strange and random happenstance: Michael Palin

Hot air balloons and Phileas Fogg go together like Amelia Earhart and aeroplanes. But here's the thing I learned from Michael Palin; Phileas Fogg never goes up in a hot air balloon once in the book. It's a conceit entirely made up for the adaptations and ingrained on our minds by the poster for the 1956 film starring David Niven. In fact almost everything I know about Around the World in Eighty Days I learned from Michael Palin and his documentary where he tried to recreate the journey. Perhaps I should read the book? Or perhaps not. Reading the summary it doesn't seem to have aged well with regard to indigenous cultures. Well, the best thing that can be said about this adaptation is it gets the balloon out of the way in the first episode. I really don't know who this adaptation is made for, aside from my Dad who loves it despite all it's faults. Each episode feels like they have to build to a "teaching moment" with a "very special guest star" who will explain why whatever the issue of the day is is bad. How did they get Lindsay Duncan to do this show? I know she has some schlock on her resume, but seriously? Which brings me back to the who is this written for? Children would be bored stiff, adults just see what's wrong with the whole production and feel a little talked down to when we're told racism is bad. Yeah, I do know a lot of people might need reminding, but I don't think those people are watching PBS. The aesthetic is more Dickensian than Attenborough, and I think you'd want to marvel at the world not make it so dark and dirty. But perhaps they were pushing against all the previous primary color adaptations. As for the music? Hans Zimmer's studio has a lot to answer for for this entirely unappealing Murray Gold wannabe vibe it's failing hard at. It would literally be better without music. Or if it wasn't ripping off another of their own productions, His Dark Materials. In fact everything about this production, aside from the casting, is poor. I actually feel sorry for the actors. David Tennant, Ibrahim Koma, and Leonie Benesch are acting their hearts out and breaking ours and the material is just failing them. I feel bad. Especially for Miss Fix. Here we have a woman finally with her own initiative in this male world, being based on Nellie Bly and her attempt to beat the fictional Phileas Fogg's eighty day journey, and instead it takes her from being a world class journalist and intrepid explorer to someone prey to love and yelling about the Chinese not inventing forks. Seriously!?! At least have some standards for the writing! And shoehorning in how she's "changed" as a throwaway line in the finale doesn't count as proper character development. And don't get me started on her pretty dress!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: Around the World in Eighty Days, David Niven, David Tennant, Dickensian, Fifty-Five Years a Masterpiece, Han Zimmer, His Dark Materials, Ibrahim Koma, Leonie Benesch, Michael Palin, Murray Gold, Nellie Bly, PBS, Phileas Fogg

Steel by Carrie Vaughn
Published by: Harper Teen
Publication Date: March 15th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"It was a slender length of rusted steel, tapered to a point at one end and jagged at the other, as if it had broken. A thousand people would step over it and think it trash, but not her.

This was the tip of a rapier.

Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she finds a corroded sword piece on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued and pockets it as her own personal treasure. The broken tip holds secrets, though, and it transports Jill through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Stranded in the past and surrounded by strangers, she is forced to sign on as crew. But a pirate's life is bloody and brief, and as Jill learns about the dark magic that brought her there, she forms a desperate scheme to get home—one that risks everything in a duel to the death with a villainous pirate captain.

Time travel, swordplay, and romance combine in an original high-seas adventure from New York Times bestseller Carrie Vaughn."

Carrie Vaughn is expanding into YA, looks like fun!

Michael Palin Diaries 1980-1988: Halfway to Hollywood by Michael Palin
Published by: Thomas Dunne Books
Publication Date: March 15th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 680 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"The second volume of Michael Palin’s diaries covers the bulk of the 1980s, a decade in which the ties binding the Pythons loosened—they made their last film Monty Pyton’s Meaning of Life in 1983. For Michael, writing and acting took over much of his life, culminating in his appearances in A Fish Called Wanda, in which he played the hapless, stuttering Ken, and won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor. Halfway to Hollywood follows Palin’s torturous trail through seven movies and ends with his final preparations for the documentary that was to change his life—Around the World in 80 Days.

During these years he co-wrote and acted in Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits as well as spearing in Gilliam’s follow-up success Brazil. Palin co-produced, wrote and played the lead in The Missionary opposite Maggie Smith, who also appeared with him in A Private Function, written by Alan Bennett. In television the decade was memorable for East of Ipswich, inspired his links with Suffolk. Such was his fame in the US, he was enticed into once again hosting the enormously popular show Saturday Night Live. He filmed one of the BBC’s Great Railway Journeys as well as becoming chairman of the pressure group Transport 2000. His life with Helen and the family remains a constant, as the children enter their teens.

Palin’s joy of writing is evident once more in Halfway to Hollywood as he demonstrates his continuing sense of wonder at the world in which he finds himself. A world of screens large and small."
I have been waiting what seems like forever for the second installment of Palin's Diaries to come stateside. FINALLY!

The Evil Garden by Edward Gorey
Published by: Pomegranate
Publication Date: March 15th, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 32 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Great-Uncle Franz, beside the lake, is being strangled by a snake.

The peaches, apples, plums, and pears are guarded by ferocious bears.

Alexa watches while her aunt is pulled feet first inside a plant.

A happy, naive family enters the Evil Garden (free admission!) to spend a sunny afternoon in its inviting landscape, lush with exotic trees and flowers. They soon realize their mistake, as harrowing sounds and evidence of foul play emerge. When humongous hairy bugs, famished carnivorous plants, ferocious fruit-guarding bears, and a sinister strangling snake take charge, the family's ominous feelings turn to full-on panic—but where's the exit?

Edward Gorey leads us through this nefarious garden with a light step. His unmistakable drawings paired with engaging couplets produce giggles, not gasps. Perhaps The Evil Garden is a morality tale; perhaps it's simply an enigmatic entertainment. Whatever the interpretation, it's a prime example of the iconic storytelling genius that is Edward Gorey."

I love all the is Edward Gorey. And that's all that needs to be said.

Whedonistas by Women Who Love Joss Whedon
Published by: Mad Norwegian Press
Publication Date: March 15th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 192 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"In Whedonistas, a host of award-winning female writers and fans come together to celebrate the works of Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, Doctor Horrible s Sing-Along Blog). By discussing the impact of Whedon's work, their involvement with his shows fandoms and why they adore the worlds he's created, these essayists aim to misbehave in Whedon's rich, fantastical worlds. Essay topics include Sharon Shinn (Samaria series) and Emma Bull (Territory) elaborating on the perfection of Firefly, Jeanne Stein (the Anna Strong Chronicles) revealing Buffy's influence on Anna Strong, and Nancy Holder (October Rain, The Watcher s Guide) relating on-the-set tales of Spike menacing her baby daughter while Riley made her hot chocolate. Other contributors include Seanan McGuire (October Daye series), Elizabeth Bear (Chill), Catherynne M. Valente (Palimpsest), Maria Lima (Blood Lines), Jackie Kessler (Black and White), Mariah Huehner (IDW Comics), Sarah Monette (Corambis), and Lyda Morehouse (AngeLINK Series). Also featured is an exclusive interview with television writer and producer Jane Espenson. "

Ever since this group of ladies did their tribute to Doctor Who, I've been waiting with baited breath for this one. While Doctor Who is fabulous, Joss made me who I am... I only wish they could have gotten the cartoon on the front to look a little bit more like my master.

William and Kate Paperdolls by Tom Tierney
Published by: Dover
Publication Date: March 15th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 32 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"To Commemorate the Marriage of Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton, 29th April 2011."

Ok, I'll admit, this is a little cheesey, and I'm not sure of my feelings towards Kate, but I love Tom Tierney. I used to collect all his paperdolls and all the ones he did in magazines. He is an amazing artist and I am still bitter about the incident with the mold in my basement that distroyed them all.