Posts
Star Trek, Word Magazine, Bristol Comics Expo
Phew, well, it's been an exhausting few days, but very pleasurable with it. Last weekend, Simon Kavanagh and Tom Hunter's team, with me in it, actual came joint first in the Sci-Fi London quiz, and, thanks to Tom shaking his legs around in the dance-off finale (seriously) we nearly won it outright. It was a pleasure to hang around off-duty, so to speak, with that bunch, and hey, we beat Third Row Fandom! (Who, I know, I used to play for, Simon put an early bid in, hush). The day before I'd been on a panel about comics which maybe wandered a bit too much off the point, but had the virtue of Bryan Talbot showing some pages from his latest graphic novel. I'm actually finding myself getting tired while on panels now. There's something about trying to give value for money to an audience which drains me a bit while I'm in the middle of writing stuff.
That evening, I got back to home in time for the last Fifteen Minute Club of Sam the landlady's tenure at the Crown. We'll miss her, she's done a lot for live music in the town. Now she's off to run a night club in Gloucester. The Fifteen Minute Club, we're assured, will continue, and I must pop in and meet the new landlords. But last Sunday was a celebration, packed house, many bands, including The Follys, on top form, with new bouncy material, a scratch band involving Neil Dwerryhouse and our host David Reynolds, and the Zen Pigs, who as always, rocked considerably, and got the place jumping up and down, but went on way past their fifteen minutes, to the point where I couldn't wait for my friend Mel's debut as a solo singer and went home. The wife rolled in considerably later, however, and reported an excellent solo set from Neil, as well as Mel impressing.
Good to hang about with fan mates and home mates on the same day. I'm working so hard at the moment, and with such focus (the end of the novel actually coming together, two short stories on the boil, TV stuff), that I'm genuinely neglecting my friends here. All I can say is, I'm doing what I have to do right now. And with Caroline up for her selection conference, to see whether she can train as a vicar, this July, everything's up in the air as to whether or not we leave this wonderful place behind. A party of some kind will have to be arranged.
It is, of course, the most wonderful time of the year, with the cricket season in full swing and England ruling the first Test. I think we have a new team now that might have a really good chance against the Aussies.
I'm in the middle of Adam Roberts' excellent Yellow Blue Tibia, which so far is one of the few novels that deals with Fortean matters, specifically UFOs, with the same romance they hold for me in 'real life'. That is, I don't think they are neccessarily in real life, but I find the stories about them being so highly romantic. And it's tough to conjure up that specific sense of spooky wonder in fiction.
Anyhow, yesterday, apart from an awesome meeting, I had lunch on Andrew Harrison, who writes for The Word Magazine, one of my favourite journals of record, who also do one of my favourite podcasts. He interviewed me, between me eating stuff, for the issue after next, on sale in June, which I'll make a considerable fuss about when it rolls around. Then I went to record a few interview segments for a classic Doctor Who DVD, the title of which I am unable to tell you until it's announced, and had fun doing that as always. On the way in, I ran into Pertwee era Who producer Barry Letts, who's doing a lot better after his recent health worries, I'm glad to say, and he was kind enough to congratulate me on my work. I was greatly humbled by that. What a lovely chap he is.
And in the evening, after all that, we went to see Star Trek. Which I adored. Hugely. (Spoilers coming!) It's not actually as radical a new Trek movie as maybe people were expecting. The biggest new thing it does is just treat these characters in a modern way. The exact same set ups and jokes as the old movies would have done, only at hyperspeed. And the villains, the design of them, the motivation of them, their dialogue: all could have come from those movies. Uhura, incredibly, still doesn't get a lot to do when compared to all the others. It has maybe thirty per cent more wryness in the knowledge of its references, making the audience laugh with its enthusiastic redshirt. But apart from a modernity that might have come anyway (but is done with excellence by these creators), it breaks through to somewhere new on two points: simply recasting, so I get the intuitive, tactical, wry, bedhopping James T. Kirk I adore without him being an (however awesomely talented) old man. (And how deeply enjoyable are the new McCoy, the new Scotty?) And, most importantly, having its time paradox reset the clock on Trek, so none of the old shows (apart from, incredibly, and explicitly, because of the beagle reference, Enterprise) happened! But doing it in such a way as to say that the old shows and movies... once happened! So, clean slate! New adventures! Off we go into space! Now, I'd say that modern Doctor Who has done that already (the episode 'Dalek' just can't have 'happened' that way now, and I'd say a lot of the classic episodes can't have 'happened' at all) but it hasn't actually told its audience that it has, and the joy of having no canon means that such issues are vastly abstract anyway. But with a property as established as Trek, this was bold, and possibly the only way to save it. I have two more small caveats: Kirk didn't get to do a big clever trick, which should be number one on the list of Trek things for a sequel. And oddly, in this exciting new world, the whole matter of Spock, his world, his people... feels very old Trek. He was the pivot they boldly spun this around... and he remained not nearly changed enough by it. Hopefully that plot with Uhura and he and the mating rituals and actually having her have some adventures is just waiting to happen. But ten out of ten. Eleven next time, with added Uhura.
And yes, dears, I shall be at the Bristol Comics Expo this weekend. I'm doing it very low key so I can treat it as time off, without any panels or anything. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't say hello, and oh, I did volunteer to do a signing of Cap trades for Panini. I think. Anyway, you know I'm always open to signing anything. Hope I'll see you there.
Interview about the Captain Britain and MI-13 annual below, with lovely Mike Collins art, and indeed some pencils from the artist on the back-up strip, who isn't Mike (can you guess who it is?)
Until next time, Cheerio!
Labels:
Adam Roberts,
Bristol Comics Expo,
Captain Britain,
Doctor Who,
Fifteen Minute Club,
Sci-Fi London,
Star Trek,
The Word
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Cool update.... I must get round to seeing Trek this weekend some time. However, I'll be at the Bristol Comic Expo too so time is pressing. Perhaps I'll bump into you :-)
All the best, Kev
Saw StarTrek last night and loved it! I've never been a Trekkie/Trekker/whatever so had no real problems with the alternate timeline stuff. Just enjoyed the spectacle, the action, the humour.
Didn't even realise Comics Expo was this weekend. Damn! Have a good time, Paul.
Looks to me rather like Adrian Alphona... I was wondering where he'd gone since Runaways!
Yes, happy days! England winning a test match in three days and a fabulous new Star Trek movie! I like your confidence about the Ashes, but suspect we will struggle. Greatly enjoyed your comments about the new Trek. I agree with your comments about its clever relationship with classic Trek episodes, harder to pull off in that universe than in the Who universe with its regenerating hero. Nevertheless, the new Trek conceit is like the new Who conceit of the Time War, allowing a reboot for newcomers while legitimizing and recognizing everything that has gone on in the past.
I loved the film, in fact, I'm off to see it again. The only niggle is the sheer speed Kirk goes from academy to captain, I could have done with a little more leavening of the character.
I'm no Trekkie/Trekker, although I've probably watched most episodes of the franchise over the years. The reset button that was placed on Star Trek just seems to raise loads of questions for me.
Enterprise is supposed to have happened, but a large part of that series dealt with events that were instigated in the future, a future that now never happened.
Head hurts.
Kev: and I believe you did! Tom: it is indeed he, well spotted! And he's got all the cricket details spot on, too. Mark: indeed. Rachel: we do get a line about him graduating really high in his class, but I was a bit taken aback by that too. Niall: but we'll never be going there, surely? And maybe whoever those mysterious future powers were and now completely happy with the new timeline?
At the risk of sounding very cynical, this movie sounds like one part breaking the rules of the old series merely for the sake of breaking them, and three parts "let's re-boot someone else's series because I can't think of anything original and creative to do myself". Whatever quality it has as an individual story rather pales in the face of that IMO.
Could someone please ring me back when they get back to making Star Trek?
Jack Beven
Rubbish, Jack, rubbish!