new review at 100 Films

Stand By Me (1986)

it’s a paean for childhood, with the adult perspective and the ‘lost age’ setting of the ’50s succinctly highlighting the nostalgic spirit. To be precise, it’s not so much reflecting on “childhood” as on “growing up” — the choices that are open when young that either disappear with time or, for whatever reason, become closed off.

Read the full review at 100 Films.

There are currently 15 films in the review pipeline at 100 Films. As ever, updates here as and when they're posted.

TV

Jam & Jerusalem
3x02 Dinner Party / Missing Persons
A much better episode, though this time it was even more distinctly two Sellotaped together. Unfortunately this almost served to rob the first half of its surprising power, not allowing time for it to be digested before racing on to the next. Fortunately, the second half was a belter, so all was (almost) forgiven. Indeed, as a pair, they certainly make up for the weaker first part.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Wildest Dreams
Part 3 (of 7)
"There can be only one," Nick Knowles says at one point this episode (well, almost -- what he said was near-identical and you can hear he was stopping himself), inadvertently nicking the catchphrase from something entirely different. I bet he wishes they were having deciders with swords though.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Grand Designs
2x03 Surrey: The Regency Villa
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Louis Theroux: The City Addicted to Crystal Meth
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Mock the Week
7x06 (13/8/09 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Babel (2006)
[#41 in 100 Films in a Year 2009]
On 4HD. Oo-ooh.

TV

Would I Lie To You?
3x01 (10/8/09 edition)
This has been rather buried in a late-night-Monday slot, which is a shame because it's a rather good show with broader appeal than that. Why not pair it with As Seen on TV on a Friday evening?
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

You Have Been Watching
1x06 (11/8/09 edition) [2nd watch]

Films

District 9 Trailer
District 9 hit US cinemas today, so I figured it was about time I watched the trailer. It's a bit hard to tell what it's like from this, but it certainly has potential.

Fantastic Mr. Fox Trailer
And this just looks surprisingly old-school, but in a kinda endearing way.

TV

Breaking the Mould: The Story of Penicillin
Surprisingly engrossing film about the people who really made penicillin possible: yes, Alexander Fleming discovered it, but without Howard Florey, Ernst Boris Chain and their team it would just be a little curio of no real use -- and Fleming (and others) more or less exploited their work for personal gain.

Desperate Romantics
Part 3 (of 6)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
1x21 Miss Red
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

The Prisoner Comic-Con Trailer
A nine-minute trailer for the forthcoming remake of The Prisoner. It looks suitably intriguing, and with Ian McKellen in the cast it must be good on at least some level.

Music

West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum by Kasabian

Articles

Charles Dance blasts ITV2 over Hilton by Daniel Kilkelly
(from Digital Spy)
"Charles Dance has criticised ITV2 for keeping his new show off air in favour of Paris Hilton's British Best Friend. The veteran actor revealed that university drama Trinity was pushed out of the schedules to make way for Hilton's reality programme at the beginning of the year... "We're putting too much energy into junk and reality television. This show was going to be shown in January or February. But they shelved it until September to put you know what in its place? Paris Hilton's British Best Friend, which is possibly the most execrable piece of television I've ever seen in my life."
You tell 'em Charlie!

TV

Dragons' Den
7x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Brazil TV host 'ordered killings' by Gary Duffy
(from BBC News)
"Police have accused a TV presenter in Brazil of being involved in organised drug trafficking and ordering killings to get rid of rivals and boost ratings."
If it was a film you wouldn't believe it!

Kids' top searches include 'porn'
(from BBC News)
"Kids today!", eh? Or, in reality, "nothing changes."

The legend of the Witch lives on by Kev Geoghegan
(from BBC News)
A feature on the creators/directors of The Blair Witch Project, a decade on from its release. Whatever you think of it, it was undoubtedly a major event in terms of low-budget filmmaking and internet/viral marketing. The pair have barely done anything since, but it seems they have something in the pipeline... and yes, it's another Blair Witch project.

Translation appeal on video game
(from BBC News)
"A company behind a popular computer game based on Celtic mythology is appealing for Welsh speakers to help translate it. Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches is based on the medieval Welsh folk tales The Mabinogion, and has been translated into German, French and Russian. But Arberth Studios said a limited market means it cannot justify £16,500 Welsh translation costs."
Not only could you not make it up, but it's always nice to see adventure gaming making the headlines.)

TV

You Have Been Watching
1x06 (11/8/09 edition)

Articles

Bond Bombshell by Nev Pierce
(from the Empire Blog)
Empire suggest a female director for the next Bond film. More intelligently reasoned than that headline might suggest.

Facebook in challenge to Google by Maggie Shiels
(from BBC News)
It might not sound like it when you read the story, but apparently this is a Big Development.

John Hughes Documentary Picked Up by Owen Williams
(from Empire)
"Matt Austin-Sadowski's Don't You Forget About Me, a modest documentary about a road-trip in search of the reclusive John Hughes was, until last week, attracting scant attention. But the sad news of Hughes' death prompted a sudden flurry of interest in the independently produced Canadian film, and a large US distribution deal is in the offing,"
Ah Hollywood -- tactful and quick to cash in as ever.

Leterrier's dream: An Avengers epic told in four films over one summer by Geoff Boucher
(from Hero Complex at the Los Angeles Times)
An interesting interview with the Incredible Hulk director, who has some unusual ideas about what to do next at Marvel.

Films

In the Shadow of the Moon (2007)
[#40 in 100 Films in a Year 2009]
Only 20 behind where I should be now. (Madness!)

The Lord of the Rings Blu-ray Trailer
Oh my, it looks beautiful! I know I should hate this release -- it's theatrical cuts only, with extras confined to normal old DVDs -- but it looks so pretty that I may find it hard to resist. Maybe a rental then.
On another note, I haven't watched the films for years, and seeing what is effectively a seven-minute highlights reel from all three has just reminded me how amazing they are. It may be time for another all-day marathon...
(This trailer is available on Warner Bros.' US BD-Live service, hence the lack of a link. Sorry.)

Articles

Did We Land on the Moon? A Debunking of the Moon Hoax Theory by Robert A. Braeunig
(from Rocket & Space Technology)
This is very, very long, but is also a thoroughly comprehensive overview of why those who claim we never went to the Moon are wrong. Even if you're not interested in all the details, the opening and closing statements summarise well, and if you've ever had any specific questions about the science of the Apollo missions and Moon landings you'll likely find an answer in there.

TV

Five Minutes With
Alistair McGowan
"Celebrities and news-makers are grilled by Matthew Stadlen in exactly five minutes in a series for the BBC News website."
Sounds interesting, perhaps? And it is, in places, but McGowan looks understandably uncomfortable and Stadlen is an atrocious interviewer -- not only does he rattle on through his list of prepared questions without paying any heed to McGowan's answers (a fault too common in interviewers these days), but he frequently cuts McGowan off mid-answer, failing to notice clearly jokey responses as he motors on. He's not just too weak an interviewer to follow things up, he literally isn't listening to the answers.
Should you still want to watch this, you can do so online here.

Jam & Jerusalem
3x01 Easter / Working From Home
Jam undoubtedly still has its moments, but this episode felt distinctly over-long (it seemed clear that the episode was two half-hours spliced together) and light on laughs. Perhaps they're aiming more at Comedy-Drama than Comedy now.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

You Have Been Watching
1x05 (4/8/09 edition) [2nd watch]
Iron Chef America: "Ready Steady Cook as directed by Michael Bay." And that's why it looks amazing.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

TV

As Seen on TV
1x04 Episode 4
I swear Sally Lindsay and Jo Joyner are the same person.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Single-Handed
1x01 Natural Justice
Irish police drama, currently showing on ITV1 in the UK.
It's quite reminiscent of the BBC's recent Wallander adaptations in tone and style (though this predates those by a year or two), which leads me to believe ITV bought it in the wake of their success, especially as its slow pace and grim beauty seem atypical of their usual output. I hope it's successful though, because on the evidence of this first film it would be good to see more.
(The series was original screened in Ireland as three two-parters in January 2007, January 2008 and April 2009, but ITV are showing them all as one series of three films.)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Articles

Review of Alien Nation by Roger Ebert
(from rogerebert.com)
Ebert is always an entertaining writer. This review is 21 years old but feels like it could've been written yesterday (and that's a good thing). Though with quotes like, "Alien Nation feels like a movie made by people who have seen a lot of movies, but don't think the audience has", it automatically feels like one is reading a classic.

Review of Moon
(from Slate Scrawl)
A promising sci-fi film that perhaps doesn't quite deliver. One to catch on DVD/BD for me, especially as it's not showing round 'ere.

TV

Mock the Week
7x05 (6/8/09 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11
I watched the ITV edit, which apparently was cut from the original 91 minutes (without ad breaks) to just 69 minutes (again, without ads). To be honest, this was probably no bad thing.
While the drama had its moments -- and it certainly had a surprisingly starry, high-quality international cast (the lead astronauts were played by an Aussie, a Yank and a Brit, not to mention the various nationalities in the supporting roles) -- the quality was more like a drama/documentary that was short on documentary footage and voiceover narration than a fully-fledged feature-length dramatisation of what is undeniably an incredible moment in human history. With that fact being inescapable, the drama (as I said) managed a few good bits, but it was a bit disappointing overall.
See also today's Articles for a behind-the-scenes piece that's barely more interesting than the film itself, but at least answered my queries of how they filmed the weightless bits.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Articles

10 Films That Saved Their Franchise by Christopher Campbell
(from Spout Blog)
A film-related Top 10 list not from Total Film?! What is the world coming to? (It's good though.)

Behind the scenes of Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by David Bentley
(from the Geek Files at the Coventry Telegraph)
A brief piece, mainly of interest in how they faked weightlessness. It looked so poor on screen that I just thought they'd had the actors bob up and down a bit, but it appears they sadly attempted something more complicated. Wasn't worth the effort then.
See today's TV post for my thoughts on the programme itself.

Web attack blogger blames Russia by Jonathan Fildes
(from BBC News)
"A blogger who was targeted in a co-ordinated attack against websites such as Facebook and Twitter has told the BBC he blames Russia for the assault."

The Writer's Tale - New edition by Paul Hayes
(from Doctor Who News Page)
Russell T Davies and Benjamin Cook's book The Writer's Tale is a phenomenal must-read for any Who fan or wannabe TV/film writer, but it's a shame that the "300 pages of new material" in this new edition ("detailing the conclusion of Davies's time on the programme, culminating in the final special episodes to star David Tennant") aren't in a new volume, instead forcing us to buy the book all over again for the new stuff.
On the other hand, it's not like a separate sequel would be much cheaper, so why not? (Though, from the publisher's point of view, they'd get even more sales if it were two volumes -- maybe they're trying to be fan-friendly after all.)

TV

Desperate Romantics
Part 2 (of 6)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Kevin Bishop Show
2x01 Episode 1
I decided to give this ago because, a) I'd heard good things, and b) it also features Karen Gillan, the new Doctor Who companion. It's a sketch show, which these days is short hand for "at least some of it is entirely unfunny and goes on far too long", but overall it's relatively fast with some well-observed sketches (Gritty BAFTA is excellent) -- though it occasionally can't avoid the well-mined easy targets (when Top Gear itself has made jokes about how they're always on Dave it's a bit late to still be trying it on a sketch show).
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The Mentalist
1x20 Red Sauce
A rather ludicrous episode... but then this is The Mentalist, so that makes it one of the best episodes. The show's really seen a return to form as the series heads towards its climax (only three more episodes to go).
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

You Have Been Watching
1x05 (4/8/09 edition)
As beautifully cutting as ever, especially about the dreadful Casualty season finale that I happened to mention the other day. Iron Chef America looks like pure genius though.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Articles

Mad Men: So Wrong It's Right by Helen O'Hara
(from the Empire Blog)
A nice piece on what makes Mad Men so brilliant (beyond the surface niceties of "good writing, good acting", etc).

The Top 10 Ridiculous Movie Face-Off Titles by Kim Newman
(from Empire)
Make sure to read the "Kim Newman explains his choices..." sidebar too. I always miss those bits.

TV

Arena
Harold Pinter: Celebration
Concluding part of Arena's acclaimed 2002 documentary/biography of the famous playwright.
Although it's very much a Part Two, not a second programme on the same subject, a shift in focus explains why it's not just one two-hour piece: it continues the first's chronological run through Pinter's life and works, but it is less straightforwardly biographical and a little more analytical, and turns away from Pinter's inspirations and internal life to discuss his public persona and the perception of him -- ironically, this in turn perhaps reveals more about the man than the first half managed.
It's an unusual documentary -- almost self-conscious, certainly more complex than an average biography or surface analysis -- but all the better for it. Certainly, I have a greater understanding of and interest in Pinter and his works than I did before viewing.

Dragons' Den
7x04 Episode 4
Clearly they've run out of Exciting Final Pitches, at least for now.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Wildest Dreams
Part 2 (of 7)
I fell asleep a couple of times during this. I blame Nick Knowles. Though, to be fair, bees and bats hold absolutely no interest for me.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

The Lovely Bones Trailer
This looks brilliant -- a great director, a great cast, and stunningly beautiful too. Can't wait.

Articles

How is Merlin faring in America? by Ben Rawson-Jones
(from Digital Spy)
Interesting. Well, almost.

How the euro crept into Britain by Marie Jackson
(from BBC News)
Bloody Europe.

How vital were Cold War spies? by Gordon Corera
(from BBC News)
Answer: "Quite. Well, maybe. Depending on your point of view." So, definitive then.

And one piece that doesn't begin "How"...

Radiohead: Harry Patch (In memory of)
(from Today at BBC News)
"World War I veteran Harry Patch will be buried tomorrow. The former plumber, who fought at the battle of Passchendaele in 1917, gave a memorable interview to Today in 2005. Thom Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead, was moved by the interview to write a tribute to the veteran. The song can be downloaded from the Radiohead website -- all profits will go to the Royal British Legion."
Surprising. But good.

TV

Arena
Harold Pinter: The Room
The first of a two-part documentary/biography of the famous playwright, originally screened in 2002 and recently repeated as part of a 'theme night' on BBC Four. While I can't say I've ever got on with Pinter's work, it is interesting, and this documentary is occasionally enlightening, and occasionally just as frustratingly obtuse as the man's plays.

As Seen on TV
1x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Top Gear
13x07 (2/8/09 edition) [season finale]
I've been put off Volkswagens for life by how irritatingly humourless those two ad men were. Jeremy's car ads, however, were among the best I've ever, ever seen.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Music

Torchwood: Children of Earth - Original Television Soundtrack by Ben Foster
Tracks 26 - 40

Articles

David Twohy Talks Riddick 3 by Owen Williams
(from Empire)
Vin Diesel's super-duper keen to star, apparently, but the size of his salary is one of the biggest potential problems. About as bright as he looks then, eh?

Review of Comrades DVD by Gary Couzens
(from DVD Times)
A nice review of the BFI's new DVD, mainly for the interesting perspective and history on the film and director Bill Douglas.

TV

Elementary My Dear Viewer
Documentary examining the history of Sherlock Holmes. Nothing too revelatory, but it has its moments of interest.

The Mentalist
1x19 A Dozen Red Roses
The Mentalist takes aim at Hollywood in another particularly good episode. OK, the actual mystery plot wasn't that amazing, but that's only half the fun in a series like this.
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

The Secret Millionaire
4x01 Kevin Morley
The true state our country is in can be really shocking. At the same time, when people like Morley do something to make a difference, it's incredibly heartwarming. Perhaps that's the charm of The Secret Millionaire: it makes you thoroughly depressed at how awful the world is for half the programme, then spends the second half building to a momentous and uplifting finale. Which I suppose is rather cynical of me, actually...
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Articles

Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Series Blu-ray UK Release Detailed by Brenden
(from the Blu-ray Blog)
It's been confirmed (elsewhere) that the UK release will contain the same extras as the US (and there are loads), but it now seems the little Cylon action figure -- available with all DVD and Blu-ray copies in the US -- will only be available here with the DVD as an online exclusive. I don't care about it being online-only -- with prices being the way they are, online is by and large the only sensible way to buy DVD/Blu-ray -- but it's very frustrating that it's only available with the DVD. Why not a Blu-ray exclusive version too, eh?

Watchmen powers Blu-ray sales, studios to favour BD releasing for selected movies by HCC News Time
(from Home Cinema Choice)
I mentioned the story of Watchmen's home video success the other day, so it's the second part of this article that's caught my attention.
"Both Paramount and Disney are giving further emphasis to Blu-ray by releasing selected titles on the format before DVD versions ship in the US. The first Paramount movie to benefit... will debut on Blu-ray September 8. The DVD edition will initially only be available for rental, eventually appearing for sale between four to eight weeks later... ‘We have been strategically evaluating new and innovative ways to maximize retail opportunities for each individual title. We believe that a DVD rental window will increase revenue in that channel and that releasing a Blu-ray exclusively for sell-through will help drive adoption of the format, so it's a win-win scenario.’"
Win-win for them, yes, but not for DVD consumers. On the other hand, as someone who's now adopted Blu-ray, I can't say I'm complaining too much.

TV

The Mentalist
1x18 Russet Potatoes
A distinctly above-average episode, which managed to avoid some of the early traps I thought it might fall into (regarding the potential uses of hypnotism). Hurrah all round!
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

The Secret Millionaire
3x05 Carl Hopkins
A surprisingly uplifting programme, giving a new perspective on both millionaires (not all so self-obsessed after all) and deprived areas (not all full of worthless chavs after all).
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Tim Minchin: Live
aka Tim Minchin: So F***ing Rock Live
Highly intelligent and incredibly funny, Tim Minchin is a slightly different kind of stand-up. Not just because he's both intelligent and funny -- there are plenty like that around, most notably in this case Eddie Izzard, who Minchin is pleasantly reminiscent of -- but because of the style of his act.
For one, he does lots of comic songs. Minchin is clearly a gifted musician and lyricist, which makes these a proper musical/comedy joy, not just a brief aside now and then.
For another, the actual stand-up part of his act is... awkward. Yes, it's funny, but he takes time to warm into it and offers a lot of faintly philosophical observations rather than a stream of gags or humourous stories. It makes him atypical, but certainly worth the effort with the right frame of mind.

Films

Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
[#39 in 100 Films in a Year 2009]
Marking out big gaps of time for me, this film: it's over a month since I last watched a film, and it's almost two years since I saw the companion film to this.

Articles

Review of Kagemusha (1980) by Cal
(from Heroes of the East)
It's rare to ever hear a bad word written about a Kurosawa film (in fact, I'm not sure I ever have), so it makes an interesting change to see one criticised. Still, if anyone could do it and retain my respect and interest, Heroes of the East is near the top of the list.

TV

Casualty
23x48 No Fjords in Finland Part 2 [season finale]
I didn't actually watch this, I happened to see the last 10 minutes. Normally I wouldn't mention such a minor happenstance, but I felt compelled to, because my God is it dreadful! I swear it wasn't as bad when I used to watch it (probably about 15 years ago now), but then maybe I just didn't have the critical faculties to assess it. I don't want to lay the blame at everyone's door -- the directing is adequate, the performances too (I've certainly seen a lot worse on prime time TV), but the writing is appalling, each scene and line of dialogue seemingly dragged wholesale from The Big Book Of Drama Cliches. What a pile of tosh.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Outnumbered
2x03 Episode 3 [2nd watch]
Came across this in the same way as last week, funnily enough, but it really does stand up to repeated viewings.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Proms 2009
Prom 22 A Celebration of Classic MGM Film Musicals
Live on BBC HD, with 5.1 Surround Sound -- lovely! The story behind this prom is pretty incredible (see today's Articles post for more) and the music was suitably glorious. I'm not a great one for the Proms (as you'll've noticed by their lack of mention here before now), though I often feel I should give them more of a go, but this filmy one appealed to me and it was certainly worth it. It was a huge surprise to hear Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane was performing at it, and perhaps even more surprising how right he was -- if you didn't know better you'd believe he was just a professional musicals performer.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

May starts building Lego house
(from BBC News)
Those Top Gear lads have the best ideas. I sincerely hope this is being filmed for a TV special sometime soon (I mean, it must be, surely).

Technicolor for the Ears: Reconstructing Hollywood's Musical Past by John Wilson
and
The Making of Make Believe and Programme Notes by David Benedict
(from BBC Proms - Prom 22: A Celebration of MGM Film Musicals)
Liner notes to accompany the 22nd 2009 Prom (read more about that in today's TV post).
The first piece is by the conductor, discussing the lengths he had to go to in preparing this concert -- unbelievably, all of the sheet music for MGM musicals was destroyed in 1969 -- while the second piece discusses the history of musicals more generally. Finally, the Programme Notes discuss each piece performed in more detail, though sadly (but unsurprisingly) skip the encore.
All three (and a bit more) can be read in a full digital version of the programme available here, while just the track-by-track programme notes are also available as a normal webpage here.

Watchmen Dominates Video Charts
(from WatchmenComicMovie.com)
"Watchmen shot to the top of the [US] home video sales and rental charts in its first week in stores, with 36% of the total unit sales coming from the high-definition edition. The 36% Blu-ray sales number is a record-breaking figure... The previous BD percentage record was for Quantum of Solace, released March 24, 2009, which got 28%...
Coraline snagged the No. 2 spot... A solid 18% of the cartoon's unit sales came from Blu-ray Discs, a surprisingly strong showing that indicates the format is fast moving out of the early adopter phase and into the mainstream."
Hurrah for Watchmen (follow the link for info on how it did in rental charts), but also interesting commentary on the rise of Blu-ray.

TV

Lee Mack Live
I didn't realise until about three-quarters of the way through this that I'd actually seen it before. I thought most of the jokes seemed familiar...

Top Gear
13x06 (26/7/09 edition)
Ooh, dinosaurs! I saw them live.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

You Have Been Watching
1x04 Weird TV Special
While The Jeremy Kyle Show is undeniably fowl, I think The Swan has to take the 'honours' as the worst TV programme in the history of the medium. It appears to be utterly depraved, lacking even one redeeming quality, and is enough to make you weep for the state of humanity. It's so horrendous that it is literally (as far as I'm concerned) not even funny.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

TV

The Mentalist
1x17 Carnelian Inc.
I'm not sure if this was a really good episode or a surprisingly middling one. There were certainly too many similarities in its initial setup to an earlier episode, not to mention a good few inconsistencies when you really think about it. It can be quite nice that The Mentalist is even more lightweight than the likes of CSI, but sometimes you do wish for a bit more meat on its bones.
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

Mock the Week
7x04 (30/7/09 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

DVD / Blu-ray

DVE Digital Video Essentials: HD Basics
If you've got a Blu-ray player or are serious about high-quality home entertainment, you may well have heard of this. Essentially, it's a Blu-ray Disc (formerly available in a DVD version) that helps you calibrate your system to get the best possible quality out of it (it focuses on the image quality, but also includes audio tests and some information).

As well as tests, guides and demo materials, it also includes a 97-minute documentary on these areas. I haven't watched that, but jumped straight to the calibration bits to get my display going. I checked out some bits however -- it seems a bit dry, certainly extremely technical, and in both these respects is definitely not for everyone. Some will be interested though -- me, for example, though I'm not sure how much I could handle in one sessions!

The disc is widely available from online retailers, plus there's a dedicated and information-packed website here.

Music

Torchwood: Children of Earth - Original Television Soundtrack by Ben Foster
Tracks 1 - 25

Articles

...but is it art? by Graham Kibble-White
(from Doctor Who Magazine #411, p.24-33)
In which Proper TV Critics give their view on where Doctor Who sits in the wider world of television. Perhaps not as comprehensive as it could have been, but then it's a subject you could probably write a whole book on, so for a magazine article (and a sizable one at that) it does a fine job.

Gibbons: 'Superman needs to be reimagined' by Simon Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)
""Perhaps it would be a good idea to reimagine it the way that the Batman franchise was reimagined," he said [but] stressed that he felt it would be unwise to make the next Superman dark like Christopher Nolan's reconceived Batman series. "I've always thought of Superman and Batman as yin and yang. One is dark and mysterious and the other is bright and adventurous... my personal view is that they should make it lighter, with that sense of wonder that Superman has always had. Not to make it childish or puerile but to make it something that has a bright sense of adventure and possibility.""
Couldn't agree more.

Review of The Bill Douglas Trilogy Blu-ray
and
Review of Comrades Blu-ray
by Noel Megahey (from DVD Times)
Insightful reviews on two related and widely-recommended new releases.

the Virgin Media HD rip-off... is no surprise.

After months -- perhaps even years, depending how you look at it -- of promises, Virgin Media have finally launched some HD channels today (besides BBC HD, that is).

To get HD via Virgin you have to pay a £69 installation fee and £5 a month. Actually, no -- that's only if you argue with them on the phone, because otherwise they'll charge you either £99 or £150 for that.

But still, once that's set up you get all four current HD channels, with two more announced on the way. Right?

Wrong.

You get BBC HD, and rumour has it C4HD will be free when it arrives, but for their other channels you need to take out their more-expensive XL package. Yes, despite paying £5 every month for the privilege of having an HD box, you then need to pay however-much-more to actually get most of the HD content. Incidentally, there's no mention of this on their HD info page -- it just names the available channels -- and in the 'complete' list of channel-by-package, it conveniently doesn't list any of the HD ones.

It's a rip-off, but it shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, this is the company who insist on you taking an £11 monthly line rental for most (all? I didn't check) of their services... but don't include this £11 in the quotes slapped all over their site -- so when you sign up your monthly bill will always by £11 more than that nice low number advertised in such a big font. Yes there's a footnote to the effect of "when you take £11 line rental", but if it's always the case then why isn't it just included in the quote? To make the price look smaller, obviously.

Getting a vaguely equivalent package on Sky still works out more expensive... but, actually, not that much more -- and what you get for your extra cash is a massive load of extra HD channels and a more upfront approach to them. I don't say this as a Sky advocate, but as someone who took Virgin because they'd be cheaper and is now stuck in a long contract for a less-than-impressive service.

As you can tell, I'm not best pleased.

TV

Dragons' Den
7x03 Episode 3
Someone who goes to my Uni! Whoo!
Otherwise, not the most exciting episode.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats
8x08 Best Bits [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Desperate Romantics
Part 1 (of 6)
Desperate Romantics has come in for some criticism over its historical accuracy, but I found it to be rather fun.
Incidentally, the BBC's series website is actually worth checking out for once -- unlike most series, there's actually content there beyond press release episode summaries and iPlayer links.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Wildest Dreams
Part 1 (of 7)
Ah Nick Knowles, never knowingly saying something that isn't a cliche stating the bleedin' obvious. As for the series, it has a good heart -- helping wannabes become wildlife cameraman -- but is actually a huge con -- the prize, according to a recent Radio Times, is actually a much more lowly job in the BBC's wildlife department. So the contestants go through all this hardship to become something like a runner? Makes you feel kinda sorry for them...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Cox 'asked Fincher for directing advice' by Lara Martin
(from Digital Spy)
"Former Friends star Courteney Cox has revealed that she turned to Fight Club filmmaker David Fincher for advice about making her directorial debut."
Well, he did appear in an episode of (the underrated) Dirt, maybe he exec produced it as well or somesuch (I could look it up to find out, but I won't).

Jon Favreau 'confirms Iron Man 3' by Tim Parks
(from Digital Spy)
"He said: "There's an Iron Man 3. Here's how I know. When they make the option deals, they include Iron Man 3. So I know they're planning on 3.""
What non-news! I can't really believe Favreau really thinks optioning your cast & crew for future potential films confirms a franchise. Of course, only the second one flopping at the box office would keep it from happening, and that's not likely, but still...

Review: Watchmen Director’s Cut
(from WatchmenComicMovie.com)
Good coverage of the extended cut, and a relatively complete list of its changes can be found here. My Blu-ray copy is still making its way to me from Amazon US.

Tom Felton rejection 'really upsets' fan by Daniel Kilkelly
(from Digital Spy)
Headline makes it sound mean; truth is, fan was a bit loopy. Ah fans, you are a mad lot.

Wogan backs Norton at Eurovision
(from BBC News)
A tiny aside in the new Radio Times prompted this, BBC News' #1 entertainment story for some of today. Madness. Still, Norton was very good.

TV

Crip on a Trip
This is one of those Channel 4 documentaries that has a mildly offensive/outrageous title but hides a programme with some genuine worth and serious thought. Not normally the kind of thing I bother with, to be honest, but I happened to see the start of a repeat on teachers.tv and became engrossed.
[Watch it (again) on teachers.tv or 4oD.]

Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars Trailer
The San Diego Comic-Con trailer, as mentioned in the panel reports. Looks fantastic.

Films

Dorian Gray Trailer
Trailer for the forthcoming film adaptation starring Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, and others (obviously, but I mean some notable others). The link above goes to an Empire article that provides a teeny bit of analysis and links on to the trailer at a different site.

Articles

Doctor Who And The End Of Time: Tennant's Last Moments by Charlie Jane Anders
(from io9)
Firstly, The Waters of Mars: yes, yes, yes! After setting up the concept of "some things must not be changed" to explain why the Doctor didn't just save everyone in The Fires of Pompeii, doing the same in a future-set episode is officially the new Best Idea Ever. Well done Russell & co for thinking of it -- it seems so obvious, yet I bet didn't occur to most people.
Anyway, this report includes more details on the trailers shown, and a few more bits of info on the Who panel... but hardly anything more than the weak article I found yesterday, so I'm led to assume there was really nothing to report. Ho hum.

Oh wait, what's this? A more thorough report. Yes indeed...

Live: Doctor Who panel at Comic-Con by Neil Wilkes
(from Digital Spy)
Ah, right, nothing else news-y. Fans may wish to wade through the writer's irritating lack of Who knowledge (despite the fact he thinks he knows a lot, clearly) for the info present. Only news on Torchwood 4 is that it's not confirmed but is likely, etc etc.

Talking of Torchwood, what's this?

Live: Torchwood panel at Comic-Con by Neil Wilkes
(from Digital Spy)
Thanks to a series recently airing, there's a bit more to this panel than the Who one, though still little in the way of news. Probably the best bit: "RTD says he is "still reeling" from the success of [Children of Earth] and says no-one at the BBC saw it coming." Super.
Actually, even better: "Girl claims that RTD has "hurt" a lot of internet fans and accuses him of being "out of line" with killing Ianto. "I'm immensely sorry if people are sad, but I'm not changing my mind. I've got to be blunt about this, there have been campaigns to send packets of coffee to BBC Wales in protest. There have been nine packets sent. I'm not taking the mickey, but that's a very small number."" You tell 'em Russell!

Also from the Con...

Are You Ready For The Avatar Backlash? by Charlie Jane Anders
(from io9)
Remember what I said about Avatar not sounding that great? Well...

And on a final, related (not to Avatar, to Torchwood) note...

Torchwood Children Of Earth Soundtrack review by Cameron K McEwan
(from Den of Geek!)
I've not changed my opinion that Den of Geek is rubbish (because it is), but this review is worth reading purely for this comment:

The Ballad Of Ianto Jones [is] one of the album's highlights. Though ‘highlights' does not quite do it service or meaning. It's more of a ‘low'light in tone and emotion. Not a tune for those emotionally unstable 'fans' that can't handle drama.

Nice dig! I approve.

TV

Grand Designs
8x04 Monmouth: The Gothic House
I do like a bit of Grand Designs, though most of the houses built -- despite supposedly being highly personalised -- are rather samey. Not so here, however, as a couple create a brilliant faux-Gothic mansion. Right up my street. Though going over budget by a whopping £150,000 -- in this case, that's 60%! -- is just insane.

Articles

As ever at this time of year, lots from the all-dominating San Diego Comic-Con. But first, we'll have all that's Doctor Who-y from it...

Doctor Who, David Tennant and The End Of Time by Glenn Hauman
(from ComicM!x)
The main panel, hurrah! Not much in this report though -- no mention of any of the things covered by the following, for example. I shall now hunt the net for something more thorough...

David Tennant Tells Us Why His Doctor's So Sorry, And What's To Come by Charlie Jane Anders
(from io9)
Despite the main panel (see above), this press pre-interview has a couple of revelations. Or non-revelations, really (there won't be a movie).

Torchwood picked up for another season by BBC by Glenn Hauman
(from ComicM!x)
Allegedly -- no mention of it in that panel report above. That said, it wasn't very thorough, so who knows? As it's from the same site (and the same reporter), maybe they assumed people would just trust that they'd already said it? (Which would be foolish, but hey, sites are like that.)

Doctor Who Vs Predator by James Dyer
(from Amazing Tales from Comic-Con! at Empire)
A silly little bit, courtesy of Empire.

And in other, genuinely comic-related con news...

Marvel Announces The Avengers' Line-Up, Plus Thor And Captain America News by Meredith Woerner
(from io9)
A pared back line-up for the film of The Avengers comic, it would seem, sticking to those with already-established (or about-to-be-established) film franchises.

Tony Stark's On The Firing Line In First Iron Man 2 Footage! by Lauren Davis
(from io9)
Unsurprisingly, one of the big stars of Comic-Con is Iron Man 2. Plenty of reports around the web, but this one describes the footage seen in good detail.

TV

As Seen on TV
1x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Outnumbered
2x02 Episode 2 [2nd watch]
I stumbled across this repeat tonight just a few minutes in and couldn't help but watch the rest -- it's brilliant.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Alice in Wonderland Trailer
Tim Burton directing Alice in Wonderland? It is, as they say, a "no brainer", and looks pretty much exactly as you'd expect it to... but in a good way.

Articles

First:

WWI veteran Patch dies aged 111
(from BBC News)
"The last British survivor of the World War I trenches, Harry Patch, has died at the age of 111."
Appropriately, the main story across BBC News today.

Now, on to more trivial matters...

A Night With Peter Jackson by Nick de Semlyen
(from Amazing Tales from Comic Con! at Empire)
In which the director reveals all a little about the many, many projects he has in development.

Panel Report: Avatar by James Dyer
(from Amazing Tales from Comic Con! at Empire)
It's amazing, blah blah blah. I can only assume it looked a lot better than it actually sounds.

Spies like them by Gordon Corera
(from BBC News Magazine)
"What do real life spooks make of fictional spies?"
A simple but incredibly interesting concept for an article, which is moderately well-served here. It would be more interesting to know what spies thought of purportedly realistic series like Spooks (well, in its early series) or the too-forgotten Sandbaggers, rather than the obviously-fictional world of James Bond. Perhaps the three-part radio series it's promoting will shed more light on the matter.

Blogger Search

Is it just me, or has Blogger's search function turned into a load of old rubbish?

Try searching this blog for Spooks, for just one example. I've seen all of Spooks, in order, so that includes all of season six and season seven... but when you search for it, the top result is the TV post from 24th October 2008, when I watched episode four and five (of ten) of Spooks 6. Well, that's clearly not right.

Scroll further, and you see that Blogger hasn't forgotten all posts since then for some bizarre reason. The next post showing on the search results is from 25th August 2008 -- season five, episode five! It's lost a whole series in between too!

Or so it seems, for while the third post displayed is from June 2008, the fourth then jumps back to July, and the sixth finally makes it into 2009... for an episode of The Sandbaggers where I mention Spooks.

I presume search is now based on some 'relevance' order rather than the old chronological system, which is a huge annoyance for a blog like this. (Also, how it determines relevance is entirely unclear. While some of the top results do mention Spooks by name several times, others only say it once, yet are still out of order.)

It would be nice if there were some kind of setting to change how search results were displayed -- especially by default, but even at all would be nice -- but it seems no one's thought to include this. Not even the supposedly swish new Search Box gadget helps (I know, I've tried adding it -- look there on the right).

This has rather annoyed me, as you may be able to tell. So what have I done about it?

Well, um, I've moaned about it on my blog, of course...

Edit: This issue is, of course, widespread. After a lot of moaning that went unanswered, someone from Google finally responded (scroll down that thread)... with a "we're working on it" claim. Well, we'll see...

TV

FlashForward Trailer
I'd vaguely heard of this before, but didn't realise it was being pitched as such a Big Thing until now. It certainly looks mystery-packed and promising, and one can only hope it lives up to the hype, but the real question is: will the main story be solved in one season a la Heroes, or far too many, a la Lost? Only time (or, y'know, a decent creator interview) will tell.
(Incidentally, it's just been announced that in the UK it will air on Five and its associate channels.)

Mock the Week
7x03 (23/7/09 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Taking the Flak
1x01 Bigfooting
A strong start for this African-set war-based news sitcom, which seems to have been buried in the schedules for no good reason. That said, perhaps trimming this hour-long opener down to the regular length of 30 minutes might've kept the joke-rate higher. Nonetheless, a lot of promise, so fingers crossed it can deliver.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Poem of the Week: A Clubman's Ozymandias

by Kit Wright

Back when Watchmen hit cinemas I posted two vaguelly related poems about Ozymandias, the famous one by Percy Bysshe Shelley and a lesser-known one by his friend Horace Smith.

Well, next Monday sees Watchmen released on DVD and Blu-ray here in the UK (some lucky pre-ordering people will already have their copies), plus it was out earlier this week in the US, so here's an even-more-tenuously linked poem: Kit Wright's take on the Shelley poem.

So this chap tells this other chap
Some damned clap-trap
About how somewhere on the old map
He's seen these de-bagged legs, and to cap
It all, not a scrap
On top of them, bugger all on tap
But the desert sands and similar pap --
Just a bloody great gap --

This was first published in 1989 in Wright's collection Short Afternoons. It's currently available in Hoping It Might Be So: Poems 1974-2000, a collection of all Wright’s work for adults in that period, published by Faber Finds.

TV

As Seen on TV
1x01 Episode 1
It's funny that two TV-related quiz shows should start up so close together. While this isn't as funny as You Have Been Watching (see further down), it is more of a quiz, which increases the play-along-at-home factor. I also thought a lot of it was very easy... but maybe that just means I watch too much TV...
As a side note, it felt quite at home on a Friday, but from episode two has moved to Thursdays. Why? (I appreciate the extreme irony in saying this having watched it on a Thursday.)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Dragons' Den
7x02 Episode 2
Another excellent, unusual finale for the second week in a row -- not to mention the poker player earlier in the episode -- suggests this is shaping up to be a very good series.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Mentalist
1x16 Bloodshot
A new episode was on tonight, but I'm still a few weeks behind playing catch-up. An episode with a lot of potential here, and some relatively important moments in the series' ongoing subplots, but some ideas (the blindness, taking hostages inside the CBI) still felt a little wasted.
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

You Have Been Watching
1x03 (21/7/09 edition)
Brilliant brilliant brilliant. If you haven't already, watch it.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

TV

Dara O Briain Talks Funny: Live in London [TV version; 2nd half]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Review of Watchmen: Director's Cut - BD by Mike Restaino
(from DVDFile)
DVDFile's reviews are pretty awful on the whole (poorly written and edited, and I seem to very rarely agree with their opinions), but this gives a nice indication of how good the disc's image, audio and extras are. On the other hand, I suppose I should really go find a review by a decent site. Oh, like...

Review of Watchmen - Director's Cut [Blu-ray] by Gary Tooze
(from DVD Beaver)
Much better. And also, this one:

Review of Watchmen Blu-ray by Kenneth Brown
(from Blu-ray.com)
Ah, the best, most thorough one yet. That should do it.

TV

Dara O Briain Talks Funny: Live in London [TV version; 1st half]
The first thing I've properly watched on BBC HD in my new place... and recorded too. Rather surprised, and somewhat pleased, to discover that because I've got my Surround Sound system hooked up to my V+ box it forces me to use it (it doesn't send any sound whatsoever to the telly), which is a very handy and obvious reminder to turn it all on and receive the extra quality.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats
8x07 Best of British Special
Something a little different for Cats (though they did a Movie Special earlier this series, which I annoyingly missed).

The Mentalist
1x15 Scarlett Fever
A relatively slight episode, though a couple of scenes did stand out.
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

Articles

His time has come: New Doctor Who Matt Smith begins filming with his gorgeous young redheaded assistant by Daily Mail Reporter
(from Mail Online)
Well, the headline tells most of the story, but the pictures also give our first glimpse at his costume. They seem to be going for the Old Man In A Young Body thing, which is probably for the best. Only eight or so months til these episodes start airing...

TV

Mock the Week
7x02 (16/7/09 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Top Gear
13x05 (19/7/09 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Top Gear
13x03 (5/7/09 edition)
Michael McIntyre! Yay!
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
16x24 (17/7/09 edition) [U2 interview]
Bono really is quite insufferable, isn't he.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Stephen Fry: Guilty [2nd watch]
More repeats, but this is a great one-off: certifiable genius and national treasure Stephen Fry chats about the things he loves but thinks he shouldn't. Intelligent and fascinating as always.

This Morning
17/7/09 edition
Fern Britton's last show, after 10 years.

You Have Been Watching
1x02 (14/7/09 edition)
Had been intending to watch this sooner but completely forgot. It's absolutely brilliant though, perfectly positioned on C4 to be cuttingly funny without anyone moaning too much. It's also surprisingly, pleasingly long. Quite why there's a vague quiz format tacked on is a mystery though -- surely four comedians/experts taking the mick out of the week's TV is fine by itself? (Though at least they acknowledged it was just bolted on.)
This particular edition is particularly notable for commentary on the coverage of Michael Jackson's memorial -- suitably irreverent.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Articles

School safety 'insult' to Pullman
(from BBC News)
"How dare you check me, I'm famous!" One rule for them, etc etc. I can almost see where they're coming from but, to be frank, they're wrong. Following this article I have a lot less respect for Philip Pullman, Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo and Anthony Horowitz.

Poem of the Week: Starting from Scratch

by Ingrid Wendt

In honour of last week's Poem of the Week being put off by my move (as was the whole blog, of course), here's a poem about that very thing. (Moving home, I mean, not putting off blog updates.)

To begin with, none of your neighbors began here.
Everyone moved in years before you moved into
a pattern you found yourself part of
before you intended: flowers, fences,
attention to details your mother always took care of,
duller than film on dishes it was always your job to wipe.
Nobody spoke about courage.

Nobody said you could choose this life.
It happened, it didn't, the fact
you could choose to remain would become
what's yours to control: hours
of sleeping and waking, meals, the home
you need to go out in the world from.
Neighborhood customs you know you can count on.

Recipes, grapes exchanged for zucchini, the garden
someone will know when to plant.
The book you suggest. The pattern of limits
no one has asked for, told over coffee, lives
like yours you could have become
starting from scratch. Each day
the way you will live before what comes next.

Starting from Scratch is taken from Wendt's collection Moving the House, which features a number of poems on this subject. I'm uncertain of its copyright status, but the whole thing's available online for free here (with some copyright info that may or may not be relevant). There's also biographical detail and the like there if you're interested, and a list of years, one of which it will have been written in.