_Thony Awards 2016: An Obligatory List

Okay, 2016 was rough.  I can hardly believe that 2017 will be much better, but I am certain that it won't be all bad.  There will still be good people doing good things.  There will still be a chance for organized resistance to overcome societal ambivalence like it did at Standing Rock.   Believe it or not, there will still be high quality print journalism.  It will exist more often in 1s and 0s than ink but it will retain the capacity to speak plain, unbiased, stalwart truth to power.  (I highly recommend getting your news from the Washington Post.)  There will also be kick-ass movies, TV shows, and music to make us feel warm and bubbly inside.  I feel obligated to mention that I'm resolved to be less reliant on escapism as a crutch in the future.  I've leaned on entertainment far too often in the past and I want to focus instead on reality.  However, I still feel there is great value in good art, so today is about celebrating the best of the best.  (My favorites of the favorites.)

Best TV Shows

BoJack Horseman

Talking horses have come a long way since Mister Ed.  They now come fully formed with complex emotions, clinical depression, and nihilism.  The third season sees Hollywoo's (not a typo) favorite anthropomorphic horse BoJack coming into more career success than ever before, but he didn't quite earn it.  In the end BoJack tries to reconnect with his best self only to realize that comes with the risk of repeating past mistakes.  The series has had its fair share of acclaim but it definitively entered the ranks of TV legend with this season's fourth episode, "Fish Out of Water."  BoJack visits an underwater city to promote his new film, forcing him to wear an oxygen helmet that limits his ability to communicate with those around him.  That concept, combined with the show's trademark animation and deep understanding of emotion, make for a beautiful story with hints of homage to the modern film classic Lost in Translation and maybe a little bit to SpongeBob SquarePants.  This is one for the history books, as much as any single episode of a TV show can be one for the history books.

Supergirl

In it's second season Supergirl has definitively staked its claim: it is by far the best superhero show based on DC comics and a strong contender for the best superhero show period.  The series markets in inspiration, all the main characters have the noblest intentions and perform admirable deeds, from the mega-powered title hero to her spy/scientist sister to the dork with the keyboard, to say nothing of the constant rays of sunlight beaming down on star Melissa Benoist, casting her in an eternally ethereal glow.  And yet, they stumble and fall, not just in battle against mighty villains but also in their personal actions and beliefs.  The current season sees Supergirl herself struggling with her own prejudice towards a survivor of Daxam, a rival planet to her native Krypton.  The storyline of her adopted sister, Alex, coming out as a lesbian has received well-deserved praise thanks to an impressive performance by Chyler Leigh.  The writing has handled it delicately, including a realistically disappointing reaction from Supergirl.  Rather than knowing just the right words to say she responded with surprise and confusion.  The right words came eventually, of course, but the struggle was there.  Supergirl has found a well-proportioned blend of social metaphor, blunt commentary, and examinations of morality and the fabric of heroism.  Put simply, the recipe of Supergirl's heroism is compassion and empathy paired with affirmative deeds and a dedication to those ideals even in contrast to our own worst tendencies.

American Crime Story

Who knew a twenty-year-old murder trial could be a mirror for a dozen different modern social issues?  I mean, murder never goes out of style but the level of current relevance in the O.J. Simpson case seems uncanny.  David Schwimmer's portrayal of Robert Kardashian (Simpson's friend/lawyer and father of Kim, Khloe,  and the other K's) drew a direct parallel to the case and our current celebrity culture while also earning empathy from those who know what it's like to lose faith in a hero, whether it's a friend who commits murder or a beloved comedian who is secretly a serial rapist.  Sarah Paulson as prosecutor Marcia Clark faced sexism not unlike any woman in a high profile position still would today.  The controversy surrounding Simpson's race was addressed and embodied by Sterling K. Brown and Courtney B. Vance's portrayals of Chris Darden and Johnnie Cochran.  There's a reason The People v. O.J. Simpson received five Golden Globe nominations; because it's easily the best written, directed, and acted show of the year by a mile.

Honorary Mention: Black Mirror

I saw the highly acclaimed "San Junipero" episode on New Year's Eve and it absolutely lives up to the hype.  It's a beautiful story about life, love, and death.

Best Movies

Arrival

Are you paying attention, CBS?  Actually, you may want to go ahead and hire Arrival scribe Eric Heisserer for the Star Trek: Discovery writer's room if you can swing it.  Arrival is science fiction at its very best; smart, imaginative, and inspiring.  The concept is well-tread; aliens land on Earth for the first time, causing military brass to freak out, but a noble intellectual saves the day.  However, Arrival is exceptionally well written, acted and directed.  Amy Adams is captivating from beginning to end as the clever linguist Louise Banks, who leads the charge in establishing communication with the strange creatures.  Louise proves to the world the vitality of information and understanding so that we can learn to see through another's eyes.  With a moral like that Arrival could have easily come off as cheesy but director Denis Villeneuve handles the themes with poise, despite, or perhaps because of, his previous work having a tendency towards cynicism like last year's Sicario.  One or two storytelling devices cause Arrival to be a bit confusing at times but when you put the pieces together the message is clear: the future won't be perfect, but it will be worth it and the only way to get there is together.

The Nice Guys

There may be no greater master of the action-comedy in Hollywood than Shane Black.  To follow up his Iron Man 3, featuring Marvel's literally highest flying hero, he brought things a little closer to the ground.  A noir based in 1977, three years after the release of the iconic Chinatown, Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe play a pair of private detectives with wildly different methods forced to work together on the biggest case of their careers.  Together they unwind a complicated web of conspiracy full of currently relevant social allegory.  Did I mention it's a noir?  A really well executed, funny, smart noir?  It is.  Crowe and Gosling are joined by an extraordinary supporting cast including Kim Basinger, Matt Bomer, The Leftovers' Margaret Qualley, and character actor Keith David.

Ghostbusters

Steve Martin is known to advise young people to "be so good they can't ignore you."  When a reboot of the beloved Ghostbusters film franchise was announced many fans were livid, mostly for ridiculous reasons that don't bear mentioning.  The answer to their anger was to make a movie so good it couldn't be ignored.  It starts with a cast of some of the finest performers in comedy; megastar Melissa McCarthy along with three Saturday Night Live cast members/alumni Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones, and a supporting cast including hunky superhero Chris Hemsworth, the legendary Andy Garcia, another SNL star (the woefully underappreciated) Cecily Strong, and a thoroughly creepy and squirrelly villain in Neil Casey.  Then there's an incredible script by Katie Dippold and director Paul Feig.  On top of being the funniest movie of the year, it was also one of the most exciting and visually spectacular.  Ghostbusters, much like its namesake, is one of the finest action-comedies of our time.

Best Albums

A Sailor's Guide to Earth

In 2014 Sturgill Simpson made a name for himself as one of the best/weirdest voices in country music with a philosophical outlaw concept album, placing him in a strange place between alternative country and the Nashville establishment.  This year he clarified that he is there to stay.  He followed up his breakthrough with another concept; a letter from a sailor to his son, drawing from Simpson's life on tour away from his own young son and his background in the Navy.  Sonically, the album is less traditional than Simpson's Waylon-esque breakthrough.  It mixes in more soul and rock influences but that Kentucky drawl isn't going away anytime soon.  Simpson is as good a songwriter as anyone in the country game but his talent for adaptation once again steals the show.  His cover of new wave classic "The Promise" was a highlight of Metamodern Sounds and likewise Nirvana's "In Bloom" is the star of Sailor's Guide.

Blackstar

Let's not mince words; David Bowie was a genius.  Period.  No "if'"s, "and'"s or "but'"s.  Ziggy Stardust is a work of genius.  Heroes is a work of genius.  His 2013 album The Next Day is a work of genius.  Blackstar is possibly a genius's magnum opus.  Bowie was never one to shy away from uncomfortable conversations.  He almost single-handedly changed the way society sees gender.  In 2014 he was diagnosed with liver cancer and he saw it as a challenge from the most uncomfortable conversation of all.  An artist to the very end, Bowie used his dying days to create Blackstar, a meditation on mortality.  With seven tracks, at times Blackstar is regretful, angry, accepting, ethereal, lustful, and hopeful; a space-god's seven staged-swan song.  It was released on his 69th birthday, January 8th.  He died two days later.  Birth.  Bowie.  Blackstar.

ANTI

For almost a decade Rihanna has been the unquestioned queen of the radio.  Perhaps there was a time that you could argue that Gaga or Beyonce had more quality but none of her peers have more hits than Rihanna.  Period.  Now she's put a new twist in the qualitative argument.  As hip-hop and R&B are moving away from singles and towards sonically ambitious concept albums Ri-Ri is getting on board and taking over.  ANTI is a completely immersive listening experience and emotional journey.  (I suppose you could say the same thing about Beyonce's Lemonade but the difference is I don't have Tidal and I never will.  There comes a time when a man has to take a stand.)  Of course, Rihanna hasn't entirely abandoned the hit machine.  The hooks are just more subtle; they grow on you then they stick with you, and you never want them to leave.  "Kiss it Better," "Love on the Brain," and the chief earworm "Work" are a few standouts.

Best Comics

Archie

Archie Comics holds an odd status in the comic book community.  It's possibly the only non-superhero comic book franchise to make a lasting impact on pop culture at large, but the consensus in the comic community has largely been that it's an outdated concept that doesn't know when to quit.  Changing Archie's image posed a massive undertaking, but by-gum they are pulling it off.  Last summer the franchise was subject to a massive reboot, with hall-of-fame writer of acclaimed DC and Marvel runs Mark Waid taking the reigns of the main Archie title, and other top creators taking on accompanying series like Jughead, Josie and the Pussycats and Betty and Veronica.  Waid and Fiona Staples, the artist of the first several issues of the reboot, immediately made a splash, turning the sleepy town of Riverdale into a sleek, modern, stylish comedy-drama.  Waid, along with Staples' replacement Veronica Fish, has maintained the momentum beautifully.  Every month the series reveals new depth and freshness to the characters and relationships once thought tepid and bland.  The upcoming Riverdale TV series could stand to take a few notes from Waid's humor and insight.

Ms. Marvel

For three years Ms. Marvel has seen near-unanimous praise.  It has been consistently well-crafted, funny, and the epitome of the word "enjoyable."  This year writer G. Willow Wilson has pushed her hero, New Jersey's pubescent Pakistani paladin Kamala Khan, to new lengths.  The Marvel comic book universe, like the cinematic universe, was plagued by conflict that pitted hero against hero.  Kamala found her moral confidence shaken along with her faith in her own heroes, including her idol and inspiration, Carol Danvers, also known as Captain Marvel.  Kamala had her worldview challenged in ways that all people must, young and old alike, but are still uncomfortable to watch.  Wilson continues to chart her growth with nuance, empathy, and just the right amount of humor while Kamala continues to be the hero we need as our need for heroes embiggens and embiggens.

All-Star Batman

With Scott Snyder being one of the biggest stars of the comic industry there was a lot of curiosity and excitement surrounding whatever he chose to do after finishing his impeccable run on Batman.  It turns out, he chose to do more Batman, but with a very different version of Batman than the last one.  Snyder's All-Star Batman immediately set a tone most wouldn't expect from the Dark Knight, but it all just works.  The new Batman is strange, quirky, and surreal.  Snyder's previous series about the "World's Greatest Detective" carried plenty of noir influence, meaning that the city of Gotham was a major part of the fabric, but All-Star sees Batman on wacky road-trip outside of the city limits.  With a new title comes a new artist, following Greg Capullo's horror style is the legendary John Romita Jr, whose work is more cartoonish but strangely primal.

Most Horrifying Pattern that I Hope Isn't an Omen of What's to Come

Game of Thrones

The second-to-last episode of the sixth season of Game of Thrones was one of the most impressively cinematic feats to ever appear on television.  That is keeping in line with every other season of the fantasy epic; the penultimate episode has the most exciting action while the finale is more about wrapping up old stories and setting up new ones.  This year, the finale took the wrapping and setting to new extremes.  Finally the Starks (Sophie Turner, Kit Harrington) have been partially reunited and returned to their family home, Daenarys (Emilia Clarke) is headed for Westeros, and Cersei (Lena Headey) obliterated all of her enemies and destroyed the Great Sept in a single massive explosion, killing off a significant fraction of the main cast.

Preacher

One of the most surprising successes of the year was AMC's Preacher.  Like the acclaimed comic series it's based on, Preacher is a darkly comedic supernatural philosophical Western.  What's even stranger than that description is the unlikely creators, the lords of stoner comedy Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg who executive produced along with writing and directing the first two episodes.  The show follows a rural preacher who has recently returned to his hometown after turning his back on a life of crime.  The preacher (Dominic Cooper) finds himself at the center of the war between Heaven and Hell and tries to take advantage of the situation, putting himself at odds with angelic visitors and the motley crue of townspeople including a corrupt meat maker and an S&M good ol' boy.  Fortunately, he can rely on his friends, a murderously repressed single mom (Lucy Griffiths), an affable Irish vampire (Joseph Gilgun), his violent ex (Ruth Negga), and a disfigured teenager nicknamed "Arseface," (Ian Colletti).  Unfortunately, most of those peculiar personalities perished along with the town in a single sewage based explosion

Rogue One

The first movie set in the Star Wars universe without a Roman numeral since the franchise was bought by Disney set out to answer questions no one was really asking.  Specifically, "how exactly did Princess Leia get her hands on the Death Star plans she gives to R2-D2 to give to Obi-Wan at the beginning of A New Hope?"  Director Gareth Edwards, along with writers Tony Gilroy and Chris Weitz, admirably pull off the feat of exposing the darker, more war-like parts of the Star Wars while keeping things relatively Disney friendly.  However, the film raises a new question; "what happens to Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, Chirrut Îmwe, (Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Donnie Yen) and the rest of the Rogue One crew considering they aren't seen in any of the other movies?"  The answer is, they all died in a single massive explosion caused by the very weapon of mass destruction they were attempting to destroy.  On the bright side, Rogue One ends with a message of hope, as a soldier places the plans into Leia's hands shortly before she is captured by Darth Vader and taken to Grand Moff Tarkin who forces her to watch as the same Death Star destroys her entire home planet in A New Hope.

In Rogue One Princess Leia represents a narrow ray of hope in a film full of destruction.  Now Carrie Fisher, the actress best known for portraying Leia, has passed away, putting a truly sorrowing cap on a year full of loss.  It's hard to not see that as a finishing blow but I'm certain that in the face of such despair neither Carrie nor Leia would give up hope.  Neither will we.

My Thanks to Poets and Fighters

Donald Trump won the election.  How and why doesn't really matter now.  The fact is that an awful, immoral megalomaniac will be President of the United States for at least several years unless a miracle takes place.  But I don't really want to talk about Donald Trump right now.  I've done enough of that and will continue to do so, as will many people much better than I.  Dark times lie ahead and I want to celebrate the lights that have shone so bright in the recent past, who I hope will continue to do so as best they can.  I would like to highlight scholars and intellectuals but that's not really my area of expertise.  Instead I will speak of writers, directors, and performers.

It may seem silly to praise superheroes and joke makers when the President-elect poses a threat to our very way of life, and that's something that has bothered me for the past few weeks.  For the first time in my life I have had little interest in escapism and have almost been repulsed at the idea.  That's why I want to start with a somewhat obscure TV show called Dead Like Me.  The time and place in which I grew up actively encouraged a hatred for gay people.  Despite that, I have become a passionate supporter of LGBTQ rights.  It wasn't because of a gay friend or mentor or college roommate.  It was because of the the TV and movies I watched and the music I listened to.  The biggest turning point was an episode of Dead Like Me called "The Bicycle Thief."  Dead Like Me is about death and that episode saw a reaper come for a gay couple, one man before the other, in the same day.  Seeing a gay man grieve for his partner opened my eyes to the humanity of LGBTQ people.  Looking back, I see it as irrefutable proof of the impact art can have.  One hour on Netflix spent streaming a years old episode of a canceled TV show changed my life.  Thank you to Bryan Fuller for creating Dead Like Me and thank you to Paul Lieberstein for writing the episode.

Thank you to Supergirl.  Star Melissa Benoist and the crew led by showrunner Ali Adler recovered from a bumpy start to become a truly magnificent show.  The characters, Martians, Earthlings, and Kryptonians alike, are dumb, flawed humans but still manage to inspire, to awaken that part of us all that yearns for heroism.  Perhaps best of all, Supergirl has given the girls and boys of America a female President with the help of a former Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter.  Maybe, if they can believe that a woman can fly, they can believe that she can become President, despite all evidence to the contrary.

Thank you to Pussy Riot.  You were imprisoned by Vladimir Putin in your native Russia for a peaceful punk rock protest then when you were finally released you came to America only to watch another dictator rise to power and you decided to piss him off too.  I don't know for sure if the women of Pussy Riot currently call the United States home or not, but it is still incredibly brave and the best kind of dumb for them to challenge the next President the way they have.  We should all aspire to be even half as courageous.



Thank you to Kendrick Lamar, who has almost single-handedly raised the bar for ambition and social conscience in music.

Thank you to Daisy Ridley and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  My little cousin didn't think a girl should be the one to save the day and I think you helped change her mind.

Thank you to Ms. Marvel's G. Willow Wilson and Sana Amanat for reminding America monthly that Muslim people are as passionate, loving, determined and heroic as anyone else.  I'm ashamed to admit that any of us need reminding.

Thank you to Laverne Cox for your grace, courage, and poise.  Thank you to the Wachowskis for breaking barriers of what female and LGBTQ directors can accomplish.  It's been almost two decades since you made your universally adored breakthrough but your more recent work is loved with a depth of passion that critics can't even begin to comprehend.  I'm disgusted that my state would police your identity and invade your privacy because of baseless fears and prejudice.

Thank you George Takei and the rest of the cast and crew of the musical Allegiance for reminding us of a dark time in our nation's history, one far too often overlooked and which must not be repeated.  Thank you to Lin-Manuel Miranda and everyone else responsible for giving us Hamilton.  Many of you represent the groups with the most to lose under the upcoming administration and you expressed your fears to a man who threatens you with perhaps more respect than he deserves, even after being unjustly criticized for your honesty and compassion.  In the past year Hamilton has served as a stark reminder of what our country once was and what it can be with the help of passionate, principled leaders and citizens.

Thank you to David Bowie, Prince, Alan Rickman, Harper Lee, Glenn Frey, George Martin, Gary Shandling, Gene Wilder, Merle Haggard, and all the other artists who died in the past year.  It seems that 2016 has taken artists at an accelerated rate.  Just days after the election Leon Russell, Sharon Jones and Leonard Cohen passed.  Cohen wrote poetry before he realized that it would be more profitable to add music call them lyrics.  However, he wasn't the only poet of the group.  None of these people were mere singers and actors; they were all poets.  Even the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, who passed in June, had a poetic streak a mile wide.  But these were the poets of another age.  A new, darker time is upon us and the old poets had to move on to make way for the next generation.  The poets are dead, long live the poets!

Imagine Lin-Manuel Miranda as a Marvel Character

Last week I proposed a few DC Comics superhero characters that could potentially be played by Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the brilliant musical Hamilton, in live action.  This week I am continuing that premise for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  I browsed through the official Marvel Encyclopedia I had lying around for inspiration and came up with a few ideas for characters ready to make the leap to the big screen if they haven't already.

Fandral

The character of Fandral already exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but he has been played by two different actors in as many movies.  One third of Asgard's "Warriors Three" was played by Josh Dallas in Thor and Zachary Levi in Thor: The Dark World.  If another recasting should be needed perhaps Miranda would be up for the part of the swashbuckling warrior.  He would surely bring an appropriate amount of energy and humor to the role.

Voice of Warlock

The Technarchy is a species of space travelers who are innately very aggressive.  Warlock is an outcast of his race because he is naturally kind.  He escapes the wrath of his menacing father and goes to Earth, where he happens to be found by the New Mutants, a team of X-Men in training.  He is quickly embraced even though he is by far the most alien in every way in the group of misfits.  Lin-Manuel Miranda is too old and too human to play a teenage alien living computer outright but a Warlock would have to be CGI anyway and he would need a voice actor.   Miranda, as someone who tends to wear his feelings on his sleeves, could surely relate to the raw emotion of the naive fish out of water.

Beyonder

The Beyonder is similar to Warlock in that they are both new to Earth and the ways of humanity but they are very different in a couple of important ways.  The first is that the Beyonder is much more powerful.  The second is that he is an adult, or he was born yesterday depending on how you look at it.  The Beyonder is an entire multiverse made sentient.  When he first gained consciousness he formed a new planet and forced the Marvel heroes to fight each other.  Later on he tried to live among humans by taking the form of one.  It didn't go well.  That was more or less the end of the Beyonder.  He was an omnipotent celestial being who sought to understand human life but he really screwed things up in the process.  For Lin-Manuel Miranda, a widely beloved and famously warmhearted performer, to play the Beyonder, an almighty sociopath who seeks to understand humans but lacks the capacity for human morality, would be quite striking.

Jim Power

Jim Power is not a superhero but a humble scientist and father.  However, his young children aged 5, 8, 10, and 12, form the super team known as Power Pack.  They gained their abilities after Jim created a device that drew attention from an alien race of reverse-centaurs.  Power Pack went on to face some of the most deadly villains in the marvel universe and wrestle with serious issues like addiction, homelessness, and the moral implications of a 5 year old who can fire deadly laser bolts out of her hands at will.  Fortunately, the team had two loving parents they could count on even if they weren't included in the secret of their children's dual identities.  Jim and Margaret Power are a perfect model of two-income, prime-of-their-life, figuring-it-out-as-they-go parents of young children.  What I'm saying is, Jim Power is a cool dad not unlike Lin-Manuel Miranda.  Followers of Miranda's social media are familiar with his son Sebastian and how important he is to Miranda.  Also, fatherhood plays an important part in Hamilton, from the lead's wartime cry of "gotta start a new nation, gotta meet my son" to that son's premature death.  So, even though it's only a supporting role it's easy to see Miranda in the part of an early 30's parent whose life becomes very strange very quickly but he takes it all in stride and with a healthy dose of love and understanding.

What if Lin-Manuel Miranda were a DC superhero?

The CW has achieved a feat of superhero television that was once unimaginable.  Four days in a row of shows based on DC comics, three of which take place in the same universe with the fourth just a hop, skip, and a breach away.  Somehow, the collective cast of this group of shows became full of actors with backgrounds in musical theater, especially Supergirl and The Flash.  The titular Supergirl and Flash are played by Melissa Benoist and Grant Gustin who both broke into television by way of Glee, and they are joined by esteemed Broadway legends like Laura Benanti and Jesse L. Martin as well as a younger cast with credits including Bonnie and Clyde and musical Internet sensation StarKid Productions (it's hard to explain if you don't already know).  That's why the two shows are planning a musical crossover for the current seasons.  And yet, they're not alone.  Arrow features John Barrowman, who has a background in the theater scenes of both New York and London, while Legends of Tomorrow has Godspell star Victor Garber and Once's Arthur Darvill.  With all these musical theater actors playing superheroes I wonder if there's a role for the musical-dork-in-chief, Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda, in a DC movie or series.

Blue Lantern

The 2011 film Green Lantern is widely considered a critical and commercial flop, so widely that even the film's star Ryan Reynolds seems to despise it.  I imagine it also raises complicated emotions in writer and producer Greg Berlanti, the ringleader of the CW shows.  However, the Green Lantern Corps of intergalactic police is still a great concept full of great characters.  That's probably why a movie is planned for 2020 and with a little luck a Lantern will show up on TV before much longer.  As for Lin-Manuel Miranda, I don't really see him as a Green Lantern.  GL's are defined by their determination, a trait Miranda surely has in spades, but I believe he would make an even better Blue Lantern.  Blue Lanterns have the same powers as Green Lanterns, (rings that create whatever the wearer imagines from thin air) but Blue Lanterns are defined by hope rather will.  If I know one thing about Lin-Manuel Miranda it's that he is bursting with optimism.  There isn't anyone alive who is more excited to be alive.  He doesn't seem to have a bad word to say about anything but an endless supply of good words about everything.  On the other hand, there could be place for him in the Indigo Tribe, a group of Lantern types who are powered by compassion.

Vibe

A few years ago the character "Vibe" was a fun obscure comic book reference.  He was the ridiculous joke of a "Justice League Detroit" gimmick to pander to hip-hop fans.  (The very first image of Vibe showed him break-dancing.)  The character is now building a different reputation thanks to his main role in The Flash.  The live-action Vibe is very different from the original.  He's a brilliant scientist who lives and breathes nerdy pop culture references and provides just the right amount of comic relief.  The only remnants of the old Vibe seems to be the name "Cisco Ramon," his Hispanic ethnicity, and his vibration based powers, along with a connection to the multi-verse that first appeared when the character was rebooted in 2011.  That's where Lin-Manuel Miranda comes in.  I believe he could perfectly fuse the two versions of the character, perhaps for the cinematic DC universe.  He's a lovable dork who loves hip-hop; the biggest nerd in the game and the coolest dweeb in the world.  I don't know if he can break-dance but I bet he could learn.

Plastic Man

As superhero movies grow in quantity the need for interesting, less known source material also grows.  That's how 2015 produced the excellent Deadpool and the sloppy but enjoyable Suicide Squad.  Maybe if that trend continues the long rumored Plastic Man movie could see the light of day.  Crafting a good Plastic Man movie would certainly be an impressive feat.  The character is as rooted in comedy as Deadpool but much more kid-friendly and cartoonish.  He has the power to stretch and mold his body into any shape he desires and change his appearance at will.  Casting a character like this would be a challenge unless Jim Carrey is still up for getting in superhero shape in his 50's.  For a more youthful alternative, I suggest Miranda.  He's an incredibly physical performer and as a host on SNL he proved his excellent comedic timing.  Although, it may not be a role befitting of a certifiable genius like Mr. Miranda.

Uncle Sam

On SNL Miranda compared Hamilton to the disastrous 2016 election but one notable difference is the time.  Hamilton takes place during and after the American Revolution, when the United States was a fledgling nation full of promise.  When Alexander Hamilton declares himself "just like my country, young, scrappy and hungry," it fills an American heart with pride.  It makes one believe that America's potential has not yet been tapped and depleted.  Also, it's nice to know that one of the greatest artistic minds of our time comes from the U.S. of A.  As far as superheroes go, one might think that Marvel has the market on patriotic do-gooders cornered with Captain America but DC is home to the one and only embodiment of the American Spirit known as Uncle Sam.  The man under the star-spangled top hat has existed in DC Comics in one way or another since 1940.  There's no reason Miranda couldn't regrow Alexander Hamilton's goatee to portray a Puerto Rican-American version of Uncle Sam, perhaps in Legends of Tomorrow.  Sure, it would be a little cheesy, but no one does cheese better than LMM.  The man's a human nacho cheese fountain.

Mad Men Report: Star Trek: Seeking Out 'Luke Cage' and 'Westworld'

Captains Log:  My mission to rank new TV shows based on how much they could distract me from watching other shows has been slowed by Hurricane Matthew but I am nearly back on track.  On a related note, the fall's slate of new premieres seems to be slowing down.  We only have two new series on the docket, although both are quite exciting.  They should prove to be quite a pair of diversions from my viewing of Star Trek.

Luke Cage

In a time when every week brings a different video of another black man being unjustly shot Marvel and Netflix offer a champion who swats away bullets like flies.  The latest in the Defenders series of grim, hard PG-13 superheroes that includes Daredevil and Jessica Jones sees Luke Cage building a humble life in Harlem after a hazardous fling with Jessica Jones herself.  Of course, he can't stay hidden for long and he quickly begins a one-man war on Harlem's criminal underworld.  Mike Colter returns to the role he originated in Jessica Jones.  He is joined by Alfre Woodard, Simone Missick, Theo Rossi, and 2016's favorite character actor Ron Cephas Jones.  Luke Cage is exciting and absorbing, but I can't shake the feeling that the Defenders are just as susceptible to formula as the Avengers, they just have a different formula.  Fortunately, that formula includes nurse Claire Temple, played by Rosario Dawson who is possibly the strongest actor in Marvel's stable.

Star Trek threat level: 7/10

Westworld

The late, great Yul Brynner is having a good year.  He was replaced by Denzel Washington in the remake of The Magnificent Seven and Ed Harris in the TV adaptation of Westworld.  The former is a fun movie that's worth watching but the latter has immediately established itself as a must-see.  Together they amount to a Western and a half.  Westworld has a Western outer shell and a gooey sci-fi center.  It's about a theme park that allows visitors to live out their fantasies of the Wild West with the help of life-like robotic hosts.  Obviously, that fantasy includes filling strangers with hot lead but none of the guns in the park work on humans, only on soulless machines.  The problem is that they may not remain soulless for long.  Evan Rachel Wood plays a sweet farm girl who begins to realize that her existence is a creation made with zeroes and ones.  The mastermind behind the park, played by Anthony Hopkins, sorrowfully passes the torch to the new wave of innovators, Jeffrey Wright, Simon Quarterman, and Shannon Woodward but not before making a few last innovations of his own.  Showrunner Jonathan Nolan, best known for writing films directed by his brother Christopher, has crafted an Ex-Machina style mindfuck wrapped in the breathtaking scenery of a John Ford cowboy picture.  The HBO series has been compared to Game of Thrones but if the first episode is any indication there's no need to worry about filling those shoes.  Yul Brynner would be proud.

Star Trek threat level: 9.5/10