The Creature Alone

It seems that David Cameron met Arnold Swarchenegger at a Policy Exchange Crimbo bash on Monday reporting delightedly that he was taller than the girly-man. The Gubernatorial top ten films were presented to Boy David and they included two of the action man’s efforts,“Twins”, a barely functional comedy, and the marvellous sequel Terminator 2.We are in a period of political sequels are we not? “Heir to Blair “, Cameron, and the bogey gobbler, are trying to achieve a similarly elusive blend of new and familiar themes.

A brace of films with the typical failures and successes of sequels is Alien and Aliens .The original comprises dissonant elements ;the dialogue and acting style are theatre work shop with sections of improv' providing an ultra realistic feel accentuated by the high background noise. The artistic vision is contrastingly high Gothic with pornographic images of corrupted flesh woven into dark arterial structures.The scaffolding is is an old B movie plot with traditional chase scenes , a secret identity and a female in peril. These ingredients complement each other in a creative tension.Pseuds corner here I come ;but it is an alchemical achievement .

The follow-up was an artisans delight and importantly a new film in old clothing. Wisely,it ditched the ambition of the first and settled for a high class actioner The Elstree,(Bond), wizards, incoporated the look into superlative product.A thrill ride replaces existential terror,but if its aims were limited,it delivered a satisfying experience to the oft cheated franchise follower. It was only when Universal threw the whole years budget at Aliens 3 that the series “Jumped-the-shark ”.

Don safety goggles while I stretch metaphor to breaking point; ready ? The Blair period appeared to contain internal oppositions.The weakness of the Conservative party brought this about but also the New Labour versus old Labour battles as personified by Blair and Brown.While neither predominated the government maintained energy,( all the wrong sort in my view, but bear with me).Cameron was initially impressed and set out to be Blair Project 2. But trying to pick up the story and pretend it was always written that way ( See Matrix Re-loaded) always fails .You have to make a 'new film' and that uses its ancestor rather than wears it like a posh boy affecting incongruous (political) bling. Had it gone on this way I would have been concerned ,but following Iain Duncan Smiths work and the policy reviews, not to say the vigorous debate on Grammars , Europe and so on over a decade, the Conservatives have forged what looks like a Government in waiting. Intellectual ferment and even disagreement can be productive and the paucity of Browns bench is the result of the silent "Terror" of life under the Talibrown.People have a sense that something is happening on the right and it feels like the future.

Brown is not a sequel , Blair did that himself , he is a spin off.No doubt he hoped to be ‘Frasier’, but he was too large a character in the original hit . Its more like having Punch wandering about pointlessly with no Judy to hit .Alien climaxed in a duel between the sleek black carnivore and Sigourney Weaver.Brown , remember, caught his prey and ate him. Imagine that had happened in the Ridley Scott film and the sequel consisted of hours of the creature, sitting about picking its teeth alone in space , whistling , perhaps flipping place mats into the bin ?

Bums are beginning to ache already Gordon ,and the two years of this non government stretch before us like an interview with Alan Shearer..

1-Anyone not come across “Jump-the-shark moment”. Google it