Category: The Silver Screen

King Arthur is the legend that lives in all of us

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“Yet some men say in many parts of England that King Arthur is not dead, but had by the will of our Lord Jesu into another place. And men say that he shall come again, and he shall win the the Holy Cross.”~Sir Thomas Mallory, Le Morte d’Arthur

The legend of King Arthur, Camelot, the Knights of the Round Table, Merlin, Morganna le Fay, the Lady of the Lake and Excalibur… These stories are at the heart of the fantasy genre, the myths and legends we cling to in our stories. It can be found in books, movies, television, comic books, and anime from the United Kingdom, to the U.S., and Japan. The story of honor, courage, magic, and mystery is deep within the psyche of every human being. 

We love the tale of the boy king pulling the sword from the stone; the romantic triangle between Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot; the magic of Merlin and Excalibur; and the evil of Morganna le Fay and Mordred. These are legends ingrained in us that, in one way or or another, we can all relate to.

Image result for the sword in the stoneI first learned about the legend of King Arthur as a boy. Like any child of the 60’s and 70’s, it was taught to me through the magic of Disney. The Sword in the Stone (1967) is an animated classic, telling the story of Arthur and Merlin with a witch named Mim thrown in for good measure. It is a fun movie that taught this classic tale to kids like me. 

I think my exposure to the legend of Camelot was first done through movies, classics like Prince Valiant (1954) and Camelot (1967) to Excalibur (1981) and First Knight (1994), even Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). There has been so many re-imagining takes on this timeless story in so many forms. That’s what makes it such an integral part of the fantasy genre.

Image result for saber arthur and mordred fateMost recently, you can find the enigmatic King Arthur, Mordred, Lancelot, and Merlin as “heroic spirits” in the Fate anime series. Arthur and Mordred are gender-swapped as powerful women, both of the “Saber-class” of heroic spirits. Although it was weird at first, they actually kept the legend intact through this twist. The conflict between these two is better explained in this anime than in any other story I’ve read or watched. It’s an amazing conflict that brings out the vulnerabilities in these characters.

I used the legend of King Arthur and Camelot as the basis for the Forever Avalon series. I took the approach of “what happened next” in the story, looking at it from the perspective of our world today. The idea started with a simple question… What happened? What happened to all the magic, the mythical creatures and monsters? Where did it go? Why did it disappear from our world? The answer, in my mind, was Avalon.

Avalon has always been a place of eternal magic that will never die. Sir Thomas Malory, in his fifteenth century epic Le Morte d’Arthur, tells of King Arthur’s final moments. Bedivere took the King upon his back and carried him to the water’s edge, and there was a little barge floating there with many beautiful ladies in it. “Comfort yourself,” said the king, “and do the best you can. I can no longer help you, for I must go into the vale of Avalon to be healed.” Collins English Dictionary defines Avalon as “an island paradise in the western seas” and derives it from the Old Welsh word “Aballon” for Apple.

There are other accounts of Avalon in literature. According to Geoffrey in the Historia, and much subsequent literature which he inspired, Avalon is the place where King Arthur is taken after fighting Mordred at the Battle of Camlann to recover from his wounds. Welsh, Cornish and Breton tradition claimed that Arthur had never really died, but would return to lead his people against their enemies. Historia also states that Avalon is where his sword Excalibur was forged. This is the part of the legend I tapped into to begin my story.

tow ad7But what happens when Avalon is forced back into the modern world of today? You’ll have to read The Outlander War: Book 3 of the Forever Avalon Series to find out!

In the end, it all started with the legend of King Arthur. His story, whether based on fact or fiction, myth or legend, rings true in the mind of a writer like me. It is the stepping stone that brings you into my world. Take the journey and believe in magic again!

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse Publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is available from Austin Macauley Publishing.

WTF did I just watch? Has Doctor Who gone off the deep end or am I exaggerating?

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Okay, it’s taken me a week to digest the season finale of Doctor Who and I’m still banging my head against the wall as I try to understand the twisted mind of Chris Chibnall. This has been one of the weirdest seasons in the 56 year history of Doctor Who. I don’t know where to begin. By the way, SPOILERS AHEAD, so you’ve been warned.

Let’s go back to the beginning… It’s a very good place to start… (God, now that song is stuck in my head!)

Anyway, from what we’ve been told, the Timelords were a race of the most technologically advanced beings in the universe. They discovered the secret to time travel, dimensional engineering, etc., etc. They even found a way to live for thousands of years through regeneration. This has been time tested for the entire run of Doctor Who… until now.

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Now, as we are told by The Master (which, by the way, as played by Sacha Dhawan, has been the highlight of this season) it seems we were lied to. A scientist from Gallifrey discovered the “Timeless Child” from another dimension. This child could regenerate, so the scientist tried to transfer this ability and tried it on herself. This gave birth to the Timelords, but to keep it a secret, they limited it to 13 regenerations and enforced the secret through an organization called “The Division”. Oh, by the way, the so-called Timeless Child is, in fact, the Doctor. She has been alive and regenerating for countless millennia, and she was part of this secret organization.

Now, as creative as this is, it wipes away everything we know about the Doctor. I mean, it might explain how the first Doctor had a granddaughter and why he left Gallifrey, why the 11th Doctor had to be given another set of regenerations, the existence of the Valeyard, the “other”Doctor that was stranded on Earth, and more. But, it just doesn’t feel right. It changes everything we knew about the Timelords, not to mention this episode wiped them out of existence after the Master turned them into the Cyber Masters (Cybermen capable of regenerating) so it’s pretty twisted.

I want you to think about this… Where do we go from here? I mean, the show ended with the Doctor ending up captured by the Judoon (think back to the episode “Fugitive of the Judoon”) and locked away for some odd reason. Plus, the other Doctor (also brilliantly played by Jo Martin) made an appearance and we still don’t know where she came from. This kind of intrigue is why I love Doctor Who.

Look, I am not the biggest fan of Jodie Whittaker’s take on the Doctor. She has her moments, both good and bad. I love her little rants where she talks to herself, but she doesn’t have the presence of the Doctor. Whenever the Doctor walks into the room, you know automatically they’re the smartest person there, but not with Jodie. She tries to pull it off but she just can’t do it. Even Jo Martin showed more confidence in being the Doctor, and she was only in two episodes. I hope in the next season Jodie can develop the “swagger” that comes with being the Doctor.

Chibnall has changed everything we know about Doctor Who in one season finale, so what do we do now? We can’t go back, but I think it needs to be developed more and not just shuffled on screen. The Doctor needs to go deep into those memories she’s recovered and show us the meaning behind the “Timeless Child” and why she is who she is and what it means for the future.

I truly believe next season may be the last for Chibnall and Whittaker, so I hope they can tie things up with a bow and give it to us on a silver platter. It’s too important to the fans and the legacy that is Doctor Who.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse Publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is available from Austin Macauley Publishing.

It’s Hollywood award season, blah blah blah blah blah!

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It’s award season and Hollywood is all abound with red carpets, dazzling lights, gorgeous gowns and million dollar jewelry on the stars of your favorite movies. Top it all off with a dash of politics, a smidgen of hypocrisy, and a lot of self-inflation and you have the Academy Awards.

At one time, these award shows garnished millions of viewers as people looked forward to seeing their favorite celebrities win top honors. The last time the Oscars had top ratings was in 2004 when Billy Crystal hosted the ceremonies. That year, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won Best Picture and the award show had 43.5 million viewers. This year, Oscar hit an all time low with only 23.6 million viewers.

Part of it (besides the hypocritical slant of rich actors standing on their soapbox telling everyday people how to live) seems to be that more movies get picked for their “artistic” vibe and not box office records. I mean, doesn’t that make a movie a success… The people who spend the money to go see a movie again and again. Am I right? I mean, Parasite, a foreign language film from Korea, won Best Picture. I never even heard of it before. Plus, they nominated The Irishman, a movie made for Netflix. Are we now counting streaming services the same as box office movies?

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The standard seems to have gone down dramatically from the days of Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and On the Waterfront. I understand the world is changing and streaming services are now a part of everyday life. But what has it done to improve the quality of movies? Absolutely nothing. Does the success of these movies affect its award? No, because some really, really bad or unknown movies make it to the award stage.

Back in the heyday of Hollywood, it was the top grossing movies that made it to the Oscars. Now, all you have to do is be downloaded a few times on Netflix and you get an Oscar nod. Now, I’ll admit, I haven’t seen Parasite, nor am I interested in seeing it. But they are saying that this movie is better than 1917 (Hell no), Ford vs Ferrari (no), Joker (no, no), Little Women (eh, maybe), etc., etc. It’s a joke.

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I mean, think about it. Do you know what the top movies of 2019 were? Avengers: Endgame, The Lion King, Frozen II, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Captain Marvel, Joker, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and Toy Story 4, and that’s only the top 8. Out of those 8, only Joker was nominated for Best Picture, and Toy Story 4 won Best Animated Film. The rest were locked out. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was #23, 1917 was #29, and Ford vs. Ferrari was #39. Little Women ranked #1201 out of 1300 films released in 2019. And this movie was nominated for Best Picture. Best Picture! Really?

It’s a joke. I’m sorry, but it’s a joke. It’s Hollywood’s way of patting itself on the back and giving each other high fives, but otherwise, it’s a freakin’ joke. I know I’m ranting here, and I shouldn’t be, but it just makes you wonder why we have award shows anyway.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse Publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series will be released on 28 February 2020 from Austin Macauley Publishing.

“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is worthy of the legacy

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It’s a Christmas tradition (at least in my house) to watch a Star Wars movie over the holiday. First, I spent the holidays thrilling over The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda. Then, on Christmas Day, I got to see the end of the original series with Episode IX.

My son called me before I saw it to let me know he really didn’t care for it and I may be disappointed. I wasn’t fazed by his review. After all, he liked The Last Jedi.

BTW, NO SPOILERS HERE!

In any event, I think people seeing this movie will either like it or hate it. It’s that polarizing. The way the story of Rey, the Resistance, the First Order, the Jedi and the Sith, and the Emperor all came to a conclusion was a bit clunky. It was all over the place, from beginning to end, not sure which way was up or down, light side or dark side, etc. But even through all that, the story came to a close with a bang, not a whimper. It was brilliant.

The way this all started out, I thought they were taking Rey down the dark side, learn to control her emotions or end up like Vader and Kylo Ren. We all got that vibe from images in the trailer. Luckily, there was more to it than that. Rey’s story is the most complex within the movie, and I wish it didn’t take the whole movie to sort it out, but I’m glad it finally did.

The Rise of Skywalker ticked all the right boxes for a Star Wars movie… Epic battle scenes, beautiful vistas, balanced comedic and tender moments, and “edge of your seat” suspense. It was quintessential Star Wars.

One of the things I tend to hate about Star Wars movies is the over/under use of characters. Rose, who played a big role in The Last Jedi was so under used here. Likewise was Dominic Monaghan. You don’t bring in someone like him to Star Wars and give him four lines. I am thrilled they were able to work in the last scenes of Carrie Fisher. It was an appropriate end for “our” princess!

I loved the various cameos and the nods to characters from film, television, books and comic books. That’s one of the things that made this movie great for me. They didn’t forget where the story began and brought it to a close.

We can now look forward to new stories from the Star Wars universe, or so we’re told by our Disney Sithlords. Let’s hope we get more like The Mandalorian and less like The Last Jedi.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse Publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

No more remakes! For God’s sake, get a better writer!

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Is it too hard to ask for something new, not another remake or reimagining of something from the past. We are now approaching our third incarnation of Charlie’s Angels, fourth if you count the time when they replaced Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith during the TV series run. How about an original idea for a change, huh?

I mean it. We now have another Terminator reboot (third since the original trilogy), another Addams Family movie (albeit animated) and our third Lost in Space reimagining. Now they’re also doing prequels to popular shows (The Sopranos and Game of Thrones). Why? What’s the point?

There is enough original material out there for hundreds of new movies and TV series to keep us occupied and entertained. I mean, Charlie’s Angels was great and it fit the 70s mantra of empowering women, but it’s been done and, with all due respect, you will never be better than the original. What’s next? The new Howdy Doody Show with CGI puppets?

Where has all the imagination gone? It’s like they’re looking for a quick fix and easy cash, not even trying to be original anymore. As a writer, it breaks my heart to see talent go to waste. It’s a shame that these executives can’t see the millions of dollars wasted on a movie or series. Of course, if it sees any semblance of profit, they’ll be happy and keep on doing it.

Part of the problem, and the solution, is online streaming services. All of these various streaming channels (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc.) allows an open source for new material. However, they’re just as guilty as the big studios. Disney+ is doing multiple Marvel-based series to tie into their movies. At the same time, we’re getting an original Star Wars series in The Mandalorian. Meanwhile, Netflix is doing a Lord of the Rings series where one actress commented she wants to see a female Gandalf. What?

It’s a ridiculous blend of originality and insanity. I don’t know what to believe anymore. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but I hope Hollywood would understand that being original is okay. It doesn’t mean redoing it and just change the gender or race of a character. There has to be substance behind the story. If you just want to reboot everything, then why have writers?

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniversepublishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

R.I.P. Rutger Hauer, one of the best actors fans loved to watch

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Related image“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.” — Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), Blade Runner (1982)

There are many actors remembers for their performances in sci-fi and fantasy films, but to me, there was no one better than Rutger Hauer. His performance in Blade Runner is, without a doubt, one of the greatest scenes in the history of science fiction films. Sadly, he passed away on July 19 at the age of 75.

Rutger Hauer was a Dutch actor, writer, and environmentalist. In 1999, he was named the Best Dutch Actor of the Century by the Dutch public. He has been in more than 104 film (three of which are currently in post-production and will be released posthumously) and 38 various television productions, as well as voice talent in two video games (he was the voice of Master Xehanort in the 2019 video game Kingdom Hearts III, replacing the late Leonard Nimoy). He has had many roles, but some, like Roy Batty in Blade Runner, are what he’s well known for.

He played the villain so very well, and yet, there were times that we felt sorry for or compassion for his character. He had a way of making you understand why his character was that way, whether it was good or bad. It was said he only took roles that interested him, so this makes his various roles a sight to see. Another interesting aspect of Hauer was that he was a pacifist, and yet he played very violent characters at times. He was born in the Netherlands during the German occupation in World War II. He stated in a 1981 interview, “I was born in the middle of the war, and I think for that reason I have deep roots in pacifism. Violence frightens me.”

Next to Blade Runner, my other favorite movie of his is LadyHawke.  Whereas Roy Batty was the villain, although a sympathetic one, Etienne Navarre was the consummate hero. He fought for his love, his friends, and his people, everything you would expect of a knight. And yet, he had many flaws that Hauer brilliantly brought out. The scene where Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer (playing his love, Isabeau) see each other briefly at dawn before they transform is one of the best scenes in a fantasy movie.

He had roles in a variety of films just as memorable, such as The Osterman Weekend (1983), The Hitcher (1986), Escape from Sobibor (1987), The Legend of the Holy Drinker (1988), and Blind Fury (1989). In the 1990’s on, Hauer moved into low-budget films, and supporting roles in major films, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), Batman Begins (2005), and The Rite (2011). He also made a return to Dutch cinema, and won the 2012 Rembrandt Award for Best Actor for his lead role in The Heineken Kidnapping.

Outside of acting, he founded the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association, an AIDS awareness organization. He also supported the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and was a member of its board of advisers. In 2013, he was made a knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

Hauer was one of those actors that fans love to watch, not for his physical prowess or amazing stunts, but rather for bringing his characters to life. I remember the roles he played because they were inspiration for me, as a writer. He gave life to characters just from the written word, and he did it better than anyone else (in my opinion). God bless you, Rutger Hauer, and rest in peace.

“Good guy or bad guy, hero or anti hero; doesn’t matter to me, what role I play, only the character have something magical.”–Rutger Hauer

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniversepublishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

What did I just see? “Avengers: End Game” was the best superhero movie EVER

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No spoilers but plenty of accolades! Oh my frick’n God, what did I just see? This has to be a GREATEST superhero movie ever. Yeah, I know, I’ve said that before. But each time, a new movie comes out, it overtakes the last one that was previously the greatest. Just the final battle scene was enough to tag this as THE GREATEST.

It’s not enough to undo the snap, Thanos’ universe-ending action at the end of INFINITY WAR. There were plenty of clues in IW that led us to what was happening in ENDGAME. I know that Marvel has said that SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME is the final movie of Phase 4, but make no mistake, it’s really this one.

This movie had it all… Comedy, drama, action, adventure, etc. Sometimes, I think they go a little too far with the comedy. The Ant-Man jokes were expected, but EG went back to THOR: RAGNAROK to give us Thor/Hulk as the “straight man” in an ongoing comedy routine throughout the whole movie. It was funny, but to me, out of character for these two original Avengers.

I will admit that I cried a couple of times in this movie, and I don’t normally expect to cry when watching a superhero movie. This movie gave you unforgettable moments that you need a handkerchief or box of tissues. One person was so shaken after watching this movie, they had to be hospitalized, or so I read.

I will say one, kind of, spoiler, but this is something that has been suggested from the beginning of the EG rumormill. There is time travel involved and this gave us the opportunity to see characters that have died in previous movies. That made it a lot of fun to see these great characters one last time. There was also another great Stan Lee cameo, so the “Godfather of Marvel Comics” still lives in these movies. Excelsior!

After just watching CAPTAIN MARVEL last month, I expected her to have a bigger role in the movie, and to be honest, I was disappointed that she wasn’t there a lot. Her character in the MCU seems to be more focused on the galaxy rather than Earth, and this movie demonstrated that. Still, when she was there, she kicked ass, and she led a female superheroine group that took to the forefront in one scene.

Lastly, I would like to add that this was the end of a journey for many of the actors involved. It’s not clear where we’re going from here in the MCU. We know they’ll be sequels to Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Captain Marvel in the future, as well as a Black Widow prequel and The Eternals, maybe Nova too. With the acquisition of Fantastic Four and X-Men from Fox, there may be more there too.

The future awaits and “Avengers: Endgame” set it up beautifully.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

I never saw a documentary like this! My review of “They Shall Not Grow Old”…

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I’ve watched a few documentaries in my day, but I never paid movie theater price to see one… Until now! If you get a chance, go to the theater to see “They Shall Not Grow Old”. It is worth the price of admission.

Peter Jackson did a great service to the men who fought in World War I in producing and directing this film. What I learned about the war in history class and other films doesn’t compare to what I learned from this movie.

Hearing the stories from the soldiers themselves, and seeing the images as clear as if it was filmed with modern equipment stands out and shows the real horror, and sheer bravery, of the men who fought in this war.

The technology used by Jackson not only colorized the footage, but also turned 2D to 3D. Some of it was footage never seen before, like bodies sinking in the mud and much of the trenches, rats crawling everywhere, “trenchfoot” and other wounds. I know it sounds gross, but this isn’t a Friday the 13th remake. This actually happened to men as young as 16.

It was funny how Wonder Woman brought World War I to the silver screen recently, even movies like Flyboys or classics like Goodbye Mr. Chips and All Quiet on the Western Front. These movies showed the war from a film perspective but without the realism that a documentary. What made Jackson’s film different is the great work his crew did in cleaning up, colorizing and turning 2D to 3D. They even added sound effects and people talking as if it was footage taken today. It made the war real for me, 100 years after it happened.

Watching this documentary reminded me of the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan. Steven Spielberg went out to make the Normandy landing real for those watching the movie, shooting with hand-held cameras and really showing the horror of war. I saw that in this movie, but it wasn’t done through special effects. It was real.

To hear the men who fought in this war talk about the training they went through, the day-to-day life in the trenches, even their off-duty time in France was a great way to tell the story. It was scary to hear how, on the last push against the German line, the British soldiers readied themselves in the trenches and they had guns in front of them, and guns behind them (aimed by their officers, ensuring they would charge across the field).

We need every school child watch this movie. It needs to become a teaching tool for educators to teach about World War I, about what these men went through and what happened when they got home. I always though that those who served in Vietnam were forgotten heroes, but so were the men who returned to England after World War I. It’s sad that anyone who volunteered to serve their country should be treated that way.

This is a FIVE STAR documentary and I highly recommend you see it in the theater if you have the chance. You won’t regret it.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

The Arrowverse has gone stale on the CW

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I was so happy when the CW started the “Arrowverse” series. Since Smallville ended, there wasn’t any really good superhero TV series out there. Then came Arrow, followed by The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl. While most of these series have brought out a variety of great story arcs (especially the crossover events) lately, the stories have gone stale. Instead of dark, superhero stories, we’re getting reality show drama.

Arrow started out as a dark vigilante, out for revenge. Now, he’s worried about his son being gay and his relationship with Felicity. The Flash had more of an upbeat storyline with Barry learning to use his power while fighting off the foes of Central City, including the start of The Rogues. However, those villains went on to become “sometime” heroes in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and the Rogues never really came together. The storylines have gone on to try and cover every “politically correct” drama, twists, and story arcs with a lot of “B” villains and heroes filling out the cast.

Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl are supposed to be about the individual heroes, yet they are really teams of heroes instead, so all those background stories and plot holes get lost in the main character’s story. Meanwhile, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (the actual superhero team show) is a time travel romp that lost it’s focus after the first season. It seems to be more about comedy relief than actual superhero storylines. If you want comedy, they should add Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, and Guy Gardner into the mix. That would make it a better show.

The one bright spot in the CW’s shows has been the epic crossover events. The “Nazi-themed” Earth-X storyline was epic and the last one introduced Batwoman (who’ll be added to the mix with her own show next season). Unfortunately, they handled her with kid gloves. She barely saw any real action. She was mostly used for “Batman-esque” establishing shots with Batwoman standing atop a building, looking down on our heroes.

I realize that throughout this rant I haven’t mentioned Black Lightning. That’s because (a) I didn’t read a lot of his comics so I don’t really know the character or his villains; and (b) he’s not part of the Arrowverse. I grew up with “Black Vulcan” on Superfriends, and that’s a whole different character, so I don’t really watch his show. It might be more interesting if he was part of the Arrowverse, but DC and CW decided not to include him.

They keep bringing more drama and less action. We also get villains that many people, even avid comic book readers, don’t know for the main seasonal arc. I mean, Cicada? Seriously Team Flash? You haven’t even given us a proper Rogues storyline and you give us Cicada. At least Supergirl has gone the Legion route, since she played a big part in the future league, and they’ve handled it well, and I’m waiting to see Jon Cryer’s Lex Luthor. That should be fun.

The point of all this is that if you’re going to do a superhero TV show, then make it a damn superhero TV show. We want to see intrigue, action, and cliffhangers like we get when we read a comic book. I don’t mind the occasional love story (i.e. Cisco and Gypsy) but Barry and Iris dealing with their teenage daughter from the future is a bit much. Plus, the comedy is a bit overboard at times, especially on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. I’m getting tired of the pop culture references between Ray and Nathan in every single episode.

The Arrowverse is fading, and I hate that. Make it fresh again, like it was in the beginning. Otherwise, you risk losing your audience. It doesn’t matter how many “Crisis on Infinite Earths” events you do, it won’t save an entire season.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.

Why can’t they leave great franchises alone?

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Why is it that there are no more original ideas? Instead of coming up with something new, people–and by people I mean comic book editors, movie and television executives–decide to reinvent or re-imagine a classic instead of making an original idea. There are so many original ideas out there from the many independent, self-published authors, why do they have to mess with success?

A great, more recent, example is the Ghostbusters franchise. Now, I may get in trouble for this but hear me out. Instead of going with a third movie in the trilogy, they decided to re-imagine it with an all-female cast. Yes, it had some very funny moments and some of the cast were great (Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon were my favorites) but it failed to grab the spirit of the original. Now, Jason Reitman is working to make a third movie with some of the original cast for 2020. That is getting praise from the fans of the original movies, and panned by some who think we didn’t give the reboot a chance. We gave it a chance and we didn’t care for it, enough said.

Another example is Star Trek. It was great to see Star Trek go from the original series, to The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, etc. I was even a fan of the Enterprise prequel. Then we got the reboot with Chris Pine, which was okay but it seemed to be more about bring the “millennial edginess” instead of a way of telling a new story. Even the new TV series Discovery has redefined Klingons different from the original premise. And now, there’s word the Quentin Tarantino will be given a chance to put his mark on Star Trek. Why? Why mess with something that already has a deep-rooted fan base.

Look at the movie 2015 Max Max: Fury Road. Because it was written, directed, and produced by George Miller, the creator of Mad Max, it had the same feel as the original movies. It was visually awesome, great cast, and a decent story. It even won some Oscars, a first for the franchise. You see, they didn’t need to update it because it was good as it is. You don’t need to make wholesale changes to a franchise just to make it interesting.

Image result for the mandalorianAnother great example is Star Wars. Now, there have been hits and misses with the franchise since the end of Return of the Jedi. The animated series have been top notch, the Rogue One prequel was OUT OF BOUNDS! However, they have not found the original magic from these successes in later projects. The Force Awakens was good, The Last Jedi not so much. Solo was, in my opinion, better than I expected it to be, but it had too many plot holes. I am looking forward to the Mandalorian Netflix series as well as future releases after Episode 9 (which I am patiently holding my breath for) because they will be original movies separate from the Skywalker saga. That’s where they need to go. We don’t need a reboot of the same characters with new actors, but rather, let’s go to another part of the vast universe.

With all these examples, I just want to make the point that there are stories out there that haven’t been told yet, but they need to be done right. Look at Stephen King’s The Dark Tower and how badly it was done. These editors, producers, and directors need to keep the writers in mind to keep the story true to the original intent. Granted, some things may be out of the budgetary range of some movies (though not impossible with today’s CGI technology) but it is from the writer that it even exists in the first place.

Even in comic books, story lines are now being rewritten to accommodate the way they were done in the movies. Really? So, the original stories aren’t good enough anymore? Sorry, but that’s just being too damn lazy to be creative and original.

I have had the great opportunity to meet, talk to, and read the books of other independent authors like me through our connections on social media. There are a lot of great stories out there, worthy of a movie or series. That’s where the inspiration for the next big TV series or blockbuster movie should come from, not someone’s idea of the next reboot should be. Quit re-imagining things and let’s be original for a change.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a paperback/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniversepublishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon from Austin Macauley Publishing.