Meme day 6: Theology and tropes
First off, a cute cat story: Last night I was lying on my back on our couch while chatting with Noel and eustacio. It was about 10 p.m., which is also about the time of day that the cats normally get a little wild and chase each other around the house for an hour or so until they wear themselves out. Leia was just getting started on this and vaulted over the back of the couch, not realizing that I was lying there. She landed with her full weight on my chest and all 20 claws fully extended. I yelled, because ouch, and she scrambled over to the nearby coffee table and looked at me with an expression that for all the world seemed to say, "oh crap, I'm really sorry that I hurt you." Noel noticed this even before I did and said, "I don't think I've ever seen a cat display empathy before." Pretty weird.
Content notes for today's meme prompts: No spoilers, but if you don't care to see religion (specifically Catholicism), theism, and spirituality discussed in a favorable light, you probably can skip the TV cut.
[Favorite episode of your favorite TV show: "Passing Through Gethsemane" - season 3, episode 4 of Babylon 5, PTEN, 1995]
I find this particular prompt to be really, grotesquely unfair - not only because there are so many great individual episodes and moments in Babylon 5, but because in a show as heavily arc-based as Babylon 5, it can be very difficult to split out individual episodes from the story as a whole. Narrowing down my list of favorites was a major challenge for me - do I go with an early episode like "Believers" that changed the game up and sold me on the show as a whole? An obvious, classic choice like "Severed Dreams"? A terrifically frustrating cliffhanger like "Intersections in Real Time"? One of the early season 4 episodes, which have enormous metaplot significance as well as some of my favorite scenes in the entirety of the show? "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars," the woefully overlooked season 4 finale which is, in JMS's own words, "a giant middle finger composed of red neon fifty stories tall, that will burn forever in the night"? The possibilities are endless.
In the end, though, I decided to talk about the Babylon 5 episode that holds the most personal meaning for me, while also acknowledging that there are so many more episodes that I like just as much. But most people forget about "Passing Through Gethsemane" and I wanted to make sure it got its due from someone. I can see why they would - it's a mostly stand-alone episode, it doesn't have much in the way of arc significance apart from the return of Lyta Alexander and some important background information about Valen, it focuses heavily on a one-off guest star rather than a main character (though it ought to help that this guest star is the amazing Brad Dourif), it's not at all light-hearted and has a bit of a downer ending, and the plot hinges upon a rather deep philosophical exploration of the finer points of Christian dogma. Not exactly the ingredients for a timeless classic where most B5 fans are concerned.
I think it's that last element I mentioned, though, that endears this episode the most to me. JMS never made a secret of his firm atheism, and his distrust of deities in general comes through loud and clear in other areas of the show (viz. "Into The Fire"). But at the same time, he was willing to admit that religion (whether true or false) has been important to many humans for thousands of years, and that it will continue to be so in the distant future. And most importantly, he was willing to actually treat religion and spirituality in the manner of something profoundly important to its adherents, and not as a curiosity or a weakness or "silly theists, you'll grow out of this someday." Moreover, "Passing Through Gethsemane" is a true science fiction story in that it explores the impact that a speculative technology would have on a particular area of life - in this case, Catholic theology and Christian ideas of forgiveness. Science fiction as a genre often caricatures or misunderstands religion, views its tenets as unimportant or easily discarded, or chooses to focus only on its negatives (of which there are admittedly plenty). But to see a story like this being told by an atheist (who, I must say, appears to understand the idea of grace better than many Christians I have known) gives me hope that faith and the lack thereof can coexist - even if we can't share the same values, we can at least come to understand where those values come from and why they are important, and learn to respect one another more.
The scene in which the monks speak to Delenn and Lennier about the Minbari religion also has deep personal meaning for me. "We are the universe trying to understand itself" is one of those lines that hasn't been far from my mind ever since I first heard it. So much of what I believe grows out of that idea, as it does from another line from this episode that is meaningful enough to me that I intend to get it tattooed on my inner arm one of these days in case I ever run the risk of forgetting it - "Faith manages." In short, "Passing Through Gethsemane" may not be everyone's favorite episode of Babylon 5, and it may not be one of the demonstrably "best" episodes where ratings and fan preferences are concerned - but it's one of mine for the simple fact that the questions it raised and the ideas it opened up to me are never far from my mind.
[Favorite made for TV movie: The Librarian: Quest for the Spear, dir. Peter Winther, 2004]
I'll admit that I'm generally not a big fan of made for TV movies, but I do find this one to be pretty enjoyable. I watched it on DVD over the fall when I was laid out with some sort of terrible swine-flu-related illness that had me doing nothing but lying on the couch feeling sorry for myself for about a week, and it was the perfect choice for when I was in that state - light-hearted, action-packed, humorous, quick-moving but not complex, full of tropes and shout-outs to other movies, and just cheesy enough to make sure you never try to take it too seriously.
The movie's titular Librarian is Flynn Carsen (Noah Wyle), a perpetual college student who has 22 degrees and still lives at home with his comically overbearing mother. He interviews for and gets a job that turns out to be not cataloging books, but protecting magical items from throughout history that are hidden in a secret section of the library. As you would expect, Flynn's tenure as Librarian starts with a piece of the legendary Spear of Destiny being stolen by the evil Serpent Brotherhood (you know, like they do). Flynn needs to chase down the Serpent Brotherhood before they can assemble the spear and take over the world. To do this, he uses his wide array of supposedly useless academic knowledge to solve puzzles and find clues in the company of a beautiful and prototypical Action Girl character who has exactly the kind of relationship you would expect there to be between male and female leads in a movie of this sort.
By now you probably have a pretty good idea of exactly what this movie is about (and let me tell you, you will not be surprised by anything that happens in the plot because you have seen it in thousands of movies already), and you know whether you are going to find this delightful or tedious without my needing to belabor the point. For me, it was an enjoyable diversion if nothing earth-shattering - and sometimes, like when you've got swine flu, that's exactly what you need. So if you enjoy this sort of thing, you should know that there is a sequel, Return to King Solomon's Mines, is more of the same but just a smidgen less good in my opinion. There is also apparently a third, Curse of the Judas Chalice, which I have heard has vampires. Bonus!
Content notes for today's meme prompts: No spoilers, but if you don't care to see religion (specifically Catholicism), theism, and spirituality discussed in a favorable light, you probably can skip the TV cut.
[Favorite episode of your favorite TV show: "Passing Through Gethsemane" - season 3, episode 4 of Babylon 5, PTEN, 1995]
I find this particular prompt to be really, grotesquely unfair - not only because there are so many great individual episodes and moments in Babylon 5, but because in a show as heavily arc-based as Babylon 5, it can be very difficult to split out individual episodes from the story as a whole. Narrowing down my list of favorites was a major challenge for me - do I go with an early episode like "Believers" that changed the game up and sold me on the show as a whole? An obvious, classic choice like "Severed Dreams"? A terrifically frustrating cliffhanger like "Intersections in Real Time"? One of the early season 4 episodes, which have enormous metaplot significance as well as some of my favorite scenes in the entirety of the show? "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars," the woefully overlooked season 4 finale which is, in JMS's own words, "a giant middle finger composed of red neon fifty stories tall, that will burn forever in the night"? The possibilities are endless.
In the end, though, I decided to talk about the Babylon 5 episode that holds the most personal meaning for me, while also acknowledging that there are so many more episodes that I like just as much. But most people forget about "Passing Through Gethsemane" and I wanted to make sure it got its due from someone. I can see why they would - it's a mostly stand-alone episode, it doesn't have much in the way of arc significance apart from the return of Lyta Alexander and some important background information about Valen, it focuses heavily on a one-off guest star rather than a main character (though it ought to help that this guest star is the amazing Brad Dourif), it's not at all light-hearted and has a bit of a downer ending, and the plot hinges upon a rather deep philosophical exploration of the finer points of Christian dogma. Not exactly the ingredients for a timeless classic where most B5 fans are concerned.
I think it's that last element I mentioned, though, that endears this episode the most to me. JMS never made a secret of his firm atheism, and his distrust of deities in general comes through loud and clear in other areas of the show (viz. "Into The Fire"). But at the same time, he was willing to admit that religion (whether true or false) has been important to many humans for thousands of years, and that it will continue to be so in the distant future. And most importantly, he was willing to actually treat religion and spirituality in the manner of something profoundly important to its adherents, and not as a curiosity or a weakness or "silly theists, you'll grow out of this someday." Moreover, "Passing Through Gethsemane" is a true science fiction story in that it explores the impact that a speculative technology would have on a particular area of life - in this case, Catholic theology and Christian ideas of forgiveness. Science fiction as a genre often caricatures or misunderstands religion, views its tenets as unimportant or easily discarded, or chooses to focus only on its negatives (of which there are admittedly plenty). But to see a story like this being told by an atheist (who, I must say, appears to understand the idea of grace better than many Christians I have known) gives me hope that faith and the lack thereof can coexist - even if we can't share the same values, we can at least come to understand where those values come from and why they are important, and learn to respect one another more.
The scene in which the monks speak to Delenn and Lennier about the Minbari religion also has deep personal meaning for me. "We are the universe trying to understand itself" is one of those lines that hasn't been far from my mind ever since I first heard it. So much of what I believe grows out of that idea, as it does from another line from this episode that is meaningful enough to me that I intend to get it tattooed on my inner arm one of these days in case I ever run the risk of forgetting it - "Faith manages." In short, "Passing Through Gethsemane" may not be everyone's favorite episode of Babylon 5, and it may not be one of the demonstrably "best" episodes where ratings and fan preferences are concerned - but it's one of mine for the simple fact that the questions it raised and the ideas it opened up to me are never far from my mind.
[Favorite made for TV movie: The Librarian: Quest for the Spear, dir. Peter Winther, 2004]
I'll admit that I'm generally not a big fan of made for TV movies, but I do find this one to be pretty enjoyable. I watched it on DVD over the fall when I was laid out with some sort of terrible swine-flu-related illness that had me doing nothing but lying on the couch feeling sorry for myself for about a week, and it was the perfect choice for when I was in that state - light-hearted, action-packed, humorous, quick-moving but not complex, full of tropes and shout-outs to other movies, and just cheesy enough to make sure you never try to take it too seriously.
The movie's titular Librarian is Flynn Carsen (Noah Wyle), a perpetual college student who has 22 degrees and still lives at home with his comically overbearing mother. He interviews for and gets a job that turns out to be not cataloging books, but protecting magical items from throughout history that are hidden in a secret section of the library. As you would expect, Flynn's tenure as Librarian starts with a piece of the legendary Spear of Destiny being stolen by the evil Serpent Brotherhood (you know, like they do). Flynn needs to chase down the Serpent Brotherhood before they can assemble the spear and take over the world. To do this, he uses his wide array of supposedly useless academic knowledge to solve puzzles and find clues in the company of a beautiful and prototypical Action Girl character who has exactly the kind of relationship you would expect there to be between male and female leads in a movie of this sort.
By now you probably have a pretty good idea of exactly what this movie is about (and let me tell you, you will not be surprised by anything that happens in the plot because you have seen it in thousands of movies already), and you know whether you are going to find this delightful or tedious without my needing to belabor the point. For me, it was an enjoyable diversion if nothing earth-shattering - and sometimes, like when you've got swine flu, that's exactly what you need. So if you enjoy this sort of thing, you should know that there is a sequel, Return to King Solomon's Mines, is more of the same but just a smidgen less good in my opinion. There is also apparently a third, Curse of the Judas Chalice, which I have heard has vampires. Bonus!