TV

Life's Too Short
1x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Live at the Apollo
7x04 Episode 4
Love Milton Jones.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
4x04 Ring Around the Rosie
"Hey, how ya doin'? You're under arrest of the attempted murder of... everybody." Love Cho.
(Accidentally skipped episode three. That will, of course, be rectified.)
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Perfect Couples
1x09 Perfect Lies
E4 started really mucking about with showing this and the order they showed it in (or so it seemed to me), so I've resorted to downloading it. Not that I should really care, what with it being all cancelled and, let's be honest, not being that great in the first place.

Pointless
4x05 (18/3/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Rev.
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

10 Common Words You Had No Idea Were Onomatopoeias by Andy Kneis
(from Cracked.com)
I had no idea! Most interesting.

Review: Sherlock - A Scandal in Belgravia by David Brown
(from Radio Times)
It was the press screening of the new Sherlock last night, hence plenty of coverage and press releases today. This is the Radio Times review (obviously), but there's also the BBC press pack, including interviews with Moffat, Gatiss, Cumberbatch and Freeman; some nice publicity shots at Blogtor Who; and the PI, confirming it's on New Years Day at 8:10pm. Very exciting.

Click to enlarge.

A daily dose of sci-fi - Day 25

Funniest sci-fi (intentional or otherwise)

It feels like it should be hard to think of an SF comedy, but actually there are quite a few -- Red Dwarf, Hitchhikers' (on radio, in print, on TV and in film!), Back to the Future, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, Galaxy Quest -- and those are just some of the good ones.

Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death

Penned by now-showrunner Steven Moffat for Comic Relief back in 1999, this is easily the most affectionate Who spoof ever. Not only is it a very funny take on the show, it's very funny fullstop; and not only is it very funny, but it actually creates a great deal of nostalgia for the real thing -- some of the ending is only a short step away from the kind of sentimentality we've seen in the revived series.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this was in some way instrumental in bringing the show back to TV properly. Considering it was made for zero money (as it was for charity), I think it shows that a Who series was viable in '99 -- sure it might look dated now, but it looks pretty much as good as any other late-'90s SF.

Other series and films may show more longevity and consistency -- this one only lasts for about 20 minutes after all -- but it's the one I'm most likely to re-watch again. And again.


Read about a daily dose of sci-fi, with links to the rest of the series, here.