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I realised with time slipping away from me that I forgot to mention I saw the finale of the latest Doctor Who series.
The ending was far more bittersweet than expected. The Daleks are defeated, Rose ends up with a version of the Doctor, Sarah-Jane, Captain Jack, Martha and the Doctor survive, Donna not so well.
The great thing I hate to admit loving about the finale was the quite obvious way that Davros was put in a position to die but in the end we never see he is killed. Anyone want to bet he may be back?
Talking about things that are back I have not seen a single episode of Heroes and I believe Channel 7 is up to number 3. The timeslot, the lack of advertising and me not keeping on top of this makes it look like this will be an itunes or DVD purchase.
So is Heroes any good this season?
This week has not been much reading and film watching. TV did get a look in with a DVD or two from my local library. One was a Dr Who and one was Torchwood. Also I have recorded the last 2 episodes of Heroes from Channel 7 but have not watched them yet.
So these are shows that I could or should be a fan off. Torchwood is a spin off of the new Dr Who series and while it has the possibility of fun as it is aimed more at adults it is not as light. This means while I enjoy the show it is not what I want to watch for fun.
The Dr Who DVD was from the third series and I got to see some episodes I missed for some reason. This is much lighter fair and even if the world is about to be destroyed it is with some panache. An having seen the Sontarens in the fourth season on Sunday we definitely saw this. Did you see the quick view of Rose on the Tardis screen at one point? And then this week we have the Doctor’s daughter …
As for Heroes I suggest you look at the Wikipedia article as I do not think I have ever seen such a well referenced article. It is amazing the power of fandom and how it makes certain things well done. Now if only all my students could have such high standards.
Well it was a huge weekend. I think I have enough material for about 5 posts. So instead I will do it all as bullet points and then expand some below.
- Men’s conference at Church
- A visit to Absolutely Gluten Free
- A birthday party for an in-law
- Dinner of sorts in Williamstown
- Tony Campolo speaking at Church
- Lunch at Lygon Street, Carlton at Enotecca Oggi
- My son saying “Mummy go oink”
- Arvo Tea at Chaddy
- A Marriage Proposal
- And the guilty pleasure of Eurovision
Tony Campolo and I go along way back. I was at a Baptist conference back in the late 80s and he spoke. I invited him to our tents for lunch one day and we all had a great time. Hearing him again for the first time in 19 years was a great treat. Especially him telling one of the defining stories for me. But that is another post another day.
We finally got to Lygon street due to having purchased a Weekend pass for CityLink to get to the birthday party and so we travelled into the city quite easily. We had a great time there and I saw, in the flesh this time, a book by a friend of mine at Readings. It was too expensive for me to purchase but I did think about it.
On the way home, for numerous reasons, we stopped at Chadstone. My super son was getting a little tired and asked me to carry him. I said I would give him a piggy back. he said “no, mummy can” and hopped on his mother’s back. He then said “Mum, go oink” we took a moment to figure out why he said this and then burst into laughter.
Eventually we got home and had a phone message that sounded urgent and serious and we called back but got no answer. We eventually had a call back to be told that we will have another wedding in the family this year, there had been a marriage proposal. When and where the wedding will be, Melbourne or Brisbane, we are yet to hear. We wait with baited breath.
Finally this weekend was Eurovision. It is hard to describe this amazing mess of music and costumes and other stuff. It is a guilty pleasure which we enjoy, partially from having had a party one year with European friends and watching it, partly because it is so bad and fun at the same time.
Overall a huge weekend: Conference, Comestibles, Celebration, Commuting, Church, Carlton, Chadstone, Congratulations and Confluence (of music).
Last night the ABC showed the Lady Chatterley Affair. This is a dramatised reflection on the trial of Penguin for publishing the DH Lawrence novel “Lady Chatterley’s Lovers” for 3 and 6. It was an interesting reflection on the issues of freedom of speech and what is really important in relationships is it the almighty orgasm or true love and commitment?
I don’t want to spend much time on the show itself as there are many who would be appropriately offended by the language, graphic nature and sexual acts discussed. Yet this is on TV which is part of the original issue. If the book had “literary merit” Penguin would not be sued. Nowadays we can’t sue TV stations for breaching common standards.
What this made me realise was that this is a rubicon of the 50s and the 60s, an event not often discussed. With the acceptance of the book as having literary merit, words that were used by the working class and the upper class were made available and eventually acceptable to the middle class at least according to the show. Thinking about it I see no reason why this is not true.
In the process the novel also seems to have shown in 1928 that happy sexual relationships could be had outside marriage and that sexual acts not previously discussed by most people were possibly available for mutual enjoyment. These then become part of the modern psyche with the book out selling the Bible after the trial. The swinging 60s becomes more understandable if we realise the message of this book was so readily available.
In the end I see the history of the 50s and 60s as many forces coming together but this was one I had not noticed before. The trial and the book bring the change of language and set of expectations that ultimately leads to the worst of the net today. While I do not want to turn back time and reverse all the decisions I now see how the church failed at that time. It could not say, and often does not do so today, that sexual relations are best when exercised in a marital relationship. They may be good outside that but without commitment, love and Jesus Christ the sexual relationships become less than what God wants them to be.
John Robinson, the Bishop of Woolwich, and of a fairly liberal ilk, was supportive of the novel, so was most of the intelligentsia. The church has had a subtle process of censorship of books like these. For once I agree on censorship, but only when done this way. The book is available but no one is encouraged to read it. I have never read the novel and still have little interest in doing so. Yet to understand the environment in which those outside the church live we need to understand the significance of such a book. This changes how people think and behave, especially when there is such controversy. We need to still be careful today when we are offended by works of art that have “merit” but we do not like.
I am sort of glad I saw the show for its history but the rest I can leave.
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