Back in the mid-00’s the USA Network said, “Characters welcome.” Shows like Monk, Burn Notice, White Collar, Psych, Royal Pains, and Suits filled the schedule and TV was, for a time, fun. The shows may not have had the most complex plots, but by the end of the episode you felt good about what you’d just seen. 

The colors were bright and the skies were blue.

But if you’ve looked at cable or network TV lately, things aren’t quite so cheerful. NCIS: Origins has a color grading best described as muddy, Tracker is somber, and even Matlock is more sour than sweet. Sure you can watch them as a family, but why would you? Even the 20 year old reruns of NCIS are more vibrant and feel-good than anything on TV now. And if you’re like me, you’ve got some of those episodes memorized.

Is there anything currently in production that recaptures that spirit early aughts?

Yes. Ironically, it’s from our neighbors to the north.

Wild Cards (available on Amazon Prime Video) is similar to White Collar in tone. Max (Vanessa Morgan) is a charismatic con artist working in a fictional Canadian city. Cole (Giacomo Gianniotti) is the straight-laced cop who catches her. In order to keep her out of jail and restore his position in the police department, they have to work together to solve crimes. That’s it. The show doesn’t even try to hide what it’s doing.

“We’re like Bones and that dude from Buffy… Castle and that hot girl… A Star is Born only you’re Lady Gaga and I’m Bradley Cooper.”

No, Max isn’t as smooth as White Collar’s Neal and Cole’s life isn’t as stable as Peter’s, since rather than a wife and house he has a cat (named Mark) and a houseboat. But the “can I or can I not trust you?” dynamic is the same. Their cases take them to all the usual places. We have the mystery on the set of a TV series plot, the trapped in a bank during a robbery plot, and the going under cover as a couple in need of therapy plot. We’ve seen it all before, but we haven’t seen these characters go through the paces, and that’s what makes it fun.

Even if you’re scrolling social media at the same time.

Is it family friendly? Well, Max has curves in all the right places and isn’t shy about showing them off, and sometimes the stories push the boundaries of good taste (with suggestive video and commentary to match). But overall, in fairly inoffensive. I’m not too worried about it going any further than it already has, and I hope Prime gets season two soon.

Because I like my skies blue.

I’m so thankful I’m not a film critic.

There are many in my online social circle who feel compelled to see every new release so that they can be critics. Today they might go see the latest superhero movie, tomorrow a self-indulgent character study that takes three and a half hours to say people are horrible, and then a musical over the weekend. Sometimes they might go in expecting to hate something and come out respecting it. More often than not, I imagine, they’re proven right.

Or, more likely, they have no strong feelings about the film.

It’s just meh.

Maybe the critics are the heroes we need. I certainly respect their work and dedication, while also being thankful that theirs is not my calling. For a few years I thought it might be, and I saw so many movies that I immediately forgot at best, and made me miserable for days at worst. Of course, I saw a few movies I loved. But those were movies I would’ve chosen to watch without any sort of obligation. 

Clint Eastwood’s masterful Richard Jewell comes to mind.

In a world overwhelmed by content, I’d rather watch movies that have stood the test of time. I know it’s cool to say that Casablanca isn’t that great. The fact that it’s been studied, praised, and screened countless times over the decades says otherwise. It may not be to your taste, but there’s no denying that it’s a great film and well worth your 102 minutes. I don’t like High Noon, at all, yet its significance is undeniable and I’m sure I’ll watch it again someday.

We have to know the past to talk about the present.

Too many online critics aren’t well-versed in the classics, and thus lack the knowledge and vocabulary to talk about the new stuff. There’s a popular YouTube channel with two engaging hosts that I want to love. I won’t name them, because I’m about to put them on blast. Their channel is split between reactions to older movies and talking about current movies and pop culture. Unfortunately, they know so little film history that their takes aren’t terribly helpful. 

Hopefully, as they continue going back and increasing their knowledge base, things will improve.

You’ll never be a better person for having seen “all the movies.” But if you can let me know that you understand the language and history of film, your commentary will be better and I’ll take your opinions more seriously. 

And if you want to tell good stories…

You can’t go wrong by studying the masters. Reviewing books and movies is fun but, again, it’s not my calling. I think I’m called to create. So I don’t need to see all of the uninspired, derivative content that’s filling the production pipeline. It’s more to my advantage to know what’s great and try to figure out why. Ideas can come from anywhere, anything. But great inspiration comes from great things.

So I want to focus on things that are great.

In some ways, 2024 feels like the year that didn’t. I did not publish any novels or short stories (though I poked at a few). I did not go on any grand adventures (though BasedCon was great). I did not experience any positive, major life changes. Saying goodbye to a beloved pet was a change, but not something that improved my day-to-day. While I indulged my love of Lego and found some video games I enjoyed, these are hardly worth mentioning.

Not that 2024 was a total loss.

As I’ve continued my physical training, I’ve improved my workouts and seen good results. For better or worse, I got my weight back down to where I'm really lean and feel my best. A few years ago I bulked up and decided to take my time losing the extra pounds. With the holidays, I’ve gained some of it back, yet I feel better than ever. There is such a thing as too lean, and some extra calories will hopefully help me add some more muscle over the winter.

I’m also sleeping more thanks to the longer nights.

My diet has changed a bit. I’ve gradually cut out heavily processed foods, like protein bars, and only had restaurant food sparingly. Early in the summer I met a neighbor at a farmers market who bakes sourdough breads, rolls, cookies, and scones with simple, often local, ingredients. Low and behold, her backdoor is practically directly two miles from my front door, and I’ve become a regular customer. Sure, I could learn to bake my own bread. But the personal connection with a neighbor is nice.

My weekly bread pickup is often the highlight of my week.

Another significant change has been getting more time to myself. When the weather was nice, I used it for taking long walks. Hopefully in the coming year I’ll get my little outbuilding converted into a proper writing studio with heat, air conditioning, and ventilation. I’ve already gathered together everything I need to have it double as a movie theater, for the days I need to refill the creative well. Maybe it won’t be great, but it will be fun.

But looking ahead…

If nothing else, I hope to write and submit at least one short story for publication. Finishing my novel would be very nice, too. I’ve missed getting into my mental workshop and piecing together a story and sharing it with an enthusiastic audience, and I have many stories I want to tell. Thankfully, my schooling never stopped. Every book I’ve read and movie I’ve watched has been instructive in some way. It’s impossible for me to watch passively.

Other goals include:

More audiobooks/fewer podcasts

Less politics/more culture

More physical media/less streaming

Better balance between online friends and in person interactions