Revived doc on Len Deighton tonight on BBC4, probably on iPlayer... good stuff, didn't realise he'd done so many books, including stuff on WW2. Quite a thorough bloke, very meticulous... a bit of an eye-opener watching this. It wasn't in the schedules, they seem to be all over the place, some saying it was Funeral in Berlin tonight but it turned out to be Get Carter, and this Deighton doc wasn't mentioned at all.
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 9,317MI6 Agent
Was that The Truth About Len Deighton (2006)? If so, that's an excellent documentary which I recorded and watched when it was first broadcast on BBC Four. Someone later kindly sent me a broadcast DVD version of it which I watched again a few years ago and, again, thoroughly enjoyed.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Yes, that's it. Nice to see both Len Deighton and Michael Caine are still going well into their 90s (estranged former flatmate Terence Stamp has hinted that Caine was older than he makes out in one interview) and nobody else from The Ipcress File is still alive, I think. {Edit: Save for director Sidney J Furie, born the same year as Caine).
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 9,317MI6 Agent
Yes, it's great that they're both still with us. Len Deighton is surely the last of the great British spy fiction authors of the 1960s Golden Age still with us. The likes of Fleming, Le Carré, Gardner and Leasor have of course all passed on. It's true that Adam Diment is still with us too, though he is considerably younger (born in 1943). I didn't realise that about Michael Caine. I really don't understand why people hide their ages or date of birth but it seems to be more common among actors than it is among authors. Good call on Sidney J. Furie too. I'd forgotten he was still alive too, but I'm very glad to hear he is as he is a great director.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Well, when The Living Daylights came out there was a letter or two in TVTimes suggesting Dalton was five years older than the 42 he made himself out to be, from those at school with him. But this allegation has never resurfaced. Still, you do get cover-ups, never at any point did I know that Roger Moore had a hairpiece for all his Bond films really, not til years after he left the role, in that he was losing his hair at the crown even before the first one and I guess the press were good sports in not exposing this.
Tomorrow (Tues) on the Freeview Sky Arts channel at 9pm they are showing Connery vs Bond, a one-hour documentary. No idea if it's 'any good' - it's been on before but often in the early hours.
It's preceded by a one-hour documentary on Julie Andrews.
"This is where we leave you Mr Bond."
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 9,317MI6 Agent
If you look at the back of Roger's head in his Bond films you'll see the weave covering over the bald spot. It's a slightly different colour from his own hair do it's noticeable. I even heard Roger joking about the weave showing on camera in an interview he did once with Bobbie Wygant. He was pretty self-deprecating.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 30,885Chief of Staff
Well, I tuned in to this and it was pretty good, a lot of interview footage with Connery I'd never seen before, including an interview with him and his then wife Diane Cilento in their London home. I never knew you pronounced her name with a 'Ch' sound.
The main theme was of an irascible, aggressive and often unhappy man with a temper, frustrated by his tenure as Bond. YOLT director Lewis Gilbert is quoted as saying that in various scenes he tried to direct Connery but the actor just wasn't there, he'd checked out really. One woman writer is interviewed who talks about how Bond basically rapes women or uses them to get information, and as this is dressed up as funny to make it acceptable, it's like that makes it okay - I do think she is one of those who has blocked me on Twitter/X despite my having no interaction with her to my knowledge, she is known for that... That said, her comments contain more than a grain of truth, even if in most romantic/sexual exchanges the women are doing most of the running. At time the permissiveness is 'justified' by the fact Bond 'has' to do it for national security, or otherwise that the women are 'bad' and so don't deserve too much consideration, the trope being that sex can only be allowed or approved with 'bad' women.
Some clips of the mad looking Zardoz including a reference to the Connery character's erection in front of Charlotte Rampling, which reminded me of a scene in a Flashman novel set in Madagascar. An amusing story by director John Boorman about Connery found he had to repeatedly film the final scene, which he detested as he was in makeup.
It also referenced how early attempts by Connery to break out of the Bond role were hampered by the fact that he had identical clothes to Goldfinger's pre-credits in Woman of Straw (and the Fort Knox threads in Marnie, I think) and that in Marnie he is a rapist, like Bond (hmmm).
The talking head rightly and brusquely derided Never Say Never Again saying it failed on all levels, that Connery is bad in it and his hairpiece looked like a cow pat.
One off thing was the commercial break logo which had a middle-aged, flabby bald bloke doing the gun barrel - presumably meant to be Connery but looked nothing like him!
I saw this last year on Sky Arts I think, or somewhere. I felt it concentrated too much on OO7 and not enough on his other roles, especially the 1970s output, which is an interesting period of work for Connery.
VIRDEE finished this week. It has set itself up for a second series. Whatever the filmmakers may try to tell you, the series doesn't do Bradford, the police or the ethnic communities any favours. Relentlessly grim, violent and confrontational. Stupid story also, with too many threads and not enough substance. Plot holes the size of barges.
Nice to see PLEBS being repeated on ITV2. A very good update of Frankie Howerd's Up Pompeii with Grumio a layabout slave obsessed with food and his equally lazy master Marcus, his pal Stylax, their boss, thier lanlord, etc, all obsessed with sex and [not] getting it. Very funny, personal observational comedy, well-primed characters, naughty, dirty and obnoxious all at once
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 30,885Chief of Staff
Adolescence on Netflix…stunning television 😮 I’m saying nothing else…
THE RESIDENCE on Netflix is great fun. It's an 8 episode murder mystery set inside of the White House with a really clever sense of humor to it. If you liked KNIVES OUT, you'll like this.
There’s a new detective, he’s short tempered and sharp tongued and the first non-white lead in the series. There’s two stories in the background that run the length of the season - the death of the detective’s mother that proves to be suspicious and the Commissioner’s job is in jeopardy due to budget restraints. It’s all getting a bit tired now with repeated plots, but like comfort food it’s addictive and hard to stop enjoying.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Reacher goes undercover to infiltrate an arms smuggling racket. It’s a faithful adaptation of the novel and is fast moving and exciting. The final fight between giant sized Reacher and an even bigger giant of a man is the best ever put to film, apart from the train fight in FRWL. That remains the best realistic fight put to film, the fight in Persuader is more violent and lengthy, but ultimately not realistic, as is the style of fights on film nowadays, so that fact needs to be taken into account.
Once again I reiterate that if Amazon transfer Bond to film as good as they do with Reacher, then we all have something to look forward to.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 30,885Chief of Staff
I fully enjoyed this series too…it’s big, daft & silly…but great fun…roll on series 4 😁
YNWA 97
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 30,885Chief of Staff
Last One Laughing (UK)…10 comedians enter a studio-cum-house set up, and have to make each other laugh - but you are not allowed to laugh…each comedian has to perform their ‘joker’ - a routine they’ve worked out to try and make the others laugh.
Laugh once = a yellow card.
Laugh twice = a red card, and you are out.
Hosted by Jimmy Carr with Roisin Conarty.
Absolutely worth watching for Bob Mortimer alone 🤣
it's gonna be a wait for S4. They're currently in production on the spinoff show with the Neagley character, and it's the same crew for that show that does the main REACHER show.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 30,885Chief of Staff
More ultra violent action as the rival gangs fight to control the drug trade in London, striking at the very heart of government. It’s slick, exciting and has enough twists and turns to keep you interested. Some main characters don’t survive the season so that keeps the tension high.
Gareth Evans (who directed some earlier episodes) is executive producer and is my choice for directing the new Bond movie - I know @HarryCanyon agrees with that - we can’t both be wrong 😁😁😁
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Undemanding cosy mystery series that is perfect Sunday afternoon viewing after returning from a lunch out. Kris Marshall resumes his role as detective Humphrey Goodman in this spin-off of DeathInParadise.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
I thought that S2 went completely off the rails. I'm trying to avoid spoilers here so I'll be vague and just say that there were some plot gymnastics in S2 that I really didn't care for. Also, Gareth Evans not directing any of the action scenes was really noticeable in S2. If S3 rights the ship then I'm on board, but I'm otherwise pretty done with the show.
Changing gears, MOBLAND has been rock solid so far. We're entering the home stretch of episodes for S1 and I sure hope it sticks the landing.
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 30,885Chief of Staff
I finally got around to watching Black Mirror on Netflix…I started with the first episode of series 7 😁 loved it so much I watched the entire lot right from the start…what a bleak and twisted mind Charlie Brooker has 😮
Absolutely brilliant 👏🏻 excellent stories, lots of recurring motifs…and probably all too true 😳
Comments
Four episodes in on The Agency - excellent so far…strong performances all round…
It gets even better as it goes along, and you'll be happy to know that the finale sticks the landing and sets up a great hook for season 2.
Revived doc on Len Deighton tonight on BBC4, probably on iPlayer... good stuff, didn't realise he'd done so many books, including stuff on WW2. Quite a thorough bloke, very meticulous... a bit of an eye-opener watching this. It wasn't in the schedules, they seem to be all over the place, some saying it was Funeral in Berlin tonight but it turned out to be Get Carter, and this Deighton doc wasn't mentioned at all.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Was that The Truth About Len Deighton (2006)? If so, that's an excellent documentary which I recorded and watched when it was first broadcast on BBC Four. Someone later kindly sent me a broadcast DVD version of it which I watched again a few years ago and, again, thoroughly enjoyed.
Yes, that's it. Nice to see both Len Deighton and Michael Caine are still going well into their 90s (estranged former flatmate Terence Stamp has hinted that Caine was older than he makes out in one interview) and nobody else from The Ipcress File is still alive, I think. {Edit: Save for director Sidney J Furie, born the same year as Caine).
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Yes, it's great that they're both still with us. Len Deighton is surely the last of the great British spy fiction authors of the 1960s Golden Age still with us. The likes of Fleming, Le Carré, Gardner and Leasor have of course all passed on. It's true that Adam Diment is still with us too, though he is considerably younger (born in 1943). I didn't realise that about Michael Caine. I really don't understand why people hide their ages or date of birth but it seems to be more common among actors than it is among authors. Good call on Sidney J. Furie too. I'd forgotten he was still alive too, but I'm very glad to hear he is as he is a great director.
Well, when The Living Daylights came out there was a letter or two in TVTimes suggesting Dalton was five years older than the 42 he made himself out to be, from those at school with him. But this allegation has never resurfaced. Still, you do get cover-ups, never at any point did I know that Roger Moore had a hairpiece for all his Bond films really, not til years after he left the role, in that he was losing his hair at the crown even before the first one and I guess the press were good sports in not exposing this.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Do we know that Adam Diment is still alive @Silhouette Man after his infamous 1972 vanishing act...?
Tomorrow (Tues) on the Freeview Sky Arts channel at 9pm they are showing Connery vs Bond, a one-hour documentary. No idea if it's 'any good' - it's been on before but often in the early hours.
It's preceded by a one-hour documentary on Julie Andrews.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Well, that's true. He is a very mysterious man. I think he just had enough of the fame. I do hope he's still alive though and keeping well.
If you look at the back of Roger's head in his Bond films you'll see the weave covering over the bald spot. It's a slightly different colour from his own hair do it's noticeable. I even heard Roger joking about the weave showing on camera in an interview he did once with Bobbie Wygant. He was pretty self-deprecating.
You were absolutely right, @HarryCanyon a great series that got better as it went on…and it was pretty good to start with 👏🏻
Well, I tuned in to this and it was pretty good, a lot of interview footage with Connery I'd never seen before, including an interview with him and his then wife Diane Cilento in their London home. I never knew you pronounced her name with a 'Ch' sound.
The main theme was of an irascible, aggressive and often unhappy man with a temper, frustrated by his tenure as Bond. YOLT director Lewis Gilbert is quoted as saying that in various scenes he tried to direct Connery but the actor just wasn't there, he'd checked out really. One woman writer is interviewed who talks about how Bond basically rapes women or uses them to get information, and as this is dressed up as funny to make it acceptable, it's like that makes it okay - I do think she is one of those who has blocked me on Twitter/X despite my having no interaction with her to my knowledge, she is known for that... That said, her comments contain more than a grain of truth, even if in most romantic/sexual exchanges the women are doing most of the running. At time the permissiveness is 'justified' by the fact Bond 'has' to do it for national security, or otherwise that the women are 'bad' and so don't deserve too much consideration, the trope being that sex can only be allowed or approved with 'bad' women.
Some clips of the mad looking Zardoz including a reference to the Connery character's erection in front of Charlotte Rampling, which reminded me of a scene in a Flashman novel set in Madagascar. An amusing story by director John Boorman about Connery found he had to repeatedly film the final scene, which he detested as he was in makeup.
It also referenced how early attempts by Connery to break out of the Bond role were hampered by the fact that he had identical clothes to Goldfinger's pre-credits in Woman of Straw (and the Fort Knox threads in Marnie, I think) and that in Marnie he is a rapist, like Bond (hmmm).
The talking head rightly and brusquely derided Never Say Never Again saying it failed on all levels, that Connery is bad in it and his hairpiece looked like a cow pat.
One off thing was the commercial break logo which had a middle-aged, flabby bald bloke doing the gun barrel - presumably meant to be Connery but looked nothing like him!
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I saw this last year on Sky Arts I think, or somewhere. I felt it concentrated too much on OO7 and not enough on his other roles, especially the 1970s output, which is an interesting period of work for Connery.
VIRDEE finished this week. It has set itself up for a second series. Whatever the filmmakers may try to tell you, the series doesn't do Bradford, the police or the ethnic communities any favours. Relentlessly grim, violent and confrontational. Stupid story also, with too many threads and not enough substance. Plot holes the size of barges.
Nice to see PLEBS being repeated on ITV2. A very good update of Frankie Howerd's Up Pompeii with Grumio a layabout slave obsessed with food and his equally lazy master Marcus, his pal Stylax, their boss, thier lanlord, etc, all obsessed with sex and [not] getting it. Very funny, personal observational comedy, well-primed characters, naughty, dirty and obnoxious all at once
Adolescence on Netflix…stunning television 😮 I’m saying nothing else…
THE RESIDENCE on Netflix is great fun. It's an 8 episode murder mystery set inside of the White House with a really clever sense of humor to it. If you liked KNIVES OUT, you'll like this.
DEATH IN PARADISE Season 14
There’s a new detective, he’s short tempered and sharp tongued and the first non-white lead in the series. There’s two stories in the background that run the length of the season - the death of the detective’s mother that proves to be suspicious and the Commissioner’s job is in jeopardy due to budget restraints. It’s all getting a bit tired now with repeated plots, but like comfort food it’s addictive and hard to stop enjoying.
MOBLAND is really solid. Two (of ten) episodes out so far. Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, and Tom Hardy.
REACHER Season 3 - Persuader
Reacher goes undercover to infiltrate an arms smuggling racket. It’s a faithful adaptation of the novel and is fast moving and exciting. The final fight between giant sized Reacher and an even bigger giant of a man is the best ever put to film, apart from the train fight in FRWL. That remains the best realistic fight put to film, the fight in Persuader is more violent and lengthy, but ultimately not realistic, as is the style of fights on film nowadays, so that fact needs to be taken into account.
Once again I reiterate that if Amazon transfer Bond to film as good as they do with Reacher, then we all have something to look forward to.
I fully enjoyed this series too…it’s big, daft & silly…but great fun…roll on series 4 😁
Last One Laughing (UK)…10 comedians enter a studio-cum-house set up, and have to make each other laugh - but you are not allowed to laugh…each comedian has to perform their ‘joker’ - a routine they’ve worked out to try and make the others laugh.
Laugh once = a yellow card.
Laugh twice = a red card, and you are out.
Hosted by Jimmy Carr with Roisin Conarty.
Absolutely worth watching for Bob Mortimer alone 🤣
it's gonna be a wait for S4. They're currently in production on the spinoff show with the Neagley character, and it's the same crew for that show that does the main REACHER show.
I had heard they were doing a spinoff series…can’t wait for Ritchson too long though…
GANGS OF LONDON Season 3 (2025)
More ultra violent action as the rival gangs fight to control the drug trade in London, striking at the very heart of government. It’s slick, exciting and has enough twists and turns to keep you interested. Some main characters don’t survive the season so that keeps the tension high.
Gareth Evans (who directed some earlier episodes) is executive producer and is my choice for directing the new Bond movie - I know @HarryCanyon agrees with that - we can’t both be wrong 😁😁😁
BEYOND PARADISE Season 3 (2025)
Undemanding cosy mystery series that is perfect Sunday afternoon viewing after returning from a lunch out. Kris Marshall resumes his role as detective Humphrey Goodman in this spin-off of Death In Paradise.
Is S3 better than S2? Sure hope so.
I enjoyed it, but I liked season 2 too, but I’m not sure that there is enough scope for another season.
I thought that S2 went completely off the rails. I'm trying to avoid spoilers here so I'll be vague and just say that there were some plot gymnastics in S2 that I really didn't care for. Also, Gareth Evans not directing any of the action scenes was really noticeable in S2. If S3 rights the ship then I'm on board, but I'm otherwise pretty done with the show.
Changing gears, MOBLAND has been rock solid so far. We're entering the home stretch of episodes for S1 and I sure hope it sticks the landing.
I finally got around to watching Black Mirror on Netflix…I started with the first episode of series 7 😁 loved it so much I watched the entire lot right from the start…what a bleak and twisted mind Charlie Brooker has 😮
Absolutely brilliant 👏🏻 excellent stories, lots of recurring motifs…and probably all too true 😳
The Chelsea Detective makes a return tonight.