally, so not a total strike.
I can count on one hand the number of times an album left me weeping at the end. This is one of them. Probably the best Prog album—if not the best album of any genre—released this year. Highly recommended.
Composers Steve Babb and Fred Schendel have woven some incredible soundscapes, handled by the band with sensitivity and virtuosity. They even put in a few musical nods to those who have come before (Genesis, ELP, Deep Purple, King Crimson, Zappa, RUSH), and even some of their contemporaries (Spock's Beard, Steven Wilson, Tool). Susie's vocals are angelic and enchanting. I could listen to her for hours. I haven't been able to distinguish between Steve's and Fred's lead vocals, but they represent themselves well. Steve's bass is a war machine all on its own, along with Aaron's martial drumming and Alan's soaring guitar. At times the music and the tale evoke that of Genesis' "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway," "A Trick Of The Tail," and "Wind And Wuthering", especially Fred's superb emulation of Tony Banks' ARP lead synth sound. And Fred's handling of the Hammond organ is thrillingly deadly.
The tale is of a WWI doughboy who, because of "shell-shock," believes he can never go home again, destined to live his war over and over. The prayers, love and persistence of the wife he left at home fight another war—to drive away his darkness.
The only thing that knocks it down to 4 stars is that the mix often buries the lead vocal in favor of louder accompaniment. However, this had the effect of making me listen closer to the lyrics than I would have normally, so not a total strike.
I can count on one hand the number of times an album left me weeping at the end. This is one of them. Probably the best Prog album—if not the best album of any genre—released this year. Highly recommended.
Writing Sample #3
Review of the Star Trek Original Series BluRay
My review is a bit delayed, as I purchased this set last summer. It took me over six months to go through all 20 BD disks, and I finally finished watching in early December.
I'm a long-time Star Trek fan (my first episode was the 1967 summer rerun of "Balance of Terror" on NBC). Yet I have never owned the complete series in any of its formats (VHS or DVD). As the complete series DVDs disappeared and became impossible to obtain (except for the disappointing remastered DVDs--more on that below), I thought I would never be able to own this classic series in its original, unaltered incarnation.
Thankfully, Paramount/CBS has released an absolutely superlative BluRay collection of all 79 original episodes and some surprising and unexpected extras.
The extra I was most anticipating is to be found on disk 6 of Season 3: the original unaired (and very rarely seen) version of Star Trek's second pilot episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before." This alone is nearly worth the price of the entire set. CBS was contacted by a German film collector who had the entire pilot in its original form on 35mm film. When CBS realized what he had, they agreed to pay for a complete HD scan, clean-up and re-color-timing of the whole film, which looks amazing, despite some occasional film damage. It's enjoyable to see the more serious tone generated by different theme music and "Quinn-Martin"-style act breaks, as well as more fight scene footage in the episode's climax.
Of course, that's not all Paramount/CBS did in preparing this set. They went back to the original negatives, did a complete clean-up and new color timing of every episode. Each episode is now a visual revelation and practically every frame is sparkling with color and life. This remaster has renewed my respect for the producers and craftsmen involved with this ground-breaking show. Not only does the higher resolution not reveal as many flaws as I suspected it might, it actually makes the sets and costumes used back then look even more impressive than I remember them. There are some early episodes where makeup and costume inconsistencies are more jarring in HD than before (like some zippers showing near the uniform collars, and the seams in Leonard Nimoy's Vulcan ear appliances), but you can see that their execution of their craft got better and better with each subsequent episode. The HD remaster looks so good that you'll soon forget that your first viewing of this incredible series was likely on a fuzzy black-and-white TV with ghosting on the signal reception.
It won't be that much of a cliché after you get your first viewing of these on BD, but here it is: it's like watching these episodes for the very first time.
There is some visible softness in transitions created on an optical printer, such as dissolves, fade-ins and fade-outs, but that is really fairly unobtrusive as you are watching each episode. However, because of the way the original effects were created, using multiple film elements combined on an optical printer, there was a lot of dust, scratches and damage they could not fix in the new scans on the effects and composite footage (such as Enterprise fly-bys and viewscreen inserts). This was a motivating factor in CBS' decision to have all new digital effects created beginning in 2006 for the newly-remastered original series.
Herein lies my only problem with the Original Series BluRay, and seeing as how I can view all of the original visual effects for every episode on this BluRay set (by either selecting the option from the main menu or by using the "Angle" button), it's not really that much of an irritant.
I really wanted to believe that the people who executed the remastered effects had Star Trek's best interests at heart, but after viewing them, I am so far from being sold on them that I will never accept them or watch them as an integrated part of each episode.
For one thing, they got certain details of the Enterprise wrong. I checked with some A/B comparisons of certain shots on the BluRay, as well as photos of the original model as it was being restored at the Smithsonian. That's pretty unforgivable, considering the producers could have accessed exactly the same material I did.
The remastered effects, more often than not, look overdone and cartoony, creating a feel not even close to the original filmed episodes. They would have been better served to recreate the same camera angles and lighting of the original Enterprise shots instead of making the camera, and the ship, swoop and dive like a spacecraft in modern visual effects. The remastered effects would have been at home on "Enterprise," but not on the original series.
That said, there were some interesting additions that actually were successful, such as the new archaeological dig establishing shots added to "The Man Trap," and the marvelously lifelike and active mattes of Starbase 11 created for "The Menagerie" and "Court Martial," as well as the improved yet faithful cityscape of Eminiar 7 from "A Taste of Armageddon."
I'm really glad that, unlike Star Wars, we can still view the original versions on BluRay, and are not forced to accept the remasters as the new (and only) standard.
The 7.1 DTS-MA audio mix created for the remastered episodes is pretty amazing, even the newly-recorded, and thoroughly bombastic, main title theme. Despite the fact it doesn't quite match the action when accompanying the original visual effects, it's still very impressive, and a lot of fun to listen to. Even the original mono tracks included on the disks sound close to pristine (with a few bits of damage they were never able--or willing--to repair). My only possible gripe is that they should have also included the 5.1 mix they created for the original DVD release as an option, in addition to the original mono audio (and the Spanish and French dubs), but alas, there is only so much room for options on each BluRay disk.
If you are a Star Trek fan who really feels most at home with the original series, this BluRay set will satisfy you for years to come, and since Star Trek just passed its 45th anniversary, what a fitting way to renew your acquaintance with this incredible, ground-breaking, well-written and well-produced TV sci-fi gem. It easily is the equal to the other two classic sci-fi shows of the 60s, The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. Even at its price at this writing of $183, this is, frankly, an amazing bargain.
I'm a long-time Star Trek fan (my first episode was the 1967 summer rerun of "Balance of Terror" on NBC). Yet I have never owned the complete series in any of its formats (VHS or DVD). As the complete series DVDs disappeared and became impossible to obtain (except for the disappointing remastered DVDs--more on that below), I thought I would never be able to own this classic series in its original, unaltered incarnation.
Thankfully, Paramount/CBS has released an absolutely superlative BluRay collection of all 79 original episodes and some surprising and unexpected extras.
The extra I was most anticipating is to be found on disk 6 of Season 3: the original unaired (and very rarely seen) version of Star Trek's second pilot episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before." This alone is nearly worth the price of the entire set. CBS was contacted by a German film collector who had the entire pilot in its original form on 35mm film. When CBS realized what he had, they agreed to pay for a complete HD scan, clean-up and re-color-timing of the whole film, which looks amazing, despite some occasional film damage. It's enjoyable to see the more serious tone generated by different theme music and "Quinn-Martin"-style act breaks, as well as more fight scene footage in the episode's climax.
Of course, that's not all Paramount/CBS did in preparing this set. They went back to the original negatives, did a complete clean-up and new color timing of every episode. Each episode is now a visual revelation and practically every frame is sparkling with color and life. This remaster has renewed my respect for the producers and craftsmen involved with this ground-breaking show. Not only does the higher resolution not reveal as many flaws as I suspected it might, it actually makes the sets and costumes used back then look even more impressive than I remember them. There are some early episodes where makeup and costume inconsistencies are more jarring in HD than before (like some zippers showing near the uniform collars, and the seams in Leonard Nimoy's Vulcan ear appliances), but you can see that their execution of their craft got better and better with each subsequent episode. The HD remaster looks so good that you'll soon forget that your first viewing of this incredible series was likely on a fuzzy black-and-white TV with ghosting on the signal reception.
It won't be that much of a cliché after you get your first viewing of these on BD, but here it is: it's like watching these episodes for the very first time.
There is some visible softness in transitions created on an optical printer, such as dissolves, fade-ins and fade-outs, but that is really fairly unobtrusive as you are watching each episode. However, because of the way the original effects were created, using multiple film elements combined on an optical printer, there was a lot of dust, scratches and damage they could not fix in the new scans on the effects and composite footage (such as Enterprise fly-bys and viewscreen inserts). This was a motivating factor in CBS' decision to have all new digital effects created beginning in 2006 for the newly-remastered original series.
Herein lies my only problem with the Original Series BluRay, and seeing as how I can view all of the original visual effects for every episode on this BluRay set (by either selecting the option from the main menu or by using the "Angle" button), it's not really that much of an irritant.
I really wanted to believe that the people who executed the remastered effects had Star Trek's best interests at heart, but after viewing them, I am so far from being sold on them that I will never accept them or watch them as an integrated part of each episode.
For one thing, they got certain details of the Enterprise wrong. I checked with some A/B comparisons of certain shots on the BluRay, as well as photos of the original model as it was being restored at the Smithsonian. That's pretty unforgivable, considering the producers could have accessed exactly the same material I did.
The remastered effects, more often than not, look overdone and cartoony, creating a feel not even close to the original filmed episodes. They would have been better served to recreate the same camera angles and lighting of the original Enterprise shots instead of making the camera, and the ship, swoop and dive like a spacecraft in modern visual effects. The remastered effects would have been at home on "Enterprise," but not on the original series.
That said, there were some interesting additions that actually were successful, such as the new archaeological dig establishing shots added to "The Man Trap," and the marvelously lifelike and active mattes of Starbase 11 created for "The Menagerie" and "Court Martial," as well as the improved yet faithful cityscape of Eminiar 7 from "A Taste of Armageddon."
I'm really glad that, unlike Star Wars, we can still view the original versions on BluRay, and are not forced to accept the remasters as the new (and only) standard.
The 7.1 DTS-MA audio mix created for the remastered episodes is pretty amazing, even the newly-recorded, and thoroughly bombastic, main title theme. Despite the fact it doesn't quite match the action when accompanying the original visual effects, it's still very impressive, and a lot of fun to listen to. Even the original mono tracks included on the disks sound close to pristine (with a few bits of damage they were never able--or willing--to repair). My only possible gripe is that they should have also included the 5.1 mix they created for the original DVD release as an option, in addition to the original mono audio (and the Spanish and French dubs), but alas, there is only so much room for options on each BluRay disk.
If you are a Star Trek fan who really feels most at home with the original series, this BluRay set will satisfy you for years to come, and since Star Trek just passed its 45th anniversary, what a fitting way to renew your acquaintance with this incredible, ground-breaking, well-written and well-produced TV sci-fi gem. It easily is the equal to the other two classic sci-fi shows of the 60s, The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. Even at its price at this writing of $183, this is, frankly, an amazing bargain.