Wednesday 10 December 2008

TV

Argumental
1x07 (8/12/08 edition)

Broken Saints
Chapter 1 Introitus
Chapter 2 Cryptic
Chapter 3 Versus [2nd watch]
(Chapters 3 & 4 were the ones infamously included on the UK 2-disc release of Night Watch, where I saw them before.)
An intriguing opening -- a bit slow paced, a bit arty, a bit pretentious. Not everyone's cup of tea, but promising. For a brief introduction to the series, so my post here.

The Devil's Whore
Part 4 (of 4)
Another strong episode rounds off an excellent series. It doesn't feel fast-paced, yet at over an hour an episode (with breaks) rushes past faster than even something supposedly super-speedy and modern like Spooks. If you missed this, catch up with it when & where you can.

The Graham Norton Show
4x10 (4/12/08 edition, uncut repeat)
Only one guest was fine when it was Robin Williams, but Barry Manilow? Barry Manilow? In fact, he turned out to be fairly amiable -- especially as I could fast-forward the singing.

Fiction

Jonah Hex: Face Full of Violence by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray & Tony DeZuniga
(collecting Jonah Hex Vol.2 #1-6)
Issue 5

Articles

The Dark Knight Score Up For Oscar Again by Chris Hewitt
(from Empire)
Didn't see that coming, but hurrah!

A Fresh Start For 'Bond 23', Says Daniel Craig by Devin Zydel
(from CommanderBond.net)
"We've finished this story as far as I'm concerned." Plus, the chances of Moneypenny and Q returning seem to get stronger by the day.

Movie Poster Mash-Ups
(from Empire)
Not exactly a new idea, but a very amusing one. Not all hit the mark, obviously, but enough do to make it worthwhile. Check out themed galleries of Star Wars (I especially recommend number 24) and Harry Potter.

Poem of the Day: The Trust Territory III

III. Koi Carp
by Andy Brown

This week and next, Poem of the Day is presenting Andy Brown's 10-part poem, The Trust Territory. I think there's much to enjoy in each individual segment, and even more so when all ten pieces are put together. Also, at least some parts of it are especially suited to this time of year.

Please see after today's piece for information on where to find the poem in print.

This pollen-honeyed evening
your parting gift of Koi carp
rise to the gilded surface.

They flash their dog-brown eyes
beneath the pond's lens;
twitch a muscle and disappear.

But tight in the kernel
of night, they cut through
the dream's meniscus,

stirring the pool's surprises;
quick insects; slow molluscs
down in the muck & the silt.

The Trust Territory was originally published as a poetry chapbook, now out of print. It's currently available in Fall of the Rebel Angels: Poems 1996-2006 (find the best prices online here). The versions posted here are taken from the latter. From the author's acknowledgements for that volume: "Many [poems in this collection] appear as they were first published in individual volumes, others have been edited over the years and it is these final versions I wish to preserve."

Andy Brown's latest book is Goose Music, co-authored with John Burnside.

Please see here for information on Poem of the Day and copyright.

Broken Saints

Broken Saints was something of an internet sensation when it was first released online during 2001 to 2003.

The series -- which is in 24 chapters with a total running time of 12 hours (the early episodes are short while the finale hits an hour and a half) -- has been referred to by its creators as a "cinematic novel". Essentially, this means an 'animated comic': in its original version, limited animation (mainly for scene transitions) with speech bubbles instead of voice acting, but still a video with music and sound effects.

Eventually purchased by Fox and released on DVD, the series exists in two (or three, depending how you count it) versions: as well as the original online version, there's the 'DVD version' with spruced-up animation (for parts 1 to 12) and a choice of either the original soundtrack or a fully voice-acted one. It's this last option that I'm choosing to watch. (For the completist, the original Flash-animated versions of the first twelve episodes are included via DVD-ROM.)

It's recently been announced that a long-rumoured live action series is in development (or, "trying to find funding", by the sounds of things), so I decided it was finally time (I've owned the DVD since its UK release) to get round to watching the original.

You can still watch the original version online, for free, here. For more information, check out Wikipedia's good overview; the creator's blog, which includes the November 30th announcement of the live-action series; a live-action trailer (in various qualities); and DVD Times' review of the R2 DVD. (The rest of the official site is currently down.)