Paradise Towers- Freed From the Basement on DVD in 2011

[Awesome Wells]

It's the best story of season 24, I reckon... but that's a bit like saying George Osborne is the best member of the cabinet...

[Lissa]

TOP TIP - if you don't enjoy Paradise Towers, try ending every scene involving Kangs with "...and then they lez up".

[Awesome Wells]

TOP TIP - if you don't enjoy Paradise Towers, try ending every scene involving Kangs with "...and then they lez up".

According to Stephen Wyatt's commentary, when JNT expressed concern about the Rezzies' cannibalistic behaviour, the writer told him: "And they're lesbians as well."

[Stuart Wallis]

I dread to ask about the Caretakers then...

[Darren]

Lesbian cannibals? Woo hoo!

[Awesome Wells]

Lesbian cannibals? Woo hoo!

I just know you're going to be disappointed, Darren...

[SiHart]

It depends what Darren's type is...

[Stuart Wallis]

Lesbian cannibals, eh? If Mary Whitehouse were alive, she'd be spinning in her grave...

[Rob McCow]

And the lesbian necrophiliac cannibals would be out for her....

[Darren]

[Antony Cox]

Lesbian cannibals, eh? If Mary Whitehouse were alive, she'd be spinning in her grave...

Why would she be spinning in her grave if she was still alive??

[Stuart Wallis]

You find something to do when you're six feet under!

[Rob McCow]

Why do people always have to spin in their graves these days? Isn't it enough for them to just turn?

If Mary Whitehouse were alive, she'd be spinning in her grave...

We should do a banner with that quote.

[Antony Cox]

You find something to do when you're six feet under!

But why would you still be alive if you're six feet under??

[Stuart Wallis]

David Blain's done well enough out of that sort of thing... It's his fault there's now a craze for underground spinning holidays - go ask him!

[SiHart]

Build high for happiness- Paradise Towers is in the post!

[Awesome Wells]

LOOK OUT FOR THE ALDRED/SUTTON/FIELDING WITCHES OF EASTWICK REMAKE*



*with Peter Purves in the Jack Nicholson role

[SiHart]

I've heard lots about that- can't wait!

[SiHart]

It was good too- very interesting stuff and a lovely conversation, which Janet Fielding didn't quite manage to totally dominate. Shame Nicola Bryant wasn't there too, as I'm sure she had much that was relevant that could have been added, especially about the costumes and sexism.

The main documentary was OK, but I felt Mark Ayres was featured too much when there was no need for him to be. It was distracting in a way that other DVD documentaries haven't been- it's better without the interviewer being in shot.

The commentary has been good so far. Lots of nice interesting stuff on it and it's lovely to hear everyone being nice about JNT for a change. Shame we don't get that more often.

[Rob McCow]

W-w-w-w-well yousee the thing about John was that he was the d-d-d-d-evil incarnate and everything he did was wrong for the show and I felt it at the time, but he always over-ruled me. [/Eric]

There's a lot of praise for JNT's organisational and promotional skills. There's also mention that he was a brilliant editor, he could hold a whole story in his head and suggest cuts and changes without having to make notes - yet he could still keep the sense of the story.

The commentary is pretty good, nice to hear some different voices. The only problem I found was that (bizarrely) Stephen Wyatt and Judy Cornwell have very similar voices!

It was lovely to see Richard Briers in a big armchair defending the way he portrayed the Chief Caretaker. To be honest, it's just lovely to see Richard Briers!

But where the hell are Bonnie and Sylvester?!!! Surely they would have had something to say about this? It's ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS that they weren't included! (And you can quote me on that to comic effect on other forums).

[Nyder]

I must get this out on DVD soon. I haven't seen it since its original broadcast, and my opinion of it at the time was a bit .. er... not very good

Looks like it has acquired something of a cult following, so I look forward to viewing it with a fresh pair of eyes!

[Stuart Wallis]

It's ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS that they weren't included! (And you can quote me on that to comic effect on other forums).

Thank you Ian, but I'd rather do so here.

[Andrew Curnow]

There's a lot of praise for JNT's organisational and promotional skills. There's also mention that he was a brilliant editor, he could hold a whole story in his head and suggest cuts and changes without having to make notes - yet he could still keep the sense of the story.

Nice to hear there's some praise for a change. I've never heard about him being a good editor before... although now I think about it, there's a lot of JN-T era stories which had quite a lot of material cut (at least, based on the amount of 'extended/deleted' material on the DVDs) but I never had any trouble understanding them when they first aired, so maybe that's proof of it.

Sounds like a very good DVD release!

[Si Hunt]

It's typical that, no doubt because the people who decide these things hate the story, it doesn't even get a proper producer to do its documentary. Oh, just get the guy who cleans up the sound to have a crack instead.

On the plus side, perhaps because he's an amateur "having a go", Ayres keeps it simple and accidentally comes up with something half decent content-wise, with lots of good stuff from Stephen Wyatt and Andrew Cartmel and a reasonable selection of the cast. It's a bit of a coup getting Dicky Briers involved, but shame on him for his confession that he was told to do the part differently (i.e so it was good) but "took absolutely no notice". Obviously he knew best and everyone who subsequently watched is wrong. How unprofessional.

But beyond this, the making of the documentary is just awful. My favourite "worst" bit is all the interview sections where Ayres head and glasses bob alarmingly in front of the camera and the interviewee. Then there's the totally unneccessary nodding head reaction shots of the interviewer, as if he's Alan Partridge. Ayres fields such carefully considered questions as "So how did you like the design of the thing?" (THE THING?!) and half way through the camera rocks and then it cuts back to him at least TWICE AS CLOSE to the camera as previously, with the result that the edge of the screen cuts half his head off. Amazing. There is one hilarious bit where he does a bit to camera where he says "There's no shame in having a score rejected..." but it's immediately following a series of cuts to and from the original composer, so it looks like he's actually offering Claire Rayner-esque sympathetic advice.

In his defence a question about the 'mixed up slang' used in the story is a good one to ask - it's a shame he doesn't direct it at the person who wrote these lines, i.e the writer.

Si.

[Stuart Wallis]

It's a bit of a coup getting Dicky Briers involved, but shame on him for his confession that he was told to do the part differently (i.e so it was good) but "took absolutely no notice". Obviously he knew best and everyone who subsequently watched is wrong. How unprofessional.

Nail on the head!

Ayres fields such carefully considered questions as "So how did you like the design of the thing?" (THE THING?!)

If you didn't know better you might assume he's talking about Fantastic Four. Or Erato...