Thursday, February 23, 2017

Friday, February 17, 2017

Dynasty - Reboots, remakes and racism

Every time a movie or TV show is rebooted or remade, many of you – the fans – get angry. It's inevitable. "Ghostbusters" and "Annie" are two examples, and next in line is eighties primetime soap opera "Dynasty", one of my personal favourites. But what seems to anger you the most is that some characters are being cast by black and latino actors. I think you should ask yourself why that bothers you so much.

Don't get me wrong, it's totally fine to dislike the "Dynasty" reboot – even though you haven't seen one single episode yet – and the casting choices, but please leave race out of it. And before you start shouting: "I'm not racist, you PC troll", stop, take a deep breath and think about how the things you write online might come across.

I'm not saying that you are racist just because you criticise the reboot or the casting choice. But ask yourself: Would you have complained as much if the character was recast by a white actor? Probably not. Many of you have even written things like: "The PC catering has gone too far", "They are turning everyone black" and "Sammy Jo will be a man", which suggests to me that there is something more than just change bothering you.

I would like to think that "Dynasty" fans are open-minded, especially since many of us are LGBT, so we know what it feels like to be targeted simply for existing. But some of the online comments made by fans scare me. Have you forgotten how groundbreaking the original show was for having a gay main character?

I get that change can be tough, that you prefer things to stay exactly the same as they always have. But as much as we love the original show, this is a reboot, targeted at a younger audience – like most shows on The CW – who probably never heard of the original. Back when "Dynasty" originally aired, shows had at most one or two "token characters" of colour. But nowadays shows try to be more diverse, because that's what the world really looks like, it's not "all white". How is that a bad thing?

It's actually quite easy: If you don't like the reboot, don't watch it. I'm pretty sure they're not rebooting it for you anyway. Complain as much as you want about it being rebooted, but make sure you're not complaining because some of characters look different from the original, because that's shallow. If you want the original, watch the DVD's of that show. No one is taking that away from you, I promise.

I'm gay and I watch shows featuring straight characters all the time, so it's not obligatory to have a gay character to please me. But whenever one of the characters turn out to be gay, it makes me feel included, since I can easily relate to him or her. How can wanting to include others be a bad thing?

Reboots usually don't go down well with the original fans and I totally understand if you are fed up with remakes in general. I'm not saying the reboot will be good, because it hasn't even aired yet. I just wish you would stop using personal attacks and racist remarks when criticising entertainment. Because yes, that actually does make you sound racist, no matter how much you say you're not.

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Eurotix - Letting Go (Demo)

"Letting Go" is the early demo version of the Eurotix track "We Could Have Been", but with different lyrics, recorded back in 2013. We have made the demo version available to download for free through our Soundcloud page. You might enjoy comparing it to the final version, embedded down below.

"We Could Have Been" is available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Monday, February 13, 2017

Riverdale - Archie Comics goes soap opera

I grew up reading the "Archie" comics and used to buy old copies in a local vintage shop. My sister loved them too and we even used to play Betty and Veronica. Now, The CW have created an exciting new TV series based on the comics, called "Riverdale".

I love discovering new drama series so I had to watch it. I must admit, I was a bit worried about the "darker" tone of the series, but after watching the pilot, I was hooked. I love the mystery and the fact that they have included so many of the characters from the comics, even smaller ones such as Josie And The Pussycats, Ethel, Cheryl Blossom, Dilton, Moose and the openly gay Kevin Keller.

The first three episodes are already on Netflix and a new one will be uploaded each Friday. So if you like teen soap operas such as "Pretty Little Liars", "Gossip Girl" and "90210", you will love "Riverdale". Fun fact is that Archie's dad is played by "Beverly Hills, 90210" star Luke Perry.

Other brilliant TV series I've recently started following: "The Crown", "The Halcyon" and "This Is Us". I highly recommend them!



Photo: The CW

Monday, February 06, 2017

"Love pains, hurting me through and through"

More CD's in my collection: "Nightlife" and "In The Name Of..." by Hazell Dean, nyutgåvor av "Say It Again" med Jermaine Stewart och "Real Love" med Lisa Stansfield. "Black And White" by Dag Taylor, also known as Taylor D., "Ma Voie" by Eurovision star Roberto Bellarosa, the rare promotion compilation "CD-Prom 101 - 9 Februari 1990" and finally "Teach Me How To Love (Graham Stack Remix)" by "Melrose Place"/"Baywatch" star David Charvet.

Saturday, February 04, 2017

My Traci Lords collection

This is my small but cherished Traci Lords collection: Her autobiography "Traci Lords: Underneath It All" where she even mentions my favourite soap "Melrose Place", her album "1,000 Fires" and singles "Fallen Angel" and "Control". Check them out. They're all great!

Friday, February 03, 2017

"Gonna make this a night to remember"

New CD's in my record collection: "G.R.L." by G.R.L., reissue of "Friends" by Shalamar, "Looking For Freedom" by David Hasselhoff, "I'll Keep A Light On" and "I Think About You" by Evelyn "Champagne" King, "Galen" and "My Girl" by Christer Sandelin and finally "Leap Of Faith (Deluxe Edition)" and the "Leap Of Faith" single by "Melrose Place"/"Baywatch" star David Charvet.