V is for...

[f4f3]

From antisoppist via others:

1. Leave a comment to this post.
2. I will give you a letter. (Edited to point out, only if you ask for one, you can comment without having to do this yourself)
3. Post the names of five fictional characters whose names begin with that letter, and your thoughts on each. The characters can be from books, movies, or TV shows

clanwilliamgave me a V....

V is for Vendetta. Valiantly vanquishing varlets, vicious, vile... oh, I can't do it. The original Alan Moore character interested me far more than the movie version (which translated enough of David Lloyd's visuals to be interesting) since you never got under the mask. Where the movie was Beauty and the Beast, the original was murder in the dark. And if you get a chance, listen to David Jay's setting of "This Vicious Cabaret" - I* can probably quote it by heart.... "In no longer pretty cities there are warrant forms and chitties..."

V is for Victor von Doom, perenially harrassed by the meddling Fantastic Four, Doom survives and comes back fighting. I have a running joke with my friend Bill about Doom hiring the good hearted but dim Absorbing Man, who's always encouraging him to get out from under the heel of his abusive boss - "Doom is not pleased!", "Aye, Vic, maybe he's not pleased, but he should come down here and tell me himself."

V is also for Vialle, married off to Random, Prince of Amber as a punishment to him for abandoning a previous lover. She is a blind sculptress, who manages to charm Corwin, and his son Merlin. A still centre to all that intrigue.


Victor Ignatious MacIlvaney, of Victor and Barry, who were the campest, funniest comedy duo a student could ever be starstruck by. They would have been my Fascinating Aida, if their stars hadn't been so ascendant, and divergent. Go have a look at them on uTube.

And, finally, Victor Meldrew, who I may become, if I'm not him already.

Comments

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

You're supposed to put this in your own journal, numpty, so that others can see it, comment, and ask for their own letter. You fail, basically, as a transmission vector for memes. The Cybermen, who police this sort of thing, will be round shortly.

Apart from that, though...

I never saw the original Dan Dare comics with any frequency, and by the time I could see them in reprint, my head had been turned by the snappy dialogue and teen angst of Stan (The Man) Lee. I always admired the art work, which was shiny and photorealistic. DD was pretty much Biggles in Space, though, and although I loved Biggles, I never wanted to be him (not the way I wanted to be Daredevil, say, or Spiderman). And we'll say nothing about the 2000AD revival of Dan Dare. Or Dan Dire.


Despite being a sci-fi nerd, I never really took to Red Dwarf. Too English, maybe, and the humour always seemed to turn on the working class character farting a lot. It did have Clare Grogan for a bit, though.

D’artagnan always struck me as a second rate swordsman with a first rate publicist. Have you ever come across The Khaavren Romances by Steven Brust? Set in the same world as him much more zippy Taltos books, they are an attempt to recreate Dumas' style in a fantasy setting. If you haven't read them, I have an easy choice of birthday present for you.

I never actually found the Daleks scary until New Who, and their first appearance with Ecclestone. He sold them to me entirely with his absolute terror when one, disabled Dalek was found in Texas. And, of course, the mirroring of his own character in the Daleks was something new for me. I wasn't so pleased with Daleks in New York, of course, but the Matt Smith Daleks are quite well done - I even liked him throwing a weapon stalk (kitchen plunger) on to a bar top to get the patrons attention. But then he can do little wrong, in my eyes.

[danieldwilliam.livejournal.com]

I missed the 2000AD incarnation of Dan Dare.

Ah, Clare Grogan. Clare, Clare, Clare. Clare Grogan.

I quite liked the comody of manners involving two people who didn't have any manners.

I think it helped D'artagnan that he published his memoirs after everyone else was dead.

The first Dalek of the new series was really good. Which makes my disappointment with them more acute. Less is more.

I think the Daleks themselves are fine - just over used as a plot device and used lazily. IMHO.