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I'd say there is still a little work to do, but am still hopeful that I can get every stone over the size of a grain of sand off of there. Yet with the field freshly ploughed and buried stones brought to the surface, I am not sure that the field looks any less stony than it did back in 2018 when I idly started this ridiculous/noble task.
All I wanted was to secretly clear a billion stones off a field and build a wall that would stand for millennia and be visible from space and yet I am in danger of merely creating an act of hubris rivalled only by Ozymandius (and at least his giant statue stood there for a bit before it fell down).
Even if you just view it as a work of art to show the pointlessness of ambition, the tiny span of human existence and how everything we do it futile and sel-defeating then it's also failed. Everyone's going on about Banksy, but no one is talking about the latest stone that's been thrown into some brambles.
When will my genius be recognised? Although of course the failure of my genius to be recognised merely proves my point and elevates my genius further. But there's no comfort in being a genius if no one knows about it or just thinks you're a boring idiot babbling to himself in a field after his career has come to nothing and this is all you have left to you.
Yeah, people who think that. Easy for you to say. But how many stones have you cleared? Probably none. I did about a hundred just today. So who is the actual loser?
I had a look at the TV version of Time Bandits tonight and enjoyed it. To be fair anything created by any one of Jermaine Clement, Iain Morris or Taika Waititi would be worth a look. And if they're working off an idea created by Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam then what can possibly go wrong?
The Time Bandits movie was one of my childhood favourites and I am sure there are people of my vintage who are sceptical about it being rebooted. I'd imagine that the main reactionary complaint would be that the Time Bandits are no longer little people, which might be the kind of argument that unites both the stuck in the mud and the woke. It probably means that no one is complaining that two of the Bandits are now women. Is this progress. I don't know.
Those original bandits were superb, especially David Rappaport who I loved in everything he did (he was even in Jigsaw of course) and though I haven't seen the film for a while I hope it still stands up. Was it exploitative of those main actors? I don't think so. I hope not. Don't know if I want to check. But I am sure all the actors were delighted to get parts that didn't involve Snow White or fairy folk.
And who could be upset about it becoming a TV series? It's actually the perfect format for the idea, which is by its very nature episodic. As a fan I was really pleased to see the idea given a different spin and new life and Kevin Haddock is a perfect hero for a nerdy history buff who is named after a fish.
Personally I think Taika Waititi in particular should be given all the money in the world to make whatever he wants, even ahead of me. There was a little bit of crossover with my own failed TV idea Everything Happens For No Reason, which will now definitely not happen, mainly because so many shows have now explored alternative universes. If it had been commissioned when I wrote it I think it might only have been beaten by Rick and Morty - though my inspiration was Sliding Doors and Dr Who (and maybe, subconsciously The Time Bandits).
While we're here Daddy Issues is also well worth a watch.
