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As I have mentioned before, my husband likes to spend time in the evenings watching TV. With the absence of very much "on" that he likes, he will often rent DVD's to watch. Since a while back we came to a brilliant solution for preventing marital disputes--anything to do with FOOD or TV is his domain--he chooses what he wants to eat and view. Last week he presented something that he thought I would like, a movie version of a novel by Michael Crichton called "Lookers". It was about models and intrigue in their profession, but the best part was the section BEFORE the actual film started. That was Michael Crichton in person talking about how he made and directed the films about his work. He noted that one of his books, "Congo", could not be made into a movie because gorillas were labeled "endangered species". Since I hadn't read that book, it immediately went onto the list of future purchases. But the easy style in which he discussed his work and his books made me think of all of them and how much I enjoyed what critics called his "page turners" manner of moving readers through his text. He is someone I would have liked to meet in person. But I can't because he died of cancer barely a year ago. However, more of his works will be published post-humously, and I plan to acquire them all!
CBS News published this about the late author:
"Michael Crichton will have another chance at the bestseller lists, after HarperCollins announced plans on Monday to release two unpublished novels he left behind at his death last fall. A 17th-century adventure tale set in Jamaica, entitled Pirate Latitudes, will hit stores this fall, the publisher said Monday. Another work, an untitled techno-thriller that Crichton left incomplete upon his death, will be finished by a yet-to-be-determined co-author. That book is slated for release in 2010.Both works were recently discovered among Crichton's files, the publisher said. Crichton's death in Los Angeles in November shocked readers and the entertainment world alike. According to his family, the 66-year-old had been battling cancer but chose to keep it private. Trained as a doctor, Crichton was a significant influencer of North American pop culture, with a host of his bestselling, often science-based books turned into films over the years, including The Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, Rising Sun, Disclosure, Sphere and Congo. He also created the long-running TV medical drama ER, which began in 1994 and had its series finale last week, and penned a number of screenplays, including for movies such as Twister." No lunch with Michael lasted less than three hours and no subject was too prosaic or obscure to attract his interest," John Wells, executive producer of ER, said following Crichton's death. "Sexual politics, medical and scientific ethics, anthropology, archeology, economics, astronomy, astrology, quantum physics, and molecular biology were all regular topics of conversation."
Please note the reference to the TV show ER that Crichton created. It had its last showing on Thursday night, April 2, 2009, in a 3-hour special about the series, the people on it, and how amazing it was that the show had a run of nearly 15 years. There were cameos about some of the actors and actresses that had performed part-time character roles that related to the regulars in the series. Clips from past episodes abounded. Yet nowhere was there ever tribute paid to the show's creator or acknowledgement of his death. For with his passing a huge gap was created in the literary world and its ingenious interweaving with the scientific one. Michael Crichton was a creature borne of both worlds, and this enabled him to create not just dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park", but dinosaurs bred from DNA left in amber deposits that had trapped mosquitoes. His imagination made the fictional seem both real and possible. The same is true for a more recent work, "Next", which put genetically created animals in among the human characters. The list goes on and on, but not once was this incredible creative ability acknowledged in the source that the most people would know: TV. ER was one of my favorite shows, and when I learned that Thursday night's extended presentation would be THE END of ever seeing it again I dropped everything else and sat glued to the TV. Of all the regular characters, only Noah Wyle and George Clooney have moved on to other roles. Wyle's character, John Carter, made extended trips to Africa but always returned to Chicago. The last few episodes of ER on TV included him returning with some sort of malady that required hospitalization at County General. His final appearance showed him presenting the new health care facility that the Carter family fortune had provided. Characters from throughout the show's history appeared to congratulate John Carter on his generosity. Yet as it grew late, each one had a plane to catch or some other necessary reason for departure and Carter was left alone with the product of his inherited wealth. At the end of the TV show the credits appeared as usual, but there was nothing in them about the show's creator Michael Crichton, or his untimely passing. Just Mom |
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