Change Your Image
anne-bolger
Reviews
Chance in a Million (1984)
why no DVD release?
When considering the junk that does make it to DVD, why, oh why, has this been overlooked for so long? It is superb and certainly not another twee safe little 'middle-england' sitcom where it is compulsory for EVERY actor's line to be funny then followed by canned laughter. I'm sorry but true comedy isn't like that - genuine workable comedy is best with stooges to bounce things off. Come on - there are 18 true gems lying in a vault being ignored. No wonder people pirate things from home-made video copies - I cherish the 6 episodes I taped direct from the TV but would love a DVD boxed set of all 18 in higher definition. Put my name top of your list for a copy and please, please, hurry - 'before one of us dies' to quote a well known comedian - more than 20 years has elapsed now! Brenda Blethyn and Simon Callow went on to star in much bigger productions but the magic blend of their comedic skills married to a surreal script with it's manic obsession for co-incidence is simply genius - I would urge people to seek out surviving tapes - you won't be disappointed.
Me Mammy (1968)
has this wonderful series been totally wiped ?
The total absence of 'Me Mammy' clips on nostalgia programmes suggest to me that none of these wonderful episodes have survived. I related to this show because there was a distinct parallel between it and my very catholic mother's attempts at keeping me chaste - Milo O'Shea had my profound sympathy as his efforts to bed a woman mirrored my own at the time. Remember the 'Mammy's' cupboard full of Saints which were often aired and offered numerous incantations with hastily administered Signs of the Cross / Blessings? The series would be very dated now but if some still exist why not pander to the minority for once? I often wonder if this series influenced the writers of Father Ted to some degree. I crave seeing an episode of this almost as much as one from 'Beggar my neighbour' but that's another story.
Last of the Summer Wine: Getting Sam Home (1983)
Fantastic....one of the best TV films ever......RELEASE IT ON DVD !!
A wonderfully funny full length film-noir with an excellent and eccentric plot - why oh why this has not been released on DVD I cannot imagine - despite being of 1983 vintage, it is still fresh and would only endear itself to the current crop of show-watchers. Most of the original characters are here, including Syd (John Comer, who was to die shortly afterwards from throat cancer - his voice betraying his illness). There is also a wonderful performance from Lynda Baron as 'Lily Bless Her' who is better known for her role as 'Nurse Gwladys Emmanuel' and Arkwright's girlfriend in Open All Hours. Sub-plots abound and there are also some great cameo performances like the drunk buying fish & chips. Simply wonderful eccentric humour at it's British best.
The Likely Lads (1976)
30 years have passed and no sequel - Unbelievable !
These two actors were so good together and the script equally top notch - why oh why in these days of poor sequels and the flogging to death of anything half-decent must we be deprived of this fantastic idea / partnership. The main players are still alive - so too the writers - what is the problem BBC ?? If it is still Bewes & Bolam's dislike of each other that is simply not an excuse - many actors have turned out memorable roles opposite people they detested. Common sense and professionalism should enter the scenario here as future generations will not thank us for allowing this wonderful pairing to die off - DO IT NOW. You did it with 'Only Fools....' Whether they like it or not these two characters/actors are a NATIONAL INSTITUTION and they achieved legendary status in their own lifetimes - something very rare indeed - this should simply NOT BE ALLOWED to wither on the vine. If you are reading this Messrs. Bolam and Bewes...please bury the hatchet (if that is indeed the problem). Even if only for the sake of posterity...Delboy has gone, so too Victor Meldrew.....Blair's Britain must have something to look forward to.....your nation expects.
Must more licence-payers money be thrown at a seamless line of Antique / Boot Sale / Move to the country / Flog it / DIY / Cookery programmes? To say nothing of those awfully bad sensationalist fly-on-the-wall 'Reality' programmes which only serve to provide a stage for and inevitably generate yet more moronic and talentless 'wannabes'.
I recently met up with an old work colleague after 30 years and it's been great - please let Bob Ferris and Terry Collier do the same.
As both would now be heading down the retirement road, a nice twist would be Terry having finally turned out to be the more successful of the two whilst Bob (& Thelma's) fortunes have stagnated on the Elm Lodge Housing Estate courtesy of occupational pensions that didn't live up to their expectations.
They could meet at an airport ......having recently sold his string of Costa Del Sol bars, a flush, sun-tanned Terry returns and literally bumps into Bob re-stocking vending machines in the airport lounge "I do this part-time purely to keep active, you understand, kidder" Come on..MAKE IT HAPPEN FOR A NATION CRYING OUT FOR A DECENT SIT-COM....I've started it off, all you've got to do is carry it on.
Bulman (1985)
Bulman was a very strong character but utterly believable
Why oh why must we suffer constant repeats of average stuff when gems like the 20 episodes of this brilliant series lie idle in the vaults having only been shown once (?). It can't even be bought on DVD as far as I know....come on you budding entrepreneurs !! make the copyright holder an offer and release this wonderful set....if only as a testament to the brilliant but sadly no longer with us Don Henderson - a truly great character actor - don't let his memory pass relatively unappreciated. Even the previous 'Strangers' series (during which he was a cop - this led to the writing of Bulman) is worthy of a re-run - his two police sidekicks (whose names escape me) being completely in awe of his idiosyncratic ways.
In Broad Daylight (1991)
A chilling yet highly credible account of the fallibility of Law
The thing that disturbs me most about this man's reign of terror is that it could happen almost anywhere - any place where laws are rendered useless by a combination of slick lawyers, intimidated witnesses and 'jobs-worth' officials. Despite our hopes and belief that we are advancing in all areas of society, this film serves to remind us that over-complicating the system has the ability to set us back to square one.
Prior to the set-up of recognised Police Forces in the UK (apart from the efforts of feeble wardens) criminal activity was sometimes countered by the raising of a 'Hue & Cry' - the local community rallying around with anything they had to hand to give chase and apprehend the culprit(s) - for everything from sheep stealing to murder. That is exactly what these people did in order to protect themselves AND RIGHTLY SO - there is no better precedent than something that has existed since the dawn of civilisation. If we have a system that is rendered next to useless by having the law-enforcers handcuffed, what else can we expect? This PC world we live in has gone berserk - for every pro-victim advocate that exists there seem to be ten on the side of the culprit.
The film was excellent and deserves to be on DVD - whether it was low budget or not. The slow-burn, laid back yet chilling portrayal by Brian Dennehey (whose work I have always admired) was simply the cherry on top - everyone should see this film at least once and I totally agree with the comments made by both blondie and gunrunner.
The latter contributor's comments loosely reminded me of a rowdy local family who were eventually 'run out of town' by the strict application of laws, however trivial. Three police officers (often assisted by more) were assigned to shadow them around the clock and, after a while, the sheer cost of their misdemeanours in fines and other inconveniences forced this one-family crime wave to move. I am not saying this would have worked in the case of ROWAN in IBD but it might have spared the community from taking the role of Judge, Jury & Executioner upon themselves, the trauma and burden of which they have had to carry ever since.