Another meet-up and this time we were around Shaun's to watch another story that was new to me: The Masque Of Mandragora! What I love about The Masque Of Mandragora is that it has a name that I ALWAYS have to take a second to think about before saying! Stupid long word! Imagine how the kids coped in the seventies!!? Oh well, never mind - we all met around Shaun's (in the early evening) to take a look - well, I say "all" but in reality we had one casualty....
***********************************************************************************************************
Shaun: ".....Yeah that's the punchline of the whole movie! It makes the movie good!"
*Jason chuckles*
Mark: "If you don't see that, then -"
Shaun: "- Then the movie's a waste of time, yeah! That's the best bit."
MJ: *To recording device* "We're talking about the film Jingle All The Way."
Jason: *Smiling* "Yeah but at the cinema I left before that bit! And I've never watched back through it when it has been on TV since!"
*Shaun laughs*
Jason: "'Mandragora'?"
MJ: "'Mandragora'! I didn't want to say it as it's weally - 'Weally'??! It's REALLY bad thing to try and say!"
Jason: *Italian accent* "Man-dra-gora!"
MJ: "The first time I've seen this - in fact Shaun took my DVD's virginity by taking off the protective film. His house - his virginity to take! So there we go!"
Jason: "It's not his virginity to take - it's the taking of the virginity!"
MJ: "Hah! And it's a Sunday night - that's very interesting."
Shaun: "Well, late afternoon. Five o' clock."
MJ: "Sunday late afternoon."
Jason: "It's late for me."
MJ: "I've just had a half pint at Pravda or whatever it's called!" *Laughs*
Mark: "Sharon's."
MJ: *Laughing* "'Sharon's!'" *Singing* "My Sharona!" *Normal voice* "After I did some recording in the rain (for a podcast with my friend Robert Crighton) - so there we go! That's some context!"
Jason: *Looking in The Book* "Oh that was worth me doing that book mark and taking it out again! Oh! No, that's alright!"
MJ: "Oh you've put an elastic band round - not around his penis. In The Book!"
*The DVD menu says 'To select audio navigation press 'Enter' now'*
MJ: "Don't!"
Jason: "Don't press 'Enter'!!"
Mark: "Press it! Press 'Enter'!" *MJ laughs* "Let's make the same mistake that you first made EVERY time!"
Jason: "Thank you for the tea! And crisps"
MJ: "Yes, thank you for the tea!"
Mark: "Thank you for the tea."
MJ: *Leigh voice* "I didn't get no tea!" *Normal voice* "Said Leigh."
Mark: "You forgot to put sugar, milk and tea in my tea!"
MJ: *Laughs* "Yes, it's just water! There's no effort there! Anyway I THINK, I might be wrong, this story could be filmed around the place where they filmed the TV show The Prisoner?"
Jason: *Seeing a skull on the screen* "Skeletor!"
Mark: "What, Port -"
Shaun: "- meirian!"
MJ: "Portmeirian, yeah. But I might be completely wrong about that! 'Cos it looks like it's supposed to be in Italy but it's -"
Jason: "Skeletor!!"
MJ: "It's not Skeletor! Okay Part One where we watch Not-Skeletor... Sheep... Ram-Man! Part One."
Photo 1: At Shaun's house.
Jason (with the sign), MJ& Mark (with the DVD case).
*EPISODE ONE GETS WATCHED*
MJ: "End of Part One and we've mainly been talking about NEW Doctor Who!" *Mark laughs* "I recognise that name (in end credits) Pat Gorman. I reckon he's been in lots of things."
Shaun: "No I think you're thinking of DAVE Gorman!"
*Mark giggles*
MJ: *Singing* "Pat Gorman's Googelwhack adventure!"
Mark: *Reading end credits* "Dick Mills! Sorry."
MJ: "So yes they seem to be back in Italy, in Renaissance-y time maybe?"
Jason: "Yep!"
MJ: "It looks beautiful, as they always do - these period pieces. The guy in charge looks like Richard the Third. They had a kangaroo court - which I made a great pun about. But that's not for here..." *Laughs* (See what you missed, Leigh!)
*Mark laughs*
Shaun: "Yes! I loved it! It was a good pun! Go for it!"
Mark: "No, no. We can't have anything entertaining or fun said here!"
Shaun: "No! We'll do it again!"
MJ: "Okay."
Shaun: "I complained that The Doctor is always surprised that, every time he's captured by law enforcement, he's put into a kangaroo court."
MJ: "And I replied 'Well that's because he always lives in HOP'!"
Shaun: "And I laughed and kissed his face." *See Leigh, you missed some comedy gold!*
MJ: "He did. It was like something from.... a book..." *Laughs* "Like, I dunno - The Bible! And then he betrayed me!" *Laughs*
Mark: *Laughs* "Your inevitable betrayal!"
Shaun: "Yeah! I didn't even need thirty pieces of silver! Just a quick hand-job from Mark!"
MJ: *Laughing* "Annnnd Part Two!"
*Shaun laughs*
Photo 2: At Shaun's house.
Jason (with the sign), Shaun& Mark ((pulling a Grommit face!) with the DVD case).
*EPISODE TWO GETS WATCHED*
MJ: "End of Part Two and Sarah Jane has been grabbed by some creepy man who said 'Mmmmm, Demnos will not be....' whatever he said!"
Mark: "'Denied his pleasure'!"
MJ: "Yes, 'Denied his pleasure'! It's not even Barbara this time!" *Laughs* "She's usually the one that gets the creepy come-ons!"
Shaun: "You leave Barbara alone. She was lovely!"
MJ: "She WAS! But she did get a lot of dodgy attention from men!"
Jason: "She did."
MJ: "Well, two!"
Shaun: "She was an incredibly attractive woman!"
Jason: "It wasn't two - it was more than two! It was every other week!"
MJ: "Yeah."
Shaun: "Yeah one of them made her a high priestess! Was it The Aztecs?"
Mark and MJ: "Yeah."
Jason: "The way to a woman's heart - make her a high priestess!"
*Laughter*
Shaun: "That was two wasn't it?"
MJ: "Yep! Pause it there!"
Shaun: "Well, I've got to be honest, this is going a lot quicker than quite often."
Mark: *Giggling* "Quite often! Yeah!"
Shaun: "It's moving at a decent pace."
MJ: "Mm!"
Shaun: "It doesn't feel like they're coming to the end as quite often it does at the end of a second part - it's moving at a good pace."
Mark: "Yeah, it's going well so far."
MJ: "I don't know but I'm sure we will find out there are aliens and stuff. And what the alien properly is."
Jason: "Oh, the blobby thing?"
MJ: "Mm!"
Shaun: "Isn't that Mandragora?"
Mark: "Yeah."
Leigh: "Because when it went into the TARDIS, in Part One, there was an ominous laughing sound."
Jason: "There was."
Shaun: "So I'm guessing that's the alien."
Jason: "I just thought it was MJ behind me!" *Does deep voice laugh a bit like...*
Mark: "What, Jabba The Hutt?"
Shaun:*Smiling* "Ooo should we give out spoilers for new Star Wars on this!!? Like if anyone happens to read it then that will be the whole movie ruined!!"
Jason: "I've never seen the thing! I've never seen any Star Wars..."
*Mark chuckles*
Jason: "Well you've got time then!"
Shaun: "Yeah that was Rogue One you saw much later 'cos then we watched Arrival." (Yes I saw it at our local theatre - then Shaun joined me for the second film)
Jason: "I've still not seen Rogue One."
Mark: "The Force Awakens?"
MJ: "Mm. So there you go, not much to say about that Doctor Who episode! Our usual guy, Leigh, who would talk about it for hours - he's not here to fill up the recording!" *Laughs*
Mark: "We got distracted by Star Wars, unfortunately."
MJ: "Yes, there was a lot of talk during it!" *Laughs*
Mark: "You see when we talk during it - you should record during THAT bit!"
MJ: "Yeah!"
Mark: "We're all talked out now!"
MJ: "They were talking about BUSINESS!"
*Mark laughs*
Shaun: "Damn right!"
Mark: "Damn right!"
MJ: "Well I'm going to go and pee - so I won't record that."
*Recording break*
MJ: "Shaun said 'Orange Oil' is Popeye's girlfriend. Remember that!" *Sniggers*
Jason: "Yeah, that's the context."
MJ: "No context needed! It's just there!" *Shaun laughs* "And we're onto Part Three!"
Mark: "You will definitely remember that in three months time when you write this up..." (He's right! It is about three month's time! Spooky guess!)
Photo 3: At Shaun's house.
Moody black and white ACTION image (colour was crap!)
of Jason (with the sign), MJ& Mark (with the DVD case).
of Jason (with the sign), MJ& Mark (with the DVD case).
*EPISODE THREE GETS WATCHED*
Shaun: "Like the Emperor!" (in Star Wars)
Mark: "Been shuffling his feet!" (on carpet I presume!)
*MJ laughs*
Shaun: "So not did George Lucas steal costumes from Doctor Who (and various aliens for Star Wars) he also stole the plot of this!"
Mark: "Yeah."
MJ: "There was a guy there in the credits called Hugh Cleverley! I like that name."
Shaun: "It's not as good as 'Hugh and Cry'!"
Jason: *Reading end credits* "Rodney Bennett"
MJ: "Oooo Mr Bennett! - oh no that's something else."
Jason: "Mr Grimsdale?!" *Laughs*
MJ: "Mr Hart. Mr Bennett would moan 'Ohhh Mr Hart!'" (Not explaining all that!)
Shaun: "There's only thirteen more years of Doctor Who!"
MJ: "Yes, that's right!"
Jason: "Twelve!"
MJ: "Nineteen Eighty Nine."
Shaun: "What have we done? It was...sixty three?"
MJ: "Yep! Seventy three was ten years."
Shaun: "So, a fair chunk!"
Jason: "I should bloody hope so!"
Shaun: "We're a couple of years into Tom Baker."
MJ: "Part Four now. Is this the first year we've done Tom Baker, or the second?"
Shaun: "Second season."
MJ: "Yeah I know that."
Shaun: "So I'm guessing second year of it - first year for us."
MJ: "That's what I meant! Sorry."
Shaun: "Oh yeah, yeah, yeah! First year for us. We finished Pertwee in February or something."
MJ: "Anyway Part Four!"
Shaun: "Part Four!!"
*EPISODE FOUR GETS WATCHED*
Photo 4: At Shaun's house.
Jason (with the sign), Shaun& Mark (with the DVD case).
*EPISODE FOUR GETS WATCHED*
MJ: "So that was it! I didn't quite get the end why?...."
Mark: "Because you had the wires and the energy... and then I'm not quite sure where they got the energy."
Jason: "They reverse the polarity."
Mark: "They reversed it, yeah."
MJ: "So all of the followers of Mandragora -"
Mark: "- all melted."
MJ: "They melted."
Jason: "Yeah, it was very Indiana Jones."
MJ: "And Hieronymous wasn't really Hieronymous, it was a doctor behind a mask."
Jason: "Yes."
Mark: "Yep."
MJ: "And he's reverse the polarity of... " *Laughs as I wanted to say 'Neutron flow'*
Jason: "So who was behind the lion mask again? Oh it was the faceless one."
Mark: "The faceless guy, yeah."
MJ: "Because they lost their face - not like The Faceless Ones (from the story of the same name) which used stock footage of an aeroplanes!"
*Cheers from the group*
Mark: "We all like the stock footage of an aeroplanes!"
Jason: "Wow! I do not remember it THAT specific. I remember aeroplanes, I remember The Faceless Ones - but I would NOT put them together!"
MJ: "Ahh. Well that was two episodes and four re-cons."
Jason: "Let's talk abot that!"
MJ: *Laughs* "Yes let's talk about that! But anyway (back to this story) - that was that. That was.... fine to me!"
Jason: "Yeah. I'm not blown away by it. Nice oufits!"
Mark: "I thought I was going to like it more than I did, when I saw the little photos sequence on the DVD menu."
MJ: "Yeah."
Mark: "I thought 'That's going to be a good one!' And it was alright..."
MJ: "Yeah. I think it was alright. I might enjoy it more if I watched it a second time, maybe..."
Jason: "What, without us wittering all through it!?"
Shaun: "Yeah!"
Mark: "Sarah Jane was rubbish again."
Jason: "If you followed the plot - like we did. Hey Sarah Jane was fine! She did hypnotised acting, she did captured acting, she did scared!"
MJ: "She showed cleavage!"
Jason: "Clever. She did sums! I didn't like it at the end though, when she questioned his
phrasing of 'That was a good century'. Nothing wrong with what he said!"
Mark: "All of that was fine but most of the time she gets written as being quite capable of doing things but this time she was just getting captured and going 'Woaahhh'!"
Shaun: "I hate to do this again, I was just saying to Jason earlier, but I don't have much of any complaints! I thought that was actually really good!" *Mark laughs* "It had good characters, excellent pacing - "
Jason: "- You've become numb to this!"
*Shaun laughs*
Mark: "You have become to numb to it, that's the problem."
Shaun: "The threat was interesting, it all worked - the science didn't, obviously, but that's Doctor Who!"
Mark: "I don't care about the science."
Shaun: "Yeah. I thought that was a really good time. I thoroughly enjoyed it!"
Jason: "There was nothing wrong with it - "
Shaun: *Smiling* "- I need to get back to my cynical hating of these!" *Mark laughs* "I hate liking them! That's worse than disliking them!!"
Mark: "I'm not saying it's bad, I'm saying it wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be."
MJ: "I enjoyed the villain."
Mark: "I like 'Gauron'." (some comic book character!)
Shaun: "Yeah. I liked both the villains."
Jason: "It's not 'Gauron', it's Howard's Way guy!"
Mark: "It's 'Gauron' - it looked like 'Gauron'!"
MJ: "With his interesting beardy thing and, erm, they all looked very smartly dressed."
Shaun: "What, what I quite never figured out though, was like right at the start of this, yeah, you had Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman fighting with this monster - " *Everyone laughs* "- and that didn't come back to tie-in at all at the end!?"
Mark: "I know! You'd think they'd reuse that..."
Shaun: "And I don't quite get -"
Mark: "- And that looked quite expensive as well!"
Shaun: "Yeah yeah."
MJ: "I don't think they could afford to get them back for the last one and they thought 'Well probably the kids would have forgotten this by now'."
Shaun: "Oh right, so they just ramped up The Doctor's story."
Mark: "It was a month ago..."
MJ: "That's right."
Shaun: *Laughing* "Steven Moffat will finish that in his Christmas special!" *Laughs*
Photo 5: At Shaun's house.
smiley Jason (with the sign).
MJ: "It's weird though, they did that before the DVD credit title as well, so that was unusual. Usually they don't do it like that... so that was good. What do you think Leigh?...."
Shaun: *Smiling* "Oh hang on, let's just see if we can get him on satellite link-up!"
MJ: *Laughing* "What's the point if he hasn't seen it!?"
Shaun: *Laughing* "'Cos it will be funny!"
Jason: "Because he'll STILL give the same response! It'll fit it perfectly. He didn't like the bit when 'This' happened."
Shaun: "If we get it, transcribe his answerphone!" *Calls Leigh... The rings are heard...* "It's not looking good." *But then a Leigh picks up!*
Leigh: "Hello?"
MJ: *Shouting* "Hello!!!"
Jason: "Hey!"
*Leigh laughs*
MJ: "So clearly you've been watching along like Jason does."
Shaun: "Yeah."
*Laughter*
Leigh: *Exasperated* "No, because I've been out!! That was the whole reason I couldn't make it!!"
*Laughter*
MJ: "No, no, you've been watching it! We need to know your scores!"
Shaun: "We need to hear your opinion and know your scores!!"
*Laughter*
Leigh: "Errr, I thought it was terrible!"
Shaun: "Awww"
MJ: "Ohh! Well that's gone against the consensus!"
Shaun: "But what did you particularly AND specifically not like about it??!"
Leigh: *Possibly a bit miffed* "I didn't hear any of that."
Shaun: "I said what specifically did you not like about it??!"
MJ: "Oh."
Leigh: "Especially Sarah Jane!"
*Lots of agreeing 'Ahhhs'*
Shaun: "Ahh fair enough."
MJ: "Yeah."
Shaun: "Well that echoes our statements, so yeah."
*Leigh laughs*
MJ: "Very much so. And she's going to be in Doctor Who for AGES yet..."
Shaun: "Yeah!" *MJ does knowing chuckle*
Leigh: "Urrrrr."
MJ: "No, not really!"
Shaun: "Score out of ten!?"
Leigh: "Errrr, five and a half!!"
Shaun: "Five and a half!"
MJ: "That's fair."
Jason: "Good."
Shaun: "Quite middling, yeah."
*MJ laughs loudly*
Jason: "Better than average!"
Leigh: "Okay can I go now!?"
MJ: "Yes!"
Shaun: "Yeah, fair enough."
MJ: *Laughing* "Cheers Leigh!"
Shaun: "Bye Leigh!!"
Leigh: "Bye."
Mark: *Extra loud* "BYE!!"
*Leigh goes*
Shaun: *Smiling* "I think that went well!"
Mark: "Yeah."
Shaun: "Our best live link-up yet!"
*Mark chuckles*
Jason: *Having done the previous live link up* "Hey!"
*Big laughter*
MJ: "Why don't we ALL do that from now on!!? Just not watch it and see what we think about it!?"
*Big laughter*
Jason: "That's what I have been doing!"
Shaun: *To his cat, Houdini* "What did you think of it? Yeah? Yeah?"
Jason: "Get this down MJ!"
Shaun: "Yeah, yeah."
Jason: "Describe the ears."
Shaun: "He said that he liked the juxtaposition between the seeming cold open and the over the top sci-fi finish. Whereas the actual basis of it was very much just an old medieval or renaissance, err, low-tech, err, story!"
MJ: "Yes! Yes indeed!"
Shaun: *To his cat* "That was an interesting insight, Houdini. Thank you very much!"
MJ: "There was not much in the way of the science fiction element."
Jason: "There was a glowing blob!"
MJ: "But that's ONE element."
Jason: "Well, there was fantasy. If you can call astrology that."
MJ: "No. So I suppose we ought to mark it and then..."
Jason: "... go home!"
MJ: "Yes, go home!"
*Jason and Mark laugh*
Shaun: *Quickly* "Marks out of ten Jason - go!!"
Jason: "Six."
Shaun: *Quickly* "Marks out of ten Mark - go!!"
Mark: "Erm.... seven?"
Shaun: *Quickly* "Marks out of ten MJ - go!!"
MJ: "Seven!"
Shaun: *Quickly* "Marks out of ten Shaun - go!!" *Calm voice* "Errr I'll give it eight."
MJ: "Okay!" *Puts on gruff Northern England voice* But what does The Book say?"
Jason: *Copies voice* "I'll say what The Book says, The Book says:" *Reads from The Book still in Northern accent* "In Renaissance Italy, Mandragora energy tries to drag the world back in t' Dark Ages...!"
*Shaun laughs*
Mark: "That's the same accent as all the Italians had in this serial..." (Yes they did give all the Northern Italians Northern English (like Yorkshire) accents!)
Shaun: *Laughing* "I like how this is hard enough for MJ to transcribe as it is, without you doing a silly voice!"
*Mark chuckles*
Jason: *Reads from The Book in a sort-of Italian accent* "The nineteen twenties Italianate-inspired village of Portmeirion, Wales! -'"
*Cheers*
MJ: "Ahh it WAS Portmeirion!"
Mark: "It was, yeah."
Jason: *Reads from The Book - normal voice!* "' - stood in for Italy. Costumes were reused from the nineteen fifty four version of the film Romeo And Juliet -"
MJ: "There we go!"
Mark: "Ahh."
Jason: *Reads from The Book* "'- Barry Newberry designed a new Secondary Control Room, built from plywood lined with wood-veneer wallpaper to suggest wooden panels,' - that fooled me I thought it was real wood!"
Mark: "Yeah I thought it was real wood!"
MJ: "Yeah I did! It looked quite smart."
Jason: *Reads from The Book* "'- and a new, simplified police box exterior prop with a flatter roof."
Mark: "Oh."
Jason: "I didn't spot that."
Mark: "No I didn't notice that."
MJ: "NO I didn't. No."
Jason: *Reads from The Book* "'Verdict: A sumptuous historical with a serious message about free will. On the downside the Mandragora Helix is poorly conceived, the ending is confusing and musician Dudley Simpson has a rare off day'."
MJ: "Oh."
Mark: "Oh."
Jason: *Slams The Book shut* "Six out of ten!"
MJ: "Ohhh!"
Jason: "Like I said!"
Mark: "So it agreed with you, Jason!"
MJ: "I can't say I noticed the music being that bad?"
*Jason does over the top tuba-type noise*
Mark: "I thought the music was fine it that one."
Jason: "It was very good but it was a bit over the top. It was very much: THIS IS A HORROR BIT!! THIS IS A COMEDY BIT!!"
Mark: *Defensive* "I don't mind that!"
Shaun: *Also defensive* "I liked that!"
Jason: "THIS IS FLASHING BLADE!"
MJ: "So they were saying it was a bit confusing with bits and stuff? Well, I'm usually confused by things though, so...!" *Laughs*
Mark: "Well maybe it didn't fill out plot bits that I thought it did and... 'cos I wasn't listening!"
Jason: "No. 'Cos it went all over the place." *Mark laughs* "I don't know. I'm sure it was very good. Stuff happened!"
Mark: *Laughing* "I managed to follow it and I wasn't watching half of it!"
Jason: "Evil wizard guys. Skeletor. Green Goblin. Doctor Doom. They were all in there..."
MJ: "Yep. Tony Benn." *Laughs*
Mark: "He was in it!" *Laughs*
Jason: "Yeah we haven't got him here."
MJ: "No. He is dead, isn't he?"
Mark: "He is dead."
MJ: "Yes, I thought so."
Jason: "Uncle Benn..."
MJ: "'Cos he used to fill out a tent in Glastonbury, apparently." *Laughing* "But his sets were rubbish as he didn't know any good songs!" *Jason laughs. MJ put the voice back on* "Hello, I'm DJ Benn!" *Normal voice* "Anyway, that's Doctor Who! Join us next time for.... The Deadly Assassin!" *Shaun and Mark cheer* "No, it's not! Not really! It's The Hand Of Fear!"
Shaun: *Disappointed* "Ohhhhhhh!"
MJ: "THEN it's The Hand Of Fear!"
*Shaun and Mark cheer*
Jason: "The Upper Hand Of Fear!"
MJ: "So, if you enjoy Sarah Jane Smith, you'll have to get your fill next time 'cos -"
Jason: "- Don't SAY stuff!!"
MJ: "- 'Cos stuff might happen!"
Shaun: "But, more importantly, The Master's coming back soon!"
MJ: "Soon. Sooooon....." *Done in a creepy voice that no-one here will understand until nearly the end of Tom Baker's run!*
Mark: "Is she being replaced by The Master?!"
Shaun: "I f**king hope so!"
Jason: "Only Crispy Master!"
Shaun: "Yeah. This is Kentucky Fried Master!"
Jason: "Not Kris Marshall."
Mark: "I hope that, whatever happens, she doesn't get replaced by a robot dog! 'Cos that would be rubbish..."
MJ: "Ma-ster!"
*Mark laughs*
Shaun: "I am going to be furious when K-9 starts to come into it! I f**king hate K-9!"
MJ: "Awww!"
Shaun: "And I love a sh*t robot!"
Mark: *Laughing* "You DO love a sh*t robot!! You should love it!"
Jason: *To Shaun* "Do you have any Doctor Who related things to say before we go?..."
MJ: *Laughs* "Bye!!"
Mark: "Anything else to say?..."
Shaun: *Smiling* "You're making me predictable!"
MJ: "No!"
Photo 6: At Shaun's house.
A smiley Mark (with the DVD case).
***********************************************************************************************************
So there we go! poor Leigh! Getting rang up out of the blue just for comedy! Well I am sure he loved being part of a "bit"!
Anyhow here are the scores again (Leigh's don't count as he didn't actually watch it!!):
Shaun: 8
MJ: 7
Jason: 6
Mark: 7
Which gave us a nice round average 7 of out of 10. All good - now I just have super loads more to write-up! We aren't even watching Sarah Jane any more! Sheesh!
Well, until then I shall return, yes, I shall return...
MJ - 05/06/2018
