Stranger Things: Six
by Jody Houser; pencils by Edgar Salazar; inks by Keith Champagne; colours by Marissa Louise (Dark Horse, 2019)
A bleak graphic novel exploring MKUltra’s backstory through the character of Francine (‘Six’), a teen exploited for her burgeoning precognisance growing up (nuclear holocaust orange–hued flashbacks) and at the lab (straightjacket greys and greens). Stays in keeping without offering anything new.
Ben Elton live @ Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane
Authentic Stupidity Tour, 1 April 2025
Thirty years post- The Man From Auntie, Ben Elton remains a stand-up comedic force of nature: irreverent, fast-talking and provocative, conjuring hyperbolic waves to surf to the shores of taboo—uproariously dumping (himself) on society’s fads, foibles, affectations and bona fide horse-fuckery.
A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories
by Terry Pratchett (Harper Collins, 2023)
audiobook read by various narrators (ISIS, 2023)
A collection of very early Pratchett stories, pseudonymously written and mostly lacking impact as individual pieces. Though they have their moments (and are lent panache by the various audiobook readers), few would garner more than a ‘ho-hum’ if their authorship were unknown.
Toy Story
dir. John Lasseter (1995)
Pixar’s first feature-length film and the first ever to be fully computer-animated. Pioneering kudos aside, Toy Story remains (thirty years on!) a charming, perfectly paced and pitched family film whose script earns the viewer’s engagement and whose toy characters are joyously compelling.
The Mysteries of Great Cities
by Baroness E. Orczy (The Royal Magazine, April-October 1902)
reprinted in “Rivals of Sherlock Holmes”, ed. Alan K. Russell (Castle Books, 1978)
Seven serviceable mystery scenarios (almost entirely unrelated to the titular ‘great cities’), dressed up as short stories and related by a one-quirk armchair detective to a superfluous Watson figure. Orczy offers no investigation and little by way of intrigue or literary merit.
Science Fiction Movies
by Philip Strick (Octopus Books, 1976)
Broad in its definition of science fiction, wide-ranging in its consideration of obscure and/or non English–language movies, Strick’s compendium offers both a balanced, incisive overview of the vintage SF corpus and a good-humoured jumping-off point for delving into individual genre films.
Split Enz, the DVD
(Mushroom, 2002)
Eighteen music videos, ten live tracks, plus the 1993 documentary “Spellbound” showcase the ever-kooky, often troubled evolution of Split Enz from affectedly gauche musical theatre act to art-rock, trans-Tasman titans. Driven by Tim (and sometimes Neil) Finn, held together by Eddie Rayner.
Department Q: The Absent One
dir. Mikkel Nørgaard (2014) [Danish, subtitled; originally ‘Fasandræberne’]
![Film poster: “Department Q: The Absent One” dir. Mikkel Nørgaard (2014) [Danish, subtitled; originally ‘Fasandræberne’]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Department-Q_Absent-One.jpg)
The second Department Q film is particularly confronting, bringing to light a spree of assaults, rapes and (ultimately) murders perpetrated at the carefree whim of wealthy, privileged boarding students. Johanne Louise Schmidt furthers the cast dynamic, playing the proactive new secretary Rose.
First Term at Malory Towers
by Enid Blyton (Methuen, 1947)
audiobook read by Beth Eyre (Hodder Children’s, 2017)
The first book of what might be Blyton’s best series. First Term introduces the characters and setting while forever preserving the boarding experience within a spirit of post-war optimism. A delightful school story with ups and downs and an open, straightforward charm.
Protection
by Robert Sheckley
Galaxy Science Fiction (April, 1956); UK No. 39 (June, 1956), pp. 54-63.
One of those technically insubstantial Sheckley short stories that nevertheless skims along with sufficient comedic insouciance to qualify as a good read. The protagonist accepts an alien protection service, just because it’s free, but in doing so brings about his own undoing.