Clive James

[pigamus]

In fairness to you Twit 2, I did read that essay, and the bit he quoted from Langley seemed fine to me. Didn't seem to have much to do with the rest of the essay either.

[wosl]

His television criticism changed the field and the way it was viewed and was very influential, and the collections of it rightly get singled out for special praise, but the collections of his other essays are just as much a treasure trove.  The range of material covered meanders all over the shop, but as with the TV stuff, he never coasts while taking something or someone apart and picking through the pieces; he brings everything he's got to the job, whether it's taking on a controversial book dealing with German national character and The Holocaust, or trying to make sense of the existence of a Neighbours-themed sticker album put out by The Sun.  Seriously, snap 'em up (Snakecharmers In Texas is the one I started with - an ex-library stock bargain - and I think it's a fine jumping-in point.  At any rate, you're better off beginning with one of the volumes that comprises pieces written when he was in full critical and stylistic stride, rather than his first collection, The Metropolitan Critic).

[Revelator]

Does anyone know where Postcard From Havana can be viewed? The other Postcards are easily found online, but this one--the last of the series--is elusive. After it was finished ITV took 18 months to air it, which helped convince James that it was time to quit television, especially since he regarded the Postcards as his best TV work. ITV claimed it was waiting for Castro to die; James offered to die instead. From what I can tell online, the program aired in 1999 or 2000.

[Famous Mortimer]

Does anyone know where Postcard From Havana can be viewed? The other Postcards are easily found online, but this one--the last of the series--is elusive. After it was finished ITV took 18 months to air it, which helped convince James that it was time to quit television, especially since he regarded the Postcards as his best TV work. ITV claimed it was waiting for Castro to die; James offered to die instead. From what I can tell online, the program aired in 1999 or 2000.

I didn't find it, but I did find a Youtube playlist of all the other Postcards, so that's my next few evenings sorted.

[Satchmo Distel]

I have been searching in vain for the interview Mark Lawson did with him for BBC4.

[Bennett Brauer]

Got excited when I saw in the paper today that BBC2 has a "Clive James Night" next Saturday.  Until I saw that it consists of Postcard from Sydney (on youtube for years), Postcard from London (on BBC iPlayer permanently), When Mary Beard Met Clive James (a repeat from a year ago), and... that's it.  Shove it up yer BritBox.

[chrispmartha]

Does anyone know where Postcard From Havana can be viewed? The other Postcards are easily found online, but this one--the last of the series--is elusive. After it was finished ITV took 18 months to air it, which helped convince James that it was time to quit television, especially since he regarded the Postcards as his best TV work. ITV claimed it was waiting for Castro to die; James offered to die instead. From what I can tell online, the program aired in 1999 or 2000.

I'm just watching Postcards from Sydney, I'd forgotten just how good he was in these shows

[Bad Ambassador]

I'm just watching Postcards from Sydney, I'd forgotten just how good he was in these shows

*awkwardly jumps from ferry onto beach and almost falls on his arse*

"As I sprang lithely from the prow of the ship..."

[Revelator]

James considered the Postcards among his best work for Television, alongside Fame in the 20th Century, which could never be repeated for rights reasons but is now re-emerging online.

[Jockice]

My favourite (albeit painful) line of his is from the 1978 World Cup when a very hyped-up Scotland team had their first game against Peru. I can't remember the exact wording but there was a bit in the TV review of the match about the Scots being surprised that the Peruvians could run faster with the ball than they could run without it. Which was horrifyingly true

Of course, as the only Scottish kid in a secondary school in England I wasn't at all traumatised by the 3-1 loss. After all, why would anyone tease me over something like that? My pet dog died the same week too.

[Endicott]

Postcard from LA was on the other night. That hair piece was truly something to behold.

[Autopsy Turvey]

Postcard from LA was on the other night. That hair piece was truly something to behold.

Truly! I haven't seen these since they went out, I can't remember the last time something on TV made me laugh out loud so much. Especially when he mused on asking Tuesday Weld to introduce him to her friend Thursday Spot-Rivet.

[gilbertharding]

Postcard from LA was on the other night. That hair piece was truly something to behold.

There was some debate in our house about how convincingly real it was.

More bothersome was how... awful Dudley Moore was. Constantly overplaying the joke, not landing his lines, glancing at the camera. Was he drunk, do you think?

[Endicott]

There was some debate in our house about how convincingly real it was.

More bothersome was how... awful Dudley Moore was. Constantly overplaying the joke, not landing his lines, glancing at the camera. Was he drunk, do you think?

I was surprised he managed to stay on the stool.

As for the wig - difficult to really tell on ancient SD footage but it looked surprisingly good to me. The main issue seemed to be the double sided tape required to keep it on, Clive.

[Bad Ambassador]

The hairline seemed to be too far up his forehead. It's an odd hair unit that makes you only look balding rather than bald.

[petril]

The hairline seemed to be too far up his forehead. It's an odd hair unit that makes you only look balding rather than bald.

reminds me of the Limmy thing about that guy in the nightclub, "hairline too high for his haircut"

[gilbertharding]

The hairline seemed to be too far up his forehead. It's an odd hair unit that makes you only look balding rather than bald.

I missed the beginning of that sequence - but it was 'The Frank Sinatra' syrup, wasn't it?

[Bad Ambassador]

The whole thing's on the iPlayer. The way the wig was fitted - putting a huge curly rug on his head and then trimming it down - was charmingly absurd, as was the bloke who really loved running a car valet service.

[SpiderChrist]

I was surprised he managed to stay on the stool.

Maybe the first symptoms of the disease that killed him?