Category Archives: Entertainment

Review of Doctor Who The Rings of Akhaten

Entertainment, , , , , , , ,

This is the most visually stunning episode of Doctor Who I have ever seen. It easily surpasses anything from the cardboard sets and slate quarry landscapes of the original classic series, and is still ahead of anything we have seen since the reboot in 2005.

Stylistically, it reminded me of the first Star Wars, particularly the famous Cantina scene where Luke Skywalker and Ben Kenobi venture into a bar full of weird and wonderful aliens. I lost count of the number of costumes on display as the Doctor (Matt Smith) and Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) wander the crowded streets the Akhaten market. Hats off to the BBC costume designers for the superb quality and detail that they put into this spectacular visual feast.

Review of Doctor Who The Rings of Akhaten

But I found the story a strange one. Entertaining certainly, but weird at the same time. Doctor Who rarely examines religious themes. But here we have a narrative questioning the beliefs and motivations of people worshipping, through ritual, a God like being in a golden pyramid. The Doctor refers to the ancient creature as “a mummy” though the locals know it as “grandfather”.

And the little girl, Merry, played with wonderful apprehension by the talented Emilia Jones, is at once part of the ritual and a potential sacrifice to the grandfather god when the ceremony goes wrong. Her dialogue duet scene with Clara, beautifully played by both actresses, is moving and allows Jenna-Louise Coleman to further grow into the role of new companion.

I also found the scene where the two of them hide from the sinister Vigil creatures and their whispering voices, most chilling. A shame then that the story did not make more of these monsters which looked like a cross between the Cenobites from Hellraiser and demons from the video game Doom.

Song plays a strong part in the rituals. Hymn like, melodic but alien they are among Murray Gold’s best work for the series so far and subtlety emphasise the religious references.

It turns out that Grandfather is a decoy. The real god is a parasite the size of a planet, now awake and keen to devour Merry and the inhabitants of Akhaten.

The Doctor offers it his 1000 years of memories in what is one of Matt Smith’s best monologues. Those are real tears in his eyes. But all this experience is not enough for the parasite. It takes Clara to challenge it to devour “what could have been” to cause the demon to gorge itself out of existence.

“There’s quite a difference, isn’t there, between what was and what should have been. There’s an awful lot of one but there’s an infinity of the other.” – The Doctor
Strange, sometimes disturbing, but always entertaining, The Rings of Akhaten is another successful “movie of the week”. And the poster above reflects but cannot do justice to the cinematic visuals on offer here.

Such were the strange themes being examined here, I watched the episode again a few hours later. It was even better the second time.

Your turn: Do you agree with my Review of Doctor Who The Rings of Akhaten? Did you think it was a weird episode? Share your thoughts or your own review. Please leave a comment or post a link to other reviews.

A Revelation – Review of Genesis Live over Europe 2007

Entertainment, , , , , , , , , ,

Yes I really am going to review an album that is nearly 6 years old. I missed it at release and only just discovered it on iTunes recently.

review of genesis live over europe 2007
AlbumCover

I was a big Genesis fan back in the 1980s at the time when Phil Collins had successfully replaced Peter Gabriel as lead singer. The band was in transition from a progressive rock outfit (you know 15 minute songs with long guitar and keyboard instrumental sections) that occasional wrote great pop songs – to a pop group that occasional wrote popier progressive rock songs.

Whilst purists might disagree with my analysis of that transition it’s what appeared to me was happening. I saw Genesis live at Roundhay Park in Leeds in 1987, which was the tour for their very successful and, some would say, most commercially accessible album “Invisible Touch”.

They recorded this album (and the accompanying DVD “When in Rome”) on a reunion tour 20 years later. Even though they had to play the songs in a lower key to compensate for Phil Collins older, less powerful, voice, the result is a band at the height of their powers. It’s amazing that these guys are in their 60s delivering such a powerful and polished performance. The DVD presents one concert in its entirely and the CD gives us the same set list but with recordings from different venues across Europe.

This is a perfect mix of their later pop hits and their earlier rock songs peppered with seamlessly constructed medleys and instrumentals.

Review of Genesis Live over Europe 2007
Behind the Lines

Behind the Lines/Duke’s End – a rousing instrumental opening introducing us to the powerful sound of both Phil Collins and Chester Thompson behind their drum kits.

Turn It On Again – a crowd pleasing hit song. I believe this tour was actually called the “Turn it On Again Tour”.

No Son Of Mine – one of Genesis’s most recent songs and one to sing along to.

Land Of Confusion – I remember the video to this track featuring Spitting Image puppets. Nice to see them reappear in the concert footage on the DVD.

In The Cage/Cinema Show/Duke’s Travels – Since the early 1980s Genesis have included what has become known as the “In The Cage Medley” in their set list. This features a strong rhythm section with Mike Rutherford and the two drummers – an impressive montage which, as always, merges into the next song.

Afterglow – and amazing ballad which Collins nails vocally.

Hold On My Heart – a bit of a bland ballad from the pop era. Not a highlight for me.

Review of Genesis Live over Europe 2007
Home by The Sea

Home By The Sea – this is one of those later Genesis tracks which skilfully merges pop and Prog together. The catchy sing along first half gives way to the thunderous drumming in the instrumental section. On the DVD the images of ghosts and lonely haunted houses bring this song about the supernatural alive.

Follow You Follow Me – a beautiful rendition of this famous single.

Firth Of Fifth (Excerpt) – Another amazing instrumental with Tony Banks keyboard mastery and Daryl Stuermer demonstrating his lead guitar ability. This is probably the sort of track that people hate progressive rock for – but the guitar solo is awesome.

I Know What I Like – one of Genesis’s earliest chart hits. “Me I’m just a lawn mower. You can tell me by the way I walk”.

Mama – a very scary song to listen to.

Ripples – in my opinion one of the best ballads ever recorded and this version is stunning. But just what are the “blue girls” referred to in the lyrics?

Throwing It All Away – audience participation as Collins rips off Freddie Mercury’s Ay-ho from Live Aid.

Domino – Like “Home by the Sea” a song of two halves part ballad part thunderous rocker.

Conversations With 2 Stools – many people cringe at the thought of a drum duet. Here Collins and Thompson start out on electronic drum pads and build up the layers until they are battering hell of their respective drum kits.

Los Endos – usually the closing song of the concert this time Los Endos is not the end.

Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (Excerpt) – Another of the band’s more famous pop songs.

Invisible Touch – their most commercial single and a great up temp finish to the main act.

I Can’t Dance – perhaps a strange choice of song for the encore but the crowd in the DVD seem to love it.

Carpet Crawlers – it might seem strange to close with a ballad – especially one from the 1970s Peter Gabriel era – but this is haunting, atmospheric and Collins nails the vocals.

This album is a show case of nearly three decades of Genesis music taking in pop and rock in equal measure. If like me you were a fan and missed this one, you will love this trip down memory lane. If you are new to Genesis want an accessible way into their back catalogue, this is a good place to jump on.

Your turn: Are you a Genesis fan. What do you think of this review of Genesis live over Europe 2007? What are your memories of their music and their concerts. Share your thoughts. Click below where it says “Leave a Comment”.

“Run you clever boy, and remember” – Review of Christmas episode of Doctor Who The Snowmen

Entertainment, , , , , , , ,

Show runner Stephen Moffat chose Christmas Day to reboot Doctor Who with a new title sequence, remixed music, new TARDIS set and a scary, funny, well written romp set in Victorian England. It sets up next year’s 50th anniversary perfectly and left me waiting eagerly for series 7 part two next April.

Review of Christmas episode of Doctor Who The Snowmen
The Snowmen Movie of the Week poster

In keeping with the style of the current run, The Snowmen was a “movie of the week” complete with its own movie poster. And cinematic it was with snow bound London skylines and the BBC’s usual attention to period detail. The BBC do Victorian so well don’t they?

Usually Doctor Who Christmas specials are a little cheesey and removed from the main series story arcs. Whilst The Snowmen displayed all the usual Christmas trappings, it was definitely part of the storyline this time. Matt Smith, as usual, expertly played the role, but this time he was withdrawn from the world and almost Scrooge-like, mourning the loss of his previous companions Rory and Amy. He’s done with saving the world. Done with giant robots and killer Christmas trees. All he wants to do is be miserable and live in the TARDIS he parked on a cloud. A cloud reached by a very Mary Poppins style spiral staircase.

Review of Christmas episode of Doctor Who The Snowmen

But scary snowmen with shark teeth are popping up and devouring Yuletide Londoners. These were well done though I believe earlier versions looked a little too like Rainbow’s Zippy. I would have liked to see them on screen more. Perhaps they could have eaten a few more people. But hey this is a family show.

The villain played by Richard E Grant is using the Great Intelligence to conjure them up whilst searching for the DNA of a nasty governess frozen in a pond.

Cue new companion Clara played by Jenna-Louise Coleman (flitting expertly between posh spoken Miss Montague and her other barmaid persona with a more streetwise way of talking) attempting to suss out the Doctor and persuade him to return to his universe saving ways.

Review of Christmas episode of Doctor Who The Snowmen

Also helping the Doctor (and protecting his current desire for seclusion without agreeing with it) are Madame Vastra (“Good evening. I’m a lizard woman from the dawn of time, and this is my wife”) Jenny and the Sontaran in a butler’s outfit, Strax. The latter gets the funniest lines in the story (“Try to escape and you will be obliterated. Can I take your coat?”)

And I loved the scene when the Doctor asks Strax to go and fetch the memory worm. When Strax comes back empty-handed the Doctor sighs with exasperation, “You forgot the gauntlets!”

Review of Christmas episode of Doctor Who The Snowmen

Despite this great comedy, and despite a slightly underplayed malevolent performance by Grant – though his brief resurrection as a zombie at the end was pretty horrible – the delight of this story really lay in the developing relationship between the Doctor and Clara.

Of course we the audience know he has met her before and when she mentions her love of soufflés the penny starts to drop. She was in the season opener “Asylum of the Daleks” back in September but of course in that one, Matt Smith could only hear her voice and her name was Oswin. Only after saving the city in a typical return to form did the Doctor begin to realise. As she died Clara’s last words were, “Run you clever boy. And remember.” The same as Oswin’s parting words in the earlier adventure.

And on her grave: “Clara Oswin Oswald”.

Matt Smith is now on the run to find his soufflé girl. With a new theme tune, new TARDIS set, new Victorian inspired costume and another fascinating mystery to solve, for the first time in 8 years of Christmas specials, being part of the ongoing storyline, The Snowmen leaves us desperate for the next episodes which are still four months away.

Over to you: Do you agree with my Review of Christmas episode of Doctor Who The Snowmen?Were you right about the Clara/Oswin link and where do you think it will go next? Please share your thoughts or give a link to your own reviews. Click below where it says “Leave a reply”. Go on – share!

Review of Harvey Nichols Forth Floor Restaurant Edinburgh

Entertainment, , , ,

Harvey Nichols Forth Floor Restaurant in Edinburgh is a great place for a celebratory meal. I was with the guys from marketing agency Tayburn and the reason for celebration was we had won the Best B2C Marketing category at the Digital Marketing Awards. This was for our “Next Level” campaign which featured Dragon’s Den star, Duncan Bannatyne.

Review of Harvey Nichols Forth Floor Restaurant Edinburgh
View of the restaurant and the bar beyond

The restaurant is a great place to people watch. They dress up to come here and we passed some very glamorous ladies sipping champagne at the bar. Once seated the small army of waiters attended to our every need.

Review of Harvey Nichols Forth Floor Restaurant Edinburgh
A great bottle of red wine

The Sommelier was on hand to give us wine advice and we chose an excellent red called Meerlust. The bottle appeared very quickly allowing us to savour the deep flavours as we looked at the menu.

Review of Harvey Nichols Forth Floor Restaurant Edinburgh
Rabbit starter

For starter I had:

Confit of rabbit with smoked pistachio, last summer’s preserved cherries and spiced orange loaf

Lovely moist meat, nuttiness and a little surprise from the cherries. The spicy bread was very interesting and good at mopping up the rabbit confit.

Review of Harvey Nichols Forth Floor Restaurant Edinburgh
Duck main course

And for the main course:

Roast breast of Mallard duck with turnip fondant, glazed baby vegetables, vanilla and parsnip puree, mulled wine jelly

Moist and perfectly cooked duck with that exquisite jelly and the beautiful crispy veg.

Both dishes were perfectly presented – what I like to call “Masterchef Food“.

Time was pressing so we skipped dessert and went straight to coffee, reminiscing about our days on the road with the Dragon.

Over to you: Thanks for reading my review of Harvey Nichols Forth Floor Restaurant Edinburgh? Please share you own reviews of this great establishment. Click below where it says “Leave a reply”.