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Interesting comments by @phaseshift and @janetteb. I have fond memories of watching The Poseidon Adventure on TV years ago, it used to come up with great regularity and for some reason, I could never resist watching these doomed people fighting their way through the nightmare setting that the ship had become. So I guess that that is part of the reason I did enjoy this episode.

I have always enjoyed the Christmas episodes, although there were a few that I felt were pretty weak. The problem of course is the need to shoehorn a Christmas theme into an episode, which places artificial restrictions on the writing. I thought this one worked well because the Christmas theme appeared in the setting, but didn’t really drive the plot at all. I enjoyed all the supporting characters, and found the opening scenes of the Doctor jumping in and enjoying the cruise to be a lot of fun.

They really only lost me with Resurrection Doctor. And I thought it was too bad that Astrid had to die, although I’m not sure I would have wanted her as a companion. I would have liked it if she could have started a new life somehow, exploring the universe in some other way. But I also liked the “not getting to choose who lives” idea, that sometimes it’s the undeserving who survive. (I was saddened but not shocked by Foon’s death, as her character was clearly a call out to the Shelly Winters character in The Poseidon Adventure, who also died.) I did like the ending, with newly-wealthy Mr. Copper left on earth, delighted that he would be able to buy himself a house!

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@scaryb    Oh dear Lord. That is not a sci-fi moment with which I was familiar, and I could have continued quite peacefully in that state of blissful ignorance, my innocence intact. Oh well. I will look  to my extra-dimensional trophy for comfort (does it come with an extra-dimensional bottle of champagne? Do I get to soak @blenkinsopthebrave and @whisht in bubbly? (Pan-galactic gargle blaster, blenkinsop?)

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Oh, and right after posting, I saw @craig‘s summary of the complete list, so I see that The Princess Bride actually came in fairly high. One of the best sword fights ever. Also, the duel to the death scene with Vizzini. But I think if I were picking one scene, it would have to be Inigo coming back from near death to terrorize the Count: “I want my father back, you son-of-a-bitch.” Ha!

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Oh, fun, I love the list idea, but it’s going to take more creative brain power than I have available just at the moment. Will have to give it some thought. I agree with others that the general sci-fi list as voted is pretty strange. As it includes fantasy, does “The Princess Bride” count? I could probably come up with three or four scenes from that alone!  🙂

I agree with those who mentioned scenes from Planet of the Apes and the first Star Wars (was never as keen on the Empire Strikes Back). There’s a scene near the beginning where the two suns are setting on Tatooine that I will never forget, as an impressionable teen, it really sparked my imagination! I also agree about Spock’s death, I always had a soft spot for that scene. And yes, really, 2001 should be pretty near the top.

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Yes, this entire serial was definitely made with a lot of love. As others have said, the Fourth Doctor being quintessentially himself, with vocal timbre and body language. But in this episode, I especially enjoyed Romana’s interactions with Duggan. Those two really clicked together, with some very natural and charming exchanges as they tried to work out the puzzle. @phaseshift, those two lines jumped out for me as well, as well as the one about: “If you wanted breakfast, I’d expect to find…” It’s a shame they didn’t keep Duggan on for a bit, I think the three of them in the TARDIS would have had a great dynamic.

I remember being impressed by the scene in which all of Scaroth’s incarnations join, and we see flashes of him in his various incarnations throughout history. And at this point, I now understand the Doctor and Romana to be, not only time travelers, but quite possibly aliens as well.

“Can anyone join this conversation or do you need a certificate?”

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The first time around, many years ago, I tuned in part way through this episode and met the Doctor for the first time. He and his friends were in trouble with the Count in Paris. There were a lot of Mona Lisas inexplicably bricked up behind a five-hundred-year-old wall. The Doctor snuck into the Louvre, entered a phone booth, and then showed up in the Renaissance! The Count showed up in the Renaissance!! What the heck was going on???

But the dialogue was just perfect, and the Doctor, oh, the Doctor, with his disingenuous grin, wide-eyed enthusiasm, lunatic remarks, and outrageous cheekiness. His interactions with just about everyone are spot on. The flow of dialogue between him and anyone he speaks is perfectly pitched and timed. I adored it.

I like it that Duggan, for all his goonery, does get to explain to the Doctor the point of stealing the Mona Lisa when you already have six of them. He does know his own business, that Duggan!

@phaseshift, yes, “You’re a beautiful woman… probably… by some people’s standards, not by mine, of course!”  Definitely a bit of a poke.  🙂

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I meant to comment on this one last week, and never got around to it. Everyone has pretty much covered my views, so I will just agree that Martha shows very well in this, and I enjoyed the whole scenario and the supporting characters. There are a few nicely brief opportunities for soul-searching on the Doctor’s part, and I think the final confrontation with Martha is beautiful. It is interesting that he chose initially to lie to Martha about Gallifrey, to pretend for awhile that he was the escaped renegade of old, rather than the damaged orphan. And in the moment that he finally admits the truth, and begins to share his memories of Gallifrey, there is a sense that he is moving on to a new stage of his grieving process. Nicely done.

 

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I really liked this episode, much more than the two that follow. The Doctor’s interactions with Captain Jack ring true and natural, particularly the scene in, as @phaseshift calls it, the “plot device death room” (I like that!). Really well played. I don’t think I ever liked Jack Harkness again as much as I liked him here.

And I don’t really need to add to the chorus of love for Derek Jacobi in this. He gets every note perfectly. I love his enthusiastic greeting of the Doctor, his wistful, lonely professor, the ominous janglings of memory, and the ice that appears in his eyes at the end. I think that a big difference between him and Sims in their interpretation is that, while Sims is a Master for the Tenth Doctor (and they did bounce well off of one another, I think), Jacobi could have been a Master for any Doctor. He is the heart of the Master, the underlying Platonic ideal behind all of the different incarnations. The coldness at the Master’s heart.

There is so much that is generally good about this episode, the visual depiction of this horrific “end of the line for humanity” reality. Dialogue, supporting characters, the slow march of inevitability as we watch Yana become the Master. A really enjoyable episode.

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@purofilion     In those days in Canada, public school kids such as myself wore jeans most of the time. Nowadays, of course, it has changed. When I go to my son’s sports events at school, I am surrounded by teenage girls in leggings and tee shirts (sometimes with the nominal addition of short shorts, but not always). I always want to say, “Honey, enjoy that outfit now, because it won’t be doing you any favours five years from now!” The private school girls seem to all wear pleated plaid skirts, white blouses, and sweaters. We live up the road from St. Patrick’s Catholic school, and of course the St. Pat’s sweaters are all emerald green. 🙂

I forgot to mention in my post that I, too, love the soundtrack for this story. Definitely right in sync with the setting and tone, and quite unlike most of the soundtracks in style. Because of the way DW was shown here at that time, as complete stories rather than individual episodes, I wasn’t sure what I was watching at first. I thought it was some strange film!

@whisht   I sometimes think that Four, of all the Doctors, was the least attached to wanting to explain things all the time. This might be why he worked so well with Romana.  His conversations with both Leela and Sarah Jane were often filled with “I’ll explain later”, as I recall!

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I actually came to Hitchhiker’s Guide through the books, and then was able to get hold of an audiocassette of the radio show. I only ever saw bits of the TV version. I always enjoyed both radio and book versions for their own qualities, and so far, I’m similarly liking the TV show. They were wise to keep the structural similarities with the radio show, the lengthy guide entries, and of course the fabulous narration of Peter Jones. Comparing Geoffrey McGivern’s original performance of Ford Prefect with David Dixon’s is tricky, but I’m not sure I don’t actually prefer Dixon. He brings a particular alien oddity to the role that I quite enjoy.

I agree that the thing looks pretty good considering when it was made, especially the computer book graphics. Seeing the physical book rather than hearing or reading about it reminds me that Douglas Adams was an early Apple adopter. The Guide doesn’t look nearly as exotic now as it would have back then.

@phaseshift     I would suggest that while Oolon Colluphid wrote to prove the nonexistence of God (and presumably, to make a lot of money), Dawkins, although he would agree with Colluphid in every particular, is more concerned with proving the idiocy of God’s followers!

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@scaryb    I don’t think I realized until many years after the fact that it was a school uniform! I don’t know whether that was my overall naivete (I was and am pretty naive in some respects) or just my lack of experience with school uniforms at that time. Over the years since, I have given music lessons to a number of private school kids, and have more familiarity with the look (although they never wore hats!), but at the time, if I gave it any thought, I probably just thought she fit in with the general oddness of the show. After all, her companion was sporting a twenty-foot scarf!

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@phaseshift    Yes, it hooked me no question! I know that people have complained over the years that Tom Baker’s portrayal in later stories got out of hand, but certainly I thought this episode was perfectly balanced. The silliness was never too silly, just a nice light touch and an interesting plot that really appealed to me (although I will say more about that after further episodes).

@janetteb, I am usually in the same situation, I see all these exciting things to watch when I get up Saturday morning, and can’t usually watch them until Monday! I got lucky this weekend and could fit one in, because the family members were off at a baseball practice.  🙂  I agree that Lalla Ward is wonderful, with all the confidence and arrogance of a Time Lord, but with the humour and youthfulness that suggests she is ready to be indoctrinated by the Doctor’s approach to the universe.

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Full disclosure, this is where I came in. Channel surfing late one night and came across this very odd show at least half way through (our local channel used to broadcast a complete serial every Saturday night). I might not have paused for long, but I was caught by the scenes of Paris, by the tall, eccentric figure wrapped in the long scarf, and by a plot that was absolutely baffling to me. I have never looked back.  🙂

The story is nicely established in this opening episode: the Parisian setting, the villainous count and countess, their various thugs and tools, and of course, the redoubtable Duggan, all leading up to the alien-revealing cliffhanger. The secondary characters would read like stereotypes on paper, but are perfectly cast and charmingly played– a classic setting into which to drop the disruptive element of the Doctor.

I can’t begin to quote all the fabulous Adamsesque dialogue, but it flows beautifully. And then lines that aren’t especially fab, but are made so by Tom Baker’s particularly quirky delivery: “It is a very pretty picture.” “Well, we’ve only just landed on Earth.” The Doctor’s conversations with Duggan and his calm resignation in the face of thuggery are quintessential Fourth Doctor.

Romana II, being my first companion, was something of a gold standard for me, although I later came to understand that she was actually quite unique. She was the Doctor’s equal in everything except experience, and she for one clearly didn’t view this as a lack! I love the argument about human vs. computer art. She is calmly assertive in her views and leaves the Doctor sputtering. I am exercising maximum self-control to wait for next week’s installment.   😀

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@bluesqueakpip, you may or may not remember that I was lured out of lurking and into signing up and actually making posts by one of your diagrams!  😉  Excellent point that the Doctor obviously knows what the “proper” future should be. This is also why he is able to tell the Controller with such confidence that he can change it. He knows that he must have done.

But what, I wonder, caused events to diverge from their proper course in the first place? If the explosion was caused by Shura, then the future with Daleks must have existed in order for Shura to go back and cause it. If it didn’t, how and why did he go back? In other words, chicken or egg?

Head hurts now. Time for a glass of wine, I think.  🙄

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Oh, no, not the Mind Probe!

I agree with those who have praised Aubrey Woods’ Vichy-style Controller. That character definitely developed, thanks to a nicely understated performance. I thought that his “Inspector Javert” moment, facing off against the man who had saved his life, was particularly well played.

Sir Reginald might not be a murderer, but he’s an awful jackass. Who doesn’t follow instructions when the military tells you you are under attack? I suppose that we could assume that he is merely single-minded to the point of density, when it comes to his mission. But unfortunately, we don’t get to see any evidence of that. Partly the writing, but possibly a different performance could have made him, like the Controller, more sympathetic.

Fascinating little interview with Moffat. You can certainly see that if his understanding of time in the DW universe was formed by this episode, that his whole handling of the issue makes complete sense. I think what confuses us more nowadays is that the episodes often show us aspects of both timelines, while Day of the Daleks doesn’t bother to deal with what the changed events will actually do to the timeline.

@thekrynoidman   I must admit that, having never watched any SE versions before, I’ve been delighted with the way it  takes great stories and makes them seem less dated and therefore more relevant today. But then, I might feel differently if I had seen some of the originals involved more than once. Day of the Daleks I could barely remember. With episodes that I have seen more often, or that stick more vividly in my memory in their original form, perhaps I would feel differently.

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I’m very fond of this episode. The great thing about doing the retrospective is that it challenges me to examine the episode a bit and figure out exactly why that is. What I love most is the light touch, and the rapport between Martha and the Doctor. Right from the first, with the little wink and raised eyebrow when Martha finds the second heartbeat, he seems to be challenging her: “Are you good enough?” There’s the scene at the window, when the Doctor begins to learn that Martha is perfect companion material, with the contrasting nurse present just to make the point clear. (Watching this time, this scene reminded me of The Night of the Doctor, when the space ship pilot was set up in much the same way,  introducing us and the Doctor to the perfect companion, but that time, turning the trope upside down and surprising both the Doctor and us.) And I always love the moment when he tells her he’s an alien with only a highly significant look.

There is a humorous touch to the alien threat, without making them completely goofy. I love the tongue-in-cheek scene with the cowering intern, terrified of death at the hands of the Judoon, and then, the menacing alien announces, “You will be catalogued,” and marks an X on his hand! I also love that the Judoon offer compensation to Martha for the misdiagnosis as an alien. The matter-of-fact delivery of the baddie as little old lady is also great.

I always enjoy, from any incarnation, the Doctor’s highly typical ejaculation “Humans!” And I love the bit of dialogue where Martha says, “Running on adrenalin,” and the Doctor replies, “Welcome to my world.” I always get a kick out of Ten playing the part of an average human git – he does it so well, better than any of the AG doctors- Nine was too intense, Eleven too obviously alien. And I have always thought that Martha had one of the best “intro to the TARDIS” scenes, after she discovers the mysterious Doctor watching and waiting, and he draws her into following him. I found her reaction to the TARDIS natural and perfect, as she immediately runs back out to check that her senses haven’t tricked her somehow, and his response to her mouthing of the usual “bigger on the inside”.

While it is clear that the Doctor is looking for a new companion now, he hasn’t quite admitted it to himself, claiming “one trip only” in a very defensive tone. I wish that they could have stuck to Martha’s claim that she had no interest in the Doctor, I would have preferred it to the love-struck approach which made me respect her less, because in other ways she was mostly a great companion. They could still have shown her frustration with the Doctor for treating her as a lesser successor to Rose, without the romance angle being part of it. However, that is still to come, and I have always found this episode charming and good fun.

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@whisht

I am so sorry for your troubles. I’m glad you’ve been able to work out what was missing. A few years back we made the decision to rip our entire CD collection onto a music server and listen through a Sonos system. We had an obscene number of recordings and we were running out of room for them. My husband spent at least a week of evenings and weekends ripping them, and then even more time adjusting the metadata to his satisfaction, and as I recall, yes, wine was extremely helpful! Being in the IT biz, he is backup obsessed, so we’ve got them backed up in a couple of places.

But I can remember a time years ago when we were broken into. We had at that time a big double sided CD case, and they got through one side of it before something happened to scare them off (or maybe they just couldn’t carry any more!). They cleaned us out from the 17th century on, and was it a job trying to replace it all. In fact, some of it we never found again until the days of Amazon and classical music budge re-releases finally rolled around. There’s a lot to be said for these modern times.  🙂

Cheers!

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Now we’re really getting to the good stuff. I love it when the Third Doctor gives heck to abusive dictator types like the Controller. He’s at his most likeable when he has the moral high ground.

Two hundred years in the future, apparently they still have all terrain vehicles. Cool.

I’m impressed by the way the SE removes the visual weaknesses from the old episodes, making them much more watchable by today’s standards and pointing up how great the stories actually were. But my main reason for preferring the SE is the Dalek-voice of the wonderful Nick Briggs. I love the way he says “Daaaaleks”!

 

 

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Yay, Donna! I will admit that she was a bit over the top here at times, which was definitely smoothed out later when she returned as a full time companion. But as @purofilion says, even here, one can see the more vulnerable side as well, and the sensitivity that she displayed later on. I love her, she is my favourite of the AG companions to date, and I certainly thought she had the best rapport with Ten. I loved the moment when he had finally had enough of her, and snapped, through gritted teeth, “Right! Chiswick!” In other words, “You are so out of my TARDIS!”

I also adored the moment when they were segwaying down the corridor, and Donna looked around and suddenly got a massive fit of giggles. The Doctor, after a moment, saw the humour and shared it with her. Lance was clearly not getting the joke, and we could already see the seed of the friendship that the Doctor and Donna would share.

The TARDIS car chase scene was terrific fun, as was the wedding party scene. Another little glimpse of the Donna that the Doctor would learn to love comes when she broke down in hysterics to shut everyone up, and secretly caught the Doctor’s eye with a little wink. Did I mention that I love Donna? She’s exactly the companion I would want to be if I could travel with the Doctor: gutsy, funny, smart, and down-to-earth.

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@thekrynoidman    Ah, a sense of humour. But sometimes it’s like a foreign language to others. I have never forgotten a moment in a lecture room at university, years back. Our musicology prof was announcing an upcoming lecture by the early music conductor and scholar Andrew Parrott. Our prof, very seriously, said, “I’m sure it will be interesting, although I myself have never heard Parrott speak.” Well, I just about lost it, and nobody else even cracked a smile. I was torn between mortification and wanting to demand, “What is the matter with you people? Polly want a cracker?”   😆

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@purofilion   As hard as it is for a Canadian to say these words, I wish you winter, winter, and more winter.  🙂

Yes, you can’t beat those simple old songs for memorable hooks and catchy tunes, can you? Get one of those in your head and it sticks for days! But as you say, there is so much wonderful stuff put up here every week. I blink and I fall behind, behind. And lots of blinking lately, because it’s baseball season, and so our life is pretty much revolving around catching, throwing, hitting, and making sure that enough protein has been consumed and the uniform is clean. And of course, this song.

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@whisht   I’d never heard that Ray Charles version before, gorgeous. He is amazing. On first listen, I just hear the soul, and think, wow. Then, on second listen, I hear the quality of his voice, which is so much cleaner, clearer, than you realize at first. And then, I realize that, unlike many singers of pop, rock, or blues, he is hitting every note on purpose. Whether it’s a blues inflection or something basic to the melody, he meant to do it. This always impresses me, because it’s not something I hear all the time.

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Ooh, @thekrynoidman, I just love that song, and Louis. I enjoy everything he did, from the early groundbreaking jazz to the gorgeous renditions of American songbook classics that he did on his own and with others. His recordings are standard Friday evening fare in our house. Here is one of our faves, performed with the great Jack Teagarden.

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Changing historical is a very fanatical idea.

Frustrating as it is to watch Jo tell all to someone whom we know to be the bad guy, I understand her viewpoint. Terrorists with nasty weapons who almost killed them, tied them up in a cellar, and admitted being there to assassinate someone, or an authority figure who offers her a comfortable chair and behaves in a calm rational manner? I’d probably respond the same way.

And now, since I’m a week behind, on to part three!

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@fatmaninabox    Daleks doing G&S. Oh dear, that was an OMG moment. No tea in hand, fortunately. (Big Finish had the Daleks quoting Shakespeare, but this is even funnier.)

@whisht  Thanks for those Durutti Column tracks, wonderful. I’ll agree, there were tears.

@thekrynoidman   South Park really nailed those musical numbers, didn’t they? And I will freely admit to a great fondness for Les Mis. But I always love a good sendup.

@phaseshift   I’m not sure I know how to smile gloomily. I can do the long-suffering smile (I have a teenaged son, after all). I can do the smile of frustration (usually saved for grocery store line ups). And I’m great at the smile that hides my thoughts about what a complete **** someone is (useful in committee meetings). But I will practise a gloomy smile for next year. 😕

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Like all the “same name” songs, especially @fatmaninabox’s Pretenders vs. Iron Maiden. That would be a bit of a shock if you were looking for the first and ended up with the second!

@whisht   Well done with the four “Save Me”s. All very different feels. I love Aretha and kd! On songs with the title “Fortune Teller”, how about this “timeless classic”, by Bobby Curtola?   😀

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Awhile ago, @purofilion was talking about chansons having been “something special”. So rather than go all geeky and post something from 13th-century France (my first instinct), here is a renaissance springtime chanson for puro, and hoping that it is finally spring for everyone by now! “Here again comes the Spring, the amorous and fair season”. Complete translation here if you want it.

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@whisht   “Floridity” is so a word! And I completely agree that I tend to prefer more intimate stories to the “skies full of Daleks” kind (although those can be fun once in a while). And I love the idea that the Doctor could spend more time helping just one person (or perhaps one group of people) rather than saving worlds and being the Oncoming Storm.

@scaryb    “teletubby daleks”   Hahahaha!

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Hi, everyone, I’ve been AWOL but I’m back. Life, you know. (I don’t call it “real life”, because this forum is definitely part of my real life!) I seem to have missed a lot. Welcome to all the new members!

@fatmaninabox  I was finally able to merge my Tennants! 20,164 (on my birthday, no less!). Ha. Also, loved the Weeping Cat video. And @wolfweed’s Dalek/new doctor cartoon.

@phaseshift   Given that we are currently viewing Day of the Daleks, I would vote against another Dalek episode right away, although Genesis is definitely a classic and worth all the praise. I would probably cast a vote for just about anything with Sarah Jane. @craig, I think that Pyramids of Mars would be a great choice. But I also love City of Death (it was my intro to Who way back when), if we want to go with something less Gothic for Four this time round. And Lalla Ward is also a quintessential Fourth Doctor companion (he had so many good ones, didn’t he?). Agh. I haven’t actually cast a decisive vote, have I? Okay, then, much as I love Sarah Jane, I agree that having done Talons last time, it’s probably time to go with the lighter, brighter Baker of City of Death.

Okay, having cast my ballot like a good citizen, I am now off read the music thread and get caught up on Day of the Daleks. 🙂

 

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@thekrynoidman  I thought that the poster you quoted had an interesting concept and one that was very consistent with what we saw. I will admit that I hadn’t considered that aspect of the storytelling. However, for me in the end, the concept isn’t enough to save the episode.

I actually liked the plot idea, but felt it failed in the execution. I liked what I saw as an affectionate mockery of fan groups. The depiction of LINDA was charming, and I loved the way the story showed us that their friendship became more important than their goal. But I found the writing awkward at times and the villain largely a failure, and I strongly disliked the ending. Ultimately, the fact that the Doctor couldn’t save the LINDA members destroyed the story for me. I don’t always need a happy ending, but in this case, the tone of the story was out of sync with the ending.

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@blenkinsopthebrave    I had to watch that twice. Then I had to go to YouTube and watch the whole thing. It was awesome. I don’t think you could write a grad thesis that would do such a great job of parsing out the changes in detective show style between the seventies and the nineties. Really brilliant. Bonehead and Foyle brought back fond memories of my forays into the genre in my early teens, watching Starsky and Hutch on American TV, lots of guns and fast cars, and “cover me”! I pretty much gave up on cop TV in the nineties, because it just stopped being fun.

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Oh, the Doctor in a haunted house, enjoying a civilized, good-humoured wine and some fine gorgonzola cheese! And pausing to take down a terrorist before finishing his drink. I love the Third Doctor’s era! It’s a shame that somewhere along the way, it was apparently decided that the Doctor shouldn’t indulge.

I’d forgotten how painfully long it took for some of these early model Daleks to say anything. I imagine they would tend to be less chatty than some of their later incarnations as a result. And the end credits give Nicholas Courtney second billing after the Doctor, before his companion! This ought to clear up once and for all the disputes I see online as to whether or not the Brig was a proper companion.

 

 

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Coming late to the party, but I wanted to make this post before jumping into this week’s offerings.

Great scene with the fictional battle. It reminded me of the game we used to play as kids, where you took turns telling a story, and it would completely turn on a dime as the next narrator took over and rewrote reality. As others have said, I also loved Rapunzel, and how hopefully she kept looking for her prince! But she was always willing to help out with her hair, no matter her disappointment.

I agree that the plot against Earth didn’t really bring anything to the experience. But I guess it was felt that there had to be some explanation for why they were doing what they were!

@phaseshift    The Doctor meets Dangermouse. Brilliant.

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@thekrynoidman   That fan video is amazing, impossible to watch without wearing a big grin. The song is great all on its own, but that video! (And seeing all those clips lined up brings home for one thing, how much goofiness went on in that show, and for another, how much time Captain JT Kirk spent wearing a look of completely bemusement.

Oh, @purofilion, I too had a love-on for Michael Douglas as a teenager!   😉

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@phaseshift    And that is just one more reason why Carl Sagan was the Greatest.  🙂

While I was never really a metalhead myself, The Seventies was my era and as such receives great love from me. Under My Wheels is great, and the guitar playing in that AC DC track is pretty sweet.

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By the way, @wolfweed, I somehow missed congratulating you on the great vid. Really nicely done. A great way of pulling all the Doctors together into one magnificent entity!

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@blenkinsopthebrave    The wine was Annex Kloof 2009 Malbec. It was a bit pricier than our usual Saturday night chug, but not by much. It was divine! It was purchased not at the government monopoly but at Marquis Wine Cellar, an excellent private store downtown in the West End. I hope the weather here cooperates for your visit. Last week was gorgeous, felt like June, but this weekend has been pretty wet and gloomy.

Scenes From an Italian Restaurant, lovely. I always loved that song, vintage Billy Joel. Some of his earlier songs are among my favourites. An excellent choice, monsieur, salut!  🙂

@purofilion     I’m so sorry about your unfortunately public episode, so unpleasant for you. Glad to hear that you have rebounded.   “May the Fourth be with you.”  😎

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I’m struck here by something that I think the AG series has done very well. If you are going to pull off a story with a famous historical character, it’s pretty crucial to cast someone who can absolutely nail the part. DW has done this over and over, with great portrayals of Shakespeare, Dickens, Churchill, and so on. I agree that the queen is beautifully done here.

I also agree that the “not amused” joke was absolutely embarrassing.

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@fatmaninabox  @purofilion   Yes, I’m fond of Talking Heads also. I would have called them New Wave back in the day, but as I have said before, times have moved on and gotten much more complex. For instance, I’m pretty sure that it would no longer be possible to have “invented” any category with the word “post” in it! Someone will have been there and done that.

And FatMan, in view of some of yesterday’s contributions, I would like to know what wine you have been drinking, so I can get some, too!  😀

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@thekrynoidman   I’m really enjoying your inspired, wildly varying selections. Kiki Dee takes me right back to the time when I was just being exposed to contemporary pop music, there was some great stuff on the radio back then. Also, Gene Wilder, wow. Such a talented, funny man, and in my view, hugely underrated.

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@phaseshift   That clip is brilliant. I love the absolutely unyielding expression of the songerwriter’s philosphy. Interesting, as it comes up frequently with performers of classical music, that the composer writes with no concern for the human mechanics of the performance! (Bach was often guilty of this: Breathe? Who needs to breathe? 🙂 ) And wow, as @purofilion says, that song would certainly have been hard to sing!

And thanks, @purofilion, for the Lehrer. I was introduced to him by my husband, who grew up in the Boston area and whose father went to Harvard. My father-in-law is not a music fan, being tone-deaf, but he liked Lehrer for the lyrics, and so my husband grew up with his recordings. My father-in-law, being a prof, was fond of New Math, while one of my husband’s faves was Be Prepared.

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@purofilion  Glad to hear you are now temperate. When I lived in Calgary, the opposite applied there. In winter, after a cold spell, as soon as the temperature got up above zero people started stripping down to their tee shirts. I thought they were insane.

Not sure you should be drinking ambivalent wine. Enjoyed an absolutely killer South African malbec last night, it was quite decisive! So for you and @blenkinsopthebrave, and everyone else who enjoys a glass of red, here is my musical contribution for the day. Not very imaginative, I’m afraid, but I expect others can run with this theme, if they want to!

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@whisht   Yes, I saw this too. So sad. Lovely choice of musical tribute.

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@purofilion

Such a fabulous song, Eve of Destruction. It may well have had problems with airplay, being so overtly antiwar during the Vietnam years. It was probably seen as very anti-American. I always found it haunting, with its very stark lyrics, simple tune, and passionate delivery.

But the difference would have been that, with privatized radio, someone somewhere would have played it (in fact, they must have done, because it charted on Billboard). But you’re right that there were always stories about certain songs not getting played in certain places, and so on. I spent my last two years of high school in Calgary, and on a clear winter evening, you could just get the signal from one of the big rock stations in Vancouver. The differences between top 40 in Calgary and top 40 in Vancouver was striking. I remember that that was the only time I ever heard the Police until I moved back to the coast in 1980.

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@thekrynoidman   Bedazzled, that video is hilarious,  “You fill me with inertia!”  And @blenksinsopthebrave, Oh, yes, Bananarama. How fun is that? Funny video, is it really from the nineties? I would have put it earlier.

I think I’m caught up now? Except I will have to go and listen to the Sparks some more later on. Should probably consider getting some actual work done now. (And I still haven’t watched this week’s “Mind Robber” episode, either!)

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@whisht    Paris, Texas!    Oh, I loved everything about that film, and the music was just simply gorgeous. And for some reason, that Bronski Beat track really made me smile.  OMG @purofilion, more tea-spilling amusement at “bonk and bed”. And as for discussing the weather, that’s Canada’s national pastime… they say it’s hockey, but it ain’t so! (Oh, look, you’re right about the spell-check!)

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@purofilion

I’m so sorry you’re not feeling well. I hope you’re sleeping now, and here’s my addition to your collection of get-well cards. This is one of the pieces we arrived at this weekend during our year-long Bach cantata marathon, a very early cantata for the first Sunday after Easter. I thought it was a fascinating collection of styles, with a chaconne at the end (I love a chaconne!).

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@scaryb @thekrynoidman   My son went through a Kinks phase about a year ago, and we listened to a lot of them while I shared trivia. When I told him the stories about the coke reference (and the Apeman thing, which I still think is just bizarre, because I certainly never heard anything wrong with that line!) what caught his attention and puzzled him was the notion that there was only one radio station playing the music. If you couldn’t make the BBC, you couldn’t make it, period. This led to a whole conversation about pirate radio and so on. Because of course it’s not like that now, and in fact, was never like that in North America.

(You know, I’d actually never considered the irony of a song about a transvestite being acceptable, but not a reference to Coke!)

@scaryb   Lou Reed, yum yum!

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@whisht  Can Halleluwah, way to subvert the topic!  🙂

@wolfweed   I howled at the angsty Arthur Darvill tune. (Fortunately no tea in hand or mouth at the time!)

I think @thekrynoidman has to win the Monty Python award (and now for something completely different) for his moving personal tale about teen challenges, followed by “Anyway here’s a song about a transvestite”.   I quite enjoyed ABBA back in the day, but I have always had a weakness for catchy tunes!  🙂

 

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I’ve fallen behind again, sorry! Couldn’t agree more with @scaryb and @purofilion’s thoughts on the amazing stuff to be found here. So lots of posts to follow.

@phaseshift  Educated again. I was so puzzled by those Frank Skinner clips, because he talked about the ukulele but seemed to be playing a banjo! So upon looking him up, I learned about the banjolele (banjo-uke). This is a completely new instrument to me, very cool! Siouxsie and the Banshees, not heard for ages. Takes me back a bit. As for the “gothic squaredance” label, maybe it’s really one of those “-billy” genres that came up awhile back. Gothabilly?

Agree with puro that that punk Ballroom Blitz is great, never heard it before.

 

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