On watching House and living life

One thing I realy like about House is that the man himself (and the script-writers) realise we rarely just do something. There's more to us than that, we either want something out of it or we want to achieve things and succeed or we do it out of a desire for purpose - or with an ounce of care and compassion. But only an ounce. Sadly Dr Gregory House is often too right about the human heart. As he says "everybody lies" and he has to work out the truth going on in people.

House has a way of exploding situations until their practically unbearable for his colleagues in order to expose to themselves what the new selfish or dumb thing they are really doing is. He won't let anything go.* It's pretty fascinating.

House says things like this - isn't he a charmer?

I find I get drawn in by this construction of what human life is. And I find that I can be fooled into thinking the pleasingly complex psychology/drama amongst the characters is worth feeling for (I guess this shows it is well-made). It's pleasing as there is depth to the characters and they are going for more than simple cliche motivations at times, which is great - but here's the reason this isn't realistic: (Get ready, it's obvious) At the end of the show you turn it off.

Living real life

As a Christian I've recently been challenged in a number of ways that the life we have been given is the important thing, and it is exciting! It goes on beyond 45-minute-manageable-sessions, and its problems are bigger and more protracted. The life we have matters, the people in it matter and their vastly different situations matter. This life is significant.

Sometimes we can find things mundane, and I know I can even feel like everything is worthless after a really bad day. But this is a lie. God has given us all things to enjoy and responsibility to use our abilities to do good and make an impact on other people's lives and the world. How is this not significant? Even producing things for others to enjoy is significant, as we develop his world and we can invest in that some of the value that we ought to place on good things in his good creation.

Going back to watching TV for a minute - I'm not knocking it, as it is good to enjoy as a gift from God. But as Christians should we not be more hooked on God as the beautiful and glorious and pure and wise one from whom all these good things come? (Phillippians 3:7-11.) Shouldn't he fundamentally change the way we enjoy and engage with everything (see eg Philippians 4:11-13.) Let's wholeheartedly enjoy living and receiving from him with a knowledge of him as the giver and him as the source. When God brings his restoration to humanity and makes the world new, all will see that he is the most significant anything in the universe, he is far above anything and anyone.* All else really is second-rate!

And let's see other people in our town and their lives as significant, as they are not only a creation of God, not only do they bless us and enrich our lives in many ways when you think about it, but also they are made in God's image: They really are here because he dreamed them up and wanted them here, and he made them to shine out a little of God's character or nature, no matter how corrupted that might have become. When we are engaging with real people in the real world, we engage with complex and wonderful beings, and we can make a difference. And that's exciting.
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*Like Sherlock?

**See for instance Revelation 7:9-12 where huge worship is going on all in honour of the "Lamb". This is Jesus who is described in the New Testament to be the ultimate sacrifice, the lamb of God, fulfilling the passover lamb role from the Old Testament. The point I'm making is he's shown to be worthy of all the honour the universe can give. May many begin to honour him first gladly now and be able to enter into that worship of him in heaven.

Catching up with Heroes

For the Heroes faithful, things are going well. This fourth season, which BBC2 is currently showing, is focused on character and a plotline and not just getting characters to certain places in time to use their powers and move on to the next crisis (like some of season 2 and 3). Finally we have Peter Petrelli determining to use his power to help people, Claire is getting a new support cast (albeit a weird one) and Hiro’s family has also developed while he has been able to invest in those lives he has a chance to touch to make some difference.

What’s more, new characters with powers only seem to be included to further an overall plot. For instance, the new carnival characters have created an intriguing alternative lifestyle for those with powers, and a menace which is not easy to define. They are clearly a twisted “family”, taking in the vulnerable, but they are also kept in check by the uncompromising leader Samuel Sullivan - and to what ultimate end?

Another new character to pop up, a young teen who is a “healer”, also reminds us of the need for a strong family, and good guidance for those with powers, which has helped us see Mr Bennet’s new place in the world, and his good instincts for this sort of situation. However how he deals with the boy also reminds us that he doesn’t have all the answers, and highlights his powerlessness when the boy’s confusion and panic leads to disaster. If only he had these powers under control, he could be a force for great good – but even in the real world, bringing our bodies under control for good is not easy, and so sometimes even those used to being in control, like Mrs Petrelli, are faced with their faults and their insufficiency.

I guess there still needs to be something more each character is working towards, which they share – but it is early in the season and Samuel does seem to be drawing most of them together. What kind of web he is weaving I don’t know, and I don’t know if the new “blank slate” Sylar trusts him or not. I can't wait to see more of how this "family" theme plays out. Is redemption possible for those who have been outcast from society? Or will they keep on playing the hate game and make things worse between those with powers and the outsiders who visit them?

(Thankfully, we've had a break from Mohinder's angsty scientist routine as well! The painting of him was good though so I thought I'd add it here. More on films and comics coming soon...)

Round-up of what is catching my imagination

What caught your imagination this week? For me it was several unexpectedly fun things.

For one I just had to point out this book - the cause of laughter in Waterstones the other day - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!! Even the first chapter is a mix of faithful reproduction and its own twists: While Mrs Bennet's job is to marry off her daughters, Mr Bennet, obsessively polishing his musket, has the job is to keep them alive. I can only guess the struggle Lizzy has for the right sort of equal-footed marriage for herself and the best course for her sisters is only confounded by the outbreaks of zombies roaming the streets and potentially infecting relations or partners... can't wait to read it!

Other stuff I've been enjoying includes: listening to a magical set from Snow Patrol at Swindon on Radio 1, hearing about God's all-surpassing goodness even when it doesn't seem like it (from Psalm 73), defending a wounded comrade in Eastern Europe in Call of Duty 4, drawing a fine leafy plant in the office while on the phone, and following Boy Blue's adventures through volume 6 of Fables. I'm loving the way the Fables universe has been expanded by this latest volume, and we've seen a new side of our good-hearted Boy Blue, and while even sly Jack managed to surprise me by getting a return for his riches. I also love the inclusion of Jabberwocky's vorpal blade, which goes through a fair few of the adversary's forces, representing the first aggressive tactics the modern-day Fables have taken in a while. Also I've been finding some mainstream comics fun, such as Spiderman's part in Civil War, and Batman's RIP story is a worthwhile, shocking read, which throws a lot of established parts of Bruce Wayne's world out of the window. More comics news coming soon... including my impressions of some less known Vertigo books, and maybe some comments about the increasingly zany and morally challenged mercenary Deadpool. If you're a comics fan, try this site for some recommendations: http://www.comicsreview.co.uk/nowreadthis/

Also: Now that Heroes season 3 has finished with some more frankly ridiculous but fun Sylar-centred episodes, I hope to get back into some other TV, and I wonder if anyone else is sad to have missed Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra recently? I only caught the end, which raised a few smiles.

Praise God for the rest

• Praise God for how having a sense of humour can really lift the spirits of people at work/ during the game of cricket which you are losing/ etc. What a gift!
• Praise Jesus for creating deep blue evening skies, for words of crowning beauty at the climax of a song, for laughter and friendship and bonding (despite sin).
• Praise God for making us able to express things in pictures and film, and for moral dilemmas on TV which remind us of the value of human life, and simply for quality entertainment, like the creepy and tense anime Death Note, which is really grabbing the imagination of my whole family.
• Praise God for other things of brilliance and joy, like being able to finally start Lost Planet on Xbox 360 and enjoy its (Zelda or Metroid-like) action and brilliant survivor-on-a-hostile-ice-planet atmosphere.

And finally for now...
• Praise the Lord that he really is in charge of our futures, so it is not trite when people say “the Lord knows which job is for you”. He really does know and care.

Fresh perspectives on everything from CS Lewis

I caught most of this documentary last night, a brilliantly fresh and relevant look at the thinker CS Lewis' ideas about the world, and how he thought there was more to it than just what can be described scientifically. I suppose most of us would agree with him on that point, really: Love, friendships, people, incredible sights and brilliant art/music all have more significance than can be described by formulas and tested based on their make-up.

The doc focuses on the Narnia books and shows just how much thought went into them! Finally it was good to see some thoughtful responses from Christian academics and thinkers, who pushed us to think about the big questions of life while still being relevant to the subject at hand, and only assuming interest in Lewis and Narnia.

For another take on the doc, try here or here.

Good stories and characters and big issues... in Stargate: Atlantis??

Someone who worked on Stargate Atlantis season two clearly shares my view that Rodney McKay is the most interesting and well-rounded character in the whole thing as the writers have designed two episodes, “Grace Under Pressure” and “Duet”, to focus almost solely on his state of mind and ability to work with others – and this makes for some excellent television. We know how, through the course of the first season, he has become painfully aware of his weaknesses: arrogance and bad people skills – and we see how in these episodes he battles with his own arrogance in his mind, on one occasion trying to distract himself from going ahead with a plan that his ego insists would work, because part of him knows this is a desperate measure that will not work!

How pleasingly complex he is, and how much fun to watch him managing his conflicting desires: with his many, many fears pulling him one way and his loyalty to the team and a growing sense of adventure pulling him another way. And while he can be obsessive about women, we even saw his sense of honour in “Grace under pressure” when he would not consciously or subconsciously undress fellow-scientist Carter in his mind, knowing her well enough to know she would not do this for him, and grudgingly respecting her choice! The huge amount of depth in his character is welcome and refreshing, bringing the series into more personal territory. How would we react, if we had the burden and privilege of being in such an important position? Or when we know we are being counted on to run complicated tasks through crisis after crisis? How would it feel to watch another man die, because he knows that you are irreplaceable?

Meanwhile my main gripe is that the heroic military leader John Sheppard has become almost utterly boring and predictable this series, and his lines more often are there just to state the obvious – this is a shame as he proved himself to be the Bruce Willis of Stargate during season one’s two-parter, “The Storm”. I’ve also noticed that civilian leader Weir is always given similar reactions when new problems face the base. And Ronon and Teyla are still pretty dull as well.

Thank goodness for the interesting stories then, which deal with fragile alliances between different societies with different goals, the genetic development of the Wraith and plans to experiment on them and use them, a rogue soldier who, in his hubris, wants to prove his worth before he returns to the team, people’s consciousness entering other people’s bodies and sparking afresh an age-old war in Atlantis, and – the core of much science-fiction – the pursuit of dangerous new technologies. The questions they face of whether to work towards genetically altering their enemies remind us that science-fiction often touches on relevant issues of contention today - for instance, our own treatment of human embryos shows little regard for their actual life, and there are questions too that we'd rather not face about whether we ought to mix animal and human DNA.

Certainly not a perfect TV show, but a good package providing a good dose of action and character and a slice of something to think about pretty consistently in each episode. Recommended.

Fullmetal Alchemist

Ever since watching the movie-like episodes of Batman: the Animated Series on a Saturday morning as a kid, I have been excited about the stories animation can tell (I guess maybe Disney films like The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, Aladdin, The Sword in the Stone, and Toy Story probably helped.) But watching this popular Japanese anime series was something different. It is a 51 episode series, telling one complete story aside from a few unrelated quests and some episodes more based on developing characters. The whole thing has a varied tone, and is (broadly) a fun adventure story – but it really made me laugh, and certain scenes are creepy, incredibly so, for such a colourful story. It deals with some big issues like the loss of family members, the dangers of all-consuming obsessions, and the difficulty of coping with death in general, as well as a background theme of the damage caused by military oppression and racism.

The strong friendship of teenage brothers Ed and Al is a staple element of the formula, and together they leave home (Odyssey-like) to discover the secrets of alchemy, so that they can un-do a past catastrophe which left Al’s soul body-less and grafted to a giant suit of armour. Being essentially a walking ghost with an imposing outer shell makes life difficult for Al (unsurprisingly) and the friendship of the brothers is put to the test in extraordinary ways throughout this fantastic journey. The military characters are also very well-realised and a highlight of the series.

Mostly you will be carried along by the compelling, often tense story into a mix of emotions. Through the main two characters we are encouraged to explore the right and just thing to do when faced with monsters and criminals, outlawed civilians and even those we have brought up or influenced (think Frankenstein’s monster). As you can probably tell, the rich plotlines and interesting themes set this totally apart for me from any other series I’ve seen. And for those who have already seen it, I hear that a new series based on the characters is in the works! Magic!

The movie [pictured above] is a fun follow-up to the series, but only for fans, and even then it's nothing to write home about.

My thoughts on Heroes, volume 3

As one of my favourite programmes, Heroes, presses on into the second half of its third season on BBC2, my thoughts towards the series are contradictory ones. After a great first season and a mixed second one, I can’t quite make my mind up about the new season, which is full of cool moments and some great episodes, but which gives the impression of being without a clear sense of direction.

At some level we know what to expect. We can look forward to more new powers and power-swapping taking place between the main characters, more shocking betrayals and – as a natural result in a series where everyone seems to be as closely related as one giant dysfunctional family – more highly-strung confrontations between our emotional heroes and villains. Hopefully the time-stopping antics of Hiro and Ando will continue as well, because I can’t resist laughing at the pair as they try to be tough and “do the right thing” – no matter how much of a pain the “right thing” is going to be for Ando.

What else can we see coming though? At this point, I wouldn’t mind betting on more visions of the future, which will hopefully clear up how exactly the world is going to be threatened again. But there are some things you can never predict about this series. Will Mr Petrelli survive and just what is he after? And will his sons follow him or not? What will they be able to do to prevent the future disaster and the future murders of Hiro and Peter?

And then there is Sylar. Who knows where his loyalties will lie after most of the cast has tried to kill him, or at least to use him! Will the influence of his newfound family or his friend and lover, Elle, bring out the best in him, as we are beginning to hope, or the worst? Surely one of the best characters (and best-acted), at first I was really unhappy about the direction they took his character at the beginning of this series – but by the time I got to the excellent tenth episode, I was sold. Elle and Sylar’s confrontation shows how far he has come and how willing he is to help those in his position. His voluntary and manly acceptance of her, when she needed acceptance; his powerful demonstration of how he will endure the pain and choose not to kill; his refusal to listen to her pleas for death, because he knows that redemption is possible – this added up to a surprisingly hope-filled and cathartic moment – a chance for the two to reach peace in the midst of the latest chaotic and uncaring plot that surrounds them both. I hope Sylar survives the series!

Of course one thing we all know we are in for more of is Dr Mohinder Suresh’s strange brand of philosophising (or even moralising) about the human experience. His voiceover mainly functions to provide links between the multiple stories going on, and to give the viewer a sense of how characters are feeling and perhaps where the series is heading next. But it is tiring at times, and he does come up with some odd phrases. Armchair wisdom is mixed with evolutionary theory and psychology, and at times we feel with pride we are beginning to grasp something profound. My “Addicted to heroes” Facebook application shows me one quote in which he connects humanity together in some kind of Buddhist-lite divine understanding of the world. What on earth is this series trying to say about people? Other than the obvious assumption: That we have lots of potential as individuals and should work together to make the right choices for a better future.

[Writing that last sentence was unnerving – not only does it sound like every other whole-hearted American message about the way forward for the world, but bare-faced as it stands it is far too simple a view of what will make a good future. Perhaps that’s where the randomness of the way things happen in the series helps to make things less about one ultimate goal, but more about possible options.]

This idea of wielding miraculous powers, naturally given us or passed on through science, is alluring. But the series has shown how power has changed the identity of the characters, through their forced exile or through the things they have done. How can individuals use the abilities or opportunities we have positively, without letting them become obsessions or serving our own ends at the expense of others (see Noah or Suresh)? How will we be safe? The dangers in heroism are clear.

Despite this, we can easily aspire to be like the Heroes, whether this is to be good, or strong, attractive or assertive, successful or honourable, or all of the above. What implications does this have for us? What is praiseworthy about these characters and our desires to be like them, and what is wrong about it?

Positively, we love to follow the story of evil’s defeat and hope for the Heroes to be able to live on. There is a challenge in their good actions that we, too, should not compromise and let evil have its way; a challenge, perhaps, to take hard decisions to fight wrong behaviour or the wrong thoughts in our hearts, and ultimately to find strength in a relationship with God so we are able to give evil no ground in our lives. (Notice the “in the Lord” in Ephesians 6: 10-11 and the God-dependence of King David in Psalm 139:24.) Furthermore, as Nathan and Peter need discernment about how far to trust each other and their parents, we must seek God’s discernment about which advice to follow and which course to take. Who will we be influenced by in the choices we make? More negatively, in our aspiration to be like a “hero” we are selfish and would love to be in the spotlight, or merely to be able to get what we want. We become the centre of our own universe, and those we come into contact with suffer the consequences.

Finally, as the cast of Heroes are often defined by what they do, or, in some episodes, how they feel about what they do, I guess the question is for us: What should define us?