I wear an eye patch now...

... eye patches are cool.

Well, they're certainly this season's hottest accessory in the Doctor Who universe.

This week's Radio Times features interviews with Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill, all talking about their unsung heroes of the show. There's also a lovely interview with Sadie Miller, daughter of another of Doctor Who's most beloved actors, the late, lamented Elisabeth Sladen.

Here's a scan of that interview:

The last quote is the one that got me:

"You just have to let grief roll, take its own time. Mum and I were so close and all my memories of her are happy ones. That gives me a lot of peace."

Doctor Who: Closing Time ( mini review with spoilers )

"I'm the Doctor. I work in a shop now - here to help..."

Mini review. Comedy episode. Low budget. Save the pennies for season finale. The Doctor's visiting Craig ( you know... tubby guy from The Lodger ) and his new baby Alfie aka Stormageddon, Dark Lord Of All. Craig feels like a useless dad. We all get that now and then...

Department store. Very obviously not just Debenham's with a new sign put up. Cybermen in the changing-rooms, the Doctor working the toy department. Robot dogs and silver rats. More scenes in department store. And more. Doctor and Craig searching for alien spaceship. And plot.

Craig discovers his paternal mojo and kills rubbish Cybermen with love. ( No, not with a cyber-STD... )

Closing Time is ( worryingly ) another weak episode in the season that's already given us That Pirate Story. The once-mighty Cybermen are wasted yet again, the plot is virtually non-existent, and there are only blink-and-you'll-miss-'em appearances from Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill and Daisy Haggard. The relationship between the Doctor and Craig is still funny and charming, but isn't enough to sustain another 45 minutes. Luckily, Matt Smith is on top form: just look at the way he says "...what?" when "silver rats" are mentioned. Priceless.

And then, right at the end, in a chilling scene between River, Eyepatch Lady and the Silence, we remember that this Doctor's story will end very soon. Or will it?

2 1/2 out of 5 Bow Ties.

Oh, and Craig? On the subject of not knowing when to change a baby's nappy, I'll just say "sniff test" :-)

Happy Boss Day!

Many happy returns to Bruce Springsteen, 62 (!) today. It's obviously been a tough year for the man they call The Boss, with the illness and sad passing of his life-long friend and bandmate, the Big Man, Clarence Clemons.

It's been reported today, on the ever-wonderful Backstreets.com, that Bruce and the E Street Band will get together over the next few weeks to decide the future of the group, post-Clarence. I'm sure whatever they decide will be the right decision.

Anyway, here's a quick gander at some images of Bruce's past, starting with the career-low of the 1990s and the California Rock God look...

The mainstream / pop charts success days of the 1980s, with its Working Man Chic...

And the Hobo Years of the dim and distant 1970s...

And here's Bruce with The Real Boss, his wife of 20 years, Patti Scialfa

Soundtrack: We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions by Broooooce

Bond Babes: Izabella and Famke

I watched GoldenEye ( 1995 ) recently for the first time in ages and thought it stood up fairly well as an attempt to update the Bond franchise. All the requisite globe-trotting, glamour and action scenes were in place ( including a spectacular tank chase through the streets of Moscow ) and Pierce Brosnan did a surprisingly good job as a smooth-but-tough Bond, especially when aided by such top character actors as Judi Dench, Robbie Coltrane and Michael Kitchen. However, the almost post-modern jibes at Bond's "sexist Cold War dinosaur" persona were jarring - Brosnan would have been a schoolboy at the height of the Red Scare! Interestingly, Bond's embittered former colleague, Sean Bean's 006, looks with hindsight like a precursor to Daniel Craig's rugged, craggy-faced Bond of the last two movies.

Also caught in the crosshairs of the GoldenEye are two memorable Bond Babes. Firstly, Izabella Scorupco as computer programmer Natalya, an innocent witness to a massacre who gets swept along with Bond's mission to retrieve a stolen space weapon.

Ms. Scorupco gives a fine performance of a woman struggling to deal with her world turning to hell in seconds and having to dodge bullets with England's greatest secret agent. And, to be perfectly honest, when the film's pace sagged now and then, I was just happy to gawp like a lovestruck adolescent at her beauty...

On the other hand, we have the wonderful Fammke Janssen playing the ridiculously-named femme fatale, Xenia Onatopp. Only in a Bond movie!! Ms. Janssen clearly relishes the role of the crazed Bad Girl, whose speciality is squeezing the life out of her enemies between her muscly thighs. But what a way to go...

Doctor Who: The God Complex ( review with spoilers )

"There's a room here for everyone, Doctor... even you."

This week the Tardis Trio find themselves checked into the hotel from hell, where your standard accommodation problems like dirty bed linen and poor plumbing are replaced by rooms filled with your deepest fears, a shifting labyrinth of landings and a horned beast thumping along the corridors. Fawlty Towers this ain't...

The Doctor and the Ponds find themselves among a disparate group of reluctant guests, like David Walliams' cowardly Gibbis and stuttering blogger Howie, all being forced to face their own, personal demons, before giving up their faith and their lives to the lord of the labyrinth. The nightmares in the hotel rooms all seem small-scale ( a sad clown, chattering ventriloquist dummies, angry PE teacher ) but they are all geared to pushing the guests over the edge. As the Minotaur claims more and more victims, the Doctor and Amy have to both face their own fears and come to a turning point in their relationship...

While not a classic, this episode is a lot of creepy fun from professional scarer, Toby Whithouse. The seedy, 1980s hotel is a wonderfully garish backdrop to the nightmares ( Weeping Angels, disappointed dads, brutish apes, Cloister Bells... ) and the Minotaur is a triumph of costume design and execution. The ruminations on fear and faith give this story a depth and poignancy when it could have been just a runaround; and there's a standout performance by Amara Karan as another doomed potential companion. David Walliams, however, is mostly wasted as mole-like, cowardly alien comic relief Gibbis and only really shines in one scene when being upbraided by the Doctor. Maybe he should stick to swimming through sewage :-)

The last scenes of the Doctor saying goodbye to Amy and Rory are quite touching... even though we all know they'll be back very soon.

I'm not on the horns of a dilemma about this one:

4 Out Of 5 Bow Ties

Finally, I'd just like to say how satisfying it is for old Fourth Doctor fans like myself to hear that this story's excellent monster is related to corny, pantomime villains, the Nimon - who lived in a Power ( not God ) Complex and were endearingly crap, back in the days of wobbly sets and even wobblier special effects.

Soundtrack: Sorrow, Diamond Dogs and Rebel Rebel by David Bowie

DC's New 52 ( well, some of them... )

DC Comics' brand new, rebooted universe is now a couple of weeks old and even this jaded old blogger has been intrigued enough by the event to pick up some of the titles. I'm not sure if I've just been sucked in by a successful advertising campaign but the fact is I've walked into local comic shops and parted with cold, hard cash for some brand new comics, instead of back issues for a change... and DC comics at that. I've always been more of a Marvel guy really, with only the occasional trip into the DCU. So what do I make of the new version?

Justice League

is first out of the starting gate and is a strange beast for the beginning of a brave new world. It's set "five years ago" and details the first meeting between Batman and Green Lantern as they encounter a destructive, shape-shifting creature, seemingly intent on destroying Gotham City real estate. Jim Lee's artwork is as dynamic and detailed as ever, but not too self-indulgent, with only one double-page spread, and plenty of kinetic action. Geoff Johns provides some enjoyable dialogue as the Emerald Avenger and the Dark Knight Detective get the measure of each other's abilities:

"What are your powers, anyway? You can't fly. Super strength? Hold on a second... You're not just some guy in a bat costume, are you? Are you freaking kidding me?!"

My biggest problem with this comic is that, beyond the title, the Justice League themselves aren't even mentioned. I can understand the concept of the slow build of the story but, if this story had been told in the Silver or Bronze Ages ( here he goes again... ), this entire 24-page story would have warranted about 3 or 4 story pages as purely set-up for the main plot, the origin of the team itself. I can even imagine this hypothetical story beginning with the League in action against an enemy ( Starro, say... ) for the first few pages and then flashing back to how the characters all met. This all probably sounds corny to today's creators but I'm sure it would be a better hook for new readers, who could pick up this New 52 version of the League and be justified in wondering where exactly the titular team are. And new readers, not 44-year old lifers, are what DC need to keep their business alive...

Action Comics

is an audacious attempt to take the world's most famous, iconic hero back to his roots. This story is obviously set even further back than his last-page appearance in Justice League #1, for this early Superman wears a home-made costume of jeans and T-shirt, with the only concession to superhero chic being a small, almost silly, cape. He is young, idealistic but tough, and unsure of his developing powers, more of a super boy than man. In keeping with the character's early days way back in the 1930s, this Superman is a crusader, rooting out corruption, standing up for the common man, not fighting alien menaces or super villains. The iconic Superman cast of characters - Clark, Lois, Jimmy and Lex - are all introduced to us and each other, and it should be interesting to see how their relationships develop. The script is Grant Morrison at his most mainstream, without his more bizarre concepts or plot twists, but there's nothing wrong with that. The story powers along with some beautifully clean-lined, expressive, Wrightson-esque artwork by Rags Morales. I'll definitely be back for more...

Batgirl

is my first introduction to the work of Gail Simone. I know, I know, where have I been? She's a writer who comes highly recommended ( especially by ace blogger, Colin Smith ) as an important female voice in a mostly male-dominated medium. The story sees Barbara Gordon tackling some particularly brutal criminals, attempting to step out of her police commissioner father's shadow, finding herself a new home, and trying to come to terms with the memory of her shocking assault by the Joker. ( I admit I'm not up on recent DC continuity - I thought Barbara was still confined to a wheelchair. There is some mention of a "miracle" that somehow cured her, but I don't know any more than that. ) The artwork by Ardian Syaf is what I think of as "generic DC", with some decent story-telling but also some dodgy anatomy, while Ms. Simone's script is suitably hard-bitten but refreshingly concerned with a heroine who is racked with self-doubt and nerves. Oh, and the Adam Hughes cover is gorgeous.

Stormwatch

is a team I know little about. I never read the old version of the comic, or even the more well-known follow-on title, The Authority. ( Shame on me. ) I'm vaguely aware of the characters from reading Ellis / Cassady's excellent Planetary and, of course, I know the Martian Manhunter, but that's about it. So I'm left with a story about some mostly unlikeable, globe-trotting characters trying to save the world from an ill-defined alien menace, while fighting amongst themselves. There are a few nice visuals from Miguel Sepulveda, but the story is a disappointment from the usually reliable Paul Cornell.

Swamp Thing

however, is an old favourite character of mine. The issues by

Wein / Wrightson and Alan Moore / various are two of my most-loved comic runs ever, so this new creative team have a lot to live up to. And this first issue is very promising. Alec Holland is now human again and is working for a logging company, trying to forget his superhuman and supernatural past. A spate of mass unexplained animal deaths brings Superman ( the "present day" version we haven't really met yet ) to Louisiana to check up on Holland and to offer support to our disillusioned botanist. At the same time a group of archaeologists uncover something very nasty indeed, which seems to point to the rebirth of old Swamp Thing villain, Anton Arcane.

Scott Snyder writes a very wordy, intelligent script with plenty of fan-pleasing references to old Swampy stories and creators, while Yanick Paquette's artwork is beautifully detailed and often reminiscent of the baroque Starman work of Tony Harris. One to watch, all right.

Animal Man

also brings back an old fave, Buddy Baker, he of the animal powers and fourth-wall-breaking insanity back in the Grant Morrison days. Buddy seems confused these days: is he a superhero, an animal activist or a stuntman-turned-actor? After some lovely, naturalistic domestic scenes, Buddy digs out the old costume to help end a siege in a hospital, but finds his animal powers are causing him problems; he feels stronger than ever but using his powers causes him to unexplainably bleed from the eyes. Which can't be good. And after some disturbing dreams of his family suffering and dying, Buddy wakes to find his daughter Maxine has developed some scary powers of her own...

This is a very promising debut issue, with some alternately scratchy and intricate artwork from Travel Foreman ( that's a real name? ) and a fine script from Jeff Lemire, expertly balancing Buddy's family life with foreboding glimpses of a future, supernatural threat. But the most disturbing thing is probably Buddy's son, Cliff's, haircut - mullet alert!

OMAC

is an update of one of Jack ( King ) Kirby's lesser-known DC characters. It's a very slight story of a rampaging, blue-skinned bruiser smashing his way into the Cadmus Project, DC's multi-purpose secret scientific organisation. Old Kirby Fourth World characters, such as Mokkari and Dubbilex, pop up to try and stop OMAC from reaching the company's mainframe and... doing whatever it is he's doing. This OMAC is a hulking brute, remotely controlled by orbiting AI, Brother Eye, and seems very different from the crusading One Man Army Corps of the old 1970s series. Keith Giffen does his best Kirby impression but it all feels too insubstantial.

And that's all I've read of the New 52 so far. I went to Excelsior Comics in Bristol today, hoping to buy Paul Cornell's Demon Knights ( and maybe a few others ) but it was sold out, and none of the other new titles really grabbed me. There are still a few more first issues to come over the next couple of weeks, so expect some more half-baked reviews in a little while.

FF Fridays: The Invisible Woman

I thought it was time to spotlight the FF's most-overlooked ( 'cos she's invisible, get it? ) member, Sue ( Storm ) Richards. When the fantastic foursome first appeared 50 years ago, Sue was often seen ( or not, get it? ) as the weakest member of the group, which was obviously a sign of the times. But, over the years, her character was more defined as a strong woman - a wife, a mother, and also an independent and resourceful team member and leader - someone who didn't faint / need to be rescued every ten minutes.

Incidentally, I just thought I'd mention how difficult it is to find decent pictures of the Invisible Woman on t'internet. By which I mean pics that aren't wholly exploitative, tits 'n' ass shots. If you're looking for that pic of Sue being spanked by a naked Wonder Woman, you'll have to look elsewhere...

Soundtrack: Behind Blue Eyes by The Who

Doctor Who: The Girl Who Waited ( review with spoilers )

There's nothing more soul-destroying than waiting: waiting for a bus, waiting for exam results, waiting for a Doctor. Amy Pond has done her fair share of waiting already but, in this latest episode, she learns how terrible waiting can really be.

"This facility was built to give people the chance to live. I walked in here and I died."

The Tardis lands on the planet Apalapucia, voted second favourite destination for the discerning intergalactic traveller, and home to "sunsets, spires, soaring silver collonades".....

But of course it all goes wrong. The planet has been infected by the disease Chen7 - deadly to lifeforms with two hearts, like our favourite Time Lord. By the simple act of pressing a wrong button, Amy finds herself in a faster timestream to her companions, seemingly out of reach forever, in permanent quarantine, menaced by white-faced "Handbots" - medical droids whose "kindness" could kill her. The Doctor and Rory frantically try to find a way to catch up to Amy's timestream, the Doctor trapped in the Tardis, Rory living up to his promise to protect his wife.

Amy: "You didn't save me!"

Rory: "This is the saving! This is the us saving you! The Doctor just got the timing a bit out!"

The Amy that Rory finds in the Twostreams Facility is an Amy who has waited 36 years for her rescuers. She has become cold and cynical, a seasoned warrior woman in home-made armour. Rory has to decide: will he save this battle-hardened Amy, or save "his" Amy, meaning the older version will never have existed?

The Girl Who Waited is a terrific episode, a real standout in this second series of the 11th Doctor. The time travel concepts present the characters with tough moral choices and agonising decisions. All three regulars are fantastic: Matt Smith conveying so much sadness in his eyes alone, Arthur Darvill further discovering a strength and anger in the formerly-meek Rory, and Karen Gillan absolutely owning the episode as the two Amys. This story is as great a showcase for her acting range as Turn Left was for Catherine Tate's, and is one in the eye for all those fans still hung up on Billie Piper/Rose - Karen Gillan easily earns a place amongst her predecessors here, alternately tough and tender, wide-eyed and cynical.

And it's a beautifully filmed episode, too. From the stark white, sterile Twostreams facility, to the ornate alien gardens, to old Amy's ramshackle lair, the look of the episode is stylish, filmic, utterly convincing.

I won't let you wait any longer for my verdict :-)

5 out of 5 Bow Ties

Ten years

Of course the net is awash today with people remembering the awful events of 9/11.

It's strange to think that a whole decade has passed since that terrible day. In some ways it seems like a lifetime ago, in some ways it seems like only yesterday.

Many of us will think back to that September morning and remember where we were, what we were doing, that moment of shock, that dreadful, sinking feeling of realisation.

I was at work at the time, blissfully unaware, working in an office with no radio and no internet connection. A colleague rushed in and said "Have you heard what's happening in New York?" She told me a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers. "What, a light aircraft?" I replied. Of course, it was worse than that, worse than just some random, terrible accident. When the second plane hit we knew, the whole world knew, that this event was bigger, more loathsome, more despicably evil than we'd imagined. The story unfolded throughout the day and, when I was told that the Towers were collapsing, my mind just couldn't grasp the fact. How could they fall? How could this happen? I rang Sarah at home and we talked about how unbelievable, how shocking this news was - she said "You haven't seen the pictures yet..."

Of course, when I got home I watched the news, we all did. Those bright, hyper-real, shocking images repeated over and over, burning themselves into our minds. We grieved for the people of New York, people we never had known and now never could; just the feeling of empathy for fellow human beings caught up in the unbelievable, the unendurable. But the people of New York - and the world - had to believe, had to endure, had to rise up above this darkness.....

I'm sorry if I've rambled here but I just wanted to say that we remember, we will always remember, and love and prayers and hope for the future are wished for all those who lost someone on that terrible day, ten years ago.

Peace...

Le Chat Noir

For no real reason, other than I think it's pretty cool, here's one of the most famous pieces of 19th century advertising art:

Le Chat Noir by Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen. We've had a print of this on our kitchen wall for years and for some reason I always thought it was the work of Toulouse-Lautrec, even though it's obviously in a different style. Oh well, you live and learn.

The poster advertised the famous Chat Noir cabaret/nightclub in Montmartre, which was a hip, swinging and groovy place to hang out back in the day. When Sarah and I last visited Paris, back in 2007, we stayed in Pigalle, only a few streets away from the modern restaurant which still bears the iconic name and black cat image. We were also right next to all the sex shops, burlesque theatres and the Erotic Museum ( ooh la la! ) - which was all very eye-opening...

And after all that bohemian decadence, here's our very own

chat noir, monsieur Hero :-)

Post no. 500

Where it all began.....

So I had to think up a name for my blog. I had no real plan of what I was even going to write about. I didn't want to cover just one subject ( like knitting or opera or football ) so the title would have to be non-specific but potentially interesting.....

I just gazed around the room and saw my 1955 edition of assorted GK Chesterton writings and thought "that'll do!" and then I wrote:

"OK, first ever blog. Breathe deeply, focus etc. So, why The Glass Walking-Stick? ( Why the long face? ) I got the title from a collection of essays by G.K. Chesterton, that sadly-neglected ex-titan of English literature. A crusty old bugger who could, and did, write wittily and deeply on any subject under the sun, G.K. is responsible for one of my favourite novels, The Man Who Was Thursday. He rocks! Well, he did: he died in 1936.

"In one of these essays, Chesterton bashes the rich for their snobbish attitudes and defends the poor: "The cultivated people go in for what is beautiful; but the un-cultivated for what is interesting.....One man had a walking-stick made of glass and filled with sweets. If there were children in the house, the preservation of that glass stick has something of the insane sublimity of a religion." It wouldn't last long in our house anyway.

"Glass walking-stick equals something interesting but bonkers? pointless? fun? It could be a metaphor for blogging or I could be talking out of my a***e. ( That's a** if you're American. )

"Anyway, the plan is to witter on about any old random rubbish, whenever I can get my act together. As you can see above."

...but I still haven't written anything about knitting. Or opera. Or football.

( Probably won't start now, to be honest. )

Doctor Who: Night Terrors ( review with spoilers )

OK, I say "with spoilers" but, as this review is so ridiculously late, I'm guessing most people who want to see this episode have already done so. Night Terrors is one of the most old school Who episodes we've seen for a while, especially coming as it does straight after the brain-frazzingly bonkers Let's Kill Hitler. It tells a very simple story of a young boy who lives in a state of almost constant fear of his surroundings. He's scared of the shadows cast by his toys at night, by the rumbling sound of his tower-block's lift, the old lady shuffling past his window - just about everything. His parents are at their wits' end and are contemplating "calling someone in".....

They don't need to: young George has already called in the Doctor. Somehow, his repeated prayer of "Please save me from the monsters" has reached through time and space and alerted the one man who can help him. The Time Team promptly materialise on George's council estate and begin investigating. The Eleventh Doctor appears even more out of place in this landscape of tower-blocks and bin-bags than his two predecessors, who both spent a lot of time in such familiar surroundings. But don't worry: the story soon drags us back to Steven Moffatt's patented Who landscape of the dark fairy tale.

George has a "thing" that helps him deal with his fears: anything he's frightened of gets put in his cupboard. This cupboard soon turns out to be a Narnia-like portal to another world and its influence spreads throughout the tower-block. Amy and Rory, along with the old dear from next door and the cartoon-nasty landlord, find themselves deposited in a dark, spooky mansion, being chased by blank-faced giant dolls...

"You see these eyes? They're old eyes. And one thing I can tell you, Alex: monsters are real..."

Night Terrors has all the makings of a classic Doctor Who story, but doesn't quite make it. The scenes in the doll's house are suitably atmospheric and the peg dolls are sure to give sleepless nights to countless nippers across the land, but it seems to take an age to get there. The problem with the early scenes ( for me, anyway ) is the lack of a real threat. We see George's fear but have no idea if anything is really happening outside his imagination. Personally, I would have moved the scene of the old lady being pulled into the pile of bin-bags to the pre-credits sequence. This may be an obvious "hook" but at least it would establish that something concrete is happening. It also needs to be said that the father/son bonding story resolution, while quite touching, is getting a bit samey: we've already seen it twice this season. Like the very similar Fear Her perhaps this script needed another draft to give it that extra impact?

I don't want to be too negative about what is an enjoyable little story with some good, creepy images ( at times reminiscent of Jan Svankmayer's Alice ) and which definitely improves with repeated viewing. But I'm not too sure about Amy's new look...

FF Fridays: Marvel Treasury Editions

When I was a kid I used to love the over-sized Marvel Treasury Editions - they were a wonderful showcase for some classic ( and some not-so-classic ) reprints from Marvel's past. Of course, the biggest draw was that they presented all that groovy Bronze and Silver Age artwork in a super-sized "deluxe limited edition".....

OK, they were still printed on standard 1970's comic book paper

( ie bog roll ) but it was great to see such large-scale super hero goodness ( and barbarian badness in the Conan Treasuries! ) in an affordable format. The FF Treasuries reprinted such all-time classic tales as the Galactus Trilogy ( but an edited version... ), "Captives Of The Deadly Duo" ( FF #6 ), "The Master Plan Of Doctor Doom" ( FF #23 ) and "This Man, This Monster" ( FF #51 and this blog ) .....

These are the only two FF Treasuries I bought ( or my parents bought for me ) back in the day. There was a third volume, but I'm not sure if they were being published in the UK by that point.

I certainly never saw any Treasuries after #16 ( the Defenders issue ).

For further info on that cool, gone-but-not-forgotten format, check out Treasury Comics: The Blog - it's Fantastic!