Have You Been Watching...? 2022

 

This blog began life in the summer of 2022, so I would like to thank you all for reading my little essays on what I’ve been watching and hopefully you have discovered some new gems from what I have been blogging about..

For the last entry of the year, I wanted to do a little “review of the year” but I didn’t want to just repost things that have already been blogged about. So here we go with a brief mention of some of the movies and programmes from 2022 that haven’t been covered so far, but did catch my attention for good or bad. Read on to find out!

GHOSTS (US) – I adore the BBC comedy from the Horrible Histories team, but this is the American adaptation of the BBC1 sitcom about ghosts occupying a decaying property that has been inherited by a young woman and her partner. She has a fall and finds she can see and communicate with the ghosts haunting the property. The BBC1 version has run for 4 seasons so far, and the same team are behind the US version. Sometimes, the British sense of humour gets lost in the translation, but credit where it’s due, the US version of Ghosts is a rare example of where it works. Once the viewer gets past the similarities, GHOSTS US takes on its own identity and is all the better for it. Season 1 is currently streaming on BBC Iplayer. Each episode runs for just over 20 minutes (with adverts that’s a full half hour in the states) so they are in easily digestible chunks.

SMILE – not based on the Dr Who episode of the same name, this horror movie has similarities to the indy-horror “It Follows”, in that the horror can be anyone, anywhere. A doctor witnesses a traumatic moment for a patient and begins to see people smiling and death following soonafter. Whereas It Follows is a thrill-ride on a low-budget, Smile begins to lose the plot very quickly resulting in a dull movie, where it could have been tighter and possibly shorter, allowing for a genuinely frightening movie. Sadly, this feels like a missed opportunity. I say this as it was one of the few movies I was really looking forward to this year! Available to rent from major online retailers.

TROLL – Not a remake of the 80s horror flick with a character called Harry Potter (it’s true, look it up). Imagine a Godzilla movie but set in Norway. This is it. A ridiculous plot but with some great special effects and a genuinely fun approach, I thoroughly enjoyed this romp. A large-scale disaster movie, just set somewhere other than the USA. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one, but I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Running on just the right side of an almost parody of American action movies, this one gets a thumbs up from me. Available to stream on Netflix.

PREY – dropping on Disney+, this took me completely by surprise as a new entry in the “Predator” franchise. With repeated outings for the alien hunters running out of ideas and credibility, this one takes place in Earths past and with a hard-as-nails female protagonist, this movie is a great yet stripped back entry for the franchise and allows us to see what can happen when a civilisation armed only with spears comes up against the intergalactic terrors. Available to stream on Disney+

STAR TREK – STRANGE NEW WORLDS – Yes, I posted a whole entry about one episode of the serials inaugural season, but the pre-Captain Kirk and “Discovery” spin-off is one of the true success stories of 2022. Unshackled from Discovery’s season-spanning epic adventures, this allows for a return to the days of “adventure of the week”. At only 10 episodes long, it goes by very quickly, but it’s a fun return to the days of weekly sci-fi and with a talented cast and great writing, it’s one of the best things on TV this year. Available to stream on Paramount+ and is due for release on DVD/Blu Ray in 2023.

Of course, there have been LOADS more. Highlights include the movies Bros, Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Adam Project, Spiderhead and Knives out sequel Glass Onion, and serials like 1899, All Of Us Are Dead, Obi Wan Kenobi, Peacemaker and so on but I won’t write about these here. They may receive their own entries as 2023 goes on. 

As I sign off 2022 with this final entry of the year, I would like to wish you all a very happy new year and hope you'll drop in on this blog again in 2023!

Have you got a suggestion I should review? Let me know in the comments: 

Have You Been Watching...? Wednesday (2022)

 

The Addams Family has been around for ages. Firstly, a comic, then a fondly remembered 1960s sitcom, two amazing 90s feature films (less said about the third, the better) two recent animated features (which I’m not too bothered about) and now this, a spin-off centred around Miss Wednesday Addams.

When I heard of this project, I was wasn’t sure it would worth my time, but then Tim Burton was linked to it and Christina Ricci (who played Wednesday in the 90s movies), Catherine Zeta Jones and Gwendoline Christie all attached to it. This began to sound like something special.

The 8 part limited series, “Wednesday”, is a triumph. The new Addams family cast are wonderful. Catherine Zeta Jones is truly a great luscious and mysterious Morticia, and Luis Guzman is literally perfect as Gomez, not as traditionally handsome in the mould of Raul Julia, but more in keeping with the comics. Their insane lust/love for each other makes for great comedy. Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley brings a sweet vulnerability to the role that was missing from the movies and he’s a very sympathetic character. As great as they are, it’s Jenna Ortega’s show as the new Wednesday. She is magnetic to watch. Dour, but full of humour and she doesn’t blink in her scenes, adding a great otherworldliness to Wednesday. The “internet” was full of criticism for some of the casting choices, but needless to say, don’t believe all you read on the web.

The new series strips the show of the main family, although they appear throughout (one of the family is practically a regular), but moves Wednesday to the Nevermore Academy. This is a special school for special students of which Morticia and Gomez have been previous alumni. This is a home to werewolves, sirens, gorgons and all sorts of creepy and kooky monsters in the form of human teenagers. While I have little interest in teen supernatural dramas, this one has just the right blend of humour and horror to satisfy even the most ardent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans.

Having watched Episode 1, directed by the legend that is Tim Burton and scored by Danny Elfman, I felt I had tired of Wednesday’s behaviour. I wanted more of the residents of Nevermore Academy, led by the delicious Gwendoline Christie as the head teacher Larissa Weem, an old rival of Morticia’s. I wanted to learn more about the town of Jericho and how they live side by side with this world of mythical creatures. However, as the story progresses, my appetite was well and truly fed.

The crux of the series is that having been dispatched to Nevermore, Wednesday finds herself caught up in a mystery and a number of deaths. The mystery isn’t the deaths themselves, its clear early on how they die, it’s the who and why that forms Wednesday’s investigation. Along the way we meet her fellow classmates including the impossible to dislike, permanently chipper Enid, a werewolf who hasn’t reached wolf-out stage yet.  Enid is played by Emma Myers who on the face of it should be an irritating character due to her constant perkiness, but really is a sweet and kind girl. Hunter Doohan  plays Wednesday’s “will they wont they” love interest Tyler, Joy Sunday plays Bianca, a siren who is keen to knock Wednesday down a peg or two and ex-Wednesday herself, Christina Ricci plays Marilyn Thornhill, one of the school staff, almost unrecognisable from her Addams Family days (I didn’t even realise who she played until episode 2).

Our mystery is evenly paced, and intricately plotted which, if the series ran for a longer run that 8 episodes, could have been a problem.  However, in this bite-size series, it just fits tidily, although the last episode does rattle along at an incredible pace.

As the Wednesday series is still incredibly current, this report will stay spoiler free. Is it worth almost 8 hours of your time to watch? Yes. You may be pleased to know in advance it IS a self-contained story. I don’t think that’s a spoiler, none of the pre-publicity suggested it was an on-going series. This new series has created such a great new world for the Addams’ that any further instalments need not even have to be centred around Wednesday at all. Die-Hard fans will enjoy all the subtle (and not to subtle) easter eggs littered throughout.

Year: 2022

Episode count: 8

Availability: Currently streaming on Netflix.

Have You Been Watching...? Out Of The Unknown: The Machine Stops

 

Out of the Unknown was a BBC sci-fi anthology series broadcast between 1965-1971, comprising 4 series. The first two in black and white and the last two in colour. As seems to be the case with numerous BBC gems, the series is mostly missing from the archives, but thanks to the BFI, we have a DVD set featuring all the surviving episodes, and a few reconstructions of others from remnants of footage, telesnaps and even scripts.

Fortunately, one of those episodes that survived the mass junking is The Machine Stops, adapted from the short story by EM Forster (better known perhaps, for Maurice, A room With a view, Howard’s End and A Passage to India) . I have selected this episode, which was from the second series, for inclusion on “Have you been watching…?” due to it’s pertinence to today’s society, even though the original story was first published in 1909.

The story apparently predicts numerous things we take for granted today, the internet being one, social media being another. In this story, and indeed episode, people live alone in pods, communicating via screen. They all live underground due to the inability to live on the surface. Everything is controlled and provided “The Machine”, a human made construct very similar to today’s World Wide Web. People’s only activity is learning from The Machine.  New ideas are few, indeed people take others ideas and pass them off as their own (sound familiar?). Travel is permitted, but no one likes to travel. Walking even seems to be a chore and their multi-useful chair moves around the pod for them.

The story concentrates on the relationship between Vashti and her son Kuno, who live on opposite sides of the world. The relationship is cold, and more functional than loving. Vashti appears to have children just to ensure the species continues, rather than to love and inspire.

However, Kuno is different. He is bored of their current existence and seeks more, even venturing outside. As time progresses, he comes to the knowledge that The Machine is breaking down, civilisation as they know it will come to an end.

The Out of the Unknown adaptation stars Yvonne Mitchell (Crucible of Horror/The Corpse, the Trials of Oscar Wilde) as Yashti, and Michael Gothard (For Your Eyes Only, Lifeforce and The Three Musketeers) as Kuno, and was directed by Philip Savile (Life & Loves of a She-Devil). It’s an absolute gem to watch. Given the clear budget restraints of 60s BBC, what they have managed to achieve with this one-off story is nothing short of phenomenal. It’s a work of art. The set designs are clever and multi-functional, if occasionally suffering from wobbly-set syndrome, and the outside location work wonderfully conveys Kuno’s reactions to this new world he has found. It’s movie quality stuff, coupled with 60s psychedelia. The script, with such few cast, is long and talky, but never boring and certainly worth paying attention to.

The episode was submitted to the fifth “Festival Internazionale del Film di Fantascienza”, the fifth International science-fiction film festival in Trieste in July, where it won first prize.

If you can look beyond the budget restraints, you will find here a film that will enthrall you and show you the perils of “online life” as predicted over 100 years ago.

Year – 1966

Series count – 4

Episode count – 20 surviving (including reconstructions) out of 49

Availability – DVD (7 disc boxset – deleted in February 2022)

Have You Been Watching...? Nope (2022)

 

There has been a lot written about the movie “Nope” since it’s release in August 2022. My intention is to try to write something different, to give a different perspective on it.

Nope is write/director Jordan Peele’s third horror movie outing, following the huge success of “Get Out” and “Us”. Both of those horror movies are firmly grounded in a believable reality. When I heard that Peele was doing a third movie, I wondered would it stand up to the other two? Would he go the way of other famed director M. Night Shayamalan, whose initial movies were equally well received but then  came “Lady in the Water” and it all went somewhat wrong. Can Peele avoid such a calamity?

In a word, yes. Nope is something special. In fact, I think I enjoyed it much more than Get Out or Us.

The movie is set in a rural area of the USA. Rancher OJ, played by Get Out’s Daniel Kaluua (Dr Who fans shouldn’t forget his turn in Planet of the Dead) and his dad run a range rearing horses for the entertainment industry. Within the first few minutes of the film, something occurs meaning OJ has to run the ranch himself and the story jumps forward six months. OJ’s feisty sister turns up and provides a wonderful dynamic with her brother. OJ, however, discloses that their father’s departure was not quite as initially made out. This results in the siblings recruiting Angel, a tech nerd from a local store and the involvement of TV’s Kid Sheriff child-star Jupe, played by the Walking Dead’s Steven Yeun, becoming involved in the increasing mystery of “something in the sky” above the ranch. Interspersed throughout the main narrative is Jupe’s childhood take from his own celebrity days leading to his own current circumstances. It seems irrelevant, and at times jarring with the ongoing bigger story, but it all makes sense towards the end.

I am certainly not going to spoil this movie for you, but as per Peele’s previous endeavours, circumstances are not quite what they seem, and it IS a horror movie so there are chills and screams aplenty.

Several reviews of the movie highlight the meaning of the film, being about the need for entertainment and spectacle, but even if you don’t “get” that from the film, it’s still an amazing piece of work, ranging from the long silence of a barren range in the style of Brokeback Mountain to the breath-holding nightmare of something like Spielberg’s Jaws. The movie is remarkably well cast and believable in their roles. When a movie is so well cast you forget to bother about “what have they bene in before”, then you know you’re onto a winner. So far, so good for Peele, this is definitely 3 out of 3 home runs. Much in the same way that “Signs” is my favourite Shayamalan movie, it’s these smaller stories that appeal to me more.

The story is immaculately well-plotted, even if you don’t think so to begin with. Each character has a back story and come across as rounded and believable individuals. The special effects, when they kick in, are astounding and I have to admit to having seen nothing quite like it in a movie of this nature.

I wrote this not long after seeing the movie, and some time has passed. It still haunts me even now.

Year – 2022

Availability – Still playing in cinemas and available to rent from online streaming services.

Have You Been Watching...? The Twilight Zone: To See The Invisible Man

 

The Twilight Zone needs no real introduction (if it does, it's an anthology series of sci-fi and horror tales). At the time of writing it has just completed it’s 4^th incarnation fronted by Jordan Peele. Originally, there was the 1960s run, with Rod Serling, the 1985-1989 run with Charles Aidman/Robin Ward as narrators, the 2002 run with Forrest Whittaker and the Jordan Peele 2020 run.

In case you need an introduction, the series is an anthology of generally unrelated takes with a different cast each week. It mixed new stories with adaptations form genre authors such as Ray Bradbury. Some episodes were hour long (with ads) or 2-3 shorter stories in 1 hour long episode. These were then split in some territories to make shorter-run episodes.

The 80s series fascinated me and is the one I have most affinity with when it was screened on RTE in Ireland and ITV in the UK. Several episodes really stood out for me as thought-provoking and sometimes horrific.

“To See The Invisible Man” is one of the thought-provoking episodes that stuck with me for many years. Its from series one in the 1980s era, and in its original broadcast in the USA was part of episode 16, with “The Elevator” and “Tooth and Consequences”. I, however, only recall it as a stand-alone.

It’s based on a short story by Robert Silverberg, an award-winning American author of numerous short stories and novels. It takes place in an unnamed world not too dissimilar to ours and stars Cotter Smith (cult TV fans may remember him as President McKenna in XMEN 2, Tony Vincenzo in the short-lived Night Stalker remake and President Jack Davies in power-cut drama Revolution). He plays Mitchell Chaplin, a self-obsessed and obnoxious man. He is found guilty by an unseen court of the heinous crime of “coldness” (uncaring for others) and sentenced to one year of “invisibility”. This appears to amount to a blob of something stuck to his forehead. He, of course, laughs this off. As his punishment begins, he starts to realise what the blob actually means. As soon as people see the blob on his head, the instantly stop interacting with him, instructing others to cease interaction and all the time monitored by floating CCTV globes. Chaplin, as his obnoxious self, finds this great. He can roam like a ghost, go where he wants and do what he wants and people won’t stop him because they can’t. To reinforce this, he visits a spa and walks right into one of the ladies’ private rooms, where a group of ladies are naked in a hot-tub. Upon seeing him, they huddle together crying, as they feel violated and degraded by his presence. It’s a harsh moment in such a short story.

As the year progresses, he becomes more and more aware of the need to be a part of society, the human need to talk and companionship. He begins to see the error of his ways and tries to help a blind man who is initially thankful, until he is told by a sighted person that Chaplin is “invisible” and the blind man is disgruntled and angry at what he understands as being taken advantage of. Chaplin could interact with him because he couldn’t see the blob.

Chaplin is later seriously injured when some thieves try to run him over, but he can’t get medical help because he is “invisible” and endures the agonising pain. One morning, as he tries to cut his own hair, his apartment door is opened and two guards come in. With relief, Chaplin realises his year’s sentence is up, but the guards do not interact with him at all until the blob is removed. They then invite him out for drinks, initially Chaplin is reluctant, but in order to appear “caring” he accepts.

The story jumps forward a few months and after listening to one of his colleagues’ woes, he is told by her that the punishment work, he is a nice caring person now. She is right. H enow fully understands the need to be a part of a society and the pain at being excluded from it. As he walks by, he is confronted by a woman who is marked “invisible” that he had encountered previously when he too was. She begs him to notice her and when he ignores her, she accuses him of being cold. The very crime he had been sentenced for. In a moment of caring, compassion and defiance, Chaplin turns around and holds the woman in a big hug as the CCTV orbs warn him against doing so. His sentence had taught him about kindness and caring, and he is likely to face punishment again for doing exactly that, but this time, he will wear his invisibility with pride.

It’s a short episode on its own, running for around 20 minutes, and there are plot holes aplenty: If everyone knows about invisibility, why is Chaplin surprised when he is first given the blob? What if the invisible want to commit a crime? There’s questions abound, but we don’t need to ponder on those, this is the story of one person’s redemption, and it’s deep and memorable.

I have never read the original short story, but I almost think to do so would change the memory of this episode, so I’m happy to keep it this way. Cotter Smith plays the obnoxious Chaplin very well indeed and conveys the change from self-obsessed through despair to caring believably well and given such a short script and screen time, is a great feat.

It’s certainly one of the hundreds of Twilight Zone episodes to look out for, and I hope when you do see it, you enjoy it and remember it as well as I do.

Year: 1986

Episode count: Oh difficult, it’s officially listed as 65 for the 1980s run, but can be anything when they are split!

Season count: 3

Availability: DVD, labelled as “The New Twilight Zone”, 3 season boxset, 13 disc set (UK)

Have You Been Watching...? The Hammer House of Horror - The House That Bled To Death

 

It is hopefully clear by now that, not only will I be giving my thoughts on complete serials, but also individual episodes. When I first thought about doing this blog, there was one episode I knew I had to write about. This particular episode of a well-remembered horror series haunted me for many years (my own fault, having been far too young to watch it, but telling mum I was sick so I could “sleep” on the sofa and therefore watch this…).

The Hammer House of Horror is a 13 episode anthology series, first broadcast in 1980, and produced by ITC entertainment with Cinema Arts international and broadcast on ITV. Each 50 minute episode (1hr with ads) stood alone and there was no running theme through the series or host for that matter.

Each episode opened with a “teaser” (as short scene or two that set up the episode, then the opening credits. I mention this specifically as, for me, opening credits and theme tunes are just as important as the episodes themselves, for any series. Hammer house of Horror is no exception. The opening titles are a mixture of gothic eerie imagery, shadows in windows and help set up the creepiness of the series nicely, coupled with its amazingly atmospheric theme tune. There is no doubt watching these opening credits that you are in for a spooky ride.

Having nestled nicely in the back of my mind since 1980, my first recent exposure to this episode was on a VHS release, and then most recently, it gloriously remastered Blur-ray edition. Depending on the release, the episodes were issued in different orders, on VHS, The House that Bled to Death was episode one, but not on the blu ray. It does not matter, though, as running order doesn’t change the enjoyment.

So, the House that Bled to Death tells the story of the Peters, a small family comprising of Mum, Dad and their young daughter Sophie. They excitedly move into their new home in a nice residential area in the south of England. What they are unaware of, is the bloody history of the house. You, as a viewer, will be aware of this thanks to the “teaser” opening. Yes, we are into haunted house territory in contemporary England. As the episode rolls on, the house begins telling its horrific history through a series of pretty damn scary incidents. The one that lingered in my memory and secured it’s place in my history, was the scene that takes place at a party for Sophie. {spoiler coming} Sophie and a group of children are all enjoying themselves and the party is happily ticking along, when there is a banging sound and the creaking of pipes which dampens the party atmosphere. All of a sudden, the pipes burst and the party guests are sprayed with a bright vivid red blood. Cue screams and clearly distressed children and adults. The scene is quite unlike anything I had ever seen before or since.

The scares keep coming, until the truth of the episode is eventually revealed, and it is NOT what you would think. The entire haunted house story turns out to be a hoax, concocted by Mr Peters himself, as he was indeed aware of the history of the house. Indeed, there is a lot more to the Peters’ relationship than meets the eye! Having then been able to sell it to Mr AJ Powers, who then turned the Peters’ story into a book and film (in a way satirizing the Amityville Horror story, which was released in 1979), and he now is £1 million pounds richer. Powers’ part to play in the story is also more than the viewer might think. The family relocate to America, where they are living “the dream”. However, young Sophie soon discovers her part in the hoax and decides to take a bloody vengeance on Mum and Dad, using the same machete knives from the opening teaser.

It is a very clever script for the series, which relies on his horror, both in terms of storytelling, and from its legacy using the “Hammer” name. To then spin it around that the story is in fact a hoax, is very brave. The final denouement is interesting, Is Sophie acting out of revenge for her murdered cat? (yes, that happens) or is she in fact possessed by the spirits from the house? Has the hoax in fact had a truth behind it?

Nicholas Ball (whom sci-fi fans might recall as the Simulant from the “Justice” episode of Red Dwarf) and Rachel Davies (extra kudos to you if you remember her as Camilla in the Dr Who story  State of Decay, incidentally broadcast the same year) play the main couple, William and Emma Peters, while Milton Johns (mentioned in this blog having starred in King of the Castle and Dr Who) plays Mr Powers, the man who eventually writes a book about the Peters’ experiences in the house. Emma Ridley plays young Sophie while Blakes 7 star Brian Croucher makes an appearance as “George” one of the neighbours from across the road (whose introduction to the story is rather disturbing!).

It is a great “modern” horror yarn, and the lengths the couple go to to ensure the believability of the hoax wouldn’t go amiss with today’s Youtuber/tik tok fame seekers.

Year: 1980

Series count : N/A

Episode count: 1 (of 13) - depending which programme list you're following!

Availability: DVD/Blu Ray/streaming on Britbox

Have You Been Watching...? Star Trek Strange New Worlds: Spock Amok

 

I enjoy Star Trek, but do not consider myself a Trekkie by any means. I watched old episodes in the 80s, I enjoyed Next Generation and Voyager, I enjoy Discovery, Lower Decks, Picard and this new series, Strange New Worlds but I couldn’t tell you intricate details of timelines etc.

The crew of the USS Enterprise 1701 debuted in the original pilot episode of the 60’s incarnation of Star Trek, led by Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike. The format was then reworked and a subsequent pilot with William Shatner as Captain Kirk began the Star Trek we know and love. Pike did make an appearance in later episodes as the original pilot became part of a 2-episode story “The Menagerie” showing an unfortunate but terrible fate for Pike. This hasn’t gone away for “Strange New Worlds” and forms an ongoing storyline.

The ”new” Enterprise line-up under Captain Pike debuted in season 2 of Star Trek Discovery, with Anson Mount as Pike, Ethan Peck as Spock and Rebecca Romijin as “Number One”. The story goes that these additions to Discovery were so well received, fans campaigned for their own spin-off and this evolved into Strange New Worlds.

“Spock Amok” is the fifth episode of the premier season of Strange New Worlds, but in just 5 episodes, the show has been so well written and performed that I find myself really enjoying the cast and feel like they’ve been around forever. Mount is electrifying as Pike, he is charming and funny, brave and dependable. He is just so good I find myself missing him when he is not on screen. Peck does an admirable job as Spock, maintaining the logical distance yet genuine friendship as mastered by Leonard Nimoy and Romijin is wonderful as “Number One”, Pike’s second in command, now given a full name of Una Chin-Riley. After many escapades and emotionally deep episodes, “Spock Amok” does the one thing Trek can do so well: the light-hearted and genuinely fun episode. This type of story has been missing from many of the new Treks (Lower Decks excluded of course), so it’s doubly refreshing to see it back, with this particular crew.

In a nutshell, Enterprise is in dry dock having repairs after its recent encounters with strange new life and new civilisations. Most of the crew are on down time, being allowed shore-leave etc. Spock has negotiations with a potential new ally for the federation, and his fiancée, T’Pring arrives with her own mission and to connect with her loved one.

Una and La’an Noonien-Sing discover the new recruits’ game of “Enterprise Bingo” and in their attempt to have more “fun”, decide to try all the challenges themselves. Spock consults Nurse Chappel for some relationship advice and in a strange attempt to carry that advice out, conducts a ritual with T’Pring which in true Star Trek tradition goes awry. This time, Spock and T’Pring swap bodies. Yes, Star Trek goes all Freaky Friday. While maintaining the characters integrity, this proves to be a barrel of laughs.

Peck performs a sterling job as T’pring trying to be Spock, while guest star Gia Sandu does an even more admirable job performing as Spock. Needless to say, this situation does get resolved by the closing credits and I was more than pleasantly surprised by the resolution of that plotline and wonder where they will go from here.

Other standout performances include, of course Romijin, letting her hair down to try to have fun with Christina Chong playing Noonien-Singh, both of whom have been through the wringer in recent episodes, so the chance to play out-of-character is clearly relished by them both. Jess Bush as Nurse Chappel also deserves recognition for her portrayal as fun-loving party-girl harbouring a possibly unrequited love (or is it?). The relationships between the new crew is really the bricks this show is built on, and it shows, to its credit.

I won’t spoil the rest of the plot or other sub-plots, but I thoroughly enjoyed this episode (as I have all of the episodes to date). After numerous complaints from Star Trek fandom, this new series just hits all the right spots, when it needs to hit them. Even the recasting, there’s a new Uhura, a new Dr M’Bega, a new Dr Chappel and the new characters such as Noonien-Singh (Long term fans might recognise THAT surname), Hemmer and Sam Kirk (yes indeed, James T Kirk’s brother who DOES appear in the original series too), are all spot on. You can get to know them yourself as you watch the series. Longer-term fans might balk at the stylistic rnodern changes to Enterprise but on the whole, Strange New Worlds is a refreshing, yet traditional take on the Star Trek legacy.

The releases of the new Trek’s have been a bone of contention for fans across the globe due to new networks and subscription services, but I heartily recommend if you get a chance to catch Strange New Worlds, give it a go. You won’t regret it.

Year: 2022

Episodes: 10 

Series count: 1

Availability: currently available via streaming platform Paramount+

Have You Been Watching...? Mork & Mindy: Dr. Morkenstein (1979)

 

Mork and Mindy is one of a number of spin-offs from the hugely successful American situation comedy series “Happy Days”. The eponymous “Mork” appeared in a dream sequence in one of the former’s episodes and was such a hit, the dream sequence was ret-conned in the pilot episode, making Mork a 100% real character in the Happy Days Universe. I LOVED Mork and Mindy when I was little. It was silly, it was bright and colourful (not just Robin Williams' outfits) and it was a lovely programme to sit down and watch. Now that I’m older and more cynical, does it still hold that magic? A lot of it does, and it’s down to the performances of the two principal actors.

The series ran for 4 seasons from 1978-1981, and marked the debut of global mega-star-to-be Robin Williams as Mork, an alien from the planet Ork, sent to observe Mankind on Earth. While on Earth, he meets young, single gal-about-town Mindy McConnell, played by Pam Dawber. Mork then moves in with her and learns about humanity while developing a sweet romance with Mindy. While it’s another variation of the “fish out of water” set up, similar to ALF, Small Wonder and numerous others, the series was a huge hit with audiences but by the end of season 1, the studio made changes to the format. By the time "Dr Morkenstein" comes around, gone is the whimsical theme tune, replaced by a “with it” disco version, gone are Mindy’s dad and maternal Grandmother, replaced by young brother and sister duo Remo and Jeannie DaVinci, who run their new hangout: The New York Deli, replacing the old music shop from series 1.

The show “feels” different now, younger and sillier, but this episode (only the fifth in the second series) reminds us that it can still grab our heart-strings when needed. The episode has a lot for fans of cult TV and movies: Chuck the robot in the episode is Robbie The Robot from the Forbidden Planet movie and cameos in Gremlins etc. The voice of Chuck is that of Roddie McDowell, well known for the Planet of the Apes movies.

Mork gets himself a job in a science museum as a night watchman. Bored, he tinkers around with one of the exhibits, an old robot, and gives it a consciousness. Mork bonds with the robot, now called Chuck, as the robot wants to explore more of being human and what life is like. Liberating itself from the museum one Friday night, he turns up at Mork and Mindy’s apartment, much to Mindy’s horror. However, Mork pleads for the robot, who starts to display concerning traits, like forgetting what he was saying and getting facts wrong. The old robot confirms he is suffering from metal fatigue, and there’s nothing anyone can do.

Trying to give him more insight to people and the human experience, Mork takes Chuck to the deli, but the robot begins randomly insulting people, and getting sums wrong causing some unrest with the customers. Trying to usher him out, Mork pleads there’s nothing wrong with Chuck.

Mindy and Mork take Chuck back to the museum, but Mindy realises the old robot is wearing down. Mork is devastated and doesn’t want it to end this way for Chuck. He tries to set Chuck back to the way he was, but Chuck pleads with him to keep his as he is. He wants to be “human”, the end comes with the territory.  Chuck values his friendship with Mork and values that he gave him life. He wants to feel the end of it and appreciates the chance to die with dignity. Wanting to play one last game of “I-spy”, Chuck begins to die in Mork’s arms.

Mork’s pain is clear to see and he cries, his face scrunched up in agony. In the episode’s epilogue, Mork sends his usual mental update to his superior on Ork, a being called “Orson”. Referring to the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz, Mork relates his friendship with Chuck to Orson. Orson asks if he can make another. Mork realises he can but hasn’t the heart for it. He breaks down as he relates the death to Orson and the importance of creating something and watching it grow and develop. He will always keep Chuck in his heart. Unusually for the show, Mork doesn’t bow with his farewell to Orson or end it with a quip at Orson’s expense, but it fades out with a tear streaming down his face. In fact the jump to the end credits with it’s jaunty disco theme sits very out of place.

While the episode is called Dr Morkenstein and it’s influence from the story of Frankenstein is battered into the viewer, it can also be seen as a reflection of a friendship between a young person and an older person as the older succumbs to age. Pam Dawber’s lovely Mindy takes more of a back seat in this episode, but her concern and love for Mork shows as she remains just out of his sight, as Chuck passes so she can be there with him in his distress. Remo and Jeanie barely feature, and other new series regulars Mr Bickley (played by Tom Poston) and Mindy’s cousin Nelson Flavour (played by Jim Staahl) don’t even appear in this one.

Mork is such a childlike being, who views our world with wonder and bewilderment, and never a thought to harm anyone. To see him in tears at the loss of his friend, however brief that friendship was, is utterly heart-breaking. While the “new” series is taking a while to get used to, this smaller, emotional episode brings us back to the more innocent days of series 1. Whatever your thoughts on the quality of episodes as the series makes its way through its four seasons and strange production decisions, this episode stands head and shoulders among the series’ greatest. It also stands as a reminder just how much the world misses Robin Williams.

Year – 1978

Series count – 4

Episode count – 91 (some double episodes as screened were later split into individual episodes)

Availability – DVD boxset of all 4 seasons (individual season are available in some areas)

Have You Been Watching...? Threads (1984)

 

At the time of writing, the world seems all doom and gloom. We are still in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, monkey pox is on the rise, Russia went to war with Ukraine, the costs of living and energy are continually on the rise, life is gloomy and scary, so of COURSE it’s the best time to watch 1984’s nuclear holocaust drama Threads.

First broadcast on Sunday 23^rd September 1984 at 9.30pm, it was compared with The Day After, an American TV Movie from 1983 along similar themes. That’s really where the similarities end. While The Day After is unashamedly American, Threads is unashamedly British. This means grit, drama and a bit more working class. While not particularly gory, Threads is much more horrific than The Day After.

Threads did not cast major stars in it’s main roles, but some are recognisable. Reece Dinsdale (from Home To Roost and many other now well known dramas) stars as Jimmy Kemp, one of the main leads. David Brierley (known to Dr Who fans as the second actor to voice robot dog K9) stars as Jimmy’s dad Bill Kemp. TV presenter and Adventure Game “mole” Lesley Judd appeared as the newsreader.

I won’t go into the plot too much as there’s so much more in the film to see. The film tells the story of Jimmy Kemp and his girlfriend Ruth Bennett, who live in the city of Sheffield. Ruth discovers she is pregnant and she and Jimmy plan to marry, much to the concern of both sets of parents. As the soap opera elements of our story unfold, in the background, in heard radio reports and TV newscasts, slowly a war begins in eastern Europe. Most of this of course, bypasses our two families who are much more consumed in their own affairs, much like any other family. As time progresses, we see the rest of the country HAS been paying attention. As the Kemps and Bennetts try to get to grips with what’s going on in the world, they face panic buying and looting. As the warnings loom in the media, they begin to make preparations for Worst Case Scenario. Nothing prepares them for what’s to come. As tensions rise in the east, nuclear weapons begin to be deployed. One eventually targets an RAF base outside of Sheffield, and Jimmy observes the tell-tale mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion. Sheffield is destroyed. People die in their millions due to fallout and nuclear winter, as the sun is obscured by dust and debris in the atmosphere. Temperatures plummet. Money has no value, only food. As time goes on, The Kemps and Bennetts perish like most others, except for Ruth, and she becomes the focus of the story and the horror of nuclear winter unfolds. She gives birth to her child, a daughter she calls Jane, in a dirty outbuilding as a tied up Alsatian dog watches on. She must bite through the umbilical cord as there’s no one to help. Ruth story continues, as she must toil in fields for food. She survives. As the years progress, Ruth eventually perishes when Jane is 10. Jane barely notices. Jane then continues to scrabble and scrounge to exist, joining a pair of lads, one of whom get shot as they steal. Jane and remaining lad end up sleeping together. The movie ends months later, as Jane gives birth to her own child, and looks in horror at the baby.

Threads is really unlike anything I’ve seen before. It’s rarely repeated (I recorded it from only its THIRD showing on British TV in 2003, thank you BBC4). It apparently has only been shown twice since then. Threads is relentless. There’s no holding back on what this film shows you. The film’s format makes this easier to digest. It has a “docu-drama” feel to it, with narrator and captions explaining what goes on, providing information and statistics before cutting back to the drama. We see people die by the bucketload. We see minor characters in local councils suddenly burdened with a responsibility they are way too out of their depth to manage. We see people trying to do their best in hopeless situations. Shot on film, it gives the movie that extra grittiness and realism which only adds to the soul crushing despair.

Threads has been described as one of the most terrifying movies ever made, and it’s hard to disagree. The use of working class people and their day to day problems as the device to bring the viewer in, is a masterstroke of genius. It makes the whole movie relatable and terrifying. We can image these people being US, our families, our friends. Going to our job in the morning and the world going to hell by teatime.  What would WE do? More importantly, if we were to survive such an attack, would we WANT to? Is the story of Ruth and the survivors better than death? Legend has it that US President Ronald Reagan changed his nuclear policy in 1985 having watched Threads.

Overall, it’s an excellent movie, a thought-provoking and downright terrifying tale. Of note, there have been several home media releases for this, but if you seek one out to watch, go for the Simply Media blu-ray, which besides looking magnificent (increasing that grittiness) it also has a number of special features (including a director approved widescreen edition and a commentary from director Mick Jackson) and the original soundtrack.

YEAR: 1984

Availability: DVD and Blu Ray (updated 20^th August 2022 – now available to stream on Britbox)

HYBW rating: 9/10

Have You Been Watching...? King Of The Castle (1977)

 

I love 1970s telefantasy. I love that TV producers took risks, that they aimed so high with their aspirations and that only budgets stood in their way. It’s something we don’t see enough of in the 21^st century, I think. These days it’s all about ratings and playing it safe.

So, what can I tell you about King of the Castle? It was a children’s telefantasy series broadcast between 8^th May 1977 and 19^th June 1977, running for 7 episodes. It’s a stand-alone series, in that there was no series 2, or sequel, or spin-off. It was broadcast in colour by Harlech Television (I have no idea what their commissioning team were on, but HTV produced some amazing programmes for children in its day).  As seems to be the norm for this era, the series doesn’t fully exist in the archives in its entirety and the lost episode 3 is recovered from a VHS recording. I viewed this on the official Network DVD release and the quality isn’t bad at all.

King of the Castle was created and written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, who also wrote the other telefantasy series “Sky” (more of that in a future instalment of this blog) but are probably better known for writing several Doctor Who serials and introducing the world to K-9, the Doctor’s robot dog. The series tells the story of Roland, played by Philip DaCosta, a young chorister who has recently moved into a block of flats, with his dad and stepmother. He finds himself the victim of the bullies who roam the building. On one occasion, he tries to get away from them by entering an elevator, but it breaks, and plummets down the shaft.

While the police and maintenance staff try to rescue him, Roland enters a bizarre and twisted version of the world above, resulting in a surreal series of escapades as he tries to find his way out of the strange world he finds himself in, and back to the block of flats as he knows it.

The strange world is populated by twisted versions of people he knows in the real world, meaning the cast play dual roles. The cast includes numerous well-known names like Milton Johns (sci-fi fans will recognise him from The Empire Strikes Back and a variety of Doctor Who tales), Fulton Mackay (Officer Mackay in Porridge alongside Ronnie Barker) and Talfryn Thomas (whom I recognised as Tom Price in the BBC 1970s apocalyptic series Survivors).

Each episode runs for an easily manageable 25 mins (apx), and Roland’s escapades include meeting a Frankenstein’s Monster-esque creature, a woman in red who creepily tries to seduce him (the alternative character to his step-mum played by Angela Richards!) and a samurai-type warrior played by Jamie Foreman, the alternative character to the main bully called “Ripper”. Talfryn Thomas plays a creepy guide through this strange world, and whose motives are unclear resulting in Roland’s uncertainty whether he should trust him or not.

Now I will be honest, 7 episodes may be too many and I found the series flagging around episode 4. Stick with it, however, as episode 6 turns things around with something I certainly did NOT see coming, leading nicely into its finale. Applying modern sensitivities to a series made 45 years ago is always a problem, but very hard to avoid. Certainly, an element of the finale does not sit comfortably today.

The series seems to be a spiritual predecessor to those 80s T Bag adventures, studio bound surreal adventures with limited special effects, but King of the Castle is certainly much darker than T Bags and T shirts would ever be. It also spends a long time leaving the viewer wondering if Roland is dead in real life and this is all in his head. The “real world” characters spend an inordinately long time trying to get to the lift and rescue him, but he doesn’t reply to their calls.  There is a reason for this, but you will be guessing for a while.

 

One of the things I quite disliked about the series is the opening theme tune. It’s a choral version of the old King of the Castle rhyme. I suppose it does add to the atmosphere of the show, but I find it unsettling! Therefore, I suppose, its objective is achieved!

Overall, of course it’s a low budget kids show from the seventies, and it’s very much a product of it’s time.  Could it have done with an episode or two cut? Maybe. Is it enjoyable? Very much so. Fulton Mackay and Talfryn Thomas are great in it, as is Philip DaCosta. Milton Johns is very much underused. My favourite character in it is the father, played by Sean Lynch. He’s just great to watch and it with great sadness I read he passed away in 1979, only two years after this programme.

Year: 1977

Series count: 1

Episode count: 7

Availability: DVD

Have You Been Watching...? The Stairs (2021)

 

I like to keep things positive, as best I can, in these little reviews of mine. When I hear of a film with such a unique premise as The Stairs, my curiosity is piqued and the concept was thrilling. What could possibly go wrong? This. This film is what could go wrong.

Based on an apparently strange American phenomenon, the film’s title is wearing its concept on its sleeve. There have been alleged cases of people finding random staircases in places across America. They don’t lead anywhere. They just appear to exist. Various websites report their supernatural origin, but this movie takes things in another direction. This time folks, spoilers aplenty to come. I’ve seen it, so you don’t have to.

On the face of it, the film has good things going for it. Headline cast includes Kathleen Quinlan (moviegoers may remember her from Apollo 13 and The Twilight Zone Movie) and John Schneider (from Smallville and Dukes of Hazzard). However, failing to make use of their headline stars, or budget restraints, means that the pair barely feature in the movie at all. It’s left to Brent Bailey (who has appeared in episodes of Doom Patrol and Agents of SHIELD), Adam Corson (Lucifer and Twilight Zone 2010 episodes), Josh Crotty, Trin Miller and Stacey Oristano to carry the tale. As an ensemble they’re not too bad portraying the roles they’ve been given. It’s just unfortunate they have been given the roles they’ve been given as they are bland 2-dimensional and extremely unlikeable. There’s no protagonist in the movie that you WANT to root for, to hope they see the end credits.

So the plot goes, John Schneider and his young grandson go into the woods to hunt deer. There (whatever your thought’s are on the subject) goes any sympathy for either of them. Grandson get separated from Grandpops, and finds a stairway in the woods, leading nowhere, they are just there. Complete with dangling chandeliers too! Grandson finds what appears (off-screen) to be some kid of pet he wants to like, but gets dragged in to the under stairs doorway, swiftly followed by Grandpops who tries to save him. Then the set of stairs, the title of the movie, the reason one wants to see it, disappears for most of the rest of the movie.

Enter a group of young people hiking and camping. The two lead men are brothers and stop by a shop where there red-herrings galore (posters indicate bigfoot etc as if to lead you that’s what the film is about). They then meet up with the rest of their unlikeable friends. As they progress into the woods, the film begins to serve some decent creepiness as they have supernatural encounters, including a zombie -type woman and a man who has half his head blown off (yes, indeed!).  The movies then descends into “there’s a monster in the woods picking them off one-by-one” territory. By now, I don’t care who makes it to the end as there appears to be no end to the bad decisions this group of people, who should know better, will make. Clearly the writer write these bad decisions to put them in various places for, y’know, plot.

The stairs do eventually reappear, and our “heroes” venture within the door, finding a kind of factory, with pipes, boilers dark shadows etc, and a young boy. Yes, grandson has survived! Brother 2 gets the boy out, but brother 1 succumbs to the monster, which reminds me of the fluke-man from an early X Files episode.

Plot goes on, but then reveals brother 2 is the friend of Grandson and 20 years have passed for brother 2 and nothing at all for grandson! Grandson has been missing for 20 years to everyone else. Anyway, eventually plot ends (I won’t spoil everything) And Brother 2 and Grandson survive, who them meets his gran and mum. All the others are dead.

Then the feds turn up, and everything we have seen before…becomes a comedy! I swear those last few scenes with the feds are comical and I think they’re SUPPOSED to be.

What is it about? Who knows? What’s the point of the stairs? It’s never discussed, revealed or anything. What’s under the stairs? It is aliens? Time travel? What’s going on? What has the presence of the stairs got to do with any of the other spooky goings on? You will never KNOW! I don’t mind movies letting you draw your own conclusions with things, but this movie literally gives you NOTHING. You put the movie on, you watch it, it ends. Your life or knowledge is none-the-better for the experience. All that is left is the rage that you could have done something more productive with your time.

So overall, unless I get a time machine, I will never get the 90+ minutes of my life back that I wasted watching this. It’s not all bad of course, some of the creepy moments in the woods really are the stuff of nightmares but ruined by the decisions the friends make around those moments. It’s a hotch-potch of ideas. Peter “Drago” Tiemann has a lot to answer for (credits show he directed, co-produced, co-wrote, came up with the concept, co-ordinated stunts, was post-production supervisor and was “body burn” whatever that is.) Maybe another pair of eyes over the script, and production may have helped. It’s a shame because there is a good movie in there. It might have even worked with 30 mins or so shaved off it. Everyone works so hard, and the movie looks so good, it’s just a shame it’s let down by the source material.

So, if you are bored of an evening, with nothing to do, it’s raining outside and nothing on the telly. Go read a book or something. Wash the dishes. Anything. Save yourselves. Just don’t invest your time in this.

Year – 2021

Availability – Amazon Prime (at time of writing. Various language and subtitle options)

HYBW movie rating – 3/10 (hey, people worked hard on this, I’m not giving it NOTHING, it has a few redeeming features)

Have You Been Watching...? Neighbours: The Finale (2022)

 

I clearly remember watching Neighbours in the late 1980’s on BBC1, the tales of everyday folk living together in Ramsay Street, a cul-de-sac in Melbourne, Australia. My recollections go right back to the earliest of episodes (I must’ve been off school ill).  I can’t have been the only one. Legend has it, when the BBC began showing the Australian soap opera in the daytime schedules of 1986, kids bunked off school to watch it, resulting in an extra showing in the evenings! This pattern of broadcast (one in the afternoon and another at tea-time) served the series all the way from those teen-lovers Scott and Charlene days, through to it’s departure from BBC1 to its new home on Channel 5 in 2007 right through to the date of its final episode.

I wasn’t the most dedicated Neighbours fan, after they heydays of Scott, Charlene, Joe and Kerry, I dipped in and out over the years. It was like an old friend that you didn’t have to keep in touch with, they were always around and when you did make contact again, it was like no time had passed between you. It was like a comfortable old cardigan or blanket. However, in late 2021/early 2022 Channel 5, who by now were the soap’s biggest financial backers, said they would stop showing the series from the summer. The race was on to find another home for the series, but to no avail. Production ceased in June 2022 and the final episode aired on Friday 29th June 2022 (in the UK).

So, how does a studio end a show that has run, pretty much, every weekday for 37 years totalling close to 9000 instalments? Think about that dear reader, Neighbours launched the same year as Eastenders, how on earth do you write an ending that both celebrates the achievement and satisfies both avid watcher and lapsed fan? Well, the Neighbours producers do it in the way they know so well, with heaps of nostalgia and positivity.

Storyline-wise, as we enter the final three episodes (8901, 8902 & 8903, fact fans), there’s a mass exodus of residents leaving Ramsay Street for a variety of reasons and seeing the houses up for sale is causing Street stalwart Susan Kennedy to feel very much adrift. Not only are the neighbours leaving, but her nemesis Izzy Hoyland is back, trying to worm her way into the family through her eldest son, Malcolm. Izzy isn’t the only face back. Over the extended episode, we see many faces from the series’ past, including Scott and Charlene, Madge and Harold, Mike and Jane, Clive, Des, Shane, Phil, Lauren, Beth, Flick, Donna, Tad and so many more. Eagle eyed viewers will also note secret (or not) nods to other cast members, for example a letter addressed to T. Oliver. Tom Oliver played Lou Carpenter on the show for many years.

What could bring all these people together at once? It’s a wedding of course, that of Jared “Toadfish” Rebecchi and Melanie Pearson (previously married to Street legend Joe Mangel). They are another couple planning to up sticks and move on from the iconic cul-de-sac. It’s not just a wedding either, the finale is full of the storylines of the type that kept the viewers flocking to the series for years. Schemes come undone, lovers fall apart, lovers find each other and the whole thing is just loaded with hope and positivity. There’s even a nod to the legendary fisticuffs of old. This was one of the things that set Neighbours apart from it’s soap rivals. Even when Neighbours tried to be hard, with hostage takings, killings etc, it just didn’t sit right. It was out of the norm for the show. Neighbours was at its best when being sunny and bright and happy. It did silly storylines aplenty (gorillagram, anyone?) alongside the drama (storm of the century, psychopathic teachers et al).

The finale is an hour-long fun filled nostalgia-fest yet sowing the seeds for a potential return if another network picks it up (it wouldn’t be the first time – the series was axed after 170 episodes on Network 7 before Channel 10 picked it up in 1986). If you are feeling a bit low, this is absolutely ‘chicken soup’ for the soul. Thank you, Neighbours, for all the entertainment over the last 37 years. If you’ve followed the show on and off for decades, you will enjoy gasping as some of the faces appear on screen and might get confused when you don’t recognise them at all at first, just like our own good friends. I enjoyed it immensely and will miss it when it’s gone. Well, I have all my DVDs of the early episodes lined up and ready to go! Only 8,903 to go…

Episode count: 8903

Season count: 37

Availability: DVDs of early episodes are available, current episodes streaming on My5. Heads up, the English DVDs are long out of print, and the Australian ones are even rarer. Check out “Nachbarn”, the German releases, they have the original English soundtracks too. Readily available at the moment.

 

Have You Been Watching...? Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

 

Back in the late 1970s/early 80s, family friendly film provider Disney experimented with what some people refer to as the “Dark Disney” era. This is a series of films made by the producer that err on a slighty-more-scarier and frightening side than most previous Disney movies. Examples of these include The Watcher in the Woods (if you ever get to see the alternative ending, watch it! It’s even scarier that the theatrically released one), The Black Hole (seeing Anthony Perkins get eviscerated by a robots propeller), and the Black Cauldron. For some reason, the 1983 released Something Wicked This Way Comes frequently gets left off this list. It’s not readily available outside the US and is missing off Disney+ etc. Personally, I think the main reason for this is, even though the other movies are clearly scary kids movies, SWTWC is 100% a decent horror film, just not gory. Well, hold that thought.

Something Wicked This Way Comes is based on a story by renowned sci-fi author Ray Bradbury (Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man and so much more). What makes the film special, is that he also wrote the screenplay for it. Most people will say a book is nothing like the film or vice versa, and while the movie changes from the book, it is absolutely in line with the thoughts and unsettling style of the story.

The movie sets the story in what appears to be default Disney world, circa 1920s/30s(?) small town America. Two young boys, born on the same night to different families, but a few minutes apart, have grown up together and are best friends. They are Will Halloway, a quiet studious young boy, and more free-spirited Jim Nightshade. Will lives with his mum and (clearly a lot older) Dad, while Jim lives with his Mum, his father is not on the scene. On their way home from school one day, Jim buys a “lightning rod” from an apparent vagrant called Mr Fury. While fitting the lightning rod, Jim and Will find a pamphlet advertising a travelling carnival coming to town.

Seeing the train arrive, the boys set off excitedly to the location to find the carnival all set up and running. The next day, the townsfolk attend the carnival, which appears to supernaturally fulfil their desires. A bartender missing an arm and a leg sees himself in a mirror with his missing limbs back. The local barber, who is very into his women, attends a show with exotic dancers, where he is transformed into a bearded lady, Mr Tetley who is obsessed with money and gambling gets turned into a wooden statue and Ms Foley, the elderly teacher wishes for her to be young and beautiful again, and becomes young and beautiful, but loses her sight to see herself.

All this happens under the watchful gaze of Mr Dark, who runs the carnival, and may or may not be the actual devil. Dark is played by the Welsh actor Jonathan Pryce, looking dashingly handsome in this! As the story progresses our two young heroes find a carousel capable of turning people older or younger, incurring the wrath of Dark who sets out to get them. Using a parade trough town to hunt the boys, we see the townsfolk transformed by the carnival are now part of the carnies. The boys enlist the help of Will’s dad to help evade capture. Mr Dark even uses his tattoos to show images of the boys in order to help catch them. Mr Halloway, who is the towns librarian, discovers the carnival had visited the town previously and his own father had fought them.

This all leads to a confrontation with Dark, the disclosure of Mr Halloway’s own dark secrets and the power the love of a son for his dad can have. It also results in one of the most visually gruesome death scenes in a Disney movie!

There are so many unsettling and disturbing moments in this film, from the prices paid by the townsfolk for having their desires (and we DON’T see them revert back to normal, so assume they are lost for good), to one horrific moment when Will sees an image of himself being decapitated and the film SHOWS the head in a basket. If you suffer from arachnophobia, there’s another scene that will give you nightmares for weeks.

I absolutely LOVE this movie. I love Bradbury’s work in general and this is one of the best adaptations of his work EVER. Jonathan Pryce (Dr Who: Curse of fatal Death, 007 The World is Not Enough) is enthralling as Mr Dark, creepy, eerie and downright scary. The young boys are good but the next best performance is Jason Robards (All the President’s Men, The Day After) as Charles Halloway, conveying the anguish of failing to protect his son, and wishing he could be the more active dad for his boy while being the older man he actually is, medical problems and all.

Maybe “Horror” is too strong a term for this, but it’s certainly nightmare fuel. It’s very Bradbury, and certainly stays with you long after the end credits roll.

Year: 1983

Availability: US – DVD and Blu Ray, Europe – DVD, UK – not commercially available

HWBW rating: 8/10 

Have You Been Watching...? The Terror: Infamy

 

Have You Been Watching…? The Terror: Infamy

The Terror is an American anthology series, where each season is a self-contained tale. Each has it’s own cast, storyline, beginning, middle and end with no threads run through tying them all together. “Infamy” is the second series of The Terror. I was not enticed by the plot of series 1, two ships stuck in the ice between 1845-1848, based on the true story of Captain Sir John Franklin’s “lost expedition” to the Arctic. This second series appealed much more, due to its Japanese horror influence (The original Ring movie is one of my all time favourites).

Infamy is historical again, but this time set in the second world war, days before the Pearl Harbour attack. The historical side of the series shows a side of American history I was previously not aware of but makes it all the more horrific and not just in the supernatural way.

The cast of the 10 part epic includes scifi stalwarts such as George Takei (Star Trek), Hiro Kanagawa (Star Trek Discovery, iZombie, Man in the High Castle), C Thomas Howell (with a strong of genre credits to his name!) and Naoko Mori (Torchwood & Dr Who) and relates the story of the Nakayama family, just prior to and immediately after the Pearl Harbour attack in 1941. Following the attack, the American authorities round-up any Japanese person, families, children and all, and intern them in prison camps. Our main protagonist is budding photo-journalist Chester Nakayama, an American born to Japanese parents. It IS important to recognise that given what happens to the family as the series progresses. In the midst of these human rights tragedies comes a spectre from Japanese folklore, terrorising the Japanese community and taking a particular interest in Chester. Our protagonist is played by Derek Mio, whose credits include the movie GBF, Gay Best Friend. He is great as Chester, conveying the despair, devotion, helplessness and heroism. He is very much the backbone of the series and he carries it well.

The series begins with a suicide and continues in a slow build up from there as events overtake the family. As the story progresses, the gore does increase, so be warned! It might be slow paced, but believe me, every second is watchable, both for the antics of the spirit, and the behaviours of the authorities toward innocent people who have done nothing wrong, other than be from, or born to, a different race. “Any drop of Japanese blood” is a phrase used within the series. Historically, some 120,000 people of Japanese descent were imprisoned in these camps with about two thirds of them being actual American citizens. You will have to forgive my accuracy with these facts as I said previously, this phase of American history is new to me, and I gleaned this info from the world wide web, so it’s open to debate. Either way, it happened, and it is still horrific.

The series is very much a jigsaw puzzle and as the pieces start to fall into place, it all begins to make sense. This is one of those series that the ending doesn’t disappoint. In fact, there’s very little about The Terror: Infamy that disappointed at all. We begin to see everything come together the same time Chester does, so we don’t skip ahead, and the series works better because of this. Also, stay with the end credits, you won’t regret it.

Fans of The Terror will no doubt already know that it is executively produced by none other than Ridley Scott and it shows. The cinematography and settings are wonderfully realised, be it the grit of a prison camp or a period fishing village. I won’t say too much more as I don’t want to spoil things, but it is as great to look at as it is horrific.

You might not want to watch this in a dark room on your own, but if you do have the time, you might want to consider investing it in The Terror: Infamy, especially if you are as fan of Japanese horror.

Year: 2019

Episode count: 10

Season count: 1

Availability: Currently free to stream on BBCiplayer (as of July 2022).

Have You Been Watching...? The Nightmare Man

I’d heard of the Nightmare Man many times before, from friends who are much more versed in Telefantasy than I am, so after finally getting a good deal on a second-hand DVD, I settled down to watch it and see what all the fuss was about.

So what did I think of it? Well, I could tell you, but I’d rather you read all the other stuff I’m writing about it too, so either wait ‘til the end, or scroll down to it.

The Nightmare Man is a 4 part thriller from the BBC broadcast in 1981 on Friday nights. I say “thriller” but to say more would be a spoiler. Oh go on, then. The series covers a variety of genres in one, from thriller, to cold war shenanigans and horror to science-fiction. It’s based on the novel “Child of Vodyanoi” by David Wiltshire and released in 1978 but it was adapted for television by Dr Who legend Robert Holmes. Indeed the serial’s connections to Dr Who are broad: In front of the camera, we have an early turn from National Treasure Celie Imrie (The Bells of St John), James Warwick (Earthshock), Maurice Roeves (Caves of Androzani), Tony Sibbald (Terror of the Zygons), Jonathan Newth (Underworld), Tom Watson (The Underwater Menace), Jeff Stewart (Kinda) and Pat Gorman (too numerous to mention).Of course you’ll recognise a number of these from other shows too, like Jeff Stewart in The Bill as Reg Hollis). Dr Who links behind the camera, besides Holmes, include Director Douglas Camefield, Producer Ron Craddock worked on the series in 1964 as production assistant, make-up artist Fran Needham, and assistant floor manager David Tilley. I’m sure there’s more. The series was once described to me like a Dr Who adventure without the Doctor, and it’s probably true. I should also add, that even though there’s a lot of Dr Who talent on screen, there’s also some non-Who talent, including Game of Thrones’ James Cosmo and Bread’s Ronald Forfar.

The series begins with a murder on a remote Scottish island, and the subsequent investigation by the local police, a dentist that assists them (yes, indeed we don’t have enough Dentistry heroes on TV) and a rather mysterious Army colonel. Celia Imrie plays Fiona Patterson, who just happens to be the island’s go-to person for literally everything. Maurice Roeves plays Inspector Inskip of the local police, and is absolutely wonderful on screen, stealing every scene he is in, bringing a necessary groundness to the bizarre goings-on.

As the gruesome murders continue, and a strange craft is located, the islanders begin to realise the murderer might not be one of our own species, let alone one of their own community.

The series was also filmed using outside broadcast equipment, which gives the series a unique “look” to it that contemporary programmes lacked. This does help with the atmosphere of the story. The murderer’s reveal is slow, and we don’t see much of the murder at all until later in the run, the only times we do, is from a red screen point of view as the murderer conducts their deeds.

I didn’t see The Nightmare Man on it’s first transmission, and I hadn’t heard of the Child of Vodyanoi novel, so I was pleasantly going into the with no pre-conceptions. I watched part one on a Saturday and binged the rest over the same weekend. With the episodes being nice 30min chunks, it made it much easier as there’s only 4 of them. For only a 2 hour run time, though, I wouldn’t watch one after the other. Take a break between each and savour those cliffhangers!  I watched this on the BBC DVD edition of the story, which is quite difficult to track down these days. It was released in 2005, so may be out of print now, although it can be located on various internet sites for inflated costs, so shop around.

Overall, I did enjoy this. It’s a product of its time, but on the whole, it stands up well today. At the time of writing this though, some of the plot threads are remarkably current!

Year – 1981

Series count – 1

Episode count – 4

Availability – DVD (if you can find it)

Have You Been Watching...?

 

Welcome to my corner of the universe.

This is where I will post my thoughts, musings and reviews of what I have been watching on TV, DVD, blu ray and streaming services. Who knows, maybe you have been watching them too? 

I will try to provide some background information where I can, and will give some mentions of plot, so YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

I hope you enjoy my thoughts!

Manny