TV Review: The Rings of Power Season 2 Eps 7 & 8

 

Episode 7 Doomed to Die

 “True creation requires sacrifice” one of the characters in this episode says and this is something those extremely critical Tolkien lore fanatics might consider. An adaptation of a novel is always going to be a step away from the source being a different medium. What works on the page may not always translate literally on screen. In this case a dramatization of appendices surely needs additional material to turn notes into a story. Fans of anything are over possessive of course but reading some reviews of this show I feel as if I’ve been watching something different. At least viewers seem mostly aligned with this episode which even the haters have dubbed the best of the season. I’d say it’s the best episode of any tv show I’ve seen in some time.

 

Top of the Pops 5 October 1989

 

Words: Chris Arnsby

Steve Wright: “Hi!! Hello and good evening and welcome to another Top of the Pops!! This is Jakki Brambles!! I'm Steve Wright!!”

Jakki Brambles: “Okay we've got a brilliant show coming up for you. This is the second hit for Double Trouble and the Rebel MC. We are talking a wicked tune. A winning collaboration. This is Street Tuff.”

[12] REBEL MC DOUBLE TROUBLE: street tuff. The song which inspired one of the few bits of the Steve Wright in the Afternoon show that stick in my memory. “Is he a Yankee. No he's a pratt.” That was part of the jingle for Steve Wright's character Mr. Spoons. I have no idea what Mr. Spoons did but I'm sure he was wicked zany to the max.

TV Review- The Rings of Power Season 2 Eps 4 - 6

 

Episode Four - Eldest

This starts off on a whimsical note as the wandering Stranger comes across the legendary (to Tolkien readers at least) Tom Bombadil portrayed with a delightful lightness by Rory Kinnear. The actor is playing against type to some extent though there is some hint of  something steelier under the surface and in a lengthy sequence seems to reveal he is somewhat eternal. I don’t know much about his character except that Tolkien fans like him but that he’s been left out of any and all adaptations to date. He talks in a vague manner but seems to have great powers and by the end the Stranger is asking for help mastering his own gifts. If you’re wondering about the episode title it is something that Bombadil says when quizzed about his background. His reply is that he is literally the `eldest` and remembers a time even before there were stars. While its easy to see why his character was awkward to slot into previous versions there seems to be a place for him here, as a mentor to the stranger?

TV Review- Sweetpea

 

Billed as a dark comedy drama, Sweetpea certainly delivers on the former though not so much the latter. It is essentially about three women who for different reasons are frustrated at not being seen for who they are. Rhiannon is a quiet character who is ignored, taken for granted and generally not given her due. Julia is a successful estate agent hiding her abusive relationship under a glamorous confidence. Marina is a junior police officer who works hard but whose conclusions are routinely ignored by her boss. All three come into each other’s orbit when the local community is shocked by two savage murders. Only we, the viewers, know that Rhiannon is the killer – the tension of the series is whether or how this is discovered.

TV Review - Agatha All Along Eps 4- 6

 

The witchy spin off of a spin off continues to surprise...

Reviews contain spoilers 

Top of the Pops 28 September 1989

 

Words: Chris Arnsby

Sybil Ruscoe: “Good evening and welcome to Britain's best pop music show, in brilliant stereo on lead-free Radio 1. Tonight we're making history.”

Jenny Powell: “Yeah Sybil. We must be the only two girls to present Top of the Pops, mustn't we? Well to start the show we've got Sydney Youngblood he's number four with If Only I Could.”

[4] SYDNEY YOUNGBLOOD: if only i could. Lead-free? Sybil's topical reference refers to EU legislation which required unleaded petrol to be widely available from October 1989. And the week of 25 September to 1 October was named as National Lead-Free Petrol Week by CLEAR (the Campaign for LEad free AiR -who designed that acronym?). There was a lot of excitement and confusion about what this would mean for the man on the Clapham omnibus, besides lower levels of lead in his blood. The result was reports like this from Top Gear “on the mysteries of going green.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bngMZhYgYg.

TV Review- The Rings of Power Season 2 Eps 1 -3

 

Spoilers are everywhere these days. In the past I have been spoilered just overhearing a conversation on a bus. They are online, especially in the first few hours after something drops. And I’ve now discovered they are on Wikipedia too whose character breakdowns for this series do not always stop at what has already been shown but go on to explain the ultimate fictional destination of many of the characters. To those who have read the novels- and by the looks of it the appendices- this will be no issue but if you’re chronicling an ongoing television series the most lore you should include is what has already been released. I only looked up to find out some actor’s names!

 

He knows that there are spoilers past here...

Film Review - Joker: Folie a Deux

 

The title translates as “madness for two” and appropriately most reviews I’ve seen fall on one of two sides- this is either `utter rubbish` or its a work of `genius`. As ever the truth sits somewhere else though its fair to say this is not the film you might be expecting if you saw the first one.  

 

Spoilers beyond this point

 

TV Review- Heartstopper Season 3

 

If the phrase “why are we like this?” became the mantra for season one you may well ask of season three- why are they still like this? Let’s face it, Heartstopper is never going to develop into a series anything other than the life affirming, positive drama that it is. While this third season nudges the characters a little further into self doubt and strife measured against other shows it is still featherlight and that’s fine. Enough series play the trauma or dystopia cards so surely something different is a good thing? I do feel though that with these plots the show might benefit from the approach of centring each episode around a particular character. Here the production crams everyone’s plots into most of the episodes which means some are underserved. However when they alter the format it produces the best episode of the season.  

 

Top of the Pops 21 September 1989

 

Nicky Campbell: “Woah. Welcome to indisputably the nation's top pop show. What an opener we've got for you tonight. They're frenetic, flamboyant, fun loving, the lot. You can tell from their name that they come from Germany. They're here tonight with Harlem Desire. The one and only, the two and only, London Boys.”

[21] LONDON BOYS: harlem desire. Stanley Appel doesn't like starting Top of the Pops with the host in the crow's nest. What's that all about? My best guess, he doesn't want to deal with the slight additional crowd wrangling involved in starting the show on the audience, panning the crane up to the hosts (while the Floor Manager shuffles the audience off the stage as quickly and quietly as possible), and then back down to the main stage.

TV Review- The Rings of Power Season 1

 

Prequels can be awkward things; on the one hand we all have this fascination with delving deeper into people and places we’ve seen yet this can also offer fewer surprises and far less jeopardy. After all we already know how matters turn out, a lot of things are set in stone before we start watching.  Back in 2022 when this was first released I never got round to seeing it so now that the second season is out, I thought I should catch up and I’m glad I did. Being set so long before the familiar events of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films allows The Rings of Power some breathing space. Based largely on appendices from the original books as well I would think that only the most churlish Ringer would chafe at what is presented here. It is one of the best prequels I’ve seen but more than that it is also its own animal.

Film Review - Megalopolis

 

The reviews have been savage. “the worst film ever made”, “The worst film I’ve ever seen”, “I beg you not to see this movie” are just some of the reactions to Francis Ford Coppola’s first film in twelve years. Can it really be that bad? Only one way to find out. Well, it is not the worst film I’ve ever seen – believe me I’ve seen far worse- rather it’s an ambitious if flawed work that feels like it is still in progress despite the time spent on it. Maybe that’s the issue; perhaps too much time was spent on it? If we see it as a movie that attempts to comment on the US and more widely the use and abuse of power then it works to some extent. It is more in the delivery of that message that it becomes an uneven watch.

TV Review - Agatha All Along Eps 1-3

 

Agatha Harkness in her various guises was the breakout star of WandaVision three years ago and is now back with her own spin off. It’s a fun show that revels in its witchiness so expect high camp, scary moments, and lots of knowing references. Anchored by Kathryn Hahn’s delightfully broad range of gestures and expressions and a script that leans into spooky lore the first three episodes are top class. You don’t necessarily need to have seen anything else, even WandaVision, though I suspect that it is fans of that show who will be most attracted and I don’t think they will be disappointed.

Spoilers beyond this point

Top of the Pops 14 Sept 1989

 

Words: Chris Arnsby

Simon Mayo: “Hello. Good evening. Welcome. It's another one of those BBC1 and Radio 1 simulcast things.”
Andy Crane: “And on the show tonight we've got Madonna. We've got Tina Turner. And we've got Simon Mayo.”
Simon Mayo: “First of all. It's a jump to the left [Andy Crane, Simon Mayo, and everyone else jumps]. It's a step to the right [Simon Mayo steps, everyone else jumps -including Andy Crane, the clot]. It's got to be Damian.”
Andy Crane: “And the Time Warp. Over there.”
Simon Mayo: “Number seven.”

[7] DAMIAN: the time warp. Good news everyone. Top of the Pops has finally remembered how to do the new look captions they introduced on 24/08/1989. Right style, right graphics. Right colours. Excellent. Now do it again, next week. Damian is back rocking the same Joker look but a different wardrobe.

Noah's Castle

Looking back at this dark kids tv drama first shown in 1980

In the late  Seventies Britain was in a sorry state. There was high unemployment, industrial unrest leading to shortages, high prices (even if inflation was “down” to 8%) and a continued feeling that something needed to be done. It was this backdrop that allowed Margaret Thatcher to win the general election the following year. Kids were not wholly protected from this strife either. Each day the teatime programme John Craven’s Newsround would offer a child friendly version of the news but one that did not shirk from telling the more serious stories. A more sombre portrait of how things might end up was also offered to kids in the tv drama Noah’s Castle. Adapted from the book by John Rowe Townsend it portrays a UK where hyperinflation is eating away at food supplies and jobs. Former military man Norman Mortimer believes he can see where this is headed so he buys an isolated house on the edge of town to move his family, filling the large basement with supplies despite hoarding being illegal.

 

Top of the Pops 31 August & 7 September 1989

 

Words: Chris Arnsby

31/08/1989
“Stand by luvvies. Have a good show.” With that and a short snippet of music that I, and Shazam, cannot identify we're off into the titles for a live edition.

 Gary Davies: “Hello. A very good evening to you. Welcome to a special Top of the Pops. Special because we are live from Television Centre. Special because it's a year ago tonight that we first started to broadcast Top of the Pops in stereo on Radio 1FM. It's special because we've got Jason, Mark, and Phil to open us up. Here's Big Fun.”

 [6] BIG FUN; blame it on the boogie. Gary Davies' caption is in the wrong style. Someone has selected the old look with an asterisk at both ends rather than the new one which debuted last week. Let's blame it on the pressure of a live show and move on.

I don't have anything new to add about Big Fun, after their first appearance on 10/08/1989. That's okay because apparently no one else is bringing anything new to the programme either. The dance routine is identical and, because I'm a glutton for punishment, I synchronised both performances and found Paul Ciani seems to be using the same camera script as well.

Zardoz

 

If you Google Zardoz, the first question that comes up is `What was the point of Zardoz?` This may well be the question many involved in the production asked themselves when the results were released. Zardoz is the work of John Boorman, a distinctive filmmaker whose catalogue includes the vivid likes of Hope and Glory, Excalibur and ,Deliverance,. The film turns fifty this year and BBC’s Front Row next week will feature the director talking about the movie while the novelisation is also being republished. So, what better time than to watch it.

 

Top of the Pops 17th and 24th August 1989

 

Words: Chris Arnsby

17/08/1989

Nicky Campbell: “Hello, welcome to another unashamedly brilliant and superlative Top of the Pops. We've got Neneh Cherry, Alice Cooper, Jody Watley, everything and the girl. Anthea Turner.” 
Anthea Turner: “Thank you very much Nicky! Hey! Have I got an honest face?!
Nicky Campbell: “Scrupulously.”
Anthea Turner: “Believe me! Italian dance music's going to be the biggest thing to hit this country! And Black Box are here!”

 [11] BLACK BOX: ride on time. Call me Mr Cynical but I'm not sure I fully buy Anthea Turner's expert knowledge of Italian dance music and it's forthcoming impact on this country. Nicky Campbell has an odd look on his face, like he's primed Anthea Turner with this insight and is now trying to suppress a smirk. [Obligatory comment about Nicky Campbell always looking like that, goes here].

The opening to the show is a single camera shot, although it doesn't stand out because of the range of motion the camera goes through. From the opening pan up to the hosts, back down to the main stage, and then the pull back across the studio while the introduction to Ride on Time plays. Then there's some light editing trickery. After the transition, the hand held camera shot looking out into the studio comes from a different take because otherwise there's no time for the camera operator to get into position. It's unusual for Top of the Pops to cheat footage like this but it must have been irresistible because it perfectly captures the change in energy between the introduction and the song.

Film Review- Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice

 

Serendipitous circumstance makes this belated sequel to the Eighties cult film bang on trend what with Wynona Ryder being a part of Stranger Things, Jenna Ortega starring in Wednesday and the fact that ghosts and ghouls are arguably more popular than ever. So, it doesn’t really matter whether you’ve seen or recall the minutiae of the original Beetlejuice as there is if anything too much exposition to get us where we are, simply sit back and enjoy the mayhem. If you’re wondering about spelling the main character’s name is spelt as Betelgeuse (same as the red star) but pronounced Beetlejuice yet that’s also the title of the film. Believe me it’s far from being the oddest thing about it!

Top of the Pops 10 August 1989

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Bruno Brookes: “Good evening. It's Thursday night. Top of the Pops night of course. Europe's number one TV pop show. Five live acts on the show this evening.”
Sybil Ruscoe: “Now the Jackson's did it in the seventies. In the eighties it's Big Fun. In at twenty five with Blame It On The Boogie. Down there.”

[25] BIG FUN: blame it on the boogie. Derek Slee is having fun with the Lighting. He's conspired with the visual effects assistant to work out a little routine for the chorus. “Don't blame it on the sunshine” studio lights darken, a thunderflash is set off. “Don't blame it on the moonlight,” studio lights colour the stage midnight blue, another thunderflash. “Don't blame it on the good times,” bring the studio lights back up, tinted red. “Blame it on the boogie,” flash the lights a bit.

It doesn't work every time. I guess the studio lights can't cope with too much turning on and off. And the VFX Department isn't made of thunderflashes.

Roll With It

 Bands always reunite!

This week’s announcement that Oasis are reforming for concerts next year came as a surprise to hardly anyone, not just because it’s been rumoured for months but because bands always reform in the end. As long as the members (or most of them) are still with us and  playing or performing they cannot resist.  There can be different reasons but there must come a point when they tire of the procrastination and think “Yeah, lets get ourselves to the O2 Arena asap”. Even bands who unequivocally rule it out end up coming around. At least Eagles – who had once stated they would reform “when hell freezes over”- had the wit to dub their comeback tour `Hell Freezes Over”!

 

Oasis looking delighted to be back together

Advert of the Year!

 

KFC have often come up with well composed adverts that don’t follow a formula but are always interesting. It was not too long ago that they presented Colonel Sanders looking like some kind of Mafia boss riding around in a large shiny car, face hidden from view, KFC branches reflected in the vehicles’ exterior. This year though they have excelled themselves with `Believe in Chicken`, an advert that has made people laugh out loud, always an achievement. Like the best ads it is simple, effective and memorable. I know it’s only August but this could be the advert of the year!

 

Top of the Pops 3 August 1989

 

Words: Chris Arnsby
Steve Wright: “Hope you're having a good summer!! Good evening welcome to Top of the Pops!! I'm Steve Wright!! Here's Jenny Powell!!”
Jenny Powell: “Yeah. It's very nice to be working with you Steve.”
Steve Wright: “Thank you!!”
Jenny Powell: “Well the first band tonight come from Glasgow. They're three teenagers in the band, err, they're called Gun, I think...”
Steve Wright: “They are!!”
Jenny Powell: “...I think they're going to be a big hit. Here's Better Days.”

[33] GUN: better days. The guitarist at stage right has dirty great holes in his trouser legs. Is this a first sighting of pre-distressed jeans, that nineties fashion essential.

Sorry Gun. That's all I've got. Well done for not jumping when the thunderflashes go off. (John- I've got a fact for you, the drummer on this is called Scott Shields and he went on to compose music scores for films such as Black Hawk Down, Stardust, Bend It Like Beckham, Kick Ass and many more.)

Film Review- Alien: Romulus

 

In some ways a review of an Alien film is superfluous. You wouldn’t write a thousand words about a ride on a Big Dipper for instance; the only way you know what its like is to experience it. This seventh entry in the long running saga is everything you'd expect from an Alien movie yet this is a good thing. Despite the familiarity it still generates so many thrills that you will be exhausted by the end. It’s a very loud film punctuated by metal clangs, steam, smoke, acid and a lot of running. Combining the close quarters jeopardy of Alien with some of the wider scope of Aliens it may not always be that original but it works exceedingly well.

 Warning- deadly spoilers beyond this point!

 

Top of the Pops 20 & 27 July 1989

 

20/07/1989

Gary Davies: “Hello, good evening, hope you're well. Welcome to Top of the Pops on BBC1 and also in stereo on Radio 1FM. If you want to see ten chart topping acts in thirty minutes, you're in the right place. In the studio tonight we've got...”
Girl to the left of Gary Davies: “Monie Love.”
Girl to the right of Gary Davies: “Blow Monkeys”.
Girl to the right of the girl to the right of Gary Davies: “Sonia.”
Gary Davies: “We start off with the London Boys.”

[2] LONDON BOYS: london nights. Paul Ciani is away, so Stanley Appel takes over the Producing and Directing duties. Stanley has not done this for a while. His last credit was (I think, take this with a pinch of salt because it's from IMDB) 08/09/1988.

Stanley is not here to make waves. There's no really big differences between this and a Paul Ciani show. There is however one small difference. Gary Davies introduces the first act from one of the studio bridges rather than the Crow's Nest. Ring those changes, Stanley!

The London Boys have a well practiced routine. Check out the smooth way Edem Ephraim hands his microphone to Dennis Fuller before doing a backflip. The passing of the microphone is done during a move where both London Boys splay their arms, it's so smooth it's essentially unnoticeable. More obvious is when Dennis has to chuck it back to Edem, while the crowd whoop at the backflip.

Top of the Pops: 6th & 13th July 1989

 

Words: Chris Arnsby
06/07/1989

Nicky Campbell: “Hello and welcome to another sizzling edition of Top of the Pops on BBC1 and Radio 1FM. Starting tonight with an absolute fairytale. A dream come true. She's eighteen. She's from Liverpool. She was discovered by Stock, Aitken, and Waterman. Her first record is the highest climber in the chart. Here she is. Sonia.”

[12] SONIA: you'll never stop me from loving you. I have nothing constructive to say about Sonia. I didn't like her in 1989 and I haven't warmed to her since although I'm sure she's a lovely person in real life who stops to stroke cats on the street, etc.

Time and changing social mores have not been kind to this hymn to stalking which sets out its stall with the opening lines: “Even when you're home/You won't pick up your phone/And take my call.” It doesn't get any better from there.

Slow West

 

When you think how many films are made each year, we only ever get to see a tiny proportion of them so its great to uncover a gem that seems like something brand new. A Western filmed with a European eye, Slow West was released in 2015 but seems to have passed a lot of people by, including myself.  Set in Colorado, though filmed in New Zealand, it concerns a Scottish boy called Jay who has ventured to the Wild West to find the girl he loves, Rose. The film is unclear how he’s managed this ambitious journey (or indeed how he knows where he needs to go) however from what he is carrying and his manner he appears to have plenty of money. Knowing vaguely where Rose is supposed to be but not where it is, Jay’s quest is helped by the arrival of a stranger called Silas who offers to take him to his destination for a fee. 

Film Reviews- Deadpool & Wolverine, Twisters

 

Deadpool & Wolverine  is a brutal buddy movie. It takes that age old story of two people who would never work together forced to do so for the greater good. Its just that it takes a lot of fighting- and I mean a lot- before they do! The opening sequence sets out the stall with no holds barred  - physically or narratively- hard edged yet containing some nuggets that make this more than just one massive series of punch ups. Deadpool was always the outlier of the superhero stable who was able to go to more extremes than other genre movies and I was wondering whether this would change now he’s been fully admitted to Marvel’s mainstream. The answer is hardly at all.

 

Batman Unmasked!

 In a large warehouse near Manchester Piccadilly station the Batman Unmasked exhibition has swung in and will be there till the end of August. Its celebrating 85 years of the iconic character and his enemies across all media. Original props, costumes, artwork and interactive areas combine to create an impressive display well worth visiting if you're a Batfan.  The event is due to move to London afterwards.  Here's some pictures I took there yesterday but there's lots more to experience for yourself...

Top of the Pops 29 June 1989

 Words: Chris Arnsby

Bonus master tape bit: Images from a rewinding VT. A wide shot of the studio with the Rebel MC gazing out at an indifferent crowd. A countdown clock. The Top of the Pops logo.

The picture stabilises on the title sequence countdown clock (backed by Bananarama singing Cruel Summer '89). Burned in text at the top of the screen reveals the title sequence is by The Moving Picture Company and at the bottom there's a telephone number; 01-434-3100 and another number 01 437-3885, which is identified as CAR. A carphone? How very eighties.

The countdown clock is held on screen at 10. Crowd noise begins to bleed through the Bananarama track.

Iain McLean: “Ugh. Looks like we're gonna start in a moment. Got themselves ready. All the technical hitches are out of the way. We can start our show. Sorry about that but bear with us like you have done throughout the rest of the show just get s... ooh.. ooh. It's all sticky. Ooh. What is that? Why is that? Cause there's stuff on it. [New 30 second clock appears on screen and starts counting going down] Alright. We're back again. You're lucky. You're gonna see it twice. People at home can only see it ONCE! YEAH! C'mon let's here you ch [audio cuts out]”.

 Titles.

 

Stuff: General Election, Coldplay @ Glastonbury and more

I suppose I should mention the UK General Election which reaches its conclusion on Thursday. From its soggy birth through wet campaigns its not been the most riveting event even if Ed Davey ends up flying to the Moon.  It feels as if none of the parties have an agenda to inspire which may be a sign of the times. Bold political thinking is long gone which means that manifestoes tend to seem similar overall and you sort of know that whichever side wins the same people will benefit and most won’t .

 

Top of the Pops 22 June 1989

 

Words: Chris Arnsby

Simon Mayo: “Hi. Good evening. Welcome to Top of the Pops, on BBC1.”
Gary Davies: “And also on Radio 1FM in stereo. An action-packed programme tonight. In the studio we have the Bangles.”
Simon Mayo: “And Clannad.”
Gary Davies: “And D Mob.”
Simon Mayo: “And Beautiful South.”
Gary Davies: “But first to get us underway. Here's Living In A Box.”
Simon Mayo: “Number thirty seven. This is Gatecrashing.”
Gary Davies: “Woo!”

 

Top of the Pops 15 June 1989

 

Words: Chris Arnsby
Mark Goodier: “Hello. Welcome to Europe's top TV and radio pop show. With stereo sound on Radio 1FM. And making his debut on the Pops, Simon Parkin.”
Simon Parkin: “Thank you, Mark. What a programme we've got for you tonight. REM, Jason Donovan... in the studio, as are Fuzzbox at seventeen with Pink Sunshine."

[17] FUZZBOX: pink sunshine. Lead singer Vix is still waving her giant pin around. It looks lethal and could have someone's eye out.
“The gossip is there's going to be a cartoon series based on Fuzzbox.” Oh, really Mark? I must have missed it.

 

 

Doctor Who- Empire of Death review

These reviews have been very much instant mostly positive reactions to each episode but now we’ve reached the finale after what seems like a short run its time to reflect not just on the thrills of this particular episode but on the overall impact of the season. I do feel that when these eight episodes come to be rewatched without the twists and surprises they will seem less involving. I say this because the best bits for me have been those twists and surprises. Yet now I know them what is left? Unlike some of those knotty Steven Moffat episodes which actually need to be watched more than once, 2024 Doctor Who is more about instant reactions; the gasps and the LOLs. Like a lot of material that now streams into our homes it is not necessarily robust enough to hold up under closer scrutiny. I suppose that is appropriate for a culture increasingly obsessed with what is coming rather than what might already be here

 

Spoilers after the break

 

The Golden decade of the England football song

 

In the Nineties music and football reached a moment of harmony. New Order’s 1990 song `World in Motion` managed to both encapsulate sport and music without being embarrassing to either. It set the standard met by two other similarly inclusive songs ; 1996’s `Three Lions` and 1998’s `Vindaloo`. This trio rescued football songs from the mire in which they had hitherto lurked simply because these are great songs anyway even if you ignore the sport. Back in the Seventies and Eighties football songs largely consisted of a lyric about how the team was going to win the Cup, ironic really that few teams who released such songs managed to achieve that goal. 

 

 

Top of the Pops 8 June 1989

 

Words: Chris Arnsby
Bonus master tape bit: “This is not the start of the prog... another clock after the warm-up” That's the mysterious message on the VT clock at the start of tonight's edition. And there's a code as well EX T042097 / H50804. What can it mean? I wonder why the editor wanted to keep the studio footage of the warm up (sorry, warm-up) and produced a non-standard tape that had to have a message at the start to stop the wrong bit of the tape being broadcast to the nation?

Anyway, the fake clock reaches zero and we're into a wide shot of the studio. Nicky Campbell can be seen up the Crow's Nest, Nothin' That Compares 2U by the Jacksons is playing over the studio PA, and there are two people on stage. “Alright,” says the bloke holding a microphone who I'm going to guess is Floor Manager Iain McLean, “would Nicola Brand make herself known to me please.” It could be Brand or Brinde or Brine. Surely it's not Nicola Bryant, still loose in the Top of the Pops studio after sneaking in during a Doctor Who recording break on the 02/08/1984 show.

Iain McLean continues: “Nicola Brinde. She has three people, where is she? Nicola?” Did Iain ever find her? There's no way to know because the picture cuts to a 10 second countdown clock for the opening titles and the studio sound is blanked by an electronic tone. This disappointing state of affairs runs for around 40 seconds. And then the picture bursts back into life.

Doctor Who- The Legend of Ruby Sunday review

 

Let’s Twist again lol. The presence of Susan Twist in roles of varying sizes in every episode this season and even back into the specials has been one of the more fascinating things about the latest run. I laughed at RTD’s comment when asked about this that there was a shortage of actors even though I sort of wanted it never explained and she would just be in every episode and that was all. Inevitably the time has come for explanations though and for Susie T to step up and play a larger role in this first half of the season finale. Yet she is just part of an episode that has a lot of chatter and exposition in its first half before exploding into one of those archetypal RTD finale scenarios he specialised in during his first tenure which people either like or don’t like. Personally, I really like them as they tend to dispense with caution and have a momentum that carries all forward even if admittedly this is sometimes at the expense of logic.

 Big spoilers after the break. She's seen them. She's spooked.

TV Review- Lost Boys and Fairies

 

Adoption is a wonderful thing yet could also be an awkward topic to get right in a drama, even more so to make it interesting enough for a viewer. Lost Boys and Fairies reaches to fresh territory being a series about a gay couple who decide to adopt. Before watching I wasn’t sure how this would fit together but it turns out to be extraordinarily well. Written from experience by Daf James the three-part series, now on iPlayer, skilfully mixes a story about growing up (and not just the kids), exclusion and a sense of place into a trio of engaging episodes. It delights, intrigues and sometimes shocks and I’m not just talking about the language. While it sometimes does play into the trope of LGBTQIA drama tending to be about tragedy it weaves so much more into its message and is presented with such care and in such a vivid manner (musical numbers as well, of course) that it is irresistible. Its been called a coming of middle age story and I’ll go with that.

 

Top of the Pops 1 June 1989

 

Words: Chris Arnsby
Anthea Turner: “ Hi there! And we are well and truly live on tonight's Top of the Pops! On BBC1! And also Radio 1! But you can hear us on FM Stereo!”
Gary Davies: “We have an action-packed programme. Double Trouble and the Rebel MC, Neneh Cherry, Fuzzbox, but to start us off, here is Sinitta.”

 No caption. That's odd. Pressures of a live show, presumably. Well, this is Sinitta and she's at [19] with Right Back Where We Started From. Tut, fancy ending a sentence with a preposition like that. Sinitta is attended to by four cowboys. I don't know why. Then, midway through the song, the stage is invaded by a saxophonist who is just in time for the saxophone break, which is lucky.

Doctor Who- Rogue review

 

You can’t enjoy every episode though there is always someone wiling to stand up and say it’s the best. So `Rogue` isn’t one of my favourites this year but not for the reasons you may think. I just found it rather lacking in anything special despite one already much discussed scene. Admittedly the bar for the show over the years is set high but not every episode can be a classic and this one left me unmoved.

 

TV Review- Dead Boy Detectives

 

Introduced in April, Dead Boy Detectives is an offshoot of what we should probably called The Sandman universe (The Sandverse?). having been an offshoot comic. Like its Neil Gaiman penned parent, this series can be erratic, perhaps deliberately, so that the narrative swings from comedic to horrific. This is exemplified by the opening credits which don’t really capture what the show is like at all even though they are fun depictions of skeletons up to all sorts of japes. Rather than open with an origin story the dead boys are already in business in London in the first episode though by part two end up in the US, an odd relocation to spring so soon. The main cast are excellent, the dynamic between them being the best thing about the series while the strongest episodes are inventive and sometimes disturbing while keeping exposition to a minimum.

 

Top of the Pops 25 May 1989

 

Words: Chris Arnsby
Simon Mayo: “Hi, welcome to Top of the Pops. A special lingua franca edition of the programme today. We have Australians, we have Austrians, we have Americans, the odd British person here and there as well. We're also going to be teaching you how to yodel. If you've never yodelled before, here comes your first lesson. It's Edelweiss at number five on Top of the Pops. Down here.”

 

Doctor Who- Dot and Bubble review

 

`Dot and Bubble` opens with bold ideas, then labours the point till it breaks out and becomes something more interesting. Its set in what must be the distant future yet uses mostly contemporary references and behaviour albeit slightly exaggerated. Billed as a commentary on modern online culture it also touches on the vanity of super rich youth. It is enlivened by peppy performances, a surprising turn near the end and a wonderful nomenclature. However what it really needs more than anything is the full presence of the Doctor  again used sparingly for the second episode running.  This means Ncuti Gatwa is not making as much of an impression as he should in his first season especially when its only eight episodes long.

 

Top of the Pops 18 May 1989

 

Words: Chris Arnsby.
Anthea Turner: “Hell-o! Come up and join us! Welcome! To tonight's Top of the Pops! Now Mark and I have studied the form and we have got hot show for you tonight!”
Mark Goodier: “Yeah. Indeed. We have stereo hits from Paul McCartney and Stefan Dennis and Bobby Brown. And we start with a guy who has had thirty one hits. Shakin' Stevens.”

[28] SHAKIN' STEVENS: love attack. I'm not following Anthea Turner's “studied the form” comment. It sounds like it should be a lame horse racing pun but the Grand National was on the 8 April 1989 and the Derby doesn't take place until 7 June. BBC Genome offers no clues. The only sporting event I can find is International Pro-Celebrity Golf, at 11pm Thursday, Terry Wogan and Rodger Davis v Russ Abbot and Ian Woosnam. Terry Wogan and Rodger Davis won by three pins and a submission.

Shakey's career has been remarkable but we are now in the twilight days. This is as good as it's going to get for Love Attack. His next single will get up to [18] but after that his songs will mainly stall in the lower reaches of the Top 40 (if they are lucky). The one exception, a Christmas miracle when The Best Christmas Of All gets to [19] but we'll save that for next year.

 Trigger warning -References to the Hillsborough disaster are included in this post.

 

Doctor Who- 73 Yards review

 

People often talk of the flexibility of Doctor Who and while its true to say that the series has always encompassed a variety of storytelling types its much rarer to see it taking an abstract route. Steven Moffat is usually most associated with non-linear temporal storytelling but with `73 Yards`, Russell T Davies shows he can do it just as well.

 

Stuff: Soggy Sunak, Liverpool (Taylor's Version)

 

Why are political correspondents so often quirky? Is it because they have to listen to nonsense day in day out? I ask after watching both Chris Mason and Robert Peston’s attendance at Wednesday’s General Election announcement. They both, in their own way, tried to cover all possible ground eking out the time as the 5pm scheduled speech slipped by almost twenty minutes and I thought how unusual both of them were. What they do convey though is the excitement that ebbs around political circles at this kind of event. It has been a while. We’ve had leadership changes but the last actual General Election was four and a half years ago and current PM Rishi Sunak has decided now is a good time to go to the country. For Messrs Peston and Mason plus the cohorts of other correspondents and presenters this is, as one of them said, their `Cup Final`. As such it is treated with similar predictions as to what the speech might say. The difference from football is that the commentators do seem to know in advance what it will say and in some ways are part of the choreography of the whole thing.

 

Wet, Wet, Wet: Rishi wishing he was lucky