Karaoke / Cold Lazarus

March 5th, 2008 by farquaad

A few weeks ago i caught a glimpse of Deep Blue Sea, a not so special movie with some fishies. But Saffron Burrows is the one fighting off the sharks. And it is she who always makes me remember a duo of 90’s televivision series: Karaoke and Cold Lazarus.

Both Karaoke and Cold Lazarus are written by Dennis Potter who is best known for writing The Singing Detective. BBC and Channel 4 co-produced and broadcasted the series. A unique situation, as requested by Potter before his death.

As a side effect of this situation, copyrights ownership is now totaly unclear. That means no dvd. Lucky for us, there is the internets.

Karaoke:

Daniel Feeld is a screenwriter with pains in his gut and a new screenplay called “Karaoke”, about a girl named Sandra who works in a seedy Karaoke bar and is murdered by a lowlife named Arthur “Pig” Mallion. But whenever Daniel looks around, real people seem to be speaking his dialogue in real situations that mirror the script, including a beautiful young girl named Sandra who works in a Karaoke bar owned by a Mr. Mallion. Meanwhile, Balmer, the film’s director, is in a spot of trouble with the leading lady of the film.

Cold Lazarus:

Writer Daniel Feeld (Albert Finney), first seen in Dennis Potter’s Karaoke, returns three centuries later as a disembodied head. While technology has advanced in the 24th Century, global corporate control has brought about an austere, antiseptic way of life. In the year 2368, the terrorist organization RON (Reality or Nothing), seeks a return to the tranquillity of earlier times. At the Masdon Science Center, a team of scientists led by Emma Porlock (Frances De La Tour) succeeds in extracting memories from Feeld’s cryogenically preserved head - memories which are, in fact, scenes from Karaoke. Aging Martina Masdon (Diane Ladd), the tyrannical owner of the Science Center, and international media mogul David Siltz (Henry Goodman) see the potential for the commercial exploitation of Feeld’s memories. As Siltz puts it, “Who would want made-up stories from a hack when you can mainline into the real thing? At last, privacy has a true market value.”

For those who have seen all of Deadw00t and are waiting for the third season of Dexter, while you’re waiting, this is a classic not to be missed.

Karaoke:

• Episode 1
• Episode 2
• Episode 3
• Episode 4

Cold Lazarus:

• Episode 1
• Episode 2
• Episode 3
• Episode 4