Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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People, take my advice. If you really love them, don't think twice.
I think we all know from where those imperishable words originate - and what their significance is.
Of course. They come from that all-time classic track Sugar Baby Love by none other than the Rubettes and the reason for me quoting it is that, this week in 1974, it hit the top of the UK singles chart, proving, yet again, that Glam was still far from being in its grave.
Also very much still with us were the Carpenters who were ruling the roost on the British album chart, thanks to their compilation The Singles 1969-1973 which seemed to have been at Number One since the dawn of time
I don't recall too much about this one but I do know he's up against his dad again and that Paul Gulacy's art is getting more Sterankoesque by the second.
Back in the United States, the Avengers continue their tussle with the Living Laser who's busy destroying buildings in what I can only assume is his latest attempt to gain the love of the Wondrous Wasp.
Sturdy Steve Ditko may have quit the strip but Dr Strange continues his war on evil, as the sorcering sawbones discovers that from the nameless nowhere comes Kaluu!
Presumably, not related to Baloo from The Jungle Book.
And there are related problems for the Hulk.
Fresh from his "victory" over the Absorbing Man, the brute finds himself teleported, by a cult, into the realm of the Undying Ones and the monstrous Night-Crawler who has nothing to do with the character of the same name from the X-Men.
But can our hero rescue the trapped Dr Strange?
And how does a woman called Barbara Norriss fit into it all?
Meanwhile, in the more everyday confines of New York, the powerless Fantastic Four conclude their latest battle with Dr Doom, thanks to the assistance of Daredevil.
Can he possibly escape?
And, while he's at it, can he prevent all the other prisoners from escaping?
And, while he's at that, can he prevent them from killing George Stacy?
Too right he can.
Next, Iron Man must face the menace of Mr Doll who, bearing no resemblance at all to the Puppet Master, can control people, via the use of his Voodoo-style dolls.
Such is the menace from this menace that it forces Shellhead to develop a brand new suit of armour, as designed by Steely Steve Ditko.
On a far larger scale than that, Jane Foster's flatmate with the widescreen face declares that she now owns the planet Earth.
Not convinced that she does - let's face it, she doesn't even own the apartment she lives in - Thor heads into the depths of space to do something about it.
This time last week, the Living Laser's attempts to woo the Wasp, by killing her bloke provoked discussion. LL's strategy was compared with Yellowjacket killing Goliath (himself), to woo the Wasp; James Bond killing Anya Amasova's bloke, in 'The Spy Who Loved Me', etc. Well, another famous example springs to mind. In Larry Olivier's Richard III, Crookback Dick successfully woos Lady Anne, by killing her husband, Edward! It took exactly a week since the last post, for that ungolden nugget to pop into my head. I'll get my coat!
ReplyDeletePhillip
Say, what do you all think of King Charles’ official portrait? I’m a big Hammer Horror fan, so I kinda dig it. Definitely giving off some heavy Prince of Darkness vibes.
ReplyDeleteb.t.
I'm familiar with that scene, Phil, although I only know it from Ian Mckellan's classic 1995 film.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't seen, I recommend it!
Though Richard's marriage to Anne Neville seems mind-boggling, marriage among those sorts was mainly political, as you know. Bringing two houses together after a civil war.
That was the theory, anyway.
I doubt there was much courtship.
Thank God people are free to choose who they marry now!
This way at least, they have nobody to blame for their misery but themselves.
M.P.
b.t. - Regarding Charles's pic & horror, perhaps 'The Masque of the Red Death' springs to mind!
ReplyDeleteM.P. - Thanks for the tip - it's now added to my list! Regarding Richard/Anne Neville, I read an enormous historical novel (aged 13/14?), entitled 'The Sunne in Splendour', by Sharon K Penman. It was as thick as a brick! The book depicted a knight in armour on the cover, with countryside, and possibly Middleham castle as a backdrop (?) - I forget. I was heavily into such stuff, back then! The book featured Richard's courtship of Anne, etc. It's also (one of many) historical novels promoting the theory that Richard III was actually a good guy, who's been discredited; and that Richard didn't have the Princes in the Tower murdered. Knowing no better, I lapped it all up. These days, I think serious historians(not historical novelists & guys making tv documentaries) don't subscribe to the views of Penman, and her ilk, at all!
Phillip
Phillip:
ReplyDeleteI just finished watching the BBC/STARZ miniseries THE WHITE QUEEN. Its depiction of Richard and the Princes tries to have it both ways : the darkly handsome (!) Lord Protector does lock his two nephews up in the Tower, but definitely doesn’t have them killed (the way it’s shot, it’s not clear who actually does the deed) — but then later, as King, he turns out to be pretty evil anyway, so he might as well have killed the two boys.
b.t.
b.t. - Yes, with women historical novelists, Richard III's always a dashing, romantic hero. Hanging on the coat-tails of Philippa Gregory/The White Queen, Tony Robinson (Baldric, from Black Adder) did a documentary claiming Shakespeare's depiction of Richard III as a hunchback was all propaganda, pompously claiming: "And it's not just me that thinks this!" Then, shortly afterwards, Richard III's skeleton was dug up from a car park, proving Shakespeare was right, and he did have a scoliosis (hence, "Crookback Dick" - like a shepherd's crook?) What an idiot Tony Robinson looked then! If Richard III died in 1485, and Shakespeare was born in 1564, Shakespeare's contemporaries would have been informed by their children, and grandchildren, as regards Richard's appearance. Why should he invent a scoliosis? The White Queen? Give me Emma Frost, any day!
ReplyDeletePhillip
I mean Richard III's contemporaries' children, and grandchildren, would have informed Shakespeare's generation. I was getting a little overexcited, whilst typing!
ReplyDeletePhillip
Funnily enough, one of the credited screenwriters of THE WHITE QUEEN miniseries was someone actually named Emma Frost :)
ReplyDeleteb.t.
b.t. - You couldn't make it up! ; )
ReplyDeletePhillip
Really Phillip? Trotting out the notion that Shakespeare was British?
ReplyDeleteNo, Anonymous - the fact that Emma Frost's writing 'The White Queen' !
ReplyDeletePhillip
Shakespeare’s contemporaries were Spanish! Cervantes was Shakespeare. They would have had no awareness of Richard III. Or maybe he was French. But British? Oh my, no.
ReplyDeleteNow, if you'd made a case that Lope de Vega was Shakespeare - that would be interesting! Cervantes - No!
ReplyDeletePhillip
Richard III was replaced by the Tudor dynasty but they had a very dubious claim to the throne and they remained sensitive about it throughout their 118-year reign which is why Richard III was demonised and de-legitimised by Tudor propaganda. Thus Richard was portrayed as an evil monster by Shakespeare who wouldn't have dared suggest otherwise!
ReplyDelete(And who was Shakespeare anyway? Did he really write those plays?)
Colin - Yes, the so-called "Tudor Myth". Shakespeare having written the plays is well documented. Competitors who knew him at the time refer to it. Ben Jonson & the Scottish poet William Drummond discuss Shakespeare's character. The idea that Shakespeare didn't write the plays was started by an American woman with mental health problems (see Nathaniel Hawthorne in 'Our Old Home'.) Then, people who don't know the overwhelming documentary evidence to the contrary, keep repeating it, like 'Chinese Whispers'. Sky Arts put out a documentary claiming Shakespeare didn't write his plays. I watched the first ten minutes, and it was absolute garbage. Some ill-informed bloke started claiming Shakespeare didn't write his plays, because many were set in Italy, and the Earl of Oxford went to Italy, so he must have written them. Well, most of Shakespeare's contemporaries also set plays in Italy, so were they all written by the Earl of Oxford, too? Despite them all writing in completely different styles? No! It's because, a play entitled 'The Isle of Dogs' showed playwrights could suffer heavy penalties for drama which seemed to implicate people at court; so the playwrights then started to set certain dramas in Italy, so events in plays weren't misconstrued as portraying the English court. One playwright actually explains this in his prologue!
ReplyDeletePhillip
Phillip, the actors Mark Rylance and Derek Jacobi believe Shakespeare didn't write his plays and they aren't the only ones.
ReplyDeleteColin - As someone once said, "Never believe anything an actor tells you!" Did they have an upcoming project, so they wanted media attention? What reasons did the two old thesps give to discredit the overwhelming documentary proof that Shakespeare wrote his plays?
ReplyDeletePhillip
You're being rather unfair on them, Phil - they genuinely believe that Shakespeare was not the author of the "Shakespearean" plays and there's been lots of evidence presented to back it up. For example when Shakespeare died his death was barely mentioned apparently which seems a bit odd for such a famous playwright of the time. And Shakespeare was born AND died on St. George's Day, England's national day - how convenient!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, if you go to Crivens I've got a question for you :)
Colin - Yes, perhaps I am being unfair. However, when Shakespeare died, Ben Jonson - for one - gave a long & fulsome tribute:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44466/to-the-memory-of-my-beloved-the-author-mr-william-shakespeare
As regards national accolades, a state funeral, etc - in those days, actors (and the theatre) weren't thought of in modern terms. In fact, to some, it was a disreputable profession.
The Saint George's Day thing - I don't know if it was even celebrated, back then. Maybe just a coincidence.
Phillip
Considering the kind of people who seem to get worked up about St George's Day the irony is of course that he was Palestinian, Phillip.
ReplyDeleteAnd you're not being unfair at all. So what if Shakespeare's death was hardly mentioned at the time? Its not like they had twitter back then, or even local newspapers.
He wasn't even an aristocrat, let alone a royal, so why would there be much of a record?
Anon (Charlie?) Shakespeare was definitely British. Or rather, more accurately (that long before the first Act of Union), English. The proof is his attitude to the Irish.
Check Henry V for example, written during the 'Nine Years War' in Ireland, basically late Elizabethan England's Vietnam -
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/stage/what-ish-my-nation-shakespeare-s-irish-connections-1.2619173
-sean
Phillip! More disreputable than comic booke editor, writer, artist?
ReplyDeleteI admit I'm no expert on whether Shakespeare did or didn't write his(?) plays and it's not the kind of thing that keeps me awake at night but I'm curious why some esteemed theatrical knights and others are convinced that Shakespeare is a fraud. They must have been convinced by some pretty strong evidence, mustn't they? Derek Jacobi doesn't strike me as a crank - he was in I Claudius, he's a national treasure!
ReplyDeleteSean - That's a very sharply written article! As regards the French queen's reaction to Henry V's conquering her country ("So happy be the issue, brother Ireland/Of this good day and of this gracious meeting"), Shapiro may be missing a layer of meaning. There's an implication that Ireland (a 'brother nation' in that England's attacking it, too), might be 'happy', temporarily, because, as England's attacking France, Ireland's getting a temporary respite from Albion's unpleasant attention. Shakespeare supposedly being a crypto-Catholic, maybe you have to look beneath the surface for hidden opinions. The playground-style Irish jokes show a lack of moral courage (unless you attempt to excuse it, on the grounds of the types of characters who are spouting it). At least Macmorris's comments show Shakespeare wasn't a total blockhead, politically speaking. Regardless, thanks for flagging up that article. Much of this is new to me, and very interesting!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - I think it would be a close run thing!
Colin - Actors aren't always as intelligent as their characters. I was once surprised in a Gillian Anderson interview, in which Anderson declared that Scully is much more intelligent than she is! (MUCH more?) I know Jacobi mostly from Cadfael. His comments seem odd, to say the least. Has every documentary piece of writing about Shakespeare, in both Folios - and in the existing financial records of his theatre takings been faked then? Along with all the comments by contemporary writers? It seems unlikely.
Phillip
Phillip, Cadfael was adapted for radio before it was on TV. In the radio version from the late '80s and early '90s Cadfael was played by Phillip Madoc. The radio adaptations get repeated every so often on BBC Radio 4-Extra.
ReplyDeleteColin - Philip Madoc always reminds me of Herbert Lom. In the 1970s, I particularly remember Madoc for playing the villainous bishop Davyd, antagonist to the medieval Welsh superhero, in Hawkmoor. He was also the German submarine captain, in Dad's Army, and played a villain in a memorable 'The Saint' episode, the Counterfeit Contessa!
ReplyDeletePhillip
Philip Madoc also played various villains in Doctor Who.
ReplyDeleteAnd the mortuary attendant in Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde.
I’m not that familiar with Philip Madoc — haven’t watched enough UK television and haven’t seen DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE in over 20 years — but looking at stills of him, I can see the resemblance to Herbert Lom that Phillip mentioned. He also looks a bit like Kelsey Grammar to me.
ReplyDeleteb.t.
Charlie and his missus can see Wang Chung, Men Without Hats, The Motels, and Naked Eyes for $59 per in two Fridays. Deal or No Deal???!!!
ReplyDeletePhilip Madoc was married to Ruth "Hi-De-Hi" Madoc.
ReplyDeletePhillip, Dad's Army was also adapted as a radio series and the "Don't tell him, Pike" episode was on Radio 4-Extra just a couple of weeks ago with Philip Madoc reprising his role as the German submarine captain.
On the subject of Dad's Army - last Sunday was the 100th anniversary of Tony Hancock's birth and BBC4 showed four episodes of Hancock's TV show from 1960-61. One of the episodes featured Clive Dunn in his pre-Dad's Army days. Don't panic!
ReplyDeletePhillip, the idea that the "brother Ireland" line refers to an Elizabethan version of the adage that 'Britain's difficulty is an opportunity for the Irish' is a great explanation. Well done.
ReplyDeleteAs the 'Nine Years War' led to the Plantation of Ulster I was tempted to return to discussion of the post by mentioning the events of May 17th 1974, when British military intelligence used their loyal helpers to bomb the Irish Republic - which I believe was the deadliest single event of the so-called Troubles, and the only time since 1945 that one west European state has attacked another - but I'm far too diplomatic to bring up stuff like that.
Instead, I shall get back on topic by commenting on the comics!
Steve, with the departure of Ditko from Dr Strange - replaced by Bill Everett - there's a very noticeable drop off in quality. Stan Lee's return to the strip after a few episodes scripted by Denny O'Neil didn't help much either, as straight away we get an implausible romantic sub-plot with Dr Strange moping after his 'beloved Clea'. Even though he didn't know her name before the previous week!
Its rough going from this point til Gene the Dean turns up.
Here's a question. Shang-Chi presumably reprinted the part of MOKF #18 that dealt with his hallucinations caused by ingesting mimosa (active ingredient: dimethyltryptamine) and the villain being given a dose of super powerful - but fatal - speed... So I'm wondering whether it was reprinted unabridged?
I'm actually kind of surprised that stuff got past the Comics Code originally.
-sean
Hasn't pretty much every British tv actor played a Dr Who villain at some point?
ReplyDelete-sean
Cadfael was meant to be Welsh in the original novels by Elis Peters and Philip Madoc was Welsh and he included a few Welsh phrases in his role as Cadfael on Radio 4 but Derek Jacobi isn't Welsh so I don't know how that affected the TV version of Cadfael as I never watched it.
ReplyDeleteColin - Regarding Philip Madoc being married to Gladys - it's so obvious now you've pointed it out, I'm surprised it never occurred to me!
ReplyDeleteTo me, the Cadfael tv show isn't spectacular - although it passed the time. It's like a basic detective show (like Bergerac, or Spender), with the medieval stuff as window dressing. You get the protagonist's clashes with an authority figure (Sir Hugh or Father Abbott - or whatever); the young side-kick; the damsels in distress telling lies - it's pretty much by the numbers. Nor is Derek Jacobi's screen presence that commanding, considering he's such a distinguished actor. Maybe he's being "generous" (as actors say)to his co-stars. I don't remember any Welsh phraseology!
Phillip
Phillip
I've only seen about five minutes of Cadfael, Phillip, and it struck me as a kind of cut price Name of the Rose for tv. (A quick look on the wiki shows the first couple of Cadfael books actually came out before Umberto Eco's novel, but that's my take and I'm sticking to it!)
ReplyDeleteIs there any particular reason Derek Jacobi can't be Welsh on screen? I mean, he isn't Roman or a renegade Time Lord, but that didn't stop him being ok as Clavdivs and the Master.
-sean