Reviewed by Chris Arnsby. Peter Powell: “Hello! Welcome to tonight's edition of Top of the Pops! On the show tonight! We've got Voice of the Beehive! Mica Paris! And also Morrisey!”
Simon Mayo: “And we're going to start at number four. Look out for the new sport of synchronised drumming. Because these are the Time Lords and Doctorin' the Tardis. This is just brilliant. Watch this.”
The recent spate of memes depicting films remade in a Wes Anderson style has irritated the director yet demonstrates how- in a similar way though different style- Tim Burton became ubiquitous some time ago. Anderson has now arrived at that odd position where his work has never been so well known yet his choices have never seemed so obvious. Asteroid City will do little to change people’s opinion either way as it is very Wes Anderson indeed.
Reviewed by
Chris Arnsby. Asbestos
was discovered in BBC Television Centre at the end of May 1988. The peak of the
disruption, which closed virtually all the studios, came in the week of 30May when programmes scrabbled to relocate to alternate venues around Television
Centre. Tomorrow's World was broadcast from the car park, Wogan came
from reception, Blue Peter used their garden, and Newsnight and Breakfast
Time came from what Stage and Television Today -2 June 1988*-
described as “tiny, cramped, back-up studios,” and noted, “a final decision had
yet to be made on the venue for Wednesday's recording of this week's edition of
Top of the Pops.”
Peter Powell:
“Hello! Tonight's edition is not so much the big bash as usual, more like a
private party!” Nicky Campbell:
“And I've, er, I've gatecrashed it. Where's the fridge.”
Peter Powell:
“Why didn't you RSVP?! We're not in our usual studio setup bit we do have a
show!”
Nicky Campbell:
“What a show we've got. Rod Stewart. Aztec Camera. Wet Wet Wet. You name it. To
start us off with their second hit in as many months, here's Aswad.”
I’ll say it right away-
this is a great film. Funny, exciting, occasionally poignant and always visually
arresting it is more or less what you want from a trip to the movies. However,
there is of course a lot of baggage surrounding The Flash and superhero
movies in general. If it flops it will be the fourth live action superhero film
in a row to underperform after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol3, Shazam –
Fury of the Gods and Quantumania. What may at first have seemed like
unlucky coincidence is beginning to look like long term decline. The Flash
has the extra hurdle in that after a catalogue of incidents and allegations, the
film’s star is sort of cancelled but sort of not, an unsatisfactory half-life
for all concerned. Still, I suppose superhero films thrive on excess of all
kinds and the best thing is to watch a film with an open mind and try not to be
distracted by the noise around it.
Reviewed by
Chris Arnsby.
Steve Wright:
“'ello there!! Good evening!! I'm Steve Wright!! Welcome to Top of the Pops!!
We have an excited crowd!! And some good bands!! And our other host is Mark
Goodier!! Say hello Mark!!”
Mark Goodier:
“Thank you very much Steve. Let's start tonight with a lady who keeps on coming
back to the UK because she keeps on getting hits. Debbie Gibson at number
nineteen with Out of the Blue. Across there.”
Here’s
an odd episode. It’s very enjoyable to watch and has a strong cast, it’s even
got quite a clever title when you think about it. It is just that the plot doesn’t
really make too much sense. Every television detective will eventually come to
a case in which they become personally involved somehow and `Picture of
Innocence` is Midsomer Murders’ attempt though there are times when you
might think they’re doing a spoof.
Spider- Man – Across the Spider -Verse (film 2023) Five years after the acclaimed Into the Spiderverse, Miles Morales is back for another burst of imaginative storytelling and visual pizzaz. Fictionally a year has passed and Miles has become accustomed to his Spider-Man gig as well as hiding his true identity from his parents. Yet the nature of his transformation seems to have set off a chain of events that will come back to ensnare him in an even more dangerous scenario than last time. And that’s all I can tell you about the plot because to appreciate the movie you need to experience a string of developments as they happen. Just reading about them in a review will spoil it completely.
Reviewed by
Chris Arnsby. Gary
Davies: “'ello! Simes and I would like to welcome you to another excellent
edition of Top of the Pops. In the studio tonight we have Derek B, Aztec
Camera, Billy Brag, and Wet Wet Wet.”
Simon Bates:
“So much more as well. A double A-side at the end of the programme. Plus here
in the Top of the Pops studio. It's Prefab Sprout. The King Of Rock And Roll.”
New Quantel
effect! Just before the line “Up from suede shoes to my baby blues*” there's a
whooshing noise, a bit like a plane taking off, and the picture squeezes itself
into a small box and arcs across the screen. Lovely.
What's the
title of this song? Well if you're Simon Bates it's “The King Of Rock 'N' Roll
From Albuquerque.”
* a line which
I've always heard as “hot frog, my shoes, my baby blues.”
The curious world of live game streaming
Sounds unusual but stick with me, chatters, as I would say if I were a live streamer. We're travelling to worlds occupied by ardent gamers for whom playing is just not enough! Whether it’s FIFA or Hearthstone or Grand Theft Auto or Minecraft or Careless Marjorie there is probably as big an audience watching people play as there are players. I may have made up one of those names! Or I’m just back from the future. There are a whole gaggle of game streamers who actually make a living from people watching them playing popular games. Its one of those jobs that just didn’t exist twenty years ago but how do they make any money and is it entertainment?
