Book review: Berserker!: An Autobiography, by Adrian Edmondson

Adrian Edmondson was born in January 1957 and is thus now nearly 67 years old. He has spent around fifteen weeks of his life playing Vyvyan from The Young Ones, much less than 0.5% of his life so far. He enjoyed The Young Ones and remains proud of it, but has not really watched it for forty years. He was embarrassed when, working with Richard Briers around a decade later, the older actor on their first meeting repeated to him, Vyvyan’s famous tirade about the “SO BLOODY NICE” Good Life starring “FELICITY “TREACLE” KENDALL AND RICHARD “SUGAR-FLAVOURED SNOT” BRIERS” from The Young Ones virtually verbatim. They got on alright after that.

He thus discusses his most famous role slightly reluctantly. The book’s chapter on The Young Ones reads simply: “Surely enough’s been said about this over the years.” However, this is immediately followed by a second chapter (in fact, the longest in the book) discussing his memories of the sitcom in detail.

But there are many other things to enjoy in this well-written autobiography. For starters, there’s Ade’s dislike of his own name. The moniker, “Adrian Edmondson” has never exactly tripped easily off the tongue and is awkward to spell. Just as his friend and comedy partner Richard Mayall became “Rik,” Ade planned to change his name to the similar sounding but catchier “Eddie Monsoon” but he missed the paperwork deadline and Adrian (or “Ade”) he remains. “Edina Monsoon” was, of course, the name chosen for his wife Jennifer Saunders’s most famous creation in Absolutely Fabulous.

There is actually very little about Jennifer (in fact, Ade’s second wife who he married in 1985) or their three daughters here. This is fair enough. The couple have long agreed not to discuss each other much in public and besides, she has written her autobiography already (2013’s Bonkers: My Life in Laughs).

We do, however, learn about his childhood spent in Bradford and in many other international trouble-spots, his sometimes strained relationship with his often difficult father, his brief run-ins with corporal punishment at school and less formalised violence on the mean streets of Bradford, his early joyous days with Rik both at Manchester Uni and during his comedy career on The Young Ones, The Comic Strip and Bottom.

He also talks a little about his occasional mental health struggles and about the eventual souring of his relationship with Mayall in the decade before his death, his music career (of less interest to me) and the somewhat higgledy-piggledy nature of his work in the last two decades (Celebrity Masterchef, some music, some drama: Twelfth Night on stage, War and Peace on TV and some comedy: a supporting role in comedy drama, Back To Life).

He may not be a young one anymore, but this remains a good read about a fascinating life and career.

Book review: Marcia Williams: The Life and Times of Baroness Falkender, by Linda McDougall

Who was the most powerful British woman in 20th century British politics?

This should be an easy one. As the first and only female Prime Minister during those years, Margaret Thatcher is really the only possible answer. An unusually influential leader by any measure, love her or hate her, ‘the Iron Lady’ undoubtedly wielded and exercised considerable power during her eleven years in Downing Street.

But who would be come second on that century’s female British power list? The late Queen Elizabeth II reigned throughout most of the second half of the century. But as a constitutional monarch, how much power did she really have? Queen Victoria may have been more powerful in her heyday. But she died in January 1901.

A case could perhaps be made for pioneering women cabinet ministers such as Barbara Castle, Shirley Williams or Mo Mowlam (while it is true Labour has not yet produced a woman prime minister, they have always had a much stronger reputation for creating strong, decent woman cabinet ministers than the Tories have had). But really the argument presented by Linda McDougall in this new biography is overwhelming. Neither elected or royal, Marcia Williams, later known as Baroness Falkender practically ran Britain jointly with Labour Prime Minister, Harold Wilson between 1964 and 1970 and again between 1974 and 1976. She was Wilson’s personal secretary, then his political secretary, then the head of his political office. She was undoubtedly the most powerful woman in politics during the Wilson era.

The book is very welcome as until now Marcia Williams has had a rather odd political reputation. For one thing, although she only died in 2019, at the age of eighty-six, she remains largely unknown to most people under fifty. I myself, who was born in the same year she and Wilson left Downing Street (1976) knew little of her growing up and despite always being interested in politics, have no clear memories of ever seeing any footage of her speaking on TV.

Those who did know her have often sought to cast her in a negative light. Unsurprisingly, the familiar forces of sexism and snobbery have played a big part in forging public perceptions of her, something this book fights hard to redress. Some have argued she exerted undue influence on Wilson. It is now no longer really disputed that she was very influential, although the extent to which it was “undue” now seems more questionable. It has also suggested she was a malevolent presence who prevented Wilson from reaching his full potential. Neither of these charges stand up to scrutiny. Nor does the claim made by some that she was merely a stupid, jumped-up typist. She was clearly very intelligent.

She first met Wilson in 1956 around the time of the Khruschev’s visit to Britain. The visit included a disastrous dinner held between Soviet leader and various senior Labour Party figures including George Brown which soon descended into a row. Marcia was then in her early twenties, a bright young university graduate and secretary who was convinced Wilson, then forty and frustrated in opposition represented the future of the party. McDougall is in no doubt at all that the two had a sexual relationship with Wilson at this time. She is also certain this ended early. During the next twenty years, they would form a formidable political partnership which saw Wilson lead Labour to four General Election victories.

Her life was not free of scandal. After the failure of her marriage, she had an affair with the married political editor of the Daily Mail, Walter Terry. Two sons resulted from this affair although Terry later returned to his wife. Marcia fought hard to keep both her pregnancies and the existence of the children out of the public eye. This was easier in those days when the press was far less intrusive than it is today. On the downside, illegitimacy was considered far more scandalous than it is today, when more than half of children are born out of wedlock and even the term “out of wedlock” sounds very old-fashioned. There was always an underlying concern that people might wrongly assume her sons were Wilson’s.

She will always be associated with the “Lavender List” controversy which marred the end of Wilson’s premiership. Her later career was also blighted by her addiction to purple hearts and tranquilisers, a very common problem at the time. Her career really ended too early: she was only forty-four when Wilson left office in 1976. Her later years were undermined by ill-health.

Linda McDougall has produced a fine biography here which sheds valuable light on an important and neglected figure of post-war British political history.

Book review: My Lady Parts, by Doon Mackichan

Doon Mackichan is one of Britain’s finest comedy actresses. You might have seen her playing Cathy, the neighbour from hell in the sitcom, Two Doors Down or as Jane Plough, the long-suffering agent of Matt Berry’s wayward actor in Toast of London. She’s also been in Roman-era sitcom, Plebs, I’m Alan Partridge and far too many other things to detail here.

There is more to the title of the book, than simply a suggestive innuendo. Throughout this very readable memoir, each chapter begins with a short character description of the sort an actor might see when considering taking a particular role. In this case, they each sum up a particular “part” which Doon has been forced to adopt at different stages of her life e.g. The Angry Young Feminist, The Stupid Tart, The Deranged Mother and so on.

Her life has had its share of ups and downs. Highs have included her three series on seminal Channel 4 sketch show, Smack The Pony (1999-2003) with Sally Phillips and Fiona Allen, which was one of the most satisfactory experiences of her working life. She also swam the English Channel. Lows have included illness, divorce and one particularly intense family crisis.

A recurrent theme of the book has been the persistent sexism she has encountered throughout her life and career. Boys have treated her badly from the playground onwards. In this, she is certainly sadly anything but unique, although she is refreshingly frank in speaking up about it. The sexism has extended from the inadequate childcare provisions laid on during times when she has had young children to severe restrictions being placed on the types of role she has been allowed to play. Her own Mary Whitehouse Experience was an unpleasant one with the four stars, particularly David Baddiel treating her with arrogance and disdain. A pre-fame Ricky Gervais also comes out of the book badly, making a pushy attempt to land himself a starring role in the all-female Smack The Pony while a famous, dress-wearing male British artist (hmmm…who could that be?) is amongst those who have made inappropriate comments to her. As one of the most prominent women appearing on the brilliant Brass Eye ‘Paedegeddon’ Special, she was demonised by the tabloid press in 2001

Overall, this is an engaging book from a talented actress who one feels could have been bigger than she has been. Doon Mackichan seems angry occasionally. She is right to be so and is certainly angry about the right things.

My Lady Parts, by Doon Mackichan. Published by: Canongate.

Film review: Mindhorn (2017)

Originally published on Movie Muser (2017).

Starring: Julian Barratt, Essie Davis, Russell Tovey, Simon Farnaby, Andrea Riseborough, Steve Coogan

Directed By: Sean Foley

Running Time: 89 minutes

UK Release Date: Out Now

BBFC Certificate: 15

Your Rating: 4 out of 5

Review: Do you remember Mindhorn?

The popular Eighties and Nineties action TV series featured Richard Thorncroft as Isle of Man detective Bruce P. Mindhorn, a man whose left eye had been replaced by a lie detector, enabling him to literally “see the truth”.

Of course, you don’t. The show never existed. The whole crazy Bergerac/Six Million Dollar Man concept comes courtesy of Julian Barratt who here plays actor Thorncroft and co-writer Simon Farnaby (Horrible History/Bunny and the Bull) who doubles up here as Thorncroft’s onetime stuntman, Clive. Now, twenty-five years after his heyday, Thorncroft is an ageing balding egomaniac who has been reduced to producing adverts for girdles. That’s until the police get in touch. A murderer known only as “the Kestrel” is on the loose on the Isle of Man and is so deranged that he thinks his Eighties childhood hero is a real person. He refuses to talk to anyone else. Time, then, for Mindhorn to get back in action.

It’s a great idea and despite a few patchy elements, is brilliantly funny. Much of the fun, of course, comes from seeing clips of the convincingly awful looking Mindhorn TV series as well as the contrast between Thorncroft’s cheesy but glamorous younger life and his somewhat pathetic existence today. It’s a great role for the underrated Barratt, too young to have been a grownup Eighties TV star in reality and best known for being Noel Fielding’s other half in The Mighty Boosh. Steve Coogan is also great in the role of Peter Eastman, a minor actor in Mindhorn who has since enjoyed greater success than Thorncroft ever achieved in his long -running spin-off show, Windjammer.

Part Alan Partridge (has-been star), part Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace (fictional Eighties TV show), part Toast of London (egomaniac actor), Mindhorn is a hoot.

And don’t be surprised if you come out humming the words to Thorncroft’s pop hit “Can’t Handcuff The Wind” either. It’s surprisingly catchy.

Overall Verdict: Mindhorn: even the name is funny.

Reviewer: Chris Hallam

Book review: A Northern Wind, Britain 1962-65, by David Kynaston

It is sometimes said of the nineteen sixties: if you can remember them, you weren’t really there. Oddly, reading the latest volume in David Kynaston’s epic Tales of a New Jerusalem series on post-war British life left me with much the same feeling. Kynaston’s 600-page book goes into so much painstaking detail about every aspect of British life during that period, that I almost feel as if I really do remember being there. Yet in reality, I wasn’t there at all. I’m not even old enough to remember the seventies.

The book doesn’t cover the whole decade, of course, merely the 27-month period between October 1962 and January 1965. The month of October 1962 was in itself hugely significant culturally. As John Higgs has discussed in his book, Love and Let Die, the same day, Saturday 6th October 1962 witnessed the simultaneous release of both the first Beatles’ single, Love Me Do and the very first cinema release for the very first James Bond film, Dr. No starring Sean Connery. It was also the month during which, thanks to the Cuban Missile Crisis, humanity came closer to wiping itself our than at any time before or since.

In truth, this entire two-year timespan, may well down as the most eventful in Britain’s peacetime history. The book’s title doubtless refers to the conditions which precipitated the Big Freeze of 1962-63, one of the coldest winters ever recorded, which strikes early in the book, but also the northern character of many of the changes wrought during this time such as the coming of The Beatles and the arrival of Yorkshireman, Harold Wilson into Downing Street in October 1964.

The year 1963 saw the government of Harold “Supermac” Macmillan dealt with a severe dose of Kryptonite, by the eruption of the Profumo Affair which shook British society to its foundations. By October 1963, Macmillan, who was approaching seventy had lost all appetite for the job and used the excuse of a perfectly treatable bout of prostate cancer to make a sharp exit from Downing Street (he went on to live until 1986). With no formal arrangements to elect Tory leaders yet in place, the subsequent “contest” to succeed the old man quickly turned into a farce, the skeletal Sir Alec Douglas-Home somehow emerging as leader, despite still being in the House of Lords at the time of his appointment.

Home should, in theory, have been easy meat for a Labour Party revitalised after more than a decade in opposition, by the election of the youthful Harold Wilson as leader earlier in the year. Today, a politician who always wore a raincoat and smoked a pipe would risk seeming like an odd ball. But in 1963, these things when added to the new leader’s heady, intoxicating, arguably slightly meaningless talk of the “white heat of revolution” helped make Wilson seem like the harbinger of a new, exciting, more technological and meritocratic new age. Wilson’s period as leader between March 1963 and October 1964, is still seen by many as the perfect template for any Opposition leader. Despite this, he only just managed to knock the stiff, untelegenic Sir Alec off his perch, leading Labour to victory with a single figure majority.

But it’s not all about politics. Far from it. Instead, we get a unique insight into almost all aspects of British life through the TV they watched, the newspapers and magazines they read, the music, the sport and the thoughts and feelings of people both famous and ordinary through their letters and diaries. It is a reminder that history is not always what we remember it to be and that people’s perceptions and attitudes back then might not be now exactly what we would now expect them to be.

For example, as some reflected idly on the return of Dixon of Dock Green (“like an old friend coming into the house every Saturday”), others discussed the possible implications of the contraceptive pill (“this is not a subject which a woman will discuss over morning coffee – even with her closest friends,” wrote Jean Rook in the Yorkshire Post). The Beeching Report was published. The Great Train Robbery happened. On the night of President Kennedy’s assassination, Beatles fans went to see the Fab Four perform at the Globe Theatre on Stockton-on-Tees. Mods and Rockers fought on Brighton’s beaches. The first episode of Top of the Pops went out. Some took an instant dislike to its first ever host: “What an odd-looking individual…like something from Dr Who…Mutton dressed as lamb.” Sometimes the effect is similar to reading a Twitter feed. The host on that occasion was the 37-year-old disc jockey, Jimmy Savile.

In Smethwick, the Conservative candidate, Peter Griffiths won the seat after fighting a blatantly racist campaign using the slogan, “if you want a n—– for a neighbour, vote Labour.” His election provoked huge controversy. On TV, however, despite some grumbling, The Black and White Minstrels Show continued to air and would do for many years. News stories like the unfolding Profumo Affair provoked mixed reactions ranging from sympathy for Macmillan, often hypocritical disgust, outrage over the nature of the media coverage and undisguised lust towards Christine Keeler from the future comedy writer, Laurence Marks, then a teenaged boy.

There is more detailed analysis too. With the perspective of sixty years, David Kynaston examines the impact of the Beeching cuts to the railways and also takes a thorough look at the condition of the welfare state as his epic series of books reaches its half way point, midway between the landmark 20th century General Elections of 1945 and 1979. Elsewhere, we are reminded that sport did not stop even on the day of Sir Winston Churchill’s state funeral with Peterborough United beating Arsenal that very afternoon. The Britain of January 1965 was undeniably massively different from the land the great war leader had been born into ninety years before. But it was also, as this superb book consistently reminds us, very different from the Britain of today.

Book review: A Northern Wind, Britain 1962-65, by David Kynaston. Published by: Bloomsbury.

Book review: The Real Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, by Andrew Norman

It has always been something of a mystery how someone as intelligent and accomplished as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ended his days being duped by a couple of Yorkshire schoolgirls into believing a number of clearly bogus pictures of fairies were real. By any measure, Conan Doyle was a very talented and successful man: a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction, a legal advocate, a qualified doctor, a political campaigner who played both football and cricket professionally and who also boxed, played golf and billiards very well. His towering achievement was, of course, the creation of great fictional Baker Street supersleuth, Sherlock Holmes. Although he was embarrassed by the levels of success this character achieved (Conan Doyle soon found he could come with the stories fairly easily), he can now justifiably described as the father of all modern detective fiction. Holmes’s famous rule of thumb was always, “once you have eliminated the impossible then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the answer.” although he added, ” I, however, do not like to eliminate the impossible.”

Sadly, in later life, an increasingly superstitious Conan Doyle grew increasingly reluctant to eliminate the impossible too. This short biography helps to explain why.

Book review: Code of Conduct, by Chris Bryant

British politics is in trouble. Lots of our MPs are (contrary to legend) hard-working and decent. But some are not. As an MP himself, Chris Bryant has witnessed many of the negative elements of British parliamentary life first-hand . He was there, for example, on the shameful day, the Boris Johnson government attempted to allow an unprecedented rule change to allow former minister, Owen Paterson to get away with breaking Commons rules. He has seen (as we all have) the now disgraced Prime Minister Johnson lying and lying and lying again in the Commons and numerous MPs from all parties bending and breaking the rules to protect themselves and achieve personal advantage. Reform is clearly sorely needed. At the very least, the rule that no member should be able to accuse another member of lying within the House of Commons chamber is surely long overdue for change? Chris Bryant knows what he’s talking about and clearly has many great ideas on how to change things for the better. It is surely time we ejected the current ruling band of corrupt, incompetent miscreants from power and elected a Labour government imbued with the very real appetite and energy to implement these long overdue and urgently needed reforms was elected in its place.

Book review: The Guest, by Emma Cline

Alex is a drifter, a permanent guest in other people’s lives. She lives a dangerous, hand-to-mouth existence, moving from place to place, using people to get what she needs, sometimes stealing small amounts, always on the lookout for the next opportunity, the next free beer or ice cream or the next place to charge her phone. She is socially adept, skilled at assimilating herself within a party before anyone realises they don’t actually know who she is. Although let down by an overly abrupt ending, this is a compelling read from Emma Cline, the author of the excellent The Girls.

Starship Troopers: 25 years on

Super Troopers: 25 years of Starship Troopers

YOU are Richard M. Nixon!

Can you do better than the 37th president of the USA? Complete this quiz and find out!

(And remember, if things get too tough, you can always resign…)

1. 1950: You are campaigning to be elected to the US senate. Your opponent, the actress Helen Gagahan Douglas is actually fairly liberal Democrat but you want to imply she has communist connections. What nickname do you come up with for her?

a) Stalin’s sister-in-law

b) Mao’s mouthpiece

c) The Pink Lady

d) The Molotov cocktail

e) That goddamn crazy, liberal, pinko, commie-loving Hollywood bitch

2. 1952: You are delivering the famous Checkers speech on TV in a desperate bid to retain your position as General Eisenhower’s running-mate. But what exactly do you say about Checkers, a cocker spaniel dog during the broadcast?

a) “Believe it or not, the day before we left on this campaign trip we got a message from Union Station in Baltimore saying they had a package for us. We went down to get it. You know what it was? It was a little cocker spaniel dog in a crate that he’d sent all the way from Texas. Black and white spotted. And our little girl—Tricia, the 6-year-old—named it Checkers. And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog and I just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we’re gonna keep it.”

b) You denounce Checkers as a communist and deny having anything to do with him.

c) Counter-attack by accusing the Democrat candidate, Adlai Stevenson of having accepted a whole menagerie of animals as gifts including a snake called “Chess” and a penguin named “Ludo.”

d) Propose launching Checkers into orbit, making him the first dog in space before the end of the decade. e) Propose a “Checkers strategy” to rival Eisenhower’s “domino theory.”

3. 1960: The presidential TV debate with John F. Kennedy is approaching but you are in a bad way. You look haggard, shifty and sweaty while Kennedy looks pristine, polished and smooth. What do you do?

a) Leave the make-up people to attempt to cover-up your appearance as well as possible. Cover-ups always work.

b) Draw attention away from your appearance by mimicking Kennedy in an effeminate, high-pitched voice every time you speak.

c) Arrange for extracts from your successful 1952 Checkers speech to be inserted into the broadcast every time it’s your turn to speak and hope the content is still relevant.

4. 1968: You are running for president again. How will you tackle the ongoing Vietnam War?

a) Propose bombing Vietnam back to the stone age.

b) A more nuanced approach. Propose bombing Vietnam but only back to the iron age.

c) Unconditional surrender.

d) Pretend you have a “secret plan to end the war” leaving you free to come up with a plan at your leisure once you’ve been elected.

5. 1969: Congratulations! You have won the presidency. Time to compose your “Enemies List.” Who should go on it?

a) Dr Henry Kissinger, John Erlichman, H.R Haldeman, Pat Nixon and Bob Hope.

b) Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, Charles Manson, Idi Amin and Patty Hearst.

c) Ted Kennedy, Barbara Streisand, Bill Cosby and Jane Fonda.

6. 1969: You claim to speak for…

a)  The silent majority

b) The vocal majority

c) An effete court of impudent snobs.

d) The military-industrial complex.

7. 1972: Re-election looms. You seem to be heading for an easy win. Do you…

a) Let nature take its course. Campaign normally. Why not? You’re clearly going to win anyway.

b) Approve an orchestrated campaign of sabotage and dirty tricks against your opponents culminating in the Watergate break-in.

8, 1973: Watergate. How do you defend the administration from accusations of a cover-up?

a) There will be no BS from DC.

b) There will no dam built obstructing this Watergate.

c) There will be no whitewash at the White House.

9. 1973: Spiro Agnew has resigned as vice-president after being accused of tax evasion. Who should replace him?

a) Nelson Rockefeller? Bob Dole? A safe pair of hands who can take over should you be required to leave office.

b) Gerald Ford. Surely congress wouldn’t risk impeaching you if it meant someone like him becoming president?

ANSWERS

1. c) was the nickname you used. Any of them would have probably worked.
2. a) was what you said.
3. a) You have little alternative. It didn’t work.
4. d) You opt for this one. Eventually it was decided to adopt a policy of “Vietnamisation”: basically handing over the fighting to the Vietnamese enabling a gradual US withdrawal ensuring eventual defeat. Probably the best possible outcome in the circumstances.
5. c) of course! a) are all your supporters. b) are not really your friends either, but none for various reasons made the list.
6. a) Spiro Agnew used c) to refer to anti-war protesters. d) is a quote by President Eisenhower.
7. b) Although a) would have been a better decision.
8. c)
9. b) This really was your reasoning for picking Ford. It didn’t prevent your downfall after which Ford became president anyway.

Book review: Richard Nixon: California’s Native Son, by Paul Carter

What is it about Richard Milhous Nixon?

Half a century after the Watergate scandal which precipitated his downfall and nearly thirty years after his death, the 37th president retains a strong hold on the popular imagination. Ultimately, most people would probably agree that while he undoubtedly had many good qualities, he was also deeply flawed. The same may unfortunately be said of this new biography of the man.

It’s a shame really that author, Paul Carter didn’t end this volume with Nixon’s first election to congress in 1946. For the chapters on Nixon’s early life, growing up poor in California are easily the best in the book. Although I admit I am something of a Nixon geek, I must admit there was much here I didn’t know. I didn’t know that there had been a small earthquake in the Nixon’s town on the day after one of his young brothers died. I also hadn’t really appreciated how much stage acting the young Nixon did. It’s fascinating stuff (to me, anyway).

“Just as Wicked redefined The Wizard of Oz, Richard Nixon: California’s Native Son boldly challenges common conceptions,” Carter argues, early on. “It is not political. It is nothing more than a straightforward biography that reveals an incredible life.” But this is a problem. Why shouldn’t the book be political? It is, after all, the life story of a politician.

It’s not true anyway. The book definitely is political. Although it rather skips over the most important phase of his life, the presidency (dealt with in just 24 of the book’s 292 pages), the previous 150 or so pages cover his earlier political career: his run for congress, the Hiss case, the notorious Pink Lady senate campaign, the Checkers speech, the vice presidency, his 1960 presidential campaign and defeat, his 1962 run for Governor of California and defeat – in impressive detail.

But the real problem with the book is that it deliberately avoids mentioning anything that will make it’s subject sound bad. This is unfortunate as these failings are some of the most interesting things about him. It’s even more unfortunate as it means, that apart from the first few chapters, this isn’t a hell of a lot of use as a history book. It presents a largely false impression of the man whose life it is describing.

“Nixon was not flawed, humorless, insecure or evil,” Carter writes. I would agree that he was not evil, although even then, some might argue his invading Cambodia might put him in that category. But flawed? Well, yes. It is no accident that he is the only one of the USA’s presidents thus far to have resigned. Insecure? Again, yes. He secretly bugged his own White House and authorised an illegal campaign of dirty tricks against his opponents, in an election he was sure to win anyway. And now you mention it: no, I can’t remember him ever saying anything particularly funny. Aside from “sock it to me” on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. And, I suspect, he didn’t come up with that line himself.

The book thus glosses over the fact that Nixon’s persistent ‘Pink Lady’ insinuation during his 1950 senate campaign was completely groundless. His opponent, actress Helen Gahagan Douglas was a New Deal Democrat. Despite Nixon’s notorious misogynistic claim (omitted in the book) that she was “pink right down to her underwear,” she was no more a Communist sympathiser than he was.

The 1960 presidential campaign is also presented misleadingly, Nixon’s decision to visit all fifty states is treated as if it was some sort of triumph. In reality, it was a rash promise which threw his entire campaign off course in an attempt to fulfil it. Nixon was also damaged by President Eisenhower’s response to a reporter’s question about useful ideas which Nixon contributed to the administration during his eight years as vice president. “If you give me a week, I might think of one. I don’t remember,” Ike said. Again, this isn’t mentioned in the book. Much is made of Nixon’s apparent integrity in choosing not to contest the election over alleged voting irregularities in Chicago. But, in truth, with Kennedy leading Nixon by a margin of 83 electoral college votes, Nixon challenging the result was never a realistic prospect anyway.

As mentioned, the details of the 1968 campaign and Nixon presidency, both skipped over, neither the best nor the worse aspects are discussed. Watergate is summarised thus: “Nixon attempted to cover-up any White House involvement in order to protect those closest to him.” A more accurate account would point out Nixon subjected the entire nation to an unnecessary trauma in a bid to save his own skin.

We all remember the quote, “there will be no whitewash at the White House.” It is the most famous thing Richard Nixon ever said. We remember it because it was so comprehensively proven to be a lie. There was a whitewash at the White House: Nixon made sure there was a cover-up. But you won’t find this quote anywhere in this book which itself attempts to whitewash the truth about Nixon and who he really was.

Book review: Richard Nixon: California’s Native Son, by Paul Carter. Published by: Potamic Books.

100 years on: the death of Warren G. Harding

On August 2nd 1923, the President Warren Harding listened while his wife, Florence read him to him from a newspaper. Harding was recuperating after a period of illness and was sitting up in bed, but he liked what he heard. “That’s good! Go on – read some more!” Florence resumed reading. But within moments, Harding had collapsed into the bed, as he struggled with the effects of what was either a heart attack or a stroke. He died shortly afterwards. His First Lady, Florence herself would die, a little over a year later.

Harding had been the 29^th US president and was now the fifth to die in office.  Two more – FDR and JFK – have died in the century since.  He was 57 wen he passed on, but to modern eyes looks much older. Photographs of him today suggest a man of about seventy. In reality, the president had been in a state of poor health for some time, but the true extent of his illness had been concealed from the general public. Most Americans were shocked and saddened to hear of his death. Nine million people lined the railroad tracks as the train carrying his body proceeded from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. He was still a popular figure in 1923.

This would change. Over time, more and more would be revealed about the incompetence and corruption of his administration culminating in what became known as the Teapot Dome scandal. History now judges Harding to have been amongst the very worst of the 45 leaders who have thus far occupied the US presidency.

Back in November 1920, it had seemed like a different story. The Republican Harding had won a landslide in that year’s presidential election by promising a “return to normalcy.” Harding’s grasp of English was questionable (‘normality’ would have been a better word to use) but the concept was hugely appealing to an America still reeling from the traumas of the influenza pandemic and the First World War. Harding had only been selected as the Republican nominee in a “smoke-filled room” as a compromise after a deadlocked Republican convention could not decide on anyone else.

Everyone agreed: Warren Gamalie Harding looked and sounded exactly how a president ought to look and sound. On one occasion, his words even oddly foreshadowed those of a later, much better leader who would be elected forty years later: “We need citizens who are less concerned about what their government can do for them, and more concerned about what they can do for the nation.” Harding easily saw off his Democratic opponent, James M. Cox and his youthful running mate, Franklin D. Roosevelt in the November elections.

In office, however, Harding completely floundered. “I knew that this job would be too much for me,” he admitted, one of many occasions when Harding was effectively condemned by his own words. There were rumours of late-night White House poker games and of extramarital affairs with a mistress at one point having sex with Harding in a wardrobe. That same woman, one Nan Britton claimed her daughter Elizabeth was in fact the result of her affair with Harding, a man more than thirty years her junior. The Hardings always denied this claiming Warren (who had no other children) had been left infertile after a childhood bout of mumps. In fact, a DNA test published in 2015, just ten years after Louise’s death, confirmed beyond reasonable doubt, that she had been President Harding’s daughter.

“I have no trouble with my enemies,” Harding once fumed. “I can take care of my enemies in a fight. But my friends, my goddamned friends, they’re the ones who keep me walking the floor at nights!” Harding’s judgement was terrible, for example, appointing Albert B. Fall as Secretary of the Interior. His main qualification for the position? He was Harding’s friend. Some years later, he was convicted of bribery and became the first cabinet minister in US history to be jailed for his conduct while in office. Harding’s attorney general, Harry M. Daugherty also became notorious for his role in the Teapot Dome scandal.

Most of these scandals broke during the presidency of Harding’s successor, Calvin Coolidge. Perhaps we should let Harding himself have the final word: “I am not fit for this office and never should have been here.”

Cinema: 1991

The ten highest grossing films at the UK box office in 1991 were as listed below.

1. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
2. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
3. The Silence of the Lambs
4. Three Men and a Little Lady
5. Dances With Wolves
6. Sleeping With The Enemy
7. The Naked Gun 21/2: The Smell of Fear
8. Home Alone
9. Kindergarten Cop
10. The Commitments

I only saw Robin Hood and T2 at the cinema at the time. I have seen all the other films since. What does the US top 10 look like?

1. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
2. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
3. Beauty and the Beast
4. Silence of the Lambs
5. City Slickers
6. Hook
7. The Addams Family
8. Sleeping With The Enemy
9. Father of the Bride
10. The Naked Gun 21/2: The Smell of Fear

In addition to Robin Hood and T2, I saw Hook at the cinema. I didn’t enjoy it though! Spielberg is a genius, but I would today rank Hook alongside Jurassic Park: The Lost World as being amongst the great filmmaker’s very worst films. Even as a teenager, I disliked overly sentimental films. In fact, I think that bothered me more then that it does today.

The American and British lists are pretty different. Some of the variations can be explained simply by the fact many of the films were released later in the UK. Hook, Beauty and the Beast and The Addams Family were not released in the UK until 1992 and all performed well when they were released then. Similarly, Home Alone and Kindergarten Cop didn’t make the 1991 top ten in the US, but had already been big hits there in 1990.

But some of the differences do seem to be cultural. There does seem to be some evidence, British audiences prefer films set in their own country. This probably explains why Robin Hood edged out the all-American Terminator 2 to claim the top position at the UK box office. Kevin Costner’s film does demonstrate a famously terrible knowledge of British geography: at one point, our medieval heroes land at Dover and then travel to Nottingham, passing Hadrian’s Wall – a distinctive and ancient landmark situated around 200 miles to the north of Nottingham. But it is at least set in Blighty and features a number of British stars amongst the cast, notably the late, great Alan Rickman.

Personally, while I enjoyed both films at the time, I was much more excited by Terminator 2. Even today, it seems much better than the often quite ropey Robin Hood. Although still 14, I managed to get in to see the ’15’ rated film, the only time I’ve attempted this. My friend who was also 14, but crucially a few inches shorter than me was challenged about his age on going in. Despite this, we both managed to see the film that day. We had, of course, both already seen the original Terminator. It was rated ’18’ and was admittedly very violent. But it had been broadcast on TV where it could, of course, be viewed by anyone.

City Slickers? Father of the Bride? The first, at least, is a very enjoyable film, but neither seem to have appealed to Britons as much as to Americans. By far the most baffling variation is the bizarrely strong showing for the generally abysmal Three Men and a Baby sequel, Three Men and a Little Lady in the UK. I’ve watched it. It’s awful. However, much of the film is set in the UK. At a time when the actual British film industry was in the doldrums amidst an economic recession and twelve years of underfunding from an unsympathetic Tory government, this factor in itself was enough to make this rubbish a hit in the UK in 1991.

Although as I myself went to see King Ralph at the cinema in 1991, I’m not exactly in a strong position to feel too superior about this.

KING RALPH, John Goodman, 1991, (c)Universal Pictures

My cinema year: 1990

According to Wikipedia, the top 10 films released in 1990 by worldwide gross were as follows:

1. Ghost
2. Home Alone
3. Pretty Woman
4. Dances With Wolves
5. Total Recall
6. Back to the Future Part III
7. Die Hard 2
8. Presumed Innocent
9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
10. Kindergarten Cop

As a thirteen-year-old boy, I saw two of these films at the cinema. As of June 2023, I have seen nine of them.

The 1990s arrived and with them, my teenage years. Thirteen is an awkward age and for this reason, I think, after a very busy year in 1989, my cinema attendance tailed off. I felt too old to see childish things like Home Alone. I felt the same about the Mutant Turtles, even though, like me, they were also teenagers (I have never been a fan and have never seen any Turtles films even today). On the other hand, I remember being keen to see films like Born on the Fourth of July, The Doors, Total Recall, Pretty Woman and Presumed Innocent, but being too young to see them. Part of the attraction of some of these films was, of course, attributable to my age. Actors like Julia Roberts and Greta Scacchi (who was in Presumed Innocent) were starting to appeal to me in new and intriguing ways. All of these films were rated ’15’ or ’18’ and were thus too old for me.

I nevertheless enjoyed taking advantage of the new ’12’ certificate to see slightly more mature films such as Gremlins 2: The New Batch and this year’s biggest movie, Ghost. I also generally liked submarine action thriller, The Hunt For Red October and Back to the Future Part III. I also went to see the overhyped Warren Beatty comic adaptation, Dick Tracy (a notorious flop) and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, but didn’t really warm to either at the time.

Funnily enough, Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas which I now consider my favourite film of all time was also released in 1990. At the time, I was only dimly aware of it and eventually saw it when it was on TV five years’ later.

My cinema year: 1989

According to Wikipedia, the top 10 films released in 1989 by worldwide gross were as follows:

1. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
2. Batman
3. Back to the Future Part II
4. Look Who’s Talking
5. Dead Poets Society
6. The Little Mermaid
7. Lethal Weapon 2
8. Honey, I Shrunk The Kids
9. Ghostbusters II
10. Born on the Fourth of July

As a twelve year old, I saw six of these films at the cinema at the time. I have now seen all of them.

I went to the cinema a lot in 1989, perhaps more than all the previous years of my life combined. Conditions were almost perfect:

1. Although I would never have dreamed of going to the cinema on my own, I was now old enough to go without parental supervision.
2. My friend Leon arrived at my school this year and keenly encouraged me to see lots of films on a weekly basis.
3. I was getting more and more interested in cinema and watched Barry Norman on Film 89 regularly. However, I was not as snobby as I would get later (although I d
4. I was exactly the right age to see film such as Batman and Look Who’s Talking which were released under the brand new ’12’ certificate launched in 1989 (although I still couldn’t see ’15’ or ’18’ rated movies).
5. I lived within fifteen minutes’ walk of the city’s Odeon cinema.
6. The new Showcase was showing more films than ever.

This last point was a mixed blessing, however. The Showcase was out of town and seemed to have been designed to be as inaccessible to pedestrians as possible, being surrounded by a network of busy roads, tall hedges and unfriendly housing estates. I did not drive anywhere when I was twelve. I still don’t.

The Showcase also nudged the city’s Canon cinema out of business almost immediately. Within a few years, it would have done the same for the Odeon.

I’m pleased to see Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade at the top of the list (I’ve never liked Batman much). It is probably one of the most consistently entertaining and satisfying movie blockbusters that I have ever seen. I remember watching it with Leon and his friend who was visiting from Leeds. My Dad, who had given us a lift had also decided to watch it with my younger brother, but sat separately in the same room, so as not to cramp my style. At the same time, another group of kids we knew from school sat watching nearby. It is an odd memory.

Back To The Future II and Ghostbusters II were both okay, but definitely less satisfactory as sequels. I loved all the futuristic stuff in BTTF 2 – Jaws 17 and the hover boards, for example, but I’d already seen most of that in the clips on TV already. The film doesn’t really end properly and even has an actual trailer for the third film included within the film itself! Neither of the Back to the Future sequels are bad exactly, but both fall a long way short of the charm of the original. All the bits where Michael J. Fox plays anyone other than Marty are crap.

What else? I was interested in Dead Poets and Born on the Fourth, but was too young to see them. I wasn’t interested in Lethal Weapon II at all. I hadn’t seen the first one then anyway and am surprised it made it into the top ten. I was too old to see The Little Mermaid.

I was a little old to see Honey, I Shrunk the Kids too, but saw it anyway (it was very overhyped). For some reason, we were taken to see it again by the school. For this reason alone it remains the only film I have ever seen at the cinema twice. It was not really a bad movie exactly though (inspiring the sequels, Honey, We Blew Up The Kid and Honey, We Blew Up Ourselves). In fact, with the exception of Look Who’s Talking (which I liked at the time anyway), it’s not a bad top ten.

Many of the films I saw in 1989 (such as Police Academy 6: City Under Siege and Erik the Viking) did not enjoy these levels of box office success. The Abyss? I did not even know what an abyss was when Leon first suggested seeing it, but was glad I did. I also thought Fletch Lives was called Flesh Lives at first which makes it sound like some sort of David Cronenberg horror. The cousin Ruprecht sequence in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was also enough in itself to make me a Steve Martin fan forever. “This is the happiest day of my life! I think my testicles are dropping!”

Ten years on: Iain M. Banks (1954-2013)

Two great Scottish authors died on 9th June 2013. One, Iain Banks attracted a deluge of controversy with his debut, The Wasp Factory in 1984, following it up with fourteen other novels amongst them The Bridge, The Crow Road, Complicity and The Quarry.

The other, Iain M. Banks produced a similar number of volumes of science fiction. These included his series of novels about the Culture who have been described as “a utopian, post-scarcity space society of humanoid aliens, and advanced super-intelligent artificial intelligences living in artificial habitats spread across the Milky Way.”

Edgar Wright’s 2006 film, Hot Fuzz (2006) includes a scene in which two policemen, played by the comedian, Bill Bailey, who are subsequently revealed to be identical twins read books by the two authors.

Of course, both writers – Iain Banks and Iain M. Banks, were the same man.

Saving Mr Banks

Banks died, much too young, ten years ago. By a tragic coincidence, he was close to finishing the novel which would turn out to be his last, The Quarry, a book which features a character dying of cancer, when he learned he had terminal gallbladder cancer himself. He finished the book and quickly married his long term partner, Adele Hartley at the end of March after asking her, if “you would do me the honour of becoming my widow.” Publication dates for The Quarry were pushed forward to the middle of June. This was still too late for Banks who died on June 9th 2013, at the fifty-nine.

In The Quarry, Banks describes cancer like this: “Cancer makes bits of you grow that are supposed to have stopped growing after a certain point, crowding out the bits you need to keep on living, if you’re unlucky, if the treatments don’t work.” 

He would not actually be very old even if he was still alive: his 70th birthday would have been next February. Selfishly, I cannot help but mourn the seven or eight books which he would probably written over the course of the last decade had he lived, books which will now remain forever unwritten and forever unread.

Culture wars

He would doubtless have had much to say about the events of the last ten years too. He would have been disappointed to see that the Conservatives are still in power after thirteen years of a dismal lack of achievement. “I’m not arguing there are no decent people in the Tory party,” he once wrote, “but they’re like sweetcorn in a turd; technically they kept their integrity but they’re still embedded in shit.” He would have been horrified and angered by Brexit and by the rise of Johnson and Trump. “Look me in the eye, you twat, and tell me you weren’t tempted to vote for him (Boris Johnson),” argues one character. in his final book “You’re more of a Blairite than that lying, war-mongering scumbag is himself.”

I don’t know for sure what Iain Banks would have written about any of the events of the last turbulent decade. However, I am quite certain it would be funnier and more insightful and wittier than anything I could come up with myself. As both an author and a social commentator, his presence has been sorely missed.

Memory Banks

A selection of quotations from his works…

“Looking at me, you’d never guess I’d killed three people. It isn’t fair…I haven’t killed anybody for years, and don’t intend to ever again. It was just a stage I was going through.” The Wasp Factory (1984).

“This is the story of a man who went far away for a long time, just to play a game. The man is a game-player called “Gurgeh.” The story starts with a battle that is not a battle, and ends with a game that is not a game.” The Player of Games (1987).

“There’s this sloth in the jungle walking from one tree to another, and it’s mugged by a gang of snails, and when the police ask the sloth if it could identify any of its attackers, it says, ‘I don’t know; it all happened so quickly…” Espedair Street (1987).

“We are what we do, not what we think.” The Player of Games (1987).

“The way to a man’s heart is through his chest!” Use of Weapons (1990).

“Reason shapes the future, but superstition infects the present.” The State of the Art (1991).

“It was the day my grandmother exploded.” The Crow Road (1992). Opening line.

“When in Rome; burn it.” The State of the Art (1991).

“People can be teachers and idiots; they can be philosophers and idiots; they can be politicians and idiots… in fact I think they have to be… a genius can be an idiot. The world is largely run for and by idiots; it is no great handicap in life and in certain areas is actually a distinct advantage and even a prerequisite for advancement.” The Crow Road (1992).

“Collective responsibility. Also known as sharing the blame.” Excession (1996).

“Political correctness is what right-wing bigots call what everybody else calls being polite.” Dead Air (2001).

“Libertarianism. A simple-minded right-wing ideology ideally suited to those unable or unwilling to see past their own sociopathic self-regard.” Transition (2009).

“He knew all the answers. Everybody did. Everybody knew everything and everybody knew all the answers. It was just that the enemy seemed to know better ones.” Surface Detail (2010).

“One should never regret one’s excesses, only one’s failures of nerve.” The Hydrogen Sonata (2012).

“After doing extensive research, I can definitely tell you that single malt whiskies are good to drink.” Raw Spirit (2003).

“Well, we’re all young once, Prentice, and those that are lucky get to be old.” The Crow Road (1992).

My cinema year: 1988

According to Wikipedia, the top 10 films released in 1988 by worldwide gross were as follows:

1. Rain Man
2. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
3. Coming to America
4. Crocodile Dundee II
5. Twins
6. Rambo III
7. A Fish Called Wanda
8. Cocktail
9. Big
10. Die Hard

I saw two of these films at the cinema as an eleven-year-old. As of 2023, I have seen eight of them.

I wasn’t a big film buff as a child. Although never sporty or outdoorsy, I had lots of other things to do. I played. I rode my BMX around the park. I learned to swim. I drew cartoons and wrote stories. I read books: I first read Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books. I also still enjoyed comics like Buster and Oink! I played computer games: we got an Amiga around this time. I was not yet really into music (although did watch ITV’s The Chart Show) and was as yet untroubled by girls.

But films? Occasionally, I’d watch Police Academy films during sleepovers but that was about it.

In December, I went to see Who Framed Roger Rabbit to celebrate my twelfth birthday. This was quite a big deal, not only because of the film itself, but because it was our family’s first outing to Peterborough’s brand new Showcase multiplex cinema. A few well-behaved friends came along too.

In those days, the very idea of seeing live action characters and cartoons interacting on screen was still so novel that even seeing clips from Pete’s Dragon or even much older films like Anchors Aweigh (in which Jerry the mouse dances with Gene Kelly) or the politically incorrect, A Song of the South was still quite exciting. The prospect of an entire film where this occurred throughout was thus very thrilling indeed.

I thus enjoyed it. I even got a big poster of the film as an additional present too. But this was 35 years ago now and, I confess, I’ve not seen Who Framed Roger Rabbit again since, so have no real idea how it holds up today. I do know that my parents, who were then about the same age then, as I am now, did not enjoy the experience. Never big fans of cartoons in any form they fond both the film and the new cinema noisy and unpleasant.

As far as I can remember I saw only two other films at the cinema during 1988: the fantasy film, Willow, which was good but a flop and Crocodile Dundee II which was rubbish but a success.

I’ve never seen Rambo III and doubt I ever will now, although I enjoyed the first Rambo when I saw it years later. Twins has been on TV lots of times. I’ve seen bits of it but have never felt moved to watch it in full.

More than half of the films in the top ten would actually have been unsuitable for me to watch as an eleven-year-old. Two feature Tom Cruise. Rain Man features one of his best ever performances. Cocktail is one of his worst. I didn’t see Coming To America until a few years. It wasn’t worth the wait.

I did enjoy Big, however, which I saw fairly soon after it came out on video. I suppose I was a similar age to the boy in the film, although unlike him I was always tall for my age. It was a good film which I watched with my family. We already knew Tom Hanks from Splash! It’s an enjoyable film although a slight note of unease creeps in when the main character, still psychologically a child, has sex with an adult woman.

As I was already a Monty Python fan, I also saw A Fish Called Wanda on video as soon as I could. For me, the real revelations in the film were Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee Curtis, not Michael Palin or John Cleese. Although, to be fair, I was already very familiar with them.

All the films on the list pale in comparison to Die Hard, however. I finally saw it when I was fourteen or fifteen. I felt very grown up watching it at home one Saturday night with my older brother and his soon-to-be-wife. It’s a brilliant idea, beautifully executed. Bruce Wills isn’t always great in everything but was perfect for this. And has there ever been a better screen villain than Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber? I don’t think so.

It’s a film which changed cinema forever.

TV review: Inside No.9 – Series Eight

This will apparently be the penultimate series of anthologies written by and (usually) starring the onetime League of Gentlemen, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith. This is a shame as while it no longer regularly scales the brilliant heights of the likes of The 12 Days of Christine and The Riddle of the Sphinx in the early series, these clever one-off dramas, sometimes funny, usually dark and all linked by the number nine, are always watchable. Indeed, as in the case of the last two programmes featured here, they are sometimes still very good indeed.

The Bones of St Nicholas: Things begin strongly with this church-based Christmas special. Mystery abounds surrounding a certain Dr. Parkway’s (Pemberton) motivation for spending his Christmas Eve camping out in a supposedly haunted church. This suffers by comparison with the superb The Devil of Christmas Inside No 9 festive outing from 2016, but is nevertheless enjoyable. This seasonal outing of course, first aired in December 2022. The rest of the series was shown on BBC Two in April and May 2023.

Mother’s Ruin: Supernatural rituals, criminal violence and an apparent full-blown demonic possession all have a part to play in this darkly comic episode. Steve and Reece play two somewhat inept brothers whose attempts to reveal the secrets of their late mother’s legacy are thrown into disarray by the unexpected arrival of underworld figures, Reggie and Francis (played by Phil Daniels and Anita Dobson) and one parrot.

Paraskevidekatriaphobia: Just to be clear, the title refers to “fear of Friday 13th.” Gavin (Shearsmith) has it bad (he has his reasons) and decides to play it safe by phoning in sick and spending the day at home. But barely has his wife (Amanda Abbington) left the house than a bizarre combination of circumstances conspire to see the ultra-superstitious Gavin overwhelmed by a deluge of ladders, black cats, peacock feathers and other traditional bad luck symbols.

Love is a Stranger: The horrors of online dating are all too real for Vicky (the always excellent Claire Rushbrook). And worse: there’s a murderer on the loose. Amazingly, in 49 episodes, there has never actually been a bad Inside No 9 yet. Sadly, Love is a Stranger comes closer to securing this distinction than most. You’ll see the twist coming a mile off.

Three by Three: In an ingenious ruse, Steve and Reece went to the trouble of manufacturing publicity for an entirely bogus episode called Hold On Tight! Photos showed the duo dressed as two On The Buses style drivers and standing alongside ageing 1970s comedy icon, Robin Askwith. It was then claimed that the episode (which, of course, never existed) had been pulled at the last minute in favour of what appeared to be a mainstream quiz show entitled Three by Three, featuring three trios of competing contestants and hosted by the popular quick-witted comedian, Lee Mack. Of course, despite creating a plausible quiz show format, mostly realistic performances from actors playing the contestants, convincing humorous banter from Mack (currently host of ITV real-life TV quiz, The 1% Club) and uniquely the complete absence of Steve and Reece from the cast, this was actually still another instalment of Inside No 9 in disguise. Many viewers were apparently fooled, some even turning over or assuming something had gone wrong with their iPlayer. Those that remained were treated to something which for most of its running time really does appear to be a real life game show. But over time, a sense of unease grows as it becomes clear there is something very “off” about one set of contestants, the Oakwoods. What exactly is going on?

The Last Weekend: Joe and Chas (Steve and Reece) have been in a relationship foe nine years. With Joe seriously ill, the two snatch a quick holiday together. But will it be their last? An emotionally devastating episode and the best in this series. The dramatic shift in tone between the cheerful dance sequence which occurs half way through the programme and how things eventually turn out in the end is almost overwhelming.

A fairly good series then, although personally I can’t help but feel disappointed that we’ll never see the Hold on Tight! episode.

Cast: Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith, Simon Callow, Phil Daniels, Anita Dobson, Amanda Abbington, Dermot O’Leary, Claire Rushbrook, Matthew Horne, Asim Chaudhry, Lee Mack.

Book review: R.E.M. : Album by Album, by Max Pilley

If you were a cool kid in the 1980s, you’ll have listened to R.E.M.

You’ll have impressed people by playing their cheerfully apocalyptic It’s The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) and other songs like Exhuming McCarthy from Document, their fifth and most political studio album. It was not all politics though. Their next album, Green (1988), featured the single, Stand which contains the line:: “Your feet are going to be on the ground, Your head is there to move you around,” which I think we can all agree, is genuinely very helpful information.

As the 1990s began, their next two albums, Out of Time and Automatic For The People (both 1991) helped make them become one of the most successful groups on Earth. This was the era of peak R.E.M. with songs which even old people know like Shiny Happy People, Man on the Moon, Everybody Hurts and Losing My Religion. Michael Stipe went from being all shy and hairy to all bald and cool like Doctor Manhattan from Watchman (although not blue).

The inevitable backlash came with their next album, Monster (1994) which had a scary orange cover with a weird dog on it. It had tracks like What’s The Frequency, Kenneth? and Crush With Eyeliner on. It was certainly different. Some people thought they were trying to sound like Nirvana. 29 years on, it doesn’t sound anything like Nirvana and holds up pretty well.

R.E.M. continued producing interesting music into the 21st century. Their 2001 album, Reveal featuring Imitation of Life and All the Way to Reno (You’re Gonna Be a Star) remains a high point. They split up in 2011.

This book isn’t really an ‘album by album’ guide at all. But it is a comprehensive history of one of the best American bands ever, so well worth reading.

REM: Album by Album, by Max Pilley. Published by: Pen & Sword.

Blu-ray/DVD review: The Virgin Suicides

The end of the 20th century was a fascinating time for American cinema. The directors, Wes Anderson, Darren Aronofsky, David Fincher, Bryan Singer, Todd Solondz, Paul Thomas Anderson, M. Night Shyamalan, Spike Jonze and Alexander Payne all emerged and began to make a serious impact as filmmakers in this period, alongside talented Britons such as Sam Mendes and Stephen Daldry. Quentin Tarantino and the Australian Baz Luhrmann had only made their feature debuts a few years’ earlier. Into this heady mix came Sofia Coppola with her adaptation of Jeffery Eugenides’ novel, The Virgin Suicides in 1998. Viewed from the perspective of a quarter of a century on, the film, a moderate indie hit at the time, now looks like one of the most assured directorial debuts ever made.

The Virgin Suicides is the story of the Lisbon girls, the five blonde, beautiful daughters of a strict Catholic family (their parents are played by Kathleen Turner and James Woods) living in the leafy, sunny suburbs of Grosse Point, Michigan. It is set in the 1970s, the decade of Sofia Coppola’s own childhood, a period roughly as distant from the year this was released, 1998, as the year 1998 is now from the present day. It is also the story of the local boys who watch the family’s unfolding tragedy from afar. We never get to know these boys well in the film. One of them, voiced by the actor, Giovanni Ribisi serves as the film’s narrator.

Of the Lisbon girls, the one we get to know best is, Lux: a girl with an oddly bohemian Christian name for someone from such an apparently conservative family. Lux is played by Kirsten Dunst, then still a few years’ away from her success opposite Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man trilogy although even then was, as she remains today, the most well-known of the actresses to play any of the Lisbon daughters. Lux embarks on a brief affair with local teenage stud, Trip Fontaine (Josh Hartnett). This proves to be a mistake. We later meet the adult Trip (now played by Michael Paré) who, twenty years on, never seems to have got over the experience.

As we live in an age of trigger warnings, it seems only fair to point out that the title, The Virgin Suicides is almost entirely accurate in reflecting the film’s subject matter. Despite this, I have personally never found it to be especially gloomy or harrowing. It is beautifully filmed and has a nostalgic dream-like quality fuelled by its soundtrack provided by the then-fashionable French electronic music duo, Air.

Before 1998, Sofia Coppola was best-known not only for being the daughter of filmmaking legend, Francis Ford Coppola but also for her awkward acting performance as Mary Corleone in 1990’s The Godfather Part III, replacing Winona Ryder at the last minute in her father’s movie. Although her performance was uneven, critical anger over this apparent nepotism saw her unfairly pilloried with many using her as a scapegoat for a belated sequel that was disappointing anyway. Happily, since 1998, she has become the acclaimed director of a total of seven films. By far her biggest hit was her second movie, Lost in Translation (2002). The film transformed Bill Murray’s career and made Scarlett Johansson a star.

The Virgin Suicides

Studio Canal

Available on Blu-Ray, DVD and for the first time in the UK on 4K UHD & digital on 13 March 2023.