Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 20th January, 2022.

20th January, 2022.

Yep: I’ve got an early start, today!

Mostly … ?

Because I’ve got the second in a series of Zoom meetings: with a weight management service.

It’s ninety minutes long, I should add: something I found to be something of a chore, if I’m being honest.

The fact it’s a group setting should be useful: those always seem to be, from the little I’ve seen.

Here’s hoping.

~≈§≈~

Just as a thought … ?

I worked in a call centre, a few years ago: and left a while ago.

When I left … ?   I was being paid eleven pounds an hour.

As were some of the new starters: which possibly tells you something.

At any rate?

One of the job boards I’ve signed up for, sent me an advert for the same post.

At nine pounds an hour.

I ignored it.

But I’ll tell you what … 

Something’s gone on there … !

~≈§≈~

Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 20th January 2020 Teaser

20th January, 2020.

Right … 

Just so everyone knows?

I should — should — be hearing from a certain contractors, today.

About whether my boiler’s going to be replaced or repaired.

Hopefully … 

~≈¥≈~

Scrub hopefully … !

The contractors have just phoned.

They’ll be over to replace the boiler tomorrow, between eight and one.

An electrician will be out, to check the wiring, the day after.

I think the word is yayness!

~≈¥≈~

Dr Who — Season 17, Serial 6: Shada

4th January, 2018.

You know, I’m having a mixed kind of day off, today.

I’d had a internal hard drive I’d wanted rid of.

I’d replaced a two terabyte internal drive — one used for storage in an extra drive bay — with a four terabyte one.

And initially tried selling the old one at the Brentwood branch of CeX.

They couldn’t take it.

The store’s external hard drive enclosure, the device they used to check hard drives people were selling to them?

Had failed.

Not exactly reassuring.

And not repaired or replaced, when I looked in there, yesterday.

Which got me thinking, this morning, that a different branch of the company would take a perfectly serviceable, second hand hard drive.

So … ?

With enough money in hand to get a train ticket to Romford?

I went to the Romford branch, and sold it to them.

That, twenty quid in my pocket and my first and only McDonalds in years?

Left me feeling a bit better about the whole experience.

~≈§≈~

That’s not why I’m writing, though.

No, I’ve had a night off.

And something else for Christmas.

You’ve realised, by now, that I’m a long time fan of the British TV show, Dr Who.

Like many fans?

I knew about the episodes the show has lost.

Those that — like many Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell stories — were junked after airing.

Or, in the case of one Tom Baker story?

One that filming had started on … 

But never completed, as a result of industrial action.

It’s that Tom Baker story I’m talking about.

I got a blu-ray copy of the famed, Douglas Adams penned, Shada, for Christmas.

Tonight?

Was my first chance to watch the serial that’s every fan’s been waiting to watch, for the past thirty-eight years.

~≈§≈~

Nik Nak’s Daily Teaser — 20-1-2017

*Yawn.*

Again … !

I have to admit to being up, late, last night.   But wanted to catch a film.

With the result, of course, that I ended up staying up, late, doing my write up.

The film in question?

Was Conspiracy.

Good little film, I should add.

About my only concern … ?

Is the simple fact I’d ripped the copy I have from a work-mate’s DVD copy.

I used HandBrake: an application I’ve used for years, and usually one that’s fairly reliable.

It still is.

About the only flaw I could find?   Is that the film was formatted in a 4:3 aspect ration: and couldn’t be resized.

Out of the box, with the up-dated versions of HandBrake, that’s not a good thing.

I think, though?

I can learn how to tweak the settings, to remedy that.

Here’s hoping.

~≈Â≈~

The Daily Teaser — 3-12-2013: Pioneer 10

Oh, well, THAT’s something.

You’ve probably seen the sad news about the recent helicopter crash in Glasgow.

Which was a tragic occurrence, where-ever you are: especially given it took place the night before Saint Andrews Day.

Well, there’s an upside, however minor.   It seems that all of the bodies have been recovered: and the names of the last few dead have bee released.

That’s good, I think: it means the bereaved can start burying their dead, and start mourning.

Although whether that’s something that replacing the loss of a loved one … ?   I really couldn’t say … 

~≈Ò≈~

Moving on … ?   Moving on, yesterday’s teaser say Debbi* putting in her answers: and along with letting us know what a pleasant surprise seeing Tom Baker was, also bagging nine out of ten.

Let’s see how she — and you — do with today’s questions, shall we?

Here they are, along with the ‘How To,’ License and video … 

Q1) 3rd December, 1973, saw the Pioneer 10 take the first close up pictures of Jupiter, successfully capturing images of two of Jupiter’s moons.   Name either of those moons.

Q2) More to the point, in which year did Pioneer 10 leave the Solar System?

Q3) Both Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 carry plaques, all about Humanity.   Who were those plaques intended for … ?

Q4) More to the point, who suggested those plaques … ?

Q5) True or False: Pioneer 10 took the photo of Earth known as the Pale Blue Dot.

Q6) Finally … in which year did we lose radio contact with Pioneer 10?

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 2nd December saw the consecration of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, in London.   In which year of the 1690s?

A1) 1697.

Q2) The Cathedral’s on London’s highest point: on which hill … ?

A2) Ludgate Hill.

Q3) Which Saint Paul is it dedicated to: Saint Paul the Wise, Saint Paul the Carpenter or Saint Paul The Apostle?

A3) Saint Paul The Apostle.

Q4) Saint Paul’s is also the seat of which English bishop … ?

A4) The Bishop of London.

Q5) Who was the architect of this particular Saint Paul’s … ?

A5) Sir Christopher Wren.

Q6) Who held the main celebration of their Diamond Jubilee, outside Saint Paul’s … ?

A6) Queen Victoria.   (Due to her age, she stayed in her carriage.)

Q7) Whose tomb is directly beneath the Dome of Saint Paul’s … ?

A7) Admiral, Lord Nelson’s.

Q8) The cathedral also has the third largest what what in Great Britain: dome, organ or altar … ?

A8) Third largest pipe organ.

Q9) Which of the Harry Potter films features the Geometric Staircase in the South West Bell Tower of Saint Paul’s Cathedral?

A9) Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban.

Q10) Finally … which Church actually runs Saint Paul’s Cathedral … ?

A10) The Church of England.

I’ll leave you with this thought …

“Pioneer 10 was a pioneer in the true sense of the word. After it passed Mars on its long journey into deep space, it was venturing into places where nothing built by humanity had ever gone before,”

Dr Colleen Hartman.

And with this video … 

Have a good day … 

*        It’s probably worth watching, again, Debbi, isn’t it … ?

Oh, by the way, Debbi, did you ever hear of a UK impersonator called Jon Culshaw … ?   He does a very good Tom Baker … 

Classic Dr Who. The Talons Of Weng Chiang: At the House of The Dragon.

(Originally posted on Nik Nak and Grub’s Who Peculiar, on 30 May 2011 21:46:00)

You know, I’ve GOT to admit, Grub, bless him, usually know’s what I’m talking about.

Usually.

Well …

Occasionally.

Well …

OK, nine times out of ten.

Ok, call it seven.

Ok, sevenish times out of ten.

I think …

At any rate, I do know he got my point that the Moffat helmed run of the show does has something of a Robert Holmes feel to it.

Not necessarily in every respect.

But certainly in its taste for the Grand Guignol.

Bless him …

He managed to hand me his recently purchased copy of vintage Tom Baker story, The Talons of Weng-Chiang, yesterday, just to make the point he got mine.

Oh …

And because I’d happened ask him, of course …

My memory’s touch iffy: way too much beer, over the years’, combined with WAY too much nicotine gum, at the moment, I think.

At ANY rate … ?

I borrowed Grub’s copy of The Talons Of Weng Chiang, yesterday.

And I’ll be honest … ?

I think he’s spent some of his precious cash — Grub, bless him, tend to budget a lot better than I do, but is still on fairly limited means — on quite a buy.

Because he managed to bag the Special Edition version from Brentwood’s local Sainsburys, at what he tells me was a very good price.

Very good, indeed … !

»»•««

Bless him … !

And I’ll happily admit — very happily, in fact — that this version of The Talons Of Weng-Chiang is rather special indeed.

Now, I’ll happily confess, I’ve written about the story, before now. After all, The Talons Of Weng-Chiang is possibly one of the best loved of all the classic era Dr Who stories ever made.

But what caught my attention with the special edition version of the story … ?

Was the extra disc: complete with a quite a nice chunk of extra features.

Including a fascinating potted history of the Limehouse district of London, where so many Chinese sailors lived in the Victorian era.

Actually … ?

Not that many …

Seemingly … ?

Limehouse only ever had a Chinese population of about 200 or so, at it’s peak.

Amazing what you find out, watching this things, isn’t it … ?

At any rate … ?

Next time he’s around, I’ll see if I can persuade Grub to let us all know what he’s thinking of the Special Edition.

But for now … ?

I’ll leave you with what appear’s to be Robert Holmes First Law for Deranged 51st Century Villains: “Never Give a Simple Order when you get the chance for a full-on Rant … ”

Oh …

And leave you to have some dinner …

The Brain … The BRAIN …!

You know, sometimes, it’s good to catch a movie.

It is.

But just occasionally, you do get the urge for a change of pace.

You do.

Allison tottered over, tonight, and we were joined by Paul.

And collectively got bored enough to dig up some vintage “Doctor Who”.

Seriously vintage!

As any fans out there would realise, looking at the photo, we were watching the 1976 Tom Baker story, “The Brain of Morbius”; definitely something I enjoyed watching again, and something I know that both Allison and Paul were glued to!

Other people can — and have — summed the plot up, far better than I can.

But I do know that Terrence Dicks and Robert Holmes — writing as Robin Bland — put together something rather special.

And something worth watching, I think.

The Terror, The TERROR … !

Hmm!

You know, there are times when having a quiet afternoon can be good, bad, or indifferent.

Or just plain boring …

But, if nothing, I can do what I did, which was simple; do a bit of homework, with a classic “Doctor Who” story, playing in the background.

Which, if you haven’t worked out from the visual clues, was the 975 story, “Terror of the Zygons”.

Nice to be able to watch it, actually.

Now, granted, there’s better stories; the same year saw “Genesis of the Daleks”, being aired. And that was generally agreed to be one of the best stories the original series produced.

But the Robert Stewart Banks written “Terror of the Zygons” may not be the state of the series’ art, it was produced and shown during what many fans regard as something of a golden age for the show.

And, granted an old friend — Sean, over in the states, owner and manager of Tyches Games — does have a point that sometimes the effects could be a touch … ropey … they did know how to knock out a good, fun story, which “Terror” certainly qualifies as, I think.

It’s certainly one for the eco-friendly, as it starts with the destruction of a couple of off-shore oil-rigs …

And moves to Loch Ness and the fictional village of Tulloch, near the equally fictional Tulloch Moor; which the locals inevitably don’t go near, after dark, according to the local inn’s landlord. It’s also got hideous scheming aliens — the Zygons, themselves, led by Broton — and one heck of a big monster. In this case, the Skarasen, a cybernetically enhanced reptilian glove puppet.

Which, these days, really does look ropey, but back then, was rather spectacular.

And was — in the story — the creature responsible for the destroyed oil-rigs.

The Zygons themselves aren’t exactly without a trick or two, themselves, either …

And the story has the sad twist that it’s also Ian Marter’s last as Harry.

But it is a fun one to watch …

Cast
Tom Baker	The Doctor
Elizabeth Sladen	Sarah-Jane
Ian Marter	Harry Sullivan
Nicholas Courtney	Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
John Levene	RSM Benton
John Woodnutt	Duke of Forgill/Broton
Lillias Walker	Sister Lamont
Robert Russell	The Caber
Keith Ashley, Ronald Gough	Zygons
Angus Lennie	Angus
Tony Sibbald	Huckle

In the House Of The Dragon

OK, I’ll admit, I’m a fan of “Doctor Who”; notoriously so, in fact.

I’m not the worst I’ve met, though; but I’m enough of a fan to — if I’ve a quiet afternoon, and a lot of ironing to do — to put on something of a classic in the DVD player.

And that ‘House of the Dragon’ title is taken from one of the classics of the Tom Baker era, “The Talons of Weng-Chiang”.

One that was first shown in February of 1976 and written by then “Doctor Who” script editor, Robert Holmes; generally agreed to be one of the powerhouse writers for the original series. And that’s in spite of the formulaic of some his stories could follow; a hideously deformed scheming madman in an underground lair, uses villainous servants to regain their former power.

“Caves of Androzani” — possibly Peter Davison’s finest, as well as his last outing — does it, as one or two others. Including “The Brain of Morbius”, originally penned by Terrance Dicks, but given something of an extensive going over by Holmes …

Pretty much that same recipe … but with very different spices and toppings.

One of his hallmarks was introducing an ‘odd couple’; Dibber and Glitz cropped up in “The Mysterious Planet”, Chessene and Shockeye, in “The Two Doctors” …

And Litefoot and Jago, in “Talons of Weng-Chiang”; quite possibly two of the more memorable examples, I think; I know a few of my fellow fans agree.

Both are integral to the plot, as well. The opening scenes of the first episodes see the Doctor intent on taking new companion, Leela — played by Louise Jameson, probably better known as “EastEnders” character, Rosa di Marco — on a theatre trip. In Victorian England, I should add. On their way, they’re attacked by members of what is later revealed to be members of something called The Tong of The Black Scorpion.

Professor Litefoot — Trevor Baxter — is introduced to the Doctor and Leela as a result of this; he’s the police pathologist who examines the one Tong member arrested as a result; who died in police custody as a result of scorpion venom, administered by one of the story’s villains, stage magician, and scheming scoundrel, Li H’sen Chang.

Rather than police brutality, I hasten to point out; not that British police ever indulge, of course.

Back to the plot, though, that brings me to the other half of the Litefoot/Jago partnership; Li H’sen Chang is, as I’ve already mentioned, a stage magician, working at, and using as cover, the Palace Theatre.

Managed by Mr Henry Gordon Jago; played with blustering Victorian brilliance by Christopher Benjamin.

And that’s where Robert Holmes managed to pull out of his hat, to turn “Talons of Weng Chiang” from what could have bee a formula, into the second most frequently named fan favourite.

Eminently quotable lines …

And the references that Holmes liked putting into his scripts.

And in the latter case, there’s a lot …

The simple fact the two main villains of the piece — Li H’sen Chang, and his boss, Weng Chiang, revealed, at the last, to be 51st* Century war criminal, Magnus Greel — and the Tong Of the Black Scorpion itself, are indirect references to every “Fu Manchu” story written. The Palace Theatre setting, and Greel’s usage of the cellar — the CELLAR … ! — homage’s “The Phantom of the Opera.” Even “Pygmalion” manages to get a look in, with the the “Doctor Who” production office intention — never followed though, alas — of developing a Professor Higgins/ Eliza Doolittle relationship between the Doctor and Leela.

~≈∂≈~

Now this isn’t the best classic “Doctor Who” that got made.

Not compared to “Genesis of the Daleks”, it isn’t.

But — in spite of the understandable objections raised by TVOntario’s Chinese viewers about racial stereotyping — the combination of rock-solid acting on the part of the cast, the — for the original series — very high production values, and Robert Holmes eminently quotable writing and plotting, make this story the second most popular in the show’s history.

I also know that it’s a screaming tragedy that Robert Holmes died in 1983; I, personally, would have loved to have seen how a contribution from him would’ve shaped up, in the new series.

Mind you, having seen most of Stephen Moffat’s contributions, so far, I think there’s a suitable replacement, coming along …

~≈∂≈~

The net result?

Well …

I’m going to leave you with a couple of YouTube clips from “Talons of Weng Chiang”; here, and here.

And urge you to have a look, for yourself.

Cast
The Doctor	Tom Baker
Leela	Louise Jameson
Jago	Christopher Benjamin
Li H'sen Chang	John Bennett
Mr. Sin	Deep Roy
Professor Litefoot	Trevor Baxter
Weng-Chiang	Michael Spice

Crew
Director	David Maloney
Producer	Philip Hinchcliffe
Writer	Robert Holmes
Script Editor	Robert Holmes
Title Music	Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, arranged by Delia Derbyshire
Incidental music	Dudley Simpson

* I’m not to sure, here, if it’s intended, but there’s references in “Talons of Weng-Chiang”, to Time Agents. Whether that’s the same Agency that a certain Captain Jack Harkness later belongs to, is debatable. But …

Now, It Can Begin: Genesis of the Daleks — A Review

14th March, 2009.

Somehow?

It seems wrong to be looking at a Saturday night spent working, rather than watching a film.

Shift work, eh?

Still, I can’t complain too much, as it does at least pay the rent.

Or most of it, at any rate.

It also gives me a chance, while dinner’s cooking, to write a few quick thoughts about the photo’s you’re looking at.

And not bang on about the cinema, for a bit …

~≈Ω≈~