Television shows are getting better and better while Hollywood has continued to hang their hats on the same old stuff. While TV programming is becoming more and more film-like, it seems like the film industry is making that a pretty low bar. And sure while we’ll always have wonderful films each year (I’m not going to argue that Argo, Silver Linings Playbook and The Avengers are terrible movies; far from it). But the overall theme in Hollywood seems to be following the old theme of network television: lowering the standards of excellence. And while networks have been scrambling for more and more reality TV shows, the execs in LA are scrambling for more and more sequels, prequels and remakes. Heck, even the new stories are the same old formulas.

It used to be a great attribute of movies that they could afford to move at a much slower pace and develop characters, plot points and relationships much more deliberately and often even more artfully. They had 90-150 minutes to do so. Television on the other hand was given the alternate task of fitting an entire plot into 22 (or if lucky, 44) minutes. However, since this new shift of film-like TV shows (that many say started with shows like Oz in 1997 and The Sopranos in 1999), their roles have switched.

Since this revolution in quality programming at home–as well as with the rise in frequency of repetition and redundancy within film–TV shows have been given the gift of time. No longer do complicated and intricate storylines need to be summarized and squeezed into their allotted weekly time slots. Because of the availability of every episode of every show being in everyone’s pocket–or at the very least, in people’s living rooms, anyone and everyone can watch entire seasons of their favorite shows in just a few hours, days or weeks. This has now flipped the roles of TV & Film on their heads (Flipped em for real.) and has made it seem as if film is the one being squeezed and forcing impossibly complex and arduous plot points into no more than two hours And then on the other hand, a television show can afford to go into more depth, take its time with the characters, and really flesh out a great story over an entire season of episodes.

It’ll be interesting to see how the next generation of film is produced and digested. It’s already beginning to change as Netflix has begun to produce its own shows (and quality shows at that). I can’t imagine the world were living in continuing down this path like we are for very much longer. Granted, there will always be a place for predictable sitcoms, trite legal dramas, and daily soap operas on television, but that doesn’t mean that the best of the best is staying the same as well. Right now we can go to the movie theater and see the latest film release for $10 (per person) plus $5-10 for refreshments, or we can stay at home and pay $7.99 per month (at least when watched legitimately–otherwise freely) and watch TV shows that are often written, acted, directed and produced at film-level quality.

Look, I love going to the movie theater as much as the next guy (love me some red vines and diet coke), but there’s a reason I haven’t gone to see many the last few years: money. I don’t have much of it. And most of this country is in this tiny little boat along with me–or should I say, large, shoddy boat along with me. But what we do have are laptops, Internet connections, and HDMI cables so we can watch any show and movie on our TVs and computers for anywhere from absolutely free to a few bucks a months. Heck, in college I even watched a few movies that’d only been our in theaters for a few days (at a friend’s house, of course).

So what’s the solution? What’s the endgame? Not entirely sure. But here are a few idea that I could see at least being part of the the next generation of TV/film production, and aspects of the next paradigm shift within the Industry…

- New movies available to watch at home…still $5-10 (via iTunes/amazon/etc.) and not just through your cable provider. Heck, they do this in hotel rooms, why can’t we do this on our laptops? I understand companies like Time Warner, Comcast and DirectTV are pretty dang big, so this may be something that just can’t happen, but it seems to be inevitable the way things are going. [It's kind of like the fact that we currently have the technology to build inexpensive water-run cars with the only by-product being steam, but because Exxon, BP, and Chevron run just about everything in this country (as other oil companies contribute to run the world), we'll probably never see a truly green car.]

- More and more crossover of film actors moving into television. J.J. Abrams has been leading this charge for years, and now it seems like premiere actors will be doing the same. I was shocked to see Kevin Spacey playing the lead in a TV show (well, Netflix-streaming show…I guess that’s a TV show…?) as he took the reigns of House of Cards (along with director David Fincher) and blew away critics. As he stated regarding his accepting his first television role in 25 years, “It’s not the first time I’ve been offered TV – and it’s not the first time David’s been offered TV – but for whatever reason, we both waited. Whether that was because maybe we were nervous about the confines of some kind of television… but it seemed like this was the right moment for us to jump into it. Netflix stepped up and outbid everybody and said, ‘We believe in you guys – you don’t have to audition and do a pilot, go do 26 episodes’ – so we were like… f**k, okay, that’s pretty awesome!”

- A lessened (or possibly even eradication of the) stigma behind straight-t0-TV movies. No longer will they be Oxygen/Lifetime originals, but instead produced and developed by quality people and worked through with the new generation of audiences in mind who are bored with formulaic, unoriginal programming (or at least, need a little wind0w-dressing on those story arcs).

Who knows? Maybe this is all for naught, and I’m just reading into this current trend of TV and film and each will go back to their “normal” roles in a few years. I seriously doubt it, but hey, I’ve been wrong before. I just know that for now, shows like Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Game of Thrones, and Mad Men are just as good as any movie I’ve seen the last five years in theaters.

Excited to see how shows like these change the film landscape in the coming years.

Mike has got to be the most dedicated husband I’ve ever met. My friends and I love to talk about how cool it is that he’s an NCAA basketball ref and does a lot of March Madness tournament games every year. It’s pretty sweet, and in fact last year he was able to meet Barack Obama at the Carrier Classic–pretty neat stuff. But what can easily be overlooked about Mike’s life is really the stuff that matters most. He’s a veteran and was in the military for twenty-odd years, working as a recruiter. The past few years he’s worked as a regional salesman for Nike–kind of a big company. Through those jobs, he’s had to deal with a lot of crap. Yes, of course he’s loved both those jobs, and each one has helped support his family, put four kids through college, provided some pretty great opportunities for him and his family, and even the ability to take the occasional family vacation to Hawaii (thanks again, Mike!), but I’m sure there’s been many times he’s gotten pretty sick of the bureaucratic nature of the military, and even throughout all of the possible transfers, changes and constant uncertainties that go alon with that type of position, he somehow managed to keep his wife and kids in Mt. Shasta. He did what was best for his family, and put his career second to them. And if you know the Reeds, or talk to Mike for five minutes you’ll probably deduce what I have: that Mike Reed is as dedicated to his family as a husband can possibly be. His level of commitment and loyalty to those close to him is something I strive for every single day.

And his wife is pretty spectacular as well. Janie Reed is never short on verbiage regarding how great her family is. She’s not one to brag, but she’s also the last person in the world to disparage anyone. Anyone. Honestly, if you did drove a monster truck through her yard and did donuts through her extensively-farmed garden, ruining years of hard (daily) work, she’d probably make you lemonade and at worst give you a slight scowl. In fact, even after you left and she was alone with her family and friends, she wouldn’t even let herself say anything negative about you. And don’t get me wrong, she’s not one of those people that just takes negative things and shoves them down deep, repressing them and eventually they’ll all come out in a fiery rage in which she starts screaming and throwing dishes across the room. No. Janie Reed is one of those people (is THE person) who is so servant-hearted and forgiving that she doesn’t see herself as a victim in any situation, or really anyone else as a bad person. Sure people do bad things, but to her, everyone can be redeemed, everyone is precious. She wants to serve everyone, all the time. She’s constantly sending care packages to her kids, not just the ones in college, but even the ones with kids and families all their own. She goes over and above in the loving-others department. And she doesn’t want anything in return. Ever. Don’t tell her I said so, but she recently sent a care package to a family in Nicaragua, a family she met last month on a service trip in which she helped dig a quarter-mile long, three feet deep trench to lay down pipe in. And the only reason I even know about the care package is because when I went over to drop something off at her house I saw the entire kitchen and dining room covered in freshly-made cookies. I hope one day I can live in a world were we all see the world a little bit more like Janie Reed. Until then, I’ll just work at seeing the world a little bit more like her, and doing my best to serve others like her.

That brings me to the whole Reed family. They’re great. I first spent a few days at their place two years ago. I had been dating my wife for just a few months at the time, and it was my first time meeting the family. There was a lot of pressure to say the least. But after a few hours of being brought into the family like I was a long-lost sibling, I never felt more relaxed. I think they’re the only family I know who call each other on a regular basis just to check in and see how the others are doing. (Does that sound horrible? Do other families do that? My family does not. Oops…) They’re the most devoted and loving family I’ve ever been around, and it seems to work pretty dang well. What I mean by that is: they put in the work to genuinely love each other, do nice things for one another, and truly and honestly put each other ahead of themselves. It’s fascinating. It’s pretty sad that it’s so rare, to be honest, but it’s also a testament to just how devoted and loving their parents are. It’s a rare thing, you Reeds. Just glad I can be a part of it. I hope and pray often that the kids Hannah and I have someday will be as devoted to each other as the Reed kids are.

Then it comes to my four amigos: Brent, Sean, Dom, & Tyler. They’re each inspirational to me for many different reasons, but here are the four that stand out most to me.

Where should we start…? Brent? You’re up, bud. When I first met Brent, in the middle of our junior year at APU, he struck me as a happy-go-lucky guy. He’s always walking around, smiling at people, being hilarious, and just overall spreading joy to those around him. And while he’s still that guy, I’ve come to realize that it’s not just a specific character trait that makes him so darn happy, but it’s something that’s a bit deeper. You see, happiness comes from the moment. Good grades, cheap gas, and an officer giving you a warning instead of a ticket all breed happiness. It’s great, but it’s short-term. It’s pretty impossible to just live a happy life unless it stems from something deeper. That first moment of depression, panic, or tragedy will leave a happy person down and out, while with Brent it never seemed to affect him too bad. Through breakups, job-changes, and even the stressful, overwhelming moments that graduate school can induce, he remained hopeful, upbeat and somehow…happy? No, it wasn’t happiness. That had faded. It was joy. Joy he had gained from his outlook on life, from his relationship with the Lord, and from his best friend, Ben. (That last one’s a lie, and you’d know that if you’ve ever seen me within 15 minutes of me waking up.) He has a genuine positive view of the world, and through that and the joy that God has instilled in his life, he’s been an inspiration to me. I dream of a day in which I can be filled with the same daring joy that Brent has.

And then there’s Sean. We’re both from the Bay Area, and bonding over the often sad (but currently amazing) state of Bay Area sports teams is something we can do endlessly. But aside from that, Sean has been one of the most humble people I’ve ever known. The dude was my RA, we lived in Vietnam together for two months, and we’ve been close friends for over six years now. I know the guy well. And whether it’s regarding web design, songwriting, visual effects, music, film editing, theology, spending time with troubled youth, the How I Met Your Mother canon, or his overwhelming and extensive knowledge of popular culture, Sean will blow your mind with the information he knows, the work he’s done, and the skills and passions he has, but he’ll never ever mention them to you without first being prompted–and even then, it may take some prodding. (Sorry for the run-on.) I just hope I can someday get over myself a little bit, take the focus off of me, and be as humble as my boy, Sean.

My friend Dominic inspires me in a lot of ways. He moved out to Philadelphia last year to commit his life to serving others. And even though this isn’t about that, I just wanted to let you know how inspiring he is in as many different aspects as possible. What has impressed me continually about Dom is how he always has a project–actually many projects–going on. Whether it’s a new film, a short story, a screenplay, a book, or a new website, it’s something that involves countless hours of creation, maintenance and tweaking. And even when he’s busier than ever with school, work, friends, church, etc, if you go to his blog, you’ll see that it’s updated often. Very often. Sometimes daily. (Show off.) And within all of those projects, there’s the common thread of creativity that I can’t get enough of. Just knowing that somewhere out there, across the country, Dominic Laing is working harder than me at some type of creative outlet is enough to push me to write that next chapter, post that next blog, or edit that last batch of photos. And while he challenges and inspires me in that very real, very tangible level every single day, the guy is also one of the most stand-up people I know. So within all that greatness, Dom makes me a better person, and I try to live up to his standards of creativity accomplishment every single day.

And finally Tyler. We were sort of randomly placed together as roommates in college, and we’ve been somewhat inseparable ever since. We fondly referred to each other as soul-room-mates. Yeah, I know. It sounds awesomely platonic. Just go with it. The guy has made me a much better person through just being himself. Through years and years of early morning coffee runs, late-night chats, and a few road trips, Tyler’s challenged my thinking on theology and my relationship with God, he’s helped me realize mistakes I’ve made in relationships (and in turn helped me realize just what I was looking for in a significant other), and has inspired me to work harder at every single thing I do in life if I truly want to succeed. Tyler’s a doctor, or at least he will be next June. Throughout his personal life and bleeding into his professional, he’s been endlessly committed to others and selfless in just about everything he does. He continually, and constantly puts others before himself, and while it gets old–because he makes us look bad–it’s an inspirational quality trait that is something I hope to emulate in my own life someday. I know I’m not there yet, because the guy still makes me look bad from time to time, but even through those moments, he somehow finds a way to encourage and inspire me. Damn. I’ll start doing that now….NOW….okay, soon.

Okay, I think that’s it for now. Honestly, the more I write, the more I realize how many people I want to thank for being inspirations to me. Here are a few that I couldn’t get away with leaving off of my list for now. I wish I was as responsible and loving as my sister Mandy, as wise and joyful as other sister Megan, as easy-going and smart as my brother Steven, as hard-working as my cousin Rich, as giving and wise as sister Emily, as diligent as Chile, as kind and joyful as Molly, as patient as Megan K., as discerning as Noel, and as funny and honest as my boy Dane.

Thanks again, everyone for being such inspirational leaders in my life.

So I guess if that’s the map to the man I want to be, I’d better spend as much time with it…with them as possible in order to get there someday.

And while I’ll probably never reach each of those lofty goals, at least I have the humbling opportunity to be surrounded by these amazing people in my life. So even though I may not get to embody each of these characteristics, I’m glad to say that each of these traits will always be a part of who I am.

Then it hit me: when my wife and I are gone, our kids are the thing that people will remember us by. Whether I build a giant company, or my wife ends up running the hospital she’s currently working in, or even if one of us writes a best-selling novel, our kids will still be the ones we’re most proud of and the things by which we want to be best known. Our kids are our legacy.

It got me thinking: What do I want to instill in my kids? What kind of man do I want to be? What kind of legacy do I want to leave?

I’ve heard it said before that you can’t get to where you’re going if you don’t set the vision of what you want to be able to do. While yes, that may seem a little simplistic, for me it definitely helps break down long term goals and dreams for the future into tangible, logistical goals for the present.

I take this to mean that if I want to be a good person, a person who is greatly esteemed by his peers, looked up to by others, and makes life better for the people around him, then I should probably have some sort of a plan, or least a vague direction in which to start. I need to not only have a vision of the man I want to be, but also an idea of what I need to do to become that man.

This is it. This is the map (or compass, or protractor, or whatever…) to my legacy.

But instead of me just saying, “I want to be a great guy who’s smart and loves others well and stuff,” I’m actually pointing out the exact attributes and characteristics of friends, family, mentors (and yes, even the ol’ in-laws) in which I want to embody and own myself. These are the traits I want in my life and want to be part of who I am.

So here goes…

My wife is the most selfless person I know. And I don’t just mean that she makes the bed most mornings and makes dinner most evenings (although she does those things too), her entire outlook on life is based on the question, “How can I best love those around me today?” And trust me, she’s damned good at answering it. She worked for two years as a social worker in Portland in which she was responsible for (in her words): “Taking kids away from parents who didn’t deserve them.” Yes, that sounds a bit harsh, but these were kids in the city who were growing up addicted to drugs, beaten by their parents, often times exposed to terrible things at a very young age. And she stepped in, like a freakin’ superhero and saved these kids. She now works for the county hospice in Mt. Shasta, CA. I honestly think for 99% of the population this would be the most depressing job in the world. But, because she’s so selfless and can find joy in anything, she think it’s the most amazing job ever. (Don’t tell her how depressing her job should be, please.) I want to be that selfless.

My dad is a freak. He’s a professor of both radiology and orthopaedic surgery, as well as the chief of musculoskeletal imaging at Duke University’s School of Medicine–one of the perennial top three medical schools in the country, he’s published hundreds of articles, written dozens of books, has ran 100 miles in less than 24 hours (multiple times), went to college on a golf and basketball scholarship, has ran dozens of marathons and many other races, and has even owned a bright yellow Hummer. No joke. The guy’s been around. But the point is, and he’ll tell you this himself, he’s not the sharpest toy in the bullpen. Sure, he knows his stuff, he reads a lot of books, he’s a well respected and accomplished radiologist and even wrote an entire book on idiopathic transient osteoporosis of the hip, but he’ll be the first to tell you that he’s no smarter than your fourth grade English teacher; he just worked his ass off. Sure, there’s undoubtedly an element of privilege and luck that have gone into all of his accomplishments and awards, however his favorite quote is, “The harder you practice, the luckier you get.” My dad is the hardest working person I know. He’s always working to improve himself, to know more, read more, and to ultimately make his own life–and often the lives of those around him–better. You don’t do that through pure luck, unless you work overtime trying to get lucky.

Now, what do you get when you have the intense work ethic of my father and combine it with few sprinkles of genius (sorry dad, just trying to make a point here)? You get my brother: Jason Helms (settle down, he’s not a genius…but hey, he makes the rest of the family look like idiot schoolchildren). He’s a Ph.D. with an M.A. in English and a B.S. in biology. He once spent a week at Latin camp–yes, it’s as nerdy as it sounds–in which you had to speak in Latin the entire week. Yes, I said speak in Latin the entire week. How’d he learn Latin? Oh, he just decided to learn it. In his spare time. For fun. He’s the most accomplished reader I’ve ever met (to my knowledge, at least), and he’s only 30 years old. He used to have a studio apartment in which he sectioned off into four tiny little rooms and used bookshelves as walls. The dude likes to read. Now, that may not sound like a huge deal, but I’ve found that the people I have the most respect and awe for are those who read a lot. And I’m not talking Danielle Steele novels either. And probably in large part due to all that reading, my brother is a damn smart kid. Love to be that smart someday…gotta get reading…

I remember every single Sunday my brother, my mom and I would get to church around 8am growing up. The church service started at 10:30am. So, what’d we do for two and a half hours? We cleaned, helped set up the stage, made coffee, set up the welcome table and helped out in the nursery or wherever else we were needed. Now, if you know me at all, you probably know how much I love mornings (not so much), so you can probably surmise that spending my Sunday mornings in this fashion was not my idea. You’d be right. My mother would get us there early and we’d stay as late as possible each week, all the while helping people set up and take down different parts of the church each week. She was also the mom who helped out with every PTA conference, every school play, youth group events, bake sales, etc. She showed her love of others (especially her kids) through serving them, and it took me a long time to realize just what that meant. I’d love to have the passion for serving others like she does.

Two of my good friends and mentors, Travis and Debby Wood were my youth pastors growing up. They’re two of the best people I know. Travis is easily one of the most honest people I’ve ever known. He’s not mean about it either, just open and honest and wants the best for those around him. Ask him a question and he’ll give you all the wisdom he has trying to find that answer for it–very selfless in this way. I’m more honest in the brutal, a-hole-ish way–definitely something I need to work on. And Debby is one of the wisest people I’ve ever met. I still pick their brains every time I see them; about life, love, careers, just about everything. It probably seems like I’m interrogating them about their lives, but I’m honestly just hoping that some of their wisdom rubs off on me. Questions like, “How did you know you wanted to marry Debby/Travis?” and “How do you know if you want to go into a certain career?” (and many other similar, life-altering questions) were asked often throughout my adolescence…and well, quite often still. They both helped me a lot when I met my wife and was first entertaining the thought of spending the rest of my life with her. Not sure where I’d be without them in my life.

Another guy that has spoken wisdom into my life since I was a young kid is Jorge Castellanos. He was my youth group leader in junior and high school and constant friend and mentor ever since. We’ve talked on (at least) a weekly basis about sports, music, the church, God, love, life and probably just about every single topic I could think of. But out of all of those things, the thing he’s instilled in me the most is his ever present awareness of and devotion to constant introspection. That may sound kinda weird, but whether it’s been through meditation, talking with friends, or just reading some good C.S. Lewis, Jorge’s work ethic for seeking introspection in all things is definitely a very effective way of finding out who you really are. While I’m definitely still in the process of figuring out who I am, the progress I’ve made since high school has enabled me to find a college major (a few in fact), a career (a few in fact), and a beautiful, wise, loving wife (only one of those). Much of the credit of any wisdom I may have is in large part due to this man. Definitely a very wise, thoughtful guy who I’m glad entered into my life while I was at such a young age, and am honored that he is still in my life today. Thanks again, man.

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Sorry, I know this is a long list. I’ll stop here for now, but the other people who I want to emulate are on their way…

What’s My Legacy? (Part II)