talkmagic.co.uk

Grimshaw wrote:

Josh wrote:But more often that not, the pulse-stop is used as part of a bigger trick, and isn't (and in my opinion shouldn't be) used as a standalone trick or be the focus of an effect.

Tell that to kids spending 30 dollars for the priviledge of learning it from Wayne Houchin on the Theory 11 web site. He sells it as a stand alone effect. Not sure i could pull that off to be honest.

Please tell me you're joking....

ADDENDUM: He's not.

daleshrimpton wrote:i have to say i just didnt get the dead bird thing.

The dead bird flew into the attic window seen from the inside but was seen outside at a different part of the building walls. I think.

Precisely.

Which was what brought light to the alternate location of the attic.

It's a bit vague isnt it.

I don't care how big your house is... I think you'd spot the fact that you have two turrety things on your roof yet have only ever managed to find the inside of one of them???

And another thing... Creek presses the mattress; stuff falls down from a ceiling rose. Curious. And yet... they just curl up and go to sleep on the damned bed!

Used to be a big fan of J C but this Christmas Special was a bit of a let down, edited with a chain saw, I think that they had it down to 2 1/4 hours and had to lcut another 15 mins from the whole. The missing girl should have had police there and when the other bodies came to light at the end the place would have been crawling with police and SOCO. The pulse stopping bit was a throw away line that should have been thrown away, no plot link, didn't add anything, not needed and the whole storyline was a bit, mmmm, weak. Shame, like I said, I normally love the series, must be new writers / director......

G

There wasn't another turret - the fake attic was built inside a room of the house which, from the outside, looked perfectly normal. Presumably the room below in which the water tank was stored or whatever had been walled off!

Re. dead bird, I don't think that's it...

Think it was more that Creeky had seen the dead bird under the attic window sill, which is where it should have been, which lead him away from solving it earlier. It was only when he saw the gardener dealing with another dead bird (who commented that they were very frequent) that he realised the bird under the attic sill could well have been coincidence.

It was entertaining enough, three annoying things though:

1) Well, not so annoying, but... did anyone else think it was majorly boob-centric, or is it just my mind?! Seemed like there was some kind of cleavage shot every 2 minutes. But I didn't appreciate the whole 3D porn thing - JC has always been reliable family viewing, why they had to introduce something you're going to be uncomfortable watching with your grandparents puzzles me.

2) Usually with Jonathan Creek there is one big mystery (often "the mechanics"), then a few little social or sub-mystery mysteries. I thought these were particularly cr@p in this episode. Once the secret of the room has been revealed, the stuff about the throat-slitting was an anti-climax (i.e. it actually happened, as observed) and the stuff about the newspaper was just boring.

3) And finally, what was the painting about? After all those dramatic shots, it's just a personal symbol of a wrongful decision?! Come on!

Yup, the coincidence of all these birds throwing themselves suicidally into what appeared to be the worlds smallest garret window was all too much for me....

And I know the other turret/loft/attic didn't have a pitched, slated roof but you'd still notice you couldn't enter it surely??? Not to mention a 50 year old septic tank full of old bath water and dead bodies... what a pong!!!

And I agree with Farlsborough on the porn issue..... lazy writing and cheap laughs (were there any??)

Farlsborough wrote:3) And finally, what was the painting about? After all those dramatic shots, it's just a personal symbol of a wrongful decision?! Come on!

Other than it adding to the spookyness of the room it mirrored the way in which the magician killed himself in the final shots. A shot of his head, eyes open looking to the side with a pipe in his mouth.

Tomo wrote:And another thing... Creek presses the mattress; stuff falls down from a ceiling rose. Curious. And yet... they just curl up and go to sleep on the damned bed!

LOL, me and a friend were talking about that last night. Obvously there's a mechanism that reacts to weight applied to the bed. Let's not rip it apart and find out what it's all about, let's just get some kip in the haunted room.

I really rather liked the picture. I'd like to get a print.

Grimshaw wrote:I really rather liked the picture. I'd like to get a print.

I'm not a big fan of that particular painting, but do really like other Bosch works. Imaginative, fantastical and sinister - great stuff.

Farlsborough wrote:

I'm not a big fan of that particular painting, but do really like other Bosch works. Imaginative, fantastical and sinister - great stuff.

Agreed... his Garden of Earthly Delights is a great painting but my personal favourite is '24v cordless hammer drill' closely followed by 'Bosch Classixx 1400 spin washing machine'. A classic sir.

Well, I'm not going to join in the Creek-bashing which seems to be going on here :p
First episode I've ever seen and I loved it. Will definately be sourcing some more out to see these 'better' episodes everyone keeps talking about!