Year: 2006

A for… effort?

3 March 2006 Rob Buckley Post a comment

BBC4 is four years old today. Or maybe it was four yesterday. So happy birthday or belated happy birthday to BBC4 then.

Anyway, I noticed a trailer on 4 for the new version of A for Andromeda yesterday and was impressed to see that they were good enough to get Susan Hampshire in. Hampshire played Andromeda in the follow-up to the original series – The Andromeda Breakthrough – when Julie Christie turned down the chance, and it’s nice to see 4 showing that kind of respect to the original work. Classy, really. Well done.

UPDATE: Bollocks. It wasn’t Susan Hampshire. It was Jane Asher. It’s more A for Artichoke Hearts and Angel Cakes then. Oh well.

Peter Weller really is Buckaroo Banzai

1 March 2006 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

So Peter Weller, who was so big in the 80s as Buckaroo Banzai and eventually Robocop, has returned once again to the small screen as Jack Bauer’s CTU recruitment officer in 24. It’s a nice performance and you could well imagine him as a match for RoboJack, unlike most of 24‘s previous enemies.

So I checked out Weller’s IMDB page to find out what he’s been doing over the years. Turns out he really is Buckaroo Banzai. Not only does he play in a band with Jeff Goldblum, he actually teaches a literature and fine arts class at Syracuse University and can be seen on The History Channel’s new documentary on Roman engineering. As if that weren’t enough, he holds a master’s degree in Roman and Renaissance art and is working toward a Ph.D.

No doubt, if we ever make it to the eighth dimension, we’ll be able to thank Weller.