What to think of the released JFK documents?

Over the last few days there has been a lot of talk in the media about the assassination of president John F. Kennedy. All over the world the media has been talking about the 'new information' pertaining to his murder that occurred almost fifty-four years ago.

This new information - that consists of freshly released documents - supposedly proves that Lee Harvey Oswald murdered the 35th president of the United States. There was no conspiracy behind the assassination and that it was simply a random act of violence.

The problem with this 'conclusion' by the media is that there's nothing in these declassified documents that would indicate that Oswald killed Kennedy. Nothing in these 'new' documents manages to even slightly point at Oswald's guilt.

For example, in these documents there's nonsense like Russians reacting to the possibility of Oswald being the assassin. The Russians, *gasp*, thought that Oswald must have been crazy *if* he assassinated the president.

There is stuff about how Jack Ruby - the assassin of Oswald - denied that there was a conspiracy in killing the alleged assassin. Ruby was adamant that he was not assisted by the Dallas police department officers in his deed.

There is also stuff that includes former director of the CIA Richard Helms testifying that Oswald was not working for the company. There was no chance that the alleged assasin had been on a CIA payroll at any point in his life.

In reality, not only are most of these 'revelations' decades old, but they don't really contain anything new. There's nothing new about important aspects that have to do with the case, like the eyewitness testimonies, the autopsy or the medical evidence.

Perhaps that is why the media was actually so happy to sing their usual 'Oswald did it song'. Since there was nothing incriminating here, they were boasting how this was the final nail in the coffin and that the 'conspiracy theorists' should give up.

In reality, unlike what the media is trying to say, the research community isn't actually looking for any 'smoking gun'. They aren't looking for that missing piece of evidence that would show us that there was a conspiracy to kill JFK.

In fact, every serious non-CIA backed researcher already agrees and knows that president John F. Kennedy died as a result of a conspiracy. Every serious student who has looked at the evidence knows that there was more than one gunman involved.

We know that the assassination was a conspirary because of the evidence that is available. We have the eyewitness testimonies, the autopsy report, the Zapruder film and the shooting reconstructions that prove that Oswald couldn't have been the lone assassin.

In fact, when it comes to these 'final nail in the coffin' claims, one of the most important moments already happened 25 years ago. This is when the Assassination Records Review Board declassified the eyewitness testimonies of JFK's autospy.

This is when it was revealed that for almost three decades we had been lied to. All the doctors and the nurses present agreed that unlike what we had been told, there was a big hole in the back of JFK's head and that the fatal bullet had come from the front.

This meant that Oswald couldn't have been the lone assassin because he couldn't have been at two places at the same time. He couldn't have been shooting from the 6th floor of the book depository and also from the grassy knoll at the same time.

So in that sense, whenever you hear the media talking about how there has been no 'smoking gun' in the case and that the 'conspiracy theorists' should give up, they are wrong. They couldn't be more wrong about their proclamations.

After all, just because they again paraded their usual 'experts' - CIA stooges like Gerald Posner, Max Holland etc. - that doesn't mean that they were telling the truth. That doesn't mean that they were giving us accurate information about what happened.

Just because they tried to obfuscate and tried to make us not believe our lying eyes, that doesn't mean that we should believe them. It doesn't mean that we should believe their lies and think that we shouldn't question the official story.

In the end, even though it's not fun to accept the idea that president Kennedy died as a result of a conspiracy, that is actually what happened. That is what happened and everyone who's willing to look past the lies should be able to see that.

As unfortunate as it is, the truth is that the media and the government have, for the last 50+ years, been part of the cover up. They have been doing everything in their power to make sure that we wouldn't get to know what happened.

In that sense, when they keep telling us that we shouldn't question the official story, we should protest. We should protest and let them know that despite their claims, we know that they're lying and that president Kennedy did die as a result of a conspiracy.

'Star Trek: Discovery' is a pretty awful series.

It's not exactly a secret that I have a hard time watching drama shows on television that tend to be too serious. As a writer, I don't like to watch television shows that are too dark and too depressing for no reason at all.

This is especially true when it comes to remakes and reboots of classic shows. I don't like it when these remakes and relaunches decide to be extra serious simply in order to look more 'credible' than their predecessors.

So when I heard that there was going to be a new, 'darker and grittier' Star Trek series, I wasn't looking forward to watching it. I wasn't excited about a new show that wasn't going to be like the original Star Trek shows were.

After all, the reason that I liked the original series and the 'Next Generation' is because they managed to be uplifting as shows. They gave you hope that things were going to be okay as long as we as people managed to work together.

Nevertheless, after having now seen the first two episodes of 'Star Trek: Discovery', it has to be said that the new series isn't any good. The new series manages to get almost everything wrong and has almost nothing to do with the original Star Trek franchise.

What I mean by that is that unlike in the original series or TNG, in 'Star Trek: Discovery' you'll get a universe that is incredibly dark and bleak in almost every imaginable way. There's nothing that would make you feel that the show is going to cheer you up.

Instead of giving us a universe and a premise where everything is possible - like in the original shows - on this show there's no hope for mankind. Pretty much all is lost and nobody has a positive outlook on life anymore.

Not only is the show dark and depressing, but the new series also manages to be incredibly illogical and contrived. Almost nothing that we see on our television screen makes sense or feels organic when you think about it.

When it comes to the characters on the show, the biggest problem here is that they're completely unrelatable. Especially when it comes to our main protagonist, first officer Michael Burnham (a female character), it's impossible to like her.

For example, in the very first episode, our protagonist, incredibly enough, wants to do a pre-emptive first strike on Klingons. She wants to kill as many of them as possible, even though it's not even clear that the Klingons are their enemies.

A bit later, when her bellicose suggestion is turned down, she actually decides to stage a mutiny (!). She knocks down the captain of the starship,  takes charge of the ship and orders the pre-emptive strike to be launched by herself.

This, of course, is something that would never have happened on the original Star Trek or on The Next Generation. It goes completely against what the Star Trek franchise, its ideals, intellectualism and values were about.

Neither captain Kirk nor captain Picard would ever have gone full blown gungho against a potential enemy in their respective shows. They would never have acted like warmongering sociopaths like our main protagonist does here.

When it comes to storytelling aspects on the show, it has to be said that they don't make much sense either. The focus on the series is completely missing and there are numerous basic storytelling mistakes in the pilot.

For example, instead of the series starting with our main protagonists,it actually starts with showing us the Klingons first (!). We get a bizarre two minute introduction to our rivals instead of getting to see our protagonists first.

This is something that is completely idiotic and goes against even the most basic rules of screenwriting. It's simply incredible that the writers of the pilot decided to ditch the basics and decided to be 'cool' and 'hip' instead.

As I reluctantly kept watching the episode, it became obvious that were more major problems with the story and the storytelling. These other major mistakes didn't make it any easier to keep watching the show either.

One big mistake in the first two episodes was that there were very few characters that we actually got to know at all. Unlike the original shows that were about the whole crew, this new show seemed to be  mostly about Klingons and a couple of human beings.

In practice, what this meant was that during the pilot there were entirely too many characters that we knew absolutely nothing about. There were so many 'red-shirts' on board that the episode almost became a parody of itself. 

When it comes to these problems, it also has to be mentioned that the first episodes suffered greatly from too many ill-timed flashbacks. These weird flashbacks made it increasingly difficult to follow what was going on and what was real on the show.

At least in my case, at the beginning of the second episode I even thought that the first episode had only been 'a bad dream'. Based on the flashbacks it felt like it had simply been a simulation to test our captain's reaction to our idiotic first officer.

So as a whole, when you put all these things together, it shouldn't come as a surprise that I had huge problems watching 'Star Trek: Discovery'. It shouldn't come as a surprise that I had a hard time even finishing the pilot.

After all, when you have have a show that doesn't know what it should be about, the series is bound to be in trouble. When your premise, your characters and your storylines are all badly thought out, you can't really expect much from it.

In contrast, the reason that the original shows worked so well is because they were about optimism and about the idea that we all could get along. As long as we were open minded and were willing to go where no man had gone before, everything was possible. 

In that sense, it's so unfortunate that this new Star Trek series doesn't represent any of these values. Instead of being an uplifting show about hope, it spends most of its time depicting the universe as a place where mankind doesn't have much of a future.

In the end, it has to be said that I can't recommend 'Star Trek: Discovery' for anyone who grew up watching either the original Star Trek series or Star Trek: The Next Generation. I can't recommend it for anyone who was a fan of either of those shows.

As far as I'm concerned, even though it's true that the show looks expensive, that's not enough to make the series work. It's not enough to use your budget on special effects and expect that it's the only thing that counts when it comes to quality sci-fi.

On the contrary, the reason that the show fails is because of those other reasons. The series fails because it's badly written, because it doesn't have substance in it, because it doesn't make us think and because it doesn't make us better as human beings.

'The Orville' is a surprisingly good Sci-fi series.

When I first heard about Seth Macfarlane making a comedy version of the classic Star Trek series, I didn't exactly have my hopes up. I didn't think there was much of a chance that the show could work and that it could be worth my time.

Especially knowing that the series was created by the guy who has been responsible for shows like 'Family Guy' and 'American Dad', my expectations were low. I thought there was no way this guy could create a solid, enjoyable series.

Nevertheless, after seeing the first two episodes of 'The Orville', I have to say that I have been positively surprised by the quality of the series. Even though the show hasn't been perfect, it has been much better than I had thought at first.

One of the biggest reasons that the sci-fi drama/comedy works so well is because it manages to respect the original Star Trek franchise. It takes the best aspects of the original series and 'The Next Generation' without making you feel like it's ripping them off.

By that I mean is that the series manages to respect the idealism that the original shows were known for. There's a positive, lighthearted vibe going with the show that manages to lift your spirits and makes you feel good inside.

The reason that the show has such an uplifting and upbeat tone has a lot to do with its likable characters. I was surprised by how well the characters work together and how almost all of them are well drawn and relatable.

This is especially true when it comes to the captain of the starship, played by Seth Macfarlane. Even though he hasn't been known as an actor that much, he does a surprisingly good job as a comedic version of James T. Kirk from the original series.

When it comes to the storylines on 'The Orville', I was surprised how well they managed to keep my interest. It was good to see that the writers on the show managed to provide well paced storylines that had substance in them.

Even though it's true that the show has some comedic elements, these elements don't take the center stage on the series. They don't override the essential dramatic elements and are not what the series is really about.

That 'The Orville' works so well also has a lot to do with its solid production values. It's obvious that a lot of effort, time and money was spent in creating a universe and a show that looks both believable and authentic.

At least in my case, I didn't have any problems with the show's set design, character design, make-up or special effects. Almost everything looked really good and made you feel like those in charge of the production knew what they were doing.

So all in all, when you combine all these good aspects, it's no wonder that the show manages to have value and merit. All these good things have made it possible that we have another 'Star Trek' series that is actually worth watching.

As a whole, even though critics haven't been kind towards the show at all (metacritic rating of 32% and rottentomatoes rating of 20% fresh), that doesn't mean that the series isn't well made or that you shouldn't give it a chance.

At least in my opinion, 'The Orville' - despite its minor flaws - manages to provide solid entertainment and keeps us interested. It manages to create a world and a future where almost everything is possible, as long as we believe in ourselves. 

In that sense, we can only hope that the show will keep doing well in the ratings. We can only hope that people keep watching it, because at the moment there aren't that many shows on television that are worth watching and worth your time.

'Young Sheldon' doesn't work as a comedy series.

When it comes to this season's freshman comedies, there's no doubt that one series was more anticipated than the others. Of all the new television shows that were to be aired, CBS's 'Young Sheldon' was the most anticipated one.

The reason that 'Young Sheldon' was so hyped as a series is fairly obvious. The series that it was based on, 'The Big Bang Theory', had been the most watched comedy series on television for so many years and had a huge fanbase.

So having now seen then pilot for the show, I have to say that it doesn't look like 'Young Sheldon' is going to be a success. Based on its first episode, it doesn't look like there's anything in the series that would keep the audience interested in watching it.

The biggest problem with this 'spin-off' is that it doesn't have a premise that is good enough. The premise of the show, in which the audience follows the early years of young Sheldon Cooper, simply isn't strong enough.

As unfortunate as it is, none of the elements that made the original series so good are present here. There is almost nothing in the new series that would remind you what made the original show watchable in the first place.
 
After all, the reason that the original Big Bang Theory managed to work so well is because it had a solid premise and likable characters. The show about four likable nerds and a girl next door had elements in it that kept the show going.

When it comes to this new show, it simply isn't enough to have one of the 'characters' from the original. It's not enough to transfer one popular character from the old show, give him a fresh new face and think that it's all that it takes.

Besides, we shouldn't forget that the popularity of Sheldon as a character has always been at least a bit exaggerated. He isn't actually that popular, especially when it comes to the character's likability and relatibility.
 
By that I mean that there are a lot of characteristics about Sheldon that aren't desirable at all. In most environments, his 'autism' and inflexibility as a character are things that will turn off the audience almost instantly.

In that sense, it's all the more unfortunate that the producers and the writers decided to take the absolute worst aspects of his character. All the good things about the early seasons that had to do with Sheldon's character are gone now.

Instead of making Sheldon curious about how the world works, all he does on the show is brag how much smarter he is than the rest. Instead of making us relate to him, all he does is complain and insult others like he's the only person left on the planet.

So based on all these mistakes and how badly the writers messed up Sheldon's character and the premise, it shouldn't surprise anyone that the show doesn't work. It shouldn't surprise anyone that 'Young Sheldon' is in trouble as a series.

At least in my opinion, the pilot had too many problems and there were too few, if any moments that made you smile. It didn't feel like any of the characters in the episode made sense or that the writers knew what they were doing.

As a whole, even though it is true that the kid who plays young Sheldon is a talented actor (Iain Armitage from Big Little Lies), that alone is not enough to save the show. His presence as a Sheldon is not enough to keep the series going.

In that sense, we can only hope that sooner or later CBS will do the right thing and cancel the show. There's no real reason to keep the series going, even though the first episode that aired did get somewhat decent ratings.