TV

Due South
2x12 Some Like It Red [2nd watch]
BBC Two didn't show episode 11, Starman, due to tennis overrunning, but rather than just do the sensible thing -- show it in the next Due South slot -- they just skipped it and kept going. Common sense, sadly, does not prevail.

Episodes
1x04 Episode Four
While I enjoyed this from the outset, I feel it improves as it goes on.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Due South
3x08 Spy vs. Spy [2nd watch]
Even by Due South's standards, this episode was barmy.

Family Guy
1x07 Brian: Portrait of a Dog [season finale]
2x01 Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater
2x10 Running Mates

The Graham Norton Show
8x18 (25/2/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Due South
1x01 Pilot Part 1 [2nd watch]
I used to love Due South when it first aired -- about 15 years ago now! It's always worrying revisiting something you once loved after so long. While it undeniably looks dated now, it's still good fun, and I'm sure will improve once it settles down into the series proper. BBC Two are repeating it weekdays at 1pm (though it seems to be constantly pre-empted by stuff this week), and making it available on iPlayer too.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss
Part 1 Frankenstein Goes to Hollywood
This has come under fire from some for not being a particularly complete history. Did they not actually watch it? Gatiss sets out his stall early on: this series both covers three specific eras of horror and is based around his personal predilections. However much the whole of horror cinema may owe to something like Nosferatu, it was a more-or-less isolated example, not part of a significant Horror movement. Besides which, the clue's in the title: it's A History of Horror, not The History of Horror. And, actually, a bloody good programme it was too.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Sarah Jane's Alien Files
1x01 Episode 1
I'm not certain to what degree this can be classed as "pointless". Essentially, it's a glorified way of recapping previous Sarah Jane Adventures stories: new scenes show Sarah Jane and Mr Smith creating a database of aliens, entering details they learnt from previous encounters. In practice, this mostly means a lightweight fact file and a couple of plot recaps. It's not even very thorough though: this edition covered the Trickster, an enemy Sarah Jane as encountered thrice (so far), but they only covered two stories. I fear my completist nature will see me watch the rest of the series, but I really shouldn't bother.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Spooks
9x04 Episode 4
"Should we discuss the illegal act of breaking into another country's embassy?" "Debate? What? No, just do it! Action action action!"
Oh Spooks, you used to be so good...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Story of England
Part 3 The Great Famine & The Black Death
Cheery.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

The 83rd Annual Academy Awards
aka the Oscars, of course. Once again, I've got myself Sky Movies specially for this -- pricey, but lots of movies for a month. Yay.

Due South
3x07 Mountie and Soul [2nd watch]
Wait... hold on... what are they doing?! No, they haven't skipped another episode (or three) -- despite acknowledging on their website that this is indeed the seventh episode, BBC Two for some reason showed this before episodes five and six. And, incidentally, showed five and six the wrong way round. And seem to be doing the same with later episodes too. It probably doesn't matter -- Due South isn't big on serialisation -- but still, what the hell?

Extraordinary Dogs
1x04 Crucial Hearing
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

My Life in Books
Episode 1 PD James and Richard Bacon (of 10)

Outcasts
1x05 Episode 5
Good, unexpected final twist. So at least this series has produced something almost worthwhile in the end.
[Subject yourself to it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Due South
2x18 Flashback [2nd watch; season finale]
Seems odd to end a season with a recap-esque clips show, but then this was the point at which Due South was cancelled (before being revived for two more seasons) so maybe it was intended to be a nice send-off as much as a recap.
On another note, BBC Two didn't bother to show the episode they skipped. Boo.

How TV Ruined Your Life
1x04 Love
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Outcasts
1x04 Episode 4
Some people have said Outcasts gets better as it goes on (as I also mentioned yesterday). On the strength of this episode, I'm finding it very hard to believe them. If anything, it's getting worse.
[Subject yourself to it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Yugo the Negotiator
1x05 Trust
1x06 Promise
The end of Yugo's "1st Negotiation" -- i.e. first story arc -- sees a lot more action than previous instalments. Another quite well done element of the series that I don't think I've mentioned is how it handles the political situation, especially using it to a dramatic advantage. For instance, the hostage takers appear to be the villains, but they're freedom fighters with at least some degree of honour -- so are the army, who are out to stop them even if it costs the hostage's life, the true villains? But lest we be in any doubt that the terrorists aren't Not Wholly Nice too, they shoot down a helicopter almost in cold blood. Perhaps it's not the most nuanced programme ever, but it makes a fair fist -- more than one might expect, anyway.

TV

10 O'Clock Live
1x05 (17/2/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Due South
3x01 Burning Down the House [2nd watch]
This is the one episode of Due South I'm absolutely certain I've seen, because I remember not approving of the new Ray at the time. Now, I also don't approve of the new opening theme music or the new closing theme music. New Ray -- played, incidentally, by Callum Keith Rennie, he of a thousand recognisable guest/recurring roles since -- isn't as good as Old Ray, true, but he's not too bad.

Extraordinary Dogs
1x03 Myth and Reality
Aww, look at all the cute doggy-woggies!
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

House
7x10 Carrot or Stick

Just Good Friends
2x07 Goodbye Again [season finale]

The Killing [aka Forbrydelsen]
1x09 Day 9
There's a bit of an "entering phase two" feeling about this episode, as a lot of long-running threads are closed off, giving rise to new ones that may well drive the rest of the series. Still over half to go though...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Band of Brothers
Part Nine Why We Fight [2nd watch]

Due South
2x02 The Vault [2nd watch]
I'm labelling all of these "2nd watch" because I definitely watched Due South first time round, but I don't think I've actually recognised any of it yet. (Beyond the very basics of the show's setup, that is.) I guess my memory has wiped the mid-'90s pretty thoroughly, then.

The Mentalist
3x08 Ball of Fire
Nearly caught up with Five (and therefore, as of this Friday, the US).
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

Sarah Jane's Alien Files
1x05 Episode 5
1x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
I've decided this is very good for wrapping presents in front of. For that reason, wish I hadn't left it so long that episodes three and four got deleted from iPlayer.

TV

Due South
1x18 The Deal [2nd watch]
1x19 An Invitation to Romance [2nd watch]
BBC Two have taken a break from their Due South repeats this week, for some sport or other, which is fortunate for me because I'm about 8 episodes behind.

TV

The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2010
Now in its sixth year, Channel 4's annual quiz is as much fun as ever. Usually I don't do very well, trailing behind whichever team (or, often, teams) lead on the programme itself. This year, however, I managed 33⅔ (out of 36), clearly beating all contestants on screen. Go me.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Due South
2x07 Juliet is Bleeding [2nd watch]
A surprisingly dramatic episode. Due South, I thought you were supposed to be light and fluffy?
This was the last episode the BBC showed before Christmas. Presumably it's returning at some point, though the BBC Two daytime schedule seems to be filled with darts this week, snooker next, and bowls the week after. Bloody sport.

TV

Due South
3x04 Strange Bedfellows [2nd watch]
I don't mind New Ray, but I do rather miss Old Ray at this point.

Oscars 2011: Red Carpet Live
Not much red carpet in the red carpet show -- which is fine by me! The actual awards begin at 1:30am here (1am Stateside, I believe), so I'll mention that tomorrow, as usual.

South Riding
Part 1 (of 3)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Top Gear
16x05 (20/2/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Due South
2x09 The Edge [2nd watch]

The Magicians
1x05 Episode 5 [season finale]
I've mostly enjoyed this series, all things considered. More please.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The South Bank Show
37x07 Judi Dench Revisited

Yes Minister
1x06 The Right to Know

TV

24 Hour Panel People
Saw various bits of this live webstream throughout the afternoon and evening, in which David Walliams (and others, naturally) complete 19 different panel shows in one 24 hour period. With lots of long breaks for set changes and that kind of malarky, which for viewers of the live stream means cutting to some budget presenters in a "pod". It's still going on right now (unless they're on a break, but you know what I mean) and is due to finish at midday. The (almost) complete schedule is here. BBC Three will be showing a series of highlights programmes next week.
[Watch the live stream here.]

The Culture Show
The Books We Really Read [special]
Part of BBC Two's Culture Show-based coverage of World Book Night (indeed, the only bit I properly watched), Sue Perkins looks at what makes blockbuster books sell while literary fiction... doesn't. Including Sophie Kinsella being reasonable and Lee Child coming across as a right idiot.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Due South
3x09 Dead Guy Running [2nd watch]

Faulks on Fiction
Part 4 The Villain [final episode]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Killing [aka Forbrydelsen]
1x12 Day 12
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Let's Dance for Comic Relief 2011
Episode 2 (of 4)
As much as I enjoyed the tap dancing, I really didn't expect the British public to put it through first! Shame about Lulu too, though Noel Fielding has a better chance of beating Russell Kane, so...

My Life in Books
Episode 6 Sister Wendy and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen (of 10)
A dry edition of what's otherwise been an entertaining and pleasantly fast-moving watch. I can see why this episode is tucked away in the middle of the run.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Due South
1x21 Victoria's Secret Part 1 [2nd watch]

Mad Men
4x13 Tomorrowland [season finale]
Low-key, even by Mad Men's standards. Previous seasons have ended with cliffhangers or big changes; despite Don's sudden engagement, I wouldn't say this had either. Not as enticing for next year as the season three finale was, then, but Mad Men is always worth watching.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Miranda
2x04 A New Low
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Story of England
Part 6 Victoria to the Present Day [final episode]
Taking my usual style of watching at the last possible minute to the extreme with this one: I downloaded it on the last day it was available from iPlayer, then at the end of the 30 days you have to watch a download I played it, in order to buy an extra seven days in which to watch it. Today (of course) is day seven.
Amazing how time flies, too -- doesn't feel like five weeks (or, long enough to re-run the whole series at one a week) since I watched the previous episode.

TV

Due South
1x07 Chinatown [2nd watch]
A particularly good episode, I thought. Just in case you're interested.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Event
1x03 Protect Them From the Truth
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The Graham Norton Show
8x02 (29/10/10 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
3x04 Red Carpet Treatment
[Watch it (again) on the new-look Demand Five.]

TV

Due South
1x01 Pilot Part 2 [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

House
7x02 Selfish
I somehow failed to note when I watched episode one of this season, which is a rather surprising oversight (I've now dropped it in somewhere that seems vaguely plausible). I thought I'd not made my comment on how they've finally changed the title sequence, something they've needed to do for years (ever since he took on a new team). Amusingly, they've done it in the cheapest way possible, dropping in new shots for the new cast names.

Whites
1x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Due South
2x15 Body Language [2nd watch]

Fast and Loose
1x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Killing [aka Forbrydelsen]
1x07 Day 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Due South
3x02 Eclipse [2nd watch]

Episodes
1x07 Episode Seven [season finale]
It took a few episodes to find its feet, but I properly enjoyed it by the end. More please.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Graham Norton Show
8x17 (18/2/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Due South
1x17 The Blue Line [2nd watch]

House
7x07 A Pox on Our House

The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson
2x03 Episode 3

The Rob Brydon Show
1x06 Centenary Special [season finale]
This may just be the oddest episode of a chat show ever, set (yes, it has a special setting) decades in the future, with a 100-year-old Brydon looking back at his first series all those years ago in 2010. What this means in practice is a few highlights and lots of outtakes from the other five episodes, but it's certainly an unusual -- and, in fairness, entertaining -- way of presenting them.

Strictly Come Dancing
8x21 Week 10 Results (aka Movie Night Results)
More film-inspired routines, hurrah. Also, farewell to the dancer the 2010 series will surely be most remembered for.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Due South
1x09 Chicago Holiday Part 2 [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Thorne
1x02 Sleepyhead Part 2

TV

Colditz
2x04 The Guests

Due South
1x13 Hawk and a Handsaw [2nd watch]

Nazi Collaborators
Episode 1 Pierre Laval
Original 13-part series for Yesterday looking at (the title might give this away) those who collaborated with the Nazis. For more info, try this press release, or this (slightly harsh, I think) review of episode one.

Mad Men
4x11 Chinese Wall
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Thorne
1x04 Scaredycat Part 1
It's a fortnight since I finished the first serial in this series. Feels ages ago.