From: radioman@leland.Stanford.EDU (David Y.S. Chang)
Subject: Re: 1/11 Episode "Revelations"
Organization: DSG, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 93 22:12:44 GMT

What a show! Best in weeks, that's for sure. Does anyone know who the writer
was, and what other shows he/she has done recently?

=-=-=-= Now for some followups:
In article <1993Jan12.064508.1384@leland.Stanford.EDU> H. Nunes <hwnunes@leland.stanford.edu> writes:

>! Were Janine Turner and John Cullum (Maggie & Holling) doing another
>"Quantum Leap" episode?

Hmm. I hadn't heard about this. What kind of characters did they play?

>What was that 20's term he used in that last Isuzu
>ad?  Yawser (yow' za)?

"Yowsers!," maybe?

>! Do you think NX glamorized Monastary life in this episode?

It did seem too casual, too Chris-like, really. 
Although I am sure there are liberal approaches to monasticism, just as there
are to Catholicism etc. The bit about eating well reminded me of a friend
who did a research paper on beer. Turns out the average monk of yore consumed
several gallons of beer *each day*.

>! Marilyn:  Paper clips, blue, and beige.  Is it just me or is this
>Marilyn/Joel schtick getting very old?  Although I can never get enough
>of the fact that "we only have one line."

I must have missed the "one line" joke, but this was the only real annoyance
for me in the show. Beige, yeah, right. Mediocrity in NX comes when the
characters are made into stereotypes of themselves. With Marilyn, they could
almost have a stand-in made of cardboard. She has no goals, no emotions, no
real friends. There were a couple of exceptions: the ostrich farm, driving
lessons, the Flying Man-- but only the latter was really interesting, and she
backed out of all of them. Sure, stoicism and emotional equilibrium are
strong parts of her character, and probably her culture, but it's supposed
to be "silent waters run deep," not "hey, there's no one in the kiddie pool."

>! What really shocked my about the whole Chris and Simon thing was the
>fact that Simon DID turn out to be a woman.  

I thought they raised the stakes a lot with the floor-scrubbing scene. 
Hilarious. And I wasn't expecting the "Simon is a woman" twist because I
watched her body language in the beekeeper outfit and damn if she didn't look
like a pissed-off man who wanted to knock Chris' block off. But I felt
they were throwing away some good emotional and erotic tension after the
revelation. Chris is relieved, sure, but he should be intrigued, too. And 
think of all the fun the writers could have explaining why she made her
choices. Bad marriage? Running from the law? Ascetic? Idealist? Misanthropist?
Misogynist? And how about Chris and the monastery: how would he pray? Would
he go mad without music? He'd look great on a cross.

>! First and only gripe-- the reuse of footage used in the episode
>"Dateline:  Cicely" in the ending montage (the mom reading the newspaper
>with her daughter) is probably worst than using the trebuchet a second
>time... for me, anyway.

That's a big one. You're right; they can't try to move their viewers
emotionally and toss out leftovers at the same time. And where the hell
are these people during the real show? You hardly ever see other Cicilians. The
only examples I can think of are the times when Chris was in heat and the
ending montage (in B&W) that Ed had filmed of the town.

>! Hmm, "Parent Trap."  Seems like they took the low road with Ed....

Yeah, and it seems to be a trend. Ed's on the cusp of being a full character,
but someone doesn't want it to happen.

>! At least Joel didn't change at the end, as demonstrated with his
>diagnostic rampage with Bernard.  Eve would of been proud.  

Ah! Another good thread. I hope we'll see it develop. I also like the way
Ruthanne and Maurice are still somewhat sore. And what a scene, when Ruthanne
gave him a taste of her real feelings! Tension! Conflict! It's been lacking
in NX for too long.

>! I really like Bernard (who doesn't?), but they really need to
>find/write better reasons for him being in Cicely so much lately.

I don't. Bernard doesn't seem natural because they don't give him the chances
to blow off steam, to explore himself, to butt heads with others--that they 
give Chris. Without that, he's eternally sunny and erudite. There's no balance.
Not like he has to be the lead story. Just give him a chance to get pissed off
or obsessed or euphoric.

>! A very, very, very good episode.  Solid, with no real complaints.

I agree. Too bad I'd stopped taping 'em.


Newsgroups: alt.tv.northern-exp