Tale of Two Cities (1980) picspam

[thisbluespirit]

And now, forgive me spamming you, but it's been a while and I think it must be time for one of those David Collings picspams I warned everybody about when I friended them... (I always try to be amusing, though.)

Anyway, I mainly wanted to share some pics because it was obviously made not long before(?) S&S's Assignment 3 and therefore there are times when David Collings looks like 18th C!Silver (and he doesn't usually look like Silver in other things), which could be useful as reference for S&S fans, obviously. (Not that I think there should be 18th!Silver fic... Oh, wait, that's a lie.) Plus, as ever, Things That Amused Me.


This was directed by Michael E. Briant and whips past in 8x 30 min episodes, like an unusually pacy Doctor Who historical or something. David Collings was playing John Barsad and was being as annoying as possible to everybody. (I'm sure John Barsad was less annoying in the book/film. Or maybe that was because I was so fed up with everyone else that I liked him for being a spy and the one that nobody else liked? I didn't get on with Two Cities as a teenager, but I'm glad to have seen this version now & got a better idea of it.)

He's in 5 of the 8 episodes, which can be summed up as follows:



And that was the BBC 1980 Tale of Two Cities, except it had some other people in it that I forgot to mention.

Comments

[mab_browne]

Very pretty pics of Mr C. Although what I remember about that version is Paul Shelley. He was Provine in B7's Countdown,k and pretty much stole the ep for me.

[wytchcroft]

oh dear, i should've read your comment before i posted.
nevermind.
i remember Shelly from Secret Army more than B7.
'countdown' a title forever ruined. i'll have an X please Bob.

[thisbluespirit]

Yes, two Paul Shelleys and all I gave everyone was David Collings. He was pretty good, though. I was just being lazy with my picspam, because otherwise it gets all epic and takes me ages! But the last time I watched a version of a Tale of Two Cities all the main characters annoyed me to death. Pretyt much in the book, too. But then I was a teenager. Ha, I hadn't realised that was him in B7, though, I do I think remember him now - I'll keep an eye out during my rewatch.

1970s BBC is so very incestuous with the casting like that. :lol:

[wytchcroft]

Cripes! Is that the one with Paul (watch out for them steps!) Shelly in it??? I remember that one...

Collings looks surprisingly at home in the costume which i shall steal bits of for my imagination's rendering of him as The Doctor.

and such like.

(handsome devil)

[thisbluespirit]

Yes, as you can see it was. I just didn't bother to post pics of any of the main characters. (Why would I do that? :lol:) I enjoyed it, though, which surprised me because I took against it as a teenager and had vowed never to watch another version or read it again.

:lol: I don't see a problem with that.

[wytchcroft]

Sunday tea time and the remorseless rotation of the Beeb's "Hullo Mr Wombly-Chomble!" style Dickens did for me at about the same time. (With the possible exception of Dombey & Son.)

[kaffy_r]

Oh, he does have lovely hair, too, doesn't he?

I love your picspams, which I may have mentioned before. If I haven't, bad me.

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, thank you. And I'm sure you have somewhere along the line, don't worry!

And yes. Very nice hair. Not that I'd noticed much before today or anything. *looks innocent* :lol:

(I use my Yuletide icon only because Scrooge is his best hair day.)

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

I was trying to find this the other day. And having serious difficulty. Which was annoying as it'd be useful background "research" for my crazy Bond C18th AU fic which I'm still trying to write...

For some reason I cannot fathom, the library doesn't have it - which is ridiculous!

[thisbluespirit]

The reason is, it doesn't seem to have been properly released on DVD except in the Netherlands and as a freebie with the Daily Mail. I got the DM version via Amazon marketplace. Don't ask, I've no idea why the Daily Mail can give away a DVD the BBC have never released here!

It's only one disc, would you like me to send it when you've finished Cranford or something? I can stick something else in with it (provided that's also only one disc). I can't remember whether I have anything like that - any of the Shakespeares, or anything?? (Two discs cost the same and keep each other safer, so I don't mind.) :-)

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Let me get back to you on that one, please. I'll check Amazon Marketplace myself.

[thisbluespirit]

Okay! Just give me the nod if you ever do want it off me.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Will do, thanks.

[lolmac]

18th C Bond AU fic? o_O *squee*

Pleeease let me know when you post it? I want to read it!!

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

First chapter's posted:

His Majesty's SIN (2203 words) by Persiflage
Chapters: 1/?
Fandom: James Bond (Movies), James Bond (Craig movies), Skyfall (2012)
Rating: Explicit
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: James Bond/M, Gareth Mallory/Eve Moneypenny
Characters: James Bond, Female M (James Bond), Eve Moneypenny, Bill Tanner, Q (Bond - Craig movies), Raoul Silva | Tiago Rodriguez, Severine (James Bond)
Series: Part 1 of Bondkink Fics
Summary:

King George III has a Secret Intelligence Network (SIN) operating in France that's so secret he doesn't even realise it's run by the formidable Dowager Countess of Mawdsley, Emma Mawdsley. (An historical AU featuring the main cast of Skyfall, set in 18th century France during the Revolutionary Wars.)

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

Of the radio sex scene we shall not speak.

I...I... O.o

[thisbluespirit]

I KNOW. You don't even have to say more than that, do you? And the BBC announcer only said in his terribly rp voice that it was Episode 4 of The Deceivers with David Collings as Wm Savage and failed to mention the fact that you might not want to listen to it while eating your Sunday lunch and/or you should make sure that easily disturbed people were kept out of reach of the radio.

I merrily assumed that would never happen on radio. I was wrong. I did decide, after about 3 weeks, that I would probably have to forgive him. But 0_o. It involved drugs, a prostitute, attempted strangulation and all at order of the goddess Kali who was being played by his rl wife. He does at least keep to his usual standard of not being like other people, I suppose... 0_o

*hides from the memory*

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

drugs, a prostitute, attempted strangulation and all at order of the goddess Kali who was being played by his rl wife

Double I...I... O.o

[thisbluespirit]

... And I forgot to mention that he was putting on a fake Indian accent all the while. (For reasons, his character was English.)

I think I've now off-loaded my trauma, thanks - do you happen to still have any of that brain bleach handy?

[jjpor.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I'm afraid I just drank the last of it when I read the bit about the fake Indian accent.

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

LOL! I love your David Collings picspam posts. I love that he's annoying people in London...then pops across to France to annoy more people. That's a good reason to travel.

Plus, as ever, Things That Amused Me.

They amuse me too. Thanks for sharing.

[thisbluespirit]

Well, I think he was supposed to be spying but he wasn't any good at it. He was, however, very irritating. :-)

Aw. Thanks.

[lolmac]

I LOVE your picspams! All of them, but especially the David Collings picspams!!

[thisbluespirit]

Thank you! *takes compliment with a side order of the icon insult* ;-p

:lol: My David Collings picspams are being legendary! (Well, maybe not. But give me enough time...)

[lolmac]

:p No, no, David Collings is the screwball. Right?

[thisbluespirit]

:lol: Oh, I see! True. Mind, I mean, does he bring penguins and things to comms? So... could go either way, most likely. :-)