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crack_van2003-09-22 08:36 pm
alee-gothphyle.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2003-09-22 08:36 pm
Entry tags:
The Sentinel -- A Slasher's-Eye Overview
The Sentinel
What, you ask, is a Sentinel? Simply put, a Sentinel is a person with five heightened senses, a throwback to pre-civilised man, or so Anthropology doctoral student Blair Sandburg would have you believe.
Described in Western literature by Richard Burton (the explorer, not the actor), Sentinels are something of an anthropological Urban Legend, the elusive pot of gold that some have sought, but few or none have found. Until now. Detective James Ellison is a former Army Ranger who, along with his team, was shot down over the jungles of Peru.
Jim was the lone survivor, and the isolation and sensory deprivation of the Peruvian wilderness awoke his dormant Sentinel senses. (We later find out that Ellison possessed these heightened senses as a child, but due to the childhood trauma of witnessing his mentor's death, his father's disbelief in his abilities, and a generally maladjusted youth which featured his mother's desertion, the parentage of a distant and somewhat cruel father, and the constant competition between he and his brother encouraged by his father, his senses were repressed.)
Upon his rescue and return to the United States, Jim became a police officer, and though the exact details of his early career are left somewhat vague by the show, it seems that he worked Vice. Eventually, he transferred to Major Crimes.
When the series begins, Jim is a detective under the supervision of Captain Simon Banks, who is shown throughout the course of the series to be more than Ellison's commanding officer -- he is also his friend.
Jim is having difficulty controlling his heightened senses, often experiencing what we later come to know as "sensory spikes": situations in which one or more of his senses is amplified out of control, to the point that they are overwhelming. Doctors are unable to help him, and Jim begins to fear he is losing his mind, when he is contacted by Blair Sandburg masquerading as a hospital doctor.
Arriving at Rainier University (where Sandburg is enrolled) to meet "Dr. McKay", Jim realizes Blair is not a doctor, and after listening to his theory about the nature of his heightened senses, a confrontation ensues in which he grabs Blair by the lapels of his brightly colored vest, slams him into a wall, and calls him a "neo-hippie witch doctor punk" while completely violating all rules of personal space. (Yes, ladies and gentleman, the slash is on already! *g*)
Storming out in fury, Jim "zones" on the sight of a red flying frisbee, standing in the middle of the road as an industrial truck approaches. (A "zone out" is a situation in which a sentinel becomes entranced in one of his senses, and is utterly hypnotized by it.) Not to worry, however, as Blair comes to the rescue, throwing Ellison to the ground just in time for the garbage truck to pass over them harmlessly. Thus the "partnership" begins.
Jim needs help learning to control his senses, and Blair needs a dissertation subject. They agree that they can help each other out, and Blair gets "civilian observer credentials" which allow his to ride on case calls with Jim, under the pretext of studying the police force in general to observe a closed society. By episode four, Blair's apartment has been blown up, and he moves in with Jim for "one week" -- he never moves out.
Other players in The Sentinel universe include:
Naomi, Blair's free-spirited mother who espouses the virtues of free-love, meditation, and sage-burning, and who claims not to know the identity of Blair's father.
Joel, the easy-going bomb-expert who seems to be Simon's second-in-command.
Megan Connor, the exchange officer from Australia who arrives toward the end of the series (Perhaps in an attempt to elicit some heterosexual chemistry with either Jim or Blair?)
Carolyn Plummer, Jim's ex-wife at the time the series begins. She soon leaves town.
And (from left) Henry and Rafe, another pair of detectives that work at Major Crimes.
Over the course of the series, it is stated that Blair becomes Jim's Guide/guide, and a sort of Shaman. This responsibility includes helping the Sentinel use his senses effectively and safely, and Blair is seen helping Jim with a variety of meditation and breathing exercises to better control his senses, and is also seen tending to Jim's general welfare as it is discovered that a variety of medications have unexpected and severe side effects on his Sentinel senses.
Recurring themes in the series, and things you will often find addressed in fic, include such things as trust (Can Jim really trust Blair not to reveal his secret? Can Jim truly trust anyone after a lifetime of betrayal?), loyalty (How deep do the bounds of friendship truly run?), family (Just how big of a bastard is Jim's father, and was the nomadic lifestyle Blair lived as a child really all it's cracked up to be?), friendship (Blair says the relationship is all about friendship -- and maybe something more?), and love (Why are Jim and Blair so unlucky in long-term love -- with women, that is?).
People have been known to ask "just how gay is The Sentinel?". To put it simply, there are no words. We're talking about a series that features two guys living together for four years. They give each other nick-names (Jim calls Blair "Chief" and "Darwin", and various other pet names as the mood strikes him), they harass each other about their food (Jim teasing Blair about his algae shakes and herbal teas, and Blair chiding Jim about his cholesterol), and they have ongoing battles about who forgot to use the bathroom spray -- yes, ladies and gents, they are married.
Additionally, the h/c is right onscreen, with plenty of hugs and bedside vigils, and with one spectacular scene in which Blair is dead, and Jim saves him by merging their spirit animals (Jim is a black panther, Blair is a wolf) in a mystic grotto. In the end, Blair sacrifices his dreams of fame, fortune, and the letters "Ph.D" after his name when his mother sends his dissertation manuscript to a publisher before Blair can remove Jim's name from the document, leaving Blair to call a press conference, refute his work, call himself a fraud, and thus end his academic career in order to protect Jim. *sigh* Yes, it's love. Sure, you could find het or gen fic, but why would you want to? *g*
Here are some links to get you started:
852 Prospect The Sentinel Adult Fiction Archive: http://www.squidge.org/archive/
Sentinel Slash Virtual Season: http://www.squidge.org/5Senses/
Guide Posts (Sentinel Gen Fiction Archive): http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/5307/
Black Panther Productions (Gen Virtual Season): http://www.blackpantherproductions.org/
What, you ask, is a Sentinel? Simply put, a Sentinel is a person with five heightened senses, a throwback to pre-civilised man, or so Anthropology doctoral student Blair Sandburg would have you believe.
Described in Western literature by Richard Burton (the explorer, not the actor), Sentinels are something of an anthropological Urban Legend, the elusive pot of gold that some have sought, but few or none have found. Until now. Detective James Ellison is a former Army Ranger who, along with his team, was shot down over the jungles of Peru.
Jim was the lone survivor, and the isolation and sensory deprivation of the Peruvian wilderness awoke his dormant Sentinel senses. (We later find out that Ellison possessed these heightened senses as a child, but due to the childhood trauma of witnessing his mentor's death, his father's disbelief in his abilities, and a generally maladjusted youth which featured his mother's desertion, the parentage of a distant and somewhat cruel father, and the constant competition between he and his brother encouraged by his father, his senses were repressed.)
Upon his rescue and return to the United States, Jim became a police officer, and though the exact details of his early career are left somewhat vague by the show, it seems that he worked Vice. Eventually, he transferred to Major Crimes.
When the series begins, Jim is a detective under the supervision of Captain Simon Banks, who is shown throughout the course of the series to be more than Ellison's commanding officer -- he is also his friend.
Jim is having difficulty controlling his heightened senses, often experiencing what we later come to know as "sensory spikes": situations in which one or more of his senses is amplified out of control, to the point that they are overwhelming. Doctors are unable to help him, and Jim begins to fear he is losing his mind, when he is contacted by Blair Sandburg masquerading as a hospital doctor.
Arriving at Rainier University (where Sandburg is enrolled) to meet "Dr. McKay", Jim realizes Blair is not a doctor, and after listening to his theory about the nature of his heightened senses, a confrontation ensues in which he grabs Blair by the lapels of his brightly colored vest, slams him into a wall, and calls him a "neo-hippie witch doctor punk" while completely violating all rules of personal space. (Yes, ladies and gentleman, the slash is on already! *g*)
Storming out in fury, Jim "zones" on the sight of a red flying frisbee, standing in the middle of the road as an industrial truck approaches. (A "zone out" is a situation in which a sentinel becomes entranced in one of his senses, and is utterly hypnotized by it.) Not to worry, however, as Blair comes to the rescue, throwing Ellison to the ground just in time for the garbage truck to pass over them harmlessly. Thus the "partnership" begins.
Jim needs help learning to control his senses, and Blair needs a dissertation subject. They agree that they can help each other out, and Blair gets "civilian observer credentials" which allow his to ride on case calls with Jim, under the pretext of studying the police force in general to observe a closed society. By episode four, Blair's apartment has been blown up, and he moves in with Jim for "one week" -- he never moves out.
Other players in The Sentinel universe include:
Naomi, Blair's free-spirited mother who espouses the virtues of free-love, meditation, and sage-burning, and who claims not to know the identity of Blair's father.
Joel, the easy-going bomb-expert who seems to be Simon's second-in-command.
Megan Connor, the exchange officer from Australia who arrives toward the end of the series (Perhaps in an attempt to elicit some heterosexual chemistry with either Jim or Blair?)
Carolyn Plummer, Jim's ex-wife at the time the series begins. She soon leaves town.
And (from left) Henry and Rafe, another pair of detectives that work at Major Crimes.
Over the course of the series, it is stated that Blair becomes Jim's Guide/guide, and a sort of Shaman. This responsibility includes helping the Sentinel use his senses effectively and safely, and Blair is seen helping Jim with a variety of meditation and breathing exercises to better control his senses, and is also seen tending to Jim's general welfare as it is discovered that a variety of medications have unexpected and severe side effects on his Sentinel senses.
Recurring themes in the series, and things you will often find addressed in fic, include such things as trust (Can Jim really trust Blair not to reveal his secret? Can Jim truly trust anyone after a lifetime of betrayal?), loyalty (How deep do the bounds of friendship truly run?), family (Just how big of a bastard is Jim's father, and was the nomadic lifestyle Blair lived as a child really all it's cracked up to be?), friendship (Blair says the relationship is all about friendship -- and maybe something more?), and love (Why are Jim and Blair so unlucky in long-term love -- with women, that is?).
People have been known to ask "just how gay is The Sentinel?". To put it simply, there are no words. We're talking about a series that features two guys living together for four years. They give each other nick-names (Jim calls Blair "Chief" and "Darwin", and various other pet names as the mood strikes him), they harass each other about their food (Jim teasing Blair about his algae shakes and herbal teas, and Blair chiding Jim about his cholesterol), and they have ongoing battles about who forgot to use the bathroom spray -- yes, ladies and gents, they are married.
Additionally, the h/c is right onscreen, with plenty of hugs and bedside vigils, and with one spectacular scene in which Blair is dead, and Jim saves him by merging their spirit animals (Jim is a black panther, Blair is a wolf) in a mystic grotto. In the end, Blair sacrifices his dreams of fame, fortune, and the letters "Ph.D" after his name when his mother sends his dissertation manuscript to a publisher before Blair can remove Jim's name from the document, leaving Blair to call a press conference, refute his work, call himself a fraud, and thus end his academic career in order to protect Jim. *sigh* Yes, it's love. Sure, you could find het or gen fic, but why would you want to? *g*
Here are some links to get you started:
852 Prospect The Sentinel Adult Fiction Archive: http://www.squidge.org/archive/
Sentinel Slash Virtual Season: http://www.squidge.org/5Senses/
Guide Posts (Sentinel Gen Fiction Archive): http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/5307/
Black Panther Productions (Gen Virtual Season): http://www.blackpantherproductions.org/
no subject
I appreciate the distinction, and restated the information to reflect that Blair is Jim's Guide/guide -- however, I think fanon is fair game here at
At any rate, thanks for the clarifying comments ;)
no subject
As another expatriate from Sentinel fandom, it's so nice to read a summary of TS that hits all the things about it that I loved. :)
Personally, the way *I* always saw Blair's character arc, it was less "he becomes a Shaman" and more "he becomes a cop." Basically, transitioning him from an academic observer to someone who's Jim's partner in every way, someone who's chosen to immerse himself in the world, interact with it rather than just study it.
It might be interesting for people doing fandom summaries to point out common fanon, and how it actually differs from canon. Like in TS, "Blair is a vegetarian" is disproven about a million times in canon, but it still, to this *day*, is popular fanon and shows up in 'fic. I'm assuming these reviews are mainly meant for people who haven't seen the show at all, so it might be useful to distinguish fanon from canon in cases like these.
no subject
Oh, EXACTLY! I am absolutely facsinated (still!) by the incredible transformation that Blair undegoes, from the guy who enters into his career as Jim's partner as "strictly an observer", to the man who looks at Zeller dangling over the edge of the building and asks Jim whether they should pull him up or drop him -- this is gripping character evolution at its highest, I don't care how many people blow off the show! (Can you sense I'm a bit militant in my defense of the series as valid drama, cheesy plots and all? *g*)
It might be interesting for people doing fandom summaries to point out common fanon, and how it actually differs from canon.
*Nods* This is an excellent idea, and something I may take a stab at pulling together.
Thanks for taking the time to comment! (btw, still ADORING the icon ;)
no subject
I'd say the best fanon thing is Blair's middle name. Bast came up with it and it stuck.
Blair had an amazing character arc. He completely grew up and matured on the show. I love watching the difference between him in the beginning and later on, and the difference in the loft after Blair moves in.
All white and sterile to a gorgeous place I wouldn't mind living in. I'm a Blairwhore if you didn't notice.
no subject
And as for being a "Blairwhore" -- yup, me too! As Blair himself might say: "come on in, the water's niiiiiice!" ;)
no subject
*throws things at Alex, Cassie, and Sam*
Okay, here are two:
Canon v Fanon 1 (http://tmar.za.net/senses/canon.htm)
and
Canon v Fanon 2 (http://www.katspace.net/sentinel/canon.php)
There is another one someone but it probably says the same thing, maybe on Martha's page?
You still might want to do a longer one, like adding in where Blair's middle name came from, etc...?