Return of the Disappointments.

I think it's best to leave things as they are in many cases. Parks and Recreation will bring a new season which will almost definitely tarnish its reputation. Jimi Hendrix's image probably wouldn't grace the walls of every student if his youthful looks has faded into middle age, and his now short catalogue tarnishing itself with every new album. Would Jim Morisson be a hero to your most drugged up friends if he was still around, as wrinkled as a Rolling Stone? Would a surly Kurt Cobain now be living in obese seclusion, eleven albums into a Nirvana career, instead of killing himself at 27 and inspiring a new generation to sew badges onto their schoolbags? Probably not- often when it comes to art, brevity is the source of greatness: if you hang around too long, you end up ruining your mistique or proving your doubters wrong. There are some things you think ended well, and you're happy with how things are, but then they come back. Be it your favourite TV show, band, or movie, an comeback is often the worst thign that ever happened. Almost universally, they're not as  sharp, as fun, or as good as they were before. It's like seeing an ex-girlfriend dancing at a wedding and she's put on weight and looks like an alcoholic. The following are things which have come back from the past and disappointed me recently.

4. Indiana Jones 4

This is a little older than the most recent, but it still stings (especially as it was on TV not too long ago). The original trilogy were imprefect childhood favourites, and to see this (on the back of good reviews, no less!) was more than disappointing. South Park made that episode where their childhoods were raped, and as ever, it was right. Everything that made the original adventures so exhilirating and fun were gone, everything that made it special was replaced by a sack of leather pretending to be Indiana Jones, hiding in a nuked refridgerator. Really sad. Let's also not mention the childhood ruining that's taken place with Star Wars.

3. Soundgarden

Down on the Upside was a good end to things back in the day. It was no Superunknown, but very little in life is. It had a good few tracks and maintained the Soundgarden vibe, while also acting as a goodbye to the Seattle 'Grunge' Era. For the record, Pearl Jam don't really count, and Alice in Chains have actually come back pretty strongly. Soundgarden's decision to release a new album, so many years later, and its nothing special. It's pretty much bland modern rock, it's not groundbreaking or interesting, it's just a cheap rehash, despite the rave reviews. As much as I hate to say it, it probably would have been better if Cornell had just kept peddling his Timbaland produced nonsense than taint the good name of Soundgarden.

2. Black Sabbath

See above with Soundgarden. Technical Ecstacy was pretty bad, Never Say Die was terrible, Sabbath still had the first five albums to cement them into music legend. Their new album, with Ozzy Osbourne now being a deranged, drunken fame whore was to say the least, unanticipated. As it is, '13' is pretty disappointing. I've talked to mates about it and they say that 'it's better than it should be' and are happy with that. Is that the best we can hope for? I can't help but feel let down, particularly when other bands who Sabbath influenced are rockin' out so much better (Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, or Graveyard, to name but two). I suppose the world's most influential heavy metal band have released somethign pretty much unmemorable.

1. Arrested Development

 Yeah. I was happy with the ending of Arrested Development. The third season was so desperate seeming and gimmicky, that it was kind of sad. It was good to go out on top, comedy wise: it seemed like a good time to end. It ended, and got more and mroe popular, and so this new series came out, after years of promises. I've only watched the new series once, but I don't see myself watching it dozens of times again, as the other three seasons all have been. thinking of watchign the first four or five episodes again is a chore, whle I would happily watch the whole original series again right now.

Season four has some good moments, and some of the bits are pretty clever, I'll admit, but it's definitely not as good. Arrested Development has tarnished its legacy in releasing this series. What was once a ground breaking-show, incredibly witty, funny and sarcastic, is now not the best show you'll see this year. It feels behind the times, partially because of its own influence on other shows. It's not bad (although the first four episodes take some sitting through) - but it's nowhere near as good as it was. It's the TV equivalent of the Michael Jordan playing for the Washington Wizards. Nice to see it, but it probably should have stayed in the box. Also, George Michael and Lindsay no longer look human - the fact that we are in a world where Michael Cera is a sex symbol despite his womanly hips, goober face and non-existant muscle mass means its a world I no longer want to live in. Portia De Rossi being only the latest female celebrity to use filler/botox to get 'Meg Ryan Face' is a huge disappointment in itself. She'd have looked better without it.

It's weird, there are still great things around, it's just no longer the things I once loved. Perhaps that's a metaphor for life (or something equally generic and cod-philosophical).

Hope everyone is fine, Pascal