Wednesday 9 September 2009

TV

As Seen on TV
1x08 Episode 8 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Derren Brown: The Events - Live
1x00 How to Win the Lottery
So, as promised, Derren predicted all six of tonight's main Lottery numbers as they were announced. Was it camera trickery? Some impossibly clever (literally) averages? Or is he really magic? We'll find out on Friday...

Making Reel History (aka The Making of Culloden)
1996 documentary about Peter Watkins' Culloden, an innovative and influential TV drama. It offers good insight into Watkins' methods and their impact on the community, as well as briefly providing a forum for some of his views on TV and how it has failed as a medium. Despite being in his late 50s at the time, Watkins' thoughts have all the righteous idealism of a much younger man; unfortunately, they're also just as unrealistic and romanticised.
All round a nice little piece, it's a shame it's not included on the (out of print anyway) BFI DVD. Time for a new release methinks? Masters of Cinema -- already home to two of Watkins' films, Punishment Park and Edvard Munch -- would seem the natural place, though I'm sure there are all sorts of nasty copyright things standing in the way.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Wildest Dreams
Part 7 (of 7)
Not that Anna was an undeserving winner, but I do feel sorry for Alan -- he had the worst life to return to. Hopefully he can use this opportunity to find a career as, at the very least, a wildlife cameraman.

Films

Batman (1966)
[#47 in 100 Films in a Year 2009]

Articles

Top 10 Shows That Were Canceled Too Soon by Stefanie Lee
(from TV.com)
Featuring 14 shows. And, based on the intro, they'd like to make it 18, or more -- actually, why isn't it just a "Top 20"?

The importance of punctuation