Doctor Who
40x07 The Legend of Ruby Sunday
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Saturday, 15 June 2024
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
This week, two titles from 88 Films (one an early arrival for a new release) and two titles from Radiance (both sale pickups — I ought to resist buying their stuff until sales, it's a good saving... but other stuff they've released has sold out long before reaching the sale point, so it's a risk).
Number of titles in collection: 3,304 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,002 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,302 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 356 [up 1]
Number of discs in collection: 7,996 [up 5]
Number of films: 4,073 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 387 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 9,720 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,146 [up 1]
It's also time once again for the monthly running time update...
Total running time of collection (approx.):
561 days, 21 hours, and 41 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 11 hours, and 39 minutes from last month.)
See you next week, faithful reader.
This week, two titles from 88 Films (one an early arrival for a new release) and two titles from Radiance (both sale pickups — I ought to resist buying their stuff until sales, it's a good saving... but other stuff they've released has sold out long before reaching the sale point, so it's a risk).
Number of titles in collection: 3,304 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,002 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,302 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 356 [up 1]
Number of discs in collection: 7,996 [up 5]
Number of films: 4,073 [up 4]
Number of additional cuts: 387 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 9,720 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,146 [up 1]
It's also time once again for the monthly running time update...
Total running time of collection (approx.):
561 days, 21 hours, and 41 minutes.
(Up 1 day, 11 hours, and 39 minutes from last month.)
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 14 June 2024
Videos
Critical Role
2x31 Commerce & Chaos [2nd half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, or Twitch, or Beacon.]
Talks Machina
#79 'Commerce & Chaos'
[Watch it (again) on Internet Archive.]
2x31 Commerce & Chaos [2nd half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, or Twitch, or Beacon.]
Talks Machina
#79 'Commerce & Chaos'
[Watch it (again) on Internet Archive.]
Thursday, 13 June 2024
TV
Doctor Who
Real Time Episode Five
Real Time Episode Six [finale]
Abandoned my previous pace just to get it over with a double-bill. I did enjoy the second half of the serial more than the first — there are some neat concepts, even if I felt they were poorly utilised — but, overall, it wasn't worth the two-decade wait. And it ends on a cliffhanger that will never be resolved! (Because the actress died. Obviously they could continue it in a novel or something, but, well, they haven't in the past 22 years, so I doubt they will now.)
Oh well, at least I've ticked off another piece of Doctor Who apocrypha (the fact it has some form of visuals makes it sort of a proper story, right? But it didn't occur in chronological order (jumping back to the Sixth Doctor) and was only a webcast, so it's also sort of... not 'real' Who, right? Hence "apocrypha". Maybe not quite the correct word, but it's the closest I can think of right now).
X-Men
2x07 Time Fugitives Part One [2nd watch]
2x08 Time Fugitives Part Two [2nd watch]
Real Time Episode Five
Real Time Episode Six [finale]
Abandoned my previous pace just to get it over with a double-bill. I did enjoy the second half of the serial more than the first — there are some neat concepts, even if I felt they were poorly utilised — but, overall, it wasn't worth the two-decade wait. And it ends on a cliffhanger that will never be resolved! (Because the actress died. Obviously they could continue it in a novel or something, but, well, they haven't in the past 22 years, so I doubt they will now.)
Oh well, at least I've ticked off another piece of Doctor Who apocrypha (the fact it has some form of visuals makes it sort of a proper story, right? But it didn't occur in chronological order (jumping back to the Sixth Doctor) and was only a webcast, so it's also sort of... not 'real' Who, right? Hence "apocrypha". Maybe not quite the correct word, but it's the closest I can think of right now).
X-Men
2x07 Time Fugitives Part One [2nd watch]
2x08 Time Fugitives Part Two [2nd watch]
Films
The Indian Chief and the Seidlitz Powder (1901)
Possibly the first British Western. It's also a comedy short — read the accompanying notes on the BFI's (free) streaming copy otherwise you probably won't get the 120-year-old topical humour. Other than that... it's still not very good.
Possibly the first British Western. It's also a comedy short — read the accompanying notes on the BFI's (free) streaming copy otherwise you probably won't get the 120-year-old topical humour. Other than that... it's still not very good.
Articles
Doctor Who: Real Time (Review)
by Darren Mooney (from The m0vie blog)
For a different, more positive take on Real Time (which still acknowledges all the flaws that overwhelmed it for me), you could do worse than this piece.
by Darren Mooney (from The m0vie blog)
For a different, more positive take on Real Time (which still acknowledges all the flaws that overwhelmed it for me), you could do worse than this piece.
Videos
Critical Role
2x30 The Journey Home [2nd half]
2x31 Commerce & Chaos [1st half]
[Watch Campaign 2 (again) on YouTube, or Twitch, or Beacon.]
Talks Machina
#78 'The Journey Home'
[Watch it (again) on Internet Archive.]
2x30 The Journey Home [2nd half]
2x31 Commerce & Chaos [1st half]
[Watch Campaign 2 (again) on YouTube, or Twitch, or Beacon.]
Talks Machina
#78 'The Journey Home'
[Watch it (again) on Internet Archive.]
Wednesday, 12 June 2024
TV
Doctor Who
Real Time Episode Four
Credit where it's due, this episode has a decent twist/cliffhanger, which I didn't see coming and is also quite a neat concept. Unfortunately, I have no faith it'll do anything interesting with that in the remaining two episodes, considering the rest of the writing continues to be lacklustre. For example: this episode contains two scenes clearly designed to give the Doctor and Evelyn big grandstanding speeches that define them as characters and/or the Cybermen — similar to the Fifth Doctor's famous speech in Earthshock, for example — but neither really lands, meandering on and around the point rather than succinctly nailing it.
For All Mankind
2x01 Every Little Thing
Finally got another free month of Apple TV+ from somewhere, so trying to make sure I get some use out of it — picking back up this excellent series (which I'm now three whole seasons behind on) seemed a good idea for that. It begins with a timejump, and I also watched the 20-or-so minutes of news featurettes they produced to help bridge the in-world gap since the season one finale.
X-Men
2x06 X-Ternally Yours [2nd watch]
Having another crack at continuing this, too. Hopefully it'll be more successful than my last attempt...
Real Time Episode Four
Credit where it's due, this episode has a decent twist/cliffhanger, which I didn't see coming and is also quite a neat concept. Unfortunately, I have no faith it'll do anything interesting with that in the remaining two episodes, considering the rest of the writing continues to be lacklustre. For example: this episode contains two scenes clearly designed to give the Doctor and Evelyn big grandstanding speeches that define them as characters and/or the Cybermen — similar to the Fifth Doctor's famous speech in Earthshock, for example — but neither really lands, meandering on and around the point rather than succinctly nailing it.
For All Mankind
2x01 Every Little Thing
Finally got another free month of Apple TV+ from somewhere, so trying to make sure I get some use out of it — picking back up this excellent series (which I'm now three whole seasons behind on) seemed a good idea for that. It begins with a timejump, and I also watched the 20-or-so minutes of news featurettes they produced to help bridge the in-world gap since the season one finale.
X-Men
2x06 X-Ternally Yours [2nd watch]
Having another crack at continuing this, too. Hopefully it'll be more successful than my last attempt...
Videos
Critical Role
2x30 The Journey Home [1st half]
Laura and Travis return after a break of seven weeks... or six days, at my current pace. (Also, random bit of maths: crazy to think that if Critical Role were a regular hour-long US network show, I'd be about 156 episodes in now. That's longer than the entirety of Buffy, for example.)
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, or Twitch, or Beacon.]
2x30 The Journey Home [1st half]
Laura and Travis return after a break of seven weeks... or six days, at my current pace. (Also, random bit of maths: crazy to think that if Critical Role were a regular hour-long US network show, I'd be about 156 episodes in now. That's longer than the entirety of Buffy, for example.)
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, or Twitch, or Beacon.]
Tuesday, 11 June 2024
TV
Doctor Who
Real Time Episode Three
"I've never known Cybermen to look so badly-made before." You said it, mate.
Real Time Episode Three
"I've never known Cybermen to look so badly-made before." You said it, mate.
Monday, 10 June 2024
Videos
Critical Role
2x28 Within the Nest [2nd half]
2x29 The Stalking Nightmare
I was somewhat trepidatious heading into this run of episodes — with three of the (excellent) regular cast gone and a parade of guest stars in the offing, would it be below-par filler, treading water until the 'real' heroes returned? As things turned out, quite the opposite — not just major, game-changing plot turns (thanks, rolls of the dice!), but interesting locales, exciting combats, memorable NPCs, and some brilliant guest stars (Sumalee Montano clearly received a lot of love from the fanbase, and rightly so, but Ashly Burch is fantastic too).
I'd probably still say Midnight Espionage is the best individual episode of Critical Role I've seen so far (as a game, there's an element of luck about what events occur and plot points appear within one episode, and that one landed so many great bits), but the six-episode run from The Hour of Honor to The Stalking Nightmare is probably my favourite extended arc (or two, really) so far. Phenomenal.
[Watch Campaign 2 (again) on YouTube, or Twitch, or Beacon.]
Talks Machina
#76 'Converging Fury' and 'Within the Nest'
[Watch it (again) on Internet Archive.]
2x28 Within the Nest [2nd half]
2x29 The Stalking Nightmare
I was somewhat trepidatious heading into this run of episodes — with three of the (excellent) regular cast gone and a parade of guest stars in the offing, would it be below-par filler, treading water until the 'real' heroes returned? As things turned out, quite the opposite — not just major, game-changing plot turns (thanks, rolls of the dice!), but interesting locales, exciting combats, memorable NPCs, and some brilliant guest stars (Sumalee Montano clearly received a lot of love from the fanbase, and rightly so, but Ashly Burch is fantastic too).
I'd probably still say Midnight Espionage is the best individual episode of Critical Role I've seen so far (as a game, there's an element of luck about what events occur and plot points appear within one episode, and that one landed so many great bits), but the six-episode run from The Hour of Honor to The Stalking Nightmare is probably my favourite extended arc (or two, really) so far. Phenomenal.
[Watch Campaign 2 (again) on YouTube, or Twitch, or Beacon.]
Talks Machina
#76 'Converging Fury' and 'Within the Nest'
[Watch it (again) on Internet Archive.]
Sunday, 9 June 2024
TV
Doctor Who
Real Time Episode One
Back in the early '00s — after Big Finish had taken off but before the TV revival was announced — BBCi (as it then was) produced several Doctor Who webcasts, which started out as “audio dramas with accompanying illustrations” and gradually progressed to “fully animated” (before the revival was announced and put a stop to all that). This was the second, following Death Comes to Time earlier in 2002 and preceding the 8th Doctor Shada and Scream of the Shalka in 2003 — crazy, with hindsight, that all of that took place in just two years. Even crazier that it’s taken me over 20 years to get round to listening to it. (These were 20 years ago! Time really does fly.) The original official webcast links are dead, but you can buy it on CD from Big Finish (audio only, obv), or do as I'm doing and watch it on YouTube.
Also, for what it's worth, although originally released in six parts, each one only runs 11–17 minutes, with the average being 15, meaning the whole story has the same running time as a Season 22 two-parter. Watching it in two halves would truly emulate that, then, but I've stuck with the original broadcast length because... well, it's like most of Season 22 in another way: it's not very good. I'm not even talking about the basic Flash animation, but the frequently clunky dialogue, line readings that consistently sound off (despite the writer and director being the same person), and a general insipid pace and structure. Maybe it will pick up. Maybe only having to experience it in short bursts will be a blessing.
Real Time Episode One
Back in the early '00s — after Big Finish had taken off but before the TV revival was announced — BBCi (as it then was) produced several Doctor Who webcasts, which started out as “audio dramas with accompanying illustrations” and gradually progressed to “fully animated” (before the revival was announced and put a stop to all that). This was the second, following Death Comes to Time earlier in 2002 and preceding the 8th Doctor Shada and Scream of the Shalka in 2003 — crazy, with hindsight, that all of that took place in just two years. Even crazier that it’s taken me over 20 years to get round to listening to it. (These were 20 years ago! Time really does fly.) The original official webcast links are dead, but you can buy it on CD from Big Finish (audio only, obv), or do as I'm doing and watch it on YouTube.
Also, for what it's worth, although originally released in six parts, each one only runs 11–17 minutes, with the average being 15, meaning the whole story has the same running time as a Season 22 two-parter. Watching it in two halves would truly emulate that, then, but I've stuck with the original broadcast length because... well, it's like most of Season 22 in another way: it's not very good. I'm not even talking about the basic Flash animation, but the frequently clunky dialogue, line readings that consistently sound off (despite the writer and director being the same person), and a general insipid pace and structure. Maybe it will pick up. Maybe only having to experience it in short bursts will be a blessing.
Videos
Critical Role
2x27 Converging Fury
2x28 Within the Nest [1st half]
I'm trying to cut back a bit... but even after watching a whole episode, I still just wanted to carry on, so eventually caved in the evening (hence the extra half episode — there literally wasn't time for another whole one today). The heart wants what the heart wants — whatcha gonna do?
[Watch Converging Fury (again) on YouTube, or Twitch, or Beacon.]
Talks Machina
#75 Live from San Diego Comic-Con 2018!
[Watch it (again) on Internet Archive.]
2x27 Converging Fury
2x28 Within the Nest [1st half]
I'm trying to cut back a bit... but even after watching a whole episode, I still just wanted to carry on, so eventually caved in the evening (hence the extra half episode — there literally wasn't time for another whole one today). The heart wants what the heart wants — whatcha gonna do?
[Watch Converging Fury (again) on YouTube, or Twitch, or Beacon.]
Talks Machina
#75 Live from San Diego Comic-Con 2018!
[Watch it (again) on Internet Archive.]
this week on 100Films.co.uk
Only one post at 100Films.co.uk this week: delayed from the start of the month, the films I failed to watch in May...
More next Sunday, perhaps.
More next Sunday, perhaps.
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