My Surry Hills Library DVDs, free to view — an important point for the fiscally challenged like myself, have given me much entertainment in the past week.
Further Tales from the City (2001) is the latest in the film adaptations of Armistead Maupin’s brilliant series, a kind of gay Pickwick Papers of life in San Francisco, this time in 1981. The plot line is more than a touch bizarre, but I really enjoyed the three hours. There are excellent supplementaries on the DVD as well. Maupin himself (right) was deeply involved in the adaptation, adding elements that are not in the book. He is very happy with the result, but concedes some things, such as interior monologues, can’t be transposed. He feels, however, that in many ways the adaptation is actually better than the book.
The second marathon was Episodes 1-3 of the 2005 Doctor Who. I see series 4 starts in the UK in April, so there is more down the track. This is shaping up as maybe the best Dr Who ever, in my opinion. It is just so witty, and so well made.
Great to watch it in digital with Dolby as well, I have to say.
Posted by Denys on March 28, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I enjoyed the series also. Although I was disappointed with his recent and final book Michael Tolliver Lives which I bought after hearing him speak at the Shift one afternoon. I had a photo taken with him though. That was cool.
Posted by Neil on March 28, 2008 at 12:11 pm
I heard about that Shift event afterwards from Adrian Phoon; otherwise I would have been there if I could.