Golden Sunsets Redux - 60 Years Of Memories - Part 34 - 2000

A good soundtrack for a film can really improve the viewing experience. In the case of one special movie it elevates things to a whole other level….

2000:

The trivia:

• How In October 2000, Heinz introduced a new ketchup product called “EZ Squirt”, designed to appeal to young children. The twist was that the familiar condiment came in range of outrageous colours. The first, Blastin’ Green, was released as part of a promotion with DreamWorks new animated movie “Shrek”. Others followed - Funky Purple, Stellar Blue and “Mystery Colour “, which could be one of Passion Pink, Awesome Orange or Totally Teal when squirted out. The unusual shades meant the classic recipe was adjusted by copious amounts of food colouring and Heinz were no longer allowed to call it “tomato ketchup”. While initial sales for such a novelty item were good,  after a short while they dropped off - probably because kids didn’t do the food shopping and what sane adult wants bright purple goo on their chips? Heinz discontinued “EZ Squirt” in  2006.

• When the buried city of Pompeii began to be excavated, starting in the 18th Century, a huge treasure trove of artifacts, frescos and images were uncovered - some very sexually explicit (the ancient Romans were certainly not prudish). Those items deemed by the government of the time as “obscene” or unfit for public consumption were locked away in a “Secret Museum” in Naples. Despite the segregation, fame of the collection grew, but complaints about how it was being administered resulted in the entrance being bricked up in 1849. Reopened and closed again across the next few decades it was then locked permanently for almost 100 years. The erotic and phallic artifacts are now on permanent display. 

• Thousands of hours and billions upon billions of pounds were spent preparing computer systems for the date changeover as we entered the year 2000. It’s hard to believe now but there was a real panic that if the two digit year changed from 99 to 00 without fixing the “Y2K bug”, then financial markets would crash, planes would fall from the sky and the world would grind to a halt. Thankfully after huge efforts, as we all celebrated the new millennium, incidents were few and far between and had only minor impacts. Such as a video store in Gwangju, South Korea - where a returned tape was deemed to be 100 years overdue, generating a penalty charge of 8 million Won.

The memory:

Almost Famous

American filmmaker Cameron Crowe started to write music reviews for his local newspaper at age 13. After graduating high school, he met the editor of legendary music magazine “Rolling Stone” and began submitting articles, making him their youngest ever contributor. At the tender age of 16 he spent three week on tour with influential rock group The Allman Brothers Band, getting his first cover story. Working his way up to associate editor, he interviewed all the great stars of the era -  Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Eagles, Led Zeppelin - the list goes on and on. 

What has all this to do with a film released in 2000 ? Well after breaking into the movie industry by writing the script to cult hit “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” - and then a number  of directing successes culminating in 1996’s “Jerry Maguire” (show me the money!!) - Crowe turned his attention to his most personal film project yet. Drawing directly on those music journalism experiences he crafted a 1970s set tale of…a teenage music journalist who goes on tour with a rock band. Write what you know they say.

The films young protagonist Will Miller (Patrick Fugit) is a clear analogy for Crowe, although instead of the Allman Brothers Band, it’s fictitious group “Stillwater” that he impresses backstage at a Black Sabbath gig. It’s here that he also meets groupie Penny Lane (played by Kate Hudson) and her friends - and they all follow Stillwater on a tour across the USA. Ostensibly Will is there to document the highs and lows of life on the road for Rolling Stone, but for him the experience soon begins to mean much more. 

What’s follows may on the surface appear to be your standard rock group meets coming-of-age story - tensions within the band, unrequited love, drug abuse, huge arguments, confessions when lives seem at risk, fall outs and reconciliations - you know the drill. It helps that the acting is generally superb - with Billy Crudup and Jason Lee particular stand outs as the bands lead guitarist and singer. But it’s also that the whole thing is done with so much authenticity and style and a warm emotional heart that I was transfixed. I instantly felt involved in the world, with the characters and with their various journeys.

And then there’s the soundtrack. Oh what a soundtrack. Of course the film is full of songs from the period. Classics by the likes of Cat Stevens, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Simon & Garfunkel and of course The Allman Brothers Band. But via a special screening, Crowe also impressed Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant so that they granted him use of several of their songs (a very rare occurrence at the time). I knew that I’d had some exposure to a few of this style of rock songs before, in my teenage years - such legendary stuff such as “Freebird” and “Sweet Home Alabama”  - but as the movie progressed it amazed me how many tracks struck a long dormant memory.

But that’s not all. For the film’s emerging band “Stillwater”, Crowe and his then wife Nancy Wilson (from the group “Heart”) wrote three original songs - with classic 70s rocker Peter Frampton composing two others. While the actors rehearsed for a long time so they could appear convincing, the music was actually performed by a supergroup of mega-successful songwriter Marti Frederiksen, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready and alongside Wilson, Heart drummer Ben Smith. The combination of songs and musicians gave the band that bluesy, drawling, guitar-heavy Southern rock sound so evocative of the time. 

Finally there is the films most iconic scene, using Elton John’s classic “Tiny Dancer”. As the tour bus rolls down the highway, the band is at odd’s with each other, after a drunken appearance by Russell the night before. “Tiny Dancer” begins to play on the radio and one by one the characters start to sing along, lifting the mood and healing the rift between them. It’s a joyous, uplifting, fantastic moment and one that makes me grin hugely no matter how many times I’ve seen it. It’s astonishing to think that the studio wanted to cut the scene, deeming it too indulgent! It also resurrected the songs profile. Only a moderate hit on release in 1972, it has since become a cultural phenomenon for multiple generations. Me? I just adore it. 

Okay, but beyond the performances and the music and the positive feelings that both evoke, why do I like this movie so much? Well I think that it’s not just an honest auto-biographical snapshot of a particular moment in time. It’s not just about the interesting characters beats. “Almost Famous” touches on the theme of doing the things you love and that make you happy - despite what others may think. It’s about finding your “tribe”. It doesn’t matter if that’s Dungeon & Dragons, or stamp collecting or reading comic books - or music journalism. That may all sound silly or pretentious, but as someone who never really fitted in as a teenager, who liked things that contemporaries (and certain adults) called stupid or worthless, that aspect really resonated.

And at the end of the day it’s simply a damn good film. 

Honourable mentions:

• Gladiator - I'd argue that in the more than two decades since it's release, Ridley Scott's Roman epic has never really gone away. It's soundtrack regularly appears in the top ten of film scores. It's endlessly quoted - and we even got a belated sequel in 2024 (which sadly isn't a patch on the original). I've always been a huge fan of the "sword and sandals" movies of the past - especially Bank Holiday favourites such as "Ben-Hur" or "Spartacus". Or even less well known examples such as "Quo Vadis" or "The Robe". So when "Gladiator" came along, it hit all those sweet spots for me, but in a more modern, visceral and energetic style. Russell Crowe is of course magnificent as Maximus but he's supported by an amazing ensemble, especially Richard Harris who is simply magnetic even in his few scenes. The other thing I remember about this film is that it came out when VHS video tapes were still the primary home media format. Of course I bought "Gladiator" as soon as it was released, but not long after there was a "Special Edition" that had extra deleted footage, only available in Woolworths. I clearly recall getting my girlfriend of the time, who lived in Newcastle, to scour the shops to find me a copy, much to her confusion as to why this one release was so important!. Since then I've had multiple copies on multiple formats and the film still stands up today. It led to a resurgence in historical drama which probably peaked with Scott's 2005 "Kingdom of Heaven" - a film which (in it's Directors Cut at least) is even better than "Gladiator".

• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - It's difficult to communicate to modern audiences just how much the CSI franchise changed the landscape of policies procedural television, how global its reach was and how enduring it's legacy. As much as I enjoyed the various spin-off's (especially Miami where David Caruso's Horatio Caine seemed to find endless ways of putting on his sun glasses), it's the original show that still hold a special place in my heart. Sure some of the tech was bordering on SF territory ("enhance that photo") and the speed in which results were turned round was totally unrealistic, but the core idea of letting the evidence tell the story was a brilliant one. The show brought a cinematic sheen to a genre which previously had been mainly grim and gritty police precincts and mean streets. I loved the original core set of characters especially Gil Grissom's social awkward entomologist - but all of them were emotionally rounded people who used science rather than their fists - and made it look cool while doing so. Although it ran for 15 seasons, it's probably the first eight that are my favourite. I started to drop off when Laurence Fishburne came on board and by the time Ted Danson was the lead I think I only was watching the odd episode here and there. Wider media embraced the success of the show and there were some pretty good original novels and video games. For a time I was a bit of an obsessive collector of those. While it's a bit of a myth that the franchise led to jurors having unrealistic expectations on the standard of forensic evidence, the show had a seismic effect on subsequent TV such as "Bones" or "Criminal Minds". Oh and the theme tune by The Who is of course an absolute classic.

• Gaunt’s Ghosts - Necropolis - I’d never been into wargaming or the table top miniatures scene. But I was aware of the “grim dark” future war game “Warhammer 40,000” and the plethora of spin off novels that expand on its lore and history. They particularly piqued my interest because of the involvement of Dan Abnett, a comics writer I’d read heavily through his work for 2000 AD, so I decided to take the plunge  - and boy am I glad I did. “Gaunt’s Ghosts” is a series covering the efforts of the “Tanith First” regiment of the Imperial Guard and their leader Ibram Gaunt in their battles against the forces of Chaos. As with all of Abnett’s best work, the books are a mix of superb characterisation and frenetic action, each building on the one before. But I’ve picked this third novel because it’s genuinely the best war story I’ve ever read. Told from multiple perspectives, it covers the highs and lows of the enormous 54-day siege of mega-manufactory-city “Vervunhive” - and once the fight begins it’s utterly…relentless. It twists and turns - intense urban battles, internal bickering, treachery and surprises round every corner. There is seemingly no end to the death and destruction but each and every moment is earned and each character, no matter how small their part, has a backstory and believable motivation. Imagine the battle of Helm’s Deep from “Lord of the Rings” but it’s an entire city and lasts nearly two months! It’s just insane and amazingly Abnett pulls it off. You know when people talk about books being unputdownable? This is one of those.

• Crossgen - starting a new comics company is hard. Creating a complete universe doubly so. It takes a lot of time, effort and especially money. Along came tech millionaire Mark Alessi, who wanted to do something slightly different to Marvel and DC. Rather than contracting freelance writers and artists, everyone was a salaried employee and worked together from the Crossgen HQ in Florida. Although linked by the “sigil” concept, titles covered multiple genres : fantasy, space opera, Victorian detectives, barbarians, horror, pirates - the variation was a welcome sight in an industry dominated by superheroes. It was a bold idea, attracting existing veterans and the cream of new talent - and it appeared to work. While sales were not enormously high, the company developed a dedicated fan base. Titles such as “Ruse” were critically praised and others such as “Sojourn”, “Meridian” and “Scion” saw their artists become fan favourites. I bought every Crossgen title as it came out and while I found some better than others, overall I really enjoyed the experience. Sadly it was all a bit “boom and bust” and despite the success, within four years it was all over and the company collapsed amidst mounting debts with many creators going unpaid. It was a great shame as the overarching story that was coming to a head remained unfinished. Ultimately the copyright was bought by Disney (and there was a short-lived revival of a couple of titles by Marvel) - but the grand Crossgen experiment was consigned to history. I was sorry to see it go and if nothing else it proved that comic readers would buy titles without capes and tights…

• The Stone Dance of the Chameleon by Ricardo Pinto - I was given "The Chosen", the first book in this huge trilogy, by a friend, who couldn't seem to get on with it. His loss was my gain as I soon discovered it was one of the most deeply interesting fantastical worlds I’d ever read. The story follows Carnelian, a young noble of the ruling caste known as the Masters, who has grown up in exile. When his father is summoned back to the capital Osrakum to oversee the election of a new God-Emperor, Carnelian is thrust into a world of cruelty and political intrigue. The Masters are a pale-skinned, genetically isolated caste who believe themselves divine. Their society is built on ritual mutilation, incest, and purity. They also wear enormous towering ceremonial outfits and masks to reflect their house or status and to further isolate themselves. The world Pinto creates is astonishingly dense, with enough invented languages, animals and peoples to rival Tolkien - without a hint of magic. It also deals with themes of oppression, identity and transformation - especially relevant as the main character is gay (something that was rare when the books were first published). I’ll be honest, I was swept away from the first few pages and devoured sequels “The Standing Dead” and “The Third God” in quick succession. In more recent years Pinto has extensively revised his story and released it as seven smaller novels. I haven’t read this new version yet, but I’m  sure it will be just as good (if not better).

Golden Sunsets Redux - 60 Years Of Memories - Part 33 - 1999

So in this extended trawl through my personal history we have finally reached 1999 -  the eve of a new millennium (or not, depending on who you believe). We partied hard like Prince - and marvelled at how it all seemed so far away when we were 16. Would it be a new century of wonder and possibilities or Y2K Armageddon? At least the moon hadn't been blown out of orbit by a nuclear explosion... Hard to believe that back then there was no Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Google Maps, no smart phones, Blu-ray discs, Amazon Kindles or Wikipedia. But we still hadn’t invented a damn jet-pack! Never mind, we did have...

1999:

The trivia:

• Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov played "The World" in a game that lasted over four months with one move a day. More than 50,000 people from 75 different countries participated with The World team's moves being decided by majority vote. Kasparov ended up winning on turn 62 when 51% of The World decided to resign. He later claimed that it was the greatest game of chess he had ever played, although also admitted to sneaking a look at the World Team strategy forums!

• Three days after the animated Disney movie "The Rescuers" had been released on VHS video (for the second time), 3.4 million copies were recalled because a scene of the mouse heroes flying over New York City contained two frames of an "objectionable image" - a blurry photo of a naked woman. You could only see this if you knew exactly where to pause the video at the right moment, but Disney still chose to destroy the cassettes to maintain their wholesome family image.

• On 9th September 1914, 26 year old British soldier Private Thomas Hughes from Stockton-on-Tees tossed a green ginger beer bottle containing a letter to his wife into the English Channel. Two days later he was killed in action in World War I. In 1999, fisherman Steve Gowan dredged up the bottle as he fished for cod off the English coast near the mouth of the River Thames. Although Hughes' wife had died in 1979, his daughter, now 86, was still alive living in New Zealand. With the help of the New Zealand Post, Gowan was able to hand deliver the letter at last.

The memory:

So once again, making a choice for the top spot was *really* difficult. There was so much good stuff that came out in 1999 that I wrestled with myself long into the night, especially as I’ve always strived to avoid the obvious things that populate a gazillion top ten lists across the internet. The idea is to pick things with more personal connections. Don't get me wrong  - everything you can probably think of (and maybe more) is present and correct further down this entry, but in the end I chose the item that I spent the most time on - hence it’s time for a meandering trip through the years to reach:

Donkey Kong 64

I've mentioned my love of video games before - the 80s hey-day of the ZX Spectrum and the plethora of home produced titles that really kick-started the whole UK gaming industry  generate the fondest memories (look here for my recollections of one particular Speccy game) But what I've not covered is the fact that in the Sony versus Nintendo console war that straddled most of the late 90s, I came firmly down in the Nintendo camp. I think it's probably because, at the time, Nintendo produced more of my favourite type of games - platformers.

You just have to look back at the hours I spent playing Spectrum classics such as Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy, Chuckie Egg or Head Over Heels to get a sense that these were my games of choice. The puzzle elements, the split second timing to get through a screen or room, the joy at finding all the bonus elements  - they all added up. I'd dabbled with a Sega Mega Drive in the early 90s as well - everyone must have played "Sonic The Hedgehog" at some point - and I remember a title called "Rolo to The Rescue" which involved a platforming elephant. Plus the decidedly weird "Ecco The Dolphin" (was Sega obsessed with animal protagonists?)  - but beyond those, the Mega Drive didn't make much of an impact on me.

However I recall clearly when, in 1994, I first saw my then 11 year old brother-in-law's grey Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) with its rounded joypad and chunky cartridges. I was really keen to have a go, even though, as supposedly a "fourth generation" games device, it was probably a few years old by then. He had a copy of "Super Mario World" and after just a few plays I was hooked. I’d like to think we bonded over taking turns to work through the levels. Every time I visited my in-laws, we would inevitably end up in a games session.

But this is where my memory gets a bit hazy. On one hand I’m pretty sure I never owned a SNES of my own. But on the other I remember some of the games far too much to have only played them occasionally. It’s somewhat confusing. Maybe it’ll come back to me. In any case, one game I recall with real fondness is "Donkey Kong Country", which I still think is the peak of the games released for that particular console (don't shower me with abuse, I still agree that Mario and Zelda are both excellent too).

"Donkey Kong Country" (and its SNES sequels) was released by Rare Limited, the British video games company that always seemed to be pushing the boundaries of what was possible with limited system capabilities. I knew of them of course from their "Ultimate Play The Game" guise when they were the premier developer of titles for the ZX Spectrum - classics such as "Knightlore", "Underwurlde" and "Lunar Jetman" - all games that I had played to death back in the 80s. What they got from the incredibly tiny memory of the humble Speccy was astounding - and thanks to some really clever manipulation of the hardware, they did the same with the SNES - creating pre-rendered 3D graphics that were unlike anything Nintendo fans had seen before.

Running, jumping or rolling through 40 side-scrolling, ever-more-difficult levels, gamers could play as either Donkey Kong or his sidekick Diddy, swapping between them (and utilising their different abilities)  to collect bananas, defeat enemies, reach difficult areas or unlock hidden rooms. It was utterly addictive.I spent (or wasted) far too many hours conquering each level and uncovering as many of the secrets as I could. Even to this day the game still stands up as a classic of the platforming genre and I've played versions of it across many subsequent consoles. Just looking at the graphics brings a smile to my face.  But the thing is, within a few short years, Rare would create something that would make all of the "Donkey Kong Country" innovations look like mere child's play...

------

So it's perhaps relevant at this point to state that I've never been one of those people who *has* to have the newest console on the day of release and boast how I've completed "Ultra-Sniper XXII" in less than 38 hours with no sleep and only a mug of coffee (or something stronger) for company. I prefer to wait until a decent amount of quality titles come out, read the reviews and pick and choose the high rated ones that appeal to me. In recent years I’ve even been known to wait until the next generation before investing in the one before. What kind of gamer am I ?!

Anyway, when the "Nintendo 64" came out in the UK in March 1997, it was different - I just knew I had to have one. Okay perhaps not as soon as it came out, but certainly within the first 6 months I had convinced my wife to let me buy one. I'd been reading the video gaming magazines and the hype surrounding the N64 console and the universal acclaim given to another of Rare's releases, the licenced James Bond title "Goldeneye". That plus the obvious attraction of a Mario game in 3D at last were enough to tip me over the edge to part with my hard-earned cash. As I unpacked the matt black console and the three pronged grey controller I'll admit to a certain thrill of excitement.

Plugging in the "Goldeneye" cartridge and starting up the game was a revelation. Here were 3D graphics and quality gameplay like I had never seen before. I quickly adapted to the unusual controller and the configuration of the various buttons and was dispatching bad guys like a true secret agent. Sure the characters faces did look like they had been hit with a mallet but at least they *had* proper faces. Next was "Super Mario 64", with its dynamic camera system, bright polygon graphics and an open-world to explore containing dozens of  missions. It was brilliant - exactly the kind of thing I loved about the SNES games but taken to a whole new level. I was in gaming heaven.

It’s also worth mentioning that by this point, due to the sudden death of her father, my wife and young daughter had relocated 180 miles away to be near the rest of her grieving family. I stayed around London for work during the week and returned to be with them at weekends, so had a lot of spare hours in the evenings after work. I spent much of that time on the N64.

This unusual situation continued for quite a while (even through the birth of my second daughter), so I was still spending time with my console for company. Over the next year I picked up a number of other N64 titles. The car/plane/hovercraft racing delights of "Diddy Kong Racing" (better than Mario Kart in my view). The building destroying antics of "Blast Corps". Award-winning puzzle / action with "Zelda: Ocarina of Time". Then in 1998, Rare Limited outdid Nintendo’s own developers and produced the simply superb single player 3D exploration platformer "Banjo-Kazooie". Working from a core hub, the titular bear and bird characters collaborate together in a non-linear fashion through nine different worlds to defeat the evil witch Gruntilda - collecting musical notes and jigsaw pieces along the way to gain access to each new world. Each section is simply stuffed with memorable characters, hidden areas and extra quests. Plus Banjo and Kazooie can gain a wide range of abilities to help them reach the most tricky of places. Oh and did I mention that their shaman friend “Mumbo Jumbo”, can use his magical powers to transform them into other creatures such as a walrus, a crocodile and a termite?

If "Donkey Kong Country" had reinforced a platformer addiction and "Super Mario 64" had turned it into 3D, then "Banjo-Kazooie" took that enthusiasm and turned the heat up big style!  I wasn't the only one who thought so, as the game sold over 2 million copies worldwide and has continued to influence developers ever since - just look at spiritual successor "Yooka-Laylee" that came out as recently as 2017. 

It’s funny though, despite the hours of gameplay, I can't recall if I ever actually completed "Banjo-Kazooie".  I certainly never got to play the sequel, "Banjo-Tooie" when it came out in 2000. That’s odd because I was still buying the odd game here and there. Maybe I was platformed out by that point. 

That’s probably because of what came next and it’s time to get to the point of this post. In November 1999 Rare released “Donkey Kong 64”. This took the open-world, co-op characters, collect-a-thon mechanics of “Banjo” and dialed it up to eleven. It’s a game of themed levels chock full of mini-games, puzzles, secret bonuses, transformations and more types of banana than you can possibly imagine. Each Kong family member has their own special skills - for example Donkey operates levers, Diddy can fly and Tiny can crawl through holes. Plus they each have a unique weapon. Areas of the game can only be accessed by collecting banana medals or completing quests and may involve traipsing back and forth between worlds. It’s a vast, vast game - and I was hooked from day one. 

“Donkey Kong 64” was also one of the first N64 games that needed the Nintendo Expansion Pak (which came bundled with the cartridge). This was a plug in that doubled the consoles RAM to 8 MB (astonishingly small by today’s standards) and Rare made the most of it to improve rendering, frame rates and dynamic lighting. Character animations and cut-scenes were smoother. Levels were bigger. Bosses were enormous. There were even version of the original “Donkey Kong” and “Jetpac” games (the latter a real ZX Spectrum classic) that you had to beat.

The game was deservedly a huge success and sold over 5 million copies - and to say I was addicted was an understatement. While some reviews criticised its similarity to “Banjo Kazooie” and the chore of collecting objects as excessively repetitive, I found it all enormous fun and it extended the playability. It really was the fore-runner of today’s open-world games with their endless variety of books, audio clips, back-story information, statues and assorted objects that you can collect to get that perfect score. I found a real sense of achievement in unlocking each charming new world or defeating each boss with a funky weapon. Oh and those who considered the  opening “DK Rap” to be awful completely missed the point - it’s meant to be cheesy!

In the many years since release, the game has come in for a lot of criticism, particularly about the sheer number of mini-games, the backtracking between worlds and the insane volume of collectables (thousands more than other platformers of the time) - with some arguing that DK64 "killed" the 3D-platformer as a genre. I don't buy that, especially as Nintendo have continued to release Mario games, each successively larger and with more "stuff" than the one before. I suspect that there's a certain amount of mob behavior happening here, with people feeling they have to join in with the pile on. I've never really understood that. All I know is that at the time this was one of my all-time favourite N64 games and just writing about it has made me want to get my console and cartridges out of mothballs in the loft and have one more go.

And it remained my favourite until a certain squirrel had a "Bad Fur Day". But that's for another time...

Honourable mentions:

A lot to get through here, so I'll try to keep things as brief as I can...

• The Matrix - What can I write about this film that hasn't been said a hundred times before? Yes Keanu is slightly wooden. Yes the sequels are awesome / patchy / rubbish / impenetrable (take your pick). Oh and yes the Wachowskis have cherry picked bits from various other SF novels, comics and Asian cinema. But you can't deny the fact that it's all just so damn cool looking and  features effects that changed the movie industry forever. I just loved every second of it. Over the years I've watched, played and read everything to do with the franchise and like so many others, this was the film that made me switch to buying DVDs. A game changer in almost every way.

• Planetary - I personally knew Warren Ellis when he was a struggling new writer back in the 1980s, and his career has waxed and waned over the intervening decades. He wrote some great comics back in the day, although in recent years they have been over-shadowed by some disturbing sexual coercion allegations . Some might cite "Transmetropolitan" as his best work, but for me these 27 issues are the most enjoyable - even if they were frustratingly spread across a ten year period. As I’ve mentioned several times before, I’m someone who grew up loving the original literary adventures of heroes such as James Bond, Tarzan, Sherlock Holmes and Doc Savage, I think a large part of the fun is watching Ellis weave his alternative versions through the larger mysterious occurrences / conspiracy / multiverse narrative. It reminds me somewhat of Philip Jose Farmer's "Wold Newton" concept (remember “A Feast Unknown” from 1969?) or Alan Moore's "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen". Of course the story of the Planetary organisation versus "The Four" also hinges on the exceptional artwork of the sadly missed John Cassady - and his blend of the real and the fantastic makes the series look stunning. Overall it's a fairly brief series, but one that set a high benchmark for how good modern comics could be. Just a shame it's reputation has become tainted by the authors behaviour. 

• Queer As Folk -  I'm not gay (I'm bi, actually). I've never lived in Manchester. But I know great drama when I see it and this landmark series from Russell T Davies had me hooked from the first episode. Aidan Gillen was just magnetic as serial shagger Stuart Allen Jones - ably supported by Craig Kelly and Charlie Hunnam in what proved to be his breakout role. I'm sure the real gay scene is not all clubbing, hedonistic sex and catty put-downs, but the quality of RTD's writing made the characters and their world feel so real. This was a community that had never been shown on British TV screens with such honesty (and sexiness) before. Every episode had countless memorable moments, plus managed to make sharp-turns into hard-hitting emotion (coming our to your parents, pretending to be straight, drug overdoes) with huge success. It was glorious and exhausting at the same time - all this plus some excellent music from Murray Gold - and the best scenes featuring Doctor Who outside of the series itself! Unfortunately the truncated two-episode second season lost it's way somewhat - and in typical RTD fashion the ending is pretty awful - but that first series? Wow.

• The Science of Discworld by Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart & Jack Cohen - How can you meld the fantasy silliness of Discworld with serious scientific explanations on the origins of the universe, quantum mechanics, evolution and the future of space travel ? Incredibly successfully so it happens when you have three superb writers on board. I genuinely found this book (and it's three sequels) un-put-downable. I'm a real believer in making science accessible to as wide an audience as possible and I challenge anyone to read this book and not find something fascinating and though provoking within its pages. It's not an exhaustive science book by any means - more an introductory guide to spur you to read further - and some might say that the Discworld element suffer by being broken up into such short chapters, but I personally don't agree. I found everything to be huge fun. 

• The Thomas Crown Affair - Sometimes a remake can be as good as (and dare I say it possibly even better) than the original. Such is the case with this version of the 1968 Steve McQueen heist movie, directed by John McTiernan and starring Piece Brosnan (then at the peak of his Bond tenure) and Rene Russo. Adjusting the plot to centre around an art thief and an insurance investigator really works - and the twists and turns as Crown's layers of deception are revealed are well worth the wait. But it's the central performances from the never more suave Brosnan and the sultry Russo that really make this a film to savour. The chemistry between them is electric and you really buy into the cat and mouse game they play (but who is who?) and the romance that develops. An absolute joy to watch.

• Farscape -  How can you sum up such a weird and wonderful TV show in just a couple of sentences? Okay <<deep breath>> here goes....American astronaut John Crichton flies through a wormhole and is picked up by a vast bio-mechanical living starship called Moya. On board he finds a bunch of aliens (some played by actors, some by puppets from the Jim Henson Creature Shop) that are trying to escape from the regime of the militaristic Peacekeepers. With no way back to Earth, Crichton has to adapt to the life of an outlaw, encountering ever more bizarre exotic races and avoiding multiple enemies, including the sadistic Scorpius, who want the hero's brain for his own evil ends....

• Nope. That just doesn't do it justice. This was a show that dared to be different - featuring a nemesis in a leather gimp suit, an alien that farted helium and another that orgasmed when exposed to light. There's an episode done mostly in the style of a Looney Tunes cartoon. Another where the crew are all spaced out on drugs. Far from being "Star Trek with Muppets" it pushed the envelope and turned familiar genre tropes on their head, frequently with hilarious results. The creatures felt like living breathing beings because they were there on set with the actors, not added by CGI afterwards. It was mad, bad and dangerous to know  - and I frelling love everything about it.

• America's Best Comics (ABC) - Starting with "The League of Extraordinary Gentleman (with it's high concept of bringing together protagonists from disparate worlds of fiction), superstar writer Alan Moore created his own best-selling comic line of heroes and villains. Using some of the public-domain characters from the long forgotten "Nedor" titles of the 1940s, along with new creations from Moore and his collaborators, ABC Comics was soon publishing a diverse line of truly excellent titles. Whether it was the Doc Savage homage "Tom Strong", with the crisp clean lines of Chris Sprouse, the super powered police procedural "Top Ten" featuring hyper detailed panels from Gene Ha and Zander Cannon, or "The Spirit" infused crime busting of "Grey Shirt" with Rick Veitch - there was something for everyone. The true gem though was "Promethea" featuring the astonishing and experimental artwork of J.H. Williams III. What seemed to begin as a fantasy-tinged homage to Wonder Woman soon developed into an epic history of magic, mysticism and Moore's own philosophical beliefs. Full of symbolism, an exploration of the spheres of the Kabbalah and a journey through several versions of heaven and hell, I can't really say I understood it all. However at least it made me *think* - plus it looked like nothing else in comics. Maybe one day we will get the planned landscape "Immateria" edition that will show off Williams' artwork in it's very best light. As Moore's last real foray into a mainstream comics universe, the ABC line as a whole was an overwhelming success and produced a couple of titles that sit very high in his overall oeuvre.

• The Mummy - A (very) loose remake of the 1932 Boris Karloff original, Stephen Sommers film styles things with far more of an supernatural "Indiana Jones" spin- a likable hero, smart one-liners and huge set pieces being the order of the day. While the CGI was impressive for the time and the plot rattles along with nary a pause for breath, what really makes this movie sing are it's characters - and the actors playing them. I'd somehow never heard of Brendan Fraser before seeing "The Mummy" - despite him being in such excellent fare as "Gods & Monsters" and "Blast From The Past" just a few months earlier - but he is just a wonderful action hero and has great chemistry with the delectable Evelyn, played by Rachel Weisz. John Hannah bumbles through proceedings as her hapless brother and when he finally gets some screen time, Arnold Vosloo is suitably creepy as the titular villain. All in all it's a regular favourite in our house, although I do wonder if that's due to the  attractions of the devilishly handsome Ardeth Bay  played by Oded Fehr...

• Galaxy Quest - I've my other half to thank for this one too, as despite my love for all things "Trek" it somehow passed me by on it's initial release. Perhaps I thought it was just a simple parody - but nothing could be further from the truth. The premise - a bunch of actors from a 20 year old SF show that are hawking themselves round the fan circuit are suddenly contacted by aliens that think their characters are real - is a great one and yes, there are homages to the most famous tropes of the classic series and it's 1980s "Next Generation" revival, but it's done with a knowing wink at the audience and a warmhearted love for the source material, rather than any nasty intent  While Tim Allen is great casting as the egotistical Jason Nesmith  and Sigourney Weaver proves that she can do light SF as well as face-hugging alien horror, it's Alan Rickman who steals the show (as he so often does) as the world-weary Alexander Dane, forever typecast as a bumpy headed alien when all he really wanted to do was be in classical drama. The film has deservedly become a cult classic in more recent years and it's easy to see why when everyone seems to be having so much fun. I fell in love with it straight away and never get tired of watching it. "By Grabthar's Hammer, it's good !"

• Heart of Empire: The Legacy of Luther Arkwright - The original appearances of Bryan Talbot's time-twisting, reality bending comic character appeared before I was really aware of anything outside of British newsagent titles, so it wasn't really until was in my early 20s - when Valkyrie Press reprinted and completed the story - that I as able to read the full magnum opus. I was already familiar with Talbot's moody black & white penmanship from his time on "Nemesis The Warlock" in 2000 AD, and as someone who had also grown up reading and watching lots of fiction about parallel worlds, the story instantly appealed to me, despite it's complexity. 

• Fast forward to 1999 and Dark Horse Comics released sequel "Heart of Empire", set 23 years later and centering on Luther's daughter Victoria. Talbot's art style has evolved - less scratchy heavy inks and more crisp intricate fine line work -  plus of course it's in gorgeous full colour which practically leaps out at you. The story line is less experimental, but still full of depth and hidden meaning plus lashings of sex, violence, psychedelic imagery, weird characters and twists across the dimensions - all wrapped in the history of a decadent alternate British Empire. The whole package showcases a creator at the peak of his craft, fully in control of his character and their skewed world.  I love every page and personally can't wait til the newly announced third volume is published in 2022...

• Finally, I was going to mention "The Phantom Menace" as a joke in the vein of  "Oh god no...", but then I remembered that there was one truly fantastic thing that came out of the massive disappointment known as Star Wars: Episode I.......take it away Al....

We're All Stories In The End 24 - Dominion

No villain. No TARDIS. No problem...

Dominion by Nick Walters

Eighth Doctor Adventures number: 22

Originally published: May 1999

Companions: Sam, Fitz

When the Doctor loses both Sam and the TARDIS after an encounter with a mysterious dimensional anomaly, he finds himself affected in a very fundamental way, doubting his own powers and making crucial errors of judgment.

Stranded amongst the forests and lakes of southern Sweden in the summer of 1999, it quickly becomes clear to the Doctor and Fitz that something unusual — and dangerous — is afoot. Fitz finds himself acting the hero as the search for Sam gets them involved with investigations into strange disappearances — and manifestations of even stranger creatures.

Events quickly spiral out of control as the Doctor and Fitz become entangled with a secret deep beneath the forest, a secret which could save Sam and an entire doomed alien race — but destroy the Earth in the process.

 

One thing that a Doctor Who novel needs to do is hook you in from the start - present the reader with an intriguing situation or mystery that makes you want to find out what happens next. Within the first two chapters of "Dominion", Nick Walters manages to do just that.

Young Kerstin is relaxing with her boyfriend at a remote cabin, until something extraordinary quite literally rips the landscape and her lover away. Meanwhile, old Bjorn finds that a creature not of Earth has torn his animals to pieces.

It's dramatic, it's chilling, and it's the sort of cold open that the modern series has done many times. It's really nice to see it used in a novel so effectively.

The other thing that a good novel Doctor Who needs to do is give you a sense of place, and in this regard "Dominion" succeeds on two fronts:

Firstly, after we've lost Sam down a wormhole, there's the Swedish locale that Fitz and the Doctor find themselves in. Too often visits to Earth are always London or the Home Counties, so setting this part of the story in Sweden is a refreshing change. And with the loss of the TARDIS in the middle of a forest, a mystery to solve, and the introduction of pragmatic detective inspector Nordenstam, Walters really does a lot to make the early part of the book feel like a modern Scandinavian crime drama. Kirsten, Bjorn and Nordenstam also benefit from care being paid to their motivations and emotional state. Their personal losses felt honest and real.

Secondly there's the bizarre world of the Dominion itself. It's hard to come up with something that feels truly alien. It's even harder to describe that alien-ness in detail on the page without going so "weird" that it loses the reader. Personally I thought that Nick Walters managed this balancing act extremely well.

The intelligent inhabitants possess unusual biological technology and a fascinating reproductive cycle. The ravenous monsters are suitable gruesome - all teeth and claws and bodies straight out of nightmares. And the endless sea-sky cavern nature of the Dominion was vividly described.

Perhaps my only quibble is that after coming up with T'hiili and T'vorha for the science / warrior castes, Walters settles on the boringly mundane "Ruin" and "Bane" for the monsters and "Blight" for the black wall that threatens to engulf everything Sure, they are to the point, but I would have preferred something a bit more...exotic.

Plus I really wanted to see where the T'hiili and T'vorha ended up - and what happened with the Queen and her offspring after the Dominion was destroyed - but sadly it was not to be. It's a thread that just could have used a couple more pages to round things off nicely. 

Another pleasant surprise was that Sam - a character who I've come to find incredibly annoying - is actually pretty good here. No constant moaning and pining for the Doctor (well a bit but it was tolerable given the situation) and no moralising. Just some mild peril while building alien relations and figuring things out. This was much more like it!

That said, I would still have preferred her to have been dumped and Kirsten to have taken her place. And I definitely would have liked a better explanation as to why the Doctor was so adamant Kirsten could not go travelling in the TARDIS. Maybe that will play out in another novel.

As for the other characters, well Fitz is Fitz in all his randy, well-meaning, cigarette-obsessed glory. This is early in his TARDIS journey I think, but I'm interested in finding out what happened in "Revolution Man" and on Om-Tsor, whenever I get to those books. 

Major Wolstencroft is your stereotypical blustering, by the book UNIT man, but it was an interesting twist that despite his obstructions, he didn’t turn into an out and out bad guy. More that he was just trying to do his job to the best of his ability

Professor Nagle was equally single minded but her actions were far less forgivable, and I really didn’t care when her recklessness and selfishness led to her demise. 

In the end, I think what intrigued me the most about this novel was the fact there really isn't a true villain.

The Blight was just our universe obeying the laws of entropy. The Professor created the wormhole problem, but it was out of scientific zeal, not world conquering ambitions. Even the Bane and the Ruin were just doing what came naturally.

Sometimes you don't need a moustache twirling maniac or a creature from the dawn of time to generate an interesting and threatening scenario.

Or to end up with a pretty damn fine book.