Rewatching Bergerac

I've been working through some of the old TV programmes on Britbox. Many still to watch, time and energy permitting. One I'm currently watching is Bergerac, a UK crime drama which ran from 1981-1991 and was a fixture on BBC TV throughout the 1980s. Set on Jersey, and starring John Nettles who would later go on to star in Midsomer Murders on ITV.

I initially started to watch Bergerac on Britbox from the beginning. Back in the 80s I started watching from series 3, so hadn't seen the very start. It has some charms, but I was really struggling with the acting by the initial love interest. So my strategy now is to cherry pick episodes throughout the whole run. Last night I was watching the first of the Philippa Vale ones, featuring recurring guest star Liza Goddard as a jewel thief. I will definitely watch all of those. Next I've got the first episode in series 4, which sees the introduction of Louise Jameson's long-running character Susan. And we'll see where I go beyond that. Though this web page will be a big help.

I have always loved the accordion-based theme music of Bergerac, written by George Fenton. More recently I did my own accordion arrangement of it, and enjoy playing it immensely. The TV version of the theme was tweaked over the years, but here is a nice early version. Note that isn't the full opening titles. But it's the best version I've found online of the original theme tune audio.

Watch on YouTube

Rewatching The Box of Delights

Tonight we'll start our annual rewatch of the 1984 BBC TV version of The Box of Delights. Every year we watch it on the 6 Sundays before Christmas. Looking forward to it! It's the most wonderfully festive thing ever. This year we will be digging out the DVD again (image below) because it's no longer on Britbox.

Russell T Davies's comments about new Davros appearance in Doctor Who

I posted the quoted text below in a comment on a friend's thread, but I think it's worth reposting here. BBC Children in Need's TV show on Friday night included a 5 minute scene, featuring the Fourteenth Doctor meeting an able bodied Davros at the creation of the Daleks. Many watching like me assumed this was a pre-injury Davros version. Possibly, but in the Doctor Who Unleashed documentary later that night Russell T Davies said this is how Davros will be shown in the programme from now on: not a wheelchair user, and able bodied. This was a deliberate decision to redress problems in the series's representation before, including the evil cripple trope. However the response has been mixed, and not just among ardent Davros fans.

Here's what I said in a comment earlier today:

Re RTD and Davros the response has been quite mixed on the Gallifrey Base Doctor Who forum. Including from wheelchair users like myself. Yes some have experienced or witnessed bullying inspired by Davros and are concerned by the evil cripple trope. But others found RTD's words in the Doctor Who Unleashed documentary patronising and virtue signalling. One father also wrote about his daughter (11 or 12 years old I think) who is a wheelchair user, and was extremely upset by what RTD said and this change. She had always found Davros a strong character to look up to. And I think it's fair to say that one of the worst offenders in this area in the past has been RTD himself. Which makes his about turn understandable. But doesn't stop it being viewed by some wheelchair users as patronising and unwelcome. So it's complicated.

People have also been giving feedback on RTD's Instagram post, including more parents of now very upset disabled children. And to be honest his responses have often been really rude. My views on this whole issue are definitely "complicated". But it's fair to say that RTD's words and his reactions on Instagram have not exactly endeared him to me this weekend.

IFComp 2023 results tonight

Looking forward to tonight's live stream announcement of the IF Comp 2023 results. This is the only reason I have a Twitch account, so I can watch it and type in the chat during the results show! It's live at 9pm UK time tonight. I'm really looking forward to seeing the results, including how well some of my favourite games this year fared. Link + details at https://blog.ifcomp.org

Babylon 5 rewatch: A Spider in the Web

Continuing our rewatch of Babylon 5, and this is another one we’ve skipped multiple times before. The pre credits scene with a hand emerging ever so slowly from the cargo hold isn’t a great start. But some of the guest cast are good. Michael Beck isn’t great, but better than he was in Xanadu. It is also nice to see some of the series’s focus shift away from the station, especially towards Mars, but also with the glimpse of that intriguing wasteland on Earth. There is a nod forward with Ivanova and Talia. And the Sheridan/Garibaldi investigative combo is fun. But it’s definitely a missable episode. But hey, the first time we hear and see Zack. Which is nice!

Tag duplicates/overlaps

Just spotted as I looked back over my recent Babylon 5 rewatch posts that I've variously used a "tv" tag and a "television" tag. Likewise I usually use "drwho" for Doctor Who but sometimes - especially further back in time - use the longer "doctor who". I'm going to try to stick to the shorter "tv" and "drwho" going forward. Because even though the new post form - still in beta I think, which I'm using, but soon to be rolled out more widely - makes tags much easier to find, I prefer to type, and not move around with eg a trackpad. And typing "dr" at the start or just "tv" will narrow things down fast! I am not worrying about going back and standardising the old tags. At least my Babylon 5 posts should all have "babylon 5" tags consistently. Which contrarily given the above discussion I was happier with than "b5".

IFComp 2023 winner

Delighted that my favourite game in this year’s very strong IFComp was the final winner. Dr Ludwig and the Devil is like a comic Hammer horror film in parser game form. The results were just announced in a Twitch livestream and the full final ranking will be on the competition website soon https://ifcomp.org It was an incredibly strong year for the competition, and all the entrants should be very proud of themselves.