DCI Sam Tyler is mown down by a car in 2006 and seemingly awakens back in 1973, one rank lower as a DI. Hearing voices and seeing things on TV, Sam finds himself under the command of DCI Gene Hunt who makes The Sweeney’s Jack Reagan look like a choir boy, while he tries to make sense of his predicament.
I saw this upon its original broadcast and its just as good, if not even better, than the first viewing. Philip Glenister is magnificent as the old fashioned DCI, fast with his fists and definitely non-pc attitude to life. The series is a great look at how policing has changed over the years and I was chuckling out loud at the contrast between Hunt and Tyler.
Dean Andrews, Marshall Lancaster and Liz White play the back-up detectives with aplomb as they keep the streets of Manchester safe from the bad boys.
Backed up by a wealth of brilliant 70’s music, this is a joy to watch and highly recommended.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,749Chief of Staff
I missed this series on its original broadcast…a good friend of mine badgered me to watch it, so when it was repeated I did just that…excellent series…very enjoyable…and quite a bit of it was filmed near to where I live.
The Sound of Musicals, with Neil Brand, the third time I've watched this fascinating look at the history of the modern musical; a bit of a pick n mix, but interesting all the same.
Unseen for over 40 years this BBC version has landed on BritBox and has a good cast with Michael Holdern as Scrooge and our own Bernard Lee, with an unconvincing heavy beard, as the Ghost Of Christmas Present.
Ploddingly directed by Moria Armstrong this is a poverty row version of Charles Dickens’ classic book. I would imagine most of the low budget was spent on the cast that also has John Le Mesurier, Zoe Wanamaker and Christopher Biggins hamstrung by junior school sets and sketch drawings for outdoor scenes.
The only real plus is that most of the dialogue is lifted directly from the pages of Dickens’ prose.
The Alistair Sim and George C Scott versions are still the best ones to watch.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
I've just finished studying Dickens' A Christmas Carol for my O.U. course and they mention the Muppet version several times. Not even a murmur about Alistair Sim. @Gymkata I too consider The Muppet's Christmas Carol a very fine film. I watch it every year at Christmas. Another underrated version is the late Leslie Bricusse's Scrooge, with Albert Finney, an Oliver-lite delight of a musical. Best straight version, probably George C. Scott. Didn't Patrick Stewart do a turn? Wasn't the version reviewed above transmitted during the kids Sunday teatime slot? I vaguely remember it.
@Gymkata I did see the Guy Pearce version, I didn’t like the adaption because it changed too much of the original story, Scrooge never attempted to make Mrs Cratchit have sex with him, is one instance, being an aficionado of the book (in my top 10 favourite of all time), I don’t like too much deviation from the narrative, although filling in parts of Scrooge’s life, such as in Alastair Sim version, is perfect acceptable.
I do like Muppet Christmas Carol, Michael Caine is superb.
@chrisno1 Patrick Stewart did indeed do a version, it’s ok, but I’ve never been a fan of his overacting manner and it’s not one that I revisit often.
I have no idea at which time the 1977 version was aired, I remember seeing it and being disappointed.
Other adaptions I’ve enjoyed are Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol (1962) , this was my first exposure to the story, and the 2009 Walt Disney motion capture version. Bill Murray’s Scrooged is also an interesting take on the story, as is the Ross Kemp updated version from 2000.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
The staff at Grace Brothers department store are called into an early meeting to discuss ways to boost the Christmas sales figures.
This still has all the original lineup, although this is the last appearance of Mr Mash. The Carry On/Seaside postcard humour is in abundance here, what a brilliant job this cast did of making us laugh in the days when no one searched high and low to find something that offends them.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
I’ve been watching a bunch of old Christmas specials of British TV comedies.
STEPTOE AND SON (1973 and 1974) - High quality comedy
DUTY FREE (1984) - Hugely entertaining
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE LIKELY LADS? (1974) Superb - such a pity that the boys fell out in real life, this series could have run for years.
SOME MOTHERS DO ‘AVE ‘EM (1974 and 1975) Slapstick comedy that perhaps has not aged too well, Michael Crawford is good though.
TO THE MANOR BORN (1979) Amusing stuff.
ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES (1981 and 1983) Hilarious adventures of Peckham’s finest residents!
THE GOOD LIFE (1977) Very funny as posh neighbours have to make do with an “ordinary Christmas” and find its more fun.
I’ve got a lot more to watch as well. This selection represents when comedy was sharp and witty, I had the misfortune of watching a few minutes of the current favourite, Mrs. Brown’s Boys, it’s enough to make you weep for times past.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
I can’t believe that I have never seen this one-off episode of the Blackadder series that I love so much.
In a reversal of Scrooge, Blackadder is a kindly soul who does good by giving away all his income to good causes and is leeched upon by everyone who see him as a soft touch. The Spirit of Christmas visits him and shows him what could happen if he changed his way and became mean.
This is very funny with several laugh out loud moments.
it’s the forerunner to Blackadder Goes Forth, which has the most poignant ending of any comedy programme, ever.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
That's a good pick, although repeated viewings dull the laughter. The Good Life episode is a brilliant slice of seventies class culture. I like that these Christmas specials were a standard length, sometimes with little more than a sparkly tree in the background, before the days of double-length three-episode 'specials.'
BBC four part drama, trumpeted by some as having an all black cast, derided by one other - Camilla Long - on that it didn't require that, you could replace them with white actors and it wouldn't make much difference, which is arguably the point.
Good acting, nice McGuffin, bit of padding as a car salesman is accused of murder and in the witness box summing up tries to explain how all the evidence that points to his guilt actually explains his innocence.
Some nice twists, fine ensemble cast, but ultimately a bit of a shaggy dog story with one villain having our mate Safrin's level of resistance to gunshot at close range.
Started watching The Tourist on BBC. If you can overlook the glaring plot inconsistencies, especially regarding police procedure which are more glaring than glaring, its quite fun.
Inside Dubai just made me feel very uncomfortable.
I suppose it's one way to kick of the New Year, dramas of two truly disgraceful police scandals, South Yorkshire Police and the notorious Met respectively, in Anne and 4 Lives. One is on ITV, the other BBC1 and at the same time over consecutive nights. It's like walking down a high street and being targeted by one chugger after another, a pre-pandemic phenomenon I now realise.
Not that I'm in any way unsympathetic to either cause. It is of course disheartening for those of us older enough to recall the drama Hillsborough to realise that not much has changed since then, and the State has done everything in its power to run down the clock on any kind of complaints process. This is the same story with other massive scandals of the last 30 years in particular Contaminated Blood, the killings at Gosport and so on. They all close ranks. There was a verdict of unlawful killing at the football stadium, some 27 years after the event, but nobody has done jail time.
The other drama depicted a more recent scandal, about how a serial killer - helped in part by the incompetence and disregard of Barking police to fulfil that title - picked up fellow gay blokes on Grindr dating website and killed them with a drug, leaving two bodies at least in a local cemetery on separate occasions with a faked suicide note. The drama or scandal has similarities with Anne, firstly how the police feel free to disregard an unflavoured section of society, in one instance football fans, in the other young gay lads out on the pull. I suppose the latter owed a bit to the Yorkshire Ripper case, whose victims were disregarded by West Yorkshire police on account of their being prostitutes, here one of them belongs to an escort agency. Also, both dramas showed how State cover-up, contempt and intransigence takes its toll on the families involved, usually it's one family member who is like a dog with a bone going after justice while the others tend to think, leave it, let it go.
There seems to be an increasing narrative in papers like the Times, Sunday Times, Metro, not to mention TV dramas, keen to expose how corrupt and downright odd the people are who rule over us, or enforce those rules. We used to have Dixon of Dock Green, Juliet Bravo or The Bill, now we have Line of Duty. I have no objection to this, but it's surprising to learn that Line of Duty is far from fanciful in its depiction of longstanding, decades old police and local authority corruption. You need to read Private Eye for more on this, in particular its section called Rotten Boroughs which deals with local authority corruption, but though the cartoons are often top notch, it's not as jolly a read as it makes out. If nobody is actually held to account for a lot of this stuff - and the Met West Dagenham police officers have not been sacked, they've all kept their jobs I think - then instead it almost becomes a playbook, a checklist of things people can get away with.
You're dead right regarding corruption, and that Rotten Borough column gives many examples. My brother works for a local council, I won't name it, and three years ago they employed a chief executive who organised a bunch of expensive consultants to cast an eye over all departments and create efficiency recommendations. The basic recommendation was to out-source almost all services to external contractors.
Odd, though, the chief exec previous role had been for another council. He hired consultants there, who recommended outsourcing, and the major company which took on the contracts was *surprise surprise* part-owned by the very same chief executive. Costs spiralled out of control. The previous council dismissed him and eventually took all the contracts back in house.
My brother and his colleagues discovered this information quite easily online. When they raised it as a potential conflict of interest issue, as well as a competency one, their concerns were dismissed. The council is now, after three years, reconsidering the recommendations to outsource, but in the meantime departments have been mismanaged, restructured and closed down to accommodate potential outsourcing. This has involved employing a new tier of interim managers in addition to the still employed consultants who each earn over £100k and are basically making money while dismissing others from hard earned jobs.
This is not unusual in Britain. For all my country's good points, we have a fundamentally corrupt society. It starts at the top and like all corruption, it always eventually seeps through to the bottom, hence petty theft, drug wars and vandalism.
Here is a link to Transparancy International's site on the net. TI is a "nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global[1]corruption with civil societal anti-corruption measures and to prevent criminal activities arising from corruption". (Wikipedia)
The UK is ranked as number twelve among the least corrupt countries in the world, far from a fundamentally corrupt society.Anecdotes are entertaining, but they don't show clearly the big picture. I don't post this information to be difficult or to put anyone in a bad light. i think it's important to highlight how lucky we are to live in democracies with the rule of law, even though our countries aren't perfect and should be kept a sharp eye on.
That's an interesting website, although it is mostly concerned with the perception of politicians and the political elite. My example is a civil one, councillors are not politicians, even if they think they are, the consultants are certainly not. Transparency International doesn't have a lot to say about civil corruption other than in their binding summary: To end corruption, we promote transparency, accountability and integrity at all levels and across all sectors of society. All very laudable. I'm not suggesting the UK is fundamentally corrupt, but there are many more examples of the kind of behaviour I have outlined than people believe. They don't know it exists because they don't witness it, or consider it to be acceptable practice, like "oh he's one of the boys, what a sharp... etc." We tend too much to laugh this kind of issue away, when in fact its a festering sore. It's why Boris Johnson is still popular among certain sections, because he's seen as being a harmless, prattling idler, when he's really promoting an agenda of exclusion, which in itself is fundamentally corrupting.
Now you say you're "not suggesting the UK is fundamentally corrupt", but in your above post you say "we have a fundamentally corrupt society"? Make up your mind, please.
I think you had the best intentions when you wrote what you wrote, but Transpararancy International is perhaps the most respected authorithy on corruption worldwide. It's easy to focus on anecdotes, hearsay and (in your case) individual cases and draw too general or even plain wrong conclusions, This may not sound so wrong and we're all guilty of this at some point in our lives, but one year ago a large mob attacked police and elected officials doing their job as written in the constitution based on hearsay, lies and possibly individual cases. It's important to use good sources to check the facts and the big picture. I hope you're not offended by what I write, because my intentions come from a good place.
Not at all, we should all check our sources. You've probably noticed I tend to be a little flippant in my posts here, treating them more like a conversation. I'm not very academically minded and, while I can proffer reasonable argument, I don't always bother to cross check everything I write, hence errors such as those above.
The best the UK can come up with these days is that it's not as bad as North Korea, China, Putin's Russia, Belarus etc. This is true, but not wholly encouraging.
One difference is that UK corruption is certainly not 'in your face'. It's not obvious, unless you find it out or go looking for it, or try to seek redress for some injustice. Other countries are a police state, the police are on the streets, they respond to bribes - though often you have to couch the monetary offer in different terms to avoid offence, something like 'May I offer a token to demonstrate my respect for you?' in Moscow for instance. In northern France the police steal all the immigrants shelter and facilities so they kind of feel compelled to make the dangerous trip across the Channel to the UK. The police over here wouldn't do that, they present a genteel face that is largely genuine at ground level but that said, you never really get a police presence unless at a special event like the Derby or Notting Hill Carnival.
Local politics as cited by @ChrisNo1 is a good example. The hoo-hah over Johnson's flat refurbishment feels to me like a massive bit of misdirection compared to all over stuff going on. Much like his drinks parties during lockdown, the news leaked while I understand Sunak headed to America to sell off the NHS. MPs are sort of held to a high and lofty standard but frankly MPs are not that powerful. The very fact you've heard of them demonstrates that, because the really powerful people have no real web presence.
It's interesting to ponder that there are thousands of books about Westminster politics and all our Prime Ministers, bios and all that stuff. I know personally of not one authoritative book about local politics over the decades and the scandals and controversies associated with them. Generally they get away with it.
But what am I saying? @Number24 suggests that the UK is not really that corrupt compared to other nations. Well, maybe that's so - it's quite likely that those other nations are just as corrupt or more. I was in my late 40s when I finally got the gist of how bad the UK was, how on earth am I to know what is going on in France, Portugal, Germany, Norway and so on? Maybe indeed they are even worse!
There's certainly possible and neccessary to fight corruption in any country, even in NZ (even Norway? 😱). But focusing on corruption near yourself can cause a loss of perspective. If that happens there is a danger of listening to demagogues who aren't interested in perspective at all, just selling the message that what we have is horrible and my solution is quick and easy. Usually the cure is much worse than the disease.
Be aware of the problems that really are there, but don't make it out like you live in Somalia, Venezuela or Russia.
Aidan Turner stars as Leonardo da Vincy, and if you don't know who he was you should de a bit ashamed. Then google him and be amazed. Turner plays Leonardo from when he's about half his own age and all the way past it. Other than a beard Turner does this by acting the ages. I enjoy how he played the young Leonardo as impulsive, enthusiastic and insecure, something we haven't seen him do before. What I think the TV-series did well was showing us the practical and emotional process behind Leonard's work: Also liked seeing his relationship with his father and other real aspects of his life. While they don't shy away from the fact that he was attracted to men, the series focuses on his (non-sexual) realtionship to a woman. The series uses a made-up murder as a framing device and especially the last episode focuses on ths fictional event. I think the series shouldn't have used that as a crutch and focus on his great works and embellish on what we know and think is likely in Leonardo's life. Having his main realationship with a man would make the series more belivable and it would stand out more.
The Saint has just landed on BritBox (Seasons 5 and 6 the colour episodes). I’m enjoying seeing a lot of Bond alumni in these episodes. Roger is better in his fight scenes than he was s Bond, being younger helps, obviously 🙄
I don’t mind the obvious back projection and the fact that Roger is 100% studio bound is ok with me. The first episode of season 5 has an exact replication of the CR novel with a casino player being threatened by a walking stick with a spike.
Good 60’s fun.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,749Chief of Staff
The second series of Mandy from Diane Morgan is now available…it’s another great watch, and only about 15 mins per episode…so you can binge watch the whole series in about an hour and a half 🍸
The Saint .... The first episode of season 5 has an exact replication of the CR novel with a casino player being threatened by a walking stick with a spike.
yes I thought the exact same thing when I saw that scene, and posted screencaps here in the Saint thread, so others could see what I was talking about.
Since we didnt get that scene in the Craig film, its nice Roger adapted it for us.
I thought this was going to be a Doc Martin clone but it’s totally different. Doctor Foster discovers that her husband has been having an affair with a much younger woman and revenge is priority on her list. I’m unsure of who’s side everyone is supposed to be on. Doctor Foster turns it to be a deranged harridan, the husband is running a business beyond his capabilities, and most of the rest of the cast are difficult to like. I ended up feeling sorry for the husband. Maybe that’s the point, men will side with the husband and women with the Doctor.
Good acting, but because the characters are so unlikeable you really don’t care how it ends up.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
The life and loves of the staff at a 5-star hotel are portrayed in this comedy-drama series as they try to satisfy the demands of their guests. This actually starts out quite good as we learn of the behind the scenes art of running a high class hotel. Dexter Fletcher is excellent as the concierge, and Natalie Mendoza and Emma Pierson are gorgeous as head housekeeper and receptionist, respectively. It soon runs out of steam though, and as 3 of the main characters leave the series by halfway through season 3 it becomes humdrum. It’s mostly all tosh, of course, but for a time it’s entertaining tosh.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Comments
LIFE ON MARS (2006-2007) 2 Series
DCI Sam Tyler is mown down by a car in 2006 and seemingly awakens back in 1973, one rank lower as a DI. Hearing voices and seeing things on TV, Sam finds himself under the command of DCI Gene Hunt who makes The Sweeney’s Jack Reagan look like a choir boy, while he tries to make sense of his predicament.
I saw this upon its original broadcast and its just as good, if not even better, than the first viewing. Philip Glenister is magnificent as the old fashioned DCI, fast with his fists and definitely non-pc attitude to life. The series is a great look at how policing has changed over the years and I was chuckling out loud at the contrast between Hunt and Tyler.
Dean Andrews, Marshall Lancaster and Liz White play the back-up detectives with aplomb as they keep the streets of Manchester safe from the bad boys.
Backed up by a wealth of brilliant 70’s music, this is a joy to watch and highly recommended.
I missed this series on its original broadcast…a good friend of mine badgered me to watch it, so when it was repeated I did just that…excellent series…very enjoyable…and quite a bit of it was filmed near to where I live.
The Sound of Musicals, with Neil Brand, the third time I've watched this fascinating look at the history of the modern musical; a bit of a pick n mix, but interesting all the same.
It’s always more interesting to see places on film that you actually know, especially if you live nearby.
I was about to watch the sequel, Ashes To Ashes, but it’s been removed from BritBox, I hope it returns soon.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1977)
Unseen for over 40 years this BBC version has landed on BritBox and has a good cast with Michael Holdern as Scrooge and our own Bernard Lee, with an unconvincing heavy beard, as the Ghost Of Christmas Present.
Ploddingly directed by Moria Armstrong this is a poverty row version of Charles Dickens’ classic book. I would imagine most of the low budget was spent on the cast that also has John Le Mesurier, Zoe Wanamaker and Christopher Biggins hamstrung by junior school sets and sketch drawings for outdoor scenes.
The only real plus is that most of the dialogue is lifted directly from the pages of Dickens’ prose.
The Alistair Sim and George C Scott versions are still the best ones to watch.
I've just finished studying Dickens' A Christmas Carol for my O.U. course and they mention the Muppet version several times. Not even a murmur about Alistair Sim. @Gymkata I too consider The Muppet's Christmas Carol a very fine film. I watch it every year at Christmas. Another underrated version is the late Leslie Bricusse's Scrooge, with Albert Finney, an Oliver-lite delight of a musical. Best straight version, probably George C. Scott. Didn't Patrick Stewart do a turn? Wasn't the version reviewed above transmitted during the kids Sunday teatime slot? I vaguely remember it.
@Gymkata I did see the Guy Pearce version, I didn’t like the adaption because it changed too much of the original story, Scrooge never attempted to make Mrs Cratchit have sex with him, is one instance, being an aficionado of the book (in my top 10 favourite of all time), I don’t like too much deviation from the narrative, although filling in parts of Scrooge’s life, such as in Alastair Sim version, is perfect acceptable.
I do like Muppet Christmas Carol, Michael Caine is superb.
@chrisno1 Patrick Stewart did indeed do a version, it’s ok, but I’ve never been a fan of his overacting manner and it’s not one that I revisit often.
I have no idea at which time the 1977 version was aired, I remember seeing it and being disappointed.
Other adaptions I’ve enjoyed are Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol (1962) , this was my first exposure to the story, and the 2009 Walt Disney motion capture version. Bill Murray’s Scrooged is also an interesting take on the story, as is the Ross Kemp updated version from 2000.
ARE YOU BEING SERVED Christmas Special 1975.
The staff at Grace Brothers department store are called into an early meeting to discuss ways to boost the Christmas sales figures.
This still has all the original lineup, although this is the last appearance of Mr Mash. The Carry On/Seaside postcard humour is in abundance here, what a brilliant job this cast did of making us laugh in the days when no one searched high and low to find something that offends them.
I’ve been watching a bunch of old Christmas specials of British TV comedies.
STEPTOE AND SON (1973 and 1974) - High quality comedy
DUTY FREE (1984) - Hugely entertaining
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE LIKELY LADS? (1974) Superb - such a pity that the boys fell out in real life, this series could have run for years.
SOME MOTHERS DO ‘AVE ‘EM (1974 and 1975) Slapstick comedy that perhaps has not aged too well, Michael Crawford is good though.
TO THE MANOR BORN (1979) Amusing stuff.
ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES (1981 and 1983) Hilarious adventures of Peckham’s finest residents!
THE GOOD LIFE (1977) Very funny as posh neighbours have to make do with an “ordinary Christmas” and find its more fun.
I’ve got a lot more to watch as well. This selection represents when comedy was sharp and witty, I had the misfortune of watching a few minutes of the current favourite, Mrs. Brown’s Boys, it’s enough to make you weep for times past.
BLACKADDER’S CHRISTMAS CAROL (1988)
I can’t believe that I have never seen this one-off episode of the Blackadder series that I love so much.
In a reversal of Scrooge, Blackadder is a kindly soul who does good by giving away all his income to good causes and is leeched upon by everyone who see him as a soft touch. The Spirit of Christmas visits him and shows him what could happen if he changed his way and became mean.
This is very funny with several laugh out loud moments.
it’s the forerunner to Blackadder Goes Forth, which has the most poignant ending of any comedy programme, ever.
That's a good pick, although repeated viewings dull the laughter. The Good Life episode is a brilliant slice of seventies class culture. I like that these Christmas specials were a standard length, sometimes with little more than a sparkly tree in the background, before the days of double-length three-episode 'specials.'
You Don't Know Me
BBC four part drama, trumpeted by some as having an all black cast, derided by one other - Camilla Long - on that it didn't require that, you could replace them with white actors and it wouldn't make much difference, which is arguably the point.
Good acting, nice McGuffin, bit of padding as a car salesman is accused of murder and in the witness box summing up tries to explain how all the evidence that points to his guilt actually explains his innocence.
Some nice twists, fine ensemble cast, but ultimately a bit of a shaggy dog story with one villain having our mate Safrin's level of resistance to gunshot at close range.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Started watching The Tourist on BBC. If you can overlook the glaring plot inconsistencies, especially regarding police procedure which are more glaring than glaring, its quite fun.
Inside Dubai just made me feel very uncomfortable.
I suppose it's one way to kick of the New Year, dramas of two truly disgraceful police scandals, South Yorkshire Police and the notorious Met respectively, in Anne and 4 Lives. One is on ITV, the other BBC1 and at the same time over consecutive nights. It's like walking down a high street and being targeted by one chugger after another, a pre-pandemic phenomenon I now realise.
Not that I'm in any way unsympathetic to either cause. It is of course disheartening for those of us older enough to recall the drama Hillsborough to realise that not much has changed since then, and the State has done everything in its power to run down the clock on any kind of complaints process. This is the same story with other massive scandals of the last 30 years in particular Contaminated Blood, the killings at Gosport and so on. They all close ranks. There was a verdict of unlawful killing at the football stadium, some 27 years after the event, but nobody has done jail time.
The other drama depicted a more recent scandal, about how a serial killer - helped in part by the incompetence and disregard of Barking police to fulfil that title - picked up fellow gay blokes on Grindr dating website and killed them with a drug, leaving two bodies at least in a local cemetery on separate occasions with a faked suicide note. The drama or scandal has similarities with Anne, firstly how the police feel free to disregard an unflavoured section of society, in one instance football fans, in the other young gay lads out on the pull. I suppose the latter owed a bit to the Yorkshire Ripper case, whose victims were disregarded by West Yorkshire police on account of their being prostitutes, here one of them belongs to an escort agency. Also, both dramas showed how State cover-up, contempt and intransigence takes its toll on the families involved, usually it's one family member who is like a dog with a bone going after justice while the others tend to think, leave it, let it go.
There seems to be an increasing narrative in papers like the Times, Sunday Times, Metro, not to mention TV dramas, keen to expose how corrupt and downright odd the people are who rule over us, or enforce those rules. We used to have Dixon of Dock Green, Juliet Bravo or The Bill, now we have Line of Duty. I have no objection to this, but it's surprising to learn that Line of Duty is far from fanciful in its depiction of longstanding, decades old police and local authority corruption. You need to read Private Eye for more on this, in particular its section called Rotten Boroughs which deals with local authority corruption, but though the cartoons are often top notch, it's not as jolly a read as it makes out. If nobody is actually held to account for a lot of this stuff - and the Met West Dagenham police officers have not been sacked, they've all kept their jobs I think - then instead it almost becomes a playbook, a checklist of things people can get away with.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
You're dead right regarding corruption, and that Rotten Borough column gives many examples. My brother works for a local council, I won't name it, and three years ago they employed a chief executive who organised a bunch of expensive consultants to cast an eye over all departments and create efficiency recommendations. The basic recommendation was to out-source almost all services to external contractors.
Odd, though, the chief exec previous role had been for another council. He hired consultants there, who recommended outsourcing, and the major company which took on the contracts was *surprise surprise* part-owned by the very same chief executive. Costs spiralled out of control. The previous council dismissed him and eventually took all the contracts back in house.
My brother and his colleagues discovered this information quite easily online. When they raised it as a potential conflict of interest issue, as well as a competency one, their concerns were dismissed. The council is now, after three years, reconsidering the recommendations to outsource, but in the meantime departments have been mismanaged, restructured and closed down to accommodate potential outsourcing. This has involved employing a new tier of interim managers in addition to the still employed consultants who each earn over £100k and are basically making money while dismissing others from hard earned jobs.
This is not unusual in Britain. For all my country's good points, we have a fundamentally corrupt society. It starts at the top and like all corruption, it always eventually seeps through to the bottom, hence petty theft, drug wars and vandalism.
Here is a link to Transparancy International's site on the net. TI is a "nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global[1] corruption with civil societal anti-corruption measures and to prevent criminal activities arising from corruption". (Wikipedia)
The UK is ranked as number twelve among the least corrupt countries in the world, far from a fundamentally corrupt society. Anecdotes are entertaining, but they don't show clearly the big picture. I don't post this information to be difficult or to put anyone in a bad light. i think it's important to highlight how lucky we are to live in democracies with the rule of law, even though our countries aren't perfect and should be kept a sharp eye on.
That's an interesting website, although it is mostly concerned with the perception of politicians and the political elite. My example is a civil one, councillors are not politicians, even if they think they are, the consultants are certainly not. Transparency International doesn't have a lot to say about civil corruption other than in their binding summary: To end corruption, we promote transparency, accountability and integrity at all levels and across all sectors of society. All very laudable. I'm not suggesting the UK is fundamentally corrupt, but there are many more examples of the kind of behaviour I have outlined than people believe. They don't know it exists because they don't witness it, or consider it to be acceptable practice, like "oh he's one of the boys, what a sharp... etc." We tend too much to laugh this kind of issue away, when in fact its a festering sore. It's why Boris Johnson is still popular among certain sections, because he's seen as being a harmless, prattling idler, when he's really promoting an agenda of exclusion, which in itself is fundamentally corrupting.
Now you say you're "not suggesting the UK is fundamentally corrupt", but in your above post you say "we have a fundamentally corrupt society"? Make up your mind, please.
I think you had the best intentions when you wrote what you wrote, but Transpararancy International is perhaps the most respected authorithy on corruption worldwide. It's easy to focus on anecdotes, hearsay and (in your case) individual cases and draw too general or even plain wrong conclusions, This may not sound so wrong and we're all guilty of this at some point in our lives, but one year ago a large mob attacked police and elected officials doing their job as written in the constitution based on hearsay, lies and possibly individual cases. It's important to use good sources to check the facts and the big picture. I hope you're not offended by what I write, because my intentions come from a good place.
The UK is number eleven, not twelve. My mistake.
Not at all, we should all check our sources. You've probably noticed I tend to be a little flippant in my posts here, treating them more like a conversation. I'm not very academically minded and, while I can proffer reasonable argument, I don't always bother to cross check everything I write, hence errors such as those above.
I think we've been guilty of that at some point. I know I have.
I think we were very good at pretending to be reasonable and civilized people this time. Don't you? 😎
The best the UK can come up with these days is that it's not as bad as North Korea, China, Putin's Russia, Belarus etc. This is true, but not wholly encouraging.
One difference is that UK corruption is certainly not 'in your face'. It's not obvious, unless you find it out or go looking for it, or try to seek redress for some injustice. Other countries are a police state, the police are on the streets, they respond to bribes - though often you have to couch the monetary offer in different terms to avoid offence, something like 'May I offer a token to demonstrate my respect for you?' in Moscow for instance. In northern France the police steal all the immigrants shelter and facilities so they kind of feel compelled to make the dangerous trip across the Channel to the UK. The police over here wouldn't do that, they present a genteel face that is largely genuine at ground level but that said, you never really get a police presence unless at a special event like the Derby or Notting Hill Carnival.
Local politics as cited by @ChrisNo1 is a good example. The hoo-hah over Johnson's flat refurbishment feels to me like a massive bit of misdirection compared to all over stuff going on. Much like his drinks parties during lockdown, the news leaked while I understand Sunak headed to America to sell off the NHS. MPs are sort of held to a high and lofty standard but frankly MPs are not that powerful. The very fact you've heard of them demonstrates that, because the really powerful people have no real web presence.
It's interesting to ponder that there are thousands of books about Westminster politics and all our Prime Ministers, bios and all that stuff. I know personally of not one authoritative book about local politics over the decades and the scandals and controversies associated with them. Generally they get away with it.
But what am I saying? @Number24 suggests that the UK is not really that corrupt compared to other nations. Well, maybe that's so - it's quite likely that those other nations are just as corrupt or more. I was in my late 40s when I finally got the gist of how bad the UK was, how on earth am I to know what is going on in France, Portugal, Germany, Norway and so on? Maybe indeed they are even worse!
Roger Moore 1927-2017
There's certainly possible and neccessary to fight corruption in any country, even in NZ (even Norway? 😱). But focusing on corruption near yourself can cause a loss of perspective. If that happens there is a danger of listening to demagogues who aren't interested in perspective at all, just selling the message that what we have is horrible and my solution is quick and easy. Usually the cure is much worse than the disease.
Be aware of the problems that really are there, but don't make it out like you live in Somalia, Venezuela or Russia.
Leonardo (2021)
Aidan Turner stars as Leonardo da Vincy, and if you don't know who he was you should de a bit ashamed. Then google him and be amazed. Turner plays Leonardo from when he's about half his own age and all the way past it. Other than a beard Turner does this by acting the ages. I enjoy how he played the young Leonardo as impulsive, enthusiastic and insecure, something we haven't seen him do before. What I think the TV-series did well was showing us the practical and emotional process behind Leonard's work: Also liked seeing his relationship with his father and other real aspects of his life. While they don't shy away from the fact that he was attracted to men, the series focuses on his (non-sexual) realtionship to a woman. The series uses a made-up murder as a framing device and especially the last episode focuses on ths fictional event. I think the series shouldn't have used that as a crutch and focus on his great works and embellish on what we know and think is likely in Leonardo's life. Having his main realationship with a man would make the series more belivable and it would stand out more.
The Saint has just landed on BritBox (Seasons 5 and 6 the colour episodes). I’m enjoying seeing a lot of Bond alumni in these episodes. Roger is better in his fight scenes than he was s Bond, being younger helps, obviously 🙄
I don’t mind the obvious back projection and the fact that Roger is 100% studio bound is ok with me. The first episode of season 5 has an exact replication of the CR novel with a casino player being threatened by a walking stick with a spike.
Good 60’s fun.
The second series of Mandy from Diane Morgan is now available…it’s another great watch, and only about 15 mins per episode…so you can binge watch the whole series in about an hour and a half 🍸
@CoolHandBond said:
The Saint .... The first episode of season 5 has an exact replication of the CR novel with a casino player being threatened by a walking stick with a spike.
yes I thought the exact same thing when I saw that scene, and posted screencaps here in the Saint thread, so others could see what I was talking about.
Since we didnt get that scene in the Craig film, its nice Roger adapted it for us.
DOCTOR FOSTER (2 Seasons)
I thought this was going to be a Doc Martin clone but it’s totally different. Doctor Foster discovers that her husband has been having an affair with a much younger woman and revenge is priority on her list. I’m unsure of who’s side everyone is supposed to be on. Doctor Foster turns it to be a deranged harridan, the husband is running a business beyond his capabilities, and most of the rest of the cast are difficult to like. I ended up feeling sorry for the husband. Maybe that’s the point, men will side with the husband and women with the Doctor.
Good acting, but because the characters are so unlikeable you really don’t care how it ends up.
HOTEL BABYLON (2006-2009) 4 Seasons.
The life and loves of the staff at a 5-star hotel are portrayed in this comedy-drama series as they try to satisfy the demands of their guests. This actually starts out quite good as we learn of the behind the scenes art of running a high class hotel. Dexter Fletcher is excellent as the concierge, and Natalie Mendoza and Emma Pierson are gorgeous as head housekeeper and receptionist, respectively. It soon runs out of steam though, and as 3 of the main characters leave the series by halfway through season 3 it becomes humdrum. It’s mostly all tosh, of course, but for a time it’s entertaining tosh.