TV

Colditz
2x03 Odd Man In

Have I Got News For You
40x06 (18/11/10 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Miranda
2x02 Before I Die
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

Joss Whedon bares his teeth over new Buffy film by Ben Child
(from Film Blog at guardian.co.uk)
This was all over twitter and even made it into Proper News, so you've probably heard, but in case not...

TV

Ask Rhod Gilbert
1x08 Episode 8 [season finale]

Colditz
2x02 Ghosts

The Sarah Jane Adventures
4x11 Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith Part One
4x12 Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith Part Two [season finale]
Nice finale to a good season, well done all. Had sneakily hoped for a trailer for the next series, as they've already filmed half of it, but no such luck. Ah well.
[Watch parts one and two, or a compilation of both, on iPlayer.]

TV

The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson
2x01 Episode 1
I wasn't sure we'd see this back -- and the BBC certainly look to have buried it, at half 10 on Sundays -- but I'm glad it is, because I do like a good impressions show, and this is actually a rather good one.

The Rob Brydon Show
1x05 (15/10/10 edition)
Watching the fifth episode fifth? Why, that's not in the spirit of how I've viewed the series so far! (And I'll be watching the sixth sixth too. Shocking!)

Films

Star Trek (2009)
[2nd watch]
This was #24 in 100 Films 2009. Last time I watched it was in the cinemas, 18 months ago.

this week on 100 Films

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

Force of Evil (1948)

comes well recommended, with places on several 1,000 Best Movies lists and inclusion both on They Shoot Pictures…'s 250 Quintessential Noir Films and in the US National Film Registry, not to mention a full 5/5 in Paul Duncan's consistently handy Pocket Essential Film Noir. But it didn't work for me. To be blunt, I found it dull.

The Spiral Staircase (1945)

screenwriter Mel Dinelli and director Robert Siodmak spin a yarn that, over the course of just one dark and stormy night, blends together gothic horror, film noir, serial killer thriller and Christie-esque whodunnit. The resulting blend makes for a film that is, for several reasons, an exceptionally entertaining work.

More next Sunday.

TV

Children in Need 2010
Being the post-midnight stretch, naturally (are you surprised I'm thorough enough to list it separately?)
Lots of repeats, as per usual, but once you've stuck with it for five hours it feels wrong to quit with only two to go. Besides which, they often pull out a couple of new bits, not to mention the final total. Down on last year though it may be, £18.1m is nothing to be sniffed at.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Merlin
3x11 The Sorcerer's Shadow
Guest starring the guy who plays Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter movies -- he's in the sorcerer's shadow indeed.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Russell Howard's Good News
3x04 (11/11/10 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the short edition (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Toy Story 3 (2010)
[#114 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]

TV

Children in Need 2010
How good was that Doctor Who trailer?! I was naturally excited for the Christmas special anyway, but that looked exceptional. And beautifully shot too.
Meanwhile, 'East Street' amused me because I have almost no idea who is in which soap, so that could just be what either is always like for all I knew. But they pitched it such-like that I got (all?) the jokes. So that was nice.
More CiN tomorrow, of course.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Colditz
2x01 Arrival of a Hero

Mastermind
for Children in Need [2010 special]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Solaris (1972)
[#113 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]
Being the Russian original, obviously. My review of the US remake is here.

Articles

A Serbian Film: Is this the nastiest film ever made? by Geoffrey Macnab
(from The Independent)

If this was just another bad and grotesque horror film, nobody would be paying any attention to it. The fact that it has already provoked such ferocious debate suggests that it can't be dismissed that easily.

If you've heard of the film or the controversy but don't know any details, this article will go someway towards enlightening you; not just by mentioning what in the film is controversial, but also the debates, discussions and reactions around it.

Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 1,242 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,102 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 140 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 3,040 [up 3]
Number of films in collection: 1,308 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 4,333 [no change]

Statistic of the week:

Total running time of collection (approx.):
214 days, 22 hours, and 44 minutes.
(Up 2 days, 15 hours, and 46 minutes from last month.)

Incidentally, the next time I do a running time update should be Christmas Eve! Exciting stuff.

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Colditz
1x14 Gone Away Part 1
1x15 Gone Away Part 2: With the Wild Geese [season finale]

The Graham Norton Show
8x04 (12/11/10 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

QI
8x09 House and Home
I notice in this week's Radio Times (or rather next week's; the one that's out now and covers from next Saturday on) that the QI XL repeats are returning. It seems they're picking up where they left off (the first will be for episode 7), which is probably a good thing (especially for me, as I missed episode 7 due to the extended repeats stopping).
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Have I Got News For You
40x05 (11/11/10 edition; extended repeat)
An exceptionally amusing edition, I thought.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Mad Men
4x10 Hands and Knees
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Rob Brydon Show
1x03 (1/10/10 edition)
Stephen Fry -- yay! Seasick Steve -- yay! And Daniel Sloss, one of the few young comedians I actually quite like.

Films

The Spiral Staircase (1945)
[#112 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]

Articles

Couple who met at university to marry by James Browne
(from Caledonian Mercury)

Two people who went to university together are to get married, it has emerged.

William Windsor (or possibly Wales or possibly Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) and Kate Middleton, both 28, met at St Andrews University eight years ago.

Mr Windsor is a Flight Lieutenant in the RAF – and also a prince.

Wall-to-wall, dewy-eyed hysterical coverage can be found in every other media outlet.

TV

Colditz
1x13 The Way Out

The Event
1x05 Casualties of War
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
24x04 Episode 4
Presented by Sir Terry Wogan. I need say no more.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Sarah Jane Adventures
4x09 Lost in Time Part One
4x10 Lost in Time Part Two
[Watch parts one and two, or a compilation of both, on iPlayer.]

TV

Ask Rhod Gilbert
1x07 Episode 7

Colditz
1x11 Court Martial
1x12 Murder?

Due South
1x12 You Must Remember This [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Miranda
2x01 The New Me
A triumphant return for one of the Beeb's best sitcoms currently on the air. We're having a rather good time for sitcoms at the minute, actually, I think.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Spooks
9x08 Episode 8 [season finale]
Series finale? Could be. But apparently it isn't.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Carpool
1x01 Jason Manford & Rufus Hound
1x02 Chris Addison & Arthur Smith
Carpool -- or Carpool with Toyota Prius Toyota, as the title screen would have it -- is an odd programme really: host Robert Llewellyn drives a famous/fairly well-known (delete as appropriate) person somewhere and they chat along the way. It's not like a proper chat show -- it's not nearly so structured -- but it doesn't strain for out-and-out comedy either. For better or worse, it really is like watching two people just have a chat in the car. Some viewers will therefore hate it, but I can see why this means it's developed a cult following among others.

Colditz
1x10 Tweedledum
Having read several articles about Colditz in the build up to Yesterday's repeat run, it seems to be a rule that this episode must always be mentioned when discussing the series. It's the award-winning one where a doctor's orderly feigns madness in an attempt to escape and (spoilers!) though he's successful, having to fake madness permanently for months on end sends him genuinely insane. Fortunately, the quality of the episode means it survives the repeated hype, particularly an excellent performance from Michael Bryant as the orderly in question.

Due South
1x11 Gift of the Wheelman [2nd watch]
Merry Christmas! Bit early, I know, but that's what happen when you watch US series at odd times -- they almost invariably have a Christmas-themed episode.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Harry Patch: The Last Tommy
Documentary on the last few surviving veterans from World War I, which aired in August 2009 after the last, Harry Patch, passed away.

The Stephen K Amos Show
1x01 Episode 1
Well that was... inconsistent.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

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

Born Free (1966)

It’s easy to see why this is a classic for animal lovers: the constantly playful cubs are are delight, the affectionate older Elsa endearing, the attempts to release her ethologically engaging

And its sequel,

Living Free (1972)

The Adamsons devote months of their time, give up a promising career, spend all their savings, drive themselves into debt, and are nearly killed several times, all in a frequently-extreme effort to save three delinquent lion cubs who would be put down were it not for their sentimental attachment.

And finally...

Late Spring (1949)

It would be a lie to say Late Spring came as some kind of personal revelation to the unimpeachable genius of Ozu; but, at least, I got on with it considerably better than I did Tokyo Story. I might even go so far as to say I enjoyed it.

More next Sunday.