Hi there! Like other blogs, this is my chance to wax lyrical (some might say talk utter cr*p) about a) what's happening in my life b) all of my pet obsessions in particular music, tv, movies, books and other generally connected things, quite often of the retro, old and "cheesy" variety. Hence the title of my blog. Feel free to leave a comment if the mood takes you. There's nothing like a good chinwag about one's favourite topics and besides I love to meet new people!
Cheers,
Simon
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Less than a month til broadcast...
And they've just released another very nice shot from the forthcoming "Voyage of the Damned." Kylie fans will be particularly happy this week as her new album "X" has just been released. (I've just ordered my copy from Play.com). Will Kyles/Astrid sing "Two Hearts" in the Xmas special? Naff but kind of appropriate surely?
In the meantime, do those golden angel things hovering in the background remind you of a certain past DW foe? Answers on Chinn's walrus moustache please... (hint hint)
2. Or it could be Yesssssss, it just depends on: a) The storyline b) The script c) The quality of the returning one's performance.
3. The Dr will think all of his TARDISes have come at once, with THREE lady companions now accompanying him on his travels (assuming Freema is in the season finale). Or maybe they'll be a catfight of massive proportions.
4. If the rumours about Sarah-Jane, K9 and Captain Jack coming back are also true, how the hell are they going to squeeze all these old faces into one season finale? Even bigger catfight! (Erm, actually no, that doesn't work as K9 technically isn't a cat. Catfight with a bit of dog thrown in?)
If you STILL haven't guessed what I'm harping on about, then for the honest sake of Gallifrey, click on the link above...
Oh my goodness! I've been so busy yet again and bogged down with things I almost forgot that today - 23 November - is a VERY special day. For today, some 44 years ago, a certain science fiction programme - all about a Time Lord who travels through time and space in a police box - made it's debut on BBC1! And what a wonderful plethora of Drs we've had since then! See above for proof...
In which case ...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOCTOR WHO!!
Sadly the day is marred by some sad news - Dr Who producer Verity Lambert has just passed away - yesterday to be precise. At the risk of sounding a bit sick (and honestly, I'm not trying to be) this news is also kind of fitting, as she was the very first person to produce Dr Who when it debuted in 1963. How odd that the lady who helped get such an iconic, ground-breaking, classic programme off the ground should leave us so close to its anniversary. RIP Verity, we'll never forget you.
And...what about "Time Crash"? Yep all those Peter Davison rumours came true and he did indeed return as the Fifth Dr albeit in a brief but enjoyable episode, penned by Steven Moffat, showing as part of the Beeb's "Children in Need" night last Friday. And guess what...this Old Cheeser actually MISSED the broadcast as he was out shopping for lights with his hubbie in Homebase! Shameful. Still that's what happens when you buy a flat and you STILL have to get things to furnish it. Anyway thanks to the likes of fellow bloggers like TimeWarden and Paul I was able to catch up on it via the net later anyway. Thank the (Time) Lord for that! And in case YOU missed it (does this mean you have a life too?) here it is:
And the verdict? As I said it was enjoyable but the overall shortness of the piece was a shame - 7-8 minutes is very brief for sufficient exposition and a “story” - and that doesn’t count the Martha/Titanic bits that topped and tailed it (quite cleverly edited in though I felt). We Who fans do seem to get short shrift sometimes - particularly seeing as it’s the 44th anniversary - it doesn’t seem that the Beeb have planned anything else. Anyway it was a nice enough “tribute” and I agree with what the others say about the affectionate quality of the piece - just not massively substantial.
As for Peter D, good to see him back although dare I say he seemed very pompous and shrill, rather more overwrought than his original Fifth Dr persona! Then again, David T was back to his flippant, hyper-active self and one could kind of sympathise with the Fifth Doc’s annoyance with him! Should have kicked him out of the TARDIS doors and taken over the reins again, heh heh...
I've always been a bit undecided about John B. Sometimes I think he's incredibly gorge and handsome, other times he reminds me of a cross between Barbie and Ken (with a bit of Action Man thrown in) i.e. very plastic and doll-like. Him and his civil partner are too shiny and nicey-nicey for their own good, like they've been made on a gay production line, or something. Sometimes he seems to be seriously overdoing it with the "ladies really love me cos I'm a camp queen" shtick-thing. (And talking of sticks he's rumoured to have quite a big one).
I've got to say he was very HOT in my dream though and was doing all the right things...
Did you know that the Master once formed an alliance with the Chocolofane? I didn't!
However thanks to Amanda - slightly indirectly, though nevertheless pointing me in the right direction - I've just found the definitive reference guide to Dr Who. Go check it out and be VERY surprised.
...here are some photos of the new pad!! Finally. Bear in mind that it is a "work in progress" and NOT the finished product! (He said with some desperation)...
Here's part of the lounge BEFORE decorating began. Nice big Victorian windows eh?
Another side of the lounge. We've decided not to use the CD shelves as there's actually a massive cupboard in the room which will nicely accommodate my mountainous collection of CDs and DVDs. Gustavo thinks it's vulgar to have them on display and want them out of the way. This is the new "minimalist" us...less clutter...more space! (Or divorce beckons?)
The hallway leading from the lounge to the rest of the flat. The big lampshade is pretty fab and the previous owners were kind enough to leave it. However I've now realised that the black colour doesn't quite match our colour scheme. So we're replacing it with a new 'un...
The spare bedroom, which is basically been a dumping ground for everything. It's now been painted a kind of purpley-blue, pics forthcoming...
The other bedroom i.e. the one me and Gustavo are going to use. Was a pale blue, now repainted "Natural Hessian" on three walls and "Redcurrant Glory" on the fourth wall and looks much more striking overall! Again photos to come...
Me HARD at work! Who am I to slag off Donna Noble's dress sense eh? Anyway we started by repainting the skirtings and window frames, which was quite a major job.
My cute fella doing some touching up. Of the skirting that is.
Mmmm!! It's a bloody work of art!! One must make one's mark, as they say. But will my signature remain intact?
Someone getting butch with the roller. The lounge walls, now redecorated in "Khaki Mists". It's to compliment the cream sofas, you know (even though they're not there yet). I know the walls probably don't look any different to before, but trust me, they ARE. They were sort of grey before, now they're a kind of light coffee brown which is much nicer. So there!
Another part of the lounge. With lots of newspaper. Those CD shelves get EVERYWHERE! Incidentally, anyone wanna buy some?
More lounge action....
And hope to be able to show you the final "Show flat" in the not too distant...!!
For some reason I've been feeling pretty flat and down the last couple of days. With the recent purchase of and moving into the new groovy pad, I really ought to be up, up, UP!! Don't get me wrong, I AM very happy about it, even if it's been taking a while to get things ship-shape. We had a problem with one of the new sofas the other day, very annoying, but I won't go into it...
Anyway I can I think pinpoint my feelings of depression = 1) The oncoming Winter season with its horrid dark mornings and nights (DARK at 4pm! Aaaah!) 2) My current occupation. I'm not going to say much more than that, as bad-mouthing one's job on a publicly accessible blog ain't a good idea. The fact is though that I'm just NOT feeling fulfilled and it's getting to me increasingly. Well, only I can do something to change that. Gustavo has been feeling pretty restless job-wise too and is hankering after a change. But moving house and getting settled has of course been our Number One priority, so it's kind of hard to think of other things right now! Anyhow it will all work out I'm sure, what with a little effort from moi... Soon I'll be able to give these things better attention I hope. Right now though I feel very jaded and tired (in spite of sleeping reasonably well) and just want to curl up into a ball somewhere. TGIF, is all I can say. Oh I am such an emotional Piscean sometimes!
And again, apologies for the less than regular posts. Although 1-2 posts per week on average ain't THAT bad! I still do not have Internet access at home but that should be remedied soon - as I speak a new broadband kit is on its way through the post - huzzah! Vids for the Weekend is on temporary hiatus. However a new post, Cheeser's Choice, is imminent...
What else? Well, I'm miles behind everyone else as usual in covering the latest, but the Beeb have printed their first pics of the new Sontarans. Here goes nothing: What do we all think then? Actually some of my fellow bloggers have already posted their opinions. The general consensus regarding the new eggheads is not entirely positive. Someone commented that the Sontarans' new suits are very "Batman Forever" (true enough) and facially they look a bit weird too. I have to agree, I'm not overly keen on the new Sontaran design. Okaaay it's not terrible but the face looks very prosthetic and fake. The best Sontaran make-up was in "The Time Warrior" and after that it all slid rapidly downhill! Still, it is only ONE photo and we haven't seen them on the TV screen yet so all may not be lost.
The "concerned" poses on the faces of the guest cast are quite amusing though. And what IS Donna wearing? She looks like "Girl at C&A / M&S". Mi-ooooow. But she does look decidedly dowdy. Is this a conscious effort on the part of the production team to "de-glam" Donna (after a spate of other pics with her looking quite alluring such as this one or this one) due to the return of a certain Ms Martha Jones? Perhaps young Freema's got a bikini on under that lab coat and is ready to drop it and reveal all! (The days of Peri Brown could be upon us again). Two glamorous assistants might be TOO much. (And incidentally, lest you were all wondering, I HAVEN'T forgotten about the very inventive "continuation" scenes of the Donna-Martha face-off story that you all sent me yonks ago. They all WILL get published! I just haven't been able to do it on my PC at home...)
And...we're only a week away from the Dr Who Children in Need Special!! A fact the Radio Times is celebrating:
Quite a nice cover eh? I've just been and bought my copy at lunch time. And looked in the BBC1 listings - the special is scheduled to show from 8.00-8.30, in between the Spice Girls performing the Children in Need single (Girl Power is BACK!) and John Barrowman singing live in the studio. Sci-fi sandwiched between pure camp basically. Which also means that the special is more likely to run to about 15-20 mins at most if we've got these other "aspects" going on! Well, let's hope it's a decent mini-script. And that Peter D can rise to the challenge of playing the blonde, cricketting one after being absent from our screens for so long.
I'm a 47 year old Pisces man, but still very much a big kid at heart. I packed in this blogging malarkey once but now I'm back for more - in the words of Banararama, I Can't Help It. Music, movies and tv (usually of the cheesey and retro variety, but not always) are some of my biggest passions and coincidentally, I love to write about these things too, amongst other things. Occasionally I write about real life, but that's another story. So ... thanks for stopping by and hope you ENJOY!!
