UsedFAQs

Whilst HeardSaid is taking a sabbatical, we recommend UsedFAQs which posts random answers from Frequently Asked Questions on a variety of subjects. [via]

This is why I don't watch game shows.

TV After the still deeply average Robin Hood on BBC One, I've just sat through the lottery programme and the obviously pre-recorded 1 vs 100 gameshow introduced by the strangely downbeat Dermot O'Leary. After spending five minutes trying to understand the rules (which demonstrated how far on the mark the old Adam & Joe sketch Quizzlestick actually was [youtube]) which seemed to be that the you were kept in the game longer if you knew the right answers. Here is what the official website thinks are the rules, and the wikipedia.

Anyway, the contestant is of a particularly cocky genus, and even more annoyingly a librarian overcompensating in the personality department and make the rest of us qualifieds look bad, and would often spend whole endless, airless minutes of airtime justifying his category selections: 'I was afraid this would happen Dermot, these are two of my weaker subjects...' 'My wife would be laughing at me not picking fashion because when we watch quiz shows at home I can always answer the fashion questions and she laughs at me'. The man's down to his final question -- which he has to guess right to win, assuming the person whose left in the hundred gets it wrong too. Now, I don't know anything about anything, especially sport and given a sport question I'd get it wrong, except maybe if it was athletics. But I do know about film so when faced with his win/lose/nodraw final question...

Who starred as Rico Tubbs in this years film remake of 'Miami Vice'?

(a) Jamie Foxx
(b) Martin Lawrence
(c) Will Smith

I'm going to know the answer (even though I didn't have a chance to see the film) and I simply can't believe that anyone could fish around and not select (a). The coverage for the film was saturated. This man decides it was not one of the big releases this year (so why would they be asking a question about it?). He knows it isn't Will Smith or Jamie Foxx for this reason. Even though he's remember seeing the poster. He's never heard of Martin Lawrence so he has to go with ...

(b) Martin Lawrence

Now again, the argument -- you either know it or you don't know it and if you don't know anything about film, just as I know nothing about nothing particularly sport the tables could have be turned. And the pressure, the lights.

But this guy?



Total Film used to have a banner they would run on reviews which said 'WARNING! THIS FILM CONTAINS MARTIN LAWRENCE!' Obviously this contestant hasn't read Total Film (or doubtless heard of it) and is the nemesis of film advertisers. Martin Lawrence is the joke answer. They've put Martin Lawrence in assuming people will waver over Will Smith because he's the really famous one on the list. Well yes, they were in Bad Boys together but the sequel was three years ago...

Dermot asks him if he's sure, a subliminal look of disbelief in his eyes. He asks him again, pleads really. By this time the man has correctly guessed his way through a few questions and thinks he's invincible. No, the contestant says I'm definitely going for...

(b) Martin Lawrence

There is a reaction shot of the audience. Ten eyes all rolling in unison.

It's the wrong answer. 'Disaster'. Dermot's very sorry. He asks the woman who is left in the hundred if she knows the answer. She smiles and nods smugly.

I'm sorry, and I know what you're going to say Some people don't watch films. Well they should otherwise they'll be on national television saying that MARTIN LAWRENCE would be hired to appear in a film version of Miami Vice.

You see? This is why I don't watch game shows. Or shouldn't drink caffeine.

Tonal

Journalism "Once we are sure the story has registered with children, we believe our job is to cover the story accurately, reliably and without sensationalism. If you add to that the hearsay and half-heard comments that children can pick up in the playground or from friends or parents, and the story can often become far wilder or more scary in their minds than it should be." -- Tim Levell, editor of Newsround

A sobering explanation of the thought that goes into the children's news programme when dealing with distressing stories -- the section related to balancing stories across the broadcast is particularly illuminating and highlights for me that even news programmes can have a narrative of sorts, of tone, containing a disparate selection of stories.

Work

Life Completely unexpectedly I found some temping work today for a few weeks -- it might not be every day and its basically when they need me, but work is work and sometimes work is good. Normal rules apply, but I'll tell you all about it when I can.

Next

Life I made an appointment at the university's career service today. Big step. Although I did feel like I was making an appointment to see a shrink.

Retire to a convent, Ophelia.

Elsewhere I watched my first opera last night (no really) and inevitably it was Hamlet and apparently its not the best score but I have written about the experience here.

Ambroise Thomas's Hamlet (2004)

Hamlet played by Simon Keenlyside
Directed by Toni Bargallo

When I began this journey I knew that it would be a learning experience and not just because I'd essentially be seeing the same story, over, and over, and over again. I knew there would adaptations I would end up watching and although there are a couple that I'm saving until I'm really in the mood, last night I sat through Ambroise Thomas's opera adaptation as it appeared at Covent Garden.

Firstly some qualifications:

(a) I don't love opera singing so ...
(b) I don't love opera

Possibly because

(c) I haven't seen a whole opera before.

Without fixating on this fact, I do want to also note that in Pretty Woman when Richard Gere tells Julia Roberts that there are two types of people those who love opera from the beginning and those who learn to appreciate it, he misses out a third group - people who haven't had time to do either because they've been busy with everything else. I don't feel bad about it, and I don't think I'm too old and if anyone wants to write in with magnum opuses and classics that I really should hear, feel free although it's probably best if I just promise to watch the inevitable broadcast from Glyndebourne on BBC Four at Christmas. Even though I was watching alone and on the smallish screen, I tried to keep with the experience though, clapping with the audience when cued and having a real toilet and coffee break at the interval (or change of dvds), and although I didn't have anyone to complain to about the seating arrangements or the price of the tickets, I did check my email.

All of which hopefully explains is why at no point in the next few paragraphs will I be even attempting to provide a review of the quality of the performance because I won't want to suggest any pretensions that I know what I'm talking about. Because I don't. All I'll say in the outset is I was really impressed at the players/singers ability to present acting performances with such range whilst also doing that with their lungs. Natalie Dessay is certainly one of the best Ophelia's I've seen in any media, absolutely heartbreaking in the passage when she descends into madness, alone and commanding the stage for reasons which will become clear. Simon Keenlyside's brooding Hamlet also impressed.

Inevitably, my interest lies in how the story has been adapted for another media, still staged and yet with a musical form of expression. Perhaps most surprising where the narrative changes introduced by Thomas to accommodate the requirements of opera. My rudimentary understanding that for musical purposes there needs to be bass, baritone, mezzo-soprano and soprano voices. In this version that means Claudius, Hamlet, Gertrude and Ophelia. As per Shakespeare, Laertes disappears very early on, but more striking Polonius is largely jettisoned in all but for one scene, which has an obvious knock on effect later. Unsurprisingly, Fortinbras isn't mentioned either.

Douglas Adams once said that if were to make a film of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, rather than repeating the scenes from the radio series, books and television version he would feature all of the moments in between instead. Startlingly that's what happens here. The story actually begins with a chorus singing out celebration for the re-coronation of Gertrude, but the subdued lighting signals that all is not well. There is then a rather touching scene between Hamlet and Ophelia which means unlike the play we have a glimpse of the couple before it all goes bad. Then, Laertes passes through on his way abroad to entrust Ophelia's safety in Hamlet's hands - this is something of a change because it turns his sisters later madness into a betrayal of that trust.

The narrative of the original play doesn't begin until a full half hour into the performance and even then its done rather subliminally, with the Horatio figure dashing through revelry to reveal the ghostly vision from the battlements. Here are some of the highlights of the differences: when Hamlet Snr does inevitably appear, he tells Hamlet that he must avenge his death before revealing who the killer will the and the plot is the ghost's with the son fulfilling the dying wish of the father. As with the play, Hamlet madness becomes reported rather than scene, although unlike Shakepeare's account, its up to Ophelia to signal the change. One of the major changes in this version is that Ophelia's part is beefed up considerably to the extent that she's almost an equal - indeed she speaks to the audience as much as Hamlet and to an extent our sympathies lie with her as she is unable to comprehend his malady and why she is spurning him. Claudius and Gertrude question Hamlet on this

Then, given the stripped down nature of this version of the story and because there obviously needs to be a sub-finale (or whatever), the close of the first act is taken up with The Mousetrap, although Hamlet has ordered the presence of the players rather than their haphazard appearance in the play. This is the first section that has real fidelity with the 'original' with the bit of business between Hamlet and Ophelia largely intact. The only real change is that Hamlet signals his madness by covering himself symbolically with blood when Claudius reveals his annoyance at the events depicted in the play, unexpectedly pushing the crowd gathered for the player's performance against himself rather than his step father.

Beginning of Act II and Hamlet is wondering why his plan hasn't worked and drops into 'To Be Or Not To Be' (more on which later). By this time I'm wondering exactly how Ophelia's madness will be introduced without the death of Polonius, just as Polonius arrives on stage (with Hamlet listening far away) to note that he was in on the plot all along (something hinted at in the opening act). But this is Polonius's only appearance, and although the Hamlet/Gertrude scene is again bizarrely almost complete it ends with Hamlet stalking off. What actually leads Ophelia to madness is Hamlet spurning her love and empahsising that she should instead 'retire to a convent' ('Get thee to a nunnery'). This is probably the best moment in the performance as Dessay commands the stage, huge vases and a couch being her only support. The audience thought she was good too, clapping for two minutes whilst she lay on the floor, still totally in character, unable to acknowledge.

And then, oddly, the grave diggers arrive, rip some floorboards up from the stage, climb into the hole and dig out some soil. No Yorrick, although Hamlet and Laertes skulk in randomly to wonder who will be buried, there's a altercation and Hamlet is stabbed. The funeral procession answers their question. Then the ghost of Hamlet Snr makes final surprise visit to remind Hamlet of his 'mission' to kill Claudius (something he'd singularly failed to do earlier in the play when he had the chance) he stabs his stepfather, there's a crescendo and the curtain falls. Note that Gertrude survives and the mortality of the young Dane is by no means certain. And I was disappointed because I was looking forward to singing and swords.

I know that I haven't completely captured the experience of seeing a story so familiar rewritten in this way. I loved that Ophelia is more prominent here, probably so that a production could attract a first class soprano and her relationship with Hamlet has even more consistency than in Shakespeare's version. Arguably both are valid, although the lack of Polonius does mean that the impact of one of the themes of the story, that of the tragic loss of a parent and the hopeless repercussions is reduced. Its interesting too that because Hamlet potentially lives and is hailed as King it becomes even more of a revenger's tragedy than a study of real madness (although neatly the opera, like Shakespeare, doesn't have a definite answer to that). Apparently though a different version of the play was premiered after Thomas's death in which Hamlet committed suicide before the shows end, which doesn't seem like the correct end either.

The biggest change is obviously in language. The opera itself is in French and I watched it with translation. Having given up on French after only just scraping through even though I was in set four at school I only have a smattering picked up through osmosis from years of watching French movies. Rely on the subtitles is obviously madness and through, somehow you'd could tell that much of the real poetry had been lost somehow. Early on Horatio exclaims 'My legs have given way' and Hamlet's advice to Ophelia 'Retire to a convent' simply doesn't have the same power. The only soliloquy to survive is inevitably 'To Be Or Not To Be' which in the subtitles became:

To be or not to be
Oh, enigma
To die ... to sleep ...
To sleep
If only I were permitted to break
The bond that ties me to earth
But then what?
What is this unknown land
From which no traveler has yet returned
To be or not to be
Oh, deep enigma
To die ... to sleep ...
(repeat to fade)

Either this is a literal translation in which case huh? Or its simply paraphrasing the French, in which case why not simply use Shakespeare's text? Oh, enigma indeed.

What I learn from this experience is that to an extent in opera, in adapting a narrative it becomes far less important than the noise - its about touching the audience through the sound of music (sorry). Even the staging is spare, with lighting effects and two giant architectural bits of set filling in for every local -- I particularly liked that bright fill light was used when Ophelia was mostly happy, and brutal frost darkness when she'd tipped over the edge. This was repeated in the presentation of the opera on dvd, in which the shifts between scenes and before the production were filled with a visual trip to the orchestra pit and the faces of the people providing the music.

This was not about even attempting to allow the viewer to suspend their disbelief but to provide an overview of the whole experience. To this end, surprisingly, the audience were also shown taking their seats throughout the concert hall, the jewelry rattlers in the stalls being most visible. As the curtain drops on the first half, most of the spectators are clapping, the other half already marching up the isle towards the queue for the toilets or the bar or the ice cream stand. I'm not sure if that's rude or not, but the seven minutes of applause at the end, as the actors/singers bounded on stage probably made up for it.

Eloise

Film A couple of years ago I was amazed to discover A Charlie Brown Christmas was made in the mid-sixties. It was one of my favourite childhood films and it seemed very contemporary in the early eighties. Despite the social commentary aspects which I've only noticed later, because it was set in world I didn't recognize but featured characters that I did. Every since my subconscious has been nagging me to read War & Peace. Two new cartoons adapting Kay Thompson's Eloise in the Plaza, a series of children's books from the 1950s could I suspect also have that quality.

The set-up will be familiar to anyone who's seen Life Without Zoe, Francis Ford Coppola's underrated segment of the port-manteau film New York Stories. Eloise, who's six lives in the Plaza Hotel in New York under the care of her Nanny whilst her parents are away. In the first introductory story, Me, Eloise, she's excited about her birthday and after inviting everybody, befriends Yuko, a Japanese violin prodigy. In the other release, Little Miss Christmas, Eloise organizes a holiday show with the other children from the hotel hoping that her special surprise guest, a jovial man in a red jacket and white beard will make an appearance.

Having not read the original books I can't tell how much has been gained or lost in the adaptation process. Eloise is an aspirational main character - unlike Charlie Brown, she has a life that most kids might fantasise about rather than something close to their reality. In Me, Eloise, however she does come across as a bit spoiled and conceited and it's a wonder why the hotel staff would hold her in such high regard other than because they're being paid to. Only in the Christmas film, were despite still being at the centre of attention she commits a number of selfless acts that beneath the bursting excitement she's a sweety really.

What I am sure is a great message is that despite her obvious wealth, in her world, all people are created equally. Eloise's best friend is the daughter of someone who works in the hotel laundry and she makes a point in the closing moments of Little Miss Christmas in telling the young flower seller that he's her friend and they can play whenever. Perhaps for any adults watching, the differing lifestyles of the characters isn't downplayed. When the bellhop agrees to play Santa in the closing moments he has to run across town to change and we see the contrast between his apartment and the splendor of the hotel. Such things do not need to be there and yet their presence gives the film an unexpected depth.

Since the stories are largely told from Eloise's point of view, unlike the Coppola film, little is made of the tragedy of leaving a little girl living in a hotel to be brought up by her Nanny and the people who work there. We see that the other kids all have their parents close by, but the key again, I suppose is that highlighting such things would have given the films a darker edge that would have jarred. But this does also mean that when her mother makes an appearance for the party its simply the extra white sauce on the Christmas pudding rather than everything.

Little Miss Christmas is the more enjoyable of the two, perhaps because its slightly longer and more time is given to the range of people living and working in the hotel, theres a greater sense of community, particularly amongst the kids. Although Me, Eloise does feature much chasing around from the adults when Eloise and Yuko go missing, only at Christmas is the viewer allowed to see the differences in how the children and adults view the importance of the event - highlighted in quite a touching scene between Mr. Salamone, the hotel manager and Nanny when the former has to inform the latter that there won't be any rooms available. The question of the existence of Santa is handled expertly as well.

The animation is good, although there are some exceptional moments - for example when a pigeon flies past the Statue of Liberty and through New York or when Eloise runs through the hotel delivering invitations. The voice acting is, also, good, with obvious compliments to Lynn Redgrave and Tim Curry as Nanny and Salamone. There's good chemistry too from ensemble voicing the kids although one or two might sound a bit familiar from their work in Rugrats and Recess and elsewhere on Saturday morning television. Neither outstays its welcome or extends its story beyond the natural stopping point. The best complement I can give is that I genuinely laughed during both films and grinned when I wasn't really expecting too.

Supposed novel

Art I selected Nicholas Middleton's Scene from a Contemporary Novel as one of my picks from the Liverpool Biennial and I somehow missed a talk he gave about the work last week. Luckily, the National Museums Liverpool blog is at hand with a podcast and transcript:

"In using the word 'scene' in my title I wanted to imply that this point in time shown is merely one in many such scenes which are possible from the supposed novel that the painting is taken from. I wanted to point out that the character in the picture has a past and a future. I chose the word novel in the title to explicitly make an association with written fiction. To emphasise the fictional nature of my picture without wanting to make it specific."

It's actually one of the most perceptive talks I've heard from any artist and is actually better than some dvd commentaries. I do wish I'd been there because far from noirish I would have liked to have asked if French New Wave had been an influence.

Trundle

Life There was a terrific thunder storm last night and I was woken up this morning by thunder so loud that I actually rose out of bed swearing. Because we live at the top of a tower block we are much closer to such things and today I actually think the building must have been hit by lightening. I looked out the window and couldn't even see the new circus tent (the fourth this year) which has parked in the field.

I visited Manchester today to meet my old course mate Emma who's working a placement in a theatre there. As the train trundled out of Lime Street, it became apparent that it would be circumventing the usual route, skipping Widnes and Warrington because the storm had reached across the area and a lightening strike had hit the rails somewhere.

When I asked the guard, politely, what was going on, he said that actually local services would still be using the usual route, but we, that is us, would be using the 'urban' service. I like the 'urban' description, it reminds me of the service in Paris that actually travels outside yet directly within the city, although I think as he stumbled over it he was actually substituting for the usual 'express', because we were crawling along the rails because (oh irony) we were stuck behind a local service that used the line we were using.

There's something fundamentally itchy about going through any route that's not expected and isn't familiar. You might have a book in your hand but you simply can't read because your unable to ignore the new sights that you're passing even though they're not actually all that different to what you know, with all the houses, bushes, fields and power lines. We reached Manchester twenty minutes late, which at least gave me even more time not to catch up on my not reading.

The Last Outpost

Shaun Lyon has announced the end of Outpost Gallifrey as is. Much of the site is being mothballed, and although the Forums will continue, the major change will be the end of the news page. As Shaun mentions in his post to the front page:

"Sadly, that constant news collection -- editing of which was at one time taking me hours each day (again, solely as a labour of love) -- takes its toll on a person, and I find that my heart is no longer in it anymore... and as the old Doctor Who saying goes, when it stops being enjoyable, it's time to give it up."

Absolutely. I don't want to speak for anyone else here, but I would like to thank Shaun for all of his hard work since, well, forever, and particularly during the last couple of years -- the experience of the series returning simply wouldn't have been the same had Outpost Gallifrey not been there to pull all of the gossip together and present it in such a clear fashion.

Back to using Gallifrey Guardian as the main news source again. Frankly, it's just not the same once a month...

M

Music Popjustice are running a not entirely serious survey about pop music. It helps if you know something about pop music. Who the hell are Razorlight? (joke) (I think)

More Boards

Theatre The closure of the Theatre Museum in Covent Garden may not be set in stone. A government select committee is investigating the V&A's decision to close the place, with other possible funding streams to be investigated. The key phrase in the linked article from The Stage seems to be "It also stresses that the V&A is specifically given responsibility in the Heritage Act to ?administer the Theatre Museum."" which suggests to me that the place cannot close permanently and that collection needs to be on display somewhere, although the current site still seems fit for purpose to me...

Blog! The shortlist for the 2006 Manchester Blog Awards has been announced:

Blog of the Year
Mancubist
The Airport Diaries
43

Best Personal Blog
A Free Man in Preston
Keris Stainton
Kitchentable

Best Arts and Culture Blog
Yer Mam!
Ready Steady Book
Bitter and Blue

Best Political Blog
Normblog
Skipper
Blood and Treasure

Award ceremony next Monday. Details at The Manchizzle. Logo via Keris.

OGs

TV "There are many reasons why Outpost Gallifrey has been so important. It was one of the first out there, of course, launching way back in 1995, so it had the prestige of history behind it. It had contacts ? people at BBC Worldwide, Big Finish and so forth knew Shaun could be trusted and so he formed important links and got official news stories first. You knew that if you read it on Outpost Gallifrey, it was reliable, and as often as not the news page was of great use as much for dismissing ludicrous rumours as it was for providing the actual news itself." -- Paul Hayes at Behind The Sofa.

Unless you're a Doctor Who fan, it's really difficult to capture the magnitude of Outpost Gallifrey's news page shutting down. Well alright, imagine a Slashdot, a Boing Boing, a Metafilter, a Digg just simply not being there any more. It was the central news source online about Doctor Who in various media for eleven years and although there are other sites doing something similar now, none would really have gotten into the game without Shaun Lyon's influence. When I began to follow the series again in the late nineties, OG was the first site I looked at and its kept me informed ever since. Oh well, at least the lively forums will still be there...

One of us.

Life I was trotting to the letter box earlier and I passed some teenagers walking other way. They seemed like the cool kids, the ones who would have bullied me when I was at school. The kind that are good at sport. One turned to another and said:

"See that YouTube's been bought by Google. One and a half billion."
"Yeah. Like, why?"

The internet has been a leveler.

He's a novice, novice ...

TV The smallest of irritations can sink your appreciation of a television drama, pull you from the world that is being created, little niggles that eventually become big niggles that ultimately nullify the brilliance of whatever the programme makers were trying to achieve. BBC's new version of Robin Hood potentially had many, many of these.

The appearance of the time and place caption from the edge of the screen to the sound an arrow leaving a bow in the opening moments of the first episode beautifully set the pitch for what was to follow. Or it would have done had it not been repeated throughout the rest of the episode no matter the tone of the scene beforehand. And oh those camera movements -- some of the lateral tracking shots were marvelous but really who decided upon all those demented cranked close ups which look like the shot was moving forward and backwards and why did they have to happen over and over and over again?

Which is a shame because there were some very good elements, particularly in the cast. Jonas Armstrong is a perfectly charismatic presence in the lead role, yes he's young but there's a definite twinkle in his eye and he can certainly do comedy. Sam (grandson of Patrick) Troughton was good and seemed to be channeling Alan Tudyk from A Knight's Tale. Lucy Griffiths's Marion in her few moments had spark and I think will possibly be one of the series secret weapons as the weeks go by. Richard Armitage too as Guy will no doubt be a strength too if only out of curiosity -- expect column inches to be written trying to work out were his accent has come from.

Keith Allen's Sheriff could be open to criticism, but it wasn't completely his fault -- he was just a casualty of a script that had a lot of issues to juggle. Legends like Robin Hood have a folklore that is replete with icons, elements that are simply expected by the audience. Robin. Marion. Merry Men. Sheriff. Sherwood Forest. And it's up to the adaptors to move that furniture around. So Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves includes Morgan Freeman's Moor. Robin of Sherwood dropped in a large dose of the supernatural.

The problem with Dominic Minghella's pilot script is that it attempted to introduce as many of these elements as possible to the extent that it sagged rather badly in the middle as the issues related to the politics of Robin turning from nobleman to outlaw and Marion's role in the story played out. In the midst of it all, Allen's Sheriff appeared less important than Gisbourne and upon his eventual appearance seemed like a bit of a joke, especially since the part has possibly been written with Allen in mind and so is essentially playing to the perception of who the actor is rather than developing a new character. Even as he was putting men to death, he simply lacked the important element of menace that Alan Rickman's interpretation (the obvious inspiration here) had in spades -- that he could still kill you with a look.

It lacked a through dramatic line too, with an early bit of business over a ditch, a meal and comely wench, no doubt included to demonstrate that this Robin can be a bit of a lad and the friendship with Much, not adding anything in particular to the main story (not helped by said wench being caked in make-up and looking like she'd just finished a shift in Boots). It seemed repetitious too, since the teaser, in which Robin saved Alan A Dale from Guy and his men had already been fit for this purpose. Perhaps the real strength was instead the dialogue, a pleasing overabundance of cod-Elizabethanisms that often sizzled -- particularly Robin and Marion's flirting, something which has notoriously been difficult to pull off.

The main criticism is that overall it risked letting its style overwhelm its storytelling. The brief was no doubt to make it look, thrilling and hip and twenty-first century -- the films of Jerry Bruckheimer might even have been another touchstones with their fast editing and interesting choices of camera angle. Except here action beats were needlessly repeated from a number of angles or even the same angle that looked extremely dated and digital lighting effects that might have worked in a trailer but simply ruin what atmosphere had been created.

Perhaps, the quieter moments, and subtler effects were most appealing. In a key scene the camera swooped slowly into a close up of Much, lying in a bath, heretofore the comic relief, sobbing, the background the sound of battle resonating as he presumably remembered the war. Similar as Will Scarlett's Dad welcomes Robin back to Loxley we notices that he has lost a hand, demonstrating perfectly the tyranny that has been in place whilst the titular character was away. There were also odd hints that the crusade being fought abroad may not be considered a completely just one, injecting a contemporary resonance.

Most of the reviews of this opening episode so far have generally been of a chorus: 'it is early days' and 'the merry men haven't arrived yet' or 'it was ok'. Whilst his review has been generally mixed, there was certainly enough good elements to the episode, in the comedy and the exciting conclusion, to make it worth watching in future. Later episodes have been written by some great writers including Paul Cornell (Doctor Who) and Julian Mitchell (Inspector Morse) which also bodes well. Let's just hope that an equilibrium can be found between story, pacing and style.

Film Ed

Film "When I started teaching, the first film I showed to kids was the Odessa Steps sequence from Battleship Potemkin. After it had finished, one of my terrifyingly forthright students banged her fists on the table and said, 'Why don?t they show some of that sort of stuff on telly instead of the rubbish they do show? And I thought, 'Oooh, that?s interesting - I wasn?t expecting that.' It really was the starting point for everything I have gone on to do." -- Cary Bazalgette, Head of Education at the BFI interviewed by Mira Katbamna for the RSA.