Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks writing as Ian Fleming
Chapters 5 & 6
A tense tennis match between Bond and the villain, Dr Julius Gorner -- very much in the spirit of Goldfinger's round of golf or the Casino Royale card game (among other sporting encounters in Fleming's novels) -- is followed by another Bond obsession -- food -- and a huge chunk of exposition.
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
TV
Doctor Who [classic]
5x01 The Tomb of the Cybermen Episode 1 [3rd watch]
5x02 The Tomb of the Cybermen Episode 2 [3rd watch]
5x03 The Tomb of the Cybermen Episode 3 [3rd watch]
5x04 The Tomb of the Cybermen Episode 4 [3rd watch]
See here for my thoughts on this story.
Gilmore Girls
4x09 Ted Koppel's Big Night Out
Spooks
4x02 The Special: Part II (aka The Possibility of a Mole)
5x01 The Tomb of the Cybermen Episode 1 [3rd watch]
5x02 The Tomb of the Cybermen Episode 2 [3rd watch]
5x03 The Tomb of the Cybermen Episode 3 [3rd watch]
5x04 The Tomb of the Cybermen Episode 4 [3rd watch]
See here for my thoughts on this story.
Gilmore Girls
4x09 Ted Koppel's Big Night Out
Spooks
4x02 The Special: Part II (aka The Possibility of a Mole)
Fiction
Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks writing as Ian Fleming
Chapters 1 - 4
Faulks' James Bond continuation novel (which, in case you've managed to miss the hype, has been written to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Bond's creator, Ian Fleming) gets off to a strong start, with a dramatic opening chapter in Paris followed by an excellent portrayal of an aged and weary Bond considering virtual retirement as the world moves on. Complete with numerous, well-handled references to previous adventures, it so far feels like a last hurrah for an aging hero. Standing as the 15th (and, perhaps, final) book in Fleming's Bond series, that seems only appropriate.
Chapters 1 - 4
Faulks' James Bond continuation novel (which, in case you've managed to miss the hype, has been written to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Bond's creator, Ian Fleming) gets off to a strong start, with a dramatic opening chapter in Paris followed by an excellent portrayal of an aged and weary Bond considering virtual retirement as the world moves on. Complete with numerous, well-handled references to previous adventures, it so far feels like a last hurrah for an aging hero. Standing as the 15th (and, perhaps, final) book in Fleming's Bond series, that seems only appropriate.
Doctor Who: The Tomb of the Cybermen
We continue our one-story-per-Doctor journey through the history of classic Doctor Who with this mid-era Troughton adventure, in which the Doctor, Jamie and new companion Victoria encounter an army of frozen Cybermen.
The Tomb of the Cybermen was widely regarded regarded as a lost classic until 1992, when the story was rediscovered in Hong Kong. Since then opinions have varied a little more, as fans were finally able to lose the free-roaming quality-enhancing abilities of their imagination and see the story as it really was, restrained by all the cheapness of 1967 TV production. But, a few set wobbles and dodgy performances aside, this is an excellent adventure. The Doctor and friends join an archeological expedition excavating long-frozen Cyber-tombs on the planet Telos, though some of the team members have more nefarious motivations. Unlike many four-parters, Tomb doesn't degenerate into a repetitive runaround halfway through part two, instead managing to sustain a complete narrative across all the episodes. The Cybermen themselves don't even arrive until halfway through episode two, the story until then ratcheting tension as the team explore the abandoned complex. It's effective storytelling, building mystery and laying groundwork for later. Another positive element is the team -- it's an international group, not just a collection of Brits or Yanks, which lends it a more realistic future feel. On the downside, the good guys are all American or English while it's the villains who have funny accents, the only black character is essentially a slave (to both humans and Cybermen!), and the script occasionally sinks to a '60s near-misogynistic view of women. Not everything's perfect...
The production, while occasionally wobbly, also has it's number of good points. The sets are very well designed and the blank faces of the Cybermen are particularly effective, even if their shiny jumpsuits and tennis-ball-joints aren't. Sadly, with the exception of an iconically cool (pun not intended) emergence from their defrosted tombs, they don't have a great deal to do. The story's primary villains are actually a couple of power-hungry humans from the expedition, while the Cybermen stomp around a bit and add some menace to the final two episodes. It's understandable, really -- they've just woken up; they must be a bit sleep. For early children's TV, the villains are surprisingly complex characters. Yes, their aim boils down to world domination, but their varying levels of self belief, trust in the Cybermen, and opinions of others' abilities (especially the Doctor) adds something more. Klieg is especially varied, and in a wonderful climax is defeated by the Doctor playing on his ego. The whole script is a gift for Troughton, packed with great lines and scenes for him, most specifically a moving scene between the Doctor and Victoria that manages to hold both touching advice on loss and a beautiful assertion on the series' brilliance. It's among Who's very best moments.
If one's disbelief can be suspended enough to look past the wobbliness the production sometimes exhibits, there's a genuinely classic tale here, for all sorts of reasons beyond even those I've mentioned. Hopefully Steven Moffat's love for blank-faced monsters will mean the Cybermen finally get to return to new Who when he takes charge... unless they return sooner, of course...
The Tomb of the Cybermen was widely regarded regarded as a lost classic until 1992, when the story was rediscovered in Hong Kong. Since then opinions have varied a little more, as fans were finally able to lose the free-roaming quality-enhancing abilities of their imagination and see the story as it really was, restrained by all the cheapness of 1967 TV production. But, a few set wobbles and dodgy performances aside, this is an excellent adventure. The Doctor and friends join an archeological expedition excavating long-frozen Cyber-tombs on the planet Telos, though some of the team members have more nefarious motivations. Unlike many four-parters, Tomb doesn't degenerate into a repetitive runaround halfway through part two, instead managing to sustain a complete narrative across all the episodes. The Cybermen themselves don't even arrive until halfway through episode two, the story until then ratcheting tension as the team explore the abandoned complex. It's effective storytelling, building mystery and laying groundwork for later. Another positive element is the team -- it's an international group, not just a collection of Brits or Yanks, which lends it a more realistic future feel. On the downside, the good guys are all American or English while it's the villains who have funny accents, the only black character is essentially a slave (to both humans and Cybermen!), and the script occasionally sinks to a '60s near-misogynistic view of women. Not everything's perfect...
The production, while occasionally wobbly, also has it's number of good points. The sets are very well designed and the blank faces of the Cybermen are particularly effective, even if their shiny jumpsuits and tennis-ball-joints aren't. Sadly, with the exception of an iconically cool (pun not intended) emergence from their defrosted tombs, they don't have a great deal to do. The story's primary villains are actually a couple of power-hungry humans from the expedition, while the Cybermen stomp around a bit and add some menace to the final two episodes. It's understandable, really -- they've just woken up; they must be a bit sleep. For early children's TV, the villains are surprisingly complex characters. Yes, their aim boils down to world domination, but their varying levels of self belief, trust in the Cybermen, and opinions of others' abilities (especially the Doctor) adds something more. Klieg is especially varied, and in a wonderful climax is defeated by the Doctor playing on his ego. The whole script is a gift for Troughton, packed with great lines and scenes for him, most specifically a moving scene between the Doctor and Victoria that manages to hold both touching advice on loss and a beautiful assertion on the series' brilliance. It's among Who's very best moments.
If one's disbelief can be suspended enough to look past the wobbliness the production sometimes exhibits, there's a genuinely classic tale here, for all sorts of reasons beyond even those I've mentioned. Hopefully Steven Moffat's love for blank-faced monsters will mean the Cybermen finally get to return to new Who when he takes charge... unless they return sooner, of course...
Monday, 2 June 2008
TV
Gilmore Girls
4x08 Die, Jerk
In which Rory gives an awful ballet a memorably scathing review, and has to face the consequences when the lead ballerina tracks her down. I feel there is some moral lesson to be gained here, especially in light of the content of my blogs...
Shark
2x07 In Absentia
"House with lawyers" continues on the road to cancellation with this episode half set in Mexico. It makes for a slight twist on the format, but the situations and dialogue are as cliché-ridden and humourless as ever.
Spooks
4x01 The Special: Part I (aka Surreal World)
The BBC's post-9/11 spy show kicks off its fourth run with a two-parter, with a different style to most previous episodes: the case is a high-profile media-filling successful terrorist attack, rather than the low-key under-the-radar missions of previous seasons. Has Spooks jumped the proverbial shark?
4x08 Die, Jerk
In which Rory gives an awful ballet a memorably scathing review, and has to face the consequences when the lead ballerina tracks her down. I feel there is some moral lesson to be gained here, especially in light of the content of my blogs...
Shark
2x07 In Absentia
"House with lawyers" continues on the road to cancellation with this episode half set in Mexico. It makes for a slight twist on the format, but the situations and dialogue are as cliché-ridden and humourless as ever.
Spooks
4x01 The Special: Part I (aka Surreal World)
The BBC's post-9/11 spy show kicks off its fourth run with a two-parter, with a different style to most previous episodes: the case is a high-profile media-filling successful terrorist attack, rather than the low-key under-the-radar missions of previous seasons. Has Spooks jumped the proverbial shark?
Fiction
Allan and the Sundered Veil by Alan Moore
Chapter VI [the end]
(from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 1)
The New Traveller's Almanac by Alan Moore
Chapter One
(from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 2)
Chapter VI [the end]
(from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 1)
The New Traveller's Almanac by Alan Moore
Chapter One
(from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 2)
Sunday, 1 June 2008
TV
Florence Nightingale
Disappointingly dry and docudrama-like account of a fraction of Florence Nightingale's life. The cast and director manage little with the latter's leaden script. The whole thing felt more like something you'd only see in the early years of Secondary School.
Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
14x19 (30/5/08 edition)
House
4x13 No More Mr. Nice Guy
Sword of Xanten (aka Ring of the Nibelungs)
Parts 1 & 2 (of 2)
Wild China
Part 4 Beyond the Great Wall
This fascinating series about the beautiful, little seen and fast-disappearing sides of life in China continued with some of its greatest sights yet. The 'ice city' at the end has to be my favourite bit so far.
Disappointingly dry and docudrama-like account of a fraction of Florence Nightingale's life. The cast and director manage little with the latter's leaden script. The whole thing felt more like something you'd only see in the early years of Secondary School.
Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
14x19 (30/5/08 edition)
House
4x13 No More Mr. Nice Guy
Sword of Xanten (aka Ring of the Nibelungs)
Parts 1 & 2 (of 2)
Wild China
Part 4 Beyond the Great Wall
This fascinating series about the beautiful, little seen and fast-disappearing sides of life in China continued with some of its greatest sights yet. The 'ice city' at the end has to be my favourite bit so far.
Saturday, 31 May 2008
TV
Doctor Who [new]
4x08 Silence in the Library
Gilmore Girls
4x07 The Festival of Living Art
Despite the title, the event featured in the episode is actually called 'The Festival of Living Pictures'.
Have I Got News For You
30/5/08 edition (extended repeat)
I'd Do Anything
1x23 (Final)
1x24 (Final Results)
4x08 Silence in the Library
Gilmore Girls
4x07 The Festival of Living Art
Despite the title, the event featured in the episode is actually called 'The Festival of Living Pictures'.
Have I Got News For You
30/5/08 edition (extended repeat)
I'd Do Anything
1x23 (Final)
1x24 (Final Results)
Friday, 30 May 2008
TV
Babylon 5
1x07 The War Prayer
1x08 And the Sky Full of Stars
Doctor Who [classic]
1x01 An Unearthly Child
1x02 The Cave of Skulls
1x03 The Forest of Fear
1x04 The Firemaker
See here for my thoughts on this story.
1x07 The War Prayer
1x08 And the Sky Full of Stars
Doctor Who [classic]
1x01 An Unearthly Child
1x02 The Cave of Skulls
1x03 The Forest of Fear
1x04 The Firemaker
See here for my thoughts on this story.
Fiction
Allan and the Sundered Veil by Alan Moore
Chapter V
(from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 1)
Chapter V
(from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 1)
Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child
45 years ago this November, Doctor Who began... and was almost ignored thanks to the world-changing events in Dallas that same weekend. Thankfully things would pick up in the show's second week, and it would come to have a thorough impact on British culture by the time of its sixth.
Despite having been a Who fan myself for well over a decade now, I've never actually seen the first ever four-part story (though I have seen the originally unbroadcast pilot episode, which greatly resembles episode one as broadcast). But I'm now coming to introduce a friend to classic Who, and to begin their education we're intending to watch one noteworthy four-part story from each Doctor's era. While most are ones I've seen and can vouch for, it seemed silly to begin with anything other than the first ever adventure for the good (or, in this case, highly ambiguous) Doctor.
Perhaps the most striking thing about this first story (unless you're a new fan who struggles with black & white / the slow pace / an old Doctor / so many companions / etc) is how brutal it is. This is especially evident in the Doctor's personality and morals. He's not the cheery happy fun-loving Doctor of David Tennant or Tom Baker -- or even Christopher Eccleston, who tried (and failed) to hide his dark, brooding typecasting behind a thin veil of implausible lightness. The Doctor here is a grumpy old man -- he doesn't want these humans interfering, and when they've seen too much he kidnaps them; when he doesn't get his own way, he strops; when caring for an injured caveman is delaying their escape, he picks up a stone to kill him... and he doesn't stop himself (only Ian's interference achieves that). Elsewhere, an old cavewoman is slain for helping the TARDIS crew escape... and by the only apparently likable caveman too! Later, he gets his head smashed in with a giant rock. Not as violently, at the end of the story the whole tribe murderously chase the Doctor & co back into the TARDIS. There's no neat resolution and no good characters left behind here.
And you know what? It's great! Maybe it wouldn't send a positive moral message to children, and perhaps the cavemen are stereotypes and oversimplified, but it's actually a fairly decent adventure that doesn't succumb too much to the usual four-parter problem of Lots Of Running Around To Kill Time. Of course, it's aided by the fact that it's really a three-parter -- part one, An Unearthly Child itself, stands almost entirely separate as a pitch-perfect start to the series. It begins surprisingly quickly, introducing schoolteachers Ian and Barbara, and they take the audience with them into a fantastical world of humming Police Boxes that are bigger on the inside and travel in time and space. It's hard to imagine a more perfect start to the series -- it might not work word-for-word if made today, but the same basic story would be the one to copy (indeed, new-Who supremo Russell T Davies used basically the same tactic when he launched the new series with Rose, which leads the viewer into the Doctor's crazy alien world via a modern-day teenager).
A fantastic start to the longest-running science-fiction TV series, then, and one that still seems to hold up all these years later.
Despite having been a Who fan myself for well over a decade now, I've never actually seen the first ever four-part story (though I have seen the originally unbroadcast pilot episode, which greatly resembles episode one as broadcast). But I'm now coming to introduce a friend to classic Who, and to begin their education we're intending to watch one noteworthy four-part story from each Doctor's era. While most are ones I've seen and can vouch for, it seemed silly to begin with anything other than the first ever adventure for the good (or, in this case, highly ambiguous) Doctor.
Perhaps the most striking thing about this first story (unless you're a new fan who struggles with black & white / the slow pace / an old Doctor / so many companions / etc) is how brutal it is. This is especially evident in the Doctor's personality and morals. He's not the cheery happy fun-loving Doctor of David Tennant or Tom Baker -- or even Christopher Eccleston, who tried (and failed) to hide his dark, brooding typecasting behind a thin veil of implausible lightness. The Doctor here is a grumpy old man -- he doesn't want these humans interfering, and when they've seen too much he kidnaps them; when he doesn't get his own way, he strops; when caring for an injured caveman is delaying their escape, he picks up a stone to kill him... and he doesn't stop himself (only Ian's interference achieves that). Elsewhere, an old cavewoman is slain for helping the TARDIS crew escape... and by the only apparently likable caveman too! Later, he gets his head smashed in with a giant rock. Not as violently, at the end of the story the whole tribe murderously chase the Doctor & co back into the TARDIS. There's no neat resolution and no good characters left behind here.
And you know what? It's great! Maybe it wouldn't send a positive moral message to children, and perhaps the cavemen are stereotypes and oversimplified, but it's actually a fairly decent adventure that doesn't succumb too much to the usual four-parter problem of Lots Of Running Around To Kill Time. Of course, it's aided by the fact that it's really a three-parter -- part one, An Unearthly Child itself, stands almost entirely separate as a pitch-perfect start to the series. It begins surprisingly quickly, introducing schoolteachers Ian and Barbara, and they take the audience with them into a fantastical world of humming Police Boxes that are bigger on the inside and travel in time and space. It's hard to imagine a more perfect start to the series -- it might not work word-for-word if made today, but the same basic story would be the one to copy (indeed, new-Who supremo Russell T Davies used basically the same tactic when he launched the new series with Rose, which leads the viewer into the Doctor's crazy alien world via a modern-day teenager).
A fantastic start to the longest-running science-fiction TV series, then, and one that still seems to hold up all these years later.
Thursday, 29 May 2008
TV
The Duke: A Portrait of Prince Philip
Part 2 (of 2)
The Graham Norton Show
3x07 (29/5/08 edition)
Heroes
2x06 The Line
Holby Blue
2x11 Episode 11
House
4x12 Don't Ever Change
Part 2 (of 2)
The Graham Norton Show
3x07 (29/5/08 edition)
Heroes
2x06 The Line
Holby Blue
2x11 Episode 11
House
4x12 Don't Ever Change
Fiction
Allan and the Sundered Veil by Alan Moore
Chapter IV
(from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 1)
Chapter IV
(from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 1)
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
Welcome to My Cultural Experience!
The aim of this blog is simple: as the title may suggest, it is a catalogue of my cultural experience. But what does this actually mean?
Well, by "cultural experience" I mean the things most of us are exposed to every day: the things we read, we listen to, we watch on TV, and so on. This covers a massive range of things, obviously, and it would probably consume all of my time if I were to attempt to list it all. So, in practice, this blog will be slightly less ambitious. I will aim to catalogue primary cultural experiences -- effectively, list TV shows, films, music, radio programmes, games, books and magazines I watch/listen to/play/read -- which may sound totally meritless to anyone but me. However, when I have the desire to express an opinion on any of these, I will. And if I wish to write about anything else culturally relevant -- a particular article, perhaps, or an advert -- then this is a forum for doing so.
As well as being a chance to espouse my thoughts on almost anything I fancy (the point of many blogs, I'm sure), it gives readers (should I find any...) a chance to also comment on things, be it in reaction to a longer piece I've written or just to something that's popped up on one of my lists. As such, comments are heartily encouraged, though I suspect I'll be lucky if I find any readers.
On the more technical side of things, updates will be anywhere from daily to... well, less frequently. I watch some TV every day, watch movies somewhat regularly, and follow a fair degree of news that could lead to some extra commentary there. I won't be attempting to catalogue every news article / review / etc I read, nor will my TV list be truly extensive -- if I happen to catch 10 minutes of the news it won't make the list, for example, but if for some reason I felt compelled to waste my life watching an episode of EastEnders I'd admit to it. By a similar token, the music list won't go through every single song I happen to hear every day, but will list any notable events -- e.g. if I listen to a particular album, or a particular selection of songs, or, as with articles/adverts/etc, if I want to comment on a particular song for some reason. And as for games, if you haven't guessed yet... well, I'm not going to be mentioning every minute I waste on Tetris and the like! If I'm not reviewing something, or if I intend to review it sometime later, I'll try to link the post to a relevant site -- for example, the standard IMDb for films, or a TV series' official site (or more likely TV.com), and so forth. All viewings/listenings/readings should be assumed to be my first unless otherwise noted, in which case I'll do my best to give a number, though obviously that's not always possible.
Hopefully that covers what I intend to do here. How long it'll last, I don't know. I've attempted a variety of blogs in the past -- most of them here on Blogger. Some have lasted no more than an introductory post, others are running strong after 17 months with no signs of letting up, even if they're now hosted elsewhere. Speaking of which, please check out my blog, 100 Films in a Year. Hopefully the title is to some degree self explanatory, and that blog's existence will also explain a probable shortage of specific film reviews here (though any posted there will be linked to).
Well, by "cultural experience" I mean the things most of us are exposed to every day: the things we read, we listen to, we watch on TV, and so on. This covers a massive range of things, obviously, and it would probably consume all of my time if I were to attempt to list it all. So, in practice, this blog will be slightly less ambitious. I will aim to catalogue primary cultural experiences -- effectively, list TV shows, films, music, radio programmes, games, books and magazines I watch/listen to/play/read -- which may sound totally meritless to anyone but me. However, when I have the desire to express an opinion on any of these, I will. And if I wish to write about anything else culturally relevant -- a particular article, perhaps, or an advert -- then this is a forum for doing so.
As well as being a chance to espouse my thoughts on almost anything I fancy (the point of many blogs, I'm sure), it gives readers (should I find any...) a chance to also comment on things, be it in reaction to a longer piece I've written or just to something that's popped up on one of my lists. As such, comments are heartily encouraged, though I suspect I'll be lucky if I find any readers.
On the more technical side of things, updates will be anywhere from daily to... well, less frequently. I watch some TV every day, watch movies somewhat regularly, and follow a fair degree of news that could lead to some extra commentary there. I won't be attempting to catalogue every news article / review / etc I read, nor will my TV list be truly extensive -- if I happen to catch 10 minutes of the news it won't make the list, for example, but if for some reason I felt compelled to waste my life watching an episode of EastEnders I'd admit to it. By a similar token, the music list won't go through every single song I happen to hear every day, but will list any notable events -- e.g. if I listen to a particular album, or a particular selection of songs, or, as with articles/adverts/etc, if I want to comment on a particular song for some reason. And as for games, if you haven't guessed yet... well, I'm not going to be mentioning every minute I waste on Tetris and the like! If I'm not reviewing something, or if I intend to review it sometime later, I'll try to link the post to a relevant site -- for example, the standard IMDb for films, or a TV series' official site (or more likely TV.com), and so forth. All viewings/listenings/readings should be assumed to be my first unless otherwise noted, in which case I'll do my best to give a number, though obviously that's not always possible.
Hopefully that covers what I intend to do here. How long it'll last, I don't know. I've attempted a variety of blogs in the past -- most of them here on Blogger. Some have lasted no more than an introductory post, others are running strong after 17 months with no signs of letting up, even if they're now hosted elsewhere. Speaking of which, please check out my blog, 100 Films in a Year. Hopefully the title is to some degree self explanatory, and that blog's existence will also explain a probable shortage of specific film reviews here (though any posted there will be linked to).
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
TV
Babylon 5
1x05 The Parliament of Dreams
1x06 Mind War
This is a back-dated post, designed to completely list the dates I watched Babylon 5. For an introduction to this blog, please see here.
1x05 The Parliament of Dreams
1x06 Mind War
This is a back-dated post, designed to completely list the dates I watched Babylon 5. For an introduction to this blog, please see here.
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