1807 Waking more than the dead

I decided to begin writing last night about Waking the dead but such is my state this morning that I am finding it difficult to concentrate, in part because there is so much I need to do but mainly because of anxiety and uncertainty about aspects of my immediate condition. I therefore will drag myself upstairs to wash and shave and do my hair and then decide whether to immediate tackle the issue that has arisen or get down to some writing before attending to the problem and other things. I like to be in control of my life as most people do and have accepted most of the limitations caused by age, my financial circumstances and living on my own and for most of the time I feel gratitude that my position is better than most. However when I feel my present situation threatened or have little or no control over removing or avoiding a problem I become frustrated, anxious, and indecisive, occasionally overwhelmed.

Returning to Waking the Dead, this was a double episode about the ultimate control freak, a female sadistic killer with exceptional cleverness. We had met her before in a previous programme sometime ago as a senior Prison Officer, how senior I cannot remember, where it emerged she had been killing female prisoners upon their discharge and who had engaged in an intellectual battle of with the character played by Trevor Eve. The character is also clever and with the capacity to think and act outside box but he in contrast to the murderess lacks her ruthlessness and cunning. She enjoys tormenting her victims and she has become expert in getting other people to either help in her elaborately contrived activities or she manipulates them into performing evils acts on others for her gratification.

The new double programme was elaborately constructed but is difficult to fully appreciate without having viewed the previous programme and the impact on Trevor of finding the multiple graves of her victims in a field.
I have also previously referred that Trevor’s fictional character is prone to take the law into his own hands and commits crimes to bring the guilty to justice. In a previous series the relationship with his estranged son is explored, a young man who has become an addict and a petty criminal. Trevor nearly kills the young man with whom the son was having a relationship and who Trevor blames for the condition in which he finds his son. Again it is difficult to fully appreciate the present double episode without remembering or having seen the episode in which he rages about himself, and what happens to his son especially when he learns of the death from a fatal injection.

Out of the blue Trevor is sent the decayed finger of a former female prisoner upon which there is an engagement ring and his first reaction is to send it on to CID and in particular to the former member of the team who found Trevor’s ways too unconventional to cope with. Trevor does this because the finger has been sent by the murderess former prison officer who is incarcerated in a high security psychiatric prison. How did she manage to send the package to him? For once he wants someone else to investigate but the matter is thrown back at him. It is at this point that a chasm of credibility opens because by coincidence at that every moment Sue Johnston who plays the psychologist profiler, who understands Trevor and works to help him survive without becoming the individual he fights against has to go into hospital because of cancer, pretending to Trevor she is attending a conference outside the UK. Moreover the person she arranges to cover for her while she is away, played by our Friends in the North, Gina McKee, has been in contact with the murderess by phone with a view to writing a book about her. Without accepting that such an unbelieving combination of events occurs the plot falls flat irrespective of its cleverness and the strength of the acting.

My own experience of prison, lectures by a forensic criminologist and by others while training, and discussions with psychiatrists while working, confirm the resourcefulness of some criminals when in prison, and of “mental” patients in institutions and I suppose the best cinematic portrayal of such and individual is that of Sir Anthony Hopkins in the Silence of Lambs. In this episode it is the ability to influence and effectively control other prisoners by physical and mental forces and to be able to do likewise with the staff which is to the fore. The popular belief is that former police and prison staff have an exceptionally hard time if they are imprisoned and this may be the position, however there is an aura given to those who the commit worst crimes regardless of who they were and this can lead to respect as well as fear on the part of both staff and other prisoners, and for some there is the urge to get to know them and to try and change them, because of their own fears about themselves. perhaps because of their strong beliefs and convictions about good and evil about human beings and about the nature of their deity.

In this instance the former senior prison officer had formed a relationship with a staff member at a secure psychiatric prison who is devout Christian who works in her spare time with drug addicts and rent “boys.” In facts she kills them to put them out of their misery and it is left open if this was something she was already doing before she worked nine years before with the serial killer or something which developed after they established a relationship and possible as a consequence of the powerful influence of the murderess over her. The latter is more likely because the force of one and the weakness portrayed of the other. It is the latter who has been persuaded to dig up and rebury the body of the prisoner, break off the finger with the engagement ring and send it to Trevor at the Waking the Dead unit.
Why has she done this. We know that there is more to the situation than first appears. It is unlikely that that this is not just a gift to Trevor to prove that the murderess is as clever as he is.

Trevor eventually works out how the missing prisoner came to be killed and buried in the grounds when she is supposed to have been discharged from the prison having recovered from her illness and behaviour to meet necessary conditions and requirements.

The current psychiatrist in charge together with the “do gooding” prison worker had encouraged the relationship between the dead girl and a damaged and disturbed male patient who we learn kills the girl when he believes that she is his mother. The Psychiatrist with the help of the gardener then buries the girl in the grounds and her departure from the prison is faked, The killer of the girl then kills either the Governor or former Psychiatrist and his death is presented as suicide and in turn the killer is provoked into killing the psychiatrist who created the situation in which the first death occurred. Behind all this is of course the former prison officer who has learnt of the original killings from another prisoner with whom she has been allowed to have a sexual relationship and where the prisoner was used to help fake the departure of the dead girl and then witnesses the burial of her body.

If this was not enough stretches of credulity and plot manipulation to grasp towards bedtime it is all part of the overriding master plan in which the former prison officer persuades Trevor to first get her back into her room and association with other prisoners from an isolation cell from which is able to enter the communications and control centre, creating the diversion in which the psychiatrist is killed and then makes her escape, kidnaps both Sue Johnston from her hospital bed and her do gooding accomplice from the prison and takes them to the warehouse used by drug addicts, and in particular where Trevor nearly killed the friend of his son and where his son died. Trevor is then persuaded to go to the location where he is given the choice of administering a lethal injection to put the do gooder out of her misery or letting Sue Johnston be killed. He refuses to do her bidding and with the help of his unit the death of Sue is prevented. Trevor is then unable to prevent the former prison officer from killing herself, something which is at odds which the personality that has been developed over the previous four hours of programme in which she featured. With the absence of the death penalty, further imprisonment would prove no problem for the creature who would quickly regain her authority and power within whatever establishment she was placed and continue to cause havoc, mayhem and death if given the opportunity.

The way I have written this and construct most writing is to be as factually accurate as memory permits and to present the “evidence” before making judgements and reaching conclusions. This contrasts with those who have a view, or belief and then find the argument, the evidence to support their position. I often do not have a position or viewpoint until I have explored the information available.

Yesterday I went to Newcastle having discovered that the Tyneside Film Theatre had decided to show the New York Metropolitan Opera Relay in the classic stalls as well as classic cinema circle and booked for the performance of Aida. I continued to read Summers with Durham by Tom Wellock on the journey. Durham has sent out the information on membership for the 1010 season. There is no change for ongoing over 60’s in the exceptionally modest membership fee of £90 although this will cover two fewer one day games next season. This is because the 50 over Friends Provident Trophy has been abolished and replaced by an extended 40 over contest which will be played on Sundays. There will be two leagues in which 12 matches, 6 home and six away will be played followed by a final at the end. The reason for the reduction of four games a season is the decision to expand the 20 20 format with 8 games played home and away during June July and August followed by the best four in each division playing in knockout round, presumably the top two having home draws and then the remaining four teams participating in the finals days of three games The financial significance of the change is that he clubs are able to charge for the additional 20 20 games whereas the these were previously included in the Membership. Durham as with other clubs have introduced the season ticket for the 20 29 with a substantial discount for from £120 for the eight games to £70 and there is also a discount for those wanting to add on the 6 40 over home games thus a clear division between the Championship pricing and one day and with games played during weekends, early evenings or under floodlights thus maximising the number of games where families and younger people can participate. It is time to turn my attention to other things.

1799 The Last Morse, The Fixer. New Tricks, Waking the Dead and X men the Last Stand

A whole week has passed since that wonderful first day at the cricket and my mood, created to a great extent by the weather and because of age is that the party is well and truly over. Fortunately I have the internal resources to overcome these feelings although it is always sensible to balance moments of euphoria with the reality of the commonplace.

My work, looking back, not just on the previous day though these writings, but on my seventy years in the context of my immediate environment, country, planet and universe is also a constant reminder of the reality of individual human experience. I need to devote more time to the work as well as to settling what is to happen to it when my physical presence as well as self awareness is no longer. I was reminded of this impending last night just before midnight, not a good time for such experience by the last episode pf Morse, the televised version of the Dexter novel set mainly in the City of Oxford and surrounding countryside with occasional forays to London and at least once to Italy. I had forgotten the story of the episode which remains unimportant because of the brilliant portrayal by John Thaw of what it is like to be told that nothing could be done to remedy his heart condition other than limit feeling degrees of grottiness by giving up two of the things he needed most in his life, his work and real ale and scotch. He could not give up either, trying to become enthusiastic about bird watching from a window overlooking his garden. What added to the performance is that John Thaw died soon after this programme. Performance like this, couple with my own feelings about the inevitability of an ending at some point couple with direct experience of the different ways of that time and that moment only serves to underline the pain I continue to feel about the waste of life, especially young life through military service and childhood death because of famine and preventable illness. I awoke this morning to hear someone involved in the provision of help in natural disasters that climate change was already having a negative impact on the health of the poorest nations as well as reminding that during the last major heat wave 3000 people had died in the UK more than the those from the swine flu virus to-date and where the availability of vaccination should match the expected growth of the virus as winter approaches.

I also watched the Fixer on ITV at 9pm in preference to the last hour of the fifth one international between Australia and England at Trent Bridge. I had paid some attention to the England innings in which the batsmen made good starts, including Captain Strauss, who suffered an unfortunate dismissal and where no one really took off big time in a prolonged way although the team managed to reach 299, but still short of what was needed to set Australia a difficult challenge. The problem is that England cannot take wickets without Pietersen and having discarded Harmison and Patterson and with Rashid and the other slow bowlers unable to hold back the tide of Australian run getting. I had also completely forgotten the first round of the main Euro football competition but switched over to find that Manchester United and Chelsea were winning 1.0 as the final whistle was sounded in their respective matches

The Fixer was the third in the series experienced with the fist concerning the criminal exploitation of children across counties for sex, violence adoption and the use by one arm of extended government of others to achieve individual and collective objectives. This week following the expected death from national causes of champion of the licence to kill team, the day to day administrative head does a deal with the creative par excellence from overseas black ops to get rid of the alleged previously unknown head of drug organisation producing heroin in Afghanistan. We the audience immediately knew as the team administrator that they were being used and the man was obviously lying about the situation and had his own as well as government agency agenda. The top killer in the team is shot barely escaping with his life and becomes depressed at his failure and the apparent pointlessness of it all. There is always someone else to step in a take over whatever racket or criminal activity is being tackled and the motives are always.. The target in question is a disillusioned SAS operative who has been sent by the black ops individualist to make money from drugs in order to finance what he regards as important operations starved of funds because of government funds. The idea that the government uses such people, as it does without the closest of monitoring and with the capacity to eliminate their activities if they get out of hand is preposterous but serves to remind that governments do use the creative individualists and that they do sometimes get out of hand and their activities can become counter productive as well as the making of genuine mistakes. In the episode the gone stray front line operative is taken out and the black ops organiser lives to another day as does the team. The series is of the third rank lacking great scripts and great acting.

This cannot be said for Waking the Dead with Trevor Eve as the wayward individualist head of team and Sue Johnston who first came to attention in Brookside while Trevor who is a first rank stage actor made his TV name with the series Shoestring. Boyd is also one of those prepared to break the law to bring the guilty to justice. The story of the two night episode was profound and accurately explained.

An already emotional vulnerable young woman goes out one evening to make a phone call using a public box (in the days before the mobile phone significantly reduced the need to go out of the home to make clandestine calls and is forced to take her young brother with her to the local store. On the way home the car has a puncture and two men who in car who stop to help turn out to be rapists and one kills the boy and attempts to kill the young woman who survives physically but becomes an emotional wreck, especially when the police fail to catch the two men involved. Boyd and the unit become involved again when the girl attempts to commit suicide and leaves a note for Boyd saying find them.

The young woman is persuaded to come to the unit and describe what happened to her and her brother so they the sceptical other members will be motivated. Through the latest scientific methods, some luck and by Boyd breaking into a private home to obtain evidence the team are able to identify the two men and then obtain the evidence sufficient for a prosecution. The key was to work out from the account of the victim that there are two very different men. One is inadequate who convinces himself that he is fulfilling the needs of his victims as well as of himself and is attempting to find the love and satisfaction he cannot obtain in the rest of his life. They work out that he was a serial rapist in the area of Manchester where he lived and may be continuing from his job as a caretaker at a college crammer when he looks after his disabled wife in wheelchair. When the unit close in on him he contacts the other younger man and blackmails him into looking after his wife explaining that he has kept incriminating evidence just for this kind of situation.

The second man is described by the Sue Johnston character as someone with anger towards women seeking revenge for what happened to him in his past, (in this instance a mother and a childhood girlfriend who he subsequently married but found out that she had become promiscuous while attending university before him). This was the man who killed he boy, beat up the victim as he raped her and pushed the other man into throwing her off a bridge as he had thrown off the boy. The question asked by Trevor and others members of the team is why did these two men unite in what appeared to be the only joint rape and murder. Sue explains the psychology and Boyd and other team members find out the particular circumstances which led to the two men having contact and striking a relationship. The second man has become an outstanding a surgeon consultant and I thought for a moment the moral issue was whether there was a case for letting him go because of the good he had done and was doing in reparation. The great twist of this story was that that the victim, became perpetrator. Boyd when be broke into the house was spotted by someone who noted the number of his car and he was traced and the anti corruption/ misuse of position squad are brought in and tell Boyd to suspend his involvement in work pending further investigation. This happens at the very point he is about to tell the victim that the case has been solved but now as a result of his methods there is the likelihood that a prosecution will flounder because a criminal act was used to obtain evidence.

Aware that this is so the victim nearly kills a member of the unit and then appears to kill the man who murdered her brother. Boyd has to prevent the woman then killing herself. The story therefore brought out the appalling truth that victims do become perpetrators of crime in some instances, especially if the crime is not detected and perpetrators brought to justice. It also underlines the point that the end can never be used to justify the means.

However just how difficult it can be for those working in justice system to defeat the professional criminal was under lined in the latest episode of New Tricks which similar to Waking the dead is a unit set up to examine previously unsolved crimes, including crimes which only come to light several years, sometimes decades after they were committed. In the latest episode the action takes place during the trial of a man who has confessed to having run down the wife of one of the team members. The Barrister defending the man has obtained information about the each of the unit members, and reveals that one in addition to having had a questionable private life with four marriages and various children used his position to check DNA information whether a young woman who had contacted was his daughter. She is not but in order not to disappoint he has lied to her but when faced with telling the truth in the court he hesitates sufficiently before doing so and she realises this. Another member of the team is shown to have a chemical imbalance which means that he needs to take medication throughout the day to remain in balance and that if he takes alcoholic to which he had become addicted or leaves off the medication he becomes exceptionally emotionally unstable and attacked in the witness box he is broken down. Similarly the victim’s partner is exposed as being obsessed and unable to move on, talking to his wife every night over her ashes buried in the garden and surrounded by lighted candles. The succession of attacks on the characters and behaviour of the key witnesses for the prosecution is successful before a jury as the man is acquitted.

A very different fictional experience was X Men the Last Stand and which take away the computerised trickery this is story about racialism and how those with the best intentions can become criminals and enemies of society, endangering the future of humanity. The theme of the series of films )in which the The Last Stand could be the last as three of the leading characters are believed to have been killed but where in two instances the bodies are not shown and the death is imprecise), is the need for coexistence between “normal” humans and mutations some of whom have superhuman powers which include significant changes to the physical body. The films are based on the Marvel comic book characters and a new novelisation was created and is said to differ in some respects from the film story.

The issue raised by the film is a moral one. What if is it possible through medical science to create a means by injection abnormal people can become normal so they do not stand out and can lead anonymous lives. In the film the antidote is offered free but it is also developed into a weapons to destroy the powers of the mutants when they decide that this voluntary approach is wrong and want society to treat and accept mutants as having the same rights as everyone else. It touches upon the age old argument about the military and social uses of science and the degree to which human beings tend to want to be normal or average and can become hostile to the different and extraordinary.

In the film series Patrick Stewart plays the head of a special school, rather like the Harry Potter Hogwarts is designed to harness the powers of Mutant for good and help in bridging the differences between those with special powers and those which do not. Although wheel chair bound he plays someone with exceptional ability to read minds and influence. He has been able to keep in check the negative powers within one of his former students who dies at the end of the previous film and is resurrected but only through her dark powers whose telepathy is stronger than that of Patrick Stewart and telekinetic powers with atomic destructiveness. Fortunately there are traces of her human self left which means that she accepts death from someone who loves her at the end of the film thus saving her comrades and the world twice.

Hugh Jackman plays the man who loves her, a Wolverine whose bones have been encased in metal and has metal claws which emerge from each hand as powerful fighting and defensive weapons. He misguidedly releases “Phoenix” from her controlled state after she is brought to the centre and therefore it is fitting that he is responsible for neutralising her at the end of the film. Patrick was already grooming Cyclops to take over from him as head of the school, a man who has a destructive energy blast through his eyes which unless being used for good purposes have to be shielded by a ruby quartz visor. He is devastated by the loss of Phoenix and is believed killed by her during the film. His prospective position as school head is passed to Halle Berry who plays Storm with the power to control the weather with her mind. She refused to participate in the film unless she was given a part which reflected the role of the character in the comic books. Other characters include a blue haired all over scientist with a high IQ and great strength and agility who is US government Minister in charge of Mutant Affairs, Anna Paquin is Rogue who has power to absorb the life force, killing anyone them if she holds on them too long. Another has a body with the characteristics of Ice and can use the power to combat fire by creating force of ice and cold (Iceman). Another student can walk through matter. Colossus can transform his skin into steel with power to resist force including heat.

Unfortunately there are also Mutant forces who want to redress the balance between humans and mutants. They want to destroy the ability to convert mutants into functioning humans. They are led by Sir Ian McKellen as Magneto a Holocaust victim with the power to manipulate any form of metal and in the spectacular finale he moves the Gold Gate Bridge so they can get to Alcatraz which is being used as a medical science laboratory producing the mutant antidote. He then uses cars which have stopped on the bridge as weapons tossing them into the air as weapons which are then ignited into fire bombs by one of his supporters (Pyro) a former Institute Student with an inbuilt flame throw which he uses against his former friend Iceman in a dual to the death.

Sir Ian’s main assistant is Mystique who can shape shift into female and male forms including other characters in the film and who has great strength and agility. She takes a hit from the human converting drugs to protect Sir Ian so becomes human. When he discards her because of this she provides intelligence to the government. Vinnie Jones plays Juggernaut who is a new recruit with the power which increases as he gains momentum, able to penetrate all substances and cannot be stopped. There is also a character Multiple who can create unlimited copies of himself. Finally among the mutants is the son of the man who has developed the vaccine. He has angel wings and can fly. He hates being odd and his father creates the vaccine to help his son however at the last moment the son changes his mind and at the end of the film we see him using his wings to fly freely. Given that the characters have this range of powers it is inevitable that much of the film taken with showing off displays and combats. However the central theme is always present and for once an American President is portrayed as a thoughtful, intelligent, caring individual, faced with hard choices which are often the lesser of several evils.