TV

Demons
1x02 The Whole Enchilada
Yes, I'm watching this exactly a week behind. But at least I've got round to watching it, unlike Apparitions or Dead Set, which I still have all of recorded.
The title song is really, truly dreadful -- big dramatic pre-titles, you expect a decent theme kick-in, like you get with Who, or even EastEnders's closing theme... but no, it's some silly disposable pop trash. That should be changed.
As noted at the time, Demons' ratings dropped for this episode. It's not that bad, and it's wonderful to have so much telefantasy (as it used to be known, back in the day) on TV these days, so hopefully it will continue to do OK. Or at least that they'll cancel it for something better.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Eurovision: Your Country Needs You
Episode 3 (of 5)
We don't have a hope of winning Eurovision anyway, but these acts certainly aren't going to do us any favours. At least Charlotte's gone -- despite what the judges... sorry, panel... sorry, what are they?... Anyway, despite what they had to say, her rendition of Duffy's Rain On Your Parade was literally no better than mediocre karaoke. No wonder she ended up in the Sing Off... sorry, "Danger Zone".
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Live at the Apollo
4x06 (16/1/09 edition) [season finale]
Russell Howard: hilariously funny, lots of sensible points about the world too.
Jo Brand: somewhat disappointing, especially coming right after.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles: TV news

Heroes 'will start from scratch'
(from BBC News)
"Heroes is returning to its roots in a bid to turn round falling audience figures in the US. Creator Tim Kring said series four will start "pretty much from scratch", after fans criticised a lack of direction in the second and third series." But then, remember what Kring said before the start of the third season? So I'll believe it when I see it.

ITV's Demons drops to 4.2m by Neil Wilkes
(from Digital Spy)
"ITV1's fantasy drama Demons lost another 650,000 viewers last night (Saturday), according to early figures. The third episode pulled in 4.18m... The audience is down almost 1.6m on that for the first episode." Oh dear oh dear. No second series then, I'm guessing.
(On an only-vaguelly-connected note, I love how Digital Spy's staff seem to work every day of the week! Either they have no life, or really love their job. Says the man who updates his blog every day. Hey, at least mine's a hobby.)

Jones feels Gavin & Stacey pressure by Alex Fletcher
(from Digital Spy)
Mostly interesting is something I hadn't yet heard: Gavin & Stacey is definitely getting a third series! Hurrah!

Laurie: Accent caused UK House flop by Simon Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)
"Hugh Laurie has claimed that his American accent is the reason for House's failure in the UK." For one, it's not really a "failure", is it? If it were a failure it wouldn't still be on a Freeview channel in a primetime slot. And to be honest, I rather suspect it has more to do with it being on Five. Five's ratings may've gone up in the past few years, but back when House started it was still before all this "everyone must have digital TV" stuff that's going on now and Five wasn't available everywhere (far from it!) Plus that there's a huge discrepancy between US and UK viewing figures anyway, and I expect he sees both, making the UK ones look teeny-tiny by comparison.

New Argumental on Dave in March by James Welsh
(from Digital Spy)
Hurray!
That's all.

Ross will not apologise for prank again
and
Jonathan Ross plans new Sachs apology
by Daniel Kilkelly (from Digital Spy)
Don't you just love it when there's a pair of stories like that? I guess we'll have to wait til Friday night to find out which is true, though the latter sounds more convincing.
The pair of stories also have an interesting line in establishing Ross' true thoughts about the affair and the BBC: "Being suspended hit Jonathan hard -- but he says, 'I have learnt my lesson'", and "Jonathan feels let down by some aspects of the BBC... It was a pre-recorded segment and he expected those who needed to check and follow through to do so. He was aware of the potential pitfalls and alerted other people at the BBC before it went out."

Ryan tipped as new Who assistant by Daniel Kilkelly
(from Digital Spy)
I'll believe it when I see it, considering the source; but, considering her recent recurring role in Merlin, her previous appearance in a Moffat production (Jekyll), and that she (supposedly) auditioned when Rose left, it's not at all implausible. She'd certainly be better than Lily bloody Allen. She's probably older than the new Doctor though, isn't she? But then, so's almost everyone they might consider, so...

TV

Demons
1x03 Saving Grace
"You can't smite your way into Luke's heart." Yep, dialogue doesn't get any better than this.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Eurovision: Your Country Needs You
Episode 4 (of 5)
It's the semi-final! Already! Considering how most TV 'talent' contests sprawl out to the length of an American TV season these days, I suppose we should be thankful that this is so incredibly -- and, let's be honest, mercifully -- short.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
16x01 (23/1/09 edition)
Hurrah, he's back! With a pleasantly long opening applause from the audience and, if you ask me, just the right degree of apologising and making light of things. Sachs' family can sod right off at this point. Asking Tom Cruise about breaking wind clearly shows he's not toned it back completely (even if, at times like that, I'd rather he had). All things considered, a fairly triumphant return, if you ask me.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
5x18 To Live and Let Diorama
Woah, sudden-time-jump-catch-up-with-events-through-snatches-of-conversation-tastic! A technique that should not be done too often, I feel -- I seriously thought we'd accidentally skipped an episode.

Hunter
Part 1 (of 2)
Part 2 (of 2)
The pair of detectives from Five Days are back -- there just part of a large ensemble cast, here the leads in a new mystery. Quite what inspired this I don't know, but inspired it is, because Hugh Bonneville and Janet McTeer are brilliant, and thankfully devoid of most cop show cliches (he shaves! he drives a proper modern car! and so on). The story itself is also suitably unusual. Pray a full series follows.
On an incredibly trivial note, the title credits were very swish -- especially the lovely bit where, after the lead's names, it said "Return"... which then 'unscrambled' itself into "Hunter". Cleverness!
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

Firstly, allow me to point you towards the 100 Films in a Year summary of what's on TV today. They all happen to be on Channel 5, oddly.


Now then, down to regular business. Three brand-new reviews were published this week, and they were...


The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)

“Old fogies go to India” is the setup of this frothy comedy-drama... But when said fogies are played by Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Ronald Pickup, Celia Imrie and Penelope Wilton, it will surprise no one to learn there’s something here for us all.

Read more here.


The Debt (2011)

a team of Mossad agents are hailed as heroes following a high-value mission, only to face serious repercussions decades later. A cast led by Oscar winner Helen Mirren and nominees Jessica Chastain and Tom Wilkinson help affirm this as serious-minded Cold War drama

Read more here.


Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece (1961)

the first of two live-action Tintin movies made by the French in the ’60s. It seems quite a low-budget affair, but that might just be applying modern tastes to an era of more simple means. For all the flat direction and pound-store costumes, there’s still a globetrotting plot involving sunken ships, numerous chases, helicopters, and that kind of thing.

Read more here.


And there were loads new to the new blog (four today alone), as follows...


Angels & Demons (2009)

It still concerns itself with Hanks’ Langdon dashing about trying to solve insanely cryptic clues in a limited timeframe, surrounded by irritating policeman, suspicious friendly characters, and a girl who is almost pointless. However, it’s a lot less talky

Read more here.


Angels & Demons: Extended Version (2009)

the extended cut is basically the same as the theatrical version. If you enjoyed that then you might want to seek this out for your next viewing, just because why not? If you weren’t impressed before, however, there’s no special incentive to try again.

Read more here.


Cameraman: The Life & Work of Jack Cardiff (2010)

It’s a biography of Cardiff’s work, moving chronologically through his major contributions to cinema. The insights are numerous thanks to the number of films covered and a lot of footage from an interview with Cardiff himself.

Read more here.


Glory (1989)

it would be easy to slide into Issue of the Week melodrama in handling such a tale, but Zwick manages it without undue sentiment — there’s an appropriate realisation of the importance of events, perhaps even occasional reverence, but time is taken to show doubts and prejudices.

Read more here.


Hercules (1997)

the tale is told with surprising faithfulness. There’s still a healthy dose of anachronistic content to liven up the humour though. In fact, the sequences with Hercules’ adoring fans and merchandising empire ring even more true in this Twilight-obsessed world than they did 13 years ago.

Read more here.


Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

The first half hour is great fun, but then it gets weird, adds in hefty doses of over-complex plotting, and drags along fairly slowly until it finds an exciting climax a little late on.

Read more here.


Vantage Point (2008)

I don’t imagine you’ve missed the endless comparisons [to Rashomon] But, in fact, it’s nothing like it... There are no lies and no real misdirection; none of the characters interpret what they see, we’re just shown it from where they were standing.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
20x21 The King's Demons Part One [3rd watch]
Any Doctor Who fans reading this will notice that, despite my stated aim of watching a four-parter after every new Who episode this year, The King's Demons has only two parts. There are a couple of reasons for this: one, it has the best connection to Robot of Sherwood that I could think of (it's set in the same era, with the same king on the throne; and, in the second half, features a robot); two, it has a neat connection to a story we'll be watching later (more on that when we get there); and three, due to a familial invasion we only have time for a two-parter this week anyway -- what serendipity!

Two Tribes
1x15 (5/9/14 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Doctor Who
37x06 Demons of the Punjab [2nd watch]
37x07 Kerblam! [2nd watch]
[Watch Demons of the Punjab and Kerblam! (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
12x06 Episode 6 [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Primeval
3x01 Episode 1
ITV's Doctor Who rival is still nothing like as good, packed to bursting with cliches in both its action and its dialogue (there are whole sequences that go by without a single non-cliched line being uttered). It can be passable entertainment at times, but the sheer volume of niggling flaws have me literally shouting at the TV.
And I can't let a Primeval comment go by without mentioning Cutter's ridiculous new haircut -- or, rather, lack thereof. Someone fetch the trimmers!
Also, scheduling it against Robin Hood wasn't such a good idea, at least as far as I'm concerned (hence why I'm a week behind -- yep, it's Demons all over again).
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Robin Hood
3x02 Cause and Effect
Sword fights for no reason? Utterly implausible escapes? Action, action, action? Yep, Robin Hood has finally got it right! This is what I've wanted from the series from day one, and only rarely got before now. Hopefully it can keep it up.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Total Wipeout
1x09 The Total Wipeout Awards
I caught glimpses of Total Wipeout throughout its run. Essentially, it's people trying to run hard obstacles courses, failing and falling into water. And it's much funnier than it has any right to be. This is just a "best of" presented in a slightly different format -- don't worry, you don't have to suffer illiterate acceptance speeches if you choose to watch it.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Demons
1x01 They Bite
My God, that's one of the worst title sequences ever! A dreadful -- and dreadfully inappropriate -- song stuck on animation that would barely pass as a DVD menu. Oh dear oh dear. And Christian Cooke needs a better agent -- he's ostensibly the star, yet his name comes third? Ha! And Philip Glenister's accent is variable and a bit am-dram; which is a shame because, obviously, he's great otherwise.
Still, the first episode did alright in the ratings (and by "alright" I mean it didn't do as well as Merlin (created by some of the same people, incidentally) or Primeval -- or Doctor Who, obviously... or even the Doctor Who Confidential announcing the 11th Doctor, which was on earlier that evening -- but still beat what was on BBC One at the time); and the concept, albeit all nicked from other places (mainly Buffy), has legs.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Eurovision: Your Country Needs You
Episode 2 (of 5)
And so it becomes your bog-standard talent show. Except, it must be said, with less talent than usual.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Gilmore Girls
5x13 Wedding Bell Blues

Live at the Apollo
4x05 (9/1/09 edition)
So what if nearly all the guests are regulars on Mock the Week? It's still funny. Also, an appearance by Lenny Henry, which seems to be something of a rarity these days.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Sandbaggers
2x02 Enough of Ghosts
Bloody Germans, eh?

TV

Doctor Who
20x22 The King's Demons Part Two [season finale; 3rd watch]
What an odd ending. Essentially, the Doctor uncovers the Master's plot... and then all the time travellers just leave. There must be some very confused 13th Century nobles left behind, but we never see any of that. The downsides of being only two parts, I guess. You have to wonder if three is the ideal length for a Who story -- two is a bit rushed and unsatisfactory, whereas with four (or more) a good deal of the middle episodes is often spent doing sod all.

Two Tribes
1x16 (8/9/14 edition)
1x17 (9/9/14 edition)
[Watch episodes 16 and 17 (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Cracker
1x03 To Say I Love You Part 1
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

So, Demons, eh? So much for being just one week behind, I'm now over two. And I was doing so well...

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
8x01 (9/1/15 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Castle
4x06 Demons

Room 101
15x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

24: Legacy
1x08 7:00PM - 8:00PM

Duck Quacks Don't Echo
4x03 Episode 3

Twin Peaks
2x06 Episode 13 aka Demons
2x07 Episode 14 aka Lonely Souls
Got a bit off schedule with this lately. With the new season coming next month, I need to stay on track.

TV

Doctor Who
33x06b The Battle of Demons Run: Two Days Later
This prequel-esque mini-scene was first released yonks ago, but I've finally bothered to watch it thanks to the Series 7 box set. It has more point and amusement than your average DW prequel/short/thing, at least.

Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited
1x05 The Fifth Doctor

Friends
4x09 The One Where They're Going to Party! [4th or so watch]

TV

Doctor Who
37x06 Demons of the Punjab
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]