Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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The UK singles chart, in August 1984 was a battleground between two acts, with Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Two Tribes starting the month at Number One before it was overthrown by George Michael's Careless Whisper.
However, there was no argument as to what ruled the roost when it came to the accompanying album chart. That's because the month saw just one LP claim the top spot. And that was the behemoth the world knew only as Now That's What I Call Music 3.
Those other things include an interview with Ron Moore about his low-budget movie Futurekill, John Brosnan's review of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and multiple interviews with various cast members from Star Trek.
But that's not all. There's also a preview of the film version of Dune, a look at The Company of Wolves, an inspection of Italian Fantasy movies, and reviews of Supergirl, Romancing the Stone and Star Trek III.
With all that, I think we can safely say we're getting our money's worth.
There's an interview with Tegan actress Janet Fielding.
And we get Part 2 of the comic strip The Voyager in which the Doctor's hanging around with a talking penguin called Frobisher.
But is that where our luck runs out? I notice there's also a review of Colin Baker's first story The Twin Dilemma. I don't want to prejudge that review but I am aware it is often cited as being one of the worst Doctor Who serials ever broadcast.
Will this mag go against the grain in its assessment of it?
Some days, you can't even atone for things in peace - as Captain Britain discovers when he visits the Scott family to apologise for Micky Scott's death and, while he's there, Meggan re-appears and everybody gets attacked by robots!
Following that, we get Night Raven Pathology II.
Then, there's a four-page Showcase tale titled Crime Passionelle as brought to us by Graham P Cousins and Mark Lockett.
Next, we're treated to Superheroes on Celluloid; Pete Scott's 3-page article on that very subject.
And, as though anyone could ever forget, the Micronauts and X-Men are still trying to survive the combined menace of Baron Karza and an evil Professor X.
I know little of the contents of this one except the story inside is called The Colossus of Shem and is the handwork of Bruce Jones and John Buscema.
I do know though, that that has to be the dullest cover I've ever seen on a comic that stars Conan.
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44 comments:
NOW THAT WHAT I CALL MUSIC!!!
On it’s 41st year!
771 weeks at number one collectively!!
Charlie was an early adopter starting around 1987. Highly recommended!
I know I’ve bashed poor Robin Curtis as The New Saavik many times before, but that’s a particularly nice photo of her on the STARBURST cover. How was anyone supposed to take Colin Baker seriously as the new Doctor, when he couldn’t even pull off a respectable arms akimbo pose? His fists are TUCKED INTO HIS TROUSER POCKETS. Is that supposed to be intentionally quirky or something?
Something about that Captain Britain drawing doesn’t feel quite right. Does his screen-left leg look a little rubbery to anyone else? Like it’s a little too bendy from the knee down? But hey, at least he’s not afraid to flaunt his manly fists.
And yes, Steve, OMG that SAVAGE SWORD cover is hilariously static! It’s so boring that the horse in the background apparently dozed off and fell over.
Oh crap, I hit “PUBLISH” before I meant to. There should (obviously) be a line-drop after my praise of Robin Curtis’ prettiness before moving on to snark about Colin Baker and his Hidden Fists. Now it’s all ruined. RUINED.
b.t.
I've never seen the film version of 2010 but I did read the original novel by Arthur C Clarke and the two sequels 2061 and 3001.
Charlie, the NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC albums were so successful that they were responsible for the creation of a new kind of album chart. The NOW albums kept hogging the No.1 spot on the normal album chart and prevented other artists from reaching No.1 so from January 1989 a new album chart was introduced exclusively for compilation albums. This meant that the NOW albums and other such compilation albums no longer appeared in the official album chart so really the official album chart no longer reflected what the British public were actually buying!
Don't worry, b.t., the comment still made sense anyway. I agree with all of it!
The Davis written story in MWOM #15 - 'Tea & Sympathy' - is terrible. CB goes to apologize to Micky's family over his death in the previous issue, and his mum and grandad are, like, oh don't worry about it, he was in with a bad crowd anyway and hey - you're Captain Brexit, a super-hero and you're posh, so obviously you know best and did the right thing.
Then after the fight scene at the end with the robots destroys the family's house and CB feels bad about that, they say it's ok because they'll finally be rehoused somewhere nicer by the council.
Er, I wouldn't count on that, especially five years into Thatcherism.
Still, at least Warrior #21 came out this month too, and it even had a new episode of Marvelman in it. With the greatest cliffhanger ending of all time - "I give you...Marvel dog!"
Imagine having to wait a whole month for that to be resolved...
-sean
Btw Steve, in Dr Who Magazine the new(ish) companion in the comic strip, Frobisher, was not a penguin. He was a shape-shifting alien trapped in the form of a penguin.
-sean
On the subject of 2010 - there was an interesting documentary on Radio 4 last night about computers in both reality and fiction so obviously HAL from 2001 was included but one of my favourite movie computers wasn't mentioned, namely the computer that controlls the domed city in Logan's Run...
Last day
Capricorn fifteens
Year of the city 2274
Carousel begins
Be strong and you will be renewed...
COLIN - thanks for the NOW updates! Much obliged.
Did you UK gents buy any NOWs???
RED - you are a big CD guy. You might enjoy them via EBAY as I doubt the UK CDs were sold here in the United States.
Charlie, I bought a number of NOWs over the years but not since about 1998.
Colin, I love LOGAN’S RUN even though objectively I don’t think it’s a very good sci-fi movie, or even a very good movie, period. But I think the Computer Voice is genuinely awesome. VERY spooky.
“Identify.”
b.t.
It was a bit of a useless computer though, b.t. I mean, all Logan has to do is say theres no Sanctuary, and it destroys itself and the city.
I get that back then computers destroying themselves when presented with a logical contradiction was a bit of a standard thing in science-fiction. But that wasn't even a contradiction.
Charlie, I have never bought a NOW cd.
-sean
My brother had MWOM # 15. The contents, however, don't spring to mind. If it's rubbish, maybe MWOM # 15 cemented my negative view of new CB.
The Logan's Run tv series never gets repeated (unlike every other sci-fi show). A repeat's overdue, to compare adult reactions with youthful ones.
Charlie - We had Now 2 (I think) - Queen's 'Radio Gaga', Thomas Dolby's 'Hyperactive', & Fiction Factory's 'Seems Like Heaven', immediately spring to mind.
Radio 4 tips (Colin's bailiwick, usually). For DW's attention (West Ham):
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06pddh3
Phillip
bt, the ending of Logan's Run is actually pretty absurd. The computer implodes and the city is destroyed (as Sean mentioned) which means the inhabitants no longer have to die/get renewed at 30 and can live to old age, hooray! But hold on a minute - the city's inhabitants have never done a thing for themselves in their entire lives so how are they supposed to survive in the outside world? How will the city's entire population find even the most basic things like shelter, food and water? After a few days they'd be ready to lynch Logan and Jessica for destroying their comfortable lives in the city.
Sean, the Radio 4 documentary included an example of the cliche of a computer destroying itself when presented with a contradiction or impossible conundrum. In an episode of 'The Prisoner' Patrick McGoohan meets a computer called The General and he asks it the simple question "Why?" which is too much for the computer to handle and it explodes.
Phillip, in the Logan's Run TV series the city is run by a secret group of old men rather than a computer.
Charlie, for me the most memorable NOW album was probably NOW - THE CHRISTMAS ALBUM released in November 1985 (but I bought the cassette version which had the title NOW - THE CHRISTMAS TAPE). It featured many of the classic festive tunes you've heard about on SDC over the years by Slade, Wizzard, Greg Lake, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Chris DeBurgh etc. The oldest song in the collection was Bing Crosby's White Christmas which was a mere 43 years old at the time so it was more recent than any '70s Christmas song is nowadays!
I was about to say ‘wow, everyone’s up really early today’ but then realised it’s not Sunday, it’s Bank Holiday Monday. Sorry I’m late.
I had that Starburst but I guess I never read it. Because when I went to see Star Trek III - despite the scene being in the trailer which I never saw, and the spoiler plastered all over the front of Starburst here - I was shocked and surprised when the Enterprise was self-destructed. It still makes me sad.
I had the MWOM, and clearly they were trying to keep the DDs thing going [that cover looks like an issue of DDs more than a MWOM], but without a certain contributor they were screwed.
BT -
I really like Robin Curtis as Saavik. I can’t really explain it logically [no pun intended]. However, I recently watched a snippet of the ‘making of’ documentaries that they did for the DVDs about 20 years ago and Curtis comes across as thoroughly delightful and nice. Read into that what you will.
Colin -
2010 the movie is well worth seeing. It has absolutely no reason to exist [it was rushed into production and I still don’t know why - there wasn’t an anniversary of the original coming or anything], and it lives deep in the shadow of Kubrick’s film, but it is a really solid bit of SF, very well put together by Peter Hyams [who wrote, directed, produced and shot it]. Makes for a good double-bill with Hyams’ earlier, similarly pointless but proficient ‘Outland’. Both have some very bad science in the final acts.
Sean -
Yeah, Davis-doing-Moore in CB is dreadful, I re-read it quite recently off the back of earlier discussions. Oh well. He gave it a go. That wait for the continuation of MM seemed like eternity at the time, but after the geological span of time we’ve had to wait to see Gaiman get off his arse and finish Silver Age, a year seems like a breeze.
And regarding computers going apeshit when presented with logical conundrums: a similar thing is offered in 2010 as the explanation for HAL going nuts. Eerie synchronicity here today.
Colin - In Logan's Run, a society run by old men's fitting. The counterculture slogan, "Never trust anyone over 30" relates to 30 being the age when everyone (apart from the old guys) meets their comeuppance, in the show. Were Logan's Run's writers disillussioned 1960s counterculture guys, perhaps?
Phillip
Phillip, I watched the Logan Run's TV series before I'd seen the original film so when I did finally watch the film I wondered where the old men were and it was a surprise to discover the city was run by a computer!
On the subject of 2010 - today is the first Bank Holiday under a Labour government since Monday, May 3rd 2010.
Colin- 2010 was pretty enjoyable, both as a book and as a film. Had to look it up, as it's been so long since I saw it - forgot that Helen Mirren was in it. Do remember liking the film (loved the book); the only minor glitch for me was getting used to Roy Scheider as Dr. Heywood Floyd. The good doctor must have aged in reverse...
Charlie- as you say, the UK "Now" discs are rare over here, but I've gotton a few courtesy of Amazon- one particularly fun one is "Now That's What I Call 12" 70's". Has some great cuts that are seldom encountered here- Flying Lizards' "Money" . And it has an extended promo version of Meco's "Star Wars-Cantina Band"; that alone justifies the purchase!
Counter culture guys, Phillip? Logan's Run seemed pretty clearly created by disapproving - but a bit lecherous - men from a previous generation (the original book came out in 1967, both writers pushing 40).
The TV version was so bad they didn't even finish making the first series before cancelling it. The best thing you can say for it is that at least the British tie-in annual had comic strips drawn by David Lloyd. Not that they're that good either.
-sean
But Red, if you get 'Money' by the Flying Lizards on a compilation, don't you miss out on the dub mix from the original b-side?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhzxq2GnUhk
-sean
Good point, Sean; but for now I'll take what I can get!
Colin:
I didn’t mean I thought the Domed City’s computer was CONCEPTAULLY awesome — she’s as absurdly easy to defeat as any other “That Does Not Compute” cliche Machine Mind in previous crap sci-fi sagas. I just meant that the way she’s presented on screen , as a disembodied voice in the dark, cavernous Sandman HQ, and with that absolutely flat, ASMR-like voice, is creepy as hell. And as you intimated, her intro speech at Carousel is also chilling (Goldsmith’s soundtrack does some heavy lifting in that sequence too).
I also love how she sends Logan on his mission by casually dropping the bombshell that no one in the City ever renews, that basically EVERYTHING he’s been conditioned to believe is a lie, and then adjusts his time-clock so that he can convincingly pass as a runner and when Logan is all “But, I’m gonna get those five years of life back, right?” she simply doesn’t respond — and then apparently expects him to complete his mission, there’s a good boy — !
Ok, that’s so stupid, it actually IS kinda awesome.
b.t.
Sean and Phillip:
FWIW, the “cutoff age” for City-dwellers in the original Logan’s Run novel is actually 21, not 30. Apparently the filmmakers had some hesitation at making a movie filled with young people quite that young….
b.t.
I'm not surprised that was changed for the film, b.t.
The city wasn't destroyed in the book either. That happened in flashback in the follow up, Logan's World - hey, don't judge me, I was a kid - which came out after the film, so had to bridge the gap in order to cash in on any potential new readers.
-sean
I’m not surprised the ‘Lastday” age was changed either — they had a hard enough time finding actors who looked convincingly like they were in their 20s. That lady Runner that Logan and Jessica find at Cathedral (and that Francis kills after they leave) looks like she’s in her mid-to-late 30s and I swear some of the Sandmen look they’re in their early 50s :D
Clearly I’ve seen that movie way too many times…
b.t.
Me too, b.t. Mind you, seeing Logan's Run once is probably already too many times (;...
-sean
FUN FACT: In the Logan's Run TV series Jessica was played by Heather Menzies who had also played one of the Von Trapp children in The Sound Of Music over ten years earlier.
bt, I'm reminded of the "teenagers" in Grease - Olivia Newton-John was actually 30.
Colin, I thought of GREASE too, as a perfect example of Hollywood’s tendency to cast 20-somethings (and older) as teenagers. More recently, Nicola Coughlan was in her early 30s when she played Clair on DERRY GIRLS.
b.t.
I just rewatched Logan's Run a couple weeks ago on Old Turnip Classic Movies. Not a bad sci-fi movie, I would say.
I liked that scene with Box. I know that insane, malfunctioning robots are something of a worn out cliche, but it spoked me when I first saw it on T.V. when I was a kid.
One thing I definitely noticed this time was Jenny Agutter. She is breathtaking in this movie.
She seems to defy gravity, just floating around. Wow.
M.P.
I meant "spooked", not "spoked".
Dang it.
Speaking about insane robots in movies, I also watched that film M3GAN, about a robot that looks and sounds like a little girl and becomes homicidal.
Again, not a truly great sci-fi movie by any means, but creepy as hell.
I know there are robots around now, but I doubt their builders are giving them super-strength.
At one point M3GAN rips a guys ear off.
Right off his head.
Robots should not be made to be that strong, in my opinion.
M.P.
Speaking of Hollywood casing people who're too old to play teenagers, I re-watched The Blob last night and Steve McQueen in it is the oldest-looking teenager I've ever seen.
That should, of course, have read, "casting." Not, "casing."
Happens to the best of us, Steve.
Yeah, he was a bit too shot out at that point to play a teenager.
I'm not even sure Steve McQueen ever was a teenager.
I imagine him being shot out of the womb fully formed, like Athena, sent by the gods to teach us how to be cool.
It seems to have required a lot of mumbling lines, just like with Brando.
But, y'know, that's actually how people talk, particularly here in the midwest.
You're not gonna go into a gas station and buy a six-pack and have the guy behind the counter sound like Sir John Gielgud.
M.P.
FUN FACT 2, Colin: after the tv Logan's Run, Heather Menzies was in Piranha, and then Captain America (the 1979 one). Clearly an actress who's career was in the ascendant back then.
-sean
Regarding Jenny Agutter/thesps playing younger characters. In 'The Railway Children', Jenny Agutter's baby sister was played by Jo, from 'Man About the House'. In reality, Jo (I can't be bothered looking up the actress's name) was well into her 20s, and between takes wasn't she down at a local pub, drinking & smoking? I may be wrong, but recall an interview along those lines.
Phillip
Sean - Piranha starred Lee Majors, didn't it? Considering his former status, I feel more sorry for him than for Heather! As a kid, I like the 1979 Captain America (even if, to an adult, his transparent plastic shield's probably the least credible weapon since Adam West's bat-erang!)
Phillip
Phil, Lee Majors was not in Piranha.
But, I did have to look that up to verify. I wasn't sure.
With his bionic powers he could have easily jumped out of a piranha-infested river.
M.P.
Good lord… it’s 5 am and Charlie is on the tread mill watching WGN Chicago early morning news. A highlight story is “The Gravy Wrestling Championship” this past weekend in England. Any of you go? I mean we can’t just watch football/soccer, right???
M.P. - Apologies, it was 'Killer Fish' Lee Majors starred in (another movie featuring piranhas!):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_Fish
Phillip
Phillip, it's Sally Thomsett you're thinking of (yes, I did genuinely remember her name) and I think she was actually older than Jenny Agutter. I heard that the film's director Lionel Jeffries didn't actually know Sally Thomsett's real age and he gave her a telling off for smoking and drinking underage!
Charlie, gravy wrestling is a top story on the Chicago news?? And not even American gravy wrestling!!
Colin - Sally Thomsett played 2nd fiddle to Paula Wilcox, too. Maybe her youthful looks stunted her acting career, as regards leading roles. Thinking about male actors, baby-faced Ralph Macchio, in 'The Karate Kid', was actually about 26/27. In 'Karate Kid 3', I recall, in reality, Macchio was slightly older than his trainer, Terry Silver (the evil sensei who was corrupting/bullying him.)
Phillip
Phillip, I can't think of anything Sally Thomsett did after Man About The House unlike Paula Wilcox who seems to pop up every so often in something or other. Just recently Paula Wilcox was on Radio 4-Extra in a comedy series originally broadcast in 1982 called Semi Circles.
Good grief… England’s Talk Sport’s Hawksbee and Jacobs are now going on about the Gravy Wrestling Championships in the UK. Must be a thing!
Back in the day, way back, there was jello wrestling and mud wrestling and wrestling wrestling…
ChArlie
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