Tag Archives: television

Cancelled Too Soon #1: Constantine (2014-2015)

Based on DC’s super-popular Hellblazer comics, the show follows John Constantine (Matt Ryan), his best friend Chaz and a mysterious woman with psychic powers named Zed, as they work to stop the “Rising Darkness” from destroying the world. Constantine has some supernatural help in the form of an angel named Manny (more on him later), and a sometimes ally/sometimes nemesis in the form of Papa Midnite, a Voodoo witch doctor who communes with the Hell-bound spirit of his dead sister for information. Along the way, Constantine must also deal with the consequences of some reckless behavior from years before, behavior that ultimately caused a young girl’s soul to be dragged to Hell (something Constantine has never forgiven himself for).

I’d never read Hellblazer before watching this show, and I was initially going to ignore it, but I decided to try it out. Almost instantly, I was hooked! I discovered later (after speed-reading a few digital comics) that Matt Ryan absolutely NAILED Constantine’s character. He’s the type of actor you dream about; the kind who can embody a role so completely you have no trouble believing he IS that person.

From the beginning though, there were hints that the show was going to be in trouble. First of all, look up at the poster, see what day and time it was set to premiere? Yeah, Fridays at 10pm isn’t exactly the best slot to give a new TV show (they don’t call Friday nights the “kill slot” for nothing). Second, because the pilot wasn’t exactly well-received, NBC refused to give the show a full season of 26 episodes, instead leaving them with only 13 (that’s NEVER a good sign for the future of any show). And third (as I remember it), they kept screwing around with the show’s schedule, one week the new episodes would air, then it would skip a week, and so on. And there would be almost no notice given of these changes. It’s almost like they wanted this show to fail….

Despite these issues, the show quickly gathered a cult following, as the story grew better with every episode. It became clear that SOMEONE had to be manipulating the Rising Darkness, and Constantine needed to figure out who it was so he could stop it. And then the last episode came…remember I mentioned Manny the angel? From day one he’d represented himself as one of the “good” angels, one who served in Heaven (and apparently also served as an Angel of Death, as he was present when one of Constantine’s friends was dying and also personally escorted a soul to the afterlife in a really cool sequence) and (at times begrudgingly) helped Constantine solve a particular mystery. Well, in the last episode, at the very end, Manny reveals to another character that HE has been manipulating the Rising Darkness this entire time, and Constantine doesn’t know it. It was a tormenting cliffhanger because there was no guarantee the show was going to continue, and ultimately, it didn’t. Despite a very vocal petition from the fans and pleas for ANY other network to pick up the show, Constantine was cancelled and remained so, meaning we would never find out Manny’s motives or whether or not Constantine was ultimately successful in stopping him.

The cancellation of Constantine led to me abandoning NBC for good (I’d already been burned once with Dracula); no matter how good the show sounds, if it’s on NBC, I won’t tune in. If there’s one thing I can’t do, it’s emotionally invest in a show only to have it ripped away after only one season or less.

If you’d like to see the show, I have great news: the Warner Archive is (finally!!!) producing Constantine: The Complete Series as an On-Demand Title, meaning you order it and they’ll make one and send it to you, you can find it on wbshop.com, I know I’m going to get a copy as soon as possible. And as far as I know, the CW is still streaming the full series on their online streaming app. Be warned though, once you start, you will get hooked!

Thankfully, this is not the last we will see of Matt Ryan as John Constantine: he already did a guest spot in season 4 of Arrow and he will be reprising the character in the upcoming animated film Justice League Dark (adapting another comic series that features Constantine).

Did you watch Constantine while it was on the air? If you did, did you like it? Wish there was more of it? Let me know in the comments below, and have a great day!

The Music of Star Trek Blogathon: Recap

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At last! After months of planning, The Music of Star Trek Blogathon is finally here!!!! I can’t wait to see what everyone has come up with. One last note, don’t forget to include a line at the top of your post that says “This post is part of The Music of Star Trek Blogathon hosted by Film Music Central” and include a link back to my blog page, that way anyone reading it knows that it is part of the blogathon 🙂

Day One

Thoughts All Sorts shares some thoughts on the music in Star Trek (2009): Some Musical Thoughts- Star Trek (2009)

MovieRob examines the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation “Encounter at Farpoint” : Star Trek: The Next Generation “Encounter at Farpoint” (1987)

My entry for this blogathon looks at one of the greatest cliffhangers of all time: The Music of Star Trek: The Best of Both Worlds (1990)

Plain, Simple Tom examines the now-iconic music in “Amok Time” : “Amok Time”

The Temp Track provides a ranking of every Star Trek film score there is: Scoring the Final Frontier: Celebrating 50 Years of Trek Tracks

The Temp Track also takes a look at the themes of Star Trek VI: Only Kirk Could Go To Qo’noS: Cold War Allegory and the Title Theme for Star Trek VI

Day Two

MovieRob: Star Trek Deep Space Nine “The Emissary”

The Temp Track: The Temp Track: Star Trek (2009): The First Sixty Seconds

Day Three

MovieRob: Star Trek: Voyager “Caretaker”

MovieRob: Star Trek: Enterprise “Broken Bow”

Rhyme and Reason: Star Trek: Voyager Musical Highlights

Riley on Film: Theme from ‘Star Trek’ (1966-1969)

The Temp Track: Musical Spock

Meg nog List Blog: Star Trek Nemesis and Blue Skies

Admitting I was wrong about Steven Universe (2013-present)

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Two notes here: 1) I know I said this would be weekly, but I couldn’t hold back my thoughts on this series any longer and 2) Yes, Steven Universe is television and not film, but it’s really good regardless!!!!

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The first thing I need to say about Steven Universe is: I was wrong. I completely misjudged this show, so much in fact that I sometimes feel really bad about it.

Backstory: In the last post, I said that I’m really picky about which movies I watch; this is DOUBLY true for cartoons. When you’re raised on Golden Age cartoons like Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry (not to mention the renaissance of the 90s), the bar is set really, REALLY high. In the last five years or so, I’d noticed Cartoon Network churning out a lot of what I liked to call “dumb-stupid cartoons.” These are series that have minimal plot but a LOT of really bad/raunchy jokes (I won’t name any names, but if you look at a listing of recent shows, they kind of stand out). And when Steven Universe was announced, I instantly pegged it as one of those cartoons. So I ignored it.

Fast forward to the end of 2015: all of my comic book friends began raving about Steven Universe, and when I let it slip that I hadn’t seen the show, they all begged me to check it out. I resisted for most of 2016, until last month, I finally gave in and checked it out (the first two seasons are on Hulu). It took three episodes but I.Was.Hooked.

From left to right: Pearl, Amethyst and Garnet

Despite the name of the show, this series isn’t dumb at all! Quite the opposite actually, the backstory is increasingly complex and the show deals with some pretty serious issues at times (racism, war, bullying, etc.) while also spreading positive messages about making friends, cooperation, overcoming hatred, and so on.

Here is the gist of Steven Universe: The Earth is protected by a trio of heroes called the Crystal Gems, Amethyst, Garnet and Pearl. They are aliens from the Gem Homeworld that fought against their own kind over 1000 years ago (under their leader Rose Quartz) to keep the Earth safe. About 10 years before the show starts, Rose (in love with a human named Greg Universe) surrendered her physical form to make her son, Steven. Steven is a Gem/human hybrid who has his mother’s Gem where his belly button should be. As the show goes on, Steven learns to harness his powers while facing a growing threat from the Gem Homeworld (which is still seeking to conquer the Earth for its resources). Along the way Steven has made friends with additional gems including Peridot (whom I LOVE!!!) and Lapis Lazuli, both gems that originally come from Homeworld.

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Lapis Lazuli is blue, Peridot is the green short one and that’s Steven on the end

A really cool part of the show is fusion, where two Gems can fuse together to create a totally new Gem! For example, Garnet (SPOILER ALERT!!!!!) is actually a fusion of Ruby and Sapphire, they just prefer staying fused together, though they will separate occasionally from time to time for various reasons. Pearl and Amethyst can form Opal, Pearl and Garnet can form Sardonyx, all three of them can form Alexandrite and just recently, I discovered that Steven and Amethyst can fuse to form Smoky Quartz (there’s more but I don’t want to give ALL the fusions away).

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I’m nearly caught up with the series now and I still can’t get over how wrong I was about this show. The one thing I wish was different is the episode lengths. Each episode is 11-12 minutes in length, which isn’t that long at all. I wish the episodes could be longer!

It looks like eventually we’re going to be seeing the Gem Homeworld and (hopefully) meet the mysterious Diamonds who run everything (they’re called White Diamond, Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond, but except for a few mentions and a sort-of flashback to Yellow Diamond, we haven’t actually SEEN any of them. There used to be Pink Diamond too, until Rose Quartz shattered her, it’s kind of a long story).

In closing, I’m really glad I gave this show a chance; it just goes to show you shouldn’t (with some exceptions) judge a show on its name only. If you haven’t seen Steven Universe, please go check it out!!

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Star Wars: Rebels “It’s Over Now”

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Right, so I know this blog is about films and film music, but I simply had to make an exception when I heard THIS:

Star Wars: Rebels “It’s Over Now” (2016)

If you’re not familiar with Star Wars: Rebels, let me explain (and I’ll try to be brief). In a nutshell, Rebels takes place in the years between Episodes III and IV when the Rebel Alliance is just beginning to form and Darth Vader is still on the prowl for remaining Jedi. At the conclusion of season 1 (or maybe the beginning of season 2, I forget), it is revealed that the contact for our particular group of heroes is none other than Ashoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s one-time Padawan, last seen in the final episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars (which ends not long before the events of Episode III). Having for years believed her master died in the Jedi purge, Ashoka has come to learn the terrible truth: Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader are one and the same. And once Vader becomes aware that his former apprentice is still alive, a conflict between them is inevitable.

Fast forward now to the end of season 2: Ashoka, Ezra (a young Padawan in training) and Kanan (a surviving Jedi training Ezra) travel to a dark planet named Malachor to retrieve a Sith holocron before the Inquisitors can seize it for the Emperor. While on the planet, our heroes come across a number of surprises (including a still-alive Darth Maul, there’s a long story in and of itself), but ultimately they reach the holding place for the holocron. But now they’ve got company: Darth Vader himself has arrived (James Earl Jones returned to reprise his role as the Dark Lord of the Sith).

Star Wars Rebels: Ashoka vs Darth Vader

Vader is confronted by a furious Ashoka, who vows to avenge Anakin’s “death” at Vader’s hands. The two engage in a lightsaber battle for the ages, and the fight (along with the music) really has the feel of a Star Wars film, not an episode from a television series. As the two fight on a ledge, Vader succeeds in Force-pushing Ashoka off and she disappears, but she isn’t dead! As Vader attempts to pull the holocron out of Ezra’s hands, Ashoka comes running out of nowhere and lands a direct blow on Vader’s helmet. With the holocron removed, the Sith temple everyone is standing in is getting ready to explode (the holocron was keeping it stable), and Ezra is screaming for Ashoka to hurry and join them, but then…

“Ashoka…Ashoka…” Gasps all around because that isn’t Darth Vader’s voice…that’s Anakin’s voice (both in-universe and in real life, the voice actor who portrayed Anakin in The Clone Wars returned specifically for this episode). Ashoka has always felt guilty about leaving Anakin and vows that this time, she will not leave him. Vader considers this for a moment, but the one visible eye hardens and Vader growls “Then you will die!” The last we see of them before the temple explodes, Ashoka and Vader are furiously dueling.

(apologies for the long description, but it’s the only way to set up this musical moment properly).

“It’s Over Now” begins as Kanan and Ezra are returning to the planet Lothal and Kanan comforts Ezra by telling him “It’s over now.”

Star Wars Rebels: End of the Episode

As the ship descends to land, the music becomes so very powerful. There’s a full chorus and a strong brass melody that screams the style of John Williams (even though it isn’t). Even if you never saw an episode of either The Clone Wars or Rebels, you know that this is a profound moment of sadness for all of the characters. The main brass theme sounds like a cross between the main “Force theme” and “Yoda’s theme” both from the original Star Wars films. This music though was not composed by John Williams but by composer Kevin Kiner (who has scored both The Clone Wars and Rebels)

The most powerful moment of all comes immediately after this reunion, when we return to the surface of the planet to see Vader staggering away from the temple, badly injured. Given the ferocity of the fight, since Vader is the one walking away, one could presume that Ashoka is dead…but is she? There is a brief glimpse of Ashoka disappearing back into the temple, but is she alive or is that her Force ghost? Either is possible, but we won’t find out until season 4 for sure.

After I listened to this piece, and then watched the scene in context, I could not stop listening to this music over and over again. The one word that keeps coming into my mind is powerful, you can feel the emotion surging through the soundwaves.

I had not watched any of Star Wars: Rebels until I heard about the Ashoka-Vader fight, but if this gorgeous music is typical of the series, then I will be making plans to go back and watch the entire series. I hope you enjoy “It’s Over Now”; like I said, I don’t normally do television music, but I think you’ll agree after listening that this piece of music is special.

*poster image is the property of Walt Disney Studios

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