Sitcom Trials Christmas Get-Together - Sat 21

Hello,

"Millennium", the hard-hitting investigative journal that's at the heart of Stieg Larsson's "nordic noir" trilogy of dark crime novels ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"/"The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"/"The Girl Who Played with Fire"), is apparently based on a magazine that never existed; "Washington Post" go-getting reporters Bernstein and Woodward, having brought down the Nixon administration with their reportage of the Watergate scandal, drew up a proposal for a publication that would do in print what Batman does in black leather - a go-anywhere, no-holds-barred remit to sniff out injustice and corruption, and, with cold hard facts, statistics, emails and compromising photos, kick the living crap out of uber-powerful bad guys .  Woodward and Bernstein (Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman in the terrific movie) sent their proposal to the biggest, most influential news agencies in the world, expecting a bidding war.  Instead they were offered insane sums of dosh to quietly fuck off.  Which they did.

Stieg Larsson, though, was the real deal: a reporter who cared about getting to the truth, no matter the cost.  He wrote his "Millennium" crime books late into a career of dogged investigations into the the rich and powerful, more often than not finding his copy spiked by his editor, fired by various publications, or simply considered to be a right pain in the arse. Larsson couldn't be bought, distracted or dissuaded.  "Millennium" represented something truthful, a beacon of light in a murky world.  Someone had to speak up, someone had to put in print what was really going on.  

Stieg Larsson died in 2004 under suspicious circumstances. 

 The internet terrorist group Anonymous (if you're reading this, guys, my son is desperate to join), Swedish branch, created a virus named "Millennium" designed to hack into the servers of every major publishing company in the world, and wipe their hard drives. Alas, it didn't work.

The Christmas get-together of the Bristol Sitcom Trials team, plus loved ones, will start at the Llandoger Trow, King Street, Bristol, at 8pm.  It'll be a nice chance to meet up, have fun, share biscuits and arcane knowledge, and for me to thank everyone for being so very splendid, sexy and taller than me.  I'll be passing on best wishes from Kev F and the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre, probably through the medium of dance (to songs by Echo and the Bunnymen), hogging the best spot at every bar, and - when catching glimpse of the lovely young woman at the keyboard in the band we drunkenly thought would be a good idea to see - wishing I'd bothered to iron a shirt.

You've all be brilliant (particularly you, for doing that thing) and I very much look forward to seeing you next Saturday.

With kind regards and very best wishes,

--Vince Stadon

Producer

Sitcom Trials Bristol

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