The Prisoner

Long before Abu Ghraib, long before Guantanamo, children of the '60's knew governments were corrupt and secret prisons held people without due process, without rights, without the possibility of escape or parole.

And one brilliant actor, writer, director and producer captured all the fear and paranoia of the 60's in a brilliant, iconic television series called The Prisoner. That actor, writer, director and producer was the multi-talented Patrick McGoohan, pictured to the right above in a screen shot from the television series.

McGoohan passed away today at the age of 80.

As I lament the likely demise of The Middleman with only 12 episodes ever produced, it is heartening to note that with only 17 episodes, The Prisoner has become more beloved, more important and more popular than it ever was during its short one year season.

The two shows couldn't possibly be more different. While the Middleman is a dizzying comedy rich with pop culture references and tributes, McGoohan's The Prisoner was a dark and sinister spy suspense filled drama. In fairness, The Prisoner did have its sci-fi undertones.


McGoohan was one of the most highly regarded actors in Hollywood and Great Britain. He won two Emmy's for his television work over 30 years, and won high critical acclaim for his portrayal of the King in Mel Gibson's Braveheart.

But it is his vision and work in The Prisoner that will always remain the cornerstone of his career. If you do not already own this great series there is a great compilation produced with love and care by A & E Network, available at bargain prices from the associates at Amazon.

I watched the series when it first aired in the 60's. And I bought it on Laser Disk, believe it or not, paying $40.00 for each episode back in the 80's, proving that I am, indeed, crazy.

---

P.S. I apologize to my "regular readers" for two successive forays into televison. I do hope to write shortly about the magnificient and historic event of Barack Obama's inauguration. I also feel the need to write once again about the tragedy of Bush Derangement Syndrome and to note, hopefully, that Obama is being treated much more fairly (so far) than Bush has ever been.

I Am Not Crazy!

Well, many of you may think I'm crazy, citing as proof the last ten years of entries to this blog and journal. But ignore that and bear with me for a moment.

My point today is that I am not crazy in my adoration for what is perhaps the greatest television series in the entire history of the medium, Javier Grillo-Marxuach's The Middleman.

Although not officially cancelled by ABC Family, the show remains in limbo and the twelve glorious episodes produced last year will probably be our only tickets to ride on this wondrous pop culture roller coaster. Even a DVD of the twelve episodes has yet to be released.

And so I actually feared that I was crazy, or at least terribly alone, in my love for Natalie Morales and Brit Morgan (both pictured above) and Matt Keesler and the entire cast and crew of The Middleman.

Ahhhh, but the end of the year brings out all these great Top Ten lists and guess what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a sleigh full of great and well deserved tributes to this literary and comedic masterpiece. Here are but a few that have come to my attention:

USA Today writes of star Natalie Morales: "Her character on ABC Family's The Middleman is smart, creative and tough -- and you don't get a lot of those on TV these days. Now all we can do is cross our fingers that the gang will return for another season..."

Time Out Chicago puts The Middleman into their Top Ten. They wisely observe: "An adaptation of the popular comic-book series proved to be the summer’s smartest, geekiest fare—or at least proved that to the dozens of us who watched and fell in love with Wendy “Dub Dub” Watson (Natalie Morales), an artsy twentysomething who finds herself battling the forces of evil. Wendy and her boss, the retro Middleman, fought aliens, mad scientists, James Bond–style villains and the crippling ennui familiar to recent college graduates, all while spouting allusions to every sci-fi classic or B-movie hero you’ve ever heard of and many you haven’t."

Of course it's no surprise that Comic Book Resources (CBR) should out The Middleman into their Top Ten for both the graphic novels and the Television Series. What is a bit of a surprise is that they place The Middleman series ABOVE such highly praised movies as the blockbuster Ironman! Their praise is so effusive and so spot on correct I am forced to reprint even more of their review:

"If this show doesn’t cause you to laugh out loud with delight, then you are dead inside. Well, here is all that fun, present not just on the original Middleman comics pages but even– to my continuing astonishment!– done for television."

"I would not have thought it was possible to get that crazed Bob Haney adrenaline-fueled superhero feel captured on a TV show until I saw this. Gorillas with machine guns, aliens masquerading as Botox junkies, fashionista succubi…. and Matt Keeslar and Natalie Morales inhabiting the characters from the comic so beautifully I have a hard time picturing them any other way now."

"It helps that the guy who created the original comic is the show’s producer. Some of you may have missed this magnificent television series on ABC Family that aired earlier this year. Fortunately, there are some clips on YouTube that should enlighten you, at least a little. Here. And here. And one more for the hell of it."

"Please, please, get this show another season, or failing that, get the first twelve out on DVD. And in the meantime, you all should treat yourselves to the trade paperback The Middleman: The Collected Series Indispensability, which I believe collects everything done in the comics to date."

But let's continue with the growing list of reviewers and critics who have chosen The Middleman of one of 2008's Ten Best.

Certainly Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times was already considered as one of the nation's most highly regarded television critics. But what will be a real eye opener to my many liberal and progressive readers is that Lloyd heaped equally effusive amounts of praise on MSNBC's terrific Rachel Maddow, the brilliant Tina Fey and The Middleman. Lloyd writes: "Culturally allusive live-action comic book works both as adventure and parody. Sometimes sweet, sometimes snarky, but always smart."

New Jersey's Star Ledger critic Alan Sepinwall who placed The Middleman on his Top Ten list and wrote: "The Middleman, meanwhile, was a hilarious and ever-cheerful adaptation of writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach's comic book about an office temp (Natalie Morales) recruited to work with a super hero (Matt Keeslar) in cleaning up messes involving aliens, demons and, on occasion, evil Mexican wrestlers. It was silly, smart and all-too-short-lived."

This is already running the risk of being the longest blog entry in Wizard history and I'm not even close to done!

Critic Al Norton, in his column Two TiVo's in Paradise, placed The Middleman all the way on to the top as the Number One Comedy of 2008, ranking it above other greats such as Pushing Daisies, The Office and 30 Rock! Norton acclaims the series stating, "This was a very easy choice as no show made me laugh as much as The Middleman, and certainly none did so with as wide an array of humor styles; witty banter, puns, physical comedy, pop culture references, and romantic comedy were just some of the ways the show got a hold of your funny bone, frequently managing to combine two or three of them to great effect."
NPR critic David Bianculli named The Middleman as one of the television events to Celebrate in 2008.

Las Vegas Weekly critic Josh Bell put The Middleman on his Top Ten list and wryly observed, "Based on a comic book series that nobody read, this show that nobody watched was a hilarious, endlessly creative mix of cheesy throwback sci-fi and postmodern pop-culture quippiness."

This list could probably go on forever, but I'll end with Bill Frost of The Salt Lake Weekly has named The Middleman to his list of 2008 "Greats." I love Frost's review: "Anything would be too smart for ABC Family, but the geektastic Middleman (think Men in Black meets vintage Saturday-morning action cheese) probably will never find a proper home—not until the Sci-Fi Channel merges with Comedy Central, anyway. ABC Family hasn’t officially canceled The Middleman, but it seems as likely to return as (insider joke alert) finding a cherry Hruck Bugbear on CarMax.com. I’ll miss you most of all, Dubby … "

I'll echo that! Barring a 2009 miracle, I'll miss Dubby, too......

Maybe I am crazy after all.

Women

Have I mentioned in the last few minutes just how brilliant The Middleman is? I believe there might be just one original episode left in the series. It's unlikely to be renewed by ABC Family, who deserve kudos anyway for green lighting the series in the first place. It will always remain one of television's (and literature's) finest moments.

The Middleman: Fighting Evil So You Don't Have To. I know the fictional world is safe in the hands of Wendy Watson (as portrayed by Natalie Morales on the right). But what of the real world?

You want a strange and disconcerting night? Just watch Michelle Obama's excellent speech at the Democrat Convention, highlights (errr.... lowlights) of Nancy Pelosi's speech to the same convention and then watch Natalie Morales and Matt Keeslar. Of course there is less fiction in any five minutes of Javier Grillo-Marxuach's Middleman that in any corresponding five minutes of Pelosi's speech.

But I'm actually getting carried away (as usual). I do have a point for you to consider. Compare this week's Democrat convention to the current events in any nation of region generally operating under Islamic law.

In Denver, Colorado we are watching some of the world's finest and brightest women showcased on television for the whole world to see. As I already mentioned, Michelle Obama was wonderful in telling her American story to the world. Michelle is a woman, a woman of color, who is a heroine to women everywhere.

And we saw Carolyn Kennedy deliver a moving speech. She is, in many ways, the future of the Democrat Party.

I've already mentioned Nancy Pelosi and, as much as I dislike her, she is probably the third most powerful person in America.

For the next two nights, the Democrats will showcase Hillary Clinton, a woman who has nearly achieved the highest elected office in America (which is arguably the most powerful position on earth).

Compare America's celebration of women in power to the virtual invisibility of women throughout much of the Islamic world. Under the most conservative (fundamentalist) rule, women are denied all education, denied medical care and denied all basic human rights. Even under relatively modern Islamic societies women are denied the right to own property, hold elected office and, in some countries, denied the right to drive a car.

Often women are forced to avoid all contact with men except for direct relatives. They cannot dine in restaurants or even enjoy a cup of coffee in Starbucks (an American women was recently arrested in a Starbucks in Saudi Arabia).

In one of the greatest injustices and ironies of Islamic society, being raped means jail time for the woman, even as the rapist walks free. Sometimes being raped means a death sentence, as the woman's family must kill her to save the family's honor.

In really big news this week, Iran has notified the world that it might, just might, outlaw the stoning of women. But they're not sure yet. But for certain women cannot participate in sports or even attend sporting events. The Ayatollah's have spoken on this issue.

Now the Democrats will spend the next three nights bashing John McCain. And that's OK by me. It's tradition. And while it's actually rather unlikely any speaker from the dais will speak out FOR the oppressed women of the world, the very presence of women sharing power and the stage with men speaks volumes.

Strong women around the world are fighting evil, from Hillary Clinton to Natalie Morales. But we all need to join the fight.

The Middleman

If you are actually blogging, or even worrying about, the "Cone of Silence" or McCain's superior performance in Saturday night's Saddleback Forum, you need to just relax and tune into tonight's episode of The Middleman, one of the most brilliant television series ever created.

Created by Javier Grillo-Marxuach from his own graphic novels (or comics if you prefer) by the same name, The Middleman is absolutely overflowing in trivia, cultural references and inside jokes. If somehow you glossed over this series thinking it's some sort of modern day Batman (the Adam West version), you need to sit back down and watch it again. It's closer to modern day Get Smart, with Natalie Morales a legitimate heir to Don Adams brilliant comic timing.
But the writing is well beyond Get Smart's simple humor and mild satire. Each of The Middleman's thematic shows is a veritable treasure trove of layered humor, nuance and tribute to past cultural icons. You literally need to watch each episode several times to catch and find the references. And even then you'll need to log into one of the many Middleman forums and read comments from other viewers.

The comedic acting, led by Morales and the equally talented Matt Keeslar, is wonderful. Mary Pat Gleason, as the annoying and all too human android Ida, is a joy to watch.

Watch every detail. No detail is too small and absolutely nothing is unimportant. In a recent episode that overflowed with Ghostbuster references, a street sign had the name "Ray Palmer Jr. Ave."

So, take a break from your stress over who will be nominated as Barack Obama's Vice President and immerse yourself in an hour of real fun and frivolity. Discover one of television's hidden treasures, The Middleman.