STEVE REID HAS BEEN RELEASED

The Outer Church wishes Steve Reid a safe journey to a better place.

I BELIEVE IT'S MAGIC (MAGIC)

To my mind, one of the greatest moments in 80s cinema. It isn't surprising that Ghostbusters and its soundtrack are touchstones for the purveyors of Hypnagogic Pop. Check the juxtaposition of spectral technicolour with the concrete and steel of Manhattan in this scene, not to mention the eerie shudder of Mick Smiley's 'Magic'. We watch in awe as the supernatural floods into our world, leaving vapour trails which look like synaesthetic representations of a James Ferraro drone.

I'm continually struck by how effectively the populist cinema of the 80s brought dreams - and nightmares - to life. I'm talking Ghostbusters, Blade Runner, Aliens, A Nightmare On Elm Street, The Thing, Gremlins... highly successful films with a sense of otherness today's million dollar event movies for the most part completely fail to capture. And they're the bigger budget efforts - the independent genre film thrived in the 80s, making up for a lack of resources with imagination and visual flair. 1980's Without Warning may have been made for about $200, but its bloodsucking flying discs and cranially-enhanced alien hiding out in a cabin have haunted my imagination for years.

WHO DA MAN

The Outer Church extends a warm welcome to Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, who acquitted themselves very well indeed in last night's opening episode of Doctor Who's 2010 season. David Tennant was always going to be a hard act to follow, but Smith pulled a blinder with his twitchy charisma and unusual, expressive looks. Meanwhile Gillan looks like she may prove the most interesting companion of the revived series, a psychologically damaged survivor of a troubled upbringing whose relationship with the Doctor goes back to her pre-teens... regardless of chief writer and executive producer Steven Moffat's protestations to the contrary, we're already in darker territory than that of preceding seasons. Anyone else feel distinctly uncomfortable with the idea that Prisoner Zero had been lurking on the periphary of Amy's vision for over a decade, looking on as she grew up? Shudder.

The locations of Amy's house and village were used to great effect. Blink indicated that Moffat may harbour a bit of an obsession with the (supposedly) inanimate - perhaps inspired by youthful exposure to the Autons - and here both a crack in a wall and a doorway became harbingers of doom. The use of the leafy village was reminiscent of 70s Who serials such as The Daemons, Terror Of The Autons, The Green Death, The Ambassadors Of Death and The Android Invasion, the subtly remarkable interval on the green boasting a sickly, dreary, dreamlike quality unlike anything we've seen in the series since its return, or at least since Blink. The Vogon-like announcements of imminent annihilation emanating from the ice cream van loudspeaker raised a grim smile too. Douglas Adams would have approved.

WEIR'S WAVE

Fascinating interview with filmmaker Peter Weir on the subject of his overlooked 1977 picture The Last Wave. The film stars Richard Chamberlain as a lawyer called upon to represent a group of indigenous Australian men accused of murder. As he delves deeper into the case, Chamberlain's character finds himself beset by disturbing apocalyptic visions which cast doubt on the meaning of his existence. The film also stars the charismatic David Gulpilil of Walkabout fame, and comes highly recommended to fans of Weir's earlier film, the eerily beautiful Picnic At Hanging Rock.



Like Nicolas Roeg, Peter Weir is a prominent figure in the pantheon of The Outer Church. Two other films of his that have provided considerable inspiration are 1993's Fearless and 1998's The Truman Show.

JON BROOKS? PODCAST MENTALIST

E's gorn an' dunnit again! Twice, actually. Pick up the second and third Cafe Kaput podcasts from Jon Brooks's lovely blog here and here. Another three to come, says Mr Brooks! Well, really...!

WRITE THAT IN YOUR NOTEBOOK

Fans of the distinctly hauntologically inclined actor, comedian and writer Peter Serafinowicz may be interested to know that you can download the music he recorded or the first series of Look Around You (under the name Gelg) here.

Meanwhile, the pilot podcast for his and Robert Popper's supernaturally spectacular Radio Spiritworld can be found here.

In addition, those of you who feel their life is lacking spiritual nourishment may be interested in Tarvuism. I know I am!