Dominator’s News and Views April 1999

while the DVDs available are :

April 25th : The Rainmaker on Laserdisc…A review of John Grisham’s potboilerThe Rainmaker,directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is now online.

April 23rd : George Michael DVD gets put back…According to Sony Music, the “Ladies And Gentlemen” compilation DVD has beenput back to July/August since they are working very closely with George himselfon this one. I only hope that it includes the promo for “As” (cover of oldStevie Wonder track, duetting with Mary J Blige) which didn’t feature on thevideo release. What’s on TV next week?What’s on that’s worth watching that is…

Who said there’s nothing good on Saturday’s ? Most people actually and they’reprobably right as it’s a pretty barren day. Those things that are worth a lookinclude another episode of City Central, set in and around Manchester,in which the team must deal with a suspected hoaxer who walks into the stationclaiming to be dangerous and evil; Xena fans will not be happy to learnthat the third part of the current trilogy, “The Way”, will not be shown as ithas been withdrawn from distribution by the production company after a bunchof religious nutters made a fuss about it lampooning Krishna, so at least thisis one scheduling cockup that isn’t Sky’s fault; Right To Reply returnsand let’s hope they kick up another stink about onscreen logos although thistime it’s their own channel who has ‘branded’ their digital variant; andthe Turkey of the Day award goes to Families At War. I lovedVic Reeves Big Night Out & Shooting Stars, but The Smell of Reevesand Mortimer & Bang! Bang! It’s Reeves and Mortimer were absolute pantsand so is this. Some decent comedy may be derived in the form of an hour-longArdal O’Hanlon Live (C4, 9.30pm).

Sunday’s have to be the worst day of the week ever invented. You know you’vegot work tomorrow, but there’s still time for a few laughs, especially withLee and Herring’s This Morning With Richard Not Judy (BBC2, 12.15pm),but saying it in a staccato voice won’t make it any more true, and cheesinessabound in the form of new episodes at the absurd time of Beverly Hills90210 (Sky 1, 2pm), which is only worth watching once again to see ifTiffany Amber-Thiessen’s breasts enter the room before she does, but it’s ashame that the show’s only decent actor, guest star Ray Wise, played acharacter (as Noah’s Dad) who shot himself before he had chance to kill aninnocent young girl as he did in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.In Coronation Street just as Mike Baldwin is about to be blackmailed bytemptress Julia Stone for a heap of money, his wife Alma tells him she’s gotbreast cancer, while Hollyoaks (C4, 11am) brings the week’s two episodestogether in which Sol may tell the police what happened on the night of thecar crash. For a bit more comedy there’s The Simpsons (Sky 1, 6pm)and the impressive My Wonderful Life series 3 (ITV, 10pm).

Monday Monday, so good to me, but perhaps not in Eastenders (BBC1, 8pm)as Melanie drowns her sorrows over Ian. However, in Cornation Street(ITV, 7.30pm), romance could be on the cards for Spider and Nita. Any fans ofRight To Reply should note that after the BBC scrapped their monthlyBiteback programme, they’re starting up again with The Viewing Room(BBC2, 11.20pm-12am), in which Kaye Adams lines up eight members of the publicand asks them about TV stories in the news.

Tuesday’s child works hard for a living, but the DiMarco brothers are lazy ashell in Eastenders (BBC1, 7.30pm) as Gianni puts Rosa in a difficultposition. The Bill (ITV, 8pm) starts a two-part story, concluding onThursday, which puts DS John Boulton in trouble – yet again – when a suspectdies during a chase on foot. Just a shame the suspect in question is not thatof guest “reporter” Australian-turned-fat unfunny radio DJ in severe need of abrain transplant Jonathan “Jono” Coleman. Fitness training is the least ofLindsey Corkhill’s worries in Brookside (C4, 8pm) though as RoseFinnegan makes her an offer she can’t refuse.

Mid-week Wednesday sees Mike B. being pushed to the edge in CornationStreet (ITV, 7.30pm), while Curly resorts to sorting out Tyrone. There’smore trouble in the second trip to Brookside (C4, 8pm) as Jacqui Dixonfinds out that Lindsey is the sole owner of the new Millennium club. InFilm 99 (BBC1, 11pm), Mira Sorvino discusses At First Sight andreviews include Cronenberg’s new one eXistenZ and The Waterboy.Turkey of the day goes to Hale and Pace’s new ‘comedy’ series h&p@bbc.as if changing channel and making your programme name sound like an emailaddress will make it any better.

Sidney Cooke’s favourite programme has to be Miami 7 (BBC1, 5.10pm)as the nation’s newest teen-band tour the American city in search of fame andfortune. Relationships are the name of the game in Eastenders (BBC1,7.30pm) as Melanie and Ian reconsider theirs, while Natalie wonders whether shehas one at all with Barry, and Matthew looks to be back in the pink after takingTeresa to a gig. 9pm is a good time for TV: The Last Train (ITV, 9pm)reaches its penultimate episode. You can tell who’s going to die next as theirname isn’t featured in the subsequent week’s billing, but the rest take shelterin an apparently abandoned village where they learn the shocking truth aboutwhy Hild is being pursued, and Colin’s attraction towards to Roe createsconflict. The Planets (BBC2, 9pm) is an 8-part series charting thehistory of the solar system starting with Pluto, while Friends (Sky 1,9pm) sees Rachel getting a new job for all the wrong reasons. In ER(Sky 1, 9.30pm), Carter accompanies the paramedics but it ends in disasterwhile the saga with the Nigerian refugee continues. Frank Skinner(BBC1, 10.30pm) delivers the third in his eight-part chat show but surelynothing can beat his interview with the pissed-up Tara Palmer-Tompkintwatfacein the second show. Don’t go looking for Points of View again thoughsince those in their infinite wisdom at Auntie Beeb have canned it yet again.

Next Friday, Chris Evans digs his TFI Friday (C4, 6pm) into an earlygrave with Joan Collins, Geri Halliwell, Kula Shaker, Cast andTerrorvision. Sally receives a shock in the night during CornationStreet (ITV, 7.30pm), while the final part in the funniest docusoap around,Parking Wars (ITV, 8pm) airs afterwards. In Brookside (C4, 8.30pm),Lindsey has a surprise meeting with Callum and wonders if she will ever be freeof him, while Jason is unnverved by bottle-blonde Jayne Farris’ shamelessbimboesque flirting. Broadcaster Trevor Phillips andwhat-was-he-on-when-filming-Never-Mind-The-Buzzcocks Bill Bailey are the guestson Have I Got News For You 17 (BBC2, 9pm), and the final part in theexcellent comedy sketch show Smack The Pony (C4, 9.30pm) airs tonightwith a repeat next Monday.

April 22nd : Go one louder with Spinal Tap on DVD…A review of the cult comedyThis Is Spinal Tapon DVD is now online. Just click on the name to read the review. Updated cinema listings…Stuck for something to do this weekend? Live in the Manchester area? The listof the films showing at Manchester Showcase Cinemacan be found on this page.

April 21st : DVD and Widescreen Video lists updatedThe widescreen video listhas been updated including information for two widescreen videos :

• The Holy Mountain (18, 13.99, Visual Entertainment)
• Pantyhose Hero (18, 13.99 sub, Eastern Heroes)

and theDVD listincludes details on a whole host of new DVDs :

• This Is Spinal Tap (15, 15.99, BMG)
• Homework After School Lessons (18, 18.99, Fantasy Blue)
• Nurse Home Visits (18, 18.99, Fantasy Blue)
• The Cable Guy (12, 19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• Turandot At The Forbidden City Of Beijing (19.99, BMG)
• Dante’s Peak (12, 19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• Daylight (12, 19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• Sea Of Love (18, 19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• Twins (PG, 19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• Aladdin: King of Thieves (U, 15.99, Buena Vista)
• Dead Presidents (18, 15.99, Buena Vista)
• Great Tenor Performances (19.99, Warner Music Vision)
• Mrs Brown (PG, 15.99, Buena Vista)
• La Bayadera (19.99, Warner Music Vision)
• Le Nozze Di Figaro (19.99, Warner Music Vision)
• Midnight Express (18, 19.99, Columbia TriStar)
• A Night with Handel (19.99, Warner Music Vision)
• The Parent Trap (1961) (PG, 15.99, Buena Vista)
• The Rocketeer (PG, 15.99, Buena Vista)
• Scream 2 (18, 15.99, Buena Vista)
• Shelter (18, 19.99, Film 2000)
• White Fang (PG, 15.99, Buena Vista)

Martine McCutcheon’s not-so Perfect Moment…Like Natalie Imbruglia‘s debut single Torn, a track we were toldwas written exclusively for the singer in question with which to set forth onthe world, Martine now finds her perfect moment has gone sour since itwas revealed that the track was first aired on an album in 1997 by 27-year-oldPolish singer, Edyta Gorniak, even though it wasn’t released as a single. Radio 1 removed from The Brits…At the 1999 Brit Awards show, the Best Newcomer award went to relatively-unknownband Belle And Sebastian, even though Steps had been told theyhad won the award as they received more votes. It’s old news now that B&S onlywon due to Radio 1’s email poll because a sizeable percentage of their votescame from only TWO email address, but now it has been confirmed that Radio 1will not be asked to participate in next year’s Brits poll.

April 20th : Digiguide – The best offline TV listings guide in the world ever…Russ Freemanhas an excellent TV listings guide athttp://www.digiguide.co.ukin the form of an offline program which covers almost everything you needwith more features – and channels – to come.

This week, in the latest update, most of the new channels listed below havecontent from April 24 but TVX has no content until May 2.

To get the new channels simply perform an “Update listings” then go to”Customise settings” and choose the “Channels” tab. Choose the new channelsand do another “Update listings” to get the extra channel information.

More channels will follow…

The new channels are:

• EuroSport
• Challenge TV
• Television X
• BBC Choice
• UK Play
• UK Style
• UK Arena

April 19th : Will Suede knock Martine McCutcheon off the top slot ?Find out now on mycharts analysis page Herbert Von Karajan goes for the doubleIn addition to the Dvorak review already online, I’ve now addedHerbert Von Karajan: Beethoven Symphony No.9 in D Minor Op.125 ChoralandHerbert Von Karajan: New Year’s Concert Vienna 1987 New Videos and DVDs out this weekAfter a delay of a week, The Big Lebowski should now be available onDVD. The widescreen video was released on schedule last week.

Other DVDs out today are Mariah Carey – Around The World andVelvet Goldmine.
For a list of all DVD reviews online,click here

Thanks to Christian Preischlfor the info that Warner are finally delivering with the delayed ThePostman (£15.99).

The following back-catalogue titles are released in widescreen at £12.99apiece :

• Cahill: United States Marshal
• Chisum
• Cobra (cut)
• The Enforcer
• Enter The Dragon: Collector’s Edition (cut)
• Magnum Force
• Maverick
• The Searchers
• Sudden Impact
• The Train Robbers

and M.I.A. released the subtitled Wheels On Meals (£13.99).

April 18th : Columbia TriStar’s first Universal DVD releases and video infoAt the time of writing, no details of widescreen formats or prices are known,but 17th May is the day for : Dante’s Peak, Sea Of Love, Daylight & Twins.There are delays for other Columbia DVDs as Nowhere To Run is put back to10th May, the same day for The Cable Guy, while Midnight Expressshould see the light of day on 24th May.

Anyone waiting for Flatliners and Screamers since mid-Marchshould find they were in the shops from yesterday.

On the video front, Dean Cain (Superman), Vanessa Williams(Eraser) and Wesley Snipes (Drop Zone, Blade, Passenger 57)appear in another ‘save the world’ plot in Futuresport out to rent onMay 10th, while May 24th shows there’s not just two sides to every story, butsix in Cube.

Out to buy on May 10th is Hush, U-Turn & Afterglow, while May 17th seesthe release of Keep The Aspidistra Flying, Wes Craven’s Wishmaster,a 20th Anniversary Release of Kramer Vs Kramer and double features forAbsolute Power/In The Line Of Fire and Sense And Sensibility/RemainsOf The Day.

Full Kilter for Eidos’ BraveheartBraveheart is based on the Academy Award-winning film directed by andstarring Mel Gibson. Film excerpts and dialogue from the original moviehave been included, plus hours of new dialogue from Angus McFadyen who playsRobert the Bruce in the film.

In the game, characters from the movie are faithfully brought to life using thelatest 3D modelling technology. Players will be able to take the part of Clanleaders such as William Wallace or Robert the Bruce to take on the might of theEnglish army under King Edward. Wallace’s compatriots Stephen and Hamish alsofeature in scenes taken from the film which are interwoven into the game torecreate the atmosphere and passion of the epic story.

Braveheart tells the story of 13-century Scotland; divided and war-torn, theClans have become bitter rivals over territory and political power. The EnglishKing Edward ‘The Longshanks’ has invaded, his armies mercilessly crushing anyresistance before them.

It is left to an ordinary Scotsman, William Wallace, a free farmer, to make astand. Rallying thousands of Scotsmen to his cause, Wallace takes oninsurmountable odds to fight for the freedom of his people.

Braveheart features a highly advanced proprietary 3D engine that allows theplayer to experience close-quarter combat face-to-face on the battlefield. Theentire geography of the UK has been re-created to an accuracy of 50 metres,allowing the player to march his armies to London to steal the English Crown!The game emulates day/night phases, seasonal variations, wildlife, geographiclandmarks and battlefield warfare with complete authenticity.

The 3-D models of soldiers are `skinned’ and `boned’ creating fluid movement andgraphic detail even at close range. A strategic menu interface allows the playerto experience the decision making that would have faced a Clan leader of 13thcentury Scotland; managing the resources of the village, diplomacy withneighbouring Clans and forging trade and strategic alliances. The ultimate goalis to create an army to defeat the English and repel the invaders from Scotland.

Braveheart has the endorsement of the Clan Chiefs of Scotland and SoaresWallace, direct descendant of William Wallace. Soares was also an advisor on thefilm.

Braveheart has been developed by Red Lemon Studios based in Glasgow,Scotland.

Mel Gibson has this to say about the game :

Braveheart is the story of how one man’s strength created a passion, which fireda whole country against its aggressors. It is a timeless tale which appeals tous all; the ability of the individual to triumph against seeminglyinsurmountable odds. With Braveheart the movie, I strove to recreate the 13thCentury Scotland that William Wallace knew. Braveheart the game takes thisexperience one step further, placing you in the tartan of a Clan Leader whereyou face difficult decisions to care for the people who follow you. As withWilliam Wallace, you must gain their loyalty if you are to lead them to thefield of battle, and freedom. I hope you enjoy the Braveheart experience….

Tomb Raider II: Golden MaskJune sees the budget release of a Lara Croft Special Edition for £14.99.As well as the original game, an additional disc is included called GoldenMask which takes Lara to four all-new levels, all of which utilise thesame game-engine.

Players will lead Lara on a search for the Golden Mask of Tornarsuk throughenvironments including an island glacier and a top-secret Russian governmentmine. Lara will venture into the underworld of the Inuit people in thissupernatural quest.

Gamers can see a preview of the Golden Mask edition by downloading thefirst level from Eidos’ websitewww.eidosinteractive.co.ukfrom April 22nd. Additional levels will be made available priorto the release of the game.

The four levels are named :

• 1. The Cold, Cold War
• 2. Fool’s Gold
• 3. The Furnace of the Gods
• 4. The Kingdom

April 17th : Gloria Estefan and the CinemaA review ofGloria Estefan – The Evolution Touron DVD is now online as is the list of what’s on atManchester Showcase Cinemafor the coming week.

April 16th : Ginger Spice shakes off her spicy image for goodOn May 10th ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell releases her debut single,“Look At Me”. Today the track received its radio premiere on Radio 1’sZoe Ball breakfast show and the video was aired on Top Of The Pops tonight withan introduction from Geri herself. Unsure what to make of the whole spectacle,my cynical mind turned cartwheels when I saw the words :

before the song, plus a hearse containing a coffin bearing the name “Ginger”.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that what I thought wouldn’t be anymore than a grower was actually an up-tempo funky track rather reminiscent ofThe Propellorheads’ History Repeating, the instrumental part being usedas the theme tune for Channel 4’s So Graham Norton, and one of the versesfeaturing Shirley Bassey appearing in a Jaguar advert.

The result from the Dominator Jury: a deserved HIT! although perhaps not a No.1

If you missed the video, then this edition of Top of the Pops will be repeatedon Saturday night/Sunday morning at 1.10am on BBC1.

A Royal DVD from PolygramPolygram are set to release the multi-Oscar and BAFTA award-winning film,Elizabeth on May 17th starring Cate Blanchett in the title role.On the same day, it’s still a ‘maybe’, but I’m hoping it’s a ‘definitely maybe’for Metallica – Cunning Stunts.

Anyone looking for The Big Lebowski this week will have beendisappointed, but if you can hang on until next week then your prayers will beanswered as it is released on April 19th. Those waiting for Hard Rainand A Life Less Ordinary will have to wait a little longer until theend of May.

Alas, there’s still no news on the music titles Dire Straits – Sultans ofSwing and Bryan Adams – MTV Unplugged.

Entertainment In Video due to join in the DVD funEiV are scheduled to release 60 DVDs between now and the end of the year whichis quite a feat and is one most welcomed given the titles which have beenplanned for release including :

June 1st :

• Evita (widescreen with extras), £19.99
• Boogie Nights (widescreen with extras), £19.99
• Wag The Dog (with extras), £19.99
• I Know What You Did Last Summer, £15.99
• First Strike (with extras), £15.99
• Much Ado About Nothing, £15.99

June 28th :

• The Mask (widescreen with extras), £19.99
• Spawn: Director’s Cut (widescreen with extras), £19.99
• Seven Years In Tibet (widescreen), £19.99
• Blade (with extras), £19.99
• Lost In Space (with extras), £19.99
• Seven (widescreen), £17.99
• Donnie Brasco (widescreen), £15.99

Other forthcoming titles :

• Dark City
• The Wedding Singer
• Rush Hour
• The Piano
• Tombstone
• Leaving Las Vegas
• Up Close And Personal
• The Crow

So, plenty to look forward to there. At the moment it’s unconfirmed whetherthose above not listed as WS will get the widescreen treatment. However, EiVhave come through for the video market on a number of occasions so let’s hopethat these masters are mirrored for the DVD releases.

The Playstation races ahead again?By the time you read this, Namco’s Ridge Racer Type R4 should be in the shopsand opinions on this are welcomed, particularly on those not keen on the firstthree outings. I played numbers two (Ridge Racer Revolution) and three(Rage Racer), the latter seemingly particularly dull and sparse,centring mainly on one track while V-Rally contained 42! I failed tosee how anyone could be swayed by the RR series. Singles part 1Anyone familiar with my music chart analysis which can be foundherewill know it contains a list of all known forthcoming major singles releases,all taken from the list provided on HMV‘sWebsite, providing a decent amount of information in that respect, but whatI could do with is a similar list for Albums since their site doesnot provide this information. If you have any suggestions of where I can findthis info, please email me. Singles part 2Will the chart soon be calming down? If Watchdog are to be believed, Sony Musicwill be setting a new policy on the pricing of new singles at the standard£3.99 in a bid to slow the charts down and get back to reality so wedon’t end up week-in-week-out having a new No.1 and no climbers. Time will tell. Singles part 3Those who were once a couple and are now singles now include marriage-shamidiots Greg Cordell and Carla Germaine who wanted all the fame and fortune(in terms of a free luxury flat and car for a year) when they met at the altarin time to get married without ever having clapped eyes on each otherbeforehand. The press followed them on their honeymoon in the Bahamas, but aftertwo months of marriage it all came to the end. What did they blame? Which oneof the following do you reckon?

• 1. A wide-boy whose idea of commitment doesn’t stretch beyond a one-night stand?
• 2. A bottle-blonde slapper who hopes her time onscreen will win her plenty of fake tan-cream?
• 3. Media intrusion

Yes, the answer is No.3. As The Simpsons‘s resident bully, Nelson, wouldsay in response to their idiocy, “Ha! Ha!”.

Turok 2, Dominator 5This final part for today is a plea. I’ve recently begun playing Turok 2 on thePC, but after activating all 3 distress beacons and saving 2 kids, I keep goinground in circles. I’m in area 5 at a section where it looks like you have tojump through an arc of red diamonds but I can’t figure out how to do a ‘superjump’ – if I can – even though there’s a sort of launch pad in front of me, andon the other side is what looks like some armour. I’ve asked a friend aboutthis, but neither he nor any of his friends know what it’s for either. Stillif I can get off that level and further on in the game, then that’ll do me.

Another question: why can’t I run in this game? It was a standard function inthe first game, as well as many other first-person shoot-em-ups of this ilk, butnot here.