"In a universe so full of wonders, they have managed to invent boredom"
And is it so, once you thou art returning
Hast thou lost thy way as once before
I warned thee more than many times, thus would it be
I shall not be thy refuge once more
I've just finished watching Hogfather (about two months too late, but what can you when your local library only now stocks it?) I have to say I'm glad I first saw The Colour of Magic, because Hogfather is about twenty times better. I think David Jason (<3) was a far more suitable Albert than Rincewind, Michelle Dockery made an awesome Susan, and I can't fathom how Marc Warren can go from being so cuddly in Doctor Who and then portray the thoroughly creepy Mr Teatime.
And it all looks so good, the directing is better than that in The Colour of Magic anyhow, and it gave me that same burning desire to hug Death as the books do. Not that he would understand the impulse. Ian Richardson did some wonderful voice work there.
I'll definitely have to buy this on DVD when Christmas comes along again.
And then we have more Holmes audios.
The Valley of Fear: MAN IS THIS A GREAT PLAY. Well, I might have some recollection of losing a little bit of interest in the middle there, but when the ending is handled so well that's what I'm left with. It's the first audio thus far, save His Last Bow, where I just had to remove my headphones for a minute and just collect myself. Wow.
There's such a wonderful sense of balance between the opening scene and the final one. First Holmes and Watson are having this gigantic bitchfest at eachother, where my reaction of "nooo don't fight" is completely overshadowed by how amusing they are when they're bitchy at eachother. So much passive-agressiveness with occasional straightforward hostility ("Look at the damn post!"). Teehee.
And then at the end it's so beautifully mirrored, the significant letter, Holmes scraping his violin - but at that point they're so... Holmes is so upset and miserable in a completely different way and Watson tries his best to comfort him. They're just so much more patient with eachother.
But in between there's a surprising amount of singing of Irish ballads and I approve greatly.
And I adore Inspector MacDonald! Good old MacDonald. He's so straightforward and Scottish. And Holmes and Watson always call him Mister Mac and he seems comfortable with that, plus I think it's the most endearing nickname in Canon. And he finds Professor Moriarty so incredibly charming and everything.
I wasn't crazy about the guy portraying McGinty, it was bit too Camp Pirate for my tastes, but then again it suitable with a sort of Long John Silver in the menacing fatherfigure way.
Listening to the audio I was telling myself I had to remember to mention how nice the narrator's voice was, lovely voicepron. And then at the end I learned which character the narrator was supposed to be and I reacted to it with a big OMG. It has no bearing on the story, but it was a brilliant, brilliant touch.
But the end, gah. I love how Holmes describes Professor Moriarty in such a way that you expect Watson to point out how very similiar Holmes and Moriarty really are, but he never does. Instead you realize that you've been thinking it and it's so chilling. And the way they talk about him:
W: "Can no one get level with this man?"
H: "No, I - I don't say that. I don't say that he can't be beaten. But you must give me time. You must give me time."
AND BLOODY HELL WHY DO I GET A LUMP IN MY THROAT AT THAT PART? I just keep thinking about The Final Problem and I haven't listened to that yet and I'm dreading it so very much. Far more than I dreaded listening to His Last Bow. It's silly, because of course I know Moriarty doesn't really succeed in killing Holmes, but the important thing is that Watson thinks he does. I'm not sure I can listen to that and not get my heart utterly broken, because I love this Watson so very much.
The Yellow Face: I didn't much care for this. It might have something to do with the story - the whole plot hinges on the fact that a wife misjudges her husband's character, and Holmes and Watson aren't even really integral to the plot, they're just... there, as some sort of framing device.
But mostly I think it's the way it's handled. During the climax they actually just play THAT SAME OLD DAMN THUNDERCLAP RECORDING, but not just once - no, OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN, no less than ten times, without even attemting to change the pitch or anything, it just sounds like the characters are shouting at eachother while a broken record is playing. Dear God.
Small highlights are Watson desperately trying to instill some new habits in Holmes to turn to instead of cocaine. The first of which is an attempt to get him drunk on whisky. GREAT IDEA DOCTOR, if there's one thing a depressed patient needs it's to learn to numb his pain with alcohol.
At least encouraging Holmes to take strolls is a better idea. Holmes of course is like a bitchy teenager throughout, which is pretty entertaining. "I must advice you Watson - and I do it with all sincerity - should you ever in the future suggest a visit to the zoological gardens, I shall screech louder than any known monkey."
At the end you've got Holmes' humble Norbury moment, of course, there's that.
W: "Nothing like a drink when you're down in the dumps."
H: "Except for cocaine, Watson... That is the magic potion that gives me glimpses of paradise."
W: "Yeah, and brings you down to earth with a bump."
H: "Like love, I'm told."
W: "...Yes."
In any case I'm going to attempt to take a break from the Sherlock Holmes audios. They're still absolutely dead brilliant, but if I know myself I might grow sick of them if I keep it up, and then it'll be ages until I have the desire to pick them up again.
No, I think the smartest thing is to decide to take a little pause before that happens. I'll see how long I'll manage. With the fabulous Valley of Fear fresh in my mind it might not be very long at all.
In the meantime, I'll have to continue to listen to other audio plays, or I'll probably start walking less. I plan on relistening to Zagreus, but I could do with some suggestion on other audio plays? Anything exciting my dear flist has been listening to? I'm not too fuzzy on genre as long as it's good.
Hast thou lost thy way as once before
I warned thee more than many times, thus would it be
I shall not be thy refuge once more
I've just finished watching Hogfather (about two months too late, but what can you when your local library only now stocks it?) I have to say I'm glad I first saw The Colour of Magic, because Hogfather is about twenty times better. I think David Jason (<3) was a far more suitable Albert than Rincewind, Michelle Dockery made an awesome Susan, and I can't fathom how Marc Warren can go from being so cuddly in Doctor Who and then portray the thoroughly creepy Mr Teatime.
And it all looks so good, the directing is better than that in The Colour of Magic anyhow, and it gave me that same burning desire to hug Death as the books do. Not that he would understand the impulse. Ian Richardson did some wonderful voice work there.
I'll definitely have to buy this on DVD when Christmas comes along again.
And then we have more Holmes audios.
The Valley of Fear: MAN IS THIS A GREAT PLAY. Well, I might have some recollection of losing a little bit of interest in the middle there, but when the ending is handled so well that's what I'm left with. It's the first audio thus far, save His Last Bow, where I just had to remove my headphones for a minute and just collect myself. Wow.
There's such a wonderful sense of balance between the opening scene and the final one. First Holmes and Watson are having this gigantic bitchfest at eachother, where my reaction of "nooo don't fight" is completely overshadowed by how amusing they are when they're bitchy at eachother. So much passive-agressiveness with occasional straightforward hostility ("Look at the damn post!"). Teehee.
And then at the end it's so beautifully mirrored, the significant letter, Holmes scraping his violin - but at that point they're so... Holmes is so upset and miserable in a completely different way and Watson tries his best to comfort him. They're just so much more patient with eachother.
But in between there's a surprising amount of singing of Irish ballads and I approve greatly.
And I adore Inspector MacDonald! Good old MacDonald. He's so straightforward and Scottish. And Holmes and Watson always call him Mister Mac and he seems comfortable with that, plus I think it's the most endearing nickname in Canon. And he finds Professor Moriarty so incredibly charming and everything.
I wasn't crazy about the guy portraying McGinty, it was bit too Camp Pirate for my tastes, but then again it suitable with a sort of Long John Silver in the menacing fatherfigure way.
Listening to the audio I was telling myself I had to remember to mention how nice the narrator's voice was, lovely voicepron. And then at the end I learned which character the narrator was supposed to be and I reacted to it with a big OMG. It has no bearing on the story, but it was a brilliant, brilliant touch.
But the end, gah. I love how Holmes describes Professor Moriarty in such a way that you expect Watson to point out how very similiar Holmes and Moriarty really are, but he never does. Instead you realize that you've been thinking it and it's so chilling. And the way they talk about him:
W: "Can no one get level with this man?"
H: "No, I - I don't say that. I don't say that he can't be beaten. But you must give me time. You must give me time."
AND BLOODY HELL WHY DO I GET A LUMP IN MY THROAT AT THAT PART? I just keep thinking about The Final Problem and I haven't listened to that yet and I'm dreading it so very much. Far more than I dreaded listening to His Last Bow. It's silly, because of course I know Moriarty doesn't really succeed in killing Holmes, but the important thing is that Watson thinks he does. I'm not sure I can listen to that and not get my heart utterly broken, because I love this Watson so very much.
The Yellow Face: I didn't much care for this. It might have something to do with the story - the whole plot hinges on the fact that a wife misjudges her husband's character, and Holmes and Watson aren't even really integral to the plot, they're just... there, as some sort of framing device.
But mostly I think it's the way it's handled. During the climax they actually just play THAT SAME OLD DAMN THUNDERCLAP RECORDING, but not just once - no, OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN, no less than ten times, without even attemting to change the pitch or anything, it just sounds like the characters are shouting at eachother while a broken record is playing. Dear God.
Small highlights are Watson desperately trying to instill some new habits in Holmes to turn to instead of cocaine. The first of which is an attempt to get him drunk on whisky. GREAT IDEA DOCTOR, if there's one thing a depressed patient needs it's to learn to numb his pain with alcohol.
At least encouraging Holmes to take strolls is a better idea. Holmes of course is like a bitchy teenager throughout, which is pretty entertaining. "I must advice you Watson - and I do it with all sincerity - should you ever in the future suggest a visit to the zoological gardens, I shall screech louder than any known monkey."
At the end you've got Holmes' humble Norbury moment, of course, there's that.
W: "Nothing like a drink when you're down in the dumps."
H: "Except for cocaine, Watson... That is the magic potion that gives me glimpses of paradise."
W: "Yeah, and brings you down to earth with a bump."
H: "Like love, I'm told."
W: "...Yes."
In any case I'm going to attempt to take a break from the Sherlock Holmes audios. They're still absolutely dead brilliant, but if I know myself I might grow sick of them if I keep it up, and then it'll be ages until I have the desire to pick them up again.
No, I think the smartest thing is to decide to take a little pause before that happens. I'll see how long I'll manage. With the fabulous Valley of Fear fresh in my mind it might not be very long at all.
In the meantime, I'll have to continue to listen to other audio plays, or I'll probably start walking less. I plan on relistening to Zagreus, but I could do with some suggestion on other audio plays? Anything exciting my dear flist has been listening to? I'm not too fuzzy on genre as long as it's good.