Once again, please accept my apologies for the infrequent programming here at TMR in recent months. So far, I have found 2024 to be quite difficult for podcasting—many other demands on my time and a period of not being too well (not serious) which sapped my enthusiasm for a while. But I am still here! And I am determined to get back behind the microphone as soon as I can. Having said that, the next podcast won't be coming out for another two or three weeks because of various family commitments. But plans are afoot, and thereafter I'm hoping that TMR will pick up and gain greater momentum for the latter part of the year (God willing).
So, the next podcast is planned to be another TMR Roundtable, this time on the disturbing (because very realistic) nuclear-apocalyptic BBC/Nine Network TV film Threads (1984), directed by Mick Jackson (who, as it happens, also directed the brilliant A Very British Coup, which we coincidentally discussed last year). For that we'll be joined by our regular panel of talented commentators, Mark Campbell, Antony Rotunno and Frank Johnson. As I say, it's a disturbing film—but it's supposed to be—and I think as many people (adults) as possible should watch it.*
Blessings, and thanks again for your patience,
Julian.
*For those of you in the UK, please note that Threads is currently available on BBC iPlayer (which is how I came to watch it recently). [I also note that, according to IMDb, the film was given a 15 Certificate in the UK, which surprises me. I'd have guessed at 18. Anyway, do be warned, it's not easy viewing, to say the least.]
Current Programme (Two Parts)
Parts One and Two of our latest conversation with UK evangelist Vince McCann—host of the Chenzo1969 YouTube channel—on his long-time ministry of speaking with Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons (and others) on the streets of UK towns and cities in the prayerful hope of reaching people for Christ.
Drawing upon his extensive experience of such street ministry, Vince shares with us some practical advice that might help us in our own conversations with people caught up in New Religious Movements that claim the Bible as a foundational text.
(If you've not heard Part One, please do listen to that first.)
Previous Programme
For the 17th TMR Movie Roundtable we welcome back our good friends Frank Johnson, Antony Rotunno and Mark Campbell for another four-way discussion, this time on the cult British supernatural horror film The Appointment (1981/2) starring Edward Woodward and directed by Lindsey C Vickers.
"An evil and enigmatic entity throws a family into turmoil in Lindsey C. Vickers' much sought-after cult horror. Unable to attend his daughter’s violin recital, suburban father Ian—played by Edward Woodward (The Wicker Man)—is haunted by a series of prophetic nightmares that seem to foresee a looming tragedy. Are dark forces gathering to be unleashed upon him?"—BFI.org.uk
After initial screenings at film festivals in the early 1980s, The Appointment wasn't released in cinemas or on television (for various unfathomable reasons) but only on home media, although it did eventually get broadcast on UK regional television in the 1990s—a showing that, ironically enough, its director missed! Ever since, many have searched for the film—religiously scanning TV schedules and hunting in second-hand shops in the hope of tracking down one of those old VHS or Betamax video tapes—but it was not until 2022 that the film became widely available once again thanks to the British Film Institute and the film's director Lindsey Vickers (who was extensively involved in the project). The Appointment is now available on Blu-ray Disc as part of the BFI Flipside series (see show notes).
Join us as we discuss the production and reflect theologically/philosophically on the themes and meanings of this almost-lost cult British movie.
[Images (here and slide show image) courtesy of The British Film Institute. Copyright © BFI/Lindsey C. Vickers, all rights reserved, used by TMR with kind permission.]
Possible Future Programmes
I am working on, or considering, the following projects (in no particular order):
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A follow-up interview with Jacob Hornberger on the Zapruder Film Mystery
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An interview in the area of "A Christian approach to health and medicine" with a recently qualified Cambridge University PhD graduate
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A possible follow-up interview with Dr Gary Sidley on his research into the effectiveness (or otherwise) of masks with respect to the spread of respiratory viruses
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An interview in the area of The Philosophy of Miracle
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TMR's annual New Year's Eve show with a roundtable of TMR superguests, to which I might invite UK "Prime Minister" Sir—(let me stress that again, Sir)—Keir Starmer, KCB (Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath), leader of the "Labour" Party.
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TMR Roundtables on the following films: (a) Threads (1984), the disturbing (because realistic) nuclear-apocalyptic BBC/Nine Network TV film directed by Mick Jackson; (b) One by One (2014) starring Rik Mayall; (c) Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) starring Richard Burton and John Hurt; (d) Journey to the Far Side of the Sun or Doppelgänger (1969) by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, starring Roy Thinnes and Patrick Wymark; (e) Minority Report (2001) starring Tom Cruise; (f) Fahrenheit 451 (1966) directed by François Truffaut; (g) The Sound of Music (1965) starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer; (h) The Parallax View (1974) starring Warren Beatty.
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A (possible) series of interviews with Dr Martin Erdmann on his book The Spiritualisation of Technology.
Results from TMR survey
Format: Everyone who responded said that they particularly appreciate the interviews (and other types of one-to-one conversation) and asked that these remain at the core of TMR's programming. They also generally prefer in-depth conversations.
Subjects: The majority of respondents are happy with the types of subjects covered on the podcast. (Some aren't keen on subjects that are specifically Christian, while others aren't keen on subjects that are not specifically Christian. Given that this mix is central to TMR's philosophy, such difference of opinion is only to be expected.)
Frequency: Very few asked for the podcasts to be posted at any regular interval (such as weekly or fortnightly), but instead stressed the importance of quality over quantity.
Conclusion: I shall therefore continue in much the same way, but prioritise the in-depth conversations, even though that may impact the frequency with which I post podcasts.
Many thanks to those who contributed.
Julian.