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Never was much of an Airwolf fan. The chopper was too sleak and JMV to smarmy for my taste. Blue Thunder was IMHO much better. I just love the look of the Apache, and Roy Schneider (if that’s how you spell it) was just more believable as a… well, a real person (I put that down to being able to act).
Street Hawk was superb. OK, I’m a bike fan, so it had a huge head start anyway, but I loved that series. Saw a couple of eps on Bravo recently. MY GOD HAS IT AGED!!!!!!
Automan was great. Trouble with that one was the stack heals required by our digital hero wore to make his stumpy arsed self look more imposing. I missed sizable parts of the action and storyline to rolling around laughing at his footwear. Fantastic effects though. Obviously riding on the back of Trons popularity (incidentally, I’m sure you are all already aware of the 20th aniversary DVD release of Tron… If not you are now), But that is no bad thing.
Manimal just made me laugh. The rippling hands were great. they didn’t make many of those though (or at least didn’t air many in the UK.
Knightrider was the weakest of the lot in my books. Possibly cos of old leather pants himself. Anyone with a dodgy perm, leather trousers and huge popularity in the German music industry is instantly suspect!!!
BUT WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE ONE WITH THE TRUCKS? It’s really starting to bug me now. All I can remember is that it was aired late night on Channel 4 in the UK(I think it was channel 4), back in the early 90’s. One of the co-stars was a short, burly Australian bloke with spike bleached blonde hair. He always black trousers, boots and a black leather waist coat. the trucks were Kitt-esque with all sorts of lights and switches in the cockpit that were obviously attached to all sorts of high powered weaponry (can’t actually remember them being labeled ‘GUNS’ and ‘ROCKETS’, but it wouldn’t surprise me). And they had Micro helecopters in the trailer (not mini hellicopters, the one man jobs. Chopper versions of microlites). It was just as cheesy as the rest, and just as entertaining.
Oh, just as an after thought… How many other people can say that so many of their pulp, mass produce TV shows are still being talked about and watched 20 years later? The mans a genius!!! Bet he’s worth a bob or two as well. You reckon he’s looking for an heir?
Living in the UK, we don’t have to worry too much about bugs the size of double decker buses (which is fine by me), or venemous creepy crawlies (also surprisingly happy about this). In fact the most dangerous bug over here is probably a nasty cough. So I apologise if this anecdote pales into insignificance when compaired to the brushes with death and and tales of ‘eugh’ above.
I was walking into Crayford back in my ‘yoof’, down the high street (unless you know Crayford, that high street bit was meaningless. Just look on it as texture to this tale). Anyone who does know Crayford at all will realise how unpleasent this tale has already got. It gets worse. So there I was walking into the high street on a warm sunny day. The sky was blue, the clouds white and fluffy, when I became aware of a grey swirling haze coming down the high street. Not a little swirling haze, it filled the bloody high street. I was so busy trying to work out what the hell it was that I completely failed to notice the pedestrians fleeing in varying states of distress. As I got closer to it, or it got closer to me my curiosity grew. Sadly it grew to a point that I completely lost all common sense and the idea of seeking cover didn’t even occur to me.
The next thing I knew I was engulfed by the biggest swarm of flying ants I had ever seen. Just to give you a sense of scale and the sheer impact of this sight… The usual scenario over here is 20 – 30 flying ants, no more than 1cm long crawl out from under your patio, and all people gathered go into fits and start shrieking about the pestilence of biblical proportions that is errupting all around them. With me so far? 20 – 30 flying ants = quite a lot.
Now picture the scene back in Crayford high street. The whole place filled with flying ants. There must have been several hundred thousand of them. And muggins here, walked straight into them and didn’t even think to nip into a shop! I never claimed to be bright. Flying ants going up your nose is not a fun party trick!!!
That evenings shower revield ants from places ants really shouldn’t be. Don’t dwell on that image. It’s not condusive to a balanced state of mind.
quote:
Originally posted by Headgehog:
Meet yourself halfway then. If you have a decent interent conenction, download the episodes.
Yeah, I would. But a 56k modem would mean a sizeable phone bill (yup, we really are still in the dark ages here. Still have to pay for internet access). Plannin’ on getting broadband soon, but only when the pennies will stretch that far. Of course that’s why I always hit the boards from work. But they might get the hump if I start doing huge downloads (and watching the Eps) in the office.
No, it’s bloody not!!!! Not yet anyway. Rumour has it that it’ll be kicking off in the new year over here, but I haven’t noticed the pre-season hype yet.
I’m forcing myself not to open up the Season 7 Spoilers and reviews on these fine boards. I really wanna know, but I really don’t… If you get my drift.
Couldn’t agree more with the comments here, Camelyn. You have done a crackin’ job.
Before today, I knew that it was in trouble, but didn’t know any of the details. Having run through your previous thread, I now know exactly what’s going on.
I would really appreciate it if you could continue to keep us updated with any organised/timed protests that are planned. I really don’t have the time to keep track of all the forums and sites that seem to be actively protesting the cancellation, but want to chuck in my two cents when it matters, and will make a difference.
Keep up the fine work mate. Your efforts really are appreciated.
[ 28-10-2002: Message edited by: Rag ]
I’m a fickle reader and tend to hop from book to book dependng on my mood. So generally I have about half a dozen on the go at any one time (get’s bloody confusing at times).
At the moment it’s ‘Them: Adventures with Extremists’ by Jon Ronson (non-fiction insite into the world of ‘extremist’ groups. No offense guys, but some of you Yanks scare me a lot more since starting this book. And it’s not just the Americans – David Ike is sitting at the top of the looney tree!!!) – Very good book!
For funny stuff – ‘Phule’s Company’ by Robert Asprin. He writes in a very similar style to Pratchett, but I found him slightly more accessible (certainly more so than Pratchetts later stuff). Just as funny. If you Like Pratchett, go out and find ‘Another Fine Myth’ by Robert Asprin. It is the only book I have ever read in one sitting. I literally could not put it down. Absolute genius.
Also Robert Jordans ‘Wheel of Time’ Chronicles. An epic of Epic proportions. After book 3 I thought the main guy was getting REALLY ‘kin powerful. I was a naive fool (no comment’s please, unless you know me). This series just keeps on building, and it really works. The only trouble is that there are so many characters doing their own thing, you can lose track of who’s doing what. But he has written it in the Babylon 5 way… Drop in a plot thread early that you don’t explore until 2 or 3 books later. I absolutely love this sort of writting. It show forthought and planning that isn’t always apparent in literature. Jordan does it well and often enough to keep me happy.
I’ll stop now, otherwise I’ll be here all day. You’ve stepped into one of my favourite subject, so I could end up going on, ad infinitum. And I haven’t even touched on Horror (King, Herbert, Hutson, Banks, et al), Sci fi (Asimov, Wells, and a million and one pulp novelists), the rest of the fantasy collection (Gemmel, Eddings, Tolkien, …)
I do tend to turn into a bit of an annorak when talking books (and music, and films… bad signs all). Which is strange, cos I don’t spend that much time reading, and still have problems with big words. Go figure.
Right now it’s Nitzer Ebb – Belief. Absolutely stompin’ album. Back when they still kicked. If U like shouty, chanty industrial, I cannot recommend this enough. In fact any Ebb album except ‘the Big (s)Hit’. Avoid that like the plague!!!!
Other than that it’d be New Model Army, NIN, Front Line Assembly, New Model Army, KMFDM, Front 242, New Model Army, oh… and Tom Jones.
Did I mention New Model Army?
Another junky pet warning. If you and the cat were on a heavy sesh the night before and ‘Mr Tiddles’ is looking a bit ‘morning after’, DO NOT TRY AND HELP BY SLIPPING AN ASPRIN IN HIS BREAKFAST!!!!
I assure you he won’t appreciate it. In fact it will result in you having to find a shoe box and a shovel.
I am reliably informed that Vodka has a similar effect, apart from the fact that he/she will go ape**** for about 20 minutes before lying down for a very, very long time. No, much, much longer than that.
Seriously, don’t try this at home.
[No cats were harmed during the typing of this item]
I haven’t seen Firefly yet (an’ I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn’t dissapear completely before hitting our hallowed shores) so these comments are solely based upon what I’ve read here.
The question seems to be ‘Is it justified having such low tech levels 500 years from now, just because they are in a remote location?’
I don’t see why not. Just look at the difference in tech levels in different regions here and now. In the States wireless tazers are sold to joe public as self defence devices (they are aren’t they?). Yet in parts of Africa or Asia, a rock or a fast pair of legs is about as high tech as it’s going to get.
It is perfectly feasable that technology will be advanced enough to produce the architypical sci-fi weaponry that we all know and love, but if no one is making it on or shipping it too the frontiers, I wouldn’t expect to see it often. And just cos we don’t see it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
Disposable nappies are cheap (ish) and easy to get hold of round here, but have you tried getting hold of them in the remoter parts of Siberia?
I don’t think Miss T would be able to carry it off with the current scooby lineup. They are all to ensconsed in their roles. Well, it wouldn’t work for me anyway. But if they got in a new ‘supporting’ cast (and I use the term supporting in the loosest possible way. MSG may have top billing, but she alone does not make the show great), more tailored to her character, I think she would do ok. She is a pretty good actor/ess (I ain’t good at PC), and very capable at carrying a role. Whether it would still keep me interested tho…
Anyway, I seem to vaguely recall someone mentioning a rumour that she was going to be joining Giles in his spin off.
WHAT??!!! And have to get up and find the remote control?
On the other hand I can see their point of view. As a parent, you can’t monitor all of your kids viewing (or so I’m told). Throughout the series’ it has been getting darker. As Buffy and the Scoobies grew older the writers were able to address more mature issues, and they have not made a secret of this. In fact they seem to be using this as a selling point. The stations don’t seem to want to shift the slot though. I guess that as the series was originally intended to pull in the teenage audience, they don’t want to let go of those viewing figures. It would, after all, result in a loss of revenue. Can you really see a corporation going for that? Yup, I am that cynical.
Morality is an entirely subjective concept. What I consider to be right and wrong may be worlds apart from your own set of rules. Throughout history there have been inumerable instances of one culture being abhorred by what is considered the acceptable norm by others (cannibalism and human sacrifice being obvious examples), and that’s just in humans.
Some animals have been proven to be scentient or self aware. They too have their own set of morals, up to a point. OK, domesticated animals have our morality forced upon them (i.e. you decide if your dogs behaviour is bad or good, and let it know in no uncertain terms). But even wild creatures have their own set of rules of right and wrong. Territorialism and it’s associated ‘rituals’ indicates this… But if you said that an animal had a soul, a wide number of religious groups would dub you a blasphemer.
The point I’m trying to get to is that I don’t think morality is a ‘soul’ issue as much as a ‘self awareness’ issue.
In the case of the Vamps, you have two self aware creatures forced to share one body. OK, the vamp gets dominance, but residual characteristics of the human still remain, as do memories. And therefore memories of the moral boundaries that that individual imposed on themselves. Therefore a vamp saying he is evil is simply applying his recent conduct to the remembered moral values of the ‘host’ human.
I believe that the Wheedon Vamps must still retain some of the humanity even after being Vamped (or at least have the potential to do so depending on the strength of the invading Vamp, this is also supported by the ‘older the vamp the stronger and nastier they get’…erm…thing). Therefore we have a conflict of views within a single entity. Spikes impotency due to the chip must have been like a slap in the face from his ex-human side. The moral code that he, himself doesn’t buy into, yet his body can remember living by, is now being forced upon him; and there is squat he can do about it. All the more reason for him to keep on reminding people that deep down he is still the same malicious b’stard that a short time ago they were all pretty terrified of.
Should all of this be the case, no bloody wonder vamps are always wandering around, doing their tortured soul bit, waxing lyrical about how evil they are.
This of course doesn’t even touch on the orginal subject of souls and whether B is naughty for killing demons… Don’t ask me… That’s far too deep. Discussions on morality I can do. Theology leaves me a bit cold (unless it is about the morality of religious groups).
****, that was all a bit deep. I’m now going to have to go and post something moronic to balance out my intellectual Karma.
Unless of course you don’t have Sky. In which case you just sit in a darkened room, cursing the rest of humanity.
Yeah, I think the poor lass was put into a really tough situation. She got dumped into a storyline which didn’t make sense at the time. The vast majority of the viewing public like to feel in control and didn’t seem like her bizzare entrance (well, it confused the hell out of me). That combined with the fact that the writers seemed to be playing down the charater at the time meant that she came across as rather limp.
Given time to develop, I think she will fill out quite nicely (no pun intended… much). But that will really depend upon what the writers have planned for her. I think it’s perfectly feasible that she could from her own group of teenage pseudo scoobies at school, whether she goes Slayer or not. She is involved in the whole thing now. They can’t justify trying to shield her from the nasties now. And I have felt for a while that they desperately need some new core charaters. It’s all been rather unbalanced since Giles and Oz left and Xander has been taking a more background role (but that may just have been a plot device to make his talking Willow down appear more heroic).
I could quite easily see them using Dawn to crowbar in some fresh blood.
