Village of the Damned (1960): 57 is no age at all.

21st August, 2017.

You know … 

I like a movie or two,

Now and again.

And, over the past week or so — with a few evenings free — managed to watch a couple of recentish rentals from iTunes.

If you’re in a movie mood?

I’d suggest Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire is going to be a better bet than the the Scarlett Johansson vehicle, Ghost in the Shell.

Saying that … ?

Saying that, I think I got carried away in the moment, last week.

I hit the rental trail, saw those two titles and rented them …

When what I’d actually wanted to do?

Was dig into my movie collection and drag tonight’s film into my iTunes library.

You’re right … 

I’ve not seen Village of the Damned for a while …

~≈fi≈~

The Daily Teaser — 10-7-2014: Wyndham’s Babies …

You know, you can TELL it’s a Thursday, can’t you … ?

Well, I can.

Mostly by looking at my computer’s screen.

There’s a time and date display on the left hand side of the menu-bar.

Ahem … !

At any rate, it’s Thursday: which means I’m one day away from finishing the Fresh Start course I’m on.

Here’s hoping something positive comes of that!

~≈Ô≈~

Actually, as it’s Thursday — and for no other reason than it is Thursday — would you mind doing me a favour, please … ?

Would you mind going to this page — that’s my newly introduced Money page — and hitting the Share buttons?

I’d be really grateful … !

~≈Ô≈~

The Brentwood Gazette’s Weekly Teaser — 10-7-2013: Wyndham’s Babies

You know, the one upside to being out of a job … ?

Is that, if there’s nothing on TV, one can hit the proverbial Rewind button: and dig up some vintage TV.

Hmmm … 

Yes, that sounds convincing, doesn’t it … ?

At ANY rate … ?   At any rate, I have managed to dig meself up Nightmare In Silver.   Just because I happen to like rampaging Cybermen.

Yeah … 

That’s sounds wonderfully wonderful … 

~≈†≈~

At ANY rate, you’re not her to read about me, watching TV on a nice sunny afternoon.

No, you want this week’s Gazette Teaser: one for the sci-fi fans, and covered by the Creative Commons License*.

Here’s this week’s questions …

Q1) 10 July, 1903, saw the birth of writer, John Wyndham.   Which of his novels features giant walking plants … ?

Q2) In which year was it originally published: 1951, 1953 or 1955 … ?

Q3) That novel was also made into a TV series starring Dougray Scott, Eddie Izzard and which member of the Redgrave family … ? 

Q4) One of Wyndham’s novel’s is about an anti-aging treatment that works.   Its title is ‘The Trouble With’ what: algae, lichen or fungi … ?

Q5) ‘Chocky’ — televised on ITV, back in the 1980s — was all about a little boy whose imaginary friend turns out to be real.   What’s the imaginary friend’s name?

Q6) His novel, ‘The Midwich Cuckoos’ has been turned into two films: both film versions are called ‘The Village of the’ … what?

Q7) More to the point, the book — and films — are about a small village whose female residents all simultaneously become … what?

Q8) Which of Wyndham’s novel’s is set on the Northeastern coast of Canada: ‘Chocky’, ‘The Kraken Wakes’ or ‘The Chrysalids’

Q9) Which of Wyndham’s novels tells of an invasion of Earth by unseen water dwelling aliens?

Q10) And finally … John Wyndham wrote some of his early works under what name: John Benyon, John Bunyon or Jean Beeny … ?

And here’s last weeks questions and answers …

Questions.

Q1) 3rd July saw the death of both Jim Morrison and Brian Jones.   Which of them died in 1971 … ?

Q2) Which of them was a former member of the Rolling Stones, at the time of his death … ?

Q3) Jones and Morrison are both considered members of an exclusive club: of musicians who died at the same age.   Which age: 18, 27 or 36?

Q4) Jim Morrison was — famously — a member of The Doors.  What was  The Doors’ biggest UK hit … ?

Q5) Brian Jones’ old band are still playing, with only three original members.   Name any of those members … ?

Q6) Kurt Cobain is considered a member of that club: which band was he the singer, songwriter and guitarist for?

Q7) Which noted US bluesman — and early member of the Club — was said to have sold his soul to the Devil … ?

Q8) Which Afro-American member of the club famously fronted his ‘Experience’ … ?

Q9) One of the oldest members of the club was a female Jazz singer who died  in her London home, on 23rd July, 2011.   Who was she … ?

Q10) Finally … Which female member of the club died of a suspected heroin overdose in October, 1970 … ?

Answers.

A1) Jim Morrison.

A2) Brian Jones.

A3) 27.

A4) ‘Light My Fire’.

A5) Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts.   (Charlie’s the ONE member of the band to stay married to — or romantically involved with — the same woman for the entirety of the band’s career.   Oh, and apparently, he’s sketched every hotel room he’s ever stayed in.   What the hell … … ?)

A6) Nirvana.

A7) Robert Johnson.   (Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Eric Clapton, Alexis Korner, and assorted members of both Rush and Slipknot are fans of Johnson’s, I should add.)

A8) Jimi Hendrix.

A9) Amy Winehouse.

A10) Janis Joplin.

Enjoy those, everyone.

*        Regulars will know already: but for newcomers … all it means is that you’re free to copy, use, alter and build on each of my quizzes: including the Teasers, Gazette Teasers and the Friday Question Sets.   All I ask in return is that you give me an original authors credit on your event’s flyers or posters, or on the night: and, if you republish them, give me an original authors credit AND republish under the same license.   A link back to the site would be appreciated.

Who’d Have ’Em … ?

OK, I’ll admit it, it’s weird what your imagination can do, given tiredness, lack of food, and way too much time on your hands.

Oh, and a power cut …

We just had a power cut …

Not much of a power cut, but it was something that got my imagination going in all sorts of places.

I think you’ve already gathered that, haven’t you … ?

But for some reason, it got me to thinking of something of a classic novel, that I’d first read, many years ago.

The John Wyndham novel,The Midwich Cuckoos

It’s the one book of his that — much like the original version of The Wicker Man — pretty much always leaves me …

Well …

Spooked is the best word for it, I think.

Yeah, spooked …

And there’s not many novels or films that do that, I think …

I’ll try and summarise, if I can, although I’ll admit, I’m no literary critic.

The Midwich Cuckoos is set in 1950’s England, in the fictional (smallish) village of Midwich, in the equally fictional county of Winshire, and sees the pieces narrator, Richard, returning to his home in Midwich, with his wife, after a day out in London.

To find the whole village is — apparently — asleep.

And that the army — including an old army friend of Richard’s, who’s now ‘… something important in Intelligence’ — are doing as much frantic research as they can.

About all they’ve found out for sure, is that the zone of effect stretches out in a two mile radius from the village green; which they checked using a couple of budgies in cages, and explains the crashed buses on the roads in and out of Midwich.

Richard and his wife are … concerned …

Understandably …

But, as the weird effect — that eventually becomes known as the ‘Dayout’ — seems to have no ill effects, Richard and his wife aren’t worried.

Not initially, anyway.

Notice I said the Dayout seems to have no ill-effects?

I think that all depends on what you define as ill, doesn’t it?

As some one I know once said, “I’m pregnant, not crippled” …

Pregnancies get noticed; especially, as in this book, it’s every woman of child-bearing age in the village …

Which gets everyone in Midwich thinking that the two events HAVE to be connected, somehow …

•••••

It gets stranger, when the children are born …

They’re odd …

Very odd … !

The thirty odd girls and thirty odd boys all look as if they’re related more to each other, than their parents.

And have odd golden coloured eyes.

Which is only the start.

From an early age, the Children seem to be developing at a very fast rate. Not only that, each group — boys and girls — seems to be both very intelligent and have some form of group mind, enabling them to learn much more rapidly than normal children.

That’s where the narrator leaves it, as he and his wife move to to Canada — I seem to recall — after his new job takes him there …

They come back for a flying visit, some eight years later, to find that the Children, whilst chronologically only eight, have matured into apparent 16-year-olds.

And that things are coming to something of a boiling point …

•••••

Now, I don’t know if that’s grabbed your attention … ?

But it did, me, when I read it, all those year’s ago.

Now, granted, this was written back in the 1950s; which does show …

But the central ideas in The Midwich Cuckoos — that an alien invasion isn’t necessarily going to be a big War Of The Worlds affair, and that an alien invasion spearheaded by out children aren’t going to be easy to deal with — are still, after all this time, I think, very interesting.

Which means I’m going to read myself to sleep with this, tonight …

After I’ve finished listening to the Kronos Quartet’s version of Purple Haze.

And finally debugged a bit of HTML … !

A Triffid A Day …

Keeps the Doctor away.

Or at least, the repeat of the rather good 1981 BBC series of “The Day of the Triffids” will do, until “Torchwood” turns up, tomorrow night …

And it’s something that — if nothing else turns up, on an otherwise rather boring Sunday afternoon — I’ll probably watch.

After all, John Wyndham’s novel is something of a classic; although I personally preferred the much more unnerving “The Midwich Cuckoos”, “The Day of the Triffids” — however a cosy catastrophe Brian Aldiss actually thought Wyndham,’s work was — is still a riveting read.

And the BBC series is actually, from what I know, is actually a better version than the 1962 film version, which made substantial changes.

As you’ve probably know by now, that’s something I — personally — get really annoyed about!!

I do.

I’ve got to confess, I actually saw the BBC series, before I read the book. Reading Wyndham’s story, I found what the Beeb put on screen was what was on the page.

Which was both pleasantly surprising and nice to see.

So I’ll not do a plot summary of either version of the story; other’s have done a better job of that than I ever could.

But I will encourage you to check out the schedules, and give this a look; it’s that rarest of things, when it comes to ‘the series/film/radio/play of the book’ … a faithful adaptation.