review of True Detective 2.2 

True Detective 2.2: Pulling a Game of Thrones?

Game of Thrones, combined with the fact that its excellent ratings subsequently increased, has forever changed television.  Well, certainly the kind of superb television we\'ve been seeing since The Sopranos on HBO, and soon after on Showtime, AMC, Starz, and now Netflix and Amazon streaming, as well.

But the problem with successful innovation is that you need to out-innovate the original innovation if the successor shows are to be as successful as the original. Which brings me to last night\'s True Detective 2.2 on HBO.

In the two episodes - including last night\'s - in which we were introduced to and got to know him, Ray was an interesting, provocative character, with all kinds of narrative potential.  Further, he was played by Colin Farrell.  So ... why kill him?

The usual provisos apply.  Maybe he\'s not dead.  We didn\'t see his head blown to bits in front of our eyes.  But those two shotgun blasts sure look that they did more than enough bodily damage to kill him.

But, ok, if Ray survives this, I take back everything I\'m going to say, which is based on the assumption that he does not.  Why kill such a character?  Obviously to make a point that nothing is sacred in what television narrative has become, including a great character played by a talented actor killed almost right off the bat, actually not quite off the bat, but after we were beginning to fully go with him as a primary protagonist, which makes this even more striking. I guess this is a good lesson. Certainly it will keep viewers on their toes, and punish any who dozed off before the end of the episode, or missed it entirely, and read what happened to Ray in some online review such as this.

Do I like this new kind of television? I guess so, probably, I\'m not sure.  But at this point, rather than passing judgement on it, I\'m just noting it here - and saying I\'ll definitely keep watching, which probably means the ending of last night\'s episode did its job, though I\'m sure I would have kept watching this season of True Detective anyway.

And see also Season One: True Detective: Socrates in Louisiana ... True Detective Season One Finale: Light above Darkness

Like philosophic crime fiction?   Try 

Labels: Colin Farrell, Game of Thrones, television, True Detective

The Chronology Protection Case movie, with new extended ending

With The Closer now ending its Winter 2011 season, and only six episodes left to go this coming Summer of 2012, it seems a good time to as...

With The Closer ending its Summer 2011 run, and only a few episodes left for Brenda Leigh Johnson in the Winter finale, the question looms...

Who is Ben Hargrove?  He's the nom de plume - fictitious name - which Ken Cosgrove uses when his science fiction and fantasy stories ar...

Having delved into the meta-realms of unreal science fiction with Ben Hargove some five episodes ago, Mad Men 5.10 continues the enjoyabl...

Well, we got the apparent shock of the series on Game of Thrones 1.9 last night - after following the advice of the eunuch and others to c...

=What's Newer than New New Media= December 8, 2014:  Arabic edition of New New Media ,  published Dar Al-Fajr, Cairo, Egypt No...

A Postcard from Isaac Asimov to Me - From 1979

I posted my blog about Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman and Isaac Asimov in several other venues last night, including the Daily Kos , where a ...

An excellent, nerve-wracking, powerhouse Season 2 finale of The Following tonight, in which, against all odds - almost no one significant ...

Hey, you've all seen that Citibank commercial, with the woman climbing to the top of an awesome rock formation, and another woman belti...

I caught the first three episodes of the new season of Dexter last night - Season 7, set to premiere on Showtime September 30 - courtesy o...

radio stations that have played tracks from

Twice Upon a Rhyme ... JackMix.FM ... RockOn365 ... Garage Lombus ... Way Off the Grid Radio ... BeautyRadio.com ... mjc Radio ... Progulus Radio ... fatBuzz ... The Rock Doctor ... Radio BGC ... Swan Fungus ... Gratitude Radio ... Travelling Underground ... Real Hit Radio ... More than Music and Memories ... Boston Internet Radio ... Memory Lane Radio with BIG BOB ... Outside the Dial ... Family Dog Radio ... Golden String Radio ... Positively Charged ... R@dio Dimension ... My Retro Radio ... Plastic Tales from the Marshmallow Dimension, WNYU, 89.1 FM, New York City ... Pete Fornatale\'s Mixed Bag, WFUV, 90.7 FM, New York City ...Click and get lucky!

The Plot to Save Socrates on 10 Perfect Summer Reads Authored by NYU Alums

my Internet Science Fiction Data Base bibliography

This blog quoted in New York Times & Los Angeles Times & Boston Globe & The Atlantic!

TWICE UPON A RHYME on iTunes and Amazon ... SPUN DREAMS on iTunes and Amazon ...

ICYMI: recent interviews with Paul Levinson in Barren Island Books ... The Morton Report ... SpecMuse ... The Cult of Me ... Patrick Satters blog ... Hungry Writer ... Kathleen Valentine\'s blog ... Take the Plunge ... Writer\'s Bloc ... Noahkmullette-gillman blog ... Book Goodies

Shelfari: Book reviews on your book blog

Cellphone: The Story of the World\'s Most Mobile Medium and How... by Paul Levinson

Digital McLuhan #16 on Robert Anton Wilson\'s recommended book list ...

Sopranos Conference at Fordham Universty, May 22-25, 2008

Enjoy Levinson\'s Field Guide to Republican Tics

EllisLanding ... wide variety of books in excellent condition at low prices

Paul Levinson, PhD, is Professor of Communication & Media Studies at Fordham University in New York City.  His 8 nonfiction books, including The Soft Edge (1997), Digital McLuhan (1999), Realspace (2003),  Cellphone (2004), and New New Media (2009, 2nd edition 2012), have been the subject of major articles in the New York Times, Wired, the Christian Science Monitor, and have been translated into 12 languages. His science fiction novels include The Silk Code (1999, ebook 2012), Borrowed Tides (2001), TheConsciousness Plague (2002, 2013), The Pixel Eye (2003), The Plot To SaveSocrates (2006, ebook 2012), and Unburning Alexandria (2013).  His short stories have been nominated for Nebula, Hugo, Edgar, and Sturgeon Awards.  Paul Levinson appears on "The O'Reilly Factor" (Fox News), "The CBS Evening News,"  “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” (PBS),  “Nightline” (ABC), NPR, and numerous national and international TV and radio programs. His 1972 album, Twice Upon a Rhyme, was re-issued in 2009 (CD) and 2010 (remastered vinyl). He reviews the best of television in his InfiniteRegress.tv blog, and was listed in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Top 10 Academic Twitterers” in 2009.

Chronicle of Higher Education puts Paul Levinson in Top 10 (#7) of Academic "High Flyers" on Twitter ... Online University Data puts PL in "Top 50 Online University Professors on Twitter Worth Following"...

Dear Paul, I just dreamed of airships flying between raindrops. I just returned from 2042 CE, where I sold my hardcover copy of The Plot to Save Socrates for seventy million Neo-Euros, because it had your response to this e-mail from way back in 2007 scotch-taped onto the inside of the cover. A Paul Levinson collector paid top Neo-Euro, because of the authentic archaic e-mail printout from you. It turns out that not many of your e-mails from before your tenure as CEO of HBO/Cinemax and terms as United Nations Secretary General will survive that far into the future. So, please respond to this e-mail, to help found my great-grandchildren\'s fortune. My Will will stipulate that they must share with your great grandchidren. Thanks! Tom

President, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, 1998-2001

I’m proud to be on the May 8 page of this calendar, with the following quote:

"What begins as a seemingly innocent campaign against indecency … always segues in short order into political censorship."

YouTube one-on-one with Bill O\'Reilly, Patrick Buchanan, Jesse Ventura, James Cameron, more

Educated Tastes food, drink, restaurants, recipes, groceries

Reverbnation Twice Upon a Rhyme and Spun Dreams albums

I'm Glad Brian Williams Will Be Back on Television...

Game of Thrones 5.9: Dragon in Action; Sickening S...

science fiction magazines for sale: Analog, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Locus

"the only people who have proof of their sanity are those who have been discharged from mental institutions"— Marshall McLuhan

The Factor about the private lives of news anchors

James Harris covers my "Looking for Sunsets (in the Early Morning)"

winner Locus Award for Best First Science Fiction Novel, 2000

"Forensic detective Phil D’Amato is one of my favorite characters" --Connie Willis

"A superb and often amusing account of one of the greatest revolutions in human history" --Arthur C. Clarke

100 rare + unreleased tracks were on sale April 18-21, 2011. All proceeds went to help Japan! Thanks for your generosity! Tracks included Tori Amos, Sara Bareilles, Josh Ritter ... and Paul Levinson singing "Sunshine\'s Mine"!

Twice Upon a Rhyme reviewed in Jan-Feb 2011 Shindig Magazine

Paul Levinson appears on "The O\'Reilly Factor" (Fox News), "The CBS Evening News," "Nightline" (ABC), the "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" (PBS), "The Dylan Ratigan Show" (MSNBC) and frequently on NPR and all-news radio...