Who Will be the Next Doctor?
Idle speculation is a national pastime in the UK. Be it about the gender of the next royal baby or who’ll be managing some ailing football club, we’ll happily spend an inordinate amount of time and energy pondering such matters. Is such conjecture based on factually accurate data and a knowledgeable insight of the matter in hand? Unfortunately, not. The only requirements necessary to express an opinion are a rudimentary grasp of the English language, access to a web enabled device and a pulse. The latest matter to arise that offers the public an opportunity to indulge in some fevered speculation, is the news that Peter Capaldi will be quitting the role of Doctor Who at the end of the year. Therefore, who exactly would be the thirteenth incarnation of the Doctor.
Crooked House (2008)
The BBC has a history of supernatural dramas broadcast over the festive season. During the seventies and eighties, they have frequently adapted classic ghost stories by such authors as M. R. James, Charles Dickens, and Hector Hugh Munro aka Saki. In late 2008 BBC Four broadcast Crooked House; a three-part ghost story shown on consecutive nights from 22nd to 24th December. It was written and co-produced by actor and writer Mark Gatiss, of The League of Gentlemen fame. The three inter-linked episodes form a portmanteau story, influenced by the works of M. R. James and Amicus compendium horror films of the seventies.
A Year in Multimedia
In the past, I’ve often written a summary of my experiences with gaming, movies and TV at the end of each year. Similarly, I usually reflect upon my activities in podcasting and blogging as well. However, 2016 has been unique in many respects. Political and social tides have changed in the West and there is much to reflect upon in the real world. Certainly, my appetite for creating content has taken a knock and I have at times stopped and wondered if it really is all worth the bother. But after such moments of introspection I still see the benefits of the written word or bellowing in to a microphone, so here we are once again. The only difference this time is rather than multiple posts, I can pretty much distil my thought on 2016 in one simple account.
Westworld (2016)
Considering the pace of technological change since the early seventies, Michael Crichton’s Westworld was ripe for a reboot. Where the original movie simply pondered the notion of robots designed by computers becoming psychotic, HBO’s recent ten-part series has opted for a broader exploration of the subject matter. Show creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy reflect upon the nature of sentience, the moral ambiguity of an amusement park such as Westworld and whether fictitious emotions created through programming are any less real than those genuinely experienced. Over ten and a half hours Westworld certainly covers a lot of ground. Its $100 million production cost is also very apparent.
The Grand Tour
I don’t drive. Never have done. I don’t hold a driver’s license and have never been behind the wheel of a car. My life has panned out in such a way that driving has never been a necessity. When I was a teenager, there was always someone else in the social group who drove (thanks’ Chris) and as an adult my other half took up the slack. Plus, I happen to live in an area with great public transport links. Driving has been something that I’ve simply bypassed without any major consequences. Furthermore, I don’t feel that I’ve missed out on anything. Therefore, the entire sub-culture associated with cars and driving is somewhat abstract to me (just like sports). Don’t get me wrong, I can understand its appeal but overall, it’s not relevant to my life.
Therefore, you may be forgiven for assuming that the popular culture phenomenon that is Top Gear is of no interest to me. However, that is in fact not the case. For many years now Top Gear has been an “entertainment” show and Mr. Clarkson a consummate performer. So, I’ve never felt my lack of interest in motoring excluded me from viewing. Irrespective of whether you’re a serious “petrolhead” or not, Top Gear is a show that you can just tune in to and enjoy for what it was; dumb fun. Like many others, I was also interested in the debacle that surrounded Messrs Clarkson, May and Hammond’s departure from the BBC and was curious to see where they’d find a new home. The subsequent move to Amazon Prime seemed a logical choice.
Endeavour (2012-present)
The police procedural genre is one of the most flexible in existence. It has an innate quality that allows for continuous reinterpretation and reinvention. Thus it is a perennial mainstay of television drama and shows no sign of losing popularity with the public. Endeavour is a prime example of this, with three seasons under its belt and fourth in production; it’s a polished, intelligent and character driven production. Based upon Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse, Endeavour explores the detectives early years in the Oxford Police, set against the social and political changes of the sixties. The writing and performances are outstanding, elevating often formulaic stories to greater dramatic level. The use of classical music and the Oxford locations add a layer of sophistication and gravitas to the proceedings.
Space: 1999 (1975-77)
In late 1975 I was faced with a very difficult choice. Should I watch Doctor Who on BBC1 or the new Gerry Anderson series, Space: 1999 on LWT? I opted for the latter, being seduced by the big budget production with its special effects that were (for the time) streets ahead of the competition. Now if memory serves me rightly, this was broadcast late afternoon or early evening. It was definitely a pre-watershed show by modern standards although there was no concept as such at the time. Yet like Doctor Who, this had me hiding in terror behind the proverbial sofa. Two particular episodes left a marked impression on me. This was because they were both creepy and punctuated by some rather frightening imagery. They were Dragon’s Domain and The Troubled Spirit.
My Home Entertainment System
The ongoing changes to the way we consume media is a common subject for discussion these days. In recent years I’ve written about it on this blog and discussed the matter at length with my co-host Brian on the podcast. The focus of these debates has usually been about the cultural shift away from fixed viewing schedules, to watching shows and movies on demand. For many people TV has broadly moved from a shared cultural experience defined by broadcast times, to a more isolated experience. One has to be doubly aware of spoiler etiquette these days, as friends and colleagues may well watch the same show but be a season ahead or behind.
A Year in TV
In recent years TV and cinema have effectively exchanged roles. When I was a child, cinema was the home of narrative driven drama, the exploration of complex social issues and at times even art. It attracted the best writer and as a result the best actors; whereas TV was the home of Airwolf. Thirty years on the opposite is now true. Cinema is often choked with bloated, bombastic franchises, largely devoid of any depth or substance. Television produces numerous multi-layered adult dramas that provide both writers and actors with far broader concepts to explore. Of course there are exceptions on both sides but broadly the analogy rings true.
The Secularisation of Christmas Entertainment
The central theme of this post may well be better suited to a scholarly essay by a noted academic. I'm afraid all you'll get from me are just a few personal observations. But I wanted to raise this subject because I am at an age now where I am very conscious of the changes that have happened in UK society over the course of my life. I'm not advocating one side of the debate over another, just merely collating my thoughts on a broad cultural shift. Christmas has become increasingly secular over recent decades and because I write about popular entertainment that is the medium I viewed this process through.
Rose Red (2002)
I've always been partial to a good ghost story and have recently rekindled my interest in the genre after finally reading Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. I therefore approached Stephen King's Rose Red with moderately high expectations as it is in many ways homage to that story. However this four hour miniseries, directed by action stalwart Craig R. Baxley, failed to live up to these. The main problem is that King plagiarises virtually every major haunted house novel and movie of the last fifty years; Burnt Offerings, Legend of the Hell House, The Amityville Horror and even his own back catalogue. As a result there is too much derivative content and a distinct lack of a new perspective.
New Star Trek Series Premieres January 2017
The announcement that CBS has commissioned a new series of Star Trek is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing in the sense that I have genuine affection for this franchise and therefore I welcome the prospect of a new incarnation of the show returning to TV. However I also consider this situation an absolute curse because well now have to endure at least eighteen months of idle speculation and an ongoing dissection of the entire production of a show before it is even released.
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series (or TAS) is often overlooked by the public, getting lost among all the whites noise that accompanies the franchise. Yet it is a surprisingly good series with a distinguished writing pedigree. The series was produced by Filmation in association with Paramount Television and ran for two seasons from 1973 to 1974 on NBC. A total of twenty-two half-hour episodes were produced set in the same timeline and universe as the original series. Often characters and situations that had featured in the live action show re-appeared and where expanded upon, such as Harry Mudd, the Guardian of Forever and of course Tribbles.
The World at War (1973)
The seventies were a Golden Age for cerebral documentaries with such outstanding examples as The Ascent of Man, Cosmos and Life on Earth. Such shows were content driven, relying heavily upon the quality of the script along with the charisma and gravitas of the presenter. Jacob Bronowski, Carl Sagan and David Attenborough were exemplars of this. Jeremy Isaac’s The World at War is another archetype of quality documentary film making from this decade.
Subtitles
My hearing is fairly robust for a man of my age. I also pride myself on my ability to concentrate. Yet despite the benefits of both those attributes, I still often find myself struggling to keep up with the dialogue and plot of many a game, TV show or movie. It’s something that is not unique to me and seems to be part of a growing phenomenon. Take last year’s science fiction blockbuster Interstellar. Amongst the critical praise there was a lot of grumbling over the mixing of ambient sound effects and the movies score drowning out dialogue. Similar complaints have been levelled at a lot of contemporary TV shows.
Binge-viewing
During the seventies I watched TV programs as and when they were broadcast. This was not through choice but because that was the only means available. Therefore the advent of the VCR in the eighties was a very liberating experience. However although I was free from having to watch at a specific time, I still tended to view recorded programs on a weekly basis, rather than allow them to accumulate. All the technology was doing was freeing me from the broadcasters schedule and allowing me to create my own.