Set at the end of the Victorian era in New York City (for the most part), Rhys Bowen’s series of mysteries featuring Irish immigrant Molly Murphy are enjoyable period pieces that, by the way, have crimes to solve. Though by no means Steampunk – the settings are intended to be realistic, within the bounds of the sorts of coincidences and allowances of the mystery genre – the books are fun to read.
The series starts with Murphy’s Law (2002), in which we are introduced to young Molly Murphy, a lower-class Irish girl living on the estate of a wealthy English aristocrat. Unfortunately, the aristocrat has just tried to rape her and Molly, in self-defense, has pushed the young man backward, causing him to hit his head and collapse. Wanting to avoid being hanged for murder, Molly escapes to London. There she meets a woman with two small children and passage booked to America where they are supposed to meet the children’s father. The woman has tuberculosis, however, and, fearing that she and the children will be turned back by Customs, she induces Molly to take her place on board the ship. Molly, only too happy to escape the law, agrees. (This scene strained credulity, but bear with me.) On board the ship, she has a run-in with an unpleasant passenger who is found dead when the ship arrives at Ellis Island. Molly is under suspicion, and has to clear her name before the police discover her true identity. Along the way, she meets police Captain Daniel Sullivan, who becomes her romantic interest throughout the series.
This book suffers from several problems, including the lengthy backstory before Molly arrives in New York, the lengthy passages wherein Molly tries to find her way around the city, finds a place to live, tries to find a job, and so on. All of these may add realism to the book, but take away from the space devoted to solving the crime. (It’s not a coincidence that amateur private detectives in fiction are independently wealthy, a la Lord Peter Wimsey. A book that features the detective’s day job would be dull indeed.)
Having made it through the first book, however, the persevering reader will find that the series improves. Molly, inspired by her first case and unwilling to take one of the jobs available to women immigrants of the time, decides she wants to be a detective, and tries to get a job with a private detective, Paddy Riley, in Death of Riley (2003). This is an unsuitable job for a woman (in P.D. James’ phrase), Molly is told again and again. When she finds Riley murdered, though, she sees this as an opportunity to tell potential clients that she is his “associate” and, of course, must solve his murder. In later books, Molly goes undercover in a sweatshop (For the Love of Mike, 2004), finds herself in upstate New York attempting to debunk a pair of clairvoyants (In Like Flynn, 2005), investigating Irish gangs when Captain Sullivan is suspended from the police force (Oh Danny Boy, 2006), travels to Ireland and gets mixed up with Irish revolutionaries (In Dublin’s Fair City, 2007), investigates mysterious goings-on in the theater while attempting to find the identity of an amnesia victim (Tell Me, Pretty Maiden, 2008), marches for the right to vote (In a Gilded Cage, 2009), and attempts to protect Harry Houdini from harm (The Last Illusion, 2010). Along the way, we meet a wide cross-section of turn-of-the-century New York, including Molly’s lesbian friends, Sid and Gus; Captain Sullivan’s upper-class fiancée and her family; an influential U.S. Senator; a Jewish labor organizer; a variety of theater people; a psychiatrist who has worked with Sigmund Freud; and the reporter Nelly Bly.
I find that the best parts of these books are the descriptions of New York (something I also enjoyed about Jack Finney’s Time and Again, set a decade or two earlier): the ethnic neighborhoods, the streetcars and elevated trains, the poverty of the lower classes contrasted with the extravagant lifestyles of the wealthy (which should quiet anyone whining about present-day income inequality), the bohemian lifestyles of Sid, Gus, and their Greenwich Village friends. Most of all, the series emphasizes the opportunities, or lack thereof, for women. Marrying well was a good career choice, but, beyond that, options were limited. At one point, Molly was arrested on suspicion of prostitution merely for being on the streets after dark. She was well-educated through a quirk of her upbringing – she was raised with the daughters of the estate owner, and home-schooled with them (however unrealistic that might have been for the time) – but was clearly an anomaly among women of her class. (In contrast, Captain Sullivan is a pill. Not content to merely complain about her desire to earn a living as a detective, he seems to be something of a control freak, is occasionally ungentlemanly, and appears completely indifferent to Molly’s reputation. The cad.) The mysteries themselves are fairly flimsy things, often wrapped up quickly and implausibly, and seemingly taking a back seat to the atmosphere and the characters’ other problems. Elizabeth George seems to have taken a similar approach with her recent Inspector Lynley novels, unfortunately. Still, Molly is an interesting character – no Phillip Marlowe clone so pervasive in the genre – and the period may be of interest to residents of the Steamlands.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Art is Confusing
I had scribbled a note to see an art exhibit entitled Enter...the Show.
I think using SL to create art that isn't possible in real life is great. Call me a philistine, though, but in this case I just didn't get it.
Pretty pictures, to be sure. It was like being in a big kaleidoscope at times.
But no, I don't get it.
The scissors...um, symbolize something? Fear of hairdressers?
What made the evening doubly disappointing was that I tried to see the Steampunk Gallery in the Nantucket sim, only to find it had already closed down. Ah well.
I think using SL to create art that isn't possible in real life is great. Call me a philistine, though, but in this case I just didn't get it.
Pretty pictures, to be sure. It was like being in a big kaleidoscope at times.
But no, I don't get it.
The scissors...um, symbolize something? Fear of hairdressers?
What made the evening doubly disappointing was that I tried to see the Steampunk Gallery in the Nantucket sim, only to find it had already closed down. Ah well.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Steelhead Photography Exhibit
Thanks to Dr. Ryne Beck, I learned of the Photography Exhibit currently under way at the Steelhead Library.
Entitled, "Photography in the 19th Century: From Daguerrotypes to Tintypes," the exhibit discusses several methods of developing photographic images.
Entitled, "Photography in the 19th Century: From Daguerrotypes to Tintypes," the exhibit discusses several methods of developing photographic images.
Quite interesting!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Caledon Town Hall Meeting
For those who may not have seen the announcement, Linden Lab let go about 30% of its work force in a "restructuring." While the announcement itself was short on details about why this was happening, or why now, or what is likely to come of it, one can certainly speculate.
Caledon Guvnah Desmond Shang announced an impromptu town hall meeting in the Gaiety Theater in Penzance. (I'm not sure I've ever been in-world for a meeting with the Guv - I usually hear about this stuff third-hand. How exciting for me!)
Before an audience of more than 15 Caledonians (and if that number doesn't sound high, recall that this was a meeting called not more than five minutes before it started, at a time not so convenient for the U.S. West Coast (and a little dicey for Europe)), Des outlined what he had heard and speculated on what the announcement will mean for Caledon.
My takeaways were as follows: first, a number of good people lost their jobs today. One should not forget the human cost of these "restructurings." Second, the Oxbridge gateway may not survive, although this is sheer speculation at this point. Even if Oxbridge is no longer an official gateway, Des will continue to operate Oxbridge and have classes held there. Third, it is possible that, in the short run at least, the uncertainty generated by the changes in the Lab will be beneficial to the Caledon land market, particularly if there is a reduction in the size of the Mainland. Fourth, the general agreement was that the restructuring seemed designed to clean up the balance sheet in preparation for offering the company for sale. This, of course, is sheer speculation, but does not seem unlikely. Getting rid of 30% of your work force tends to suggest either a cash flow problem or an impending sale, and possibly both.
Caledon Guvnah Desmond Shang announced an impromptu town hall meeting in the Gaiety Theater in Penzance. (I'm not sure I've ever been in-world for a meeting with the Guv - I usually hear about this stuff third-hand. How exciting for me!)
Before an audience of more than 15 Caledonians (and if that number doesn't sound high, recall that this was a meeting called not more than five minutes before it started, at a time not so convenient for the U.S. West Coast (and a little dicey for Europe)), Des outlined what he had heard and speculated on what the announcement will mean for Caledon.
My takeaways were as follows: first, a number of good people lost their jobs today. One should not forget the human cost of these "restructurings." Second, the Oxbridge gateway may not survive, although this is sheer speculation at this point. Even if Oxbridge is no longer an official gateway, Des will continue to operate Oxbridge and have classes held there. Third, it is possible that, in the short run at least, the uncertainty generated by the changes in the Lab will be beneficial to the Caledon land market, particularly if there is a reduction in the size of the Mainland. Fourth, the general agreement was that the restructuring seemed designed to clean up the balance sheet in preparation for offering the company for sale. This, of course, is sheer speculation, but does not seem unlikely. Getting rid of 30% of your work force tends to suggest either a cash flow problem or an impending sale, and possibly both.
Wonders of Caledon, Part 2 - The Observatory
My previous post described several of the nominees for the "Eight Wonders of Caledon" with which I was unfamiliar. Today I add another to that list: the Highlands Observatory. This structure is also owned by Mr. Alix Stoanes who, as you may recall, is also responsible for the Cape Wrath Clock and Fort. Methinks someone has been stuffing the ballot box in these nominations.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
The Eight Wonders of Caledon Contest
Caledon is a sprawling, wonderful place; naturally, Caledon has Wonders. For this year's RFL season, Caledon RFL co-chair Mrs. Fogwoman Gray Volare has solicited nominations for the Eight Wonders of Caledon.
Some nominees were quite familiar to me, such as the Library system, the Cavorite Mines, and Steam Sky City. I had seen others in passing, such as the formidable air kraken, Jewell's Garden Centre in the Moors, the CAT air transport system, or the Iron Cloud in Middlesea. I knew Mr. Excalibur Longstaff's Steamlander news source quite well, with its offices in Steam Sky City and its presence throughout the Aetherwebs. And who could fail to notice Mr. Garth Goode's moustache (indeed, nominated for one of the Wonders)? As the notecard said, the 'stache is located in "Caledon Moors, wandering about and up to No Goode."
Others were less familiar. I have never seen the mysterious village of Brigadoon, which appears but rarely. I had visited the Highlands'Museum of Steam. However, I did not know four of the nominees. This piece discusses three that are near one another.
First, The Haunted Prawn, in Brigadoon. This house, owned by Mr. Starling Alecto, is mysterious and spooky.
It also boasts an oddly erotic-looking boiler in the basement. It's not clear what makes the house Wonderous, but it's a good spot for a haunting.
Next, we travel to Cape Wrath and visit The Clock, an imposing tower visible for quite a distance (Difference Engine permitting, of course). The Clock is even spotlit, for better visibility at night and, naturally, keeps SL time.
This nominee is owned by Mr. Alix Stoanes.
Mr. Stoanes also owns The Fort at Cape Wrath, a mere stone's throw, if I may be permitted the pun, from Winterfell. Interestingly, the fort has a large dance floor but little in the way of armaments or fortifications, which I suppose says something about the dangers Caledon faces. (The gift shop does carry a large quantity of foot lotions, though, for those who dance to excess.)
The full listing of the Nominees for the Eight Wonders of Caledon consists of:
(Vote through July 11 at the RFL kiosk at Our Lady of Hope Hospital, Caer Firnas)
Some nominees were quite familiar to me, such as the Library system, the Cavorite Mines, and Steam Sky City. I had seen others in passing, such as the formidable air kraken, Jewell's Garden Centre in the Moors, the CAT air transport system, or the Iron Cloud in Middlesea. I knew Mr. Excalibur Longstaff's Steamlander news source quite well, with its offices in Steam Sky City and its presence throughout the Aetherwebs. And who could fail to notice Mr. Garth Goode's moustache (indeed, nominated for one of the Wonders)? As the notecard said, the 'stache is located in "Caledon Moors, wandering about and up to No Goode."
Others were less familiar. I have never seen the mysterious village of Brigadoon, which appears but rarely. I had visited the Highlands'Museum of Steam. However, I did not know four of the nominees. This piece discusses three that are near one another.
First, The Haunted Prawn, in Brigadoon. This house, owned by Mr. Starling Alecto, is mysterious and spooky.
It also boasts an oddly erotic-looking boiler in the basement. It's not clear what makes the house Wonderous, but it's a good spot for a haunting.
Next, we travel to Cape Wrath and visit The Clock, an imposing tower visible for quite a distance (Difference Engine permitting, of course). The Clock is even spotlit, for better visibility at night and, naturally, keeps SL time.
This nominee is owned by Mr. Alix Stoanes.
Mr. Stoanes also owns The Fort at Cape Wrath, a mere stone's throw, if I may be permitted the pun, from Winterfell. Interestingly, the fort has a large dance floor but little in the way of armaments or fortifications, which I suppose says something about the dangers Caledon faces. (The gift shop does carry a large quantity of foot lotions, though, for those who dance to excess.)
The full listing of the Nominees for the Eight Wonders of Caledon consists of:
- The Caledon Library System (throughout Caledon)
- The SteamLander (offices located in Steam SkyCity, covers all of the Steamlands)
- The Clock of Wrath (Cape Wrath)
- The Magic Village of Brigadoon (Brigadoon)
- The Air Kraken (Duchys of Lovelace, Middlesea, and occasionally Caer Firnas)
- The Fort (Cape Wrath)
- Jewell's Garden Centre & Greenhouse (Moors)
- Iron Cloud (Middlesea)
- The CAT Airship system (throughout Caledon)
- Cavorite Mines (Moors)
- The Haunted Prawn (Brigadoon)
- Steam SkyCity rebuild (Steam SkyCity)
- The Caledon Museum of Steam (Highlands)
- The Caledon Observatory (Highlands)
- Garth Goode's Moustache (Moors, wandering about and up to No Goode)
(Vote through July 11 at the RFL kiosk at Our Lady of Hope Hospital, Caer Firnas)
Monday, June 7, 2010
Memories of Victoriana - 2
Another set of pictures from Victoriana.
The Alps:
The Forest:
The Hedgemaze:
The Harbour:
The Alps:
The Forest:
The Hedgemaze:
The Harbour:
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Memories of Victoriana - 1
I thought I'd share some pictures of the various Victoriana sims one evening shortly before it closed.
Victoriana Pavilion:
Victoriana Square:
Tinytown:
I always enjoyed the attention to detail in the various builds, as well as the connections to real-world buildings. Another batch of pictures tomorrow.
Victoriana Pavilion:
Victoriana Square:
Tinytown:
I always enjoyed the attention to detail in the various builds, as well as the connections to real-world buildings. Another batch of pictures tomorrow.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Heritage Key - The Museum Gateway
(Continues loosely from here.)
Back at the Travel Center, I stepped into the last teleporter, taking me to "The Museum." (The British Museum, it would appear; perhaps in the UK there is only one museum.) (It's a joke - no angry comments about all the fine museums throughout the country.)
I found myself in front of the museum on a very gray day. Several people were on hand to greet me,...
...including this street vendor. I was directed up the steps, into the museum itself. (In retrospect, I was perhaps not dressed to period standards. Ah well. I had just arrived from the 1920s, as the reader may recall.)
The central chamber offered several options for destinations.
I first chose the terra cotta warriors. These were constructed in the third century BC for the emperor Qin Shi Huang, and were intended to be his “army” in the afterlife. They were discovered in 1974 near Xi’an. Estimates are that workmen created over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots (with 520 horses), and 150 cavalry horses. (My typist saw an exhibit on the warriors at the National Geographic headquarters this past March.) The present exhibit discusses the emperor’s life and conquests, describes the funerary arrangements, and displays models of the warriors and other objects found in the necropolis. One interesting aspect is the set of panoramic photographs of the warriors.
Below, a selection of figures. the three on the left are shown in color, as they may have been painted originally. Turning color on or off is an option for the visitor.
As an aside, apparently the emperor was buried with his concubines. He was obviously not a man who believed that you can't take it with you.
My next destination was the Palace at Nineveh, where I viewed the stone relief of the Assyrian lion hunt. Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire, was at the convergence of the Tigris and Khosr Rivers in what is now Iraq. Although Nineveh is mentioned as far ago as 1800 BC, and the city is mentioned several times in the Bible, the empire had its heyday in the seventh century BC. The city was attacked several times and finally defeated and razed in 612 BC.
The bas-relief stonework depicted below shows the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (668-631 BC) and his exploits in a lion hunt.
The third option was a series of panoramic views of World Heritage sites. Though the only one available at present was of the Tower of London, there are several different views. As with the terra cotta warriors, the exhibit puts the visitor in the center of the view, and turning around provides the entire 360 degree perspective.
Finally, treasures from the museum provide a handful of objects, with descriptions and the history of each. For example, as can be seen below, one such object is the Rosetta Stone. The single sign to the left of the stone has multiple cards that the vistor can click through to learn about the stone, what it was originally used for, how it was found, and how it was used to decipher the hieroglyphs by using the two known languages. As with the panoramic views, it appears that the display is not yet complete; judging by the space available, I would assume more is to come.
I found this to be the weakest of the Heritage Key destinations, mainly because it replicated the standard "museum experience" so faithfully. In contrast, the other destinations were more immersive, extending the metaphor of avatar-as-individual to the historical environments. Of course, if one can't get to the British Museum, or the Tower of London, or a terra cotta warriors exhibit, a virtual museum experience is better than none.
Performance over the last few visits was rock-solid. I had the place to myself, or so it appeared, so I don't know how well the sims would fare with a heavy user load. Still, it's been a pleasant experience all around.
Next in the series: Steamfish. I haven't forgotten about why I started this to begin with.
Back at the Travel Center, I stepped into the last teleporter, taking me to "The Museum." (The British Museum, it would appear; perhaps in the UK there is only one museum.) (It's a joke - no angry comments about all the fine museums throughout the country.)
I found myself in front of the museum on a very gray day. Several people were on hand to greet me,...
...including this street vendor. I was directed up the steps, into the museum itself. (In retrospect, I was perhaps not dressed to period standards. Ah well. I had just arrived from the 1920s, as the reader may recall.)
The central chamber offered several options for destinations.
I first chose the terra cotta warriors. These were constructed in the third century BC for the emperor Qin Shi Huang, and were intended to be his “army” in the afterlife. They were discovered in 1974 near Xi’an. Estimates are that workmen created over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots (with 520 horses), and 150 cavalry horses. (My typist saw an exhibit on the warriors at the National Geographic headquarters this past March.) The present exhibit discusses the emperor’s life and conquests, describes the funerary arrangements, and displays models of the warriors and other objects found in the necropolis. One interesting aspect is the set of panoramic photographs of the warriors.
Below, a selection of figures. the three on the left are shown in color, as they may have been painted originally. Turning color on or off is an option for the visitor.
As an aside, apparently the emperor was buried with his concubines. He was obviously not a man who believed that you can't take it with you.
My next destination was the Palace at Nineveh, where I viewed the stone relief of the Assyrian lion hunt. Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire, was at the convergence of the Tigris and Khosr Rivers in what is now Iraq. Although Nineveh is mentioned as far ago as 1800 BC, and the city is mentioned several times in the Bible, the empire had its heyday in the seventh century BC. The city was attacked several times and finally defeated and razed in 612 BC.
The bas-relief stonework depicted below shows the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (668-631 BC) and his exploits in a lion hunt.
The third option was a series of panoramic views of World Heritage sites. Though the only one available at present was of the Tower of London, there are several different views. As with the terra cotta warriors, the exhibit puts the visitor in the center of the view, and turning around provides the entire 360 degree perspective.
Finally, treasures from the museum provide a handful of objects, with descriptions and the history of each. For example, as can be seen below, one such object is the Rosetta Stone. The single sign to the left of the stone has multiple cards that the vistor can click through to learn about the stone, what it was originally used for, how it was found, and how it was used to decipher the hieroglyphs by using the two known languages. As with the panoramic views, it appears that the display is not yet complete; judging by the space available, I would assume more is to come.
I found this to be the weakest of the Heritage Key destinations, mainly because it replicated the standard "museum experience" so faithfully. In contrast, the other destinations were more immersive, extending the metaphor of avatar-as-individual to the historical environments. Of course, if one can't get to the British Museum, or the Tower of London, or a terra cotta warriors exhibit, a virtual museum experience is better than none.
Performance over the last few visits was rock-solid. I had the place to myself, or so it appeared, so I don't know how well the sims would fare with a heavy user load. Still, it's been a pleasant experience all around.
Next in the series: Steamfish. I haven't forgotten about why I started this to begin with.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
One of These Characters Will Die Tonight
I watch too much TV. It’s a vice I apparently share with a great many people, so there isn’t quite the social stigma attached to it as, say, heroin addiction, or liking the music of Miley Cyrus, but still, I have enough self-awareness to be mildly ashamed.
It’s that time of year again, when Sweeps Month meets the Season Finale extravaganza. For some reason, that got me thinking about the great Circle of (TV Show) Life. Back when writers and producers didn’t overthink things, each episode tended to stand alone. The end-of-season cliffhanger was something of a moot point, because there were no cliffs on which to hang. The Avengers replaced John Steed’s partner at least four times with nary a dramatic death or illness among them. (They explained Diana Rigg’s departure with two minutes at the very end of the episode, in which Emma Peel’s long-gone husband returned and collected her. I thought it was a big mistake, not the least of which was that kick-ass, independent Emma Peel meekly got in the passenger side of the car, just another 1960s TV wife. Gag. But I digress. These days, her departure would have taken at least half the episode, with some foreshadowing in three earlier episodes.)
Nowadays, after the Hollywood brain trust decided that the way to create loyal viewers was to have more crap about the characters’ lives cutting into the weekly stories, and to have story arcs that span episodes or even seasons, we have the spectacle of the Season-Ending Cliffhanger. “Who will live and who will die? Tune in tonight!”
One problem is that we don’t buy into certain types of cliffhangers. Their outcome is entirely predictable because, if the show is back, they can end in only one way. On Medium, the lead character has a brain tumor that – cue the dramatic music – could deactivate her psychic powers or kill her. Okay, and if that happens, do we rename the show Small and go on with just her widower (who can finally get a full night’s sleep) and her kids? Seems unlikely. On Bones, one of the two leads decides she doesn’t want to do this crime-fighting work any more. Oh really? Any chance of that lasting? Was Dr. House really going to spend the rest of his life in a mental institution, suffering from weird hallucinations? Seems doubtful.
Of course, you can kill off peripheral characters, or even main characters in ensemble shows. Get a big enough cast, and anything can happen. CSI lost William Peterson and went on (though he got the teary farewell, rather than the cliffhanger). And you can create plausible situations in which the principal setup of the show changes. When they “closed down the X Files” at the end of one of the early seasons of The X Files, you could imagine that Mulder would find paranormal cases even as he worked in some other unit of the FBI, or that he’d quit the FBI but would turn to his former partner to do the law enforcement bits. Okay, the betting was always on finding some excuse to get Mulder and Scully back in that basement office, chasing monsters on the taxpayer’s dime, but the alternative was at least conceivable.
It strikes me as cheap and lazy writing to get an emotional charge out of threatening the lives of characters we’ve come to know over the years. In some cases, perhaps it’s a matter of making a silk purse (ratings) out of a sow’s ear (the departure of an actor). Mostly, though, it’s an overused and hackneyed technique.
As it turns out, it’s a fairly ineffective technique on me. I have such a bad memory when it comes to such things that, by the time the new season rolls around, I’ve completely forgotten how the previous season ended. I’m not looking to see who survived the shootout at the lab because I no longer recall it.
It’s that time of year again, when Sweeps Month meets the Season Finale extravaganza. For some reason, that got me thinking about the great Circle of (TV Show) Life. Back when writers and producers didn’t overthink things, each episode tended to stand alone. The end-of-season cliffhanger was something of a moot point, because there were no cliffs on which to hang. The Avengers replaced John Steed’s partner at least four times with nary a dramatic death or illness among them. (They explained Diana Rigg’s departure with two minutes at the very end of the episode, in which Emma Peel’s long-gone husband returned and collected her. I thought it was a big mistake, not the least of which was that kick-ass, independent Emma Peel meekly got in the passenger side of the car, just another 1960s TV wife. Gag. But I digress. These days, her departure would have taken at least half the episode, with some foreshadowing in three earlier episodes.)
Nowadays, after the Hollywood brain trust decided that the way to create loyal viewers was to have more crap about the characters’ lives cutting into the weekly stories, and to have story arcs that span episodes or even seasons, we have the spectacle of the Season-Ending Cliffhanger. “Who will live and who will die? Tune in tonight!”
One problem is that we don’t buy into certain types of cliffhangers. Their outcome is entirely predictable because, if the show is back, they can end in only one way. On Medium, the lead character has a brain tumor that – cue the dramatic music – could deactivate her psychic powers or kill her. Okay, and if that happens, do we rename the show Small and go on with just her widower (who can finally get a full night’s sleep) and her kids? Seems unlikely. On Bones, one of the two leads decides she doesn’t want to do this crime-fighting work any more. Oh really? Any chance of that lasting? Was Dr. House really going to spend the rest of his life in a mental institution, suffering from weird hallucinations? Seems doubtful.
Of course, you can kill off peripheral characters, or even main characters in ensemble shows. Get a big enough cast, and anything can happen. CSI lost William Peterson and went on (though he got the teary farewell, rather than the cliffhanger). And you can create plausible situations in which the principal setup of the show changes. When they “closed down the X Files” at the end of one of the early seasons of The X Files, you could imagine that Mulder would find paranormal cases even as he worked in some other unit of the FBI, or that he’d quit the FBI but would turn to his former partner to do the law enforcement bits. Okay, the betting was always on finding some excuse to get Mulder and Scully back in that basement office, chasing monsters on the taxpayer’s dime, but the alternative was at least conceivable.
It strikes me as cheap and lazy writing to get an emotional charge out of threatening the lives of characters we’ve come to know over the years. In some cases, perhaps it’s a matter of making a silk purse (ratings) out of a sow’s ear (the departure of an actor). Mostly, though, it’s an overused and hackneyed technique.
As it turns out, it’s a fairly ineffective technique on me. I have such a bad memory when it comes to such things that, by the time the new season rolls around, I’ve completely forgotten how the previous season ended. I’m not looking to see who survived the shootout at the lab because I no longer recall it.
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