Dirk Gently

Finally got around to watching Dirk Gently (the BBC adaptation) last night. An hour long ‘pilot’ is all they’ve got so far, which aired in December, and from what I’ve read a full series is yet to be commissioned.

It’s enjoyable enough, and worth a watch, but a lot of it felt too much like a poor mans version of BBC’s Sherlock. The title character in particular I couldn’t help but think could have been played better by Benedict Cumberbatch. Probably didn’t help that I’ve recently been watching Stephen Mangan in Episodes (which is a good show), and his mannerisms and expressions haven’t changed much inbetween.

It also didn’t really bring back many memories from the books, although it’s been a long time since I’ve read those. They were great and weired and wonderful if I remember correctly… whereas this show is more like Sherlock. Only not as good. Sadly, it’ll be no great loss if the series doesn’t go ahead. But you do happen across this, there are worse ways to spend an hour.

The Trap : What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom

Written, directed and produced by Adam Curtis, ‘The Trap’ consists of three one-hour documentarys which explore the concept and definition of freedom, specifically, “how a simplistic model of human beings as self-seeking, almost robotic, creatures led to today’s idea of freedom.”

Originally aired on the BBC in March 2007, you can now watch the programmes via Google Video below.

The style, and quality, is very similar to Curtis’ previous — and equally brilliant — documentary series “The Power of Nightmares”. Curtis seems to have an ability to look at our world as though he were examining a colony of ants… avoiding preconceptions, sweeping statements and black and white judgement, and instead offering a largely unbiased (though inevitably somewhat anti-establishment) overview of the systems of the society we live in.

These are the documentaries that Zeitgeist, Loose Change, et al, can only wish they were.

Part One : “Fuck You Buddy” :

Part Two : “The Lonely Robot” :

Part Three : “We Will Force You To Be Free” :