Good Stuff Post: End of October edition

Second one of these, only four weeks or so late. Ah well. Was pretty chuffed to get into double-figures for views on my first outing - roughly equivalent to the long-reads I used to produce on the climate crisis.

NOW WATCHING (TV): How Are You? It's Alan Partridge

A few years ago Partridge had once again returned to the dizzy heights of prime-time presenting, as co-host of spoof magazine show This Time. After a perhaps inevitable on-screen meltdown, the Norfolk broadcaster is once again scraping a living in this latest series - perhaps his funniest since the I'm Alan Partridge heyday. Nominally a self-funded documentary on mental health, we're also offered glimpses of Partridge's crumbling personal life. His horrid girlfriend is clearly having an affair, while the man himself grubs up money filming Cameo greetings and presenting gigs on Saudi Arabian radio. There is some comfort to be taken from the fact that, in TV comedy at least, those selling themselves to the lowest bidder are still in the wilderness (somewhere in the Peak District to be precise) and not approaching the precipice of power.

AND ALSO: The Hack

Being a fairly new journalist at the time the phone-hacking scandal engulfed the tabloids, I have something of a personal interest in this ITV dramatisation of the controversy.  The opening episodes bounce somewhat awkwardly between a fairly straight-laced police drama and the levity of David Tennant's investigative reporter chatting to the audience and being pursued down the street by some  imaginary Mexicans waving macaras. Despite these tonal shifts, the drama -  which has a truly formidable ensemble cast - has an awful lot of importance to say about abuse of power (not least because many of the bastards at the heart of the wrongdoing walked away pretty much unscathed). At a time when the financial might of the US streamers makes it harder to make dramas targeted at a specifically British audience, the value of projects like this can't be overstated.

NOW READING: The Damned United

In my continued quests to read at least some books without any suggestion of goblins, I recently finished this David Pearce novel about football manager Brian Clough's doomed stint as manager of Leeds United. The telling of a torrid 44 days in charge - Clough got the push slightly quicker than even Liz Truss - was later adapted into a film starring Micheal Sheen. The original book is a somewhat lengthier account and was perhaps in need of losing a few chapters, but it is nonetheless a fascinating insight into Clough's mercurial personality. No knowledge of league football necessary, but high-tolerance for swearing recommended. 

NOW PLAYING: Spyro the Dragon: Gateway to Glimmer (Remastered)

Having sunk much of the summer into a mammoth role-playing game of the sort that only the unemployed and teenagers would have time for, I was in need of a palette cleanser. Platformers remain perhaps my favourite genre of all and I didn't need much persuading to pick up this glossy remake of a Playstation classic from the late 1990s.  While the levels and layout are all but identical to the original release, the enhanced graphics add detail to the sprawling landscapes which simply wouldn't have been possible when 3D games were in their infancy. Cantering across meadows and flaming cantankerous robots is hardly gaming at its most sophisticated, but few things are more enjoyable.

NOW WATCHING (FILM): Dune 

I'm working my way through so many "Best Ever" lists, that there might already be enough for a list of the lists to be made. In this case Den of Geek's run-down of the greatest sci-fi films this century led me to the 2021 adaptation of Dune. Apart from the existence of an alien desert (kind of obvious from the title) and the fact that actress Natalie Dormer has quotes from the book tattooed on her wrist I knew very little about this particular world. Freed from the expectations of a die-hard fan, often on the look out for omissions, I really enjoyed the movie. Some combination of Hans Zimmer music, giant sand worms and imperial intrigue was always going to rate highly with me, but beyond these flourishes there is plenty of substance too. 

NOW LISTENING: Uncanny

BBC's paranormal podcast has more recently spawned a couple of TV runs, but actually it works so much better on radio - where the interludes and spiking music really ratchet up the tensions. With this in mind it's great to have seen creator Danny Robins return in recent weeks with a daily dose of listeners' ghostly tales - each no more than two minutes. This is something of a warm-up for a new series of full-length frighteners, beginning with an hour-long special tonight (Halloween) itself. Quite possibly the most disturbing thing you'll hear on Radio 4 - unless Suella Braverman gets a fresh invite to Any Questions...

NOW SHOWING: Inside Number 9 Stage Fright (Alexandra Theatre)

I avoided the theatre for an awfully long time after Covid, not least because the thought of being in a room with a few thousand throat-clearing strangers had somewhat lost its lustre. But my belated return has at least allowed me to take in this live version of BBC2's recently departed - and still much missed - anthology series. Creators Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton do a great job of bringing the show's dark comedy to stage, even if this is very much a tale of two halves. The first act is essentially a slightly extended performance of one of the TV episodes, while after the interval we are plunged into an all-new story about an apparently cursed theatre production. Happily the play around the play is rather less troubled and all the cast survived the evening's performance (probably).

NOW LISTENING (CONT): Everybody Scream - Florence and the Machine

Not listening to much other than talk radio I tend to find popular music through other means; I discovered Florence and the Machine after Howl was used as the backing track for a Being Human trailer about 15 years ago. This month I've been enjoying their new release Everybody Scream - which sounds like a frantic, slightly fervent anthem for these mad times. Aside from that I have also been devouring the works of folk rock band Dolly Mavies - who recently came to public attention after refusing to play for JD Vance during his holiday in The Cotswolds. Being my self-righteous leftie self I downloaded a couple of tracks in solidarity and was pleasantly surprised that they're actually dead good.

DID YOU KNOW?

I've always understood that the longest-living animal on the planet is the Galapagos Tortoise; one specimen which Charles Darwin had encountered during his HMS Beagle days lived into the early years of this century. But I discovered this month that this 177 year lifespan is dwarfed by the Greenland Shark. One individual located a few years ago was believed to be some 400-years-old  - meaning it was swimming the oceans when William Shakespeare was still composing verse. Indeed, it would have already been approaching Harriet the tortoise's age by the time of the French Revolution - 236 years ago. Strangely it was still a teenager when Strictly Come Dancing got started.

GOOD NEWS 1:

Speaking of marine life, it was recently confirmed that the UN's High Seas Treaty will come into force within months after the requisite 60 countries ratified the agreement. Seen as key to protecting ocean habitats falling outside national jurisdiction, the UK Parliament is set to join fellow member states and give the sign-off before the end of the year.

GOOD NEWS 2:

The London press corps had all decamped to the Welsh Valleys last Friday in hopes of writing the latest chapter in their "Rise of Reform" series. Nigel Farage had spent all of the previous day in Caerphilly, where he was utterly confident of winning a by-election and the ensuring prize of a seat in the Welsh Assembly. A slap-up victory dinner, guest-starring comedy racist Lee Anderson, had been duly booked for that coming weekend. Then the votes were counted. Farage did a flit. And the media were left to try and spin a double-digit victory for Plaid Cymru as yet another sure sign that Reform is on the march...back down the M4.

POOR USE OF SKILL POINTS AWARD: Sat opposite an NHS doctor earlier this week, my attention pricked up when she suggested antibiotics had only been discovered around 1940. "1928" the history pedant inside me remarked. The fact I can instantly recall the date of Fleming's happy accident with penicillin but neither play the guitar nor reach Level 3 on a Bleep Test is a bit depressing.

WHY PROOFING IS IMPORTANT: In an earlier version of this post I may have made reference to a William the Shakespeare - which sounds worthy of Philomena Cunk.