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Lurking Musings

~ Musings of a newly published writer

Lurking Musings

Tag Archives: Joss Whedon

[Vampire Month] Review of Cranberry Blood by Elizabeth Morgan

15 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Musings, Reviews, Vampire Month

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Brendan, British, Chicago, Cranberry Blood, Cranberry juice, Elizabeth Morgan, Eurotrash Vampires, Hunter, Joss Whedon, Marko Pavel, New York, Review, Skyla Dawn Cameron, Slayer, UF, Urban Fantasy, Vampire blood, Vampires


As we have just had a week of Elizabeth Morgan, it seemed appropriate to post my review of Cranberry Blood. A review that has also gone to Goodreads and Amazon.

Cranberry Blood by Elizabeth Morgan

Available from www.e-morgan.com

Heather Ryan is a Slayer, the latest in a long line of family members dedicated to the lifelong quest of killing a particular very old vampire – Marko Pavel. If that is not complicated enough, she was also born infected with Vampire blood, a condition she manages with the help of a concoction of Cranberry juice and animal blood (hence the title).Pageflex Persona [document: PRS0000038_00064]

One day her life is saved by a werewolf called Brendan who claims to have been sent by her recently dead grandmother.  It seems grannie had seen the need for them to be together in one of her visions, which are usually scarily accurate. Though Heather always respected her grandmother’s abilities as a seer, she finds it hard to come to terms with why she now has to put up with the irritating Brendan – what danger is he supposed to protect her from?

Morgan quickly establishes a dynamic between her two main characters, one of sniping and arguments. The over protective alpha male with the snarky alpha female rebelling against his attempts to ‘save her’ is a common trope in urban fantasy but one which is presented very well here and will appeal to fans of this genre. This relationship is threaded throughout the plot, which revolves around Heather’s attempts to track down her ancient nemesis and his attempts to use her for his own ends, and adds an appropriate level of zip to an already fast paced story. In my reading of this, there was no thoughts of ‘will they/won’t they’ because it is clear from the first page Brendan appears that they will. The question is more when and how many buildings will be destroyed in the aftermath.

Cranberry Blood is a very British Urban Fantasy novel. Heather is an Irish girl living in London, Brendan is described as having a northern accent and it turns out his pack live in Scotland. The action moves from inner city London to the wilds of Scotland giving this more a Being Human/Dog Soldiers vibe than most US based UF. This is a refreshing change and reminds readers that the Vampire and Werewolf myths that most UF take from originate in Europe. This is played upon in the characterisation of some of the characters – the Vampires are very Eurotrash in their attitude, for example. It certainly makes for a more familiar setting to those who live in the UK than the often unreal skyscapes of New York or Chicago. This may alienate US audiences but then again it may not as there are many Anglophiles on the other side of the pond who may also be looking for something that is different to standard UF.

If I have one issue with Cranberry Blood it is the concept of a Slayer. Now, I am happy with the idea of a family dedicated through many generations to killing a specific Vampire menace. It makes sense – you have to play the long game when dealing with immortal bloodsuckers and I really like the thought that has gone into this. However, I am not sure I would have gone so far as to have made that into a proper noun. Not only is there an issue of Joss Whedon potentially considering it a challenge to his IP (though not a huge one as the similarities basically end with the name and the fact this particular one is female) but I am not convinced that it really deserves that capital letter. That implies there is some official title involved when really it is a private, internal family thing. Had there been a secret underground organisation that trained multiple people to fight vampires (such as the Church order detailed in Skyla Dawn Cameron’s novel Hunter) and that organisation granted graduates of their training programme some form of official title then I’d be happy that they could be called Slayers. Using it in a family seems wrong to me. However, this is only a very minor gripe in what is basically a very well written and fascinating novel.

Overall, Cranberry Blood is a novel worth taking a look at. A very fun romp through a very British urban fantasy landscape. I’d like to see more UF set in this country.

Doctor Who: Agents of UNIT?

17 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Musings

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Agents of SHIELD, computerised voice, Doctor Who, Female Doctor Who, Firefly, Joss Whedon, Jules Verne, Lenora Crichlow, Moffat, Osgood, Phil Coulson, The Doctor, Torchwood


I had meant to post about this not long after the final episode of the last series of Doctor Who aired. However, real life intervened and made my life a hell of busy days and frantic brain goblins. I’ve finally got some time now to get back into blogging and today saw me spot two articles online which triggered me to revisit some thoughts I had following the last episode.

Osgood: Phil Coulson for the Whoniverse?

First there was this one:

The Doctor could be female

Yeah, I feel it was fairly obvious that Moffat was using the gender switch with Missy as a way of basically setting a precedent to be used to allow the Doctor to one day have a similar switch. He also did the same with River Song – showing a regeneration from a young woman of colour to a middle aged, white woman. You can dredge up even earlier references to Time Lords even changing species, though Romana’s regeneration into several alien forms in Destiny of the Daleks is largely considered controversial for a number of reasons, it still shows the possibility exists. Not that this has triggered a similar change in the Doctor yet (unless you count Scottish as a change of race?) but the indication that Gallifreyians are basically blind to gender (and also likely race and species) is an encouraging thought and I hope that it is acted on sometime soon. Could this be an indication that Lenora Critchlow now has a good chance of being picked next?

c7de3-lenora_crichlow_2345432If it should happen that the Doctor becomes female I do hope that it is handled with sensitivity rather than being merely a gimmick. It needs to be done in such a way that the viewers can believe it is the same character and this is not always possible even with a male actor. As for any casting, it needs to be based on who can do the job well rather than focussing on any criteria like ‘has to be female’.

Next there was this little gem:

Bad news for Osgood fans

Now, when I first saw Osgood’s death (and man that hurt…) I did have a little suspicion. You see, the whole set up seemed remarkably familiar. Ancient, evil nemesis of one of the heroes is captured by secretive, government sponsored agency keyed to battling alien threats. Said nemesis escapes and in the course of their fiendishly clever plan to get out, manages to kill a high ranking, popular and geeky member of that agency. Was I the only one who was thinking ‘Avengers’? Whether it was deliberate tribute or unconscious copying, you cannot deny there is a link there between Osgood and good old Agent Coulson.

The British version has a better scarf

Which did make me wonder if the plan wasn’t to kick off a spin off series in which a mysteriously resurrected Osgood is put in charge of a rag tag group of UNIT agents and set to fly around the world in a converted jet solving problems and fighting HYDRA… erm, I mean, Daleks… who have infiltrated their organisation. Just picture it, the complicated spy games as they try to figure out which UNIT agents are actually Daleks in disguise (hint: if they can answer a question without using the word ‘Exterminate’ they are probably safe) and the big twist when they realise that one of their own is actually a traitor (they probably should have realised that Dr. Darian Alek was dodgy from his computerised voice and the sink plunger attached to his chest) and the emotional fallout that emerges from that. Has to be compelling viewing.

Though, wait a minute… Doctor Who has already had a popular character killed by a nemesis who mysteriously came back to life to lead a rag tag group of agents of a secretive organisation… Could Torchwood’s Captain Jack have actually been the inspiration Joss Whedon used for Phil Coulson in Agents of SHIELD?

I guess we could trace tropes ad infinitum and claim that all modern SF is actually derived from a stone tablet found in Babylon (probably written by Asimov or Jules Verne) because there isn’t really anything new anymore, just different ways of presenting the same ideas. But I suppose it is not too much of a stretch to wonder if Joss Whedon was familiar with the concept of Torchwood before he developed Agents of SHIELD.

So, in all, I think it is a shame that Osgood has been declared as ‘officially dead’ by Moffat. She was a wonderful character with a lot of potential. Certainly far better companion material than some that have been in that position in recent years. While as a writer I can see the benefit in killing off a popular but not critical character, I feel Osgood’s death was maybe a step too far.

Though, despite all this, I think Moffat is still being beaten by Whedon in the bastard of the century competition. After all, he did kill Wash. You have to be far more brutal in killing off your beloved characters to beat that.

###

D.A Lascelles is the author of Lurking Miscellany, Transitions (Mundania Press) and Gods of the Sea (Pulp Empires). He lives in Manchester UK. You can sometimes see him writing about Zombie porn on https://lurkingmusings.wordpress.com/ but he mostly blogs about books, vampires, science fiction and Terry Pratchett. He is inordinately proud of the fact that one of his Pratchett articles was referenced on the French version of the author’s Wikipedia page.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaLascelles

Twitter: @areteus

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Vampire Month – Seeking fresh blood

22 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Guest posts

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Ann Rice, books, Bram Stoker, entertainment, guest blogging, guest posts, Jason Petty, Joss Whedon, literature, Ninfa Hayes, Rachel Caine, Rebeka Harrington, Skyla Dawn Cameron, Stephenie Meyer, Vampires


It has been an age old tradition of this blog, dating back all the way to March 2012 (yes, all those many months ago), for the month of March to be assigned ‘Vampire Month’ and to be taken up with guest posts and interviews by writers who work in genres involving nightstalking bloodsuckers. Last March we had some wonderful posts by Diana Hardy, Skyla Dawn Cameron, Ninfa Hayes and Jason Petty covering subjects ranging from muses to book buying and now it is almost time to get things organised for this March…Vampire

So, with this in mind, I am putting out a call. I need fresh blood to fill the pages of Vampire month this year.

If you are a writer of something which could be construed in some way to be ‘vampire fiction’ or you know a writer who is and can contact them without stalking them I would be very interested in speaking with you. Contact me via this blog, Twitter, Facebook or my email address (dalascelles-writing@yahoo.co.uk) and tell me all about yourself or the author you think you can contact for me.

Of course, while I’d love to be able to get Ann Rice, Rachel Caine, Stephenie Meyer and similar on board for this (or even Jos Whedon or Toby Whitehouse) I am equally happy to accept less famous writers so long as you can do an interesting blog post and answer some interview questions. I would not, of course, say no to any of the above. However, if you contact me claiming to have exclusive access to Bram Stoker, I’d tell you to put him back where you found him and that Grave Robbery is so 1800s, darling…

[AW Blog Chain] Thirteen

11 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Musings

≈ 29 Comments

Tags

Absolute Write, action roleplay, Agatha Christie, aliens, Babylon 5, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, classical cultures, Doctor Who, Farscape, Featherstone Castle, Jane Austen, Joss Whedon, Masquerades and Massacres, Mayan Prophesy, Odyssey LRP, Photography, Predator, Roleplaying games, roman priest, Serenity LRP, Star Trek, Stargate, Steampunk, Strange and Norrell, Temeraire, Thirteen, Victoriana LRP, Waypoint LRP


With the year we are just starting having a ’13’ in it it is probably of no surprise that January’s Blog chain topic would link to this rather maligned number. It occured to me that every single article in the chain will mention Triskaidekaphobia so I thought I would get that out of the way now and not mention it again. There would also likely be many many discussions on bad luck, evil spirits and maybe even a Mayan prophesy or two (apparently, this is also the 13th Baktun which contributed to the recent ‘end of Mayan calandar means end of the world’ debacle). With this in mind, I decided not to go with the obvious topics.

Instead, I would like to celebrate the number 13 by posting here 13 photographs of something I love… Live Action Roleplay. Some of these are photos I have taken, others are taken by other more talented people. Full credit will be given where needed.

dying in the arena

First up is this shot I took at a Mythic Age LRP game called Odyssey in summer 2012. The concept behind that game is that there are a number of classical cultures (Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Persians and Carthiginians initially but there is another one now) who coexist and in order to maintain peace on earth, the gods have restored the sunken city of Atlantis to act as a place where territory disputes can be settled in an arena rather than on the battlefield. Before each contest, the priests of each nation perform a blessing, dedicating the fight to one of their gods. Here we have the wonderful Lizy Townsend as a Roman priest sacrficing herself as she screams out a dying curse on the enemy.

side by side

From the same system, here we have two Romans fighting side by side against some Carthiginians and finally for Odyssey we have a photo that gives you some indication of how large some of the arena battles can be.

roman line up

Another system I played this year was called Masquerades and Massacres or M&M (or, fairly often, Jane Austen and Aliens). This game is set in the Regency period (1820’s to be precise) and incorporates elements of Jane Austen, Strange and Norrell, Naomi Novak’s Temeraire stories, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Alien/Predator universe among others (seriously, there was a character who was an industrialist arms manufacturer by the name of Sir Anthony Stark, recently escaped from a Turkish prison…). It is a bizarre mix but it strangely seems to work and allows a lot of ballgowning… Here are some photographs from several events taken by the inestimable Oliver Facey

RnR-1154

wounded

Waypoint was a LRP game I ran for a good few years, up until 2008 when I stopped because I needed time for other things. It was a Sci Fi system which largely riffed off a lot of things like Star Trek, Babylon 5, Farscape and similar and also inserted some elements of Doctor Who and Stargate.

DSC00657 Gate 1 assassination

The top photo shows some sci fi post apocalyptic gangsters apeing the Reservoir Dogs walk. The middle one show some techie types trying to repair a hyperspatial gate while defending themselves from attakc and the bottom one shows an assassination attempt on one of the characters…

Another game I am involed in is called Victoriana LRP which is, predictably enough, set in a Steampunk world. Here are two photos from that game:

IMG_4281

This shows the aftermath of a fight with various injured characters being patched up with bandages.

This next one shows a scientist demonstrating a steampunk weapon….

194

The patch of dust on the ground is actually not the remains of someone who has been shot by the big gun. That was there for an entirely different purpose.

The next two photos are from a system based on Joss Whedon’s Firefly universe – Serenity LRP. These are all taken by the talented Ali Hancock, who was able to take them because she was playing a journalist in the game. All done in glorious black and white.

serenity medical

This first one is me helping to perform surgery. The second shows some players stalking through the woods looking for trouble.

serenity soldiers

Finally, a few years ago we went to a 1930’s themed event called An Uncommon Affair. There was intrigue, Egyptian Archeology, an Agatha Christie style murder (which we had to cover up for the good of the crown) and Nazis (who had the audacity to disturb dinner). There was also a photographer with a modern digital camera subtly hidden inside the body of a box brownie. This is their portrait of my character from that game…

doctor benton and dog

Of course, for this game it was possible to take our dog along. He even had a character. He was a dog. It was a bit of a stretch for his thespian talents to play this character. The location, by the way, is a Youth Hostel called Featherstone Castle which is a gorgeous building set in the wonderful wilds of Northumberland.

So, there you have it. Thirteen photographs of Live Action Roleplay to celebrate the thirteen in this year… And at no point did i mention bad luck or the day Friday… Feel free to check out the sites I have showcased above as there are more photographs to be seen on all of them…

The usual rules of the blog chain are in force. So, you have to go check out the other members of the chain or else I will send copies of those photographs we discussed on the phone last week to you know who… you do not want anyone to find out about *that* do you?

Participants and posts:
orion_mk3 – http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com (link to post)
Ralph Pines – http://ralfast.wordpress.com (link to post)
SRHowen – http://srhowen1.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
areteus – https://lurkingmusings.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
bmadsen
– http://hospitaloflife.wordpress.com/ (link to
post)
pyrosama – http://matrix-hole.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
angyl78 –
http://jelyzabeth.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
gell214 –
http://gelliswriting.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
randi.lee
– http://emotionalnovel.blogspot.com/ (link to
post)
ConnieBDowell – http://bookechoes.com/ (link to post)
writingismypassion –
http://charityfaye.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
Araevno –
http://www.simonpclark.com/ (link to post)
Briony-zisaya –
http://fantasywriterwannabe.blogspot.com/ (link to
post)
Kewii – http://kellyneeson.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
katci13 –
http://www.krystalsquared.net/ (link to
post)
MsLaylaCakes: http://www.taraquan.com/ (link to post) [Jan 9-10,
24-]
Amanda R.: http://www.twoamericansinchina.com/ (link to post) [Jan
14-]

UK Appreciation Month – Why the UK is Doomed

27 Tuesday Nov 2012

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Guest posts

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Avengers, Avengers Assemble, Bookaholics Book Club, books, entertainment, film, guest blogging, guest posts, hellblazer comics, Joss Whedon, Misfits, Superhero, writing


So, in October I was asked to contribute to a series on this blog (the Bookaholics book club blog) and since I had just been watching Avengers and Misfits in the same week and had been idly browsing some old Hellblazer comics the following thought occured to me:

http://bookaholicsbkcl.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/uk-appreciation-month-da-lascelles.html#.UKYSdlaRmbg.twitter

Because, lets be fair here, UK superheroes aren’t really up to much at all, are they?

Unless someone has some counter arguments to this? Feel free to comment if you do….

Disney and Star Wars?

31 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Film

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Cthuhlu, Disney, Eliza Dushku, elizabeth bennet, entertainment, George Lucas, horror, Jane Austen, Joss Whedon, Megan Fox, Michael Bay, Nathan Fillion, pirates of the carribean, Pride and Prejudice, Serenity, Sigourney Weaver, Star Wars, videogames


Today, on this hallowed day that celebrates horror in all its forms, the internet is abuzz with news of a horror beyond even the worst imaginings of your average geek.

No, it is not that the stars are right for the rise of Great Cthuhlu from the vasty depths of R’lyeh. Despite what the great Mayan practical joke would have us believe about the end of the world being nigh, Cthuhlu is not likely to be rising anytime soon as he forgot to set his alarm clock before he went to bed.

Mitt Romney before his morning cup of coffee

And no, it is not the news of a new version of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice directed by Michael Bay and starring Megan Fox as Elizabeth Bennet and Sigourney Weaver as a modern, lesbian take on Mr Darcy with more explosions, car chases and giant robots than any previous version of Pride and Prejudice…*

It’s not even as horrific as the possibility of a new version of Babylon 5 written by Stephenie Meyer with a new concept for Vorlons which has them as ‘sparkly’…

No, the true horror that has gripped geekdom this Halloween is the news that Disney has bought the rights to Star Wars…

People are rightly concerned. They see Disney as a twee insititution which whitewashes over stories to make them far less dark than they actually are. They also look at John Carter and consider what a mess was made of that film. They quake in fear at the possibility of an animated Star Wars with a big goofy dog instead of a wookie and jedi with large ears and squeaky voices… and the joke memes are already coming in thick and fast.

Me, I am optimistic… While Disney is indeed guilty of the crime that was John Carter, other voices on the internet have spoken up and said such things as ‘But what about Pirates of the Carribean? And what about Avengers?’ Yeah, what about them? Disney is as responsible for those two success stories as they are for John Carter and, frankly, I think two phenomenal successes totalling two excellent films and 2 sort of OKish sequels to one of them make up for one failure.

And amidst all the discussion one possibility has arisen which has got many excited. The name Joss Whedon has crawled its way out of the lamentations… Disney got him to do Avengers, are hiring him again for the sequel… what if they also attached him to the Star Wars project?

Think about that for a moment, revel in it. A new Star Wars film, written and directed by Joss Whedon. Could it get any better than that? What would such a film likely include? Well, here are my predictions…

1) A kick arse female jedi. One thing the Star Wars films have always lacked was female jedi. They exist in the universe, there are even books that include them as characters and some of the computer games also have them, but they have never really been seen on the big screen. Whedon is known for his kick arse female characters – Buffy and River Tam being his main ones – and he even managed to give Black Widow some Buffyesque moments in Avengers. I think Whedon would take this step and make the female lead a jedi instead of a constitutionally confused princess in a republic. That or make one of the bad guys a kick arse woman in black leather. Possibly played by Eliza Dushku…

2) Smugglers. One thing I always felt the prequels lacked was the presence of a smuggler style character. A Han Solo to Luke’s clean cut farm boy, a Jack Sparrow to Will’s clean cut blacksmith. The relationship between the morally dubious Han Solo and the rest of the cast in Star Wars was an integral part of the character dynamic which was lacking in the prequels and made them so flat as a result. I think Whedon would insert such a character because he knows only too well the importance of there being friction between the characters. Now, in the ideal dream world, this smuggler character might well be played by a certain Mr. Nathan Fillion, who would no doubt leap at the chance, but that may depend on whatever other projects he is working on at the time… and at this point you have to ask yourself the very important question: Exactly how tempted would Whedon be to make Star Wars VII as close to Serenity II as he possibly can without anyone noticing?

3) Story. Joss Whedon understands how stories work. He has an almost innate grasp of structure and knows how to insert tension and plot to keep a film interesting for the viewers. The prequel trilogy seemed to drag in places, Whedon would make the story jump and move.

4) One liners. Another thing Whedon is good at are pithy one liners that get geek juices flowing. His characters quip and joke and worry about ordinary day to day things – not everything is all about the plot.

I could go on, I could regale you with endless points discussing at length the things that Joss Whedon would bring to the Star Wars franchise if someone let him get his greasy hands on it. But I think you have got the point already and I am aware that many of you may well have stopped reading at point 2 above and are currently sitting there with a dreamy expression and sighing the words ‘Nathan Fillion’ over and over again and therefore lost to any further eloquent arguments. So I will end there with only a final entreaty to Disney… MAKE THIS HAPPEN! Please…

*Note to Hollywood, just in case you do want to make this film, you can buy the rights off me. I’ll do you a good deal for it. I think the world is ready for a lesbian Miss Darcy. Have your people call my people… well, maybe wait a bit so i can acquire some people then call them or maybe just call me direct. If it helps I can pretend to be my own people and go through the rigmarole of pretending to put you through various departments until you get me. i’ll even do the voices.

[Amwriting] The City and The City

30 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Guest posts

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

#amwriting, Ankh Morepork, China Mieville, City, Fantasy, Firefly, Fritz Lieber, guest blogging, guest posts, Joss Whedon, Lankhmar, New Crobuzon, Personality, Terry Pratchett


In my first post for the newly ressurected Amwriting site I talk about how the personalities of cities vary and give examples of three fantasy cities that are very similar in some ways and yet very different…

http://amwritingblog.com/wordpress/archives/15471

If anyone has any ideas as to which city is shown in the first photograph of that article, feel free to comment to reveal your knowledge and I may tell you if you are right or wrong… here is that photograph again for you to look at….

Guess the city… answers in a comment, please…

The Avengers UK: Crossover universes

15 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Film, Musings, Wierdness

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

All the Geek, Anthony Stewart Head, Avengers Assemble, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who, doctor who companions, Emma Peel, entertainment, geek culture, Gene Hunt, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, James Bond, Joss Whedon, Judi Dench, Lara Croft, Nick Fury, River Song, Sarah Jane Smith, Sherlock Holmes, Steve Moffat, The Avengers, y chromosome, You Tube Fake Trailers


This particular photo-meme caught my eye the other day. It caused in me two almost simultaneous responses:

1) OMG someone should so make that film!!! Or at least make a fake trailer for it on You Tube by splicing together lots of bits of different shows in a way that makes it look as if they are all in the same plot!!!

2) There were no women in the group they had put together…

Before I discuss 2, let me just say that I really, really, REALLY want someone to make that trailer. Because I am sad like that. Such things really do amuse me. I went squee when I found this video done in celebration of Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary. So if someone with the right skills could put together a video like that for the Avengers; United Kingdom I would be really pleased.*

Number 2… I was surprised at how much it concerned me. The fact that the purported fictional TV show was very Y chromosome heavy did make me wonder about the role of women in UK geek culture.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There are strong women in UK Geekdom. What concerned me was the fact that all the examples I could think of off the top of my head were supporting characters and many of them were already involved in the franchises represented by characters in that line up. Hermione Granger, various Doctor Who companions (Sarah Jane Smith and River Song being the two that spring most readily to mind), Judi Dench’s portrayal of M in James Bond… the UK just did not seem to have a straight up Geek lead character who was female (unlike the US where there are a few, though many of them are Whedon creations like Buffy). I was so concerned I expressed my opinion on Facebook and did get a couple of suggestions for strong female characters who were not involved in the franchises already mentioned (Emma Peel being one who I had somehow forgotten…) or who were sole leads (Lara Croft) but it does seem as if UK geekdom is a little thin on the ground. Plus, my concerns were not so much with the state of the feminist credentials of UK geekdom but rather with my own inability to think of some. I mean, I can be excused not thinking of Lara Croft because I have never played the game** nor watched the films but I used to watch the Avengers (the UK TV drama) all the time as a child*** so Emma Peel should have leapt out at me…

Maybe I am overthinking this, of course. It was, after all, just a fun bit of photo-manipulation that someone did. However, I think the discussion on facebook did come up with the following concept…

 – Ditch Harry Potter and replace him with Hermione. Her competence far exceeds his and it means we can have a couple of love scenes with Ron, who can also get jealous when Bond makes a move on her somewhere in the middle of the film (she’ll rebuff him, cos she’s not an idiot, though there may be some flirting, but Ron doesn’t know that…)

 – Chuck in Emma Peel in the Black Widow role. She fits the stereotype of that part perfectly, albeit with more English poise…

“I recognise the council has made a decision, but given that it’s a stupid-ass decision, I’ve elected to ignore it.”
Come on, you can so see her delivering that line as well as Samuel L Jackson did 🙂

– The team needs a Nick Fury. Someone to be all tough and shouty and manly and sarcastic at all the team members when they mess up. Which UK character suits this role best? Why, only Judi Dench’s M has the sheer brass balls to step into Samuel L Jackson’s shoes.

 – There has to be a role in this for Rupert Giles. Ok, technically Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a US show but Giles is so very British and there are few things that cannot be improved by the addition of Anthony Head. He could be the team’s librarian and be having an understated and typically British affair with M.

 – An enemy. In Avengers Assemble (or The Avengers as we still call it in the UK despite the rename…) that enemy was Loki who is devious and entertaining and malicious. There is really only one enemy that fits this mould in UK geekdom to my mind – The Master.

Of course there were other more outre suggestions for this film. Someone suggested that, since The Doctor is involved, in theory no time period is restricted. This means that we could have some other rather cool UK TV characters turning up. He suggested Richard Sharpe but we could also have Cadfael, the medieval mystery solving monk, Miss Marple and several others. Plus it might explain why Gene Hunt is there in 2012 (almost 30 years after the events of Ashes to Ashes and possibly in an alternate universe created by the minds of Sam Tyler and Alex Drake) and why Emma Peel is there (being, as she is, a character intrinsicly tied to the 1960s). In fact, in my head, this plot involves a centuries spanning plot spotted in several different time periods by different characters…

Hmmm, maybe I am overthinking this. Time to stop for now, I think. Before I start writing fan fic (and I have enough trouble finding time to write the characters I have created never mind taking on someone else’s intellectual property…)

What this does reveal is the appeal of crossover universes. Even though such things are ludicrous in concept and are likely to be done badly in fan fic and similar, they can be the cause of squee. They can also be done rather well in the right circumstances, as evidenced by the Wold Newton family created by Philip José Farmer  which ties many ficitonal characters (including Sherlock Holmes and James Bond) together into one family tree (making them all descendents of a group of people exposed to a radioactive meteorite near the North Yorkshire village of Wold Newton). There is also Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen**** which has a similar concept. In fact, in the 1969 version of this series there is a very cool cameo by a certain Mr Tom Marvolo Riddle.

So, for discussion purposes, feel free to comment to add ideas for UK genre characters you would add to our Avengers team or for plot ideas for things that the team can face. Also comment if you have any other ideas for crossovers or actual crossovers that you have seen (whether they are well done or not).

*And if you could persuade Steve Moffat to actually make it, even better… having first made sure you have sacrificed to the gods of litigation to prevent various companies suiing him for Copyright… And if Moffat does want the gig and can sort out the copyright for the franchises he doesn’t own in that selection I have some plot ideas for him… 🙂

** No, really. I have never played Tomb Raider. I don’t tend to play computer games much. It’s ok, though. I checked. I don’t need to hand in my Geek card unless I also stop roleplaying and reading, watching and writing science fiction and fantasy.

*** And this had nothing to do with Emma Peel, leather catsuits and particular hormonal imbalances that occur around the age of 11. Absolutely nothing at all. I only ever watched it for the articles.

**** The graphic novel version not the film which was sort of OK (for, as Obi Wan Kenobi would say, a given value of OK which some may translate as ‘awful’) but had nothing on the graphic novel in terms of Victorian sleaze, drugs and nastiness and made Alan Quartermain not a drug addict and Mina Harker a vampire instead of the traumatised victim of a Vampire.

Bram Stoker (1847 – 1912)

20 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by D.A Lascelles in Musings

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Ann Rice, Blade, Bram Stoker, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Christopher Lee, Demeter, Dracula, Francis Ford Coppola, Gary Oldman, Godfather, Hammer Horror, horror, John William Polidori, Joss Whedon, Lestat, Lost Boys, Tony Lee, Twilight, Vampires, Vietnam movies, Whitby


I was reminded by the inestimable Tony Lee that today was in fact the centenary of the death of Bram Stoker, who died following a series of strokes on the 20th April, 1912.

Though he is not credited with the creation of the literary vampire (that credit goes to John William Polidori, one time  personal physician to Lord Byron) he certainly did his bit to ensure that the Vampire became the enduring myth we know and love today. Without him there would have been no Lestat, no Lost Boys, no Blade, no Buffy the Vampire Slayer* and, of course, no Christopher Lee or Gary Oldman as Dracula. In fact, Hammer horror would have spent the entirity of the 70s having nothing good to make films about and Francis Ford Coppola would have been stuck making endless sequels to the Godfather and Vietnam war films.

Of course, there would also be no Twilight. But I feel we can forgive the old chap for that one.

I would like commemerate this occasion by talking about something else which was instrumental in the creation of Dracula and hence all of the above… the town of Whitby. Whitby is the place where Stoker may have got the inspiration for Dracula – at least the evidence suggests this to be the case. Based on the notes he left, the only mention of the name ‘Dracula’ comes from a reference to a book called  ‘An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia’by William Wilkinson (1820) which he found in Whitby library.

Whitby Abbey

Of course, Whitby is also the place where the Demeter, the ship that brings Dracula to England, lands. I suspect this was by way of crediting the contribution the town made to his work.

It is easy to see how Whitby can inspire one of the greatest horror stories of all time. While the inspiration for the character came from Wallachia, the moody and misty atmosphere of this little Northern port town must have had some influence on the feel of Stoker’s writing and, indeed, the interpretations that followed. I remember my own visit to Whitby with fondness. I was a teenager, taking a yaught trip down the north east coast with a group from college, and we stopped overnight in Whitby. We visited the Abbey, went to the Dracula Museum and spent a fun day wandering aroung the place. The Abbey alone is an imposing and grand sight and I have always had a love for dynamic coastal views.

And Whitby is not shy about crowing about its connection to Stoker. Not only is there the Dracula museum and the blue plaques commemmorating his visit but it also welcomes the many goths who congreate there twice a year for the Whitby Goth Festival. And personally, I do not see why they shouldn’t be proud of their role in creating a character who is promising to be almost as immortal in popularity as he was in actuality.

*There is absolute evidence which suggests that, had Bram Stoker not written Dracula, Joss Whedon would never have been born.

Being a Brit

17 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by D.A Lascelles in TV

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Adelle De Witt, Anthony Stewart Head, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dollhouse, Eliza Dushku, Firefly, Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Olivia Williams, Rupert Giles, Sarah Michelle Gellar


I feel I should warn you – this post is at risk of getting a little fanboyish. I think it is only fair that you get this warning because, as I am sure we are all aware, there are dangers inherent in second hand fanboyishness and it is my civic duty to ensure that you are saved from it.

Now that the ‘official government health warning’ is out of the way, I can get on with what I want to talk about today. Joss Whedon.

There, see, look what happened. The moment I say his name someone squeals and faints. It’s only relief I was not planning to talk about Nathan Fillion… Oh, bugger… Er, I’ll wait until the paramedics have sorted everyone out before I continue.

So, yes, Joss Whedon. I don’t think I need to bother with any introductions. I suspect that anyone with any claim to a semblance of geekdom is at least aware of the name of someone who is possibly one of the more influential people in geekery. He brought us Buffy the Vampire Slayer and revolutionised perceptions of horror while demonstrating that Sarah Michelle Gellar and Eliza Dusku look really hot in leather pants. He brought us Firefly and showed us that you do indeed get cowboys in space and that Nathan Fillion looks hot in cowboy duds. He created Dr. Horrible and showed how success is possible even without the big business backing and that Nathan Fillion looks hot in skintight t-shirts. He brought us Dollhouse and demonstrated that Eliza Dusku looks really hot in leather pants. Oh, and there was some quite profound lesson about equality, slavery and not treating people like objects in there too.

So, needless to say, he has had an influence and there has been much said about his attitude to strong women (‘Why do I write strong female characters?’), his feminist ideals both positively (Joss Whedon on Feminism) and negatively (A Rapist’s view of the world), his ability to subvert stereotypes (Mal’s best moments)  and concerns that he intends to kill off all the much loved Avengers characters in the upcoming film (‘What to expect when expecting Joss Whedon’s Avengers’ – pay especial attention to the comment about a major death in act 3).

What I want to talk about is his attitude to the British. In particular the English. You see, from the point of view of us over here in this tiny little kingdom of ours, the US has a strange opinion of us. ‘English’ accents are either very RP (to the extent that you would believe everyone is related to the Queen and went to the same elocution teacher) or so cockney that ‘within the sound of Bow bells’ can be interpreted as being as far away from London as Northumberland. We are invariably the bad guys in most Hollywood portrayals. As Eddie Izzard does say on one of his stand up tours, we are the only ethnicity it is still OK to demonise. I often find myself cringing whenever I see a British character portrayed on screen by American writers and directors and while many great actors do their level best to keep the side up they often end up mired in the cliches.

Now, Joss Whedon is guilty of these crimes. I am not denying that. His English characters (Buffy’s Rupert Giles, Dollhouse’s Adelle De Witt , Firefly’s Badger among others) display a cornucopia of stereotypes from the aforementioned RP accent to a liking for tea. However, the portrayals often come across as more than the stereotypes. I am not sure why this is, it seems hard to analyse the reasons for it. Perhaps it is due to the great acting talent that is employed in these characters (because it cannot be denied that there is some talent here). Perhaps it is how that talent is directed or how well it is written. However it comes about, English characters in Joss Whedon productions seem to acquire a vitality and depth which is often lost in other portrayals of ‘Englishness’ in American productions. Rupert Giles, for example, is overtly the stiff upper lipped English academic stereotype but as you delve deeper into his character you see the tearaway teenager he once was, before he became a Watcher, and the dodgy demon summoning occultist he was at University. Then there is the fatherly affection he has for the Slayer which is very understated but still present in every scene Anthony Stewart Head has with Sarah Michelle Gellar. Some of these elements come out in occasional, teasing flashes and you come to realise that the ‘bumbling librarian’ is actually a very clever front based on expectations.

Adelle De Witt is similar. On first viewing she is cold, efficient and immoral; all played excellently by Olivia Williams. Willing to serve in a role that is actually a high class, glorified Madam in a very expensive brothel. There are hints she does this for wealth and power – the connections to the Rossum corporation clearly guaranteeing both. However, as Dollhouse progresses, we see cracks in the Ice Maiden facade. They first appear in the first season episode Echoes (episode 7) when a drug causes all characters involved to reveal snippets of their secret inner selves and from that point on more and more of the ‘inner De Witt’ comes to the fore. As the series progresses we see less of the ice maiden, a common stereotype for strong English women, and more of the concerned mother who cares for all under her charge. As season two progresses, you see her face her demons and choose a side in the upcoming conflict between Rossum and the rest of the world, finally picking a side based on moral grounds rather than profit. In De Witt’s case, I believe it is a case of having to repress her natural instincts in favour of succeeding in a career and then facing a situation that even she cannot ignore.

Perhaps what we have here is a combination of Whedon’s desire to approach genre stereotypes and subvert them – showing the viewer an unexpected outcome to the one they expect – combined with an ability of skilled actors and writers to really get under the skin of these characters and  give them a great deal of depth. It applies to all the characters portrayed in the Whedonverse but I think it is especially relevant to his English characters because it is so rare to see them portrayed as being more than the stereotype. Also because, you know, I’m English and I like to see some role models of our greatest stereotypes done well.

And note, not once did I mention that his greatest British creation, the Cockerny Vampire Spike, is played by an American… 🙂

I am also wondering what we might expect in The Avengers. Will we get some interesting, British characters added to the Marvel universe?

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