On Sunday 4 August 2024, Channel 4 broadcasts Saucy! Secrets of the British Sex Comedy!
Episode Summary
In this episode of “Saucy! Secrets of the British Sex Comedy,” viewers can expect a deep dive into a pivotal moment in film history. The episode explores how the rise of home video changed the landscape of British sex comedies. It highlights the tension between creative expression and societal norms during a time when morality campaigners, particularly Mary Whitehouse, began to voice strong objections to these films.
The episode will showcase how Whitehouse’s campaign against what she deemed inappropriate content sparked significant debates about censorship and freedom of speech. It captures the essence of an era filled with laughter and controversy, as well as the impact of changing technology on the film industry.
As the episode unfolds, it will reveal how these comedic films, once celebrated for their cheeky humor, faced increasing scrutiny. The...
Episode Summary
In this episode of “Saucy! Secrets of the British Sex Comedy,” viewers can expect a deep dive into a pivotal moment in film history. The episode explores how the rise of home video changed the landscape of British sex comedies. It highlights the tension between creative expression and societal norms during a time when morality campaigners, particularly Mary Whitehouse, began to voice strong objections to these films.
The episode will showcase how Whitehouse’s campaign against what she deemed inappropriate content sparked significant debates about censorship and freedom of speech. It captures the essence of an era filled with laughter and controversy, as well as the impact of changing technology on the film industry.
As the episode unfolds, it will reveal how these comedic films, once celebrated for their cheeky humor, faced increasing scrutiny. The...
- 8/4/2024
- by Olly Green
- TV Regular
The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘content’ as ‘the stuff that streaming services need to make themselves stand out when there are roughly eight billion of them all trying to convince you that you’re living in a golden age of consumer-driven choice when in fact the landscape is a dystopian mess built on sand’. Don’t look it up, just trust me.
Thankfully, it’s not all bleak. Just as a green shoot may sprout in the most inhospitable environment, art can still flourish within a corrupt system run by creatively bankrupt bean counters. We’re still getting some TV across those eight billion streaming platforms – much of it coming from books.
In fact, the limited series format is arguably a more natural home for a literary adaptation than a two-hour movie. There is less need to dramatically slim down the story (or split one book into the dreaded and...
Thankfully, it’s not all bleak. Just as a green shoot may sprout in the most inhospitable environment, art can still flourish within a corrupt system run by creatively bankrupt bean counters. We’re still getting some TV across those eight billion streaming platforms – much of it coming from books.
In fact, the limited series format is arguably a more natural home for a literary adaptation than a two-hour movie. There is less need to dramatically slim down the story (or split one book into the dreaded and...
- 1/11/2024
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
After The Beatles broke up, John Lennon publicly insulted Paul McCartney and began spending time with Alice Cooper. As members of the Hollywood Vampires drinking club, Lennon and Cooper grew close. This was a thrill to Cooper, who had long idolized The Beatles. He learned that Lennon also enjoyed his music. Still, Lennon thought his former bandmate McCartney could have released a better version of one of Cooper’s songs.
John Lennon told Alice Cooper that Paul McCartney could have done a better version of a song
One of the things Cooper appreciated most about Lennon was that he seemed to genuinely appreciate his music.
“In the prime of Alice Cooper we were getting all this publicity, and I think John understood and really did like the idea that we were so controversial, that we were banned and that we couldn’t care less what Mary Whitehouse said,” Cooper wrote for Louder Sound.
John Lennon told Alice Cooper that Paul McCartney could have done a better version of a song
One of the things Cooper appreciated most about Lennon was that he seemed to genuinely appreciate his music.
“In the prime of Alice Cooper we were getting all this publicity, and I think John understood and really did like the idea that we were so controversial, that we were banned and that we couldn’t care less what Mary Whitehouse said,” Cooper wrote for Louder Sound.
- 8/26/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
After The Beatles broke up, John Lennon publicly derided Paul McCartney, but Alice Cooper said the musician behaved differently behind closed doors. While he could speak ill of his former bandmate, nobody else could. Cooper shared how Lennon would react and revealed that McCartney had a similar approach.
Alice Cooper said John Lennon defended Paul McCartney
After Cooper rose to fame himself, he got to know The Beatles. Their breakup was messy and painful for the former bandmates. Lennon and McCartney insulted each other’s music and behavior. Still, Cooper said they never allowed others to speak badly about the band. Lennon would go so far as to try to fight people who insulted McCartney.
“Here’s the thing about them,” he said, per iHeartRadio. “When they were after each other’s throats, when it came to the breakup and all that stuff, if anybody in the Vampires back in...
Alice Cooper said John Lennon defended Paul McCartney
After Cooper rose to fame himself, he got to know The Beatles. Their breakup was messy and painful for the former bandmates. Lennon and McCartney insulted each other’s music and behavior. Still, Cooper said they never allowed others to speak badly about the band. Lennon would go so far as to try to fight people who insulted McCartney.
“Here’s the thing about them,” he said, per iHeartRadio. “When they were after each other’s throats, when it came to the breakup and all that stuff, if anybody in the Vampires back in...
- 8/23/2023
- by Emma McKee
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
When Ralph Macchio first appeared on the big screen as Daniel Larusso, decked out in his now trademark white Karate Gi uniform, he effectively ushered in a bold new era of children’s entertainment. 1984’s The Karate Kid wasn’t just director John G. Avildsen applying the uplifting sports movie formula that had worked so well on one of his previous efforts, Rocky, in a new kid friendly context; it was also a film that helped take martial arts into the Western mainstream.
Suddenly American and European kids were joining dojos in hopes of emulating Daniel-san. But The Karate Kid was not solely responsible for this newfound appreciation in martial arts. The years that followed also saw the emergence of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in popular culture.
Originally a comic book series created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, much like the heroes in a half shell, it had mutated into something much bigger.
Suddenly American and European kids were joining dojos in hopes of emulating Daniel-san. But The Karate Kid was not solely responsible for this newfound appreciation in martial arts. The years that followed also saw the emergence of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in popular culture.
Originally a comic book series created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, much like the heroes in a half shell, it had mutated into something much bigger.
- 8/5/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Russell Tovey, Simon Fisher Turner, Travis Alabanza and Neil Bartlett are teaming up to reimagine the director’s final film – a narrated meditation over a static blue screen – as a ‘thank you’ to the LGBTQ+ hero
Neil Bartlett vividly remembers his first glimpse of Derek Jarman’s work: covertly watching the film Sebastiane. “How I managed to do that without my mum and dad finding out,” he marvels. “I was captivated. That’s when Derek became public property – Mary Whitehouse and her cohorts were frothing at the mouth. And my young man’s cultural gaydar went: ‘Oh, what’s this?’”
As a painter, writer and film-maker, Jarman was a unique figure in British culture: an icon of the Thatcher years who defied all they stood for. He never hid his sexuality, and nor did he hide his Aids diagnosis, despite the snarling hatred shown towards people living with the disease.
Neil Bartlett vividly remembers his first glimpse of Derek Jarman’s work: covertly watching the film Sebastiane. “How I managed to do that without my mum and dad finding out,” he marvels. “I was captivated. That’s when Derek became public property – Mary Whitehouse and her cohorts were frothing at the mouth. And my young man’s cultural gaydar went: ‘Oh, what’s this?’”
As a painter, writer and film-maker, Jarman was a unique figure in British culture: an icon of the Thatcher years who defied all they stood for. He never hid his sexuality, and nor did he hide his Aids diagnosis, despite the snarling hatred shown towards people living with the disease.
- 5/2/2023
- by David Jays
- The Guardian - Film News
1982 was a big year for telly addicts in the United Kingdom. After so many years of making do with just three terrestrial channels, we were finally getting a fourth that promised fresh, diverse, innovative, and challenging programming. They called it ... Channel 4. Not the most original name, granted, but it would offer a far edgier alternative to the staid Auntie Beeb (BBC1 and its artsy sister channel BBC2) and the safe light entertainment of ITV, not to mention greater variety.
After months of hype, the fledgling broadcaster lived up to its bold promise, generating plenty of headlines and predictably drawing the ire of the ever-enraged moral crusader, Mary Whitehouse. It was awesome and became my go-to channel in my teens but, as a kid, it caused me a lot more legwork switching between stations at my family's behest in the days before remote control became a regular thing.
While the...
After months of hype, the fledgling broadcaster lived up to its bold promise, generating plenty of headlines and predictably drawing the ire of the ever-enraged moral crusader, Mary Whitehouse. It was awesome and became my go-to channel in my teens but, as a kid, it caused me a lot more legwork switching between stations at my family's behest in the days before remote control became a regular thing.
While the...
- 11/22/2022
- by Lee Adams
- Slash Film
If there's a holiday, there's probably a horror movie about it. Halloween is obviously the top dog, with plenty of solid options even beyond John Carpenter's seminal classic, but it doesn't stand alone. There are lots of Christmas-themed horror flicks, too, including enduring favorites like "Black Christmas" and "Krampus." The Fourth of July practically mandates a rewatch of "I Know What You Did Last Summer." Valentine's Day, of course, has its own early-'00s slasher.
Yet, likely by dint of its proximity to Christmas, filmmakers have gone cold turkey when it comes to serving up a heaping platter of Thanksgiving-related horror. It's inexplicable, too, given just how fruitful — and terrifying — the thought of family members both old and new gathering in one place really is. Dramas like "Pieces of April" and comedies like "The Oath" relish in Thanksgiving discomfort, but the horror genre is strangely resistant.
Sure, some horror classics,...
Yet, likely by dint of its proximity to Christmas, filmmakers have gone cold turkey when it comes to serving up a heaping platter of Thanksgiving-related horror. It's inexplicable, too, given just how fruitful — and terrifying — the thought of family members both old and new gathering in one place really is. Dramas like "Pieces of April" and comedies like "The Oath" relish in Thanksgiving discomfort, but the horror genre is strangely resistant.
Sure, some horror classics,...
- 11/10/2022
- by Chad Collins
- Slash Film
Kids today are their own TV schedulers. They have the power to tailor the world’s colossal programming output to their own tastes at the touch of a button, whenever they want. Back in the 1980s, UK kids had barely four channels to rub together, and the child-centric output was infrequent and heavily rationed. Treats for the geeks – in those cold, dark days in exile from the mainstream – were few and far between.
But then, on the 7th of September 1987, like lightning in the dark, came Citv’s Knightmare.
Enter, Stranger…
Knightmare was a four-player, live-action, D&d-inspired, CGI, VR, RPG for kids – not to mention a boon for acronym enthusiasts everywhere. It ran for eight seasons from 1987 to 1994, garnering millions of viewers, and exciting children’s imaginations in ways that few other shows had succeeded.
The concept was straightforward: a team of four kids worked together either to escape...
But then, on the 7th of September 1987, like lightning in the dark, came Citv’s Knightmare.
Enter, Stranger…
Knightmare was a four-player, live-action, D&d-inspired, CGI, VR, RPG for kids – not to mention a boon for acronym enthusiasts everywhere. It ran for eight seasons from 1987 to 1994, garnering millions of viewers, and exciting children’s imaginations in ways that few other shows had succeeded.
The concept was straightforward: a team of four kids worked together either to escape...
- 9/7/2022
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Stars: Niamh Algar, Nicholas Burns, Vincent Franklin, Sophia La Porta, Adrian Schiller, Michael Smiley | Written by Prano Bailey-Bond, Anthony Fletcher | Directed by Prano Bailey-Bond
Debut director Prano Bailey-Bond adapts her acclaimed short film Nasty into this feature length British horror set at the height of the panic over “video nasties”. Stylish and richly atmospheric, Censor represents a strong calling card for Bailey-Bond, who also co-wrote the script with Anthony Fletcher.
Rising star Niamh Algar plays Enid, a censor working at the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) in 1985, whose days are spent watching gory horror films and arguing with her colleagues over what needs to be cut out. When she watches a film called Don’t Go Into the Church, Enid becomes increasingly unsettled, because certain scenes trigger memories of her own repressed trauma, when her younger sister Nina suddenly disappeared while they were playing in a forest as children.
Debut director Prano Bailey-Bond adapts her acclaimed short film Nasty into this feature length British horror set at the height of the panic over “video nasties”. Stylish and richly atmospheric, Censor represents a strong calling card for Bailey-Bond, who also co-wrote the script with Anthony Fletcher.
Rising star Niamh Algar plays Enid, a censor working at the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) in 1985, whose days are spent watching gory horror films and arguing with her colleagues over what needs to be cut out. When she watches a film called Don’t Go Into the Church, Enid becomes increasingly unsettled, because certain scenes trigger memories of her own repressed trauma, when her younger sister Nina suddenly disappeared while they were playing in a forest as children.
- 8/3/2021
- by Matthew Turner
- Nerdly
Stars: Asia Argento, Franco Nero, Jonathan Caouette, Nick Daly, Ninetto Davoli, Giulia Di Quilio, Monica Guerritore, Rade Serbedzija | Written by Michele Civetta, Joseph Schuman | Directed by Michele Civetta
Sometimes I feel a little sorry for low budget horror film makers today. Dial it back 30 years, you could make an incompetent piece of cinema, but put in enough hokey bloodletting, regardless of how laughably unrealistic those sausage string guts were, and you might well have a money-spinning film on your hands. Even objectively poor films like Driller Killer managed to (very deliberately) whip up enough conservative anger to ensure that a poorly made, dull film became widely seen, and naturally far more successful as a result.
Today, blood is not nearly enough. Some of the films I see today with a 15 certificate would have faced heavy censure back in the Mary Whitehouse days of video nasties. A time when films would...
Sometimes I feel a little sorry for low budget horror film makers today. Dial it back 30 years, you could make an incompetent piece of cinema, but put in enough hokey bloodletting, regardless of how laughably unrealistic those sausage string guts were, and you might well have a money-spinning film on your hands. Even objectively poor films like Driller Killer managed to (very deliberately) whip up enough conservative anger to ensure that a poorly made, dull film became widely seen, and naturally far more successful as a result.
Today, blood is not nearly enough. Some of the films I see today with a 15 certificate would have faced heavy censure back in the Mary Whitehouse days of video nasties. A time when films would...
- 7/9/2021
- by Chris Thomas
- Nerdly
The premise of Prano Bailey-Bond’s Sundance Midnight selection opener is so strong that it’s little wonder the film can’t quite live up — or perhaps down — to it: In a Thatcher’s Britain riven by tabloid-fueled “video nasty” hysteria, a young woman working for the national censorship board is assessing a horror flick, when it triggers sudden flashbacks to a traumatic, amnesiac episode in her own life. Given the ongoing debates around censorship — and its trendier 2020s companion, “cancellation” — and the relationship between screen violence and its real-life counterpart, not to mention the grungy exploitation aesthetic of the no-budget films it references, “Censor” dangles the prospect of topical, ticklish provocation that will prove offensive to some sensibilities. And offense, in a time of pandemic numbness, is tantalizing in itself: at least you’re feeling something.
Initially, at least, “Censor” teases in that direction. The witty opening segues from snowy,...
Initially, at least, “Censor” teases in that direction. The witty opening segues from snowy,...
- 1/29/2021
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
In Doctor Who terms, Douglas Adams will be forever remembered as the co-writer of ‘City of Death’. To fans, he’s the purveyor of undergraduate humour, a man who despaired of actors doing funny walks and silly voices when presented with jokes in a script. Thanks in part to an extreme and vocal reaction against Adams’ comedy from the production team that followed, his reputation is one of rampant silliness that made it hard to take the show seriously.
And yet, in his first ever script for the series, Adams wrote about a vampire planet that materialised around other planets and drained them of all their resources, killing the entire population. In a particularly vicious detail, the remains of the planets are kept in a trophy room. This wholesale slaughter founded a life of comfortable complacency for the unquestioning citizens. The whole point of this, it transpires, is to keep...
And yet, in his first ever script for the series, Adams wrote about a vampire planet that materialised around other planets and drained them of all their resources, killing the entire population. In a particularly vicious detail, the remains of the planets are kept in a trophy room. This wholesale slaughter founded a life of comfortable complacency for the unquestioning citizens. The whole point of this, it transpires, is to keep...
- 5/27/2020
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
No doubt the brilliantly titled Dog Don’t Wear Pants may be perceived by some as the type of pseudo-provocative, Tinto Brass helmed bondage brouhaha which used to be deplored by Mary Whitehouse and released on VHS through the Redemption video label in the 1990s. But co-writer/director J-p Valkeapaa’s second feature is biting, spicy and electrifying film-making, melding Cronenberg, Roeg and Gaspar Noé into a dark, dreamy psychosexual drama that twists nerves, probes psyches, quickens pulses and tickles fancies with a glint in its eye, sting in its tail and sceptic, studded tongue in gullet.
The story centres on middle-aged surgeon Juha (Pekka Strang) and his teenage daughter Elli (Ilona Huta). A decade after the tragic death of Juha’s wife, he is still suffering from his grief/loss and unable to move on. That is until the day Juha stumbles upon the dungeon of dominatrix Mona (Krista Konsonen). After their first,...
The story centres on middle-aged surgeon Juha (Pekka Strang) and his teenage daughter Elli (Ilona Huta). A decade after the tragic death of Juha’s wife, he is still suffering from his grief/loss and unable to move on. That is until the day Juha stumbles upon the dungeon of dominatrix Mona (Krista Konsonen). After their first,...
- 3/4/2020
- by Daniel Goodwin
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Stars: Hayley Griffith, Ruby Modine, Rebecca Romijn, Jerry O’Connell, Jordan Ladd, Arden Myrin, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Michael Polish, Mike E. Winfield, Clarke Wolfe, Aj Bowen, Hannah Stocking, Gina Marie Hughes | Written by Grady Hendrix, Ted Geoghegan | Directed by Chelsea Stardust
For those of you out there that grew up in the 80s, the phrase “satanic panic” will conjure up all sorts of imagery – mainly surrounding a bunch of middle-class mothers up in arms about Dungeons and Dragons, rock music and more and claiming they were damaging the youth of the America in the 80s and leading them spiritually astray. Basically, a bunch of hardcore Christian types objected to anything that wasn’t what, in their eyes, was clean living – think the British video nasties furore meets Mary Whitehouse… And this film plays on those 80s fears, however flipping the idea on its head and casting those middle-class woman as...
For those of you out there that grew up in the 80s, the phrase “satanic panic” will conjure up all sorts of imagery – mainly surrounding a bunch of middle-class mothers up in arms about Dungeons and Dragons, rock music and more and claiming they were damaging the youth of the America in the 80s and leading them spiritually astray. Basically, a bunch of hardcore Christian types objected to anything that wasn’t what, in their eyes, was clean living – think the British video nasties furore meets Mary Whitehouse… And this film plays on those 80s fears, however flipping the idea on its head and casting those middle-class woman as...
- 9/3/2019
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
We’re off the deep end for Lady Gaga‘s Oscars jewelry!
Always one to go above and beyond fashion expectations throughout her A Star Is Born press tour, the nominee for Best Actress and Best Song was one of the most anticipated actresses to attend the Oscars on Sunday. Her team at the Haus of Gaga previously told People that “there’s a lot more to do” with her elevated, elegant red carpet style, and with this Old Hollywood look, she definitely surpassed many expectations.
Not only did she wear a gorgeous Alexander McQueen gown with matching leather opera gloves,...
Always one to go above and beyond fashion expectations throughout her A Star Is Born press tour, the nominee for Best Actress and Best Song was one of the most anticipated actresses to attend the Oscars on Sunday. Her team at the Haus of Gaga previously told People that “there’s a lot more to do” with her elevated, elegant red carpet style, and with this Old Hollywood look, she definitely surpassed many expectations.
Not only did she wear a gorgeous Alexander McQueen gown with matching leather opera gloves,...
- 2/25/2019
- by Brittany Talarico
- PEOPLE.com
Alastair Stewart Dec 15, 2017
A salute to The Omega Factor, a seminal 1970s sci-fi TV series that paved the way for many more to follow...
One of the funny quirks about Scotland is that everyone can name a Scots actor, but very few can name famous Scottish TV shows. Beyond the standard native fare of cop shows and comedies, Scotland’s televisual output is well below its literary or film standing.
Of course, there’s Take The High Road (And if you get that reference, dear reader, you can mournfully reflect that you’re as old as me). But there are a few surprising gems beyond the cliched obsession with the Jacobites and Highland allure (ahem, Outlander).
In 1979, and all too briefly, The Omega Factor was BBC Scotland’s paranormal, Edinburgh-set drama. The series, as was so typical of (nearly) every show now considered iconic for the era, only ran for...
A salute to The Omega Factor, a seminal 1970s sci-fi TV series that paved the way for many more to follow...
One of the funny quirks about Scotland is that everyone can name a Scots actor, but very few can name famous Scottish TV shows. Beyond the standard native fare of cop shows and comedies, Scotland’s televisual output is well below its literary or film standing.
Of course, there’s Take The High Road (And if you get that reference, dear reader, you can mournfully reflect that you’re as old as me). But there are a few surprising gems beyond the cliched obsession with the Jacobites and Highland allure (ahem, Outlander).
In 1979, and all too briefly, The Omega Factor was BBC Scotland’s paranormal, Edinburgh-set drama. The series, as was so typical of (nearly) every show now considered iconic for the era, only ran for...
- 11/27/2017
- Den of Geek
Jamie Andrew Jun 16, 2017
Can lovely, innocent Blind Date really exist in the same tawdry world as Take Me Out?
Blind Date is coming back this weekend. So much has changed since the 1980s, both on TV and in society itself, that what returns to our screens may not be a straight-forward, fully-intact teleport of the format, but rather a mutant mish-mash: a half-fly Jeff Goldblum of a show just begging to be put out of its misery. The truth of this inevitable transformation can be seen in the steps already taken up the light-entertainment evolutionary ladder, most notably in the DNA of ITV's long-running post-Blind Date offering, Take Me Out.
See related Tom Hiddleston interview: The Avengers, modern myths, playing Loki and more Tom Hiddleston interview: The Avengers, War Horse, Greek mythology and more Why Thor: Ragnarok may be a pivotal film in Marvel's phase 3
Ah, nostalgia. When I...
Can lovely, innocent Blind Date really exist in the same tawdry world as Take Me Out?
Blind Date is coming back this weekend. So much has changed since the 1980s, both on TV and in society itself, that what returns to our screens may not be a straight-forward, fully-intact teleport of the format, but rather a mutant mish-mash: a half-fly Jeff Goldblum of a show just begging to be put out of its misery. The truth of this inevitable transformation can be seen in the steps already taken up the light-entertainment evolutionary ladder, most notably in the DNA of ITV's long-running post-Blind Date offering, Take Me Out.
See related Tom Hiddleston interview: The Avengers, modern myths, playing Loki and more Tom Hiddleston interview: The Avengers, War Horse, Greek mythology and more Why Thor: Ragnarok may be a pivotal film in Marvel's phase 3
Ah, nostalgia. When I...
- 6/15/2017
- Den of Geek
If the BBC realised how beloved their old shows would become, they might have taken greater care of them. And while Doomwatch: Series 1-3 – The Remaining Episodes may not feature every episode of the show thanks to the BBC’s archiving issues, it still stands up as a very good boxset. For fans of the show, the fact that it now includes unaired episode Sex and Violence may be the best news yet…
Doomwatch is the nickname for the Department of Measurement of Scientific work. A team headed by the Nobel Prize winning physicist Dr. Spencer Quist (John Paul). Their job is to keep the government and private sector research companies in check and protect the environment from pollution and disasters.
While there is a definite feel of old school Doctor Who show quality about Doomwatch (both feature low-budget set designs and special effects) the quality of this particular...
Doomwatch is the nickname for the Department of Measurement of Scientific work. A team headed by the Nobel Prize winning physicist Dr. Spencer Quist (John Paul). Their job is to keep the government and private sector research companies in check and protect the environment from pollution and disasters.
While there is a definite feel of old school Doctor Who show quality about Doomwatch (both feature low-budget set designs and special effects) the quality of this particular...
- 4/7/2016
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
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Ground-breaking, intelligent, prescient 1970s drama Doomwatch, now out on DVD, is a British television classic...
Playing on the public's fear that 'this could actually happen', Doomwatch had a veneer of credibility unusual in the escapist television drama landscape of the late 60s/early 70s. This spring sees the most comprehensive haul of Doomwatch episodes released on DVD for the first time. The nickname for the "Department for the Observation and Measurement of Scientific Work", the series first appeared on BBC1 on Monday 9th February 1970 at 9.40pm. It followed half an hour of comedy from Kenneth Williams, which must have surely heightened its dramatic impact.
The series would run in tandem with the early Jon Pertwee era of Doctor Who; the first episode made its debut two days after part two of Doctor Who And The Silurians. The two shows undoubtedly shared a synergy of ideas - not to mention cast and crew.
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Ground-breaking, intelligent, prescient 1970s drama Doomwatch, now out on DVD, is a British television classic...
Playing on the public's fear that 'this could actually happen', Doomwatch had a veneer of credibility unusual in the escapist television drama landscape of the late 60s/early 70s. This spring sees the most comprehensive haul of Doomwatch episodes released on DVD for the first time. The nickname for the "Department for the Observation and Measurement of Scientific Work", the series first appeared on BBC1 on Monday 9th February 1970 at 9.40pm. It followed half an hour of comedy from Kenneth Williams, which must have surely heightened its dramatic impact.
The series would run in tandem with the early Jon Pertwee era of Doctor Who; the first episode made its debut two days after part two of Doctor Who And The Silurians. The two shows undoubtedly shared a synergy of ideas - not to mention cast and crew.
- 3/31/2016
- Den of Geek
Another day, another unofficial documentary about a musician. When it comes to The Weeknd: His Life, His Story, you’d learn more in five minutes on YouTube
As the new millennium (and the death of Mary Whitehouse) ushered in a more liberal media age, the prefix “un” suddenly became one of the most powerful tools in movie marketing. But as audiences celebrated the arrival of “uncut” versions of previously abridged films, and “uncensored” reissues of once suppressed works, they barely stopped to question whether an “unseen” edition of a beloved favourite might, in fact, be worse than the theatrical cut, or whether an “unauthorised” video release might have less to offer than the alternative.
At its best, the word “unauthorised” suggests a searingly honest look at a secretive subject. In other instances, it seems intended merely to provide a legal buffer for titles that might otherwise appear to be passing themselves off as official merchandise.
As the new millennium (and the death of Mary Whitehouse) ushered in a more liberal media age, the prefix “un” suddenly became one of the most powerful tools in movie marketing. But as audiences celebrated the arrival of “uncut” versions of previously abridged films, and “uncensored” reissues of once suppressed works, they barely stopped to question whether an “unseen” edition of a beloved favourite might, in fact, be worse than the theatrical cut, or whether an “unauthorised” video release might have less to offer than the alternative.
At its best, the word “unauthorised” suggests a searingly honest look at a secretive subject. In other instances, it seems intended merely to provide a legal buffer for titles that might otherwise appear to be passing themselves off as official merchandise.
- 2/13/2016
- by Charlie Lyne
- The Guardian - Film News
Arrow Films
When the first British video stores opened for business, the tapes they rented didn’t fall under the jurisdiction of the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC), which meant that films the BBFC had denied a cinema certificate – such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre – could be viewed at home.
Moreover, the tapes usually sported sensational artwork, so if you were a child in the early 80s you could wander into a video store and gaze at a crude rendering of a native eating intestines (Cannibal Holocaust) or see a drill boring into a man’s skull (The Driller Killer).
It wasn’t long before Mary Whitehouse, who had previously rallied against such TV shows as Benny Hill and Doctor Who, campaigned to ban such “Video Nasties.” She had an ally in Conservative MP Graham Bright, who said in an on-camera interview, “I believe there is research taking...
When the first British video stores opened for business, the tapes they rented didn’t fall under the jurisdiction of the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC), which meant that films the BBFC had denied a cinema certificate – such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre – could be viewed at home.
Moreover, the tapes usually sported sensational artwork, so if you were a child in the early 80s you could wander into a video store and gaze at a crude rendering of a native eating intestines (Cannibal Holocaust) or see a drill boring into a man’s skull (The Driller Killer).
It wasn’t long before Mary Whitehouse, who had previously rallied against such TV shows as Benny Hill and Doctor Who, campaigned to ban such “Video Nasties.” She had an ally in Conservative MP Graham Bright, who said in an on-camera interview, “I believe there is research taking...
- 2/1/2016
- by Ian Watson
- Obsessed with Film
Vipco
In the early 1980s, Mary Whitehouse of the National Viewers’ And Listeners’ Association, backed by the tabloid press, took issue with the availability of such titles as SS Experiment Camp (1976) and Cannibal Holocaust (1980), which unlike their theatrical incarnations were uncut, unregulated and could be viewed at home by children.
Whitehouse publicly stated that she had never seen a “Video Nasty” and was probably basing her assumption on the films’ sensationalistic artwork. SS Experiment Camp, for instance, showed a naked woman on an inverted cross, leered over by a Nazi soldier.
In a country with high crime and unemployment, video violence was the perfect scapegoat, and the Conservative government got behind it with a passion, authorizing police to confiscate any videos they thought were in violation of the 1959 Obscene Publications Act. Eventually, the Director of Public Prosecutions (Dpp) drew up a list of 72 offending titles, 39 of which were successfully prosecuted.
In the early 1980s, Mary Whitehouse of the National Viewers’ And Listeners’ Association, backed by the tabloid press, took issue with the availability of such titles as SS Experiment Camp (1976) and Cannibal Holocaust (1980), which unlike their theatrical incarnations were uncut, unregulated and could be viewed at home by children.
Whitehouse publicly stated that she had never seen a “Video Nasty” and was probably basing her assumption on the films’ sensationalistic artwork. SS Experiment Camp, for instance, showed a naked woman on an inverted cross, leered over by a Nazi soldier.
In a country with high crime and unemployment, video violence was the perfect scapegoat, and the Conservative government got behind it with a passion, authorizing police to confiscate any videos they thought were in violation of the 1959 Obscene Publications Act. Eventually, the Director of Public Prosecutions (Dpp) drew up a list of 72 offending titles, 39 of which were successfully prosecuted.
- 1/22/2016
- by Ian Watson
- Obsessed with Film
David Hayward May 9, 2019
The PC has been host to some classic video games, and we salute 50 underrated examples from the Ms-dos era.
This article first appeared at Den of Geek UK.
I’d had a PC for a little while by the early '90s, a rather bleak looking 286 with kilobytes of memory. After saving up though, I took the plunge one day and purchased a shiny new 486 DX2-66, with many megabytes of memory and an Ati Mach 32. With that extra power unleashed, Dos gaming had me hooked once more. And it was amazing. X-Wing, Tie Fighter, Doom, and many more took over my life, and my money was spent back in the local computer shops.
Join us now as we tweak our Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files and take a look at 50 underappreciated Dos games from various years. Those games that no one ever seems to mention...
The PC has been host to some classic video games, and we salute 50 underrated examples from the Ms-dos era.
This article first appeared at Den of Geek UK.
I’d had a PC for a little while by the early '90s, a rather bleak looking 286 with kilobytes of memory. After saving up though, I took the plunge one day and purchased a shiny new 486 DX2-66, with many megabytes of memory and an Ati Mach 32. With that extra power unleashed, Dos gaming had me hooked once more. And it was amazing. X-Wing, Tie Fighter, Doom, and many more took over my life, and my money was spent back in the local computer shops.
Join us now as we tweak our Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files and take a look at 50 underappreciated Dos games from various years. Those games that no one ever seems to mention...
- 12/28/2015
- Den of Geek
He’s made a French film and played Ronald Reagan but, for a loyal army of fans, he will always be Ash from The Evil Dead. We salute a cult legend
Related: Let the right ones in: five horror movies that would make great TV shows
Mary Whitehouse would be scratching her way out of the grave if she knew she’d helped the movie she branded “the number one video nasty” have a long and healthy lifespan. In 1983, Whitehouse, founder of the National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association, demanded members of the House of Commons squirm their way through scenes of decapitation, dismemberment and tree-rape culled from Sam Raimi’s micro-budget splatter classic, The Evil Dead, in an attempt to force the government to clamp down on the then-burgeoning video-rental industry. Soon after, police confiscated mainstays of the VHS horror shelf such as The Driller Killer, I Spit On Your Grave...
Related: Let the right ones in: five horror movies that would make great TV shows
Mary Whitehouse would be scratching her way out of the grave if she knew she’d helped the movie she branded “the number one video nasty” have a long and healthy lifespan. In 1983, Whitehouse, founder of the National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association, demanded members of the House of Commons squirm their way through scenes of decapitation, dismemberment and tree-rape culled from Sam Raimi’s micro-budget splatter classic, The Evil Dead, in an attempt to force the government to clamp down on the then-burgeoning video-rental industry. Soon after, police confiscated mainstays of the VHS horror shelf such as The Driller Killer, I Spit On Your Grave...
- 12/16/2015
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- The Guardian - Film News
Yvette Fielding has slammed several reality TV shows, arguing that they set bad examples for viewers.
The Most Wanted presenter began by taking issue with Big Brother, naming it as a TV turn-off while talking to The Guardian.
"I know I swear when I'm scared on Most Haunted, but some of these characters on Big Brother - they're using the C-word in every other sentence," she said. "Is there really any need for that?"
Fielding continued by listing Geordie Shore and The Valleys as other programmes that also put her off.
"I think that a lot of the problems with binge drinking and promiscuity are to do with some of these shows," she said.
"They actually showed a girl weeing in the shower! It's too far. Bring back Mary Whitehouse!"
Incidentally, Rylan Clark - a former Celebrity Big Brother winner and the current host of Bit on the Side -...
The Most Wanted presenter began by taking issue with Big Brother, naming it as a TV turn-off while talking to The Guardian.
"I know I swear when I'm scared on Most Haunted, but some of these characters on Big Brother - they're using the C-word in every other sentence," she said. "Is there really any need for that?"
Fielding continued by listing Geordie Shore and The Valleys as other programmes that also put her off.
"I think that a lot of the problems with binge drinking and promiscuity are to do with some of these shows," she said.
"They actually showed a girl weeing in the shower! It's too far. Bring back Mary Whitehouse!"
Incidentally, Rylan Clark - a former Celebrity Big Brother winner and the current host of Bit on the Side -...
- 10/20/2015
- Digital Spy
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Back in the 1980’s, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and the self-appointed morality police (spearheaded by Margaret Thatcher and Mary Whitehouse, a professional busybody) were offended by the schlocky, low-budget, extreme-horror films that had crept their way into households across the country. Their censorship efforts resulted in certain offensive films being labeled as “Video Nasties”, and restricted from viewers in the UK.
While the films overall are generally hit or miss in terms of nastiness, the debauchery of the scenes here includes stone-dildos, monkey brain consumption, and the longest rape/torture scene in the history of cinema. Be warned – the following images, videos and descriptions are not for the faint of heart. For those of you who wish to continue on, remember to keep some Pepto-Bismol close by, and enjoy.
20. Donny And His Torture Shack – Don’t Go In The House (1979)
Don’t Go In The House...
Back in the 1980’s, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and the self-appointed morality police (spearheaded by Margaret Thatcher and Mary Whitehouse, a professional busybody) were offended by the schlocky, low-budget, extreme-horror films that had crept their way into households across the country. Their censorship efforts resulted in certain offensive films being labeled as “Video Nasties”, and restricted from viewers in the UK.
While the films overall are generally hit or miss in terms of nastiness, the debauchery of the scenes here includes stone-dildos, monkey brain consumption, and the longest rape/torture scene in the history of cinema. Be warned – the following images, videos and descriptions are not for the faint of heart. For those of you who wish to continue on, remember to keep some Pepto-Bismol close by, and enjoy.
20. Donny And His Torture Shack – Don’t Go In The House (1979)
Don’t Go In The House...
- 9/29/2015
- by Jesse Gumbarge
- Obsessed with Film
Director: Steve Pink; Screenwriter: Josh Heald; Starring: Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Adam Scott; Running time: 93 mins; Certificate: 15
2010's Hot Tub Time Machine came as a pleasant surprise. What looked like a dreadful frat-boy comedy with a silly premise was actually a genuinely funny and (at times) clever sci-fi comedy. It was only a matter of time for a sequel to be made, but has it come five years too late?
The sequel picks up where the first instalment left off, in a fantasy world where Lou (Rob Corddry) invented Google and Nick (Craig Robinson) has ripped off loads of pop songs years before they were meant to come out.
Sadly, John Cusack sat this one out as Adam, which is a shame as he brought a certain essence of seniority and was the gang's de facto leader. Without him there is a small void and the three main...
2010's Hot Tub Time Machine came as a pleasant surprise. What looked like a dreadful frat-boy comedy with a silly premise was actually a genuinely funny and (at times) clever sci-fi comedy. It was only a matter of time for a sequel to be made, but has it come five years too late?
The sequel picks up where the first instalment left off, in a fantasy world where Lou (Rob Corddry) invented Google and Nick (Craig Robinson) has ripped off loads of pop songs years before they were meant to come out.
Sadly, John Cusack sat this one out as Adam, which is a shame as he brought a certain essence of seniority and was the gang's de facto leader. Without him there is a small void and the three main...
- 4/8/2015
- Digital Spy
(This review pertains to the UK Region 2 video releases).
By Adrian Smith
Michael Armstrong, the writer and star of Eskimo Nell,once said, "It's hard to wank and laugh at the same time". In the 1970s filmmakers gave it a very good try however, and the British sex comedy was virtually the only kind of film being funded. The problem is that the majority of them were neither funny or sexy. They were generally grubby and embarrassing for the actors and the audience. One of the pioneers of the British sex film was director and producer Stanley Long, responsible for The Wife Swappers (1969) and Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1975) and many others. An occasional cinematographer on prestigious films like Roman Polanski's Repulsion (1965), Long often recognised and nurtured new talent, particularly if he could see a financial reward.
Michael Armstrong had written The Sex Thief for Martin Campbell (1975), a film that Stanley Long admired,...
By Adrian Smith
Michael Armstrong, the writer and star of Eskimo Nell,once said, "It's hard to wank and laugh at the same time". In the 1970s filmmakers gave it a very good try however, and the British sex comedy was virtually the only kind of film being funded. The problem is that the majority of them were neither funny or sexy. They were generally grubby and embarrassing for the actors and the audience. One of the pioneers of the British sex film was director and producer Stanley Long, responsible for The Wife Swappers (1969) and Adventures of a Taxi Driver (1975) and many others. An occasional cinematographer on prestigious films like Roman Polanski's Repulsion (1965), Long often recognised and nurtured new talent, particularly if he could see a financial reward.
Michael Armstrong had written The Sex Thief for Martin Campbell (1975), a film that Stanley Long admired,...
- 2/26/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Sil in Vengeance on Varos BBC
By Kieran Kinsella
Liverpool born screenwriter Philip Martin has delighted British TV audiences with entertaining and sometimes hard-hitting scripts for classic shows such as Z-Cars, Doctor Who, and Hetty Wainthrop Investigates. He also created the critically acclaimed and somewhat controversial 70s era BBC drama Gangsters. As a fan of his work, and a fellow Evertonian, I was delighted when Philip agreed to an interview. Like many great writers, he began his career in the creative arts as a performer. I began the interview by asking him why he decided to make the move from actor to writer.
“I had good experiences in my acting career, playing leads in Play of the Week etc but I looked younger than my age and when I could no longer play juveniles it was like having to start all over again. By that time I was thinking about...
By Kieran Kinsella
Liverpool born screenwriter Philip Martin has delighted British TV audiences with entertaining and sometimes hard-hitting scripts for classic shows such as Z-Cars, Doctor Who, and Hetty Wainthrop Investigates. He also created the critically acclaimed and somewhat controversial 70s era BBC drama Gangsters. As a fan of his work, and a fellow Evertonian, I was delighted when Philip agreed to an interview. Like many great writers, he began his career in the creative arts as a performer. I began the interview by asking him why he decided to make the move from actor to writer.
“I had good experiences in my acting career, playing leads in Play of the Week etc but I looked younger than my age and when I could no longer play juveniles it was like having to start all over again. By that time I was thinking about...
- 2/22/2015
- by Edited by K Kinsella
Julie Walters is one of those people who really does seem like a national treasure. She's done it all, from comedy to drama, over an amazing career that earned her a BAFTA Fellowship earlier this year.
We were lucky enough to pop along to a Q&A with Julie last night - launching BAFTA's new live strand A Life in Television - and she was funny, interesting and always entertaining. We've collected together just 18 amazing things we learned - from why Educating Rita made her cry to her crush on Hugh Bonneville to why dancing and Julie do not mix. Read on for all that and much more...
1. She cried when she first saw Educating Rita because she thought she was "terrible".
"I'd done Educating Rita on stage, Willy Russell's play, and then Lewis Gilbert came along and said, 'Do you want to be in a film, darling?'...
We were lucky enough to pop along to a Q&A with Julie last night - launching BAFTA's new live strand A Life in Television - and she was funny, interesting and always entertaining. We've collected together just 18 amazing things we learned - from why Educating Rita made her cry to her crush on Hugh Bonneville to why dancing and Julie do not mix. Read on for all that and much more...
1. She cried when she first saw Educating Rita because she thought she was "terrible".
"I'd done Educating Rita on stage, Willy Russell's play, and then Lewis Gilbert came along and said, 'Do you want to be in a film, darling?'...
- 12/4/2014
- Digital Spy
Julie Walters is one of those people who really does seem like a national treasure. She's done it all, from comedy to drama, over an amazing career that earned her a BAFTA Fellowship earlier this year.
We were lucky enough to pop along to a Q&A with Julie last night - launching BAFTA's new live strand A Life in Television - and she was funny, interesting and always entertaining. We've collected together just 18 amazing things we learned - from why Educating Rita made her cry to her crush on Hugh Bonneville to why dancing and Julie do not mix. Read on for all that and much more...
1. She cried when she first saw Educating Rita because she thought she was "terrible".
"I'd done Educating Rita on stage, Willy Russell's play, and then Lewis Gilbert came along and said, 'Do you want to be in a film, darling?'...
We were lucky enough to pop along to a Q&A with Julie last night - launching BAFTA's new live strand A Life in Television - and she was funny, interesting and always entertaining. We've collected together just 18 amazing things we learned - from why Educating Rita made her cry to her crush on Hugh Bonneville to why dancing and Julie do not mix. Read on for all that and much more...
1. She cried when she first saw Educating Rita because she thought she was "terrible".
"I'd done Educating Rita on stage, Willy Russell's play, and then Lewis Gilbert came along and said, 'Do you want to be in a film, darling?'...
- 12/4/2014
- Digital Spy
Jason Manford has said that he finds it baffling how offended people can get by jokes online and on TV, arguing that the best way to deal with people who decide to get offended is "ignore them".
The comedian also spoke about how he "massively" prefers the freedom of performing stand-up shows, compared to the restrictions he had during his time as a BBC presenter on The One Show.
Jason Manford fans spam Amazon reviews with 'poo my pants' gag
On the subject of people complaining about jokes, Manford told Digital Spy: "As a comic, I'm not near the edge, I'm happy in the middle. So it doesn't really concern me.
"But it is interesting online, what happens. You do a gag on there and people can get ridiculously offended by it. They've decided to get offended by it. You've just got to let those people be those people. Ignore them.
The comedian also spoke about how he "massively" prefers the freedom of performing stand-up shows, compared to the restrictions he had during his time as a BBC presenter on The One Show.
Jason Manford fans spam Amazon reviews with 'poo my pants' gag
On the subject of people complaining about jokes, Manford told Digital Spy: "As a comic, I'm not near the edge, I'm happy in the middle. So it doesn't really concern me.
"But it is interesting online, what happens. You do a gag on there and people can get ridiculously offended by it. They've decided to get offended by it. You've just got to let those people be those people. Ignore them.
- 11/21/2014
- Digital Spy
This week's Bake Off brought us microwaves, doughnuts, Baileys (don't mind if we do) and endless amounts of raw dough (not so tasty).
While 17-year-old Martha Collison was sent home after a technical bake was declared "inedible" by Paul Hollywood, builder Richard Burr claimed the Star Baker spot for the fourth time.
The Great British Bake Off: Advanced Dough Week's best bites
Digital Spy has rounded up Twitter's reactions to the scary Advanced Dough Week.
Come on people. Don't tweet us #BakeOffInnuendos about King Luis' bake. #PottyMinds *does serious face* #Gbbo pic.twitter.com/rFEhQdzenE
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) September 24, 2014
If all else fails Nancy, just throw Paul in the microwave...
— John Whaite (@JohnWhaiteBakes) September 24, 2014
Martha's bake rings a bell… #Gbbo #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/N6pKgMXXLv
— BBC One (@BBCOne) September 24, 2014
Fun fact: the doughnut is not actually a nut, but rather a kind of "cake". #Gbbo
— Yorkshire Tea (@YorkshireTea) September 24, 2014
Mojito Doughnut?...
While 17-year-old Martha Collison was sent home after a technical bake was declared "inedible" by Paul Hollywood, builder Richard Burr claimed the Star Baker spot for the fourth time.
The Great British Bake Off: Advanced Dough Week's best bites
Digital Spy has rounded up Twitter's reactions to the scary Advanced Dough Week.
Come on people. Don't tweet us #BakeOffInnuendos about King Luis' bake. #PottyMinds *does serious face* #Gbbo pic.twitter.com/rFEhQdzenE
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) September 24, 2014
If all else fails Nancy, just throw Paul in the microwave...
— John Whaite (@JohnWhaiteBakes) September 24, 2014
Martha's bake rings a bell… #Gbbo #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/N6pKgMXXLv
— BBC One (@BBCOne) September 24, 2014
Fun fact: the doughnut is not actually a nut, but rather a kind of "cake". #Gbbo
— Yorkshire Tea (@YorkshireTea) September 24, 2014
Mojito Doughnut?...
- 9/24/2014
- Digital Spy
From fizzy drink sizes to video nasties to employment law, we look at the films that had an impact on legislation as well as culture...
Some films appear in the cinema, entertain their audience, make their money, and then dutifully shuffle off into the mists of history, only to be wheeled out now and again on TV. But occasionally, one comes along that has a lasting impact, and every so often, a movie has at least some influence on an eventual change in the law.
Here, we're going to look at a few examples of that, as we examine a selection of films that have had an impact more lasting than how much they made at the box office...
Scum
Originally conceived as a BBC Play For Today, Alan Clarke's Scum was pulled by the corporation from its broadcast schedules. Undeterred, Clarke and writer Roy Minton reworked it as a film,...
Some films appear in the cinema, entertain their audience, make their money, and then dutifully shuffle off into the mists of history, only to be wheeled out now and again on TV. But occasionally, one comes along that has a lasting impact, and every so often, a movie has at least some influence on an eventual change in the law.
Here, we're going to look at a few examples of that, as we examine a selection of films that have had an impact more lasting than how much they made at the box office...
Scum
Originally conceived as a BBC Play For Today, Alan Clarke's Scum was pulled by the corporation from its broadcast schedules. Undeterred, Clarke and writer Roy Minton reworked it as a film,...
- 8/28/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Each week HeyUGuys will take a primary focus on the site. This could be a genre of movie, an aspect of the industry, a specific person or part of the movie making process we want to explore further. We will begin by taking a look at the heart of the matter, with two writers arguing their case on the subject. This week we’re looking at the divisive issue of film censorship, with articles on the censorial milestones, the scenes which caused the censors a headache and finally we’ll be looking forward to the future of film censorship. First up Chris Haydon and Ollie England answer the question Do we need film censorship? Yes: In defence of film censorship. Ollie England
The concept of film censorship is normally framed as a question of what society deems as acceptable for children to view onscreen (let’s put aside the wishes...
The concept of film censorship is normally framed as a question of what society deems as acceptable for children to view onscreen (let’s put aside the wishes...
- 8/26/2014
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
One of the things that mark out both Buffy's fourth season and Angel's first is the cross-over episode. Even miles apart, it's inevitable that the paths of the former lovers will somehow cross, and the first instance of this comes only three episodes into the new run. Bridging the link between the two are a shiny bauble of vampire immortality, Oz, and a returning Spike, who's naturally on the hunt for this piece of valuable bling.
It's interesting to look at these two episodes again, back to back. Despite containing some of the familiar Buffy characters, monsters and perilous situations, it's clear that Angel's pitching towards a slightly older audience. Whereas Buffy The Vampire Slayer stays on the slower path and continues its gradual look at the perils of growing up, Angel impatiently leapfrogs the latter teenage years, headlong into the 20s. So its interesting seeing the...
It's interesting to look at these two episodes again, back to back. Despite containing some of the familiar Buffy characters, monsters and perilous situations, it's clear that Angel's pitching towards a slightly older audience. Whereas Buffy The Vampire Slayer stays on the slower path and continues its gradual look at the perils of growing up, Angel impatiently leapfrogs the latter teenage years, headlong into the 20s. So its interesting seeing the...
- 8/11/2014
- Shadowlocked
Summer is officially right around the corner, which means horror DVD and Blu-rays are starting to heat up as well. This week, we’ve got several cult classics hitting high definition for the first time, another special edition set of the first three seasons of The Walking Dead,and the recent RoboCop reboot directed by Jose Padilha and starring Joel Kinnaman.
As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a special Doctor Who David Tennant-themed collection being released, several indie creature features and we’re finally seeing the official arrival of the Video Nasties documentaries stateside on Tuesday. Check out all the horror and sci-fi fun you can add to your home collections this week below!
Spotlight Titles:
Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (Cult Epics, Blu-ray)
Prepare yourselves… The strangest bedtime story ever told! Cult Epics brings you Death Bed, George Barry’s uniquely weird journey through a world of wind demons,...
As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a special Doctor Who David Tennant-themed collection being released, several indie creature features and we’re finally seeing the official arrival of the Video Nasties documentaries stateside on Tuesday. Check out all the horror and sci-fi fun you can add to your home collections this week below!
Spotlight Titles:
Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (Cult Epics, Blu-ray)
Prepare yourselves… The strangest bedtime story ever told! Cult Epics brings you Death Bed, George Barry’s uniquely weird journey through a world of wind demons,...
- 6/2/2014
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
The moral panic associated with 'Video Nasties' in 1980s Great Britain is a cultural and political phenomenon that continues to live on in infamy in the memories of UK horror fanatics, including indie comic writer Mario Covone, who spoke to us about his new series, Video Nasty, which takes place during the mindless witch hunt of the times.
Having previously been founder and manager of the pioneering comic book store 'Apocalypse Comics', Covone makes his physically published debut with Video Nasty.
So what exactly was the turning point in his career? What gave him the inspiration and drive to take the leap from store manager to getting his very own product into the market?
Covone says, "I have always had a deep love for the medium of comic books and known that I wanted to be a part of the industry in some capacity, but growing up in a small...
Having previously been founder and manager of the pioneering comic book store 'Apocalypse Comics', Covone makes his physically published debut with Video Nasty.
So what exactly was the turning point in his career? What gave him the inspiration and drive to take the leap from store manager to getting his very own product into the market?
Covone says, "I have always had a deep love for the medium of comic books and known that I wanted to be a part of the industry in some capacity, but growing up in a small...
- 5/20/2014
- by Gareth Jones
- DreadCentral.com
BBC Two celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend and we've been asking our readers for their fondest memories and favourite ever shows from the channel.
Here is just a small sample of your replies.
The Day Today - Snossis
"No one's mentioned The Day Today! Groundbreaking stuff! Also, I'm Alan Partridge was probably the best sitcom of the 90s."
Robot Wars was the start of the weekend! - Bassebuwa
"Everyone born in the late 80s/early 90s will remember having their tea in front of The Simpsons, Fresh Prince and - to mark the start of the weekend - Robot Wars. BBC Two used to be incredible. It's a shame it's now a shadow of its former self."
Bring back Red Dwarf! - Pointy
"Red Dwarf and The Mary Whitehouse Experience meant a lot to the 11-year-old me. Thank you, BBC Two."
I miss BBC Ceefax - Kessuki
"Buffy The Vampire Slayer,...
Here is just a small sample of your replies.
The Day Today - Snossis
"No one's mentioned The Day Today! Groundbreaking stuff! Also, I'm Alan Partridge was probably the best sitcom of the 90s."
Robot Wars was the start of the weekend! - Bassebuwa
"Everyone born in the late 80s/early 90s will remember having their tea in front of The Simpsons, Fresh Prince and - to mark the start of the weekend - Robot Wars. BBC Two used to be incredible. It's a shame it's now a shadow of its former self."
Bring back Red Dwarf! - Pointy
"Red Dwarf and The Mary Whitehouse Experience meant a lot to the 11-year-old me. Thank you, BBC Two."
I miss BBC Ceefax - Kessuki
"Buffy The Vampire Slayer,...
- 4/17/2014
- Digital Spy
Found footage films get a bad rap - and worse reviews. But the genre combines the vitality of punk rock with the reach of a video viral, and it has earned, if not respectability, then at least a respectful reappraisal. Some found footage (hereafter Ff) films are, admittedly, unwatchable (see The Devil Inside or, better, don't). But others, such as recent West Country-set religious chiller The Borderlands, or Bobcat Goldthwait's creepy Bigfoot hunt Willow Creek (out on May 2), are closer to unmissable.
Beyond an ominous title card, Ff films require little backstory, and the genre has only a brief history of its own. An uncompromising, hand-over-the-camera-lens look at totalitarianism in Vietnam-era America, Peter Watkins' 1971 mock-doc Punishment Park is considered Ff's chief forebear. Ruggiero Deodato's still-troubling Cannibal Holocaust (1979), however, is the most striking early archetype. Following a gonzo film crew into tribal Amazonia, it puts video-nasty atrocities through a film-school filter,...
Beyond an ominous title card, Ff films require little backstory, and the genre has only a brief history of its own. An uncompromising, hand-over-the-camera-lens look at totalitarianism in Vietnam-era America, Peter Watkins' 1971 mock-doc Punishment Park is considered Ff's chief forebear. Ruggiero Deodato's still-troubling Cannibal Holocaust (1979), however, is the most striking early archetype. Following a gonzo film crew into tribal Amazonia, it puts video-nasty atrocities through a film-school filter,...
- 4/12/2014
- Digital Spy
Back in the 1980s, the British Board of Film Classification and the Morality Police (spearheaded by Margaret Thatcher and Mary Whitehouse, a professional busybody) were offended by the subject matter of films being made. Their censorship efforts resulted in certain offensive films being labelled as “video nasties”, and restricted from viewers in the UK. The most famous of these was undoubtedly The Evil Dead, which went on to become a huge cult classic, spawning two sequels, a remake, and an untold number of unofficial knockoffs (it also gave us Sam Raimi’s mainstream career which produced the infamous Spider-man 3 dance sequence, but one can’t have everything).
Others have gone on to fame (or possibly infamy) among the sleaze horror community, including Cannibal Holocaust, The Last House on the Left, and I Spit On Your Grave. But then there are others that are so laughably outlandish, so deeply offensive to traditional morality,...
Others have gone on to fame (or possibly infamy) among the sleaze horror community, including Cannibal Holocaust, The Last House on the Left, and I Spit On Your Grave. But then there are others that are so laughably outlandish, so deeply offensive to traditional morality,...
- 3/16/2014
- by Audrey Fox
- Obsessed with Film
Columbia Pictures
You would think that we would want to protect our children. With all the Mary Whitehouse types running around, yelling “Think of the children!” it’s easy to get the impression that adults want kids to stay in a nice, safe, emotionally static bubble. Never exposed to anything painful or uncomfortable. But you wouldn’t know it by taking a look at the kind of films we watched as kids.
Seriously. Sure, people get sad when they watch Terms of Endearment or Schindler’s List, but if you want to see some real tears, show them a kids’ film. Almost any one film will do. All of the best stories have some deep, emotional subtext going on, and in a lot of ways, films were our first exposure to the really dark stuff. Death. Loss. Existentialism. I mean, you would think that they would save that stuff for...
You would think that we would want to protect our children. With all the Mary Whitehouse types running around, yelling “Think of the children!” it’s easy to get the impression that adults want kids to stay in a nice, safe, emotionally static bubble. Never exposed to anything painful or uncomfortable. But you wouldn’t know it by taking a look at the kind of films we watched as kids.
Seriously. Sure, people get sad when they watch Terms of Endearment or Schindler’s List, but if you want to see some real tears, show them a kids’ film. Almost any one film will do. All of the best stories have some deep, emotional subtext going on, and in a lot of ways, films were our first exposure to the really dark stuff. Death. Loss. Existentialism. I mean, you would think that they would save that stuff for...
- 1/7/2014
- by Audrey Fox
- Obsessed with Film
Whenever you think of Video Nasties, it is normally the notorious big names that enter your head. Cannibal Holocaust! SS Experiment Camp! I Spit on your Grave! These are all censor-baiting, controversial works which have achieved mythical status as to their nastiness. This is due to the fact that some idiots in the British establishment singled out 72 films as being the work of The Dark Lord – they would corrupt and deprave a whole chunk of the British public if they were not banned.
By banning the films, the UK censors enshrined into legend a load of cheap and crappy horror flicks that everyone would have ignored had the Daily Mail and Mary Whitehouse not persistently hammered home what putrid trash these films were. Of course, banning a movie makes it a total come on for lovers of the perverse, forbidden and bizarre.
I spent my teenage years looking down video...
By banning the films, the UK censors enshrined into legend a load of cheap and crappy horror flicks that everyone would have ignored had the Daily Mail and Mary Whitehouse not persistently hammered home what putrid trash these films were. Of course, banning a movie makes it a total come on for lovers of the perverse, forbidden and bizarre.
I spent my teenage years looking down video...
- 10/18/2013
- by Clare Simpson
- Obsessed with Film
If you are yet to see The Wicker Man, or if, in your mind, that title is synonymous with Nicolas Cage and a cage of bees, then I envy you. Robin Hardy’s twisted, erotic vision is re-released in UK cinemas this Friday. This ‘Final’ version will not be anything new to already established Wicker Man fans. For those not in the know, upon its completion in 1973, The Wicker Man was brutally recut by its own distributor, British Lion, into a version that was a whole 13 minutes shorter than director Robin Hardy’s original cut. British Lion released their shortened version as a B-movie accompanying Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now.
Since then, various versions of Hardy’s film have been made, roughly compiled with footage, often varying in picture quality, from the many cuts that have been floating around since the film’s release. Whilst this is the...
Since then, various versions of Hardy’s film have been made, roughly compiled with footage, often varying in picture quality, from the many cuts that have been floating around since the film’s release. Whilst this is the...
- 9/27/2013
- by Georgia Fleury Reynolds
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Interview Louisa Mellor 3 Sep 2013 - 07:00
Philip Hinchcliffe, Doctor Who producer 1974 - 1977, chats about Tom Baker, villains, visual FX, companions, the 2005 revival, & more…
A week or so ago in a Brighton basement, Den of Geek attended a fun evening organised by the - aptly named, in this instance - arts and entertainment group, Space.
A regular Brighton-based event, Space regularly welcomes luminaries from the creative world to talk to its intimate group. Past guests have been from the world of film and television (Mark Gatiss, Toby Whithouse, Nicholas Roeg, David Morrissey, The Dark Knight trilogy and Inception visual effects artist Paul Franklin, Star Wars, Superman and Raiders of the Lost Ark production designer Norman Reynolds), literature (Ian Rankin), and music (William Orbit, Skunk Anansie’s Skin, Goldie).
There are two Q&As per event, and opportunities to ask questions in an informal, friendly and geeky atmosphere, making the nights well worth the £8 advance ticket price.
Philip Hinchcliffe, Doctor Who producer 1974 - 1977, chats about Tom Baker, villains, visual FX, companions, the 2005 revival, & more…
A week or so ago in a Brighton basement, Den of Geek attended a fun evening organised by the - aptly named, in this instance - arts and entertainment group, Space.
A regular Brighton-based event, Space regularly welcomes luminaries from the creative world to talk to its intimate group. Past guests have been from the world of film and television (Mark Gatiss, Toby Whithouse, Nicholas Roeg, David Morrissey, The Dark Knight trilogy and Inception visual effects artist Paul Franklin, Star Wars, Superman and Raiders of the Lost Ark production designer Norman Reynolds), literature (Ian Rankin), and music (William Orbit, Skunk Anansie’s Skin, Goldie).
There are two Q&As per event, and opportunities to ask questions in an informal, friendly and geeky atmosphere, making the nights well worth the £8 advance ticket price.
- 9/3/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Feature Philip Tibbetts 2 Sep 2013 - 07:00
Philip looks back at BBC series Adam Adamant Lives!, from the creators of Doctor Who, and asks what legacy it left in its stead...
“So clever... but oh, so vulnerable.”
In 1965 the creators of Doctor Who, Sydney Newman and Verity Lambert, moved on to develop the next big thing for the BBC. Adam Adamant Lives! would be developed, in part, as a response to one of the Time Lord’s greatest opponents – Mary Helen Lovejoy Whitehouse.
To address Whitehouse’s criticisms about the decline of moral standards in TV, Sydney Newman imagined a series with a Victorian or Edwardian hero whose ethics could be contrasted with those of the swinging sixties. As legend has it, Newman was staring out of his office window at building works when he imagined the workmen unearthing a long lost hero (similar but surely preferable to the racist spaceship...
Philip looks back at BBC series Adam Adamant Lives!, from the creators of Doctor Who, and asks what legacy it left in its stead...
“So clever... but oh, so vulnerable.”
In 1965 the creators of Doctor Who, Sydney Newman and Verity Lambert, moved on to develop the next big thing for the BBC. Adam Adamant Lives! would be developed, in part, as a response to one of the Time Lord’s greatest opponents – Mary Helen Lovejoy Whitehouse.
To address Whitehouse’s criticisms about the decline of moral standards in TV, Sydney Newman imagined a series with a Victorian or Edwardian hero whose ethics could be contrasted with those of the swinging sixties. As legend has it, Newman was staring out of his office window at building works when he imagined the workmen unearthing a long lost hero (similar but surely preferable to the racist spaceship...
- 9/1/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
As Hit Girl swears again, Charlie Lyne remembers Hollywood's other broken taboos
There's a key scene at the beginning of this month's lacklustre superhero sequel Kick-Ass 2 in which Hit-Girl, the film's deadly teenage heroine, protests against a household swear jar recently installed by her legal guardian. It's a knowing callback to the first Kick-Ass, in which the same character – then just 11 years old – famously addressed a gang of villainous henchmen with a word borrowed from the vocabularies of Derek and Clive. With that in mind, the remainder of KA2 plays out as a tedious slog towards the inevitable reprise, which dutifully arrives in the film's final moments. Because we all know it ain't over til the little girl says "cunt".
Ever since cinemagoers declared themselves too sophisticated for the simple thrills of Train Pulling Into A Station, filmmakers have sought out more and more extreme methods of shocking their audiences.
There's a key scene at the beginning of this month's lacklustre superhero sequel Kick-Ass 2 in which Hit-Girl, the film's deadly teenage heroine, protests against a household swear jar recently installed by her legal guardian. It's a knowing callback to the first Kick-Ass, in which the same character – then just 11 years old – famously addressed a gang of villainous henchmen with a word borrowed from the vocabularies of Derek and Clive. With that in mind, the remainder of KA2 plays out as a tedious slog towards the inevitable reprise, which dutifully arrives in the film's final moments. Because we all know it ain't over til the little girl says "cunt".
Ever since cinemagoers declared themselves too sophisticated for the simple thrills of Train Pulling Into A Station, filmmakers have sought out more and more extreme methods of shocking their audiences.
- 8/24/2013
- by Charlie Lyne
- The Guardian - Film News
The making-of-Mary Poppins movie features Emma Thompson as author Pl Travers and Colin Farrell as her real-life father
Reading this on mobile? Click here to watch trailer
The first trailer for the forthcoming Saving Mr Banks has umbrella-parachuted to our doorsteps. The film sees Disney following the current trend for films-about-film-making, by telling the story of the big-screen adaption of Mary Poppins. Emma Thompson plays Poppins author Pl Travers, and the film will see her looking back at her childhood during the filming of the 1964 classic. It is also the first time Walt Disney himself, played by Tom Hanks, has been depicted as a character in a film.
The trailer suggests antagonism between Travers and Disney over the adaptation will play an important part, although there are hints of a warming, if awkward, friendship between the two; it looks a little like Bill Clinton trying to flirt with Mary Whitehouse.
Reading this on mobile? Click here to watch trailer
The first trailer for the forthcoming Saving Mr Banks has umbrella-parachuted to our doorsteps. The film sees Disney following the current trend for films-about-film-making, by telling the story of the big-screen adaption of Mary Poppins. Emma Thompson plays Poppins author Pl Travers, and the film will see her looking back at her childhood during the filming of the 1964 classic. It is also the first time Walt Disney himself, played by Tom Hanks, has been depicted as a character in a film.
The trailer suggests antagonism between Travers and Disney over the adaptation will play an important part, although there are hints of a warming, if awkward, friendship between the two; it looks a little like Bill Clinton trying to flirt with Mary Whitehouse.
- 7/12/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Comedian's response to Us anti-abortion law no laughing matter for Republicans. Elsewhere, Stewart Lee blasts elitism in comedy and Lenny Henry's thespian thunder rages on
This week's comedy news
Not for the first time, the Us comedian Sarah Silverman has become embroiled in a political row, after a Democratic representative retweeted her stated desire to "anally probe" the governor of Wisconsin – in response to his having signed off new anti-abortion legislation. Governor Scott Walker's law would require women considering abortions to have ultrasound scans. Silverman tweeted that "I'd very much like to anally probe @govwalker each time he needs to make an 'informed decision'" – a comment retweeted by Colorado politician Joe Salazar. At that, Republicans cried foul: "It's fine to disagree with Gov Walker," fulminated a Colorado Republican Committee spokesman in a party press release, "but it's not Ok for Joe Salazar to call for the governor to be raped.
This week's comedy news
Not for the first time, the Us comedian Sarah Silverman has become embroiled in a political row, after a Democratic representative retweeted her stated desire to "anally probe" the governor of Wisconsin – in response to his having signed off new anti-abortion legislation. Governor Scott Walker's law would require women considering abortions to have ultrasound scans. Silverman tweeted that "I'd very much like to anally probe @govwalker each time he needs to make an 'informed decision'" – a comment retweeted by Colorado politician Joe Salazar. At that, Republicans cried foul: "It's fine to disagree with Gov Walker," fulminated a Colorado Republican Committee spokesman in a party press release, "but it's not Ok for Joe Salazar to call for the governor to be raped.
- 7/11/2013
- by Brian Logan
- The Guardian - Film News
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