Season One
Nightmare
As I've said in numerous posts, I like characters with a vulnerable side. The entire story arc of the first two seasons of this show involve Sam's visions and the question of what they might mean. It's a frightening and sometimes painful experience for him, and it makes for powerful television. At least for me. This episode is not the first one to explore Sam's visions, but I consider it the best.
Season Two
Heart
Oh my, how hard it was to pick the best episode from season two! It is by far my far my favorite season of the entire series, with so many creepy and intensely emotional episodes to choose from. But at the end of the day I have to go with Heart because it actually succeeded in making me cry, something I don't do easily. To understand this episode you must have watched the first two seasons in their entirety, otherwise its emotional impact will be lost on you. When you know where "the road so far" has carried Sam and Dean up until this point, you can almost feel what they are feeling in the final scene of this episode. I think it is my favorite of the series as a whole.
Season Three
Mystery Spot
It was just as hard to pick one from season three as it was to pick one from season two, but for a different reason. If season two was my favorite, season three was...well...not. It just seemed a bit of a let down after the earth shattering events that came before it. There were really no episodes that stood out as being great. Of course that's just my opinion, but it did make choosing one from this season difficult. I'm going with Mystery Spot because it had a good mix of drama and humor. It also paid tribute to Groundhog Day, and who doesn't love that?
Season Four
When the Levee Breaks
If you are part of the Supernatural fandom, then you know that there are Sam girls and Dean girls. I'm definitely more of a Sam girl, so an episode all about Sam...yeah, I'm totally there.
Season Five
Swan Song
The season five finale. If you've watched the show then you know how powerful this episode is. If you haven't I won't give spoilers. Just...wow.
Season Six
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Again we're exploring Sam's vulnerable side. Yes, please.
Season Seven
The Born-Again Identity
This was my absolute least favorite season of the show. The leviathan story arc was boring at best. Most of the time it was just plain annoying. But the season did have some high points, at least for a Sam girl who likes strong male characters with a vulnerable side. So if you're me, then The Born-Again Identity is the best episode from season seven.
Season Eight
Sacrifice
In season eight the show seems to reclaim a little of the glory of its early years. The leviathans are finally gone (thank goodness) and the new story arc is much more engaging. Some episodes also return somewhat to the creepy atmosphere of the first few seasons. And then there are the hugs. There have been whole blog posts and hosts of YouTube videos devoted entirely to the number of times Sam and Dean hug in season eight. It all culminates in the finale, which is my pick for the best episode of this season.
Season Nine
Do You Believe in Miracles
Another season finale, and one of the few times I was more moved by Dean's storyline than by Sam's. Again, I won't give any spoilers, just watch it. But watch the rest of the season first because if you don't knew where the characters have been you won't fully appreciate what happens to them in this episode.
Season Ten
The Things We Left Behind
There are Sam girls and there are Dean girls, but Castiel has his fair share of fans as well. Normally I'm not one of them, but I did enjoy the journey his character takes in this episode. It also ties up a loose end from an earlier season, and I like it when shows do that.
Season Eleven
Safe House
I have really been enjoying season eleven. If the return to the creepy atmosphere of the early years began in season eight, it seems to be in full swing now. I chose Safe House as my favorite episode because it actually scared me. I haven't found an episode of Supernatural scary since season one. Good job, writers and directors!
What About You?
You've got all my favorites. What are yours? Feel free to leave a comment and let me know!
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
The Best Episodes From Each Season of The X Files
Season One
Darkness Falls
There are quite a few X Files episodes that appeal to the horror movie buff in me, but this one is by far the best. It has nothing to do with the mythology of the show, there's not a heck of a lot of character development, we're not treated to any intensely emotional scenes, but as horror goes it doesn't get much better than a group of people stranded in the woods with the knowledge that they are all likely to die as soon as it gets dark. Creepy and suspenseful.
Season Two
The Calusari
There were several candidates for my favorite episode from season two, but again I'm letting my inner horror fan be my guide on this one. There's nothing creepier than evil children.
Season Three
The Blessing Way
Picking one from the mythology for season three. I enjoyed these episodes in previous seasons, but honestly I always felt that the first two seasons lacked the emotional impact these types of episodes are supposed to have. Season three seems to be the season in which the show finally found its footing, and this episode is a good example of that.
Season Four
Demons
Okay, I admit, I'm a sucker for strong male characters with a vulnerable side, and this episode explores Mulder's vulnerable side in a way that leaves me breathless. Loosely tied to the mythology with its emphasis on Mulder's search for his sister, it follows his character down a very dark road while the audience gets to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Season Five
Chinga
First let me say that I'm fluent in Spanish, so it takes a bit of effort for me to get past the title of this one. I have absolutely no idea what the word is supposed to mean in the context of the episode. When I hear it I just hear...well, you can look it up yourself. But anyway, the episode is another one that appeals to my horror loving side. It has another evil child, which ups the creep factor for me exponentially. There's also a good deal of humor in this one, so that makes it a double win!
Season Six
Biogenesis
This is another one I picked because of my weakness for men with a vulnerable side. Mulder is physically vulnerable in this one as opposed to emotionally vulnerable, but it's still powerful stuff.
Season Seven
Closure
Mulder finally finds out what happened to his sister. Doesn't get much better than that.
Season Eight
Deadalive
We finally get Agent Mulder back. Yay!
Season Nine
William
Okay, it was really hard to pick one from this season. I barely watched it when it aired originally because I was angry at the producers for trying to shift the focus of the show from Mulder and Scully to Doggett and Reyes. I know I'm not the only one who felt that way. There's a reason why this was the last season. But if pressed, I would have to choose William, first because of its emotional impact and second because of its importance in light of the recent tenth season.
Season Ten
Founder's Mutation
Okay, I didn't hate the new X Files, but I also didn't love it the way I loved the original show. So again it was hard to pick a favorite from this season. I would probably choose Founder's Mutation because it was mysterious, creepy at times, and also connected to the larger mystery around which the tenth season revolves.
Tell Me What You Think
I've given you all my favorite episodes--okay, not all my favorites because I would need to pick more than one from each season to be able to do that but, well never mind--I'd love to hear about yours. If your list is different from mine, feel free to tell me about it in a comment.
Darkness Falls
There are quite a few X Files episodes that appeal to the horror movie buff in me, but this one is by far the best. It has nothing to do with the mythology of the show, there's not a heck of a lot of character development, we're not treated to any intensely emotional scenes, but as horror goes it doesn't get much better than a group of people stranded in the woods with the knowledge that they are all likely to die as soon as it gets dark. Creepy and suspenseful.
Season Two
The Calusari
There were several candidates for my favorite episode from season two, but again I'm letting my inner horror fan be my guide on this one. There's nothing creepier than evil children.
Season Three
The Blessing Way
Picking one from the mythology for season three. I enjoyed these episodes in previous seasons, but honestly I always felt that the first two seasons lacked the emotional impact these types of episodes are supposed to have. Season three seems to be the season in which the show finally found its footing, and this episode is a good example of that.
Season Four
Demons
Okay, I admit, I'm a sucker for strong male characters with a vulnerable side, and this episode explores Mulder's vulnerable side in a way that leaves me breathless. Loosely tied to the mythology with its emphasis on Mulder's search for his sister, it follows his character down a very dark road while the audience gets to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Season Five
Chinga
First let me say that I'm fluent in Spanish, so it takes a bit of effort for me to get past the title of this one. I have absolutely no idea what the word is supposed to mean in the context of the episode. When I hear it I just hear...well, you can look it up yourself. But anyway, the episode is another one that appeals to my horror loving side. It has another evil child, which ups the creep factor for me exponentially. There's also a good deal of humor in this one, so that makes it a double win!
Season Six
Biogenesis
This is another one I picked because of my weakness for men with a vulnerable side. Mulder is physically vulnerable in this one as opposed to emotionally vulnerable, but it's still powerful stuff.
Season Seven
Closure
Mulder finally finds out what happened to his sister. Doesn't get much better than that.
Season Eight
Deadalive
We finally get Agent Mulder back. Yay!
Season Nine
William
Okay, it was really hard to pick one from this season. I barely watched it when it aired originally because I was angry at the producers for trying to shift the focus of the show from Mulder and Scully to Doggett and Reyes. I know I'm not the only one who felt that way. There's a reason why this was the last season. But if pressed, I would have to choose William, first because of its emotional impact and second because of its importance in light of the recent tenth season.
Season Ten
Founder's Mutation
Okay, I didn't hate the new X Files, but I also didn't love it the way I loved the original show. So again it was hard to pick a favorite from this season. I would probably choose Founder's Mutation because it was mysterious, creepy at times, and also connected to the larger mystery around which the tenth season revolves.
Tell Me What You Think
I've given you all my favorite episodes--okay, not all my favorites because I would need to pick more than one from each season to be able to do that but, well never mind--I'd love to hear about yours. If your list is different from mine, feel free to tell me about it in a comment.
Thursday, April 7, 2016
The Challenge of Writing Backstory
A Surprising Challenge
I wrote last week about some of the difficulties I'm having with my new book, contrasting it with the relative ease with which I wrote Amelia's Children. Though both books are paranormal, Amelia's Children dealt with psychic abilities whereas my current work in progress has more to do with magic. I was surprised to find just how complex a thing magic is compared with the simplicity of prophetic dreams and telepathy. But that isn't the only surprise this new book has given me.
The backstory is another aspect of my current book that is giving me fits at the moment. I'm even more surprised by this than I was by the difficulty of writing about magic. After all, Amelia's Children is a murder mystery. What is a murder mystery? At its heart it is basically the primary character's attempt to find out the backstory. Really, mysteries are all about backstory, so why was Amelia's Children so much easier to write than my new book?
The Nature of a Murder Mystery
Yes, murder mysteries revolve around a backstory, but it is often a rather simple one. To the reader it doesn't seem simple because, if the story is told well, the clues are doled out so gradually that the book seems to get more and more complex as it goes along. But that is not how it seems to the writer. While the entirety of the backstory may not be completely planned out when pen is first set to page, nevertheless the writer generally has a pretty good idea of what happened before beginning to write the book. And if the book is a straightforward mystery it all goes back to one event. A murder, in my case. So once I knew who died, who killed her, why she was killed, and how she was killed, the rest was just sprinkling in details to make things more interesting. Those details could be anything I wanted them to be, and it was fun coming up with things to throw into the story.
When the Backstory Is More Complex
The book I am writing now is not a murder mystery. Discovering the backstory is not the main objective, but the backstory is there, nonetheless. And it's a complicated one. There is one major event that occurred five years prior to the current action that binds the main characters together and gives them their motivation for the things they do in the book, but that one event is related to a series of events that have occurred down through the years, all culminating in the new crisis that is the main problem of the story. Just like with a murder mystery, I have to know what happened, why it happened, how it happened, and who was involved. But unlike Amelia's Children, this does not just apply to one event. It applies to multiple events involving multiple characters. And to top it all off each one of these events has to do with magic, meaning that everything that happened in the backstory has to obey the rules I mentioned in last week's post. Yeesh!
Consistency Is Our Friend
Because the plot is so complex, I most certainly did not have all of it planned out when I began writing the book. What that means is that once the first draft is finished I'm going to have to go back and rewrite whole sections to make sure they line up with decisions I made in later chapters about what happened in the past. I almost feel like I need to write a whole separate book just about the timeline and the magic and how it works so that I can have an easy reference when I'm writing the story itself. Right now I'm trying to hold all of it in my mind, with the help of a collection of Post-it notes cluttering up my desk, but I'm becoming overwhelmed. After all, the mind forgets things and Post-it notes can get lost or buried or even thrown away.
Seeing the Light
I think I've finally reached the point where most of the backstory is nailed down. I also have a pretty good idea of what most of the magical rules are, so abiding by them should become easier from here on. So as long as I remember where I put those darn Post-its I should be okay. Maybe. Wish me luck!
I wrote last week about some of the difficulties I'm having with my new book, contrasting it with the relative ease with which I wrote Amelia's Children. Though both books are paranormal, Amelia's Children dealt with psychic abilities whereas my current work in progress has more to do with magic. I was surprised to find just how complex a thing magic is compared with the simplicity of prophetic dreams and telepathy. But that isn't the only surprise this new book has given me.
The backstory is another aspect of my current book that is giving me fits at the moment. I'm even more surprised by this than I was by the difficulty of writing about magic. After all, Amelia's Children is a murder mystery. What is a murder mystery? At its heart it is basically the primary character's attempt to find out the backstory. Really, mysteries are all about backstory, so why was Amelia's Children so much easier to write than my new book?
The Nature of a Murder Mystery
Yes, murder mysteries revolve around a backstory, but it is often a rather simple one. To the reader it doesn't seem simple because, if the story is told well, the clues are doled out so gradually that the book seems to get more and more complex as it goes along. But that is not how it seems to the writer. While the entirety of the backstory may not be completely planned out when pen is first set to page, nevertheless the writer generally has a pretty good idea of what happened before beginning to write the book. And if the book is a straightforward mystery it all goes back to one event. A murder, in my case. So once I knew who died, who killed her, why she was killed, and how she was killed, the rest was just sprinkling in details to make things more interesting. Those details could be anything I wanted them to be, and it was fun coming up with things to throw into the story.
When the Backstory Is More Complex
The book I am writing now is not a murder mystery. Discovering the backstory is not the main objective, but the backstory is there, nonetheless. And it's a complicated one. There is one major event that occurred five years prior to the current action that binds the main characters together and gives them their motivation for the things they do in the book, but that one event is related to a series of events that have occurred down through the years, all culminating in the new crisis that is the main problem of the story. Just like with a murder mystery, I have to know what happened, why it happened, how it happened, and who was involved. But unlike Amelia's Children, this does not just apply to one event. It applies to multiple events involving multiple characters. And to top it all off each one of these events has to do with magic, meaning that everything that happened in the backstory has to obey the rules I mentioned in last week's post. Yeesh!
Consistency Is Our Friend
Because the plot is so complex, I most certainly did not have all of it planned out when I began writing the book. What that means is that once the first draft is finished I'm going to have to go back and rewrite whole sections to make sure they line up with decisions I made in later chapters about what happened in the past. I almost feel like I need to write a whole separate book just about the timeline and the magic and how it works so that I can have an easy reference when I'm writing the story itself. Right now I'm trying to hold all of it in my mind, with the help of a collection of Post-it notes cluttering up my desk, but I'm becoming overwhelmed. After all, the mind forgets things and Post-it notes can get lost or buried or even thrown away.
Seeing the Light
I think I've finally reached the point where most of the backstory is nailed down. I also have a pretty good idea of what most of the magical rules are, so abiding by them should become easier from here on. So as long as I remember where I put those darn Post-its I should be okay. Maybe. Wish me luck!
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