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A second flood, a simple famine, plagues of locusts everywhere
I had just written an intensely miserable post about the state of my life and my health and whatever was supposed to have passed for my career, but then I discovered the existence of the 1970 London cast recording of 1776 and it surprised me into laughing out loud, specifically because while I had never heard anyone but William Daniels as John Adams and I expect no one again to match his particular abrasive flint, Lewis Fiander couldn't have been terrible from the amount of incredulous disgust he puts into his "Good God." Anything to do with American democracy is of course somewhat depressing to contemplate at the present moment, but not more so from a musical than from the news. In other charms of the week, I have two different kinds of infection in a body that is already not responding as hoped to several months of medicating for an underlying condition, so anything that distracts me from mere grim hanging on to someday reading other people's death notices is a net good.
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*hugs*
Comparing different cast recordings does make me feel better!
Anyway, I'm glad a small distraction popped up for you! I know Lewis Fiander, although mainly from a hammy 1970s DW performance that I'm sure is not representative of the rest of his career. (The director lost control of the serial so badly the producer had to come in take over.)
I'd seen him only in Bangkok Hilton (1989), where he has a small supporting part but a vivid face. If I had managed to catch The Password Is Courage (1962) before it fell off TCM, I could have seen his feature debut, but last week was terrible and I didn't know he was in it. As John Adams, he was solid with intriguing flashes and a very different voice and delivery from Williams Daniels and then he did a barn-burning "Is Anybody There?" and I am sorry I can't find footage of him.
I was just thinking the other day that it really was the shame nobody would ever risk anthologies like this any more (Dennis Potter was right about The Hidden Truth, hee) but apparently Ch5 was at that very moment already going HOLD MY BEER, BBC and making this a thing. (I still haven't got used to Ch5 being a proper channel, let alone challenging the BBC at its own game. It is definitely a very weird timeline).
Oh, wow. The Channel 5 Play for Today! What a weird concept and I'm so glad to hear about it. Thank you for telling me.
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As John Adams, he was solid with intriguing flashes and a very different voice and delivery from Williams Daniels and then he did a barn-burning "Is Anybody There?" and I am sorry I can't find footage of him.
Aw, that's cool! I just checked and I saw him in the BBC Shakespeare Henry VIII, and an episode of Public Eye, although I don't especially remember him from either of those, but should I ever get round to watching the 1967 BBC Pride and Prejudice on YT, if it's still there, he was Mr Darcy in that.
(In DW the director was not up for SF or reigning the cast in and Fiander decided to add a dodgy German accent to his space scientist villain, but it was s17 and everything was out of control: hyperinflation reducing the budget to actually tuppence & Tom Baker chiefly. Nightmare of Eden has a decent script with some nice ideas and some witty touches from Douglas Adams, who had the misfortune to be script editor, but the title was literal as far as the production went. Anyway, in far better things, Adams nevertheless managed to give us City of Death in the middle of that season, for which we all will remain eternally grateful.)
Oh, wow. The Channel 5 Play for Today! What a weird concept and I'm so glad to hear about it. Thank you for telling me.
For 30 years ch5 was the tacky extra channel nobody wanted and look at it now, all grown up.
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Much appreciated! And the *hugs*
but should I ever get round to watching the 1967 BBC Pride and Prejudice on YT, if it's still there, he was Mr Darcy in that.
Telerecording's still up! With the timecode at the bottom and everything. (Oh, my God, its Mr. Bennet is Michael Gough.)
In DW the director was not up for SF or reigning the cast in and Fiander decided to add a dodgy German accent to his space scientist villain, but it was s17 and everything was out of control: hyperinflation reducing the budget to actually tuppence & Tom Baker chiefly.
That does sound rough.
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That is unexpected. I'm glad to know it's still there, even if I'm being even slower than usual on my YT watching than usual.