More 80's TV !

I still have my favourite TV shows but I watch far less now than I used to. One of my all time favourites though will always be Prisoner.

I am a very happy camper at the moment because I have just found that the entire series is being released as a box set in September. I am also an unhappy camper about this because the cost for this release is over $1600 !!!!! If I can find one that isn't totally polluted I may have to choose an internal organ to sell on EBay to afford it.

I know that the series is also being released periodically - I believe on a monthly basis - but one of the unfortunate traits of being a Gemini is that I am INCREDIBLY impatient and when I have the choice of buying something over a period of time or getting it immediately I will go for the latter every time.

Prisoner has had a pretty bad wrap over the years ... and I will (begrudgingly) admit that it definitely have its questionable moments/characters/actors/storylines BUT being someone who has always been drawn more to actresses over actors, this series was an incredible platform for some of this county's best and strongest female performers - despite the fact that many/most of them would never have gotten a foot in the door in if they were being judged on their looks.

As someone who also has a great love of music and values the extra dimension it can provide to a visual this show (as a lot of series in the 80's did) used its 'mood music' to its absolute advantage. In way too many shows today the reliance is placed on a song over a piece of background music to set the mood of a scene - Grey's Anatomy and Home and Away are prime examples of this - and you really have to wonder whether the music is being used to add to the mood or if the show is being used to promote somebody's new single.

Something that is really quite sad is that, aside from incredible Judith McGrath in All Saints, there are none of the actresses from Prisoner - or indeed any of the hit shows from that time - working consistantly in today's Australian TV drama. Occasionally they will drag one out of mothballs for a cameo but for the most part you get a pretty face with noice tits who could not muster an ounce of true acting talent if their life depended on it. I know that most of them are getting on now - Judith McGrath is well into her 60's - but surely there is still room for high calibre actresses other than in bit parts/cameos/comedy relief roles.

It pisses me off even more that these imposters are being nominated for and worse winning Logie awards for their portrayals - but then the Logies do award for the 'Most Popular' and as we know, something doesn't always have to be good to be popular.

In my time at the Lyric Theatre I had the pleasure of working with Amanda Muggleton on 'Annie' and Maggie Kirkpatrick on 'Singin' in the Rain' and both of these women are powerhouses of talent who - along with many others - would easily stand the test of time and even more easily show some of today's 'talent' more than a thing or two.

There's another 2 cents for you :-)

Enjoy !






FIRE !

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