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chris-1850
Reviews
Outcasts (2010)
Science or Fiction ?
As a lover of Science fiction I was looking forward to watching "Outcasts" although, mindful of last year's disastrous "Survivors" series, also from the BBC, I was a little apprehensive.
My reservations were right on the money. Survivors at least had one or two vaguely likable characters but "Outcasts" fails even this simple test.
There are so many holes in the plot that it's totally unbelievable : There's an abundance of "Fiction" but a positive dearth of "Science".
Despite the presence of some above-average actors, the performances are seriously wooden to the extent that it's fairly obvious that they knew from the first day on set that the plot line and scripts are way below par : A Richardson or a Geilgud would struggle to make anything out of this effort.
I stopped watching after episode three and several friends ran out of patience long before me.
We can confidently anticipate that plans for a second series will be canned : another parallel with "Survivors".
We know that the BBC can co-produce superb drama such as Bleak House, Rome and, most recently, the utterly brilliant Zen, but if Survivors and Outcasts are the best that they can do with SciFi, I would suggest they leave that genre to others.
Garry Halliday (1959)
Pleasant Memories
Like the other contributors I eagerly sat waiting for Gary Halliday to start on a Saturday evening - the spot later occupied by Dr Who.
At the time, very few young children ever had an opportunity to fly and therefore Gary Halliday seemed to have such an exciting and glamorous life.
During the series I had an opportunity to fly to Guernsey in a Douglas DC3 (the ubiquitous Douglas Dakota) from a grass field in Portsmouth. I remember getting on the plane imagining the two Terences were up front in the cockpit.
It's very sad that only one episode survives and I would certainly like to see it.
It's good to see that the two Terences are still around - I wish them well and hope they are enjoying retirement.
Anyone who remembers Gary Halliday would enjoy the late Gavin Lyall's early flying novels such as The Wrong Side of the Sky, The Most Dangerous Game, Shooting Script and Judas Country. They were set in the same era and everything to do with the aircraft and flying is meticulously described. It would be well worth seeking out copies.
Ronin (1998)
Simply the best car chase ever filmed
Ronin is a film that contains many fine performances both on and off screen. The sheer depth of acting talent is clearly demonstrated by the fact that the director can afford to discarded one very talented actor before the action really starts.
But the feature that sets this film above many others is it's car chases. The first would be regarded as a superb centrepiece for any film but this is just a warm up for the second which is simply the most exiting live action car chase ever filmed. No animation, no speed-ed up film, no computer trickery this is the real thing.
Bearing in mind that almost every film since has used special effects and computer animation, I doubt whether the chase scenes in Ronin will ever be bettered.
A must-have film for every dedicated petrol-head.