The Defenders (Part 1)

The last 24 hours have been pretty shitty by my standards. Yes, I managed to get my huge yard project done, but then I had to deal with my brother's jackassery. Having an alcoholic friend or family member can be rough for anyone, but when "alcoholic" meets "asshole-ness" (as it so often does), it can be a real shit-show to deal with.

So it was that I had to show my brother the door this morning at around 10am. I've been decompressing ever since.

[I say this not to elicit sighs or sympathy or well-wishes, by the way. I'm just trying to explain the space where my head is, at the moment, and a little bit of the why]

The best Marvel casting since Iron Man.

ANYway, one thing about being awakened in the middle of the night and being unable to find sleep due to mental stress (or whatever), I finally had the chance to finish watching the last couple episodes of The Defenders series on Netflix. I wanted to finish it, before writing about it. What I want to write, what I hope to write may take me a little while to get off my chest...I've got more than a few things to say, even (possibly) tying it back to earlier series in this Marvel NY Universe. However, I'll give you the short version for those who hate reading through those "wall of text" posts I've been known to write:

The best thing about The Defenders is the cast. The worst thing about The Defenders is the writing. If you are a fan of these characters' comics, it is fun to watch. If you are a fan of the previous Netflix Marvel series, it is fun to watch. Judged by the cast, it might be (might) the best of the Netflix Marvel series so far. Judged by the writing, it is certainly one of the worst...if not THE worst.

That's the TL;DR, spoiler free version. I'd recommend the series; it's only eight episodes. However, I understand a lot of people have a lot more important stuff to do with eight hours of their time. Like running a marathon D&D session. Like watching 2 to 3 MLB games of their local team (assuming that, unlike Seattle, you've got an MLB team with a snowball's chance in hell of making the post-season). Like getting a good night's sleep (or two night's sleep if you are the parent of a new baby or infant child). Or like streaming the entire season of Game of Thrones, back-to-back, once the season finale airs this Sunday.

But if you do want to make the time for the show, I'll be happy. After all, I'm a fan and I'm looking forward to new seasons of ALL these Marvel shows with the hope-hope-hope that they'll so a better job with them...and the more people that watch The Defenders, the more likely said shows will get made.

[okay...thus ends the short version of my commentary; here comes the looooong version. And, yes, there will be **SPOILERS**]

I am a fan of the "Defenders." Not the actual, comic book Defenders mind you...the super group led by Doctor Strange, and often featuring similar "heavy hitters" of the Marvel universe (the Silver Surfer, the Hulk, and Prince Namor were all regular team members). No, I was never a big fan of the comic. But I am a fan of these Defenders, the Netflix television heroes based on a certain group of street level superheroes.

And when I say I'm a fan of these Defenders, I am talking specifically about the characters...not the series (The Defenders television series). I'm only watching The Defenders (TV series) because I'm a fan of the Defenders (characters). The series itself hasn't yet convinced me. In other words, it's not the plot or story arc of the show that's causing me to watch the next episode...it's the heroes and the actors who are heroically portraying them.

And I really do mean heroic. As far as I'm concerned, there's some really careless writing going on in this show, and the actors are selling it as hard as they can. I'm not talking about poor dialogue, I'm talking about poor characterization. Like Misty Knight carrying a torch for Luke Cage since his season ending, and when the first place she finds him (after he gets out of prison) is in the arms of Claire Temple and she's just like, hey, it's all good, nonchalant. Like Luke Cage being all buddy-buddy with Jessica Jones when the last time he saw her (in her series) he was basically like, "Bitch, I hate you and I would punch a hole in your head if I didn't have some code of honor." Like Matt Murdoch basically falling apart as a vigilante hero after he had (finally) seemed to come to grips with his secret identity, even revealing it to Karen Paige, accepting his role in his city's superhero fabric.

Jesus H. Just some real fucking continuity issues.

And yet I have such high praise for the actors playing these roles. They are giving their hearts and souls here...almost like they're desperate to hold onto a lucrative gig. And perhaps they are...the title roles aren't being played by big name movie stars. It's like watching the rookies try to make teams during the NFL preseason...these actors are leaving it all out on the field, even when the writers are fucking all their shit up.

Oh, boy...the writing. Fucking ninjas. Again.

At least this season there was no one dressed like an actual, stereotype black-cowled ninja (unlike the first two seasons of Daredevil and...probably, I can't remember...Iron Fist). Maybe one of the producers is reading my blog, as I know I've written this before: in comics, ninjas are cool; not so much (rather, not at all) in live-action television. I think people have been aware of this since the 1984 television series The Master (starring not-really-Asian-looking Lee Van Cleef). Man, I remember watching that show. And I remember thinking, why is this old geezer dressing up like a ninja and kicking ass? He's so old!

So, yeah, fucking ninjas. Again. I don't know why they decided to mine this particular vein of villainy to bring the Defenders together. There were plenty of interesting story arcs to pursue from the other Netflix series. The mysterious shadow corporation responsible (apparently) for both Jessica Jones and Luke Cage's powers. Daredevil's acceptance of his role as NY's Batman and the Kingpin's desire for revenge. Davos and the Meachum's machinations on Danny Rand. Colleen's newfound love of Fight Club. Etc. Yeah, I could rant for a while on this subject, and it's probably best to address it all in individual character notes.

[wait, what, JB?]

Despite all this...the poor writing, poor plotting, poor continuity, and all the fucking ninjas...despite of these many and varied complaints, it is still a real joy and pleasure to watch this cast work their craft (i.e. "acting") and interpret these characters. And it may be even more fun for me, because I'm a big fan of these street-level superheroes.

Daredevil, of course, I've been a fan of from way back. Well, since the 1980s, which is way back for a lot of folks (30+ years!). I was always fascinated with anything vaguely satanic, and a dude in a devil costume fit the bill (I was also a huge fan of Ghost Rider, back in the day).

The stuff with DD and Electra and The Hand (the ninjas) was great...the best of his comics. But the stuff with him and the Kingpin (and Typhoid Mary and all that) was great, too. And it was actually because of Daredevil that I first became interested in the likes of Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and the Daughters of the Dragon.

See, while I always liked the swashbuckler look of Iron Fist, his character died long before I ever picked up a Power Man & Iron Fist comic. However, a while back (circa 2006) there was a Daredevil/Iron Fist crossover (yes, turns out Danny wasn't really dead. Duh, comics) where they switched costumed identities, in order to prove Murdoch wasn't really Daredevil. It made perfect sense, really...both characters are about the same height and build, both are caucasian, both have a similar "power suite" (superior martial arts ability; one due to enhanced senses, the other due to mystical, other-dimensional training and chi mastery). While Danny acted as Daredevil (and covered up that glowing fist), Murdoch was off in Kun-Lun fighting some other-worldly martial arts tournament for the Iron Fist.

Okay, it wasn't ALWAYS
covered up...

It was a pretty cool idea and one that made me dive headfirst into the Immortal Iron Fist, and his history...which, of course, led me to the Daughters of the Dragon (Misty and Colleen) and Luke Cage, as well as Luke's on-going family life and relationship with Jessica Jones and her whole story (Alias Investigations, the Purple Man, etc.). These days, I know more about these street level superheroes than the X-Men (have the X-Men done anything new these days?).

And why O why is that? What kept me digging into their backstories (and back issues)? Nothing more than the fact that they are a super cool and under-appreciated bunch of heroes with some very good story writing (at times) and some very interesting conflicts that work well on a small scale...none of this saving the world (or universe) shtick, we've got problems right here in the 'hood, y'all. And that's different, and that's interesting, and in some ways it's important.

Life is built on the "small-scale." Individual relationships matter. Family matters. Friends matter. These things shape us...our perceptions, our opinions. And our perceptions and opinions shape our decisions and our actions. No matter what our sphere of influence.

Why does Donald Trump behave as he does? Think about that for a moment. Consider his upbringing. Consider his young adulthood. Consider his life to this point. How have those things gone into making this man the person...the president...he is today? When you think about his origins (and I'm not just talking about his parents or elementary school...I'm talking about everything that led him to this point, including more than a decade as a popular television celebrity), is it very strange that he acts in the disconcerting manner that he does? Sure, it's strange that people voted for him to run the most powerful nation in the world. But when you consider the building blocks of his life's experiences, you can see how he was shaped into the man he is.

Small things impact us and influence us.

And so I am a fan of small-scale superheroes and their stories: Matt, Jessica, Luke, Danny, and their various associates. I should say I was already a fan of them in comic books...but I am becoming more and more of a fan of them in these Netflix shows. And that is despite the writing which -- perhaps because of the need to bring these four together for The Defenders crossover series -- seems to have gotten worse and worse. No, it is entirely due to this magnificent ensemble cast, and the way they embody their characters.

But I'll talk about them individually in a follow-up post (this one is getting huge). My last thought (for now), is that The Defenders is like a limited issue comic run written by people who may not have the best grasp of the characters they're using...people willing to sacrifice nuance for the sake of a cash-grab crossover event that will see fans of different titles all pony up the dough to make sure they're collection of [insert favorite hero] is complete.  It's like that...but it's different. Because those limited issue micro-series in comics are notorious for having lesser art (after all, a character's normal illustrator isn't necessarily working on the crossover title)...whereas here we have the exact same actors breathing life into these characters. That helps me forgive a lot of the bad in The Defenders.

All right. More later.

RPGaDAY 2017 #22

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

Which RPGs are the easiest for you to run?

Ha! Note the plural in the question: RPGs, not RPG. If it was only the singular, the answer would be self-evident...I can run B/X Dungeons & Dragons practically in my sleep (actually, most editions of D&D, if you're just asking me run the thing and not prep and run). When I was running a regular game down at the Baranof, I could prep a multi-session adventure of B/X over my lunch break and run the thing despite two pitchers of beer and a very loud karaoke bar next door. Very easy.

But the reason it's so easy is because I've run it a lot. With practice, everything becomes easier (assuming you're approaching a thing with mindful intention). And so, when asked which games (plural) are easiest for me to run, it's really simple a matter of listing the games I've had the most experience (i.e. "practice") running. These would be (in order):

1. Dungeons & Dragons (including 1st edition AD&D, B/X, BECMI, and 3E)
2. Marvel Superheroes (the Jeff Grubb original, both Basic and Advanced)
3. Vampire the Masquerade (1st & 2nd edition)
4. Gamma World (2nd edition)
5. Stormbringer (1st edition)

Boot Hill (2nd edition is my favorite) is fairly easy for me to run as a one-off session, but I've had pretty much zero experience running it as a long-term...or even multi-session...campaign. I imagine that doing so would be fairly tough without a real investment of time and attention to a particular setting (Western films and stories, the main inspiration for BH, all tend to center on a single town and scenario/situation).

These RPGs I've listed are systems in which I've run long campaigns, and I've an idea of how their games evolve and develop over time. These days, I'd probably stay away from Marvel (sorry, Jeff!) because I'm not a huge fan of its system/scale, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be easy for me to run...it's VERY easy, just not something I'm interested. The same holds (mostly) true for Vampire and Gamma World (the way they're written), though they might be more fun (for me) with a little modification to the basic rules and setting premise. Stormbringer is probably the easiest of the BRP games to run, mainly because its combat is more abstract, but putting together an actual campaign that doesn't bump into the albino sorcerer and his trail of wreckage (and making the campaign meaningful prior to the PC inevitable grisly demises) can be a real challenge.

I've run plenty of other games, but none of them are what I'd call "easy," either due to absurd fiddlyness, unfamiliarity, or badly flawed systems (examples include, Albedo, Sorcerer, and Rifts, respectively). The easiest ones are those I've listed...pretty sure that's enough for this post.

RPGaDAY 2017 #21

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

Which RPG does the most with the least words?

I am super-frigging tired today, and my wrists and hands feel like I'm probably on the verge of developing carpal tunnel syndrome, so this will be a very short post.

[my yard project DID get done, though, so...yay]

Fortunately, this is a pretty easy one: the Holmes edition of Basic Dungeons & Dragons gives you plenty of adventure material in its 40 or so pages...probably the most efficient word use of any RPG ever published in print. Enough to get anyone started and run plenty of sessions.

Close runners-up include Twilight 2000 (there's a LOT of white space in those slim books). and classic Traveller (you can get huge mileage from the original black volumes). But Holmes does the most with the least; his game gets the nod for this question.

Now THAT's F---ing D&D

All right, this is a TV post. And it's going to be about that damn Game of Thrones show. And, yes, it's going to have *SPOILERS* If that matters to you, you've been warned.

[yes, I'm still watching The Defenders on Netflix, and I have a LOT to say about it. Unfortunately, I keep falling asleep while watching it, mainly because I'm doing it late at night after looong days of heavy manual labor. I'm tempted to post a picture of the home project, but it probably won't do justice to how labor intensive it is. POINT IS: I'll get to The Defenders. Just probably not in a timely matter]

There's a lot of "good TV" on HBO these days, by which I mean "quality entertainment." It comes in a variety of forms. I enjoy Veep because I've worked in government and while it may seem (to the private sector) like House of Cards ("hello, conspiracy theorists") there's a lot of it that's just absurdist dumb-fuckery and political aggrandizing (which Veep pokes fun at). There's Ballers, which is similar to the crack that was Sex in the City, except for football fans; most of it depicts fairly awful people, but Dwayne Johnson may have the most powerful charisma of anyone living in America today...he's just so damn watchable, everything he touches turns to gold (he's like Tom Cruise in that way). There's John Oliver's watered-down version of The Daily Show (and I haven't watched much Daily Show for about a decade now for, well, *reasons*) which is great because, with the state of the news, once a week is about the extent of which I can stomach a close examination of what's going on in my nation. And then there's Insecure, the creation of writer/director/actor Issa Rae, an incredibly talented individual. Her show is one of the best things on television at the moment...it's like the newest iteration of awesome comedy (like what Arrested Development was, except that it's on HBO instead of FOX, so it won't be f'd over and preempted for the lowest common denominator).

[I'm sure some would crucify me for saying this, BUT even though I'm a white dude in Seattle, there's a lot in Insecure I can relate to. Except, of course, being black in America (and dealing with all that means). Fact of the matter is, Rae is smashing many "accepted stereotypes," both within the drama of her show (and its portrait of black lives) and in Hollywood itself (what can be accomplished by an individual who is outside the regular norms). Plus, she's funny as hell...Issa Rae is a 21st century friggin' Lucille Ball]

But whatever...yes, yes, there's mucho good TV shows on the "boob-tube" these days; plenty of shows that are ready to suck your precious, precious time and interest and keep you from doing something constructive with you lives. Most of you already know that...I won't insult your intelligence or anything. But can I just say a few words about Game of Thrones? Please?

How frigging awesome is this show?

Sure. There are a lot of neat things in it. Fantasy tropes. Special effects. Good acting. Big battle scenes. Drama. Violence. T&A. Pick your fancy, Tolkien geeks. Martin's stuff is a lot better than Robert Jordan (or so I gather...I haven't actually read Jordan, but my brother gave me a scathing review of The Eye of the World, and I value his opinion)...but we already knew that. That's not what I wanted to gush about. Certainly, not about George R. R. Martin.

For those who don't know, the GoT television series was originally based on Martin's multi-book saga; now, however, it has surpassed the novels he's written, and the show's creators are writing episodes based on his "notes" and using their own continuity (they started going "off-book" early on, due to the constraints inherent in the television media). They...the creators...have taken those notes and run with it, outdoing themselves again and again, both in terms of spectacle and drama. It's wonderful to watch...and even more so because it's soooo "D&D."

Last week's episode..."oh, we're going on a quest"...was about as D&D as it gets. But THIS week, we actually got to see the "quest:" a bunch of frigging miscreants trudging across a snowy wasteland, snarking at each other, really doing something epic'ly stupid, plus guys getting mauled by an undead cave bear...all that is frigging D&D. Old school D&D...the oldest, really.

Sandor Clegane ("the Hound") reminds me of so many D&D players characters I have known. So, so many.

And Melodrama. Most of us (including me) use the term fast and loose, rather than its original, theatrical definition. Just high drama inspiring high emotion. Oh boy. This is melodrama. Peter Dinklage (damn the camera loves that guy...his charisma is on par with the Rock) entreating, begging the Dragon Queen not to fly off to the rescue? So good...so good.

And Daenerys herself. Again, I've known (in game) platinum haired demigoddesses like her...not dragon riders, no, but characters just as magnificent in their power, trying to do the right thing, torn between their heart and their "duty." And, no, never with anything so serious as a kingdom or continent at stake...nothing so bad as a zombie apocalypse on the horizon. But when you're playing The Game...when you're really playing it hard...you create those stakes in your mind. In the shared imagination of the players.

Let me say this: in last week's episode, when the principal characters are standing around the table in the war room coming up with some incredibly half-assed plan to go north and hijack a fucking wight? THAT is D&D, my friends. That is the kind of bullshit ideas players are always coming up with. This week? Getting trapped on an f'ing island of ice, surrounded by a multitude of undead? THAT is the kind of predicament PCs are always getting their sorry asses into, trying to follow some half-assed bullshit plan. It is soooo D&D, because (just like real life) we often fuck ourselves into some stupid problem that we shouldn't have. All the frigging time.

I love it.

I love watching it. It's fun. These days, it's not all T&A and lingering camera shots (as in earlier seasons). It reminds me of some of my best D&D sessions (both as a player and a DM). Half-assed and melodramatic. Inciting the zombies to attack by throwing stones. Ordering your hirelings around. Watching the cleric die and wondering who's going to raise you now (since the dead cleric obviously can't raise himself). Negotiating who gets the magic sword, and justifying the decision with in-game fluff.

If this were D&D,
I'd be a dwarf.

I love it. It pokes my "D&D nostalgia" buttons as hard as anything does. Not that I haven't been on the edge of tears lately anyway. The kids have been gone for more than a week. I've been doing a lot of heavy labor around the house. I'm stressed the fam will come back and the work won't be done, plus the school year's starting up soon and I have that to think about. I'm half-shattered at the moment...the escapism of Game of Thrones is something incredibly valuable to me at this particular moment. Damn, it's good...if only for reasons that appeal to me. And right now, that's just fine and dandy.

[I also want to say this: cool as Jon Snow is (and who doesn't think he's cool?) I've never run a character like him (PC or NPC). While I admire the brooding, Saturnian dude with twenty pounds of honor in a ten pound bag, that was never my shtick. I was usually the one-eyed guy who'd been resurrected six or seven times. And usually blondish in hair color]

So many D&Disms (this week's episode is playing on my TV for the second time while I type this). I find myself trying to pick out alignments for the various characters. Jon is obviously Lawful Good. Arya Stark is pretty clearly Neutral Evil. Cannot get a read on Sansa to save my life at the moment. Daenerys is Neutral Good. Jeez...it makes me want to pull out the old DMG and read Gygax's descriptions and fit them to all the characters. That would actually be fun (for me anyway).

Maybe tomorrow.
: )

RPGaDay 2017 #20

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

What is the best source for out-of-print RPGs?

In PDF? The internet. For a singular particular source? DriveThruRPG.com. Of course, I prefer books in print (even out-of-print books) and rather than using eBay or Amazon, I prefer to shop in person. Now that I don't make it out to Missoula as often as in my childhood, the best place to pick up  old books is my local game shop...same one I wrote about in my Day 10 post.

Huh. That one was pretty easy. Perhaps I should write about something else.

RPGaDAY 2017 #19

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[well, well, well...finally, FINALLY caught up; you can find Day 9 here, and Day 18 here. Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday; I had a looong day of hauling rock. And it appears the rock-hauling will be going on at least two more days (unless by some miracle I finish tomorrow). Hopefully, I'll get some writing in, despite my poor, demolished fingers!]

Which RPG features the best writing?

Huh. Depends on what you mean.

If we're talking the clearest writing, easily communicating how the RPG is to be played, it's objectives of play, etc. then we have several candidates for "winner," including Tom Modvay's edition of Dungeons & Dragons (the "B" in "B/X") which was able to teach this blog author (i.e. "me") how to play an RPG from pretty much start to finish. A lot of indie games (especially those of the "story" variety) have pretty solid instructions (I like Ben Lehman's Polaris quite a bit).

However, if you're talking about "stylistically" or "fun" or even "which has the best fiction" or "humor," I'll have to hem and haw a lot, as there're quite a few to choose from. Fourth edition Ars Magica is pretty darn good...certainly, it's my favorite edition of that particular game. Mike Pondsmith's Castle Falkenstein is pretty darn good. I'm a big fan of Ron Edwards's Sorcerer game (and the three supplements he wrote to accompany the game), though I realize he's not everyone's cup o' tea.

Ken Hites's Wild Talents has some great stuff. So does Over the Edge (by Jonathan Tweet and Robin Laws) though a lot of the setting material is fairly derivative. John Wick's Orkworld is a helluva' good read, too. But the best writing, the most interesting may be Maelstrom by Christian Aldridge. The game is clear and concise, the fiction is interesting without being overdone, and the setting is the best parts of fantasy...the kind of Neverending Story shit you loved as a child. With crab men and flying pirate ships and clockwork cities where people engage in duels of honor in dark alleys and amnesiac travelers from other dimensions. I love Maelstrom (and its Story Engine system is the best I've found for PBEM games).

Yeah, there's a lot of good writing out there (a lot of poor and mediocre writing, as well), but I'll give Maelstrom the nod on this one.

RPGaDAY 2017 #18

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[as I'm starting this thing a little late, I shall be doubling up on my daily posts until I catch up. Early posts will be post-dated to the date they were originally supposed to appear]

Which RPG have you played the most in your life?

And this one's super easy: Dungeons & Dragons.

If you ask me for a specific edition, I'd probably have to say "B/X." This wasn't always the cast...I played AD&D (first edition) for years, even after the publication of 2nd edition (though my D&D play was pretty spotty in the 90s, and I even went through a stint playing only BECMI/RC).

However, since starting this blog in 2009...wow, more than eight years ago...it's been B/X more often than any other edition. And that gives B/X the advantage over AD&D.

'Nuff said.