There There My Brigadier

[alexsarll]

Let's be perfectly clear - any appearance on the nation's screens of Brigadier* Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart is to be welcomed, but 'Enemy of the Bane' seems to have taken a big leaf out of RTD's book of Big Finales Which Make No Sense Whatsoever. Why doesn't the Brig simply go into the Black Archive himself, where he'd clearly be allowed, and get the Tunguska MacGuffin? Why does he instead stand guard while Sarah Jane pointlessly breaks in? And why for that matter does the repository of "everything that shouldn't be on Earth" have security that would shame the average industrial estate?

There aren't many London venues with bones in the basement - or at least, ones that admit to it and display them. But Benjamin Franklin House is not like other venues. There didn't seem to be much in the way of mementoes of Franklin - who in my head is played by Tom Wilkinson - but it did feel old, and I like that in a venue. The show consisted of The Melting Ice Caps and The Soft Close-Ups, with both acts covering each other's songs too, quite an impressive set of permutations given that's only two people. Mr Shah namechecked me in 'Selfish Bachelor' too - "we can't all be glamorous like you, Alex Sarll" - which was lovely, but also quite surprising given that I'd just been thinking how true to my own life his line about eating breakfast in your dressing gown was.
Then on to Soul Mole, now at the Oak Bar. Which had made one rather puzzling alteration: when I've been there before for Lower The Tone, a lesbian night, the loos are stocked with free condoms. At Soul Mole, which in spite of the dancing and the bumming is mainly straight - no free condoms. This source of mild puzzlement aside, as ever a jolly good night - in particular, I'd been really needing a dance to '99 Problems'.

Battlestar Galactica having finished production, they're going to auction off the props. I'm still two seasons behind, so reluctant to investigate too closely for fear of spoilering myself.

*Technically a General since his role in foiling the Ice Warrior invasion of 1997, but everyone still calls him the Brigadier because, well, he's the Brigadier, isn't he? Geek polyfilla there, marvellous.

Comments

[ksta.livejournal.com]

Maybe they were trying to persuade the lezzers to SEE THE ERROR OF THEIR WAYS.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Next time I'm there, I'll quote you in my defence.

[ksta.livejournal.com]

:)

[puzzled-anwen.livejournal.com]

Maybe the lesbians who go there are really into making baloon animals/water bombs??

I liked the SJA finale, although I was able to ascribe any nonsensicality to being accompanied by J who asks random questions.

Also, if anyone wants to make that dress Mrs Wormwood was wearing, I'm fairly sure this is the pattern: http://www.butterick.com/item/B5247.htm??tab=dresses&page=2 Now if only I could find out where they got the marvellous purple jersey...

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

But that is clear discrimination against any straightlords who might wish to make balloon animals!

[puzzled-anwen.livejournal.com]

Perhaps they did market research and found that only lezzers would respond to the availability of baloon aminals? Either that or they don't want them to be used for TEH SECKS and thus don't want to make them available to straightfaces just in case...

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

especially as he even told the fellow he was GOING IN, surely his then NOT GOING IN looks totally suspicious? It's not like they had anything to hide in the car! I liked the "battle of the costume jewellery" line though.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

That was a brilliant line, though for me narrowly beaten by "firm of solicitors" - although I could have done with a *little* less of the whole custody battle angle, I think. But oh I do hope they bring him back again for one last Who, I'd love to see how he'd interact with Tennant!

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

Maybe I just wasn't paying close enough attention, but I was also a little mystified by how you can save the universe by opening a "portal" or "gateway" to ULTIMATE POW-ORR and then knocking the bad guys through it. Wasn't that what they wanted?

Have to say, based on preliminary viewing, I think SJA Season 2 did a bit of an inverse Torchwood: after a surprisingly great first season we've settled down to something that is fan-watchable but, really, even at the best of times, no better than it should be. I'm as happy as anyone to see Nick Courtney earning a paycheck into his fifth decade on the show, but as you have correctly implied already there was really no point at all to the Brig's cameo (which I suppose does have canonical precedent in Mawdryn Undead). I quite liked the finale episode, especially Mrs Wormwood doing her Narnian Ice Queen impression, but then I'd just watched the first ep of "The Web Planet" in advance so any pretence towards acting, budget or scriptwriting was going to look good by comparison. A couple of good lines amidst a sea of unabashedly CBBC-grade plotlines (MUMS AND DADS = GOOD!) and nonsensical posturing, that was most of this season. But probably I'm still just sore about "The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith" being nothing more than a blow-by-blow remake of Father's Day, except sh$%.

[atommickbrane.livejournal.com]

They did explain it but it was super lame - she fell into the "portal" with Karn at the same time as she had used her sonic disruptor ring and it did an "ugglybuggly" and closed up the portal- I think the wotsit was supposed to bring the power through it rather than going out there and getting it but nergh er yeh.

I know exactly why the Brig was in the SJA, it just resonates more to fans of old Whoop than it would if it were one of thosefrom Torchwood whose names wot I dunno.

I much preferred Maria and her dad (and her batsh1t mum!) to Rani (BANNERMAN ROAD INDEED) but feh.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Maria was OK and her dad was top, but they really overdid the
'comedy' annoying mum. I'd probably have been happiest if she just married Ivan and moved far, far away. Possibly to Skaro.

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Maria's dad was just in the latest ep of Survivors playing a considerably edgier version of much the same character, some of it quite shocking!

[barrysarll.livejournal.com]

Brane's explained the resolution considerably better than I could have, or the script could be bothered to.

I think you're being a little harsh on SJA s2 in comparing it to Torchwood s1, but would agree that it wasn't the equal of the first series. And while I wasn't that keen on 'Father's Day' (it was one script-edit short of being as good as people seem to think it is, and a fair way behind Cornell's best work), I'd agree that 'The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith' was way too close to it - particularly since SJS, unlike Rose, is no clueless amateur in the time travel business, and really should have known better.

Characterising the plots as "(MUMS AND DADS = GOOD!)"...well, yes, there was too much of that. But in having Luke reject his birth mother in favour of his adopter, and even more so in 'Mark of the Berserker' (Clyde's father coming back was pretty much an unqualified disaster, no?), I don't think they were quite so simplistic as you suggest.

Also - you're being far too harsh on the expressionist ballet masterpiece in SF clothing that is The Web Planet.