Endings are Hard

Well, here it is, My final post on the blog. 

I was thrilled to be invited here in 2021, and my first post was published almost exactly two years ago. My first appearance on here was about eighteen months before that, where I discussed our pandemic rewatch of the Star Wars films with Karissa Laurel and Mary Fan. It's been a fun two years, where I got to write about AI created TV shows, Jack Reacher, how to approach art from creators who are assholes, and introduce many of you to the cutest dog in the world. It's been great to have a place to share my thoughts on things that I didn't otherwise have an outlet for. 

 As this blog draws to a close, I got to thinking about what makes a good ending. We all have examples of  an ending that feels satisfying and endings that don't. (Hoo boy, do I have examples of shows that didn't stick the landing... Too bad the blog is wrapping up because I could write a few thousand words about Game of Thrones and how they screwed over Danerys and WTF with King Bran and... deep breath... cool blue ocean...)

But, in the time we have left together, let's focus on the positive. For me, one of the most satisfying endings ever came from the HBO drama, Six Feet Under. The show was good for about three seasons and kinda wonky for the last two, but the finale...

In case you are unfamiliar with this 20-year old prestige soap opera, it centered on a family-owned funeral home, Fisher & Sons, and the foibles of the staff. One of the hooks of the show was that the cold open each week would show someone dying, often in a fairly gruesome or macabre way (like the woman who stood out of the sunroof of her limo and got slammed by a traffic light). The episode would feature the staff preparing their funeral while their own personal dramas played out, giving you a bit of a window into the life the deceased had.

For the final scene, the daughter, Claire, is driving off to college. As she heads east through the desert, the episode flashed forward, showing glimpses of the lives of her family and their partners and children. And it also shows how each one of them will meet their end. Most live long and happy lives, some end unexpectedly (RIP poor Keith Charles' security guard character), but it absolutely feels true to the series. 

While the series may have gotten wildly off track in its last two seasons, the finale definitely nailed what fans liked about the show. Every character had their story completed, every arc was paid off in a satisfying way that was true to the characters. The subtext of the series about life at a funeral home was always that life can end unexpectedly, so treasure what you have. Especially those around you. 

Thank you to everyone who read my posts over the last two years. Thank you to this blog for hosting me. Thank you to Karissa and Mary for inviting me to come write. 

And if you want to follow me or more of my writing, you can find me at Instagram and Bluesky under the handle @vgcatano, and over at the pop-culture site TheWorkprint.com

And Dany will miss you all as well, so come and visit her on Instagram where you can see more cuteness.

Until we meet again.

Victor Catano lives in New York City with his wonderful wife, Kim, and his adorable pughuaua, Danerys. When not writing, he works in live theater as a stage manager, production manager, and chaos coordinator. His hobbies include coffee, Broadway musicals, and complaining about the NY Mets and Philadelphia Eagles. Follow him on Bluesky and Instagram @vgcatano and find his books on Amazon

That's All Folks 🫡

I discovered Across The Board two years ago, when Koz made a post asking to fill a spot that had recently been vacated. At the time, I saw it as a way to reach a larger audience in regards to my book reviews and indie horror. Now, as I look back at my time with ATB, I realize these regular postings and email updates became a part of my routine that I'm greatly going to miss.

Koz really said everything best with his most recent post, especially since I haven't spent the last decade in this arena. However, I will say that I have appreciated this opportunity so much and it's been a pleasure to write amongst the amazing writers here. Koz gifted me a chance I'll always appreciate and that I'll never forget. 

Thanks to all our followers and supporters, thanks to the awesome Koz, and thanks to my fellow bloggers. Happy holidays and happy new year! 🥳 ✨️

If you'd like to connect with me in the future, you can find my socials here: 

 https://linktr.ee/samanthas_shelf

Goodbye friends ❤️ 

The End (of the Blog) is Nigh!

 Another quality post brought to you by Steve!

October 9, 2014.

That's the date our founder, Leandra Wallace, published our very first post here on Across the Board.

October 23, 2014.

That's the date I posted here for the first time myself.  Believe it or not, I was one of the founding members of Across the Board.  And of those founding members - Carrie Beckort, Nilah Magruder, Amy Jarecki, Jonathan Schramm, Kimberly Giarratano, Beth Ellyn Summer, Leandra, and myself - I am the only one still standing.

But not for much longer.

December 18, 2023.

That will be the date of our last post here on Across the Board.

We've been going for almost, but not quite, ten years.  Most blogs become defunct within the first six months.  So, in a sense, we've been shockingly resilient.  But still, after three presidents, seventeen thousand Avengers movies, and nearly a decade in the digital business, we've come to the hard decision to close up shop.

Why?

Well, every year around this time I canvass the bloggers and see if they're still interested in keeping Across the Board a going concern.  There have been a couple of occasions where I've been prepared to throw in the towel myself, as I put a lot of time into organization and administrative work that our readers never get to (or, frankly, would want to) see.  But the contributors always wanted to sally forth, and their dedication carried me through.

This year, though, seemed like a naturally stopping point.  Ten years is a long time.  More than half of the current contributors were planning to bow out at the same time, and while we have worked miracles before of bringing on two, or even three new contributors at once, five is too many.  A lot of what has always made Across the Board unique was the special alchemy between the eight of us, covering different subjects in different styles with different perspectives.  Trying to rebuild that almost from scratch was a daunting prospect.

So, as a team, we decided to bow out gracefully.

For the next month, our remaining contributors will be making their farewell posts.  So make sure to tune in for reminiscences, final thoughts, no small amount of tears and emotions, and maybe just some damned good thoughts on genre fiction.  Then, on the 18th, we'll pull the plug, pop the corks on our eight bottles of champagne, and move on to the next chapters in our lives.

Won't you follow us...one last time?

The End of Days and Finishing My First Kickstarter

Variant Cover by Shawn McManus

I am writing this while being fully aware that this will be the second to last post I'll ever make for ATB: Writers, a group that I feel blessed to have joined at the end of 2021. It's strange to me that this is going to be the end given that everything is changing in my life right now. It's the beginning of something new. Something that seems to be happening with this writing career I struggled so hard to pull off.

In the last post, I talked about my awkward launch of a debut as a comics creator. Well, we officially hit our funding a few days back. The next 24 hours are the final moments to support the Kickstarter for The Tomb of Baalberith Volume 2. As the first comic I've ever created, this issue may hold value one day, so I think you should buy it.

My story is illustrated by the talented artist and my creative co-partner Jameson Matunas, along with developed by a stellar anthology of unique talents, as a project meant as a cool collaboration I do think these stories came out fantastic. It's creepy. It's meaningful. It conveys a message and has some pretty great interiors. With a reference page 1 of my comic below. Suffice it to say, I’m excited to see what happens next in terms of where this may go in the next two years.

I will admit getting funding was a bit hard. Not just asking from the family and friends angle, but more importantly, landing the attention of that target audience. I'm talking about getting fellow creators, consumers, reviewers, and people who just genuinely like comics, both the ones who are old fans and those hungry to find something new, it all became a massive spam and say-and-pray technique of asking people to pay attention.

I was tired of it by the end but felt like I had to do this… given I don’t have a fanbase yet outside of a few journalism pieces. Posting constantly is tiring. Getting people to see a product stand out is some serious burnout. I think it was best summarized by this little blurb from Humans of New York a cousin shared with me this morning…

I am happy the comic is getting made. Yet, I'm also incredibly tired of trying to promote it, even though, I sort of know it never really stops from here on out. Because after that's finished there'll be the next one. And if not that next project? Then myself to promote. I have to keep the algorithm fed now. This was the point. The debut. The visibility and what it takes to be seen, which I don't want to engage with but do understand its value in an ever-more-so online world.

Anyway, I'm sad ATB: Writers is ending. I liked promoting things, oversharing things, and taking things far too seriously, such as my ever-dying love of Neil Gaiman. Unfortunately, I can't deny that the hurdles aren't there. Overall, blogging seems to be dying in an age of video.

Whatever happens next, I do plan on writing. Being a writer. Telling stories.

You can find me on Google writing for different outlets. I'll eventually also get my website up at www.christianangeles.com

Why Can't I Stop Watching Gilmore Girls?

I usually write about books or at least about horror stuff, so this topic is weird for me. However, I'm currently on my... millionth?... rewatch of Gilmore Girls, and I don't know why but I just can't stop. It's mostly background noise for me at this point - I like a little company when I'm working or doing some other activity, but not company that I need to pay attention to. Thanks to intently watching the whole show right through several times, I kind of know it well enough to not need to tune in to enjoy having it on now.

But, for real, I think I might have a problem. I watch it from beginning to end, including A Year in the Life (even though I despise AYITL), and then I start all over again immediately. It's definitely my comfort show and I can't see it ever being replaced.

I think the writing is (mostly) excellent, to be honest. All of the characters are flawed and complex, so even when they're being dickheads, you can at least understand where they're coming from most of the time. However, I actually think that the real magic of this show is the world building. I've never wanted to live anywhere more than I've wanted to live in Stars Hollow. That town, with all it's weird festivals and celebrations, the weekly town meetings, and the general sense of community, is a cosy, friendly place of dreams for me. I wish it was real. It's the funniest, strangest, most colourful place in the world - the fictional world, unfortunately.

Outside of the lovely, familiar, welcoming settings, I think the side characters and supporting cast are outstanding - hands down the best of any show I've ever seen. Lorelei, Rory, Emily, Richard, Sookie, and Luke are the people I consider the "main cast", and they're all great characters, but honestly, given the choice, I'd want to be friends with Babette and Miss Patty first. I want to go to a town meeting and marvel at how pedantic Taylor is, and argue with him about moving a shed two inches. I want a friend like Brian, who writes a song for me in a sincerely platonic way and then is so awesome that he'd rather help look after my twin babies that go out living the rock n roll life. And most of all.... I want to be the frenemy of Paris. She might have horrible social skills rooted in self-esteem issues, but she is waaaaay more inspirational than Rory. She's the most dedicated and hardworking person I've ever seen on TV, and nothing made me happier than seeing how things turned out for her in AYITL. She was the saving grace of that reunion mini-series - and is responsible for my favourite GG moment ever. I lost it when she's in the bathroom at Chilton, freaking out, and kicks the door closed, wearing stilettos, no less.

I have to talk about the weird phenomenon of the fandom being super loyal to the show and somehow also quite hateful of both Rory and Lorelei, but especially Rory. I can't stress enough that what I'm about to say is nothing to do with Alexis Bledel, who plays Rory - she is so sweet and lovely. But Rory becomes a trash person, and I don't know why the writers did this!

When the show originally aired on TV, there were a few episodes on per week, so it took years to watch the whole show, and obviously there were gaps between seasons where we got no Gilmore Girls fix at all. It was regarded by fans as light and frothy, and Rory was a teen icon who appealed to a lesser-represented demographic of teen girls: the quiet reading type. Rory wasn't bothered about popularity, was quite comfortable being herself, had her priorities right, and was most comfortable reading a good book. She was super sweet, and ambitious in her studies, went on to a great school, had some ups and downs, and ended on a note of maturity and personal growth. To this day, the final scenes of the last episode (of the main show) make me cry. She made some pretty horrendous mistakes, like sleeping with her married ex, but the fans mostly forgave her because though her choices were bad, they were written quite realistically and were therefore believable. It was kind of fun to see the golden girl making mistakes, and learning from them.

And then, years later, Gilmore Girls became available on Netflix, allowing its original fans to binge-watch it. It also attracted many new fans, who binge-watched it. Before long, articles and YT videos about what a heinous horror Rory actually is started popping up all over the place. My flabber was ghasted - how dare they talk about my beloved icon this way?! So I also went back and binge-watched it. And then I saw what everyone else was seeing.

When you watch a few episodes a week, and time passes between them, you don't remember every little detail. When you see a season finale on the TV, and have to wait months for the resolution of the conflict-baiting conundrum, you forget how you felt in those moments that you questioned Rory's behaviour. In short, the original run's expanse of time sort of diluted her worst moments. But when you see it all back to back, probably the entire show in only a matter of weeks, all of her worst choices and qualities are crammed together and extremely noticeable.

It was only as I binged it that her patterns of behaviour suddenly became apparent to me. For example, she cheats in every single relationship she's in. She kissed Jess behind Dean's back, thus cheating on Dean and starting her relationship with Jess with a cheat. She has an affair with Dean when he's married. She kisses Jess behind Logan's back (and clearly went to see Jess to use him just for that purpose). The older she gets, the worse her relationship morals seem to go. But she's young during all these things, and there are emotional factors to all of them, so though yeah - it's bad - there's plenty of time for redemption. But then they made A Year in the Life - a much anticipated limited series released like a decade after the original show.

I couldn't contain my excitement as I waited for it to appear on Netflix. I couldn't believe that we would get to go back to Stars Hollow, catch up with everyone, and see where everyone had ended up. I had never been so thrilled about a new season of anything ever. But. OH. MY. GOD.

It felt so cold. It lacked the warmth of the original show, and I still can't put my finger on why. The quick, quippy dialogue seemed forced somehow, and the cosy feel that the show is so beloved for just wasn't there. The side characters were mostly all back, and once again, the highlight, but it's with the major characters that, in my opinion, the show totally effed up.

Firstly, Lorelei and Emily are STILL at odds with each other about the same old shit. In the finale of the main show, Lorelei establishes that though Rory is leaving, she'll continue the Friday Night Dinners. It indicated peace, growth in their relationship, and love, which is really what Gilmore Girls was always about. And yet, in AYITL, they're still treading the same ground and having the same arguments.

Lorelei and Luke are still together, but their relationship is weirder than ever. They never married or had kids, which would be fine except that in the main show, they'd both expressed the desire to do both of those things, and their reconciliation at the end suggested the happily ever after that they'd originally been on track for.

A full 20 minutes of one episode is used on the world's most irritating musical. I found it funny for a couple of minutes but Jesus Christ.... twenty whole minutes! If that isn't just a way to burn screen time without any substance, I don't know what is.

I have lots of grievances with AYITL but my biggest one is with the full character assassination they did on Rory. She's one of our two main characters and we're supposed to like her, so I can't fathom why the F they made the decisions they did. Not only was she lazy and morally bankrupt, but the way she was depicted retroactively made her character in the main show worse, because now we know where she was heading.

She hasn't learned from a single mistake. She's STILL a cheater, and an even worse one because now she's a grown woman without the excuse of lack of experience and immaturity to explain it away. She has a long-term boyfriend who she constantly forgets, and this is played as a big joke, but it's not funny. Paul is a nice guy and an innocent pawn that Rory has absolutely no love or even respect for, and she treats him appallingly. I don't know why the writers thought this would be amusing. She sleeps with an interviewee while she's supposed to be working, and then feels sorry for herself about it because the dude was a "wookie-costume-wearing-loser" that she had no intention of seeing ever again. I don't know what the poor guy did to deserve to be described as a low point, but it pissed me off. During her rant about this, she doesn't even mention her boyfriend, who she just pointlessly cheated on with a complete stranger.

But worst of all is her affair with Logan, who is engaged to a woman called Odette. 

Odette is regarded as an inconvenience. She's mentioned a couple of times by Rory, and always in the context that Rory is the one being wronged. She's mad at Logan when Odette moves in with him, and butthurt that she can't just call him at any given hour risk free anymore. She's annoyed that from now on, she'll have to meet him at hotels, instead of staying at his place, which is also Odette's home. Odette is sleeping peacefully in the bed that Logan has been cheating on her in, and yet the focus of the sympathy is on Rory. What the actual F is going on with this storyline? The show ends with Rory pregnant. I think it's pretty clear that Logan is the father, but since she had a one-night stand AND had a boyfriend the whole time, there are 3 possible fathers. Which is kind of funny, actually, because in the original show, April had 3 possible dads, a fact for which her mother, Anna, was heavily judged for.

I've got no qualms whatsoever with consensual, casual sex, so long as no one is getting hurt, but that's not the case here. She's cheating on her boyfriend with someone who is seriously committed to someone else, which is two of the things she did in the original show rolled into one. She has learned NOTHING. And even worse, she doesn't care. She displays not even one morsal of guilt toward anyone on the receiving end of her callous, deceptive ways.

At least, I suppose, she's got a career going for her. When she left us in the main show's finale, she had her first proper job as a reporter on the campaign trail with Obama. She would get to travel, meet industry contacts, and work in her chosen field. She was off to conquer the world! It was so nice to see her in AYITL pursuing her... oh wait, no. She had ONE singular piece of work of note, and besides that, was just sort of aimlessly floating around unable to find a steady job. I understand that this is the real world experience of a lot of people in their thirties, especially people who work in creative or freelancing fields. I would have been happy with a storyline about how, actually, despite her education and work ethic, things haven't panned out yet. What I take issue with is that clearly, the reason it hasn't panned out is because she has no work ethic, and is so entitled that she still expects everything handed to her. The scene where she gets to Sandy Says actually boiled my blood. She understandably thought she was accepting a job, not a job interview, but her attitude once she realises is so unprofessional that I could see why no one else had hired her either. She's pissy, totally unprepared, has no pitches - which is ridiculous because she was going there to write... so what did she plan to write? - and her 'I'm too good to be here' attitude was so apparent. I didn't like Sandy much, but I was on her side when she changed her mind about having Rory work for her after meeting her for five minutes.

Also, how on earth is Rory broke? She expresses several times that she's broke, but we know that at the age of 25, she would have received a quarter of a million dollar inheritance from her paternal grandmother. Additionally, Richard has also passed away, and no one can convince me that he didn't leave her - his favourite person in the world - a substantial sum of money. I think this is probably just a plot hole and the writers forgot about the money coming to her - they did write the original show several years prior, to be fair - but it still bugs me to no end.

I meant to write a pleasant overview of why I love the show and just realised I've been on a full rant. I'll wrap it up. In short, Rory, Alexis Bledel, the entire show, and the fans, were done wrong with AYITL. Emily's arc was great, and it was wonderful to see Paris - the actual hero - absolutely smashing her professional life, as she deserved to be. But Rory... oh, my dear beloved Rory, why did they do this to you?!

And yet, despite everything I just said, I'm still watching it over and over. It still - for the most part - makes me feel happy and peaceful. It's on right now, in the background, even as I write this. For its faults, it's still wonderful, and I love it.

PS. Lindsay did nothing wrong, and it's always bugged the shit out of me that somehow, she's the character that gets booed at conventions by GG fans. Wtf?

Writing: The One True Constant

Hey everyone! Mary here with what will be my second to last post, after more than eight years writing for this blog. Damn, that feels weird to say. Obama was president when I started contributing here in June 2015. Since then, I've changed jobs twice, I've moved, I've dropped and picked up various hobbies, I've made new friends and fallen out of touch with others. Suffice it to say, life can change a lot in eight years.

The one thing that's still going though? Writing. Somehow, that old habit is still following me around.

Not to say that it doesn't change and evolve with time. In 2015, I was primarily a novelist; I think I'd written one or two short stories ever. Also, my genre was general sci-fi. Now, I've written and published more short stories than I can remember (seriously, when I proofread some to reprint, I was like, "Wait what happens in this one again?"). And my genre is YA sci-fi/fantasy, with my best known book being a fantasy.

Still, even as the format and genres have shifted, writing has always been there. I've taken breaks, burned out and reignited, abandoned projects and picked them up again. Yet even when I would go months without writing anything new (heh, like this past summer), it was always lurking in my life, through author events I'd attend (this past Summer of No Writing was also the Summer of Four Conventions), manuscripts I was in the midst of editing or publishing, workshops I'd agreed to moderate, etc.

And I know that even if my life changes drastically — if my job changes, if I move, etc. — I'm certain that wherever I end up, whatever I end up doing, writing will be there. Oh, maybe I won't be producing new words... let us not get into how woefully behind I am on my current manuscripts... but I'm sure it'll be part of my life somehow, whether because I'm ushering an older project over the finish line, or am simply mulling over what I'll work on next.

After all, once you put a book out there, it's part of you forever.

Anyway, I'm of course sad that this is one of my last Across the Board posts, but as Chaucer said, all good things must come to an end. And eight years is a good run at anything... it's longer than any of my day jobs have lasted (hey, we live in a capitalist society where if the chow is better on the other ship, you jump ship).

Anyway, I'll be back in December with a farewell post. After that, you can find me writing on culture site The Workprint, mostly movie and TV reviews, or on the socials: Instagram, Facebook, and somehow still X (formerly Twitter), because old habits die hard.

As for what I'm up to writing-wise? Well, I'm currently putting together a circus-themed anthology, Magic Under the Big Top, for Snowy Wings Publishing, and taking submissions for our eighth (!!!) Brave New Girls anthology. I'm also working on the third and final Flynn Nightsider novel, Flynn Nightsider and the Ire of Inferno, and will be tackling the second Fated Stars book after that (let's not talk about how long ago those series starters came out...). And depending on how certain Kickstarters fare, I might have a few more short stories in the works soon.

When It's Made Just For You...And It Sucks

 Last time on ye olde blog, I made an offhand comment about how the algorithm got upset when you didn't watch the show it had selected just for you, based on all the shows you had previously watched and liked. 

But that got me to thinking...

There have been a number of shows that felt like they were made just for me. And I didn't like them!

For example, I am a huge fan of all things circus and especially of sideshows. I love reading about the real thing. I've seen Tod Browning's "Freaks" about a dozen times. (One of us! One of us!) Geek Love is a favorite novel of both my wife and myself. For Christmas, I got that huge Taschen art book with hundreds of circus posters and vintage photographs. My favorite episode of The X-Files is "Humbug," which has Mulder and Scully investigate a series of strange murders in a community of sideshow performers. 

So you would think that I would be a huge fan of the 2003 HBO show, Carnivale. After all, it's about a depression era travelling sideshow, except the performers have real powers and not carnie trickery.

You would think so! You would be wrong. 

It has a devoted following. I made every effort, but I simply could not get into the cult show. I found it to be a dour slog. And boring. This show had little people, strippers, and conjoined twins. Do you know how hard you have to work to make it boring?

Now, of course a show set in the dust bowl in the depression is probably not going to be a candy-coated laugh riot. But damn! Smile once in a while! Maybe they were upset because literally everyone and everything was caked in dirt. 

It didn't help - at least not for me - that the carnival performers were overshadowed by the overarching battle between good and evil. Good was in the form of a whiny, runaway farm boy who has healing powers (that - of course - come with a price!). Evil was personified by - are you sitting down? - a priest! (Whoa! What a twist! The guy who is supposed to be good...is actually bad! Is your mind blown yet?!?!?) Clancy Brown played the priest. Clancy Brown! This show made the Kurgan from The Highlander boring! SHAME!

Like how? How do you make this guy dull?

Good and evil engaged in a supremely dull battle over two seasons before the show was cancelled. Also, God might have been the boss of the travelling carnival (referred to as "management" by the always delightful Michael J Anderson, the little person who ran the carnival.)

The only times this show was truly memorable for me was when they ditched the battle of good and evil and focused on the carnival. There was an episode when they went to a literal ghost town to perform, and some of the carnies got trapped and left behind. That was legitimately chilling. And my favorite, when the carnies are down on their luck and decide to do a bust out. This means they break out every scam they know and fleece every rube. This culminates with them getting people to pay to see a Man Eating Chicken, and are instead treated to a man... who is eating chicken. (With the reminder to tell their friends, implying they should trick them as well.)

It would have been great if this show stuck with the carnival story rather than trying to graft it into some kind of religious, heaven vs hell plot. Alas, it did not. So a thing that was seemingly made for my tastes turned out to be pretty bad. Boo. 

I would like to thank our blog hosts for giving me the opportunity to vent about Carnivale, the show I was supposed to like. I've been waiting for a long time to properly unload about it.

Carivale is the most egregious example, but there have been others. Take Carnival Row. (Please!) This was a Victorian, steampunk adventure which had faeries coming to live in Whitechapel, and it wasted that premise by shoehorning it into an allegory about racism. (The faeries are mistreated and consigned to be hookers or maids!) And it takes a lot to turn me against a supernatural Victorian steampunk setting! 

There are lots more. If you have a personal example of the show you should've loved, but didn't, please leave it in the comments below. 

Victor Catano lives in New York City with his wonderful wife, Kim, and his adorable pughuaua, Danerys. When not writing, he works in live theater as a stage manager, production manager, and chaos coordinator. His hobbies include coffee, Broadway musicals, and complaining about the NY Mets and Philadelphia Eagles. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @vgcatano and find his books on Amazon