Assorted Ramblings...

Les Misérables - the movie

caz963 — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:25:14 GMT

I've loved the musical version of Les Miserables since the first time I saw it back in 1986. It was initially a co-production with the RSC and the cast included a number of their company, such as Roger Allum as Javert and the redoubtable Alun Armstrong as Thénardier, as well as a few 'ringers' like Michael Ball and Colm Willkinson (!) I was fortunate enough to see it twice during that initial six week run.

A few years later, after it had been running in the West End for a while, I took my mum to see it at the Palace Theatre - that must have been in the early 90s.

I've never lost my fondness for it, and my belief that it's one of the strongest musicals around - it works incredibly well on a purely musical level (I won't spout off here about the use of leitmotif and how all the themes work together) and I believe it contains some of the most emotionally intense music to be found anywhere.

Just over a year ago, Mr Caz saw either a telly programme or a DVD of the 10th Anniversary concert, and absolutely loved it - seriously, it was watched over and over Chez Caz - and the kids also got really into it. So we took out a bank-loan to buy tickets to go to see it on stage, which we did just before Christmas. That makes the fourth time I've seen it, the umpteenth time I've heard it, and although I know what's coming, I'm in floods of tears by the end. Gets me every time.

So, I had mixed feelings about the film. On the one hand, I jumped for joy when I heard it was being made and on the other I was worried in case it didn't do justice to the original. Casting - Hugh Jackman - yes, great idea; he can sing and is a big-enough name to pull in the punters. Russell Crowe? Hm. Anne Hathaway? Not sure.

Well, I can report that the film does do justice to the source material. The director has stuck pretty much to the show as is, although there are a few changes along the way which work well and make sense. Of course, the film allows for much more spectacle than a stage show, and while there are certainly some absolutely break-taking set pieces - the opening shot of the prisoners pulling in the damaged ship is awe-inspiring - the director hasn't gone mad with the extra potential offered by the medium so the whole thing still retains the feeling of intimacy you can get sitting in a theatre audience.

The overall look of the film is superb - from the opening shot, to the funeral scene, the battles; to the smaller scenes set in the chapels and cloisters.

The performances were on the whole very good indeed. Often, in cases like this, a compromise will have to be made between the actors ability to sing and their ability to bring in an audience. Fortunately, in Hugh Jackman, we have someone who can do both. In fact, it got me thinking that that might be one of the reasons it has taken twenty-five years for this film to be made; there aren't many big-name movie stars who could have played Valjean because it's such a demanding role vocally. The same is true of Javert.

I think that in a film like this, there has to be a certain trade-off between the acting and the singing, and I felt that the right balance had been struck. Jackman is no Colm Wilkinson vocally, and there were times his voice had more than a bit of a rough edge, but that was in keeping with his character and what he was going through at that particular time. Less positively, there were quite a few times when he seemed to be singing through his nose (Russell Crowe was guilty of this also)' which is a pet peeve of mine; but maybe he was on the fifteenth take at the time, so I' ll cut him some slack. He pulled off Bring Him Home, which is Valjean's big number in the second half quite well, although it didn't - for me - pack the emotional punch of other performances I've seen and heard. But in other places, like his final scenes, he had me in floods of tears, so his performance by no means lacked emotion.

The big surprise for me was how good Anne Hathaway was as Fantine. I doubt she could sustain the role eight times a week on stage, but she's got a good, clear voice, and her performance was excellent. Also a surprise was how good Eddie Redmayne's voice was - Maruis will always be Michael Ball for me, but Redmayne came a bloody good second.

The weak link though was Russell Crowe. He can hold a tune, there's no doubt, but his vocal performances lacked Javert's dynamism; whether it was ferocity in his exchanges with Valjean, the conviction and fervour of Stars and certainly his despair in the scene where he takes his own life. It's a shame, because Javert is such a big part of the whole - and with all the other star names in the cast, one has to wonder if they couldn't have cast a lesser known but vocally stronger actor in the role.

Oh, and kudos to them for including Colm Wilkinson in the cast as the priest who turns Valjean's life around, and for that little touch at the end as the 'ghost' of Valjean walks into the priest's waiting arms. For many, including me, Wilkinson IS Valjean and it was absolutely right to include him in the cast.

There were some differences in the orchestrations of course, but nothing disastrous and overall, I thought the method of having the actors sing live on set rather than synching to their previously recorded tracks worked very well. It really heightened the emotion and brought an immediacy and intimacy to the performances.

If you enjoy musicals, I can highly recommend this one, but I would say that if you've never seen the show or heard the music, it would be an idea to familiarise yourself with the story. There is more dialogue in the film than in the show, but that's not saying much as there's practically no dialogue at all in the show - everything is sung as it would be in an opera. The recording of the 10th anniversary concert is available on Spotify and is a good place to start.

Something to look forward to

caz963 — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 21:37:01 GMT

I' m sure these are all over the place by now, but what the hell. There' s no such thing as too many pictures of David Tennant, right?

These are from Spies of Warsaw:

There' s something about a man in uniform ...

Has he been at the heated rollers?

DT + tux. Guh.

Xmas on the Goggle Box

caz963 — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 16:33:25 GMT

I haven't watched a lot of telly this Christmas; to be honest, there didn't seem to be a lot I felt I couldn't live without seeing.

I did, however, watch the Merlin finale, which I thought was very well done. I really didn't think they would kill Arthur - not because it wasn't the way the story was bound to go, rather because it went out on Christmas Eve and probably upset a lot of the kids who were watching! But kudos to TPTB for sticking to their vision and giving us the ending I think the series deserved. The past five years has been principally about the deep and loyal friendship between Merlin and Arthur, so it was absolutely right that the finale put that to the fore. Merlin's grief at the loss of his friend was utterly heartbreaking, as was Arthur's final "Thank you" and his insistence that Merlin should never change. I admit it - I cried.

The principal emotion evoked by Doctor Who on the other hand, was - I'm sorry to say - boredom. It looked lovely, as usual, and (also as usual) made very little sense, even by DW standards! I quite liked the new title sequence. They've been going back towards the warm reds and oranges of the RTD era for a while anyway, and the graphics, together with the superimposed shot of the Doctor's. face (not seen since the McCoy era) gave it rather a retro feel. That seems right, in this 50th anniversary year. The redesign of the TARDIS interior felt similarly inspired; and as I didn't particularly care for the old Orange Desktop theme, I wasn't fussed one way or the other.

Oh, and finally, we have a new companion! A young, very pretty, feisty woman, surrounded by mystery... hang on. Is anyone else getting a sense of deja-vu?

I haven't watched Downton Abbey yet - that might be on the agenda for later. As long as Dame Maggie gets the best one-liners and there is none of that toe-curlingly awful Matthew/Mary flirting, it's bound to be entertaining enough.

Be of good cheer!

caz963 — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 14:01:59 GMT

I know LJ has been rather quiet of late, and I'm guilty of not being around as much as I used to be. But that doesn't mean I don't think about my friends here and wonder how you all are. I will try to pop in more often.

But in the meantime, I wish you all the very best for this Festive Season and hope that Santa brings you lots of goodies!

In which I wax lyrical about a book or two...

caz963 — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 13:27:25 GMT

You know how, sometimes, you see or read or listen to something that really makes an impression on you? So much so that it stays with you long after you first encountered it?

Back in 1985/6, I picked up a book - completely randomly, and because I thought it sounded interesting - by a British author called Stella Riley. It was historical fiction, which is my literary drug of choice and has been since I was eleven years old - and was set during the English Civil war. It's all based on fact, and many of the characters in the book existed, although the two protagonists in the romance that runs throughout it are fictional.

Anyway. I enjoyed the book so much, that I went looking for more by this author. Sadly, I found only one other title (this time set in the Restoration) but devoured it and loved it as well. Even more disappointing was the fact that she seemed to have stopped writing altogether, which I thought was a great shame. Over the next few years, both books became "comfort" reads - you know the sort of thing; you want to read something undemanding and familiar but good so you're not disappointed in your choice, especially if you're reading something to cheer you up a bit.

Somewhere along the way however, my paperback copies of both books disappeared. I don't know when or how - I can only assume during a house move (and I did plenty of those in the early 90s - divorce has that effect!) or something similar - but I always remembered those stories fondly and more recently, would occasionally check Amazon to see if there were any second-hand copies around so I could read them again. There were copies - but they were on the pricey side. I also discovered that Stella Riley had penned another four or five books, but they were even harder to get hold of and even more expensive.

The fact that, over twenty-five years later, I would still occasionally put her name into the search box at Amazon shows what an impression her writing made on me (either that, or I'm just a saddo - take your pick!) - and imagine my joy when, earlier this year, I discovered not only that she had revised and republished one of those very titles I had lost in ebook form, The Marigold Chain, but that she was revising all her novels with the same intention!

Yes - I was one very happy Caz :D

What all this is leading up to is that today, Stella Riley has published the book that started it all off for me, which is called A Splendid Defiance. That makes four of her titles that are now available as ebooks, and she is planning to republish her remaining backlist next year.

If you like historical fiction laced with romance and adventure; if you like incredibly well-written stories that feature memorable characters and excellent dialogue - I can't recommend her novels highly enough. If you're looking for something good to read over the weekend, you could do a lot worse than check them out.

ETA I reviewed the new edition here yesterday, and today, the author has written a blog post about how it came about.

And if anyone reading this needs more convincing, Stella is a fellow West Wing fan. Nuff sed :-)

At last! Dark Eyes (Eighth Doctor Audio)

caz963 — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 10:38:32 GMT

I've been looking forward to this release for ages - ever since To the Death back in March 2011, in which we left the Eighth Doctor at pretty much an all-time low, having lost both his grandson and his companion, the wonderful Lucie Miller to the Daleks.

Lucie was such a fabulous companion it was hard to imagine anyone coming after her, and I certainly wanted to know how the Doctor would fare without her, and especially, deal with her death.

On the whole, I thought Dark Eyes did a good job; there was enough said about the fact that the Doctor had lost someone close to him without it being overdone. After all, this is Doctor Who and companions have always come and gone (as have Doctors), some with a more "marked" passing than others. But as the revived TV show has made more of companions' departures, I think it's good that the Big Finish stories are doing the same.

I thought Molly O'Sullivan was superb and was sorry when she walked away at the end because I'd have liked to have heard her having more adventures with the Doctor. Still, I suppose he could always go and find her again after the war... It was great to have a companion from WW1 and making her a no-nonsense VAD meant that she was able to "not understand" enough for necessary exposition to take place while she was also more than capable of giving the Doctor a good talking-to when he needed one.

I can't say much about the plot other than, as usual with DW, some of it makes sense and some of it doesn't! There are Daleks and Time Lords and nefarious schemes, but basically, it's about Molly and the Doctor and their burgeoning friendship - a small story on a grand scale.

Great stuff.

Doctor Who and.... Doctor Who

caz963 — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 19:48:31 GMT

I haven't had much to say about recent episodes of DW - partly because I'm knackered and partly because I've been trying to take them at face value rather than try to work out any of the intricacies of the plot or find very much beneath the surface. That's worked for me, but I just had to say something about the departure of the Ponds.

Overall, I thought the episode was riddled with holes, but there were some nice moments, from the hommage to Film Noir to Sting singing "I'm a legal alien" over the shots of Central Park and the revelation of the Statue of Liberty as a Weeping Angel. I've come to the conclusion that the Angels are one of those DW monsters that terrify kids (witness my two peeking out from behind the cushions held to their faces!) but which lose their appeal for adults once their mystery is destroyed - especially as SM doesn't seem to be able to make his mind up about what they can and can't do.

But enough of that. The Ponds' departure was the happiest "sad" ending I've seen in a long time. They got to stay together and grow old together and probably had a great life together. It's Rory I'll miss, anyway - Amy never did anything for me. She became more tolerable once Rory signed on to Team TARDIS full-time; he was the voice of reason when Amy and the Doctor were squeeing like schoolgirls over Vampires and others of that ilk.

But I thought theirs was a fitting departure.

A far more emotionally draining DW departure, however, followed the next day, when I finally got around to listening to Gods and Monsters from Big Finish, which is the third in the recent trilogy of Seventh Doctor Stories. I've always liked Ace and Hex as companions, and the way that the writers have pulled together a number of plot strands that stretch back about eight years is simply masterful. The trilogy is fabulous - complex but not complicated, with a superb cast and equallly superb performances. I won't go into plot details in case anyone reading this has yet to listen - and if you have, do yourself a favour and get around to it soon!

But have a hanky ready!

Doctor Who 7x1 - Asylum of the Daleks

caz963 — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 20:52:20 GMT

I just remembered I haven't posted anything yet about Saturday's DW.
I've only watched it the once, on transmission, but I enjoyed it at the time, and I didn't see the twist at the end coming, probably because I - as I suspect, were others - was wondering how the Doctor was going to rescue his companion-to-be and how come we hadn't heard about there being an extra body in the TARDIS between now and Christmas.

When it came down to it though, I decided she was rather too flippant and trying too hard to be super-confident and sexy... hm... Moffat wrote this one, didn't he?

I confess, I like the Daleks, so I don't care about whether I see them every year; I like seeing them every year! - and YAY! for PROPER Daleks and not just the Skittles variety.

Despite Amy's "who's scared? Germonimo!" speech, I got the feeling that her heart isn't really in this any more. Of course, there was the question of her and Rory splitting up - I liked that he actually said what we've all known from day 1; namely that he loves her far more than she does him - which could account for that. But nonetheless, I'm starting to get the impression that she doesn't particularly like the Doctor any more. Which, considering what happened to her last series (and, horrid though it was, thankfully, it wasn't just ignored as though it had never happened) isn't surprising.

Next week, as well as the titular dinosaurs, it's time to play "spot the thesp" - I saw Mark Williams, David Bradley and Rupert Graves in the trailer and I'm pretty sure I missed a couple. It seems that this is the "lets throw everything in and see what comes out" method of programme making, no? But I suppose it's more fun that way!

Big Finish Review - Doctor Who: Protect and Survive (7th Doctor, Ace and Hex)

caz963 — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 12:05:24 GMT

I've fallen behind with my BF releases lately, and haven't had time to write much - if anything - about those I have managed to listen to, but this one is so bloody good, that I had to shout about it!

Doctor Who: Protect and Survive by Jonathan Morris

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow. This is just... incredible. Seven isn't one of my favourite Doctors and I've said before that I sometimes find Sylvester McCoy's vocal mannerisms rather irritating - but that said, I can't deny that some of my favourite Big Finish DW stories are in fact Seventh Doctor ones.
,
,
,
, are all terrific stories which also feature my favourite companion combo - Ace and Hex. The manipulative nature of the Seventh Doctor lends itself to intriguing and intricate stories and Doctor Who: Protect and Survive is a superb example of that. It's the first in a trilogy, so there are no real answers to be had by the end of this story, which runs straight into the next one, Doctor Who: Black and White, in which the mystery of the Doctor's absence deepens.

Protect and Survive is carried by Ace and Hex who find themselves alone in the TARDIS with the Cloister Bell tolling and the Doctor nowhere to be found. They manage to land in the middle of nowhere and meet a pleasant elderly couple who are busily preparing their house for the advent of a nuclear war.

It's absolutely gripping stuff as we discover that all is not as it seems (of course). The atmosphere is claustrophobic and tense and the performances are fantastic.

Hex is becoming increasingly disillusioned with the Doctor's manner of expecting him (and Ace) to take part in his schemes without question and without knowing much - if anything - about his plans. He's perfectly justified in that, but I do hope this isn't leading towards his departure because he's one of my favourite BF companions.

I can't say much more about the plot without ruining it for anyone who hasn't listened to it yet, but there are evil aliens, time-loops and the Doctor dealing out his own brand of justice. (Anyone who thought Ten was a bit high-handed when it came to handing out punishments will be able to see/hear where that came from!)

But it's brilliant. Now go and listen to it for yourself and agree with me!

caz963 — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 20:39:47 GMT

Aw, bless 'im. Matt Smith really can't sound other than a bit posh, can he? Watching Bert and Dickie, it sounds like he's taken lessons in 'ow ter speek cockernee from Dick van Dyke!

The Newsroom

caz963 — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 21:33:29 GMT

Well, I watched the first episode of The Newsrooom, and I thought it was pretty good. I had to chuckle at the parade of favourite Sorkinisms that turned up though :) For example,
1 - Major character has a public and embarrasing meltdown a la Josh/Mary Marsh or Wes in Studio 60
2 - Oh, crap, they hired my ex- without telling me!
3 - We reached for the stars

... bless him. It doesn't bother me; I just find it mildly amusing.

I thought Jeff Daniels was great and that Charlie, as played by Sam Waterston, was a bit of a sweetie.

I'm not so sure about Emily Mortimer though, but that could be because some of Sorkin's more tub-thumping speeches (like the one in Will's office before the oil-spill story breaks when she talks about making it acceptable to want to know what's going on in the world) - just don't sound right when spouted in an English accent.

And her hair was annoying.

But it was a good start and I'm looking forward to more.

WW fic at TNL

caz963 — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 15:13:30 GMT

Any of you out there who read West Wing fic and visit the National Library - can you shed any light on what on earth is up over there? I'm trying to log in to edit/update links for my stuff and not only can't I log in, or reset my password, but everytime I try to send a message using the "contact us" links, the thing crashes.

Grr.

Anyone got any other ideas or suggestions?

ETA: I managed to contact the webmaster and get it sorted, so anyone trying to access my fic via TNL will be able to actually read it now!

caz963 — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 22:47:20 GMT

I'm woefully behind on telly programmes, radio programmes and fandom in general. I'm really not at all fussed about what's going on with Doctor Who any more. It'll be back when it's back and I'll watch and probably review, but I can't be arsed with spoilers and the like. The lovely Mr Tennant is in workaholic mode (as per usual) and I'm sort of keeping up with what he's doing, but I haven't managed to watch his ep of True Love yet. I'm more interested in Spies of Warsaw - that sounds interesting, although I'm not sure about Broadchurch. I'll watch it because he's in it, but it's probably not something I'd watch otherwise.

I'm planning to watch The Newswroom when it starts here next week. I know I could get hold of it by other means, but I don't have the time to watch! Right at the moment, if I don't watch things live, I find it hard to catch up with them - my Sky+ is crammed full with things I really want to see but can't get around to! But I'd watch any new Sorkin show - even though there are now a number of shows out there that are feeding my craving for fast, smart talking and snark (White Collar and Suits to name two), and Studio 60 was a good idea that went badly wrong, I still have the Sorkin!love and have high hopes for the new show.

I've been watching Once Upon a Time on Sunday nights. I think we must be about half-way through S1 by now (I've lost count) and I must say that it's so far holding up well. I like the mixture of flashbacks/current day, and the spin on the tales and the characters that's been taken by the writers. Although I thought that last week's episode - which was the one about Dreamy becoming Grumpy - was rather lacklustre, but then that's par for the course with 22 episode seasons.

I've also been watching Castle fairly regularly, because Cazlet #1 likes it, so it's on. It's not my favourite show, but it's entertaining and well done. We're about half-way into S4, I think.

S2 of Falling Skies has just started. I liked S1, so I'm carrying on with it. It's not exactly demanding telly, but I think the skitters are awesome!

On my "eagerly awaiting" list are S4 of White Collar, S2 of Suits and S5 of Fringe. A bitter-sweet one, that, because not only will it be a short season (13 eps?) it will be the final one :(

I'm also getting behind on my Big Finish DW audios - but just lately, I find that the minute I put my headphones on for anything that's spoken, I'm asleep five minutes later! I was listening to The Emerald Tiger, which is a recent issue featuring Five, Nyssa, Tegan and Turlough, and I had to keep going back over and over bits, and to be honest probably couldn't tell you what actually happened! And I don't think it was the fault of the story, it's just me being completely knackered. It started well, so I think I'll give it another go. I listened to all three of Six's recent audios as well, and wasn't overly impressed. I really like Six and Colin Baker, but I find his new companion, Flip, to be incredibly annoying. Every review I've read so far thinks she's wonderful, her co-star and producers think she's wonderful, but I'm not getting it, and that's a shame, because I was really looking forward to some new Sixie adventures. The good news is though, that there are some stories for him with Mel coming up (who'd have thought one could be glad to hear about something involving Bonnie Langford?!), so I'm holding out more hope for those.

But my "eagerly awaiting" list on the audio front is for the post-Lucie Miller Eighth Doctor box set. I really liked the stories which paired him up with Mary Shelley, and would love to hear more of those, but it's what happens to him in the aftermath of Lucie's death that I've really been waiting for. And it's been a long wait - and still is, because it's not due out until October (I think). BF just posted the cover of the set, which has a new pic of Paul McGann; unlike the other classic Doctors, he still looks enough like he did back when he was on screen (1996) for them to be able to use a new pic - and it's a whole new look for Eight. I said when I reviewed Lucie Miller and To the Death that given the events that took place and Eight's reaction to them, it's easy to see how he could later become the Nine that could commit double genocide. BF don't have the rights to touch anything to do with DW post Eight, so I doubt we'll get the Time War, but I have high hopes for these stories nonetheless.

And when I'm not working, sleeping, watching telly or listening to audios, I have my nose in my Kindle, which I've hardly put down since I got it for Christmas! I do like "actual" books and still have a houseful, but I love the convenience of only having to take ONE book-shaped thing around with me, and not worry about losing my bookmark!

caz963 — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 21:00:50 GMT

I'm going to be spending over three weeks in France over the summer hols, and although I don't normally take my laptop with me, I think I might do for that length of time. Roaming charges on phones are completely ridiculous and I'd like to be able to check my emails and maybe look up local info.

I've been trying to find out the best and least expensive way of using the internet in Europe - other than finding suitable hotspots. I imagine buying a wireless dongle is the best option, but I don't know which to get, and presumably, buying a UK one isn't the way to go.

Any ideas or advice for me?

Feed your reading habit!

caz963 — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 18:40:52 GMT

I know there are people out there who like to read actual books as well as the pithy wit and wonder that is posted here at LJ, so I thought I might point any who are interested to a new book reviewing blog.

Romantic Historical Fiction Lovers is dedicated to reviewing novels that have both a strong historical content as well as a dash of romance. We're not doing "straight" historical fiction or "straight" romantic fiction - there's got to be a good mix of both.

There's already a RHFL group over at Goodreads and the group "owner" suggested setting up a review blog specifically for this genre. There's so much of it, especially with the explosion of self-published titles and reissues that have been encouraged by the growth in the e-book market, that it's sometimes bewildering where to turn for your next read! You don't want to waste you time or your money, so you get to the point where you take recommendations from friends, or reviewers you trust - but even then, there's the chance you might miss a gem or two I know I've found a few titles via the RFHL Goodreads group that I might otherwise not have read.

The blog has been up and running for a couple of weeks and yours truly has already contributed a few reviews. So if you're interested in that genre of fiction and want to pop over to look for some inspiration, please do! And for anyone reading this who wants to submit anything for review, all the details are on the blog.

Oh, and while I'm on the subject of Goodreads, if anyone here also has a presence over there, please come to say hello! (I'm Caz over there - original, I know.)

It's baaaaaack!

caz963 — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:57:31 GMT

I'm finally catching up with the new series of Horrible Histories and I'm pleased to report it's as good as - if not better than - ever. The song parodies are still the highlight for me - they're so damm clever - and I like playing "spot the original" each week!

caz963 — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 22:06:32 GMT

I saw on Twitter earlier this week that the new DW companion was going to be announced "tomorrow"! And it made me sad that I just didn't care. I didn't spend the next day avidly hitting refresh and checking for updates; in fact I completely forgot about it until at least another day had gone by.

I don't mind that it's an "unknown" - well, unknown to anyone who doesn't watch or give a stuff about soaps. But I do mind that it's yet another pubescent female who is being described as "whacky" and who will lead the Doctor a "merry dance". YAWN. (I thought that was what River Song was for.)

Say what you like about RTD, we did at least get three quite different regular companions on his watch. Martha may have got the fuzzy end of the lollipop, but at least he tried.

Doctor Who - Fourth Doctor Audios

caz963 — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:50:26 GMT

When I heard that Big Finish had signed Tom Baker to (finally!) record DW for them, my reaction was more of "oh, that's great news for them - I know they've wanted to sign him for ages" rather than "OMG - I must get those!".

He was a great Doctor, to be sure. But Four was never my Doctor, and I know it's almost DW heresy to say that I never really warmed to him. I didn't dislike Four, but Three was my Doctor, and that's something of my ten-year-old-self that's never really changed.

BUT. When I saw that the adventures were shorter (and therefore cheaper!) than the regular monthly releases, I decided to give them a try.

I haven't got the Lost Stories box set yet - but I've listened to the first two new stories - Destination Nerva and The Renaissance Man. I liked them both very much. The stories were solid and pacy (probably on account of the shorter running times - rather akin to the EDAs) and it was definitely good to hear Four and Leela again, while also sad to remember that some of these early Fourth Doctor stories were due to have featured Sarah-Jane Smith :(

Tom Baker is, IMO, rather better than I remember his being on telly - and before anyone throws things at me, let me qualify that statement. I think it's been so long since he's been the Doctor that we've got used to hearing him doing OTT and tongue-in-cheek voiceovers, or to listening to Jon Culshaw doing that fabulous impression of his. So to hear the actual Tom Baker as the actual Doctor again was something of a revelation. He was much more understated than I remembered, although the quirkiness and the irreverent humour are still very much in evidence. And he and Louise Jamieson worked together so well, it's hard to believe they've not done this for over thirty years.

Destination Nerva takes place after The Talons of Weng Chiang, but our duo quickly end up back in Victorian England when they answer a distress call. Of course, all is not what it seems, and they end up being transported to the space-dock Nerva which has all sorts of technical glitches. The story isn't an especially original one, but it's certainly been well written, acted and directed. I also liked the fact that the music most definitely evokes 70s DW.

The Renaissance Man is my favourite of the two, though. The story is much stronger and Tom Baker positively sparkles as the Doctor. In Destination Nerva the Doctor had to rely on his quick wits to get out of the situation, here he's using his incredible intellect and his ability to play the fool so completely as to make his adversaries believe he's an idiot. The story - of the "Renaissance Man" collecting all knowledge by stealing it from everyone he encouters - is very well done, and the darker themes, such as - what happens to someone when the knowledge that is their life's work is taken away? - are explored thoughtfully and to good dramatic effect. This is one I'll be listening to again in the near future.

After these two, I'll definitely be listening to more of the Fourth Doctor's adventures on audio.

Next up - I'll be attempting to ignore Flip's annoying mode of speech when I listen to The Fourth Wall.

DW Audios: The Curse of Davros (6th Doctor)

caz963 — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:07:39 GMT

I think that Six has become my favourite audio Doctor, so I've been eagerly looking forward to the next set of BF audios to feature "ol' Sixie", as Colin Baker affectionately terms him.

So it makes me sad to confess that I wasn't exactly bowled over by The Curse of Davros. There were things about it I really liked, and others I didn't - and one really "oh, come on!" moment that was more than a little annoying.

The story hinges around the effects of a Dalek "mind-swap" machine, and Davros' evil plans to team up with Napoleon Bonaparte and swap the minds of his soldiers for those of Daleks and thus defeat Wellington at the battle of Waterloo, because this was a pivotal time for world history. I'm not quite sure I buy into that completely - but I suppose things would definitely have been different had Bonaparte won, so I can let that one go.

One of the things I thought was very well done was the way that the Doctor was written and played in the first half of the story. It was very subtle, but right from the start, there was something that wasn't quite right about him - his speech patterns were just a bit off, and there's one particular moment where it's obvious that the Doctor... isn't quite himself.

But there was one moment where I really was unable to suspend my disbelief. Flip and the Doctor are alone together and are quite happily chatting away, revealing a key piece of information to the listening daleks. In order to explain why they'd do that, the daleks helpfully remind us that the Doctor has disabled all the internal surveillance systems. But - ta-da! - Davros soon fixes that, and they can listen in. How come the Doctor didn't think they might have found a way to repair the system? *headdesk*

This story is also the first of three to feature Phillippa - or "Flip" - Jackson as Six's companion - and I'm not sold. I confess, I had doubts about the wisdom of using this character when I heard her in The Crimes of Thomas Brewster, and none of those doubts have been allayed by this new audio. Clearly, the folks at Big Finish think very highly of the actress, and I'm sure she's everything they say she is. But I don't think she's the right companion for Six. He needs someone who's more intellectually up to snuff, like Evelyn or Mel - by contrast Flip is ... well, a bit of a chav! Her voice grates on me as well - she sounds like she's just come off the set of Eastenders or like she's been up for a part in Waterloo Road! I'm not posh. I'm from East London and I sound like it, so I don't at all think that the Doctor's companions should all speak with RP or something. It's hard to describe Flip's mode of speech, other than to say "modern teenager" - using the written word, so all I can do is to offer this line. Having realised that the Doctor isn't in fact who she thought he was, Flip says - "that other guy was, like, well callous."

*cringe*

I cannot even begin to describe the horror. She's also got what I consider to be a very "Eastenders" mode of speech, whereby the majority of words end with a "wah" sound. So "no" becomes "nowah", for example. Or then there was the time she screamed something at Davros which involved the word "evah" (or maybe it was "nevah".)

It wasn't terrible by any means, but I can't help feeling a bit disappointed that something I'd been looking forward to for a while turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. Hopefully the next two in the series will step things up a gear or two, and BF will find ol' Sixie a different companion in the near future.

Writer's Block: A Bright Idea

caz963 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:55:15 GMT

j

Something that stops LJ from crashing every couple of weeks!

Sherlock 2x03

caz963 — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:16:02 GMT

I enjoyed that a lot. I admit, I was a bit nervous when I realised that the series finale was being written by Steve Thompson, as his episode last year wasn't as good as the other two, but I think he did this one proud.

I've not read the original - although I think that knowing what happens at the Reichenbach Falls is somehow sort of ingrained in most Brits, isn't it? - but I seem to recall that while Moriarty was trumpeted as the most amazing criminal mastermind the world had ever seen, there wasn't much evidence for it in the story. (I'm only going on other adaptations of it that I've seen, I'm afraid). So it was rather a nice touch here for that to be rectified; Moriarty clearly is amazingly clever, albeit totally bonkers. Not only does he construct an elaborate plot to discredit Sherlock, he checkmates him at every turn, having thought of everything (bar that one thing at the end) which could possibly work against him and has some sort of insurance against it. I rather liked the fact that the magical computer code was a macguffin all along, and that Moriarty's break-ins at the beginning were in fact organised using those good, old-fashioned methods of bribery and blackmail!

Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss both tweeted within minutes of the ending that "of course there'll be a third series" and that it was comissioned at the same time as the second. I hadn't thought a third series was in doubt, but it's good to have it confirmed.

Martin Freeman was - as usual - terrific, and in that final scene at the graveside he was just heartbreaking. If I have one niggle, however, it's about that final shot of Sherlock watching him. One minute, we're watching a lovely tribute from a devastated friend which was very moving, and the next, it turns out it's for nothing. I admit, I was wondering if we'd get something like that, or if we'd be left assuming Sherlock was dead - I'm sure there are enough people out there who aren't familiar with the fact that, having killed off his creation, Conan-Doyle later resurrected him, so it would have been feasible to have left it at "he's dead". Conan-Doyle did, after all! Or was there a fear that if the audience was left believeing their hero had died, they wouldn't tune in for a third series? (I assume S3 wouldn't have been called "Watson"!)
Personally, I'd have preferred it without that shot, but then I already knew Sherlock wasn't going to die.

Anyway, a good job by all concerned on this one. I expect there will be an inordinate amount of theorising about the "how" in the next few months. Molly obviously had something to do with it (she probably supplied a suitable corpse!), and presumably, the cyclist knocked John down on purpose so that he wouldn't be able to identify the body. Sometimes the simplest explanations turn out to be the right ones :-)

Thoughts on Sherlock S2, eps 1&2

caz963 — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:53:08 GMT

I didn't get around to posting anything about last week's episode of Sherlock, partly, I suspect because despite some good lines and situations, I felt rather underwhelmed by it. The resolution to that absoutely fantastic cliffhanger was pretty lacklustre really, although given the fact that it was one of those situations that was impossible to get out of that were the staple of Classic Who, I suppose I should have expected something that was a bit of a cop-out.

I think it's hard to admit sometimes, that something you've looked forward to watching for so long turned out to be a bit of a let-down. There was also the fact that Watson was pretty-well sidelined for much of the episode (given the choice between Cumberbunny and Freeman, I'd go for Freeman every time!) and we didn't see enough of Rupert Graves! And then, of course, there is the thorny question of "The Woman."

I'm not at all familiar with Irene Adler as written by Conan-Doyle, so for all I know, she could well have been written as a mixture of Madame de Pompadour and River Song rolled into one. Don't get me wrong - I like to see strong, clever female characters on the telly. But the women of that ilk I admire are those whose cleverness is a)SHOWN to me and b)not all there is to her. Also, when the hero of the story - especially ca haracter like Sherlock Holmes, who seems to have no interest in women or sex - develops an interest in a woman, I like to be able to - well, like her. And I didn't. Surely it's possible to write a one-episode character as a romantic interest for the hero who is likeable as well as strong and sassy?

I think that Mark Gatiss' Mycroft may have been the best thing in that episode.

As for the ending. Wtf?!

The Baskerville episode was, I thought much better. There were aspects I didn't particularly like, such as Sherlock's experiment on Watson, but taken as a whole, I thought it worked well. The idea of the "Hound" as a paranoid delusion brought on my experimental drugs was a good one, I thought, and the forest scenes, and the scenes at Henry's house where the garden lights kept going on and off were atmospheric and pretty scary. There were some nice moments between Sherlock and John, such as when the former is trying to get back into the latter's good graces - "I haven't got friends - I've got one friend" was nice, although I was pleased that John didn't immediately accept the apology.

It's probably just as well that they are only able to make three episodes every year, because I'm not sure how it could be sustained for a longer run. Or rather, I'm not sure I'd be able to watch a longer run without wanting to punch Sherlock in the face!

I know that in the books, Holmes is an outsider (and drug addict), someone with an incredible intellect but who is lacking in what I suppose we'd today call "social skills" - but I believe he was always a gentleman who lived by a certain code of honour. Of course, such a thing is very much a product of the era in which the stories were written, but that doesn't mean it's not possible to translate it to a modern setting. I also think that modern Sherlock is toppling over into rude-aresholedom far more frequently than his Victorian equivalent. Not all characters have to be "good", I know - they're far more interesting when they're flawed, but somewhere along the line, I think there has to be something in them, something that mitigates and tempers those flaws. I think that thing is supposed to be Sherlock's friendship towards John - but given he was prepared to subject him to a frankly horrible experiment without his knowledge, one has to ask sometimes just how much of that sort of treatment any friend would put up with!

And so next week, to the Richebach Falls. I believe Steve Thompson (last series' ep2, and DW's Black Spot) has penned it. Hm. Let's hope he does a little better here than with either of those.

DW: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe

caz963 — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 00:13:08 GMT

Well, I confess I wasn't expecting much, so I wasn't all that disappointed.

Oh, who am I kidding - I was disappointed anyway :(

DWW was a bit like a big candy-floss, wasn't it? All frothy and sugary but with no nutritional value whatsoever! Now, I know that froth and sugar and empty calories are the stuff from which Christmas is made, and I'm sure there will be plenty of people out there arguing that it was exactly the sort of thing the family should be sitting down to watch on Christmas Day, lots of feelgood factor, fun and frolics - especially to contrast with the misery and depression that is sure to follow at 8pm when Eastenders starts. (Which is, incidentally, when the TV goes off in my house.)

So yes, on the one hand - it was whimsical and light and fluffy and even as I was biting my tongue to stop myself saying - "This is Moffat's Who - of COURSE the Dad's not going to die!" , I was reminding myself that it's Christmas and of course, it was completely right that he didn't. But still. I'm getting fed up with SM's MO of "oh, no - they're going to die!" because we all know by now that it's not gonna happen. Not that I wanted a high bodycount or anything like that - I'd just like some dramatic tension back.

As I was watching, I was reminded of how, way back at the start of S5 - or more precisely, in the second episode The Beast Below - for the first time, I looked at my watch during an episode of DW and wondered "when will this end?" Not because I did the same thing here. No, during DWW, I looked at my watch and wondered - "how is it seven-thirty and nothing's really happened yet?" Because that's how it felt. Hence the candy-floss analogy. And I should perhaps, state here that I don't like candy-floss; it's far too sweet and sticky for my taste.

On the plus side, it was a straightforward story with none of the timey-wimeness of S6, or even of last year's Christmas episode; Matt Smith was as engaging as ever, Claire Skinner and the kids were good and the moving trees were effectively realised. Oh, and bonus points for Androzani and the Jabe reference!

On the negative - what a waste of the talents of Bill Bailey, Arabella Weir and Alexander Armstrong. I know that DW is one of those shows that everyone wants to be in, but these were cameos, not guest appearances. Each of them is a very talented individual, but really, those parts could have been played by anybody. The walking trees as the baddies didn't really work for me either. I have no problem with the idea that the baddies aren't really bad, but are just trying to save their species - I just think that for a one-off, special episode, something with a bit more... "oomph!" is required. And what on earth was all that stuff at the beginning about? Was it to mislead us, to make us think that we were going to get an exciting adventure with explosions and running aboard a space ship (oh - another point for the Star Wars ref.)? Or was it - "hey, look everyone! It's Doctor Who! No - really, it is! Honest! Look, we're doing explosions and stuff!"

And really - the Doctor falling through space without a spacesuit? I didn't mind River and her "air-corridor", but this? I'm not a devotee of hard sci-fi; I don't sit there and point outthat there can be no sound in a vacuum and stuff like that, but that really bugs me. I know DW isn't about hard science; I know it makes things up and it's a fantasy and all of that. But I found that sequence to be just about the silliest thing I've seen on DW (I know, I know!) for several years.

The best bit was, of course, the fact that Amy and Rory "always" set a place for the Doctor at their Christmas table, and his humany-woomamy "happy crying" at the end. Anyone who says that Steven Moffat isn't as emotionally manipulative as RTD can stick that in their pipe and smoke it.

Has it been officially announced that DW is being moved to the Autumn from next year? I take it that the absence of any trailer for S7 confirms that, I'm just wondering if I missed the announcement.

DW Audios: The Witch from the Well / Army of Death

caz963 — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 20:16:22 GMT

I didn't get around to posting anything about the second of Big Finish's audios featuring Eight and Mary Shelley, so as the third has just been released, I thought I might as well kill two birds with one stone.

I've thoroughly enjoyed listening to all three of these adventures and am sad that it's going to be another year before the release of any more Eight audios (there's going to be a boxed set next autumn of stories that follow on directly from the events of To The Death - available at a discounted price if you pre-order!). Mary Shelley has proved to be an excellent companion and I hope that BF can find a way to bring her back because Paul McGann and Julie Cox work very well together; and Mary's mixture of naïveté and wisdom, her insight and empathy have really brought out Eight's lighter, more playful side.

I have to admit that I found Witch from the Well a bit hard to get into. The Doctor and Mary are separated for the majority of the story (which is a shame and, I felt, a waste given that there are only (so far) these three stories featuring her) because they end up in different eras; Mary in the present day while the Doctor remains in the seventeenth century. The plot revolves around the titular witch, of course, isn't; instead it's a dangerous alien that's been imprisoned in the well for centuries. Excavations in the preset day disturb the site, but waiting for the alien to emerge so that they can kill it are Finicia and Lucern, the twin children of the seventeenth century squire. Except they're also aliens who killed the real twins and assumed their forms, the better to observe and lie in wait for the witch. The story is quite complex, and in addition to the timey-wimey-ness of the plot, the same actors are also playing different versions of themselves - although fortunately, they all do a good job of differentiating them.

I enjoyed it, although I did have to rewind a few times just to make sure I kept up with the twists and turns of the plot!

Army of Death is a much more straightforward story, as Mary and the Doctor battle an army of the dead - literally. (I'm immediately envisioning the army of skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts!)
Two colonies, established on a distant world, co-exist in peace until one of the cities - Garrak - suffers a catastrophic explosion, which kills all its inhabitants. It's pretty obvious where the Army of Death comes from and what it wants, but the story is no less enjoyable for that. There is mention in this story of the way in which Mary's feelings towards the Doctor have grown; she compares him to Percy and of course, Percy can't possibly match up! The device of Mary reading from her diary is used in order to illuminate her thoughts, but I can't help feeling that it doesn't quite work. She's not diarised any of her other adventures with the Doctor, so why this one?

But that's a minor niggle. It's a solid story and features some very good performances - including some from long-time DW fan, Mitch Benn. (Devotees of The Now Show will no doubt remember his outrage at the prospect of DW being postponed to make way for the World Cup and resulting song a few years back).

I liked all three of the Eight and Mary stories very much, although if pressed to select a favourite, I'd probably have to go with The Silver Turk which I think is the strongest of the three.

I'm looking forward to some new Six next month :-)

Big Finish Audio - The Silver Turk (8th Doctor)

caz963 — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 21:01:35 GMT

The latest Eighth Doctor adventure (and the first since Feb/March) was released yesterday. It wasn't due out until the end of the month, but good ol' Big Finish put it out early, so I nabbed my copy and decided to save it to listen to when I'm in France next week.

Alas - I've never been very good at delayed gratification, and there was a large pile of ironing glowering at me last night, so...

The Silver Turk features a pre-Charley Eight and follows on from the end of Mary's Story in The Company of Friends. The Mary in question is Mary Shelley who meets the Doctor on a dark and stormy night in 1816. Or to be more precise, meets two of him.

Anyway, after the events on CoF, he invites her along with him and for a first journey, travels not in time, but merely in space - from Lake Garda to Vienna - to meet up with the companions he's travelling with at that time, Gemma and Samson (who appear in Terror Firma. But this is the Doctor and the TARDIS and of course things don't go to plan and they end up in 1873. The story is a fairly simple one and it's pretty obvious (especially if you've seen the CD cover!) just exactly what or who the "Silver Turk" is. But what I really liked were all the intimations of what's to come for Mary; she tries to help the damaged Turk and decries the Doctor when he calls it a monster; and later the Cybermen discover that they can be brought back to full strength by a massive charge of electricity. Perhaps this might feel somewhat heavy-handed to some, but it worked well for me.

Also - I liked the fact that the maker of the puppets was called "Dr Drossel" - it made me think immediately of Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker!

With the return of Eight to the main monthly series, his theme tune has had a revamp, clearly being modelled on what Murray Gold has done for the revamped TV show. As I didn't particularly like the old version of Eight's theme, I don't object to the change - but the jury's still out on this newer version.

But that's my only niggle with this release. It's a straightforward story, well told and Mary has the makings of an excellent companion. It's an interesting departure, to have an actual historical figure as the companion, and given Mary's incredible imagination and the fact that she was, in many ways, "ahead of her time", she's a good choice. There are two more releases to come in November and December which feature her; after that, I'm not sure, although I think I read somewhere that there will be an Eighth Doctor boxed-set in the new year, in which he will have to deal with the aftermath of Lucie's death in To the Death.