{"id":1921,"date":"2018-04-21T14:10:22","date_gmt":"2018-04-21T18:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/?p=1921"},"modified":"2018-04-21T14:10:22","modified_gmt":"2018-04-21T18:10:22","slug":"some-of-my-recent-favorites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/some-of-my-recent-favorites\/","title":{"rendered":"Some of my recent favorites"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I have done a bit of media tie-in work \u2014 most recently I wrote stories for\u00a0<i>Shadowrun<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0<i>X-Files\u00a0<\/i>anthologies \u2014 but there are two shows on that I would dearly love to write fiction for (and, frustratingly, there don\u2019t seem to be plans for any yet).<\/p>\n<p>The first show I\u2019ve been avidly watching is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2K61Tre\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><i>Stranger Things<\/i><\/strong><\/a>. I\u2019ve heard some people dismiss the show unseen because it\u2019s gotten a reputation for being all about \u201880s nostalgia. I was a teenager in the \u201880s, but I did not have a good time in that decade and feel zero nostalgia for it. Nostalgia, to me, is all about reminiscing fondly and wistfully about what seemed to be a simpler, better time. I\u2019ve never felt that way about the \u201880s. And I don\u2019t think\u00a0<i>Stranger Things<\/i>\u00a0does, either.<\/p>\n<p>What it does do is pay intelligent, deliberate homage to a whole lot of the books and movies that came out in the \u201880s. And, yeah, I\u2019m the perfect audience for that, because I escaped my tedious small-town teen life by reading novels, going to the local theater, and playing hours upon hours of D&amp;D with a bunch of nerds. The show plays like a great adaptation of a Stephen King novel (one he never actually wrote) and works with tropes from movies like\u00a0<i>The Goonies, E.T., Aliens, Ghostbusters, Jaws, Halloween, Close Encounters<\/i>,\u00a0<i>The Evil Dead \u2026\u00a0<\/i>and<i>\u00a0Sixteen Candles, Pretty In Pink,\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0<i>The Breakfast Club<\/i>. You get a little\u00a0<i>Twin Peaks\u00a0<\/i>and some comic book nods, too.<\/p>\n<p>These aren\u2019t just shallow references dropped in to create false verisimilitude; the Duffer Brothers use them to set and then often subvert the viewer\u2019s expectations. For instance (and this is a slight spoiler), they cast Paul Reiser as Dr. Owens in Season 2. Now, Season 2 incorporates a whole lot of tropes from\u00a0<i>Aliens<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0\u2026 and anyone who\u2019s seen\u00a0<i>Aliens<\/i>\u00a0remembers Reiser\u2019s role as the two-faced sociopath Carter Burke. So we\u2019re completely expecting the kindly (but also a little sinister) Dr. Owens to betray Will and Sheriff Hopper when things go south at Hawkins Lab. We keep waiting and waiting for the betrayal \u2026 and it never happens! The Duffer Brothers build tension and work surprises into the script because they lull us into thinking that the scenes will play out in a completely familiar way.<\/p>\n<p>This is another element of why I don\u2019t see\u00a0<em>Stranger Things\u00a0<\/em>as being a nostalgia show. Nostalgia involves pining for a time or place you have lost and can\u2019t return to. We can\u2019t return to the \u201980s, but\u00a0<em>Stranger Things<\/em>\u00a0isn\u2019t actually about the \u201980s \u2014 it\u2019s about \u201980s movies, books, etc. And all that isn\u2019t even remotely lost to us \u2014 we have better access to it all now than we did back in the day. It used to be if we missed seeing something at the theater, we had to wait months or years for a chopped-up version of the movie to show up on broadcast TV. I can cue up the director\u2019s cut of\u00a0<em>Aliens<\/em>\u00a0right now on my phone via a streaming service, or download a Stephen King book to Kindle, etc.<\/p>\n<p>And if you haven\u2019t seen the dozens of books and movies the show pays homage to? It\u2019s no big deal. The story is tight \u2014 none of the wandering around in plot circles we got with the\u00a0<i>X-Files<\/i>\u00a0\u2014 and the show has some of the best editing I\u2019ve ever seen. The cast is excellent. It gets pretty dark, though, so it\u2019s really not for people who aren\u2019t fundamentally horror movie fans.<\/p>\n<p>I wish that we got more than 8 or 9 episodes a season. I also wish we weren\u2019t stuck waiting until 2019 for the third season! But speedy productions often come at the expense of quality.<\/p>\n<p>And at least we\u2019re getting a third season of\u00a0<i>Stranger Things<\/i>. This is not the case for the other Netflix show I\u2019ve loved:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/80025744\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><i>Sense8<\/i><\/strong><\/a>. I grudgingly started watching\u00a0<i>Sense8<\/i>\u00a0after a friend pestered me to check it out. It was as if the Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski hacked into my brain, figured out everything I loved in a TV show, and then made the show. It\u2019s got psychological horror. It\u2019s a spy thriller. It\u2019s an urban cop drama. It&#8217;s a Mexican telenovela. It\u2019s a German gangster tale. It\u2019s a martial arts action show. It\u2019s got romance and mystery. It\u2019s a near-future dystopia. It\u2019s got Bollywood musical numbers! It has all the things, and it\u2019s not perfect, but it\u2019s wonderful. (The show deals with a lot of LGBT themes and has some incredibly sexy scenes. Scenes that \u201980s teen Lucy would have never, ever expected to see in a TV show. But I digress.)<\/p>\n<p>I found it addictively watchable, and I\u2019m waiting with bated breath for the next and probably final episode to come out in late 2018. The thing I love about\u00a0<i>Sense8<\/i>\u00a0from the perspective of a media tie-in writer is that it is so extremely cross-genre: it\u2019s a huge world that the Wachowskis and Straczynski have created, and there are an almost unlimited number of other stories that could be told within it. If we really and truly don\u2019t get more episodes, I hope that someone somewhere greenlights novelizations or anthologies. The show has an ardent fan base, and people want more.<\/p>\n<p>Science fictional shows aside, I love board gaming, and one of my recent favorites is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2HSEl8I\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><i>Terraforming Mars<\/i><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(published by Stronghold Games). If you\u2019re an avid board game player, you\u2019ve probably already seen and heard a lot of rave reviews of it. I\u2019ve only had the chance to play it once. It\u2019s a fun, engaging game; as you could guess from the title, your goal is to successfully turn Mars into a habitable planet. It\u2019s complex, and it\u2019s not something you can just casually sit down and play. Plan to spend at least three hours playing the first time you open the box. There\u2019s a whole lot of thoughtful strategy, and in terms of game play and structure it seems a bit like a combination of\u00a0<i>Settlers of Catan, Race for the Galaxy<\/i>, and\u00a0<i>Agricola<\/i>. The game can be played by 1-5 players ages 12 and up; however, you\u2019ll want to make sure that your 12-year-old is going to enjoy a longer, strategy-heavy game like this. It may be that this game is best for older teens and adults, though the Mars theme is certain to attract younger gamers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>I have done a bit of media tie-in work \u2014 most recently I wrote stories for\u00a0Shadowrun\u00a0and\u00a0X-Files\u00a0anthologies \u2014 but there are two shows on that I <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/some-of-my-recent-favorites\/\" title=\"Some of my recent favorites\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing-advice"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/stranger.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8qT6f-uZ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":610,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/on-horror\/","url_meta":{"origin":1921,"position":0},"title":"On Horror","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"October 4, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Horror is not a genre, like the mystery or science fiction or the western. It is not a kind of fiction, meant to be confined to the ghetto of a special shelf in libraries or bookstores. Horror is an emotion.\"-- Douglas Winter, 1982 As a literary genre, \"horror\" can be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;genre&quot;","block_context":{"text":"genre","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/genre\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=lookwhatifoun-20&l=ur2&o=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":646,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/movie-review-altered-states\/","url_meta":{"origin":1921,"position":1},"title":"Movie Review: Altered States","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"August 2, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Altered States is a 1980 movie directed by British filmmaker Ken Russell. It deals with an American scientist, Eddie Jessup (played by William Hurt and based on John C. Lilly), who does experiments on human consciousness using hallucinogenic drugs, an isolation chamber, and himself as a guinea pig. The movie\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;movie&quot;","block_context":{"text":"movie","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/movie\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7032,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/exposed-nerves-nominated\/","url_meta":{"origin":1921,"position":2},"title":"Exposed Nerves Nominated for a Bram Stoker Award","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"February 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm very pleased that my book Exposed Nerves has made the final Bram Stoker Award ballot for Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection. Here's the full list of nominees in that category: Lansdale, Joe R. -\u00a0Apache Witch and Other Poetic Observations\u00a0(Independent Legions Publishing) McHugh, Jessica -\u00a0Strange Nests\u00a0(Apokrupha) Simon, Marge and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;poetry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"poetry","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"book cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/2022Stokerscrop.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/2022Stokerscrop.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/2022Stokerscrop.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":582,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/j-n-williamson-biography-and-appreciation\/","url_meta":{"origin":1921,"position":3},"title":"J.N. Williamson Biography and Appreciation","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"December 10, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Author\/editor J.N. \"Jerry\" Williamson died this past Thursday. He was a friend of mine, a kind man and an excellent writer whose work has largely fallen out of print. If you find the following books, I encourage you to look past the garish 80s horror covers and titles that he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;biography&quot;","block_context":{"text":"biography","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/biography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=lookwhatifoun-20&l=ur2&o=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2612,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/garden-of-eldritch-delights-nominated-for-stoker-award\/","url_meta":{"origin":1921,"position":4},"title":"Garden of Eldritch Delights Nominated for Stoker Award","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"March 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm very happy to announce that my short story collection Garden of Eldritch Delights has been nominated for a Bram Stoker Award! The Bram Stoker Awards\u00ae will be announced\/presented during the 4th annual StokerCon\u2122 on May 11th at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The awards presentation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;convention&quot;","block_context":{"text":"convention","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/convention\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"2012 Bram Stoker Award winners","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/2012bramstokerwinners.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/2012bramstokerwinners.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/2012bramstokerwinners.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/2012bramstokerwinners.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/2012bramstokerwinners.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lucysnyder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/2012bramstokerwinners.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":571,"url":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/joe-haldeman\/","url_meta":{"origin":1921,"position":5},"title":"Joe Haldeman","author":"Lucy A. Snyder","date":"January 22, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Noted science fiction author Joe Haldeman was born 1943 in Oklahoma City and spent most of his childhood in Anchorage, Alaska and Bethesda, Maryland, although his family also lived in Puerto Rico and New Orleans. As a boy, he dreamed of becoming a spaceman (the word \"astronaut\" wasn't used back\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;biography&quot;","block_context":{"text":"biography","link":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/category\/biography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1921"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1923,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1921\/revisions\/1923"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lucysnyder.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}