Just a Joy to the Ears

/ January 28, 2020

Nothing of consequence to say here, except I can’t resist posting links to the radio interviews that Richard has been on the last couple of days. It’s not necessarily the actual contents of the interviews. With TS such a thriller, he seems to be under strictest orders not to reveal anything. And yet, when you listen to the various interviews, it is not just Richard’s lovely timbre of voice that stands out, but also his way of expressing himself. We have often remarked on how he obviously takes care not to repeat himself (in turns of phrases) from interview to interview, even though he is asked the same question over and over again. He always finds a new way of saying the same thing, and that to me not only speaks of an acute awareness of his interview partners (who all want a distinctive soundbite of their own), but also of a literary mind. Well, or at least a man who is able to express himself elegantly and eloquently. I wonder, though, why that doesn’t seem to translate into his written expression… He is so articulate in conversation; his longer writings did not convince me as much. For your enjoyment, here are the links to the three BBC radio interviews from 27th and 28th January. You can listen to them online, and they are all available for the next four weeks by which time I have hopefully worked out how to record the stream *without* catching my own heavy breathing and creaky chair in the background.

Just an illustration of Richard purring into the microphone

BBC5 – “Must Watch” – starts at 1:00 and goes to about 13:00

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p081jtgn

BBC Radio Kent – starts at 0:10 until about 0:16

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0805rxr

BBC Wales – starts 15:45 and ends 29:10

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000dq7l

Gawd, I’m in love with Eleri Sion’s accent! This last interview is actually really interesting – because the “new circus question” is thrown at Richard. And his reaction is funny and elegant at the same time. Yep, I feel quite alive, dear Richard, and I think it is a good thing that you get my circulation going.

Anyway, I also wanted to ask you guys – two more sleeps and it is Stranger time. When Netflix says “coming on Thursday”, do they mean strike midnight on the 30th of January? Which territory? Starting at 00:00 in Samoa while it is midday where I am??? Hm. And more importantly –

How are *you* planning to watch the series?

If it drops at an unreasonable hour in the middle of the night, will you stay up? Will you attempt to binge-watch the whole show in one sitting? Are going to watch one episode every day? Are you planning to draw it out longer? Will you savour every moment of Richard Time on your own, or are you planning to watch the show together with a significant other? I’m curious – let me know in the poll (Edit: damn, apparently multiple answers are *not* possible! So choose whatever is most important to you) and in the comments.

Richard really put the pressure on when he said that the success of a show nowadays is not (only)  measured by how *many* people watch, but how *quickly* they watch… As a fan, I aim to please, but my life does not permit taking a day off to watch the whole shebang in one go… So I will try and catch as much as I can, day by day. Which also means that I may not take part in discussions on Social Media or other blogs – spoiler worries. That said – I can’t wait…

Related posts

42 thoughts on “Just a Joy to the Ears”

  1. If you’re using a Mac, have you tried Sunflower? It lets you screen record (using Quick Time) while directing the sound directly to the internal speaker. I admittedly haven’t done this in a while, but that’s how i used to do it.

    Like

    Reply

    • Oh, that’s a great recommendation. I googled but was suspicious of most of the “free downloads” (of nasty viruseseses, most likely). I’ll have a look and check it out!

      Like

      Reply

      • I haven’t needed to do this since … 2015 maybe? It’s usually just easier to rip the file directly from the webpage, but I tried that last night w/the BBC and nothing doing. There are, however, very complicated instructions for doing just that on the web — I didn’t have the patience, though.

        Like

        Reply

        • Same here – I tried to get it directly but couldn’t get it to work. And “Trick 17” just wasn’t cutting it because I could not disable the internal microphone of Mac/iPhone.
          Just tried to download Soundflower but my Mac won’t have it because it’s not by an approved developer. Meh. Am googling for an alternative…

          Like

          Reply

  3. Thank you for those links Guylty. I listened to the “Must Watch” interview yesterday via a link on Tumblr – lots of laughter from Richard, which is always an absolute joy.
    As for watching TS I guess it will drop as soon as the 30th rolls over, but I won’t be up that late to check 😴 I’ll have to wait until evening, as I’ll be out all day tomorrow – certainly won’t be game to start in the morning or I’ll never get out of the house!
    Off to listen to the other two interviews!

    Like

    Reply

      • I don’t have Netflix. I’m getting ready to have to take yet another financial kick – the transmission in my car is going and we’re looking at cars this weekend. I’ve been lucky to be able to pay cash for a vehicle for the last – 12 years, but this go round, we have no cash laid aside for a rainy day. I had hoped to get this car set up nice and give it to Spawn and buy myself something newer in about 2 months. Not going to happen.

        Like

        Reply

  7. I hope the show begins at midnight and plan to take a nap tomorrow so I can stay awake to binge watch all the episodes. I truly wish for The Stranger to be a huge success!

    Like

    Reply

  9. Oh Richard is so lovely, relaxed and funny on the radio interviews, His ‘Us acting’ comment! And did Eleri Siion allude to something else throbbing as well as her heart because of RA’s charms?
    I was planning to watch as many Stranger episodes as I could after work tomorrow, then continue on Friday but I’m off sick so am planning to watch the whole lot, one because it’s new Armitage and can’t resist, also I want Netflix to know that The Armitage is highly bingeable and finally I want to avoid spoilers and pictures on social media . But I will also probably watch again on my own, in chunks, with family, download …

    Like

    Reply

    • *coughs* yeah, I took Eleri Sion’s comment that way, too… Which Richard elegantly laughed over *grins*
      While I am sorry to hear you are sick, I have to say ‘lucky you’!! At least you have the time to watch the whole thing in one go. And perfect material (I hope) to lift you up and pass the time as you are at home and sick.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. Eleri – what a gorgeous name. Another fan of that lovely Welsh accent, and Mr A’s ”doin’ us actin’” Also appreciated the circulation workout.
    Etc. 😇

    Thanks for sorting out the audio clips for us, Guylty.

    Like

    Reply

    • I’ve only just seen official pictures on Shutterstock (posting about that soon), but the caption already had me roll my eyes. I mean, Lorraine is lovely and all that, but she always comes back to the same questions, it seems. The circus???? Dawn French??? Waterboarding for Spooks???

      Like

      Reply

  12. Pingback: More Armitage Chocolate | Guylty Pleasure

  13. I’ve watched the whole “The Stranger” series on Netflix. It’s brilliant, fantastic acting by Richard, of course. He does such a great job of depicting this ordinary man who is catapulted into extraordinary circumstances. The plot is great, too, and my husband also loved it.

    Like

    Reply

    • Hello Ricky, and welcome here!
      I can only agree with you – I loved the whole show and felt compelled to binge it all in one day. RA’s Adam is really believable and convincing – right to the bitter end. Addictive.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • It is addictive. We watched it over 2 days. My hubby is resigned to my endless admiration for RA, his acting, and his kind and generous personality. Hubby even went with me to NYC to see a play that Richard was starring in at Roundabout Theatre and he liked it, too. We especially liked RA’s character in “Berlin Station” and were sorry that show ended.
        I am hoping that the Uncle Vanya production that RA and Ciarin Hinds star in, playing in London now, will come to the States. Fingers crossed. Ciaran and RA are my all time favorite actors, love them both. It would be nirvana to see them both in the same production. And no, I can’t afford to fly off to London to see the show, unfortunately.

        Like

        Reply

        • Hehe, yes, those poor, patient husbands. I have one of those at home, too. (Although he doesn’t humour me with joining me when I watch Richard on stage or screen.) I had to go to London and NY on my own – well, not alone, though, plenty of fan friends to keep me company. If you’ve seen RA in LLL, then you know what a great stage presence he has. He is great in Uncle Vanya, too (which I saw in January). Would be great if that show transferred to Broadway, fingers crossed for you and all my US fan sisters.

          Like

          Reply

Let me know what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.