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audio-visual asplosion

  • Aug. 6th, 2006 at 5:28 PM
pontisbright: pontisbright (Default)
I have watched many many things. This is justifiable through the need to sit quite still in a chair with some poo on my hair for several hours yesterday, neatly encased in a most attractive cling-film head-condom. (OK, so I only had to do that for about 3 hours, but still, a wide range of viewing materials pre-henna, mid-henna, and post-henna when one is wondering how it will turn out is perfectly legitimate. For those interested, I succeeded in only dyeing my hair and not various other portions of my anatomy, nor indeed my bathroom, and am now more pleasingly red than before - which counts as a triumph, I feel.)

So, the viewage:


Death of a Ghost is very yay. Lots of wintry London (overcoats!), Lugg being gloriously stroppy about not getting to have any fun, a character called Tom Daker which sounds rather too much like Tom Baker and causes inadvertent amusement, and drunken Albert. 'My biscuit is soggy', he says, and kisses the sphinxes at Cleopatra's Needle. Hurrah.


The Aztecs is successfully converting me to that nice old First Doctor. (I have only seen The Keys of Marinus before, and he's on holiday for most of it.) Him and Cameca are lovely, as is the scene where Ian tells him he's a randy old bastard. (I may have made up my own dialogue for that bit.) Barbara actually is a Goddess, as we all know, so that's all jolly good, and she pwns due to having Actual Knowledge of Aztec civilization, which makes her a Very Excellent Companion and much cleverer than the Doctor really. Speaking of which...


Destiny of the Daleks close on the heels of City of Death has confirmed it: I am now officially Gay for Romana II. I appreciate I am a bit late to this party, but I got distracted by that episode of The Professionals where she shagged Doyle and then turned out to be evil (obviously). And how did I not know that the pink outfit is a replica of his? I am a fool. She is the Doctor we are allowed to be, I think: Tom exudes so much Tomness that we are always observing him, never really in his head, but we can be a Time Lady who is clever and funny and has wonderful boots but also gets pinned to a wall by scary Daleks and has a bit of a cry. Oh, and the bit when she is in the tube? EEP. I was proper scared. Anyway, I have not seen anything else with her in yet, meaning I have lots of happy hours of loveliness and outfits still to come.

(Cross-dressing companions are good, aren't they? I would've liked Rose more if she'd done drag. Maybe Martha will oblige.)


OK, this definitely had nothing to do with hair as I actually had to go out of the house to an actual cinema. The Notorious Bettie Page is a wee flim which is, er, ok. Gretchen Mol has a fantastic pair of norks, it must be said (although not quite the Bettie bum'n'hips combo), but the screenplay's a bit flat. And they sort of footle around the pornography issue, pointedly showing you the hilarious 'naughty' movies where girls covered practically head-to-toe in unattractive underwear playfully pretend to slap each other on the arse (tee hee, fancy! people thought this sort of thing was for deviants!), but then casually throwing in a few shots of girls tied up in full-on scary rape scenarios (uh-oh, some of these shots still look massively dodgy even by modern standards, especially in the context of a film about a woman who was serially abused...er...look! here are some nice outfits!).

To be fair, that is largely the same footling I myself do on the subject of porn. And the outfits were very pretty. 50s Americana so wins over the Sea of Brownness and Rationing of Blighty.

Now exhausted. Shall collapse in front of telly to recover...

Comments

[identity profile] gingerelanor.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 04:48 pm (UTC)
1. I loved The Aztecs. It's brilliant. I like the pure historical ones, without any sci fi. Wouldn't want ONLY those, but I do like them.

2. Henna! Where did you get henna? Was it powder? I used to use it, years ago, til I ran out of suppliers. :(
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 08:04 pm (UTC)
1. I do love the idea of them genuinely thinking they were educational, too. Hurrah! And I confess a deep fondness for the historical ones, ever since I discovered as a nipper that Fivey had started the Great Fire of London (always made me grin whenever the topic came up in school). Shame the new school seems so wary of going too historical: apparently the producer's main note after the first series was 'to kick the historicals up the arse' - which is absurd, since the historicals were far and away my favourite Nine episodes.

2. It was a lump which I then cheese-grated into powder (well, some of it), and it came from Lush. It's not really ideal for my hair as it's naturally very dark, and henna doesn't really lighten, but it went quite happily over the top of what I had on there, and toned down my roots a wee bit. Do you have a Lush near you? I'm allergic to a few of their things, but the staff are lovely.
[identity profile] gingerelanor.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 7th, 2006 05:11 pm (UTC)
Hm... I really have a problem with Lush... I could try it though, I suppose.
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 7th, 2006 05:36 pm (UTC)
Problem with Lush? Sounds intriguing. My only problem with them is I'm allergic to half the things they sell, and setting foot inside the shop makes me sneeze like a certain dwarf.

The henna-from-asian-shops tip sounds good though, I think: yay for cheap red hair!
[identity profile] gingerelanor.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 7th, 2006 05:45 pm (UTC)
I can't go inside the shops because they stink so much. I went in one once and never again. Horrid.

And when I have used their products I've found them very harsh and smelly. :(

The good news for today though is that my Who Supplier has brought me the Romana in Paris DVD, woo!
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 7th, 2006 05:47 pm (UTC)
ROMANA IN PARIS IS LOVE!

Honestly, if that was playing on a loop until the end of time, I'd be quite happy. The only negative thing I can say about it is that it makes me wish I was in Paris dressed as a schoolgirl and running around being silly.

Happy viewing :D
[identity profile] gingerelanor.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 7th, 2006 06:06 pm (UTC)
I've never seen Romana at all before (unless I saw her when I was a kid, and don't remember) so I'm all curious.

I'm not very fond of Paris though, so we'll see how it goes..
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 7th, 2006 07:17 pm (UTC)
You don't like Paris? *gasps and clasps hands to cheeks*

Romana shall convert you. Such is her awesome power of loveliness!
[identity profile] gingerelanor.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 7th, 2006 07:19 pm (UTC)
Well, I don't DISLIKE Paris, but I find it a bit overrated. Bits of it are lovely. But I'd rather go to Vienna or Amsterdam or Salamanca or Florence...
[identity profile] frightened.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 7th, 2006 10:34 am (UTC)
If you're anywhere near an Asian grocers/supermarket/cornershop, you should be able to get boxes of henna powder for about 50p-£1.
[identity profile] gingerelanor.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 7th, 2006 05:12 pm (UTC)
Ooh, now that does sound workable, thank you. :D
[identity profile] bibliophile1887.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 05:41 pm (UTC)
I have been watching so much of the first Doctor lately, and been completely swept away by him, that he has actually replaced Fivey as my second favorite. Oh, fivey is still a close third, and it was a good fight. But the first Doctor won. Bill Hartnell was just awesome.

May I recommend "The Romans" next for your viewing pleasure. It's fab. Totally Fab.
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 08:06 pm (UTC)
I'm adjusting to his utter inability to remember his lines and determination to talk over the top of people! He's wonderfully grumpy.

Romans? Sounds super: will whack it to the top of the list (along with some Romanas).
[identity profile] bibliophile1887.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 09:28 pm (UTC)
The Romans is truly magnificent. The Doctor has a wonderful fight scene that the three stooges would have been proud of. He's not at all grumpy in The Romans, very cuddly, very silly.

Did you see my animated Ian icons here? They made me think of you.
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 09:36 pm (UTC)
Gosh, really? I feel most touched to be associated with the lovely cardigan-wearer himself (especially as I am a bad fan and have only seen two of his stories). I shall go and steal one immediately.

Cuddly First Doctor sounds lovely. Fight scenes too? Hee!
[identity profile] lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 07:18 pm (UTC)
I would like Hartnell more if I didn't worry that he was about to die on screen whenever they make him do anything strenuous. Like climb stairs. I do like how malevolent he is.

But for me with him it's all about the companions. Ian and Babs are great. And I find it really interesting to see how differently the role of the companions was imagined in the first series as opposed to later.
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 08:09 pm (UTC)
Absolutely. I adore Ian and Barbara. Ian is like a big lovely cardigan of a man, who will lend you his shoes and engage in wrestling with half-naked men at the drop of a hat (in a terribly polite and nice way, of course). And Babs just floors me with the brilliance of her hair alone - though she is also brainy and feisty and totally kickarse. They are like the best parents ever.

It is weird how they went from that to a range of screamers, innit?
[identity profile] doyle_sb4.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 08:30 pm (UTC)
I got distracted by that episode of The Professionals where she shagged Doyle and then turned out to be evil (obviously)

*chooses to ignore the whole bit involving "that episode of the Professionals" and assume this happened to self*
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 08:35 pm (UTC)
*snerks*

Perhaps a menage a trois?
[identity profile] doyle_sb4.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 08:38 pm (UTC)
YAY! (Pros-Doyle is win! There's a reason why I'm called this, and it's because he's win.)
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 08:42 pm (UTC)
The Bisto kids are both win. But Doyle is winnest.
[identity profile] wishfulaces.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 09:08 pm (UTC)
Oh my goodness! I still have not been able to watch those bits in "Death..." because I couldn't bear to see Albert drunk and making an ass out of himself. I am so, so lame. But you make it sound amusing, so maybe I'll be able to watch the huge embarrassment of it all?

Cross-dressing companions are good, aren't they?

Oh, they're brilliant, and more of them should do it. Same for the Doctor; he hasn't cross-dressed since...when, Jon? Tennant could *totally* get away with it, he's already had a woman wandering around in his body.

And loads of people keep saying how brilliant "Aztecs" is & I've got it on DVD right there and I still haven't watched it. I am a horrible fan.
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 09:25 pm (UTC)
Oh, it's awful. And made worse by me thinking he must be putting it on, and then gradually realising he wasn't... The morning after's rather entertaining, though, as Lugg rubs it in gleefully.

Ten in a frock. Yes. I think that tops my request list for next year (well, after Trion, and we all know that ain't gonna happen).

Aztecs really is very fab. Great scary villain, the Doctor falls in love, and Barbara wears the best hat ever.
[identity profile] wishfulaces.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 09:46 pm (UTC)
I know, I know! You start out thinking, "Oh, clever Albert, you're just making him *think* you're...oh, wait you really are, aren't you?"

But yes, morning-after is wonderful. You can always count on Lugg to revel in Albert's misfortune. That pair is honestly one of the most fascinating pairs I've ever read or seen, I think.

Trion might not happen, but surely Rusty can see the appeal of Ten in a frock?

Right, maybe I'll start watching "Aztecs" tonight.
[identity profile] snowgrouse.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 09:21 pm (UTC)
Destiny! That aired right after I was born, so that's my, er, Who-roscope or something. And and and the DouglasAdamsness! TOM WHIPPING OUT OOLON COLUPHID WHEN TRAPPED UNDER A ROCK! Pure win.

Henna in Lush must cost fuckloads? I always buy mine from Asian shops in the UK.
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 09:30 pm (UTC)
Weirdly, I think my mate who showed me tons of Four about ten years ago must've had a thing against Romana, because he seems to have edited her out. (That said, we are talking about 7 bloody years' worth, so it possibly wasn't intentional.) The bit under the rock is indeed bloody great. I like the way she keeps standing on it, as if hoping to crush his knackers 'by accident'.

Lush Henna cost me £6 for a block, of which I used half. Didn't seem too terrible, given the chemically shite I usually use is about £7 a pop. Am a henna newbie, and thus was slightly afeared of getting some random packet of possibly-turmeric with no instructions.
[identity profile] snowgrouse.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 09:45 pm (UTC)
You can usually spot henna packets by the word MEHNDI in Asian shops, with pictures of the hand decorations on. That's the really fine powder, the finer the better. A really good brand is Dulhan, which cost 40p per 100gram packet the last time I was in the UK:).
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 10:27 pm (UTC)
Ooh, very fine tip. If you have further helpful guidance on quantity, technique, general avoidance of burny-head, do share.
[identity profile] snowgrouse.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 10:43 pm (UTC)
Hm, depends on your hair length, obviously. I have to use massive loads and do it twice to get better colour. It's best to mix it with orange juice or something else that's acidic, some people use red wine or vinegar. Orange juice is just what I prefer. It's a kitchen witchery thing, getting the right consistency is a trial-and-error business:P... somewhere between toothpaste and yogurt is good. And oh, heating the juice improves the results massively, as long as you don't boil it. When the gloop is still warm, mash it into your hair (I've given up on the applying with the comb business) so you get big floppy dreads/tentacles/whatever, as long as it's spread all over, then wrap that in a clingfilm turban around your head (or a shower cap or a taped-up plastic bag if necessary). Then let that set for 45 minutes, with your head somewhere fairly warm. Wiggling a hair-dryer around it all the time to keep it hot or something (I just sit in a heated sauna but for obvious reasons I suspect whether most people have the chance to do so). Rinse and repeat if necessary.

Basically heat and acidity and patience are of the good. The acids help release the tannins from the henna by oxidisation and stick better.

Hope that helps!:)
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 7th, 2006 07:19 pm (UTC)
Erk, thought I had replied to this...*clonks self on head*

Much helpfulness, ta. I had read that I was meant to put lemons in it but not why. And yes with the cooking etc. I think it was the lack of warmth that buggered it up when I did it on my sister a few years back.

And yes, I am lacking in a sauna ;)
[identity profile] taleya.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 09:29 pm (UTC)
I seriously think Romana is the one reason why TBaker lasted as long as he did. What a breath of fresh air. Instead of the "what's that Doctor" taking his shit companions, we had someone who was just a little bit superior to him, and spun his shit right back at him faster than he was used to. It was glorious, he was wrong footed so much of the time. She was the ultimate femine equal.
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 09:34 pm (UTC)
'xactly. That's what companions should do, ffs. There's only so much ankle-twisting and question-asking that any story needs, and that any character can survive without becoming impossibly unappealing. Whereas a companion who has a bit of clout about them and occasionally get to kick him a bit has longevity and fabulousness - and makes the Doctor that much more appealing by association. Even just that bit in WOTD where Tegan pwns both Five and Turlough when they can't open the door and she can? That's brilliant.

I would like Ten more if he had someone to point out to him the bits when he is a twat, instead of gazing at him in doe-eyed handholdy lust. *crosses fingers helplessly*
[identity profile] taleya.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 09:39 pm (UTC)
Hopefully we'll get that now Rose is gone. They can't do the "falling in love again" because it will alienate and destroy RTD's little Mary Sue fantasy...so we'll get a more platonic pov.

And Jack is supposed to be back S3. W00000000000000000!
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 10:30 pm (UTC)
I want Ten and Jack in big gigantic conflict. Possibly having some fisticuffs.

I am totally fascinated to see wtf they do with Martha. I'm sort of hoping they either go historical or alien with her, but there are problems with both of those. Somehow doubt they'll stick with the 'popping back home to Mum's' business (which will be a good thing, despite my Jackielove), anyway.
[identity profile] taleya.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 10:59 pm (UTC)
Oh yeah. Tenth gets out of the TARDIS and Jack just pops him one :D

It should be interesting. Between the left behind on Sat 5 and working with Torchwood, who at best are ambivalent about the Doctor...it will be interesting to see how his perceptions have changed. It will be interesting if they work that in - it can be a very subtle mental programming (or illusion shattering). The Doctor isn't a hero, he's a brutal meddler..and as Jack can attest he will quite happily leave a good friend behind on a satellite full of corpses. *bounces excitedly*

* yes yes I know they probably won't do it, but don't shatter my illusions, dammit!
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 11:05 pm (UTC)
Ooh, yes please. Of course, Ten isn't exactly keen on Torchwood either, so they'll both have good reason to be pissy with each other.

Will be interesting to see how much they tie the two show together: they can't make DW reliant on knowledge of what happens in Torchwood for obvious reasons, but it will be frankly strange to have spent all that time banging on about the bloody place all season and then have characters crossing over without it being in some way referenced.

I really hope they don't just handwave the whole 'we left Jack behind' thing the way they did in the CIN thingy. Because Jack is entirely entitled to get way pissy about that.

Mmm, two lovely pretty anti-heroes, getting all shouty with one another...S3 is going to kick S2's little botty, isn't it?

You know that thing about not shattering people's illusions? ;)
[identity profile] taleya.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 6th, 2006 11:11 pm (UTC)
Well realistically we should see on occasion Jack coming across references to the Doctor. It does depend on what time period Torchwood is set in as well - I'm placing money on their first season finale happening just before the events in TCI - they do mention that Torchwood had lost the majority of their staff and that was why it was taking them so long to get the weaponry online.

It's going to be interesting to see how they do it. I mean, if Jack wants to hook back up with the Doctor, the first bloody thing he's going to do is go look up Jackie Tyler - and then get a hold of Rose through those channels. (Unless of course he does that and it's pre-2005 series and realises that she hasn't met him yet) Which is a bit of a bummer because I just had this heartbreaking mental image of Jack arriving on the scene in TCI just after the TARDIS leaves again...
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 7th, 2006 03:01 pm (UTC)
I think I read somewhere that Jack knew something that the Doctor didn't, or that the Doctor knew something that Torchwood needed to know, or...it was something like that. Not clear on whether that'll be the entire Torchwood season arc, or if that's just going to be a starting point (of course it would help if my brain could actually remember the quote, ahem).

That would be gutting, Jack getting left TWICE. But I sort of hope they keep away from the Tylers, and let Jack start over a bit. He needs to be all broody and wanting to prove himself, only fucking up as the one person who showed him what a good guy he was capable of being is gradually revealed by the Torchwood files to have been as much a cause of disaster as of good...?
[identity profile] frightened.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 7th, 2006 10:33 am (UTC)
Random comment without a great deal of relevance: I totally accidentally bought (well, I meant to buy the book, but I didn't realise it was That Book) the slashiest 8th Doctor novel yesterday - The Book of the Still. And I've decided this is all your fault, for no particular reason. Possibly because you seem like a figurehead of squeeful DW slashiness. Anyway. This comment makes me look like a stalker or something, I swear.

Henna? You're brave. I henna my hands, and occasionally my feet (it's really difficult though, on account of legs being much longer than arms), but I've been too scared to do my hair. Possibly because if I accidentally dye my forehead I can generally scrub it off, but henna stains for a long time. And it's so gloopy. Though I do love the smell.
[identity profile] pontisbright.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 7th, 2006 02:55 pm (UTC)
you seem like a figurehead of squeeful DW slashiness

This makes me feel all glowy, when probably it should make me mildly perturbed ;) I am taking note of the title as clearly I shall have to hunt this down. (I thought Year of Intelligent Tigers was the slashiest, on account of him having shacked up with some bloke? Or does Fitz finally confess his undying luff?)

I got a top tip from the lady at Lush: if you wipe their 'Babyface' cleanser on your forehead, parting, ears, neck etc the henna doesn't stain your skin. Worked like a charm: I was amazed. I should add this is my second attempt with henna - I previously tried to do my sister's hair and it was an utter disaster, more henna on the floor than on her head and virtually no difference in colour. Steep learning curve but worth it once you get the hang of it, I think. I would love to do the hands thing one day, though I'd have to get someone else to do it for me: lovely swirly patterns are somewhat beyond my stubby little fingers, but they are purty.
[identity profile] frightened.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 12th, 2006 08:55 pm (UTC)
Well, yeah, that has the Doctor obviously in a male-male relationship, and being a Stroppy Flamboyant Artist OMG to boot. But in this one... it's not a spoiler if you totally guessed it, right? Because Fitz tells another character "I've been engineered to love you. With the Doctor, it's the real thing." And thinks he'd walk on broken glass to get to the Doctor. And has a weird drugged dream sequence where Fitzgerald the army guy marries the evil Duke Doctori. A character monitoring Fitz's brain earlier in the book claims it's platonic, but in the face of all the evidence, bollocks to that, frankly.

Ooh, that's a good plan. And *laughs* henna is the Queen Of Messy Products. Love it to bits, but it's like a big, particularly mobile cowpat that makes everything it touches go orange. Though since I've cut most of my hair off, I'm more prepared to do drastic things to it (since if it goes horribly wrong I can just shave it off) and also I don't have these images of my totally uncontrollable hair dripping and flinging henna everywhere. So I might have a go sometime.

I'm epicly (sod, that's not a word) clumsy and not at all artistic, and I've actually got to the point where I can henna with my left hand. It's a matter of slowing down, taking baby steps, and practising. Oh, and having paste of the right consistency in a cone that's the right size for you to hold easily. That kind of helps. http://www.thehennapage.com is a great resource, and its how-to on bridal mendhi takes you through tiny steps to make quite complex patterns. Though then you end up getting roped in to do hennaing at random events, and finish the day with hand cramps and a desperate need for a beer or a calming homicide. That might just be me, though.

So if you've successfully hennaed your hair, are you now a ginger minx? *grins, ducks, runs*
[identity profile] fantasyprone.livejournal.com wrote:
Aug. 8th, 2006 09:52 am (UTC)
Oh yes, the Aztecs is one of my all-time old-skool favourites - even though I'm not keen on First Doctor as a rule. Ian was my first favourite companion, back when I started watching (in year 9) and him using the vulcan nerve pinch then clinched it. XD

the scene where Ian tells him he's a randy old bastard. (I may have made up my own dialogue for that bit.)
Did you? I thought that was the original =o