Just a quick message to say that This Way Up is having a break until the second week of December. However there are 1,754 previous posts to read here if you've not caught up with them all yet and additional content in the Pages (links at the top under the blog title). See you in six weeks! I'm off to the Mystery Planet...
Reviewed by Chris Arnsby
Mark Franklin:
“DJ Slipmatt and Lime together with MC JJ kick off this spooky edition of Top
of the Pops they’re SL2 and DJs Take Control.”
A series that is as happy being literal as it is being philosophical
VisionQuest enters its second half after a climactic fourth episode.
What follows are two episodes that have divided viewers and longer-term comic
fans. While there are smatterings of action, the narrative momentum slows here
to enable character exploration and perhaps a little too much exposition plus
yet another unexpected antagonist. If, like me, you enjoy something more than
just guns and chases then there is a lot of more thoughtful material here
though, don’t panic, there’s still someone with a massive plan that will affect
the whole world!
Spoilers after the break!
Reviewed by Chris Arnsby
Tony Dortie:
“Eyes open for a full house. From Elstree it’s Top of the Pops with the biggest
and best live. Starting with 2 Unlimited and the busiest dancers around!”
It’s easy to see how VisonQuest could be irritating
for some with its clever dialogue and sudden tone shifts but these are advantages
as far as I’m concerned. The dialogue for example is witty even in what seem
like throwaway comments. At times, it has the rhythm of a sitcom while still
being quite serious when it needs to be. Visually it plays with TV imagery in a
similar way to WandaVision. Its an appealing mix if you’re willing to go
with it and these two episodes double down on those aspects as the series
improves further.
Reviewed by Chris Arnsby
"Kickstarting tonight’s Top of the Pops, back with a vengeance is Slade and Radio Wall Of
Sound.”
[33] SLADE: Radio Wall of Sound. That opening pan across the studio is lovely. Rod Litherland’s lights send beams through the studio smoke and the circular lighting rig at the centre of the ceiling glides over the camera like one of the UFOs from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
I didn’t know Slade had such a long career although I do remember their last
comeback, in 1984. After that they released six singles between January 1985
and August 1987; the most successful being Mysterious Mizster Jones which
peaked at [50] in March 1985. Their Wikipedia page is amazing. It ups
and downs like a roller coaster. Early years; Glam rock, success and peak;
Decline in popularity; Stateside; Wilderness years; Comeback and heavy metal
following; American breakthrough; Second decline in popularity; Brief comeback
and break-up; and there’s still time for a final section called Aftermath and
Later Years. Right now, in 1991, we are in Brief comeback and break-up.
VisionQuest, like its narrative forerunners,
WandaVision and Agatha All Along, dips in and out of reality and
asks us to believe in a digital world as well as a real one. With AI suddenly
front and centre in the news it makes the show even more timely than the
previous chapters. For those who may be
less up to date with the lore relating to this most unusual character, the
first episode of this new miniseries provides a succinct update, with clips,
that tells you what you need to know. It’s an essential introduction to what
might otherwise be a somewhat baffling show. Even with this opening montage
some may still struggle with all the whys and wherefores and the fact that, for
all the sharp action scenes, there’s a lot of philosophical musing about life
and existence in the dialogue. Dig in though and there is treasure to be found…
In Samuel Abrahams’ debut feature a documentary crew turn
up at the palatial stately home Ravenhyde Hall to make a film about the life of
its enigmatic owner Lady Isabella. Yet it soon transpires that things are not
as they seem and the director becomes drawn into the eccentric aristocrat’s self-absorbed
world. I’d been wanting to see this for a while but it had a limited theatrical
release and is now on Amazon Prime. If you watch it don’t assume that the
knockabout trailer or opening segment is all Lady has to offer. The
material may well be presented in typical fly on the wall style – wobbly
cameras, fourth wall breaks etc – but there is a heart to the story that only
becomes apparent later on. It’s sometimes a little overwrought in its methods
yet also unpredictable, imaginative and ultimately moving.
Spoilers after the break
