Day 9
TV Meme day 9- Best scene ever
Wow, if this ain’t the hardest category so far. So many to choose from. To make it easier I’ll leave out all of Doctor Who, Star Trek, Babylon 5 (sorry Zathras), Press Gang, Coupling, Porridge and every sketch comedy ever made. That should boil it down a fair old chunk.
I was leaning towards the scene in Boston Legal when Denny tries crying, or finding out who killed Lily Kane on Veronica Mars… or so very many others.
I then sat down and decided what really makes a scene feel great to me. It’s not necessarily about the big moments in terms of the continuing story arc, or grandiose speeches… as much as I can love those scenes (and I often do). The thing is it also comes down to how I feel at a given moment. Ask me again twenty minutes after I post this and I’ll probably pick something completely different.
So I’ll tell you why I picked what I picked, before I show you the scene itself.
Everything you need to know about the character is summed up in this scene, which is actually his entire involvement in the whole season. It was his first appearance ever, and he didn’t appear again until they gave him ONE episode in the fourth season. But in that short exposure he grabs you by the throat and makes it clear you are not going to forget this guy.
One night at uni somebody quoted the character, I responded, and out of nowhere a bunch of us were laughing it up. We then retired to my room where I happened to have the character’s two episodes on VHS. We had a mini-marathon, watching both episodes multiple times. We may have been slightly inebriated, but it was just plain fun. And if one scene can get people doing that, and still laughing about that night 8 years later, well it must be doing something right.
Now… for your undeniable pleasure… the man who has no underwear because the pants haven’t been made that can take the job on… the man who once said the word darling to someone who was then pregnant twenty seconds later… the man who inspired a million innuendos… Rik Mayal on sparkling form… from Blackadder II: Bells (and later Blackadder Goes Forth: Private Plane)…
Lord Flashheart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKfbSHW9uGA
Just watching it has me shouting hooray! And if nothing else you can enjoy the sight of Flashheart’s moustache trying to hold on to his face.
Movie Meme day 9- A movie with the best soundtrack
Still Crazy
“History teaches us that men behave wisely once they’ve exhausted all other alternatives. For most rock bands the pursuit of wisdom’s a low priority next to fame, fortune and fornication. Such a band was Strange Fruit.”
Thus begins another movie I have on high rotation. The cast is great: Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Shaun of the Dead), Stephen Rea (V for Vendetta), Timothy Spall (Harry Potter), Jimmy Nail and Billy Connolly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICpj6LCbkqA
Strange Fruit were a successful band, but it all fell apart during one gig in the seventies. Most of them haven’t seen each other since. Now they have a shot at the big time again. But the lead singer’s got his own career, the bass player has a new life, the drummer’s on the run from the tax man, and the lead guitarist is dead! Somehow they have to make it work, because they all need it. The laundry girl from the old days is the new manager, their best roadie is keen for another tour… but the same demons that finished them last time are still around.
It’s well written and acted, but that’s not what this category’s about. I picked ‘Still Crazy’ because the soundtrack is all killer, no filler. But, more importantly, it’s also an important part of the story.
‘All Over the World’ was their biggest hit, and when they finally do it again on tour it proves they’re back on form. All these old songs continually remind them that their past is always dogging them. The ghost of the original creative team looms over them all the time.
Then there’s the most important song of them all, ‘The Flame Still Burns’. In the old days it was their best song. Les and Brian wrote it before Ray took over as the new singer. Les never liked the way Ray sang it, and Ray wouldn’t let Les sing at all. So they stopped doing it altogether.
When you reach the finale, it’s another movie ending I have to rewind and watch again and again, just like The Usual Suspects, or Don Juan de Marco, or tomorrow’s entry.
Here’s the scene and the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2SJbhVbPsA&feature=related
I want that song at my funeral!
But the whole soundtrack is great, most of it is integral to the story, instead of just being a bunch of great music attached to the movie. Put it another way, it’s the most commonly played soundtrack on my stereo.
Wow, if this ain’t the hardest category so far. So many to choose from. To make it easier I’ll leave out all of Doctor Who, Star Trek, Babylon 5 (sorry Zathras), Press Gang, Coupling, Porridge and every sketch comedy ever made. That should boil it down a fair old chunk.
I was leaning towards the scene in Boston Legal when Denny tries crying, or finding out who killed Lily Kane on Veronica Mars… or so very many others.
I then sat down and decided what really makes a scene feel great to me. It’s not necessarily about the big moments in terms of the continuing story arc, or grandiose speeches… as much as I can love those scenes (and I often do). The thing is it also comes down to how I feel at a given moment. Ask me again twenty minutes after I post this and I’ll probably pick something completely different.
So I’ll tell you why I picked what I picked, before I show you the scene itself.
Everything you need to know about the character is summed up in this scene, which is actually his entire involvement in the whole season. It was his first appearance ever, and he didn’t appear again until they gave him ONE episode in the fourth season. But in that short exposure he grabs you by the throat and makes it clear you are not going to forget this guy.
One night at uni somebody quoted the character, I responded, and out of nowhere a bunch of us were laughing it up. We then retired to my room where I happened to have the character’s two episodes on VHS. We had a mini-marathon, watching both episodes multiple times. We may have been slightly inebriated, but it was just plain fun. And if one scene can get people doing that, and still laughing about that night 8 years later, well it must be doing something right.
Now… for your undeniable pleasure… the man who has no underwear because the pants haven’t been made that can take the job on… the man who once said the word darling to someone who was then pregnant twenty seconds later… the man who inspired a million innuendos… Rik Mayal on sparkling form… from Blackadder II: Bells (and later Blackadder Goes Forth: Private Plane)…
Lord Flashheart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKfbSHW9uGA
Just watching it has me shouting hooray! And if nothing else you can enjoy the sight of Flashheart’s moustache trying to hold on to his face.
Movie Meme day 9- A movie with the best soundtrack
Still Crazy
“History teaches us that men behave wisely once they’ve exhausted all other alternatives. For most rock bands the pursuit of wisdom’s a low priority next to fame, fortune and fornication. Such a band was Strange Fruit.”
Thus begins another movie I have on high rotation. The cast is great: Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Shaun of the Dead), Stephen Rea (V for Vendetta), Timothy Spall (Harry Potter), Jimmy Nail and Billy Connolly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICpj6LCbkqA
Strange Fruit were a successful band, but it all fell apart during one gig in the seventies. Most of them haven’t seen each other since. Now they have a shot at the big time again. But the lead singer’s got his own career, the bass player has a new life, the drummer’s on the run from the tax man, and the lead guitarist is dead! Somehow they have to make it work, because they all need it. The laundry girl from the old days is the new manager, their best roadie is keen for another tour… but the same demons that finished them last time are still around.
It’s well written and acted, but that’s not what this category’s about. I picked ‘Still Crazy’ because the soundtrack is all killer, no filler. But, more importantly, it’s also an important part of the story.
‘All Over the World’ was their biggest hit, and when they finally do it again on tour it proves they’re back on form. All these old songs continually remind them that their past is always dogging them. The ghost of the original creative team looms over them all the time.
Then there’s the most important song of them all, ‘The Flame Still Burns’. In the old days it was their best song. Les and Brian wrote it before Ray took over as the new singer. Les never liked the way Ray sang it, and Ray wouldn’t let Les sing at all. So they stopped doing it altogether.
When you reach the finale, it’s another movie ending I have to rewind and watch again and again, just like The Usual Suspects, or Don Juan de Marco, or tomorrow’s entry.
Here’s the scene and the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2SJbhVbPsA&feature=related
I want that song at my funeral!
But the whole soundtrack is great, most of it is integral to the story, instead of just being a bunch of great music attached to the movie. Put it another way, it’s the most commonly played soundtrack on my stereo.