Somethings Missing

Saw Terminator Salvation this week, not a very good movie.  Like many of the sequels / remakes these days its primary currency is nostalgia.  You have tiny pieces of the original film pasted throughout that give you short smile, but not much else.  There is no story, no emotional investment, nothing.  It feels like a hollow note out of place and off key.  

This afternoon I opened up Netflix and saw that the original was available on instant play.  I've had several experiences where the nostalgic memory of a TV show or movie colors my perception, I wondered if that was the case with Terminator.  It has been probably 10 years since I've seen the TV edited version of the original.  I loaded it up and watched it through.

First thing was that the movie is just as good as I remembered it, maybe even better.  In the age of computer generated effects seeing the work of Stan Winston made me smile.  Now those were special effects.  The animatronics and make up work are just phenomenal.  The thing that stays with me after watching the movie though was its commitment.  

Every movie shoots for PG-13, and the original Terminator is a definite R.  It would have never been made today, or if it had it would have been a completely different movie.  It takes a seriousness regarding the material to sell such an outlandish concept.  Time travel, cyborgs, sentient computer systems.  To sell the movie you have to take it seriously, and a serious take on the movie means that it is almost certain to be rated R.  The idea is that PG-13 movies make more.  If the lifetime of the franchise is considered would that be the case? 

The problem is one of formula -- 1:30 runtime x PG-13 rating + lead male star + lead female star x ($xx,xxx,xxx) = $x,xxx,xxx,xxx.  You cannot quantify movies like that.  The current theory is "mining" proven intellectual property. What happens when they run out of properties to mine?

Where is the new idea, the new franchise in the making?  With the current limitations they are placing on movies how will they create the next big thing?  Its a risk / reward model.  What they are doing is cashing in on the risks of the past, but they are destroying the viability of the future.  As much as I hate to admit it I miss the 80's and 90's.  It makes me sound old, but its true.

I miss being amazed at special effects in movies.  I miss seeing completely new stories and hearing original music.  Nothing hasn't been affected by the wave of been there done that.  Music, movies are all just remakes and remixes.  The new Terminator is really just fleshing out the story from the first one.  They add a few different plot points but there is no real suspense, you know the end.  The funny thing is that even though I've seen the original Terminator several times it was as intense as it was the first time.  How did they do that?  They need to teach the current wave of filmmakers how that is done, I think its more than just me that misses the intensity.  

Cupid

A little while back we were flipping stations looking for some hours to kill before bed and came across this cheese-ball of a show that happened to be the best thing on. The longer I watched the more familiar it seemed. The setup around this man in serious need of some sort of depressant attempting to get people to hook up. During the cut to commercial there was the title Cupid. I was stunned.

About 10 years ago I was addicted to a show named Cupid. A guy named Trevor, thinks he's Cupid, kicked off Olympus, if he gets enough couples matched up he gets admittance back onto that most spectacular of mountain tops. His foil is Claire, the psychiatrist assigned to him because come on, he thinks he's Cupid. Could this be a revival of that show? I wasn't really sure, it had been a while since I had seen the it, but this didn't have the feel of what I was remembering. The premise was the same, but the soul was different.

Quick search of YouTube revealed every episode (all 13 of them) posted and awaiting my viewing pleasure. My wife and I quickly devoured every episode that YouTube had to offer, and were both rather somber when the realization that there would never be another one sank in.

This was a great show!!! It took an outlandish concept and made it work. The writing was smart and sharp. The actors were above usual TV grade - in fact the lead actor of the show was non-other than Jeremy Piven. Who better to play an over-caffeinated, match-making madman?!!?? Why was it cancelled???

Apparently low ratings finished off Cupid. A Saturday night time slot did not work for its audience. Of course a Saturday night time slot does it for very few shows. Why?? It was another case of wondering how in the world studio executives still keep drawing paychecks. Someone realized that Cupid was a gem and tried to revive it, but the quality is not there, they are missing the point and they will never get that cast back.

Watching the old Cupid was like meeting a lost acquaintance and spending lunch time catching up. Why can't good shows stay on the air? Guess its for the best, if shows like this were on all the time I wouldn't get much done.

I can't say that I'm entirely sad that it was killed before it got a second season, a complete first season would have been nice though. There were a lot of questions, was Trevor really Cupid? Would he hook up with Claire and break out of his "delusion"? The show was far to smart to actively engage in trying to answer these questions. Its good that the show finished before writers came along who actually thought it would be a good idea to answer whether Trevor was really Cupid. The good die young in TV shows too I guess...