Dollhouse

I haven’t said anything yet about Joss Whedon’s new show, Dollhouse. I’ve read a lot of controversy about it at this point. I’ve read — in a couple places on LiveJournal, particularly — that the show not only depicts rape, not only endorses rape, but by having attractive women on the screen the [...]

Battlestar Galactica, aka Gender Equality in Space

I finished watching Battlestar Galactica 4.0 a couple days ago. (I’m not watching the current broadcast, I really only see it on dvd.) And I have to say — this is my feminism. This is my humanism.
The world of BSG seems to be more-or-less evenly populated by men and women. In [...]

Inaugural Address, January 20th, 2009

Text of President Barack Obama’s inaugural address on Tuesday, as prepared for delivery and released by the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
OBAMA: My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to [...]

Particularity of plot.

There’s a concept in script-writing I’ve heard in television circles. Jane Espenson has touched on it in her blog, as has Alex Epstein. I’m sure it’s been described by others as well. That concept is to write to the show’s premise. In my head I started calling it the particularity of [...]

First thoughts on “True Blood.”

There was something to be said in favor of the first-person point of view in Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire series. The supernatural romance-mysteries are all told through the eyes and experiences of Sookie Stackhouse. She knows a lot about her community — being a “freak,” a telepath with little control over her ability, [...]

Alex Epstein explains it to me.

Thank you, Alex Epstein. Now I know why I won’t waste my time watching Fringe.
For those of you who don’t know, Alex Epstein is a writer. Not only does he write screenplays for both television and the big screen, he writes about writing. His books — Crafty Screenwriting and Crafty TV Writing — [...]