The World According To Garm

Heading out for a last-minute DFH (Disappointing Family Holiday) tomorrow for a week in Derbyshire, so expect to see even less here than has been usual of late.

 

First time out for an extended period with the Garm, the newest member of the (cough) extended family, which will be interesting, to say the least.

 

Anyway, @MonoidOne could yield some intermittent Shuttleworth-themed material between visits to wool shops and endless bickering about food, but don't hold your breath...

Publicity Shots From Hell No.87

One conversation that is conspicuous by its absence chez Monoid concerns the topic of holidays. Having finally been dragged abroad last year to spend a week sat by a swimming pool mentally muttering, I am prepared for the expectations of a similar experience this year.

But so far nothing has been said, and I await with interest to see if Ms Monoid really did get her passport renewed when she claimed she was going to. (Having spent half the summer near Peterborough, this would have made sense).

If past form is anything to go by, I think I can have a stab at guessing the outcome to this one...

Escape To Danger No.19

The mention of holidays in the last entry has reminded me of my October 2010 visits to the Dukedom of San Martino and the Eye of Orion.

Adopting my ususal believe-it-when-it-happens approach to being allowed the time and opportunity to do things that interest me while on holiday, I had done next to no research about the grounds of Portmeirion.

 

While I didn't find the Temple of Demnos, the lake where various scenes were filmed did look beautiful with the trees ablaze with autumn colour.

 

This was always a popular Tom Baker shot. Never did a lot for me, but each to his own. (But much like the story itself, I tend to think much more highly of it now than I did during my childhood. Probably Average Novelisation Syndrome).

 

In addition to some great location filming, "The Masque of Mandragora" is also remembered for the introduction of the short-lived wooden TARDIS console room set. This was a really big deal back in the days before you got woeful modern series redesigns at the drop of a stovepipe hat. (Or fez, as the case may be).

The set allegedly warped in storage (yeah, right) before Graham Williams managed to get his hands on it, but it did offer a fascinating glimpse into a mid-1970's attempt at some sort of proto-Steampunk before Michael Moorcock, Kevin O'Neill and Bryan Talbot acted as midwives for Jules Verne's legacy at the end of the decade.

Actually, it wasn't just the interior of the TARDIS that got a bit of an update, the exterior got a refurb too. (Even the font used for the credits was new... the production office must have been awash with money that year).

Eagle-eyed police box afficianados will have noted that it was rebuilt again at the behest of John Nathan-Turner for his first season as producer, and that the 1976 prop was brought out of mothballs for "Logopolis". (At least that's what I recall being the case. I'd research this stuff properly if I thought anybody cared...)

Some good CSO acting from Lis Sladen, here.

The best bit of design in Serial 4M in my opinion is the Hieronymous mask. A brilliant and utterly memorable piece of work that cemented itself in my mind through the character's appearance in the second series of Weetabix cards. (Vega Nexos also gained his foothold in my consciousness in a similar fashion. Both characters have great names, too).

I was initially quite disappointed when I saw the masks worn by the rest of the Bretheren, but I now accept the difference and now revel in it.

 

But sadly, not everyone gets a cool mask to wear to the hop...

And once again, I feel all fired up into giving this another viewing very soon. Solid and interesting story, some great performances and some nice design.

And I've always been a sucker for stories where scary masks disguise something even scarier...

Rolling in the Ruins

Emerging briefly from beneath the mounds of paperwork that these days define my summers, and there's not much to tell.

 

To tell the truth, I've been reading quite a lot, and I can't say that I'm overly impressed by the recent literary efforts of Ben Aaronovitch. Books set in yer modern world don't help me much, and I'm constantly struggling with his tone. (Being first person narratives, I can't tell whether the main character or Aaronvitch himself is an annoying twat, for example).

 

Also, believing there to be a distinct lack of good Asterix fan sites, I have been looking into the possibility of doing one myself.

 

But then I found some which were actually rather good, so I decided not to bother.

 

On another tangent, I have been attempting to holiday plan in the face of overwhelming apathy.

 

I have found that the secret of a happy holiday firstly relies heavily on Ms Monoid getting her own way in everything. (A week is a long time when you are stuck miles from home with somebody who really doesn't want to be there and wants everyone to know it). Secondly, don't look forward to or plan on doing anything, because you won't get to do it.

 

With these two maxims in mind, I tried for Scotland but had to settle for Wales again.

 

Go figure.

 

Anyway, one thing I think I should mention here is how jaw-droppingly amazing the monochrome episodes of "Callan" are. In fact, the final episode of the second season is perhaps one of the most surprising and brutally intense pieces of television I have seen for some time.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm almost afraid to embark on the colour episodes now, as I don't see how they will possibly live up to the legacy of their monochrome cousins.

 

But then, how many monochrome television series can be said to have been improved by a transition into colour?

 

Contentious question?

 

Let the statistics speak for themselves...