Originally posted by DoctorStrangelove
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Originally posted by NickFitz
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This evening's main feature, after some more of Hospital during dinner, was The Numbers Station (2013), concerning a couple of CIA people broadcasting coded messages from a bunker at the former RAF Bentwaters who come under attack by mysterious assailants. It has its good moments, but it's all rather bleak. Not a thrilling kind of thriller, really, but if you want something more brooding then it might be worth ninety minutes of your time.
The depiction of how a numbers station operates is completely wrong, though. There's no person sitting at a microphone reading out numbers; somebody did the voice for each digit maybe sixty or more years ago, and the recordings are spliced together for each message. MI6's Lincolnshire Poacher and Cherry Ripe did have the final digit of each five digit group in a slightly raised tone, so it sounded like "five seven one six nine" or whatever, but that's as far as any variation went, and that was just to ensure the end of the group was detectable in case of poor reception. Apart from anything else, the person listening might not even speak English and had to have familiar sounds to make sure they got the numbers right, so using a different voice could break the whole system for one or more assets.
Also, you can't just send out messages at any time. The whole point is that the recipient only listens at certain fixed times for any messages intended for them, like 10PM on Tuesday say (repeated at some other fixed time in case they missed it for some reason). And without giving too much away, that restriction upends the plot entirely.
But if you don't know a lot about numbers stations, you probably wouldn't be as distracted by all that as I was
The depiction of how a numbers station operates is completely wrong, though. There's no person sitting at a microphone reading out numbers; somebody did the voice for each digit maybe sixty or more years ago, and the recordings are spliced together for each message. MI6's Lincolnshire Poacher and Cherry Ripe did have the final digit of each five digit group in a slightly raised tone, so it sounded like "five seven one six nine" or whatever, but that's as far as any variation went, and that was just to ensure the end of the group was detectable in case of poor reception. Apart from anything else, the person listening might not even speak English and had to have familiar sounds to make sure they got the numbers right, so using a different voice could break the whole system for one or more assets.
Also, you can't just send out messages at any time. The whole point is that the recipient only listens at certain fixed times for any messages intended for them, like 10PM on Tuesday say (repeated at some other fixed time in case they missed it for some reason). And without giving too much away, that restriction upends the plot entirely.
But if you don't know a lot about numbers stations, you probably wouldn't be as distracted by all that as I was
Another couple of rewatches here tonight, despite there being about 400 films in my collection I haven't watched yet; starting with Ghost in the Shell (2017), which was also on telly tonight which made me think of it. However I watched it at a time of my own choosing, and without having to so much as fast-forward through an advert. Very good, with great effects and a good story
And then a rerun of District 9 (2009) in which the giant alien ship arrives and turns out to contain a load of scuzzy refugees. Lots of action, good satire, and some very funny moments; my favourite of the giant alien mothership genre, as that's probably how it'll actually turn out when they arrive
Goodnight all
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