CS Weekly Archive > The Big Picture > 12/05/08

Better Than Turkey and Dressing:
Writing That Made Us Thankful in 2008

By the cs weekly staff

The CS Weekly staff returns from a week off with our thoughts on the writing we're thankful for this holiday season.

Peter Clines is Thankful for…
Over this past year I spent a few days reading through a huge pile of comic books from my childhood, and it reminded me of when I was a kid and, once a week—rain, wind, or snow—I trudged the mile to Garfield's Newsstand. I'd sit by the wire racks and meticulously go through all the new arrivals. I'd been drawn in by the Star Wars books, but there was also The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Rom the Spaceknight, and even creepy things like the Ghost Rider or Man-Thing that my nine-year-old brain could barely handle. It was a golden age, when comics were still being written for kids, but the writers also realized most kids could handle complex stories, characters, and dialogue. Those three-color pages are what convinced me to try writing, and it's no coincidence that, in those early pre-teen years of putting pen to paper, my biggest hope and dream was to write Amazing Spider-Man some day. I'm sure it's also no coincidence that Marvel keeps going back to the stories of that earlier era for their movies…and skipping over the aimed-at-40-year-olds, merchandising-driven stuff they've been putting out for the past decade.

Jason Davis is Thankful for…
Last year, I recalled how Doctor Who showed me what I wanted to do with my life—write television that takes the viewer to somewhere they've never been and shows them something extraordinary. It's somewhat appropriate, then, that this year, I'm thankful for the TV series that took my dream of creating compelling stories and, in a sense, taught me how to execute it. More than just a novel for television with a distinct beginning, middle, and end, Babylon 5 told an epic story in a microcosm populated by diverse characters whose every decision shaped the universe around them. Conceived and almost totally written by J. Michael Straczynski (Changeling), the series was a model for the aspiring storyteller to dissect. Straczynski's commitment to demystifying the process of crafting television left in its wake the publication of every script and copious behind-the-scenes memoranda, as well as a massive archive of internet posts documenting the showrunner's ongoing conversation with his audience…in short, a metaphorical ladder to those wishing to climb the tower to the realm of the writer.

Danny Munso is Thankful for…
In a year when great superhero films ruled the box office, this small gem of a comedy came and went with little fanfare. Co-written and directed by David Koepp, Ghost Town may have been such a surprise to anyone who saw it because Koepp's usual forte is big-budget fare (such as 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which he also wrote). But more than that, it succeeds because it truly has a timeless quality to it. There's some screwball humor, which blends nicely with the acerbic wit of leading man Ricky Gervais, and the film isn't afraid to be sentimental, but never once becomes sappy. This is a script Billy Wilder would have been honored to direct.

Elizabeth Rivera is Thankful for…
Ever since I stumbled across Broadsheet, Salon.com´s women's news blog, it´s become increasingly difficult to get down to business anytime I have Internet access. Never one for news blogs, I was surprised to find myself checking the blog four, five, six times a day. And yet, I am endlessly thankful that this blog exists. Sure, it has decreased my productivity by about 16%, but reading writers whose daily "aim is to cast a spotlight on news that puts women in the center" has made me more educated, aware, and given me plenty of chuckles. Broadsheet is addictive not only because it focuses on something usually ignored—women´s news—but because it does so with such wit and intelligence. A commercial I thought nothing of will be featured in an article and I´ll realize as I read that it´s blatantly sexist and bam—Broadsheet has again pulled me out of my complacency (and usually made me laugh while doing so.) So, thanks, Broadsheet, for bringing together a collection of great writers, both male and female, who discuss women´s news and issues, pointing out the progress we´ve made, as well as moving us forward in the areas where we need it.

Dennis Sampson is Thankful for…
If for no other reason than that it proves the power of the spec over the brutal, creatively empty process of Development, Matthew Weiner's Mad Men is a triumph in writing. Weiner's show, which was written as a spec pilot years before he became an executive producer on The Sopranos, centers on the advertising executives in the 1960s, and the series is much more than tales of interoffice politics and inventive marketing campaigns. Mad Men is a detail-rich snapshot of an all but forgotten era. Its characters are deeply defined, its atmosphere eerily genuine (the show literally feels as though it was produced decades ago), and its plotlines are subtle, engaging, and, best of all, smart. The backwards nature of network television prevents it from ever putting out a show of this caliber and consequently turns Mad Men into a representation of the power one writer's voice can generate, if only audiences would get a chance to hear it.

Sarah Skilton is Thankful for…
I'm thankful for the book Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith, because it taught me a lot about a time and place I'm not familiar with, while never coming across like a lesson. I'm a big fan of historical fiction, and this one has it all. The gripping, tense story takes place in Russia under Stalinist rule and concerns the transformation from villain to hero of State Security Officer Leo Demidov. Amidst this backdrop is a hunt for a serial killer, but in a world where "there is no crime" and denial is the watchword, even suggesting there should be an investigation into something can get you arrested, tortured, and executed. The paranoia, betrayal, and shockingly courageous acts depicted are riveting, and the main character's awakening is very well drawn. I braced myself for the worst while still hoping the protagonists could earn a plausible way out of their horrific circumstances. Besides the intricately layered mystery, there's also a love story between Leo and his estranged wife as they learn to trust one another for the first time.

Tom Stempel is Thankful for…
There are three sets of writing I am particularly thankful for this year:
Ligiah Villalobos's screenplay for Under the Same Moon (La Misma Luna) tells the story of a Mexican boy coming to America to look for his mother. It is not a tearjerker, but a rich, funny, and dramatic look at the Mexican culture at home and in America.
Matthew Weiner and his writers' work on the television series Mad Men beautifully captures the tone and the attitudes of East Coast America in the early '60s. Yes, the costumers got the clothes right, but the writers got the people right.
The late Andrew Johnston's intelligent and perceptive episode analyses of Mad Men on www.thehousenextdooronline.com, which prove that if you write a film or television show that is challenging, readers and other writers will rise to the challenge.

David Michael Wharton is Thankful for…
While films such as The Dark Knight and In Bruges have blown my mind this year, the writing my thoughts keep returning to actually came out last year…and it's not a movie. When Mass Effect came out for the Xbox 360 gaming console in November of 2007, it reinvigorated my excitement about the potential for real, meaningful storytelling in the gaming world, and soon became the only game I've ever completed, then immediately started over to play again. The game got a lot of hype for cutting-edge digital characters that could convey subtle emotions nearly as well as a flesh-and-blood actor, but none of the flashy tech would have meant a damn without solid writing to bolster the visuals and the gameplay. Developers BioWare, who told a better Star Wars story with Knights of the Old Republic than George Lucas did with any of the prequels, knocked it out of the park again with Mass Effect, a rich, intricate space opera in the tradition of classic '80s science fiction films. The plot was sprawling, the characters well-drawn, the sense of wonder ever-present, and the choices morally complex. Mass Effect was the game I'd been waiting three decades to play, but one year later, it's not the stunning visuals or intense action that makes me want to return to the world of Commander Shepard and the crew of the Normandy. It's a story and world as strange and epic and wonderful as anything I've seen on the silver screen, with one big difference: I'm in the driver's seat.

Iron Man courtesy Paramount Home Video
Ghost Town courtesy DreamWorks
Mad Men courtesy American Movie Classics

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