China Miéville, that Sandman Adaptation and more Nyssa
Just finished reading China Miéville's The Scar and shall now have to read everything else he has ever written. It is such a good book with just the most brilliant concept: a gigantic floating steampunk pirate city made out of boats attached to each other. There's also sea monsters, politics, two of the most interesting villains I've come across.
I have three words to say about the proposed TV version of Sandmam to be helmed by Supernatural's Eric Kripke: Do not want. Also, if I ever see somebody going on about how Jared Padalecki or Jensen Ackles would make such a good Dream, I may have to stab somebody.
(I was trying to think who I would trust to make Sandman into a television series besides Neil Gaiman and couldn't actually think of someone, but in the process decided that I'd love to see Aaron Sorkin take on a television adaptation of Ex Machina).
Finally, promoted by my rediscovery of my epic love for Nyssa and Five, I've working my way through the Black Guardian Trilogy. So far I've watched Mawdryn Undead and Terminus.
I have to say, off all the interfering god-like beings in all the science fiction I have every watched, the Black Guardian has to be the most rubbish. He's supposed to be the embodiment of all evil, or chaos or something, yes? All that, and all he seems to be cable of doing is harassing a school boy and roaring on about how evil he is while not actually doing anything.
Mawdryn Undead was enjoyable, but Battlefield is a far better Doctor-Brigadier reunion. The Brigadier in Mawdryn could have been anybody from the Doctor's past (and indeed, he was supposed to be Ian, although how they could bring back Ian and not Barbara, I do not know).
Episode one of Terminus was almost good, two and three are dreadful but it does manage to reeded itself just a bit in episode four. Either it's a serial about a plague ship run by slaves to an evil corporation that has been ruined by the inclusion of a story about the creation of the universe, or a serial about the creation of the universe that has been ruined by a the inclusion of a story about a plague ship run by slaves to an evil corporation.
But my biggest beef with it is that Nyssa was for the first three episodes written as incredibly passive. She does kick a bit of ass when she decides on a project and takes control in episode four, but, considering it's her leaving episode, it doesn't do her any favours. Her final scene though is wonderfully understated and sad. And god, how devastating is her story? Nyssa goes from being almost royalty on a planet where there is no evil or violence, to being the last of her kind, having seen her home destroyed, running a leaper colony on an run down space ship that is mostly likely going to be attacked by the company running it. Really, the dirty, dark corridors of Terminus couldn't be any further away from the gardens of Traken if they tried. The only comfort is that she's so quietly strong that you just know that Terminus would one day be a haven.
Next up is Enlightenment, the old dodgy version and not the director's cut with nifty new special effects, as the DVDs have to be returned tomorrow.
I have three words to say about the proposed TV version of Sandmam to be helmed by Supernatural's Eric Kripke: Do not want. Also, if I ever see somebody going on about how Jared Padalecki or Jensen Ackles would make such a good Dream, I may have to stab somebody.
(I was trying to think who I would trust to make Sandman into a television series besides Neil Gaiman and couldn't actually think of someone, but in the process decided that I'd love to see Aaron Sorkin take on a television adaptation of Ex Machina).
Finally, promoted by my rediscovery of my epic love for Nyssa and Five, I've working my way through the Black Guardian Trilogy. So far I've watched Mawdryn Undead and Terminus.
I have to say, off all the interfering god-like beings in all the science fiction I have every watched, the Black Guardian has to be the most rubbish. He's supposed to be the embodiment of all evil, or chaos or something, yes? All that, and all he seems to be cable of doing is harassing a school boy and roaring on about how evil he is while not actually doing anything.
Mawdryn Undead was enjoyable, but Battlefield is a far better Doctor-Brigadier reunion. The Brigadier in Mawdryn could have been anybody from the Doctor's past (and indeed, he was supposed to be Ian, although how they could bring back Ian and not Barbara, I do not know).
Episode one of Terminus was almost good, two and three are dreadful but it does manage to reeded itself just a bit in episode four. Either it's a serial about a plague ship run by slaves to an evil corporation that has been ruined by the inclusion of a story about the creation of the universe, or a serial about the creation of the universe that has been ruined by a the inclusion of a story about a plague ship run by slaves to an evil corporation.
But my biggest beef with it is that Nyssa was for the first three episodes written as incredibly passive. She does kick a bit of ass when she decides on a project and takes control in episode four, but, considering it's her leaving episode, it doesn't do her any favours. Her final scene though is wonderfully understated and sad. And god, how devastating is her story? Nyssa goes from being almost royalty on a planet where there is no evil or violence, to being the last of her kind, having seen her home destroyed, running a leaper colony on an run down space ship that is mostly likely going to be attacked by the company running it. Really, the dirty, dark corridors of Terminus couldn't be any further away from the gardens of Traken if they tried. The only comfort is that she's so quietly strong that you just know that Terminus would one day be a haven.
Next up is Enlightenment, the old dodgy version and not the director's cut with nifty new special effects, as the DVDs have to be returned tomorrow.