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in
the news....
(Items of interest in the media)
Dateline: January 4, 2000
A re-run of Pacific Blue:
while I freely admit the only thing I regularly watch on the USA
network is their fabulous La
Femme Nikita,
I did happen across an interesting episode of their bicycle-beach-cop
series, Pacific Blue,
the other day. The show seems to generally be "Baywatch on
bikes", but took a turn for the deeper realms when it put
together the episode "Lucky 13" involving the kidnapping of
two "white witches" from a local magic shop by a group of
Satanists. We learn that one of the new officers was previously a
member of a Satanic group, as the officers set out to find who
kidnapped, tortured and raped one of the young women, and where
they're still holding the second. The crux of the whole incident
apparently the coming celebration of a dark ritual, possibly
including human sacrifice of the second girl. The new officer must
return to the Satanist fold undercover in order to prevent her
murder. Meanwhile, his partner (and roommate) takes a job at the
magic shop in order to make contacts who might lead them to the
girl's whereabouts.
The formerly-Catholic,
formerly-Satanist cop faces the temptation of the old violence and
philosophy, as well as the danger of going undercover with would-be
murderers. His partner learns the positive side of magic at the magic
shop, as well as the seductive nature of the dark promises the other
group offers. Granted, we do end the episode with a Christian
redemption theme, but not once during the episode are the girls'
Pagan beliefs and practices questioned without having that question
resoundingly answered. When a superstitous Catholic officers
questions one of his fellow officers wearing a "Pagan"
symbol when such dark things were going on, saying that people were
"killing for that symbol", she points out his own crucifix,
so prominently worn, and asks him if he'd ever heard of the Inquisition.
My mention of this episode might
seem unfair in the light of the criticism I level at some of the
other series I've talked about, but differing circumstances breed
different opinions. This is a non-fantasy, non-horror series produced
by a network that generally has little to do with the supernatural in
its productions and airings. That they chose to produce and air an
episode with this kind of content is very much extraordinary, and
therefore deserves some attention.
Beyond that, I really reveled in finally witnessing on television a Pagan priestess character performing some portion of a realistic ritual, and then hearing a second priestess speak prayers that I know would be very much akin to my own in a time of great fear and crisis. That this can happen on television at all speaks volumes about where we have come in the realms of positive images of this faith in the new millenium, and where we can go to from here in terms of acceptance of others' beliefs as long as they don't focus upon harm and evil intent.
Dateline: January 2, 2000
Former Beatle George Harrison stabbed: while it would normally be unusual for this item to be mentioned as a Pagan/Wiccan-related news incident, one of the first reports regarding the near-fatal stabbing of musician George Harrison in his UK home brought to light an interesting fact. The obsessed man who broke into Harrison's home and clearly intended to murder him was, according to his own mother, convinced that Harrison and the rest of his fellow Beatles were "witches". That he felt, even in his apparently tremendous mental-illness, that Harrison deserved to die because of this is, to say the least, vastly concerning. We must remember that these people exist in the world; not only the deranged who might decide that anyone at all should die, but also those who, otherwise sane, maintain that the Christian Bible should be taken literally in its admonition that "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live". I am hoping that this incident will not only shine a light upon the problems of mental illness and obsessed fans, but also upon the centuries-long hatred of a Judeo-Christian population for those who practice forms of magic and/or Pagan religion. When you teach your children to hate and fear those who are different, like it or not, you teach them to devalue those peoples' lives, perhaps to the point where they will someday kill.
Dateline: September 23, 1998
The media blitz promoting the
new Sandra Bullock/Nicole Kidman film, Practical Magic, has
begun. The film, directed by Griffin Dunne (whose last film, Addicted
to Love, was a surprise success at the box-office) and based on
the Alice Hoffman novel, is scheduled to open October 16. Early
information looks good, as it is made clear that while the subject is
witches using magic, they're not only pretty harmless, they're the protagonists.
The storyline rests on the fact
that the Kidman and Bullock charecters are two sisters, orphaned in
childhood, but being raised by two aunts, both psychics. The family
has a bad reputation in town, being suspected of supernatural
involvement in a long series of problems for various townspeople over
the 200 years they've lived there. The Kidman character embraces the
magical life, while the Bullock character has always fought against
being "different". When you add romance and love magic into
the mix, you've got a romantic film that has the potential to put
witches and the magical life in a positive light. I'll still have to
reserve judgement on how well they do with this idea until I see the
film, but the more I see about it, the more I look forward to seeing it.
Want more information on the
film? Check out the official website: http://www.practicalmagic.com.
(I had a few problems with the site, largely due to a busy server,
but if you're persistent it should work out.) Also check out the book
by Alice Hoffman, which will (of course) be reprinted to go along
with the release of the film.
I've also had a chance to catch a few episodes of Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog. While there were some positive surprises (like the lack of violence and the focus on strategy), I realized that I should not have expected them to be able to accurately reflect Celtic legend and myth in a kids television show. It's kind of Power Rangers meets D.J. Conway, if you know what I mean. But all in all, I can't complain. This is a fine substitute for Power Rangers (especially if you dislike the violence), but a lot of kids will find the lack of action a challenge for their attention span. The early plot line is focused upon the Mystic Knights each obtaining a magical suit of armor, one each of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, to battle an evil sorceress and protect their lands. They're assisted by fairies (yeah, the little winged creatures), who are the counterpart to the gnomes working for the enemy. There's some mention of the Danaans, but they seem to have already moved on to other planes. Again, I think if you've got young children, it may be something you turn on for them, but I can't guarantee they'll sit through it, let alone learn anything useful.
Dateline: September 15, 1998
With the new television season rapidly approaching, we've got a whole slew of new and interesting shows premiering, including at least two with Pagan, Celtic or magical themes. Fox Kids (seen on weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings on Fox stations) has put together what I can only describe as a cross between Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and their short-lived Celtic series Roar. It's a live-action series called "Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog" The mythical adventure series is inspired by tales of Celtic mythology and filmed entirely in Ireland. The story surrounds one man and his three comrades (including one female) who quest to bring peace to the land. They use a combination of swords, martial arts and magic to do so. The series will be shown on Saturday mornings (check your local listings). I haven't seen anything other than the previews (which looked very much in the Power Rangers style), but the series looks like it might have some promise for the younger set. Though it is inherently plagued with the same violence issues as Power Rangers, it does seem to have a little less openly violent attitude and a more Celtic sensibility (if very watered down and generalized). This may not be a show you really want your kids to watch in lieu of something more educational, but if you want to wean them off the Power Rangers, it may be the answer.
The relatively new Warner Brothers (WB) network has added a few new shows to its original programming line-up, best known for the immensely popular (and rather good, in my opinion) Dawson's Creek and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Included amongst these is Charmed, starring Alyssa Milano ("Melrose Place"), Shannen Doherty ("Beverly Hills, 90210"), and Holly Marie Combs ("Picket Fences") as sisters who discover they have supernatural powers when they are reunited. They are good witches who must overcome petty sisterly grudges to fight evil. This show has me a little worried, as it is all too easy to fall into the usual trap of portraying magic users as evil, or at least shallow or selfish, but what I have seen written about it so far does nothing to indicate that there will be a problem of this sort. Still, it is a situation to watch with some interest to see which way it goes. Myself, I'm a little stuck for doing so, as, unlike most cable systems, my local system does not carry the WB network, even in the usual form of carrying Chicago's WGN station as most cable systems do. There is also the consideration that the buzz on this show has not been in the form of rave reviews, so early cancellation is entirely possible.
Dateline: April 21, 1998
We're rapidly coming up on one
of the most highly publicized television miniseries in years: "Merlin"
will air on NBC on Sunday, April 26th and Monday, April 27th from
9-11pm Eastern time each night. Not having seen it yet, it's hard to
say if it will live up to its billing, but the bits and pieces that
have been seen in the various previews touting the miniseries make it
look like a really slick production, full of truly "magical"
special effects done by Jim Henson's Creature Shop and the same
special effects group that worked on "The Odyssey" and
"Gulliver's Travels".
At the core of the plot is the
life-long love story between the Merlin character, played by Sam
Neill, and a "princess", played by Isabella Rossellini.
Rossellini's character is Nimue, who should be familiar to most who
know the Arthur legend. Helena Bonham Carter plays Morgan Le Fay.
There has not been any indication of any particular Pagan characters
(this Merlin, at least, may
not be cast
in the Druidic mode), though the listing of James Earl Jones as the
Mountain King and Miranda Richardson as Mab/The Lady of the Lake is
certainly intriguing. In fact, there has been some mention that the
motivation for the Mab character is to "save her people",
implying saving their "ancient ways" as well. There is also
apparently some dialogue from Merlin involving the movement from
Paganism to Christianity as he lives through the shifts in religious dominance.
Other than that, it looks like
the thing of greatest interest to the Pagan community in this
production will simply be "things magical". And a lovely
story right out of one of the greatest legends of the Western world.
There are also some promising performances from the very flexible
Martin Short.
Also, keep your eye out for
appearances by "Robin of Sherwood"
series regulars Robbert Addie (Sir Guy of Gisburne) as Sir Gilbert
and Nickolas Grace (The Sheriff of Nottingham) as Sir Egbert. Having
seen Mark Ryan (Nasir) on the syndicated "Conan" series
last week, my interest in catching up with the RoS cast has certainly
been piqued.
I'll be watching, but I think
I'll have the remote control handy on Sunday at least, in case I
manage to remember that "the X-Files" is on Sunday this
week (which hasn't happened often since they moved it from Fridays),
and I certainly won't stick around when "La Femme Nikita"
comes on.... Decisions, decisions.... ;)
If you'd like to know more, the
address for the official "Merlin" site is: http://205.173.92.140/tvcentral/mms/merlin/fr_index.html.
It's as slick as the production itself, with lots of interactive
features, including a game and RealVideo interview clips with the
stars and production team.
Dateline: March 7, 1998
If you haven't seen the television commercial for the new Lexus sports-utility vehicle, keep your eyes peeled for it. In a modern take on ancient religion, the automobile manufacturer shows us a soap-opera inspired argument between Hera and Zeus. An angry Hera (played by Catherine Oxenburg) runs out on a ranting Zeus, fleeing in her shiny new Lexus while Zeus hurls lightning bolts at her and the vehicle. Having made it safely out of range, she angrily answers her ringing cellular phone, then smiles, satisfied, when Zeus apologizes to her.
Dateline: March 1, 1998
Now that we have reached the
season where the earth is waking from her winter's slumber, and the
world's thoughts turn to all things green, we've got at least two
things of importance coming up: St. Patrick's Day and the annual (or
sometimes semi-or-more-annual) "begging for the green" by
our local PBS stations.
Which creates some interesting
times for many of us in the Pagan and/or Celtic community. With so
much of their desperately-needed funding at stake, the PBS stations
usually pull out their best and most expensive programming, hoping to
convince us to be generous with our own income in gratitude for the
quality programming they are giving us.
Personally, I've got a problem
with the fact that they only show us this "quality"
programming during these fund-raising periods, and then it must be
interspliced and thoroughly interrupted with their begging sessions.
But, again, with St. Patrick's
coming up, and the focus of the world turning to all things Irish,
you're going to get some truly quality programming. In recent days,
I've seen numerous airings of Riverdance
(in several variations and incarnations) and the Gael
Force show which showcases a wide variety
of Ireland's best musicians and dancers.
And, in recent years, I have
noticed that some of the more open-minded stations have aired some
really fine documentaries on a variety of subjects, most
interestingly "The Goddess Trilogy", a series of three
documentaries about the history of Goddess religion, Paganism and
Witchcraft, and how the practices stand in the world today.
So, if the begging would
normally drive you away from watching your PBS station, my advice
would be to check your television schedule to see what they're
offering before you start heading to the video store or pop the
popcorn for that big network television movie.
Also keep in mind that if you do
like what they show, often the premiums for donations to the stations
are copies of the programs themselves, so you'd never have to listen
to another pitch for donations again. And you could watch those
programs you found to be of quality whenever you want.
(Also check out my St.
Patrick's Day Commentary - in The Shrine).
Dateline: February 23, 1998
Tonight's rerun of the X Files on the Fox cable channel FX is of the slightly memorable early episode involving a murderous high school cult. Not so memorable for the other content, the high point of this episode comes in the very beginning where after the suggestion is made that the murderers may be "witches", Mulder replies (very earnestly) that, in his experience, real modern witches aren't into that kind of thing, that they are really very loving, nature-respecting, law-abiding types, or something to that effect. Just nice to hear someone on television not calling you a baby-eating devil-worshipper....
This sits in direct contrast to the still fresh controversy over more recently-produced episodes of the X-Files. For more on this, click here.
Dateline: February 14, 1998
In case you don't plan your life by the television schedule, make sure to check out the newest episode of Xena: Warrior Princess. Not only is this the much-awaited musical episode, but there is a definite Pagan-oriented theme, complete with tarot imagery and the some heavy emphasis on the Wheel of Fortune. Life, death, rebirth. This episode has it all. Check your local listings for station and time, and if you miss it once, keep checking. Your viewing area may have more than one showing on any of several syndicated stations.
Dateline: February 11, 1998
For those with interest in history and/or ancient warfare, the series Footsoldier has been airing on the Arts&Entertainment channel (A&E) on cable television. The episodes of this series that I have seen have included information on ancient Roman, Norse and Celtic warfare and the religious aspects of the cultures as they related to their warfare styles and history. It has a comedic bent, with some spoof-style re-creations of ancient life and battles, which keeps it from being dry. (If you're worried about serious content, though, never fear: there are anthropologists aplenty). And the narrator may be familiar if you are a fan of the ABC comedy Home Improvement (apparently Al's knowledge of plaid goes WAY back!).
