tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534509012046591314.post294139302202610245..comments2023-11-05T10:11:31.578+00:00Comments on Just William's Luck: 'appetite comes with the eating'William Rycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15056188088340973039noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534509012046591314.post-61446725233514112962010-06-15T01:06:29.414+01:002010-06-15T01:06:29.414+01:00I'm afraid footage of Max Beesley's past a...I'm afraid footage of Max Beesley's past as a percussion musician may have put me off. Once you've seen his conga playing face then you feel you've seen too much -a bit like those smelly and sweaty sex sessions.<br /><br />As for Keith Allen, well, I can only offer profanities so I shall keep schtum.William Rycrofthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15056188088340973039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534509012046591314.post-28676468980874050492010-06-15T00:46:59.978+01:002010-06-15T00:46:59.978+01:00How funny! I liked Max Beesley in Bodies; he had t...How funny! I liked Max Beesley in Bodies; he had that anxious intensity coupled with youth that the part called for. As for Keith Allen, while I think he would severely try my patience as a partner, I like watching him on screen. In fact he lived up to the part he played in Bodies - a louche old lush - because the woman who played the blonde junior doctor at whom he made constant passes ended up pregnant by him. That's method acting for you.leyla sanaihttp://www.rocksbackpagesblogs.com/?author=20noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534509012046591314.post-52331843691603458882010-06-15T00:39:31.795+01:002010-06-15T00:39:31.795+01:00Thank you for that response Leyla. I'm sorry t...Thank you for that response Leyla. I'm sorry to hear about one career being affected so much by your illness but great to see you so positive about what it has allowed you to do.<br /><br />As for Bodies, I'm ashamed to admit that I was put off watching it any committed way by my actorly prejudices (ie I have an aversion to both Max Beesley and Keith Allen) but maybe I should have given it more of a chance.William Rycrofthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15056188088340973039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534509012046591314.post-4257760590073627712010-06-14T13:25:54.566+01:002010-06-14T13:25:54.566+01:00Hi William. I do have a medical background, I did ...Hi William. I do have a medical background, I did medicine then worked as a physician for a couple of years and did the MRCP post grad exams then got drawn to intensive care for which you have to be a consultant anaesthetist in Scotland, so did anaesthetics, FRCA, etc and became a consultant anaesthetist at Glasgow's Western Infirmary. Had to give up b/c of scleroderma which is an auto-immune illness which has caused lots of problems and requires every second week spent in hospital for days. Still, giving up medicine gives me time to concentrate on reading and writing.<br />As often happens with TV adaptations, the TV drama of Bodies was different from the book in some ways. The book was extremely potent but made the central relationship very sex-based and gritty (they were both often sweaty and smelly from working long shifts, etc) rather than any meeting of minds. Unusually, I actually preferred the TV version because it seemed less 'laddy' because of that. Still, Mercurio will have had a lot of input in the adaptation too as he takes an active producer role in the filming of his books. And the central themes - the way the conservative medical hierarchy covers up incompetence in consultants and the way whistle-blowing is punished, were, I thought, blazingly powerful in both the book and the drama.leyla sanaihttp://www.rocksbackpagesblogs.com/?author=20noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534509012046591314.post-57743958969393985532010-06-14T12:19:16.674+01:002010-06-14T12:19:16.674+01:00I loved Ascent (as you'll see here) but in ver...I loved Ascent (as you'll see <a href="http://justwilliamsluck.blogspot.com/2008/04/top-gunski.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>) but in very Boys Own kind of way so I can see why you might be put off. I'd still recommend that over this one, which is a bit dry and never really engages in the same way. I saw a bit of both medical series, do you have a medical background (or present) then, Leyla?William Rycrofthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15056188088340973039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534509012046591314.post-49412367811844063942010-06-13T11:31:43.915+01:002010-06-13T11:31:43.915+01:00I haven't read either of Mercurio's last t...I haven't read either of Mercurio's last two books, William, and the subject matter of American Adulterer put me off, but your clear, informative review and the quotes have piqued my interest. The clinical way Mercurio lists his subject's ailments is paradoxically involving, triggering the kind of curiosity that a salaciously written, gossipy account wouldn't.It's fascinating to read about JFK's litany of ill health and that he may have enjoyed the thrill more than the physical liaisons themselves.<br /><br />I thought Bodies was extremely powerful in its breaking of medical taboos - revealing the secrets of the medical profession would ruin any career in medicine - witness the move to Australia of the Bristol heart unit whistleblower - and I was totally gripped by the TV series of both Bodies and Cardiac Arrest (conflict of interest admission - I worked as a medical advisor on the latter and knew Mercurio socially for a while.)I didn't read Ascent, again because the purported subject matter didn't immediately appeal, but you speak highly of it too, so again I may reconsider.leyla sanaihttp://www.rocksbackpagesblogs.com/?author=20noreply@blogger.com