Gladiator II

There’s obviously a spectrum of sequels: most sequels are just more of the same, which makes them inherently a bit less good than the original. Sometimes, of course, you see a sequel that is better than the original (“X-Men 2”), indeed sometimes much better (“The Dark Knight”). Then there are sequels that are bad (“X-Men 3”), and indeed some so bad that we collectively agree they never happened (why, for instance, did we jump from “Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home” to “Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country”?). And then, very very occasionally, you get a sequel that perfectly complements and elevates the original, somehow serving to not only be great in their own right but to actually make the original film retroactively better (“The Godfather Part Two”, “The Empire Strikes Back”).

But “Gladiator II” has achieved something that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before: it perfectly complements the original and diminishes the whole, retroactively making the first film worse.

It actually starts off well enough, beginning with a Roman attack on a frontier city, this time shown from the point of view of the defenders. Good stuff. Naturally, the Romans are victorious and our hero finds himself made a slave, and then a gladiator.

The story then unfolds in much the same way as the original. And all the characters from the original are present, but each is moved around the board one space: we have the person of colour who is a co-gladiator and friend to our hero… but this time he dies early. We have the stablemaster (Denzel Washington instead of Oliver Reed), but he’s not the benign figure from the original. We have not one, but two made emperors… but they never set foot in the arena. And so on and so forth.

And it’s fine, for about two thirds of the run time – a completely unnecessary sequel-by-numbers that would ordinarily fit into my very first category.

And then it goes horribly wrong. It’s almost as if the writers knew the story they wanted to write, knew how it should all play out to a certain point, knew what the end-point should be from there, but just couldn’t make the last few dots line up. And so the last forty minutes consist of everything falling apart in a stream of nonsense, characters making endless bad decisions because they need to because of the plot, characters announcing the plot because otherwise it’s just incomprehensible… basically, it’s a mess.

And, as I said, it all fits perfectly with the original, such that the two now feel permanently entangled. They’re not two separate films; they’re two parts of a whole. This film makes the original feel worse than it did before.

Avoid.

Experimental Cookery 2025: Slow Cooker Prawn Paella

Not much to say about this one – it comes from a random Tesco magazine from some time ago, it was quick and easy to put together, and other than producing a lot more food than we could eat, it was basically fine. But it wasn’t as good as the other paella that I’ve made before, and I find myself struggling to think when we might have this again – it’s too much for two of us (and doesn’t seem suitable either to cut in half or to reheat), and for a crowd I’d be inclined to put in the effort for the better meal.

So I don’t regret this one, but don’t necessarily recommend it either.

#19: “Dragons of Fate”, by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Rangers Woes 25/26

A few weeks ago I mused about how long it would be before I wrote this post. After their match on the first weekend of the season, I very nearly published a post with this title, though at that time it would have been as a joke - although failing to win that match was hugely symbolic, in the grand scheme it probably doesn't matter all that much.

But they've followed that up with a sequence of fairly bad results, with only one actually good one in the interim. And then last night they were hammered 3-1. In truth, the result is probably not all that surprising (as in fairness the Europa League is probably Rangers level, while the Champions League is beyond them), the fact that they collapsed so completely so quickly was rather more of a problem - when the local commentators are describing the showing as "embarrassing", there's a problem.

The upshot of that is that the manager is already under massive pressure - he was never really the fans' first choice, his style has utterly failed to have the expected impact, and now everything has just turned. The mood on Twitter was nothing short of poisonous last night.

So now they have about two weeks, and three matches, to turn all this around. On Sunday they face St Mirren, a tricky away tie that is now a must-win. Then on the 31st of August they face Celtic at Ibrox, and again that's a must-win. In between, there's the return tie against Club Brugge in Champions League qualifying. That's the one that it's probably okay to lose - provided they put on a massive performance and just get pipped. But another humiliation.

But on the evidence thus far, there's no real reason to think any of those matches will pan out that way. St Mirren are a tough team to beat at the best of times, and Rangers are both weak at the back and misfiring up front. Celtic are miles ahead. And Club Brugge have already done the hard work in the tie, and so the return may turn into a exercise in them deciding how much to hurt Rangers.

And yet, if things don't go Rangers' way, there's no obvious way forward. This season was supposed to be the start of a new era, and it's on the cusp of disaster. Do they replace the manager yet again? And if so, who could they get who would both be better and also willing to come to the club in that state?

To be honest, at this point it's hard to see how they could have had a worse start to things.

Andor

I finally finished watching “Andor” over the weekend. My reaction to it was mixed.

On the one hand, “Andor” is almost certainly the single best “Star Wars” show to date (and if you restrict it to live action shows, that ‘almost’ goes away). It is really, really good – exceptionally well made, with a wonderful cast (the only slight disappointment being that Jimmy Smits wasn’t available, so they recast Bail Organa… but the new guy did the job very well, so that wasn’t too bad), a spectacularly strong set of scripts, and no weak episodes. Yes, the pacing is a little slow at times, but that’s because it’s building tension over time.

It's just great.

And yet… I found that I really didn’t enjoy it. There’s just something about the show that meant I knew that it was very, very good, could appreciate all the things that went into making it so very good, but I wouldn’t watch it again. And, indeed, if I knew then what I know now, I might not have bothered to watch it at all.

Which is really odd, and I don’t really understand how it has come about, but there it is.

So, do I recommend it? Well, yes, because it’s excellent. And yet…

(Incidentally, there seems to be a bit of a split in fandom between “Ahsoka” fans and “Andor” fans. Personally, I’m glad we get both – in terms of production, “Andor” is the better show, but I enjoyed “Ahsoka” rather more. Plus, there’s that one episode of “Ahsoka” that I count as the absolute pinnacle of Star Wars TV thus far.)

Broxburn Gala Day 2025

And so, the Gala Day season for the year limps to an end. Sad to say, this one is not one on which I will look back fondly – too many events with too few people in attendance, and a general absence of enthusiasm at most of the ones that we did attend, plus one instance of truly awful weather, has made for a rather poor season.

That said, it’s worth noting that we did in fact end om a high note – this was the event at which we had the largest band, the weather was glorious (if anything, too hot and sunny – it’s a long walk!), and as a consequence a really good attendance from an enthusiastic crowd. All in all, good stuff.

And now we go into the winter season, where we might have a Christmas tree switch-on event to attend (or maybe not, if the Uphall Station Gala Day committee have decided to fold completely). I do also need to get my kilt and waistcoat cleaned, as that’s overdue, and should ideally source some new uniform.

And my bagpipes themselves need a little attention, as they’ve been somewhat neglected of late, and that’s starting to show.

For the most part, though, the next few months look like a time for rest, and hopefully some rebuilding.

How Best to Resume Doctor Who

The end of the most recent season of “Doctor Who” left things in a fairly bad place, and coupled with the uncertainty over the Disney deal, there’s a real chance the show will be going on another long hiatus. Even if not, there will definitely be a delay of a couple of years, as they will need to come up with a new cast (or at least part of one), new writers and scripts, and actually make the thing.

But there’s also the debate of how best to go forward with it.

My thinking is that the best way forward depends on whether there’s a short or a long pause before the show returns. But it boils down to three options:

Option One: A short pause, but otherwise everything continues

The best-case scenario, at least for the BBC, is that either Disney continue with their distribution deal or they find a new streaming partner straight away, RTD continues as showrunner, and they proceed into the new season more or less right away.

In that case, I’d recommend picking up where they left off: Gatwa’s Fifteen has regenerated into Piper’s Sixteen, and the fallout from that becomes the centre of the Christmas special in 2026 or 2027. This is then a one-off adventure culminating into another regeneration (as Billie Piper is almost certainly too expensive, and too in-demand, to be the Doctor long-term), before going into the next season.

Not ideal, but it gets them out of the current mess without too much turmoil.

Option Two: A short-ish pause, resuming without a streaming partner

Alternately, the BBC may find themselves without a streaming partner, in which case the show will inevitably face a somewhat longer hiatus and then may return but with a smaller budget. In which case the chances of having Billie Piper return even for a special are slim, and there’s a pretty good chance that they’d want to replace the rest of the team.

In that case, I think I’d advocate for, essentially, a “double regeneration” – the show picks up again from just before the end of the previous season, we see Gatwa regenerate, see Piper appear and say “oh, hello”… and then the regeneration continues straight through into whoever is cast as the “real” Sixteen. The explanation, if one is ever felt needed, is basically the same as for Romana’s regeneration back in the day – the Doctor was “trying on” a new face but it didn’t stick.

And then you go from there.

Option Three: A longer pause

In the event that Doctor Who finds itself without a streaming partner, the BBC may take the view that they want to rest it, to let some time pass under the bridge, let a new generation of writers come to it, and then revive the series – it was highly successful once, so why not again?

In which case, I’d recommend simply picking up with a new Doctor on new adventures, and simply not referencing what went before. At some point, way in the future, they may want to pull another “Day of the Doctor”, and thus fill in the gaps, but unless and until they come up with something really solid, just leave it unanswered. (And, crucially, don’t rush into answering the question, or even hinting at the fact that there is a question to be answered – let any revival get really confident on its feet first before touching it.)

(I was at this point going to talk about a fourth option, which would be a full-blown reboot of the series. But the more I think about it, the more I think that’s a terrible idea. Don’t do that!)

#18: “Tower of Fools”, by Andrzej Sapkowski

Fixing the Roof While the Sun Shines

I mentioned a few posts ago that we'd seen s few jobs pop up needing to be done: LC's car needed some work, the kitchen door needed a fix, the bathroom wanted repainted, and the washing machine needed something done. Over the last couple of weeks, these have now been addressed.

LC's car was fairly simple, if somewhat frustrating. Basically, it went back to the garage, they did what was needed, and that was the job done. No issues there, it just took a bit longer than we would have liked.

Repainting the bathroom was likewise just a job that needed to be done. So one morning I got up early, got on with it, and that was the job done. Huzzah!

Fixing the kitchen door was a bit harder, but once I'd found the appropriate advice it wasn't hard - the door is now remounted, and the hinges are no longer sagging. It still needs some sort of adjustment, but I'm not sure what wants done there. The advice I've seen looks like it wants a wrench applied, but I'm not so sure about that. I think we might just be leaving it alone.

That left the washing machine, which I took care of on Saturday. This was a job that has been waiting to be done for a long time, and so finally getting it done is really good. The issue was that the washing machine was wired directly into the wall, which I've now switched over to a socket-and-plug arrangement. This turned out to be fairly straightforward, though it did require quite a lot of care and double-checking.

(That's now three of four kitchen/utility room appliances switched over. The last is the kitchen freezer, which I'd like to get switched over as a matter of principle, but we have no plans to replace it any time soon, or really ever, so it would just be a job for the sake of doing it.)

We've now ordered a replacement washing machine - the old one is now pretty long in the tooth, and has some problems we've never quite been able to get fully fixed. That's all fair enough - we got it a couple of years before we moved, and although it didn't come into use immediately after we moved (the house came with a washing machine), it has done about eight years of good service. So it's had a good run.

That therefore clears the list of jobs, at least for the moment. It would be nice to think we'd have a spell without more jobs coming up, but that seems unlikely. I guess we'll see.

An Addendum to the Previous Post

My view, when allegations of the sort faced by Neil Gaiman are made, is firstly that these are serious matters and must be taken seriously (investigated properly, and appropriate action taken), and then secondly that the position of “innocent until proven guilty” is not only legally vital but also socially important.

The problem in this case is that the nature of the alleged offences, coupled with where they are alleged to have taken place, makes any such investigation nigh-impossible – “this happened, in an isolated location with nobody else present, and sufficiently long ago that any evidence that once existed is long since gone.”

The upshot of that is that while the allegations must still be taken seriously, they can’t meaningfully be dealt with. That’s not justice, whichever way it falls – if Gaiman did indeed do what was alleged, there’s an appropriate punishment but no way to apply it; if he did not then he has no means of clearing his name.

As for myself, my feeling is that I won’t now be buying any further books he publishes (where previously I certainly would have done so) and won’t be watching any new shows based on his works. I will watch the end of “Good Omens”, as we’re already well into the story at this point, but have removed (or will remove) “American Gods” from my watchlist, and won’t be adding anything else. I don’t like that that’s the position, but that feels about as close to ‘right’ as I can manage.

Sandman

Posting about “Sandman” in light of the allegations against Neil Gaiman is tricky. On balance, it’s probably right that this marks the end of “Sandman” (and that “Good Omens” has a much-truncated third ‘season’), though for the others involved it’s deeply unfortunate – the quality of the show doesn’t warrant cancellation.

“Sandman” is a bit of a weird thing. It was an iconic graphic novel series back in the day, but very much a product, not of its time, but of the age of its readers – what works when you’re at university isn’t quite the same as when you’re nearing fifty. But as a throwback, it’s certainly interesting. (I do wonder what people who are now at university would make of it – does it work the same as it once would have for me, or is it impossibly dated?)

Other than that, I’m not sure what more to say: there’s a great cast, it’s extremely well made, and it does capture both the mood and the style of the graphic novels, despite the massive changes to society and technology in the interim.

But… if you haven’t already started, I’m inclined to recommend skipping it. (And, likewise, with “Good Omens” I’d recommend the first season, the one based on the book, only.) Not because of the show, but the other stuff. As I said, a real shame, but…

Tough Times

It has been a difficult year for the band. Attendances at practice have been well down over even last year, to the extent that practice has actually been cancelled for the last couple of weeks. Meanwhile, we only have a handful of events for the year, and have been in the position where one of those events we could only go ahead with because of guest players, and another we formed a combined band and would have had to cancel otherwise.

There is, unfortunately, no sign that this is likely to improve – the band hasn’t really recruited anyone for the past few years (and, indeed, only one regular player since I joined eight years ago), and the existing members are either starting to find it harder to carry on due to age or are becoming increasingly busy with other things. The upshot is that we can’t really learn and then play any new tunes (since we’re absolutely reliant on people who aren’t attending practices and so not learning the new tunes), and even without that we’re down to the bare bones for events.

I’m not really sure where things go from here. The truth is that almost all non-competing bands are suffering the same problems: because competition bands absorb almost all of the players, the bands that are left are all shrinking and finding it hard to carry on.

Meanwhile, the events that give those bands their purpose are also suffering a bit of a lull – partly because they’ve never recovered fully from Covid, partly because the organisers are basically getting sick of what is a fairly thankless task, and partly because the funding for the events is receding sharply (from the Council point of view it’s basically gone, as budgets have had to be cut to the bone; and corporate sponsors are cutting back, or seeking to provide practical rather than monetary support – which will well received, but sometimes there’s just a need).

All of which amounts to saying I’m not sure if the band is meaningfully going to survive, and I’m also not sure I’m keen to remain involved if it’s just to be the person who ends up switching off the lights for the last time. Which is a shame.