Scheduling shenanigans...

In this modern era of digital telly, with the marvels of time shifted viewing on your Sky+, TiVO etc. (other brands are available), it seems that the broadcasters have become somewhat less than precise where timekeeping is involved. On more occasions than I care to remember, I've fired up a recording only to discover that it started minutes earlier or later than the scheduled time, sometimes leading to the start of a show being missed (you bastards!).

So, how in the name of Jesus H Christ were Yorkshire television able to stick to such a ridiculously precise schedule as this one (from the morning of October 21st 1985)? It's down to the minute! I can envisage teachers fratically pushing and pulling the big telly on a stand into the school hall so that the kids wouldn't miss a single second of Let's Go Maths at preciselt 11:08am*. I can only assume (because I certainly can't remember) that schools programming wasn't bothered by the vagaries of advertising.


* Unless the school budget had stretched to a massive de rigueur Ferguson Videostar VCR, in which case, time-shifted viewing here we come!

The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen

The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I found this to be an interesting story, albeit one that diddn't deliver as much as I'd hoped. The influences on authors such as H.P. Lovecraft are plain to see in it's dealing with unseen forces and 'old gods' and the tale manages to build a nice sense of unease as events unfold via a series of recalled incidents. The first half of the story works best as I felt the latter portion relied somewhat on coincidence to the extent that it detracts from the story a little, but nevertheless it's a worthwhile read and interesting to consider how it caused quite a stir back in the day.



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Inappropriate adverts #1

Ahh, the good old days, when advertising made it perfectly clear what you were going to get.

Who, for instance, back in 1984, could have mistaken a crude drawing of a beret-wearing frog in a stripy sweater for anything other than an invitation to take a relaxing camping holiday on the French Riviera? All that's missing is a string of onions and the sterotype would be complete.

vive la différence indeed.

Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell

Who Goes There?: Seven Tales of Science-Fiction by John W. Campbell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've been meaning to read this for over twenty years (ever since I discovered it was the story that gave birth to The Thing from Another World, and the superb John Carpenter remake, back in the 80s). Now, with a sequel to Carpenters film about to hit cinemas, I decided it was about time I got stuck in. The story is entertaining and it's clear how close Capenter stuckl to the tale for his film version, with his version of the creature much closer to Campbell's original beast than the Howard Hawk's produced version in the 50s - several scenes from Carpenter's adaptation are remarkably true to the source, and many of the characters keep their names (if not always their fates). It's also interesting to see the period setting of the story, with steam tractors and airplanes instead of the snowcats and helicopters of the 80s. There's also that stalwart of period SF - Atomic Energy!



All in all, a story worth visiting wheteher you're a fan of the film(s) or not.



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Mile 81 by Stephen King

Mile 81 by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was an enjoyable Stephen King short story, the style of which harkened back to the Night Shift / Skeleton Crew days. In fact, the story is very reminiscent of The Raft (a story featured in Skeleton Crew, and which was also filmed for the movie Creepshow 2) in the way that the victims in the story meet their ends. A fun little story, and one which may make you wary the next time you squeeze betwwen parked cars...



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Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Wonderfully atmospheric ghost story with more than a hint of M.R. James about it.



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