Kylie's Showgirl Homecoming Concert

For those of you who didn't get the chance to see Kylie's fabulous Showgirl Homecoming Shows don't forget to tune into channel four tonight at 10.10pm to see the diminutive icon's fabulous comeback concert. Recorded in front of a capacity crowd in Australia this really was a homecoming for Australia's own showgirl and superstar.
With all new choreography and stunninning costumes the show is absolutely spectacular. The Queen of Pop is back and better than ever. Welcome back Kylie!

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R.I.P. Yvonne De Carlo

Yvonne De Carlo has died. She was 84, the beautiful star who played Moses' wife in "The Ten Commandments" went on to have a film and Broadway career of some note, including a Tony for her dazzling performance in Stephen Sondheim’s “Follies” on Broadway in 1971. Despite her successful film and stage career, Yvonne will sadly, only, be remembered by most, for her portrayal of Lily Munster, in the long running comedy TV Show “The Munsters”

De Carlo died of natural causes Monday at the Motion Picture & Television facility in suburban Woodland Hills, She had been ill for some time following a stroke.

Rest in peace Yvonne De Carlo.

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A Few Of My Favourite Things - Dynasty

No not raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens! This monthly random post is about some of my favourite things. Some I'm passionate about others just tickle my fancy and make me laugh.

I’m currently wading my way through all nine seasons of iconic 80’s TV show Dynasty, (I’m up to season 6 already and totally addicted!) The story of simple Denver oil billionaires and I’d forgotten just what delicious nonsense it was!

From its somewhat drab and almost “realistic” beginnings in season one, to the complete absurdity of the final seasons it’s a roller-coaster of camp madness.

The show didn’t really come into its own until the arrival of Joan Collins as Alexis Morrel Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan, in season two and then there was no stopping it! And it wasn’t just our Joanie who livened things up, everyone from Henry Kissinger, President Gerald Ford, George Hamilton and Rock Hudson guest starred at some point.

The budget may have been a million dollars an episode but they obviously only spent about $5 on the scripts and the plots are hilarious high drama, from alien abduction, catfights, long lost relative, Royal Wedding massacres and Krystle’s double replacing her for months un-noticed.

The characters all suffered ludicrously but my god suffering never looked so good, thanks to Nolan Millers extravagant clothes. Like the 80’s itself, it’s a testament to shoulder pads, money, greed and glitz and mores the pity, they don’t make em like that anymore.

Right I’m off! I have to find out if Dex and Alexis succeed in a two person guerrilla raid on Moldavia to rescue the King…travelling by the Colbyco jet of course!

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Fanny Fever

According to Sitemeter (link in the sidebar) the fab bit of free kit which tells me the number of hits on my blog and also where people clicked from, there has been a mini surge in activity the past couple of days. So what’s brought this on I wondered? Or was it a repeat of the surge I had in July, where, inexplicably, if you typed Pics of Charlize Theron Naked into Google my blog came up? (At this point I should warn you no amount of searching this blog will actually produce pics of Charlize naked….sorry to disappoint you!)

No apparently my normally sedate 200-250 page views a day had leapt to nearly 1000 because of a little post I put up in February, about… of all things, Fanny Cradock! Apparently Google is alive with UK people wanting to know more about fearsome Fanny!

Usually my country split is about 30% US and 20% UK and the rest from anywhere you can think of. Yesterday 92% of my hits were from UK residents searching out Fanny, (insert own joke here!) probably due to BBC4’s spate of recent programmes about her and last nights fantastic play, Fear of Fanny. (Reviewed below)

Finally it seems Fanny is being restored to her rightful place as Queen of The Kitchen and about time too!

Click here for the original post about Fanny

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Fear Of Fanny - The Formidable & Fabulous Fanny Cradock

Last night BBC4 showed “Fear of Fanny” a film about the life of the formidable Fanny Cradock the first lady of television cooks and what a treat it was. With Julia Davis (Of Nighty Night fame) as Fanny and The League of Gentleman’s Mark Gatiss as her long suffering husband Johnny, both giving fantastic performances.

The play followed Fanny’s life from the 1950’s to her sad end in a nursing home in 1994. Along the way she barged through three long running television series, badgering and bullying her husband and anyone else in her orbit, whilst also managing to whip up, over 100 cookery books, a magazine and 4 science fiction novels along the way! No wonder she was addicted to speed, she made Martha Stewart look positively slovenly!

Whilst the public adored her drag queen make-up and bossy, bitchy personae, they drew the line when she verbally assaulted a mild mannered amateur cook who won a national competition, live on TV.

The public never quite forgave her and her long reign as Queen of Britain’s kitchens came to an abrupt end and she was reduced to becoming the comedy old battle-axe on countless chat shows.

Julia Davis portrayed Fanny with all the bitchy, balls we know her for but also revealed a woman driven by personal demons and a determination to escape her own humble beginnings. Hopefully this play will go a long way to restoring the tarnished reputation of one of Britain’s great eccentrics and even greater cooks and it also made for fantastically funny television. Well done BBC4.

Click here for clips of Julia as Fanny

See the real Fanny in action below

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John Barrowman - Captain Jack Is Back!

Last night was the launch of Torchwood the BBC3, Doctor Who, spin- off starring John Barrowwman as bi-sexual time traveller, Captain Jack Harkness. Like Dr Who it's written by the fabulous Russell T Davies of Queer as Folk and Coronation St, fame.

How was it? To be honest I couldn’t tell you I spent so long drooling over the gorgeous John barrowman, the plot sort of passed me by! Luckily I taped it so after a few plays I’ll let you know if the series is any good!

In the meantime you can catch our former Hunk of The Month in action every Sunday at 9pm on BBC3! Hurrah!

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The Line of Beauty

Normally I’m wary of TV adaptations of books I love but I have to say the BBC has come up trumps with its adaptation of Alan Hollinghurst’s Booker Prize winning novel The Line of Beauty.

Andrew Davies who has a history of bringing great novels to life has created a wondefully authentic slice of England under Thatcher in the 80’s and has stuck rigidly to the books story and themes and the results is a visually stunning and rich adaptation.

The story of Nick Guest a gay, middle class boy from Northampton, who via his friend Toby Fedden is thrust into a world of money, politics and grandeur which typify the era, only to have his world and that of those around him implode in as a result of excess and scandal.

The part of Nick Guest is played brilliantly by newcomer Dan Stevens of who I’m sure we are going to see much more, the rest of the cast are perfectly played and a visual feast especially Alex Wyndham as Wani. My only quibble is I had always pictured Bill Nighy or his type playing Gerald Fedden though Bill McInnery is perfectly adequate, he just wasn’t how I imagined the part. This small quibble aside it’s an excellent script and cast and shouldn’t be missed.

For those who need to catch up the first two parts are available for download on the BBC website and episode three is this weds on BBC2

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Farewell Queer as Folk

Queer as Folk - The Final (Fifth) Season
Starring: Michelle Clunie, Robert Gant, Thea Gill, Gale Harold, Randy Harrison,etc
Director: Alex Chapple, Michael DeCarlo

Well I’ve avidly watched every season of this show & I have to say I was willing this series to never end but alas its time to say goodbye to Liberty Ave. I adored the original UK Series it was truly groundbreaking, the first even remotely realistic portrayal of gays on TV and when the US episodes began a few years later I loved it all over again. Every year for the last 5 seasons there has been an annual ritual of buying the season on DVD (after a seemingly interminable wait for it to be released every year) and then devouring the whole box set over the course of a weekend with frequent calls or emails to my friend Eric to see, “what episode are you up to so far” I cant understand why it never found a regular home on UK TV but I guess many over here felt the original UK Version was the definitive one. I disagree it’s almost impossible to compare them past season two as they are both so different but even if you judge the US version inferior it lasted 3 seasons longer than its British cousin and gave you far more chance to get to know and love its characters. I have particularly fond memories of flirting with members of the US cast when they were over to promote it, in the VIP room of the now defunct Sweet Suite club. At times I found it trite, corny, sexy, fun, or sad but always entertaining. In a way I’m glad its ending before it got really lame but it will be sorely missed like an old friend.

Well the final season of this groundbreaking classic may be gone, but the memories and the "thumpa-thumpa" live on. The most intense season yet sees Liberty Avenue and its citizens go through some tough challenges.

I found it rather satisfying that in an era of increasingly anti Gay politics in The US, Queer as Folk decided to make its most political episodes yet, maybe because it was their last and maybe, as its exactly the current political climate, that hastened its demise, it was the show’s way of going down fighting. I won’t give the plot away for those who haven’t seen it but there are some pretty spectacular and dramatic developments and watch out from a couple of great guest spots from Rosie O’Donnell and Cyndi Lauper.

Queer as Folk gone but not forgotten.

QAF website http://www.sho.com/site/queer/home.do
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