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Doctor Who: The Chase (Review)

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Darren

To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the longest-running science-fiction show in the world, I’ll be taking weekly looks at some of my own personal favourite stories and arcs, from the old and new series, with a view to encapsulating the sublime, the clever and the fiendishly odd of the BBC’s Doctor Who.

The Chase originally aired in 1965.

You’re from Earth?

No, no, Ma’am. No, I’m from Alabama.

– Barbara and Morton set things straight

There are times when Doctor Who seems to straddle the line between genius and insanity, when the viewer is left completely unsure whether they’ve witnessed something profoundly clever, or infuriatingly stupid. The Chase is one of those stories, one of those rare cases where I’m honestly not sure if I’m reading too much into a piece of television or simply scratching the surface of a whole wealth of complex meaning and symbolism. The Chase is, as near as I can make out, either a desperate attempt to cash-in on the then-current Dalek craze, or one of the craziest attacks the show ever made on the fourth wall. It’s either completely terrible or breathlessly brilliant, and I refuse to rule out the possibility that it is both, possibly at the same time.

Cutting to the chase…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Android Invasion, art, bbc, Beatles, Chase, Dalek, Dalek Invasion of Earth, doctor, DoctorWho, Gettysburg Address, Hywel Bennett, Ian Chesterton, Jon Pertwee, Keys of Marinus, russell t. davies, science fiction, tardis, Terry Nation, William Hartnell | Leave a comment »

Doctor Who: The Android Invasion (Review)

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Darren

The Android Invasion originally aired in 1975.

Is that finger loaded?

– the Doctor

We’re in the middle of one hell of a season here, aren’t we? Indeed, The Android Invasion is sandwiched between two stories that could legitimately vie for the title of “best Doctor Who story ever.” Perhaps that’s why it feels like such a let-down. The Android Invasion isn’t the worst Doctor Who story ever. Indeed, it isn’t the worst Tom Baker Doctor Who story ever, nor is it the worst Philip Hinchcliffe Doctor Who story ever. It is just sort of… there. It’s a very dull and mundane piece of television, one that feels all the more dull and mundane for the fact that it’s positioned in one of the strongest seasons that the show ever produced.

He needs a Doctor…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Android Invasion, art, Barry Letts, bbc, Dalek, doctor, DoctorWho, Harry, Harry Sullivan, Jo Grant, Jon Pertwee, Patrick Newell, Philip Hinchcliffe, russell t. davies, science fiction, Terry Nation | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Omega Man

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Darren

The Omega Man remains, perhaps, the most high-profile adaptation of Richard Matheson’s genre-busting vampire sci-fi survivalist novel, I Am Legend. Of course, the film has little resemblance to Matheson’s truly iconic piece of literature, save for the basic premise. Charleton Heston is Robert Neville, the last man alive in a world of monsters. While I Am Legend is a bold and thought-provoking exploration of the implications of that idea, The Omega Man seems to have no loftier goal than simply telling an entertaining apocalyptic yarn. There’s nothing wrong with that, but – much like Robert Neville himself – The Omega Man is haunted by the ghost of what could have been.

Goodbye to all of that…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Anthony Zerbe, art, arts, Audio, austin powers, bbc, Boris Sagal, Charlton Heston, Consumer Electronics, doctor, film, Heston, I Am Legend (film), Jon Pertwee, los angeles, Movie, music, Neville, non-review review, Omega Man, Omega Seamaster, review, richard matheson, Robert Neville, Rosalind Cash, Shopping, Third Doctor, Woodstock | 1 Comment »

Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs (Review)

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Darren

Invasion of the Dinosaurs originally aired in 1974.

How are you feeling now?

Hungry, tired and I’ve got a headache.

– Mark asks Sarah Jane how her viewing went. I can empathise.

Ah, ambition. It’s hard to fault it… although there is a point where you simply have to. Invasion of the Dinosaurs crosses that line in the first episode. I know that Doctor Who is a BBC television serial. I understand that the classic series hardly had a huge amount of money to hand when it needed special effects. I am well aware that the special effects for the following season’s The Ark in Space amount to some bubblewrap and green paint. There is an art to watching many of these classic stories, and that art involves being wilfully blind to the fact that the special effects aren’t up to scratch. Beyond that, it’s arbitrary. There’ll always be one silly special effect that undermines an otherwise impressive episode – which special effect and which episode will vary from person to person.

However, Invasion of the Dinosaurs makes the special effects the whole point of the exercise. The title tells you that you should be watching the dinosaurs. Malcolm Hulke was given the brief to write a story about dinosaurs in contemporary London. There might be a plot underneath it all, but the serial expects that you are here for the dinosaurs. And, if you are…

I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.

A smashing time…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Ark in Space, art, Barry Letts, bbc, Brigadier, Chromakey, Dalek, Dinosaur, doctor, DoctorWho, Finch, Invasion of the Dinosaur, Jon Pertwee, London, Malcolm Hulke, Mike Yates, Online Writing, Sarah Jane Smith, science fiction, Special effect, tardis | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Struck by Lightning

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013.

The best thing that Struck by Lightning has going for it is Chris Colfer. As a young writer, Colfer’s script is bristling with all manner of acerbic remarks, bitter humour and overdrawn melodrama. The basic ingredients for any half-decent teenage film, to be frank. However, the worst thing that Struck by Lightning has going for it is also Chris Colfer. A better writer than an actor, Colfer finds himself struggling to convince us that his protagonist is worth our time, and finds himself unable to soften the rough edges of his leading character. The result is a film that is quite sharp and well-observed, but which never quite tempers itself properly.

Get the lead out…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Allison Janney, art, Carson, Carson Phillips, Chris Colfer, Colfer, film, Film festival, jameson dublin international film festival, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013, Lightning, Movie, New Yorker, non-review review, review, Ryan Gosling, Struck By Lightning, United States | Leave a comment »

Non-Review: Reported Missing (Die Vermissten)

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013.

Die Vermissten feels almost like a Clint Eastwood film by the way of David Lynch. If that sounds like a pretty strange combination, it really is. When his 16-year-old daughter disappears, divorcee Lothar is initially reluctant to investigate. He tries to convince his ex-wife that she’ll turn up, while trying to explain to his new girlfriend that he has a daughter. Eventually determining to conduct his own inquiries into the disappearance of his child, Lothar discovers that the incident isn’t quite isolated, and that there’s something much larger going on here.

Missing vital evidence…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: art, arts, Child abduction, Clint Eastwood, david lynch, dublin, eastwood, film, Film festival, jameson dublin international film festival, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013, Movie, non-review review, review, United States | Leave a comment »

Doctor Who: The Claws of Axos (Review)

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Darren

The Claws of Axos originally aired in 1971.

Are you trying to tell me you can absorb the total output of this complex in a police box?

Yes.

– Hardiman and the Master discover that self-confidence is a genetic Time Lord trait

The Claws of Axos tends to come in for a fair bit of criticism for pretty much being the quintessential Earth-based Jon Pertwee story, with very little exceptional to distinguish it from the pack. Personally, I’m actually quite fond of it, perhaps precisely for that reason. I think you’re hard-pressed to find an adventure in the early part of Jon Pertwee’s tenure that so effectively and so efficiently captures the spirit of the show – both good and bad. That kind of makes The Claws of Axos stand out if only because it so perfectly embodies those early Pertwee years.

Eye see you…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Alien invasion, art, arts, bbc, Bernard Holley, Brigadier, Claws of Axos, Colony in Space, doctor, doctor who, DoctorWho, fiction, Jon Pertwee, literature, Master, Online Writing, Paul Grist, Philip Hinchcliffe, science fiction, Time Lord, Tom Baker, United Nations | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: White Elephant (Elefante Blanco)

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013.

Elefante Blanco is visually stunning. Director Pablo Trapero makes excellent use of the film’s setting to construct compelling and powerful images, as characters get lost amid the slums or wander through the ruins of the long-abandoned shell of what might have been the largest hospital in South America. Unfortunately, for all the visceral and visual energy that Elefante Blanco packs, it feels remarkably shallow and trite in its portrayal of life inside those slums, and the challenges facing two priests trying to help the community get back on their feet.

Don’t worry, we can build on this…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: art, Carlos Mugica, dublin, Elefante Blanco, film, Film festival, jameson dublin international film festival, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013, Movie, Pablo Trapero, South America | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Robot & Frank

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013.

Robot & Frank is perhaps best described as a live-action Pixar film, a lost script or concept from that period only a few years ago when it seemed like the studio could do no wrong. The beauty of films like The Incredibles or Toy Story 3 was the way that these fantasies allowed us to engage with incredibly adult issues in a disarmingly wondrous way. Up could deal with the pain of loss in great detail, because it was really the story of a man flying his house to South America, right? Finding Nemo could play out the darkest fears lurking in a parent’s subconscious, because it was really about cute fish, correct?

And so Robot & Frank provides a wonderful vehicle for the exploration of what growing old really means, and how we cope with the challenges that it presents. Because, after all, it’s just a film with a cute-looking robot butler, right?

Frank’ll test his metal…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: art, Domestic robot, film, Film festival, Frank, frank langella, jameson dublin international film festival, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2013, kevin spacey, Langella, Movie, non-review review, Peter Sarsgaard, pixar, review, Robot & Frank, Ryan Gosling, South America, toy story 3, United States | 2 Comments »

February 2013 (Jameson Dublin International Film Festival) In Review

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Darren

Man. That was exhausting. 29 events spread across 11 days, including classic films. It was a hell of a festival, with quite an impressive programme put together. In fact, by any measure, it was actually a stronger festival than last year’s, even if I didn’t catch a film that was quite as good as The Raid this time around. Using the 4-point audience award scale, the numbers stack in this year’s favour. Indeed, I gave one more “4” than last year and – most impressively – I actually managed to avoid giving out the lowest grade at all, the dreaded “1.” Maybe I’m getting a bit softer as I get older, but I think that’s an indication that I had a pretty good Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.