Horizon

I know I'm supposed to get outraged by this sort of thing, but, well, Thunderbirds wasn't exactly Proust to begin with, was it ....?

I think respect for the original source material is always a generally good principle for adaptation, regardless of whether it's a comic book, a TV show, a literary source or supermarionation. It's what makes Spider-Man 2, and Pride and Predjudice superb and Keep The Aspidistra Flying and Batman and Robin abysmal. (What constitutes 'respect' is of course a whole other debate...)

And, frankly, if Proust lived on an island with supersophisticated gadgetry and amazingly cool vehicles, then maybe I'd give Recherche a Temps Perdu a read.

Graeme, what did you mean by "a cod Spy Kids" ? I feel like this is the second time in a week I've seen "cod" used as an adjective. Was that a typo, or is it some fishy Canadian slang?

It's British slang actually. I don't have the OED near me, and I'm sure Alan can correct me, but used in this way it's like 'faux', a second-rate imitation.

A well-known sea fish, Gadus morrhua, which inhabits the North Atlantic and its connected seas of course ... or, a joke; a hoax, leg-pull; a parody, a ‘take-off’ (which I suppose means that I haven't been quite using it accurately).

OK Graeme, I have a straight-up Thunderbirds question for you. My girlfriend suggests that that new movie version Americanizes the cast. My recollection - and it's been a while - is that all the International Rescue boys were American (or at least voice actors pretending to be American), and that only Lady Penelope and Parker were Brits. Care to help us out with this?

or, a joke; a hoax, leg-pull; a parody, a ‘take-off’ (which I suppose means that I haven't been quite using it accurately).

Nor have I, as I've always used it as 'second-rate imitation'. Unfortunately, my Oxford Canadian English Dictionary doesn't recognize the British slang definition, and I'm not prepared to spend $300 a year to subscribe to the online version of OED.

my Oxford Canadian English Dictionary

... insert inevitable "eh?" joke here?

I believe your recollection is right, Alan. The Tracy Family were American, all of them named for Mercury astronauts no less.

Apropos of nothing really, except this is a TV thread ... but I've just seen the first two episodes of Sandbagger and yes, Alan, you were right: it's terrific. Looking forward to the next Netflix instalment.

my Oxford Canadian English Dictionary
... insert inevitable "eh?" joke here?

eh /ei/ interj. informal 1. inviting assent (nice day, eh?). 2. cdn ascertaining the comprehension, continued interest, agreement, etc. of the person or persons addressed (it's way out in the suburbs, eh, so I can't get there by bike)This is the only usage of eh that can be categorized as peculiarly Canadian, all other uses being common amongst speakers in other Commonwealth countries and to a lesser extent in the United States.

Now, please find a better joke to use with my citizenry, eh?

I can do even better than that: I can turn this into a Dr. Who discussion!

I remember when I was a kid watching a Tom Baker (I think it was him) story in which he was having some kind of extended dream sequence where he was being pursued by a dude in a First World War gasmask. I can recall nothing else about it except that it scared the living crap out of me. What was it called, and is it available on DVD? I'd almost be afraid to rent it in case it turned out to be the most frightful old tosh, but I'm curious. Oh, and are there any Tom Baker Dalek stories out on DVD? Did he ever take on the Daleks? I'm sure he must have done, but I can't think of any specific encounters.

It's probably The Deadly Assassin which is not available on DVD, but is still available on VHS. It's the Doctor Who story that brought the wrath of Mary Whitehouse down on the series and got its producer, if not fired, then pushed rather quickly into other projects. It's remarkably good and still holds up astonishingly well-- Robert Holmes writing and David Maloney directing, the Doctor Who equivalent of Mankiewicz and Welles-- particularly the third episode (which has the chase you were remembering, shot all on film and riffing off "The World's Most Dangerous Game")

Neither of his Dalek stories (Genesis of the Daleks which is rather good, and Destiny of the Daleks, which is rather not, but has Douglas Adams script-editing and inserting some funny jokes here and there) are out on DVD as yet, alas.

Oh, and to bring this back onto the topic of bad transatlantic versions, I forgot one of my most (least?) favourites, Blake Edwards' version of Francois Truffaut's The Man Who Loved Women which missed the whole point of Truffaut's version-- that the skirt-chaser is completely unrepentant and is not in need of being cured of his lechery, unlike Burt Reynolds in the film version.

Did you listen to the Radio 4 show about Daleks (I was a Teenage Dalek or something slightly predictable like that) that aired a year or so ago? Quite amusing to hear all those underpaid BBC extras sentimentally grumbling about the heat, the discomfort of those damned costumes (if that's the right word), etc.

Oh, Ask Graeme Part III: Any idea if Matt Irvine, the BBC special effects guy who (on a shoestring budget) used to produce all the spaceships and explosions and so on for Dr. Who, Blake's Seven etc., is still around and working? I remember when he appeared now and again on Blue Peter showing Peter Purves and the rest of us how to make a galactic starcruiser from a cardboard tube and a bunch of cast-off Airfix parts. Mine never came out right.

Answer Alan, part III: http://www.smallspace.demon.co.uk/index.htm

Cheers. Good to see a mention of The Adventure Game - the only Survivor-type show that was ever any good, period.

I've just seen the first two episodes of Sandbagger and yes, Alan, you were right: it's terrific. Looking forward to the next Netflix instalment.

Glad to hear it, Alan. Enjoy.

Point of No Return! The quiz failed to mention one of the worst American remakes ever. La Femme Nikita has an amazing visual style. The ads for Point of No Return made such a big deal about haw it was shot for shot La Femme Nikita with an American cast yet there was no edge, nothing raw about the remake.

I know this is a bit off topic but...
Why didn't Demme learn his lesson with The Truth About Charlie? Why did he dare to remake The Manchurian Candidate?

Speaking of The Manchurian Candidate, can someone explain to me exactly why they like that movie so much? I hate it, always have.

Well, there's that line early in the film where the Good Senator says he gave the proceeds of the defamation verdict against his red-baiting neighbor to "an organization called the American Civil Liberties Union." J&I saw the film in the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the fall of 1988, and that line got a heartening round of cheers and applause. (You do remember Bush Senior's "card-carrying member..." dig, don't you?)

But a lot of it is hard to watch, yes.