Sneak Preview: USA Network's Paradise Pictures

Nostalgia and the Film and Television industry compliment each other perfectly. Writers, directors, and producers love taking a stab at recreating the past. Who can blame them? Almost everyone likes to look back and say, "Man, those were the days," even if they weren't alive during the time period in question. For film-makers and film historians, the era often looked at is the glitz and glamour of post-WWII Hollywood. Apparently, USA Network is not immune to this.

After AMC's success, I guess USA figured they'd throw their hat in the period drama ring.

Thanks to a particular UCLA film class, I was one of nearly fifty people who listened in-person to Alex Sepiol (the head of scripted series development at USA Network) share his experiences in the television business. While interesting and very insightful, the best part occurred at the very end. With the instructor's cooperation, he showed us a clip of a new show in development, Paradise Pictures. It couldn't have been more than five minutes, but the idea screams with potential.

The late 1940s Hollywood is brought to life very nicely. Then the characters and a glimpse of the conflicts are revealed. It's not a nice, everybody's smiling world reminiscent of the sunshine musicals starring Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, or Bing Crosby. No, the arena is much more sinister. Fake smiles and false fronts hide the noir-ish elements, chiefly ruthlessness.

At this point, of course, there's no guarantee the show will reach screens. Networks are notoriously fickle with risky ideas, like a period drama. Still, as an avid fan of the black and white cinema of the silver screen, I hope the series does pan out. It will be interesting to see what bits and pieces they extracted from the era that brought us The Big Sleep, The Best Years of Our Lives, and It's a Wonderful Life.

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep.

On Beowulf, and The Hero's Journey

I would like to start by saying that I apologize for the long lay-off in between activity. Things have been extremely busy for me, but I should be back to regular reporting as of right now. Anyway, let's get on with the important stuff.

If you are aware of the history of English literature, then it is an almost a certainty that you have come across Beowulf (at least the name). It is an epic-ish poem about Mr. Beowulf, a prince who faces three important foes in his warrior centered life. The only reason I add an -ish on the end of epic is because an epic poem would be something like the Iliad or the Odyssey or Dante's Divine Comedy. All of those are ridiculously long. Beowulf, in comparison, sits at a modest number of just over 3,180 lines of verse.

Is this how you see Beowulf?

More importantly, Beowulf, stands a classic example of that lovely concept known as the Hero's Journey or the monomyth. The single story that gets told and retold under a multitude of extraordinary and very ordinary disguises. You'd think they find another story to tell in the who knows how many years humanity has been around. Well, apparently they haven't, which is probably why something like Beowulf still manages to be relevant today.

Our journey with Beowulf begins when an evil and dastardly being by the name of Grendel, a descendant of Cain, surfaces in the kingdom ruled by King Hrothgar (which is not just a place in Skyrim). He brutally attacks a group of thanes, devouring and looting them after robbing the noblemen of their lives. Understandably, there's a great deal of distress in Hrothgar's kingdom. What is this called in the monomyth? That's right, the inciting incident. The action begins and the stage is set for the hero to save the day.

This is where Beowulf is introduced. He is a foreign prince, who has heard of Grendel and offers to remove the beast as a threat. Hrothgar gladly accepts his offer. For anyone adhering to the ancient code of honor and nobility, this is the point of no return. Beowulf will simply not go back on his word, as it is not in his nature to do so. During this meeting, two and maybe three boxes are checked on the hero's journey. (There is no refusal, and if there was it happened back at home before he is introduced) Beowulf meets his mentor, Hrothgar; Beowulf crosses the first threshold by claiming the responsibility to hunt down Grendel; and Beowulf figures out his allies and knows the name of his enemy.

Beowulf is on his way.

Then, in the middle of the night, Grendel strikes again, killing another large group of men when they are sleeping. By this point, Beowulf is aware of the nature of his enemy. He sets out to fight him, but without his armor. Grendel has no armor, and being a man of honor and nobility, Beowulf decides the armor would be an unfair advantage. He knows that God will either grant him victory or not, and doesn't appear too worried about it. I'm not sure how many boxes are checked, but a second point of no return has been passed and he approaches the showdown with Grendel.

When he comes face to face with Grendel, Beowulf grabs him by the arm with a grip strong as a that of thirty men--an English speaking Hercules of sorts. Grendel struggles and struggles to break away, but he cannot. He knows this, but is not willing to give in, so the beast forfeits his arm, allowing it to be torn from him as he attempts to flee. Grendel succeeds in getting away, but his victory is only temporary. Death is a certainty to him. At this point, Beowulf's ordeal with Grendel is complete. He has conquered and vanquished his foe. 

The rest of this episode is the falling action, as he is given his just rewards by Hrothgar and his men celebrate. Here's where the end would be fitting. However, it isn't the end of Beowulf's story. Grendel's death is merely the inciting incident for the second heroic episode of for the noble prince. I will not go into the details there, as I would be repeating myself. The same points will be hit although in a different setting and will have different details, which is why storytelling hasn't been phased out by humanity. There is still a great deal of originality.