In The Words Of by

Carl Marsh

name, yet I am still to finish the second instalment. If you don't know of the premise of this show [and games], think of a cross between The Walking Dead and the best-acted and written TV series you have ever enjoyed watching. The hype for this show was off-the-scale. And boy, hasn't it lived up to it - and surpassed by a country mile. I believe this show will win all the awards when it can be entered for them. Even if you don't like this end-of-times stuff, park that, and admire the beauty of the writing, acting, and cinematography. It's doubtful anything will come close to this show this year. As apocalyptic dramas go, this is a delight—pure class.

The month of March should be the end of the cold weather for us all, and one would expect lower heating bills for all our homes. Fingers crossed, that's the way it will be. And the daffodils are out already, especially around my home by the stream.

In February, I got invited to watch JaackMaate's Happy Hour Podcast tour at New Theatre in Cardiff. If you can recall, I interviewed a couple of the guys in January. Based on that chat, I got the nod to meet them all backstage too. I had a great time at this packed show. And as you can see from my pic, a blast was had!

Intro Rant

Did someone mention that I don't have any time for Welsh Labour? Oh yes, they are the gift that keeps on giving. Following on from my rant about pulling the M4 relief road, it appears the powers that be are now avoiding all new road expansion all over Wales. Is this to keep everyone poor and not to prosper? And have you seen the state of all the roads? Potholes are aplenty. You'd think the aversion to repair the streets - which will lead to more accidents - is to overemphasise this blanket 20 mph nonsense they want to impose from the current 30 mph. The people of Wales will only put up with so much of your nonsense, Welsh Labour. And I know quite a few of you read my column.

Welsh Labour - be brave enough to let me interview you for my column. Please go on, do it. Don't hide.

Tv Review

The Last of Us - Sky Atlantic

I'm a big fan of the PlayStation games of the same

Interviews

I am a massive fan of the 1970s/1980s TV shows, too many to mention… The Fall Guy, The Six Million Dollar Man, Dynasty, The Saint… and when you come across a new film starring Lee Majors, Ian Ogilvy and Stephanie Beacham, I am all ears and eyes. Renegades is out on DVD, and it stars a plethora of well-known talent from the US and UK. One of the stars, Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott, tells me all about her role and what it was like working with some of these legends.

Next, I chatted with Mike Bubbins, one of Wales' funniest comedians. Now on tour, he's doing a few nights at the Glee Club in Cardiff. Tuesday, 28th March, appears sold out, but the following night [Wednesday] has a few tickets remaining. I shall see you there!

Have a great March, and see you all next month!

Carl Marsh

Twitter - @InTheWordsOf_CM

YouTube - InTheWordsOf

Renegades

Carl Marsh

Your role in 'Renegades' could not be - on paper - more different than your last acting role in 'Nemesis', yet the Police Officer you play in 'Renegades' seems to not be whiter than white, perhaps with more to give in any potential sequels to this movie?

Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott

One of the things that drew me to the character is that she has a real journey – she is frustrated by the obstacles of of bureaucracy. Still, she does things by the book. Initially, she dismisses the Renegades as suspects based on their age… but after seeing the damage being done to London's gangland and a conflab with her CIA ex (played by the wonderful Michael Paré), she not only begins to realise what they're capable of but ultimately lends a hand, realising they can achieve more outside the law than she can within. She's a strong, gutsy character who doesn't take any BS and certainly doesn't mind being a woman in a man's world. I don't know if we'll do a sequel, they tend never to be as good, but I have a busy year coming up with a western called Reckoning Day and a very dark horror/thriller called Chase (based on the novel by Shaun Hutson) on the horizon.

Carl Marsh

What sort of preparation and research for this role did you do for your character?

Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott

Well, the thing is, my two favourite things to watch are true crime documentaries and cop shows, so my whole adult life has essentially been preparation and research for this character!! Seriously though, playing a cop was a dream come true, and I really wanted to get the look right. The writer recently said my subplot was sort of like The Bill, and that's exactly how I tried to play it – authentic. I also did some weapon training with a lovely former Police Fire Arms Officer named Jamie Clarke, so hopefully, when I'm shooting at the bad guys, it looks correct.

Carl Marsh

There are many well-established actors in 'Renegades', too many to mention. Must you pinch yourself sharing the screen with some of these guys?

Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott

Yes, I love working with all these experienced older actors; you can learn so much from them – someone like Ian Ogilvy is a joy to share a scene with. He's so humble and laid back, but when they call "action," he turns it on and lights up the screen. Another brilliant actor, though he's significantly younger than most of the cast, is Louis Mandylor – he's probably best known for the My Big Fat Greek Wedding series. Still, he has a nice sideline in these action movies, and I had a great scene with him. I think we had nice chemistry.

Carl Marsh

Do you have any say in the actors and actresses your husband, Jonathan Sothcott [films producer], lines up for these roles?

Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott

Jonathan casts all his movies himself, he doesn't use casting directors, and we always discuss his ideas (and everything else for these movies). I guess because we like a lot of the same movies, we are usually on the same page. It can be pretty disconcerting when we're in the middle of lunch, and he'll go "Tom Berenger!" or whoever, as an idea hits him, but that's all part of the fun. On the plus side, we also have a 'pain in the ass' list of people who won't be asked back!

Carl Marsh

Lee Majors has a role in this movie, and that would be a dream come true if I could appear in a film with 'The Fall Guy / The Six Million Dollar Man'. Did you get to hang around with him on the shoot, even though I know you didn't share any scenes?

Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott

Yes – Lee and his wife Faith have been friends of ours for years, and we always meet up with them when they're in London, so it was great to see Lee – we stayed in the same hotel, and he had to quarantine for five days which he wasn't thrilled about ("at my time of life five days is a long time!"), but once out, he was on great form. Around the time we finished, Jonathan and I took Lee and Billy Murray for dinner at Wilton's, a famous old English restaurant on Jermyn Street. We had a perfect evening listening to these two living legends trade anecdotes. That made me appreciate what I do.

Carl Marsh

And Stephanie Beacham! I know you did share a scene with her. So, 'Dynasty's' very own 'Sable Colby', what was it like perhaps acting with one of the legends of the acting world? And did you pick up new acting skills from her?

Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott

Now that's someone I did influence casting – originally, her role was written as a man, but Jonathan wanted more women in the film for balance, and I suggested Steph, who I have loved since Dynasty. Our scene was the first one on the first day of filming, so there was a lot of pressure, but we had a ball, and she was absolutely lovely. We had spoken on the phone a few days before, and both knew Ian Ogilvy – she did a movie with him in 1973 called And Now The Screaming Starts, which had terrified me as a kid – so it was like working with an old friend. It was lovely to see her recently at the London screening. They say never to work with your heroes, but my experience has been the opposite.

Renegades is out on DVD now.

Mike Bubbins

Carl Marsh

I know you've been around for years, but this is your first-ever solo tour around the UK.

Mike Bubbins

For 14 years. So, this is the first time I've done a solo tour. I never really wanted to leave Wales, so I stayed in Wales. Had I been a younger man, then maybe I would have gone to London or wherever and done it that way. But my family is here; I love it here, so I stayed here.

Carl Marsh

Would you say that doing the podcast [The Socially Distant Sports Bar] introduced you to a bigger audience leading the way to this national tour?

Mike Bubbins

Yeah, definitely. I've done little Welsh tours and that before. And I've done Edinburgh too, but I don't kid myself that before the podcast, I could have sold tickets for a tour over the bridge [into England]. The podcast went so big and so quickly, and it’s continued to grow, which is great. That just brought me to a bigger audience via a sports podcast. And I can say something funny, and people will either like it or not. I haven't got to go through 10 layers of people to tell me what funny is who don't do funny for a living. [Laughter] I mean, most people aren't daft, are they?

Carl Marsh

I think that 99.99% of the population like a good laugh. It's the ultra minority which can speak, I mean shout the loudest, let's say…

Mike Bubbins

I've done Edinburgh enough times to know that some of the comedy will work. And you know I've done a ton of TV to know what comedy on TV will work. I didn't want to do a comedy show with a real message or point. I don't want people to be challenged or to be… I want people to go to a night, hear some funny stories and jokes, have a laugh and be under no doubt that they are at a comedy night or a comedy show.

Carl Marsh

Yeah… And your night is called 'Throwback'.

Mike Bubbins

Because I'm a throwback.

Carl Marsh

And I think we both are! I still love the 1970s and 80s.

Mike Bubbins

Me too. So yeah, the cars and clothes and music and TV. I've got a young family, so I'm forced to live in the present as well. And there's plenty of good stuff around today. But I love the motors and the music and everything from back in the day, even though I was probably too young to sort of appreciate the 70s the first time around. I was a kid when it finished. I liked the 80s as well, but the 70s was my sort of my aesthetic.

Carl Marsh

So what will the material be like on the night? Is it a mixture of 1970s/80s humour right through to laughs millennials will - hopefully - get?

Mike Bubbins

It's really just about just funny stories from my life. I think it's more of a summary thing of the way I look at the world. So, I'm not one of those who feel that nothing good is happening now. Obviously, there is, but I just thought [the 1970s] it was more straightforward. And I'm not daft, as some people will say that I'm looking through rose-tinted glasses. I know plenty of stuff wasn't good in the 1970s. But I just missed that… I don't know what it was, but it was that pre-internet time when people seemed to be a bit less concerned about what everyone else thought of them. It was just very, very liberating.

Catch Mike Bubbins at the Glee Club on Tuesday and Wednesday, 28/29 March 2023.