=-=-=-=-= Society of the Rusting TARDIS Newsletter (#32, 02/27/96)
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>>> Items of interest to British media fans and Seattle-area residents,
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>>> and whatever else I feel like spewing about. You have been warned.
<<<
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No, no "majordomo" setup yet. The huge mail header lives on. (I've read
some pretty dense "man" pages in my time, but jeez...)
Shortly after sending off the last newsletter announcing our 99th
subscriber,
I added the 100th. Naturally, shortly thereafter her address went
belly-up.
If anyone knows how to reach Wendi Kincaid (old address is
"wkincaid@appliedvoice.com"), let me know or tell her to contact me again.
(I kept her on the list, but I expect it to bounce.)
Pretty light newsletter this time. Again. And it's late. Oh well, you
get what you pay for. :-)
On tap this time:
Quick news items
Jeff receives email from "Fist of Fun" star
Review - Paul Merton in Galton and Simpson's... "Twelve Angry Men"
Space Ghost's Laser Show
It's Raining Cats
Upcoming SotRT events
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Subject: Quick news items
Sound bites:
The sixth season of "Brittas Empire" will air in the UK in March.
Scripts for season seven have already been commissioned, with
shooting planned for September.
Remember when Stephen Fry left the play "Cell Mates" last July?
Well, much legalness ensued, and the producer has settled
out-of-court for 250,000 pounds. (Ouch!)
Miscellany:
Run, don't walk, to Jackie Chan's "Rumble in the Bronx". On second
thought, take a hovercraft. It certainly isn't his best film, and
entire subplots were cut out for this release, but it's still a good
time. By Jackie's standards there are few truly spectacular stunts,
but there are lots of good, long fights with clever use of props
(e.g., skis, a pinball machine, a refrigerator...). Jeff-Bob says
check it out more than once.
Um, how about an AOL "Red Dwarf" mailing list that includes online
chats? Send mail to "Queeg500xx@aol.com".
Those who watch Cartoon Planet will be glad to hear that Cartoon
Planet's "Modern Music For Swinging Superheroes" CD will soon be
released. Yes, at last you will be able to hear Brak's "Baloney
Sandwich" while tooling down the interstate.
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Subject: Jeff receives email from "Fist of Fun" star!
Imagine my surprise last week when, out of the blue, I received email from
"Fist of Fun"'s Pete Baynham, who plays...well, I'll just let you read it:
> Hi. Just a quick one to express my delight that our show has made it to
> Seattle! I'm the sad lifestyle expert/cook "Peter". We've just started >
recording a second series which begins transmitting here this Friday. >
Anyway, cheers. Pete Baynham.
Yes, now you all can say you're a part of the WORLD-FAMOUS Society of the
Rusting TARDIS.
And look for Pete in "Saturday Night Armistice", coming soon to a video
night near you.
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Subject: Review - Paul Merton in Galton and Simpson's... "Twelve Angry Men"
From: Britcomedy Digest
Paul Merton stars in eight remakes of classic comedies by Ray Galton and
Alan Simpson, five of which originally starred the late Tony Hancock.
Of all the new season's series, this is surely the one that has most to
prove in its first show. Could Merton pull off the unthinkable: step into
Hancock's shoes? It seemed as unlikely as 'Kind Hearts And Coronets'
without Alec Guinness or 'Some Like It Hot' without Marilyn Monroe. What
soon becomes clear, however, is that Merton is a talented and original
performer and that Galton and Simpson's scripts are as sharp and fresh
today as they were 30 years ago.
Watching Merton perform brings out the similarities between his style and
Hancock's; both rely on an innocent, sideways view of the world, picking
out absurdities in everyday situations. However, Merton avoids falling into
the trap of aping Hancock's mannerisms and delivery, replacing
world-weariness with light-heartedness. Sam Kelly is a little less
satisfying in Sid James' role as the self-interested foil to Hancock's
naivete; it will be interesting to see how Merton's wife Caroline Quentin
interprets the part in some of the later shows.
What stands out more than anything is the quality of the writing. Apart
from minimal touches to bring the setting forward to the 1990s -- new
money, public figures, and technology -- the scripts are unchanged from the
originals. It's a joy to see the characters of the jurors painted with just
a few deft flicks of the pen, the tone of the show established by
Merton's first impish rejoinders to the judge.
Forget any deep-seated skepticism about "re-doing Hancock"; this show is
much more about a talented performer and a cracking script. What better
recipe for a great half-hour's entertainment? (JK)
[With any luck this should make it into our video night rotation in a
couple of months. --jeff]
Britcomedy Digest (ISSN 1077-6680) Copyright (c) 1995, 96 by Melinda
Casino.
Reproduction for personal and non-profit use is permitted only if this
copyright notice is retained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without
permission.
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Subject: Space Ghost's Laser Show
The Space Ghost Planetarium/Laser Road Show may be coming to a planet near
you. If you don't live in Seattle, that is. But many of you don't, so
here's the schedule:
Radio Station
Date City Planetarium with tickets:
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March 1 Boston Charles Hayden Planetarium WBCN
March 5 New York IMAX Theatre WXRK
March 7 Pittsburgh Carnegie Science Center WXDX
March 12 Atlanta Jim Cherry Planetarium WNNX
March 16 San Diego Reuben H. Fleet Space Theatre XTRA
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Subject: It's Raining Cats
An enterprising vicar, whose cat had got stuck up a tree, was unable to
reach it by ladder. So he attached one end of a rope to the bough on which
the cat was stuck and the other end to his car bumper, then drove away
slowly, thus lowering the bough so that the cat could jump down. But the
rope snapped and the unlucky cat was suddenly propelled heavenwards.
Meanwhile, a mother and daughter were picnicking on their lawn nearby. The
girl said, "Mummy, I'd like to have a cat."
"You'll have to ask Jesus for one," said Mum. At this point, the flying
feline came hurtling through the air and landed on the lawn. It has stayed
with them ever since.
[From the church magazine of St. John with St. Michael in Bournemouth, via
"Weekend Telegraph" (9/24/94), via "Fortean Times"]
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Subject: Upcoming SotRT events
Currently planned for the next Rusting Tardis video night (February 28), at
Round Table Pizza, 5111 25th Ave. NE (in Seattle):
Goodnight Sweetheart: Series 2, episode 8
Fist of Fun: Episode 4
Game On: Episode 1 (a somewhat odd Andrew Davies sitcom)
Bugs: "Assassins, Inc." (an uber-high-tech espionage series)
Coming soon: The latest season of "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" and "The All
New Alexei Sayle Show II"
The next social is Tuesday March 5, at Round Table Pizza, 5111 25th Ave. NE
(in Seattle).
See you on Wednesday.
"The alien ship landed and the things emerged...
They were about six feet tall, and at a rough
classification could have been described as
mammalian bipeds. Their forelimbs terminated in
digital extremities; they possessed primary optical
organs; and the respiratory orifice was subdivided.
The oral orifice was provided with an articulated
mandible at its lower extremity, and to sum up -
they bore a striking resemblance to _homo sapiens_.
--"Hand of Doom", Robert Lionel Fanthorpe
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The standard disclaimers apply to everything here except this statement.
To subscribe/unsubscribe to this list, send mail to "onan@eskimo.com".
The Society of the Rusting TARDIS web page - http://www.halcyon.com/sotrt/
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