ashamel

Even in Bewitched fanfic, apparently.

Back when I first looked at the list, the answer to this question was going to be Underbelly. Since quickflix unexpectedly delivered that this week (there was a lengthy queue), I've already watched an ep. They also delivered Alice, a TV miniseries about which I know little. It seems at least possible it could be better than Tim Burton's version.

I do consider making time for the things people rave about -- The West Wing or Deadwood, for example, although feel almost entirely uninterested about the subject matter of either. We did get through a couple of episodes of 'Geena Davis becomes President', so I'm sure have little ground to stand upon.

I guess the answer then is Haven, which I already mentioned as upcoming. It starts this week and is an adaptation of Stephen King's The Colorado Kid, a rather disappointing book. But the producer did good work with the Dead Zone, and I have a collection to maintain... It has a very tenuous but fascinating Australian link as well, since the book was in part inspired by the Taman Shud case, which is worth a read.

( Read more...Collapse )

Demons is a newish itv show about modern day demon hunters (with our plucky young hero being the last heir of Van Helsing). Good cast, including Philip Glenister as a mostly burnt out (American) mentor figure, but it's basically a kids show. Thus far about half the eps have had a strong enough idea to rise above the somewhat cheap production values. Being short (6 eps) is in its favour.

Children of the Corn has now been remade at a SyFy tv movie and, bizarrely, it's not too bad. Its main problem is that a lot of it is gratuitous -- not just the sex and violence. From the arguments of the couple to the Vietnam flashbacks, it all seems a way to pass the time, rather than forming any sort of coherent narrative. But it looks pretty good, and the actors don't embarrass themselves (Preston Bailey as the young cult leader isn't the best of them, but my later realisation that he was Dexter's step-son was certainly amusing).

Speaking of Dexter, I did finally come around to appreciating S3, though it is still a pale reflection of previous years.

I'm getting on to half way through Stephen King's Under the Dome, possibly his biggest book since the expanded Stand. Obviously, having retired has given him a lot more time for writing.

I must admit it's a bit frustrating so far, mostly because of the dictates of plot. Not so much within the town itself -- cut off as it is from the outside world by the titular Dome -- but in the wider world. I find it hard to believe that the US government, media and public would react as they do. Perhaps it's all a New Orleans metaphor, misunderstandings about technology, and that's just the story he wants to tell.

I mostly mention this because of a wider interest I have in what makes a story believable. It seems to me all in the details (does the Dome have corners?) but what details are needed depends upon the reader (the environmental stuff is great).

I sometimes wonder if my problem with King's clunky dialogue is my own taciturn nature.

Anyway, just ruminating. I shall certainly keep reading and discover some of the answers for myself. There is still magic in there, oh yes.

The movie of Dolan's Cadillac has had a painful road to distribution -- it had not been released in the States, and premiered on DVD in Sweden and Finland, which does not strike me as a vote of confidence for a US/Canadian production. It has now turned up on R4 dvd as well, and turns out to be better than expected. It does has a feeling of disjointed set pieces, but it comes together.

Kyla spotted a print therein from our beautiful edition of Poe stories, illustrated by Harry Clarke, which was very appropriate. Less appreciated was the garish ad they inserted before the end credits, for some competition. This is art, you know! It has Stephen King's name on the front; how can it not be?

Looking back, it has been quite a busy couple of days, in a leisurely sense.

• I finished up the 'Long Strange Trip' achievement in WoW, which is fairly well named -- having taken me since last December, on and off.
• Went around to jack_ryder's for Space Hulk. It seems odd to me that a game's introductory scenario would be so dramatically slanted to one side -- but that does seem the point, as our brave (if clumsy) space marines face the alien hordes. As long as you swap sides (which we did), all is good. We also got some Dungeon Twister in, which was also unbalanced, if only because I rudely started with an aggressive forward march that is hard to counter without experience.
• (Dungeon Twister is coming to the XBox soon. I'm not sure if you'll be able to see the board properly in such a medium, but I'll certainly give it a go.)
• Iain also showed me Left4Dead, which I've been meaning to catch up with. Somehow the setting for Borderlands appeals a little more -- it's another 4 character co-op game, albeit with levelling and Mad Max chic. Reviews have been mixed.
• Seeing as WoW is indeed an influence on D&D 4e, I thought I'd push the comparison and introduce some boss concepts into a D&D battle. It didn't go quite as I expected, but it worked well enough for the game in progress.
• Went into to town to catch up with my brother, who flew in for business, and seems to be doing very well.
• Bought Fallout 3, now that the expanded edition is out. I peeked at a couple of online discussions on skill distribution, which I think will help. I will ignore the suggestion to keep reloading each conversation until the desired result is reached (but is this much different to reloading until I manage to keep the sheriff of Megaton alive?)
• Read some Stephen King comics -- the latest Stand, Dark Tower, and Talisman. I don't think RF embarrassed herself with her first actual writing gig, and the Marvel series continue their somewhat rambling pace. Maybe I should switch to the trades (which will no doubt be in hard cover). I see Steve has an original series with Vertigo coming out next year, American Vampire, with might be fun.
• Watched some more NCIS, in our occasional rush when we get whole seasons out from the library (now S3). I see we've entered 'torture is necessary' territory, so I'll be interested to see how thay plays out. Going into Gibbs' past might be dodgy too. But they do good things.
• Saw War, Inc, on the dubious premise that it is an 'informal sequel' to Grosse Pointe Blank. That's true enough, but it's mostly a giddying satire on mercenaries and the Iraq war -- perhaps too giddying to build to the emotional heights, but well worth a look.
• I didn't finish the DA crossword, but got a lot further than last week, when the theme was comedians.
• The weekend continued over length, mostly because my car was in service, and I had to get some art (not mine) into town for the Under the Blue Moon art comp. This variously involved raiding Jintha'Alor temple and defeating Lego Manbat.
• Also played some XBox arcade demo about dropping building blocks onto ever more unsteady towers. Because, you know, I'm almost 40 and wouldn't want to be bored.

As seen on Lilja's Library, Pet Sematary: the game. Darling.

According to Lilja's Library, a new Stephen King TV series is coming:

...E1 Entertainment has committed to 13 hour-long episodes adapting Stephen King's novella The Colorado Kid into a television series called Haven.

Scott Shepherd will serve as showrunner and exec produce with Lloyd Segan and Shawn Piller, all three of whom were exec producers on USA Network's version of The Dead Zone.

The report describes the project as, "centers on a spooky town in Maine where cursed folk live normal lives in exile. When those curses start returning, FBI agent Audrey Parker is brought in to keep those supernatural forces at bay -- while trying to unravel the mysteries of Haven."

Sounds sort of interesting. More interesting than anything I remember from the book, frankly -- which was not the hard boiled story we were promised, and not much of its own thing either.

I guess I should go back to watch the last season or two of Dead Zone. I liked the show a lot, but apparently it falls away precipitously at the end. My curiosity remains (and now I've finished Breaking Bad S1, there's room for something else that K isn't in to).

My interview with Rocky Wood is now up on Tabula Rasa. He's Australia's own Stephen King expert, and his latest book Stephen King: The Non-Fiction is out now (after spending a not inconsiderable time at the printers. Like years).

Meanwhile, there are photos from our lovely dinner party of last night.

And Saints Row 2 is basically the same as the original, with some of the rough edges polished, more customisation and extra activities. This is not a bad thing.

An assortment of ( quick reviews, memes and assorted stuffCollapse )