Official website of writer Aaron Johnston

You are here: Home / Content/Sidebar

Content/Sidebar

Alias Just Ain’t the Same Anymore

By

Lauren and I have been longtime Alias fans. We got a late start, catching the first season on DVD after it aired, but once we got into it, there was no turning back. That is, until now. For those of you who aren’t caught up with the series and don’t want to read what’s happened so far this season, stop reading now. I mean it. Unless you don’t mind spoilers, stop reading now.

OK, you’re still here. Alias isn’t Alias anymore. Firstly, Sydney is pregnant. I’m not opposed to parenthood, of course; I have two little angels myself. It’s just that a pregnant woman can’t beat up people. And that’s one of the reasons why we watched Alias: to see Jennifer Garner take out a horde of thugs with a tube of lipstick and her stiletto heels. But now that’s she’s with child–and rather far along, I might add–she can’t go crashing through windows or jumping off buildings onto waiting helicopters. So now, instead of being the hero, Syd is the mentor. APO (the name of the secret CIA ops group to which Momma Garner belongs) has some new recruits, namely a guy who looks exactly like Liev Schriber and has an annoyingly breathy voice and a young blondie who looks like Lauren from Season Three. They’re the new stars of the show. Oh sure, it still revolves around Sydney, but she’s more an observer of the action now instead of being in the thick of it.

What’s more, Vaughn is dead. Or he is for now, anyway. Alias has a way of resurrecting the dead, and if I were a betting man, I’d wager money on seeing Vaughn alive by the end of the season. His absence is likely the result of his and Jennifer Garner’s real-life separation (the two were an off-screen item until Garner decided Ben Affleck was the better man). Vaughn probably asked to be off the show.

But regardless of the reasons for his departure, depart he has. And so has Weiss, another series regular, who has taken a job in “Washington,” which is a nice way of saying, “I’ve outgrown this show, and I’m starting my own.”

And Nadia, who I was never a fan of anyway, is still holed up in the hospital with some terrible disease. So she’s out of the picture as well.

Yes, shows must evolve, but all of this is too much for me. It’s like being told your favorite ice cream is no longer available. There’s another flavor that shows promise and has some of the same ingredients, but eating ice cream will never be the same.

Oh well, at least there’s LOST.

Aren’t Matching Shirts Cute?

By

You can’t go wrong with matching shirts. Especially when they’re filled with such adorable cherubim like you see here. You can’t see it in this picture but Jake’s got a bad bruise on his left cheek. He fell and hit the coffee table yesterday. It wasn’t pretty. And nor is the bruise. Lauren and I have since moved the coffee table into our room until Jake has mastered walking. We did the same when Luke was first beginning to walk, and it saved many injuries, I’m sure. Plus we have a big open space in the living room now for beach ball volleyball, one of our new favorite family pastimes.

Freelance Work for the LDS Church

By

Got a new freelance job today with a quick turnaround. It seems the Church is producing some more Homefront ads–but this time for the US Latin Market, so they’ll be in Spanish. Should be fun to work on. I’ve always loved the Church’s Homefront public service announcements. The series is one of–if not THE–longest running PSA campaigns in broadcast history. Anyway, my ideas go straight to the Church’s AV Department. The spots used to be produced by Bonneville Communications, but that dissolved several years ago. I’m likely one of many writers pitching ideas, so maybe nothing will come of it. We’ll see.

"Lifeloop" at Western Illinois University

By

I heard some exciting news today: the play I wrote last year entitled “Lifeloop,” based on the short story by Orson Scott Card of the same name, will be presented at Western Illinois University. The director, D.C. Wright, is an acquaintance of mine from BYU and is now a theater professor at WIU. He called me out of the blue to tell me he was including the one-act in the school’s studio season, which is one step above a mask club production. I was thrilled. My first play, now performed in two states.

I’ll post more when I have more information.

Ultimate Iron Man #4

By


Just finished reading Ultimate Iron #4 by Orson Scott Card, with art by Andy Kubert. A great origin series with real, believable villains, snappy dialogue, and plenty of action. Loved it. If you read comics, this is a limited series you don’t want to miss.

Up and Running

By


I’m jumping on the bandwagon. This seems like an interesting thing to do even though Lauren and my mother may be the only people who ever read it. Here’s a recent pic of the family that Lauren’s dad, Cliff, took while we were vacationing near Ashville, North Carolina in August. The boys loved being out in the open. Luke especially loved going to the pool. You’ll notice we’re all wearing blue. Not a coincidence, I assure you.