Sometimes, Something Comes Along That Makes You Feel ... Less Old

Apologies for the lengthy absence. More modem problems. This, however, is just too good to miss:

The Bottom Lines

Apols for lack of recent posts but have been restricted by mobile broadband allowance running out and refused to pay 10p a meg thereafter. Have now upgraded from 3g to 15g a month (yes, I know, but I'm from oop north)and personal mobile WiFi (which I've yet to figure out how to get up and running - see previous brackets). To celebrate my renewed ability to talk toot, I present some special bonus content for Kali Hooper fans. T'is a little known fact that due to production errors, the final two lines of The Clockwork King of Orl were omitted from the published book, and tho these will be restored in any future printing, those of you who were good enough to buy the first missed out. So here they are:

"Nothing, now.
No stone unturned."

I thank you.

Things That Go "Bloody Hell" In The Night

Thanks to David Slater have just watched Gene Roddenberry's 'Spectre', his occult and Brit filmed TV movie from the 70s. I was organising Star Trek conventions back in those days and, along with a bunch of other people, Gene invited me onto the set for the day. So there we were, in Asmodeus's tomb, when I go and prod what I thought was a dummy leaning up against one of the fake pillars. Turned out to be Gordon Jackson, who was playing the Scotland Yard detective, having a kip between takes. He wasn't best pleased. After all these years, sorry Gordon. Mister Jackson. Sir.

Is there ANYTHING I like?

A question posed with appropriate exasperation following a recent rant about the current state of TV skiffy. Thanks, Pat. And now I have an answer. I stopped watching Smallville about season 4 because I thought it had run out of steam but - thanks, Paul - today watched season 9's 'Absolute Justice'. It absolutely blew me away. Even made me cry. No spoilers if you haven't yet seen it but for those of us who remember dusty newsagents and comics stuffed into Thorpe and Porter racks, it'll have special meaning. Lovingly and reverently crafted by the writer and production team, it had far more resonance for me than Watchmen, because it refers to a Golden Age that actually existed. Please beg, borrow or steal a viewing of this 2-parter/conjoined TV movie - you'll love it.

Kali's Adventures Continue ...

This is the wholly unofficial trailer for my latest Twilight of Kerberos book, just about out. I knocked it together some time ago but it was never used as it contains otherwise copyrighted material, not least the excellent soundtrack by Bill Brown, from the PC game Clive Barker's Undying, which I just couldn't find a better substitute for. I post it here a) as an experiment and b) for curiosity value.



Hope you enjoy.

Vincent and the Doctor

Fuck me, there's a helpline for people being stalked by invisible aliens? The announcement at the end of the Richard Curtis foray into Who-dom was the only thing that stuck in mind from what proved, after all, to be utter Tee-deeum. Potentially one of the best new aliens yet? Kill it with a chair leg. So now you've made the script redundant, what to do with the rest of the advenure? Take van Gogh to 2010 and have him accept it as if he were taking a hay-ride. Throw in a totally inappropriate musical overlay and a lovey cameo from Bill Nighy and what do you have? Richard Curtis indulging himself. Gods, he couldn't even take the time to think up a proper title. Should I ever end up doing a DW - an unlikely scenario, I admit - I think it might call it 'The Doctor and Amy go for a Ride in a Big Blue Box'.

Starry, Starry Shite?

It might be good, it might be bad, I don't know yet. But that isn't the point. The admission in Radio Times by Richard Curtis that he 'wasn't very dedicated' to the show and his decision to write a Doctor Who came about as a result of nagging from his kids strikes me as a little off - there are plenty of good writers who also happen to be fans who would leap at the chance without any nagging at all. And who, incidentally, would benefit far more from the professional exposure and BBC pay cheque that results. As for Mister Curtis carting his clan off to Musee d'Orsay to take a look at van Gogh's works and then return home to plaster their walls with facsimiles for inspiration, well, would that could we all, but sadly most of us have to glean what we can from the library or the internet. It's Doctor Who, Richard, and as excellent a show as it can be, get a grip. The BBC can be a little full of itself when it comes to the revived Doctor Who and so I end with a personal plea to Mr Moffat - don't let stunt scripting become your equivalent of John Nathan Turner's stunt casting from the old, bad, end days, otherwise TARDIS might very well end up in bits.