The Very Latest Edition

By Nathan Ditum

Hello dear Redshirts to this, the 12th edition of the Civilian Observer. It’s the latest edition, in both senses - we have become irregular in putting these out during a busy few months, which we’ll remedy either with several Civilian Observers, or a bonus something for the Ensign tier (do you want a livestream of the Return Of The King game? Gollum off in the comments).

We shall be covering multiple topics in this Civ Obs, as no-one is calling them, either because there’s just so much to cover since we last newslettered, or - a cynic might say - because we’re contending with the absence of a single good idea. 

Either way, let’s begin with

...Alien fucking Earth. 

It’s probably the moment to consider our time with Noah Hawley’s show, which as regular listeners will know we watched week by week (our first time following along with a live TV schedule - as a podcast, not as people, we’re not fucking idiots). I guess the main thing I want to get at here is how the passing of time changes opinion and our appraisal of things. I’ve mentioned on the pod before that I’d love to experience, in my adult life, the kind of broad consensus shift that’s happened around films like Blade Runner or The Thing (although maybe it was something in the air specifically in 1982). Films that really didn’t land on first release, but were critically reconsidered over time.

I remembered this while thinking of Alien Earth because, basically, I’m still not sure what to think. We touched on this briefly in a recent episode. I’m glad the show exists, but when I say that out loud it comes out as a question. I’m glad the show exists? It had several hours that I really enjoyed, some performances and ideas that really stand out even in this extraordinary fictional world. But it built a staircase to nowhere, like the finale had an Escher-like quality that had us ascending, ascending, and somehow feeling as though we were at the start again. We speak a lot about trying to be positive in our approach to things even if we’re not enjoying them, especially as our podcast sits alongside many others in the fandom space that are fuelled by a tedious outrage economy. So what we experienced was more like a slow-ish deflation, as a few things didn’t land, scope for a meaningful ending disappeared, and the promise of the show’s heights evaporated. I’m glad it exists, but I don’t think I’m excited for more (?).

Funnily enough, as a podcast experiment this was pretty much the vibe too. We’d been growing as a pod since we launched last year, and Alien Earth saw a period of absolute stasis, listeners and subscribers-wise. Emails and other messages dropped off. You, the beautiful Commander and Ensign faithful, remained active in the Patreon chat (and I think we had a bunch of really interesting discussions that made following the show much more engaging than just watching would have alone). It did make me think, I guess this is why so many podcasts and creators turn to outrage when a show isn't the second coming of xeno-Jesus, because if your subject matter isn’t brilliant, you can at least create a sense of urgency through beating the shit out of it every week. We don’t make RSCC in the hope of getting huge, so we weren’t tempted to go down that route, and it was more interesting than worrying that things slowed down audience-wise. Anyway - it’ll be interesting to see what we all think about this when and if a season two should ever arrive. We’ll remain as upbeat as we can? We’ll remain as upbeat as we can

Next, something on the subject of general fandom.

Longtime listeners to the podcast, and especially longtime viewers of PlayStation Access, will know that the three of us have been big fans of The Lonely Island for a long time. Some of my favourite moments from our early days making the channel were sitting in our office at Yogscast watching their videos, and of course anyone who’s watched our 1 Million Subscriber video has probably seen the trio’s glaring influence.

I’ve recently started listening to the Seth Meyers and Lonely Island Podcast (on the recommendation of The Back Page pod’s Matthew Castle, who it turned out only listened to a couple of episodes). And I’ve also recently finished listening to it, because I ran through all, oh, 70-something episodes in a couple of weeks. I enjoy it on two levels. One, because the Lonely Island are three very old, very funny friends with a natural chemistry, and that chemistry is complemented perfectly by their one-time SNL colleague Seth Meyers, who is (well, obviously) a brilliant broadcaster and agile compere. And two, because the loose thread of the podcast is to examine one of the group’s digital shorts, made for SNL during their time on the show, in great detail in each episode. Really it turns into a half-reminiscence, half-deep dive into the act of creativity in a pressured environment, including their other contributions to SNL, and their collaborations with other cast and writers. 

For someone like me, who’d seen maybe half the 100+ shorts (and all of the songs, of course) hearing how they came together, with input from other SNL alumni and guest hosts, is a great listen. But the real, real joy of it is understanding more about the ups and downs of the creative process, week-by-week, as they become a career. The when of these things being made is often more interesting than the how - giant hits like Lazy Sunday arrive early, followed by weeks of not knowing what the hell to do next. Future smashes are followed by desperate half-ideas. The lesson underneath it all is to keep making things, not to expect everything to be perfect, but to approach it like it just might be.

Speaking of deep, deep, deep-diving into things I love, I have been rewatching ITV’s Robin Of Sherwood (and I’m pretty sure at least three of you just perked up in recognition). I’ve made my love of Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves loudly, regularly, abundantly clear on Redshirt Cinema Club - a film that came out when I was 10 years old, and left an impression that had me chasing other Robin Hoods for several years. I watched every film version I could find (including Sean Connery’s bleak Robin and Marian and, incredibly, the 1938 Erol Flynn film The Adventures Of Robin Hood). At some point I also received a double VHS box of the ITV series, which - with its mystic synth folk soundtrack, throbbing pagan undertones, and lack of Hollywood stars - primary school Nath struggled to enjoy.

…but which adult Nath fucking loves. Actually the show had me completely won over by the time the opening credits were finished, opening credits which feature some of that mystic synth folk (dreamy, catchy), an extraordinary sound effect as Robin lets fly an arrow, and several shots of Robin - played by handsome bastard Michael Praed - running through Sherwood forest in slow motion. At one point there’s an abrupt zoom picking out Robin standing dramatically framed by trees. At another, Robin runs into frame, stops, and looks handsomely to his left as the shot freezes. It’s unbeatable stuff.

The show itself has several things going for it. Will Scarlett is played by pre-Hollywood Ray Winstone as a completely furious lunatic. The villains are superb - Nickolas Grace as a theatrically evil Sheriff of Nottingham (not better than Alan Rickman, per se, but certainly paving the way), Robert Addie as Guy of Gisbourne (channeling the same aristocratic wretchedness he’d displayed as Mordred in Excalibur), and Poirot’s own Philip Jackson as the Sheriff’s rotten brother, Abbot Hugo. John Rhys-Davies even turns up as King Richard, and several elements of the Robin Hood myth that the show chooses to foreground - sorcerers and the occult, a Arabic member of the merry men to tie in with the Crusades backdrop - are picked up by Prince Of Thieves just a few years later. 

The whole show is available on ITVX.

And, funnily enough, it originally ran from 1984 to 1986 (with Michael Praed switching out for Sean Connery’s son, Jason, halfway through) so it fits in unexpectedly well with our imminent 1985 season. I’ll finish on a small note about that. Below I’ve listed out the list of films that I have seen from that year, which I read through on the podcast this week. Maybe a third of these are things I’ve sought out as an adult, a third are things I’ve seen somehow along the way, and another third are things my dad taped and showed to me and my brother in the late 1980s/early 1990s. 

It’s strange - I’d have guessed I’d seen maybe 10 or 20 films from this year. The fact I’ve seen so many more really comes down to the fact that, one, I’m old. And two, my dad had a more direct influence on what I was watching and enjoying than I remember. He wasn’t demonstrative about it, but looking through this list, he liked American comedies, and (I did already know this) fantasy films. Police Academy 2, Ladyhawke, Brewster’s Millions, Fletch, The Goonies, Red Sonja, National Lampoon’s European Vacation, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Teen Wolf, King Solomon’s Mines, Spies Like Us, The Jewel Of The Nile, Legend - all of these films existed in our stack of off-air VHS recordings. I’m looking forward to revisiting some of them with you lot.

Here’s the shortlist - please reply with yours in the comments, and we’ll follow up soon with a community poll to find our audience pick.


Nathan’s list of cool 1985 movies which he has seen

Blood Simple
Witness
The Breakfast Club
The Sure Thing
The Hit
Desperately Seeking Susan
Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment
Ladyhawke
Brewster’s Millions
Rambo: First Blood Part 2
A View To A Kill
Fletch
The Goonies
Cocoon
Return To Oz
St Elmo’s Fire
Back To The Future
Red Sonja
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
The Black Cauldron
National Lampoon’s European Vacation
Fright Night
Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
The Return Of The Living Dead
Teen Wolf
After Hours
Commando
The Quiet Earth
Re-Animator
To Live And Die In LA
King Solomon’s Mines
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
Rocky IV
Santa Claus: The Movie
Young Sherlock Holmes
Spies Like Us
The Jewel Of The Nile
Cluedo
Legend
Brazil 
Enemy Mine