Some Pertinent Information

Since there are some who might not know what I've been up to over the past few years, and what my future plans are, here's a basic summary.

I started writing reviews for "X-Files" during Season 8. Around the same time, I began writing XF fan fiction. The fan fiction is all part of one huge storyline, starting with a story called "From That Eternal Silence" written in 2001 to the present. I am currently working on the final installment of the storyline, "Morituri", and I post the scenes in development to my Live Journal and, in the future, this blog.

In 2001, I expanded from "X-Files" reviews and added several other series: "Buffy", "Angel", "Farscape", "Enterprise", and "Roswell". In 2002, "Firefly" was added, and in 2003, "Alias" and "24" were added. For the current season, the following shows are being reviewed:

Lost: Season 1
Enterprise: Season 4
Alias: Season 4
24: Season 4

In addition to series in first-run, reviews are still being written for series where previously aired seasons have come out on DVD. In general, these reviews are written as time allows between the reviews for new episodes of current shows. The reviews for older series are currently written on a rotating schedule:

Buffy: Season 4/Angel: Season 1
Roswell: Season 2
X-Files: Season 4

On top of all that, I have been writing reviews for "Firefly" using the episodes on DVD. I began with the first episode on the day filming began for "Serenity", and the final episode review will be posted in April 2005, shortly before the film is released.

One might ask...why spend so much time on something like this? After all, I have a full-time job, a wife and young children, and plenty to do in the "real world". Well, the fact is, I'm something of a night owl, and my wife is a morning person. I can't fall asleep before midnight, and the rest of the family is in bed by 8-9 PM. I can't really go out, I can't sleep, and I can't work on anything loud. Since I think of all of these things while watching my favorite TV shows anyway, I use the time and opportunity to share those thoughts with others.

Also, all of this analysis of writing, acting, and direction gives me a perspective for my own writing pursuits. I get to see how different people handle storytelling, and how they succeed or fail. My fan fiction is really a chance to work through my obsession with the "X-Files" mythology while developing the skills necessary to work on original material. I am conducting slow but steady research for my eventual novel, but before I really put the time and effort in, I want to prove to myself that I can finish out the fan fiction project I started.

I hope this provides a kind of background into what this blog will cover. As evident already, my reviews are usually long and peppered with speculation and personal interpretation. That doesn't mean that I discourage comments and discussion; in fact, I welcome it! If anything, I write these reviews in this manner to limit the amount of time I spend online discussing the episodes; if I didn't dump it all out at once, I'd spend hours replying on every little post on every message board!

For those who want to know more about me personally, I don't really get into my "real world" job and the drama surrounding it. There are various reasons (some legal and some professional) for referring to my job in a vague manner. I might complain about work from time to time, but I can't get too specific, especially since my company is in the news on a regular basis. So that's as far as that will go!

My wife is a teacher; I typically leave her name out of this sort of thing. I do talk about my kids, though. I have a daughter named Brenna (5) and a son named Riley (11 months). We live in New Jersey, USA, for those who want to know, but for obvious reasons, I'm not saying more than that.

Besides the reviews and occasional fanfic material, I will sometimes post about my political views and other philosophical topics of debate. Anyone who knows about the recent shake-ups in New Jersey politics can assume that the next year will be as contentious for us as the national election was this year for the whole country. So yeah, I'll probably have a thing or two to say about that...LOL...

I mention some of these other things because, in the end, I feel that genre television tries to take broad social context, philosophical and political issues, and deeply engrained societal mythology and make something compelling out of it all. A genre setting may focus on the science fiction and fantasy, but it ultimately speaks to our culture. Structures of belief are often revealed, and within the context of an unreal mythology are foundations of modern psychology. More often that not, these are the matters that I consider when watching and reviewing these episodes.

That's all for now!