• Inside Entertainment,  The Grim Reboot

    To Bleak or Not To Bleak

    The original Lost in Space series (1965 – 1968) began as serious science fiction, before descending into campy humour and outlandish storylines. But it worked because it found its voice, and has since become a cult classic. The rebooted Lost in Space (2018 – ) has not only gone the serious route, but has also become gritty, bleak, and largely joyless. It’s a motif a lot of contemporary movies and series use. Arguably, the template for this began with Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins (2005), and was popularised with the follow-up, The Dark Knight (2008). Then just about everybody decided this was the way to go, as if it was a…

  • Inside Entertainment,  Life of the Mind,  Little Diva Rising

    September Housekeeping

    Okay, lots of little things happening this week. So this won’t be your typical overlong blog, but a blog in four parts.   Little Diva Rising This weekend, we filmed a new opening (because the original opening became too impractical), and refilmed one small scene that had begun to nag at me. We had a slate of outdoor scenes planned, but Melbourne had other ideas. Rain pounded down through the morning and early afternoon. Once we called it a day, packed up, and went to lunch, Melbourne decided to stop the rain. Hmmm. Shooting of those outdoor scenes has been rescheduled. As we near the end of filming, I find…