I probably should have been talking about this television program before now, but I've gotten into a mode of thinking about what I am reading as blog material and not the things I am watching. And it's made easier by television programming being on every week, such that it becomes standard, while reading a book changes every time I pick up a new book. But given the lack of good science fiction or fantasy on serial television, it's important to talk about the good stuff.
Until the latest episode of Eli Stone, I might have had trouble supporting my claim that it was good stuff. But the show required patience, building up slowly to one of the best moments in television this season. Honestly, the show started whimsically, introducing us to the title character, a brilliant young corporate lawyer (played by Jonny Lee Miller) who is the heir apparent to a partnership in a prestigious San Francisco law firm. Things are looking great for Eli: he's engaged to the senior partner's daughter, that same senior partner envisions big things in his future, and everyone recognizes Eli's brilliance in defending corporate clients. And then the visions start.
Eli finds himself watching George Michael perform "Faith" in his office lobby. Then Michael appears in his living room. And Eli jumps to the conclusion that he's becoming his father, who apparently suffered delusions throughout his life, making Eli's young life miserable as his father repeatedly embarrassed him in public and required special attention. But Eli's brother goes further and, as a neurologist, recommends that Eli get a CAT scan. They find that Eli has a brain aneurysm, and that his visions are in fact hallucinations. Except that the hallucinations Eli has predict the future, and they have the disconcerting habit of coming true.
At this point, Eli Stone could have gone down a road similar to Medium, which until recently made a weekly episode out of its main character predicting the future and no one believing her, not even the people who hired her to use her psychic powers to fight crime…and sometimes not even her husband. Instead, Eli Stone becomes a story about the maturing process of a lawyer, who comes to realize many things, but perhaps most importantly that law is not intended to be a refuge for corporations, but support for individuals. As a result of his visions, Eli takes on more and more improbable cases, causing his coworkers and friends to rethink who Eli really is. And because Eli is a brilliant lawyer, he almost always wins, aggravating his bosses who want him to back to his money-making ways. Particularly infuriated is the senior partner, Jordan Wetherby (played wonderfully by Vincent Garber), who is legally bound to keep Stone hired but uses that tie to make Eli's life miserable the further he goes from the firm's corporate policy. At one point, Stone assists a client to sue one of the firm's large corporate clients, which is maddening enough, but then Stone wins.
As I reread this, I recognize that these are the kinds of things that created a sort of mainstream veneer to Eli Stone, making it appear to be a slightly quirky lawyer show. But there's much more going on underneath the surface. We find out that Eli's father suffered from the same kind of aneurysm, perhaps in the exact same place, and that those moments that most embarrassed Eli were the results of his father being enmeshed in hallucination or drunk as he tries to deal with the hallucinations that he cannot control and medical science cannot cure. Eli's understanding of his father is completely altered and he learns to love his now deceased father as his own aneurysm-induced visions cause flashbacks and insight to moments he has shared with his father. Anger and embarrassment give way to sympathy and understanding, and Eli discovers that his father tried to tell Eli how he was suffering and that Eli would eventually have the same affliction.
Eli also gains a friend in Dr. Chen, an acupuncturist he sought to help him end the hallucinations when he first got them. Stone and Chen have discussions about the nature of Eli's hallucinations—are they the symptoms of a debilitating disease or has Eli been selected to be a prophet. As Eli begins to make discoveries about his father, Chen reveals that he knew Eli's father and was told by him to help take care of Eli when Eli shows up for treatment.
So slowly and surely, Eli begins to convince the people around him that whatever is causing his visions is also showing him the future. The difficulty in believing this proposition is well played by the actors and writers of the show, but ultimately, Eli being correct every time has to win him converts. And yet Eli is torn; his visions help people and give texture and meaning to his own past, but they are ruining his career as a corporate lawyer and they are uncontrollable, afflicting him in the most awkward situations, and around people who don't know his condition. The latest episode returns to Eli's sole failure, a prediction of an earthquake crippling San Francisco, a prediction that was too big for anyone to believe and which forced Eli to cheat at a trial in order to protect people who were going to have their lives destroyed by having them evicted from their homes at the epicenter of the earthquake he saw coming. At the end of that first episode, the earthquake has not arrived and doubts creep in, both for Eli and the people who know him. But the vision returns, and Eli is convinced San Francisco is about to be ravaged by an earthquake.
Eli again takes extreme measures to protect the people, suing the city to close Golden Gate Bridge, ultimately losing the case but wining the attention of the mayor's office which takes him seriously. And he stands on a desk in the center of his firm, admitting to anyone who will listen that he is ill and that he knows they may not all believe him, but for their own safety, they need to get out of the building. Some leave, others stay behind. Then the earthquake strikes, and we see the destruction of the Golden Gate Bridge.
I imagine for some people, this could be a "jump the shark" moment. But for me, this is when the show excelled. Suddenly it's clear that Eli Stone is a high fantasy set in modern times. Eli has a gift, an unwanted gift, but a magical gift that he uses to help those less fortunate than himself. And he has inherited that gift from his father, a man who couldn't use the gift so well but saw that his son would and apologized to him when he learned the burden it would be. And like those high fantasies, Eli Stone is about its main character maturing, actually running through the stages of grief as he deals with his illness which helps so many others. As Eli matures, so do the people around him; the lawyers who are sometimes caricatures of everything stereotypical about lawyers are becoming fully realized. The lawyer who was too young and too busy to properly defend a client years ago, comes back to that client and works with him to get fair treatment and aid. The corporate shill who is only in it for the money grows a conscience and, while still sometimes being a jerk, finds he can be a good person to those around him. And the senior partner, Jordan Wetherby, rediscovers through Eli his passion for law, not for just how much money it brings to him but for the good it can do in other people's lives.
I realized watching the last episode that we were watching a true serial, one that required patience (and maybe even some filler episodes) to get us to where the story wanted to be. And while my description of the Golden Gate Bridge falling appears to describe a ratings stunt, it actually is the culmination of a long thoughtful process. And I couldn't see what was coming soon enough to let people know this was something worth watching. Unfortunately, there is only one episode left this season, and I suspect Eli Stone will not be returning next season—the ratings are not very good, perhaps because it required patience to see where it was going. American television viewers are not renowned for their patience. So, I bring this show to your attention, probably too late. I can hope for another season, but if that fails, I would recommend finding a DVD set of it when it comes out. For Eli Stone offers its viewers hope, for growth and renewal. It has promise and works hard to deliver it, and I'm glad I got to se it achieved.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Devil in the White City
The Devil in the White City is a departure from most of the books I read, but I had read a number of excellent reviews and so was interested in finding it. First of all, it's non-fiction, using primary sources to describe the 1893 Columbian Exhibition (also called World's Fair) in Chicago. The challenges that the Fair's planners had to meet and overcome (a lot of which they put on themselves) were tremendous. Erik Larson does a fine job describing the run-up to Chicago's selection as the host city, as well as describing the nature of the city itself as it took on the challenge. But what Larson truly excels at is describing the principal people involved in the decisions and preparations by using their own words. Larson has apparently scoured letters, articles, and books by and about such people as Daniel Burnham, Louis Sullivan, and Frederick Olmsted and then used his findings to add depth to his history of the Columbian Exhibition.
That Larson is an excellent researcher is apparent; the notes section of the book is extensive. And his decision to let the words of the actual participants carry a lot of the story-telling weight is sound. Larson acts more as a bricklayer, mortaring and shoring up the foundation for the quotations he uses, and providing the connections between them. To be honest, a lot of the connective material is supposition based on his readings, but I could find nothing that seemed obviously wrong or felt like guessing. And the book is a fascinating read about personalities surrounding an important event in American history—I could barely put it down. But some of the decisions Larson made for his book just felt a little off to me, weakening my enjoyment of the book minimally.
First, there is the Devil in the title, serial killer H. H. Holmes. While Holmes lived mere blocks from the gates of the Columbian Exhibition while it was running, his story is only tangential to the larger story of the Exhibition itself. In fact, Holmes's killing spree began before the Exhibition opened and went on after it was over, and he didn't use the Exhibition as part of his modus operandi. He had no interaction with any of the principles of the Exhibition. It's important to note that Holmes's story is worth telling; he was apparently one of the first, if not the very first, serial killers in the United States. He was a psychopath and apparently extremely intelligent, especially as he describes himself in the quotes provided in Larson's book. He is a fascinating study of evil and sickness. But he has nothing to do with the main thrust of the story of the exhibition. There are far fewer chapters about Holmes than there are about the Exhibition and its builders, and just as the momentum of the main story gets going, we are interrupted with more supposition about Holmes and his activities.
The second biggest flaw is that Larson spends a great deal of time describing the enormity of the work done for the fair, but provides little detail about just how big it is. Unless you are used to thinking in such terms, knowing that the fairgrounds were a mile square means very little. Describing one of the buildings as "the largest ever attempted" means very little without numbers to back it up. And I understand not using picky details because they could easily get in the way of a narrative flow. But without numbers, please provide pictures. There are only eight illustrations in the book, and only two of those offer any real scope of just how huge and beautiful the fair turned out to be. And one of those photographs suffers from extreme foreshortening, causing the Court of Honor to appear very much smaller than it actually was. So, fascinated by what little detail I had, I started doing some research. The front page of the Illinois Institute of Technology's Web site (http://columbus.gl.iit.edu/) gives a far better picture of just how large the fair and its buildings were. Digging further into the Web site, one can find a map of the fair with links to pictures for locations on the map (http://columbus.gl.iit.edu/dreamcity/grounds.html). In fact as much as I am recommending The Devil in the White City, I am also recommending the Illinois Institute of Technology Web site. I spent a couple of hours looking over the pictures and I could easily spend several more.
I thoroughly enjoyed Larson's book, flawed as it might be. Larson wisely keeps out of the way of the story he is telling, and it is much to his credit that the stories of both the Exhibition and H. H. Holmes be told. I think much more can be made of either story, and Larson has provided the perfect gateway to learning more about both.
That Larson is an excellent researcher is apparent; the notes section of the book is extensive. And his decision to let the words of the actual participants carry a lot of the story-telling weight is sound. Larson acts more as a bricklayer, mortaring and shoring up the foundation for the quotations he uses, and providing the connections between them. To be honest, a lot of the connective material is supposition based on his readings, but I could find nothing that seemed obviously wrong or felt like guessing. And the book is a fascinating read about personalities surrounding an important event in American history—I could barely put it down. But some of the decisions Larson made for his book just felt a little off to me, weakening my enjoyment of the book minimally.
First, there is the Devil in the title, serial killer H. H. Holmes. While Holmes lived mere blocks from the gates of the Columbian Exhibition while it was running, his story is only tangential to the larger story of the Exhibition itself. In fact, Holmes's killing spree began before the Exhibition opened and went on after it was over, and he didn't use the Exhibition as part of his modus operandi. He had no interaction with any of the principles of the Exhibition. It's important to note that Holmes's story is worth telling; he was apparently one of the first, if not the very first, serial killers in the United States. He was a psychopath and apparently extremely intelligent, especially as he describes himself in the quotes provided in Larson's book. He is a fascinating study of evil and sickness. But he has nothing to do with the main thrust of the story of the exhibition. There are far fewer chapters about Holmes than there are about the Exhibition and its builders, and just as the momentum of the main story gets going, we are interrupted with more supposition about Holmes and his activities.
The second biggest flaw is that Larson spends a great deal of time describing the enormity of the work done for the fair, but provides little detail about just how big it is. Unless you are used to thinking in such terms, knowing that the fairgrounds were a mile square means very little. Describing one of the buildings as "the largest ever attempted" means very little without numbers to back it up. And I understand not using picky details because they could easily get in the way of a narrative flow. But without numbers, please provide pictures. There are only eight illustrations in the book, and only two of those offer any real scope of just how huge and beautiful the fair turned out to be. And one of those photographs suffers from extreme foreshortening, causing the Court of Honor to appear very much smaller than it actually was. So, fascinated by what little detail I had, I started doing some research. The front page of the Illinois Institute of Technology's Web site (http://columbus.gl.iit.edu/) gives a far better picture of just how large the fair and its buildings were. Digging further into the Web site, one can find a map of the fair with links to pictures for locations on the map (http://columbus.gl.iit.edu/dreamcity/grounds.html). In fact as much as I am recommending The Devil in the White City, I am also recommending the Illinois Institute of Technology Web site. I spent a couple of hours looking over the pictures and I could easily spend several more.
I thoroughly enjoyed Larson's book, flawed as it might be. Larson wisely keeps out of the way of the story he is telling, and it is much to his credit that the stories of both the Exhibition and H. H. Holmes be told. I think much more can be made of either story, and Larson has provided the perfect gateway to learning more about both.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Witch World
This is a selection for my book group, so I'm not going to go into very much detail here.
What a fascinating mish-mash of science fiction and fantasy! Our hero Simon Tregarth finds himself on the run from gangsters in present-day America (well, 1960s) and travels through a fairy circle to a world that somehow meets his fondest desires. The world he ends up on has elements of highest fantasy--with witches guiding their soldiers into war after preparing their way with their supernatural powers--and speculative fiction or planetary romance. The valiant Estcarpians (Estcarps?) with whom Tregarth settles find themselves at battle with what at first appear to be an army of the undead, a fitting foe for the witch women. But it turns out it is not magic that has removed the minds of their foes but instead some horrible science this is beyond anything that Tregarth has ever experienced before.
Unfortunately, Andre Norton only hints at the possible technology until the last few dozen pages, so she is unable to exploit the dichotomy very far, and I can only hope that it gets further explored in the many many novels that follow Witch World. But in those final battle sequences, the culture of Estcarp, apparently somewhere near our Middle Ages, finds itself at battle with an enemy using aircraft and submarines. The nearest thing I can recall to the battle is William Forstchen's Lost Regiment books, featuring a Civil War regiment versus nomadic tribes. Unlike Forstchen, Norton appears to play favorites in the battle, or perhaps she is just advising on the benefits of going into battle fully prepared.
What a fascinating mish-mash of science fiction and fantasy! Our hero Simon Tregarth finds himself on the run from gangsters in present-day America (well, 1960s) and travels through a fairy circle to a world that somehow meets his fondest desires. The world he ends up on has elements of highest fantasy--with witches guiding their soldiers into war after preparing their way with their supernatural powers--and speculative fiction or planetary romance. The valiant Estcarpians (Estcarps?) with whom Tregarth settles find themselves at battle with what at first appear to be an army of the undead, a fitting foe for the witch women. But it turns out it is not magic that has removed the minds of their foes but instead some horrible science this is beyond anything that Tregarth has ever experienced before.
Unfortunately, Andre Norton only hints at the possible technology until the last few dozen pages, so she is unable to exploit the dichotomy very far, and I can only hope that it gets further explored in the many many novels that follow Witch World. But in those final battle sequences, the culture of Estcarp, apparently somewhere near our Middle Ages, finds itself at battle with an enemy using aircraft and submarines. The nearest thing I can recall to the battle is William Forstchen's Lost Regiment books, featuring a Civil War regiment versus nomadic tribes. Unlike Forstchen, Norton appears to play favorites in the battle, or perhaps she is just advising on the benefits of going into battle fully prepared.
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