We finally caught up with this TV show even though it aired ages ago. What a cracker of a program! For starters, it starred the fabulous Jemima Rooper (pictured below) who was so excellent in Hex. I’d pretty much watch any show with her in it I reckon, even if it was about death metal or motorcross. Some excellent adaptive Austenesque dialogue, intricate twists of character and how much did I love Mr Collins’ three disgusting brothers shipped in by Lady Catherine in order to take the Bennett girls off the marriage market. I believe a major motion picture is in the works. Awesome. Bring it on!
SF Signal: Mind Meld
Q: What were the best genre-related books, movies and/or shows I consumed in 2009? My answers and those from a bunch of other fine folk here. Also some classy-looking book covers. The novel editions I read had far crappier covers!
reviews
So yeah, we’re TV-on-DVD junkies. After wrapping up Ashes to Ashes, season 1, which I thoroughly enjoyed despite it not being a patch on the original Life on Mars, we moved on to a couple of birthday presents provided by my sister. I chose these titles myself, even though one of them, Spooks Code 9 came with a dire warning: DO NOT WATCH THIS CRAPPY SHOW UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.But being that my particular set of circumstances require me to suck up any and all instances of post apocalypse, we did start watching it and we’re still watching it despite it being completely and utterly ridiculous. Spooks Code 9 is a kids show, yeah? Here’s the premise: London gets nuked. In response, MI5 decides it needs to be staffed entirely by hip young 20-somethings with awesome haircuts because" terrorists are getting younger". When not on the case, the crack team of…
sunny!
It’s one of those beautiful beachside summery midmornings. Yeah, I’m at work but there’s loads of sunlight streaming through the Venetian blinds. I’m researching GM food, a subject on which I have yet to acquire an opinion, eating walnuts which may or may not be as nature intended them, listening to JJJ and sorting a bit of last minute detail for Conflux.We’ve been watching our way through Ashes to Ashes this week. OK, so it’s nowhere near the masterpiece that is the original Life on Mars (no fucking way will I ever be bothering to watch the Yank version). But it’s fun. I like it. I suspect what I really like watching is Phillip Glennister playing Gene Hunt. They could broadcast hours and hours of Hunt driving dangerously, punching guys and spouting bad 80s slang with no plot whatsoever and I’d probably still be watching.
progress
So this weekend I reached the end of the first stage draft with Ishtar. A bit over 15,000 words. It’ll fatten out to 20,000 with draft 2. I don’t enjoy the first draft stage much. It’s all brain fart meets road map and making sure correct foundation undergarments are in place. Too skeletal for my liking but maybe that’s just the way I do things. My first big decision of the afternoon was which tense? I don’t worry about such matters first time round, it’s more about capturing the essence of the moments.Why did nobody tell me there was a 2005 remake of The Quatermass Experiment??? Argh! I’m going to have to wait ages for it to get here from Amazon UK…
life postponed
I haven’t written a word of fiction in what seems like ages. Truth is, ever since we started watching Dexter, I’ve lost interest in all other forms of artistic expression, be they my own or some other author or artist’s. Man, does that show ever grab you by the short & curlies!