Friday, March 07, 2008

Ecstasy

Ashes To Ashes made my night in a number of ways last night.

1) It featured XTC’s “Sergeant Rock”. A track that took me straight back to my school days and swapping football stickers in the playground.

2) It featured Killing Joke’s “Turn To Red” – a track from their little known first ever EP, released before they’d even been signed up by Malicious Damage records. You’d have to be a diehard fan to spot it. I am that fan.

3) DS Ray Carling, a man even more homophobic and chauvinistic than Gene Hunt himself, had to infiltrate a gay night club posing as a homosexual to get close to a target. He looks like a Village People reject at the best of times anyway and blended in remarkably well. He even looked to be enjoying himself until sweet nothings were whispered in his ear. His smile dropped faster than a nympho’s knickers at a swinger’s convention and the fists flew wild and hard. He looked like a rabbit caught between the headlights of a fast moving car. Hilarious.

4) Gene Hunt. Ploughing mercilessly through every single euphemism for anal sex and homosexuality known to man with a straight face (well, what else would he have) and his team laughing along with him... until an after footie match celebration of hugging and male bonding at their local boozer was cut abruptly short by DI Drake wondering if they were all closet homosexuals themselves. You sunk my battleship indeed. Anything that blasts homophobia and football clean out of the water is absolutely fine by me...

5) Keeley Hawes just because. But mostly because of the red, off-the-shoulder top that was so flimsy it accentuated every movement and jiggle underneath it. Officer I’ve been a naughty boy and need to be taken into police custody immediately. I may have to be restrained and frisked. Please, please don’t go easy on me...

Sheer ecstasy.

14 comments:

Rol said...

You're starting to become obsessed with KH. You'll be stalking her next.

Steve said...

Sorry Rol, can't stop to type right now... I'm following her through Harrods...

The Poet Laura-eate said...

Josie L is back on Radio 4 if you need some distration therapy, play her on Listen Again!

The Hitch said...

Steve
"get your pants on and make us a cup of tea love!"
I am afraid for me , no Tv police programme will ever beat the sweeney .Several years ago I did the triple peak challenge and one of our number was a member of the real sweeney and he looked just like dennis waterman, he also tried to score some dope off two dutch lesbians staying in our hotel.He got Charlie Kray put away for drug dealing.

Old Cheeser said...

I'm telling Karen!

Well naturally I was interested to see how they were going to handle the "gay" angle. Gene and co's reactions were spot-on - just how certain straight men would react and good to see Alex challenging that. The bit with Ray getting chatted up by Simon was funny although at one point it actually seemed that Ray was "rather into it" (as you say, enjoying himself) and seemed alarmingly confident about it all - the hand on knee thing...The only thing I found hard to believe was that Simon would find someone like Ray attractive - especially if he went for pretty boys like Russell Tovey...

Talking of Russ (last seen in the Dr Who Xmas special) he was quite endearing if rather empty-headed. There wasn't that much of an examination of gay culture when it came down to it (then again maybe there wasn't meant to be). As for the bit when Alex sees the blotches on his neck at the end ... a sad omen but one which I though a mite unecessary...what was the writer trying to say about gay men here? That they all contract HIV/AIDS? Mmmm.

As for Ashes to Ashes itself, I haven't followed it every week but when I have, dare I say, I haven't found it as dazzling as it could have been. At times the storylines seem rather formulaic and mundane - it's only Hunt and Drake that keep it going, but even their verbal sparring is getting a touch predictable. There's talk of a second series but I'm not sure it can really last the course! Sorry Steve!

Steve said...

Laura, I might just do that; thanks for the tip-off! ;-)

Hitch, "get your trousers on, you're nicked" is still to this day my most favourite quote from The Sweeney... the fact John Thaw could morph from that to Morse is a testament to his acting skills.

Hi OC, I must admit I thought the Aids reference unnecessary too and like you wondered just what kind of message the writer's were giving out. Does gay automatically equal Aids...? Somehow I don't think so. I think that bit could have been left out. They could as easily have had a promiscuous straight person showing early signs of the disease but hey ho. I guess they wanted to pack in as much emotional weight as possible to the storyline. I guess A2A isn't floating your boat as much as Life On Mars... nevermind; each to their own. Personally I'd be much in favour of a second series just to balance the output of Life On Mars. I'm sure they'll call it a day after that though... it's never going to be a long runner no matter how good it is.

Anonymous said...

haha you are as bad as me!!! I was watching her top too! She was gorgeous as always.

And I loved the bit where Ray went on the pull. So funny.

Wonderful photo.

I was always rather fond of the XTC number - it reminded me of something too but I'm so old I can't remember what!!!

Steve said...

Gina, great minds think alike... and she is very distracting. God I loved the eighties. Not for any socio-political reason (God, Heaven forbid) just for the women's clothes... ;-)

-eve- said...

Your reviews almost make me want to watch this! :-)
That's a good pic... :-)

Steve said...

"Almost" Eve? Darn it, I'll have to try harder next time! ;-)

Glenda Young said...

I love the music, the dialogue can be good and the action is ace. However, am I alone in feeling that the spin off still features too little of the God that is Gene Hunt?

Steve said...

I know what you mean, Nora, but it is possible to have too much of a good thing... and it would be a shame to have the Hunt legend ruined by over-exposure! Keeping us wanting more is definitely the way to go. At the end of the day though the whole Ashes To Ashes premise was thought up just to keep Gene Hunt on our tellies...

Louis Barfe said...

I haven't finished watching this episode yet, but when XTC cropped up on the soundtrack, I was thrilled, because only 30 seconds before, I was thinking "It's a shame that 'English Settlement' was '82, because 'Melt the Guns' would fit in here just great".

Steve said...

lf, English Settlement is truly a great album but Sgt Rock really fitted in well and it was great to hear it again. Mind you, No Thugs In Our House would have fitted in rather well too...!