TV

Not Going Out
6x06 Play
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Playhouse Presents
1x09 The Man
That was definitely among the better ones. But then, quality writer, quality cast, what do you expect?
Also, that concludes my experiences with series one of Playhouse. It was a mixed bag, which I suppose you should expect from an anthology series, though on the whole it felt like it erred towards the less-good. I've still got most of series two so far recorded, though.

Ripper Street
1x02 In My Protection
Blimey, was this really on in January?! I knew I'd left it a while, but didn't think it was that long.

Scott & Bailey
3x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

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

Would I Lie To You?
7x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Mad Men
6x06 For Immediate Release
Ooh, intriguing developments! I have a feeling it's going to go very badly in the long (or possibly short) run, though...

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
2x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Playhouse Presents
1x07 The Snipist
Taking half-an-hour to tell a story that wouldn't adequately fill a four-page Future Shock? Ugh. And I was quite looking forward to this one too.

Veronica Mars
1x19 Hot Dogs

Comics

Judge Dredd: The Dark Judges
Judge Death by John Wagner & Brian Bolland

I just got a hand-me-down Kindle, one of the black and white ones, but recent enough to read comics. So colour ones look daft, but black and white ones look rather nifty. So I got this book, cheap-like. This story -- the first ever to feature one of Dredd's most memorable nemeses -- first appeared in 2000 AD Progs 149-151 back in 1980.

TV

Vicious
1x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

Les Misérables (2012)
[#50 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

On Dangerous Ground (1952)
[#49 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

TV

Case Histories
2x01 Started Early, Took My Dog
Considering the first series was on in 2011, I assumed they weren't bothering with more. But no, here it is! And despite now being in single 90-minute episodes instead of 120-minute two-parters, it somehow feels slow. But quite good. Though why can't someone turn the lights on for some/any/all of the interior scenes?
Though, aww, look at the cute doggie!
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
5x22 Red John's Rules [season finale]
So that's Arrow, Elementary and The Mentalist all down for the summer. Maybe it's time to resume Dexter...
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.

This one's late for the same reasons as yesterday's 100 Films update. Not too many things to add, but a few -- and a running time update to calculate too. But first, the regular stats:

Number of titles in collection: 1,564 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,162 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 402 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 3,907 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 1,680 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,761 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 380 [no change]

And the new running time is...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
281 days, 12 hours, and 7 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 10 hours, and 33 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Elementary
1x23 The Woman
1x24 Heroine [season finale]
A two-part finale, shown as a single long episode in the US but being split up over here (I think the first half is on this Tuesday). It was a little slow in places, but some fine twists that I wasn't expecting.

The Good Life
4x01 Away From It All

Have I Got News For You
45x06 (10/5/2013 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
[#48a in 100 Films in a Year 2013]
[3rd watch]

This was previously #70 in 100 Films 2011.

And now, it's almost the end of my Harry Potter re-watch! All being well, this time next week it'll be the grand finale. It's flown by.

this week on 100 Films

A busy week has delayed my regular weekend round-ups, but here's one now...

So, just one new review was published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

I have much more I could have said about The Dark Knight Rises, but damn I’m fed up with still having films from 2012 on my to-do list! A fuller piece may well accompany a re-watch in the future.

Read more here.


But there were quite a few new to the new blog...


The Damned United (2009)

I have no idea if Sheen’s Clough is anything like the real man — though, based on form, I imagine he’s spot on — but it’s an outstanding performance regardless. Effortlessly charming on first encounter, [but] the cocksure and awkward-to-work-with man beneath the charismatic veneer is gradually revealed.

Read more here.


Flags of Our Fathers (2006)

a different kind of war film. While it seems to have been promoted as the story of the battle for Iwo Jima, it’s more about the experience of three men, both on the island and upon their return to America

Read more here.


Funny Face (1957)

Funny Face has Audrey Hepburn falling in love with someone old enough to be her dad. Fortunately, there’s enough other entertaining stuff going on to keep us distracted from that fact.

Read more here.


Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

Companion to Flags of Our Fathers, and widely considered the better of the two, showing the same battle from the Japanese perspective.

Read more here.


Righteous Kill (2008)

It’s dull. Properly dull — not slow, not measured, not leisurely — just dull. Director Jon Avnet tries to spice things up occasionally with some swishy camerawork or editing [but] it doesn’t work; if anything, it makes it worse.

Read more here.


The Social Network (2010)

The Social Network sounds like it should be awful — Facebook: The Movie? What?! — but it’s actually brilliant.

Read more here.


Thumbsucker (2005)

It's so good that all I can remember about it is that I've seen it.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
33x14 The Name of the Doctor [season finale]

Well, that was a nice 45-minute teaser for the anniversary special!

In all seriousness though, there were some neat things in this episode, including bits that finally made it feel like part of the celebratory 50th anniversary year; but as a satisfying self-contained episode in its own right, no -- it was too embedded in resolving hanging issues from the past (not all of them that interesting; or, alternatively, not that interestingly resolved) and setting up where the series is going next.

Shame, actually, because there was room (and need?) for a calmer, more reflective, and ending-y finale, rather than another cliffhanger.

[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]



Eurovision Song Contest: Malmö 2013
[Watch it (again) soon on iPlayer.]

Articles

Why do Doctor Who fans hate Doctor Who?
by Penelope Irving (from The Black Hole Blog at Spaceforce)

I think it’s a product of the show’s longevity, its uniquely remoldable format and its status as a cultural icon. Other fandoms have deep divisions, but they are usually over specific issues. I’m not sure the phenomenon of fans who are active and committed, and who also seem to loathe the current show, exists in other fandoms.

TV

Arrow
1x23 Sacrifice [season finale]
Crikey, that was certainly Big! And it's nice to once again have a series that gets on with its stories, rather than making everything multi-year mystery that never seems to end. Some proper twists and surprises too.
(For UK-pace viewers, this is on Sky1 on Monday.)

The Graham Norton Show
13x06 (10/5/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

How I Met Your Mother
8x16 Bad Crazy
Aww, what a lovely cameo by convicted rapist and ear-biter Mike Tyson.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Films

Django Unchained (2012)
[#48 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

TV

Ben Earl: Trick Artist
1x03 Science
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher
The Murder in Angel Lane
ITV's 2011 adaptation of the titular true-crime "non-fiction novel" went down so well that they commissioned this completely fiction follow-up, clearly designed to launch a series. It's quite good, but at the end strayed too far from real-life plausibility into pure Detective Drama territory. And it feels a bit weird to take a real person, tell a very true story about them, and then begin making stuff up under the same title.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

Arrow
1x22 Darkness on the Edge of Town

The Job Lot
1x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player].

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
6x08 (11/5/13 edition) [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Veronica Mars
1x18 Weapons of Class Destruction

Watson and Oliver
2x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer].

Music

Random Access Memories by Daft Punk

It feels like this has been trending on Twitter for ages (I think it's just "all week" -- but still, that's a long time in Twitter terms), I guess because it's streaming for free and, for some reason, out of the blue, everyone loves Daft Punk these days. The actual tweets suggested quite a mixed reception, so I caved and listened to it too, and I quite liked it.

Personal favourite track is #5, Instant Crush (starts at 22:49 on the stream), and I like the Apollo 17 quote on Contact. Plus Get Lucky really does get in your head, doesn't it.

TV

Elementary
1x22 Risk Management
That would've been a much bigger surprise if they hadn't announced the casting...

Plebs
1x05 Bananae
1x06 Saturnalia [season finale]
[Watch Bananae and Saturnalia (again) on ITV Player.]

Vicious
1x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player].

Would I Lie To You?
7x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Mad Men
6x05 The Flood

The Mentalist
5x21 Red and Itchy
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Not Going Out
6x05 Rachel
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
2x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

DVD Extras

Creating the World of Harry Potter
Part 7 Story

An eight-part documentary series found on the Harry Potter Ultimate Editions and in the Wizard's Collection, covering the entire making of the series in themed parts. Whereas most 'episodes' are made up of old & new interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and the like, this is just a 45-minute conversation between author J.K. Rowling and the screenwriter of 7 of the 8 movies, Steve Kloves. Very informative and enlightening it is too.

TV

The British Academy Television Awards 2013
Last year I described the awards as "rather uncomfortable". This year, I thought it was mostly good fun, with some very worthy and entertaining winners. So that's all good.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Doctor Who
33x13a She Said, He Said: A Prequel
The prequel to the season finale. It was promoted as one of the longest they've ever done, which is a technicality because it's all of 3½ minutes. But it's an odd one -- normally these are pointless bonus scenes set just before the episode takes place, perhaps teasing one element of it... but this feels more like a specially-shot trailer, recapping the mysteries of the season and ending with a tease for the episode. Weird.
[Watch it (again) on the official Doctor Who site.]

The Voice UK
2x08 The Battle Rounds 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
[#47a in 100 Films in a Year 2013]
[2nd watch]

This was #84 in 100 Films 2009. I remembered it as being little more than 2½ hours of setup for Deathly Hallows, but it's actually much better than that.


The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
[#47 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

this week on 100 Films

The big news this week (because I want you to vote in it) is that I've introduced 100 Films in a Year's first ever poll. As I'm mid-way through a re-watch, I thought it would be appropriate to ask: which is your favourite Harry Potter film? Vote at that link. Please.


As well as that, three brand-new reviews were published this week...


Green Lantern: Extended Cut (2011)

my expectation that the film would be irredeemably awful is at least partly why I found it surprisingly enjoyable... I’m not going to try to argue Green Lantern is a great movie, or even that it doesn’t contain significant flaws, but as a comic book-y two-hour diversion, I found it passably entertaining.

Read more here.


Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

My Harry Potter retrospective resumes with a new director bringing a new energy to the franchise.

Read more here.


Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

One of the more overlooked facets of Rowling’s work is her penchant for allegory and gentle satire... Here it’s the press under fire. Rita Skeeter may have a greatly reduced role compared to the novel, but her Quick-Quotes Quill — which, essentially, just makes stuff up — is present and correct.

Read more here.


And also, new to the new blog...


For Your Consideration (2006)

The best bits come in the second half, when the cast and crew of the fictional film-within-a-film hit the campaign trail. The styles of TV shows that various people appear on — the different levels awarded to the leads, other cast members, the writers, and so on — has some decent satire

Read more here.


Once (2006)

a very modern indie musical. And I mean indie as in “indie film”, not “indie music”. Lord save us from a musical of indie music.

Read more here.


Primer (2004)

there’s a great conceit here, with a decent plot built around it; but it drags the idea of treating your audience’s intelligence with respect too far into the realms of Simply Not Explaining Things Properly

Read more here.


Star Trek (2009)

It’s Star Trek, Jim, but not as we know it.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
33x13 Nightmare in Silver

Author Neil Gaiman returns (after the good-but-overrated The Doctor's Wife) for a second pop at Who, this time attempting to increase the scariness of the Cybermen. And I really liked this episode. It's imperfect, a bit rough round the edges, in need of some polishing of both the script and direction... but, overall, likeable.

Reaction online seems more mixed. I saw a lot of positive comments on twitter, but the Radio Times' Who guy hated it. Unduly, I thought, and a lot of the plot holes his article picked up on were either explained in the episode or easily explicable via things that happened in the episode. It's a double shame the extra polishing I mentioned didn't happen, then, because it would've also led to a more positive reception from critics like that.

[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]


How I Met Your Mother
8x15 P.S. I Love You
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]


Star Trek: The Next Generation
3x26 The Best of Both Worlds Part 1 [season finale]
4x01 The Best of Both Worlds Part 2

The two-parter from TNG, with that cliffhanger. And it's great! I mean, it's a little dated now (it is 23 years old), but in kind of a nice way -- its pace is brilliant, neither too slow nor as mad-dash-frantic as a lot of current genre telly.

I watched the recently released Blu-ray, which edits it all together into a movie (ironically thereby losing the famous cliffhanger), and it looks bloody stunning in HD. It's not just an image quality thing, it's the quality of the sets, the lighting, and the wonderful model effects... This stuff, made for TV nearly a quarter of a century ago, is still better than lot of today's big-budget movie CGI.


The Voice UK
2x07 The Battle Rounds 1
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

DVD Extras

Regeneration: Engaging the Borg

Half-hour making of about The Best of Both Worlds, found exclusively on its standalone Blu-ray (i.e. not on the Season 3 set, though I suppose they could yet put it on the Season 4 set). It's got interesting information, but it feels poorly constructed: a selection of interview snippets, behind-the-scenes footage and episode clips strung together almost at random, rather than a properly considered documentary.

Still, seeing how else it could be done makes you all the more appreciative of the skill that goes into the classic Doctor Who DVDs.

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.

A selection of imported BDs account for this week's boosts -- including a six-disc set for a single film. Madness.

Number of titles in collection: 1,561 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,162 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 399 [up 4]

Number of discs in collection: 3,904 [up 13]
Number of films in collection: 1,677 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,761 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 380 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Arrow
1x21 The Undertaking
I imagine that, in a Lost-y kinda way, the producers see the island flashbacks as an integral part of Arrow's structure. They did an island-centric ep a few back and have said they'll do more in season 2. This episode has no island flashbacks... and I didn't miss them. I thought I quite liked the island stuff, but, well, there you go.

The Graham Norton Show
13x05 (3/5/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
6x07 (4/5/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece (1961)
[#46 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Articles

We Need To Talk About Steven...
by Eddie McGuigan (from Outpost Skaro)

Opinion piece on the state of Doctor Who under Steven Moffat's showrunnership. I don't agree with everything it says, but a lot of it seems sadly spot-on.

Vote for your favourite Harry Potter film!

Just for fun!

[link]

TV

The Good Life
3x07 The Last Posh Frock [season finale]

The Job Lot
1x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player].

Scott & Bailey
3x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Watson and Oliver
2x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer].

TV

Ben Earl: Trick Artist
1x02 Art
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Have I Got News For You
45x05 (3/5/2013 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Veronica Mars
1x17 Kanes and Abel's

Articles

A Field in England premieres in cinemas and on Film4 on the same day!
(from Film4 Blog)

The article's first paragraph sums up why this is of interest as succinctly as I ever could, so:

Ben Wheatley’s A Field in England – the first feature film commissioned by Film4.0 – will be the first ever film to be released in UK cinemas, on freeview TV, on DVD and on Video-on-Demand on the same day – with Film4, Picturehouse Entertainment, 4DVD and Film4 Channel partnering for this innovative watch-it-where-you-want experiment on Friday 5th July.

TV

Elementary
1x21 A Landmark Story
Title feels kinda self congratulatory, with nothing to justify it in the episode's actual story.

Lego Star Wars
The Padawan Menace
The Empire Strikes Out
These two made-for-TV CG specials are quite fun, actually, with nods for adult fans as well as silliness for kids... and also adults.

Not Going Out
6x04 Conference
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless Celebrities
3x06 (1/12/12 edition)

Vicious
1x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player].

TV

The Mentalist
5x20 Red Velvet Cupcakes
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Pointless
6x49 (21/5/12 edition)

The South Bank Show
39x01 Tim Minchin

TV

The Good Life
3x06 Whose Fleas Are These?

Films

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
[#45 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]


Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
[#45a in 100 Films in a Year 2013]
[3rd watch]
This was previously #78 in 100 Films 2007.

this week on 100 Films

The main news this week is that it's May (did you notice?), which can only mean it's time to look back at April. This month's top list: the five worst superhero movies. That I've seen.

As well as that, two new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week, and they were...


Ip Man 2 (2010)

The only major downside comes when the Brits turn up for the final act. Stereotyped and poorly acted, presented with palpable jingoism and xenophobia, their presence and storyline drag the film down.

Read more here.


Ted (2012)

Family Guy’s stock in trade is two things: non-sequiturs, which Ted replaces with a plot; and an edgy, borderline-offensive sense of humour, which Ted retains, and in some cases pushes farther, unrestrained by the demands of US network TV.

Read more here.


And new to the new blog...


The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)

Rain-lashed, fog-drenched Victorian London streets! Brutal murders by foul foreigners! Dastardly plots against the crown! Galloping carriages! Romantic subplots! A smattering of comedy! A song-and-dance number! (No, really, there is.) And a final shoot out… in the Tower of London!

Read more here.


Harry Brown (2009)

Michael Caine killing hoodies... If that doesn’t get you excited about seeing this movie, then what kind of film fan are you? A mentally mature one, probably. But hush, don’t spoil our fun — those of us who may occasionally hanker for a morally simple form of voyeuristic vigilante justice want to see Sir Michael shooting yobs

Read more here.


The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)

One of the novel’s strong points is its occasional Gothic styling, and this is something the film version does very well. Dartmoor looks fantastic, like something Tim Burton would have created were he working in the ’30s. It’s clearly a set, but it’s dramatic and moody and completely effective.

Read more here.


Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943)

more a spy thriller than a traditional detective tale. That’s not to say Holmes’ abilities as a detective aren’t present, but if you switched him for a generic British Intelligence agent the plot would be unlikely to suffer and the dialogue probably wouldn’t need much work.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
33x12 The Crimson Horror

At this point I think it's clear that it would be to everyone's benefit if Mark Gatiss stuck to writing Victorian-set Doctor Whos. As much as I liked Cold War, it wasn't well-received universally and I'd agree wasn't perfect. Tonight's episode, however, was marvellous -- funny, scary, exciting, innovative; a pretty perfect mix.

Gatiss' previous Victorian ep, series one's The Unquiet Dead, was his previous best. His intervening offerings have floundered from poor (The Idiot's Lantern, Victory of the Daleks) to divisive (Night Terrors, Cold War -- both of which I liked, incidentally). He obviously has a clear sense for the Gothic, as well as what's unsettling in the right context; so by all means let The Moff's Sherlock buddy contribute again... but perhaps confine him to what he does best.

[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]


Veronica Mars
1x16 Betty and Veronica


The Voice UK
2x06 The Blind Auditions 6
The last of the chair-spinning audition eps. This is where the audience disappeared last year, so it'll be interesting to see what happens next. Personally, as good as the blinds are, I also like the battle rounds. And they have an interesting new twist this year, so that might work.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]


Would I Lie To You?
7x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
[#44 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

Not so amazing, sadly.

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.

This week, a DVD-to-BD upgrade disappears under two other new BDs and a new DVD, and a movie-length edit of two TV episodes causes a debate about whether that counts as a film or two TV episodes. (Clue: I went with the former.)

Number of titles in collection: 1,557 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,162 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 395 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 3,891 [up 6]
Number of films in collection: 1,673 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,761 [up 7]
Number of short films in collection: 380 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Good Life
3x05 The Wind-Break War

The Graham Norton Show
13x04 (26/4/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

How I Met Your Mother
8x14 Ring Up!
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Veronica Mars
1x15 Ruskie Business

Articles

Fan buys 14,000 Doctor Who books to donate to schools
by Stephen Kelly (from Radio Times)

How heartening.

TV

Brushing Up On...
1x01 British Tunnels
Not normally my kind of programme, but the Radio Times did fawn over it so. I thought it was quite good.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Have I Got News For You
45x04 (26/4/2013 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
6x48 (18/5/12 edition)
Whenever they cancel Pointless, I'll have enough saved up to keep me going for years.

Ruth Jones' Easter Treat
This was on in 2011! I missed it at the time, but have had it sat around for nearly two years. God, time flies...
The above link is accurate, but for some reason dead at the time of posting. But you can still watch a clip of the best bit -- featuring Tim Minchin -- on the BBC Comedy site here. Oh, and the second best bit -- featuring Michael Sheen -- is also there. Tidy.

Scott & Bailey
3x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

Arrow
1x20 Home Invasion

Once Upon a Time
2x02 We Are Both
Is that... can it be... no! Character development?! Well, we'll see how long that lasts. I don't believe either the writers or the actors can keep it up for long.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Playhouse Presents
1x08 Walking the Dogs
That was quite good. Definitely one of the better ones.

Veronica Mars
1x14 Mars vs. Mars

TV

The Job Lot
1x01 Episode 1
The second half of ITV's big new Monday night comedy double bill, which was fine but in many respects is just the latest in a long line of Office imitators. And The Office is 12 years old now...
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player].

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
6x06 (27/4/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Playhouse Presents
1x11 Psychobitches [season finale]
Having sat through six of these to this point and not especially liked many of them, I've decided to be both less linear and more selective with my viewing going forward. So I've completely ditched the tenth episode, starring the irritating Trevor Eve and almost-as-bad Richard E. Grant; and also jumped ahead to this one, because I fancied something lighter.
Unfortunately, it's essentially a half-hour-long adult-rude Horrible Histories sketch, but not as funny.
Still, the remaining three episodes from the first run, as well as the two thus far shown in the second, all sound quite interesting. Fingers crossed...

Vicious
1x01 Episode 1
The first half of ITV's big new Monday night comedy double bill, with a big starry cast and 'cutting edge' setup (it's about an old gay couple!), but very traditional live-audience production. It was a little stagey, but had enough good lines to carry it. Room for improvement, but shows promise.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player].

Watson and Oliver
2x01 Episode 1
A lot of people really didn't like the first series of this. It might be fairer to say many hated it. But I quite enjoyed it, so I was pleased (if surprised) to see it recommissioned. I thought this was a little more consistent than the first series, but it's still a sketch show so it's still hit-and-miss.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer].

Podcasts

Nerd Poker: Dungeons and Dragons with Brian Posehn & Friends
Episode 6 Swim Toward the Light

Five episodes in eight days then nothing for a month? Such is my way. But hey, they took a year off at some point -- I can pick it up again after a few weeks.

Non-Fiction

JN-T: The Life & Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner by Richard Marson
Chapters 13 - 14
Epilogue [the end]

A fascinating book, all told. Don't think it's going too far to say it's a must-read for anyone with an interest in the behind-the-scenes goings-on of this era of Who. I hope we get similar on the RTD and Moffat eras someday, because I sense there are some juicy untold stories lurking there too.

TV

Elementary
1x20 Dead Man's Switch

The Good Life
3x04 I Talk to the Trees

Mad Men
6x04 To Have and To Hold

The Mentalist
5x19 Red Letter Day
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Non-Fiction

JN-T: The Life & Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner by Richard Marson
Chapter 11 - 12

Former head of drama and controller of BBC1 Jonathan Powell does not come off well in this book at all, especially in this section, dealing with the 1989 cancellation of Who. Naturally fans would blamed him and could be expected to be cross, but it's the comments from colleagues and other professionals that are most damning, not about the decision to ditch Who but his general attitude and ability. Russell T Davies gets particularly -- and appropriately -- blunt on page 318:

He gave his attention to The Barchester Chronicles or whatever was going to win him a BAFTA and let me tell you, 30 years later that stuff isn't coming to bite you on the arse but the Doctor Who stuff is. Your sins will find you out!

TV

Ben Earl: Trick Artist
1x01 Crime
With Dynamo snaffled up by whichever cable/satellite-channel-I-don't-get it is that he's on, here's Channel 4's latest answer to him -- and, I presume, intended Derren Brown replacement, as he seems to do fewer and fewer TV programmes. Initial impressions are OK, but he doesn't have quite the same wow factor as the other two.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Veronica Mars
1x13 Lord of the Bling

Films

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
[#43a in 100 Films in a Year 2013]
[3rd watch]

See also last week.

Non-Fiction

JN-T: The Life & Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner by Richard Marson
Chapter 10

this week on 100 Films

Just two new reviews were published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: Extended Version (2001/2004)

Included on the film’s original DVD release back in 2002, albeit under a series of frustrating mini-games, were six short deleted sequences and one extended one… and it’s those and those alone that were added back into the film in 2004.

Read more here.


Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Extended Version (2002/2005)

The difference in running time is 13½ minutes, spread across 19 differen extensions.... Unsurprisingly, many are of little significance, often just fleshing out minor characters or adding comedy beats. So are any especially beneficial?

Find out here.


And nothing new to the new blog! Oops.

Still, more next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
33x11 Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

Well, I thought that was really good. Any fans expecting a revelation about what was at the heart of the TARDIS, or what weird lava-ish creatures the Doctor kept locked in its depths, was in for disappointment... but, really, did you expect them to rewrite the book in such a mad fashion? I didn't. It was nice that was all tied into the episode's plot, rather than just expanding the universe for the sake of it. And still, there was all that stuff about Clara getting a look at that Time War book and finding out the Doctor's name -- which, clearly, is both pronounceable by humans (one theory being that it wasn't) and meant something to her (but who knows what!?)

Anyway, what a fantastic look around the rest of the TARDIS! After they did it in The Doctor's Wife and all it amounted to was some identikit corridors and the old console room, it was nice to get a proper look -- the swimming pool! the library! some room full of stuff to do with Amy and River! And, I'm sure many will say, a much more impressive Eye of Harmony than they had in the TV movie.

Plus, only Doctor Who could do what would seem to be a 'bottle' episode and still require as many new sets, effects, costumes and characters as a regular episode.

[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]


The Voice UK
2x05 The Blind Auditions 5
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.

Number of titles in collection: 1,554 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,162 [up 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 392 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,885 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 1,671 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,754 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 380 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Good Life
3x03 A Tug of the Forelock

The Graham Norton Show
13x03 (19/4/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Veronica Mars
1x12 Clash of the Tritons

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
3x02 (19/4/13 edition) [season finale]
Sometimes, my "[season finale]" convention feels silly.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Have I Got News For You
45x03 (19/4/2013 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

How I Met Your Mother
8x13 Band or DJ?
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Playhouse Presents
1x06 Care
A new series of this started last week (apparently it's the second, though four-part miniseries A Young Doctor's Notebook was presented as part of the strand in between), but I never finished the first run, so, yeah, doing that now.

Scott & Bailey
3x04 Episode 4
Well that was grim.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

The Great British Sewing Bee
1x04 Episode 4 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
6x47 (17/5/12 edition)

TV

Broadchurch
1x08 Part 8 [season finale]
Guessed who it would be a few weeks ago, but that doesn't really matter in drama this good. Fascinated to see what they have planned for the next series...
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

The Good Life
3x02 The Happy Event

Once Upon a Time
2x01 Broken
As ridiculously bad as ever? Of course it is! And yet, weirdly compellingly so. Partly because it's often so bad it's laugh-out-loud funny, which is nice.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

Man on a Ledge (2012)
[#43 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

TV

The Mentalist
5x18 Behind the Red Curtain
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Not Going Out
6x03 Therapy
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Veronica Mars
1x11 Silence of the Lamb
And that's halfway.
I can't remember if I've said since I voiced my initial sort-of-doubts, but Veronica Mars does get really bloody good. This (and the last) are some of the best episodes thus far.

Non-Fiction

JN-T: The Life & Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner by Richard Marson
Chapters 8 - 9

Here's where the book gets really good, in a way: chapter 8 is The Chapter -- Hanky Panky, the one that most of the reviews and commentary on the book have focused on. Unsurprisingly, it's not nearly as shocking as some reports made out.

And then there's Doctor in Distress, the tale of Doctor Who's mid-'80s cancellation -- and un-cancellation. It's no wonder some fans are still paranoid that the BBC are sneakily trying to make Who unpopular and get rid of it, considering that's basically what they did back then. You're not paranoid if they're out to get you...

TV

The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
6x05 (20/4/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Veronica Mars
1x10 An Echolls Family Christmas

Films

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
[#42a in 100 Films in a Year 2013]
[3rd watch]

Unlike Philosopher's Stone or Chamber of Secrets, there's no extended/altered cut here that would technically merit a review for 100 Films... but if I don't, Azkaban and next week's Goblet of Fire would be the only Potter films to go unreviewed. I figure I may as well bung a few sentences together at least.

Non-Fiction

JN-T: The Life & Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner by Richard Marson
Chapter 7

this week on 100 Films

This week, I mainly encouraged 100 Films readers to back Alex Cox's Bill the Galactic Hero Kickstarter. It's passed its goal and will be funded now, but if you want to be involved you can still do so here until 1am on Sunday night/Monday morning (UK time).


That aside, one new review was published this week...


Stiff Upper Lips (1998)

Spoof of British ‘Heritage’ films and TV series, particularly the work of Merchant Ivory... Specific targets include Brideshead Revisited and A Room with a View, with individual sequences riffing off the likes of Chariots of Fire and Orlando.

Read more here.


And new to the new blog...


Airplane! (1980)

This model of comedy — the silly spoof, as it were — is still in use today in the depressingly endless series of …Movie movies. But where they’re just crude, Airplane! is witty; where they’re just random, Airplane! is irreverent; and where they’re just derivative, Airplane! was original.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Arrow
1x19 Unfinished Business


Doctor Who
33x10 Hide

That's more like it!

I say that, but I've enjoyed most of this series of Doctor Who. Not so the reaction online, though, which seems to largely coincide with my above sentiment. Either way, this is the best episode of the current run so far; possibly the best episode of the series fullstop for some time. Considering writer Neil Cross was responsible for one of the most disappointing episodes in yonks (last fortnight's Rings of Akhaten), that's some turnaround in ability. He actually wrote this episode first, and it was on the strength of this that he was commissioned to write another, and it's easy to see why.

It's billed as A Scary One, and it properly is. No blood or guts or gore, but I'm not convinced this is only a PG (as recently passed by the BBFC). That monster was freaky! And even worse were those photos of the ghost... Shuddertastic. Scares aside, there was a solid story, dispensing with the all-too-repetitive "save the entire world!" palaver we've been getting too much of, really. Instead we had a mystery, which was investigated, and which produced a moderately original solution. Plus all the Clara vs TARDIS stuff was finally made more explicit, amongst an array of other character bits that were never too heavy-handed.

A triumph, then. Hurrah! And next week's looks awesome too...

[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]


The Voice UK
2x04 The Blind Auditions 4
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Ted (2012)
[#42 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

DVD Extras

Teddy Bear Scuffle

A short making-of featurette on Ted that shows how they achieved one of the film's most memorable sequences (if you've seen it, you can guess which). Definitely worth a watch to see the amount of time and effort and skill that had to go in to creating such a short scene.

Non-Fiction

JN-T: The Life & Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner by Richard Marson
Chapters 5 - 6

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.

One new addition this week, and a couple of tweaks to bring numbers I thought were right in line with my big DVD database. No idea how they got out of sync, which always worries me.

Number of titles in collection: 1,551 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,160 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 391 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,882 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,668 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,754 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 380 [up 3]

Plus this week it's time for a running time update, so...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
280 days, 1 hour, and 34 minutes.
(Up 21 hours and 21 minutes from last month.)

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
3x01 (12/4/13 edition)
Clearly this went down well the first time, because this is now the third time they've done it. I guess I missed -- or, just as likely, purposefully avoided -- the second time. This was fun though.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The Graham Norton Show
13x02 (12/4/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless Celebrities
3x05 Strictly Come Dancing Special

Veronica Mars
1x09 Drinking the Kool-Aid

Non-Fiction

JN-T: The Life & Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner by Richard Marson
Chapter 4

TV

Have I Got News For You
45x02 (12/4/2013 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

How I Met Your Mother
8x12 The Final Page Part 2
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The Matt Lucas Awards
2x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Scott & Bailey
3x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Veronica Mars
1x08 Like a Virgin