TV

Atlantis
1x01 The Earth Bull
The BBC's attempt at a Merlin replacement is another rejigging of familiar myths and legends, from the same people who made Merlin. Seems like a safe bet, eh? On the evidence of the first episode, it's certainly of a level with Merlin -- though if they're not careful it'll be too of a level, recycling character arcs and 'twists' on familiar icons that we've seen before.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Friends
2x14 The One with the Prom Video [4th or so watch]
2x15 The One Where Ross and Rachel... You Know [4th or so watch]

Articles

Merlin to end after series five
by Andy Joannou (from Digital Spy)

The internet flooded with moaning and wailing Merlin fans at midnight on Sunday/Monday when it was announced that the currently-running fifth series would be Merlin's last. Which is funny, because they've said since the start that they have a five year plan, and as the series has remained successful that's surely the reason they've chosen to end it now. Pay attention, 'fans'.


Seitz on Liz & Dick: A Retro-Bad TV Biopic
by Matt Zoller Seitz (from Vulture)

Ladies and gentlemen, behold Liz & Dick, the worst reviewed program of 2012.

As the Telegraph put it, it's been "savaged by American critics". More here.

TV

Merlin
1x01 The Dragon's Call
Not to be confused with the excellent Sam Neill-starring miniseries from 1998 (my God, has it really been so long?!), this is the BBC's revamped 'Young Merlin' series. Perhaps it should've been called Camelot? (Actually, that's just a flat-out bad suggestion. Why can't it be set in some distinctively-named hometown of the young Merlin, hm?) Anyhow, it was pretty good. Shows promise.

The Riches
2x01 The Last Temptation of Wayne
Ah The Riches -- still as utterly barmy as ever, trying to recover from the utterly loopy finale of the first season. I swear the writers must make this up as they go along, just writing and writing and writing until they reach the page count for an episode, then ending it and going right on to the next. Still, it's more or less cancelled (its status is still officially up in the air, but it's been a long time since season two aired in America) so there's only six more episodes of story to go. I bet it ends on a cliffhanger though... (Also, for anyone who clicks on my episode name links -- look how much TV.com's changed! Weird...)

TV

Derren Brown: The Events - Live
1x04 How to Take Down a Casino [series finale]
Out by just one! That's really rather incredible.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

House
5x07 The Itch
5x08 Emancipation
Tying one's plot and subplots together thematically may be widely touted as a Good Thing, but it's also possible to do it a little too obviously or a little too much, which seems to be the case with both these episodes. On the other hand, The Itch uses the agoraphobic patient as a metaphor for House's locked-up feelings, whereas Emancipation's brother-accidentally-killing-brother subplot is just a straight-up mirroring of the main plot's eventual reveal.

How I Met Your Mother
1x18 Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M.
1x19 Mary the Paralegal
How I Met Your Mother messes around with time ever so well. Jumping back 20 hours to show Robin's day in Nothing Good... worked quite well, but the "3 months earlier" thing in Mary the Paralegal is an example of the time-messing-around at its best.

Merlin
2x03 The Nightmare Begins
Nice to see Merlin furthering its arc plots, including bringing back and developing characters from the first season. As well as being good for regular viewers and raising the series above Magician of the Week status, it really gives a feel for the five-year plan the producers have. Even the episode title suggests that things are only just getting under way...
On another note, the music this season seems to have been very heavily influenced by The Dark Knight.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Have I Got News For You
40x01 (14/10/10 edition; extended repeat)
As always, hooray for the return of HIGNFY! It should be on more often. And Benedict Cumberbatch made for a (surprisingly, I must say) excellent host.
Though, as a regular twitterer, and someone still in the 16-24 age demographic, I must express my dubiousness about them flashing up their hashtag unexplained at the start of the show. Weird.
[Watch the regular edition (again) on iPlayer. The extended repeat may or may not be available here later.]

Merlin
3x05 The Crystal Cave
3x06 The Changeling
A strong, darkly-themed episode followed by a lighter, sillier one. Such is Merlin's balance.
[Watch The Crystal Cave and The Changeling (again) on iPlayer.]

The Sarah Jane Adventures
4x01 The Nightmare Man Part One
4x02 The Nightmare Man Part Two
A strong return for the excellent children's Doctor Who spin-off, which I'm sure is far better than most kids' TV. Not surprised that Luke's been (semi-)written out of the series here though -- the actor has previously commented that he didn't really consider acting his career, and by now he must be reaching A-level/Uni age himself. Also a convenient way of getting rid of K9, who's only allowed to appear in so many episodes a year. But will they have a Luke-replacement, I wonder? Time will tell...
[Watch parts one and two, or a compilation of both, on iPlayer.]

TV

Merlin
3x01 The Tears of Uther Pendragon Part 1
Darker? Check. Grittier? Check. Well, sort of check. I mean, it's scarier, isn't it. Anyway, my point was: ah, third seasons (/books/films/etc) of fantasy series...
Still, Merlin seems to get better with each passing season. Or even episode -- next week's looks like a belter; more season finale than episode two. I hope they've got even bigger things planned, then.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
4x08 (10/9/10 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Busy day in front of the telly...

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

Lorraine's Fast, Fresh and Easy Food
1x04 Baking It

Merlin
5x01 Arthur's Bane Part One
I think the popularity of Merlin has caught some people by surprise. It started off OK, a lesser Doctor Who-slot drama, but as the series has grown so its audience seems to have been established -- this season five premiere gained around 6 million viewers according to the overnights, leaving it just behind Strictly and X Factor. It's in the same ballpark as Who these days, rather than a couple of million behind it. I wouldn't argue it's that good, but it is still fun with an increased edge as it's grown older. And as the producers always said they had a five year plan, perhaps getting somewhere fast too.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
26x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Peep Show
4x03 Gym
4x04 Handyman
Remember when I watched the first ever episode of Peep Show and didn't like it so never watched it again (despite what I said)? Yeah. But this was on Dave when I wasn't feeling so well and I just let it happen. And it was quite good, actually.

Person of Interest
1x09 Get Carter
Much like Suburgatory, having to download to catch up got me in the habit and now I've overtaken C5. Oh well.
[Watch it on Demand 5 from Tuesday 9th October.]

Suburgatory
1x15 Fire with Fire

Websites

Merlin Official Website
Have a nose around the official site for the BBC's forthcoming Merlin (to air on NBC in the US sometime in the future -- oo-ooh!) As the series isn't on for a few weeks there's little there -- just the cinema trailer and some character profiles (good guys only), really -- but later there'll be the now-usual array of episode guides, photos, games and online-only video thingies.

TV

Have I Got News For You
36x04 (7/11/08 edition; extended repeat)
The added material is often very funny, and really speaking there's quite a lot of it, but it's usually little bits scattered about and so at times feels a bit of a trawl.

Merlin
1x08 The Beginning of the End

Merlin: The Legend
Nothing to do with the current TV series, but a documentary on the history of the character in literature and whatnot. Of some interest, but occasionally padded and slow.

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.]

TV

Merlin
3x02 The Tears of Uther Pendragon Part 2
That's another season of Merlin over then.
Oh, that wasn't a finale? Well, it felt like one. So what's next week? Lots of farting!? Christ, did they learn nothing from Doctor Who?!
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

QI
8x01 Hodge Podge (extended repeat)
I have a feeling I missed some episodes of the last series of QI. At least, there are a couple that were never mentioned on here. To be frank, they now produce so many a year, and have a tendency to scatter them about, and drop in repeats and skip extended editions, that it's no surprise I could've missed some.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
4x09 The Unseen Bits [season finale]
Some people seem to have become fed up with Rob Brydon's interjections and participations this series, but personally I don't mind them. And his Quick Fire Lie tonight was one of the funniest bits... even if it was thanks to the panels' responses.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Q&A: Colin Morgan talks the Merlin finale by Morgan Jeffery
(from Digital Spy)
A nice interview with Merlin's star, though beware spoilers for the season finale.

TV

Argumental
3x12 (2/11/10 edition)

The Armstrong & Miller Show
3x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Dave's One Night Stand
1x03 Johnny Vegas
Or, The Fat Northerner Edition.
[Watch it (again) on Dave's website.]

House
7x05 Unplanned Parenthood
It's quite neat being behind on programmes -- there's no new House on Sky1 this Sunday, thanks to a two-week hiatus in the US, but being a week behind already I shan't notice. Shiny.

How I Met Your Mother
5x23 The Wedding Bride
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Merlin
3x08 The Eye of the Phoenix
3x09 Love in the Time of Dragons
The Eye of the Phoenix was particularly good, I thought; perhaps Merlin's best episode, in fact.
[Watch The Eye of the Phoenix and Love in the Time of Dragons (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Argumental
4x08 Christmas Special
A Christmas special? Those things get everywhere these days...

The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff
1x00 Christmas Episode
Dickens spoof. Most amusing. Look forward to the full (well, full-ish -- it's only three episodes) series next year.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Junior Bake Off
Episode 13 (of 13)
Hooray!

Lost Christmas
A one-off "urban fairytale" starring Eddie Izzard. Surprisingly gritty for a kid-friendly Christmas tale, which is presumably why they wound up scheduling it so far out from Christmas (despite a Christmas Eve setting, it was shown on the 18th). I thought it was really good... until the final few minutes, when the chance for a genuinely worthwhile message was abandoned for a reset happy ending. Oh well.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Merlin
4x12 The Sword in the Stone Part One
Dark, exciting season finale stuff, but also with plenty of the funniness. Well played, Merlin. Good thing I only have to wait 'til tomorrow for the second half.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

Children in Need 2012
Specifically, everything after midnight; though the link below will just take you to all the CiN stuff on iPlayer.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Have I Got News For You
44x05 (9/11/12 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch the extended version (again) on iPlayer.]

Merlin
5x07 A Lesson in Vengeance
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

How I Met Your Mother
7x04 The Stinson Missile Crisis
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Merlin
4x10 A Herald of the New Age
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Strictly Come Dancing
9x20 Week 10 (aka Movie Night)
To repeat myself from last year, "I'm usually in the room when Strictly's being watched, but rarely or barely watch any of it myself. Movie Night's a different beast though, what with being a film fan, and I found it all rather entertaining." Very hard to judge this year -- the score that landed Harry Judd a lowly fourth (of six) would've been enough to top the leader board just a fortnight ago.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

Review of Maid Marian and Her Merry Men: Complete Series 1-4 Special Edition DVD by Eamonn McCusker
(from DVD Times)
I vaguelly remember Maid Marian... from when I was younger, but this review makes me desperately want to see it again. So this set is seriously tempting...

Merlin Press Pack
(from the BBC Press Office)
Including, on page two, some surprising info on how much outgoing Who supremo Russell T Davies was involved in shaping the series.

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats
7x11 (13/11/08 edition)

Merlin
1x09 Excalibur

Russell Brand's Ponderland
2x03 Education

We Are Most Amused
Comedy show for Prince Charles' 60th birthday. Split in half (or two-thirds and third, to be accurate) for no reason other than bunging The X-Factor in the middle. Bloody load of rubbish, that is. Though, if one's being generous, the split could be seen as a way to keep the adults-only material separate from kiddy-friendly stuff.

TV

Argumental
1x05 (24/11/08 edition)

The Devil's Whore
Part 2 (of 4)
Political, swashbuckling, sexy -- everything The Tudors always aims at but doesn't quite pull off.

Little Dorrit
Part 9 (of 14)
Go Frederick Dorrit! Hurrah! Elsewhere, things plod along at a snail's pace -- from my experience of Dickens, this has to be one of his scrappiest, made-up-as-it-goes, light-on-incident tales. Ho hum.

Merlin
1x10 The Moment of Truth

TV

How I Met Your Mother
2x19 Bachelor Party
2x20 Showdown

Merlin
2x06 Beauty and the Beast Part 2
The cast and crew clearly had a ball producing this episode, which makes it great fun to watch too.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance
On at the same time as The X Factor. Oh ITV...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]