Lessons Not Learned - The Video Nasties

Been quite a while since I've done one of these, but it's time to take a look back at another case of when things went tits up in the film industry, and what lessons were utterly failed to be learned from it.  Now usually with these I look at what Hollywood and such didn't take to heart from the mess, but this time, the lessons in question weren't learned by society in general, and indeed it's just one case of a very familiar song and dance, one that we're seeing quite a few versions of play out at the moment, just with different singers and dancers.  So we're heading back to the eighties, but not the neon lit cool tourist version of nostalgia, but the bleak and horrible reality; Stranger Things, this is not.  MUSIC!

It's the End... but the Moment has been prepared for.

So, not the best of Doctor Who news, huh?

Now before I start, the absence of a horrible, almost certainly AI generated, cover or thumbnail should tell you that no, this isn't going to be one of those articles playing armchair TV executive trying to analyse the reasons why this decision was made, and it's DEFINITELY not going to say it's because of "woke".  (Erg!  What's really galling about all of those is the fact it's clear that the makers have no idea what woke is meant to mean, it's just a noise of disapproval for them!)  Also, even though these are the thoughts of someone who went through what I guess we now have to call "The Original Wilderness Years", this isn't going to be me dictating how you should feel about the whole thing, no "MAN UP"s here.  It's a shock to many of us, a time of confusion, of scary uncertainty, I get that entirely, it's something to take in.  What this is going to be is just my tuppence worth, what lessons we could learn from the last time the series entered a hiatus, and where to find hope for the future.  Let's dig in, shall we...

How many seconds are there in the Wilderness Years?

October Horror Movie Challenge 2025 - Fundraising Begins!

Yes. IT'S TERRORRRRR TIME AGAIN!!!!

The thing that will not die from the depths of the IMDB message boards, the October Horror Movie Challenge, will return once more in a month's time, and I'm telling you about it now because, by doing a bit of good nice and early, you can have a big influence on how it all goes.

Just One More Thing... - The Adventures of Kal-El of Krypton Across the Phantom Zone

 So, that new Superman movie is pretty damn good huh?

Honestly, the newly reformed DC Studios couldn't have had a better title for a relaunch.  Fun, thrilling, gorgeous to look at, a perfect course correction for portraying Supes on screen.  Plus, the fact it's pissing off so many of the right wing online is ideal for me.  (They are probably extra angry that they are portrayed as :REDACTED FOR SPOILER: even though it's pretty damn spot on.)  However, musing about it, I realised that this film actually borrows an interesting narrative trick that's only been used a few times before, one that's adds an interesting little meta layer to proceedings.  To explain what I mean, let's look back some four decades and change to a sci-fi film that was somewhat less successful at the box office than Superman currently is; namely The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension.

I swear, I actually do have a good point to make with this!

October Horror Movie Challenge 2024

Cue the song!

Time once more for the thing from the depths of the old IMDb message boards that just refuses to die, like some Jason Voorhees knock-off, The October Horror Movie Challenge.  The rules as always are very simple; across the 31 days of October, watch at least 31 horror movies, and of those at least half, so 16 or more, must be ones you are watching for the first time.  Well, I have a huge stack of titles to see, almost all of which will be first time viewings.  I’ve got a bunch of older classics, some Euro horror rarities, a big stack of video nasties, and more to go through in a semi-randomised order.  

Also, as you can see, I''ll be watching these with some new friends.

Whovember - 2020 to 2023

Our last Whovember!  What a journey it’s been, looking across sixty years of this remarkable franchise, with bits and pieces from so many forms of media!  Let’s wrap up with another TV episode and a pair of boxsets from Big Finish…

Whovember - 2017 to 2020

Two days left, and three years apiece, we’ve in the home stretch!  We’re into the Chibnall years, and before I carry on, I will say that I like Jodie’s era overall, there’s plenty to love in here.  I can get the writing not being to everyone’s taste, but I won’t say it’s better or worse than parts of the Davies or Moffat eras, just different.  Besides, if you want to see bad Who writing, go watch the depths of Eric Saward’s time as script editor.  Anyway, besides the point, let’s get into these choices…