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New Escapist Column! On “The English” and the British Western…

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist yesterday evening. With the release of The English on Amazon Prime in the United States and on BBC in the United Kingdom, it seemed like a good opportunity to talk about the peculiar phenomenon of the British western.

The western is a quintessentially American genre. It is a foundation myth for the nation. As such, it is an awkward fit for British pop culture, given Britain’s historical relationship to the United States and the fact that Britain’s frontiers have never looked like that. However, given the intricacies of Britain’s relationship to its former colony, it is no surprise that the western has long been the subject of fascination for the British, and that the nation has put its own slant on the genre.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Luther: Series 2 (Review)

I loved the first series of Luther. I genuinely adored it. It was a wonderful six-episode arc following the perils of DCI John Luther as he walked a thin line between, as Ripley remarks here, “being dirty and being willing to get your hands dirty”, all of which culminated in a rather fantastic final two episodes that explored the implications of that sort moral corruption in law enforcement. So the follow-up season had a lot to live up to, and – while it’s still well-written, well-acted and solidly entertaining – it can’t help but feel a little disappointing. While there are other considerations, the most damning one is this: two two-part episodes don’t given enough room for a season-long arc.

Putting it all together...

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No More Animated Patrick Troughton? It’s a War Crime!

The War Games, the final Doctor Who serial featuring Patrick Troughton, materialises on DVD today. I haven’t seen it (I’ll probably pick it up from HMV today if the price is right), but reviews seem to state it’s one of the show’s few ten-parters that doesn’t feel padded… well as padded. Anyway, I’m a big fan of Troughton’s Doctor (whose one-adjective-summation would be “loveable” – in the same way that Tom Baker’s would be “dramatic” or Eccleston’s would be “human” or Hartnell’s would be “bratty” and so on), but we’re nearing the end of Troughton serials available for release. Which is a damned shame. Is animation the next step forward?

The "Reanimated" Cybermen...

The "Reanimated" Cybermen...

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