The Journal of the Browncoat Cat

There were moments when I thought I would never get to Cardiff. I missed one train because I had not left enough time to pack, and another when I realised, as the car I was pulling into Treherbert Station, that I did not have my mobile phone. Eventually, I was on my way to Cardiff, with the expectation of a great night ahead of me.

I arrived at the MacDonald Holland House Hotel on Newport Road Cardiff, for the Gala Doctor Who Dinner for the BBC Children in Need Appeal, full of expectations. The hotel is magnificent. As soon as I arrived, a liveried porter took my case and I checked in with the minimum of fuss and bother. The hotel has a swimming pool and fitness centre, luxury spa and all the extras that you could possibly expect in an hotel of this quality. All the more surprising that until recently, this building was an office block, which was gutted and refitted in all its current finery. My room was absolutely wonderful, the whole of one wall glass the last vestige of the building’s previous function. As it was on the eleventh floor, this large window afforded a magnificent view of Cardiff, the Bay and the Bristol Channel. The room had a 28-inch colour television, and in the cupboard next to it there was a hi-fi system. First priority was to hang my dinner suit up in the wardrobe, as I did not want it creasing in the suitcase longer than was necessary. With the suit hanging safely, I decided to go and have a wander around my luxurious surroundings.

I was sitting in the bar, chatting with a couple who had come to Cardiff for the Gala Dinner an were staying at the hotel, when I spotted Mel Hill walking in, soon followed by her husband Andy. They said they thought I might be there, to which I replied they should have known I would be attending the Gala that night, as I am such a huge Doctor Who fan, it was the ultimate moth and candle scenario. After a pleasant half an hour catching up on things since we last met, we all went up to our rooms to get ready for the coming evening.

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When talking about the reworking of the theme to Doctor Who for the BBCi web site and the Project: WHO? CD, broadcaster Stuart Macconie described it as a “genius piece of theme music and signiture music”. The same can also be said for Francis Lei’s Aujord’hui C’est Toi, which since 1968 has been the theme to the BBC’s flagship current affairs programme Panorama. Whilst the makers of Doctor Who literally struck [Murray] Gold with the modernisation of their theme, the maker’s of Panorama have not been as lucky. On Sunday I sat down to watch Panorama, and was horrified by the cheap muffled fart-noise synthesizer cacophony that was an excuse for the famous theme. It was about as powerful and threatening as a wet paper hanky. I only hope that the producers of Panorama quickly review their decision, and re-instate a more fitting version of this classic piece of music.

Well, I went to see Serenity, the movie based on Joss Whedon’s Firefly last night.

The film opens some time after the end of the series. Inara has made good on her promise to leave Serenity and Shepherd Book is also absent from the ship. The Alliance government is desperate for the return River Tamm back and have dispatched The Operative, a man with no name or rank and limitless authority to bring her back. After a bank robbery that has was complicated by the arrival of Reavers, the tension between Mal and Simon reaches boiling point and the siblings also take their leave of the ship. However, something triggers of River, and after a bar room brawl in which she renders everybody in the room unconscious, Mal decided that the only place in the ‘Verse River can be safe is locked in a store cupboard aboard Serenity. Naturally, she escapes, and Mal and the crew, which now includes Inara, who Mal rescued from the Operative set off deep into Reaver Space to find evidence that will blow the Alliance appart.

When Firefly was cancelled by the Fox Network back in 2002, only 13 episodes of the standard twenty two had been made. It meant that the story arc of the first season was incomplete. I strongly suspect that this film tells in two hours the story that would have been slowly revealed in the unmade back nine episodes of Season One.

That said, it does not matter that if someone goes to see the film cold and knows nothing of Browncoats, Purple Bellies, the Alliance, the Core, the Rim and Reavers. Everything that is needed to make the film self sufficient and bring new viewers up to speed is included in an action packed first 20 minutes.

Whilst Mandarin Chinese is still present in the film, it strikes me that its use has been toned down in the film, which is a bit of a disappointment. Also, the Western elements have also been toned down, the frontier worlds are still dry and dusty, but seem to have more visable technology than in the series. However, these changes were inevitable, given the transition from small to silver screen.

I really hope that the film does well enough for there to be a sequel. I believe the cast signed the option for an three film series, although deep down in my heart of hearts, I hope that Serenity proves that without stupid interference from Network executives, there is space on TV for many seasons of a new series of Firefly.

The Firefly fans on alt.tv.firefly and www.fireflyfans.net have been calling it the BDM or Big Damn Movie, (a reference to the episode Safe, where Zoe describes the crew of Serenity as Big Damn Heroes) since it was announced that the film was being made. Sure enough, it has proved to be a Big Damn Movie, the best film I have seen in the cinema since Pirates of the Caribbean back in 2002.

The announcement of the death today of Ronnie Barker was sad, but it did not surprise me. At the beginning of the year he looked so ill whilst presenting one last series of programmes with his long-term stage partner Ronnie Corbett. Ronnie Barker always made me laugh, whether in the Two Ronnies sketch show or in one of the many situation comedies such as Porridge that he starred in, and although he retired nearly 20 years ago, his he still had the power to raise a chuckle.

Ronald William George Barker : 1929-2005