Top fives: Death scenes, explosions, John Simm roles
laughingacademy asked for Top 5 death scenes.
-SAM TYLER. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck jesusfuck. When he's on that rooftop and Bowie starts playing, and he has that look in his eyes, that little smile, and he's decided and he runs and runs and *leaps*, so *triumphant*... god, I have goosebumps just *thinking* about it now.
-Simm!Master, despite the histrionics and the gurning. It's one of the few good things about those eps and poor Daaave cries his heart out. Because the Master causes the Doctor emotional pain out of spite and it shows how much the Master means to the Doctor and it's as slashy as they can get on screen without actually fucking. Way to fucking go for Simmyboy for breaking my heart *twice* within a few months. Bastard. Anyway, I'm celebrating this while I still can, since Rusty's bound to strip it of all emotional meaning in a bit, I'm sure. He has a habit of doing that.
-The complete and utter bloodbath that's the end of Blake's 7. I LOVE IT. But especially the Blake/Avon tragedy of epic epicness and Avon's mancrush gone horribly wrong. The fact that Avon shoots Blake *three times* at point-blank range. Because he can't believe it. And Blake *keeps walking*. Jesus. It makes me shiver and cry and flail and everything.
-SOLDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED. In Horns of Nimon. Because it's utterly silly and wonderful and Graham Crowden cracks the fuck up as he dies. <33333333333333333333333333333
-And speaking of Tom-era Who, yeah... Tom kicking the bucket. It's got its problems, but it still makes me cry. And since the Doctor is technically the same character, I must say that Five dying does the same to me, and it's probably a bit better in technical terms (and with less overacting on the companions' part--Nicola Bryant's boobs do most of the acting).
For nostalgia_lj:
Top 5 explosions
(Note: many of these are from old Brit sci-fi, so they aren't all that speshul technically.)
-Blake's 7, Cygnus Alpha: BRIAN BLESSED EXPLODING IN SPACE. Mostly because it's Brian Blessed. And an explosion in space. And utterly silly. I haven't found a good quality clip of the isolated scene (just some rubbishy ones), but the clip features on Blessed's hysterical HIGNFY episode at least. BUT BRIAN BLESSED SHOUTING AND EXPLODING IN SPACE=WIN.
-Batman Returns. This bit with Catwoman, after she's filled that department store with explosives. I love how she bumps into Batman and the Penguin who just happen to be there and she doesn't give a shit. It's the perfectly timed, bitchy "meaow" that does it:).
-Also in B7: The Liberator falling apart and exploding (in Terminal, that is). It's sadmaking and I go :( when Zen dies.
-Every scene in OldWho when Jo's head is about to explode because her two brain cells can't rub together enough to compute the Doctor's complete and utter technobabble bullshit. But especially this shot from the Time Monster when the Doctor talks backwards: (counting down to a brain- splattering boom in three, too, one):
(I'm sorry for the Jo, Nos, but I am running out of material here.)
-Speaking of the Doctor's technobabble, that bit in the Daemons where poor Osgood tries to build that thingamajig according to the Doctor's instructions. OH, I FAIL AT EXPLOSIONS. Sorry about that.
temporalgrace asked about:
Top five John Simm roles.
This is difficult, because some of the ones where he puts in his best performances are things I probably wouldn't want to rewatch because they're such gritty kitchen-sink RL emo things. Nevertheless, they are so worth it just for his acting. And it's tricky because while I fap to the Simm!Master quite a lot, the one we see on the screen is a fucking spoiled brat who I want to smack and the one I have in my head is much cooler than that. My fanon!Master is as awesome as Delgado, kthx.
I'm not sure if these are in any particular order, but the first four are because of his acting and the last one just for conflicted shallow reasons.
1. Sam Tyler (Life on Mars)
Obviously. Sam gets a lot of stuff to do and Life on Mars just wouldn't work if it weren't for John's ability to pull you in with his acting. He's basically the thing that makes it all believable. And Sam, despite being a stuck-up git, is sympathetic and human. That's Simmyboy's best skill, really. To make the emotions believable and real without overdoing it. I absolutely believe Sam as a character, and that's one of the strengths of LoM. I get pulled in so I don't necessarily get super-analytical about it, except with the few weaker eps. But most of the time, John's acting is what carries it--he can take lines that might sound clunky if delivered by some other actors and suddenly makes them sound perfectly normal. But, yes. Sam's probably the most approachable of his characters, overall. He's immediately there and breaks your heart six minutes in when he cries in the car like a lost little boy.
2. Edward Sexby (Devil's Ho)
Well, I'd have to mention Sexby, wouldn't I? He's a lovely character. I love how he's emotionally crippled to the point where he even moves and sits stiffly, and you can see the cogs turning in his head as he tries to process these feelings he's got, because he isn't used to feeling. He's used to being hard, scarred and unemotional and just going from one battle to another. And then Angelica and Rainsborough make his life a bit more complicated because he's suddenly got something to hope for, something to fight for, and he's not sure how to go about it. Cutting men up is easy, but he can barely move when Angelica first kisses him. The awkwardness of his emotions is heartbreaking, and yet those feelings are genuine. And yet he stays true to himself, but the end isn't nearly as tragic as the end of ep 3, I don't think. It's far more painful to see him alone and lost. On one level, the story could be seen as about Sexby finding something to die for. And I love how Angelica has known him for so long and knows him for who he is and doesn't try to stop him, when she sees he's made up his mind. Aye. All must end in blood.
3. Raskolnikov (Crime and Punishment)
Yeah, it's a condensed and watered-down version of the novel, I know. But it's all really well done and the actors are all superb. The characters really carry the story and the surroundings don't matter that much. And what's John Simm good at? That's right, angsting. They get Raskolnikov's feverish panic and claustrophobia down pat. It's... one of those adaptations of classic books that I think works well as a visual aid for a novel, like a bunch of illustrations of certain scenes, complementing the novel in that sort of way rather than adapting it completely. That's probably the best way to approach it. But again, the writing is good and the acting is splendid. Minus points for the wobblycam, but otherwise the direction is good as well. And did I mention the angst?
4. John Parlour (Never Never)
I can't say much about this one without spoiling it, but... even if it's bloody depressing, it's still really good drama and definitely worth checking out if you're a fan. That's one of John's best performances right there. It's brain-breaking how he can play these complete fucking bastards and then make them sympathetic in bits--again, it's that essential human emotion John's too bloody good at manifesting, so you bond with that--and yet the characters stay bastards. And the writing on this is so good that it might as well be set in Renaissance Italy or Imperial Russia or wherever, which is impressive. That makes the modern council-house setting a bit less depressing. Even though it is gritty and then some. I bet many people have seen this clip already, but it's absolutely lovely. Parlour is a complete bastard but then there's also that playful and charming side to him and he truly is in love with Jo, I think. The only real minus is, as with Crime and Punishment, Julian Jarrold's stupid wobblycam fetish. But. It's still good stuff. Do check it out if you can find it.
5. Mister Master, The Few Seconds That Weren't Shite (Doctor Who)
It's a bit lame that even the best bits are punctuated with him doing stupid squeaky voices, isn't it? Bah. But but but still, the phone sex and him dying on the Doctor are of epic slashy win. At least it's all good fodder for fanfic, yeah? I don't think I have anything new to say about those eps, really, because my h8 for them burns eternal, and... yeah. At least they let him be a bit sexy (and I don't mean the sleazebag bits) for a few moments.
In the end, I can't decide on a favourite role. It'd obviously be the Master if they hadn't made him into a hysterical kid. Can I just answer "the Master he plays in my head?" That would do...
-SAM TYLER. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck jesusfuck. When he's on that rooftop and Bowie starts playing, and he has that look in his eyes, that little smile, and he's decided and he runs and runs and *leaps*, so *triumphant*... god, I have goosebumps just *thinking* about it now.
-Simm!Master, despite the histrionics and the gurning. It's one of the few good things about those eps and poor Daaave cries his heart out. Because the Master causes the Doctor emotional pain out of spite and it shows how much the Master means to the Doctor and it's as slashy as they can get on screen without actually fucking. Way to fucking go for Simmyboy for breaking my heart *twice* within a few months. Bastard. Anyway, I'm celebrating this while I still can, since Rusty's bound to strip it of all emotional meaning in a bit, I'm sure. He has a habit of doing that.
-The complete and utter bloodbath that's the end of Blake's 7. I LOVE IT. But especially the Blake/Avon tragedy of epic epicness and Avon's mancrush gone horribly wrong. The fact that Avon shoots Blake *three times* at point-blank range. Because he can't believe it. And Blake *keeps walking*. Jesus. It makes me shiver and cry and flail and everything.
-SOLDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED. In Horns of Nimon. Because it's utterly silly and wonderful and Graham Crowden cracks the fuck up as he dies. <33333333333333333333333333333
-And speaking of Tom-era Who, yeah... Tom kicking the bucket. It's got its problems, but it still makes me cry. And since the Doctor is technically the same character, I must say that Five dying does the same to me, and it's probably a bit better in technical terms (and with less overacting on the companions' part--Nicola Bryant's boobs do most of the acting).
For nostalgia_lj:
Top 5 explosions
(Note: many of these are from old Brit sci-fi, so they aren't all that speshul technically.)
-Blake's 7, Cygnus Alpha: BRIAN BLESSED EXPLODING IN SPACE. Mostly because it's Brian Blessed. And an explosion in space. And utterly silly. I haven't found a good quality clip of the isolated scene (just some rubbishy ones), but the clip features on Blessed's hysterical HIGNFY episode at least. BUT BRIAN BLESSED SHOUTING AND EXPLODING IN SPACE=WIN.
-Batman Returns. This bit with Catwoman, after she's filled that department store with explosives. I love how she bumps into Batman and the Penguin who just happen to be there and she doesn't give a shit. It's the perfectly timed, bitchy "meaow" that does it:).
-Also in B7: The Liberator falling apart and exploding (in Terminal, that is). It's sadmaking and I go :( when Zen dies.
-Every scene in OldWho when Jo's head is about to explode because her two brain cells can't rub together enough to compute the Doctor's complete and utter technobabble bullshit. But especially this shot from the Time Monster when the Doctor talks backwards: (counting down to a brain- splattering boom in three, too, one):
(I'm sorry for the Jo, Nos, but I am running out of material here.)
-Speaking of the Doctor's technobabble, that bit in the Daemons where poor Osgood tries to build that thingamajig according to the Doctor's instructions. OH, I FAIL AT EXPLOSIONS. Sorry about that.
temporalgrace asked about:
Top five John Simm roles.
This is difficult, because some of the ones where he puts in his best performances are things I probably wouldn't want to rewatch because they're such gritty kitchen-sink RL emo things. Nevertheless, they are so worth it just for his acting. And it's tricky because while I fap to the Simm!Master quite a lot, the one we see on the screen is a fucking spoiled brat who I want to smack and the one I have in my head is much cooler than that. My fanon!Master is as awesome as Delgado, kthx.
I'm not sure if these are in any particular order, but the first four are because of his acting and the last one just for conflicted shallow reasons.
1. Sam Tyler (Life on Mars)
Obviously. Sam gets a lot of stuff to do and Life on Mars just wouldn't work if it weren't for John's ability to pull you in with his acting. He's basically the thing that makes it all believable. And Sam, despite being a stuck-up git, is sympathetic and human. That's Simmyboy's best skill, really. To make the emotions believable and real without overdoing it. I absolutely believe Sam as a character, and that's one of the strengths of LoM. I get pulled in so I don't necessarily get super-analytical about it, except with the few weaker eps. But most of the time, John's acting is what carries it--he can take lines that might sound clunky if delivered by some other actors and suddenly makes them sound perfectly normal. But, yes. Sam's probably the most approachable of his characters, overall. He's immediately there and breaks your heart six minutes in when he cries in the car like a lost little boy.
2. Edward Sexby (Devil's Ho)
Well, I'd have to mention Sexby, wouldn't I? He's a lovely character. I love how he's emotionally crippled to the point where he even moves and sits stiffly, and you can see the cogs turning in his head as he tries to process these feelings he's got, because he isn't used to feeling. He's used to being hard, scarred and unemotional and just going from one battle to another. And then Angelica and Rainsborough make his life a bit more complicated because he's suddenly got something to hope for, something to fight for, and he's not sure how to go about it. Cutting men up is easy, but he can barely move when Angelica first kisses him. The awkwardness of his emotions is heartbreaking, and yet those feelings are genuine. And yet he stays true to himself, but the end isn't nearly as tragic as the end of ep 3, I don't think. It's far more painful to see him alone and lost. On one level, the story could be seen as about Sexby finding something to die for. And I love how Angelica has known him for so long and knows him for who he is and doesn't try to stop him, when she sees he's made up his mind. Aye. All must end in blood.
3. Raskolnikov (Crime and Punishment)
Yeah, it's a condensed and watered-down version of the novel, I know. But it's all really well done and the actors are all superb. The characters really carry the story and the surroundings don't matter that much. And what's John Simm good at? That's right, angsting. They get Raskolnikov's feverish panic and claustrophobia down pat. It's... one of those adaptations of classic books that I think works well as a visual aid for a novel, like a bunch of illustrations of certain scenes, complementing the novel in that sort of way rather than adapting it completely. That's probably the best way to approach it. But again, the writing is good and the acting is splendid. Minus points for the wobblycam, but otherwise the direction is good as well. And did I mention the angst?
4. John Parlour (Never Never)
I can't say much about this one without spoiling it, but... even if it's bloody depressing, it's still really good drama and definitely worth checking out if you're a fan. That's one of John's best performances right there. It's brain-breaking how he can play these complete fucking bastards and then make them sympathetic in bits--again, it's that essential human emotion John's too bloody good at manifesting, so you bond with that--and yet the characters stay bastards. And the writing on this is so good that it might as well be set in Renaissance Italy or Imperial Russia or wherever, which is impressive. That makes the modern council-house setting a bit less depressing. Even though it is gritty and then some. I bet many people have seen this clip already, but it's absolutely lovely. Parlour is a complete bastard but then there's also that playful and charming side to him and he truly is in love with Jo, I think. The only real minus is, as with Crime and Punishment, Julian Jarrold's stupid wobblycam fetish. But. It's still good stuff. Do check it out if you can find it.
5. Mister Master, The Few Seconds That Weren't Shite (Doctor Who)
It's a bit lame that even the best bits are punctuated with him doing stupid squeaky voices, isn't it? Bah. But but but still, the phone sex and him dying on the Doctor are of epic slashy win. At least it's all good fodder for fanfic, yeah? I don't think I have anything new to say about those eps, really, because my h8 for them burns eternal, and... yeah. At least they let him be a bit sexy (and I don't mean the sleazebag bits) for a few moments.
In the end, I can't decide on a favourite role. It'd obviously be the Master if they hadn't made him into a hysterical kid. Can I just answer "the Master he plays in my head?" That would do...