Ye Olde TV

 I am somewhat exhausted after chronicling our recent escapades over the Cusp (see previous six posts), as well as dealing with various family issues (medical emergencies, transportation, and taking on the 'School Run Mum' role, amongst other things - and all seem to have occurred on the hot, sunny days, leaving me with the overcast, windy and rainy days) so I have been watching TV in between the fetching and carrying.
 Mostly, I have been rewatching old things, or old things made new.  It's been a bit like comfort eating.  Which I have also been doing a lot of...

 Anyway, on with the shows!

Smack the Pony - a comedy sketch show from 1999 to 2003 performed by Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan, and Sally Phillips.  It also featured Sarah Alexander, Darren Boyd, and Cavan Clerkin.

(Three of my favourite sketches can be found at 8:19 "Competitive singing", 10:40 "Window Cleaner", and 22:50 "Competitive make-up")

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - selected episodes from 1993 to 1994, including the first season finale In the Hands of the Prophets, and the season two opening trilogy The Homecoming, The Circle, and The Seige.  A couple of Cardassian-centric episodes Cardassians and Tribunal, and the shocking season two finale, The Jem'Hadar.



Star Trek: The Next Generation - a few episodes from 1991 to 1993: the witch hunt-like The Drumhead (with a lovely performance from Spencer Garrett as the persecuted crewman Simon Tarses) from season 4, Cause and Effect and I, Borg (S5), Timescape (S6), and Parallels (S7).

Ulysses 31 - an animated, far-future take on Homer's Odyssey from 1981 (although, it wasn't broadcast in the UK until 1985, which is when I first watched it).


Tales of the City (2019) - I haven't read Armistead Maupin's books, nor watched the original 1993 TV adaptation, but I saw a trailer for thi- Hello Murray Bartlett!!!  I haven't seen you since Looking, and my, haven't you grown!


Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance - the 2019 prequel to 1982's The Dark Crystal (that I rewatched earlier in the year).


The Princess Bride - I can't believe it's taken me 32 years to watch this film! 

::

 While I was going through my Netflix watchlist, I had a look back through to the beginning of the year to see what other older shows and films I'd watched (with an eye to the end-of-the-year Coven Awards, naturally).  So, without further ado, here is my watchlist:

Don't Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23, both seasons (2012-2013) - this must have been my third or fourth rewatch (I love it that much!), Cube (1997), The Witches (1990), The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), Mars Attacks (1996), and the aforementioned The Dark Crystal (1982).

Then there are the new shows which are either set before the old ones that they're based on - Star Trek: Discovery (S2) - or are just set wholly, or mainly, in the past - Stranger Things 3, Dark (S2).

~o~

 I also found an unfinished TV-themed post from 17th June 2014(!) in my drafts folder:

Now, I was going to do a proper post about the TV that I watch (because I've got shit all else to blog about at the moment), but instead, I'm going to introduce you to my favourite TV of yesteryear. Starting with:
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
If you didn't know, DS9 is the best Star Trek show ever! Better than The Original Series and The Next Generation, and it knocks crappy old Voyager and Enterprise for six (although the final 2 seasons of Enterprise were, on the whole, pretty good - Ruined only by Scott Bakula's rubbish captain).
DS9 was all about the characters: Their lives, loves, motivations and interactions. Oh, there were fantastic storylines, too, plus an ongoing story arc from the end of the second season through to the seventh & final one that dealt with the build up, execution and end of the devastating war with the Dominion.

In most TV shows, Star Trek shows included, there are always characters that I either dislike, or am ambivalent towards. Not so with DS9 - I love all the characters. Each one has grown and evolved, embraced or acknowledged their flaws and integrated with the others. If I had to pick a favourite, it would have to be Dr Julian Bashir: He starts off really quite annoying and arrogant, freshly graduated from Starfleet medical school, and ends up, seven years later, still slightly arrogant and annoying, but more mature and seasoned. His big secret is out in the open and he is someone the others can count on, deserving of respect and committed to being a doctor first and a Starfleet officer second.

::

Now & Again
This shortlived show was cancelled before its time. A tragic end to a very promising concept.

The premise is that the U.S. government had created a perfect body, stronger & faster than the human norm, with which to protect its assets. The only thing it couldn't create was a working brain, so one was harvested from a recently deceased man. The only problem was that this supersoldier had a family who he loved when he was just a regular guy. Consequently, the main storyline is how Michael Newman (previously Michael Wiseman in his old body) attempts to contact and interact with his ex-family without letting them know who he really is, while still working for the government.
Just like DS9, this show was more about the characters than the concept. Michael and his relationship with his creator, Dr Theodore Morris, and his attempts to be close to his widow, Lisa Wiseman, his daughter Heather and his best friend Roger Bender.


(the first three and a half minutes provide a perfect recap/synopsis)

The interaction between Michael and Dr Morris was absolutely brilliant! Dr Morris never let Michael forget who was boss, but really cared for him, first as just an experiment, then, as their relationship grew, as a friend. Michael's wisecracks at Dr Morris's expense really were hilarious!