Buys
Nothing this week. I've been pretty sick. Haven't gone out of the house. Or down to the mailbox. I did, however, crash in front of the tv and watch stuff in between sleeping spells. Read on.
"Accomplishments"
DVDs: Continuing on the last few weeks' adventure, I flipped Battlestar Galactica Season 2.0, the first half of the second season (certainly makes "flipping" easier when they parcel it out in bite sizes). This part of the BSG saga finishes what was started in Season 1 and ultimately takes us to the awesome appearance of the Pegasus. The DVD features podcast commentaries and deleted scenes on almost every episode, but not much more, leaving the more complete features for the end of the season. Makes sense.
On Kung Fu Friday, we showed An Empress and the Warriors, a historical epic/romance that was really two films. There's this military drama/tragedy starring Donnie Yen, and then there's a cheesy romance between the heroine (a Mulan by any other name) and her warrior saint/engineer/forest ranger/medical doctor/balloon rider/peacenik boyfriend. The former clearly stole the show and had some pretty wonderful sequences, while the latter made me laugh out loud in all the wrong places. Reminded me of White Tiger, and not in a good way. Of course, it all looked gorgeous whichever part we were in. The DVD is relatively bare for a Dragon Dynasty release: Bey Logan's usual commentary plus a 25-minute promotional featurette.
A
lso flipped this week is the geekapalooza that is the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2009 version of Hamlet starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. And I swear I'm not saying this because I'm a Doctor Who or Trek fan, but it's already one of my favorite film versions. It's got some great performances and staging, with Stewart actually redeeming himself in my eyes (not a fan of his 1980 Claudius). I'll let my Hamlet blog tell a fuller tale (link at the bottom of this post). The DVD has a commentary track with the director, d.p. and producer, which is very interesting indeed, and a half-hour making of besides, with interviews by most of those concerned. The only thing I find is missing is some footage from the original theatrical production.
Because I was going to make Doctor Who CCG cards all weekend, I had to watch a couple stories. The first of these was State of Decay starring the 4th Doctor, the 2nd Romana and the 1st Adric (oh, there was only one?). It's the one with the vampires, in case you're wondering. Though the direction and design are pretty good, and Adric surprisingly palatable, the script is one of those clashing Terrence Dicks/Chris Bidmead atrocities that feature the worst of both writers (recycled ideas + deathly boring dialog). The DVD is great fun though. The commentary tracks are full of levity as usual, and in addition to the making of, there are features on the vampire in fiction (sorry girls, they don't get to Twilight per se) and on the meaning of blood in our culture (wonderfully macabre).
I also watched The Twin Dilemma (and this, for the first time), but opted not to make cards from it at this juncture. Colin Baker's first story as the 6th Doctor is actually a lot better than people have led me to think. Oh, the plot is complete rubbish, bog-standard Who with naff monsters and gratuitous continuity references. However, much like the more excessive episodes of New Who, you can watch it for the characters. An "anti-Doctor" wasn't a good idea (not at the time it was broadcast), but it is one worthy of our attention. And Peri is actually really good in this too. You almost want Kevin McNally's character to jump onboard as well, by the end, despite his putting his glue gun in everyone's face every three minutes. At the time, it was a terrible dropping off from The Caves of Androzani, but 25+ years later, I think it's got some redeeming elements. This is a cheap story, so the DVD is too, notable for its complete lack of a making of documentary. The commentary tracks tell the tale of course. There's also a cute bit of fluff with Baker and a comedienne discussing the various costumes the Doctor's worn, an interview with the man who designed the opening credits of this era, and features from the television of the time, one with a sadly under-researched interviewer on a morning show, and the other on Blue Peter.
New Unauthorized Doctor Who CCG cards: 40, split pretty much between The Ultimate Foe (6th Doctor) and State of Decay (4th Doctor).
Hyperion to a Satyr entries this week include:
Act I Scene 4 - Hamlet 2000
Act I Scene 4 - Fodor (2007)
Addition: Tennant's Hamlet (2009)
Nothing this week. I've been pretty sick. Haven't gone out of the house. Or down to the mailbox. I did, however, crash in front of the tv and watch stuff in between sleeping spells. Read on.
"Accomplishments"
DVDs: Continuing on the last few weeks' adventure, I flipped Battlestar Galactica Season 2.0, the first half of the second season (certainly makes "flipping" easier when they parcel it out in bite sizes). This part of the BSG saga finishes what was started in Season 1 and ultimately takes us to the awesome appearance of the Pegasus. The DVD features podcast commentaries and deleted scenes on almost every episode, but not much more, leaving the more complete features for the end of the season. Makes sense.
On Kung Fu Friday, we showed An Empress and the Warriors, a historical epic/romance that was really two films. There's this military drama/tragedy starring Donnie Yen, and then there's a cheesy romance between the heroine (a Mulan by any other name) and her warrior saint/engineer/forest ranger/medical doctor/balloon rider/peacenik boyfriend. The former clearly stole the show and had some pretty wonderful sequences, while the latter made me laugh out loud in all the wrong places. Reminded me of White Tiger, and not in a good way. Of course, it all looked gorgeous whichever part we were in. The DVD is relatively bare for a Dragon Dynasty release: Bey Logan's usual commentary plus a 25-minute promotional featurette.A
lso flipped this week is the geekapalooza that is the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2009 version of Hamlet starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. And I swear I'm not saying this because I'm a Doctor Who or Trek fan, but it's already one of my favorite film versions. It's got some great performances and staging, with Stewart actually redeeming himself in my eyes (not a fan of his 1980 Claudius). I'll let my Hamlet blog tell a fuller tale (link at the bottom of this post). The DVD has a commentary track with the director, d.p. and producer, which is very interesting indeed, and a half-hour making of besides, with interviews by most of those concerned. The only thing I find is missing is some footage from the original theatrical production.
Because I was going to make Doctor Who CCG cards all weekend, I had to watch a couple stories. The first of these was State of Decay starring the 4th Doctor, the 2nd Romana and the 1st Adric (oh, there was only one?). It's the one with the vampires, in case you're wondering. Though the direction and design are pretty good, and Adric surprisingly palatable, the script is one of those clashing Terrence Dicks/Chris Bidmead atrocities that feature the worst of both writers (recycled ideas + deathly boring dialog). The DVD is great fun though. The commentary tracks are full of levity as usual, and in addition to the making of, there are features on the vampire in fiction (sorry girls, they don't get to Twilight per se) and on the meaning of blood in our culture (wonderfully macabre).
I also watched The Twin Dilemma (and this, for the first time), but opted not to make cards from it at this juncture. Colin Baker's first story as the 6th Doctor is actually a lot better than people have led me to think. Oh, the plot is complete rubbish, bog-standard Who with naff monsters and gratuitous continuity references. However, much like the more excessive episodes of New Who, you can watch it for the characters. An "anti-Doctor" wasn't a good idea (not at the time it was broadcast), but it is one worthy of our attention. And Peri is actually really good in this too. You almost want Kevin McNally's character to jump onboard as well, by the end, despite his putting his glue gun in everyone's face every three minutes. At the time, it was a terrible dropping off from The Caves of Androzani, but 25+ years later, I think it's got some redeeming elements. This is a cheap story, so the DVD is too, notable for its complete lack of a making of documentary. The commentary tracks tell the tale of course. There's also a cute bit of fluff with Baker and a comedienne discussing the various costumes the Doctor's worn, an interview with the man who designed the opening credits of this era, and features from the television of the time, one with a sadly under-researched interviewer on a morning show, and the other on Blue Peter.New Unauthorized Doctor Who CCG cards: 40, split pretty much between The Ultimate Foe (6th Doctor) and State of Decay (4th Doctor).
Hyperion to a Satyr entries this week include:
Act I Scene 4 - Hamlet 2000
Act I Scene 4 - Fodor (2007)
Addition: Tennant's Hamlet (2009)
Comments
Well, two if you count Andrew Sachs.