Fannish 5: Sizzling Sequels
5 sequels (or continuations) you thought were better than the original.
I'm afraid the first two aren't very original, but they still are inevitable choices for me.
1.) Star Trek: Wrath of Khan. There is a reason that this film became the golden standard against which any subsequent ST film was measured, and much as I often champion the fannish underdog, I just can't in the case of Star Trek: The Slow Motion Picture.
2.) The Empire Strikes Back. Now the is a brand of SW fan who loves only this one and bashes all the others. Don't count me among them. I happen to be fond of the prequels, love Return of the Jedi and am okay with A New Hope, though it alone would have never made me a fan. All this being said: The Empire Strikes Back really improved on the first one to no end - no Nuremberg Rally for rebels, the Leigh Bracket dialogue for Leia and Han is screwball comedy fun, Lando Calrissian is arguably the most layered character in the OT (what? he sells our heroes out for understandable reasons which aren't all about himself but about what he's in charge with and makes up for that without being prompted), and the part that got me personally hooked on the galaxy far, far away: Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker turn out to be one and the same, and suddenly Luke's goals can't be as simple as blowing up Death Stars and defeating bad guys in a duel anymore. So often copied and still the best idea Lucas had for SW.
3.) Harry Potter series. Now you can argue about which of the seven books is the best one, but it definitely isn't HP and The Philospher's Stone. I know most people root for Prisoner of Azkaban (because of Sirius and Remus, I guess), but my personal choice is Order of the Phoenix. (Because it was about time Harry showed something like post traumatic stress syndrom, because it introduced the wonderful Luna, because Dolores Umbridge is the most realistic and chillingly loathsome villain JKR ever wrote, because Harry's stint in Snape's memories turns what he and the readers thought they knew about the Marauders upside down and introduces Lily as something other than a corpse, because "I must not tell lies" and the way Harry reacts to this still guts me when I reread it.) Either way, though: the sequel(s) is/are better.
4.Sharon Penman: The Devil's Brood. I love When Christ and his Saints Slept (Maude and Stephen plus young Henry and young Eleanor of Aquitaine), but there is no denying that the middle volume of her trilogy, Of Time and Change, is anything but her best. Not least because it is a middle story, without a beginning and a climactic ending but also neither the author nor yours truly can decide on their take on Thomas Becket, who inevitably occupies a prominent position in the narrative, and the Henry/Rosamund relationship isn't that interesting, either. But The Devil's Brood (old Eleanor and Henry, and their sons - i.e. we're in Lion in Winter territory) is fantastic again, managing to make all of the younger Plantagenets understandable and three dimensional instead of just favouring one or treating Henry as King Lear with ungrateful kids, and as for Eleanor and Henry, well, they're superbly rendered.
5. The Beatles: Revolver. You can argue about favourite albums and the like because everything is subjective etc., but as fine as Rubber Soul already was, there's no denying Revolver was what sealed their critical reputation (and also showed they had left the moptop times far behind) for good. Also? Eleanor Rigby and Tomorrow Never Knows on the same album showcasing the range of what pop music can be. Your argument is invalid.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/703669.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
I'm afraid the first two aren't very original, but they still are inevitable choices for me.
1.) Star Trek: Wrath of Khan. There is a reason that this film became the golden standard against which any subsequent ST film was measured, and much as I often champion the fannish underdog, I just can't in the case of Star Trek: The Slow Motion Picture.
2.) The Empire Strikes Back. Now the is a brand of SW fan who loves only this one and bashes all the others. Don't count me among them. I happen to be fond of the prequels, love Return of the Jedi and am okay with A New Hope, though it alone would have never made me a fan. All this being said: The Empire Strikes Back really improved on the first one to no end - no Nuremberg Rally for rebels, the Leigh Bracket dialogue for Leia and Han is screwball comedy fun, Lando Calrissian is arguably the most layered character in the OT (what? he sells our heroes out for understandable reasons which aren't all about himself but about what he's in charge with and makes up for that without being prompted), and the part that got me personally hooked on the galaxy far, far away: Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker turn out to be one and the same, and suddenly Luke's goals can't be as simple as blowing up Death Stars and defeating bad guys in a duel anymore. So often copied and still the best idea Lucas had for SW.
3.) Harry Potter series. Now you can argue about which of the seven books is the best one, but it definitely isn't HP and The Philospher's Stone. I know most people root for Prisoner of Azkaban (because of Sirius and Remus, I guess), but my personal choice is Order of the Phoenix. (Because it was about time Harry showed something like post traumatic stress syndrom, because it introduced the wonderful Luna, because Dolores Umbridge is the most realistic and chillingly loathsome villain JKR ever wrote, because Harry's stint in Snape's memories turns what he and the readers thought they knew about the Marauders upside down and introduces Lily as something other than a corpse, because "I must not tell lies" and the way Harry reacts to this still guts me when I reread it.) Either way, though: the sequel(s) is/are better.
4.Sharon Penman: The Devil's Brood. I love When Christ and his Saints Slept (Maude and Stephen plus young Henry and young Eleanor of Aquitaine), but there is no denying that the middle volume of her trilogy, Of Time and Change, is anything but her best. Not least because it is a middle story, without a beginning and a climactic ending but also neither the author nor yours truly can decide on their take on Thomas Becket, who inevitably occupies a prominent position in the narrative, and the Henry/Rosamund relationship isn't that interesting, either. But The Devil's Brood (old Eleanor and Henry, and their sons - i.e. we're in Lion in Winter territory) is fantastic again, managing to make all of the younger Plantagenets understandable and three dimensional instead of just favouring one or treating Henry as King Lear with ungrateful kids, and as for Eleanor and Henry, well, they're superbly rendered.
5. The Beatles: Revolver. You can argue about favourite albums and the like because everything is subjective etc., but as fine as Rubber Soul already was, there's no denying Revolver was what sealed their critical reputation (and also showed they had left the moptop times far behind) for good. Also? Eleanor Rigby and Tomorrow Never Knows on the same album showcasing the range of what pop music can be. Your argument is invalid.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/703669.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.