Tag: 1970s

Endeavour, Series 8

Endeavour, Series 8

by Russell Lewis (ITV, 2021)

DVD cover: “Endeavour, Series 8” by Russell Lewis (ITV, 2021)

Set fifty years before their broadcast, Series 8’s three feature-length stories work better as historical pieces than as full-fledged murder investigations. That said, Morse is back on track to morph from brilliant young puzzle solver into John Thaw’s slower, more jaded incarnation.

Full Bore

Full Bore

by William McInnes (Hachette, 2016); audiobook read by William McInnes (W F Howes, 2017)

Book cover: Full Bore by William McInnes

A gentle, rather wistful gathering together of memories and musings. McInnes presents recollections within recollections, the weave of his stories constituting less a riotous series of anecdotes and more an appreciation of life as a mosaic of shared happiness and small moments.

The Apparition Phase

The Apparition Phase

by Will Maclean (William Heinemann, 2020); audiobook read by Theo Solomon (Penguin Audio, 2020)

Book cover: The Apparition Phase by Will Maclean

The first few chapters promise gothic horror and suspense. Then Abi disappears and we’re left with gormless Tim plodding through a paranormal scenario that is all setup, no delivery. A long novel whose plot might just about have sustained a short story.

The Land Before Avocado

The Land Before Avocado: Journeys in a Lost Australia

by Richard Glover (ABC Books, 2018); audiobook read by the author (Bolinda, 2018)

Glover_Land Before Avocado

Part personal recollection, part assiduous research, Glover delivers a time capsule of Australian social history for the years 1975-1985. Though the material itself is fascinating, and tragicomic in a ‘truth as satire’ way, the delivery suffers whenever Glover tries to be funny.

 

 

Endeavour, Series 7

Endeavour, Series 7

by Russell Lewis (ITV, 2020)

Endeavour 7

Morse enters the sordid 70s in a three-episode series that has lost its way. The crimes yield to regular police work (with little input from Morse himself); the overriding arc is built around Morse’s unaccountable love life, plus manufactured conflict with Thursday.

 

 

Endeavour, Series 6

Endeavour, Series 6

by Russell Lewis (ITV, 2019)

Endeavour 6

A rather despondent series as the 1960s start to give way to the 1970s (hence Morse’s moustache) and the old crew find themselves scattered to the winds. Morse in particular has to start again. Chief Superintendent Bright has the best character moments.

 

 

Children of the Stones

Children of the Stones

(ITV, 1977)

Children of the Stones

Notable for its eerie music and sustained sense of supernatural peril, this 1970s children’s television classic no doubt terrified many a young viewer. Though well acted, it’s unquestionably a mood piece. The final-episode denouement fails to make sense of much that precedes.

 

 

Black Hole

Black Hole

by Charles Burns (Pantheon, 2005) [collecting Black Hole #1-12, Fantagraphics, 1995-2004]

Burns_Black Hole

Burns goes all out in this shadowy and grotesque, trippy mix of 70s teen culture, body horror and sexually explicit allegory (self-identity; belonging). The plot is deliberately abstruse, and though the black-and-white artwork is striking, some characters are hard to tell apart.

 

 

Life on Mars, Series 2

Life on Mars, Series 2

(BBC, 2007)

Life on Mars_2

Where it could easily have fallen prey to second album syndrome, Life on Mars continues seamlessly from its first season: uniquely, a 70s-style cop show with modern sensibilities—fast and funny—scripted for the brilliance rather than the length of its burn.