The Pillars of the Earth

Pillars is a miniseries based on a British historical fiction novel, and plays like a half decent representation of what the Game of Thrones series will probably be like. It's about the creation of the fictional Kingsbridge Cathedral, set against the actual reign of King Stephen during the 1100s. A Cathedral already being an incredible undertaking back then, construction is beset by complications arising from the dispute over the throne and the ambition of a noble family and a bishop played by Ian McShane, who is more or less the story's main villain. There are a couple other notable recognizable faces, including Donald Sutherland, who gets credited in every episode despite only appearing in a couple, and Hayley Atwell who stood out in the remake of The Prisoner that aired last year and does again here as the daughter of a fallen Earl.

So the show is a mix of a very human story mostly focusing on the family that guides the building of the Cathedral, endless political maneuverings and backstabbing, and some decently filmed (for television) battles. The latter two tended to interest me more, although it's hard to ignore what is really the emotional core of the story. The good guys are mostly likable and the bad guys are pretty easy to hate, although I will say it's harder than it should be to really be against Ian McShane whatever he's doing, so good is he at every role he seems to take.

There are a few plot bits that are pretty annoying, but overall it's a solid tale, and pretty damn well paced for about eight hours of content. One thing that always kind of bothered me was the passage of time though. The timeline lurches forward in fits and starts, sometimes months or years at a time, and by the end I was unsure about how much time things took. And it never seemed like the right amount of effort was put into portraying the ages of the characters. Young characters aren't recast often as they get older so they stay looking too young, or just disappear from the plot. And most of the other characters don't age much as the years pass by, until something gets triggered and suddenly the next time you see them they're in full-on old person makeup. It's a bit clumsy, and maybe something of a budget concern, but it doesn't hurt the story too much. Anyone interested in some medieval history portrayed in perhaps a less than historical way should probably give it a shot.

Characters of the Decade: Part 5

And we reach the thrilling conclusion. If there's one thing that astounded me, it's how many of these actors had a "Mc" in their name. This sure was a lot of work, but pretty rewarding. I hope it's been as enjoyable to read as it was to put together.

Dr. Horrible
Neil Patrick Harris - Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog


"Oh, goodness, look at my wrist. I gotta go!"

Neil Patrick Harris is currently one of my favorite people in Hollywood, and this is the largest contributing factor. During the writers' strike Joss Whedon and a bunch of likable actors came together and made one of the most simply enjoyable things of the year a musical comedy about a sympathetic super villain. Neil makes you laugh, he sings, and in the end he's both a tragic figure and the true bad guy he always wanted to be. There's a bit of dissonance regarding how he intended to get the nice girl and take over the world at the same time, but watching him stumble through it was great.

The Joker
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight


"How about a magic trick? I'm gonna make this pencil disappear."

The Joker has always been probably the most popular villain in comic books, appearing constantly in adaptations as well. But one thing Ledger did with the character before his unfortunate death was pretty unique: making him scary. There's always been something disturbing about him, because nobody has any idea what he really wants or how far he'll go for it. But with this movie, they took it farther than most people are used to and created possibly the most memorable villain ever in this sort of blockbuster. Unpredictable, darkly hilarious and sad that this is the last we'll see of that particular performance.

Kirk Lazarus
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder


"Everybody knows you never go full retard."

I enjoyed Tropic Thunder quite a bit, but without Downey's performance it would have been pretty mediocre. The Lazarus personality itself is fine, but the character's unrelenting dedication to the role of Lincoln Osiris despite being stranded in the middle of the jungle is pretty amazing. Maybe a bit offensive, sure, but still comedy gold. And the jokes come not from him being a white guy pretending his black, but from just how great that black guy is at messing with people. Every moment he spends with Ben Stiller's character is worth watching more than once. Awesome stuff.

Lafayette Reynolds
Nelsan Ellis - True Blood


"Jesus and I agreed to see other people, but that don't mean we still don't talk time to time."

True Blood was much more enjoyable in its second season, but during the first it was pretty much Ellis' work that prevented it from being a complete train wreck. It can't be easy being a gay black man in the south, but Lafayette thrives there, not taking shit from anyone. He has a rougher go of it in the second season thanks to being kidnapped by vampires, and honestly putting him through it sapped him of a bit of his greatness, but he's still one of the few truly likable people on the show.

Walter Bishop
John Noble - Fringe


"If you were actually going insane, you'd likely have no idea what's happening. Take it from me."

Fringe has gotten better over time, but during its shaky beginning Walter was about the only thing going for it. He's fairly unrealistic, because I'm pretty sure there's never been an actual person with even close to the breadth of encyclopedic scientific knowledge he has, and you'd think some of that would go away after over a decade in an asylum. But he gets away with it because he's funny and weird and the plot needs him to know everything he does. John Noble is the kind of actor that's enjoyable to watch read a shopping list, so seeing him dissect mutated corpses and be kind of crazy is pretty fun every week. I'm not sure I actually care about the tragedies of his past, but it's okay with me that they're going with that.

Kenny Powers
Danny McBride - Eastbound & Down


"I've been blessed with many things in this life. An arm like a damn rocket, a cock like a Burmese python, and the mind of a fucking scientist."

Danny McBride's really come out of nowhere in the last couple years, and this is definitely his best character. I mean, anyone who can craft this big of an asshole and still make you want him to do well is doing something right. His unrelenting narcissism that masks his constant self-doubt is always classic, and watching him waver between stepping all over people and being stepped on himself provides laughter and sympathy at nigh equal levels. We haven't seen anything about the second season yet, but I'm looking forward to whatever new depths he can plumb.

Victor
Enver Gjokaj - Dollhouse


"Did I fall asleep?"

This is sort of a cheat, as Victor isn't so much of a character as a blank slate on top of which any number of real or fabricated personalities can be applied. But Enver Gjokaj is such a pleasure to watch chameleon himself into a role that I couldn't not put him here. Plenty of actors have range, but I'm not sure I've ever seen someone with quite his talents, as he jumps between dozens of unique characters over the course of the show and completely sells all of them. Characters being body switched and mimicking each others' mannerisms is a favorite gimmick of Whedon shows, but this is his bread and butter. In the span of maybe ten minutes he had to play both a serial killer and a slutty college girl, and did both with equal aplomb. Just a blast.

King Silas Benjamin
Ian McShane - Kings


"I will endure a party in the company of my choosing, but with none that sour the wine in my cup."

I've already pontificated on why Ian McShane is fantastic, but for all I knew Deadwood was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Then I watched Kings and he did nothing but continue to impress. He doesn't get to swear nearly as much, but he's still a lot of fun to watch, especially with the increase in power from influential bar and brothel owner to sovereign king of a whole country. He bounces between saintly benevolence and fittingly biblical wrath like he was changing hats, and totally carries a show that would have been interesting without it, but not nearly as great.

Sue Sylvester
Jane Lynch - Glee


"I got a satellite interview. That's lingo for an interview, via satellite."

Sort of like Chi McBride on Pushing Daisies, Jane Lynch is what takes the almost impossibly joyful Glee and keeps it grounded in depressing reality. If Glee Club is what makes everything good happen in the world, Sue Sylvester is the source of all rot and decay. And that's why I love her. It's the depression she sprinkles all over everyone she sees that makes sure the show is watchable. Every story needs a conflict, and she is it. It helps that she's constantly cuttingly hilarious. The kind of character you could watch yell at people for longer than is probably healthy.

Alan Garner
Zach Galifianakis - The Hangover


"Your language is offensive."

It's not that I don't like Zach as a figure of independent comedy, I just think that more prominent roles in film and television means more of him in general, and that's definitely a good thing. There are some stand up comedians that simply should not take up acting, but Zach isn't one. And if this bizarre character leads to more, then it's definitely a good thing. I'm sort of out of ammo for things to say about Alan Garner, but there's really just not much about him that isn't funny. And uniquely funny, in ways that we haven't been seeing for years.

Colonel Hans Landa
Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds


"I did have something else I wanted to ask you, but right now, for the life of me, I can't remember what it is. Oh, well, must not have been important."

Hey, at least the Golden Globes got one right. Basterds was amazing in ways I really wasn't expecting, and a lot of that was because of Waltz' magnificent, multilingual performance. I mean, how does he manage to be so menacing while being completely genial the entire time? It's unfathomable. There are a couple moments where the friendly smirk leaves his face, but they're very few and far between. And he ends up being surprisingly fallible for such an intimidating force. But that's sort of why he's great. He represents the Nazi party: nearly unspeakably evil, but in the end still just human.

Arthur Mitchell
John Lithgow - Dexter


"Hello, Dexter Morgan."

And here's our final character, who debuted a mere four months ago. I've always known Lithgow from comedic work like 3rd Rock from the Sun, but apparently he's done dark before, and his return is nothing if not a triumph. He managed to remain a captivating villain even after he was humanized over the course of the season, but I'll never forget what a terrifying presence he was when we still knew nothing about him. And that butt wasn't a very pretty sight either. Even after we knew more though, he still managed to provide buckets of tension for good old Dex, and has ended up getting him better than anyone else to date.

Characters of the Decade: Part 2

The first list was pretty heavy on animation, but this one mixes up the media a bit more and also features humans who aren't white males.

J. Jonah Jameson
J.K. Simmons - Spider-Man series


"Meat! I'll send you a nice box of Christmas meat. It's the best I can do, get out of here."

Honestly, this was the most exciting thing to see be brought to life in the first Spider-Man movie. Has there been a better comic relief character in the last decade of action movies? I can't think of one. Simmons has a unique asshole charisma that he can make work for seemingly any character, and this was the first time a lot of the world got to see it. While I don't think they quite nailed Peter Parker's personality, the personification of his most consistent detractor went off without a hitch.

Omar Little
Michael K. Williams - The Wire


"I got the shotgun. You got the briefcase. It's all in the game though, right?"

I could name wonderful characters from this show all day if I wanted. Omar isn't necessarily my favorite, but he certainly tends to stick out more than the others. In the world where everyone seems to have an affiliation, he's pretty much out there on his own besides a revolving door of accomplices, playing the dangerous game of robbing criminals. A sort of perverse modern day Robin Hood who keeps it all for himself. While the majority of the show's cast is great because it seems so real, Marlo is great because he's a legend in his own time. Nothing quite clears the streets of Baltimore like hearing the call "Omar comin'!"

Yorick Brown
Y: The Last Man


"In the words of Thomas Jefferson... that's bullshit."

Being the last man on Earth is a large weight to carry, and luckily Yorick's up to the task. It's definitely an unusual situation for a person to be in, and he manages with the right combination of heroism and hopelessness to make him a definite protagonist but still very vulnerable and in need of the health. He makes his share of mistakes, but through the whole story he never loses his sense of humor or humanity. And while I wasn't a big fan of the epilogue, the conclusion of his personal journey was pretty perfect.

Captain Malcolm Reynolds
Nathan Fillion - Firefly franchise


"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

Another case where I could almost name anyone in the cast and justify putting them here, but as the leader of the crew Mal always stuck out. A true outlaw smuggler with a heart of gold in the tradition of Han Solo, Mal is perhaps an even better version. He does what it takes to get by, with lethal force if necessary, but in the end has what's ultimately good always on his mind. He's a bit inconsistent, sticking with his principles in some cases but running if it makes sense in others. But that's part of what makes him likable. He's unpredictable, funny, and a pleasure to watch command a ship.

Brock Samson
Patrick Warburton - The Venture Bros.


"Hank, seriously. When I get my license back I'm allowed to kill you."

It speaks to the show's quality that the recent half season was still totally great even with Brock being elsewhere for most of the episodes, but he's definitely the most fun character to see do his thing. He's the ultimate death machine, a badass with an actual license to kill and unending willingness to use it. But even when he's not on a rampage he's a lot of fun. His familial relationship with his unorthodox family, unexpected extracurricular interests, and uncommon understanding of the insane cartoon world he lives in are all big parts to the character and how he stays interesting beyond going on murder sprees.

Caleb
Nathan Fillion - Buffy the Vampire Slayer


"What can I say? I work in mysterious ways. Also some fairly straightforward ones."

And here's Fillion again already, fresh off Firefly's cancellation. I could watch him in almost anything, with his unending supply of sarcastic nice guy charisma. But this is the only time I've seen him play a true villain, and damn if he isn't good at that too. Caleb doesn't have a ton of screen time, but he's probably my favorite bad guy in a series that prided itself on strong antagonists. With a single push of a finger (well, thumb) he secured his place in infamy, and there's just something about his religious background, rampant misogyny and disarming accent that make him a lot more terrifying than any vampire or demon Joss Whedon could conjure.

George Oscar Bluth
Will Arnett - Arrested Development


"No, Michael, that's not my trick. It's my illusion!"

Arrested Development is basically the definition of a great ensemble comedy cast, but GOB was basically in a league of his own. I'm sort of getting the feeling at this point that this is the only character Arnett actually plays, but damn if it isn't an entertaining one, and it works all the better here with his unusual interests, perspective, and motives. The show was absolutely littered with transcendent moments, and GOB had more than his fair share.

Oh Dae-su
Choi Min-sik - Oldboy


"Anyone here with an AB blood type, raise your hand."

If you watch this movie again, Oh Dae-su isn't even recognizable in the first scene as some drunk at a police station. 15 years alone in a room will change anybody, but Min-sik totally sold hit in his complete transformation into who he'll be for the rest of the movie. The thing that drew me to finally seeing it was a particular action scene, but that's not really what the character's about. It's about what unbelievable circumstances can do to a man, but how at his core there's still the same guy who can still be hurt, no matter how hard his exterior's gotten. And while his final decision is somewhat mortifying, in a way I can't blame him.

Colonel Saul Tigh
Michael Hogan - Battlestar Galactica


"So take your piety and your moralizing and your high minded principles and stick them some place safe... I've got a war to fight."

Tigh is an interesting case, as a pretty good character who didn't become great until circumstances forced him to. He was always an entertaining cranky old guy with a strong sense of duty and a bit of a drinking problem, but when he's thrust into the position of leading a resistance movement by any means necessary, he really starts to shine. Ugliness is what makes pretty much any of the Battlestar characters interesting, and his decisions under stress are as hideous as they come. Of course he changes quite a bit in another way later, and it just adds to his depth as he just tries to come to grips with it all. Most of the show's cast is sort of hard to like, but Tigh was actually easy in a strange sort of way.

Illyria
Amy Acker - Angel


"I wish to do more violence."

Illyria's here half because of the character, and half because it was so mind blowing to see cute, neurotic Acker transform into the embodiment of pure, sentient power. It's really a surprising amount of range, and she pulls it off without a hitch. It's definitely a good character too, one of the few in the whole setting to subvert the normal expectations for the appearance of what's basically a newly awakened, vengeful god. One of the greatest shames in the show's cancellation is not seeing more of her. I guess I could read the comics, but it won't be the same without Acker's performance.

Al Swearengen
Ian McShane - Deadwood


"I wouldn't trust a man who wouldn't try to steal a little."

If you look up "tour de force" in the dictionary, you'll see a definition that accurately describes what Ian McShane did for three years on Deadwood. The show was more theatrical than cinematic in the stateliness and brilliance of its dialogue, and nobody presented it as well as he did. I think I would watch a show that was just him giving speeches to an empty room. That wasn't all there was to the character either, as he was equal parts hilarious and terrifying as he fought for control of the town he helped build. Absolute dynamite the entire time.

Brick Tamland
Steve Carell - Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy


"Yeah, there were horses, and a man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident."

One of the few supporting appearances in a comedy that basically stole the whole film and launched a career. Carell was funny on The Daily Show and The 40-Year-Old Virgin and The Office certainly helped, but I think Anchorman is when people everywhere thought to themselves, "Man, this guy's funny." Honestly, of all the movie's funny bits, Bricks are pretty base and low brow, but still humorous and important to the continuing development of what's considered funny in mass popular culture.

Continued tomorrow.

Kings

Fox gets a lot of hate for canceling good shows without giving them a real chance to find an audience... but they're not the only ones. Kings is a unique show with a complicated premise, maybe too complicated for its own good. It's the sort of thing that needed explanation, and special attention with the advertising if it had a hope to survive. But it didn't get it. NBC completely ignored anything specific about it when showing previews, and it died a quick, ratings-starved death. This has been a year for sad early cancellations, none stronger than Kings'. Why would greenlight and produce a series that retells the story of David from the Bible, complete with messages from God and divine providence sprinkled throughout, and not even mention that aspect to potential viewers? It's like they were afraid of somehow angering what could have been a strong audience. I mean, how often do religious zealots get to watch a modern drama? You don't need to be a Christian to enjoy the hell out of Kings, but there's no reason they shouldn't have tried courting them. Oh well. Another intriguing, well made show bites the dust.

So yeah, Kings is the story of David, as in David and Goliath and King David of Israel. Or at least just the beginning of the story, ending upon his initial exile after falling out of favor with Saul. It seems like it could be gimmicky at first (He defeats a tank single-handed, and the tank's model is called Goliath, get it!?), but it quickly turns into a simple, good political drama. As he did throughout Deadwood, Ian McShane steals most scenes he's in, playing the king who can't decide if he wants to kill David or keep him by his side. He proves he can be compelling without every third word from his mouth being an expletive, and just watching him speak is captivating every time. The rest of the cast around him is solid if lacking in the same gravitas, including some really good guest spots by guys like Brian Cox and even Macaulay Culkin, still attempting to arise from the child actor's early grave.

It's a bit hard to describe why I liked Kings so much. The dialogue sometimes seems overly operatic and the more overt nods to the story's religious nature can seem a little heavy-handed, but both elements totally worked for me. A lot of the characters seem to completely change their minds about important constantly on a dime, but it seems like that's how it really could be in a monarchy, even a completely modern one. In a position of power, you have to make decisions cold, and circumstances can change quickly with messages delivered by radio instead of foot. Also, I can't not mention how damn beautiful the show is. It's hard to say how much of the sets are actually there and how much is digitally added (seems like it could be a lot), but the unique combination of current cities and regal opulence is usually stunning and never boring. I feel bad about not watching this when it aired, especially with how many places they could have gone with it, but I'm still glad I saw it anyway.

Hot Rod

At first glance Hot Rod seems like a typical stupid sports comedy, and basically is. But it has enough originality and quirkiness to make it fairly enjoyable. I got a bit of a Napoleon Dynamite vibe from certain scenes that exist only for a single odd laugh, like finding firecrackers in the bathroom and setting them off, without much happening. It takes physical comedy to a new level, with the impacts as Andy Samberg crashes his bike and gets hit by cars and rolls down hills taken to an extreme, which sort of makes them funny again after we've gotten tired of it. It's not the greatest of comedies, but it kept my attention well enough with some atypical jokes and fun cameos that I didn't get bored. Danny McBride has come out of nowhere to make solid contributions to some recent comedies like Tropic Thunder, Bill Hader's a consistent handler of whatever minor roles he gets, and Will Arnett is in classic asshole form. Isla Fisher is the nice, pretty girl inexplicably attracted to the protagonist, best known for playing the crazy sister in Wedding Crashers and having Borat's baby. Ian McShane brings some actual skill to the role of Samberg's stepdad, and the reason for the movie's plot. Andy makes some silly videos and impressions on Saturday Night Live, but he shows here that he can carry a decent little movie, too. Most of what happens is pretty predictable, but it's cute enough to watch once.

Deadwood - Season 3

How about that Barack Obama? It's weird, while the country was making its final decision and getting ready to vote, I was watching Deadwood's third and final season, which featured a running side plot about the camp's elections for sheriff and mayor. They both culminated yesterday, as America elected their first black President in history and the votes were cast in Deadwood's last episode. Unfortunately, there won't be as much closure on the latter. There were plans to finish the series properly with two special movies, but they have yet to come to fruition and at this point probably never will, leaving an actual conclusion to the great show out of reach. Things weren't looking too good either, with the series' meanest villain yet sitting pretty at the expense of the rest of the town.

Overall, the third season was up to par with the first two as far as quality of production and writing. It was more of a departure plotwise, with the newly introduced characters playing a larger role than the new ones from the second season did. I wasn't a big fan of the thread involving a troupe of actors, but they provided a flowery change of pace from the usual hard-drinking rough-talking inhabitants of the place, and George Hearst was a pretty great antagonist most of the way. Race also played a bigger role, as a big dispute erupted over control of the stables. It's just unfortunate that things worked out the way they did, because while it was still good television, it doesn't really feel like it probably would if the creators knew it would be the last of Deadwood that people got to see. It didn't have the chance some other HBO shows got, but it's still one of the better ones.

Deadwood - Season 2

The second season of Deadwood continues the show admirably, keeping what makes it interesting while expanding the cast and preventing the story from getting stagnant. It begins a little crazier than the show ever was in its first run, with the arrival of Olyphant's family coinciding with a fight that turns into an all-out brawl leading to several characters in various states of recovery for quite a while. McShane in particular has a tough time, especially after another ailment hits even worse, which produced scenes with the most painful thing I've ever had to watch that didn't actually appear on screen. It's not that long though before he's back and as mean as ever.

There's plenty of drama to go around, with the arrival of new people whose business interests conflict with established personalities. Plenty of blood ends up getting spilt, but as it was before, those are momentary diversions from the show's real meat, the backroom deals and conversations laced with venom. It's impressive how they can make characters as slimy as EB Farnum likable just by making their choice of words so uniquely entertaining. The women get into it too, not as gruffly as or as vulgarly as the men, but in their own fun way. Deadwood doesn't have the family or social aspects that make it as relatable as HBO's other top shows, but it's still a good intellectual watch.

Deadwood - Season 1

Deadwood is similar to a few other great HBO shows. It has the deliberate pace and brilliant writing of The Wire, the period debauchery of Rome, and all of them owe something to The Sopranos' high watermark of quality and willingness to show anything. They're all the definition of entertainment for adults, and I wish other networks were able to match their high level of production. Deadwood is a somewhat historically based drama about a camp that springs up in the 1870's and eventually turns into a town in the Dakota Territory. It's pretty much the quintessential Western, with plenty of lawlessness and tough sons of bitches. The cast is great, especially with Ian McShane and Powers Boothe as two rival businessmen and Tim Olyphant, who looks kinda doofy as a bald guy but fits the role of a rough hardware man-turned sheriff quite well. McShane's really the star though. Everything bad in the town revolves around him, and he owns every scene he's in.

The show was created and a lot of it was written by David Milch, who's been in the game for a while. He knows what he's doing, and the dialogue is always entertaining and sometimes masterful. There was some stuff made of the anachronistic swearing, but I think it works as intended. We know they didn't use these words, but it achieves the effect of conveying the intended mood of a line and doesn't sound out of place, unless years of cowboys never cussing in movies has affected your thoughts on what they sound like. When doing something in the past, it's hard to keep it sounding authentic without it getting hokey and still managing to make it interesting to the modern ear, and the writers nail it. When you have a great cast and just seeing and hearing the characters speak is so intrinsically interesting, you don't have to do much more to have a good show. As I mentioned before, the show moves kind of slow, with episodes only covering about a day's worth of events. There's still enough backstabbing and shifting alliances to keep things moving, and you're always curious to see what's next. I know the series doesn't have a real ending, but unlike a lot of shows that rely on the carrot on a stick of seeing where it's all leading, the fun of Deadwood is just watching it.