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Monday, June 30, 2003
Monday, June 30, 2003
Hand/eye co-ordination? Rhythm? Fear me, mortal (found via the NTSC-uk forum). For the non-gamers in the room, she's hitting the corresponding pads as the coloured shapes reach the red line at the bottom of the screen.
Now tell me that the music/gaming crossover isn't a wonderful thing...
E. Randy Dupre's brain told him to write this at 01:36
Friday, June 27, 2003
Friday, June 27, 2003
And, still on an Edge of Darkness tip, I'd forgotten that the larger theme was ever mentioned before the very last episode. But yeah, it is. Craven's asking Jedburgh why he's so involved in events:
"Why do you hate Grogan so much?"
"Because of who he is."
"And who is he?"
"He's part of the dark forces that would rule this planet."
"Do you really believe in all that stuff?"
"Yeah. Sure, why not? Look at yourself. You think of yourself as an English provincial detective whose daughter died in tragic circumstances, yet where she fell a well sprang, flowers grow. Now what kind of power is that?"
".. I don't know."
This conversation, remember, comes in the middle of what's been publicised as a grim political thriller.
E. Randy Dupre's brain told him to write this at 17:43
Flowers brought this up in a Barbelith thread, but that�s sunk without trace amidst all the wanking off about various comic book movies. So, a demand that everyone watches Edge of Darkness, the BBC�s finest hour(s), currently being repeated on BBC4, Sunday nights.
I�ve avoided spoilers in the aforementioned thread, but I�ve got to get a few out somewhere as the first episode only drops the lightest hints about what�s really going on and you've either watched it by now or missed it. Delights still to come include the continuing use of Craven�s communication with his dead daughter, something which is never explained fully. It could be the start of a slide into a breakdown, it could be a mental construct that he himself is using to work through the clues that are dropped or it could be his dead daughter talking to him, whether she�s doing that as a vengeful spirit or the agent of a higher power. In truth, she�s all of these things.
You�ve got the introduction of Jedburgh, a character who starts off providing both light comedic relief and a friendly associate for Craven, but ends up at the heart of the horror to come. Along with Jedburgh come Pendleton and Harcourt, two untouchables, civil servants who have real power over events and people.
Most importantly, you�ve got a story that�s got more layers than a heavily layered thing. It�s an intelligent, frightening conspiracy thriller; it�s a warning about the use of nuclear power; it�s a hymn to nature; it�s the story of a power struggle between elemental forces, a Good vs Evil tale for the Trident generation. All the characters are being used by unseen hands. Some become weapons of justice, some become weapons of vengeance, some become cannon fodder. It�s a frightening enough tale as a straight(ish) conspiracy story, but as the �elemental battle�, it�s astonishing. Those characters that are manipulating people in the name of Good are fully aware of how events will pan out, how they have to pan out and how those they�ve chosen or been dealt as pawns will suffer. It�s their apparently blas� acceptance of this that frightens, along with the way that human lives are chewed up and spat out in order that Nature can have her way. The horror becomes more evident in the fourth episode, but the true extent isn�t felt until the maelstrom of five and six, where we�re taken on a descent into a hell that even Dante couldn�t have imagined.
The DVD release that I bought a few years ago was absolutely abysmal, impossible to navigate even after you�ve watched it a number of times. Thankfully, the BBC have seen sense and released a new version. I�ve also just heard about a new film treatment, with the final product due for release next year, which is even more pointless than remakes usually are. The acting of Peck and Baker throughout the series is wonderful, their characters perfectly realised and solidly drawn. Everything down to the quality of the original film stock goes to make the series what it is, and I quite honestly can�t see what any remake could even attempt to improve on.
Really, just watch it. I can absolutely guarantee that you won�t see a more powerful bit of television this year. Hell, this decade.
E. Randy Dupre's brain told him to write this at 01:27
Saturday, June 21, 2003
Saturday, June 21, 2003
Really torn about this year's Big Brother. On the one hand it's astonishingly boring, with nothing of note having happened in the four weeks that it's been running so far. On the other, it's become something that I don't think I've ever seen before: ambient television. I'm tuning in to this series more religiously than any of the earlier three, but leaving it as background noise. Visual muzak.
E. Randy Dupre's brain told him to write this at 00:21
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Losing the fight against mediocrity for the last few years. Fire a volley |
