Paradox - double entry no comments

Spoilers Ahoy!

Paradox finishes tonight, with a kill-or-cure ending that will be very clever . . . or very disappointing. Life on Mars managed to pull it off. Well, at the end of the second series anyway.

Last two episodes gave an ongoing sense of being a serial by stretching the threads, and what a surprise ending: two events so-near-and-yet-so-far apart, in the process of which throwing up a moral dilemma: which one to attend?

I'm not sure if this was an attempt to distract from the lack of discussion about the philosophical dilemma of whether it is possible to change to outcome of a known event; if so, it didn't work.

Hmm, and wasn't "the double event" used to describe a night in the life of Jack the Ripper?

Paradox: the Camera Obscure no comments

Spoilers ahoy!

Well, there's the hook - the threatened party was the DI's freshly-ex other half. Bit of a sudden split, that. Why do all TV cops have to have a dysfunctional relationship?

So this time they managed to save the day - so did they change the future? No one said it , but therein lies the paradox. If they saved the boy how could the photographs exist of an event that never happened? It felt a bit soon for a definite we-did-it episode, so unless a later story revisits it and reveals some hidden twist we've got a very uncertain future.

King isn't so sure, he prefers the multiple worlds theory: every decision made splits the world into two, one for each outcome. Anyone familiar with binary, or the chessboard problem sees that this leads to a colossal number of worlds in a very short time. (Computer geeks like myself instinctively know that eight yes/no decisions gives 256 worlds - how many decisions do you make each day?)

And if, in addition to conscious decisions made by people, you allow for random events with many outcomes, that number becomes practically infinite very quickly. So I exist in one of the half-infinite worlds where I didn't choke to death on a Malteaser (it can happen!), but there's an equal number where I didn't.

From a dramatic standpoint this is unsatisfactory. There are no heroes; for each time Bond survives being shot at there's an equally valid world where he didn't. You don't forge your destiny, you just meander through the worlds where your luck held. Until it doesn't.

One of the weaknesses of the second episode is that half the pictures were taken indoors. In the pilot it looked like they were taken from above. (Perhaps the Prometheus II had a powerful camera on board, or forwarded the pictures from a spy satellite.) But the second eight (always eight - another binary link?) showed a boy in a cellar, inside a shed.

No spy camera is that good so, even ignoring the who and why, there'll have to be conjecture on what is taking the pictures and where from. Tonight will have speculation that a 'higher power' is involved. But for good or ill? Even trying to save someone's life can be a bad deed if it muddies the future. Read the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, by Stephen Donaldson, for an extended example of do-gooders getting themselves in deeper!

Paradox Lost no comments

(Couple of spoilers included, but you've got a back button.)

So here I sit, waiting for the second episode of Paradox, the BBC's new sci-fi/police drama.

Last week's opener was a pleasant surprise: a policewoman DI Flint, played by Tamzin Outhwaite, was inveigled into looking at images which had been received from a satellite which were apparently sent twenty hours in the future.

Initially skeptical (you wouldn't be?), she keeps an eye on the proceedings as elements of the image come together at the right time and place, until she comes to believe that an explosion will occur as predicted.

The game seemingly afoot, she then fails to prevent it by sitting and watching it happen. Seems a bit daft: all she had to do was block access to a bridge for ten minutes and either be a heroine . . . or preside over a damp squib.

This slight faux pas was, of course, a plot device. The starting red herring of is-this-a-terrorist-trying-to-taunt-us? had already petered out. There were too many unconnected elements for it to have been planned by the pet mad scientist Dr Christian King (played by Emun Elliott).

So we're left to conclude that the images were from the future, somehow linked to solar flare activity, whilst leaving open the question: could she have stopped it if she'd tried a wee bit harder, or is the future fixed and only observable?

Tonight she gets a second crack at that one as a colleague appears in another set of images - must be in the middle of a sunspot cycle - prompting further involvement.

The hook provided from the pilot worked for me. It's nice to see a program where the good guys fail to save the day once in a while, instead of the formulaic last-second rescue. But do they have the courage for an X-Files style killing-the-cast moment?

I don't see why not. It's only the second episode so no-one (except Flint & King) is too well established to be expendable. But excepting a clever did-we-help-or-did-we-misinterpret ending they'll have to keep the balance by being able to alter the outcome or, like the viewers, they'll be limited to being spectators.

Paradox lost no comments

What a strange night: I'd suggested to my father that we watch Paradox (BBC's science/drama/time travel/ mystery) at nine and Cast Offs (C4's challenging/groundbreaking/disturbing/drama/disabled comedy) at eleven.

At half past ten he asked "Shouldn't we have watched Paradox?". I pointed out that we had.

He then said "but that's on at nine". Which indeed it had been. He seemed oddly convinced that Paradox would somehow be after Cast Offs. How spooky he chose a vision-of-the-future show to mix up with one yet to be broadcast.

What a let down! no comments

What a disappointing headline today:

"Is Jordan the Most Hated Woman in Britain?"

It turned out that Margaret Thatcher isn't dead yet . . .

Momentarily Stumped . . . no comments

I have a flyer for Stump Cross Caverns, a name that seems oddly familiar.

I can't help wondering if it was the inspiration for Stump Hole Cavern in The League of Gentlemen, which was filmed in Yorkshire and presumably nearby, ably(?) guided by Mark Gatiss.

The Spies the limit? no comments

Tonight a friend confirmed a suspicion I've had for a couple of weeks:

Some TV guides listed a recently screened film as "Austin Powers: The Spy Who S****ed me"

It's a bit late to try and be subtle, isn't it?

I Saw the Signs no comments

I sort of avoided Signs when it came out. M. Night Shyamalan had caused a stir with Sixth Sense, then a backlash with Unbreakable (then later indifference with The Village) so even though I enjoyed Unbreakable I was put off by the reviews of Signs.

So one tired evening it appears on t.v. and I thought what the hell . . .

. . . and enjoyed it for a surprising reason: I think it was the very ordinariness of Merrill, played by Joaquin Phoenix.

I think he had the same sort of intensity as when he played Commodus in Gladiator, but applied to this ordinary guy, helping to look after his brother (Gibson) and family made him even more compelling.

Otherwise I liked the is-it-isn't-it-an invasion ride, but do you remember the Superbowl episode of The Simpsons? A Superbowl episode with Dolly Parton that featured no sport and no singing?

I suppose I felt slightly cheated by an alien invasion movie with no spaceships or aliens, but the human story held the twee ending together.

And didn't the scene in the cellar remind you of George Pal's War of the Worlds? (You know, the low-budget 50's one with poor special effects. Destined to be remembered as a million times better than the remake. They'll be violating Day the Earth Stood Still next . . .) Homage, no doubt.

I was also disappointed that the thing on the roof didn't turn out to be the Mothman, but I'm probably a bit confused about that!

Holy Cowell! It's the Whinger! no comments

Simon Cowell is hogging the front pages these days by whining about the "ridiculous and unfair" ratings war launched by the BBC.

Apparently it's unfair to the viewers to make them choose one program over the other.

Excuse me, but when I was young(er) we had this thing called a "video recorder" which enabled you to "record" one program whilst watching another. When it had finished you could then watch the other at your leisure.

So why in the age of DVD recorders, watch again, iplayer and pausible cable boxes is this suddenly a big deal again?

The answer is as simple as it is obvious: if you watch the program an hour later the voting is closed, halving the amount of revenue pouring through the phone lines. Unfair to Simon's bank balance more likely.

Aside from that, when did ITV ever shirk from the ratings battle?

Only when they didn't think they would win!

Reaping, as ye were Sowing (Sewing?) no comments

Been away, which has disrupted my erratic schedule . . .

Got back from a tiring time away and decided to watch a film as an excuse for a sit down.

As luck would have it The Reaping was on, starring Hilary Swank, who I best remember from Boys Don't Cry. (A sad disappointment, I thought it was going to be like Dancer in the Dark with Robert Smith in the Bjork rôle!)

As an added bonus David Morrissey was in it. You know, the guy who was The Next Doctor in that Dr Who special. If I'd known that I'd have seen it in the cinema. I can't work out if he's a Brit with a good American accent or a Yank with a flawless British accent. Either way he's a damn good actor.

(Aside: Idris Elba, who plays Ben, is apparently also British, which totally escaped me. This movie has more quality performers than I'd realised.)

When the film came out they had some fabulous big posters in the cinema at Bracknell, done in an orangy-red duotone sort of way. The trees in the swamp looked awesome with the red river as a backdrop. But I can't find any photos, with only the internet as a resource . . .

As it happens I can't help thinking of this as a novel twist on The Wicker Man, which is more than I can say for the remake of The Wicker Man. (Nicholas Cage, shame on you! Should have made Ghost Rider II instead!) Ignorant innocent get's hauled off to the back of beyond, to stick their noses were they shouldn't be, looking out for a lost girl . . .

. . . to great effect. There are murmurings of a sequel, but I doubt it'd live up to this.

As Channel Fve goes (and who'd notice if they did?) this was a winner which I wish I'd taken the trouble to watch sooner. Such is life.

Taking a Holiday from Being Human no comments

Well, you go away for two weeks and what happens? You get back to be told that the new series of Being Human has started - and you've missed "a couple of episodes"!

After a panic search of the guides you discover that it's actually the first series being repeated on BBC1. Phew!

This was revealed when last week's episode featured Gilbert, who might be my favourite character. Or maybe George, but there was more of him.

In the ordinary course of things I would have said that it's a shame they killed Gilbert off, but it's no ordinary series, and he was killed off twenty years before he appeared . . .

Old Dogs Learn New Tricks no comments

And again!

Last weeks New Tricks had Denis Waterman explaining to his date the true nature of sushi and sashimi.

And he sung the feem toon . . .

Ah, Reggie no comments

Turned out that I had a lucky guess - Reggie Perrin is coming back.

Thanks to 'LeClerc' for spotting this at http://www.lucyliemann.net/news.

Carrying the Torch no comments

Well, what a family-friendly start to the new Torchwood mini-series.

Ianto and Jack cosily settled in as a couple, Gwen in the family way, Ianto visiting a sibling, Jack visiting an old friend (actually not as old as him). Everythings turning out lovely. Except the kids, but they're always trouble . . .

I don't usually . . . 2 comments

. . . but tonight I caught a few minutes of Coronation Street.

I had to smile when a lad (Tyrone?) was banging on about how the moon landings were impossible because the astronauts couldn't survive the radiation travelling through the "Van Halen Belt".

I wonder how many viewers realised that it should have been the Van Allen Belt? Still, for Corrie to even mention it is, well, cosmic!

Identity was the crisis - did you see? no comments

On a mere whim I decided to watch Identity last Tuesday night - with a cast including John Cusack, Ray Liotta and Alfred Molina how could I resist? A cast to die for . . .

I did have misgivings about it being on Channel 5, but through the Freeview box we now get both a picture and sound. (Last time I watched C5 - Blind Fury, with Rutger Hauer - was on a B&W portable with the aerial perched on top of a door. Despite all that I thoroughly enjoyed it.)

It starts with a cryptic introduction to a past killing spree before fragmenting into a series of flashbacks of seemingly random encounters and accidents. These rapidly come together to leave the cast of ten trapped in a motel, where they can be killed in warmth and comfort from the storm . . .

The reviews had it sounding like a modern remake of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Niggers/Indians/Soldiers (delete as feels comfortable), which it has strong elements of, but it has a very different feel beause Christie had everyone invited to a remote spot.

Identity has a series of clever encounters which defied a connection between the antagonists:

A woman loses a shoe out of her car

Someone gets a flat tyre from running over the shoe
Someone has an accident with the car stopped to change a tyre.

At first it doesn't seem like the cast are ever going to meet at all, but fate(?) brings them together.

Periodically events shift away from the motel to an anomalous legal hearing. Thanks to the other flashbacks I was left adrift as to whether these were supposed to be in the past, still happening, or even following the main sequence of events.

Despite the parallels with Christie being strongly evident long before it was mentioned, it develops into something else, with even a teasing hint of supernatural thrown into the mix, before coming to a sensible conclusion.

And then a gratuitous extra bit, rather like this paragraph.

Bloody Hell She Got It Right! no comments

Congratulations are in order to Linda Robson, star of yesterdays World's Best Diet.

She mentioned "sushi AND raw fish", not once but twice.

Even Lisa Simpson couldn't get that one right.

(Alright, Tomorrows World even used the term sashimi correctly a few years ago.)

Reggie Perrin returns . . . I hope 2 comments

Reggie Perrin returns - didn't he always?

This was a very different beast from the original, but whatever it lost was made up for by the charm of the new. The smart new Groomtech HQ (? I assume - it didn't seem to have a factory attached), like Sunshine Desserts, was as irrelevant a setting as required for the mildly revamped characters.

For those of us who miss the homely seventies ambience there is the Mitchell and Web Look sketches Get Me Hennimore.

Hey, hey there went Alex no comments

Well, that was a rum to-do and no mistake.

It seems like she got back, but unlike Sam has left a (non-functioning) copy of herself behind.

Or has the 1982 version reacted to being shot by propelling her forward to create the future version?

Yeah, ok, there already was a future version - perhaps that one should have died but the upcoming one replaced her. After all, she and Sam seemed to replace someone in the past.

Summers turned out to be a pleasant surprise, after a fashion; a good cop who couldn't hack turning bad and used his farewell trip to atone for what he'd done. I'm not alone in briefly wondering if he wasn't the older version of Chris, but the thought didn't settle well.

He wasn't sufficiently older to have changed that much in appearance, and there was the other Summers already extant. Which still leaves an uncomfortable thorn - why didn't killing his younger self wipe the elder out? Was his original plan to stop himself being involved in the robbery at the cost of his own (limited) life? He didn't seem surprised at surviving his own death - but maybe knew he was already living on/in someone else's borrowed time. And in the future he didn't survive much longer, which is a pisser for present Alex since she can't ask him about how he was aware of both timestreams.

Unfortunately history is repeating itself - the episode was far too remeniscent of when Sam was on LSD/drug mis-dose. The antibiotic dose warnings were an unsubtle device for cranking up the tension (and far too distracting for Alex) and nowhere near as funny as Sam's.

Unlike Demons this has left itself wide open for another series (I think read somewhere that it already has the go-ahead) where Alex has to go back and pull Gene out of the (bullet) hole that he's put himself in. Sam took a pretty drastic leap of faith to get back; will Alex have to shoot herself in the head?

Hey, hey here comes Alex no comments

The last Ashes to Ashes - and I missed it!

There I was, all ready to crack open a beer and settle down for 9pm, when Iremembered I had to go out. Hooray for recording systems! Pity I didn't do the same for the First episode . . .

I've fairly much followed the remainder without ever being quite sold on the series, it was an uneasy balance of drama and comedy, with the mix never being quite right.

Alex never had a confidante like Nelson: Luigi was always too busy with a group to focus on her. That's the nature of wine bars with large tables. Not that wine bars ever jelled with Gene, Ray and Chris any better than the en masse move to London.

So does she think she's really there, or does she still hold to her theory of constructs? She's given up musing on it, which was always the weakness of Life on Mars. Like Sam you'd think she'd spend time tryng to prove she is really there (Summers' prescence provides a clue that it is real) and, even without a conrete decision, ponder the how of getting there. And more importantly the WHY.

Both have seemingly overlooked the point that they were expected to be there, had a relevant job waiting for them and a place to live. (Well, Sam had an address to go to; I can't remember if Alex had the flat ready and furnished. She spent the first three days dressed like a prositute which suggests she didn't have a handy wardrobe at home - or did she just not know about it?)

But Summers is an enigma; he seems to be another traveller but comitted the curious act of killing his younger self, suggesting that it can't be real. How convincing was it that Alex helped cover it up? Even more mysteriously: why didn't Alex kick the crap out of him until he told her how he's in touch with her future? Sam had his phone calls from Hyde, but you can't usefully beat up a telephone.

I'll catch up on Thursday.

Have I got Who for you? no comments

I enjoyed the latest Dr Who special, Planet of the Dead, especially the companion-of-the-month Lady Christina de Souza, played by Michelle Ryan.

Did the Mission Impossible style acrobatics at the start not make you think that she would have made a far better Lara Croft than . . . anyone else has?

I wasn't surprised at the last minute getaway, but was a little that she got clean away. I expected that a TARDIS would have been the ideal vehicle.

These one-shot companions might do for the remaining few specials, but I expect that when the next doctor (not The Next Doctor!) gets his series underway they'll be settling to someone more regular.

London Doctor Who Walk - April 4th no comments

Damn!

There's a Dr Who walk in London this coming Saturday . . . and I can't make it.

Unless time travel is possible, in which case I'll see you at St. Paul's at eleven.

In for the Kill no comments

Well, I really wasn't, sure up until the last, whether I liked Being Human (by which I mean the series, not the miserable condition) or not.

I was carried through the series by the enthusiasm of friends (and a sister) for it, and the frequent funny bits. Now I'm glad I stayed the course.

I wasn't sure where Mitchell was going, but it all turned around at the end. Unlike Demons (RIP) I'm looking forward to the next series which the loose ends point to.

Shame they had to lose Herrick; why do the best characters (apart from the quirky priest) always die, if not young, so soon?

Being Herman no comments

Suddenly it occurs to me: Werewolves and Vampires living in a haunted house - this is a remake of The Munsters!

Being Human . . . or Being Dancing??? no comments

A werewolf, a Vampire and a Ghost: obviously curses are abounding.

Once again it's the curse of the good-characters-disappearing-too-soon, and seems to be attacking all worthwhile new series.

I thought that Gilbert was the best character on t.v. this year, but for such a brief moment before he shuffled off This Mortal Coil - which were probably his favourite band.

The Devil, You Say! no comments

Unexpectedly decided to watch a film called Swamp Devil, mostly because it features Bruce Dern who I've only ever known to appear in one film (other than Silent Running), and I can't remember what that was.

Despite the lame write-up, the made-for-tv look and the fact it was on Sky 3 it wasn't too bad, if a bit slow. I especially liked the drive into the town past all the deserted houses - it put me in mind of several H.P. Lovecraft stories.

The Veggie Monster had the hallmarks of Swamp Thing, the DC comics beastie created by Bernie Wrightson (and later resurrected by Alan Moore), with the one clear animated shot of it's face looking very much like our Alec. Howard (played by Bruce Dern) even observes "call it what you like - the Thing - ...". I think he meant Swampie rather than the Marvel character!

So not a bad film to watch on an evening when you're too tired to do anything useful, but don't keep it for a special occaision.

Bruce Dern looked rather like Doc Brown, played by Christopher Lloyd in the Back to the Future series, and the Sheriff a bit like Locke from Lost - but we get to actually see the Monster!

Lost in Lost no comments

Well, the new season has got off to a slow start and no mistake.

Jeremy Bentham is still dead, Ben has lost half of the Oceanic Six and the remaining survivors have caused me to lose all track of time. A lot seems to have gone on without much happening.

Two thoughts occur:

When Ben turned the wheel to move the island it looked remarkably like an early Tomb Raider gizmo. Then, when Locke found the well, I got a similar frisson. Perhaps I should look out for the PSP3 game . . .

Why did Hurley let himself get arrested when Anna-Lucia had specifically warned him not to? I know they were never close on the island but she did come back from the dead especially to warn him, which was sweet of her.

Ah well, at least John doesn't have to lie to Sun about Jin being on the island - being dead has SOME advantages!

Casting Out Demons no comments

I thought it was all over . . . it is now!

I struggled to keep an interest, I really did, but every weekend that I was away I just couldn't be bothered to record it, knowing it would remain unwatched.

So the end came about - Galvin's big secret was revealed at last, and it was a better secret than I was expecting. The hero remained lukewarm to the last. (I prefer Luke on the Sarah Jane Adventures.) Mina did her reluctantly-becoming-a-proper-vampire thing again, and we can all get on with our (half-)lives.

Richard Wilson reappeared as the oracle figure and was, as usual, wasted. Likewise Mackenzie Crook made a comeback from the dead . . . briefly. I came away feeling that they'd wiped out the wrong half of the cast.

I wonder if they held off filming the last episode until the viewing figures had stabilised, or even filmed an alternate ending, in the hope of a surprise hit. This felt like a final episode rather than a finalé.

With no secret, no oracle and no recurring villain left it doesn't look set up for a second series. (Except maybe for Nina's 'unresolved issues'.) I can't say that I'd be sorry if that proves true.

The Hart has Gone from British Television no comments

It's almost like an era is ending.

Last week Patrick McGoohan, Oliver Postgate and Tony Hart, this week John Scott Martin. It's not a year to be a British television actor in your eighties.

[Also Ricardo Montalban, not strictly British but fondly remembered.]

Apparently "Channel Four should merge with Channel Five or BBC Worldwide and become a rival to the BBC, TV watchdogs suggested". I'm not sure how BBC Worldwide would "become a rival to the BBC", and even less sure why it would want to. I expect that it's the usual story of financial wizards shooting themselves in the foot. Pit one branch of the BBC against another . . . and the BBC loses.

Jonathon Creaks On no comments

What makes a special special?

The BBC seem to have taken a shine to the short-series or one-off-at-a-time notion.

First Doctor Who used the Christmas special to lead into a short number (is it three or four?) of 'specials' before the new boy takes over. Then the news that Jonathon Creek would be returning - at least once.

Is this prudence with licence-payers money in these credit-starved times? A new breed of cowardice amongst commissioners? Or a lack of faith in writers?

Instead of committing themselves to the cost of a whole series are they letting the budget out drip-at-a time and fiercely monitoring the viewing figures? It makes sense for a commercial station, although ITV have thrown six episodes of Demons into the fray with seemingly little thought, but surely the Beeb should have a little more confidence in their creativity?

Gene Hunt: a career in Ashes no comments

Well what a night - the new Doctor revealed AND the premiere of ITV's "attempt at a Doctor Who beater"!

Well, that was a theory about the new Demons.

[Re: the next Doctor (not The Next Doctor!), I can't specifically recall ever having seen him in anything before, so I have no comment.]

Demons: I won't be the first to compare it to Buffy because it's already been done. Plus I've only ever watched two episodes which I can barely remember. (But one of those might have been a two-parter.)

The guiding light (read 'selling point') is Philip Glenister, or rather should have been, except for the naff decision to make his character American. Since his involvement hinges on association with a man of Dutch descent living in England why bother forcing him to adopt the accent?

The obvious answer is to ease the selling of the series to American networks who apparently need 'an American take' on events to make them palatable. This hasn't changed since 1952 when footage of Raymond Burr (you might remember him as A Man Called Ironside) was inserted into the first Godzilla film.

But why would American stations bother buying British programs in order to see Americans? The Avengers became a cult over there because it was so British (well, English) - it would have been watered down by such pandering. The only American influence on the series was to have Mother made into a regular character instead of a one-off, which worked wonderfully as I'm sure both Rhonda and Grandmother would agree.

Having made the character American why not cast an an American in the rôle? I feel that ITV are trying to milk Glenister's past glories. This tactic has already backfired since the guides are referring to him as "Ashes to Ashes' Philip Glenister". How short memories are: you're only remembered for your most recent disaster. He excelled as Gene Hunt in Life on Mars; in the pale imitation he plays a mere shadow of himself.

On the plus side he does sound remarkably like Ed Bishop. If ITV's creative scheduling for 2009 features a remake of UFO he's got the job . . . as long as the budget stretches to a weekly bottle of peroxide.

The best feature was Gladiolus Thripp, played by Mackenzie Crook, a Rocky-Horror 50's rocker . . . bounty hunter. Superbly over-the-top he still managed to convey more menace than his Pirates of the Caribbean character ever needed to, whilst teasing the very edges of pantomime villainy. Like all the other advantages to the show this one was squandered. As a bounty hunter he didn't have an emotional investment in the main cast, so why kill him off so soon?

And they said it wouldn't last . . . no comments

Happy New Year!

Channel 4 gets off to a flying start with it's innovative schedule . . . another series of Big Brother.

They start the year with the Celebrity BB and Dead Set phone-in competition. One is live, the other a repeat - can you tell which is which?

I must admit I was totally baffled by Dead Set: everything goes wrong and then everyone dies - what exactly was the point?

I can only conclude that when the BBC announced that Survivors was on the cards C4 bosses panicked and commissioned an instant rival program. Concept and script optional, the only requirement was that it be slapped together and put on air first.

They succeeded, if producing an ill-conceived rush-job constitutes success.