Crazy is the New Black

Jordan Dane
@JordanDane

I'll admit that I've gone a little cra-cray over Fox's Sleepy Hollow. Yes, Tom Mison is the real reason I watch the show. There I said it, but the insane way the creators have put together such an inventive twist on Washington Irving's short stories (The Headless Horseman & Rip Van Winkle), thrown in the Bible's Revelations, added a spicy mix of conspiracy theory & history surrounding George Washington and the revolutionary war, and topped it off with demons and witches--makes my writer juices flow. It's like they had a dartboard and write about whatever they hit. I call it painting yourself in the corner and trying to figure your way out. The wilder, the better the challenge. I've been dying to try a book using this method and here the notion has unfolded in a TV show. The way season 1 ended, the finale was monster. It's hard to imagine what will come in season 2, but I will be in the front row and live tweeting every episode.

Anyone else a fan of Sleepy Hollow?

Another show that has its season 2 premiere coming Feb 28th is Hannibal on NBC. Crazy man Bryan Fuller has taken Thomas Harris's Red Dragon and reinvented what happens between profiler Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter. Fuller asked a great writer question: What if Will met Hannibal before he knew the man was the most prolific serial killer the world had ever known? Then make Hannibal his therapist. That is bent and twisted. If you haven't caught season 1, do yourself a favor and try it. It is graphically violent. So fair warning, but the mental mind games of Hannibal will blow you away. Season 2 is Will fighting back and Hannibal will regret how much he's taught Will about being a master manipulator and sadistic killer. This show may not be for anyone who is squeamish or prone to nightmares, but it puts me in my happy place. Weird, I know. I love Hugh Dancy in this role. He's such a strong actor and Mads Mikkelson as Hannibal is a perfect pairing. Mads has completely owned the iconic role that Anthony Hopkins used to dominate. Move over, Sir Anthony.

These shows (and a few more) have stirred my creative imaginings as a writer. They remind me that a writer is only limited by his or her own imagination. Staying the course and picking a safe book plot won't allow you to stand out in a crowd. To take the risk of pushing the envelope on what you write can be unnerving, but the upside can be ENORMOUS--and it's just so much damned fun.

There are other shows that have twisted storylines with the creators' wild imaginings. Please share some of your favorites and tell me why you like them. Do we have any Game of Thrones lovers out there? Fantasy supreme.

TV Shows I’m Addicted To

Jordan Dane
@JordanDane


I have my DVR set up with countless shows I record. My husband also knows my interest in the strange and peculiar NOVA Science shows or historical documentaries. As a writer, anything can stir your imagination and you never know what small tidbit can fuel a book or series. I once did a whole proposal after seeing a science show on venomous snakes.

Here are a couple of my fav TV shows adapted from books:

Hannibal – OMG! I am giddy for Thursday nights now because of this show. This is an adaptation of Red Dragon by Thomas Harris, but it is a prequel where FBI BAU profiler, Agent Will Graham, is brought in to consult with his old boss, Jack Crawford, and hunt serial killers. We meet the infamous Hannibal Lecter in the wild, before he gets caught. Will is good at his job, depicted as closer to Asperger's & sociopaths, and can visualize himself as the killer. This puts him in need of therapy, as you can imagine, but his boss picks Hannibal Lecter as his psychiatrist. This is graphic stuff, but the tongue in cheek dark humor is over the top and the psychological trauma worsens in Will, as we see him falling apart and under the care of Lecter. It’s mesmerizing to watch. Hugh Dancy is yummy as Will Graham and Mads Mikkelson as Hannibal redefines the role, big shoes to fill after Anthony Hopkins.

Justified – This show’s season has ended, but it gets better each year. Writer Elmore Leonard is the guy behind this show and the writing is superb. The characterizations and the dialogue are worth every minute of your time to watch this show. One of my favorite things to do is tweet my fav lines as the show is one. Many of my writer friends do this. Marshal Raylan Givens and criminal childhood friend Boyd Crowder are two characters to watch. The season that just ended was my favorite (and that’s saying something). Pure Rayland and Boyd.

Cable Shows I Have Recently Become Addicted to:

The Borgias – Jeremy Irons is damned sexy as a Pope. And his son, Cesare Borgia, has me spellbound…especially when he’s naked. Family scandal and treachery in enticing scenes.

Merlin – This is a different take on King Arthurs Court with a younger King Arthur and his loyal servant, Merlin, who can secretly do magic, a practice that is outlawed in Camelot.

Bates Motel – Yes, Psycho revisited, but this is before Alfred Hitchcock’s version, when Norman Bates is a teen. The making of a psycho and his weird relationship to his crazed mother.

What are some of your favorite guilty pleasure TV shows…and why do you like them? Are you addicted to any of the shows I watch?