TV

Derren Brown Investigates
1x03 The Ghosthunter [season finale]
Verdict: no proof here. Though at least he seemed like a decent guy, unlike the money-grabbing conmen of the other episodes.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Dexter
3x05 Turning Biminese
Thanks to various series ending, I'm finally able to resume a couple that had fallen by the wayside -- namely, this and (shortly) Damages and (hopefully before too long) Sandbaggers (nearly a year since I watched that!)
I was particularly keen to resume Dexter, though, having already had to restart it once. Last time I'd only watched one episode and left it 9 months; this time I'd seen four and it was only 2½ months, making resuming it that much easier -- no need to rewatch. Not that rewatching Dexter would be unrewarding but, y'know, been there before 'n' all that...
Um, so, self-obsessed and largely uninteresting babble aside... good ep. Ayup. Moving on...

TV

Dexter: New Blood
1x01 Cold Snap
Is this Dexter season 9, or a new sequel/spin-off series? Given how other series have treated legacy specials/revivals, there's no set way of numbering these things. But given it's the only season of the show with a subtitle, and it was made years later and all that, I'm going with "new" numbering (as I think most people did in the end). Anyway, it's good to have Dexter Morgan back. I didn't hate the original ending, but, nonetheless, hope they give him a more fitting send-off this time.

Only Murders in the Building
1x01 True Crime
Heard good things about this — it seemed to build up some strong word-of-mouth when it was coming out and since — so thought I'd give it a go. On the evidence of episode one, it could be a lot of fun.

Richard Osman's House of Games
5x91 Champions Week 3: Monday
5x92 Champions Week 3: Tuesday
5x93 Champions Week 3: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Battlestar Galactica [2004]
1x06 Litmus
1x07 Six Degrees of Separation
A pair of similarly-themed but notably different episodes that are the first concrete examples of the series tackling themes that have earnt it such plaudits; namely, notions of justice, particularly in wartime, and religion. Importantly, there are few easy answers, and, I expect, further ramifications to come.

Damages
3x04 Don't Throw That at the Chicken
Much like Dexter a week (and a bit) ago, other series coming to an end means I can restart Damages, almost three months after I last watched it. Thank goodness for "previously on"s.

Dexter
3x06 Sí Se Puede
It feels considerably more than 10 days since I restarted Dexter. Too used to marathoning through it, I suppose, especially when I've got through nine BSGs in five days.

TV

Dexter
3x01 Our Father
Welcome back, Dexter Morgan, you have been missed! And I'm only starting it 8 weeks later than FX, but at least they were speedy on picking up from the US this year (only seven months since season two ended) so it's not been as long in total. I don't get FX, but the advantage of having acquired this season via, uh, other means is that I'm watching it in HD. Oo-ooh.
Not the show's greatest-ever episode, but a solid start to a new story. I admire Dexter's ability to come up with a new primary narrative while also managing ongoing character-based plots, something even the almighty Wire fumbled with in its second season.

Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire
1x03 Our Bounties Ourselves
Not as good as the first two, but it had its moments.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
1x13 Paint it Red
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

TV

Dexter
6x11 Talk to the Hand
6x12 This is the Way the World Ends [season finale]
Usually Dexter has a calm, reflective ending... but not this season. Wham-bang-huge-cliffhanger it is! Loads of other plot threads left dangling too -- all the signs of a two-year recommission after season five, then.
Season seven starts in the UK this Sunday on FOX (formerly FX), for them that has it, while season eight is coming before too long to the US.

The Graham Norton Show
12x17 (15/2/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Last Leg
2x04 (15/2/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Yes, Prime Minister [2013]
1x06 A Tsar is Born [season finale]
This has been distinctly variable. Some funny moments, but an awful lot of too-big stagey acting and far too many recaps of what's going on. It notes in the end credits that it was adapted from the stage play, so I guess they took the two hours (or whatever) of that and extended it to make six half-hours of TV -- on stage, the "all this in one night" thing would work, but on TV, over six weeks, it felt needless. I can't imagine they'll get to have another go, but if they do, I hope it's in the form of a real series rather than a (somewhat misguided) serial.

TV

Dexter
2x01 It's Alive!
I happened to catch the first season of Dexter on FX (the UK one) last year, before all the hype surrounding it's ITV1 repeat run, and I'm very glad I did -- it's bloody brilliant, one of the best shows currently in production. Not having FX available to me this year (where season two is airing long before it makes its way to one of the ITVs), I'm having to find less than legal legal, honest, ways to watch this second season. Starting now.

Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
15x01 (5/9/08 edition)
Wossy returns for another 15 weeks of fawning over celebrities and wannabe-celebrities.

The Tudors
2x06 The Definition of Love

TV

Damages
3x08 I Look Like Frankenstein
Well, he came back out of nowhere. Presumably there'll be some greater role to play... just not yet...

Dexter
3x10 Go Your Own Way
Great cliffhanger. This is definitely shaping up to be another fantastic season of Dexter -- only two episodes to go.

TV

Dexter
4x11 Hello, Dexter Morgan
Cliffhanger-tastic! Though I guessed weeks (well, "episodes", certainly -- I probably watch it too quickly for "weeks") ago who would be saying the titular line. Next time: season finale! Tense.

How I Met Your Mother
5x17 Of Course
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

TV

Dexter
8x11 Monkey in a Box
And lo, my plan did work perfectly: this episode was on UK TV tonight, and the series finale will be on US TV a few hours after I post this. That's tomorrow's viewing, then.
I don't despise this final season as much as some of Dexter's fans (former fans?), but it's not been the best ever. Nonetheless, still excited to find out what happens in the end.

TV

Dexter
4x07 Slack Tide
That was probably the most uneventful, borderline-dull episode of Dexter ever. Apart from the nice twist at the end, that is, even if I did see it coming.

Who Do You Think You Are?
7x06 Alexander Armstrong
I don't normally watch this (as you may've noticed from its near total absence from this blog), but this one was meant to be rather good. It certainly has a surprising, quite extraordinary ending.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
4x06 (27/8/10 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Cheetah Kingdom
1x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Dexter
4x12 The Getaway [season finale]
So that's that for Dexter's fourth season, complete with a shocking ending... which, unfortunately, I found out about ages ago. (I won't mention more for the sake of anyone watching the series on FX, which is up to episode five tonight.) I look forward to seeing how it's dealt with next season, which I believe starts in the US imminently.

Mock the Week
9x08 (16/9/10 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Dexter
8x12 Remember the Monsters? [series finale]

Another packed episodes, with a near endless array of things that could be discussed -- and debated. Did the show's writers make all the right choices? I'm not sure. The end was always going to be controversial: some fans wanted Dexter caught, some wanted him dead, some wanted him to live happily ever after -- three different endings that are not compatible. But the particular way they went about it... well, of course some people hate it -- some people have hated the whole season; heck, some people have hated the series for years (and yet still they watch...)

Personally, I thought it was mostly fitting, in its way. Don't know if it's what I wanted, per se, but (as discussed) it's a damn hard show to know how to end right. Not sure about the coda, though; it was the one moment where it seemed like the writers lacked the courage of their convictions. But what's done is done.


Doctor Who
13x01 Terror of the Zygons Part One [2nd watch]

My choice for the Fourth Doctor's entry in #bbbDW50 is both an acknowledged classic (it came 17th on DWM's Mighty 200, putting it in the top 9% of all Who tales), and the only on screen appearance for monster design icons the Zygons... before their return in November's 50th anniversary special, of course.

It was also going to finally come out on DVD the very week we were scheduled to watch it... until inserting the TV Movie pushed all my plans a week earlier (see also: Ice Warriors). Fortunately, the Fourth Doctor Time Capsule came to my scheduling rescue.

It's a cracking story, too. The monsters are teased gradually, building to a great -- and very sudden -- cliffhanger. There's plenty of mystery, plenty of excitement and humour. Once again, the stuff shot on location on film looks great -- why oh why couldn't the whole show have had the budget to go that route?!


Friends
2x06 The One with the Baby on the Bus [4th or so watch]

Smelly Cat makes its debut! Sung by someone else! Weird.

TV

Britain's Brightest
1x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Dexter
6x01 Those Kinds of Things
Rather behind on Dexter now (season eight starts Stateside in a few months), so time to crack on with catching up. And it's as good as ever, with a nice theme of religious hypocrisy kicking off this season.

Elementary
1x10 The Leviathan
Did they replace someone high-up on Elementary after a few episodes, because I think it's continuing to improve...

Room 101: Extra Storage
13x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

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.

Comics

2000 AD #2012

Continuing and concluding the Christmas-before-last bumper Prog, with…

• Aquila Prologue by Gordon Rennie & Leigh Gallagher
• Grey Area Meet & Greet, Part 1 by Dan Abnett & Karl Richardson
• Dandridge A Christmas Ghost Story by Alec Worley & Jon Davis-Hunt
• Sinister Dexter Now & Again by Dan Abnett & Anthony Williams
• Strontium Dog The Life and Death of Johnny Alpha, Chapter Two: The Project, Part One by John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra & Hector Ezquerra

Aquila and Grey Area are both effective introductions to brand-new series. The latter may be a bit too exposition-y, but it still holds promise. Dandridge is an effective little ghost story. Sinister Dexter is a double whammy of continuing/concluding plot from the previous Progs, and Christmas-special-ish dimension hopping through all 2000 AD's most beloved franchises. And then Strontium Dog is the second arc of a long story for a very old series, making it absolutely impenetrable to newbies like me. Still, at least everything else was good.

TV

Dexter
4x05 Dirty Harry
This season of Dexter is certainly managing an above-average number of twists and surprises, what with the ending to the previous episode and now this one. (UK pace viewers can find out in about three and four weeks.)

Roger & Val Have Just Got In
1x03 The Dining Room Curtains
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Dexter
5x07 Circle Us
I like Dexter's funny-punny titles. This isn't one. Boo. Still, good episode, and the trailer for next time looked incredible too.

Would I Lie To You?
6x09 The Unseen Bits [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Dexter: Original Sin
1x09 Blood Drive
1x10 Code Blues [series finale]
It was originally announced that this had been picked up for a second season, before they walked that back and cancelled it. I don't know if they knew about the recommission while writing/filming, but either way, thank goodness it doesn't end on a cliffhanger or with a bunch of stuff unresolved! Indeed, the ending is almost perfectly setup to flow into Dexter season one.

Richard Osman's House of Games
9x16 Week 4: Monday
9x17 Week 4: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Dexter
8x01 A Beautiful Day
So Dexter's final season begins, two months to the date since I finished series 7 -- and, more importantly, carefully timed so that I can watch it at my usual rate (an episode every day or two) right up to the finale (more or less), which is a fortnight today.

Doctor Who
8x03 Terror of the Autons Episode Three
And my carefully-timed Who season is officially back on track today, too. Nifty. More thoughts on the story itself with its final episode on Wednesday.

Friends
1x14 The One with the Candy Hearts [goodness-knows-what-th watch]

QI
11x01 Knees & Knockers (XL edition)
Here we go again: another year of desperately trying to find all the XL repeats once the BBC start titting about with them, and to see all the episodes once the BBC start bunging the last few around as 'specials'.
But, uh, the show itself is good as well.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Dexter
5x10 In the Beginning
5x11 Hop a Freighter
5x12 The Big One [season finale]
Episode 10 ended with too much exciting unresolvededness to stop, and then 11 felt more like the first half of a finale than its own episode (honestly, that ending… it felt like they made a double-length episode with various possible break points halfway through and just went with the place nearest the middle).
Anyway, the season as a whole I enjoyed. Like I said some time before, it's probably not the very best Dexter's had to offer, but it's not below its usual standard either. Though I agree with critics that Lumen's exit wasn't wholly plausible and could perhaps have been handled better.
I've not heard fab things about season six... but then, same for this one, so we'll see.

Episodes
2x09 Episode 9 [season finale]
Good ending. Hope we get a third series.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]