TV

Ask Rhod Gilbert
2x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

House
8x01 Twenty Vicodin
It's always great to have House back, and always fun seeing him in a new situation (this time, prison)... though the episode ends without ending. What happens next, gorramit?! Desperately looking forward to the next one now... which I believe was on last night in the US, so... well...

Mark Lawson Talks To
Rob Brydon
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Misfits
2x01 Episode 1
2x02 Episode 2
Time flies -- I've been meaning to get round to this ever since it was on. Not sure exactly when that was, but the last time I watched an episode was last decade. Anyway, series three's on its way soon, so it seemed time to get a wriggle on. And it's just as good as it always was, so that's good, and now with added Mystery too.
[Watch episodes one and two (again) on 4oD.]

Pointless
5x30 (7/10/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Dragons' Den
9x10 Episode 10 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Epic Win
1x03 Episode 3
Crikey, I didn't realise how long it had been since I last bothered to watch this. It's hardly taxing -- at all --, but it has a kind of charm.

Grand Designs Australia
1x09 Indented Head House [season finale]
Mmm, home cinema...

Home Cooking Made Easy
1x02 Favourites
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Downton Abbey
2x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

The Great British Bake Off
2x08 Episode 8
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x29 (6/10/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Spooks
10x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Brothers Bloom (2008)
[#84 in 100 Films in a Year 2011]

Articles

Life on Mars Russian remake will move '70s action from Manchester to Moscow by Ben Dowell & Shiv Malik
(from guardian.co.uk)
This sounds as interesting as the Spanish version did, but as that never made it over here I doubt this will either.

this week on 100 Films

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

Browncoats: Redemption (2010)

It's quite understandable if you haven't heard of Browncoats: Redemption. In short, it's an officially-okayed Firefly/Serenity fan film for the benefit of charity. There's no doubting the enthusiasm and heart of the cast & crew of Redemption — on those factors they score a perfect 5 — but as a film in its own right... well...

A Study in Terror (1965)

it’s a decent Holmes movie, with an atmospheric rendering of Victorian London and a passably intriguing plot. However, the relatively light basis in the true story of Jack the Ripper may grate with some who approach it from that angle: there’s a Holmesian plot grafted onto a smattering of Ripper facts

More next Sunday.

TV

The Jonathan Ross Show
1x05 (1/10/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Merlin
4x02 The Darkest Hour Part Two
Didn't expect that development! I mean, if this wasn't a series based in long-established myths, then obviously that character was being positioned for that fate in this two-parter... but it is based in long-established myths, so I was surprised. Well done Merlin.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x28 (5/10/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

QI
9x04 Indecision (XL edition)
All that stuff about "chick sexing" was far more hilarious than it had any right to be.

Smallville
10x18 Booster
Regular readers may be aware that I don't watch Smallville, so what's this doing here? Well, I did watch it when it began, about a decade ago, but I happened to see that this episode featured Booster Gold, one of DC's most irritating heroes, so was quite curious. From the little I know they certainly seem to have captured his character -- i.e. he was suitably irritating. I was a little surprised to discover just how many other DC characters they've stuffed into it over the years, considering the stripped-back start it came from. Fan-pleasing, I guess.
More interesting than any of that, though, was that this episode was made within the past year but looked just like all those US SF/F series from the late '90s/early '00s. I guess it never transcended its roots in that era.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Comics

2000 AD #1750
After wrapping everything up last Prog, here's all-new stories. Except most of them carry on from previous ones again. That said, most are quite pick-up-able, and there's better variety of styles than in the last jumping on Prog -- even better for new readers, then.
Anyway, here's ECBT 2000AD's reviews for this week's Thrills:

Judge Dredd Day of Chaos: The Fourth Faction Part One

Ampney Crucis Investigates... The English Assassin Part One

Indigo Prime Everything and More Part One

Low Life The Deal Part 1

(I thought it was about time I made these link-lists a bit more useful than repetitions of the word "here".)
See also: a free Indigo Prime primer from 1990, available on the official 2000 AD site.

TV

Outnumbered
4x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x27 (4/10/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
5x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Magicians (2007)
[#83 in 100 Films in a Year 2011]

Comics

Superman #1 by George Pérez & Jesús Merino

Having read the new Action Comics #1 yesterday, it seemed only sensible to read the other Superman reboot today. Whereas the former has been one of The New 52's more praised books, Superman has proved more divisive.

No surprises, really: Action Comics' "Young Superman" story is the kind of tale that always messes around with the status quo and accepted continuity; Superman, however, is set in the 'present day' of the new DC Universe, and it makes significant changes to the pre-New 52 setup. Clark and Lois are no longer married, for instance, and apparently have never even had a relationship; Perry White now looks less a roly-poly editor and more a slightly older Man Of Action; and Lois is heading up a digital division for the company that's just bought out the Daily Planet. How very Modern.

As someone who didn't read Superman before, and isn't necessarily intending to keep it up now, I'm not necessarily all that bothered by all that. It makes sense to move with the times after all, and this is the way the news business is going. Plus, if you're trying to attract new readers, many believe the setup is a will-they-won't-they between Clark and Lois, not a married couple, and it's probably wise to play into that. Is it right to play fast and loose with continuity and character development for the sake of engaging new readers? Well, that's a much wider debate the whole industry needs to engage with.

The issue does make mistakes for every reader, mind. There's some dreadfully clunky dialogue and exposition, most of it coming when the story ought to be getting more exciting rather than more wordy -- this is a comic, not a novel, so ditch the prose description of the pictures! Then there's a one-page aside that apparently serves no purpose other than to shill Stormwatch, a completely unrelated New 52 comic (which was released weeks before this one, in fact) -- a stupid distraction. And apparently having cast Justin Bieber as Jimmy Olsen is obviously a bad idea.

Other than that, though... It's not one I'll be rushing to buy in print, but I might check out issue two sometime.

Collection Count

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

An exciting Blu-ray from America and a Doctor Who upgrade make up this week's handful of updates.

Number of titles in collection: 1,388 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,140 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 248 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,438 [up 5]
Number of films in collection: 1,470 [up 4]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,166 [up 4]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Billy Connolly's Route 66
Episode 3 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Mock the Week
10x10 (29/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x26 (3/10/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Comics

Action Comics #1 by Grant Morrison & Rags Morales

Such are the perils of ordering comics online rather than going into a shop: this turned up today, a week and a day after this second printing was published (and just over a month since it was originally released). Ah well.

Another one of the more acclaimed titles from DC's relaunch, the revamped Action Comics sees Morrison telling the story of a young Superman, fighting crime in Metropolis, still half-myth, not yet in his full costume, not even working for the Daily Planet. More importantly than all that, however, is that Morrison has roughed him up a little: this isn't the dull All-American Boy Scout most people know as Superman, but one who's willing to be a little more against the law, a little more pro-active -- we're told he threw a wife-beater out of a window and broke his hip and six ribs, for instance.

A most interesting start.

Articles

Apple: Steve Jobs Has Died by Doug Aamoth
(from Techland at Time)
I'm sure you can't've missed the news about Apple's co-founder, but this article does a great job of collecting together the myriad tributes from relevant people and sources.

Apple logo turned into touching tribute to Steve Jobs by Joe Svetlik
(from T3)
And other images of mourning, but this one is the most effective:

And in other news...

'James Bond 23' title revealed to be Skyfall? by Justin Harp
(from Digital Spy)
I hope not -- that's a pretty weak title, in my opinion.

Joel Schumacher was asked to make Batman & Robin sequel by Zakia Uddin
(from Digital Spy)
Which just goes to show, money always rules in the movies.

TV

The A to Z of Crime
Episode 5 QRST (of 6)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Ask Rhod Gilbert
2x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x25 (30/9/11 edition)
A special episode to mark the show's 200th edition, featuring only previous contestants who crashed out with 200 points (the highest possible score in a single round). I've seen people before who managed to exit with 400 points (i.e. the full 200 on both of the two episodes they're allowed) -- I guess they're saving those sorts for a future special...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Comics

2000 AD #1749
Firstly, as usual, I shall direct you to the ECBT 2000AD reviews, covering both parts of Judge Dredd, Savage, Sinister Dexter and Zombo.
Secondly, my thoughts on my first ten issues since returning to the 2000 AD readership are here.

Animal Man #1 by Jeff Lemire & Travel Foreman
This is one of the surprise hits of DC's New 52, selling out quickly and garnering much praise. So it was one of the few I decided to order belatedly based on recommendations, but after my reaction to Justice League International (see below) I decided it best to read a digital copy before my 2nd printing hardcopy turned up. Fortunately, unlike JLI, this one lived up to the hype. Animal Man has a wife a two kids and a very present family life, lending a completely different feel and set of stories to the regular superhero setup. There's a good amount of story too, unlike some of the other books (and modern comics in general). Unlike Batman: The Dark Knight, say, I feel like I got a decent chunk of the story. With intriguing elements going forward, including a great cliffhanger-twist, this is definitely one I'll be continuing with. Indeed, it's probably one of my favourites of the New 52 books I've read.

Justice League International #1 by Dan Jurgens & Aaron Lopresti
I'd heard this was quite good, quite fun, so decided to give it a go. It wasn't. A squabbling team of superheroes is the kind of thing that probably works -- indeed, Marvel are banking on it -- but it helps if you've actually heard of most of them. It wasn't funny, it wasn't much fun, and it was actually kind of dull.
This was one of those additional books I'd decided to order. Fortunately, however, I read it in time to cancel my order. That's £2 saved.

Articles

The DC Comics New Reader Litmus Test: The New 52 Week 4 by Josie Campbell
(from Comic Book Resources)

Today saw the release of the first round of #2s for DC's New 52 -- this'll be where it really gets interesting, seeing whether sales can match the high level they've reached so far. It's been more successful than most expected, but the much-hyped beginning was always going to be the biggest bit -- will it carry over?

Anyway, all of that news and speculation is for the coming week. First, here's the last part of CBR's new reader test, where the #1s are given to completely new readers to see if it works for them, as was intended by DC. Unsurprisingly, results are more or less the same as in the previous three weeks.

However, there are some pretty damning conclusions right at the end. This, for instance: "When it came to those I approached to participate in this test, the news of the relaunch had not reached a single reader not already familiar with comics in some capacity. … Based on our anecdotal evidence, DC has failed to reach greater mainstream consciousness and is marketing to its existing audience of comics' readers, not to a brand-new market."

Oh dear.

The Adventures of Tintin trailer

This looks brilliant. I may even bother to make one of my rare trips to the cinema for it.

2000 AD #1749

As I mentioned when I read the last Prog, all the stories that started in my first Prog of 2000 AD all end this week (well, "this Prog" -- "this week"'s issue is about five on from that). That would seem to make it the perfect time to reflect on my re-initiation into the world of 2000 AD so far.

Judge Dredd, then, is undoubtedly 2000 AD's flagship strip. This has been an interesting one: after an opening three-parter that had some fun but was painfully light on logic, and was also a wrap-up for previous events rather than a properly new-reader-friendly jumping-on point, the story has progressed with a decently intriguing procedural. There's clearly a lot left to go in this Day of Chaos story, but it's off to a good start.

Sinister Dexter, on the other hand, was spectacularly unfriendly to the new reader. Although starting a new story, it built completely on events from the previous one, and on top of that on events going back years. It wasn't even especially entertaining to make up for it either. Apparently this one's on its way to being wrapped up for good, and by the sounds of things there aren't many who'll miss it.

Savage, then again, is brilliant. A real change from the overtly sci-fi angle of the rest of the strips, this is like a WW2 resistance comic, only set now (more or less) after a Russian-allegory occupation of Britain. Patrick Goddard's realistic black-and-white art is never less than gorgeous and Pat Mills' scripts are almost always a perfect example of how to tell a pulpy story in small but exciting pieces. Indeed, he and Dredd writer John Wagner really are the masters of the form -- even if Wagner's overall storytelling has been a bit iffy at points, his structuring is immaculate.

Zombo seems to be much beloved by 2000 AD fans, and while I wasn't sure at first I was quickly won over. This is the third outing for the strip, and while that means there's some continuity to overcome for a new reader, it's much more accessible than Sinister Dexter. It took me a Prog or two to become accustomed to Al Ewing's wit, but once there it was a hoot. Similarly, Henry Flint's art at first appeared sketchy and cartoonish, but is actually highly detailed and completely appropriate. I really want to get the collected edition of the first two tales now -- can't say better than that!

Finally, Tharg's 3hrillers (which ended last Prog) have been a mixed bag -- which you'd expect from an anthology format. The first one was passable but lost its way towards the end; the second had a good atmosphere and concept but a hurried conclusion -- it would've been good if it had been longer and more thoroughly developed; the third was an unredeemable piece of rubbish, with a weak story and pathetic art. Ho hum.

The most interesting bit has been getting back into the culture of reading the mag itself. By which I mean, reading stories in five-or-six-page chunks once a week for a couple of months at a time, five stories at once. I haven't read a regular comic for years, so not getting a whole story in one go (as you do with collected paperbacks) and not getting an apparently meaningful chunk of narrative in each portion are both adjustments.

What it highlights, however, is the differing storytelling skill set needed to make a six-page chunk satisfying, rather than the 20+ pages of a US monthly comic. Some of those writers could do with reading and learning from 2000 AD, because there are occasions where a Tharg strip can cover as much ground in six pages as a US comic will cover in 20. They'd benefit from that added speed.