(Week 25: June 16 – 23)

Yay! I finally finished chapter two of the novel and got stuck right into chapter three. This will be an interesting one: I have the characters and settings, and about half of a plot. I’m just going to see how this one pans out.

Watching

I’m finally getting stuck into The Tick. My feeling is that the overall premise is fantastic, but there’s something about it that’s not quite as good as it ought to be. It delivers about 80 percent of what it promises, but I come away from most episodes feeling like the creators have not quite achieved what they set out to do. Overall it makes me want to watch Dirk Gently all over again, which (in my view) really nailed that particular brand of humour that comes from having characters who have little idea how surreal and absurd their world is.

Friday’s horror choice was an eagerly anticipated rewatch of The Babysitter, which is just as much fun second time around.

I also managed to finish up Game Of Thrones this weekend. Overall, I can see why people had some issues with this last series, but I don’t share most of the complaints. Endings are hard, and most people will inevitably come away dissatisfied that something they’ve loved for years is wrapping up. I feel that a few weak points (particularly the specific, and fumbled, moment that shifted Danaerys from hero to villain) distracted from a set of episodes that were gorgeous to look at and absorbing to watch.

It’s worth noting that the same creators have been behind the show from the start. There have always been controversial moments, but people wouldn’t still be watching the show in their millions if those same creators weren’t doing an exceptional job in bringing it to the screen. So, suggestions that this last season has suffered from terrible writing are misguided in the extreme.

Reading

I discovered, a little belatedly, that there was a Chernobyl podcast to accompany the TV series. This features the writer of the show, Craig Mazin, talking about the process of writing the show, the creative decisions he had to make, and being candid about the few instances where the show had to significantly deviate from established fact. Obviously this sort of thing is right up my alley, and I enjoyed listening to this almost as much as I enjoyed the show.

There’s plenty of advice within for budding writers like myself; points about how to maintain and structure narrative, points about character, and just general interest stuff about translating real life events into a dramatisation. This all comes with plenty of fascinating behind the scenes insights about the real events at Chernobyl and the making of the show.

Very highly recommended.