John and Phil together again:
Looks good.
Tag Archives: LifeOnMars
Squeewatch (warning – contains squee)
It’s been a long time since I had a bloomin’ good old fashioned squee in my blog. Mainly because as soon as I began acting like a recycled teenager I shifted my rock star squee to its own special spot. That was fine until a huge great bolt of squee hit me when I didn’t expect it. Why didn’t I expect it? Well, he’s not a rock star, he doesn’t have huge great floofy hair, and when I first clapped eyes on him, I thought he was an offensive chauvinist pig.
Then I saw him reverse his Cortina down an alley with a bacon butty dangling out of his mouth. I was hit by the second raise of his eyebrows.
Yes, count me among the ranks of women around the world asking…
Gene Hunt… why does he drive me crazy?
I could just about hold myself during Life on Mars – there, as imagined by the comatose Sam Tyler, Gene was as brutish as the aftershave he splashed all over himself, oddly fascinating but very much your archetypal 70s man.
Now, in the just-finished Ashes to Ashes the same man is (allegedly) imagined by a woman, and it’s quite a different story…
Yeah. It’s even worse when he’s wearing the coat, as demonstrated here on Philip Glenister’s official site.
So what is it that makes the Gene Genie so damn squeeworthy? Is it Philip causing the squee? Well, although Mr G clearly is a fine looking chap, it’s more to do with his performance as Gene – presence, his humour, and the strength and passion in the character. It’s a primeval, animal thing, that need to have a strong man protecting the cave, and you know within five minutes of looking at him, that DCI Gene Hunt (aka the Manc Lion) will keep all manner of nonces and scumbags from your door.
Oh, enough attempts at justifying it. He just gives me the ‘orn.
Ashes to Ashes was 8 hours of fantastic TV, filled with drama, humour and squee by the bucketload. Kudos to all involved, especially the aforementioned Philip Glenister and of course, er, Kudos. Roll on 1982!
Sam’s Best of 2007 Awards
2007′s almost over and done with. The year has been quite a ride for me, exactly as the great man once described with a full quota of ups, downs, thrills and chills. It didn’t start terribly well, though. During the last two weeks of February and the first week of March, I lost my job, our eldest cat died, and a couple of weeks later my Grandma died. Unemployment and two deaths in the space of four weeks… at that point 2007 really didn’t hold much promise. But it picked up, so let’s get on with the Awards.
Television Programme of the Year
And the nominations are…
- The Simpsons – still a classic even though I have to rely on YouTube and my DVD collection now.
- QI – Stephen Fry cannot put a foot wrong, and this show is always worth a giggle.
- Top Gear – A no-brainer here. The new Fab Four – Clarkson, Hammond, May and The Stig. Although it’s the only reason we use our TV these days, it hasn’t won.
The winner is…
Life On Mars
Good telly should pull you away from your worries and plant you firmly in another world. The comatose adventures of one DCI Sam Tyler did just that for me. We watched series one over a couple of days back in March, at the time Lucy was slowly drifting away from us, and we knew that the day we part company was approaching. John Simm’s performance as Tyler and Philip Glenister’s fantastic Gene Hunt was the escape I needed. And the soundtrack was excellent – especially the way they timed the ringing phone in the 1973 office spot on with the ringing phone at the end of the song Life on Mars.
>”They reckon you’ve got concussion – I couldn’t give a tart’s furry cup if half your brains are falling out. Don’t ever waltz into my kingdom acting king of the jungle.”
>”Who the hell are you?”
>”Gene Hunt. Your DCI. And it’s 1973. Almost dinner time. I’m ‘aving hoops.”
Music of the Year
No nominations, one outright winner. And it’s a big “No shit, Sherlock” as the Music of the Year award goes to…
Velvet Revolver – Libertad
No, not just because of that top-hatted Les Paul tickler. This is a great album. Tracks like Let It Roll and She Builds Quick Machines have been great companions in the gym and when out walking. The Last Fight has been one of my anthems of the year. A great soundtrack to the year I started my own fight for libertad.
Event of the Year
2007 certainly hasn’t been boring. Nominations for event of the year:
Manchester Apollo, 11th June 2007 – for five minutes I was close enough to Slash to indulge in a little passive smoking. A brief moment of squeevana, but I wasn’t fit enough at the time to fully enjoy the show.
St Andrew’s Church Hall, 23rd April 2007 – it was the scariest moment of the year, but walking into that church hall has changed my life completely. And it made the winning event happen.
St Andrew’s Church Hall, 3rd September 2007 -
Winning Woman of the Year at my Slimming World group. After years of zero self-esteem, this spurred me on to keep going. I’ve lost about another 40lb since then.
People of the Year
My Mum – for getting through that nasty surgery, for kicking cancer’s arse and for all her help and support this year.
My adopted sister Annie – for being easily the most unique spirit I’ve ever met. I was fortunate enough to meet her a couple of times this year and I’ve gotta tell you, nobody shines as bright as that star. Really. Love you, you mad, mad woman!
And the winners…
Frankie Pankiewicz, Katrina Barker and every Slimming World member I’ve met this year.
Anybody remotely connected to Slimming World has helped me turn my life around and lose over 100lb in my first year. Thanks to these people I’m heading into a new year feeling more positive than ever. Thank you all. The journey continues!
So, 2007, it’s been nice knowing you. Bring on 2008!