Amazingly enough, I received no bounces from the first mailing. Well,
here's
more tidbits to feed your appetites...
Heard lately:
Eric Gjovaag will be bringing to the next meeting a copy of a
Prodigy note from Leonard Nimoy concerning his involvement in
"Doctor Who." Hmmm...
Local news:
"Star Drek: The Musical" (which I mentioned at the last video
meeting) is apparently sold out through the end of its run (10/15),
and will not be extended due to schedule constraints. However, it
will return in January. It is at the AHA! Theatre (2222 2nd Ave);
call 728-1375 to get on their list for information on the remounted
version. Eric Gjovaag says he'll bring a clipping about it to the
next meeting.
Well, I missed Jackie Chan at the Vancouver Film Festival. I guess
I'll just have to wait until my trip to Hong Kong next November.
:-)
A Bugs Bunny film festival will be running through 10/16 at the
Varsity.
"Spike & Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation" runs from
October 14th to the 29th at the King Performance Center. (I dunno,
the last one I saw wasn't so hot.)
In case you haven't heard, Gary Larson is retiring. From the daily
strip, at least. January 1st, 1995 will be the last "Far Side".
The
merchandizing will continue.
Miscellany:
Ryan reports purchasing an AKAI VS-R120EM multi-standard VCR. He
describes it as "strictly bottom-of-the-line (no tuner, no timer,
plays/records only SP, no true NTSC playback), but for what I need
it for -- playing PAL tapes -- it works beautifully." He also
reports that it cost $250 (plus tax). It appears to be getting
easier and easier to get into this Trans-Atlantic trading thing.
(Of course, I still swear by my Sharp WD1, well worth the $1400.)
And now, here's some excerpts from Kris Sabo's New Orleans group's
(TeAPOTT)
newsletter. I don't know what kind of volume people are expecting on this
list, so I hesitated to send out the whole thing. But let me know - I'll
echo these regularly to the list if people want (and if Kris doesn't mind,
of
course).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
-=
From: sabo@rouge.phys.lsu.edu (Kristin C. Sabo (esq.))
Hello to those of you at the SRT, Emerald City Androgums, and
'A Little Bit O' England'!
BRITISH TV NEWS:
Those who know say that a 'new' version of My Fair lady is openning in
theatres
around the US. (We probably won't see it here, folks.) Apparently the sound
has been remastered and the print cleaned up. Look for it on laser disc in
the upcomming months.
No new news on the condition of our favourite Sherlock Holmes.....
Both Paul Cornell and Jean Marc L'Officier, notable Doctor Who authors,
have
been regular post-ers to rec.arts.drwho on USENET- as is author Kate Orman
and
DW script editor Christopher Bidmead (the author of Logopolis and
Castrovalva).
If you feel the need to speak with them, start surfing the net.
*************************
EXCERPTS FROM: Britcomedy Digest (ISSN 1077-6680)
(subscribe to casino@pobox.upenn.edu if interested in subscribing)
Katanga! (Lenny Henry bio- of Bernard and the Genie)
~~~~~~~~~
A few words about an enjoyable chap named Lenny Henry
by Jan Staff
I first "discovered" Lenny Henry in "The Secret Policeman's Biggest
Ball"--a
program from a benefit show for Amnesty International. I've enjoyed the
earlier shows (TSPM's Ball, -Other Ball and -Third Ball), and was looking
forward to having a ball myself.
Suddenly a crappy disco-beat appeared and this man came on stage, dancing
around and singing a memorable song with funky accompainment all about
"Bad jokes". It was a song based entirely on bad jokes. I found myself on
the floor, tears coming out of my eyes (which is fairly rare, I must
admit). Later on he came back on, wearing a grey suit and started shouting
"Cat flaps!" This was my first glance at one of his many characters,
"Trevor Nettleford" (an inquiring mind).
I had to find out more about this creature. Being a Norwegian stuck with
mail order from England as my only source to BritComedies, I bought his two
live performances, "Lenny Go Home" and "Live and Unleashed". With these two
tapes I had the favourable company of many more of Henry's characters:
A.J.P. Yarlog, Delbert Wilkins, Fred Dread, Deakus, Thelophilus P.
Wildebeeste, Lowdown Fingerlickin' Dirty Hound Dog Smith and Abdulah X.
Great mates every one of them!
I respect Henry for being very socially conscious. Some of his characters
do
have quite an amount of social satire in them, i.e. the Fred Dread, a
rasta-character from south London, an area known for its social tension. On
the other hand, he has some "just-for-fun" characters, like Trevor
Nettleford. [To find out what these people are like, check out his shows,
although you can get an indication from the quotes below.]
"OK, what's new?", you may ask. In fact, in terms of context--nothing. He
is
just another stand-up comedian who has developed a cast of characters which
he alternates while onstage. What is new is that he does it remarkably
well. Some of his scripts are not heart-rippingly funny, but in the hand
(and face) of Henry they deserve the attention of a true BritCom Fan.
After my first exposure to Henry, I found out that he was one of the three
in "Three of a Kind", a highly acclaimed show in the UK. The other two were
Tracey Ullman and David Copperfield. This show was so-so, with some
hilarious skits (one of them was Tracey Ullman's Toyah-impersonation [but
then I'm probably the only Toyah-fan left in this world]), and some awful
bad ones (the one-liners for one).
[Note from Jeff: I'll run a "best of" "Three of a Kind" in the near
future.]
Tracey ran off with the majority of the success, and ended up in U.S. doing
standard sitcoms. David Copperfield is still a blank page in my book (so if
someone has information about where his career went, don't hesitate to
e-mail me).
Henry was discovered in a "talent scout" program for stand up comedians in
England at an fairly early age--but with awful material to work with
(along with some semi-racist jokes). But after the "Three of a Kind" series
he was allowed to have his own: The Lenny Henry Show on BBC.
Where to start: Get a grip on one of the Live shows (they're both available
in PAL-format in UK). They give a nice intro into the witty world of LH's
folks
For those who like to read comedy as well as watch, there is "The Lenny
Henry's Well-hard Paperback" (with foreword by Frank Bruno), a Virgin Book
(published in 1989 by the Paperback Division of W.H. Allen & Co Plc,
Sekforde House, 175/9 St. John Street, London EC1V 4LL, United Kingdom),
ISBN 0 86369 330 X.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
==========
net.comedy
==========
This month net.comedy looks at one of the most popular Britcoms: "Red
Dwarf".
The first port of call for the Red Dwarf fan should be the ftp site
toaster.ee.ubc.ca -- the definitive Red Dwarf archive. Look here for Pat
Berry's excellent Red Dwarf FAQ, sounds, images... even recipes. Chicken
Vindaloo, anyone? Check out the scripts directory; a successful net-wide
project has provided transcriptions of most of the episodes. The fanfic
section, which holds scripts written by fans, is also well worth a look.
ftp://toaster.ee.ubc.ca/pub/red-dwarf/
WWW users should take a look at these two Red Dwarf pages, which offer
nicely formatted versions of the FAQ and other documents, as well as links
to the material on toaster:
http://http2.brunel.ac.uk:8080/red_dwarf/home.html
http://www.hal.com/~markg/docs/RedDwarf/rd-home_page.html
Dive into the Red Dwarf newsgroup -- alt.tv.red-dwarf. With an estimated
23,000 readers, there's always plenty of discussion going on.If you don't
have access to alt.tv.red-dwarf, don't panic! Subscribe to the Red Dwarf
mailing-list: send email to listserv@uel.ac.uk containing the single line:
SUBSCRIBE REDDWARF real-name
Replace "real-name" with your real name; for example, I sent "SUBSCRIBE
REDDWARF James Kew" to subscribe myself. At present there are around 150
subscribers on the list.
As Lister would say, "Smeg-o-rama!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
MONTY PYTHON CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY--
NOT TOO OLD TO DO THAT MULTIMEDIA THING
If you're a true Python fan and don't have a CD-ROM, go out this very
instant and buy, charge, beg, borrow, or steal one because the "Monty
Python Complete Waste Of Time" interactive CD-ROM is coming to computer
stores soon, just as the Pythons get ready to celebrate their 25th
anniversary. It will be released in October.
What will you get when you plop down your hard-earned (or stolen) money? An
arcade game, a chance to interact with new animations and comedy created
especially for this CD-ROM, highlights which include Dead Parrots and
Cheese Shops, plus the chance to amuse your friends and annoy your enemies
by singing along with the "Lumberjack Song" and the "Spam" song.
Also exclusive with this CD-ROM is a contest in which Pythonists can try
to solve the "Secret To Intergalatic Success" for fabulous prizes. No,
not a beautiful lounge suite or the Norwich City Council, but computers,
CD-ROMs, Python tee-shirts, and more.
And if that isn't enough to satisfy your Python craving there is the
"Desktop Pythonizer," which allows users to customize their computer
applications with Python wallpaper, silly noises, cartoon icons, screen
savers and even pre-recorded telephone messages guaranteed to break the
ice during naughty calls.
For more information, call I'm a Lumberjack at 214-394-5115 or Jenny Roelle
at Bender, Goldman, and Helper, 310-473-4147. To order it direct you can
call 1-800-884-8863. Europeans can call Lars Ronning (45-44-94-6499) for
more information.
**********************************************************************
AMERICAN TV:
Brisco County:
I thought I would post this due to the inordinate amount of people who
continue to deluge Fox with mail regarding Brisco. Bruce just signed a
deal with NBC. This is not rumor and speculation - just the facts. It
involves two shows - it is not known which will air or the schematics on
either. Brisco is officially gone. It's unfortunate - it was a great show;
BUT - Bruce might just surprise us with something special of his own. Lets
wish him the best in his endeavors and much success on his future
projects. YEAH NBC.
Miscellany:
Little gossip this week folks. My tape trader called me saturday and said
that
the BBC has banned anything with Craig Charles in it, even though the man
has
NOT been found guilty. There will be a RED DWARF Christmas special this
year (as 80% of it was in the can before Craig's arrest) but don't hold
your
breath waiting for RDVII.
The Chris-meister also swears that the Doctor Who movie will be out Jan
'95.
Yeah, right. I'll have more details on the current DW gossip wednesday.
FOX canned Fortune Hunter and MANTIS is on it's way out. Heh.
Anyone interested in a Brisco County one-off fanzine, drop me some e-mail.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
-=
End of excerpts. (Whew!)
Currently planned for the next Rusting Tardis video night (October 12):
The big news: the first episode of the new season of "Chef!",
starring Lenny Henry. Also planned: "Alexei Sayle" (last episode),
"Hale and Pace", "Cadfael", and a few choice british commercials
I've picked up lately.
Eric Gjovaag hopes to be bringing a copy of the sixth of those
Dr. Who mini-documentaries the BBC showed before "Planet of the
Daleks" episodes last year.
The next Rusting Tardis Social (October 18), will be held at Rosita's
Mexican
Restaurant, 9747 4th NW (on Holman Road, across from Art's Family Center).
See you on Wednesday. And you out-of-staters are always welcome. :-)
"Everyone in England in the nineteenth
century was on a permanent trip. [Shelley]
must have been stoned out of his mind for
years. I know I am."
--Ken Russell
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