TV

Not Going Out
3x03 Amy
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Poem of the Week: Triskaidekaphobia

I'm not superstitious, but...
by Col Wilson, aka 'Blue the Shearer'

Assertion of the Week: "There are no good poems about Friday the 13th." Prove me wrong and I'll publish it next week (in some kind of metatextual dating mix-up).

That doesn't mean I've not got one to publish though, oh no. The title may seem only partially related, but most of the poem is still about Friday the 13th. It starts off fairly well, but loses it in a desperate hunt for rhymes.

If you're triskaidekaphobic, then this is your big day.
A day designed for triskaidekaphobics, (so they say)
Is BLACK FRIDAY. The thirteenth. So watch out what you do,
Or triskaidekaphobia could be the death of you.

Be very, very careful of what you undertake,
The consequences could be dire. The decision that you make
Should have no element of risk. For surely you're aware,
That this is Friday, the thirteenth. Take very special care.

Not that I'm susceptible to silly superstition,
But some folk are. So my advice: Consider your position.
It may be just some oldwives' tale, but you just watch your back.
Don't cross your knives upon your plate. Don't step upon a crack.

Don't go too close to mirrors. Those shiny sheets of glass
May crack, and cause misfortune. So shun them when you pass.
Of course, this means no mirror when you go to shave your chin,
So keep a basin near at hand to do your bleeding in.

Don't walk beneath a ladder, you may get splashed with paint.
For on Black Friday, the thirteenth, fortunate you ain't.
And be alert, and look around for black cats on this day.
For bad results are forecast, if one should cross your way.

If salt is spilled, then take a pinch, and toss it down your back,
Some say it will protect you from Black Friday type attack.
All your friends will laugh and jeer, but you'll say:"That's alright,
I only have to keep it up 'til twelve o'clock, to-night."

And just consider what you say. The person that you're rude to,
May be a special kind of witch. The kind that I allude to
Can turn you into cabbages, or make you very poor.
Remember. This is Friday, the thirteenth. I said before,

That triskaidekaphobia, (the terror of thirteen)
Is very rife, this day of days. A pretty dreadful scene.
So watch yourself in traffic, in the kitchen, everywhere.
For triskaidekaphobics, there is danger in the air.

Ah! Triskaidekaphobia. I just learned the word today.
And from here on in, I'll try to find excuses, just to say
Triskaidekaphobia. It just rolls off the tongue.
I'll say it daily, and enjoy the pleasure that it brung.

I'll buy a lottery ticket, and I'll call it: Triskaidek.
And when it wins, I'll take it all in cash, and not by cheque.
And really, I don't believe in luck, when all is done and said,
But just the same. Black Friday. I think I'll stay in bed.

And this was published. Perhaps self published, mind... There's some info on the poem and poet here, and some more here, and if you're interested in Triskaidekaphobia itself there's always the good ol' Wikipedia article.

TV

Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
16x03 (6/2/09 edition)
Tom Jones has gone grey! Tom Jones! Grey! I mean, he's been grey for ages, but he's never shown it 'til now (he dyed it, see). It's... odd. But good for him, I suppose.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Mad Men
1x02 Ladies' Room [2nd watch]

Poetry

The Puffin Book of Nonsense Verse, selected by Quentin Blake
Introduction by Quentin Blake
"The World Turned Upside Down"
"Chortling and Galumphing"
"A Recipe for Indigestion"
"Portraits from Life"
"A Friend to the Children"
"The Dedicated Traveller"
"The Bongaloo and the Scrunch"
"An Area of Uncertainty"
"Flamingoes Rule Olé!"
Mmm, gotta love some nonsense poetry! True, not all of it's good, but when it is it's great fun. I'll probably post a list of favourites from this collection when I reach the end.
(The list above is, as usual, chapter/section titles, not included works.)

Articles

Can Amy Adams really pull off an upset at the Oscars? by Tom O'Neil
(from Gold Derby at the Los Angeles Times)
Apparently so. Fingers crossed then...

Can Wall-E make Oscar history? by Pete Hammond
(from Notes on a Season at the Los Angeles Times)
Probably not. Still, fingers crossed...

Will BAFTA Awards predict who'll win the Oscars? by Tom O'Neil
(from Gold Derby at the Los Angeles Times)
Maybe.

TV

Mad Men
1x01 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes [2nd watch]
With the second season just commencing over here, it's time to catch a friend up on the first first... hopefully before a repeat of 2x01...

Not Going Out
3x02 Winner
Utterly ludicrous, but hilariously funny and immaculately constructed. One of the best, cleverest half hours I've seen in a long while.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Birds (1963)
[2nd watch; #6a in 100 Films in a Year 2009]
The last time I saw The Birds was at least a decade ago. It's earning a place on 100 Films because I intend, over time, to build up a collection of reviews of Hitchcock's entire output.

DVD Extras

Watchmen Video Journals
#1: Sets & Sensibility
#2: Dressed for Success
#3: Burn Baby Burn
#4: Dave Gibbons
#5: The Ship Has Eyes
#6: Shoot to Thrill
#7: Blue Monday [2nd watch]
#8: Girls Kick Ass
#9: Attention to Detail
#10: Minutemen

These aren't technically DVD extras (at least, not yet), but rather ten Internet featurettes that show the making of the forthcoming Watchmen movie. They're all very teasing and interesting, though my favourite is probably #5 for showing off the coolness of the Owl Ship.

If reports are to be believed, there should be two more (a February one and a March one) before the film's release. They've been oddly released scattered around the web, so perhaps the easiest way to find them is a pair of podcasts: this one designed for iPods and this one in higher res.

Articles

Doctor Who wants to be a millionaire by Colin Robertson (from The Sun)
and
Dr Who wants to be a millionaire: Matt Smith signs five-year deal to play Time Lord by Paul Revoir (from Mail Online)
and
Doctor Who will be a millionaire in five year BBC pay deal by Alastair Jamieson (from Telegraph.co.uk)
My God, look at all the sloppy journalism on display here! The latter two have just copied The Sun, and in the process inherited a mass of factual inaccuracies and hearsay -- things that were once reported as 'fact' and have since been disproved by cast & crew in interviews or books. Plus some truly glaring errors (12 million regular viewers?!), and not mentioning the fact that he won't be a millionaire unless he did do the full five years (presuming this story is even true), saved all his wages and somehow lived off something else! It's appallingly shoddy, it really is.

And on a similar topic...

Casting Matt Smith shows that Doctor Who is a savvy multi-million pound brand by Andrew Pettie
(from Telegraph.co.uk)
An article from a bit over a month ago, when Matt Smith was announced; but it still makes for an interesting read.

TV

Lark Rise to Candleford
2x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Poetry

Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll
Classic nonsense. I suspect this is destined to be a Poem of the Week before too long, though I do try to limit the number of very well known ones.

The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll
Preface
Fit the First
I am essentially lazy, hence why I'm reading Carroll's relatively-long-but-not-that-long poem in segments. See above for an infinitely more manageable (in length, at least) alternative.

David Tennant does a Christian Bale

Don't worry, dear Tennant fans, this is a spoof. You can hear Bale's original rant in full here.

"What the FUCK?!"

"I... I..."

"You fucking unprofessional Cyberman! What the FUCK do you think you're DOING?"

"I... I... well..."

"Fucking hell! Put the fucking helmet back ON!"

"But... but I'm really hot..."

"What?! What the FUCK? You don't fucking get it, do you? DO YOU?"

"But... I'm not in shot..."

"Oh! OHH! He's not in the fucking SHOT!"

"And I'm... I'm suffocating..."

"Oh, he's SUFFOCATING, and he's not in SHOT! Well GOOD for YOUUU!"

"I... but..."

"Shut up. Shut UP. Shut the FUCK UP. Just shut up. SHUT UP. I said SHUT THE FUCK UP. Shut up! FUCKING SHUT THE FUCK UP. OK?"

"O--"

"I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP. Fucking unprofessional fuck. Get off the set. Get off the fucking set. I'm not coming on this fucking set with this fuck on it."

"But... I play all the Cybermen..."

"Well la-de-fucking-da! The Cybermen can FUCK OFF then. You and me, we're through. Professionally, we're fucking through."

Originally posted here, but you have to log in to Facebook to see it, hence this re-post.

Amusingly, Bale's Wikipedia page is currently locked.

TV

Natural World
Elephants Without Borders
There seem to be loads of elephant-related programmes on recently. Inevitably there's some repetition of content, but the images are still amazing. This one marked itself out with some astounding aerial photography.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

QI
6x07 Fingers and Fumbs (extended edition)
Having moaned at them having both versions of QI on iPlayer (regular and extended), they now only have the shorter cut. How bloody stupid.
[Watch the shorter version on iPlayer.]

Terry Pratchett: Living With Alzheimer's
Part 1 (of 2)
Fascinating, well-made documentary.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

The British Academy Film Awards 2009

Not many surprises here then, though from what I know most of the nods were deserved. It amuses me that bookies had Noel Clarke as third favourite to win the Rising Star Award -- obviously they know nothing of the dedication Doctor Who fans show to current & former cast & crew members, and the ability of Who fandom to swing an online poll whichever way they want.

Aside from a few good speeches and a few good jokes (including a well-timed jibe from Wossy about his recent suspension), perhaps the most notable thing about this year's awards was the BBC's decision to show it across three channels -- the red carpet on BBC Three, the first hour on BBC Two, and the final hour on BBC One. It seems a ridiculous idea, but actually make a lot of sense: when most viewers only care about the tip-top awards, why waste an hour of primetime BBC One with Best Hair & Make-Up and Best Cinematography? I'd be annoyed if they weren't shown at all, but as they were on BBC Two for those of us who are interested, it seems sensible enough to me.

More bemusing was choosing not to show in full the Best Animated Film award (WALL-E!) and Best Animated Short (Wallace & Gromit!), both of which had very popular and notable winners.

Films

Marnie (1964)
[#6 in 100 Films in a Year 2009]

Marnie Trailer
Absolutely brilliant! Hitchcock merrily takes the mick out of his own unreleased film, in the process making it appear even better -- and suggesting it might be a good deal funnier -- than it actually is. I wish more films were trailed like this; though if they were, it would make this shining example less unique and enjoyable. It's on the DVD and I recommend it highly.

TV

Cracker
1x03 To Say I Love You Part 1
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

So, Demons, eh? So much for being just one week behind, I'm now over two. And I was doing so well...

Poetry

The Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde
Wilde's long but rewarding poem about a hanging that took place while he was in prison. The carefully-observed rhythm, rhyme and alliteration are all right up my street. (I'd consider it for Poem of the Week, but it's so bloody long...)

Magazines

Doctor Who Magazine #405
Matt Smith is the Doctor... though he's not treated to that famous DWM headline just yet, 'cause there's still four episodes left for The Other Guy. There is his first-ever exclusive magazine interview since landing the part, however, and despite filming being six months away there are a few tidbits for fans nonetheless.
Not a great deal else of note in this issue, it must be said, especially as the key snippets of news were blown on Outpost Gallifrey the day before it came out. I guess they've given up on their former policy of not stealing DWM's news in advance then.

TV

Moses Jones
Part 1 (of 3)
A good little thriller, even if there were one or two logic holes. Hopefully Matt Smith will use a different accent when it comes to playing the 11th Doctor -- that one's a bit too similar to Tennant's for my taste.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Torchwood: Children of Earth Trailer
Looks good! Shame it's not going to be on for ages.

Articles

Interview with Mouse Guard's David Petersen by Chris Dahlen
(from A.V. Club)
Mouse Guard is bleedin' brilliant, and this is a nice interview with its creator/writer/artist, covering topics from how the series began to where its going to plans for a movie version that are kinda surprising...