Wednesday 29 December 2010

TV

Agatha Christie's Marple
5x02 The Secret of Chimneys
This isn't a Marple story originally, apparently, but she seems to slot in perfectly. A rather good tale, I thought. Plus it's a nice change to have a detective who realises Marple's abilities and doesn't just dismiss her as an interfering old fool before being proven wrong.
Despite not having shown a new episode of Marple since August (and before that, January, and so on back in huge leaps), ITV are now -- for whatever reason -- showing three in a week! Another was on tonight, with a third on January 2nd. I think their schedulers might actually be insane... especially as they still haven't broadcast the final episode of the fourth series (shown in the US in July 2009).
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

How I Met Your Mother
6x01 Big Days
Ah, it's good to have this back! OK, it only went away six(-ish) weeks ago, but as E4 showed the first five seasons non-stop it feels like an age.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson
2x06 Christmas Special [season finale]
This thing of having the last episode also be the Christmas special seems to be taking off...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Top Gear
16x00 Middle East Special
Clearly someone at the BBC must've been listening to me (of course they were!), as their episode guide has 'rebranded' these two specials since my previous comments. Yup, that must be down to me.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Music

The Christmas Collection by Johnny Cash
I've owned this CD for a few years now, but never actually listened to it all the way through -- I tend to remember around the 3rd or 4th of January, by which time it's of course far too late. A little religious for my usual taste, but still rather good. And who else would begin their Christmas-themed album with a track about being miserable?

Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? by Paloma Faith
[3rd listen]

Articles

Apologies if you already saw these stories days ago -- I had them ready days ago and forgot to post them. Oopsie.

Trowbridge driver lost for three days
(from BBC News)
A Wiltshire grandfather spent three days trying to find his way home from Gatwick Airport after becoming disorientated in snowy conditions... he failed to return to Trowbridge after dropping his wife off for a flight. Police in Oxfordshire eventually... found he had spent from 23 - 25 December driving, trying to get back.

What does 2011 have in store?
(from BBC News)
What does the next year hold for us in the realms of security & foreign policy, transport, tourism, fashion and shopping -- a rather random grab bag of topics, I'm sure you'll agree. Still, I always find it interesting reading these prediction articles... I just wish I remembered to revisit them a year later to see if any of it was right.