It seems those days are gone forever.
Having finished the second season of Green Arrow, which was painstakingly like listening to fingernails on a chalk board, all I want to do is watch a Chuck Norris movie....preferably, "An Eye for an Eye"...where the good guys win...and big time at that.
A recent Facebook comparison brought to light something I suppose I'd thought about but not said in all this - Zombies used to be ugly....now they are pretty; Vampires used to be scary...now they are handsome (or at least supposed to be), werewolves were vicious (not cuddly) and aliens were so bad they had acid for blood....they weren't blue and you didn't want to become one.
I suppose one could argue this is the desensitizing of America...maybe, maybe not. Or that "they will call evil good, and good evil"...maybe, maybe not.
We have Hulu Plus, thousands of TV series at your fingertips. And you know what...not one of them has a true "good guy" anymore...(again, "good guy" is defined as the guy who wins in the end).
There is actually an underlying theme in all of them: No one wins in the end, the situation is hopeless, there is no good guy (there really isn't even a bad guy for that matter), you end up rooting for the bad guy because the good guy is too much of a wimp anyway, and they have no way to defend themselves. Hmmm...now there is the underlying theme in all this (and if you don't think the government controls the movie industry...think again).
However, for the sake of my argument here, I'll try and keep this superficial...if I can.
In 2006 BBC came out with a new series "Robin Hood"...and I was like "wow, that sounds good". I can always go for an archer picking off the evil minions of the Sheriff of Nottingham as he terrorizes the Merry Men of Sherwood forest.
Now, where to begin...
First, there are no "merry" men. They fight amongst themselves. Little John would more like to take a swing at Robin and knock him out cold (which he did), than take on the Sheriff of Nottingham (which he is a coward to do so). (By the way, whatever happened to the loyal sidekick like Tonto? even they don't exist anymore).
Then Robin uses a Saracen bow...of all things? What ever happened to his long bow? And Robin Hood can't kill...he can only wound. Yes, seriously, Robin Hood is a pacifist. Whatever happened to Errol Flynn?
OK, so let's compare archers. Bring along the Green Arrow in 2012. I tried the season opener, but preferred the Oliver Queen of Smallville, so it was not until 2013 that I revisited Arrow. Finally, a good guy, or so I thought. At least he wasn't a pacifist, and he took out the bad guys (well, almost, he did let Deadshot live, but that ended up being a good thing...read on).
But then something happened in Season 2...now Oliver can no longer kill and has become a pacifist...he abhors guns (although his bodyguard uses one). How good is a super hero if he can't kill evil? Pretty worthless in my book. So again, I find myself rooting for the bad guys...they always win, and are not cowards...they don't question their actions, and they are better than the good guys, because the good guys are pacifists. Does all of this make sense? Probably not.
So who is the hero in Arrow? Definitely not Oliver Queen. Try the Black Archer for starters. He was the one who saved Thea when Oliver couldn't protect her, and he was the only one who never lied to Thea, even though Oliver had on many occasions. Now think about this, why did Oliver want to kill the Black Archer? Because he wanted Thea to know Oliver was lying to her. So who's really the bad guy here?
And who bales Oliver out in the end? The daughter of Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins. When Oliver is in trouble, they come to his aid...and neither do they hold a grudge against Oliver, even though Oliver holds a grudge against them. Odd how the bad guys can now forgive when the good guys can't. In the end the League of Assassins do what Oliver could not...save the city. And it is the League of Assassins who promised to protect Sara, because Oliver could not.
And back to Deadshot...yeah, he even plays a role in saving the city...holding no grudges against Diggle, even though Diggle tried on many occasions to take him out. And no, that was not even the first time Deadshot had helped the "good" guys at that (by "good" guys...the ones who for a whole season kept trying to knock Deadshot off).
And now, what about Slade Wilson? So at the end of the season we finally find out why he wanted to kill Oliver....because Oliver stuck an arrow in his eye while he was pinned down and helpless. Now, who wouldn't want to get revenge on someone who stuck an arrow in your eye while you were on a sinking ship and they left you for dead. So was Slade really the bad guy? It definitely proved Oliver to be a coward.
So, in the end who do I root for? The Black Archer of course! He is the only one who has beaten the Green Arrow...and mark my words, he will do it again in Season 3.
Now, where does that leave us with heros and villians? Nowhere, to be honest. Chuck Norris is retired, Clint Eastwood is too old, and The Duke is dead. Long live Clayton Moore. Sorry to hear of the passing of Tom Laughlin in December 2013.
If anyone knows of a series (modern) where the hero wins in the end...reply to this post. I won't be holding my breath.
So for now, I am left with Doctor Who...yes, one has to go all the way to Britain to find a hero, because America no longer knows how to make shows with heroes. At least the Doctor does always win in the end...but always at a great loss too. Hmm...maybe that is why American television gave up on heroes, because the losses were too great...at least the Green Arrow would second that.
Where have all good men gone
Where's the street wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
Bonnie Tyler - I Need A Hero Lyrics
Artist: Bonnie TylerAlbum: Miscellaneous
Genre: Rock
Heyo! SONGLYRICS just got interactive. Highlight. Review: RIFF-it.
RIFF-it good.
RIFF-it good.
 | Play Song |  |
Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the Gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and I turn
And I dream of what I need
I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero
'Til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero
'Til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
(Larger than life)
And where are all the Gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and I turn
And I dream of what I need
I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero
'Til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero
'Til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
(Larger than life)
Read more at http://www.songlyrics.com/bonnie-tyler/i-need-a-hero-lyrics/#0i0VI2dXovmTW86G.99
Bonnie Tyler - I Need A Hero Lyrics
Artist: Bonnie TylerAlbum: Miscellaneous
Genre: Rock
Heyo! SONGLYRICS just got interactive. Highlight. Review: RIFF-it.
RIFF-it good.
RIFF-it good.
| Play Song | |
Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the Gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and I turn
And I dream of what I need
I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero
'Til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero
'Til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
(Larger than life)
And where are all the Gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and I turn
And I dream of what I need
I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero
'Til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero
'Til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
(Larger than life)
Read more at http://www.songlyrics.com/bonnie-tyler/i-need-a-hero-lyrics/#0i0VI2dXovmTW86G.99
Bonnie Tyler - I Need A Hero Lyrics
Artist: Bonnie TylerAlbum: Miscellaneous
Genre: Rock
Heyo! SONGLYRICS just got interactive. Highlight. Review: RIFF-it.
RIFF-it good.
RIFF-it good.
| Play Song | |
Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the Gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and I turn
And I dream of what I need
I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero
'Til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero
'Til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
(Larger than life)
And where are all the Gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and I turn
And I dream of what I need
I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero
'Til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero
'Til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
(Larger than life)
Read more at http://www.songlyrics.com/bonnie-tyler/i-need-a-hero-lyrics/#0i0VI2dXovmTW86G.99
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