James Clay Stuff

December 12, 2019December 17, 2019

Televisual Advent Calendar #12 – The Americans

The American people have elected a madman as their president. He is expanding their military forces on a massive scale. He is against nuclear arms-control agreements. He makes no secret of his desire to destroy us. Our war is not so cold anymore, Elizabeth. What happens behind enemy lines will determine the outcome of this struggle.

This is my 2019 Televisual Advent Calendar. I did a musical version in 2011 and a cinematic one in 2012. It is in no particular order and I make no apologies for the TV series that I am blogging about. These TV series have either made me think, I have enjoyed or have had some impact on me. These are scripted TV series, some are drama, some are comedy, some are both. I found it really hard to narrow this down to just 24.

I don’t recall where I read about this series, but it certainly intrigued me. Set during the Cold War, it follows the story of Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip Jennings (Matthew Rhys), two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple living in a suburb of Washington, D.C. with their children, Paige and Henry. They are part of a KGB Illegals programme where KGB agents are in deep-cover, acting and living as Americans. They had jobs, they had families and friends, but they also did spying and other covert activities. It wasn’t just about the KGB illegals, it was also about the FBI who were trying to find them and discover what they were up to.

I love watching the period spy craft and use of surveillance technology, which was high tech at the time, but looks very primitive now. Of course there was no world wide web or social media, so in some respects it was easier to hide.

The design of the series was excellent and it certainly felt like the 1980s, the cars, the clothes, the furniture, even the office equipment. I am sure there were probably errors, but the look and feel of the series was very much of the era. It was also the era where the Soviet Union were the bad guys and were trying their best to defend their motherland from what they saw as the aggression of the Americans.

I remember reading about how the KGB had (allegedly) created fake American towns in the Soviet Union to train their agents how to behave and act like Americans. I think that remembering this, was what made me interested in the series and the fact it was set in the 1980s as well. Some of the more, how should I put this, mature aspects of the series I think could have been left out, I felt they didn’t really add to the stories.

Overall it was an intriguing series, it was a combination of domestic strife combined with secret agents, spies and undercover activities.

Get The Americans on Blu-Ray.
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Get The Americans on iTunes.

December 11, 2019

Televisual Advent Calendar #11 – The Day of the Triffids

“When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.”

This is one of those dystopian science fiction series, that felt too close to comfort. On one fateful night a meteor storm makes everyone blind. If that’s not bad enough, some carnivorous plants, the triffids take advantage of the situation to feed on the newly blinded population. A few sighted survivors try and make it through, and in the process have to deal with, not just triffids, but gangs, tinpot dictators, gangs and a disintegrating society.

This was the original BBC Version broadcast in 1981, starring John Duttine as Bill Masen. There were six episodes, each 30 minutes long. I remember watching the series and been enthralled by this horrific future, knowing in one way that it couldn’t happen, but fearful it might.

It was one of those series where I wanted to watch more, find out more about the world and how it changed and what happened to the characters. I felt there was a lot more to the stories behind the characters, and too much was missing from either passages of time between the episodes, and too much simple exposition on what happened to other characters and communities in passing comments.

Today you can imagine someone taking The Day of the Triffids and turning into an epic series of episodes like The Walking Dead. That way more of the world could be unearthed and more insight to what happened to the characters.

A new version was made ten years ago, but though it had some qualities, I didn’t enjoy it anywhere near as much as the 1981 version.

I really remember enjoying watching The Day of the Triffids and it was scary and well made television.

Get Day of the Triffids on DVD.
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December 10, 2019November 8, 2020

Hogwarts Great Hall

The first time I went to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour was in 2015, just after they had added the Hogwarts Express and Kings Cross set to the tour. At the end of November 2019 we made a return visit, mainly to see how different it was dressed for Christmas and with snow.

“It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting… The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight… Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars… It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn’t simply open on to the heaven.”

At the Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour during late November and in December they dress the Great Hall for Christmas. There are Christmas trees, decorations and a Christmas feast on the tables.

December 10, 2019December 10, 2019

Televisual Advent Calendar #10 – The Big Bang Theory

Bazinga!

I never got into The Big Bang Theory when it was first broadcast. It took me ages to get around to watching it, but when I did, I loved it.

Leonard and Sheldon are brilliant physicists, the kind of “beautiful minds” that understand how the universe works. But none of that genius helps them interact with people, especially women. All this begins to change when a free-spirited beauty named Penny moves in next door.

The interwoven stories of the six diverse characters were very funny. Many times I laughed out loud. I really enjoyed the character of Will Wheaton played by Will Wheaton. It was quite bizarre to see an actor portray a caricature of themselves. Of course as the series progressed other famous actors (a fair few from Star Trek) did a similar thing.

I really enjoyed the pop culture references as well as the science stuff. There was quite a bit of stuff that went over my head, I don’t do comics for example. However as someone who has watched Star Trek, Star Wars and other science fiction stuff, I liked how those aspects of popular culture was brought into the storytelling.

This was a series that I probably binge watched on Netflix rather than watch on a weekly basis on Channel 4 (or was it E4). So when it came to watching the final series 12, I did watch this “live” and was so disappointed about the impact of the advert breaks on the watching experience. I think I have been spoilt with services such as iTunes, Amazon Prime and Netflix.

It’s one of those things that I find with services such as Netflix, when I think am I making best use of the service, am I getting value for money, do I need to still subscribe? I find with Netflix that when I look at how I am using this service, that something does come along that I want to watch, so I keep subscribing.

Get The Big Bang Theory on Blu-Ray.
Get The Big Bang Theory on DVD.
Get The Big Bang Theory on Amazon Video.
Get The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

December 9, 2019

Televisual Advent Calendar #09 – Blake’s 7

No, not until free men can think and speak. Not until power is back with the honest man.

Blake’s 7 is one series I watched when it was broadcast live in the late 1970s that I never want to watch again. No, not because it wasn’t any good, if it want any good then it wouldn’t be in the advent calendar. The reason I don’t want to watch it again, is because my memories of that series are so good, that I worry I might be disappointed if I watched it again. Some television series age well, others don’t. The special effects used in series such as Blake’s 7 were state of the art in the 1970s, but even so they didn’t have the financing that big blockbusters films like Star Wars had. So the effects were good from a television perspective, for the day, but today look a bit dodgy… So as a result I don’t want to be disappointed.

It was something I remember watching live every week at a set time. Something that today appears quite strange for weekly series such as this, where now I would be more likely to watch something as and when I wanted and not wait a week for the next episode. Though with certain series on Netflix such as Star Trek Discovery you do need to wait a week between episodes which reminds me of watching programmes like Blake’s 7 when I was younger.

The series which was set in a dystopian future was a mash up of Star Wars and George Orwell’s 1984. The series is about the exploits of political dissident Roj Blake, who commands a small group of rebels against the forces of the totalitarian Terran Federation. This federation rules the Earth and many colonised planets. The Federation uses mass surveillance, brainwashing and drug pacification to control its citizens. There is something about that seems similar today, well we certainly have mass surveillance, is fake news and social media akin to brainwashing?

Blake was arrested, tried on false charges, and deported to a remote penal colony. En route, he and fellow prisoners Jenna Stannis and Kerr Avon gain control of a technologically advanced alien spacecraft, which its central computer Zen informs is named Liberator. This was an amazing spaceship and so different to other science fiction ships of that era. Liberator’s speed and weaponry are superior to Federation craft, and it also has a teleportation system that enables transport to the surface of planets. Blake and his crew begin a campaign to damage the Federation, but are pursued by Space Commander Travis—a Federation soldier—and Servalan, the Supreme Commander.

The ship was destroyed at the end of series three as the show was probably going to be cancelled, so a completely new ship was needed for series four. I don’t remember watching much of series four.

One of the aspects of the series that stuck in my mind, was how the ensemble cast changed over the time, even the main character Blake left the programme at the end of series two. At the time I thought this was strange, I also remember thinking how it changed the feel of the series. The same could be said when they destroyed the Liberator and lost Zen.

My favourite character was Vila, who was a bit of an underdog and always getting “got at” by the rest of the team.

Overall I have some great memories of Blake’s 7 and though I could quite easily find ways to watch it again, I have decided not to, I will just have the memories.

Get Blake’s 7 on DVD.

December 8, 2019

Televisual Advent Calendar #08 – Drop the Dead Donkey

I’d just like you to stir-fry a few ideas in my think-wok.

Drop the Dead Donkey is set in the offices of “GlobeLink News”, a fictional TV news company, it covered the life of some key staff and presenters. The work and personal life of George Dent, Alex Pates and Dave Charnley putting together the news with presenters Henry Davenport and Sally Smedley, as well as field reporter Damien Day was portrayed in a comical and humours fashion. The characters were somewhat extremes (or are they), though my favourite characters was the cynical personal assistant, Joy Merryweather, who was neither joyful or merry. Overseeing all of the work of the news room was Gud Hedges, a real management stereotype who has no real idea about management, but attempts to put into the workplace all those weird and crazy things he must have learnt on management training courses. I think Gus Hedges taught me more about management (and how not to do it) than any real management training course I have been on.

Could we interlock brain spaces in my work area?

Recorded close to transmission, it made use of contemporary news events to give the programme a greater sense of realism. That means in some ways it hasn’t aged well, but on recent viewings I still found it very funny.

My favourite episode of this was the The Christmas Party, even thinking about it, makes me smile and laugh a little.

I really enjoyed many of the things that Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin have been behind, including Old Harry’s Game and Outnumbered.

Get Drop the Dead Donkey on DVD.
Get Drop the Dead Donkey on Amazon Video.

Just a thought I wanted to pop into your fishbowl to see if it blows bubbles.

December 7, 2019December 9, 2019

Televisual Advent Calendar #07 – Bergerac

Jersey is an island. It’s nine miles by five. And if you drive *very* slowly, you can take a whole hour to go right round it.

I remember as a child sitting down on a Saturday night to watch a BBC drama series. One series I remember with fondness was Bergerac. It was broadcast for ten years from 1981 to 1991. I don’t remember many of the storylines, actually I don’t think I can recall a single one, but there are fond memories of the series.

John Nettles played detective sergeant Jim Bergerac, a recovering alcoholic and whose marriage had just broken down. Bergerac always struck me as something different, not quite the same as an English police series, or detective drama. There was something “exotic” abut the Le Bureau des Étrangers. Something which even today I had to Google as I had no idea exactly how it was spelt and I could never get the pronunciation right.

It was also set in Jersey and though I had never been to the Channel Islands, it struck me as an incredible place to work and live. There was a combination of familiar and exotic about the series, this wasn’t just another police show, there was something very different about how the Le Bureau des Étrangers operated.

I remembering wanting to visit the Channel Islands having watched Bergerac, however I still haven’t made that trip.

Get Bergerac on DVD.

December 6, 2019November 30, 2022

Televisual Advent Calendar #06 – Warehouse 13

Bag it….

Warehouse 13 is a science fiction comedy drama broadcast between 2009 and 2014. The series follows U.S. Secret Service Agents Myka Bering and Pete Lattimer when they are assigned to the secretive Warehouse 13 for supernatural artifacts.

This was a series I watched having bought the first season on iTunes in 2010. What I don’t recall is why I knew about the series and why I purchased it in the first place. However having watched the first series, I went on to buy all five series.

The concept is quite strange and has elements of the supernatural, though it has it’s comedic moments, it can also be quite dark. I quite like the historical links and have been known to search Wikipedia about an individual or a moment in history or a specific artifact. It’s not a series to take seriously, but for a fun enjoyable hour I like it.

I also enjoyed Eureka, which was made by the same company and set in the same “universe” even to the point of a couple of crossover episodes.

Get Warehouse 13 on Blu-Ray.
Get Warehouse 13 on DVD.
Get Warehouse 13 on Amazon Video.
Get Warehouse 13 on iTunes.

December 5, 2019January 15, 2020

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Though as you might expect the Making of Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio Tour is in the main about the eight Harry Potter films, there was in the foyer some costumes and props from the more recent Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them films.

I am expecting that in the future the tour will expand to have these films in the tour as well.

December 5, 2019November 30, 2022

Televisual Advent Calendar #05 – Outnumbered

It tasted horrible to begin with, but then I added five spoonfuls of sugar and now I feel all zingy zangy zongy!

Outnumbered is centred on the Brockmans, a middle-class family living in Wandsworth, whose two parents are “outnumbered” by their three somewhat unruly children. The father, Pete, is a history teacher at an inner city school and the mother, Sue, is a personal assistant. The three children are: Jake, Ben and Karen. Outnumbered stars Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner as the exasperated parents with three children.

I think one of the reasons that Outnumbered resonates with me, and more so now since it was first broadcast in 2007 was that I also have three children, two older boys, the youngest a girl and roughly the same ages. I can really identify with Pete and Sue and we as a family now laugh at the series.

Sometimes the series feels a little too close for comfort. However it is a series which makes me laugh.

What was clever was that wasn’t really a script and much of the conversations were improvised so that the children’s lines appeared natural.

The creative team behind this have been behind a lot of my favourite TV and Radio programmes. I have always been a bit of a fan of Hugh Dennis as well, ever since he starred in the The Mary Whitehouse Experience on BBC Radio 1 with Steve Punt. I really enjoyed many of the things that Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin have been behind, including Old Harry’s Game and Drop the Dead Donkey.

As you might expect, my favourite quote is about coffee….

Pete: You got yourself a coffee?
Jake: Yeah. Double espresso.
Pete: A double espresso?
Jake: Well, you’re one who’s telling me to like, try new things all the time.
Pete: Yeah but I meant vegetables and stuff, not stimulants, you’ve never had caffeine before, I –
Jake: Don’t get in a state. I only drank half of it.
Pete: Oh. Okay.
Jake: Ben drank the other half.
Pete: (pauses) You let Ben drink a double espresso??
Ben: It tasted horrible to begin with, but then I added five spoonfuls of sugar and now I feel all zingy zangy zongy!
Pete: Zingy. Zangy. Zongy.
Ben:I feel like lightning!
Pete: Oh my god.

Get Outnumbered on DVD.
Get Outnumbered on Amazon Video.
Get Outnumbered on iTunes.