Shock Treatment
dir. Jim Sharman (1981)
Despite some quality songs and strong vocal performances, the artificiality of the society being satirised makes this Rocky Horror Picture Show sequel hard to engage with. The quirky cult appeal is there but — lacking the stage-driven evolution of its predecessor — feels undeveloped.
The Vidiot from UHF
dir. Jay Levey (1989)
Even “Weird Al” Yankovic’s biggest fans will find it difficult to like this supremely unfunny comedy. The parody music video mashup of Dire Straits’ Money For Nothing and The Beverly Hillbillies theme offers a mirage of hope; the rest is pure desert.
Ten Apples Up On Top
by Theo LeSieg [aka Dr Seuss], illustrated by Roy McKie (Collins, 1961)
A lion, tiger and dog give each other a lesson in counting (and outrageous one-upmanship) when they compete to see who can balance the most apples on their heads. This rambunctious story has stayed with beginner readers well into their adult years.
Chocky
by John Wyndham, adapted by Anthony Read (Thames Television, 1984)
A patchy adaptation, quintessentially early 1980s, featuring well-pitched performances by James Hazeldine and child actor Andrew Ellams but terribly written female parts. The intrigue of a young boy’s mind-to-mind alien encounter is built and sustained across six episodes without ever really peaking.
The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Love of Words
by Simon Winchester (Viking, 1998)
By focussing on the extensive amateur contributions of Doctor Minor (a bibliophile and former surgeon serving life imprisonment in the Broadmoor lunatic asylum), Simon Winchester captures something of the immense logistical difficulties faced in putting together the first ever true English dictionary.
Who Wrote Shakespeare?
by John Michell (Thames & Hudson, 1996)
Notwithstanding Wikipedia’s cursory dismissal of the authorship problem, Michell in this overview makes a compelling case for at least questioning the conventional attribution of Shakespeare’s works to the actor from Stratford-upon-Avon, presenting evidence for and against him and the other major candidates.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
dir. Stephen Chiodo (1988)
Decidedly b-grade — although without the laughs that might usually entail — this bizarre horror/comedy (both words used advisedly) has no raison d’être beyond its title, the realisation of which special effects artists the Chiodo Brothers pay more attention to than writing or directing.
Galaxy Quest
dir. Dean Parisot (1999)
Out-of-work SF actors are plucked from the convention circuit by guileless aliens who, failing to distinguish them from their Star Trek -like characters, beseech them to intervene in a real-life space war. The quality of the cast makes this spoof very watchable.
The Last Vampire
by Willis Hall (The Bodley Head, 1982)
A quintessentially middle-class English family encounters the last (vegetarian) vampire in this YA comedy of happenstance and misunderstanding. By fleshing out every character — even the wolves! — Willis Hall both draws attention to, and disabuses his readers of, the vampire tropes of legend.
Fatty & George
by John Honey (ABC, 1981)
Fondly remembered and surprisingly watchable thirty-five years on, this stilted but oddly compelling Tasmanian science fantasy captivated a generation of Aussie kids with its time-freezing crystal, over the top villains, catchy theme song and brazenly prominent (now brilliantly kitsch) avant-garde synthpop motifs.