Beyond the Roundels

Not for NaArMaMo - I have no idea how long ago I made them. It may have been a year, but first I planned to do more and then I was having Photobucket troubles. (I still am, but I'm putting icons on TinyPic for the moment and that seems okay.) Anyway, some unspecified time ago, I finally got to watch Drop The Dead Donkey and my first thought before I'd even decided whether or not I liked it was that the world needed icons of Gus-isms.

So, here are 11 plus two other quotes from the series.

Teaser:



( More under here )
Credits: Main textures by GieGie. The usual rules apply - want, take, have, credit. No hotlinking and comments = ♥

(Finally finished it!! \o/)

Part Two: Recurring Characters & Episode Guide.

From jjpor: It's the morning after the revolution before. The Evil Empire has fallen; the Plucky Rebels won against impossible odds, as Plucky Rebels tend to do. Now they've just got to deal with the messy aftermath and, you know, actually govern the place. Preferably without becoming like the regime they've just defeated.


HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION

"The state has failed us, over and over, so we decide ourselves who to protect and who to betray, who to save and who to kill. This was no more, no less than that. Another act of conscience, if you like. Let's call it the final act of revolution - and remember we're all complicit in the crime."

A critically-acclaimed but long-forgotten 13 episode drama series from 1973/4 that starred Gemma Jones, Alfred Burke, Julian Glover and Diane Keen.

Set in the near-future in an alternate (but not too different) reality, where a tyrannical regime has been in power in Britain for nearly three decades, a group of freedom fighters led by a man known as "Arran", finally defeat the dictator Hallam - and then a new battle begins, one where the lines are even less clear than before. It explores the ethics of power as a drama plays out between the victorious rebel leaders, the remnant of the old guard, and those who want to find more peaceful solutions for the future.

( Sentimentalists are going to destroy the country )

I said I'd made a post about Enemy at the Door, and here it is. (I'm thinking of doing some more fandom manifesto type posts for old TV I've watched, because they're fun and possibly even useful, if only to inform people of things to avoid. :-D)

So, what is it? Enemy at the Door is a 1978-80 UK drama series about the German Occupation of the (British) Channel Islands in WWII, focusing on Guernsey (and the fictional Martel family). It stars Alfred Burke, Bernard Horsfall and Simon Cadell with Antonia Pemberton, Emily Richard, Simon Lack, John Malcolm, Richard Heffer, Helen Shingler and David Waller. It was created and script-edited by Michael Chapman, produced by Tony Wharmby and written by Michael Chapman, James Doran, NJ Crisp, Kenneth Clark and John Kershaw. There are 2 series of 13x 50 min episodes (26 in all). It is out on DVD (definitely in Regions 1 &2); it is not on YouTube at the moment, though. (It was repeated on Yesterday, a freeview channel here in the UK last year, so it may get another turn.)

If you're not keen on old UK TV, then this obviously isn't for you. If, however, you are, and you are interested in well-written, well-played, low-key drama, WWII generally, or what happened to the Channel Islands in particular, then it may well be. Sadly, it was cancelled before they reached the end of the War, but what there is of it is well worth watching. Also, while it was shown pre-Watershed over 30 years ago (so there's very little they can actually show in terms of blood, violence etc.), it does deal with a lot of difficult subjects (very well generally): execution, imprisonment, depression, multiple suicide attempts, shooting, murder, possible rape, and beatings/interrogations.

Why, you may ask, especially after that cheery list of warnings? Well, it depends. If you want a lot of action and battles and other such fast-moving set-pieces, again, it's not going to deliver. But it explores its historical subject pretty accurately and also takes advantage of that situation to explore the ethical dilemmas of occupation from both sides with subtlety and intelligence and three-dimensional characters, and that's what's so great about it.

( You chaps have commandeered my kitchen! )

Happy birthday to sallymn! I hope you have/had a lovely day and many happy returns! I've been working on these icons for a while, but decided to finish them today in your honour, knowing that you like icons, quotes and Ms Heyer's works. ;-)

Teaser:



( More antiquated flummery )

Mostly made during naarmamo, so I wound up doing a handful from each play most days. This means they are rather a random collection. (So don't judge me on what is and isn't here! I'll do more presently, I hope.) They're from the BBC adaptations from 30 years ago, not the most recent ones. I'm forever behind the times.

Preview:



Icons from: The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Richard III, Measure For Measure, King Lear, Julius Caesar, Henry V, Henry IV Pts 1 & 2, Cymbeline and As You Like It. Plus some text icons (quotes from the same plays).

Showing: John Hudson (Valentine), Tessa Peake-Jones (Julia), Ron Cook (Richard III), Zoe Wanamaker (Lady Anne), Jacqueline Pearce (Mariana), Kevin Stoney, Kate Nelligan (Isabella), Kenneth Colley (Duke Vincentio), Tim Piggott-Smith (Angelo, Hotspur), Alun Armstrong, Penelope Wilton (Regan), Gillian Barge (Goneril), Michael Hordern (Lear), Brenda Blethyn (Cordelia), Michael Kitchen (Edmund), Anton Lesser (Edgar), David Collings (Cassius), Richard Pasco (Brutus, Jacques), Jocelyne Boisseau (Katherine), David Gwillim (Hal/Henry V), Alec MacGowan (Chorus), Jon Finch (Henry IV), Michele Dotrice (Lady Percy), Robert Morris (Mortimer), Sharon Morgan (Lady Mortimer), Anthony Quayle (Falstaff), Richard Johnson (Cymbeline), Claire Bloom (the Queen), Helen Mirren (Imogen, Rosalind), Robert Lindsay (Iachimo), Graham Crowden, Paul Jesson (Cloten), Angharad Rees (Celia) and James Bolam (Touchstone).

( Icons Here! )

I made a previous set of 35 icons for the BBC Julius Caesar here.

6. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke



Books were her home when she was somewhere strange - familiar voices, friends that never quarrelled with her, clever, powerful friends, daring and knowledgeable, tried and tested adventurers who had travelled far and wide.

Of all the books I probably wouldn't have read if I hadn't been a children's librarian, Inkheart has to be pretty high up on the list of my favourites. It's not only a gloriously old-fashioned, complex and engaging children's fantasy (in the best possible way, and beautifully written - or, very well translated, since I'm unable to read German), it's an exercise in pure bibliophilia. Inkheart is about book-loving Meggie, her book-binder (or book doctor) father, Mo, her great Aunt Elinor (a book collector who verges on bibliomania), an author and a number of escaped book characters. It's a genuine fantasy novel, but the only magic in it is the power of books and words, of printed paper pages, and reading, and writing - and reading aloud. And about the power, danger and addictiveness of stories and the imagination, of the contrast between fantasy and reality. It's also about the way that stories and characters have a life of their own that can't truly be owned by anybody, even their creators.

The hardback copy I first read (published by Chicken House) was lovely - covers, paper quality, typesetting, everything. A lot of thought went into having not just the cover art (which is nice, but not the thing here) but the whole feel of the book match the theme of it, of getting completely lost in a story. (Actually, I'm thinking now, given how much of it is also about loving the sheer physicality of books - the covers, the paper, their presence in the house, under the pillow, everywhere - it's a little ironic to think how many people are going to read an e-book version of this. That's not a criticism... just a passing thought.)

My only regret is that I couldn't have read it when I was 10 or 12 or so. On the other hand, whether I'd have ever been able to emerge again is a good question, so perhaps it's as well. It is, however, very much one of those books that is a worthwhile read at any age. (Stories have their own shape, and sometimes that shape is a children's novel. That doesn't automatically make it not worth reading by adults.)

( Books are like flypapers )

Credits: textures by tiger_tyger

Icons I've made but somehow never posted over this past year. Maybe some were even longer ago? Anyway, FINALLY...

Teaser:


Credsit: Textures by tiger_tyger and twinstrikeish & probably some others. The usual rules apply: want, take, have, credit. No hotlinking, comments are ♥

27x Tough Guide text icons, and 30x Sapphire & Steel icons.

Teaser:



( Icons Here! )
Credits: textures by tiger_tyger @ tiger_tutorials

( Icons Here! )

The usual rules apply: want, take, have, credit; no hotlinking. And it really is more trouble than it's worth acquiring a sword.

Various textures by tiger_tyger and how_we_fade.

53 Big Finish icons, text and images. As I did many of these for naarmamo, some may be a little random, but bear with me - I'll definitely do some more when I can.

Teaser:



( Icons Here! )

Aha, another awesome female. Well, I think she is. I know some people on my flist can't stand her, but this is my list and she's quite high up on it. (Not that there really is a ranking before you ask, except that No. 1 is a certain person I haven't done yet. It won't take a genius to work out which female character I might mean.)

( Our discussions tend to go about three minutes, then it's strictly name calling and hair pulling )

( So Far )

I did say there'd be an icon post along soon, so here goes: 39 Blake's 7 quote icons.

Teasers:


( Icons Here! )

The usual: want, take, have, credit. Comments are ♥ and B7 is awesomely snarky.

(I made a previous batch of 44 here.)

When I'd only done a few entries for this meme, dbskyler told me she was looking forward to when I did this character. Some things about me are fairly predictable, it seems! So, nobody is going to be shocked at today's post...

( She has a temper as short as her skirt )

( So Far )