1.26.2006

Fooling

In the course of an hour of Smallville tonight, I saw both the demise of the character I was hoping would perish in the 100th episode, as well as that of the one I was expecting and dreading would be leaving. The wonderful thing about fiction, though often abused, is the ability to make us care about characters that aren't real, and mourn when they're gone. Anyone who's ever watched a soap opera, or anything Joss Whedon or J.J. Abrams were involved with, knows exactly what I'm talking about. Sometimes death is a cheap ratings stunt, and on shows with a more supernatural bent it may not even be permanent. I've read more than my share of comic books, and characters are rarely gone forever. Real life is different though. After the show ended, we called my mom in to the kitchen to blow out the candles on her cake. She joked about this being her last birthday, as parents often do, but the truth is that every year could be our last. My dad is in his mid-70s. My mom is in her mid-60s. All we can do is enjoy every day and not think about what tomorrow might bring.

Age is meaningless, though. My dad's been saying things like, “Yep, guess I'll be dying soon” ever since he started getting his first aches and pains in his ‘40s. Hard work hasn't knocked him down though, and I think it's only made him stronger. Twelve years ago a doctor noted the severity of his clogged arteries and gave him less than a year to live without a bypass operation. A radical change in a bad diet, Chelation therapy, and our family's trademark stubbornness keep him kicking. Death will never come when we expect it. It's been a little over a year now since my mom lost her younger cousin. Every day the news is filled with tragic loss, be it a freak accident while playing with a dog or a horrific crash claiming young lives. I was stunned yesterday to learn of Chris Penn's untimely demise, first at Darrell's then over at Sean's.

No cause of death has been found at the time of this writing. The most recent role I saw him in was Starsky & Hutch, and I remember thinking at the time that he'd let himself go, gained a little more weight. I know him best from Reservoir Dogs, as well as True Romance. He had a very distinctive voice and like Brian Doyle-Murray, another character actor with a more famous sibling, you'd recognize him the second he spoke, even if you couldn't see him. Looking at his resume I'm amazed at how many things I've seen him in: Seinfeld. Short Cuts. Mulholland Falls. Rush Hour. No, I haven't seen Footloose, nor did I know he was in it. After reading about his involvement at Darrell's, I'm going to rent it as well as At Close Range, another film Darrell cited.

One interesting thing I came across while researching his career, was a piece entitled Who Do You think You're Fooling, which explores the (blatantly obvious) similarities between Reservoir Dogs and City on Fire, with Chow Yun-Fat. I confess to seeing Reservoir Dogs first, and not even being aware of the Hong Kong version until I saw a showing of it with a far more culturally-aware college friend. This wouldn't be the first time I explored the differences between an American remake and its original. What I find intriguing about the documentary description is something I've either forgotten, or never realized. Apparently, while the stories are nearly identical, Quentin Tarantino denied any connection, rather than admit that one was done in homage to the other. Either way, Chris Penn's performance was great, and he'll definitely be missed. As for Smallville, I won't spoil tonight's episode for those that watch on DVD, but I wish they had fooled me. They certainly tried.

8 Comments:

Blogger DeAnn said...

A few things:

First, thank you for not giving away the "Smallville" thing because I really really want to know, but am glad you didn't tell me because then I would have been bummed to already know before watching.

Also, are you really saying Joss and J.J. are comparable? I think J.J. is not even remotely in Joss' league on any level. I actually do think death and feeling and loss on J.J.'s programs are ratings stunts -- or stunts of some sort. And the truly great relationships on his best show (at one time anyway), "Alias," all have been lost. Everyone Sydney is supposed to care about is gone now.

Sorry to rant. I cannot help myself when TV is involved. Heh.

1/27/2006 12:00 AM  
Blogger avRAGEjoe said...

****SMALLVILLE SPOILERS****

Ok, I dropped this show a while back, but am dissapointed that they offed Pa Kent. One interesting thing I've seen in comments about this episode is that people keep saying it's staying true to the story in the comics. That's actually not true. Prior to 1985, BOTH of Clark's parents were dead and had died sometime during his transition from Superboy to Superman. After the continuity resetting event of Crisis of Infinite Earths both of his parents remained alive into his adulthood and both are still going strong in the comics. The only instance where only Jonathan died is in the 1978 Superman film. Since the new Superman movie is continuing from the previous films I suppose the Smallville folks thought they should fit in with that universe. Anywho, just had to jump in and earn my geek points for the day. :-)

1/27/2006 8:00 AM  
Blogger MCF said...

DeAnn: I was using J.J. to designate his shows, although I was predominantly thinking of Lost, and I admit that the emotion I've felt on that show was probably fueled by the performances and the music. Those are some well-developed characters. Alias really has lost something without Francie, Will, Nadia, Vaugnn and Weiss. At least she still has her father, but I miss a lot of the other relationships.

When I think of the characters lost in the Whedonverse over the years, I'm inclined to agree with you. Sorry if my post implied otherwise.

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Joe: Clearly a lot of people haven't read the comics. I've been hearing the same comment a lot, even before the episode aired. If only the writers were more daring and not locked in to that continuity. I wish I could drop the show. I'm locked in to see this trainwreck to the end though.

1/27/2006 8:16 AM  
Blogger avRAGEjoe said...

MCF: What's strange to me is that I would have assumed a far greater number of Smallville viewers would have watched the Dean Cain Superman series (which had both parents still alive)or even read the comics than have seen the 1978 film. Ah, well, my brain rarely makes sense of the world, much less fandom. :-)

Meepers and I dropped Smallville last year. Not even the genius that is James Marsters could bring us back this season.

1/27/2006 8:43 AM  
Blogger avRAGEjoe said...

One more nitpick with Smallville (sorry, can't resist). It actually is canon in the comics that Clark revealed his powers and alien origin to Lana Lang right around the time they were both in High School. So, the thing with him not telling her, or telling hr and then some deus ex machina changes it by episodes end, got old and tired around the middle of season 2.

1/27/2006 9:48 AM  
Blogger Darrell said...

My dad's been saying things like, “Yep, guess I'll be dying soon” ever since he started getting his first aches and pains in his ‘40s.

I don't think parents realize how it makes their kids feel when they say stuff like this. My mom says stuff like this from time to time, and my grandparents (all gone now) used to say this kind of thing. I'm not sure what they intended with these kinds of remarks, all I know is it always made me feel kinda helpless and depressed.

Who Do You think You're Fooling, which explores the (blatantly obvious) similarities between Reservoir Dogs and City on Fire, with Chow Yun-Fat.

I've never had the chance to see City On Fire, but I'd like to. I wonder if there are any comparisons of the two movies on the net. I've always wondered how blatant the rip-off is.

1/27/2006 11:23 AM  
Blogger cube said...

I think parents & grandparents say those things because they're scared about the finality of death & people often joke when they're scared. A little like whistling past the cemetary.

Enjoy each day like it's your last because nobody knows which one will be their last.

1/27/2006 11:33 AM  
Blogger Kelly said...

Smallville, feh. I think they had it right the first time around. (I don't care if they stick with the comics, movies, or past shows; I want to see some new interpretations.) Anyway, that way would've been perfect to drive Lex completely evil and to throw a definitive wedge between Lex and Clark. I want to see these two battle, not be "Oh are they friends or not?" for the rest of the series. ::sigh:: Like you, MCF, I gotta see it through to the end. Unfortunately.

1/28/2006 7:11 AM  

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