TV

Doctor Who
33x00 The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe [Christmas special]
I enjoyed that -- particularly good performances by Matt Smith and Claire Skinner, and the bit with the Bill Bailey-led whatsits was most amusing -- but it wasn't a patch on last year's, in my opinion, which I adore.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Gruffalo's Child (2011)
[#94a in 100 Films in a Year 2011]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Rev.
2x07 Christmas Special [season finale]
Surprisingly glum. Well, maybe not surprisingly. I guess there was a reason it wasn't part of the Christmas Day schedule. Good though.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Strictly Come Dancing
9x27 Christmas Special 2011
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Nativity! (2009)
[#94 in 100 Films in a Year 2011]
Appropriate, no?

Comics

2000 AD #2012

The bumper-length Christmas Prog, because, as a weekly, 2000 AD stops publishing over Christmas. Plus this way we get four more pages of Thrill-power than we would in the three Progs it covers. Four!

It also usurps the regular numbering to take next year's 'name'. I don't know quite what they'll do when they reach the real Prog 2000. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't either. Plus there's a Prog 2000 and a Prog 2002 but not a Prog 2001 -- awkward. But hey, that's all 5 years away yet!

As a lot of this Prog is Christmassy themed and several of the strips take place out of the on-going storylines (or start new ones), I've jumped ahead to read some of it -- would be a bit odd to get all this Christmas Thrill-power when I finally catch up in January (or February, or March... God I'm behind...) Those that are on-going, or kick off new on-goings, I'll come back to when I catch up.

Anyway, because of the jumping ahead, no ECBT 2000AD reviews yet. I'll add them later. For now, some have links to relevant features on the 2000 AD website. (Naturally, these are only the ones I actually read.)

Judge Dredd Choose Your Own Xmas

Absalom Sick Leave

Aquila Prologue

Dandridge A Christmas Ghost Story

Sinister Dexter Now & Again

this week on 100 Films

Merry Christmas!

Anyway...

3 new reviews were posted to 100 Films in a Year this week, and they were...

Beyond the Pole (2009)

Unfortunately it’s only mildly amusing rather than laugh-out-loud hilarious. Worse still, it’s occasionally a bit thumb-twiddly as the inevitable plot points inevitably happen. In fact, it goes a bit OTT with implausibility for my liking… On the bright side, it doesn’t go on about the green agenda too much

The Brothers Bloom (2008)

it can be surprisingly dramatic in places, at least more so than the trailer suggested. It’s not quite as all-out-fun as it looked… but then the job of a trailer is to sell you a film, so if the end result doesn’t match it 100% is that a failing? How are you meant to summarise the entire tone of a film in a two-minute spoiler-free sales burst anyway?

Cruise of the Gods (2002)

Though the film pokes fun (fairly good-naturedly) at sci-fi obsessives, the underlying story here is about a man overshadowed by his past. In this Brydon gives a strong performance — I think he’s a better actor than he’s normally given credit for — and he’s ably supported by Corden in particular

More next Sunday.