Thursday, January 27, 2011

Happy-Go-Lucky, or Dark and Demented?


Thinking about Stargate Universe vs. Stargate Atlantis, I had a realization: I like dark and gritty.

Ok, let’s not stop the presses or anything, but anyone that knows me outside of the net knows I am one of those unassuming people: too innocent and good-natured to go for some of the darker fare that I choose in my entertainment.

But they’re wrong...

(Yep, I'm totally stupid.)

I watched my share of SG-1, a number of years ago. It was an enjoyable show and interesting concept from the Stargate movie. The campy humor and overall upbeat nature of the show was fun. It watched it when I found it on the weekend, but rarely made time for it. Fast forward to recently where I have watched and thoroughly enjoyed Stargate Universe. Sure, it has had its pacing problems, but the gritty, real nature of the show was a smash-success in my eyes.

Feeling the pang of its cancellation I checked out Stargate Atlantis under a healthy dose of recommendations and found it...good.

But not great. Not like Stargate Universe.

SGU sucked me in from the first episode with its healthy dose of suspense, conflict and well-drawn characters. On the other hand: Atlantis amused, entertained and promised a lot, but it just didn’t come off with the same finesse and skill. Some of that campy humor again. It’s amusing, but kills the suspense, at times where it is most necessary. The wraith were too cheesy to take seriously, without a heavy sampling of death staring me directly in the face.

It seems the masses enjoyed Atlantis (Five seasons!), and SG-1 was on forever, but SG-U gets cancelled in two seasons?

Either way...in my book I find it interesting that I have so much death and destruction. Not the contents one would expect from Mr. Happy-go-lucky. A close friend even related her surprise on my short story “Child of Iron”. The story is dark and it took her a while to get through the morbid tale (not for the writing quality—supposedly—but for the writing content).


For all intents and purposes I think I come off as happy guy, full of life and energy. You’d think I’d go for lighter fare, and I do. I enjoy them. I go for an assortment of media in fact, from the infantile to the broodingly dark. But if I had to make a choice, I wonder what I’d choose...

So what side of the spectrum do you fall on?

4 comments:

  1. I'll write on any side of the spectrum so long as I'm writing, though like you I've steered toward horror with some of my writings. Other pieces have the humor that I'm known for. The great thing about exploring the craft is that you can always change the strokes with which you use to "paint."

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  2. I'm definitely in the same camp as you.

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  3. @Jeff - Well, I wouldn't put myself into the camp of horror, but epic fantasy has its bloody times and I suppose "Child of Iron" has some horror elements.

    Humor is certainly important, I view a novel as an experience that should rise and fall with action and stillness, laughter and fear. Without having both sides of the coin there is nothing with which to compare the rest—leaving it flat, empty and as worthless as a single-sided coin.

    @Todd - They never suspect, do they? MWAHAHAHAH

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  4. I'm definitely not happy-go-lucky; that's for sure! I like writing edgy, controversial stories with characters who struggle, which I guess tends to reflect the not so positive outlook I developed over the past few years. (Though, I will say, I'm getting MUCH better.) But life is tough, and I like focusing on those tough situations that make us stronger. I use writing as my outlet to explore the negatives in life. And I love dark humor.

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Thanks for reading, now tell me what you think.