Great Scott!: Why Everyone Knows Who Doc Brown Is.

You might not know his name.  You may not know he was played by Christopher Lloyd.  But when someone tells me to envision a crazy, wild-eyed scientist, you know who I think of?  Dr. Emmett L. Brown.  His character stands out as one that is well rounded, an intriguing personality, and frankly - I think we all wish we knew somebody a little like him.  But don't worry - I won't tell.

I'm not the only one that thinks Doc Brown is remarkable.  Empire Magazine ranked him #76 on their list of the 100 Greatest Movie characters, and this is what they have to say on the subject:

The white hair may be standard issue mad scientist, but Doctor Emmett Brown, creator of the flux capacitor and a man incapable of normal social interaction because his head is too busy buzzing with ideas, is a genuinely likeable creation, a world away from stereotypes. So much so that, when he gets shot by Libyans ten minutes in, we're sad even though we've only just met the man. And joyous again when we meet his younger self. Now that's acting.

And that last sentence says a lot:  Now that's acting.  If George Clooney or John Goodman were to step into the character of Emmett Brown, it wouldn't be the same.  He'd still be charming, but he wouldn't be him.  Part of the charm of the character comes directly from the quirkiness of Christopher Lloyd himself.  The actor brings just as much to the character as the writers do.

Why does this all matter in a writing blog?  How much different are books from movies?  In the end, they both tell a story, just through different mediums.  Characters are of equal importance in both.  It is the characters that the readers/viewers fall in love with, the characters they talk about.  Sure, Lothlorien is lovely, but isn't Galadriel haunting?  The world can only handle so many Harry Potters, so many Edward Cullens.  There comes a time to break through the mold and start creating Doc Browns.

Let me tell you a little more about Doc Brown.  First of all, he has his signature appearance:  the crazy white hair is a must.  It's Einstein-esque, which gives him the feel of an inventor from the very first.  His eyes are always very wide, as though he is discovering something new every moment.  He's very conservative - you never see Doc Brown in bold colors.  The brightest we get is a muted blue Hawaiian shirt, and if you live in a touristy place, you know that is a darned conservative Hawaiian shirt.  It's also important to see that Doc never changes - they make a sort of joke about it in the second movie when they say he's (basically) had plastic surgery to make himself look younger, so he's wearing a mask so Marty will recognise him.  Lo and behold - when he takes off the mask, he looks exactly the same.

These sorts of things are only stereotypical when for a reason, and they are never blown out of proportion.  I sincerely doubt that the way Doc dresses and looks, anyone can truly state his age.  That ambiguity means a lot - the traditional age-related assumptions go out the window.  That's great!  Also, notice how un-James-Bond-like he is.  The further away from a perfect appearance you can get, the better.

Personality is next.  Doc is quirky, to be sure, but we all are in our own ways.  He's not so quirky that he cannot talk to people, but he chooses not to associate.  He doesn't stand out in a crowd the way a stereotypical "crazy" would - or, at least, the high schoolers at Hill Valley high in 1955 don't seem to notice he's around.  I think my favorite part of his personality is how literally he takes everything.  Certainly, this is realistic enough because as an inventor he is trying to understand everything, but it also makes for subtle comedy:  I think my favorite line is when Marty say's "That's heavy..." and Doc says "There's that word again; 'heavy'. Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth's gravitational pull?"  You also know that Doc doesn't like to be alone, because he keeps a pet dog at all times (Copernicus, then Einstein), and he marries and has children in the third movie.  He is passionate, and needed someone to understand his passion.

And, do I need to go into catchphrases? Whenever someone says "Great Scott," soon to follow is a conversation about Doc Brown, the Back to the Future trilogy, and/or time travel.

With a closer look at Doc Brown, is it so difficult to see why he's such a likeable character?  He is his own person:  charming, witty, intelligent, caring... but at the same time, he struggles with the same basic human needs as the rest of us.  He doesn't have to be tall, blonde, or dreamy to be a truly great character... he is a great character because of his reality.

So go, writers all, and show me that you you have a unique, interesting character in all of you.  Show me your Doc Brown.

And, as a side note for those Back to the Future fans and Behind the Scenes nerds like me out there - here's an old promotion for Universal Studios Florida, filmed in 1988, starring Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown, your tour guide.

aint' i pretty, it's my city...

Today is Day One of my first ever NaNoWriMo.  I'm crazy excited for it all.  I've been thinking about doing it since my sophomore year of high school, since the day my friend Nikki told me there was such a thing.  Every year I had an excuse.  Heck.  I have an excuse this year.  Rehearsals three nights a week, plus all my classes... I've got papers to write, fiction and poetry to write... just for school!  But I signed up anyway.  Why, you may ask?  Part of me is crazy, I think.  And part of me just wanted to try something new.

And so, here I am, Day One into NaNoWriMo.  My story is science-fiction where I specialise in fantasy.  I need to research science-y things just to pass as reasonable.  I got up at about 7:35am this morning, and started writing immediately.  I had hit over the requirement by 8:45am.  By the time I headed to town today for classes, I was at 6,079 words, which is where I am still.  I'm still 2,000 words ahead of all my buddies - I'm feeling okay about where I am today, and I will write more tomorrow.  It's going really well, all things considered.  I'm really happy with everything.  And I wrote out a plot during class today.  So now I know where I am going.

For now, I am calling it a day.  Between writing for NaNoWriMo and adding about two pages to my term paper, I'm written-out for the day.  I've my alarm set for 6:00am tomorrow morning, then I start again.

Now, I am going to enjoy Newsies and Smartfood popcorn and life and feeling accomplished.

Last Movie Quoted:  Newsies.
Last Song Heard:  "Carrying the Banner" from Newsies.
Last Google Search:  "set yourself on fire"
NaNoWriMo Word Count:  6,079.

twi-hards and pott-heads.

With the movie of Eclipse fresh out of the oven, the time again comes when any level-headed, perfectly rational, life-treasuring human being pulls the covers over their eyes and hides from the rabid fans.  Or perhaps I'm a bit unfair.   You see, there are three kinds of Twilight fans.  Type One: Rabid, insane people who stalk Robert Pattinson and ask him to bite their children. These are the ones that call themselves "Twi-hard".  Type Two: Those who argue for hours and hours over who's better:  Jacob or Edward.  They will occasionally stop talking to their friends over the issue, but only for a few days, and not forever (for those who hate those of the opposite team forever and always, see "Type One".)  Type Three: Those who read the books, appreciate them, go to the midnight premieres most of the time, and keep up with the news.  Certain types are, naturally, a little easier to abide by.  For me, I know only Twos and Threes.  I get to read about Ones in the newspaper and online, though.

What makes these young adult book series' such a phenomenon?  Is it just because they are what they are:  book series' for young adults whose hormones aren't stable and therefore it's not about the books- it's about the hotness-scale of the characters?  Is it because the writing is the most brilliant thing this side of Mars?  Or is it all about telling a good story?  I think it's a mixture of all three (of course, many Twilight fans will tell you it's all about Edward).

I am biased:  I picked up Twilight once when I was a senior in high school and didn't like the writing style, so I put it back down.  There are a lot of people who have done the same as me, but there are also those who can (and will) argue that Stephanie Meyer's writing style is easy to read and superior to any other they know.  Hey, awesome.  I'm glad that it works for y'all.

I choose not to talk about my opinions of the characters, or Meyer's plot (which seems entirely dependent on Bella procrastinating on picking either Edward or Jacob).  I'm not suicidal, see, so I will leave the story itself alone.  From what I have heard, however, the screenplay is fantastically close to the actual books (the Harry Potter directors could stand to learn something) and that is a nice relief to the fans.  However, the film cast and crew probably doesn't want to be killed by rabid fans by being incompetent.

Is it worth our time and effort to throw ourselves into these fictional worlds?  I'm not just talking about the world of Twilight- goodness knows I've been waiting for my letter to Hogwarts for ten years, and there are many out there that would die for a chance to see Hobbiton or have tried to build their own lightsaber.  The real question isn't whether it's worth our time and effort, the real question is:  why do we do it?  No series outside of fantasy has as big of a following, as many obsessive fans.

Fantasy has always been escapism.  It is true that young adults seem to pick it up more whole-heartedly (and no wonder- adults obsessing over fictional characters are judged much more heavily than teenagers), but there are people who come home after work and sink into an armchair with that tattered copy of Prisoner of Azkaban that they just finished last night, and they open it up to page one again...  "Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways..."  It certainly isn't just the "geek" community who dives into the fandom.  It's amazing that as everyone is wishing they could fly a tie-fighter instead of punching in data, we are escaping into our fantasy worlds and binding ourselves together as a community.

Oh yes.  I said it.  Twi-hards, you are equal to those wanna-be Jedi.  Pott-heads, you are equal to those who do not simply walk into Mordor.  So even though I do not like Twilight personally, I respect Stephanie Meyer just as much as I respect J.K. Rowling.  They are both gods, in their own right- weaving worlds of wonder for all of us to enjoy.  Whether it is Narnia, or Middle Earth, Tatooine, Forks, Hogwarts, Discworld, the Calla... I can go on.  We all exist in them in our imaginations to escape our world.  Fanfiction is the inner reaches of our souls trying to control those worlds we love.  Roleplaying gives us a chance to live in those worlds, even if only for a moment.

That said, I have a few confessions to make:

• I dressed up as Obi-Wan Kenobi for Halloween when I was a senior in high school.


• I own a time turner.


• I have every single Harry Potter book, including Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quiddich Through the Ages, and Tales of Beedle the Bard.


• I own half of the New Jedi Order series.


• I have read Attack of the Clones by R.A. Salvatore 5 times.


• I own the special extended versions of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.


• I am dressing up as Luna Lovegood (see image above) this Halloween.


• I have read the Harry Potter series all the way through twice, and I have read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban at least 10 times (I stopped counting).


• I have music from A Very Potter Musical on my Zen.


• I own the Lord of the Rings trivia game... and rock at it.


• I learned proper English grammar by writing Harry Potter fanfiction.


• I online-roleplayed in the Potterverse for two years (until there were no more decent forums).


• I once spent a whole week pouring through my Harry Potter books to prove that Draco and Hermione were a more feasible couple than Draco and Harry, even though I don't ship Draco/Hermione.


• I own soundtracks to Lord of the Rings:  Return of the King, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and a collectors edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.


• I've taken the online Harry Potter Sorting Tests enough to know that I don't fit in one house, I'm split between two (Ravenclaw and Slytherin) but if I was actually at Hogwarts, I'd be sorted into Ravenclaw.


• I have a toy lightsaber... and nobody else can touch it. *shifty eyes*


• I own the videogames: Knights of the Old Republic, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Force Unleashed, Lord of the Rings:  The Two Towers, Lord of the Rings:  Return of the King, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.


• I dominate at Harry Potter Scene It.


• I go to every single Harry Potter premiere I can get to.


• I went to 2am showings of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.


• I spend the entire time watching the Harry Potter movies pointing out all the discrepancies from the books.  Somehow, this amuses my friends.

That is all I can think of at the moment.  What about y'all - do you have a list of "guilty secrets" that ties you to your favourite fictional worlds?  A cardboard cut-out of Edward Cullen, perhaps?  Arwen's pendant?  How many times have you walked into your closet, hoping you'd come out in Narnia?  I'd love to know about it!