Post 100: 100 Jokerside Moments (1 – 50)
TODAY ISN’T JUST THE IDES OF MARCH. OR MOTHERING SUNDAY IN THE UK. IT ALSO MARKS JOKERSIDE’S SECOND AND A HALF ANNIVERSARY. HORRAY! And as if that isn’t enough – this is post number 100! To celebrate, here’s a list of 100 things of note that have happened in film, TV and music during Jokerside’s lifetime …
Somebody fetch a party hat.
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Post-Olympics London
The world’s international city continued to flourish, a hotbed of life, art and opportunity even during strained times. Jokerside’s Ed-in-Chief re-emerged there in January 2013 and quickly regained his Sam Johnson.
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NT Live
The National Theatre isn’t alone in exporting its wares marvellously to remote big screens. Though it fell before Jokerside, Danny Boyle’s sublime Frankenstein (with the two Sherlocks) is still touring.
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Blogging
Continues to diversify and grow, the faster than a bullet cure for writers’ block.
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Marvel raising their game
Disney brought the bucks to support the ambition. Phase Two proved bolder, bigger and more-conquering.
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Big budget TV
The switch to high-budget TV continued, dragging talent from stage and screen with it. Among some inevitable dross, television is often where events now happen.
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Graham Linehan
Aside from anything else? Collaboration that yields Count Arthur Strong and the imminent The Cloud with Adam Buxton is enough cause to celebrate.
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Multiplicity
In general, brilliant. But when it comes to Multiversity… Morrison. Event. DC Comics. It just works.
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Hannibal
Bryan Fuller finally cracks it and manages to improve Harris… So far. This could prove the definitive version, though I long for a better adaptation of Red Dragon…
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The failure of Eco-sci-fi
Oblivion, Elysium, After Earth – 2013’s misjudged attempt to reboot the dominant science-fiction genre collapsed and we got Star Wars back as a reward.
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Constantine on TV
It stumbled, and then took four episodes before NBC’s take on the Scouse mage became brilliant and compulsive. Surely: #SaveConstantine.
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Neil Armstrong
The first human to step on a foreign body, 20 July 1969. Lost to us, 25 August 2012.
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Penny Dreadful
Logan, Mendes et al put the gothic and gore back on television, unleashing prime-time Timothy Dalton on an unsuspecting audience.
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Twitter
Now the benchmark for communication, news delivery and news reporting, and so far just about retaining its simple brilliance.
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Return of the star ship show
It had been years, but Ascension put the star ship show back on television. When will Star Trek pop back up? Surely not long…
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Diversifying Dracula
From Victorian sop to feral Izzard to Luke Evans’ anti-hero to Penny Dreadful’s unseen: The count is in rude health.
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The Leftovers
The surprise of last year. Exquisitely cast, produced, written and acted. Series two is highly anticipated.
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Bob Hoskins
29 April 2014. BAFTA may have taken the tough call to keep him on TV, but he was so much more, especially with that dignified exit stage left
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Scott Snyder
The true revelation of the New 52. A imemdiate legend of Batman comics. Hopefully his suggestion that Endgame is his final use of the Joker is damned Bat-lies.
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Jessica Raine
Escaping the nuns she’s shone at the Doctor’s 50th, sniped in Wolf Hall, tolerated being in Fortitude. May her star rise.
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NowTV and on demand
The world of satellite, the wires, the dish – it’s now all in your hand.
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Christopher Eccleston
We’re approaching 10 years since his too short a season started. Very unlikely he’ll ever return to Who, but he’s not stayed away from the genre, giving Dark Elves everywhere a swagger to match among other things.
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Matt Smith
From humble beginnings, saddled with the most convoluted storylines in Who history, Matt Smith rose to be Jokerside’s favourite ever Doctor (via deduction you understand).
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Peter Cushing
26 May 2013 would have been his 100th birthday. The Moff who wore slippers is still one of Britain’s finest.
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BBC Radio 2
A jewel in the BBC’s crown, showcasing diversity and loyalty it’s undoubtedly one of the finest places to discover and rediscover music. Finding, rediscovering, David Jacobs in summer 2013 just months before his passing was rare treat. Bravo BBC.
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David Bowie is
A record exhibition at the V&A, and one that’s still touring the world. Sublime, and featuring the best eraser souvenirs in the world.
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DC’s film game plan
The right ambition, the right approach. As the publisher moves to California, things are about to get very serious indeed.
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That Star Wars trailer
It was an event, that can’t be denied. And as often before, JJ Abrams seems to be exactly the right guy…
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That Snoopy trailer
The antithesis of 27 perhaps, was there a better feel-good trailer last year?
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Bond’s satisfied quietness
One of the most important parts of Skyfall’s success was the time EON gave the franchise. They’ve done it again with Spectre, despite the tight filming schedule. Let’s hope they’ve enough time to capture lightning.
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The Next Day
What’s better than even surprise Bowie? Bloody great surprise Bowie.
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Zombies
After all this time, they’ve still got legs. One of the fastest maturing genres as The Walking Dead and the sadly cancelled In the Flesh are not alone in testifying.
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The rise of comfort television
A march led by Game of Thrones. It may cheat narrative, but boy is it satisfying.
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Animation studios shutting up about funding
For years they did whinge, while not doing enough to diversify or retain lucrative foreign contracts. Now at least they’ve been quiet for a while.
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Videogame developers tax incentive
And all the time Britain was losing its foothold on the VG industry. Now, at last, the government has seen sense, put the necessary incentives in place and the UK can regain lost ground.
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GoldenEye007
Oh yes, they brought back GoldenEye did Nintendo. It could never quite live up to its 1997 predecessor but the updated script allowing Daniel Craig into the role was brilliant if alarming (how long?) What’s the difference? Brosnan used a bungee, Craig just jumps.
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The rise of thematic seasons
American Horror Story, Missing, True Detective… Shows aren’t bound by the rules any more.
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The Musketeers
Murray Gold on top form, fine plotting, tight casting and better the second time round. Oh and they use a lot of actual bloody muskets. Bravo!
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Merlin
All things must pass. Merlin managed to achieve everything and attack a spot in the Christmas ratings on the way. The only Saturday contender that’s come close to Doctor Who on British TV.
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Rory Kinnear
That he’s a quality actor is undeniable. That he can emerged unscathed from over-exposure in Bond, Arthur Strong, The Imitation Game, Penny Dreadful, the torrid Casual Vacancy… Says a lot.
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The Dark Knight Trilogy
It had to end, if only because nothing else could come near it, let alone cross-over with it. Dark Knight Rises may not match the brilliance of its predecessor but it was an ambitious and surprisingly faithful conclusion to THE trilogy of comic book films. Incredibly influential.
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Zelda
No Zelda game could ever be written off, but recent escapades including the recent and sublime A Link Between Worlds show that there’s a lot of force left in the Tri. Even Netflix are taking a punt on a live-action version.
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Benedict Cumberbatch’s voice
It’s everywhere. So pervasive that even Andy Serkis can’t do an excellent voiceover without everyone thinking it’s Cumberbatch. All lines from Star Trek into Darkness duly memorised.
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Richard III
The bones, they found them bones. The uncovering and approach to a more than likely Tudor conspiracy against the last of the Plantagenets has been fascinating. Even on television and reaching into the otherwise mildy dreary The White Queen (the one that wasn’t Wolf Hall you may unfairly say)
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Internet shifts
In two and a half years it’s stretched and flexed still further. As always, we sit atop an almighty and life-changing development.
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Nintendo
Wii-U may be collecting more dust than it should, but Nintendo have proved able to weather greater storms and show no signs of cutting their innovation. The importance of that is beyond words.
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JJ’s franchise repositioning
His Star Trek may not be to everyone’s tastes (more of that later this year) but with Mission impossible and even just a glimpse of the Star Wars trailer it looks like he has a strike.
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Clive Barker
Passionate and visionary as ever, he’s survived and endured not only to see Nightbreed recut… But we’re also on the verge of The Scarlet Gospels. That’s right, the end of Pinhead.
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Twin Peaks returns
Was there ever any doubt? It’s back and David Lynch is in the driving seat, donut in hand. Well, once they clear up some contract dispute sit will be…
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Spock affection
Leonard Nimoy’s recent passing touched many, and so might his legacy live long and prosper.
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Doctor Who turns 50
And wasn’t it just “Fantastic”?
