Views expressed here belong to Celeste Moore alone.
You are strongly encouraged to read these books for yourself and make up your
own mind. [Go
back to 'As Inspiration' main page]
Click image to view details
30th Anniversary DAW Fantasy Anthology
by various authors
[Go to top]
In honor of the thirtieth
anniversary of DAW Books, this anthology of original short stories features works
by some of fantasy's most important authors, including
Mercedes Lackey,
Larry Dixon, Andre Norton, Melanie Rawn,
Christopher Stasheff, Ian Watson, Tanith Lee, Tad Williams,
Michael Shea, etc.
Author
Mercedes Lackey mentions Michael Praed by name as the
physical incarnation of her popular character Vanyel in
the hilarious short story 'After Midnight'. An
author awakes at midnight, surrounded by the angry
characters she's "abused" in her books. Can they
convince the author to let them live carefree lives? Will Herald-Chronicler Myste ever get a
boyfriend? Can the author convince her characters
to leave her in peace? Wonderful anecdote for a
Lackey / Praed fan!
Quantum Leap: Knights
of the Morningstar
by Melanie Rawn
[Go to top]
Tie-in novel with the US
television show 'Quantum Leap'.
Dr Sam Beckett leaps in time and is
astonished to discover himself in armor. His leaping has not gone any more
"ca-ca" than usual: Sam is still within his own lifetime. He's leaped into the body of the man
who created an integral component to Project Quantum Leap which may be the cause
of Sam's random travel through time. A critical incident occurred during a medieval festival
which Sam needs to set right. Just when it is beginning to look like his task
can't get any more difficult, evil leaper Alia reappears, ready to
sabotage Sam's project again.
True to
life, members of the SCA-like group that Sam joins are
discussing who will be cast as Robin Hood in the
proposed movie "Prince of Thieves". Michael
Praed's name comes up as the obvious contender.
Sam astounds the chatters by stating that Kevin
Costner is the producers' ultimate choice. Fun
tale.
Textual Poachers: Television
Fans and Participatory Culture (Studies in Culture & Communication)
by Henry Jenkins
[Go to top]
Rejecting stereotypes of fans as cultural dupes, social
misfits, and mindless consumers, Jenkins presents media fans
as dynamic creators and skilled manipulators of program
meanings, roving poachers constructing an alternative social
community from borrowed materials. Jenkins shows
how fans of Robin of Sherwood and
other popular programs make use of cultural materials as
the basis for their stories, songs, videos, and social
interactions.
A very brief outline of the concept behind
'Robin of Sherwood' is given. Mention is made of Michael
Praed leaving the cast, necessitating a new 'Robin'.
Jenkins thought the allegory of the Summer King's death and subsequent rebirth fit
the mystic mood of the series very well. He felt the show
had a magical atmosphere. Good summary.
The Heroic Figure in
Children's Popular Culture: Vol 18
edited
by Dudley Jones and Tony Watkins
[Go to top]
This book
explores a wide-ranging mixture of heroic figures in
literature, movies, comic books and television for
children, including
Robin Hood, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Nancy Drew, the Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles, and Dr. Who. The authors
dissect the varied depictions of the hero in
media geared
toward children.
Michael Praed is
listed as a cast member of 'Robin of Sherwood',
which is praised for its innovative blend of
realism and the supernatural. The writers
felt that the program's wide appeal (age-wise) was
due
in part to
Michael's "dark, matinée-idol
looks". They also liked
Richard Carpenter's writing, noting that two
other scholars, William Anderson and John
Matthews, had made the link between Robin Hood,
paganism, the Green Man and Celtic mythology
before Carpenter. Whilst 'RoS' was linking the
ancient Green Man
to the "Green Age" of the 1980s, the series went
out of its way to accurately present the lives
of medieval England, particularly with costumes
and sets. Political and social mores of
medieval England were also well portrayed,
although the authors saw a parallel with the
class struggles of Thatcher's England.
Huntingdon's inheritance of Loxley's mantle was
seen as a believable way to deal with Michael's
departure from the show, but also a development which reflected the deepening conservative views
of the 1980s. The common
man gave way to the aristocrat's son.
Interesting viewpoints, well presented.
Creature Features:
The Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Movie
Guide
by John Stanley
[Go to top]
This offbeat
movie guide presents critical and humorous reviews of
science fiction, fantasy, and horror films from every
medium, offering thousands of capsulized reviews, a
five-star rating system, video and laserdisc
distribution information, and more.
Michael Praed's work in the films 'Nightflyers',
'To Die for 2: Son of Darkness' and 'Writer's Block' are reviewed in this book.
John Stanley seems to enjoy Michael's acting. He concluded the latter two
were above average for the genre, but found the well-meaning 'Nightflyers'
script uneven. Fair assessments.
A Knight at the
Movies: Medieval History on Film
by John Aberth
[Go to top]
Since so much of the public's
knowledge of history comes from popular media, A Knight at the Movies
examines the historical content of films
representing the medieval period. Historian Aberth dissects how each film
interpreted the period, offering judgments of the
historical accuracy of the works and demonstrating how
they project their own contemporary obsessions and
fears onto the past.
Michael Praed was
mentioned as one of the stars of 'Robin of Sherwood'.
Aberth doesn't see much historical or literary merit for 'Robin
of Sherwood', despite other claims to the contrary. He felt the
show was primarily a means of self-expression for writer Richard
Carpenter and a way to "pander" to the Wiccan community.
He noted that the occult wasn't foreign to
medieval outlaw stories, but stated it wasn't part of the Robin
Hood legend until 'RoS'. The addition of Robin's Arab
"sidekick" Nasir was also looked upon as a bit of an aberration.
Although he made valid observations in making his point, I
couldn't help but wonder if Aberth wasn't projecting his own personal
obsessions and fears in his judgments.
"Hello!" Crossword
Book: No. 2
by Mitchell Symons
[Go to top]
Eighty
crossword puzzles taken from "Hello!" magazine.
I'll give
you a hint: "Michael
Praed" is one of the answers.
The Happiest Corpse
I've Ever Seen: The Last Twenty-Five Years of the
Broadway Musical
by Ethan Mordden
[Go to top]
This
stinging critique focuses on modern
musicals and the many ways in which Mordden finds them
lacking. Mordden readily discloses that this book is a
diatribe. "Today the musical is suffering dislocation and
alienation," he declares. "It no longer leads the
culture. It follows, adopting the degenerative policies
of schlock."
Ethan Mordden is considered an
expert on musical theatre. So why did he claim in his review of 'The Three
Musketeers' that although Michael Praed could sing, singing operetta was not one
of his gifts? One would expect the "expert" would know that Michael first
came to light in the West End of London in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta
'The Pirates of Penzance' to rave reviews. Curious. And I'm
dumbfounded about his statement that the musical once led culture. That
claim seems rather inflated to me!
New York Times
Theater Reviews 1985 - 1986
by "New York Times"
[Go to top]
Hard-to-find
title filled with scathing reviews from the New York
Times.
Includes
snide comments regarding
Michael Praed's Broadway debut in 'The Three
Musketeers'. At least these attacks demonstrate why some
theatre scholars
believe that Frank Rich and his self-obsessed cohorts nearly
destroyed musical theatre on Broadway. One wonders
if their need to appear contemptuously witty throttled initiative.
It's no surprise the
birthplace of flourishing musicals shifted from New York City to
London... where Michael was more successful.
Coincidence?
