The Ballad of Jim & Blair

Vid Collection
Title:	The Ballad of Jim & Blair
Vidder(s):	TM Alexander
Date:	1998
Format:	VHS
Length:
Genre/Theme:
Fandom (s):	Sentinel
URL:
videotape case cover, design by TM Alexander
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The Ballad of Jim & Blair is a songtape collection of Sentinel songvids by TM Alexander vidding under the name of Winged Cat Productions. Several of the songvids appeared at the 1999 MediaWest convention. It is unclear if there was a second volume of vids.

Volume 1

Volume 1 contains 15 songvids with an approximate running time of 60 minutes. The videotape box art was created by TM Alexander.

Contents:

• We'll Be Together Tonight
• You've Got A Friend in Me
• Return to Innocence
• Weird Science
• Trigger Happy Jack

• Ain't Had Enough Fun
• Sweet Young Thing
• The Boy Feels Strange
• My Roommate
• Never Tear Us Apart
• Hot for Teacher
• I Want Candy
• Crazy For Me
• Never is a Promise
• Hooked On .. The Sentinel (Hooked on Classics 1 & 2)

Reactions and Reviews

hello everyone! i just got my second songvid tape and i wanted to tell y'all how cool it was. it's "the ballad of jim and blair volume 1", by winged cat productions, and it's a lot of fun. (this means i'm going to have to get around to typing up my review of the media cannibals' "partners in crime 3" tape sooner rather than later, too, i suppose.) there are a few technical problems -- some of the clips are obviously from tapes quite few generations old, and there are two rough patches in "crazy for me" where mechanical difficulties apparently arose -- but the artistry is beautiful. the faster pieces especially are great; both the editing jobs and the action shots chosen match the pace of the music and build the excitement. a few times the transition between clips is rough, or long sequences are used that might have better been edited shorter, but on the whole the visual impact is excellent.

the first song, "we'll be together" by sting, is a wonderful way to begin the tape -- there's a wolf howling, the boys are playing around, and blair is bouncing right along with the music. i think the fourth song is my favorite, though: "weird science", by oingo boingo. it's just *perfect* for all those things blair does that seem so reasonable at the time.... and, of course, there's "hot for teacher" by van halen, with the promised scene of mr. sandburg the creative writing teacher from 'prisoner x'. you'd better believe jim's hot for teacher after this. *grin*

"sweet young thing" by the monkees has an incredible opening sequence -- where *are* those clips from? -- with lyrics that are just too perfect for 'switchman'. just too perfect. and the ending of the song is beautifully musically choreographed, too. "trigger happy jack" by poe had me rolling around laughing in delight, especially at the brief appearance of...well, you have to see it. if you don't know the song (i didn't), the chorus goes, "can't talk to a pyscho like a normal human being", and if that isn't a great summation of life in the city of cascade, i don't know what is. the "never is a promise" by fiona apple vid will probably grow on me as i listen to it enough times to understand the lyrics; i know the media cannibals' vid of fiona apple's "sleep to dream" (for la femme nikita) did.

"the boy feels strange" by melissa etheridge is mm-mm-good angst. *grin* it takes the third season 'angst arc' and sets it chillingly to music. gives me the shivers, and i'm really glad that the next song on the tape is "my roommate" by the village people, because by the end of "boy feels strange" i *really* need the mood shift! "my roommate"... well, it's as much fun as you think it is, if not more. it's got some of the funniest blair shots i've *ever* seen. "i want candy" by bow wow wow is a one west waikiki vid -- think jim undercover, maybe as the texan from 'vendetta', or having an extended hawaiian daydream, because it may be richard burgi but it ain't james ellison. (if you had any doubts that the man could act....) it's light'n'fluffy and a nice bit of fun, though. "crazy for me" is another melissa etheridge vid (yippee! and no cassie in sight!) and it's got some great clips for the lyrics. if you know this song (i did), you just blinked and said, "oh yes, that's *so* j/b!" (i did). *grin*

(there are also vids of "you've got a friend in me" by randy newman and lyle lovett, "return to innocence" by enigma, "ain't had enough fun" by little feat, "never tear us apart" by inxs, and "hooked on classics 1 & 2". i've mentioned my favorites, though, and i'm running out of steam for tonight.)

last but not least, my own golden-eyed, black-furred, felinoid imp gives the beautifully illustrated tape case the chew-toy stamp of approval.