Top of the Pops 16th August 1990

 Words: Chris Arnsby

 Nicky Campbell: “Welcome to the most fun you can have in half an hour with your television on. Another rip-roaring rollicking frolic through the nation's favourite sounds. What a show and what a start, one of the great British bands. They are back. The Human League.”

[29] THE HUMAN LEAGUE: Heart Like A Wheel. Paul Ciani is only listed as Producer this week. Tony Newman gets a very carefully worded “Directed by” credit. My best reading of this, he sat in the gallery and directed the recording according to a camera script already worked out by Paul Ciani. Certainly this looks like a Paul Ciani episode, check out the spinning Quantel effect on the “heart like a wheel” chorus; extra bonus points to Dave Jervis (Video Effects) and Hilary Briegel (Vision Mixer).

Alien: Earth eps 3 and 4 reviews

 Episode three, `Metamorphosis` is slower than the opening two, with only one real big action sequence though this doesn’t mean that the threat lessens, rather it allows the production to ramp up those Xenomprph scares. Like the best of this franchise the producers know that you don’t need to show the alien(s) a lot, just insinuate that they are lurking in a shadowy location of just round the corner. Then when they do appear it’s all the more effective.

Spoilers after the break...

The Life of Chuck review

 

With its unusual narrative structure and philosophical story, The Life of Chuck transcends its’ ordinary sounding title to become one of those films a lot of people will treasure though others may not see what all the fuss is about.  It’s a movie that encompasses so much more than the life of one person yet in telling his story becomes a parable for all of us in our different ways. Never over egged or too melodramatic with some charming sequences and a sense of humour as well, this is a quiet triumph.

 

Top of the Pops 9th and 16th August 1990

 

Words: Chris Arnsby

 09/08/1990 

Gary Davies: “Hello. Very good evening to you. Welcome to Top of the Pops we are live tonight on BBC1 and also in stereo on Radio 1FM. In the studio, Craig McGloclan and Check 1-2, Hothouse Flowers, but first we start off with that Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Bombalurina and Timmy Mallett.”

 [11] BOMBALURINA: Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. In the summer, the real hazard for me watching these old episodes of Top of the Pops is, do I close the windows and overheat to death or do I keep the windows open and risk the neighbours thinking I'm some sort of lunatic? Reader, I took the coward's way out. I kept the windows open and turned the sound down.

I didn't think much of this single in 1990. You might be amazed to learn I haven't re-evaluated it. Fair play to Timmy Mallett for turning up to perform the single on a live edition. He seems nervous at first but warms up when he realises the audience isn't going to eat him alive.

The Sandman season two Eps 7- 12 reviews

 

There is something about knowing you are reaching the end that can energise a creative vision and the fact that there won’t be any further seasons appears to up the determination of the writers to fully expand this world. So, the second half of the season doubles down on strangeness, ancient rules and brutality yet also offers something of wonder and change. While it may seem nothing ever does change amongst these Gods and elementals this is proved not to always be the case. It feels as if Dream is facing the combined forces of tradition more than anything; ancient rules that afford no escape. The plotline definitely gives the show a momentum it hasn’t always had as Dream comes to terms with the ramifications of what he has done even if he did it for his son’s sake.

Alien: Earth eps 1 and 2 reviews

 

The thing with long running franchises is that they become increasingly tangled up in lore and continuity so its ultimately best to take each iteration as it comes and judge it on its own merit. Alien Earth is set just before the events of the original film though of course that took place deep in Space, a long way from Earth.  “On Earth everyone can hear you scream” is the cheeky but promising tag line for this eight part series and the opening two episodes certainly fulfil that promise.

 

Spoilers after the break

Wednesday season two eps 1-4 reviews

 It seems such a very long time since we last caught up with Wednesday Addams and her Outcast classmates so much so that the returning cast are clearly older in this second season – which is acknowledged- but the question must be whether the wait has been worth it.  Even some of the promotional material has alluded to it (see below) and anticipation has been building. Netflix have even created a special Thing ident for it. After such a lengthy gap (though admittedly not as long as the wait for season 5 of Stranger Things) can Wednesday match it's early promise and engage with an audience who are also now older?

 

Weapons review

 Quite a buzz has built around this film creating an impact in an otherwise superhero summer and its easy to see why. It’s a genuinely perplexing movie that flits across genres from police procedural to social study to tense mystery thriller and finally outright horror. Each aspect feels fresh even if we have seen many of these things before while director / writer Zach Cregger’s approach is packed with real jump scare moments that send a shiver down the spine. If the denouement is on paper unlikely then the film has by then earned your involvement and it won’t matter. Beware though- this is not for the feint of heart and if you remember Amy Madigan from such Eighties hits as Field of Dreams then you are definitely in for a shock.

Some spoilers after the break... 

The Sandman season two Eps 1 - 6 reviews

 

Continuing at a glacial, lugubrious pace, The Sandman returns for a second, final season. The first season was an acquired taste for sure yet did include one of the most gripping tv episodes I’ve seen in many a year (`24/7`) while conversely meandering towards the end of the season. Three years later what’s not changed is the stately pace at which events unfurl something that may at first be off putting especially for those used to a high number of action beats per minute. Yet once you get used to this and the large cast of characters the story will pull you in even if the first episode does lag a little.

Top of the Pops 2 August 1990

Words: Chris Arnsby

Bruno Brookes: “Good evening. How the devil are you? All this lovely hot weather and of course all these hot hits. Coming up later on we've got Madonna, Duran Duran, and New Kids On The Block. First of all a band making their debut on Top of the Pops with a new entry. Little Angels and She's A Little Angel.”

[21] LITTLE ANGELS: She's A Little Angel. Ron Bristow has been given access to the studio light switches this week and I like the white spotlights he's set up around the main stage. They white out the picture as the camera tracks in from Bruno Brookes. It gives a real stadium-rock feel.

Warlords of Atlantis (1978)

 

The final film in the Seventies quartet of fantastical Kevin Connor / Doug McClure collabs rings some changes. Unlike the previous three it wasn’t financed via Amicus who had gone bust and it was EMI films who made it.  Also this is not an adaptation of a book but has an original script by well- known tv writer Brian Hayles albeit one that leans on already established legends. EMI’s involvement enabled a larger budget though to be honest it doesn’t always show in the effects sequences. A lot of the compositions between model effects and real life performances seem rougher than in the previous films and in a post Star Wars film world that was never going to be as impressive.

 

Top of the Pops 19th and 26th July 1990

 Words: Chris Arnsby

 19/07/1990

 Mark Goodier: “Hello and welcome to Britain's favourite pop show and don't forget we have stereo sound on Radio 1FM. Tonight, all the new entries, the number one, and the high climbers and we start with a song that's nearly at the top of the chart. Craig McLachlan, Check 1-2, here is Mona."

 [2] CRAIG McLACHLAN & CHECK 1 – 2: Mona. Someone very close to Mark Goodier is shrieking extremely loud and extremely shrill. I don't want to sound like a sexist dinosaur, like Skeletor, but I think it might be the young lady in the ridiculous hat standing to Mark's left.

Graham Rimmington is back on Lighting and he's decided the colour for this song is a very  sombre blue. It's a creative choice but is it the right one? I'd have gone with something a bit brighter.