Doctor Who Experience review

Me, I've been a Who fan since I was about 8.

I had stumbled across a Tom Baker repeat (Planet of Evil). I loved it and it freaked out my younger brother (which made me love it more).

In the 90s, as a teenager I kept the faith. The repeats seemed to lose their charm in comparison to the books, especially Virgin Books' New Adventures which, whilst having better effects, generally had a more mature take. Witness the fact that Human Nature, the 10th doctor TV story set in a pre WWI school and arguably one of the best ever TV stories, was an adaptation of Paul Cornell's Dr Who novel from 1995.

So, yeah, I'm a fan from back in the day.

And I was quite pleased to see that the new exhibition made a few nods to the old series.

It's certainly very kiddie-focussed. The interactive parts are great fun, particularly the Dalek scene. The Daleks are surprisingly intimidating as they move towards you, threatening extermination and all that good stuff.

My main criticism of this bit is that they don't do enough with the Weeping Angels, easily the best New Who monsters.

The non-interactive section is quite impressive. I loved seeing the costumes of all 11 Doctors side by side. (McCoy's costume seemed a bit faded and Colin Baker's looks even more ghastly in the flesh than it did on TV)

Young fans will enjoy seeing Tennant's console and Tardis interior, whilst I was delighted to see the 80s console and proper roundels as well as the Master's Tardis from The Keeper Of Traken.

Back in the 90s, I went to the Bristol Dr Who exhibition, which had a slightly melancholic feel as the show had been off the air for 3 years and with no prospect of return. So it was great to see fresh monsters and costumes. (No more Bertie Bassett rip-offs or the embarrassment that were the Tetraps ). And also I enjoyed seeing the examples of Daleks, Cybermen and Sontarans throughout the decades (the Sontarans have shrunk dramatically). The appearance of a few oldies might just might suggest that ground is being paved for their return.

There is a mini-exhibit on the theme tune and voice effects, with an opportunity to hear your voice Dalek-ised. If anything, the voice effects sound more alien than the voices do on the show nowadays.

The downsides are the stupidly over-expensive gift shop and a ticketing snafu that hopefully TicketMaster will sort out.

But, yeah, it was great to see my childhood obsession properly reborn for a new generation (and kids of all ages in bowties and fezes).

The latest offering from Brian McFadden ?

Normally, boyband goings-on are well beneath my radar to be honest.
Especially Brian McFadden.
I know he was once married to an Atomic Kitten member who used to flog Iceland's party food and that he now resides in the land of Vegemite sandwiches
His latest song is, ahem, curious.
The Daily Mirror seems to think it may be a spoof.
Certainly a song called Just The Way You Are (Drunk At The Bar) isn't going to boost his image either way.
And, if it's a joke, someone's spent a lot of effort on production
Be warned: contains lots of misogyny, swearing and banjos.

Decidedly sub-awesome....

Microserfs

It's very easy for a work to speak to you if it describes a world you recognise.

So yeah, as a coder I was always going to be interested in Microserfs, Douglas Coupland's 90s novel about Microsoft workers.

When I first read this, nay heard of it, I was serving time at a UK branch of another IT multi-national.

And I recognised the characters in the book. Hell, I really wanted to be living their lifestyle. All their geeky toys and foodstuffs.

The book starts with Bill, (his surname isn't given probably for fear of legal action), sending a flame mail, eviscerating a developer's code. The recipient is devastated but Dan, the narrator, is envious. For Bill is God. And is shown to be pretty much worshipped in this vaccum where there is no faith or politics, beyond a fiscal conservatism shown by stockholders. The quest for faith is a recurring theme throughout the book.

On a recent re-reading, Dan and his housemates are desperately hoping that they too can get rich on Microsoft stock but know it's getting increasingly hard, whilst they live in their grimy house, adorned with geek chic.

Coupland clearly wasn't a coder but uses that to his advantage as he focuses on the characters. This also means that the book's not full of what would be techno-babble to anyone outside of IT. And helps it age very well.

It being Coupland, the novel is well-written and at times quite profound. One character, Abe, remarks that, because the economy's tanked, the 90s won't have any defining architecture. Instead the decade's great structures will be code-based. This was written in 1993.

Away from the confines of MS-land, the characters grow dramatically, producing a real emotional charge amongst all the one-liners. They finally mature, emerging from the Microsoft cocoon, exploring politics, faith and relationships. All while they scramble to get enough money to fund their own start-up company, desperately trying to woo Venture Capitalist backing.

Yup, the book serves as a bit of an historical artefact. Whilst to be honest I never quite understood the business logic behind the product the characters try to sell, the book wonderfully evokes the 90s dotcom bubble. Maybe it's because the business logic proves to be so elusive.

And, as I'm geeky, I adore the word maps. Gotta love a book interspersed by word maps.

Somewhere in your friends, there's a guy who implores you to watch Office Space because it's so like his office. He may be right. However you and him both need to sample the mother lode.....

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.01/microserfs.html

Thoughts on Danny Boyle's Frankenstein

Spending months playing the same part, reading the same lines, must get dull for an actor.

No matter how great the play is.

No matter how much of a thrill it would be for a film actor to ply his trade on the stage.

So Danny Boyle may have had a stroke of genius by alternating the casting of Frankenstein and The Creature between Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller. (Also, it's canny financially as people might want to see the alternate casting.)

Combine their talents with a soundtrack by Underworld, and there'll be reason for hopes to be high.

I saw it at previews and saw Benedict playing Frankenstein. His portrayal is slightly colder and more detached than his Sherlock Holmes, but only slightly. That's not a criticism and more of a reflection of how Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss write him in the Sherlock series (which you MUST see).

Miller though is incredible. I had never rated him much before but he throws his all into the creature. Like Heath Ledger's Joker, you're compelled and terrified everytime he's on stage. I've read Mary Shelley's novel, which the play is fairly faithful to, so I knew what was coming up but was still gripped. (It reminds me of watching Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet and hoping that they would survive the ending).

Whilst some of the supporting cast are a little weak (or maybe under-rehearsed at preview time), the production is stunning, both from the music and the visuals.

Boyle's in charge of the Olympic opening ceremony and I know now we'll be in safe hands.

I'm trying very hard not to spoil here but you absolutely have to be there from the start. The National Theatre reminds you of this via email and they ain't kidding.

The first ten weeks are sold-out.

This Spring, versions featuring both casts will be shown globally in cinemas as a “live” broadcast.

Once the run's over, I'll probably edit this for a more spoiler-y version.

Welcome to the caravan

I'm going to experiment with settings and stuff for a little while so don't be too alarmed if fonts and layouts alter a bit, (but if it goes into hieroglyphics this would be a potential cause of alarm).