My childhood reading has left me with an unjustified, automatic distrust of people who use the following surnames:
Channing
Chorley
Crayford
Cutler
Eckersley
Elgin
Galloway
Hinks
Jaeger
Lupton
Magister
Masters (x2)
Quinn
Stevens
and an equally unjustified warmth towards people who go by the names of:
Benoit
Benton
Fenner
Sondergaard
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Hoggwords
Yumsk!
Skillo!
Oh
Right
Sorry
Sor-ry
Oops
Mums
Charterhouse
Budleigh Salterton
'Larious
Two m's, two g's
I'll have to ask
It all got a bit complicated
Da da-da da-da delish!
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Shallow - two l's, one o
A happy ending to the current (third) series of Giles Wemmbley-Hogg Goes Off, with Arabella accepting his proposal of marriage.
Giles isn't merely a cuddly, likeable posho in the mould of Tim Nice-But-Dim. In episode 2.6 'New Zealand' his conversation with Arabella's mother, Mrs Wells, showed us that he shared her prejudices about Josh. Up to that point I assumed that Giles disliked Josh merely because he was crass, was engaged to Giles' ex-girlfriend Arabella and was trying to ensure that Giles had a nasty accident. But this exchange demonstrated that at that stage Giles found it difficult to stand outside his class identity.
Three years of Canadian Studies seems to have broadened Giles' outlook, because in series 3 he's a bit mellower. He gets on well enough with Darren Smith (the Geordie ballet dancer) in 'Vienna' and very well indeed with Danielle (who nearly had a baby once, but she never) in 'Haiti'.
'Haiti' did have an unpleasant bit. Giles went out there with charity Crisis Help Action Volunteers, and he's made to remark at the end that it's been good to get the chance of working with CHAVS. Has Danielle been weighed and found socially wanting after all?
It is good though to see Giles becoming a little more assertive in series 3. He talks back to Sergei in 'Vienna', and nearly pokes his overbearing godfather in the eye when he moves in on Arabella in 'Ireland'.
And we do see another side to Belly-bells in 'Ireland'. It's been established that she's 'pretty and strong - mostly strong', and she's quite fierce, 'with a punch like a truck', but she's now revealed as endearingly insecure, worried that Keira Knightley will steal her Wemblers away from her.
Giles isn't merely a cuddly, likeable posho in the mould of Tim Nice-But-Dim. In episode 2.6 'New Zealand' his conversation with Arabella's mother, Mrs Wells, showed us that he shared her prejudices about Josh. Up to that point I assumed that Giles disliked Josh merely because he was crass, was engaged to Giles' ex-girlfriend Arabella and was trying to ensure that Giles had a nasty accident. But this exchange demonstrated that at that stage Giles found it difficult to stand outside his class identity.
Three years of Canadian Studies seems to have broadened Giles' outlook, because in series 3 he's a bit mellower. He gets on well enough with Darren Smith (the Geordie ballet dancer) in 'Vienna' and very well indeed with Danielle (who nearly had a baby once, but she never) in 'Haiti'.
'Haiti' did have an unpleasant bit. Giles went out there with charity Crisis Help Action Volunteers, and he's made to remark at the end that it's been good to get the chance of working with CHAVS. Has Danielle been weighed and found socially wanting after all?
It is good though to see Giles becoming a little more assertive in series 3. He talks back to Sergei in 'Vienna', and nearly pokes his overbearing godfather in the eye when he moves in on Arabella in 'Ireland'.
And we do see another side to Belly-bells in 'Ireland'. It's been established that she's 'pretty and strong - mostly strong', and she's quite fierce, 'with a punch like a truck', but she's now revealed as endearingly insecure, worried that Keira Knightley will steal her Wemblers away from her.
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Shallow's data-crammed mind
In Code Blue - Emergency Prilicla has to persuade Khone - the pregnant Gogleskan with extreme personal space issues - to allow one of the crew of Rhabwar to examine it.
Only Danalta and the accident-prone Sommaradvan Cha Thrat, it transpires, are remotely acceptable to Khone. Prilicla is pleased, explaining to it that Danalta is a polymorph who can take any physical shape required for the operation - only to find that Khone also has a terrible fear of shape-changers.
Luckily, the Sommaradvan shape bears a comforting resemblance to clay dolls made by Gogleskan children - and so Mary Sue Thrat finds herself centre stage despite a distinct lack of other-species surgical experience.
I think Prilicla should have instructed Danalta to take the shape of Cha Thrat. Khone would have been none the wiser.
Still to come - why Mind Changer would be even better if, instead of being made to retire, O'Mara was ignominiously sacked from the hospital for all the abuse and bullying he's been responsible for over the years.
Only Danalta and the accident-prone Sommaradvan Cha Thrat, it transpires, are remotely acceptable to Khone. Prilicla is pleased, explaining to it that Danalta is a polymorph who can take any physical shape required for the operation - only to find that Khone also has a terrible fear of shape-changers.
Luckily, the Sommaradvan shape bears a comforting resemblance to clay dolls made by Gogleskan children - and so Mary Sue Thrat finds herself centre stage despite a distinct lack of other-species surgical experience.
I think Prilicla should have instructed Danalta to take the shape of Cha Thrat. Khone would have been none the wiser.
Still to come - why Mind Changer would be even better if, instead of being made to retire, O'Mara was ignominiously sacked from the hospital for all the abuse and bullying he's been responsible for over the years.
Monday, January 10, 2005
Shallow and the form letter
I submitted a comment to the BBC website, expressing support for the decision to show Jerry Springer the Opera. I got a reply today which assumed that I'd sent them a boilerplate religious extremist's complaint about the programme. Why did I bother?
Watching it on tape yesterday, I thought Act 1 was great. Act 2 was rather dull once I'd worked out where it was going. There was a very characteristic bit of Stewart Lee phrasing in one of the captions - 'This act contains mock-heroic language...'.
The whole show made me think about how Buffy the Opera would work. Unlike Once More, with Feeling it'd be set in the Buffy meta-universe, so you'd have Joss Whedon as God, Marti Noxon as the Devil and a Greek chorus of representative fans.
Update January 29th: I find that at least one other person had the same experience. With the BBC, not the Buffy opera idea..
Watching it on tape yesterday, I thought Act 1 was great. Act 2 was rather dull once I'd worked out where it was going. There was a very characteristic bit of Stewart Lee phrasing in one of the captions - 'This act contains mock-heroic language...'.
The whole show made me think about how Buffy the Opera would work. Unlike Once More, with Feeling it'd be set in the Buffy meta-universe, so you'd have Joss Whedon as God, Marti Noxon as the Devil and a Greek chorus of representative fans.
Update January 29th: I find that at least one other person had the same experience. With the BBC, not the Buffy opera idea..
Friday, January 07, 2005
Mellow Shallow
New chillout music is essential for someone with as many resentments as myself. Recently I tapped a fantastic new lode in Air's Moon Safari and Talkie Walkie. I have only one complaint. Alpha Beta Gaga on the latter album reminds me irresistibly of the theme music to the 80s arcade classic Dig Dug.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Shallows dreme
Last night I dreamt I was having tea with the Queen. Over her fireplace was a huge portrait of the Beckhams, painted in different shades of gold. One of her corgis nipped me in the shin.