Knights of God: Episode 10

"To Canterbury!"

A lot happens this episode. At the outset, Gervase and Julia are outlawed and outcast; Hugo is disgraced and imprisoned; and Mordrin may wish to be crowned king, confirmed at the cliffhanger.

The whole direction of travel changes here. Arthur, it seems, has not forsaken the couple, and suddenly mentions a rumout that the king is alive... and the Archbishop of Canterbury, obviously no friend of the new Fascist religion, would possibly know. To Canterbury, then. It's a little deflating, however, that the only hope against Fascism is the monarchy and the established Church.

Things don't look good for Hugo, despite his refusal to sign the confession waved in front of him; he is to be tried and then hanged the following morning. But Gervase and Julia are in peril too, betrayed once more by the treasonous leader of the "Wastelands". Yet, with the help of Julia's father, they are able to reach Canterbury...

Exciting and intriguing. Not long now...

Knights of God: Episode 9

 "Let him be a fisherman..."

The plot gets thicker and thicker in this pivotal episode which, presumably, thrusts us into the final narrative. The cliffhanger is unexpected: Arthur is not the fated enemy of Mordrin whom Gervase is programmed to kill, despite his name, for there are hints that this person is the "rightful king", as per Arthurian myth. We learn that Hugo slaughtered all the royals for the Knights... yet is some rightful king alive? Perhaps someone we have unknowingly met?

It is interesting that Mordrin may be seeking to crown himself... is he a Cromwell or a Julius Caesar in that respect? The parallel plotting between him and Hugo is utterly gripping... and ends the only possible way it could have, with Hugo in a cell, stripped of all status.

Yet Gervase and Julia are no better off. All faith is lost; with the programming, Gervase is seemingly of no use for his long-planned purpose, although Julia has faith. And then, another bombshell: a kangaroo court is demanded by the militia of the South Yorkshire "Wastelands", and realpolitik forces Arthur to outlaw them both, perhaps fortunate to escape hanging, although of course capital punishment is the recourse of the tyrant, a practice that does not behoove those who claim to believe in freedom.

The status quo is changed. This episode is eventful, fast-paced and deeply shocking. I'm genuinely clueless as to what will happen next.

Knights of God: Episode 7

 "Being with you. That's all I ever thought of."

This middle episode is surprisingly eventful and fast-moving as we seem to be moving into a new phase. The world, and the characters, are well fleshed out by now. Of course, Gervase survives the cliffhanger- only to face another at the end, at the hands of a few terrifying Yorkshiremen from the "Wastelands"- but much changes between these two events.

Gervase and Julia are, indeed, reunited, and it's all very sweet. But they are thrust immediately into a shootout, in which Julia's kind farmer's wife benefactor dies heroically but with the young lovebirds escaping. Meanwhile Arthur delivers some more vague but fasdcinating exposition to an unknown military figure, not realising that Gervase, though otherwise himself again, is conditioned to kill him.

Elsewhere, Mordrin learns of Hugo's treachery; it seems this subplot is coming to a head sooner than expected. And it seems that next episode we will learn more of the people of the Wasteland.

I'm loving the world here, the dystopia with BBC computers, as well as the unpredictable plot. And the series keeps improving as it goes on. Thgis shouldn't be so obscure.

The Ghoul (1975)

”She never came out. None of them ever do.”

This is the second film I’ve blogged by Tyburn Films, an abortive successor to Hammer which uses much the same crew to make similar types of films but sadly didn’t last long. This film, alas, is rather perfunctory and forgettable, in spite of being shot well and a fine performance from Cushing as a man who, like himself, had lost his wife and missed her terribly. It’s chiefly of interest as a novelty, for Cushing’s performance, for a young John Hurt being excellent as a lecherous henchman, and for looking very suspiciously as though a certain Doctor Who story owes a lot to it.

Non-Who fans, please indulge the next couple of sentences, but Black Orchid, I’m looking at you. 1920s setting? Yep. Big country house? Yep. Son kept locked up in a room, having been turned into a crazed killer while in an exotic faraway place? Yep. There’s even a policeman. And a fairly big role for Professor Cliff from The Green Death.

There’s a lot of promise here, especially with the setting of a country house surrounded by mist and marshland, but the plot is clumsy and loses momentum as soon as the major character gets killed halfway through. The film never quite recovers from this and feels somewhat disjointed. Ultimately the problem is the script, and more specifically the awkward plotting, which feels at times like a first draft. There are also some opinions expressed about the Hindu religion, presented as a dark pagan cult, which certainly raise eyebrows. But ultimately it’s a shame that such splendid acting and direction are wasted on a half-hearted script like this.

The BFG (1989 TV Film)

"I think, on the whole, I prefer the bagpipes."

This magnificently quirky (and somewhat druggy feeling) animation from Cosgrove Hall of Dangermouse and Count Duckula fame is obviously a superb and enormously fun rendering of Roald Dahl's wonderful novel, well cast with the BFG being rather predictably played by a rather good David Jason, although I have no idea what accent that is supposed to be. Still, it's wonderful, superb, excellent. Watch it now; it was a British TV movie in 1989 so relatively few people worldwide will have done so.

It would be churlish, therefore, to sit here and poke holes is the plot of a film (and novel) which is truly wonderful and has brought joy to millions. Unfortunately, I'm a bit of a churl.

So, firstly, how on Earth did the BFG get started with all this psychedelic dream stuff? Why is he the only giant to have a job, for which he seemingly isn't paid? Why do the other giants not know about the dreamland and how is he managing to keep the secret? Why are there only nine of them? How do they reproduce, as they all seem to be male? How does their economy function to keep them in nicely furnished houses?

And then there's the constitutional scandals. Queen Elizabeth II is seen directing military activities without Parliamentary oversight! The head of Sophie's orphanage is subjected to cruel extra-judicial punishment by the monarch in direct contravention of both Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights! And Sophie is released into the custody of some strange tall bloke who had made no provision for either her education or health needs. Have social services been informed?

This may be a charming if somewhat druggy film that is justifiably remembers with much fondness, yes. But wait until Charter 88 hears about this...

Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen

Part One


“For a primitive piece of technology, it certainly delivers the decibels.”

We begin on an alien world realised, as so often really, by an impressive looking celestial body in the sky, and we establish that Delta, last of her species, is fleeing from the Bannermen, who have gone all genocidal for some reason. Meanwhile, the TARDIS has landed in a tollbooth manned by Ken Dodd, and the Doctor and Mel have won a place in a package tour to Earth in 1959.

What a very odd beginning, and what a very odd story. I suppose there’s something of the lighter end of 2000AD to it to link it stylistically to Paradise Towers, just, but fundamentally this feels like children’s television as opposed to a family show, something which would feel right on Children’s BBC at 4.30pm. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. If this is kids’ TV, it’s kids’ TV with a lot more charm and appeal than the kids’ TV Time and the Rani had to offer.

The two comedy Americans (I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many stereotypes in one place) are straight out of kids’ TV, as is the sight of the Navarinos changing from purple things to garishly dressed ‘50s holidaymakers. But there are some other interesting things going on, too. For a start, there’s the novelty of Doctor Who being filmed in South Wales for the first time since The Green Death. No doubt future visits to the area will be similarly few and far between.

So, a Butlins style holiday camp in South Wales- Hi de Hi, anyone? This is not quite the same, though; while the Croft / Perry sitcom looked at its subject matter with nostalgia, Malcolm Kohll and Andrew Cartmel clearly find the thought of holidaying in such places as horrifying as I would. The regimented hours, complete with everyone being woken up at the same time; the set mealtimes; the rules and regulations; and worst of all the forced jollity… even The Macra Terror didn’t present this baffling phenomenon in such a terrifying way.

We also meet Billy, a nice bloke with little discernible personality, and the exceedingly likeable Ray. The characterisation of the guest characters may not reach two dimensions at any point, but at least the fact this is Kids’ TV means we’re spared any awkward scenes of characters being suspicious of the Doctor or the supernatural elements, and such scenes as do exist are played for laughs.

Oh my God! They shot Ken Dodd!

It’s interesting following the Doctor’s characterisation here. The malapropisms are back “A stitch in time fills up space”) having taken Paradise Towers off, but they’re clearly about to go the way of “I would like a hat like that,” and disappear. It’s also fascinating seeing how Ray instinctively feels she can confide in the Doctor about her feelings for Billy, but the Doctor is at a loss to comfort her, being out of his depth in the world of relationships and feelings. It’s still early, but we’re starting to get the general shape of this new Doctor.



Part Two



“I’ve seen many things fall from the sky, but nothing that can be described as weird.”

It seems very sudden, but Delta and Billy are very much a couple already. But they’re in imminent danger as the Bannermen are alerted. But first, an even worse horror rears its head; the holidaymakers are woken up by a gong at some ungodly hour (I mean, they’re on holiday. Who in their right minds would get up before midday when on holiday?) and then subjected to an awful burst of singing. Surely this sort of thing was forbidden by the Geneva Convention?

It’s a nice touch, Murray reading The Eagle. And even the Doctor showing Burton around the TARDIS, Davison style, is not without a certain charm. But suddenly the mood changes as Gavrok turns up and kills all the Navarinos, complete with their rather stylish looking bus-cum-spaceship. At least they seem to have somehow contrived to have fun in their last night, awful though it looked to this viewer.

Burton reacts very bravely- good for him- but the Doctor finishes up with another good confrontation scene, even if it’s lacking something in comparison with those scenes with the Chief Caretaker in Paradise Towers.



Part Three



“All haste and no speed makes Jill a dull girl.”

It becomes increasingly clear with the increasing role of beekeeper Goronwy, an individual with an amazing amount of tolerance for the destruction of his property, that Delta is a queen in the sense of a queen bee, presumably implying that the Chimerons are a hive society in which most are drones. I hope Billy realises what he’s letting himself in for.

The story ends with a fun collection of scenes, although we have to accept a lot of kids’ TV logic. It’s very notable how Gavrok just walks into the Doctor’s rather obvious trap while he spots the booby-trapped TARDIS immediately and for no apparent reason. The incidental music is conspicuously more awful even than usual in these final scenes, too.

Still, the story still has its charm, and Ray continues to be great, especially when she rescues the two comedy Americans. It’s so frustrating to see the Doctor miss a perfect opportunity to invite her to come along in the TARDIS at the end.



So, a bit too lacking in substance to rank particularly highly, but a pleasant bit of undemanding viewing nonetheless. A solid 3/5.