Ronnie Corbett 1930-2016

I'm having to write a lot of these posts at the moment because we're losing so many legends; this is the sixth one I've written so far in 2016 and we're only a quarter of the way through.

Ronnie Corbett had a long and truly excellent career in comedy; his gags have truly stood the test of time and remain funny today; there are very few of his overall quality (not to mention accessibility to a family audience) out there at the moment.

Many people will be lighting metaphorical candles in his memory tonight... four of them of course.

Rest in Peace.

Things what I have watched - March 2016

I would like to apologise for the short one last month - this was due to me being pretty busy at the time. I will aim for at least five each month.

DC's Legends of Tomorrow

With Arthur Darvill as a lead (he actually comes second in the credits to the excellent Victor Garber) working for an organisation called the Time Masters, the Doctor Who comparisons become inevitable, although Rip Hunter actually first appeared in Showcase #20 in 1959, pre-dating that show by four years. At any rate, it's not that show - with a lot more violence by the crew of Darvill's time ship.

Agent Carter

This is looking likely to be axed after two seasons; Hayley Atwell has been signed up for another pilot on ABC (where she will probably use her excellent American accent) and Marvel are likely to move forward with the Lance Hunter/Bobbi Morse spinoff that wasn't ordered last season. It would be a pity as this is an enjoyable show, with both Atwell (who is a popular suggestion for a female Doctor) and James D'Arcy delivering strong performances with excellent British humour in them. That said, it might be best not to let this run on for too long.

Line of Duty

The third series of this police drama opened in rather different style in which we clearly see that the subject of their investigation is clearly guilty of murder... but then pulls the metaphorical rug out from under us by having

Happy Valley

Definitely one of the best dramas in recent years and proof positive that a sojourn in Weatherfield (especially behind the bar of the Rovers Return) does not mean you are a bad actor; Sarah Lancashire was superb, as was Katherine Kelly. Wouldn't be surprised to see this get an American remake.

The Night Manager

I was already a fan of Tom Hiddleston due to his Marvel work previously, but he's just got himself a much bigger fan base, probably because he keeps mislaying his shirt in this. If he becomes the next Bond, I won't be surprised. The demonstration sequence in Episode 5 featured some truly impressive explosive work (costing a million quid just for that sequence) even if Tom Hollander causing Thor problems in a fight isn't entirely realistic.

Stella

This Welsh set comedy drama isn't exactly the most realistic drama around with coincidences and general silliness galore, but I sincerely hope that Ivan Schloss packed lunch. An eight hour ride in a two-car Sprinter to Middlesbrough...

The man who showed us another way

In this time of increasing intolerance and fracturing of our social values, I continue to find comfort in someone who preached forgiveness and loving your neighbours.

Happy Easter to all my readers.

We've got to take action ourselves

We (as in, but not limited to, socialists/social democrats, trade unionists, religious groups) are going to have to start dipping into our own pockets and setting up new public services ourselves because of the cuts. Communities and organisations. are going to have to do what the government doesn't want to. Indeed, that's actually how many schools got started originally in this country - church organised schools for poor children. We're going socially back to the Victorian era in this country sadly.

It will be four years at least before Labour can return to power and some of the changes are probably impossible to undo easily, if at all.

In the meantime, we can start building a better society from the grass-roots either by volunteering or by your money. It's a far more constructive use of our time than insulting each other.

Ghostbusters - the female version

So, I've watched the trailers for the Paul Feig Ghostbusters remake due out later this year - and I have to say that it's not that bad. Self-referential humour is very much the norm these days - and for those complaining about the black character; 1) I know more than one person like that in RL and 3) she's the sensible, practical one, which is actually a bonus. Not perfect, but a sight better than many black characters over the years. If the reviews are good enough, I might even go to the cinema for this one.

I appreciate that people might not like it and feel it's another cash grab, but cash grabs are older than you might think; Abbot and Costello were doing cash grab films... and in fact the first remake was in 1904... of the 1903 film The Great Train Robbery i.e. the first American film with an actual narrative plot...

Sir Ken Adam 1921-2016

The legenday set designer has died.

His work on the Bond movies is truly brilliant and set the standard for his successors to follow; even with the limited budget of Dr No, he did wonders... and when he got the 007 Stage to play with at Pinewood, he created a truly magnificent one:

The Supertanker set from The Spy Who Loved Me (MGM via IMDB)

In fact, I can truly say that nobody did it better in terms of set design. Rest in Peace.

Because I Got High (Review: 'Star Trek' 1.24, "This Side of Paradise")

I have wondered on more than one occasion during this watch if drugs were involved in the writing. In this case, you can wonder if drugs were involved in the acting...

****

The Enterprise crew beams down to a human colony on an agricultural world where by rights the entire population should have been killed by radiation - yet they are all alive and seemingly very happy.

Yep, it's another supposedly idyllic world that turns out to have something a great deal darker about it...

This review contains spoilers.

****
The reason why everyone is so happy is due to alien spores that give him perfect health and place them in a state of contented bliss. It's a message saying that the 'drugs don't work' which is possibly what might have been needed in the LSD decade, although Kirk's final comment that humanity needs to struggle to achieve things in order to be human is rather downbeat - especially in the show that is itself set in a sort of utopia where poverty is a thing of the past in the Federation.

The spores end up infecting the entire crew of the UFP spaceship, making Spock fall in love with an airy woman called Leila (she's got him on his knees!) and hang from a branch like a primate, McCoy gets very Southern indeed and Uhura demonstrates a hitherto not demonstrated technical ability when she sabotages the communications console. These first two are all pretty funny, but timing prohibits us from seeing Sulu or Scotty fully on the space whaccy-baccy, which is a pity, because Leila is pretty annoying.

Even Kirk gets infected, but his love for his ship manages to stop him from beaming down and destroys the spores. He realises that strong emotions are the way to deal with it and so ends up racially insulting Spock... repeatedly until he attacks him in a fight sequence with some obvious stunt doubles.

The guest stars are pretty forgettable - I couldn't even remember the name of the other guy, played by Frank Overton in his final TV role before dying a month after transmission of a heart attack aged only 49. I do note that the colony is somewhat ethnically diverse, which Trek has been at the forefront of to some extent.

Much of this is filmed on location; in a wood this time, as well as some farm buildings (at the oft used Golden Oak Ranch owned by Disney) that these blissed out characters somehow managed to erect. There are barns, but no-one even fires at the broad sides sadly...

Conclusion

A chance to see the crew of NCC-1701 acting out of character; this is an enjoyable tale even if possibly a bit too negative in its overall message.

8/10

Things what I have watched - February 2016

Castle

Got to say that I'm really not liking the Beckett/Castle 'break-up' arc; both parties are being stupid in this and I wish they would sort this thing out.

Agents of SHIELD

Jemma Simmons needs a hug. "4,722 Hours", the episode that explores what happened to her for over six months on an alien world was superb and very well acted by Elizabeth Henstridge. I see the FitzSimmons are not happy about her and Will, but he was literally the only guy on the planet. Also, going all PTSD on her return is understandable - she was too busy surviving previously.

FTL Kestrel Adventures

I'm just making a quick post to recommend this excellent animation series set in the world of the Faster Than Light game; if they ever do a sequel, this guy should be hired to do cutscenes.

In fact, someone should give him a full time job animation job.

Check it out here.

Seriously, I'm not enjoyed a machinima this much since Clear Skies (although it arguably isn't one).

Fringe 1.11: Bound

I love Olivia Dunham. Not in the romantic sense of the word (she's a fictional character for one thing) but in the sense that she has just become awesome. Yes, the bottom-kicking female has become a bit of a cliché these days, but if it ain't broke don't fix it.

She does indeed get out of her predicament in style, getting a guard to give her some water... then smashing the glass over his head. She then retrieves some key evidence before getting out and later on has some pretty awesome scenes. Before that, she ends up strapped to a stretcher while a guy in a very creepy mask (and distinctive shoes) looks at her, then gives her a spinal tap.

Speaking of spinal taps, this episode definitely goes up to 11 in several regards. Firstly, the deadly science thing of the week, which involves a gigantic cold virus killing people and coming out of their mouths. While cold viruses don't actually look like slugs (they're far more spherical in shape and can be bought as adorable plushies), it's still a very arresting image.

Also, Walter is definitely in the Mad Scientist category this week - giving LSD to a caterpillar for no obvious reason and showing a bit too much excitement about the Ebola virus while his son and Olivia look for said giant slug in a lecture theatre.

There's definitely some very shady conspiracy going on here; Olivia is now in something up to the neck of her stylish work suit.

Only drawback was the scenes with Olivia's sister and niece, which just seem too much like filler to me.

Conclusion

Minor family stuff aside, this was a very good episode of the show that is now well and truly kicked into gear.

9/10

EU renegotiation

I am in favour of continued membership of the EU. I believe that our membership benefits our economy and our place in the world. While not a perfect organisation, it is frequently maligned unfairly.

Cameron's renegotiation is at heart a selfish move to protect our country at the expense of millions of poorer people in Europe. People come here because this is a good country to live in and they can earn far more than in their own country. We should be working together to improve the lives of all Europeans, not engaging in discriminatory moves. Also, a benefits ban can have its own problems. What if someone comes here to work and then gets into a serious accident making them need disability benefit?

I'd like that to be clearer and have exceptions... but the way this government has been treating people on benefits doesn't fill me with confidence.

Nor am I confident that REMAIN will win the referendum, sadly.

I think I'll stick to apple juice (Review: 'Star Trek' 1.23, "A Taste of Armageddon")

When I saw the trailer for this on my DVD, I thought the hats were going to be the most ridiculous thing in this episode. I was wrong.

****

The Enterprise is on approach to an alien world with the aim to establish diplomatic relations with it when it receives a message telling it to stay away. However, they are ordered by the Ambassador on board to ignore that message and find themselves drawn into a very strange war indeed.

****

Much of science fiction, especially Star Trek, aims to make comments on our own society and times via the activities of fantasy worlds. How well it manages to do that varies; it can be subtle and brilliant... or it can be like having a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick applied to your head, to quote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Unfortunately this is a bit of a Gargle Blaster of an episode, intended as a commentary on the ongoing Vietnam War and coming across to me as one on the Cold War as well (remember this is five years after the Cuban Missiles Crisis) which comes across as heavy handed to me... also, a bit implausible. The central premise of the episode revolves around people willingly killing themselves because a computer has told them to do so. While I would agree that people have engaged in mass murder because someone told them it was the right thing, most humans do have a sense of self-preservation and surely some would have refused. Anyway, even the 'fake war' of the episode has real humanoid costs that would have an impact... and the length of time it has been going on is ridiculous. In short, the entire scenario falls apart at close examination.

Spock and Kirk don't have a great episode at all; Kirk is very unsubtle in his approach. The best of the crew is in fact Scotty, who refuses an order from Ambassador Fox that could get them all killed; reflecting a real incident in James Doohan's life where as an officer in the Royal Canadian Army, he refused to do something in a training exercise that would kill his own men.

Ambassador Fox (played by Gene Lyons, best known as the police commissioner on Ironside) is a complete and utter idiot; he clearly failed Common Sense. He ignores the message from the planet and overrides sensible decisions by the crew of the ship on the grounds of diplomacy, failing to realise (to quote Scotty) that sometimes the best form of diplomacy is indeed a fully armed phaser bank.

The planet is led by one Anan 7, played by David Opatoshu, a man with a suitably evil goatee and a slightly swarthy look that got a lot of roles as Middle Eastern characters over the years. He's clearly quite, quite insane. Apart from the guards in silly hats, the main other character on the planet is Mea 3, one of the few credited and on-screen appearances by Barbara Babcock (who mostly did uncredited voice work in the original series), who wears a classic female costume of this sort of era... or rather half one, which is pretty distracting.

The ending sees Kirk engage in some very reckless behaviour - basically risking a nuclear exchange between the two sides in order to force them to talk.

Finally, can we please stop these 'comedy' final scenes? They're getting irritating.

****
Conclusion

This is supposed to be a metaphor on the madness and stupidity of war. Unfortunately, it comes across as just stupid.

5/10

Mystery Science Theater 3000

In the not too distant future, somewhere in the US, a new series of Mystery Science Theater 3000, funded by fans to the tune of over $6 million, will go into production and I for one am very much looking forward to it.

The show can be summarised simply as "guy and two robots watch bad movies while making jokes about them"... but they're very good jokes. Indeed, it's influenced the whole way that people watch regular TV (including me) and the original remains a cult classic.

While you're waiting for the new lot, an array of episodes from across the eleven seasons can be watched here with others available for a small fee on the Rifftrax website (which of course was set up by former host Mike Nelson).

Now if you excuse me, I've got movie sign.

Crow: Hey, isn't he supposed to put his own riffs in here?

Sir Terry Wogan 1938-2016

The renowned broadcaster has died from cancer aged 77.

Sir Terry was a highly genial and entertaining presenter, loved by millions and for many years the host of Children in Need, something he would do (like nearly everyone else involved) without taking any money for it; helping that worthwhile cause to raise many, many millions.

He will be deeply missed. Rest in Peace.

Things What I Have Watched - January 2015

In this first of a new series, I do a brief look (a paragraph each tops) on some of the things I watched in the previous month.

Sherlock - The Abominable Bride

I have on more than one occasion wondered what Steven Moffat takes to come up with his strange ideas. This was a pretty weird instalment of the show that is the televisual equivalent of a bus (you wait ages and then three come along at once, although not in this case). Lot of humour and knowing references to the Holmesian canon, with one of the better twists I've seen, but flagged badly in the middle.

Tyrant - Season 2

While perhaps not the greatest series about, it does have a superb performance from Ashraf Barhom as Jamal al-Fayeed, the paranoid leader of Abuddin who is conflicted and yet pretty terrifying, notably killing a general with a model oil rig. This has got a Season 3.

Castle - Episodes 8.1 - 8.3

I was in fact spoiled for this by a website I won't name that slated the entire opening story. Well, the first two-parter was... not that good. Castle has never done international conspiracy well. That said, it was a strong Alexis episode. Fillion and Katic did the best they could with some pretty bad material - the ending of that story was drama for drama's sake. Episode 3 was a good deal better, but still, this will probably be axed come May and it's probably had its time now.

War and Peace

A sumptuous adaptation of Tolstoy's novel (which I reviewed here) that is pretty easy to follow once you've learned everyone's names, has a great cast and also has a truly superb display of hats. Seriously great hats of the sort you just don't get today.

Stan Lee's Lucky Man

Not too bad from the first episode, but does James Nesbitt do anything apart from snark in a Northern Irish accent?

Fringe 1.10: Safe

This episode features Amir Amirson, later to appear in The Blacklist and the plot here is actually more crazy than an episode of that show, which starts with a man getting literally stuck in a wall and ends with someone being teleported.

Speaking of crazy, Walter Bishop is definitely very funny in this one - his mind works in his own distinct way and no-one else can quite grasp how. However, Olivia and John are both very good in this - the scene in the bar with the card tricks in particular.

Jared Harris appears in this again and it's clear that he's doing what British actors do best - play bad guys. This also has an appearance by James Frain, a British-born actor who has turned up in quite a few American works, as a lawyer who has to get some unusual things for his client... and won't sadly appear again.

There's even a good cliffhanger as Abrams can now have his cake and eat it by putting the female lead in peril... which she will course get out of by herself in style.

Conclusion

A very good episode indeed - the show appears to have finally got fully going.

9/10

Alan Rickman 1946-2016

For the second time this week, the entertainment world has lost a legend, the British actor Alan Rickman.

While I've never seen Die Hard, I have watched all the Harry Potter films and can imagine no-one else as Severus Snape. In addition, he was great in Galaxy Quest. His death of cancer - a horrible condition - at only 69 leaves another void that can never be filled.

Rest in Peace.

The Moderate Irritation of Khan (Review: 'Star Trek' 1.22, "Space Seed")

Yes, we're reached one of the most famous episodes of the entire show - the one that got a sequel in one of the best movies of the franchise (let's not mention the other one, shall we?) and inspired William Shatner's hammiest line ever.

****
The Enterprise locates a derelict vessel floating in space broadcasting Morse code... a spaceship launched in the 1990s. One with life on board...

****
I'm going to start by saying that I wouldn't be seen dead, let along spend over two centuries asleep, wearing that net thing that we discover the crew of SS Botany Bay wearing. William Theiss was definitely a man who liked his bare flesh, that was for sure.

The triumvirate (now there's a word that I don't get to us every day) are very firmly established at by what today would be near the end of the first season instead of three-quarters of the way through; 29 episodes in the first run would be unthinkable today. Kirk's emotion versus Spock's logic makes a good mix, with both him and Bones having fun bantering with a guy who doesn't do 'banter'. Or irritation for that matter.

 It's interesting to note that this year, 2016, is the 20th 'anniversary' of Khan's departure in the first major bit of back story added to the Trek universe; another 'World War' would later get added to the continuity by the time Star Trek: First Contact was made. With not that many lines of dialogue, the rich seeds (no pun intended) were laid for many licensed works covering the 'Eugenics Wars', the first point where the prime universe diverges from our own in a big way. Of course, the creators of the show at the time did not think there would still be Star Trek being produced in 1996... let alone 2016.

Khan Noonien Singh, escaped former tyrant is deeply compelling and played superbly by the late Ricardo Montalbán who in his long career was also a strong advocate for improved representation of Latino actors in television and actually spent much of his life working with a severe back injury that would eventually put him in a wheelchair - including this role. His chest is definitely very impressive (and the director insists that was his real one in the The Wrath of Khan) and he comes across as very manly despite long hair... not to mention eyeshadow! It's also clear that Khan is a ruthless ruler; he's perfectly willing to suffocate Kirk et al to get what he wants.

Also, I'm going to have to add my annoyance at the depiction of near-suffocation in any fiction; you don't just end up walking off after losing consciousness from lack of oxygen (notable recent exception - The Librarians, in an episode that starred John de Lancie aka Q and was directed by Jonathan Frakes aka Riker).
 
Then we get McGivers... who doesn't really do much for feminism at all. Uhura does more in one glance after being slapped than McGivers, who falls head over heels in love with Khan. Her scenes with him are reminiscent (at least to someone who has never read them) of a Mills & Boon novel. Sigh...

Since Khan hasn't actually killed anyone, Kirk decides to put him and his crew on a barely hospitable planet where they can survive with their ingenuity. He's going to come to regret that later.

****
Conclusion

While Khan is a highly memorable villain, there is a fair bit wrong with this episode, namely the entire McGivers plot for one thing. Perhaps I would have ranked this higher on a first watch, but I can only give it...

7/10

David Bowie 1947-2016

The death of this musical legend came as a surprise to most of us considering his comeback in recent years - he'd only just released another album. It seems that he chose not to let his cancer stop him from producing and to go out still swinging as it were.

And he was definitely swinging. Going through multiple musical personas and genres over the years, he produced a big number of classics over 51 years in the business; "Life on Mars?", "Major Tom", "Ashes to Ashes" and "Let's Dance" for one thing. He even did acting.

He will be considered one of the all-time greats and will be deeply missed.

Rest in Peace.

All Together Now, In Their Hoods (Review: 'Star Trek' 1.21, "The Return of the Archons")

I've been getting into Star Trek Online recently and have bought myself a Tier 1 Constitution class vessel i.e. the same type as the Enterprise. It's a lot cooler to fight Klingon Birds of Prey in than the standard light cruiser you start with in the Federation faction.

Anyway, there's none of that in this episode, which starts strange and gets stranger...

****
While on another planet in search of a long lost spaceship, while dressed in rather old-fashioned clothing, Sulu and another crew member encounter some dudes in brown robes with big sticks. Only Sulu manages to beam back up and he ends up being very strange indeed...

Kirk and his team go down to discover a society with all the locals behaving very strangely indeed, including having an exactly 12 hour riot.

This review contains spoilers.

****
This episode contains a lot of 'possessed acting', as the locals are under the control of a mysterious computer called Landru that has decided to eliminate society's disorders but at the cost of free will. In short, this is a classic Star Trek story and was frankly pretty predictable.

We get McCoy possessed, while Kirk and Spock end up pretending to be possessed as they attempt to destroy the computer, freeing society from its control. All the regulars get good material and do a decent job of being 'possessed', something that sci-fi actors need to learn to be able to it seems. The late Lis Sladen from Doctor Who was a master of this in fact. We also get the amusing sight of Spock (whose big ears are pretty conspicuous) dressing like a monk.

Speaking of intervening in a society, this is the first mention of the Prime Directive in the show's history - and it immediately gets a loophole, in which getting involved to restore a society to its natural development is permissible.

The plot is a deeply philosophical one about the flaws of trying to create a perfect society, especially when machines are involved. The climax involves Kirk talking a computer to death through logic, something that reminds me of Zoe doing something similar in Doctor Who. We also get one of those 'humorous' endings in which Kirk says Spock would make a great computer.

None of the locals (who are all dressed in Western garb in an episode shot on a backlot used in Westerns) are particularly memorable in this; most of them do end up doing 'possessed acting' for most of the episode and I'm really not sure what the 'Festival'/Riot was all about.

The henchmen of the main villain dress in brown cloaks with hoods, reminding me after the episode of outfits worn in the Red Dwarf episode "Angels and Demons", which Kirk and Spock later take to infiltrate the main base. Difficult to take them entirely seriously nearly 50 years on considering how much this has been parodied since.

Conclusion

An interesting episode with a lot of philosophical concepts but not a classic.

7/10

****
Next up one of the most famous episodes of the entire run... "Space Seed".