Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · 3d

I hadn’t thought about how reactions to this episode may shift because of SNW. I last watched TOS during the first lockdown and I think we had met Pike in Discovery at that point but hadn’t seen enough to make connections back. Your post makes me curious to rewatch The Menagerie.

1 1

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · 5d

Exciting times to have the Podcast back & now this! Always appreciate Tim’s enthusiastic yet measured approach. Lots of patience will be required for the immediate future...

Additionally, wonderful to see @filmisfabulous.bsky.social receive charitable status. Exciting times there too!

4

Reposted by Brendan McKenico

filmisfabulous! @filmisfabulous.bsky.social · 5d

SUPPORT OUR WORK

YOU can play a vital role in our unique story, by making a donation to Film is Fabulous! Please support our work as a registered charity by visiting our website and giving £5 via PayPal.

filmisfabulous.org.uk/the-film-is-...

1 9 14

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · 8d

I had read The Bell Jar 25 years ago but it felt just as fresh. Reading it at this stage in my life made me think about aspects that didn’t register when I was younger. Glad I revisited it.

Four books sit in a pale blue dish on a white windowsill. Behind is a pane of opaque glass. It is dusk outside. The room is lit from overhead. To the left, a Super Mario Bros. Piranha Plant light casts extra light. To the right, a rainbow glass skull bottle sits.
The books are (from top to bottom) The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Galatea by Madeline Miller, Moondial by Helen Cresswell, and The Sleepwalkers by Scarlett Thomas. The spines of the books face the camera.

1

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · 8d

September reading: Sleepwalkers was my choice for book group at work. Elements of it reminded me of the Secret Diary of Laura Palmer. Lots to talk about after the group meets. Moondial was some children’s fiction I hadn’t read before. A strong children’s ghost story. Galatea was short but mighty.

1 1

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · 9d

Arrived yesterday. Very curious about it. Had never heard of it until the pre-order for the Blu-ray went live.

1

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · 10d

My favourite podcast is back! Doctor Who: The Missing Episodes Podcast with Tim has a new episode on Patreon. If missing episodes of old TV or Doctor Who in general are your thing then this podcast will tick all the boxes. If you don’t like such things…then may Amdo engulf you!

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · 20d

This is such a happy post to read. My stomach dropped for you when I read your post the other day. A reminder in times that are feeling him increasingly desperate, there are good people who do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.

2

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · 25d

I have always enjoyed Scarlett Thomas’ writing and this was no different. I always feel provoked to think, and that my thinking is challenged by her novels.

1

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · 25d

This book was my choice for a campus book group at work. Feeling pleased with my choice as it is a book that raises so many questions, frustrations, talking points and ‘oh my god!’ moments. The group meets the first Monday in October. I’ll post a summary of that once it has taken place.

1 1

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · 26d

Another instant preorder @tenacrefilms.bsky.social We are being spoiled with this year’s publications. Plus, I love a very special, limited edition version of a book.

Ten Acre Books @tenacrebooks.bsky.social · 26d

We’re pleased to announce that Richard Marson’s long-awaited history of BBC Children’s TV will be published on November 17 in trade paperback and a collector’s hardback, limited to 300 copies.

Order Box of Delights: The Story of BBC Children’s Television now from tenacrefilms.bigcartel.com

Box of Delights: The Story of BBC Children's Television 1967-1997 cover design.

Box of Delights: The Story of BBC Children's Television 1967-1997 limited edition hardback cover design illustrated by Paul Cemmick.

2

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · Sep 2

I am on the same reading path! A Quiet Place is up next after I finish Scarlett Thomas’ The Sleepwalkers.

1

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · Sep 1

Started Scarlett Thomas’ The Sleepwalkers this morning. Instantly grabbed by the contents page; very curious about what’s to come. The opening gave me a “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…” feeling. Frustratingly, I need to go to work and can’t stay home and read!

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · Aug 31

You’re very welcome. I only discovered Penda’s Fen this summer and couldn’t stop thinking about it after seeing it. I wish I’d found it when I was a teenager in the 90s. However, discovering it this year meant I got to read your book so soon after viewing which has enhanced my overall experience.

1

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · Aug 31

August reading stack with the stand out being Panda’s Fen: Scene by Scene. I deliberately slowed down my reading pace to absorb the incredible level of research undertaken by the author. The definitive deep dive companion text to the BFI Blu-ray. Such a rich text. Fabulous. @greavesian.bsky.social

1 1 1

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · Aug 22

In complete agreement. Discovered it earlier this summer and it was a real bright spot for me. So looking forward to season 3.

1 3

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · Aug 21

Best of luck and warmest wishes Damian! I look forward to reading it in the near future…

1 1

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · Aug 17

Finished the ironing. Thinking about work. About to get ready to take Eric a walk when I took a beat to read a random poem from The Poetry Pharmacy. Was the universe sending a message? Golden Retrievals and being in the moment. Tomorrow isn’t here yet. Experience now. Lessons from Golden Retrievers.

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · Aug 17

I am very interested in E’s review of Calamity Jane…

1

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · Aug 16

I also think of…

Noticed it as soon as I hit reply.

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · Aug 16

I also think if @sergeanttibbs.bsky.social when I think of Hitchcock, Twin Peaks, Wham and Bette Davis (eyes).

2 2

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · Aug 16

When I think of Doris Day I think of @sergeanttibbs.bsky.social

2

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · Aug 15

Came home to book delivery.

Discovered Panda’s Fen last month via the BFI release. I’m now obsessed and had to buy this @tenacrefilms.bsky.social book.

Excited to read this prequel to the DW story ‘Inferno’. UK Gold nightly broadcasts in 1993 captured my imagination. @cutawaycomics.bsky.social

1 1 6

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · Aug 3

This months reading stack. The Quatermass Experiment book stood out. The depth of research and style of writing was most satisfying. Will be looking out my DVD to rewatch the first two episodes. Also planning to seek out the film (s) and the 2005 remake. I want more Quatermass Experiment!

Stack of four books on a desk, spines facing the camera. From bottom to top: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, Escapades: An exploration of Avenging curiosities by JZ Ferguson & Alan Hayes, The Quatermass Experiment: The making of TV’s first sci-fi classic by Toby Hadoke

1 5

Brendan McKenico @mckenico.bsky.social · Jul 29

Reading the comments and experience of Paul William Quatermass (born 1872) who watched this piece of television in 1953, a piece I can watch the first two episodes of on DVD in 2025 feels pretty wild. A surname picked at random from the phonebook and what it meant for those who share it.