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Another recommend from me would be that I noticed that from tonight BBC Four are re-running Edge of Darkness from 1985.

It really is an extraordinary series – one of the best I can remember. It was remade as a film but I didn’t see that.

All the actors are astounding, from Bob Peck, Joe Don Baker, Charles Kay and Ian McNeice – to be honest all the way through the cast. And Joanne Whalley’s doe eyes were unfair to a 14 year old!
(And then just as I’d gotten over that she plays the nurse in The Singing Detective!)

Here’s the theme (there was a longer version but it had spoilers throughout the montage – pretty sure this one doesn’t).

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Hi @phaseshift et al.

I don’t get Sky Atlantic (is that what its on?) but would probably have avoided Penny Dreadful actually because of similarities to LoEG. No doubt my mistake (yet again!).

I absolutely love the first two books of LoEG and Hyde really is a fantastic character. I won’t want to spoil it for anyone but can only heartily recommend.
If nothing else Kevin O’Neil is on top form as the artist on this series and its wonderful to see both Moore and O’Neil taking their time and delivering ‘when its finished’ as opposed to rushing too much or getting another artist in (as happened on Nemesis I think).
Deadlines are good, but botching the work up due to arbitrary deadlines is short-sighted.

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I probably need one of Bluesqueakpip’s wonderful diagrams, but its just occurred to me that they didn’t have to run.
As long as they were successful, they had all the time in the world. But then again it would’ve been less fun (for us and them!).

Must admit I liked this one. I also liked the digs at the Art world – both low (the pompous critics) and subtle (the idea of ‘fakes’).

And Duggan does get to save the day as @thekrynoidman says – not only the punch but I loved it as trapped in the cell without a way out, the Doctor says:

“I’ve got an idea.
We’ll ask Duggan”

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Hi – just to say that my “vote” as such was to go along with the majority.
What I really liked about the process though was that everyone agreed that Kinda was such a classic, that I was going to watch it anyway. If I have any thoughts I’ll post on the Davison Faces of the Doctor thread (but in a non-spoilery way which may prove impossible, so maybe I won’t!).

Sorry KrynoidMan if this feels like me running to a different queue after Mike Reid shouts “Change!”*

*impossible to explain really and I can only find it happening at ~3:50 by which time shots of Metal Mickey will have infuriated Phase to such an extent he’ll ditch my vote anyway!

🙂

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Bobby Womack passed away.

RIP

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btw can I just say… @blenkinsopthebrave – love the commercial!

@toinfinityandbepond – nice 🙂

and @scaryb – don’t ever do that again.
That image has spoilers.

Its spoiled my eyes and my sleep.

I now can’t get flying rock heads, grain, and mainly that crotch out of my mind.

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ok, apologies but I got weak.

One last “bestest sci fi moment EVAH – and you’re all STOOPID if you disagree” for the list.

The Countdown.

5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

[and yes I’ve also indulged this evening in intros from Buck Rogers, Captain Scarlet, Space 1999 (with Maria Schell!!) Actually Doctor Who’s intro is more iconic than any of these… is it on the list??]

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thanks @craig – I’ll put the nothing in the nothing-shaped space on my mantelpiece.

If I’m honest, nothing actually looks good there.

Better than it did before.

I think I should take up Wabi sabi.

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bloomin’ ‘eck.

I come back and as I read down from @craig ‘s post from having bought SFX (you really do always go the extra mile don’t you Craig?) I read that I’VE WON giving me a pervading joy, only to then read 4 comments later that I’VE LOST.

I didn’t even know there was nothing to win.
Yet I’ve managed to lose it anyway!

[sob]

story of my life.

[EDIT – and now I feel I’ve managed to lose again within the space of writing this damn comment!!
well done Blenkinsopthebrave I guess. Hope the nothing looks good on your mantelpiece – mine just has a space on it now, filled with… nothing.]

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@craig – that remixed version made me smile as with that initial thudding base I thought of someone banging on the Tardis doors!

Let the buggers in!

Ok, this one’s for Hitchiker’s Guide To The Galaxy.

Here’s the original album version but this is not a bad live version from Jools Holland show (humbly suggest you play it loud)

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… and if we’re gonna look further back than the 1980’s then how can we forget Le Voyage dans la Lune from 1902??!?

[sigh]

ok – last one. THAT jump-cut match-cut edit between the spinning bone and the spaceship.

ok, that’s it from me – off to post a choon…

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Yeah @jimthefish – the opening sequence is fantastic (I’d forgot to mention how the music is perfect – bombastic fanfare, turning to minor key worry then ‘action’ again. Weirdly only link to it I can find is on this guy’s site).

btw – in terms of iconic scenes in Doctor Who, I’d say that Tom Baker holding two wires and the fate of a species in his hand is etched onto my brain (and I was 3 or 4 years old, so pretty formative!).

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Ah – lists!

Yep, probably in the mildly confused agreement with everyone here. An odd list (presumably they’d suggested these to be voted on, which says something about them as well as their audience).

Anyway, off the top of my head, the “greatest moment in sci fi” (until I change my mind) would be the opening of the original Star Wars.

Titles and story flow past like an old serial.
Camera pans ‘down’ across a field of stars.
Small spacecraft flies into view from below, being fired upon.
Then a HUGE craft slides by firing on and chasing the smaller craft.

Honestly – that is a great bit of filmaking right there and sums up the “small-guys-chased-by-the-big-guys-in-space” that underpins the whole movie.

[mind you, then there’s every scene of 2001 to choose from…]

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@purofilion @janetteb et al – I’m sure there is better slang that we can use.

Over to you….
(more of a Friday post but the buggers at the beeb put this up on a Monday!)

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@phaseshift – Soundgarden, long time no hear.
I remember the track but not the video (which seems true of most music from the 80’s, 90’s heck even noughties yet its not like I’ve been living in a video free cave.. don’t really know why it should be but most videos bring back Top of the Pops!

anyway, brilliant description of that Soundgarden track – and though this is not similar in terms of Beatles-ness it made me think of this. Not sure why.

Maybe because its a “track 6” and because I was thinking of writing a slightly longer-form music post (though not researched or erudite enough to class as a ‘blog post’ – those things take you guys time!)

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@thekrynoidman – excellent!
Spirit in the Sky – muscular boogie with sweet vocals and harmony – a pure glam classic.
Glam wasn’t effete and I think this is a great example (‘brickies with glitter’ but can’t remember who’s quote).
I first heard this song as a cover by Doctor and the Medics and instantly dismissed it as fluff.
Stoopid me.
I shoulda looked for the original and heard some great boogie.

From Seasick Steve (who makes a great fist of it live on Jools)
and from the person that came to mind when I heard your post –

And as he’s in a classic from the 80’s

[with the bonus of being able to write very suggestive Spanish if we pay attention]

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@phaseshift (et al) – in terms of Davison episodes, I’ll happily go with the general opinion of people here.

However, as I must’ve missed it as a kid, I will now definitely be watching Kinda etc at some point soon!
Even if that’s not the one chosen, the way you guys have spoken about the ‘classics’ has made me want to watch them (possibly for the first time).

I may post reflections (though not spoilers) on the Faces thread or somewhere else appropriate.

In a way Phase, the tables you’ve been creating with episodes, would make a good resource for the “hi – I love the Doctor but where do I begin with the old stuff?” comments.
Not that I want to give you extra work to do!

🙂

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@thekrynoidman – ah Buddy Holly – you’ve made me smile!
Buddy made me think of sitting at the dinner table maybe 20 years ago and my dad saying “ah Lonnie Donegan – now he was a wild man”.
He didn’t elaborate much, but then my dad mentioned that he’d helped roadie/manage a skiffle group in Ireland! Probably in the 50’s/60’s. He never elaborated on that either!

Buddy’s music made me think of bluegrass so here’s some Gospel-influenced-bluegrass

And as I know you’re a fan of Elvis, a tip o’ the hat to Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup

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ha ha – no worries @thekrynoidman

As I say – they were rubbish ‘jokes’.
(Suarez has been known to bite players and my Jaws clip was for the early exit of Spain.
Schadenfreude karma? hey ho!)

Anyway, that’s enough of my stoopid footy-related music!

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ah – thanks @thekrynoidman

Playing that now just before the Uruguay v England match.
Sets a nice tone.

I presume Jaws is in honour of Suarez?*

*(I promise no more rubbish footy jokes)

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A bit cruel, but…

(only of even marginal interest if you’re following the World Cup.

and not Spanish)

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Interesting @fatmaninabox – I know nothing about Six Years and a very quick google only gets me a band that doesn’t have that track (but probably is them!).

Weirdly as I watched the video and was musing “Is that Canvey Island?” based on nothing other than having seen “Oil City Confidential” I came across this.

Incredibly terrible crap TV show from 1975 called “Geordie Scene”, with a poor-man’s Jimi Saville ruining every moment between songs. Truly awful.

But, but… this show doesn’t deserve music this raw and with such a focussed delivery.

This VHS tape has obviously been played a lot of times!

(and the guitarist Wilko has been suffering for years from cancer – however after recent surgery is convalescing – he’s endearingly well loved so hope he’s doing as well as he can).

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Ah Puro – yes Mr Rossi was a fave of mine as a kid – mainly for the artwork!

anyways, here’s a Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy tribute:

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Am really enjoying seeing this for the first time (must have missed seeing it as a kid).

Completely agree about the dialogue etc though must say that I think Duggan is being played as though this is a ‘farce’.

Its all a bit too much for me – while trying to figure out how to describe what I meant I read a description of farce:

a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations.

Now, I’d agree that you can read that and think yep, this is comic, the Doctor is using buffoonery to baffle the villains and its ludicrously improbable, but I wouldn’t say that the Doctor is a crude characterization. Larger-than-life but not crude.
But Duggan’s upturned gaberdine collar and Sam Spade delivery just feel a little out of place, though he has a role to fill and is playing the detective in what could be a farce. Maybe its seeing him with Lalla who’s undercutting everyone else’s acting with her own brilliance that does him a disservice from me.

anyway, just an opinion and loving it generally (especially comparing it to Hitchhikers where a similar dialogue exchange is apparent).

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If Wikipedia is to be believed I was about to turn 10 when I first saw this.

Its got a lot to answer for!

Seeing this and City of Death is an excellent idea – very similar badinage between the characters and a feeling of ‘filmed stage play’.

Seeing Trillian at that age certainly made me feel… something I couldn’t quite articulate; and like Arthur I think I’m still waiting for a genius, attractive lady who doesn’t walk off at parties 😉

Its funny seeing her again as I’m now strongly reminded of that other attractive-ditzy-genius from Superman III

(can’t find a better pic, sorry)

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fair’s fair.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw26fLW_gg4

(could’ve sworn I’d posted this before but can’t find it, so hopefully not too repetitious!)
(not sure why that’s not embedding… ah well.)

oh and Puro you know I’m kidding.
I watched England lose the rugby too!

🙂

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Well @amypond11 – its a bonkers theory so you’re in the right place!

There’s also the Rory-Auton-Master connection…

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@rob – as you’re the one walking, shouldn’t you be “Broadsword”?
Or has that been taken?

“Broadsword calling Danny Boy, come in Danny Boy.

We need transport, over”

Good luck!

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some nice stuff above (always great to hear those Wyatt’s) and @craig that track from the Modern Lovers is a new one on me (as is most of their stuff except Roadrunner). really really liked it.

Now then, I’ve been to the Rose & Crown and a great choon on the jukebox there (always thought this was the jukebox! 😉 ) but realised that all the screens on the rooms upstairs are showing sci-fi! No footy anywhere (and yes my antipodean buddies, I mean real footy).

Now, I was thinking of linking this but on listening again I’m not sure I really like it (though love the film) so will give this tune from a New York based Puerto Rican.

Because its “Latin American” (though salsa? rather than samba?) and I like it and it raises a smile and there’s a link to the genre love all around here (don’t look at the title, put it on in the background and see if you recognise it).

Hands up who wasn’t tapping or shimmying after about 3 or 4 mins.

ah – second half about to begin!

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erm @purofilion – oops, apologies.

I’m sure that I had a point/joke in mind with that Cezanne/Gogh/Who reference, but re-reading my post doesn’t remind me what I was on about and just shows me never to post whilst distracted*.

ah well….

(* booze)

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agree that the tone is silly-sixth-form-intelligent-smirking

BUT

I watch and giggle the whole way through.

So that makes me shallow [check] and not wanting Doctor Who to be serious all the time [check] and erm…. ah whatever.

Did I mention it made me giggle all the way through?

No eyebrows? Damn those restorations!

[and if only they’d turned a corner in the Louvre we could’ve seen some Cezanne! So much more important and interesting than Van Gogh. Mind you they’ve probably moved away from seeing him as the father of modern art (in the response to photography), I’m just getting old].

oh and even though she’s dressed as an older-schoolchild, Ward acts as the equal to Baker which is lovely (rather than the all-too-typical “what do you mean doctor?” “I don’t understand!“

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btw @wolfweed – a while back you linked to (the excellant) The Sandman animation and I wanted to say that I remember seeing it along with several other brilliant animations as part of a “Best of British festival” back in 1994? possibly at the ICA?

There was one animation that I now can’t find (lots of candy-striped tentacles spring to mind) but the other (easier to find on the webs) is “Ah Pook”. Mainly as the inimitable voice is burnt on my inner ear rather than anything else (and so I simply googled ‘ah pook…’).

If you have any links to those animations then I’ll be a happy recipient (but if not no worries!)

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Bugger.

I have fond memories of trying to watch The Young Ones with the sound very very low as it was on BBC2 at 9pm while the BBC1 News was on.
If my dad woke up he’d hear the ‘stupidity’ of The Young Ones and simply turn over for the news (and fall asleep again).

Rik is simply too young to die.

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@phaseshift – completely agree that there are many overlaps between the creative worlds of 2000AD and Who (Moore and Gibbons spring to mind), but for the Judoon I thought there was more than a passing resemblance to the Gamorrean Guards:

While searching for a pic of that guard from Star Wars I couldn’t decide whether to post the one above or this one:

Wish I had Wolfweed’s skillz to choose the right pics…

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Sorry for moaning my first world problem, but no-one here to get any sympathy from (so yours is very much appreciated).

So, after restoring my old backup of music, I spent an hour or two looking at iTunes and my shelves of CDs to work out what was missing.

~300.

~300 CDs. Now in piles next to the laptop. And its taking roughly 10mins a rip onto my laptop.

That’s gonna take a season or more of Black Books and a lot of wine.
In themselves not bad things (thanks for the suggestion @blenkinsopthebrave) but a frustratingly large amount of wasted time.

ok, that’s enough of me moaning about this debacle except as an illustration to your kids to back up in 3 places (on the PC, external hard-drive and Cloud).

And do it often.

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[sigh]

I had to clean up my computer today (too full apparently) and thought I’d delete a folder of music as it was a duplicate and I had it backed up.

yep.

I ended up deleting all the music off me hard drive.

“Oh, but a sane man like you will have a backup” I hear you mumble.

Yes, but old and (seemingly) half the size, so I mustn’t have backed it up for maybe a year(?) and even then incomplete.
Lots missing it seems, so I’ll have to do some really dull looking at iTunes and thinking what’s missing. I’m gonna be away for a while methinks.

And then I noticed that the screen display was being weird, like its in some kinda over-bright-windows7-compatibility mode.

I’m getting a headache from it.

So, I guess what I’m saying is can I have a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster please?

Make it a double.

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Hi @Stormaggeddon – welcome!

And we’re always nice!

:¬)

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btw, not sure if anyone saw this (or cares) but James McAvoy was on the Andrew Marr show this morning (Rob was out rusting for various charities so will have missed it).

He chats about why there are still 3D films (‘bumps up the DVD price’) as well as being asked about the Scottish referendum.

For me (a non-Scot) he gave a very cogent reply.
Don’t vote on what a politician (like actors, trained orators to win arguments) says will be better for voting a or b, but instead vote for what you believe in and that way, regardless of what happens, you’ll be happy (ie happy to be independent but suffering mishaps or happy to still be part of something ‘bigger’ and… suffering mishaps).
My abbreviation doesn’t do him justice.

His part from ~37mins. To skip the XMen/cinema stuff he’s asked about politics from ~41mins.

Maybe I’m out of the loop and he’s said loads on this, or what he says is cock and someone can say why, but I just thought it was an intelligent response to someone who could just bat the question away.

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I’d watch HHGtTG happily!
in fact chucklelingly.

and I’d take a slice of Davison anytime!

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@rob – you’re doing a great thing for great charities.
Whatever you accomplish is exceptional.

Well done and don’t rust.

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btw @arbutus – is that Louis track from Jazz on a Summers Day? maybe I’ve got the wrong Fairport year, but I know that track.

I remember watching that film and just being completely bowled over by every act as well as the beautiful cinematography.

First time I’d heard (of) Thelonious Monk (apologies if I’d linked this before).

I pity those who ever heard me try to play Blue Monk on a Marine Band harmonica after listening to this version ie deliberately off (as well as being un-deliberately off!)

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and @Purofilion and @arbutus – completely agree with both of you on the Ray Charles cover.

And puro, feel free to pong to my ping.

😉

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oh – and @thekrynoidman as for humour, its such a fine line between finding something funny and finding something dull or even offensive – and its the audience who decide, not the comedian.

I guess its for the comedian to either care and tailor their material to their audience, or not care and suffer the “that’s not funny” and even “that’s actually not nice”.

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Gotta catch up on a few tracks up above!

Some great Goth tracks (though I wasn’t a goth, I’ll admit to a long black coat and a fedora-I-bought-but-never-wore as an awkward teen).
Interestingly(?) (probably not) this season’s hipster look seems to be either pastel 80’s Miami Vice/ kajagoogoo (shorts, dungarees, deck-shoes) stretching to extreme glitter makeup/carnival accessories (much as the hipsters had last year and dare I say it the year before [ouch, the financial straits hits us all]) OR very pure-black tailored vaguely 80’s cuts (but must be un-faded black).
Not sure if its ‘Goth’ or merely “black is the new black” or “we simply must have a change from last season”. But certainly little lace.

I’ll keep you all posted as to the clothes de jour in Hoxton as I’m sure its both fascinating and not info you can pick up anywhere else.

[ahem]

Anyway, I doubt there’ll be fighting on the Sowfend beaches between mascara and comb wielding gangs. They seem to mix quite happily which is nice.

Anyway, I’ve digressed (beer) and just wanted to say:
Ian Astbury – thanks (weirdly a couple of twangs on geetar remind me of Echo Beach!), and notes to look for something to reply with included “a bit sludgy, Billy Idol, anthemic, psychedelic”.
UNKLE always interesting (though haven’t listened to them for ages). They have a good history of featuring singers like Thom Yorke.
Its quite a restrained performance from Astbury – I only know of his more anthemic stuff.

@thekrynoidman – you’re right, quite a surprisingly sweet voice from Ollie.
Though probably shouldn’t be surprised as this was the only song of theirs that ever springs to my mind.

@arbutus – great Fortuneteller and not one I knew of. Before @Purofilion ‘s proper description I shorthanded ” – bubblegum pop? Precisely chewed and delicious in its sweet way!” – and that just show’s the benefit of a musical education to be able to explain stuff! And to carry on that theme of “ooh, I really don’t know stuff” I had to double check that the Renaissance tune you posted (which was beautiful) wasn’t 13th century. The clue was in Renaissance but…. it took me a few seconds and a google to make sure.
Anyway – that was a wonderfully cleansing song, like a tall glass of clear spring water in a meadow – Spring indeed!

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ah that’s an absolute classic @thekrynoidman – one of the best songs even though its for a film (if you know what I mean).

(I think we linked to What a Wonderful World here before though I can’t remember why – another awesome song).

Anyway, there’s been some Eleanor Bron love elsewhere on the threads, so here’s a version of a song I’d not heard before but kinda like (after I get over the complete change in tempo etc). Aretha Franklin also did a version and her voice is incredible, but I don’t think it was a good version of the song, whereas after a minute or so I think I believe Ray’s version.
Anyway, less waffle, more Eleanor.

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I’ll watch any Tom Baker personally.

If I had to go for one of the above, I’d plump for City of Death because I haven’t seen it since transmission (though that’s true of the others) and didn’t therefore know about Douglas Adam’s involvement.

Plus Lalla Ward.

🙂

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@monochromedimension – hmm, still sounds like a lot of colour.

and I mean a LOT of colour.

@scaryb – yep, hope we’re right. I’m guessing budgets will have been scrutinised, so hopefully fewer “squillions” (great word!) and just select quality moments that are enhanced by vfx (rather than just eye candy).

One plot device I’d like is for the Doctor and companion (or at least companion) to be away from the Tardis and so not able to understand anything that is being said (none of it is translated so its all gibberish). I mean its kinda ok when you’re a tourist until something goes wrong… not that there’d be any kind’ve social commentary thing going on, what with the elections and certain comments front of my mind, oh no. That kinda thinking’s for the pub.

Actually one for my “wishlist” will be that one – just one – theory from this forum, one barmy, insane theory somehow makes it into an episode!

Do we have any theories still running or is it all reset and we’ve none to still be resolved?
If so maybe we need some insane thoughts that might make it into an episode…

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ah @monochromedimension – I think I was thinking of this pic I found a while back…

If he did it now, it’d be a tad more menacing, bringing back thoughts of Teddy Boys, razor gangs and the like, but I’m sure he’s tempted!

🙂

I grant you, he shouldn’t try and do that hair though.

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Ah, the gloom of Goth – great tracks you guys.

A Goth made me smile on Sunday. It was in North London and he was a kid with lank hair wearing a black denim jacket, black denim jeans, black boots… and a bright red and white Arsenal shirt in honour of the Arsenal winning the FA Cup.

Yet he resolutely kept his eyes glued to the pavement and never smiled once.

8(

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thanks wolfweed – screaming for a bootlace necktie…

ahem

just re-read my earlier gibberish about what I want from Series 8. Will have to replace with different gibberish.

What I’d like is… less ‘100s of Daleks flying at a planet’ and more “Dalek is a companion??!”

Less “the world will end if we don’t do [x]!” and more “this person will be broken if we don’t do [x]”.

More ‘its about making choices that remind us what it is to be human’ rather than “grab a gun and shoot those things until they stop us doing stuff we say we say we should do”.

[grumbles…. still not getting me thoughts across – I’ll stick to pictures and songs…]

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