Print

[josemas]

Recently finished season one of Curb Your Entusiasm and season one of Gunsmoke.

Btw, Henry, "season 4" of Star Trek?  What alternate dimension were you watching that in?



Joe

[paw broon]

We're getting Gunsmoke over here on one of the more obscure channels and, of course, I didn't find out about it till recently.  Typical.
Death in Paradise has now finished its 8 week run and it has been great entertainment.  Ben Miller is perfect in the role and I would suggest you try and find it when it airs in N. America.
Person of Interest continues to be riveting - and worrying.  We've also been watching The Mentalist and that's getting a bit shivery at times.
But I noticed that Primeval has been cancelled and I must admit I haven't seen the last couple of episodes.  It seems very much like monster of the week, now, with none of the complications of the original.  I was excited originally to see .......... in the first episode and hoped there would be more reference to the plots in the original. Sadly there weren't.
We're going into a period of heavy crime dramas, with everybody and their maw greeting their eyes out and David Tennent needing a shave.  Not our cup of tea. 

[josemas]

The first season of Gunsmoke seemed to consist of a number of adaptations of radio scripts mixed in with some new stories (I noticed several penned by Sam Peckinpah).  It was also interesting finally seeing them all uncut. Just about every episode begins with Matt walking through the Boot Hill graveyard and philosophizing about life and death.  These openings must have been the first thing to go when the shows were syndicated to local stations which were looking for footage to excise so they could cram in more commercials.  I certainly never remember seeing them in the reruns I saw years later.

Sorry to hear that Primeval has been cancelled.  Of course that has happened before so maybe it will get uncancelled again too.  The spinoff Canadian series is supposed to be popping up here in the States on Syfy later this year.

Ripper Street is winding up tonight but Grimm was back last night and both Dr. Who and Revolution will be back later this month.   Only new shows that I have added in recent weeks are The Following (rather dark cop show) and Continuum (interesting sci-fi cop show from Canada).

Best

Joe

[josemas]

Feature films watched the last couple of months-

Ponyo (2008), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Comanche Station (1960), The Lorax (2012), Ipman (2008), Ride Lonesome (1959), Treasure of Monte Cristo (1949), Green Lantern (2011), Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), The Amazing Transparent Man (1960), Decision at Sundown (1957), Django Unchained (2012), 1911 (2011), The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008), The Tall T (1957), Chronicle (2012), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Oh, For a Man! (1930), Shaolin (2011), Ride the Wild Surf (1964), Going Berserk (1983), Life of Pi (2012), Bonanza Town (1951), The Brothers Grimm (2005), The Hard Corps (2006), Buchanan Rides Alone (1958), The Well (1951), Killing Lincoln (2013), Compulsion (1959), The Bourne Legacy (2012), Prometheus (2012), Panic in the Streets (1950), Jack Brooks, Monster Slayer (2008), Batman: Gotham Knight (2008), Champagne for Caesar (1950), The Ambushers (1967), Seven Men from Now (1956), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), Gentlemen of the Press (1929), and Duel to the Death (1983).

As usual a real eclectic mix- action, adventure, drama, animated, comedy, religious, musical, war, spy, superhero, noir, martial arts, historical, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and western.  I did really get on a Randolph Scott/Budd Boeticher kick- watching almost all of the films they did together.  Other than that I kept it pretty diverse.

Best

Joe

[jimmm kelly]

While waiting for the return of new Doctor Who episodes (as well as the UK Being Human--availabe on Space here in Canada--and Sherlock), I've been pushing ahead with watching all of the old Doctor Who. I'm getting close to the end of the Third Doctor. My favourite companions thusfar are Jamie McCrimmon and Jo Grant.

My favourite Canadian show is Murdoch Mysteries. So happy that the CBC saved it from cancellation. Any UK watchers might be surprised by some of the UK actors that guest appear, as well as series regular Tommy Craig as Chief Inspector Thomas Brackenreid. I expect this series must broadcast in the UK as it is a Canada/UK co-production.

[paw broon]

Yes we get Murdoch Mysteries here and C.I. Brackenreid was in Coronation St. at one time.
This week, a 2 parter based on an Anne Cleeves book, Shetland.  Starring Dougie Henshall (Primeval) as D.I. Perez and set in Shetland, this was a good crime mystery and well worth looking out for.

[Captain Audio]

Just watched the original six episode BBC TV series of "Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy".
Hadn't seen it since its first broacast on PBS in the USA.
Its miles better than the more recent movie, and the movie only covers about 2/3 of whats in the series. The movie cuts short before they get to the Restuarant at the end of the Universe, though it does show a few things not in the series. Endings are completely different.

Also watched the complete series "the Changes". One of those UK "Childrens' series" that most adults would find disturbing, though the mass deaths from disease, murders and torture were off camera.
An excellent story, one that deserves a remake in order to appeal to a wider audience.

[josemas]

Always enjoyed the BBC mini of The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy from the early 1980s and have watched it, at least, three times over the years.  Have never caught the more recent feature version but will probably give it chance one of these days.

I recently learned that Douglas Adams worked as a writer and script editor on Doctor Who during the Tom Baker era.  I might want to give some of those a rewatch.

Best

Joe

[narfstar]

I give the answer 42 to so many questions. Every once in awhile someone gets it.

[jimmm kelly]

I remember that I watched the TV version of Hitchhiker many years ago, but it can't quite compare with the radio version which I listened to in my younger days. That whole theatre of the mind thing.

I'm getting close to the Douglas Adams period of Who (I did watch Shada last year), but I've had to slow down a bit to soak in the pleasure of Leela. She ties with Jo Grant and Martha Jones, so far, as being my favourite female companion. Too bad there weren't more Leela (and more Martha Jones) episodes.

I know that Sarah-Jane was Britain's sweetheart and she does become more natural in her acting toward the end of her time with the Doctor, but I can't say I really warmed to her character. She seemed far too fake and her accent struck me as too posh RP. Elizabeth Sladen grew up in Liverpool--I'd think she'd have a Merseyside accent.

[MarkWarner]

I give the answer 42 to so many questions. Every once in awhile someone gets it.

So Paw, if ever we want to know what is the second sphenic number,  the third primary pseudoperfect number, and the third pentadecagonal number. And which is also a meandric number and an open meandric number,  along  with being a St

[paw broon]

Well, yes, if it was my answer.  But better to ask narfstar. And now, pray tell, what did all that mean? And, more importantly, did you make it up?

Jimmm, I seem to remember that Leela didn't last long because Tom Baker didn't like or get on with her.  But then he is a bit odd. You're right about Sarah-Jane, at least that's the way I feel about her.  As for accents, Jamie was an exception at the time.  I know little of Elizabeth Sladen's upbringing or background but not all Merseysiders had the accent and she was playing a journalist in a business where it was better to not have a strong regional accent.
I've always been a huge Zoe fan and Leela was very entertaining, if you know what I mean and I think you do.  I don't watch many of the NEW Doctor Who shows.  Mostly, I see the start for some humour and Doctor daftness then, as it gets more serious and fraught, I switch off. 
Douglas Adams did The Pirate Planet and some of it is great fun. 

[profh0011]

You know, it's the strangest thing. From 1979-on, Sarah-Jane Smith was my favorite WHO girl.  There's been quite a few others I've liked, some quite a lot, but Sarah was always "it" for me.

Then recently I watched my entire collection, and ALMOST every girl on the show I found myself liking more than I had before.  (Tegan was the exception. I wasn't surprised.) But somehow... this time around... Sarah didn't "do it" for me.  Maybe my taste in women has changed? Or maybe, ever since the extremely emotional effect she had on me watching "School Reunion", I've finally "gotten over" her?  (I have not been able to see ANY of her subsequent appearances.)

Vicki is wonderful.  Zoe is adorable. Jo is such a sweetie! And Leela... well, she cracks me up. For a "savage", she talks better than most of the "smart" characters.  (Actually, that's the ironic thing about Leela.  She's VERY smart. She just doesn't know much yet.)

Of course, Louise Jameson just happens to be the only actor on the show I ever had a one-on-one conversation with at a convention. VERY smart lady! She was the one who pointed out to me how bad some of the writing on English TV really was.

[jimmm kelly]

With Sarah Jane it isn't so much her vocabulary as how she chooses to enunciate her words and some of her acting choices that bug me. Of course, I've watched these Elizabeth Sladen episodes immediately after seeing Katy Manning as Jo Grant and Jo is very natural in her way of speaking and acting.

I can square Leela's heightened vocabulary with her savagery, because of the unique history of her people. They are the descendents of the survey team, who no doubt had a very large vocabulary. It's not really that the Sevateem are mentally deficient--they are just super-religious thanks to the intervention of the Evil One (the Doctor himself).

Of course, on DOCTOR WHO, given the fact that every character is allowed to understand and speak all languages--because of the Doctor's gift to them or because of a psychic link to the Tardis--there's probably some license for what the characters say and how they comprehend.

Most of these episodes I'm seeing new for the first time, but when I was watching "The Ark in Space" (with the Fourth Doctor, Harry, and Sarah Jane) it felt very familiar to me. I think this is one of the stories I saw as a teenager back in the 70s on PBS, but the memory is fuzzy.

[paw broon]

School Reunion brought a tear to the eye - and still does.  I even get emotional thinking about it.
Glad you mentioned Tegan, prof. but you surprise me.  She was one of my favourites. Can't go into the why of it here.

[mr_goldenage]

Lots of "foreign" language movies trying to figure out which ones I want to burn to disk as a surprise for Mr. Narfstar. Kind of an "International" DVD to keep with the flavor of this site. So far we have:

The National Kid - Japan
The Champions Of Justice - Mexico
The Black Rose -Hong Kong

Next I am not sure......Maybe a Darna Movie and for sure a Turk movie and an Italian one.

RB @ Work


Final Line-up

The National Kid A Japanese production but in Portuguese
The Champions of Justice of S.A. (In Spanish)
Argoman an Italian movie in English
Maskeli Seytan Turkish Movie with hilarious English subtitltes and I use the work subtitles loosely. I've Rated this "R" by the way for adults only. Nothing too graphic but there is breif nudity and some bad language and with all tutk movies a lot of violence.
Then We have what I call a really lovely movie in the Black Rose. Even if it is in Chinese.
Lastly we have a medly/smashup of some old American stuff to round out the 8 hour disk.

So off in the mail it goes tomorrow......I hope Super7 gets done quick and that you like the international theme of this disk. I await your reviews.

RB

[narfstar]

Looking forward to some interesting stuff

[jimmm kelly]

Of course, Louise Jameson just happens to be the only actor on the show I ever had a one-on-one conversation with at a convention. VERY smart lady! She was the one who pointed out to me how bad some of the writing on English TV really was.

S'funny. I was lamenting that, unlike Profh, I've never had any one-on-one encounters with a DOCTOR WHO actor. Certainly not on the level of a Louise Jameson.

But I just finished watching "The Sun Makers" and I really enjoyed the character of The Collector. He was so creepily funny that I wanted to find out who played that part--and to my surprise it was Henry Woolf. Henry Woolf is a British actor who relocated to Canada and he appeared in many different TV shows, movies, and stage plays. I remember seeing him in a Bard on the Beach production of a Shakespeare play in the early 80s. And also around that time, one summer at UBC, I took a theatre history class in Canadian drama (which would count toward my degree in Canadian Studies from the University of Alberta) and our teacher happened to be someone who had many many theatre friends, whom she'd invite to our class to give us the benefit of their experience--and Henry Woolf was one of our guests. I remember that he was quite a charming fellow, full of wonderful anecdotes, but now I can't recall much that he told us, except a few things about working with Harold Pinter in his plays.

[profh0011]

I was telling someone the other day how, in the 60's, apparently DOCTOR WHO was exported and seen in almost every country on Earth... except, the United States, and France (heh).

So the first thing we saw was the Peter Cushing films. Then, Jon Pertwee. I read his first 3 seasons were syndicated as a package, but in Philadelphia, the idiots running the show skipped the first story ("Spearhead") and the last 4 (so the run ended with "Day of the Daleks"-- just when Pertweee was starting to become more likable).

Then in May '79 we got Tom Baker's first 4 seasons-- but the PBS station who ran them spent the first 8 or so months running them COMPLETELY out of order!!! Plus, it wasn't until the Mary Tamm season arrived that they started to run the earlier stories UNCUT... except, when they'd run them in "movie" fashion, quite often, the places where they edited the episodes together were done BADLY, and sometimes missing important bits (like the actual explosion that destroyed the Arctic base in "The Seeds of Doom").  As a result, I was under the impression that the local PBS station had done the edits themselves, though I've been told this was not the case. I would hope when they switched distributors that better edits were generated.


One thing I noticed at a couple of conventions was, that just about EVERY actor who was a regular on the show during JNT's long run as producer was MUCH nicer and more likable than they EVER were on screen.  Yes, this included Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson, neither of whom I ever warmed up to in the slightest on the show itself. And this also went for Colin Baker, who may be one of the smartest, and funniest, people to ever appear on the show... but you'd almost never guess, from watching his stories.

I've read recently that EVEN Lis Sladen wound up having severe problems working with JNT. The guy had problems, and far to often they spilled over into the shows being made.

[bowers]

Our local PBS channels really served us up a treat this week. AT LAST! We finally got "Death in Paradise". Saw the first episode last night and the second is on another channel tonight. Ben Miller is priceless as DI Poole and it's great to see Danny John-Jules again as officer Dwayne (Dibbley?). This one is all you said it was, Paw. We also got some of the newer "New Tricks" with Denis Lawson. I enjoyed his work in "Bleak House" and "Horatio Hornblower"- he's no Jack Halford, but may work out well. Four new episodes of "The Mentalist"- two quite good with very interesting developments, one just so-so, and one where they gave away the surprise ending just by rolling the opening credits! Sorry, no spoilers. I've been watching some BBC specials featuring some episodes of the first two Doctors. We never were able to watch Dr. Who until PBS picked up the show in the mid-70's, and Tom Baker was our first Dr. Seeing some early episodes is interesting, but some of the writing and acting is just plain awful! Anyway, new season this Saturday! Please allow me to wish you all a joyous and meaningful Easter. Cheers, Bowers

[paw broon]

Said it before, I' ll say it again, Troughton is my favourite Doctor, always has been.
For us, the return of Foyle's War is good news. Now we're in the cold war and it's a bit darker and Michael Kitchen is perfect as Foyle. Some old faces return and the arch manipulator in MI5 is going to make for interesting stories.
Keep looking out for Shetland with Dougie Henshal. This is good stuff and you get to see a part of the world you wont be aufy familiar with.

[jimmm kelly]

My brother, my sisters, and I loved to watch British shows when we were growing up. The CBC station here in Vancouver carried a variety of British programs in the 60s and 70s. And when we got cable we could catch other programs on the PBS station in Washington state and sometimes on other channels.

What first attracted us was the funny language (and probably the connection to all the British invasion music we were hearing) and then we came to love the exceptional quality of these shows. Although I never could understand why people liked "On the Buses" or "Benny Hill"--others in my family enjoyed those two shows, but they annoyed me.

[bowers]

One of the first Britcoms I ever saw was "The Good Life" with Richard Briers. We also got a few programs, such as "Minder", from one of the Canadian channels. Also a local BC comedy show called "Dr. Bundolo"- strange but funny. Cheers, Bowers

[jimmm kelly]

I've been watching some BBC specials featuring some episodes of the first two Doctors. . . Seeing some early episodes is interesting, but some of the writing and acting is just plain awful! Anyway, new season this Saturday! Please allow me to wish you all a joyous and meaningful Easter. Cheers, Bowers

Unfortunately, Space doesn't seem to be broadcasting those classic episodes here in Canada. But looking at what BBC has chosen to broadcast so far, I think there were a lot better stories they could have selected.

Watching all the classic series online as I've been doing, I'd say there were some really good things about the B&W 60s Who. For one thing they had 44 episodes a year (none of this waiting for months on end for another story). Another thing I like is the way one story teases the beginning of a new story at the end.

And I really find that the historical episodes tended to be a lot better than the science fiction episodes. Which makes sense, because the Brits have always been good at doing period pieces--and they would have had all the trained actors, writers, set and costume designers to pull off these stories. Jean Marsh is damned good in The Crusades, with great dialogue. Of course, she was also pretty good as Sarah Kingdom in the science fiction epic, The Dalek's Master Plan.

The last B&W story, The War Games, is another one of my favourites and nicely mixes the historical with the science fictional. It's ultimately a powerfully dramatic story, because you know that this is it for the Second Doctor.

The switch to colour had its own problems. I think B&W is a lot more forgiving of poor set decoration and cheap special effects. The strain of trying to do those colour episodes often took a toll on the kind of stories they could do. Probably the reason the Doctor was stuck on 20th century Earth so often.

One thing I'm curious about is if there was any connection between the creation of Doctor Who and Mr. Peabody and Sherman in the WABAC machine. Peabody and Sherman predate Who and it seems like a similar set-up with the odd scientist and his companion travelling through time. I wonder if they ever met their counterparts.

[jimmm kelly]

One of the first Britcoms I ever saw was "The Good Life" with Richard Briers. We also got a few programs, such as "Minder", from one of the Canadian channels. Also a local BC comedy show called "Dr. Bundolo"- strange but funny. Cheers, Bowers

Bill Reiter aka Dr. Bundolo started out on radio and then continued to appear on local TV in various different formats. There was a kid show he did for awhile. Reiter was a madcap local character for sure.

I think the first British TV show I clearly remember watching is "Ivanhoe" starring Roger Moore. I remember it because I liked the theme song and when it played, I would pretend I was riding a horse and I'd sing out "Ivanhoe." But as for the actual show, I don't remember much, because as a little kid I found it kind of boring.