Happy Birthday: Christopher John Tarrant (born 10 October 1946) is an English retired broadcaster, television personality, radio DJ, and comedian. He is best known for presenting the ITV children's television show Tiswas from 1974 to 1981 and the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? from its inception in 1998 until 2014.

Tarrant's career began in 1972 when he was hired by the television broadcaster ATV. He presented ATV Today, a current affairs programme serving the Midlands area of England, until 1982. Tarrant rose to prominence after becoming a co-host on Tiswas, the children's television show broadcast on Saturday mornings from 1974 to 1981. Tarrant was a member of the Four Bucketeers group, whose single "Bucket of Water Song" reached No. 26 in the UK Singles Chart in 1980. In January 1982, along with Bob Carolgees, John Gorman, Randolph Sutherland and Lenny Henry, Tarrant launched a late-night show, O.T.T. ("Over the Top"), thought of as an "adult" version of Tiswas, which despite being short-lived, was popular among adults. His co-host Sally James presented the concurrent and final series of Tiswas alone.

Tarrant was a Capital Radio host from 1984 to 2004, presenting the early-morning show Capital Breakfast. The show was highly popular, increasing Capital Radio's audience share in London. Tarrant presented the ITV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? from 1998 to 2014, while also providing audio recordings for some console games, and a tabletop game made by Tiger Electronics based on the show. He recorded a total of 592 episodes across 30 series, in which five contestants won the top cash prize of £1 million. In 2012, Tarrant began a travel documentary series, Chris Tarrant: Extreme Railways, with locations including the Congo-Ocean Railway, the Ghan across Australia and the Konkan Railway in India.

Tarrant's other television credits include Tarrant on TV, a programme that shows clips featuring a number of unusual television programmes from around the world, and Tarrant Lets the Kids Loose, a programme which gives three- to six-year-olds the chance to fulfil their greatest ambitions in the adult world. He also hosted several other game shows, including It's Not What You Know and The Colour of Money, The Main Event 1993. Tarrant was appointed an OBE in 2004 for his charity work, in particular his campaigning on behalf of disadvantaged children. In 2006, he was ranked number 38 in ITV's poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars. Tarrant announced his retirement in December 2024, after 52 years in television.

[Tiswas was a BIG part of my late teens and was one of the things that got me out of bed on a Saturday morning. Absolute anarchic FUN.]

Happy Birthday: Terence Joseph Nation (8 August 1930 – 9 March 1997) was a Welsh screenwriter and novelist. Especially known for his work in British television science fiction, he created the Daleks and Davros for Doctor Who, as well as the series Survivors and Blake's 7.

Nation first made his name as a comedy writer before becoming a prolific writer for drama, working on many of the most popular British series of the 1960s and 1970s, such as The Avengers, The Baron, The Champions, Department S, The Persuaders! and The Saint. When Nation was commissioned to write The Daleks (1963) for Doctor Who, the villainous eponymous creatures established the series' early popularity. He later devised the recurring character of Davros in Genesis of the Daleks (1975). His series Survivors and Blake's 7 have been described as "much-loved cult TV classics".

In 1965, he and Dennis Spooner co-wrote the 12-part serial The Daleks' Master Plan, after which Nation, who still held the copyright to the Daleks, attempted to launch a Dalek spin-off TV series in the United States. Various other Dalek tie-in material appeared, including comic strips in the children's weekly TV Century 21 and annuals; such material was frequently credited to Nation, even when written by others. Over the next few years, appearances by the Daleks in Doctor Who became less frequent and were written by other authors (Whitaker wrote The Power of the Daleks (1966) and The Evil of the Daleks (1967), and Louis Marks wrote Day of the Daleks (1972)).

Following an eight-year absence from the series, Nation returned to writing for the Daleks on Doctor Who with the Third Doctor serials Planet of the Daleks (1973) and Death to the Daleks (1974). Producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks felt that the Dalek script Nation submitted for season 12 was too reminiscent of previous Dalek stories, and suggested that Nation rewrite the script to focus on the Daleks' origin. The resulting serial, Genesis of the Daleks, was voted the greatest Doctor Who story of all time by Doctor Who Magazine readers in 1998. In Genesis, Nation introduced the character of Davros, the creator of the Daleks, who went on to appear in further storylines. Nation also wrote two non-Dalek scripts for Doctor Who, The Keys of Marinus in 1964, which introduced the Voord, and The Android Invasion in 1975, which introduced the Kraals. Nation's final script for Doctor Who was Destiny of the Daleks, broadcast in 1979.

Having returned to writing for Doctor Who, the BBC commissioned Nation to create a new science-fiction drama series. First broadcast in 1975, Survivors is the post-apocalyptic story of the last humans on Earth after the world's population has been devastated by plague. Although the series was well received, Nation's creative vision conflicted with that of producer Terence Dudley, and the final two series were produced without Nation's involvement.

The production of Nation's next BBC creation, Blake's 7, experienced fewer problems. This series follows a group of criminals and political prisoners who are on the run from the evil "Terran Federation", piloting a stolen spaceship of unknown origin. Blake's 7 ran for four series from 1978 to 1981. Although Nation scripted the whole of the first series of Blake's 7, his creative influence subsequently declined in the following two series despite writing some key episodes, as script editor Chris Boucher exerted a greater influence on those seasons. Nation didn't write any episodes in the fourth series of Blake's 7. In the 1980s, Nation attempted, without success, to secure funding for a fifth series of Blake's 7.

[Terry Nation played a HUGE part in my teenage years not only in the creation of one of my all-time fave baddies in the Daleks - and as part of one of my all-time favourite TV shows in Dr Who - but also in 2 other series that I loved - Survivors and especially Blakes 7. So, a happy birthday indeed!]

Happy Birthday: Nicholas Wulstan Park CBE RDI (born 6 December 1958) is an English filmmaker and animator who created Wallace & Gromit, Creature Comforts, Chicken Run, Shaun the Sheep, and Early Man. Park has been nominated for an Academy Award seven times and won four with Creature Comforts (1989), The Wrong Trousers (1993), A Close Shave (1995) and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005).

He has also received seven BAFTA Awards, including the BAFTA for Best Short Animation for A Matter of Loaf and Death, which was believed to be the most-watched television programme in the United Kingdom in 2008. His 2000 film Chicken Run is the highest-grossing stop motion animated film.

In 1985 Park joined Aardman Animations, based in Bristol, and for his work in animation he was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Peter Blake to appear in a 2012 version of Blake's most famous artwork - the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover - to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life.

Park was appointed a CBE by Queen Elizabeth II in the 1997 Birthday Honours for "services to the animated film industry".

Happy Birthday: Robert Francis Vaughn (November 22, 1932 – November 11, 2016) was an American actor and political activist, whose career in film, television and theater spanned nearly six decades and who was best known for his role as secret agent Napoleon Solo on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964–68). He was a Primetime Emmy Award winner, and was nominated for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award, two Laurel Awards, and four times for the Golden Globe Award. Vaughn also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Vaughn had his breakthrough role as disabled, drunken war veteran Chester A. Gwynn in The Young Philadelphians, earning him a 1960 Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He subsequently appeared in scores of films, notably as gunman Lee in The Magnificent Seven (1960), Walter Chalmers in Bullitt, Major Paul Krueger in The Bridge at Remagen (1969), the voice of Proteus IV in Demon Seed (1977) and Ross Webster in Superman III (1983).

To television audiences, in addition to his role as Solo, Vaughn was known for his roles as private detective Harry Rule on The Protectors (1972–74), Morgan Wendell in the miniseries Centennial (1978–79), and Albert Stroller on the BBC Television drama Hustle (2004–12). He won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of the White House Chief of Staff in the miniseries Washington: Behind Closed Doors. He also appeared in the British soap opera Coronation Street as Milton Fanshaw from January until February 2012.

Aside from his acting career, Vaughn was active in Democratic Party politics. He was chair of the California Democratic State Central Committee speakers bureau during the 1960s, and publicly campaigned against the Vietnam War as a member of the peace group Another Mother for Peace. A PhD in communications, his 1970 doctoral thesis "The Influence of the House Committee on Un-American Activities on the American Theater 1938–58" is considered "the most complete and intelligent treatment of the virulent practice of blacklisting now available."

Happy Birthday: Gillian Leigh Anderson, OBE (born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series The X-Files, ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film The House of Mirth (2000), DSU Stella Gibson in the BBC/RTÉ crime drama television series The Fall, sex therapist Jean Milburn in the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education, and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the fourth season of Netflix drama series The Crown. Among other honours, she has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. She has resided in London since 2002, after earlier years divided between the United Kingdom and the United States.

Born in Chicago, Anderson grew up in London, UK and Grand Rapids, Michigan. She graduated from The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago, then moved to New York City to further her acting career. After beginning her career on stage, she achieved international recognition for her role as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully on the American sci-fi drama series The X-Files. Her film work includes the dramas The Mighty Celt (2005), The Last King of Scotland (2006), Shadow Dancer (2012), Viceroy's House (2017) and two X-Files films: The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998) and The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008). Other notable television credits include: Lady Dedlock in Bleak House (2005), Wallis Simpson in Any Human Heart (2010), Miss Havisham in Great Expectations (2011), Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier on Hannibal (2013–2015), and Media on American Gods (2017).

Aside from film and television, Anderson has taken to the stage and received both awards and critical acclaim. Her stage work includes Absent Friends (1991), for which she won a Theatre World Award for Best Newcomer; A Doll's House (2009), for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award, and a portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (2014, 2016), winning the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress and receiving a second Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress. In 2019, she portrayed Margo Channing in the stage production of All About Eve for which she received her third Laurence Olivier Award nomination.

Anderson has supported numerous charities and humanitarian organizations. She is an honorary spokesperson for the Neurofibromatosis Network and a co-founder of South African Youth Education for Sustainability (SAYes). She was appointed an honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2016 for her services to drama.

Happy Birthday: Kyle Merritt MacLachlan (né McLachlan, February 22, 1959) is an American actor best known for his Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winning role as Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks (1990–1991, 2017) and its film prequel Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992). He is also known for his roles in another two of Twin Peaks co-creator David Lynch's films: Paul Atreides in Dune (1984) and Jeffrey Beaumont in Blue Velvet (1986). MacLachlan's other film roles include Lloyd Gallagher in The Hidden (1987), Ray Manzarek in The Doors (1991), Cliff Vandercave in The Flintstones (1994), Zack Carey in Showgirls (1995), and Riley's father in the Inside Out film series (2015, 2024).

In addition to Twin Peaks, MacLachlan has had prominent roles on television such as Trey MacDougal on Sex and the City (2000–2002), Orson Hodge on Desperate Housewives (2006–2012), The Captain on How I Met Your Mother (2010–2014) and How I Met Your Father (2022), the Mayor of Portland on Portlandia (2011–2018), Calvin Johnson on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2014–2015), and Hank MacLean on Fallout (2024–present).

MacLachlan made his film debut in Dune (1984) in the starring role of Paul Atreides. MacLachlan was performing in Molière's Tartuffe at a Seattle-area theater when a casting agent for Dune producer Dino De Laurentiis began searching for a young lead and received multiple recommendations for him. After several screen tests, he hit it off with director David Lynch, aided by their common Pacific Northwest backgrounds, and succeeded in winning the part. This marked the beginning of a creative partnership between MacLachlan and Lynch, who would go on to collaborate on four more projects before Lynch's death in 2025.

Happy Birthday: Walter Marvin Koenig (born September 14, 1936) is an American actor and screenwriter. He began acting professionally in the mid-1960s and quickly rose to prominence for his supporting role as Ensign Pavel Chekov in Star Trek: The Original Series (1967–1969). He went on to reprise this role in all six original-cast Star Trek films, and later voiced President Anton Chekov in Star Trek: Picard (2023). He has also acted in several other series and films including Goodbye, Raggedy Ann (1971), The Questor Tapes (1974), and Babylon 5 (1993). In addition to his acting career, Koenig has made a career in writing as well and is known for working on Land of the Lost (1974), Family (1976), What Really Happened to the Class of '65? (1977) and The Powers of Matthew Star (1982).

After Chekov, Koenig had a recurring role as Psi Cop Alfred Bester (pictured above) on the television series Babylon 5. He was a "Special Guest Star" in twelve episodes and, at the end of the third season, the production company applied for an Emmy nomination on his behalf. He was slated to play Bester on the spin-off series Crusade, but the series was cancelled before his episode was filmed. The character name of "Alfred Bester" was an homage to the science-fiction writer of the same name.

Happy Birthday: Claudia Christian (born Claudia Ann Coghlan, August 10, 1965) is an American actress, singer, and author, known for her roles as Commander Susan Ivanova on Babylon 5, as Captain Maynard on Fox's 9-1-1, and as the voice of Hera on the Netflix series Blood of Zeus. She is also the voice of Lt. Helga Sinclair in Atlantis: The Lost Empire. She is the founder and CEO of the C Three Foundation, a proponent of the medication-based Sinclair Method for treating alcohol dependence.

 

RIP: Arthur Ian Lavender (16 February 1946 – 2 February 2024) - AKA Private Pike.

My Favourite TV Shows: Fringe (Series 1)

I first came across Fringe ages ago whilst randomly channel hopping during the adverts. I watched it for a minute or so and it looked kind of interesting but then I went back to whatever I was already viewing but kept it in mind for later. YEARS later I found a cheap (actually I think under-priced) box set of the whole show and snapped it up. I then found myself binge watching the whole thing over the next few months.

At first viewing Fringe has a whole X-Files vibe and is initially easy to dismiss as an X-Files clone. But it quickly becomes something far more (and dare I say far better) than that. There are naturally similarities. For one the organisation doing all the investigation is the FBI – or the Fringe Division of the FBI (hence the title). We are introduced to Fringe only obliquely. There’s an FBI investigation into illegal chemical/bio weapons technology transfer involving Special Agents Olivia Dunham (played by Anna Torv) & her partner/lover John Scott (played by Mark Valley). During a chase sequence Scott is sprayed with chemicals and will die without very special attention. The only person who can help is Dr Walter Bishop (played by John Noble). The problem is that he’s a long term patient in a mental hospital and the only person who he can be signed out to is his son peter (played by Joshua Jackson – yes, him) who’s running scams in Iraq. Olivia persuades her boss to let her pick Peter up and bring him back to the US to save her partner – who unfortunately dies later after he apparently betrays her and his country (long story). Needless to say that’s not the end of it by a long shot. Because of her work in tracking down illegal weapons transfers Dunham is let in on what’s really going on along with a chance of joining the Fringe Division. She can hardly refuse after learning about ‘The Pattern’.

The Patter is a number of linked incidents that have occurred across the globe usually written off to the public as either accidents or random acts of terror. They are neither. They are in fact a co-ordinated attack against a number of nations by an unknown adversary for reasons unknown. Normally using cutting edge bio-tech or other technologically advanced weaponry the FBI is struggling to contain things. Seemingly at the heart of things – either directly or tangentially – is a megacorp known as Massive Dynamic (because why not!) who’s head and founder is William Bell who was friends with….. Walter Bishop. Then things start getting complicated……

You can see already that this is no simple X-Files knock-off. Some of the episodes certainly have that feel to it but there is a strong overall narrative that carries everything forward. Watching a single episode might give you the impression of a ‘monster of the week’ show but when you watch a whole series – or even better all five – you can see how it all hangs together, and it does! Things are shown or mentioned in one episode that might show up 2, 3, or 10 episodes later to make you go: So THAT’S what that meant. It ALL makes sense now! And it wasn’t just once or twice that happened either. As the first series progresses we’re introduced to the main characters are see some of their backstories but interesting there are elements that even the characters themselves are unaware of. Neither Walter, his son Peter or even Olivia know everything about their pasts (another multi-series LONG story) which, of course makes things even more interesting by far as you try to figure out what things mean, how things you already know fits in and begin to wonder if you really know what you think you know to be true. But at the same time – looking back – it all makes perfect sense! That alone makes the series a delight to watch – trying to figure things out in almost the same timescale as the characters themselves. Sometimes we’re privy to information they don’t have but at other times we’re as shocked as they are by the revelations.

I don’t really want to give too much away for those who have yet to see this show. It’s full of tech-speak and crazy ‘theoretical’ ideas, indeed the verbal pause followed by the word ‘theoretically’ is a kind of trade mark throwaway line from Dr Bishop. All of the main cast and supporting cast are excellent. I actually didn’t find myself disliking anyone over 5 series which is pretty amazing. I honestly fell in love with Olivia Dunham (more than once…..) as she’s a brilliant character with layers even she didn’t know about until she read it in the script. The overall plot reveals itself little by little as the series moves forward and you can see element build on element into a final believable (mostly) compete jigsaw puzzle. But be warned – don’t get too comfortable with things. Each series is quite different in scope, narrative and focus. Each is in effect a single perspective on a much larger issue that, again, unfolds on a much broader canvas and much longer timescale. It’s all very, very clever. Oh, one other thing – the faint of heart should note that there are regular, if rather restrained for TV, ‘body horror’ elements to the series with autopsies, mutilated corpses (it’s a monster type series after all!) and other yuck factor elements throughout all 5 series. So if you can’t stand the sight of blood this might not be the show for you. But if you’re into weird science based mystery cop shows this is definitely one to watch.   

My Favourite TV: Stargate – Atlantis

When a new series hits our screens it must spend at least sometime laying the groundwork for the story (or stories) being unfolded as well as for characters complete with development arcs and much else besides. World (or Universe!) building takes time though and some effort from the viewers who need to accumulate details that will (hopefully) come in handy later. Stargate: Atlantis (running from 2004-2009) had all of these issues but it did have several built-in advantages too. Atlantis was a spin-off from the highly successful Stargate: SG-1 (more later) which was still running I think so a lot of the Universe building was already in place. We knew about ‘the Ancients’ who were the original gate-builders (large circular devices for travelling between planets/stars using ‘wormhole technology) so the techno-babble about these was kept to a minimum but pretty much everything else was new. After all the show was based in a different GALAXY – the Pegasus galaxy so we’d need to expect different things to be in play.

Much like its predecessor Atlantis started off with a planet/alien of the week approach. Their excuse – apart from being natural explorers – was the search for ZPM’s (Zero Point Modules) needed to power the lost city of Atlantis. Naturally this allowed a soft introduction to their new reality and introduced us to the new threat – the Wraith. Now the Wraith are very interesting bad guys. They’re kind of vampires living off the life force of humans living in Pegasus (yes, humans in a far flung galaxy and all speaking 21st century English without the need for universal translators. It’s just a lazy – if necessary plot device so we’ll go with that) by periodically culling them back to primitive levels before hibernating again for hundreds of years in their ‘hive ships’. Unfortunately the arrival of the humans in Pegasus has awoken them ‘early’ and subsequent all hell is let loose. That’s essentially the main plot line in series one: exploration (of the city and the larger galaxy) and survival. The fun, as always, is in the detail.

Probably half of the episodes in series one are bog standard SF fare their primarily to show off the main characters and flesh them out a bit. They’re good (generally) but not exactly memorable. Some however, even in a first series, are damned good. Early on we are introduced to a people called the Genii who are at a 1930’s level of technology after hiding their scientists underground over the centuries to avoid Wraith culling. They’re on the verge of producing atomic bombs to destroy Wraith hive ships on the ground (unaware that the new arrivals have already woken them) and the SG teams help them complete their work – only to be attacked and held hostage to provide both technology and C4 explosives for the Genii to continue their struggle for survival. Although the ‘baddies’ in a series of episodes we can see the desperation in their methods to rid themselves of the Wraith once and for all. Another planet has decided on another method to rid themselves of Wraith predation by making themselves ‘unpalatable’ to them. The downside? It kills 50% of the planets population – which is a toll they’re willing to take. Desperate times and desperate methods most definitely come to mind. That’s the galaxy the SG teams have just walked into – NASTY.

Of course with a lot of these shows the thing that does it for me is the characters involved in these often weird plots. The continuity character from SG-1 is Dr Rodney McKay played by David Hewlett as the unlikable and all too arrogant head scientist on the expedition. Even in series 1 you can see the change in him though when he, ever thinking of himself, instinctively steps in front of a gun to save Elizabeth Weir, the head of the expedition, played by Torri Higginson who is certainly one of my favourite SF characters of recent years. My favourite in this series though has to be the military lead Major John Sheppard played by Joe Flanigan who plays up his ‘hero’ status superbly even jokingly being called ‘Captain Kirk’ by Rodney at one point (totally hilarious). Lastly but not least is the local guide and ‘amazon’ warrior Teyla Emmagan played by Rachel Luttrell. Her character can be a little clunky in places but is a lot of fun to watch grow into her role.

Naturally there’s lots of combat – both on the ground and in space – but there’s a lot more exploration both of the surrounding stars and a fair share of philosophical, political and moral questions: interference in other cultures, exploitation, ends justifying means and much else. The show is far from easy light entertainment. It’s the best kind of SF – dramatic character driven content that leaves you wondering about things. Although series 1 was aired in 2004 it’s just as entertaining as anything on TV today and hasn’t lost any of its fun or its power. If you’re a SF buff and didn’t see this the first time around I’d recommend you change that. 

R4 @ The Movies (and the Small Screen).

Being a lifelong rebel (which explains SO much) I’ve been grateful over the years being presented with rebel heroes in the movies and in TV shows. These rebels are not only heroic but are usually held up in a very positive light as someone to emulate. Indeed they are seen as integral to our continuing freedom – the price of which appears to be eternal rebellion (or at least its possibility). So here are some of my favourite rebel movies and TV shows. No doubt you’ll have at least heard of most of them and have probably seen a fair few too. Some other are pretty obscure – British TV or European movies – but all of them have something to say, even the mainstream blockbuster ones….

Movies:

Divergent (2014)
Insurgent (2015)
Equilibrium (2002)
Gattaca (1997)
The Last Samurai (2003)
The Matrix (1999)
Rollerball (1975)
The Terminator Series (1984-2015)
Daybreakers (2009)
Max Manus – Man of War (2008)
Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
Defiance (2008)
Oblivion (2013)
Assault on Wallstreet (2013)
Flame & Citron (2008)
If… (1968)
They Live (1988)
300 (2006)
V for Vendetta (2005)
The Army of Crime (2009)
Ready Player One (2018)
Avatar (2009)
The Maze Runner (2014)
Rogue One (2016)
War of Resistance (2011)

TV:

The Prisoner (1967)
Falling Skies (2011)
1990 (1977)
The Invaders (1967)
Revolution (2012)
The Sarah Conner Chronicles (2008)
Dark Skies (1996)

Feed the Rebel – go watch a movie!

My Favourite TV: Battlestar Galactica – The Mini-Series (2003)

When I first heard that they were remaking (reimaging I suppose) Battlestar Galactica [BSG] I just couldn’t stop laughing. What on earth, I thought, possessed anyone to remake such a truly awful show? I mean, I know that the original series is still popular with a certain crowd but personally I don’t have good memories of it. OK at times it was just about watchable but generally it was badly written, badly acted late 1970’s camp.

Then I saw the first trailers and I thought, oh, this looks different and somewhat interesting. I liked the space scenes (largely silent) and the fact that they used guns and missiles instead of lasers. Then I saw a bit more and I was hooked. It was dark, broody and very, very modern. No camp here. So I sat down and watched what turned out to be the initial mini-series of 4 episodes. Against all of my expectations it quite simply blew me away.

I was, almost from minute one, impressed with the acting talent, the acting itself, the way it was filmed (and just the SFX) and the script. Set 40 years after the first series the initial focus was on the decommissioning of the last of the original Battlestars – essentially space capable ‘aircraft’ carriers – that had fought in the first Cylon War. Coincidentally the Cylons have decided to finish the job they started decades ago with a combination sneak attack and a widespread infiltration of human society with 8 variations of Cylon almost indistinguishable from humanity itself. As you might imagine, if you don’t already know, the attack on the 12 Colonies goes with predictable machine efficiency and humanity is almost wiped out in a single short blow. Except for a ‘rag-tag fleet’ cobbled together by the new President – 43rd or 46th in line to the position. Of course the Commander and crew of the only surviving Battlestar want to ‘get back in the fight’ but, as the President keeps reminding them they’ve already lost and right now need to ‘start having babies’ if humanity has any chance at all of survival. So they do the only thing they can do – run. But where and how far? Then the Commander pulls a rabbit out of the hat to give everyone the one thing they no longer have – hope. Hope of a refuge, hope of a new home. A place called Earth.

I read somewhere that the mini-series and the later episodes where distinctly different and I can see why. It seemed that the mini-series was a kind of half-way house between the original and the new. Reference to the original series from the fighter design (beautiful by the way) to the fly-by theme, to the child Boxey (fortunately without robot dog and for only one episode never to be mentioned again) and, of course the names of the characters – thought interestingly Apollo is now a call-sign rather than a name as such (nicely commented upon when the President said that Apollo had ‘a nice ring to it). Then, thankfully, there were many, many differences. Probably the most striking (and seemingly most controversial) was the casting of women in roles previously held by men. For one thing – it being the 21st century now – we have female fighter pilots exemplified by ‘Starbuck’ played by the superb Katee Sackhoff. ‘Boomer’ is also a girl played by Grace Park (incidentally who is having an affair with the engineering crew chief against regulations). Then we have the XO played by Michael Hogan who is a drunk, Commander Odama played by the also superb Edward James Olmos who is still coming to terms with his son’s death in flight school, his other son ‘Apollo’ played by Jamie Bamber who blames his father for his brother’s death whilst secretly wanting to take his place in the bed of his girlfriend who just happens to be Starbuck and then we have the new President played by the great Mary McDonnell who is completely out of her depth and who has just been told she has terminal cancer.…. So, you can see how it’s VERY different from the almost cosy 70’s version. Needless to say, as the series roll on, it gets even darker and moves into some very dark places indeed. But that’s in the future and I wouldn’t want to spoil things too much by looking too far ahead.

For an essentially 4 episode mini-series I’ve barely scratched the surface. I haven’t even mentioned the human form Cylon we’re first introduced to (Six) played by Tricia Helfer who was the series sex-symbol (honestly doing very little for me) and her lover/human traitor Gaius Baltar played by James Callis. There’s so much more going on that I could probably fill a few more pages but I’m neither going to precis the 3 hour show nor analyse it to death. All that I will say at this point is that my view of the show turned 180 degrees from my first impression. The mini-series hooked me for the next 4 years into some of the best TV I’ve ever seen. But don’t just take my word for it. Check out the mini-series (if you haven’t already) and then watch the rest of them. It’s often uncomfortable viewing and certainly not for the faint of heart but by the Gods of Cobol it’s worth it.  

My Favourite TV: The Invaders

For those of you too young to remember The Invaders was an American SF show running for 43 episodes over 2 series in 1967 and 1968. Even though I was very much alive at the time I doubt if I saw the original run of either series – partially because it probably ran in a late evening slot and it may have been before we had our first TV. One thing I do know is that it certainly made an impact on me in my pre-teens as Architect David Vincent (played superbly by Roy Thinnes) tracked across 60’s America attempting to convince a disbelieving world that the Invaders were already here (to quote the fantastically evocative voiceover).

Over the last few weeks I’ve been enjoying sitting down, at the end of a hectic day, to this slice of pure nostalgic heaven. I finished Series one last week and Series two is waiting to be screened over the coming months. Of course I don’t expect there to be any conclusion to the fight against this deadly and largely ignored enemy – after all they look just like us (apart from the odd crooked finger) and who believes in aliens anyway? I’m guessing – after all these years it was like watching the series for the first time which was great – that the series was canned in mid-flow without any planned conclusion. So it’ll be left hanging. Did he finally defeat the aliens or convince enough people to join his cause? It’s difficult to say – the evidence (such as it was) was inconclusive. The aliens seemed very adept indeed at covering their tracks. It obviously helped that they self-disintegrated on death and they their weapons vaporised anything they hit (including equipment that could have given them away moments before the authorities arrived). Then of course there was the mixture of wilful disbelief at just about every level coupled with years of alien infiltration throughout the establishment to ensure that any evidence or reports of alien activity disappeared in one way or another without arousing too much suspicion.

Of course the whole thing was a product of Cold War paranoia. The aliens, emotionless and often seen wearing dark boiler-suits, where clearly meant to be Communist infiltrators. They had little regard for any life, including their own, and where dedicated to one cause only – the overthrow of the Earth (represented inevitably by the USA). In many ways – rather obvious in hindsight – The Invaders was very much a precursor of The X-Files where alien conspiracies are uncovered only to have any solid evidence whipped away at the last minute leaving the protagonist(s) looking rather foolish. It irritated me a great deal in the X-Files and it did irritate a little in The Invaders too. But I think the thing that exasperated me most about the show was that even when people (other than the lead) had direct contact with the aliens and survived – a fairly rare thing I admit – they still either didn’t believe or where too afraid to do anything about it except run and hide in a corner. But the things I loved about the show far exceed this rather minor irritation. I loved the idea of the show, its pervading sense of menace, the thought that anyone could be an alien. I loved the weird alien space craft, the noises they made and their clear technological superiority. I loved the guns the squirted globs of red flame that incinerated anything they touched and I loved the fact that David Vincent never gave up in his quest to rid the Earth of this menace. Despite the fact that, not surprisingly, this is very dated TV this is still a very watchable slice of SF history. If you have a slow evening, try an episode or two. You’ll be hooked before you know it.           

My Favourite TV: Firefly

Those of you who read my Blog on a regular basis will know that I spent a pleasant New Years watching the 2002 SF series Firefly. I could do this in one day – actually in about 12 hours with a few breaks - because they only made 14 episodes. Oddly when I first saw it I couldn’t understand why it lasted that long.

A bit of background might help here. I was, and still am, a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When I heard that its creator, Joss Whedon, was working on another show and that it was going to be SF I was already signed up to the area. When it finally arrived I was shocked. I mean… cowboys in space, dressed like cowboys, acting like cowboys, talking like cowboys…. In the future? What was that all about? But because I really liked the creator I gave it enough time to make an impact on me. At episode 4 or 5 I gave up and wrote it off as a turkey. By the sounds of it, as it was axed half way through the first series, I wasn’t alone in my assessment. It was just too damned strange and a little too different to work properly.

Then, as with Stargate: Atlantis, I caught the inevitable re-runs and then I watched the re-runs after that and fell in love with this quirky misunderstood gem of a TV show. It’s strange looking back on it that I loved the show later for what I disliked about it the first time around. I really started to love the mix of genres and realised that it really did work. Space, or at least that bit of space in the series, was the Wild West complete with frontier towns and Indians in the shape of Reavers (scary, scary stuff!) There are soldiers who lost a kind of Civil War despite being on the ‘right side’ – it didn’t take much of a leap to see them as the remnants of the Confederacy and the victorious Alliance as the Union who are technologically strong but morally weak. I’m sure that an expert on the Civil War period and just after could draw all kinds of parallels. Of course what really made this show so special in my mind was the cast and, more importantly, how they acted together as a group. From episode one it seemed that the crew of the spaceship Serenity had known each other for years. It felt right. The unspoken history was there, some of which we found out about later, the usually unspoken tensions were there too as they would be in any group.

Of course it did the show no harm in my eyes that it was packed with very attractive women. My favourite (difficult as it was to pick just one) had to be the brilliantly natural engineer Kaylee played by the beautiful Jewel Staite. I loved the way she talked as much as the way she looked. Then there was the captain’s love interest Inara played by the very sultry Morena Baccarin. Inara was a high class, high cost prostitute or, as the captain repeatedly called her, a whore. Plain speaking about such things was a central aspect of the show. They really didn’t beat about the bush on adult issues. Next in line was Zoe played by Gina Torres, wife of the pilot Alan Tudyk. She played the ships second in command and was in the captains unit during the war. Lastly was River Tam, a young girl hunted by top Alliance operatives because of what she knows and what she can do. River was played by the disturbingly excellent Summer Glau. Probably the character I identified with most was the captain himself – Malcolm Reynolds played by Nathan Fillion. He played a man of honour in a universe largely without any, a man on the raggedy edge with little to lose except his crew, his ship and his self respect. I liked him a lot.

With only 14 episodes to work with we didn’t really learn that much about the characters themselves or about the worlds they inhabited. What we did learn was enough to unfold in a half dozen series. Cut short (even with a later movie filling in some of the background detail) we never learnt what Shepherd Book was before he became a Shepherd. We never had closure with Mal and Inara. That will they won’t they thing could have lasted years! As could the maybe/maybe not relationship between the doctor (River’s older brother) and Kaylee. We could also have found out far more about the Alliance and just how those guys with the blue gloves fitted into things. So many questions we’ll never know the answers to now.

If you’re either a fan of SF, Buffy, Joss Whedon or Westerns this might be the thing for you – if you haven’t already seen it. It is weird so you might not ‘get it’ the first time. But its only 14 episodes so you’ll be able to watch it a few times in a month or so. After repeated exposure you will (probably) begin to love it as much as I do. It’s a real, real shame that it was canned so early and that the movie didn’t do very well at the box-office. It was, I suspect just a bit too quirky and different to be popular. I for one know how that feels which is probably why I’m such a fan.           

My Favourite TV: Star Trek – Original Series

It is difficult to calculate just how important Star Trek: Original Series (ST:OS) was to me. Without it I doubt if I would be even remotely the same person I am today. In my personal mythology I credit it – and in particular Leonard Nimoy’s Spock – with quite possibly saving my life at least metaphorically if not actually. In the days I watched this show religiously, regardless if I had seen the particular episode repeatedly and could happily play any of the major roles faultlessly, my teenage emotions where in turmoil. I felt as if I was being torn apart as my adolescent brain was slowly poisoned by hormones I had no control over. I was convinced for far too long that I was going mad. My saviour was someone seemingly going through exactly the same thing - someone who struggled with strong emotions on a weekly basis and who showed how they could be tamed with logic and reason. That’s right – Spock saved my life or at least my sanity.

Feeling nostalgic of late I bought the ST:OS box-sets from Amazon and spent a happy few months watching all 79 episodes one after the other. I remembered all but one instantly. For the first 10-15 minutes I thought that I had actually missed the odd one out. Not so I discovered. It’s possible that I had simply missed the beginning or, more likely from the plot, that I had become bored and zoned out from a rather dull and plodding story mostly based in court. The rest of them however at least kept my attention which isn’t bad after repeated viewings and decades of memories piled on top. Some of them thrilled me just as much as they did back in the 70’s when I watched them on TV again and again and again. Star Trek is largely responsible – no doubt along with the numerous Gerry Anderson puppet shows – for making me a life long fan of Science Fiction (enough on its own to be grateful for I think) as well as for having a life long passion for Science and the application of reason to solve problems (thanks again Mr Spock).

One of the interesting things I found while watching the extra bits on the DVDs was just how lucky anyone was to see Star Trek. The studios hated the pilot (I could see why) but fortunately liked the next offering. In the years that followed budgets were steadily reduced and transmission times varied apparently randomly. Finally they got what they wanted and the series was cancelled part way through the third series. As with a few other cult shows the fans kept it alive in conventions and in the early Internet chat rooms. Finally we got Star Trek: The Next Generation which, overall, I was somewhat less than impressed with. For me, despite the better effects and larger budget, it never really had the presence of the original series. It did manage a few very good episodes and I liked Picard very much but he was no James T Kirk and no matter how much he tried Mr Data was no Mr Spock. I was never a fan of DS:9 but did warm to Voyager. I even, just before they canned it, started to like Enterprise. I wonder if the franchise will get a new lease of life now that the movies are packing them in. Maybe Star Trek isn’t dead quite yet. I hope not – despite its rather patchy history.    

My Favourite TV: Generation Kill

Generation Kill was a 7 part 2008 serialisation of the book of the same name by Evan Wright who was an embedded reporter with 1^st Recon Marines as they entered Iraq during Gulf War Mk 2. Told from the point of view of the grunts on the ground this was a visceral experience of long periods of deep boredom peppered by short periods of terror as both enemy and friendly bullets and bombs came their way. The squad, held together by Brad ‘Iceman’ Colbert (played amazingly by Alexander Skarsgard), fight their way through IED’s, enemy snipers and their own commanders often glory fuelled incompetence. Their main preoccupation, apart from some seriously off-key singing and off-colour humour, is simply to stay alive long enough to get sent home once their tour is over. This proves easier said than done in one of the most dangerous places on Earth.

I liked this so much when they showed it on late night cable TV that I bought the DVD box-set when it came out. Although probably toned down from reality it was gritty enough and seemingly realistic enough to feel incredibly fresh. The chaos of war was portrayed beautifully again and again as random events, sometimes resulting in equally random death, happened wherever the camera pointed. American troops, never really know for their fire control, seemed ready to gun down people just because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time – sometimes for ‘something to do’ or just to have a ‘kill’ against their name. The deep cynicism about their commanders, who seemed to have little or do appreciation of what they were asking their troops to do, pervaded the whole series. This was only counteracted by the even deeper loyalty to each other – even the fuck-ups in their own Humvee’s. You don’t have to read between the lines to realise that this was a severe and telling criticism of the whole Iraq adventure while at the same time showing an admiration and an understanding of the grunts tasked to implement highly questionable policy decisions made thousands of miles away. This series is very much not for the faint of heart. As the warning clearly says on the back of the DVD box: Contains strong language, violence, sex references and real corpses. If you haven’t seen it before and haven’t been put off by that I can highly recommend this to you. I can’t promise that you’ll enjoy it – it’s not that kind of TV – but I don’t think that you’ll forget it anytime soon. Oh, and definitely watch the interview with the real 1^st Recon Marines (some of whom played themselves in the series). It’s an eye-opener.     

My Favourite TV: Lost in Austen

Amanda Price (played by Jemima Rooper) is a typical 21^st century city girl who loves to read Jane Austen to escape into a world of romance so unlike her own. Her particular favourite is Pride and Prejudice which she knows virtually word for word. When her boyfriend unexpectedly proposes to her Amanda’s world is thrown into turmoil so, with a wine glass in one hand and Austen in the other she escapes – until she hears a noise coming from her bathroom. Expecting a burglar she is astonished to find Miss Elizabeth Bennet standing in her bathtub. Seemingly the longing for Austen’s world to be real has created a doorway between the two realms. Intrigued by the 21^st century Lizzie offers a Jemima a deal - for a short time they will swop places. After some agonising Amanda agrees and steps through the doorway. Things are exactly as she has imagined them until, with Lizzie away, things begin to spiral out of control. Knowing the story well Amanda tries ever harder to put things back on track but the more she tries the more things slip from her grasp. Can she put things back together the way they should before lives are ruined and what is she to do about Mr Darcy?

I only saw part of this (the last 2 of 4 episodes) when it was first shown on TV back in 2008. So when it came out on DVD I jumped at the chance of owning it. As a huge fan of P&P I did have some misgivings about the whole thing. I certainly didn’t think that they could improve on things and they had many opportunities to ruin the whole thing! Fortunately the director is a great Austen fan so it seemed to be in safe hands. There were many funny moments as Amanda Price attempted to fit in with early 19^th century society – failing completely of course! She was just too modern and had problems controlling her use of modern idiom and a modicum of swearing. She was inevitably far too independently minded to stand for the way women were treated back then and, again inevitably, caused a degree of scandal – especially in Mrs Bennet’s eyes. Mr Bennet, after the initial shock, quite took to her which I thought was rather cool. I loved the way Amanda caused confusion by referring to Darcy as “OK, but no Colin Firth” and, much later on convincing him to walk out of the lake in riding boots and a flowing white shirt described it as a “wonderfully post-modern moment”. Briefly back in the present she asks her best friend to join her back in the 19^th century. Being black, and being aware that such a thing would not no unremarked back then, she turns Amanda’s offer down. “Anyway”, she said “I can’t live without my phone, toilet paper or chocolate” to which Amanda replies “Oh, but they have chocolate!” Finally there was my favourite comment of the show – spoken by the much changed Mr Wickham. Whilst dressing Amanda in Paris finery she remarks “But aren’t we at war with France?” to which he replies “We are always at war with France, but never at war with Paris”. OK, it does sound a little corny but in context it was very funny.

Whilst not exactly anywhere as good as the original – what could be – this was a fun 3 hours in the company of people who loved Austen. Particular accolades go to the great Hugh Bonneville who played Mr Bennet as someone I’d love to spend an evening with in his library/study and the intriguing Mr Wickham played by Tom Riley. Definitely one for Austen fans unless you’re something of a purist – in which case you might have some serious issues!   

My Favourite TV: Terminator – The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Despite the fact that this series had quite a few faults with it I was still very disappointed that it only lasted 2 series. I thought that it definitely had the potential to run for 3-5 years before people got bored with the whole idea. It had lots going for it – apart from the obvious attractions of Summer Glau and Lena Headey – including some kick-ass action and some fairly good acting from the likes of Brian Austin Green who played Derek Reese, brother of Kyle who fathered John Connor – the saviour of mankind.

The first series followed the usual Terminator plot line as the Connors tried to prevent the birth of Skynet – the computer system (or virus according to the movie Terminator 3) that destroyed the world on Judgement Day. The ‘wrinkle’ in this was that Sarah and John – together with Cameron (the diminutive Terminator played mostly superbly by Glau) – jump into the ‘future’ so that they miss Sarah’s death due to cancer. This was a nice touch and took it out of the movie time-line which gave the series a bit more flexibility. The second, and last, series, took a different tack with the introduction of Catherine Weaver played, rather oddly, by the singer Shirley Manson from the band Garbage. She, as we far too quickly find out, is a liquid metal Terminator seemingly with a plan of her own which may or may not include Judgement Day. This was a very interesting development and, along with flashes forward to the war against Skynet, part of the internal conflict between different machine factions. That made things, for me at least, very interesting. The final episode, where Weaver and John travel to the future, was an amazing cliff-hanger which unfortunately will now never be resolved.

Of course because of my love for the franchise and the ideas behind the Terminator idea I inevitably had some problems with the series. Although Glau was great as Cameron and had the robotic fighting down to a fine art she still stuck out like a sore thumb in most social situations – and then – for no apparent reason became quite human. For an infiltration unit she wasn’t very adept. I know that the rebels/survivors of the nuclear war had access to time travel technology but seriously just how many people did they have the opportunity to send back to mess with the time line. Although I understand that its clearer for the audience to have an antagonist to recognise the whole Cromartie storyline was bordering on farce, oh, and as much as I liked the character of James Ellison played by Richard T Jones what was the actual point of him being there? Oh, and lastly John Connor – the future leader of mankind… Get over yourself John. You’ve done the whiney teenager thing who doesn’t want the responsibility. Now get a grip, get with the programme and be who you’re supposed to be.

Finally the things I actually liked about it – some a lot. Glau as Cameron rocked my world. She was superb in a sexy scary killer robot sort of way and if I was gay (or a girl) I’d totally do Derek Reese. I liked the glimpse of the future war which I found exciting. I liked the way some things that Skynet was doing were never explained – though maybe that was planned for future episodes? I liked the political aspects alluded to in the final few episodes where Connor was using revamped Terminators in his camps much to the annoyance of some of his troops. I was also very much intrigued by the idea of metal ‘factions’ within the robotic forces – that was a very nice idea. All in all I thought that the series was a creditable attempt to extend the franchise and could have probably worked very well considering and should have been given longer to settle down. I miss it (or would if I didn’t have both series on DVD). If you liked the movies and haven’t seen the series I’d definitely give it your attention.