Books to Movies: Theoden and Denethor as Ultimate Show Not Tell Characters, Why are They So Good?

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Theoden and Denethor are a great example of how, ultimately, film should be a show-not-tell medium. The non-messaging of Theoden-versus-Dene...

Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe: Objectivity as True Kindness

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Many people have attempted to capture Nero Wolfe's personality. Among them are William Conrad, Francesco Pannofino, and Maury Chaukin.  ...

Sayers's Characters, including Villains, in the Golden Age of Mysteries

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The Golden Age mysteries often get compared to each other.  Comparisons seem to be how humans survive (Is that dark alley safe or unsafe? Is...

Shakespeare Characters: Never Quite What One Expects

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I've lately come to appreciate how good Shakespeare truly is. I've always been a fan--but not because of his Great Genius or all the...

Spoofs Allow for More Possibilities: Thank You, Shakespeare!

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One of the positive of "spoofs" is that they allows the givens to remain givens, so the writers don't have to keep excusing th...

Books to Movies: Return of the King and Emphasized Moments in Film

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A common approach with film is for the scriptwriters to select out one minor reference and make it a focus. So, the lighting of the beacons ...

Raskins' Aloof Heroes

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Cool, calculating somewhat aloof heroes who see three moves ahead are quite popular in fiction. See House and House's predecessor Sherlo...

Barney Miller Memorable Moment: James Gregory

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James Gregory shows up in a great many classic television shows, including Columbo . I love him best, however, in Barney Miller where he pl...

The Character Between the Lines: Pamela

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When I wrote my tribute to Richardson's Pamela , I had to take a character, Pamela, who appears a simpering goody-two-shoes and make her...

Stopping Christie Murderers: Crazy is Harder to Stop, Murder is Easy and Endless Night

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These posts present fictional crime prevention detectives who go into novels, specifically Agatha Christie novels, to stop the murders there...

Quinn's Colin Bridgerton: Imperfect Yet Lovable

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My comments are based on the book, not the Netflix show. I watched the first two Bridgerton seasons and enjoyed them. And I will likely wat...

Yuzuru Hanyu's Gift or Extravaganza as a True Gift

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"If less is more, just imagine how much more more would be," Frasier tells Niles. It's a hilarious line. It also has a grain ...

Books to Movies: Two Towers, Is Message Really Necessary?

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The heavy-handed messages in the second film are the filmmakers' choice, not Tolkien's. When characters preach in his works, which t...

Lessons from All the Ms: What to Do with So Many Characters

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I have discovered in reading the first few pages of books by M authors that despite a wide range of writing styles and topics and tones (th...

Art of Art's Sake: Chariots of Fire

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The most heart-felt moment of Chariots of Fire is the voice-over in the final race.  The character Eric Liddell, in his typical kindly and ...

Thoughts on First-Person in Fiction and Essays

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A unique Bones episode told from the point of view of a dead boy. I have mixed feelings about first-person in fiction. It is ubiquitous; th...