This week was slightly different as I had a piece to write for The Guardian (a stock obituary), so I spent Sunday researching and Monday getting it into shape ready for writing on Tuesday. Wednesday I was back to scanning and Thursday back to scanning and posting, although I didn't get as much posted as I wanted.
The main distraction this week was the Supreme Court sitting in judgment of the prorogation of Parliament. I try to keep my politics out of what I write here and on Facebook, although I did post something recently on FB about why some people are hoping that we will crash out of Europe and how they will potentially benefit to the tune of billions of pounds. As you might expect from someone who (very occasionally) writes for the Guardian I think the whole situation we find ourselves in stinks. Trying to make sense of it also means trying to make sense of how and why we are being lied to by our government, if indeed we are. We shall find out next week when the Court makes its judgement.
To distract myself I've been listening to a variety of interview podcasts about music. Being a Prog fan, they're primarily aimed in that direction and include Sonic Perspectives and The Prog Report. I'm listening daily to the Guardian's podcast Today in Focus and I'm a latecomer to the BBC's Brexitcast, which had just started being broadcast on the TV. I'm actually listening to today's (Thursday's) episode as I write this.
Another newcomer to my iTunes downloads is Sara Pascoe's Sex Power Money, where she interviews people about their work, feminism, and a wide range of other topics. We were already fans of her stand up, but Mel was hugely impressed by her book Animal. Her new book—also called Sex Power Money—looks promising, and it's Mel's birthday next week. (It's fine, she doesn't read this.) (The pic at the head of today's column is from 2016, and shows Mel getting her copy of Animal signed by Sara.)
David Tennant Does a Podcast has been around for quite a while, but I don't think I've mentioned it. It does what it says on the tin and does it very well. Tennant has chosen his guests from among his friends and work colleagues, so he gets to chat with Catherine Tate, Ian McKellen, Michael Sheen and others of that calibre.
I'm looking at The Crimson Rivers after the pic., so if you don't like spoilers I'll say my goodbyes now.
There was a sequel also starring Reno, which then morphed into a TV series starring Olivier Marchal as Niemans, now teamed with Camille Delaunay (Erika Sainte). I was looking forward to seeing the show when it launched here in the UK in January, but circumstances (plus a ton of other things to watch) has meant I've only dipped in occasionally.
That very fact tells you that I found the show less than compulsive. Each of the four stories was broadcast in two parts and I left a lengthy gap between the four storylines, which follow the basic premise of bizarre or ritualistic murders in remote settings.
Our pair of heroes are sent in, inevitably to the annoyance of the local investigators, and find themselves at the centre of cases involving local or regional customs or beliefs grounded in religion. Because of this, the show is pretty dour; there's no camaraderie between the cops and little to enjoy in the settings—a forboding forest, the chapel of an old mansion, a spooky children's home, a monastery.
The stories rapidly fall into a groove, with Niemans and/or Delaunay staying at the home/workplace of the suspected group or cult (some expressly religious) who consider themselves above or outside the law because of their way of life (in one case, simply because they are rich). The two officers hone in on the members of these groups,unpacking the rituals, butting heads with suspects and colleagues alike. Niemans has to chase someone in the dark, but runs out of puff.
Given the success of Nordic Noir at the moment, The Crimson Rivers must have looked like the perfect series to bring to television. Unfortunately, this French/German co-production didn't quite live up to expectations. It needed more variation in the stories and we needed to find out more about its two lead characters. The show would have benefited from an episode or two beginning at home so we had some background and some contrast.
Ah, well. At least we have Spiral season 7 to look forward to. But when, BBC, when?
Regarding Brexit, what bothers me is that Parliament are mostly Remainers who have done their best to sabotage leaving in order to make the whole process look fraught with difficulty and danger. They've done this in the hope that people will just get fed up and say "We never knew it would be this difficult - let's call the whole thing off!" Has Boris lied? Don't know and don't care actually, 'cos at least he's trying to deliver what the majority of the people of this country voted for, and he's doing it in the face of blatant attempts to handicap him. Corbyn once foolishly said that under no circumstances would he use the nuclear option. It's madness to announce to all our potential enemies that he'd never use our biggest stick to defend ourselves in the face of attack, regardless of what his personal views are. In like manner, for Remainers to openly announce that no deal is off the table gives the EU absolutely no incentive to offer us a fair deal. I'm non-partisan when it comes to politics, they're all a bunch of corrupt chancers who are only out for themselves, but at least on this occasion Boris (whatever his motivation) is at least trying to give Britain what it voted for.
ReplyDelete