Redwall by Brian Jacques
Book Two, Chapters 1–6
Friday, 6 March 2026
Thursday, 5 March 2026
Fiction
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Book One, Chapters 11–20
Reached the end of 'Book One' (of three). Expected it to mark a break or change in the story for that reason, but no, it's in the middle of a battle! That feels like it should be the climax, even though there's 70% of the book to go. Interesting structural choice...
Book One, Chapters 11–20
Reached the end of 'Book One' (of three). Expected it to mark a break or change in the story for that reason, but no, it's in the middle of a battle! That feels like it should be the climax, even though there's 70% of the book to go. Interesting structural choice...
Articles
Esoteric Ebb isn't just the best Disco since Disco, it's the closest anyone's come to the magic of tabletop D&D in a videogame
by Ted Litchfield (from PC Gamer)
I was very interested in Esoteric Ebb before I read this review, but now I'm positively excited for it. Might even buy it right away.
...but will I play it right away? I mean, I'd have to cut into Skyrim (gasp!) And as I've not played the likes of Disco Elysium or Baldur's Gate 3, but do own both and very much want to play them, should this really be jumping ahead? There's always the chance it'll get patches and improvements down the line, as so many games do nowadays. Maybe I should just play the literally hundreds of games already in my backlog and wait a year or two.
...but it sounds so fun!
by Ted Litchfield (from PC Gamer)
I was very interested in Esoteric Ebb before I read this review, but now I'm positively excited for it. Might even buy it right away.
...but will I play it right away? I mean, I'd have to cut into Skyrim (gasp!) And as I've not played the likes of Disco Elysium or Baldur's Gate 3, but do own both and very much want to play them, should this really be jumping ahead? There's always the chance it'll get patches and improvements down the line, as so many games do nowadays. Maybe I should just play the literally hundreds of games already in my backlog and wait a year or two.
...but it sounds so fun!
Wednesday, 4 March 2026
Films
PK (2014)
[#9 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2026]
"What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" 2026 #1
[#9 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2026]
"What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" 2026 #1
Fiction
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Book One, Chapters 1–10
So, the new Daggerheart game I mentioned joining takes place in a world inspired by the Redwall series. I was aware of those books as a child but never read them, for whatever reason, and in recent-ish years have considered trying them. Well, joining a game inspired by them was the push I needed!
Book One, Chapters 1–10
So, the new Daggerheart game I mentioned joining takes place in a world inspired by the Redwall series. I was aware of those books as a child but never read them, for whatever reason, and in recent-ish years have considered trying them. Well, joining a game inspired by them was the push I needed!
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Over an hour of play and, to be honest, I felt like it was all admin: selling loot, enchanting a few things, moving stuff around, decorating a couple of my houses... I don't pay too much attention to in-game time (because it doesn't actually matter how many days pass), but I teleported all around the map to do that, so my hour of doing a few bits probably took the 'characters' half a week or more!
I think this also demonstrates how you can sink so much time into this game. I mean, I didn't feel like what I did took over an hour, or that I was wasting my time, per se. But you couple that with things like spending two hours just making potions (and I've done that more than once, which I'd forgotten 'til I looked up those posts!) and, yeah, you see how I've played 182 hours without advancing many storylines or even visiting half the map.
Over an hour of play and, to be honest, I felt like it was all admin: selling loot, enchanting a few things, moving stuff around, decorating a couple of my houses... I don't pay too much attention to in-game time (because it doesn't actually matter how many days pass), but I teleported all around the map to do that, so my hour of doing a few bits probably took the 'characters' half a week or more!
I think this also demonstrates how you can sink so much time into this game. I mean, I didn't feel like what I did took over an hour, or that I was wasting my time, per se. But you couple that with things like spending two hours just making potions (and I've done that more than once, which I'd forgotten 'til I looked up those posts!) and, yeah, you see how I've played 182 hours without advancing many storylines or even visiting half the map.
Tuesday, 3 March 2026
Fiction
Swords in the Mist by Fritz Leiber
VI. Adept's Gambit Chapters 6–9 [the end]
These are so great, I'd probably happily move right on to the next book again; but I have something else I want to interrupt with first.
VI. Adept's Gambit Chapters 6–9 [the end]
These are so great, I'd probably happily move right on to the next book again; but I have something else I want to interrupt with first.
Monday, 2 March 2026
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
I had plans to read a book, watch a film, do all sorts of stuff today. Instead... I played 4½ hours of Skyrim. Oh well.
Towards the end of that time I hit 180 hours. Even more importantly, today I hit level 50, at which point you get the "Master" achievement on Steam. I believe the game's original level cap was 80 (I think the DLC made it unlimited), so in theory I'm a significant way through what's possible. Maybe I should actually start the main story soon... or maybe I'll just continue my way doing side quests (also earned the side quest-related achievement today) and exploring the world (I've still not visited half of the cities! And I'm not even close to completing the quests in all the ones I have been to).
I had plans to read a book, watch a film, do all sorts of stuff today. Instead... I played 4½ hours of Skyrim. Oh well.
Towards the end of that time I hit 180 hours. Even more importantly, today I hit level 50, at which point you get the "Master" achievement on Steam. I believe the game's original level cap was 80 (I think the DLC made it unlimited), so in theory I'm a significant way through what's possible. Maybe I should actually start the main story soon... or maybe I'll just continue my way doing side quests (also earned the side quest-related achievement today) and exploring the world (I've still not visited half of the cities! And I'm not even close to completing the quests in all the ones I have been to).
Tabletop Games
Daggerheart
This past week I added a third PBP Daggerheart game to my schedule, so a slight shift in how I'm listing them here: I've decided to ditch the 'titles' and just stick with a comment along the lines of "all 3 games continuing". Something like that, anyway.
This past week I added a third PBP Daggerheart game to my schedule, so a slight shift in how I'm listing them here: I've decided to ditch the 'titles' and just stick with a comment along the lines of "all 3 games continuing". Something like that, anyway.
Sunday, 1 March 2026
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Monument Valley
This isn't a long game, but I'm playing it in relatively short bursts because I think it's better that way — a quick level or two at a time, rather than burning through the whole game in a single hour-or-two sitting.
Monument Valley
This isn't a long game, but I'm playing it in relatively short bursts because I think it's better that way — a quick level or two at a time, rather than burning through the whole game in a single hour-or-two sitting.
this week on 100Films.co.uk
Just sneaking in to this week (because it was posted this morning) is my review of January on 100Films.co.uk...
Failures next Sunday (or tomorrow on the blog itself).
Failures next Sunday (or tomorrow on the blog itself).
Saturday, 28 February 2026
Fiction
Swords in the Mist by Fritz Leiber
VI. Adept's Gambit Chapters 1–2
The longest Lankhmar story so far (it's got chapters! Or numbered sections, at any rate, and what are those if not chapters?)
VI. Adept's Gambit Chapters 1–2
The longest Lankhmar story so far (it's got chapters! Or numbered sections, at any rate, and what are those if not chapters?)
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Good old "I'll just pop into Skyrim for a few minutes, do this one thing... but while I'm here... oh, and also..." and suddenly it's been well over an hour and you still feel like you've "just done a couple of things".
Good old "I'll just pop into Skyrim for a few minutes, do this one thing... but while I'm here... oh, and also..." and suddenly it's been well over an hour and you still feel like you've "just done a couple of things".
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Only one new addition this week, although it is a five-film box set. It's also time for the monthly running time update (we're 1/6th through 2025 already!), but quite a few of this month's additions were upgrades (including one new copy of Thunderbirds replacing two old ones), which means it's not as much of an increase as my physical pile of recent purchases would've made me think.
Number of titles in collection: 3,668 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 974 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,694 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 508 [no change]
Number of discs in collection: 8,809 [up 3]
Number of films: 4,711 [up 5]
Number of additional cuts: 484 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,163 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,282 [no change]
Total running time of collection (approx.):
615 days, 18 hours, and 46 minutes.
(Up 18 hours and 34 minutes from last month.)
See you next week, faithful reader.
Only one new addition this week, although it is a five-film box set. It's also time for the monthly running time update (we're 1/6th through 2025 already!), but quite a few of this month's additions were upgrades (including one new copy of Thunderbirds replacing two old ones), which means it's not as much of an increase as my physical pile of recent purchases would've made me think.
Number of titles in collection: 3,668 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 974 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,694 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 508 [no change]
Number of discs in collection: 8,809 [up 3]
Number of films: 4,711 [up 5]
Number of additional cuts: 484 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,163 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,282 [no change]
Total running time of collection (approx.):
615 days, 18 hours, and 46 minutes.
(Up 18 hours and 34 minutes from last month.)
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 27 February 2026
Video Games
Bael's Rock: A Text Adventure
5. The Windows Sky-High
Finally finished this part off, with help from the guide — another puzzle where I got most of the way there, and maybe if I spent a long time pondering it I would've alighted on the solution, but it's just so much easier to pluck that final 5% from a walkthrough (for good or ill).
Monument Valley
5. The Windows Sky-High
Finally finished this part off, with help from the guide — another puzzle where I got most of the way there, and maybe if I spent a long time pondering it I would've alighted on the solution, but it's just so much easier to pluck that final 5% from a walkthrough (for good or ill).
Monument Valley
Thursday, 26 February 2026
Video Games
Bael's Rock: A Text Adventure
5. The Windows Sky-High
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Today, just a quick excursion to pick up some great loot I missed on an earlier expedition... and then a lot of time spent crafting and enchanting and selling. I only meant to do a bit of it quickly, but somehow spent an hour on it. Oh well — quests next time? Maybe.
Monument Valley
It's a shame installation woes and poor controls put me in a bad mood about this, because it's actually pretty clever (still think the controls are rubbish, though). Seems like it'll be quite short, though, so nice that it was free.
5. The Windows Sky-High
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Today, just a quick excursion to pick up some great loot I missed on an earlier expedition... and then a lot of time spent crafting and enchanting and selling. I only meant to do a bit of it quickly, but somehow spent an hour on it. Oh well — quests next time? Maybe.
Monument Valley
It's a shame installation woes and poor controls put me in a bad mood about this, because it's actually pretty clever (still think the controls are rubbish, though). Seems like it'll be quite short, though, so nice that it was free.
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Video Games
Bael's Rock: A Text Adventure
4. The Duel of Wits
5. The Windows Sky-High
So far I've persisted until finishing a chapter each day, but I got stuck on Chapter 5 and didn't want to lean on the walkthrough too much (I've already had to resort to it a couple of times when I thought I knew what to do (and I was right) but couldn't work out what text to enter to make it happen).
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Monument Valley
Got this puzzle game free on Epic a little while ago; started playing it now because the Steam version is in a bundle with its DLC and I thought that might be better, but I needed to know if I liked it enough to pay for it. It's quite clever, but also clearly not made to be played with a controller — I believe it was originally a touchscreen phone game, and it feels like it. I could use the Deck's touchscreen, but I don't want to get finger smears all over it that'll annoy me when I play regular games. Might try installing it on my Mac and playing with mouse. Anyway, I doubt I'll be buying it — the free version, while less than ideal (getting it to run took more fiddling than it should have), will suffice for what it is.
4. The Duel of Wits
5. The Windows Sky-High
So far I've persisted until finishing a chapter each day, but I got stuck on Chapter 5 and didn't want to lean on the walkthrough too much (I've already had to resort to it a couple of times when I thought I knew what to do (and I was right) but couldn't work out what text to enter to make it happen).
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Monument Valley
Got this puzzle game free on Epic a little while ago; started playing it now because the Steam version is in a bundle with its DLC and I thought that might be better, but I needed to know if I liked it enough to pay for it. It's quite clever, but also clearly not made to be played with a controller — I believe it was originally a touchscreen phone game, and it feels like it. I could use the Deck's touchscreen, but I don't want to get finger smears all over it that'll annoy me when I play regular games. Might try installing it on my Mac and playing with mouse. Anyway, I doubt I'll be buying it — the free version, while less than ideal (getting it to run took more fiddling than it should have), will suffice for what it is.
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Fiction
Swords in the Mist by Fritz Leiber
II. Lean Times in Lankhmar
I’ve enjoyed all the Lankhmar stories, to one degree or another (I’ve not read a bad one yet, but some are, of course, better than others), but I think this may be the greatest of all. So far, at least.
II. Lean Times in Lankhmar
I’ve enjoyed all the Lankhmar stories, to one degree or another (I’ve not read a bad one yet, but some are, of course, better than others), but I think this may be the greatest of all. So far, at least.
Monday, 23 February 2026
Video Games
Bael's Rock: A Text Adventure
1. The Ghosts of the Desert
2. The Trial of Hope
Picked this up during Steam's recent typing-related sale and decided to play it on my Steam Deck. Playing a typing game on the Steam Deck may sound a little ridiculous... and it is. But I kinda wanted to see if it would work, and... technically it does, but typing using the onscreen keyboard is a little slow. As you only need to do simple commands ("examine door", that kind of thing) it's ok, although you can't see the text entry box while you're writing, so that's a pain. But as the game has no Mac version, the Deck remains my best way to play this. Which is daft, but there you go.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Started this up today without a real goal in mind; thought I might just read all those notes that were dumped in my inventory by the Anniversary Edition and start the quests. Well, in the end I played for an hour... and actually did stuff! Started some of those quests. Progressed a few. Even finished some — gasp!
1. The Ghosts of the Desert
2. The Trial of Hope
Picked this up during Steam's recent typing-related sale and decided to play it on my Steam Deck. Playing a typing game on the Steam Deck may sound a little ridiculous... and it is. But I kinda wanted to see if it would work, and... technically it does, but typing using the onscreen keyboard is a little slow. As you only need to do simple commands ("examine door", that kind of thing) it's ok, although you can't see the text entry box while you're writing, so that's a pain. But as the game has no Mac version, the Deck remains my best way to play this. Which is daft, but there you go.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Started this up today without a real goal in mind; thought I might just read all those notes that were dumped in my inventory by the Anniversary Edition and start the quests. Well, in the end I played for an hour... and actually did stuff! Started some of those quests. Progressed a few. Even finished some — gasp!
Sunday, 22 February 2026
TV
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x66 Week 14: Monday
9x67 Week 14: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
7x07 The Mickey
9x66 Week 14: Monday
9x67 Week 14: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
7x07 The Mickey
Saturday, 21 February 2026
TV
How I Met Your Mother
1x15 Game Night [2nd watch]
Poker Face
2x04 The Taste of Human Blood
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x64 Week 13: Thursday
9x65 Week 13: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
7x06 The Gala
1x15 Game Night [2nd watch]
Poker Face
2x04 The Taste of Human Blood
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x64 Week 13: Thursday
9x65 Week 13: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
7x06 The Gala
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Played for over 3 hours today. Still feel like I only got 'a few things' done. I crossed the 170-hour mark, too. Kinda hilarious to think I once balked at the idea it would take me at least 27 hours to complete this.
Played for over 3 hours today. Still feel like I only got 'a few things' done. I crossed the 170-hour mark, too. Kinda hilarious to think I once balked at the idea it would take me at least 27 hours to complete this.
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Two new 4K releases this week: Arrow's edition of Excalibur, which replaces the HMV-exclusive Blu-ray, and Predator: Badlands. I feel like I've had a lot less stuff on preorder this year than usual, but there's still a regular trickle dropping in.
Number of titles in collection: 3,667 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 974 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,693 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 508 [up 2]
Number of discs in collection: 8,806 [up 3]
Number of films: 4,706 [up 1]
Number of additional cuts: 484 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 10,163 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,282 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Two new 4K releases this week: Arrow's edition of Excalibur, which replaces the HMV-exclusive Blu-ray, and Predator: Badlands. I feel like I've had a lot less stuff on preorder this year than usual, but there's still a regular trickle dropping in.
Number of titles in collection: 3,667 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 974 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,693 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 508 [up 2]
Number of discs in collection: 8,806 [up 3]
Number of films: 4,706 [up 1]
Number of additional cuts: 484 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 10,163 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,282 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 20 February 2026
TV
How I Met Your Mother
1x14 Zip, Zip, Zip [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x61 Week 13: Monday
9x62 Week 13: Tuesday
9x63 Week 13: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
7x05 Til Death
1x14 Zip, Zip, Zip [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x61 Week 13: Monday
9x62 Week 13: Tuesday
9x63 Week 13: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
7x05 Til Death
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
So, turns out I haven't actually been playing the Anniversary Edition since Monday due to some quirk of how it installs, but (after wasting a bunch of time fiddling today) I now am. First thing I did was buy a backpack — 75 extra carry weight, y'all! Second thing was bump into a courier who gave me a veritable pile of notes to kick off quest. Fun times!
So, turns out I haven't actually been playing the Anniversary Edition since Monday due to some quirk of how it installs, but (after wasting a bunch of time fiddling today) I now am. First thing I did was buy a backpack — 75 extra carry weight, y'all! Second thing was bump into a courier who gave me a veritable pile of notes to kick off quest. Fun times!
Thursday, 19 February 2026
TV
How I Met Your Mother
1x13 Drumroll, Please [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x59 Week 12: Thursday
9x60 Week 12: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
1x13 Drumroll, Please [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x59 Week 12: Thursday
9x60 Week 12: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
TV
How I Met Your Mother
1x12 The Wedding [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x57 Week 12: Tuesday
9x58 Week 12: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
7x04 Darkness Falling
1x12 The Wedding [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x57 Week 12: Tuesday
9x58 Week 12: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
7x04 Darkness Falling
Fiction
Swords in the Mist by Fritz Leiber
I. The Cloud of Hate
Plunging on into the third volume of collected Lankhmar / Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser / Swords stories. As I wrote when I started the second, I didn't expect to just keep reading them like this, but I'm really enjoying them. I guess it probably also helps that I've ended up spacing them out so much that it doesn't feel intensive.
I. The Cloud of Hate
Plunging on into the third volume of collected Lankhmar / Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser / Swords stories. As I wrote when I started the second, I didn't expect to just keep reading them like this, but I'm really enjoying them. I guess it probably also helps that I've ended up spacing them out so much that it doesn't feel intensive.
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
TV
The Diplomat
3x07 PNG
3x08 Schrodinger's Wife [season finale]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x55 Week 11: Friday
9x56 Week 12: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
3x07 PNG
3x08 Schrodinger's Wife [season finale]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x55 Week 11: Friday
9x56 Week 12: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Monday, 16 February 2026
TV
The Diplomat
3x06 Amagansett
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x53 Week 11: Wednesday
9x54 Week 11: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
3x06 Amagansett
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x53 Week 11: Wednesday
9x54 Week 11: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
After thinking about it for a while, today I finally caved and bought the upgrade to the Anniversary Edition, which adds 70 fan-made creations released officially between 2017 and 2021. These introduce new quests, items, homes, and other fun stuff (pets! wild horses!) to the game. (In 2023 it was replaced with the "Verified Creator Program", which also sounds like it has cool additions, but those ones disable achievements (the AE content does not), so I intend to consider them once I 'complete' the game... if I still want more of it... which I feel like I well might...)
Some people think the Creations are a collection of worthless clutter and would rather they weren't there; others enjoy what's added. I'm sure there are some I couldn't care less for, but I felt like I was missing out on some of the stuff I've heard about. Plus, one of the major criticisms seems to be that a lot of what it adds is available early in the game but overpowered to be had so early. Well, I'm certainly not early in the game anymore (162 hours! Level 40-something!) and I wouldn't really care about unbalancing it even if I were. I'm playing on the easiest difficulty for a reason.
All this shiny new excitement will have to wait, though, because I'm still in the middle of exploring Windhelm, and I had less than an hour to play today — so I haven't even come close to encountering any of the added content yet. And, of course, I've still got tonnes of the base game left to explore. But now there's even more (hooray!) I'm sure I'll run into it soon enough.
After thinking about it for a while, today I finally caved and bought the upgrade to the Anniversary Edition, which adds 70 fan-made creations released officially between 2017 and 2021. These introduce new quests, items, homes, and other fun stuff (pets! wild horses!) to the game. (In 2023 it was replaced with the "Verified Creator Program", which also sounds like it has cool additions, but those ones disable achievements (the AE content does not), so I intend to consider them once I 'complete' the game... if I still want more of it... which I feel like I well might...)
Some people think the Creations are a collection of worthless clutter and would rather they weren't there; others enjoy what's added. I'm sure there are some I couldn't care less for, but I felt like I was missing out on some of the stuff I've heard about. Plus, one of the major criticisms seems to be that a lot of what it adds is available early in the game but overpowered to be had so early. Well, I'm certainly not early in the game anymore (162 hours! Level 40-something!) and I wouldn't really care about unbalancing it even if I were. I'm playing on the easiest difficulty for a reason.
All this shiny new excitement will have to wait, though, because I'm still in the middle of exploring Windhelm, and I had less than an hour to play today — so I haven't even come close to encountering any of the added content yet. And, of course, I've still got tonnes of the base game left to explore. But now there's even more (hooray!) I'm sure I'll run into it soon enough.
Sunday, 15 February 2026
TV
The Diplomat
3x04 Arden
3x05 Birdwatchers
Weird time jump and status quo changes between episodes four and five, so extreme that it feels like the start of a new season or something. Makes me wonder if they were expecting Netflix to do their two-part release thing, which didn't happen.
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x51 Week 11: Monday
9x52 Week 11: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
3x04 Arden
3x05 Birdwatchers
Weird time jump and status quo changes between episodes four and five, so extreme that it feels like the start of a new season or something. Makes me wonder if they were expecting Netflix to do their two-part release thing, which didn't happen.
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x51 Week 11: Monday
9x52 Week 11: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
When I loaded this up today, I actually had a plan to act on what I said yesterday... then I hit an unexpected roadblock (in short: a bug I thought I'd fixed, but hadn't), spent a bunch of time clearing that, then did a spot of travelling, with the usual distractions, and eventually ended up at the first waypoint on my target... after well over an hour of play. I do love this game, but at times like that, it feels pretty frustrating. I even had to set it down for a bit (gasp!)
When I came back later, I finally progressed to my fifth city — huzzah! Didn't have time to explore most of it thanks to all that wasted time earlier, but hey, progress. And it's only nine days since I encountered my previous one! Real progress. If I keep going at that accelerated rate, I'd finally visit them all by... early April. Jeez. Huge game.
When I loaded this up today, I actually had a plan to act on what I said yesterday... then I hit an unexpected roadblock (in short: a bug I thought I'd fixed, but hadn't), spent a bunch of time clearing that, then did a spot of travelling, with the usual distractions, and eventually ended up at the first waypoint on my target... after well over an hour of play. I do love this game, but at times like that, it feels pretty frustrating. I even had to set it down for a bit (gasp!)
When I came back later, I finally progressed to my fifth city — huzzah! Didn't have time to explore most of it thanks to all that wasted time earlier, but hey, progress. And it's only nine days since I encountered my previous one! Real progress. If I keep going at that accelerated rate, I'd finally visit them all by... early April. Jeez. Huge game.
Saturday, 14 February 2026
TV
The Diplomat
3x03 The Riderless Horse
How I Met Your Mother
1x11 The Limo [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x48 Week 10: Wednesday
9x49 Week 10: Thursday
9x50 Week 10: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
7x03 Out of Pocket
3x03 The Riderless Horse
How I Met Your Mother
1x11 The Limo [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x48 Week 10: Wednesday
9x49 Week 10: Thursday
9x50 Week 10: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
7x03 Out of Pocket
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Feel like I didn't achieve much today. I did a quest... well, most of one, because if you finish it at the level I'm at, you don't get any rewards, so I have to wait to hand it in. One skill I did push through several levels was pickpocketing, in order to get a specific perk, so that was a success. Otherwise, I mostly just built a bunch of furniture at my house, so it now looks a bit less empty. But that doesn't feel like much to show for over 2 hours playtime. Once again, I'm at a one point where I'm kinda just noodling about without a specific goal — I need to either dive in to going somewhere new (but where?) or get stuck into one of the many (many) quests already sat in my journal (but which?)
Feel like I didn't achieve much today. I did a quest... well, most of one, because if you finish it at the level I'm at, you don't get any rewards, so I have to wait to hand it in. One skill I did push through several levels was pickpocketing, in order to get a specific perk, so that was a success. Otherwise, I mostly just built a bunch of furniture at my house, so it now looks a bit less empty. But that doesn't feel like much to show for over 2 hours playtime. Once again, I'm at a one point where I'm kinda just noodling about without a specific goal — I need to either dive in to going somewhere new (but where?) or get stuck into one of the many (many) quests already sat in my journal (but which?)
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
The 60th anniversary collector's edition Blu-ray of Thunderbirds finally arrived this week (delayed from the end of last year), which means I can finally ditch my original UK Blu-ray (which had the episodes 'remastered' into widescreen) that I never watched, and also my older DVD copies (which I kept for the original aspect ratio) that I also never watched. Will I now finally rewatch the series on this shiny new edition? God only knows.
Number of titles in collection: 3,666 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 974 [down 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,692 [up 2]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 506 [up 2]
Number of discs in collection: 8,803 [no change]
Number of films: 4,705 [up 2]
Number of additional cuts: 483 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,163 [down 29]
Number of short films: 1,282 [up 2]
See you next week, faithful reader.
The 60th anniversary collector's edition Blu-ray of Thunderbirds finally arrived this week (delayed from the end of last year), which means I can finally ditch my original UK Blu-ray (which had the episodes 'remastered' into widescreen) that I never watched, and also my older DVD copies (which I kept for the original aspect ratio) that I also never watched. Will I now finally rewatch the series on this shiny new edition? God only knows.
Number of titles in collection: 3,666 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 974 [down 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,692 [up 2]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 506 [up 2]
Number of discs in collection: 8,803 [no change]
Number of films: 4,705 [up 2]
Number of additional cuts: 483 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,163 [down 29]
Number of short films: 1,282 [up 2]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 13 February 2026
TV
The Diplomat
3x01 Emperor Dead
3x02 Last Dance at the Country Club
How I Met Your Mother
1x10 Belly Full of Turkey [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x46 Week 10: Monday
9x47 Week 10: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
3x01 Emperor Dead
3x02 Last Dance at the Country Club
How I Met Your Mother
1x10 Belly Full of Turkey [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x46 Week 10: Monday
9x47 Week 10: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Thursday, 12 February 2026
TV
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x44 Week 9: Thursday
9x45 Week 9: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
9x44 Week 9: Thursday
9x45 Week 9: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Here's that screenshot I mentioned yesterday, to contrast with the 73-hour one — this is at 151 hours, so 78 hours further on.
As I said, most things haven't changed at all (even though half my reason for going to Riften was to join the Thieves' Guild, I still haven't), although Misc Objectives has gone up a more-than-proportional amount: it was 73 at 73 hours, so I've done 113 in the next 78 hours. That's nice, because I half suspected the average would've gone down — I feel like I've spent a lot of time noodling about with non-objective-based things like house building and decorating, smithing, alchemy, enchanting, and general exploring, rather than always doing tasks and missions.
I'd like to say "maybe now it's time I did get on with quests", but with so much of the map still unexplored (six out of ten cities still unvisited!), there's still a lot of potential for just "seeing what I find".
Here's that screenshot I mentioned yesterday, to contrast with the 73-hour one — this is at 151 hours, so 78 hours further on.
As I said, most things haven't changed at all (even though half my reason for going to Riften was to join the Thieves' Guild, I still haven't), although Misc Objectives has gone up a more-than-proportional amount: it was 73 at 73 hours, so I've done 113 in the next 78 hours. That's nice, because I half suspected the average would've gone down — I feel like I've spent a lot of time noodling about with non-objective-based things like house building and decorating, smithing, alchemy, enchanting, and general exploring, rather than always doing tasks and missions.
I'd like to say "maybe now it's time I did get on with quests", but with so much of the map still unexplored (six out of ten cities still unvisited!), there's still a lot of potential for just "seeing what I find".
Wednesday, 11 February 2026
TV
How I Met Your Mother
1x09 The Pineapple Incident [2nd watch]
IMDb says this is episode 10, but it was definitely episode 9 where I watched it (and it was the same all those years ago when E4 aired it, too).
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x42 Week 9: Tuesday
9x43 Week 9: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
1x09 The Pineapple Incident [2nd watch]
IMDb says this is episode 10, but it was definitely episode 9 where I watched it (and it was the same all those years ago when E4 aired it, too).
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x42 Week 9: Tuesday
9x43 Week 9: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Passed the 150-hour mark today! I've been meaning to share an update of the image I posted at 73 hours, but for the moment, suffice to say most of those stats have not doubled. Heck, it's likely most of them haven't increased at all.
Passed the 150-hour mark today! I've been meaning to share an update of the image I posted at 73 hours, but for the moment, suffice to say most of those stats have not doubled. Heck, it's likely most of them haven't increased at all.
Tuesday, 10 February 2026
TV
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x40 Week 8: Friday
9x41 Week 9: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
7x02 The Watcher
9x40 Week 8: Friday
9x41 Week 9: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
7x02 The Watcher
Monday, 9 February 2026
TV
The Night Manager
2x05 Episode 5
2x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x38 Week 8: Wednesday
9x39 Week 8: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
2x05 Episode 5
2x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x38 Week 8: Wednesday
9x39 Week 8: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Sunday, 8 February 2026
TV
The Night Manager
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x36 Week 8: Monday
9x37 Week 8: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
7x01 The Shot
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x36 Week 8: Monday
9x37 Week 8: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
7x01 The Shot
this week on 100Films.co.uk
After last week's summary of business at 100Films.co.uk only featured the January review, this week it's time for its regular companion piece: my failures.
More next Sunday? Wonders never cease. But regular reviews on 100 Films might have.
More next Sunday? Wonders never cease. But regular reviews on 100 Films might have.
Saturday, 7 February 2026
TV
The Night Manager
2x03 Episode 3
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x33 Week 7: Wednesday
9x34 Week 7: Thursday
9x35 Week 7: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
2x03 Episode 3
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x33 Week 7: Wednesday
9x34 Week 7: Thursday
9x35 Week 7: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
There's so much to do in Riften that, even after two hours today spent non-stop exploring, meeting characters, and completing quests, I feel like I'd barely started playing, because there's so much more just waiting to be done — and that's without even starting the major faction questline based in the city.
There's so much to do in Riften that, even after two hours today spent non-stop exploring, meeting characters, and completing quests, I feel like I'd barely started playing, because there's so much more just waiting to be done — and that's without even starting the major faction questline based in the city.
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
All new releases this week, including one title that I imported the DVD from Thailand many, many years ago because the special features were supposed to be better (or have any at all, really, which other editions didn't), but when it arrived it turned out because it was an older title the second disc was out of print, so it was just an extras-free single-disc... and now it goes from that experience to a Criterion 4K! (It's Birth, by-the-way.)
Number of titles in collection: 3,666 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 976 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,690 [up 3]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 504 [up 2]
Number of discs in collection: 8,803 [up 4]
Number of films: 4,703 [up 2]
Number of additional cuts: 483 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,192 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,280 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
All new releases this week, including one title that I imported the DVD from Thailand many, many years ago because the special features were supposed to be better (or have any at all, really, which other editions didn't), but when it arrived it turned out because it was an older title the second disc was out of print, so it was just an extras-free single-disc... and now it goes from that experience to a Criterion 4K! (It's Birth, by-the-way.)
Number of titles in collection: 3,666 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 976 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,690 [up 3]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 504 [up 2]
Number of discs in collection: 8,803 [up 4]
Number of films: 4,703 [up 2]
Number of additional cuts: 483 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,192 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,280 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 6 February 2026
TV
The Night Manager
2x01 Episode 1
2x02 Episode 2
I would say "has it really been 10 years?!" but, yeah, feels like it. Anyway, I thought this was a good start.
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x31 Week 7: Monday
9x32 Week 7: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
2x01 Episode 1
2x02 Episode 2
I would say "has it really been 10 years?!" but, yeah, feels like it. Anyway, I thought this was a good start.
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer.]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x31 Week 7: Monday
9x32 Week 7: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Today, after I-don't-even-know-how-long of intending to, I finally entered Riften — my fourth of the ten cities I keep harping on about. Immediately got hit with half-a-dozen quests and I wasn't even trying, and I've only skimmed the surface of exploring the city (even with an hour's playtime dedicated to it today). Great game.
Today, after I-don't-even-know-how-long of intending to, I finally entered Riften — my fourth of the ten cities I keep harping on about. Immediately got hit with half-a-dozen quests and I wasn't even trying, and I've only skimmed the surface of exploring the city (even with an hour's playtime dedicated to it today). Great game.
Thursday, 5 February 2026
TV
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x28 Week 6: Wednesday
9x29 Week 6: Thursday
9x30 Week 6: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
9x28 Week 6: Wednesday
9x29 Week 6: Thursday
9x30 Week 6: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Wednesday, 4 February 2026
TV
Poker Face
2x03 Whack-A-Mole
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x26 Week 6: Monday
9x27 Week 6: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
2x03 Whack-A-Mole
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x26 Week 6: Monday
9x27 Week 6: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Tuesday, 3 February 2026
TV
How I Met Your Mother
1x08 The Duel [2nd watch]
Leverage: Redemption
1x12 The Golf Job
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x24 Week 5: Thursday
9x25 Week 5: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
1x08 The Duel [2nd watch]
Leverage: Redemption
1x12 The Golf Job
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x24 Week 5: Thursday
9x25 Week 5: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Monday, 2 February 2026
TV
Leverage: Redemption
1x11 The Jackal Job
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x23 Week 5: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
1x11 The Jackal Job
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x23 Week 5: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Sunday, 1 February 2026
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
I've been on my way to do something specific for days, but keep getting sidetracked by other stuff I stumble across — ah, that's Skyrim!
Like today: I was going to clear one dungeon, then do some other stuff... but it turned out to be quite a big dungeon, which took over an hour. That's another thing: you never know quite what you're going to get when you enter one of those. Which is good, I guess — it'd be rubbish if they were all the same — but bad for "I've got a few minutes, I'll just pop in here", because while sometimes a location is tiny and cleared in five or ten minutes, sometimes... well, it's an hour-long sidequest.
Then I set off to do what I was planning... but got distracted by a few other things. For another hour-and-a-half. Altogether, I've probably spent longer "on my way to this one thing" than I have done completing entire other games (point-and-click adventures that can be done in six to eight hours, for example). Mad.
But next time I'll get there... yeah, next time...
I've been on my way to do something specific for days, but keep getting sidetracked by other stuff I stumble across — ah, that's Skyrim!
Like today: I was going to clear one dungeon, then do some other stuff... but it turned out to be quite a big dungeon, which took over an hour. That's another thing: you never know quite what you're going to get when you enter one of those. Which is good, I guess — it'd be rubbish if they were all the same — but bad for "I've got a few minutes, I'll just pop in here", because while sometimes a location is tiny and cleared in five or ten minutes, sometimes... well, it's an hour-long sidequest.
Then I set off to do what I was planning... but got distracted by a few other things. For another hour-and-a-half. Altogether, I've probably spent longer "on my way to this one thing" than I have done completing entire other games (point-and-click adventures that can be done in six to eight hours, for example). Mad.
But next time I'll get there... yeah, next time...
this week on 100Films.co.uk
Is it February already?! Jeez! Well, that means it's time for the first monthly review of 2026 over on 100Films.co.uk...
Next Sunday: my January failures.
Next Sunday: my January failures.
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
This week, that sale order from All the Anime finally turned up. And that was all.
Number of titles in collection: 3,664 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 977 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,687 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 502 [no change]
Number of discs in collection: 8,799 [up 5]
Number of films: 4,701 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 483 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,192 [up 4]
Number of short films: 1,280 [no change]
But it's also time for a monthly running time update!
Total running time of collection (approx.):
615 days and 12 minutes.
(Up 23 hours and 45 minutes from last month.)
See you next week, faithful reader.
This week, that sale order from All the Anime finally turned up. And that was all.
Number of titles in collection: 3,664 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 977 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,687 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 502 [no change]
Number of discs in collection: 8,799 [up 5]
Number of films: 4,701 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 483 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,192 [up 4]
Number of short films: 1,280 [no change]
But it's also time for a monthly running time update!
Total running time of collection (approx.):
615 days and 12 minutes.
(Up 23 hours and 45 minutes from last month.)
See you next week, faithful reader.
Saturday, 31 January 2026
Friday, 30 January 2026
TV
How I Met Your Mother
1x07 Matchmaker [2nd watch]
Leverage: Redemption
1x10 The Unwellness Job
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x18 Week 4: Wednesday
9x19 Week 4: Thursday
9x20 Week 4: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
1x07 Matchmaker [2nd watch]
Leverage: Redemption
1x10 The Unwellness Job
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x18 Week 4: Wednesday
9x19 Week 4: Thursday
9x20 Week 4: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Thursday, 29 January 2026
TV
Dexter: Original Sin
1x09 Blood Drive
1x10 Code Blues [series finale]
It was originally announced that this had been picked up for a second season, before they walked that back and cancelled it. I don't know if they knew about the recommission while writing/filming, but either way, thank goodness it doesn't end on a cliffhanger or with a bunch of stuff unresolved! Indeed, the ending is almost perfectly setup to flow into Dexter season one.
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x16 Week 4: Monday
9x17 Week 4: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
1x09 Blood Drive
1x10 Code Blues [series finale]
It was originally announced that this had been picked up for a second season, before they walked that back and cancelled it. I don't know if they knew about the recommission while writing/filming, but either way, thank goodness it doesn't end on a cliffhanger or with a bunch of stuff unresolved! Indeed, the ending is almost perfectly setup to flow into Dexter season one.
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x16 Week 4: Monday
9x17 Week 4: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Today, cleared a fort to find a spell tome I wanted... only to discover I don't have high enough magic (because I've focused my skills elsewhere) to actually use that spell. I guess I should probably follow the game more naturally and stop seeking stuff out with outside knowledge.
Today, cleared a fort to find a spell tome I wanted... only to discover I don't have high enough magic (because I've focused my skills elsewhere) to actually use that spell. I guess I should probably follow the game more naturally and stop seeking stuff out with outside knowledge.
Wednesday, 28 January 2026
TV
How I Met Your Mother
1x06 The Slutty Pumpkin [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x12 Week 3: Tuesday
9x13 Week 3: Wednesday
9x14 Week 3: Thursday
9x15 Week 3: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
1x06 The Slutty Pumpkin [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x12 Week 3: Tuesday
9x13 Week 3: Wednesday
9x14 Week 3: Thursday
9x15 Week 3: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
I keep thinking I should start a proper quest/storyline, and I keep ending up exploring and discovering random places and doing random dungeons. There's just so much to see and do! But it also feels a little aimless right now. But I'm also wary about 'committing' to a plot when there's still swathes of the world I haven't seen and could still explore. But do I really want to keep going at that til I've seen everywhere, then do all the proper stories (aside from the small handful I've already done)? I mean, I'm already well past the average completion time for the entire game (today I reached 132 hours).
Well, we'll see.
I keep thinking I should start a proper quest/storyline, and I keep ending up exploring and discovering random places and doing random dungeons. There's just so much to see and do! But it also feels a little aimless right now. But I'm also wary about 'committing' to a plot when there's still swathes of the world I haven't seen and could still explore. But do I really want to keep going at that til I've seen everywhere, then do all the proper stories (aside from the small handful I've already done)? I mean, I'm already well past the average completion time for the entire game (today I reached 132 hours).
Well, we'll see.
Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Monday, 26 January 2026
TV
Dexter: Original Sin
1x06 The Joy of Killing
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x10 Week 2: Friday
9x11 Week 3: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
1x06 The Joy of Killing
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x10 Week 2: Friday
9x11 Week 3: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Tabletop Games
Daggerheart:
Dragon Heist in the City of Splendors
&
Curse of Strahd
A new routine of actually remembering to mention these every Monday (because they're ongoing all the time but doing it every day feels excessive) begins... here.
Dragon Heist in the City of Splendors
&
Curse of Strahd
A new routine of actually remembering to mention these every Monday (because they're ongoing all the time but doing it every day feels excessive) begins... here.
Sunday, 25 January 2026
TV
Dexter: Original Sin
1x05 F is for Fuck Up
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x06 Week 2: Monday
9x07 Week 2: Tuesday
9x08 Week 2: Wednesday
9x09 Week 2: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
1x05 F is for Fuck Up
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x06 Week 2: Monday
9x07 Week 2: Tuesday
9x08 Week 2: Wednesday
9x09 Week 2: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Saturday, 24 January 2026
TV
Dexter: Original Sin
1x04 Fender Bender
How I Met Your Mother
1x05 Okay Awesome [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x04 Week 1: Thursday
9x05 Week 1: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
1x04 Fender Bender
How I Met Your Mother
1x05 Okay Awesome [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x04 Week 1: Thursday
9x05 Week 1: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
While that All the Anime order I mentioned still hasn't arrived, a package from Australia turned up having only been dispatched at the end of last week. Really highlights the ridiculousness of whatever AtA have done to mismanage their Christmas sale orders. Anyway, it has finally been dispatched now and is due Monday.
Number of titles in collection: 3,660 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 977 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,683 [up 5]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 502 [up 4]
Number of discs in collection: 8,794 [up 12]
Number of films: 4,697 [up 6]
Number of additional cuts: 483 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes: 10,188 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,280 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
While that All the Anime order I mentioned still hasn't arrived, a package from Australia turned up having only been dispatched at the end of last week. Really highlights the ridiculousness of whatever AtA have done to mismanage their Christmas sale orders. Anyway, it has finally been dispatched now and is due Monday.
Number of titles in collection: 3,660 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 977 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,683 [up 5]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 502 [up 4]
Number of discs in collection: 8,794 [up 12]
Number of films: 4,697 [up 6]
Number of additional cuts: 483 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes: 10,188 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,280 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 23 January 2026
TV
Dexter: Original Sin
1x03 Miami Vice
Amazing restraint for this franchise to have got through 108 episodes, almost all of them set in Miami, before using this title.
How I Met Your Mother
1x04 Return of the Shirt [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x02 Week 1: Tuesday
9x03 Week 1: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
1x03 Miami Vice
Amazing restraint for this franchise to have got through 108 episodes, almost all of them set in Miami, before using this title.
How I Met Your Mother
1x04 Return of the Shirt [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x02 Week 1: Tuesday
9x03 Week 1: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Video Games
Hitman: World of Assassination Free Starter Pack
So, the developers of this have made the new James Bond game, First Light, which naturally I'm looking forward to; and this game is widely acclaimed (PC Gamer regularly include it in the top half of their annual top games list), even though I didn't think it was really my kind of thing; but it has a free demo on Steam, so I thought "why not? You never know."
Well, what Steam calls a "demo" the game calls a "starter pack" — it makes you install the full thing, all 60-something GB of it. I guess the idea is you'll love it soooo much you just have to upgrade immediately. I spent 10+ minutes trying to log in online, because you have to before you can actually play anything, and it's not implemented in a Steam Deck friendly way so it took undue effort. But I persevered. Then I had to work out where the hell the actual demo/starter content was — not as clear as you'd think, because you've installed the full game, which after years of support seems to have a tonne of stuff on offer (they're still releasing new content for it regularly). But I found where I had to go eventually.
And then I got killed trying to do the fucking training mission.
I could've had another go at it, of course, but I hadn't really been enjoying it up to that point anyway, so why bother? I was right the first time: this is not a game for me. I hope I enjoy First Light more.
So, the developers of this have made the new James Bond game, First Light, which naturally I'm looking forward to; and this game is widely acclaimed (PC Gamer regularly include it in the top half of their annual top games list), even though I didn't think it was really my kind of thing; but it has a free demo on Steam, so I thought "why not? You never know."
Well, what Steam calls a "demo" the game calls a "starter pack" — it makes you install the full thing, all 60-something GB of it. I guess the idea is you'll love it soooo much you just have to upgrade immediately. I spent 10+ minutes trying to log in online, because you have to before you can actually play anything, and it's not implemented in a Steam Deck friendly way so it took undue effort. But I persevered. Then I had to work out where the hell the actual demo/starter content was — not as clear as you'd think, because you've installed the full game, which after years of support seems to have a tonne of stuff on offer (they're still releasing new content for it regularly). But I found where I had to go eventually.
And then I got killed trying to do the fucking training mission.
I could've had another go at it, of course, but I hadn't really been enjoying it up to that point anyway, so why bother? I was right the first time: this is not a game for me. I hope I enjoy First Light more.
Tabletop Games
Daggerheart:
Dragon Heist in the City of Splendors
&
Curse of Strahd
So much for mentioning these every week! But they've both been continuing non-stop since I last remembered to specifically call them out (which was a month ago yesterday).
Dragon Heist in the City of Splendors
&
Curse of Strahd
So much for mentioning these every week! But they've both been continuing non-stop since I last remembered to specifically call them out (which was a month ago yesterday).
Thursday, 22 January 2026
TV
How I Met Your Mother
1x03 The Sweet Taste of Liberty [2nd watch]
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
32x07 Episode 7 [season finale]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x01 Week 1: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
1x03 The Sweet Taste of Liberty [2nd watch]
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
32x07 Episode 7 [season finale]
Richard Osman's House of Games
9x01 Week 1: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Wednesday, 21 January 2026
TV
Dexter: Original Sin
1x02 Kid in a Candy Store
How I Met Your Mother
1x02 Purple Giraffe [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x99 Champions Week 2: Thursday
8x100 Champions Week 2: Friday [season finale]
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
1x02 Kid in a Candy Store
How I Met Your Mother
1x02 Purple Giraffe [2nd watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x99 Champions Week 2: Thursday
8x100 Champions Week 2: Friday [season finale]
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Tuesday, 20 January 2026
TV
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x96 Champions Week 2: Monday
8x97 Champions Week 2: Tuesday
8x98 Champions Week 2: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
8x96 Champions Week 2: Monday
8x97 Champions Week 2: Tuesday
8x98 Champions Week 2: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
After yesterday's minor disaster, I almost didn't want to go back to Skyrim today — shocker, I know! I considered finding something else to play for a bit. After all, this is the only game I've really engaged with for months now, and I have hundreds of others in my backlog, dozens of which I'd class as "ones I really want to play" — why not finally make time for them? But I was worried it would end up souring me on Skyrim, so I decided I should get back on the metaphorical horse. And, of course, I love it still.
Saw a thread on Reddit today asking how long it takes to complete. Some replies were estimating times of 60–100 hours to do not just the main quest but also most major side quests. Well, I'm over 123 hours now and still haven't properly started the main quest, nor even begun most of those major side quests, nor even visited several major cities (yes, still — in fact, my tally is still three out of ten). Am I doing it wrong... or am I doing it right? I think the latter.
After yesterday's minor disaster, I almost didn't want to go back to Skyrim today — shocker, I know! I considered finding something else to play for a bit. After all, this is the only game I've really engaged with for months now, and I have hundreds of others in my backlog, dozens of which I'd class as "ones I really want to play" — why not finally make time for them? But I was worried it would end up souring me on Skyrim, so I decided I should get back on the metaphorical horse. And, of course, I love it still.
Saw a thread on Reddit today asking how long it takes to complete. Some replies were estimating times of 60–100 hours to do not just the main quest but also most major side quests. Well, I'm over 123 hours now and still haven't properly started the main quest, nor even begun most of those major side quests, nor even visited several major cities (yes, still — in fact, my tally is still three out of ten). Am I doing it wrong... or am I doing it right? I think the latter.
Monday, 19 January 2026
TV
Dexter: Original Sin
1x01 And in the Beginning...
Finally getting round to this third incarnation of Dexter. We considered skipping over it for Resurrection and coming back to it later, but... well, let's just say the opening mintues proved that would've been a poor decision!
How I Met Your Mother
1x01 Pilot [2nd watch]
Having finished Friends, this seemed like a good replacement. Plus, it's over 16 years since I watched it the first time (I wouldn't have said I'd watched it recently at all, but 16 years! Jesus!) Talking of time, what feels even more insane is that the 'far future year' of the framing device is now just a couple of years off in 2030. Eek.
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x95 Champions Week 1: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
1x01 And in the Beginning...
Finally getting round to this third incarnation of Dexter. We considered skipping over it for Resurrection and coming back to it later, but... well, let's just say the opening mintues proved that would've been a poor decision!
How I Met Your Mother
1x01 Pilot [2nd watch]
Having finished Friends, this seemed like a good replacement. Plus, it's over 16 years since I watched it the first time (I wouldn't have said I'd watched it recently at all, but 16 years! Jesus!) Talking of time, what feels even more insane is that the 'far future year' of the framing device is now just a couple of years off in 2030. Eek.
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x95 Champions Week 1: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Despite months of play, and now over 120 hours in-game, today I forgot one of the cardinal rules of Skyrim — indeed, of most any game: save regularly. I died in a fight I didn't think was going that poorly, and lost a bunch of progress and some rare loot (at least, stuff I hadn't come across yet) loot. Bit annoying. On the bright side, my horse had also died slightly earlier, and I resigned myself to having to buy another one because it had been so long since my last save (and, yeah, I didn't think to save then! What an idiot), so I got that back for free. Swings and roundabouts, I guess.
Despite months of play, and now over 120 hours in-game, today I forgot one of the cardinal rules of Skyrim — indeed, of most any game: save regularly. I died in a fight I didn't think was going that poorly, and lost a bunch of progress and some rare loot (at least, stuff I hadn't come across yet) loot. Bit annoying. On the bright side, my horse had also died slightly earlier, and I resigned myself to having to buy another one because it had been so long since my last save (and, yeah, I didn't think to save then! What an idiot), so I got that back for free. Swings and roundabouts, I guess.
Sunday, 18 January 2026
TV
Agatha Christie's Seven Dials
Part 1 Bundle of Love
Part 2 Battle Commences
Part 3 The Finger Points [finale]
The latest Christie adaptation, this time on Netflix. Apparently reviews have been mixed, but I thought it was rather good overall, with several neat twists in the final episode.
Part 1 Bundle of Love
Part 2 Battle Commences
Part 3 The Finger Points [finale]
The latest Christie adaptation, this time on Netflix. Apparently reviews have been mixed, but I thought it was rather good overall, with several neat twists in the final episode.
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Set out to do something specific today... then got distracted on the way, to the tune of over an hour's playtime. But where I left off, that's where I'd intended to get to — so, next time.
Ah, good old Skyrim.
Set out to do something specific today... then got distracted on the way, to the tune of over an hour's playtime. But where I left off, that's where I'd intended to get to — so, next time.
Ah, good old Skyrim.
Tabletop Games
Good Puppers!
A couple more rounds of this. Beginning to get the hang of it, I think.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Trick-Taking Game
The sequel's out now — need to get ahold of that.
A couple more rounds of this. Beginning to get the hang of it, I think.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Trick-Taking Game
The sequel's out now — need to get ahold of that.
this week on 100Films.co.uk
A trio of posts kicked off my 100 Films in a Year Challenge on 100Films.co.uk at the start of this week.
First, the overview of the structure for 2026's challenge — which is also my 20th time doing all this:
Then, two posts outlining specific 12-film categories. First up, Blindspot:
Finally, what this year I'm calling "What Do You Mean You Haven’t Seen All the Best Sci-fi, Action, Adventure, Mystery, and Thriller Films?"
Now that 2025 is wrapped up and 2026 is begun, will there be anything to report next Sunday? Probably not. But you never know.
First, the overview of the structure for 2026's challenge — which is also my 20th time doing all this:
Then, two posts outlining specific 12-film categories. First up, Blindspot:
Finally, what this year I'm calling "What Do You Mean You Haven’t Seen All the Best Sci-fi, Action, Adventure, Mystery, and Thriller Films?"
Now that 2025 is wrapped up and 2026 is begun, will there be anything to report next Sunday? Probably not. But you never know.
Saturday, 17 January 2026
TV
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
32x06 Does 90s Pop
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x93 Champions Week 1: Wednesday
8x94 Champions Week 1: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Slow Horses
5x05 Circus
5x06 Scars [season finale]
32x06 Does 90s Pop
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x93 Champions Week 1: Wednesday
8x94 Champions Week 1: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Slow Horses
5x05 Circus
5x06 Scars [season finale]
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
I thought some more stuff would turn up this week (I placed an order in the All the Anime sale back in December, but they're doing a terrible job of catching up on those), but nope, not a sausage.
Number of titles in collection: 3,655 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 977 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,678 [no change]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 498 [no change]
Number of discs in collection: 8,782 [no change]
Number of films: 4,691 [no change]
Number of additional cuts: 481 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,188 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,280 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
I thought some more stuff would turn up this week (I placed an order in the All the Anime sale back in December, but they're doing a terrible job of catching up on those), but nope, not a sausage.
Number of titles in collection: 3,655 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 977 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,678 [no change]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 498 [no change]
Number of discs in collection: 8,782 [no change]
Number of films: 4,691 [no change]
Number of additional cuts: 481 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,188 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,280 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 16 January 2026
TV
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
32x05 Episode 5
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x91 Champions Week 1: Monday
8x92 Champions Week 1: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Slow Horses
5x03 Tall Tales
5x04 Missiles
32x05 Episode 5
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x91 Champions Week 1: Monday
8x92 Champions Week 1: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Slow Horses
5x03 Tall Tales
5x04 Missiles
Thursday, 15 January 2026
TV
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x89 Week 18: Thursday
8x90 Week 18: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
8x89 Week 18: Thursday
8x90 Week 18: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Tabletop Games
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle
Game 7 (of 7)
When we played this 'level' with the Charms and Potions Expansion stuff the other day, we actually only included about half the villains, because there are so many now. So this was the other half.
Game 7 (of 7)
When we played this 'level' with the Charms and Potions Expansion stuff the other day, we actually only included about half the villains, because there are so many now. So this was the other half.
Wednesday, 14 January 2026
TV
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x86 Week 18: Monday
8x87 Week 18: Tuesday
8x88 Week 18: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Slow Horses
5x02 Incommunicado
8x86 Week 18: Monday
8x87 Week 18: Tuesday
8x88 Week 18: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Slow Horses
5x02 Incommunicado
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
I feel like I've been doing a lot of faffing about lately — I've done a couple of dungeons, sure, but a lot of general exploring, house stuff, crafting... Almost killing time for the sake of it, because I couldn't decide what to do (there's already a pile of quests in my journal, plus multiple major and minor places I've still not visited... and there's always the main story, of course). So today I... just got on with some actual stuff. Did a quest; carried on to a proper new location. It made almost 2 hours of playtime absolutely fly by, and I could've done a lot more; kept going for a lot longer. This is why I fell in love with the game, not doing random nothing for the sake of it. So, I really should do more of that going forward!
I feel like I've been doing a lot of faffing about lately — I've done a couple of dungeons, sure, but a lot of general exploring, house stuff, crafting... Almost killing time for the sake of it, because I couldn't decide what to do (there's already a pile of quests in my journal, plus multiple major and minor places I've still not visited... and there's always the main story, of course). So today I... just got on with some actual stuff. Did a quest; carried on to a proper new location. It made almost 2 hours of playtime absolutely fly by, and I could've done a lot more; kept going for a lot longer. This is why I fell in love with the game, not doing random nothing for the sake of it. So, I really should do more of that going forward!
Tabletop Games
Good Puppers!
I backed the sequel to this on Kickstarter last May, but it only just came through — along with a copy of the first game, so I thought we'd start there. It seems fun, though also like the kind of thing you have to play a few times to really get its rhythm and tactics.
I backed the sequel to this on Kickstarter last May, but it only just came through — along with a copy of the first game, so I thought we'd start there. It seems fun, though also like the kind of thing you have to play a few times to really get its rhythm and tactics.
Tuesday, 13 January 2026
TV
Leverage: Redemption
1x09 The Bucket Job
If I’d known this was a Christmas episode, I would’ve chosen to watch it a couple of weeks ago!
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x83 Redemption Week 2: Wednesday
8x84 Redemption Week 2: Thursday
8x85 Redemption Week 2: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
1x09 The Bucket Job
If I’d known this was a Christmas episode, I would’ve chosen to watch it a couple of weeks ago!
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x83 Redemption Week 2: Wednesday
8x84 Redemption Week 2: Thursday
8x85 Redemption Week 2: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Monday, 12 January 2026
TV
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x81 Redemption Week 2: Monday
8x82 Redemption Week 2: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Slow Horses
5x01 Bad Dates
8x81 Redemption Week 2: Monday
8x82 Redemption Week 2: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Slow Horses
5x01 Bad Dates
Sunday, 11 January 2026
Tabletop Games
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle
Game 7 (of 7)
Now with all the extra stuff added by the Charms and Potions Expansion. It certainly took a lot of time and brainpower!
Game 7 (of 7)
Now with all the extra stuff added by the Charms and Potions Expansion. It certainly took a lot of time and brainpower!
this week on 100Films.co.uk
It was all about wrapping up 2025 on 100Films.co.uk this week, with the final couple of end-of-year review posts (and no sign of anything about 2026 yet), supplementing the ones from last week.
First up, my favourite part of every year: the statistics post...
And finally, my favourites from this year's viewing...
Next Sunday, 2026 finally kicks off.
First up, my favourite part of every year: the statistics post...
And finally, my favourites from this year's viewing...
Next Sunday, 2026 finally kicks off.
Saturday, 10 January 2026
Tabletop Games
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle
The Charms and Potions Expansion
Pack 4 (of 4)
Fun, but did take all afternoon to play thanks to so much to do to complete it.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Trick-Taking Game
The Charms and Potions Expansion
Pack 4 (of 4)
Fun, but did take all afternoon to play thanks to so much to do to complete it.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Trick-Taking Game
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
Ohh yeah, that's the good stuff! After almost three weeks (virtually) cold turkey, it felt great to get back into Tamriel for an hour-and-a-half, explore a bit, find some locations, clear a dungeon, sell some loot... Oh Skyrim, how I've missed thee!
Ohh yeah, that's the good stuff! After almost three weeks (virtually) cold turkey, it felt great to get back into Tamriel for an hour-and-a-half, explore a bit, find some locations, clear a dungeon, sell some loot... Oh Skyrim, how I've missed thee!
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Number of titles in collection: 3,655 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 977 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,678 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 498 [up 1]
Number of discs in collection: 8,782 [up 3]
Number of films: 4,691 [up 1]
Number of additional cuts: 481 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,188 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,280 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Number of titles in collection: 3,655 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 977 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,678 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 498 [up 1]
Number of discs in collection: 8,782 [up 3]
Number of films: 4,691 [up 1]
Number of additional cuts: 481 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,188 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,280 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 9 January 2026
Thursday, 8 January 2026
TV
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x80 Week 16: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Shetland
10x04 Episode 4
[Watch series 10 (again) on iPlayer.]
8x80 Week 16: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Shetland
10x04 Episode 4
[Watch series 10 (again) on iPlayer.]
Wednesday, 7 January 2026
TV
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x78 Week 16: Wednesday
8x79 Week 16: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Shetland
10x03 Episode 3
[Watch series 10 (again) on iPlayer.]
8x78 Week 16: Wednesday
8x79 Week 16: Thursday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Shetland
10x03 Episode 3
[Watch series 10 (again) on iPlayer.]
Tuesday, 6 January 2026
TV
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x76 Week 16: Monday
8x77 Week 16: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
8x76 Week 16: Monday
8x77 Week 16: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)