6 — Thursday, September 7, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NETFLIX
Stars of Netflix’s ‘Wet Hot American Summer’ revival
Ian Harris: The problem
with neverending shows
How the resounding influence of ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and
‘Wet Hot American Summer’ turns to beating a dead horse
“Let’s all promise that in ten
years from today, we’ll meet
again, and we’ll see what kind
of
people
we’ve
blossomed
into.” These words, spoken by
Bradley Cooper in the original
“Wet Hot American Summer,”
form the basis for the second
season of the Netflix revival
that began two years ago with
“First Day of Camp.” “Wet Hot
American Summer” is just the
latest franchise to enter into
a state of what I like to call
“Perpetual Ending Purgatory.”
Other offenders of this include
“Arrested Development” and
the
BBC
series
“Sherlock.”
In essence, these are series
that never truly end, but also
do not continue in any kind
of
regular
fashion.
There
won’t be another season of
“Sherlock”...
until
there
is.
“Arrested Development” fans
have spent the better part of a
decade now waiting on a Season
5 to wrap up story threads left
over from the long gestating
Netflix-sponsored Season 4. All
this after the show originally
concluded in a pretty satisfying
way back in 2005.
This
“Perpetual
Ending
Purgatory”
is
especially
prevalent
among
Netflix
revivals
and
other
kinds
of
sporadically-appearing
television series that don’t air
every year in the way most
series do. And while this is
potentially cause for rejoice
for the various fans of these
shows, it also makes it harder
for audiences to interpret what
it is they are watching. Take
“Wet Hot American Summer:
Ten Years Later.” At surface
level, it would seem like this is
the natural place to conclude
the “Wet Hot” franchise once
and for all. They have now gone
back in time with “First Day of
Camp” and made it all the way to
the point originally mentioned
in the feature film. One would
think there isn’t much more
that can be mined out of these
characters and storylines at
this point. But without any
kind of confirmation one way
or the other that this is really
the grand finale for the Camp
Firewood gang, the climax of
the miniseries loses much of its
potential impact.
“Sherlock” Series 4 is another
example of why it’s important
for an audience to know if they
are
watching
the conclusion
to a story or
merely another
chapter.
That
whole
series
focused a lot on
the impact that
Sherlock
and
John Watson’s
adventures
had had on the
people around
them
and
it
really tried to
bring the series
full
circle
in a number
of
ways.
It
ended
in
a
way that could
be viewed as
an
ending,
but
could
also
easily
be
continued
on from any
number
of
years
from
now.
To
an
extent
that
was
probably
the
point.
But should it
have
been?
We live in a
culture
that
is
obsessed
with
dusting
off old things
and
bringing
them back to
go
through
the
same
motions
all
over again and
this
inability
to let anything
end is slowly
but
surely
degrading
the
overall
quality of long
form western
storytelling.
Even
the
creators
of
these
shows
don’t
have
IAN HARRIS
Daily Entertainment Columnist
REPRISE RECORDS
Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day
CONCERT REVIEW
All hail Green Day: on the
punk band’s lasting legacy
Green Day’s recent concert at Darien Lake in Buffalo is a
testament to what makes the band a uniting, everlasting force
When you mix a couple rock
stars in their 40s with copious
amounts
of
pyrotechnics,
a few killer sax solos, the
energy of DIY punks and a
groundbreaking catalogue of
music, you get the greatest
band in the world playing
music today. But before I dive
into the details of Green Day’s
set at Darien Lake, NY, we’re
going to rewind to March of
this year to the third Green
Day show I had ever attended.
It’s the evening of Mar. 27,
a Monday, and I’m making my
way into Joe Louis Arena to
wait for my friend to arrive
while enjoying one of punk
rock’s most important bands,
Against Me!, open the show.
After their set, my friend and
I make our way into the crowd
to find her (now our) friend, an
incredibly special fan from the
U.K. she had met a few years
ago in Europe at a Green Day
show.
This special fan is Fran
Green — yes, her last name
is literally Green — and her
dedication to Green Day is
on a newsworthy level (she’s
actually been interviewed by
the local news in Iowa). Fast
forward to the morning of Aug.
26 to find me on my way to
Darien Lake (just past Buffalo)
with my friend and none other
than Fran Green herself after
spending four weeks in the
United States following Green
Day’s tour. That evening, I saw
Green Day for my fourth time;
for Fran, it was her 57th show.
Ms. Green’s dedication is
a small component of what
has made and kept Green Day
so important over the years.
Green Day is a band that unites
people
across
continents,
forms friendships and shapes
adolescent identities. She’s not
alone in her adoration, as Green
Day continues to play stadiums
and arenas to hundreds of
thousands of fans; rising from
modest roots in the East Bay
punk scene, the band found
quick success in cementing
themselves in the annals of
punk rock’s history. Having
been formed over 30 years ago,
the band hasn’t missed a beat
in performance, performing
with youthful energy entirely
unique to Green Day within
the arena rock scene.
Green Day’s performances
have turned them into legend,
striking awe into the crowd
while retaining the down-to-
earth relatability that is the
basis of punk music. During
“St. Jimmy,” an excited fan
screamed from behind me, “I
love you, St. Jimmy!” reflecting
Armstrong’s
mythological
status as a musician, blurring
the line between fictional and
real hero. When Armstrong
looks into the eyes of his fans,
the
connection
is
electric.
Whether
he’s
playing
to
thousands — which I witnessed
last fall at the Fillmore Detroit
— or tens of thousands, the
frontman exudes an aura of
understanding, comfort and
passion. After all these years,
you just know he still gets it.
And this is Green Day’s real
magic. They’re all about having
fun
(i.e.
their
outlandish
attire during “King for a Day,”
which included tutus, pirate
hats and funky sunglasses),
but they also don’t shy away
from real life issues; Billie
Joe isn’t afraid to say “This is
for all the weirdos out there”
or just a straight up “Fuck
Trump.” I mentioned this in
the past in my review of 2016’s
comeback record Revolution
Radio, but Green Day has a
knack for mixing important
personal and political notions
into their music — something
that
translates
into
their
performance.
As a now “seasoned” veteran
of Green Day performances,
my only real qualm with their
set is the elaborately drawn
out “King for a Day.” The
song itself is fun and all, but
the approximately 20-minute
charade with inclusions of
cover snippets from “Shout,”
“Hey, Jude” and other rock
classics
starts
to
drag
in
comparison to their own music.
They could easily fit four songs
in that time frame, even treat
the longtime fans to oldies like
“One of My Lies” or “One for
the Razorbacks” to supplement
the usual staple “2,000 Light
Years Away.”
Nonetheless, it’s a treat in
itself to still have Green Day
performing at the top of their
game. With sets including
classics
from
the
’90s
to
modern bangers off their most
recent record, the band shows
no signs of slowing in the
near future. Having already
garnered multiple generations
of fans passed along from
parent to child and friend to
friend, Green Day is a band built
upon emotional connection — a
DOMINIC POLSINELLI
Daily Arts Writer
Green Day’s
performances
have turned
them to legend,
striking awe into
the crowd while
retaining the
down-to-earth
relatability that is
the basis of punk
music
Ms. Green’s
dedication is a
small component
of what has made
and kept Green
Day so important
over the years
This “Perpetual
Ending
Purgatory”
is especially
prevalent amongst
Netflix revivals
DAILY ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE COLUMN
any idea if they are ever done.
Both the creators of “Wet Hot
American Summer” as well
as the creators of “Sherlock”
have been coy about whether
or not there will be more
seasons
of
their
respective
shows, and Mitch Hurwitz (the
mastermind behind “Arrested
Development”) has been very
open about saying he has long
had the last beat of the current
“Arrested” storyline planned
out with the feeling that beat is
supposed to give the audience
being, “Oh wait, so there’s
more.”
Oh wait, so there’s more.
Those
five
words
could
essentially sum up the entirety
of the way stories have come
to be told on the big and small
screens in the 21st century. The
end is never the end. Sure the
credits might roll but there’s
always something after the
credits. Maybe this is the end
for this particular group of
characters, but it’s certainly
not the end of this universe.
There will be prequels and
sequels and reboots until the
end of time and for the most
part we will gladly accept these
derivative works into our lives
because they provide us with
more of the same. But without
the ability to provide us with
true endings, more and more
movies and TV shows are
failing to provide us with true
meanings. That is the greatest
sin of all. Oh wait, so there’s
more. Just once, it would be
nice for there not to be.
Arts
ACROSS
1 Drains
5 Takes from page
to screen, say
11 One of
Beethoven’s
nine: Abbr.
14 Party with tiki
torches
15 Flashy Chevy
16 With 36-Down,
Dr. Seuss classic
with the subtitle
“The Simplest
Seuss for
Youngest Use”
17 Cowardly Snoopy
nemesis?
19 Seagoing “I see”
20 French film icon
Brigitte
21 “The Racer’s
Edge”
22 Urban air
concern
23 Much
25 Curriculum __
27 Gloomy route to
Oz?
32 Actress Vardalos
33 Butte relative
34 RadioShack
predecessor
35 Automaker
Ferrari
37 Watched closely
40 Fictional London
alter ego
41 United
43 Halt
45 Belonging to us
46 Embarrassed
three-person
Vegas act?
50 Kentucky pioneer
51 Divided sea
52 Applaud
54 Old PC monitor
56 “Altogether ooky”
family name
60 Rocker Ocasek
61 Primary mixes
that affect 17-,
27- and 46-
Across
63 Query
64 Fire up
65 Attract pigeons
for, say
66 Bluster
67 Colorful fish
68 2016 N.L. East
champs
DOWN
1 Untidy type
2 Certain
something
3 Early late-night
host
4 Ice cream treat
5 Polish removers
6 Apply carefully
7 Latin I verb
8 “Friday the 13th:
Jason Lives,”
sequentially
9 Torrid Zone
parallel
10 Junior
11 Words of
reproach
12 Up-and-down toy
13 Downloaded
video format
18 Jewish folklore
figure
22 Mother of Isaac
24 Recipe amt.
26 B’way buy
27 Many of its knives
have a limited
lifetime warranty
28 Arkansas team
29 Mrs. Gorbachev
30 Compute
31 Salon worker
32 Twice-monthly
tide
36 See 16-Across
38 Sicilian high point
39 Track events with
mechanical lures
42 “Strange Magic”
gp.
44 Museum with
Goyas and El
Grecos
47 Recital bonus
48 Red wine option
49 Gary who played
Beethoven in
“Immortal
Beloved”
52 Outcropping
53 Songwriter
Loeb
55 __ de force
57 “Dancing
Queen”
quartet
58 Bubbly maker
59 Old fast fliers
61 Player in an
indoor tree
62 Soweto’s
country: Abbr.
By Kurt Mengel and Jan-Michele Gianette
©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
09/07/17
09/07/17
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
RELEASE DATE– Thursday, September 7, 2017
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
xwordeditor@aol.com