House Doctor: Inside And Out (five): Does Snuff Exist? (C4):The Lost World Of Friese-Greene (BBC2)
THERE came a point in House Doctor when Ann Maurice should have turned marriage counsellor instead of interior designer guru.
She could help Harley and Gillian sell their £575,000 home in Camden, North London, by giving it a makeover. But there was little she could do when they announced they had decided to go their separate ways.
If Maurice brought the same no-nonsense attitude to mending marriages as she does decluttering homes, she could make a fortune. Alas, she left the couple to their own devices after viewing their home and offering such comments as "It's a bit cluttered, isn't it?" and "This is a great kitchen, shame you can't see much of it".
And just in case they hadn't got the message - and, to be fair, their minds might have been focused on how to save their marriage - she added it was "horrible, awful, depressing if you live here".
Spending nearly £3,000 put it in order, including the services of Sven Wombwell to transform the garden from "a giant litter tray for the dog" into something you could enjoy without putting your foot in doggy doo.
Something even dirtier was investigated as The Dark Side Of Porn series asked Does Snuff Exist? Snuff movies are films in which people are killed on camera and the footage sold for the gratification of others. Not exactly You've Been Framed or Animals Do The Funniest Things.
Most of us can't imagine why anyone would (a) want to do this and (b) want to watch it. The fake footage from movies such as Cannibal Holocaust was so repugnant that the very idea of real life film was inconceivable.
As yet, no-one has proved that snuff movies are any more than an urban legend. A real snuff movie has yet to be found, although the Internet has brought the possibility of doing it - and getting away with it - all the closer. You can already witness terrorist organisations carry out the decapitation of hostages.
The industry itself, by making fictional films about snuff movies, has helped convince the public they exist. When Cannibal Holocaust director Ruggero Deodato was accused of killing and torturing people, he had to tell the actors to come out of hiding to prove he hadn't harmed anyone.
How much nicer film-making was back in the 1920s as The Lost World Of Friese-Greene showed. A series of short, colour films was made by Claude Friese-Greene on a 1,600 mile journey from Land's End to John o' Groats. Historian Dan Cruickshank is following his route, visiting places depicted in the films and meeting descendants of those featured on screen.
Red-heads come out of it very well as Friese-Greene's unique colour system favoured reds and greens. He even painted his Vauxhall tourer car green so it came out better on film. And, as far as he was concerned, snuff was something you put up your nose not killing people on film for other people's pleasure.
Robots in Disguise, The Red Rooms
IT WAS Mighty Boosh night again in Newcastle last night as the cult show played to a packed City Hall. After the success of the last after show party, where some 150 people had to be turned away due to the venue being packed, it was inevitable another one would be organised. It was much the same as the last one with Robots in Disguise providing the entertainment. Anyone who has seen The Boosh on TV will recognise them as they played the two Goth girls in the Nanageddon episode.
Despite most of the crowd being there in the hope of getting a glimpse of Mighty Boosh stars Julian Barrett and Noel Fielding, the Robots' superb blend of electro pop/rock won over the crowd and by the end of the gig the venue was rocking.
The band can't be described as anything other than insane, but it really works. They come on stage to the Doctor Who theme tune and wear silver capes. One thing for sure is the playing of a xylophone, a flute or even a recorder has never been done in such an energetic fashion.
The set was littered with superb tunes, of which Voodoo, DJ's Got a Gun and Turn It Up were the stand out tracks. This was a quite brilliant show and the only disappointment was that it had to end.
Keir Waugh
Published: ??/??/2004
