Tuesday 18 November 2008

TV

Bill Bailey: Part Troll
As screened by Channel 4 a week or two ago. I didn't think I'd seen this before, but then much of it seemed very familiar -- though still hilariously funny. Perhaps C4 aired it previously, no doubt cut down (as they almost always seem to do with their stand-up) to fit an hour-with-ads slot, while this version filled an hour-and-a-half slot and so may have been uncut (there will still some jumps however). Anyway, it's very funny, I recommend it.

The Graham Norton Show
4x07 (13/11/08 edition, uncut repeat)
Robin Williams was the only guest this week... but that's OK, cos he's hilarious (even if he did most of the same stuff at Prince Charles' 60th birthday gig).

Magazines

Doctor Who Magazine #402
Including some nice articles on Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart -- even down to an edition of That Annoying Column that is actually (shock! horror!) likable. Though it does include an editor's footnote saying the writer should be fired -- ironic that my usual feeling should appear on the only one I've actually liked. Elsewhere this issue, there's other interesting stuff. Oh yes. (Only other bit I really remember: a good review of the Sarah Jane Adventures series on DVD.)

Articles

The Enterprise Through The Ages
(from Empire Online)
And there I was thinking all of Star Trek's spaceships looked basically the same...

JJ Abrams On The New Star Trek Trailer
(from Empire Online)
In 32 hi-res stills, director J.J. Abrams talks Empire through the just-released Star Trek trailer. "Part of [Kirk's] story in this movie," says Abrams, "is becoming the man that we all expect to see" -- so it's Star Trek Begins by way of Batman Begins and Casino Royale then. J.J. Abrams: never knowingly involved in something original.
[Watch the trailer here.]

New Coraline Poster by Helen O'Hara
(from Empire Online)
"It's the new film from author Neil "godlike genius" Gaiman and stop-motion director Henry "godlike genius" Selick."

Click to enlarge

Quantum of Solace Debut US Weekend Total Updated: $67.5 Million by Devin Zydel
(from CommanderBond.net)
Turns out, the new Bond didn't do quite as well as everyone thought. Still recording-breaking by a considerable margin though.

Trailer Breakdown: Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
(from Empire Online)
Entirely worth reading for one throwaway comment: "Dumbledore has, in other words, got mad skills."
[Watch the trailer here.]

Zack Snyder Talks Watchmen by Helen O'Hara
(from Empire Online)
A different report about the same screening I mentioned yesterday -- so here be spoilers -- but with some more detail from Zack Snyder's interview, including this amusing/interesting/complex (and spoiler-free) bit of info: "Snyder also talked a little about Under The Hood, a DVD extra chronicling 1940s costumed adventurers The Minutemen. "Eric Matthews did that; it's a mock documentary. The complicated thing is that it's done as a 1985 [when the film is set] TV retrospective looking back at the publication of a book that's supposed to have come out in 1972. That's very cool.""