Sunday, July 01, 2007

And I feel fine

It was raining with biblical fury, real apocalyptic weather. Just moving between shops, I got soaked. I went into this particular shop. “Did you get wet?” asked the bloke at the till. He looked at me. “Oh yeah, oops, ha ha ha.”
“What’s this weather all about, eh?” he continued, jovially. “I mean, what is it like?”
“It’s the Deluge,” I said. “The end of the world.”
“Yeah, we’re all going to die!” he replied. “Anyway, have a nice weekend.”

So that was lovely. Bless. World’s blowing up, car bombs in London, burning Jeeps ramming into Glasgow airport, the Gaza Strip, Gordon Brown (“texture like sun”), not to mention the climate. But have a nice weekend.

Anybody watch Rescue Me? Anybody else think it’s the most underrated US series on telly? I mean, it’s so vulgar and politically incorrect and obnoxious, and all the characters, I mean ALL the characters, are so deeply flawed... I love it. Then again, I’ve been a fan of Denis Leary since he decided to become (Saint) Bill Hicks lite, and sang “I’m an asshole, woo-hoo!”

For those of you who’ve never seen Leary’s “No Cure For Cancer”, go find it. Savour it. Then watch all the Bill Hicks you can find. The late Bill, god love him, was the greatest, most toxic, most pertinent stand up that ever lived and died too soon. As you might be able to detect, I am a devoted Hicksian.

Here’s some thing else. The brilliant Gollanz Fantasy Masterworks series (just buy them all and read them) has recently brought out The Mark Of The Beast, a collection of Rudyard Kipling’s short tales. Say what you facking like about Kipling’s personal politics (mmh, much as you might about Bill Hicks, actually), he wrote like a glorious bastard. And scary too, scarier than Dickens or Wilkie Collins or James or Hardy or any other of the ‘grown up’ writers of that era who turned their hands to the supernatural. Not that they didn’t do a good job. But Kipling is really creepy, really tight.

And John Simm as the Master? That’s so good, it makes me want to grin a big, ludicrously larger than life grin, and run around like a giant spaz in my converse and vintage Edwardian pinstripe. And Martha, god bless her. It may be subtle, but I love the way the dynamic of her relationship with the Doctor is a little skewed from the normal Doctor/companion relationship. Series three took a borderline jump-the-shark-ish dip with the Daleks and 42, but Cornell’s two parter and Moffat’s stand alone were simply the best episodes the redux show has produced. It’s all about the writing, you see.

So, the world may be ending, but at least Doctor Who’s good, so I will have nice weekend. All together now, “I’m an asshole, woo-hoo, yeah yeah, yeah yeah, I’m an asshole...” [repeat to fade]

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

I loved John Simm too. I also loved the fact that the costume designer picked exactly the same overcoat that I have with a wicked red lining and velvet collar for his night scenes!

And I'm sure we'll all join in wishing Paul Cornell a merry Hugo for the most wonderful Doctor Who story in years.

Life is good. Even if it is the End of Days.

M

Anonymous said...

I was pleased yet somewhat disappointed by the end of the series.

Good but i guessed too many things and thought of better things that could have happened. But things have been sown, which is also good.

Absolutely loved and adored the what Jack said at the end and did a merry little dance because of it.

Utterly priceless....though it makes me wonder what's going to happen with getting the Master into the end of the universe. Guess we'll have to wait and see...but I have my theories.

And stupid rain! Though it did mean that I got to stand around and read Fulgrim at work since it was so bad.

Totally loved it and really looking forward to Legion now because of things that were said at the end of Fulgrim and what may possibly happen. And if it does...........always said you should write them from the very beginning!

And rock on September as I booked my ticket and seat on the coach for GD 2007.

No one can escape!

Muahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Peter Brian said...

Loved John Simms as the master, was a big fan of Life on Mars. Didn't catch what Jack said at the end! I'm sure it was very enlightening and important and I missed it, what did he say? someone tell me. My BBC reception is incredibly poor, I think my aerial span round in the storm!

Anonymous said...

Yes, am a big Rescue Me fan...

Have the three seasons on DVD and love them all. It's the closest I've ever seen to the way guys are around one another in their purile banter, filthy talk and deeply messed up minds. In fact, didn't we talk about this in Paris...? I forget.

Graham

Anonymous said...

"When it comes to adultery im a one women man" Dennis learys dad on the show.Virgin have taken sky one of the air so im missing my regular dose of Rescue me.
Dr Who was great what Jack said at the was icing on the cake.Hugo u will have watch it again.
Fulgrim is really cool.As for future installments i cant wait for my favorite Lycanthrope warriors to be tearing up the galaxy.Come on Dan ,Graham let loose the inner Viking.Release the beast RUSS RUSS RUSS RUSS RUSS RUSS

Anonymous said...

It was a good episode.

Apart from the Master being defeated by a tactic only employed before in crappy anime used to shill cards.
And by extension, the Doctor going OVER NINE THOUSAAAND.
If Martha had reversed the polarity to return the Doctor to normal, it'd have been better. Everyone believeing in the Doctor so he could power up... not so much.

And the Jack reveal being tacked on. Hideously so. The actual reveal was an interesting twist, but the fact it just felt stuck on...
I'm a sucker for slow burn, though.

In essence, RTD should have his fingers broken. And replaced by Moffat. Because Moffat is made of both awesome and win.

Anonymous said...

Amen to that b.p steve!

LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMAN!

Anonymous said...

Ay, ess ess, haitch oh, el ee! Everybody!

Leary is Luv. And Rescue Me's great stuff, been a fan since season 1.

Jim Swallow.

Anonymous said...

Quite a nice gathering here... ;)

Anonymous said...

I think the last episode i saw is when they pulled out there perfect new fireman from a S&M/GAY club dressed like the gimp.Cracked me up

Rob Rath said...

Haven't seen Rescue Me yet, since I've been concentrating on Deadwood and being two seasons behind on The Sopranos. Just finished Arrested Development, which is pretty much the best sitcom ever, in my opinion.

Love Leary though, so I'll have to move into that territory.

Speaking of good horror/suspense novels– has anyone read HOUSE OF LEAVES? It's seriously one of the creepiest books I've ever read, partially because it's so interactive. There are puzzles, footnotes, pages with only a single word on them, portions that have to be read in mirrors or upside-down, parts of the text struck out and collages. The word HOUSE always appears in blue, and there's enough Latin to keep me sharp over the summer.

This isn't a book, it's an obsession with a glossy cover. You really get into it, trying to find acrostics, scrambling up nonsensical phrases for anagrams, combing the appendix for extra clues, etc. The best "haunted house" book I've read in years, maybe ever.

Totally brilliant and with a fascinating premise– a family begins to strain under the discovery that their house is 1/4 of an inch larger on the inside than the outside. Both the author documenting the experience and the editor piecing it together slowly descend into madness.

Sorry for the gushing. It's "House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski, and get the Remastered Full Color Edition if you can, it makes a difference.

Dan Abnett said...

Graham-

it was your suggestion in Paris that got me onto Rescue Me, ta! My favourite of all RM's non-PC lines can't be repeated in full here, but it was said by Sully, in reference to something one shouldn't get out in the kitchen, 'because his mother always used to say it.'

Thanks for the book recommendation, Robert.

Rob Rath said...

Er, okay, this is embarrassing.

Please don't read House of Leaves if you're under 18, there's some pretty adult stuff in it I didn't know about 100 pages ago.

(Of course this will only make adolescents want to read it more– but fair warning on my part.)

Will Wright said...

You should check out The Shield if you like flawed characters.

Anonymous said...

Dan its still raining in london to mate .Using it as an excuse to catch up on Rome (the new series having just started).I think there are lots of t.v series now that are less p.c. OZ (prison series)
Sopranos, Rescue me, The Shield etc
and i think we should have more of them.aparrantly there is a series coming out soon were the hero is a serial killer working for the forensics dept.Personally i think they have been reading to much B.L.
stuff, Malus Darkblade & Honsou spring to mind i love the anti hero and would like to see more of them.

And of course LEEEEEEEEEEEMAN
(who in a way is an anti hero!)

Rob Rath said...

You wanna talk serendipitous coincidences?

After deciding I wanted to watch it, I found the first season of "Rescue Me" super cheap today.

And Steve– enjoy the second season of Rome, it's awesome.

You seen Deadwood yet? Good old American history with good old Americans doing what we've always done best– cutting throats for money.

If the new show you're talking about is Dexter, I can't vouch personally for it, but have friends that think it's fantastic.

Anonymous said...

If you guys liked "Rescue Me" you should check out Leary's lesser known (and no where near as successful) show "The Job" from circa 2001.
Although it didnt run for long it is one of the best cop shows made (nearly up there with "Homicide" in my opinion) and its mixture of dark humour and gritty storylines make it worth catching if you get the opportunity.
Have to say that I am a big Leary fan as well, though "Lock N Load" was a bit of a let down after the glory that was "No Cure", I find myself reaching for a Emo Phillips album just at the thought of it.....

James from Wales

Saxon said...

we actually had no rain and some sunshine today!

Can't last. I'm sure the weathers just trying to lure us into a false sense of security.

Anonymous said...

Oh. Then it's not only here, in germany, like that. Good to know.

Jesse said...

"That makes you a liar. Capital L; small i; small a; small r; period."

Dan, have you seen "the Ref?" Denis Leary's Christmas movie. Too good. Also starring a young Kevin Spacey.

BTW, I'm Back! *Busts out with some early Aerosmith* I'm back in the saddle again!

That's right! I have escaped the clutches of Fort Jackson, South Carolina. All it took was phone calls to two different members of Congress. I have now moved on to the desolate, windswept deserts of Fort Huachuca (wa-CHOO-kah), Arizona. "Huachuca" is actually an ancient Apache word meaning: "Only profoundly ignorant white men would build a fort in a godforsaken place like this." Arizona is also an Apache word. It is difficult to translate, but roughly means: "Land devoid of water, vegetation, beautiful women and economic infrastructure."

Man, its good to be back online.

Anonymous said...

Jesse - and it's good to have you back :-)

Anonymous said...

Or clever white men

Dan Abnett said...

Hey, Jesse!

Great to have you back. I find myself thinking of your counter-terrorist comments with every page of Legion I write. You might find yourself with a bok dedicated to you.

Dan

Dan Abnett said...

Or "book" as we say in England.

D'oh!

Anonymous said...

What Jesse - you were gone? :P

Jesse said...

No Lordy, I wasn't gone. I've been here the whole time! It was all just a clever plot to lure you out into the open! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Maybe it doesn't show but I've been up for 72 hours, most of them in a row, enjoying the last few scraps of freedom before I launch into coursework.

Nik, as ever it is the highlight of my day to gaze upon your bright, smiling. . . um. . . text? Meh, you know what I mean. I've missed you.

Dan, I have missed this blog terribly. Where else can I shout my barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the internet? I can't wait to read 'Legion.' It gives me a warm feeling in the cockles of my heart to know that my hard-won knowledge is factoring into your bok. Actually it doesn't really feel like the cockles of my heart. Lower, I think. Maybe in my sub-cockle area. Maybe in my liver. Maybe in my kidneys. Maybe even in my colon. I don't know.

Oh, and I looked up 'Bok.' While it doesn't exist on it's own, there is such a thing as a 'Bok Globule,' which is "a dark cloud of dense dust and gas in which star formation sometimes takes place." Funny, that's exactly how my head feels first thing in the morning. . .

Alright, I really am going to bed now. I have an atrociously long run to look forward to in the next few hours.

Oh, and Dan, remind me sometime to send you pictures of The Smite Fairy.

Bodjo said...

"Rescue Me" is cool, one of the few shows that I can actually watch these days. "Homicide" was the best. I recently got my mom and dad the box set of the third season on DVD, and it's just awesome. They just don't make character-driven police shows like it anymore. It's always the Law & Order formulaic stuff or the shock value of crap like CSI. If anyone here hasn't checked out Homicide, I recommend it.

By the way Dan, finished Brothers of the Snake a couple week ago and I just wanted to let you know that you have my continued approval. You're going places someday, mark my words. :P