Elisabeth Sladen (R.I.P.; 1948-2011)

There are various little moments that stick out from when I was a child.

Accidentally smashing the front room television is one – my Dad was not best pleased; nearly getting hit by a car is another – my Mum chastised me for that one. I even remember my thrill as Sky broadcast the Transformers film at 6am one Christmas Day morning – neither parent displayed much pleasure at the early call.

But one of my most vivid thought-boxes is the cliff-hanger to episode one of Revelation of the Daleks and the deep sense of fright and shock as the memorial slab fell toward Colin Baker’s Doctor. It was a ruse of course, as was unveiled early in the next edition, yet a sense of fear was twigged inside me; a fear that only a four-year-old can experience when watching television.
I never looked back. It was fabulous stuff and like children everywhere, I liked being a little bit scared.

What does this have to do with Elisabeth Sladen? Not a whole lot, but in the years thereafter, old episodes of Doctor Who came to life via recently released VHS tapes and books and of those collections, Tom Baker’s period stood tall; however one could not watch the first half of Tom Baker’s tenure without being grabbed by the wonderful Elisabeth Sladen and her character, Sarah-Jane Smith.

Whereas the Doctor was the hero, the protector, the catalyst of events unfolding, Sarah-Jane was everyone else. The character without the special knowledge or special powers of any kind and that made Sarah-Jane Smith marvellous. Not content to scream on a weekly basis like many of the previous “girl companions”, Sarah-Jane Smith was smart and proactive. She made the viewer feel smart.
The chemistry between Baker, Sladen and from an earlier period Ian Marter showed on screen

Sarah-Jane Smith was the viewer’s character, looking to the Doctor, helping to put a halt to all sorts of enemies if she could. Now Elisabeth Sladen is dead – at the age of 63 to cancer – and suddenly the world feels a little less secure and a little less wonderful and for that reason, today is a sad day indeed.

Something for the Weekend: "Voodoo" staring Tom Baker

One year before he assumed the lead role in Doctor Who, Tom Baker was just another struggling actor, taking odd jobs just to make ends meat.

The Liverpudlian had enjoyed a modicum of success following his portrayal of Rasputin in the 1971 Oscar Award winning Nicholas and Alexandra, yet within two years found himself reduced to bit parts and insignificant roles.
For a time, Baker also took on bricklaying to keep the money rolling in - that was until the unknown Baker was put forward for the part by BBC's Head of Serials, Bill Slater.

One of Baker's credits during his period of struggle was Voodoo, which was a short segment in the Vault of Horror series. Voodoo would be the last of five short episodes, whereby five men would tell of horrifying nightmares that they recently had.

In his nightmare, Baker played Moore - a broken and penniless painter, steeped in bitterness living in a Haitian shack. In a chance meeting with an old friend, Moore discovers that the art dealers that he had entrusted his work had cheated him out of vast amounts of money.
Angry, Moore promises revenge, purchasing voodoo from a local tribesman. Determined to right the wrongs cast by the dealers, Moore brings retribution not only upon his enemies, but also unto himself.

As a piece of work, Voodoo is a curious entity and although the tale being woven is an undeniably simple one, it is still quite effective in its execution. One cannot fail to mention the stellar soundtrack that permeates throughout - for what is essentially only occasional light string sections opposite tribal drums, it certainly does more than enough to raise the tension of the episode.

"Voodoo", Part One


"Voodoo", Part Two


"Voodoo", Part Three

Something for the Weekend: Beastie Boys "Sabotage"

Unbelievably, I still meet people that believe music stopped progressing following the death of Kurt Cobain in April 1994. Indeed, a short lull most certainly followed his death, but art will always progress in the face of death.

Whether or not a piece of art becomes a commercial successful is not only irrelevant, but a moronic concept. Those that breed commercial art, seek solely to pursue the death of self.

Throughout the spring of 1994, fans exhausted tears, onlookers lamented the wasted youth, while record industry nobles set in motion plans to sell the death for the time.
Cobain has since become something of a modern Elvis, complete with a bloated memory of how wonderful the early-90's apparently were. What a shit legacy to have sold. That Cobain shot himself seventeen years ago this week is also a fact that simply makes me feel old.

In the background, another name lurked in the shadows. Following several years on the precipice of commercial success, the Beastie Boys released their fourth album, Ill Communication six weeks after Cobain's death.
After the hit if their 1986 début album Licence to Ill, Beastie Boys became more experimental as they fused hip-hop elements (including heavy sampling) into an inbuilt hardcore punk ethic. The result were a pair of albums (Paul's Boutique and Check Your Head) that were critically acclaimed, but not the hits that Capitol had anticipated.
When Ill Communication landed, it was headed by the superb singles "Sabotage" (with a video directed by Spike Jonze) and "Sure Shot"; both of which became successes outside of the hip-hop charts in the US, as they crossed over in rock and dance arenas.
That fact that track's were ace also helped.

Meanwhile, Nirvana bassist Chris Novoselic went on to form the duo Sweet 75 and a few other low flying acts, while drummer Dave Grohl went on to form the stadium rock bores, the Foo Fighters.
Anesthesia, anyone..?

Beastie Boys "Sabotage"