#Francis Russell

[thedudleywomen]

On This Day (27 Aug) in 1562, Margaret St John, Lady Russell, Countess of Bedford, died from smallpox at Woburn Abbey.

Margaret was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I, the wife to Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford, and mother of seven, including her eldest Anne Russell, who had also recently joined the Queen's household.

Smallpox, a highly infectious disease, transmitted by close contact, was virulent during the Elizabethan period. It was known to be fatal, especially to the vulnerable (children, elderly) and women. Early symptoms of the disease include high fever, fatigue, severe back pain, abdominal pain and vomiting, with the characteristic rash appearing 2-3 days later, initially on the face and hands.

Elizabeth I herself would contract smallpox in Oct 1562; whilst she survived this almost-fatal attack, she was left permanently scarred, as did Mary Dudley, Lady Sidney, who contracted it from the Queen from attending her.

Anne, who would go on to marry Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick, did not have any children of her own. However, she took on a mothering role to her younger siblings, which included her youngest sister Margaret, later Countess of Cumberland (being only 2 years old at the time of her mother's death), as well as her nieces and nephews (including Lady Anne Clifford).

Margaret was interred in the 'Bedford Chapel' within St Michael's Church, Chenies: a chapel that had been constructed in 1556 by Anne Sapcote, the Dowager Countess of Bedford, for the place of rest for her late husband, John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford. The chapel became the preferred place of burial for members of the Russell family during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Margaret's husband Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford, was buried with her on his death over 20 years later, in 1585, with the couple's tomb being decorated with a effigies, lying side-by-side.

[peonies-and-dreams]

Even for me life had its gleams of sunshine

[dolphelecat]

Backstage Revolve Nonsense

From Chris Leask’s London Theatre Direct Instagram takeover

[addictivecontradiction]

Frankenstein, 1931

[browsethestacks]

The Spirit

Art by...

1) Steve Rude

2) Francesco Francavilla

3) Francis Manapul

4) Dan Schkade

5) Ron Salas

6) Darwyn Cooke

7) Joe Kubert

8) P. Craig Russell

9) Brian Bolland

10) Alex Ross

[sixaus-meaa]

SIX THE MUSICAL - MODERN!AU: illustration

Maggie's family tree

[mariocki]

Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus (1.5, BBC, 1964)

"I want to speak of your father. You know, he was a very wise and brilliant man and I know how you felt when you learned of his death."

"And his life's work destroyed."

"Oh, no, no, no, no, I wouldn't say that. His work will go on, only not quite in the same way. But I don't believe that man was made to be controlled by machines. Machines can make laws, but they cannot preserve justice; only human beings can do that."

[secretagentsagainstwhatever]

Doctor who S14 E3 ‘Boom’ Spoiler!!

i wish wish wish the episodes were longer…

Boom was the best of all the episodes so far for me, but that ending still just felt rushed. I wished we’d of sat in Splice’s grief for longer. I genuinely adored her perspective and acceptance of death at the end, but she was a child we should have seen her be sad before she reached that point of acceptance.

I don’t know but i do think that’s going to be my biggest complaint of this series, the episodes are too short (unless rtd complete fucks it all up and then i’ll have bigger complaints lol)

[splendontcore]

r.i.p. cop lumpy. well remember you...okay, bring the another lumpy silbing here, we have a schedule to fill

Splendont loves to hang out with his friends, because if Francis can, why he can't? Maybe his friends aren't view with good eyes by the rest of the Happy Tree Townies, but he values their strength to keep going even if they are systematically disadvantaged.

a whole day trying to figure out this thing...not colorized this time, I'm sorry!!!

[personinthepalace]

New Photos of Peter Pan Goes Wrong on Broadway!!

[balu8]

Batman; Legends of the Dark Knight #43: Hothouse Part Two

by John Francis Moore; P. Craig Russell; Lovern Kindzierski and Bill Pearson

DC

[mametupa]

[geekcavepodcast]

Next "Crypt of Shadows" Drops October 16

2024's Crypt of Shadows will go on sale on October 16, 2024. Marvel's horror anthology for this year sports a main cover by Leinil Francis Yu and variant covers by Juan Ferreyra and Martin Simmonds.

Stories included in Crypt of Shadows #1 (2024) include:

Steve Orlando and Claire Roe's framing story featuring Agatha Harkness,

Benjamin Percy and Raffaele Ienco's Man-Thing vs Namor showdown,

Jason Loo and Carlos Magno's story in which Kraven targets Jack Russell, aka Werewolf By Night, but who finds himself in trouble when Blade steps in to help his friend, and

Chris Condon and Djibril Morissette's Joshua Jovan vs Scarlet Witch story. This story will mark Joshua Jovan's first comic book appearance as he was introduced in Marvel Studio's Werewolf By Night. Jovan will fall through the Last Door and find himself face-to-face with his greatest prey - Scarlet Witch.

[Image via Marvel Studios - Leinil Francis Yu's Cover of Crypt of Shadows #1 (2024)]

[peacockpenis]

understudy central bows from saturday!!!!

[denimbex1986]

'Doctor Who has long been known for its chaotic camp energy and nothing encapsulates this better than the musical numbers scattered throughout the iconic BBC sci-fi series.

Returning showrunner Russell T Davies certainly seems to love ensure that a banging soundtrack accompanies the hit British TV favourite: That was made clear early on in the season one reboot when “Toxic” by Britney Spears and Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” played as “traditional Earth ballads” while the planet burned in “The End of the World”, set in the year five billion.

In recent years the show has had a particular penchant for including needle drops, dance breaks and powerhouse musical scenes for its characters, especially the villains. At this point, it’s amazing that there hasn’t been a dedicated musical episode as some sci-fi fantasy shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer – have famously done.

In a recent interview, Davies explained why he loved giving his Doctor Who antagonists a spectacular musical number as they enact their evil plans.

“In all great pop music, there’s a savagery to it… It’s like in the middle of a song, people are being slaughtered. It’s pure Doctor Who, isn’t it?” he said during the episode commentary for “The Giggle”, the third of three 60th anniversary specials.

“I’m always using pop music like that. There’s a darkness in there somewhere. The relentlessness, that’s the word. There’s a ruthlessness to pop music.”...

5. ‘My Angel Put the Devil in Me’ from ‘Daleks in Manhattan’ (2007)

We feel bad putting the only musical number not performed by one of The Doctor’s enemies at the bottom of this list, but it falls just short in the face of some truly stellar – and villainous – competition.

We also apologise because Tallulah Francis’ dazzling cabaret performance of “My Angel Put the Devil in Me” is a standout moment from the season three episode “Daleks in Manhattan”.

The glittering outfits, the sultry (and gorgeously synchronised) choreography and dreamy encapsulation of 1930s New York all blend together to make this a performance to remember.

Kind-hearted, devilishly smart and supremely talented on stage, is there anything Tallulah “Three ‘l’s and an ‘H'” Francis, played by Miranda Raison, can’t do? We think not. Well, aside from topping this ranking, of course.

2. ‘Spice Up Your Life’ from ‘The Giggle’ (2023)

Placing Neil Patrick Harris’ musical number as The Toymaker in “The Giggle” as runner-up was not an easy choice given that his performance is truly spectacular, high-camp and unnerving in equal measures.

The Toymaker was lip-syncing for his (and everyone in the building’s) life as he went on a tyrannical rampage while dancing to 90s classic “Spice Up Your Life” by the Spice Girls, dressed in a classic toy soldier’s uniform. A murderous musical number for the ages.

1. ‘I Can’t Decide’ from ‘Last of the Time Lords’ (2007)

A controversial pick for the win, but just forcing its way to victory is John Simm’s inspired performance to Scissor Sisters hit “I Can’t Decide” in the season four finale “Last of the Time Lords”.

Put simply, “I Can’t Decide” walked so “Spice Up Your Life” could run, and we would be nowhere without it. The song perfectly captures Simm’s maniacal take on The Master opposite David Tennant’s (aged-up) 10th Doctor.

He’s a Teletubbies lover, king of needle drops (who can forget the moment he blasted Rogue Traders’ “Voodoo Child” while the Earth is being ravaged), and the true embodiment of a crazed villain.

It’s camp and crazy, and, tragically, many Whovians have been criminally deprived of the full scene over the years after it was left out of certain streaming versions. Some may think it is dispensable, but we certainly don’t. This is a John Simm stan page only.'

[adamwatchesmovies]

Cinderella and the Secret Prince (2018)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

There's something particularly devastating about watching a bad movie that could’ve been good if circumstances beyond the filmmaker’s control hadn’t mucked things up. Right before the end credits of Cinderella and the Hidden Prince, we see concept art of what the characters should’ve looked like. They look great. As good as anything Disney has put on-screen. I'm certain the voice actors saw these images and got all excited. I can picture the art director/character designer telling their friends and family about this animated fairy tale they were working on and then dying of shame once they saw the final product.

Ella “Cinderella” (voiced by Cassandra Morris) is forced by her wicked stepmother and step-sisters to work as a scullery maid in her own home. When her mouse friends Alex (Chris Niosi), Manny (R. Martin Klein) and Walt (Tony Azzolino) discover an apprentice fairy godmother in the woods (Crystal, voiced by Kirsten Day), Ella gets the chance to go to the royal ball and meets the kingdom's prince. Unfortunately, Olaf (Stephen Mendel) isn’t a prince at all. He’s a puppet of the Wicked Witch (Stephanie Sanditz), who has transformed the real prince into a mouse!

If you’ve had the misfortune of seeing 2012’s Cinderella 3D, this one’s cut from the same cloth. Ugly characters are REALLY ugly but not in an intentional way. The "handsome" prince has his eyes set just a bit too far apart, making him look like he’s a fish man. Cinderella’s mouse friends (well, two are mice, one’s a hamster) are hideous creatures whose size changes from scene to scene. At best, this looks like a bargain-bin knockoff of Tangled. Most of the time, it doesn’t even reach the level of Happily N’Ever After. Some assets were obviously taken from an animation library because you can see their cycles end in the middle of a scene.

Despite the lackluster visuals, you can picture the movie this could've been if it weren’t trying to tell the Cinderella story. When you think of the classic fairy tale, certain elements come to mind: a poor girl forced to do labor, a fairy godmother and most iconic of all… a crystal slipper left behind at midnight. That last one? not in this movie! Instead, we have a quest for a magic ring to restore the not-so-secret prince to his human form. This mission takes over the entire film, which would be fine if it was what we’d signed up for.

As Hoodwinked has taught us, all could've been forgiven if the writing had done some heavy lifting. At several points, it feels like there are scenes missing. One moment, Cinderella and her friends spot a colossal ice mountain all the way across the forest. Seconds later, they’re inside, exploring a cave that looks like it belongs to a completely different film. The characters are thin, unlikeable, or both. At several points, the story contradicts itself. We learn, for example, that the prince was turned into a mouse when he was five years old. When he’s restored to his true form, he suddenly knows how to ride a horse and is an expert swordsman. Did he master these skills when he was a toddler? Then there’s a reveal about the evil witch that makes no sense and an epic conclusion that raises far too many questions. It’s clear some people on the team were trying but they were outnumbered by people who just didn’t care.

You can appreciate a film wanting to take a familiar story in a new, fresh direction but good intentions don't mean anything if the end product is kind of ugly, often annoying and poorly written. Don’t get me started on the one musical number. It’s so bland and generic you'll forget the lyrics as soon as the following line begins. Even for little kids who don’t discriminate, Cinderella and the Secret Prince would be a hard sell. (May 7, 2021)