David Lynch’s remarkable Dune opens the tape, in a rare letterboxed showing (thank you Channel 4). I think bonkers is the word that best sums up this film, whose story is told almost entirely using voiceover. It’s a film I’m very glad exists, but I can’t say it’s a great success. However, it does give us a tantalising glimpse as to what might have happened in David Lynch had accepted George Lucas’ offer to direct Return of the Jedi.
Next, Ben Elton is grilled by an audience of young people on Def II’s inquisition spot Open To Question (or should that be Open 2 Question?).
Clearly the audience were primed with questions (possibly their own) as most of the questions are fairly adversarial. But the format derails itself early when one young man accuses Elton of a) telling a joke he didn’t tell (“BMW are the first three letters of the yuppie alphabet”) then accusing him of hypocrisy for having fast cars himself, when, as Elton quickly points out, he doesn’t even drive.
There’s the usual focus on “Mrs Thatch” and political comedy, and Elton gives reasonable answers, all the while jokily commenting on how harsh the questioning is. I get the feeling that he thought he’d have an easier ride here, although he comes out of it fairly well.
There are some prescient lines – when asked about the middle-class nature of today’s sitcoms, he regrets the passing of the days of “Til Death Us Do Part” and “Steptoe and Son”, characterising today’s sitcoms as “a scatterbrained middle-class bloke who’s got problems at the office”. Which sums up The Wright Stuff fairly well.
BBC Genome: BBC Two – 21st August 1989 – 19:15
Last on the tape is Universe – a classic film from the National Film Board of Canada, and narrated by Douglas Rain, who went on to be the voice of Hal 9000 in 2001 (a role he won because of this film, I believe). Sadly, the tape runs out just before the end of the film so it’s incomplete.
BBC Genome: BBC Two – 21st August 1989 – 19:45
VHiStory 