Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
18 September 2016 at 17:09 #53955
Red Dwarf. It has to be one of the most brilliant shows ever. With perhaps my favourite sketch of all time:
Lister: Cat.
Cat: Mmm?
Lister: Did you ever see the Flintstones?
Cat: Of course.
Lister: Do you think Wilma’s sexy?
Cat: Wilma Flintstone?
Lister: Maybe we’ve been alone in deep space for too long but every time I see that show, her body drives me crazy. Is it just me?
Cat: I think in all probability, Wilma Flintstone is the most desirable woman who ever lived.
Lister: That’s good, I thought I was goin’ strange.
Cat: She’s incredible!
Lister: What do you think of Betty?
Cat: Betty Rubble? Well, I would go with Betty…but I’d be thinkin’ of Wilma.
Lister: This is stupid. Why are we talking about going to bed with Wilma Flintstone?
Cat: You’re right. We’re nuts. This is an insane conversation.
Lister: She’ll never leave Fred and we know it.17 September 2016 at 17:02 #53949Just re-watched both parts last night (perhaps first time since initial viewing).
That latter fact interesting in itself, as I have a tendency to re-watch episodes that “speak to me” multiple times.
I am sure many others have pointed this out, but the narrative device used in “Heaven Sent” seemed strangely familiar. And it was. It was a version of Sherlock’s mind palace. And to be honest, I think it worked better in “Sherlock”.
Reflections on “Hell Bent” should be on another thread, of course, but since I watched both parts together, the stand-out moment for me was when Clara pleaded with the Doctor to tell her why he had spent billions of years trapped in the confession dial and he replied: “I had a duty of care”.
Wonderful and heart-breaking.
12 September 2016 at 17:36 #53917Been lurking, but came across this today:
http://www.darkhorizons.com/eccleston-talks-his-doctor-who-regret/
I have never really known what to make of Eccleston’s departure and subsequent attitude. If he really felt he was developing light comedy skills, well he was certainly given a chance in the 50th, but no. And perhaps it is revealing that he was noticeably absent from Peter Davison’s wonderful “Five(ish) Doctors” where everybody was doing light comedy.
Or am I being too harsh?
24 August 2016 at 18:52 #53768BBC One have just announced that they are planning seven new Agatha Christie adaptations. As an Agatha afficiando I am obviously pleased, but adapting Christie can be tricky. I thought the recent adaptation of “And then there were None” was brilliant, but the recent attempt to do some Tommy and Tuppence stories was woeful; a complete misinterpretation of the characters and the stories. And Christie is so much more than clever plotting. In her best works she is a marvellous commentator on the naunces of class in inter-war Britain, for example. Clever adaptations can still communicate that to a modern audience, but lazy adaptations jettison that and so much more. Still, the prospect of expanding my Agatha DVD collection is irresistible!
24 August 2016 at 06:34 #53757@puroandson
Hi Purosolo. I agree entirely. If I recall correctly, the self-description that goes with your avatar is “dedicated to TV box sets”. Very wise words. I ignore current TV entirely, for precisely the reasons you mention. Tonight it was the 1980s adaptation of “Love in a Cold Climate”. I had forgotten how pleasurable it was.
24 August 2016 at 06:18 #53756@craig (or any lurking time lords)
I think this thread is a bit full, since it is over 1000 posts. It might need a new page.
Cheers
24 August 2016 at 03:38 #53744Just read today that Antony Jay, co-creator and co-writer, with Jonathan Lynn, of “Yes Minister” and “Yes, Prime Minister”, died. The two of them created one of the most brilliant TV shows ever screened. A sad loss, indeed.
20 August 2016 at 03:57 #53699A cat for me, makes the difference between a house and a home.
I agree entirely.We brought two with us, from Australia to Canada. I know it involved outrageous expense, but as far as I am concerned, pets are for life.
20 August 2016 at 00:30 #53695@arbutus, Thanks for the welcome! @janetteb, @puroandson, Thanks for the welcome back! @winston, Yes, it is pretty fabulous out here. Mrs Blenkinsop and I spent lunch at the local craft-brew pub, and the Blenkinsop pile includes a view of the snow-capped mountains on the mainland. The wilds of rural Ontario are a thing of the past, and the door is finally closed on 40 degree-plus Australian summers. The downside is that good wine is outrageously expensive out here. But the trade-off is that I am drinking it, well…out here!
12 August 2016 at 21:51 #53653Just dropped in from an extended absence, having recently moved to the West Coast of Canada (one of the islands). Most of the stuff is still in boxes, but the Doctor Who collection has been retrieved!
Reading posts in a sporadic way, I came across the request from @mersey for audio tape suggestions. A personal favourite are the full-cast BBC tapes of gentleman sleuth, Paul Temple, that were originally broadcast in the 1940s and ’50s. Some of the originals were lost, and the BBC have recorded new full-cast adaptations which are pretty good at capturing the period feel.
What most people remember about the show was the theme music, taken from the piece “Coronation Scot” composed by Vivian Ellis
Enjoy…both the music and the audio mysteries.
25 June 2016 at 03:40 #52893That is very kind of you, and I am not entirely sure I deserve such praise, but one thing our comments have in common is that I cannot remember what I said up thread either!
20 June 2016 at 21:52 #52816How about Amara Karan, who played Rita in The God Complex? Not necessarily better than Amy and Rory, but I think she would have made a good companion in her own right.
20 June 2016 at 00:12 #52782@StitchInTime
Jasmine tea? Well, that’s awfully…different. Perhaps too much of a change.
19 June 2016 at 23:28 #52779@StitchInTime
All good points, but I would argue that an important factor in what I am calling resistance to, or hatred of, change, is bound up with a hatred of difference. The other factor I think plays out is the attitude to the future. For a lot of people the future is not full of possibility and hope but is to be feared. Why? Because, in part, it will lead to an acceptance of difference. I remember reading inspirational science fiction and utopian literature as a teenager and being incredibly excited by the possibilities the future might hold. Precisely because they were different from what I was told were the “accepted values”. I still feel that way. But I am painfully aware that there are an awful lot of people that don’t.
As I look back on the above paragraph, I realise I probably haven’t explained myself as well as I might. The result of either too much wine, or too little.
19 June 2016 at 21:44 #52772@ichabod
Just reading your impressive reflections from a couple of weeks back on the possessive insanity of fandom, and your point about how this desire to return to a mythical past impacts on contemporary politics as well (eg, your example about the desire to revive a caliphate in the Middle East).What both the extreme fringes of fandom and major political movements seem to have in common is a strange revulsion to change, to new experiences, to something different, to…the future, I suppose. You can see it in some parts of fandom–the assumption that any change in Doctor Who is ipso facto bad; but you can also see it in political culture–the Trumpian desire to take America backwards. To what?–a world that looked like (but never was) an episode of ‘The Waltons’? Or a British desire to return to…what?…a world that looked like (but never was) an episode of ‘Dixon of Dock Green’?
What I become increasingly dispirited by is that so many people seem to fear, and even hate, change.
Sorry, that seems to have turned into a bit of a rant. Clearly time for a reviving glass of wine…
19 June 2016 at 19:23 #52770@mudlark
Glad to hear that recovery is progressing. Would love to read your reflections on ‘Edge of Darkness’ when you have the time. It is probably 30 years since I saw it, and I have the impression of a show that was very 1980s–Gaia, the politics, the conspiracy. And the whole look and feel of it. I remember particularly loving Joe Don Baker in it. Another very 1980s show I remember with great fondness was ‘Bird of Prey’ with Richard Griffiths.17 June 2016 at 00:01 #52724@craig thanks for the interview with RTD and Maxine Peake. Hope the play makes it to DVD and across the pond to Canada (like @puroandson I am a box set type of person, rather than a Netflix type of person).
To pick up on the conversation about a female Doctor, I had earlier suggested @whisht‘s mention of Maxine Peake was rather inspired. I am assuming @whisht was perhaps being both serious and not serious, and I suppose I was too (drawing on my previous viewings of Maxine Peake).
But as I watched @craig‘s posted interview with her and RTD, I started to think…why not?
@bluesqueakpip has demonstrated with great clarity how Moffat has set up the possibility for future show runners, no matter what Moffat’s own inclinations might be, and, so…yes, why not?
If Norma Dumezweni can play Hermoine (and why not?) then why can we not have a female Doctor?
14 June 2016 at 23:52 #52702Maxine Peake as the Doctor…that is rather inspired.
Apparently, she was recently in a new Comic Strip story where she plays Rebekha Brooks. Sounds brilliant. Have you seen it? I would love to see it, but unfortunately, as a resident of one of the colonies I am denied such opportunities.
14 June 2016 at 16:37 #52700At last, some actual Who news. Nardole is back. But am I enthused? Well….
If he is semi-regular, as seems to be implied, that does imply rather more comic episodes than I was expecting. It is just that I cannot see Nardole working at all in serious episodes. Compared to Dorium Maldovar, for example, who was used to brilliant effect in a range of settings, Nardole, I fear, might be a bit too “K9”, if you see what I mean.
Still, who knows?
2 May 2016 at 03:10 #52043Hi @puroandson
Normally, I would agree with you every time, but…
Sure Paul McGann has done some great stuff, really great.
But Hurt? Where do I start and where do I stop?
I will start with one example: his Caligula in “I Claudius”.
Then there was “1984”, and “The Naked Civil Servant” and “Tinker, Tailor…” And, well, stuff.
And most recently there was the M.R. James story “Whistle and I’ll Come to You”. The word “haunting” doesn’t do justice to his interpretation. It was unforgettable.
Soooo, yes, Paul McGann has done some great stuff, but Hurt really does deserve the appellation “brilliant”.
Cheers.
p.s. I assume Autumn has finally arrived in Queensland, as Spring has finally made it to Ontario.28 April 2016 at 20:21 #51958It would certainly save you from having to constantly come in and spam the spammers, so yes, I am in favour.
28 April 2016 at 19:45 #51955Damn! I inadvertently posted my website comment to you, @craig, over on the Fox Inn.
28 April 2016 at 19:43 #51954The joy…not!
Craig, might it be an idea for you to disable the private message function for a while? Perhaps these annoyances will get frustrated and move on to another unlucky part of the Internet.
26 April 2016 at 02:27 #51910Thanks @craig.
p.s. You’re in Barcelona and you’re complaining?
25 April 2016 at 19:34 #51895This time the unwanted message (not even a typographical error with the promise of a massage this time) comes from aurora. I assume I wasn’t the only one.
You would think that a little bit of background research on this site would lead them to conclude that we are not their prime target audience.
23 April 2016 at 19:31 #51824Well, I confess I was hoping for a companion that the Doctor had to respect (intellectually and even scientifically) from the outset, rather than another wide eyed ingenue he has to save. More Romana, say, than Ace. But I wouldn’t have been at all surprised if Bill had grabbed a baseball bat at the end of this clip.
Of course, it is impossible to really tell from a short clip and perhaps backstory and context will assauge my initial hesitation.
Such a long wait…
23 April 2016 at 00:35 #5178922 April 2016 at 19:10 #51784Miss Tina aka loveuu has sent me (and presumably a bunch of other people here) a message that I suspect none of us wanted in the first place.
What’s bringing them out of the woodwork? The spring weather? The imminent announcement of a new Companion? A desperate attempt to trawl for the odd sucker, who really wants to donate their life savings to allow a Nigerian prince the opportunity to retrieve his inheritance and share it?
21 April 2016 at 18:37 #51760@puroandson
Puro, you really should take the plunge with Powell and Pressburger.
Here is a clip of the opening of “A Canterbury Tale”. It was made (and set) in 1944, and alludes to the pilgrimage stories of Chaucer. The opening begins with with a scene from Chaucer and then cuts seamlessly to the present.
It is one of the most sublime openings to a movie ever.
20 April 2016 at 16:04 #51745@puroandson
“The Big Country” is discontinued in Australia?! Clearly, the nation is in decline…
But, yes, I think the whole movie has been posted on youtube. Yet there may be an alternative. Do you know if your DVD player is region free? (quite a lot sold in OZ are) If so (and it only works for dvds not bluray) then you should know that “The Big Country” is readily available on DVD via amazon (both US and Canadian). But…then there are the postage charges. Hmm. On second thought it might be better to explore the youtube option.
But in any event, it sounds like you are rapidly acquiring an excellent movie collection courtesy of all the great suggestions!
And on that note, @pedant, I couldn’t agree more about the genius of all the Powell and Pressburger films. My personal favourite is probably “I Know Where I’m Going”…or is it “A Canterbury Tale”? Or “The Small Back Room”? Or “A Matter of Life and Death”? Or…
Well, you get my point. The list just goes on and on. The amazing richness of their output over the course of the 1940s is simply staggering.
19 April 2016 at 00:53 #51726Whoops. A bit of duplication there…apologies.
19 April 2016 at 00:46 #51725@puroandson Well, the movie is “The Big Country” and here is a clip. The clip does not feature the admirable characters, but it captures beautifully the the way that loyalty (or even love) can overcome even rational thought.
It really is a great movie
19 April 2016 at 00:45 #51724@puroandson Well, the movie is “The Big Country” and her is a clip. The clip does not feature the admirable characters, but it captures beautifully the the way that loyalty (or even love) can overcome even rational thought.
It really is a great movie
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9SDYkONnfCw
19 April 2016 at 00:44 #5172318 April 2016 at 13:44 #51713@puroandson
Here is a brilliant orchestral version of the soundtrack to “The Big Country” by Jerome Moross.
One of the great soundtracks of all time, in my opinion.
18 April 2016 at 11:52 #51711Greetings @puroandson. It has been a while in these Who-less days.
I have given this request a bit of thought, as there is so much to choose from, and any suggestion is clearly going to be highly subjective. And then there is the age: 15, not, say, 17. So, after pondering this a while I cast my mind back to the films I saw for the first time when I was 15, one sticks out as making an indelible impression on me, for many reasons, but most importantly for its central theme that the main character refused to conform to social values he knew were wrong, and if he was going to “prove”himself, it was going to be on his terms and not because it was expected of him. At 15, I realized the character played by Gregory Peck captured the “character” (in the personal sense) that I wanted to cultivate. And I was just old enough to see the political allegory being played out in the story of two warring clans in the desolate wastes of Texas.
The film, was of course, “The Big Country” (1957) with Gregory Peck. Fantastic widescreen photography, and a brilliantly stirring soundtrack.
It still remains one of my all-time favourite movies, and I watch it regularly.
It needs a good Blu-Ray version, a really big screen, and the sound turned up!
30 March 2016 at 17:55 #51544Been lurking for a while, but couldn’t resist coming on to say that my favourite companions have always been Ian and Barbara. There I was, a nerdy little 11 year old, who wasn’t only captivated by an old crotchity Doctor in a time machine (I mean, “wow!”, 11 years old, 1964….maybe you had to be there) but by the two teachers I always wanted as my teachers and who provided the model for the adult I wanted to be. The science teacher and the history teacher who travelled time, fought Daleks, and were often the voice of wisdom in the face of a sometimes erratic Doctor.
Yeah, they’ll always be my favourite companions.
2 March 2016 at 16:57 #51150Just chipped myself out from under the Canadian ice, where I have been buried for some weeks to find this on the web:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/eastenders-shabnam-masood-actress-rakhee-7472029
I hasten to add that I was not actually reading the newspaper in question, but saw reference to the story in a rather more reputable corner of the internet.
6 February 2016 at 22:59 #508606 February 2016 at 19:09 #50858Well, it took me a while to get around to seeing it, and (I should confess) seeing it for the very first time, as I tended to let a lot of the RTD years pass me by. I really only came back to Who in earnest with SM and Matt Smith, after years in the wilderness (somewhere during Peter Davison’s tenure). True, I have subsequently picked up some of those years, but in a very selective way. Anyway…42:
A roller coaster of an episode, which was both exciting, but just a tiny bit one note. I actually enjoyed it a lot, particularly the personal interactions between Martha and the lonely guy in the life pod, and the captain and her doomed husband. And the pacing and tension was satisfyingly nail-biting. On the other hand, there was an awful lot of shouting…still.
Having seen “Broadchurch” (only the first series), bits of “Torchwood”, the two-part Silurian story (my personal favourite of Chibnall’s Who stories and one of my personal favourite Who stories), I suspect that the wise @danmartinuk is spot on when he suggested over on the Graun that Chibnall’s Who is likely to be a bit more gritty.
Of course I may revise that when we watch “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship”…
Oh, and it was nice to see Vinette Robinson (the acerbic Sgt Donovan from “Sherlock”) playing the ship’s doctor.
29 January 2016 at 23:25 #50651Lots of angst out there about the changes. But at the end of the day, we cannot change those changes (not the most glamorous prose, but you know what I mean). But what we can do–and we tend to do this rather well (at least, all of you do, while I throw in the odd shiraz-aided comment) is (finally…back on track) discuss episodes. And we seem to have lots of fun doing it.
So…and I think someone has already suggested this (was it me? probably not) but why don’t we do a Chibnall Who retrospective? We could do it…well, now.
@craig, can we have a retrospective of Chibnall Who episodes please?
28 January 2016 at 17:39 #50630How excellent to see you again, Dr Basil Wolfweed Funkenstein.
I must confess that I miss the crazy captions.
25 January 2016 at 19:51 #50466@puroandson
Lots and lots of best wishes to mum.
As an expatriate Australian, now resident in a far-flung corner of empire, I also send on this stirring sentiment to celebrate Australia Day.
This here’s the wattle, the emblem of our land,
You can stick it in a bottle, or hold it in your hand. Amen.
I feel certain mum will recognize where that comes from.
24 January 2016 at 00:58 #50381Fortified by the contents of the Blenkinsop cellar, I have accepted the reality of no new series until 2017. As I said, I am not too concerned about Chris Chibnall taking over. He wrote the wonderful Silurian two-parter, which I really believe captured the heart of what the show is all about. (I know others have different views.)
What I am now wondering is how they will handle the transition. Will Missy carry over into the Chibnall era? Will River? (I think not–I suspect we have seen the last of her). Will Moffat give us a new companion in 2017 who will carry over, while Peter Capaldi leaves with Moffat? (that, I think, is more likely).
So many bonkers theories to contemplate.
23 January 2016 at 08:01 #50349Crikey…less upset by the choice of a new show runner than by the scheduling news. Spring 2017 seems an awfully long time away. With only a Christmas special to tide us over 2016. And it is unclear if there will be a 2017 Christmas special, and if so, who would write it. Hmm.
<must resist the temptation to retreat to the Blenkinsop cellar in despair…>
14 January 2016 at 14:27 #50134@puroandson
On reflection, the more I think about my 14 year-old self viewing nudity with my mother sitting next to me the more I realise what a profoundly uncomfortable experience that would have been!
14 January 2016 at 03:00 #50119@puroandson
Hello puro solo!
I have yet to see the movie, although I have seen the trailer, and as such I have great hopes for it. I am not sure you need to worry about the nudity aspect, but any movie that highlights the venality of American capitalism (well, just capitalism come to think of it) sounds mighty fine to me.
And if I think back to when I was 14 (like “son”) then nudity would be the icing on the cake!
7 January 2016 at 14:25 #50029Hear, hear.
In many respects, I thought the Abominable Bride was one of the best Sherlock outings by Gatiss and Moffat, particularly in the way it has grown from the seeds it planted back 2010. To have simply recycled the (considerable) strengths of that first series would have diminished the show.
What I love about it as a show in general is the sheer story-telling audacity of Gatiss and Moffat. It is like listening to a new musical composition by a favourite composer, and discovering to your delight that the hairs are standing up on the back of your neck when the piece is finished.
(And on another topic, and running with the musical theme, it has been a while since have heard of @puroandson. I trust the new year is treating all in Brisbane well.)
6 January 2016 at 03:38 #50010Well, there seems to be a bit of a lull on the forum. Although, happily there are still new members. (Welcome @dralygonyx. Like @winston, I am also in Ontario, Canada, although previously from Australia. (Doctor Who aficionados tend to travel, sort of in space, and over time.)
Anyway, I thought that perhaps we needed a focus during the long gap to series 10.
One idea is to look at the directors of the episodes. We tend to valorise the writers (Moffat, Gatiss, Gaiman, etc) and for good reason, but surely the directors have an input as well. For example, both Deep Breath and Into the Dalek were directed by the same person who directed A Field in England, and the forthcoming High Rise. What influence do the directors have? I don’t know, but I thought it might be an interesting question to ask.
4 January 2016 at 15:28 #49989Some great analysis on the board, but do we need some more bonkers theories?
Well, every character on the show is either alone, or in a fractured relationship (the current exception being John and Mary, but if the show follows the original, that won’t last long). So, has there been a character already mentioned who could complement the existing characters? Obviously a third Holmes sibling, but there is also another character who has been mentioned. Watson’s sister, Harry.
-
AuthorPosts
