Reclaim the night

Do you watch anything on terrestrial TV after 10.30 that isn't a repeat or a crappy movie, No, me neither. You want to know why? Its because that time of night and onwards is seen as a Televisual dumping ground. Take the case of BBC one's Sci/Fi drama bulls up Outcasts. Which was originally broadcast in prime time slots on a Monday & Tuesday, but when the dreaded ratings came in and it seemed only my family and a weirdo in Kent was watching they decided to move it to a 10.25 slot on a Sunday. But why is this the case? In this day and age surely there shouldn’t be a TV crap bin. In the book Cronenberg on Cronenberg the great film director talks about growing up in Canada and how after their official TV channel shut down for the night, you would get odd bursts of foreign broadcasting signal showing strange shows. This was one of the main influences for his brilliant and often over looked film Videodrome. Would this have been the case if he had seen our late night TV, what do we have, phone in game shows hosted by Jeff Brazier. So I purpose we take back the night, give the public the late night slots. There are a lot of talented people out there, but they don't get a look in because they are not part of the TV self masturbating boys club or don't have a insider to brown nose. With all the TV harddrive recorders on the market these days, Sky+, Sky+HD, Virgin+, Virgin+HD, Freeview+, Easyvirgin+HDin4D. Late night broadcasts are no longer the exclusive domain of the insomniac, dope head or the kebab carrying drunk returning home. Lets make a stand, lets start a TV revolution, not on the scale of that whole Egypt movement. For one I'm not getting the blame when someone throws Derek through the window of PC World and two I don't really do big crowds. But lets do something, maybe send some harsh emails, shout out the window, print a T-shirt I haven't any plans yet. We want decent films shown, we want good programs, we want to reclaim the night.

My youth in Garbage.

I remember a lot of things from my childhood with soft fluffy fondness. The cartoon He-man, making strange things from Lego, Saturday morning kids shows including Ghost train which no one else recalls. Around the twist which was the Australian kids version of The Twilight zone. ITV's Interceptor an ill advised game show along the same lines as Treasure hunt. But with a really annoying guy (Sean O'Kane) dressed like a punk undertaker chasing the contestants around some scenic UK locations with a cheap crappy 80s laser thing on his arm. But one thing stands head and shoulders over all of these, one item still to this day has me hunting through the interweb for bargains, Garbage Pail Kids. Garbage Pail Kids trading cards where made by Topps company in 1985 and where a parody of the very popular Cabbage patch kids. Each card would feature a Garbage kid who would have a abnormality or ill fate using their name as word play. To a imaginative young boy who loved the strange and horrible these where my bread and butter. I wasn't alone, Garbage Pail Kids cards where so popular that there was a ban put in place by a number of schools because they were becoming a distraction from the lessons. There was even a movie made, surprisingly called The Garbage Pail Kids Movie which was and I think a lot of collectors would agree a pile of yak crap. And even TV wasn't safe there was a cartoon made which was met with parental uproar before it was broadcast so much that it was postponed. Its funny because the cartoon was so mind numbingly terrible with little to no resemblance to the cards. I still have my collection of cards and last year payed a pretty penny for a whole set at a memorabilia show. To a lot of people they are just cards with pictures/art on (which they are). They don't form a number game like the rule heavy Japanese games or interact with plastic balls they are just cards but to me they are an example of the days that where a little less politically correct. Each set has its own differences some decided some accident. I have the set which features the only picture name plate card, there are cards that were cut wrong or printed wrong. All these were sent out into the shops and are now collectors items. Topps has printer new collections  and even a reissue collection (2010) but all of these are sold in the US. Even now as I write this I have a smile on my face like a gurning idiot remembering how I would go over the road to the shop to buy a packet of cards. The smell of the horrid crewing gum which looked like a small piece of wood and tasted like a very shitty small piece of wood and the excitement of new cards, oh happy days.

check out the link below to see how collectable these little cards from the 80s can be:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GARBAGE-PAIL-KIDS-RARE-1ST-SERIES-NASTY-NICK-ARTWORK-/150486809324?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2309b67aec

for more info visit:

http://www.wgpkr.com/

Book off and read

I like to read, to some people this is the equivalent of laughing at a burning kitten, strange and unnecessary. Because why should they read. Most books are made into movies quicker then the author can cash the first royalty check. Why should they sit there and try to work out what all those long words mean. But I love a good book as much as I love a good movie, which there hasn't been a great deal of as of late. Social Network was ok but did I really need to sit through a two hour flick about a intolerable little shit that comes up with an idea that makes him the richest intolerable little shit on the planet. Then there was Catfish, labelled the real Facebook movie which was to be frank, boring, it works on the same ideas as The Last Broadcast but without a fraction of the imagination. So is it any wonder I find solace in a book. Now don't get me wrong I'm not a book snob, you won't find me sat discussing the works of Chekhov, I'll give any book a go within reason. Now most of the books I have read have or are going to be made into movies, with different results but always never as good as the book. There is one movie that manages to insight anger everytime I compare the movie to the book. 'Let the right one in' (original title: Låt den rätte komma in) by John Ajvide Lindqvist is a Swedish novel set in the 80's about a friendship between a vampire and a young boy. The book is a masterful read which is entertaining as it is disturbing and there is some very disturbing subject matter that some people might find hard. The book has a great narrative with a twisting back story, I would recommend this to anyone who likes vampire novels and horror in general. Then we have the movie, made in Sweden four years after the book was released and yes it looks very arty, but they missed so many of the plot points it has in fact changed the story. It doesn’t sit on the shelve as an adaptation more of a simple inbreed bastard son who is so simple it sits there looking at the sun with a confused expression. And now the Hollywood shit pump has decided to make there version, which without doubt will miss even more of the story out. This isn't the first time this has happened and won't be the last 'The Ring' has had the same mistreatment, a cult book, followed by a cult movie and then the Americans spat out their version. My problem is with all the movie dicking about the books get over looked everytime and the books are always much better. Here is a print off pointer for some cult books you should read.

'I am Legend' by Richard Matheson (3 movies based on the same short novel), 'The Ring' by Koji Suzuki (3 Japanese movie, 2 American), 'Choke' by Chuck Palahniuk (1 movie), 'Fightclub' by Chuck Palahniuk (1 movie), 'Perfume: The story of a Murderer' by Patrick Suskind (1 movie which to be fair was alright), 'Johnny got his gun' by Dalton Trumbo (1 movie). There are many more so go now and read and if you don't like the book I'm sure the author won't hesitate to give you your money back, because you won't get a penny out of me. As of writing this I have heard that they are planning to make a movie of the Chuck Palahniuk novel 'Snuff' so I suggest you go and read the book first....go now!