:: Editorial
BT must be thinking that the local network isn't worth the hassle, as over the last couple of years, theiving scrotes have made off with a few mile sof copper wire between the exchange and the village a few times, and last week suddenly saw us all without an internet connection again. This time is wasn't anything to do with scrap metal prices, but something technical at the exchange, but the whole area was full or irate people not being able to use local ATMs, get their lottery, send post, or get online.
For someone who is always online, this it like having an arm cut off (or at least tied behind your back, which can be more irritating as you know it can still work, but for the binding!). I thought I had prepared for the moment by ordering a broadband dongle when my mobile contract came up for renewal a month or so ago, but even the best laid plans can go awry - there was no sim. Of course, I made the mistake of not checking the actual security sealed box inside the delivery package, and the fact that it was all new to me anyway, and no-one had mentioned a separate sim, would have been none the wiser until I needed to use it, which is what happened a few days ago.
Being glorious weather means every man Jack and his dog were off to the local shopping centre, so I passed a mind-numbing hour or so whilst an unusually attentive and knowledgable chap spent ages talking to his customer services, being bumped from one agent to another - see it isn't just the plain pleb customers that have to put up with that, they treat their own staff like it as well - until he was finally told, no sorry you can't do what you thought, and the phone was passed to me so I could give them my details and have something posted out in 3-5 working days - just like it should have been a month or so earlier.
Not to be phased by that, I bought another dongle at half price so that I could use it immediately, and got another thrown in for half again - so I am really covred by belt and braces now. Getting home after that, the internet was back up, so BT had done a weekend of overtime and finally replaced the 5p fuse that had probably blown in the corner of the exchange. Now I get to update the site whilst the sun shines!
The most recent updates have been for Wycliffe and Jack Rosenthal.
:: A Bunch Of Fives
A sort of Grange Hill come Press Gang from the 1970s, my first impressions (I have only watched a couple of episodes so far) are good. Even the set-up episode, which can usually be quite clunky, kept my attention throughout, and I am pacing myself with the remainder of the series so that I can enjoy it to its full.
Typically filled with tips on how to eke out one’s pocket money, reports on the dangers of cigarettes and alcohol, wickedly accurate personality profiles, creative prose, poems and reviews, the school magazine offered a uniquely adolescent perspective on life during the 1970s. This ATV drama series for teenagers follows the progress and pitfalls of a group of fifth-formers at Oxford Lane Comprehensive School who, appalled by the blandness and timidity of their school’s official effort, decide to launch a punchier alternative...
A Bunch of Fives, starring Jamie Foreman and Lesley Manville, was devised by John Sichel with Colin Rogers and mostly written by BAFTA-winning writer Paula Milne. Every bit as hard-hitting and humorous as its BBC contemporary Grange Hill (which debuted inbetween series one and two of A Bunch of Fives) this release comprises both series, originally screened in 1977 and 1978.
Pupil Chris Taylor is accused of something he didn’t do and, in exasperation, writes about the incident for the school magazine. When games master Mr Buck refuses to print the article, Chris and some of the other fifth-formers decide to pool their journalistic talents: putting together their own magazine, ‘A Bunch of Fives’, they begin to seek out more relevant stories from the community in which the children live.
This is exclusive to Network's website.
:: Muck And Brass
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I cocked up last weeks updates and featured Boy Dominic, which is released tomorrow, and forgot Muck and Brass, which was actually released last Monday. Not to worry as it si always better to be later than never with these things! For some reason I was itching to watch this. I hadn't heard anything about it before, but knew from the press release that it was a drama, and one with Mel Smith, Jim Bowen, Lindsay Duncan and even Paul Shane in, and that made me curious and having recently re-watched I Claudius, it was nice to spot a few of the cast from that turn up as well. Centred on age-old themes of power politics and the easily corruptible nature of human beings, Muck and Brass tells the rags to riches story of Tom Craig, a rare, serious role for comedian Mel Smith. From small, humble beginnings, Craig reaches a position of such power that he controls most of the plum sites in the fictional Midlands city of Slatterly. The path to success and supremacy is riddled with corruption, inhumanity, self-serving trickery, cold contempt and calculation. Craig operates from the view point of the fragile and greedy nature of humanity, and that it can be bought and sold - everyone has a price. Such cynicism and ruthlessness results in enemies and some in rather powerful positions: John Roman, head of a rival firm; Maurice Taylor, Tory leader of the council, who is adamant that there should be no bribery and corruption until his control. The hard-edged realism and trenchant humour made this series a huge success with viewers upon its original transmission. From striptease clubs to council chambers, the grittily authentic locations and the surprising casting are both standout elements of this series: comedian Jim Bowen makes his TV drama debut; former British and European Middleweight wrestling champion Johnny Allan plays Craig's industrial rival. Lindsay Duncan's appearance in this superb series also foreshadows her later role in the similarly hard-hitting GBH (which is next on my to-watch list as it is currently being broadcast on Yesterday). This is a superb series that is well worth grabbing a copy of. |
:: The Boy Dominic
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Damn these Sunday tea-time serials. When I was a kid these usually meant I was at my grandparents house, which always seemed dark and uninviting at the time, with little to do apart from be on my best behaviour and not speak unless I was spoken to. The only diversion was the TV and it was either a serial that always seemed to be a bit boring, or a religious show. Saturdays, by comparison, were spent at my other grandparents, where everything was bright and cheerful, and consisted of lots of sweets and cakes, Battlestar Gallactica or The A Team, and staying up late. So you can see that Sunday tea-time serials are not usually on my must watch list and my heart sinks whenever I get one to review. |
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That said, I usually find that halfway through the first episode I know I am goign to see it through to the end, and this had the added value of Brian Blessed. In 1820, Captain Charles Bulman commands a merchant ship The Bright Star, when it shipwrecked off the North African coast. In the aftermath, Bulman is presumed dead, leaving his beautiful young wife Emma and young son Dominic destitute in London. They lose their Greenwich home and end up in Yorkshire. Things begin to look more settled when they open a guesthouse to make ends meet. They also fall into the care of the kindly - if frequently inebriated - William Woodcock, who served under Captain Bulman previously. Yet against all odds and unbeknownst to his loved ones, Captain Bulman survives the disaster. While his family is working hard in their attempt to settle down into an impoverished life without him, he uses all his might and determination to fight his way back to them, enduring a plethora of physical and mental hardship, danger and obstacles along the way. Though billed as a children's adventure series, The Boy Dominic appeals to viewers of all ages and features a great cast: Richard Todd (The Dam Buster) as the ill-fated Captain Charles Bulman; the incomparable Brian Blessed as William Woodcock; the beautiful and strong Emma is portrayed by Hildegarde Neil (Blessed's wife) and Dominic himself is played by Murray Dale - the son of Carry On star Jim Dale. Originally the series was broadcast on ITV between the 24th March and 16th June 1974 (London region) with a repeat a year later. After a recent discussion on the Mausoluem Club Forum it is worth mentioning that a few of the episodes don't have the adcaps (the frames before and after the advert break, although the rest do - to some people it seems this means more than the show itself. For those who want useless trivia, the title lettering is in the same font as the Radio Times masthead of the time: Caslon Swash Capitals. |
:: The Travelling Man
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As I watch more and more older TV series I find myself gravitating towards those with a strong writer and a quirk to their set-up. The Travelling Man fits this nicely being created and scripted by Roger Marshall - renowned for his contributions to The Avengers, Public Eye and The Sweeney, to name but a few, and being set around travel on a narrow boat. I can do without the pan-pipe theme tune though! Ex-detective inspector Alan Lomax has just completed a two-year prison sentence following his wrongful conviction for theft. His wife has left him, and his son, Steve, is missing. Now that he has returned to his beloved narrowboat, "Harmony", Lomax embarks on a long search for his son. He is also determined to search for clues in order to prove his innocence by finding the man who sets out to frame him for the crime. But Lomax is fully aware that his new life will be anything but easy. He is still regarded with suspicion by the police, who have placed him under surveillance; he is pursued not only by members of the criminal underworld but also by a doggedly persistent journalist named Robinson… I'll admit that I am only a few episodes in so far, but it certainly starts well, and it just beginning to go into the story behind his conviction. Originally broadcast in 1984/5 it can be fun watching out for familiar faces that went on to bigger things in soaps such as Corrie or serials like The Bill. |
:: Marple - Series 4
It is a curious thing, it doesn't matter how good, or bad, a particular rendition of a character is, it is usually the first that is seen or heard that sticks in the mind as being the definitive version. Doctor Who is the obvious example where everyone has their favourite Doctor and it is usually a good indication of their age, but crime detection is the same.
I consider myself to be very lucky as I grew up with excellent examples of pretty much all of the classic detectives - Jeremey Brett as Holmes on the TV, and the more accurate adaptations on radio with Clive Merrison, David Suchet as Poirot, and Joan Hickson as Miss Jane Marple. Even the excellent radio adaptations of Poirot and Miss Marple on radio haven't quite hit the mark with me, and I have to say that whenever I hear the name of Miss Marple I can only imagine Joan Hickson in the role.
When ITV brought out the new series with Geraldine McEwan in the title role, I must say I was completely underwhelmed. I gave it my best shot, but there were too many things that were not 'right' that I simply couldn't enjoy the series. I had the same thoughts when it was annoucned that Julia McKenzie was taking over the role last year, but she looked closer to the part, so I sat down and gave it a go.
Whilst not exactly blown away, I wasn't disappointed and McKenzie plays a very likeable and believeable Jane Marple. The adaptations are a little less to my liking, and I tend to get a little uncomfortable when I see 'based on the novel by...' in opening titles. Two of the novels in this series were not even written by Christie as Miss Marple stories, and one in particular, Why Didn't They Ask Evans?, seems to have Jane Marple shoe-horned into it simply to give the series another instalment, and other minor unnecessary changes just for the hell of it.
Released tomorrow (4th Jan), this isn't, for me, the post-Christmas treat it is billed as, but you could do a lot worse as far as the character goes (just try the Margaret Rutherford films - I think they use the 'inspired by the novels...' tag!). Of course, you can do better as well, and I will be sticking to my more purist views and the DVDs of the BBC adaptations with Joan Hickson.
:: London's Burning
The firefighters of Blackwall Station’s Blue Watch are back on duty in the ever-popular, award-winning drama from LWT. The dramatic and sometimes tragic situations encountered by the team are counterpointed by the more personal stories of the firefighters, and it is this combination of famously realistic action scenes and personal issues that made London’s Burning a huge ratings success for ITV, its quirky and very human characters finding great affection among viewers. This release features all 16 episodes of Series Twelve, originally screened in 2000.
that I am slowly working my way through, and is one of those titles that you can dip in and out of when you have a bit of time to spare.
