2000 AD #1749

As I mentioned when I read the last Prog, all the stories that started in my first Prog of 2000 AD all end this week (well, "this Prog" -- "this week"'s issue is about five on from that). That would seem to make it the perfect time to reflect on my re-initiation into the world of 2000 AD so far.

Judge Dredd, then, is undoubtedly 2000 AD's flagship strip. This has been an interesting one: after an opening three-parter that had some fun but was painfully light on logic, and was also a wrap-up for previous events rather than a properly new-reader-friendly jumping-on point, the story has progressed with a decently intriguing procedural. There's clearly a lot left to go in this Day of Chaos story, but it's off to a good start.

Sinister Dexter, on the other hand, was spectacularly unfriendly to the new reader. Although starting a new story, it built completely on events from the previous one, and on top of that on events going back years. It wasn't even especially entertaining to make up for it either. Apparently this one's on its way to being wrapped up for good, and by the sounds of things there aren't many who'll miss it.

Savage, then again, is brilliant. A real change from the overtly sci-fi angle of the rest of the strips, this is like a WW2 resistance comic, only set now (more or less) after a Russian-allegory occupation of Britain. Patrick Goddard's realistic black-and-white art is never less than gorgeous and Pat Mills' scripts are almost always a perfect example of how to tell a pulpy story in small but exciting pieces. Indeed, he and Dredd writer John Wagner really are the masters of the form -- even if Wagner's overall storytelling has been a bit iffy at points, his structuring is immaculate.

Zombo seems to be much beloved by 2000 AD fans, and while I wasn't sure at first I was quickly won over. This is the third outing for the strip, and while that means there's some continuity to overcome for a new reader, it's much more accessible than Sinister Dexter. It took me a Prog or two to become accustomed to Al Ewing's wit, but once there it was a hoot. Similarly, Henry Flint's art at first appeared sketchy and cartoonish, but is actually highly detailed and completely appropriate. I really want to get the collected edition of the first two tales now -- can't say better than that!

Finally, Tharg's 3hrillers (which ended last Prog) have been a mixed bag -- which you'd expect from an anthology format. The first one was passable but lost its way towards the end; the second had a good atmosphere and concept but a hurried conclusion -- it would've been good if it had been longer and more thoroughly developed; the third was an unredeemable piece of rubbish, with a weak story and pathetic art. Ho hum.

The most interesting bit has been getting back into the culture of reading the mag itself. By which I mean, reading stories in five-or-six-page chunks once a week for a couple of months at a time, five stories at once. I haven't read a regular comic for years, so not getting a whole story in one go (as you do with collected paperbacks) and not getting an apparently meaningful chunk of narrative in each portion are both adjustments.

What it highlights, however, is the differing storytelling skill set needed to make a six-page chunk satisfying, rather than the 20+ pages of a US monthly comic. Some of those writers could do with reading and learning from 2000 AD, because there are occasions where a Tharg strip can cover as much ground in six pages as a US comic will cover in 20. They'd benefit from that added speed.

TV

How to Win in the Den
Episode 1 Pitching and Presentation (of 4)
Despite the title implying a new concept, this is just the latest Dragons' Den catch-up-with-previous-contestants series. (And, despite listings calling it Dragons' Den: How to blah blah blah, the words "Dragons' Den" never appear on screen. So there.)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
25x01 Episode 1
Hurrah for the return of Buzzcocks! They may have plasticky new CGI titles and a slight set redesign, but it's still the same old hilariousness. I just hope the final round isn't all about the guest host every week.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x24 (29/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Dragons' Den
9x09 Episode 9
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Home Cooking Made Easy
1x01 Comfort
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x23 (28/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

DC's The New 52 #1s: My Thoughts

With all of DC's New 52 first issues now out, and with (most of*) the ones I've chosen having finally made their way to me and been read by me, I thought I'd offer some quick thoughts on each (in the order I read them)…

(* I have three more #1s on order from their second printings, but I figure as it's nearly time for #2s (they start on Wednesday) it was best to give in and post this.)

Justice League by Geoff Johns & Jim Lee
This came in for a lot of stick, it felt like. No, it's not the greatest book ever, but it was a more-than-solid introduction to the series and universe. It may suffer from the infamous decompressed storytelling, but the thing is, so does everything else -- that's just how comics are now, and while it might be good if that were changed, it's going to require a shift bigger even than DC's re-numbering re-launch. So with that in mind, I think this is actually pretty good: there's action, humour, mystery, and the story is both newbie friendly and prepares them for what it's like to read comics. Good job.

Detective Comics by Tony S. Daniel
Both these first two Bat books felt slower than Justice League, to my mind; or, rather, less content-filled. This particular one sees Batman encounter the Joker in a way that suggests he's been tracking him for years but never really come face-to-face with him… and, in that grisly and surprising cliffhanger, maybe he never will! This is looking like it might be set up for something altogether more unusual.

Batman and Robin by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason
Bit on the fence about this one. For one thing, it's not at all newbie friendly, referencing and building on a tonne of stuff from the last few years of Bat books. Luckily for me I'd been reading up a bit out of idle curiosity, but a total newbie is going to be totally lost. Fail as a new #1, then. Even more so than the two books above, this has long scenes with pages of few panels -- it's either slowly character building (followed by a decent action sequence in the second half), or a bit thumb-twiddling. The plot developing is Moscow is intriguing so I'll stick with it for now.

Resurrection Man by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning & Fernando Dagnino
This is one of the books I picked up retrospectively, having heard good things. The concept always appealed, mind, so I guess that says something about following your instincts. Anyway, it was worth it. This is a great example of how to do a re-launch character introduction without telling the origin story: we learn his powers, we learn there are people after him, there's plenty of enticing mystery but none of it feels like we need to know his past to understand. Can't wait to read more, and indeed it makes me want to go back and read the original run too. Can't say better than that.

Batman by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo
The only Batman-starring book in the relaunch that seems to have achieved widespread acclaim, I wasn't as completely convinced. It's got some great bits though, including the cliffhanger and some proper detective work from our hero, but equally some speechmaking by Bruce Wayne drags along in the middle. Greg Capullo's art is brilliant in places, mainly anything with Batman himself, but I'm not such a fan of his manga-ish renderings of human characters. I also still resent the excellent solicited cover being switched for Capullo's cartoonish rendering of the same scene. Maybe they feared it would raise the wrong expectations for the internal art?

Batgirl by Gail Simone & Ardian Syaf
One of the best-selling and popular books of the relaunch, which lead me to get hold of it a bit later. Personally I didn't care for it a great deal -- it has an interesting villain and setup with Barbara Gordon's newfound ability to walk again (and hence her return to active superheroing), and I'd quite like to see where all that goes, but it felt even briefer than the other books I've read so far. Perhaps that's the fault of the format I read it in: with digital I don't think I savoured the art and storytelling in the same way I did the ones I bought in print. Which is kinda interesting, I suppose. That said, I'm not alone: as the CBR review I quoted before said, "it feels like Batgirl #1 has barely gotten moving full steam ahead when we get to the cliffhanger."

Batwoman by J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman
A long-awaited title finally emerges as part of the New 52. I have no idea why exactly it was so anticipated, but I'm sure people found it worth the wait. It's a tad hard to get into for a new reader, stuffed as it is with allusions to backstory and previous plots, but it feels like it's worth getting through that because the actual story and characters are intriguing. And, even more so, the art by J.H. Williams III is gorgeous: the crisp pencils and detailed inks really make an impact, and there's masses of innovative page layouts that demand your attention to follow (in a good way) and that you sit back and appreciate them as art in their own right. Loved it.

Aquaman by Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis
"How does it feel to be nobody's favourite superhero?" a character asks Aquaman in this issue, neatly bringing his real-world status into the story. Johns does this throughout, making the book a very entertaining read. And it's true, of course: real-world popularity effects how important characters are in-universe, because that's what makes readers want to see more or less of a character, and that makes them more or less involved in big stories. Anyway, it's a fun read, with strong art, especially the intriguing well-designed villains. I look forward to more.

Batman: The Dark Knight by David Finch & Paul Jenkins
This seems to have been the worst reviewed of the four books starring Batman, and I can see why. It has the slightest story of all four, achieving virtually nothing in its 20 pages. Plus, coming at the end of the month, its Bruce-Wayne-making-a-speech centre section and a big prison break sequence both feel repetitious of Batman #1. Finch's art is fine when drawing action but I find it ugly when crafting faces, making the long-ish dialogue-based scene at a charity gala an uncomfortable read. Even the cliffhanger wasn't particular intriguing for me. The reviews are right, this is easily the weakest Batman book of the New 52.

All Star Western by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti & Moritat
My initial run through The New 52's #1 ends with perhaps my most anticipated book. All Star Western is a continuation of Gray & Palmiotti's surprisingly-lengthy run on Jonah Hex in all but name… well, and setting. Instead of the Wild West, here Hex finds himself in a burgeoning Gotham City, teamed up with Dr Amadeus Arkham (yes, as in the Asylum) to hunt down a murderer of prostitutes. And, in the process, perhaps tie-in a little to the modern-day arc in Batman. Clever… but, importantly, it feels like neither will be dependant on you reading the other, just offer neat commentary/parallels if you do. This is an exciting, violent, gritty book, beautifully rendered in a sketchy style by Moritat. It lived up to all my expectations and I can't wait for more.

So that's that. If you're interested, my favourite books were Resurrection Man, All Star Western, Aquaman and Batman, while my least favourite were Batgirl and Batman: The Dark Knight. Neither of those were bad per se -- Batgirl in particular had a lot to recommend it -- but I either really liked or outright loved the other eight I've read so far.

I've been intending to read even more of the New 52 #1s at some point, possibly even all of them -- I suppose I ought to get on with it, really, to see if I'd want to continue with any other series. I'm sure I'll share similarly bitesize opinions on those as I read them, but as I read them rather than in a pointlessly saved-up way such as this.

TV

Downton Abbey
2x01 Episode 1
2x02 Episode 2
Episode 3 went out tonight -- about time I got caught up with ITV's ratings juggernaut.
The new series begins about two years on from where the last one left off, which is nice because it means things get a wriggle on and there's lots to find out. Indeed, for a genteel Sunday Night drama, Downton moves through plot points at a surprising lick. Criticisms levelled at some of the blunt dialogue or soapish plotting aren't misplaced, but it's good fun as much because of that as anything else.
And then for episode two, we get a handy marker telling us it's now April 1917. Thank goodness for this and I hope it continues -- I was rather surprised, and then bemused, when last year's finale suddenly revealed two years had supposedly passed during the course of the series (when it had felt like months, at most).
[Watch episodes one and two (again) on ITV Player.]

The Great British Bake Off
2x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Centurion (2010)
[#82 in 100 Films in a Year 2011]

this week on 100 Films

2 new reviews were posted to 100 Films in a Year this week, and they were...

The House on 92nd Street (1945)

On the one hand we have a double-agent spy thriller, which has a noir-ish tinge but isn’t the most representative film of the genre; on the other, a fairly factual look at the contemporary workings of the FBI. Many of the smaller parts were played by real FBI agents and a lot of time is put into showing how they really work and investigate a case. At the time I imagine this was a fascinating procedural; now, we’re all a bit more familiar with how such things go, but it still works as an historical document.

Valley of Fear (1983)

The negatives of the previous films still remain, primarily the weak ’80s TV animation. It’s not as badly designed as the bright-and-colourful version of Baskervilles, at least. O’Toole’s performance is nothing to write home about either.

Plus we're now in October (dear God, where did the year go?!), so there was also the update for September.

More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
32x13 The Wedding of River Song [season finale]
I don't know about you but I guessed most of the twists in this episode, including how the Doctor survived, what the eyepatches were for, and what The Question would be. But that doesn't matter one jot because, as with all the best stories, this was about far more than just what the twists were. It was rollicking good fun, in fact. Just a shame we'll have to wait another year -- at least -- to find out the ultimate significance of said Question.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Doctor Who Confidential
6x13 When Time Froze [series finale]
So that's it! Goodbye Doctor Who Confidential -- your quality level may have been inconsistent, but you will be missed.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Jonathan Ross Show
1x04 (24/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Merlin
4x01 The Darkest Hour Part One
Ooh, it certainly is dark this year, isn't it? And a bit too stuffed with slow-mo, actually. Following Doctor Who could have made it look bad, but actually it held up decently enough.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x22 (27/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Comics

2000 AD #1748
Crikey, I've got massively behind on 2000 AD. I blame all those New 52s I've been reading. If anyone still cares (if they even did in the first place), the ECBT 2000AD reviews for this Prog are here, here, here, here and here.
Next Prog, all the stories that began with my first issue end, so I'll offer some thoughts on my first batch of 2000 AD tales then.

All Star Western #1 by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti & Moritat
Probably my most anticipated comic in DC's New 52, and luckily it lived up to my hopes. More when I publish my big review post of all the books I've read (so far), which I think will be on Monday.

Batman: The Dark Knight #1 by David Finch & Paul Jenkins
This seems to have been the most criticised of the four Batman-starring books. What did I think? See above.

Articles

Don't put your daughter on the stage Mrs Worthington... by Bethany Black
(from Bethany Black)
Following yet more criticism of Mock the Week not featuring enough female panelists, a working female stand-up outlines why it's if anything over-representative of women in her profession. It's a lengthy article but one that's definitely worth a read if you're interested in that world. It also has something to say about those kind of people who don't adjust their view to fit the facts, but bend the facts to fit their view.

My Next New Beverly Season: ‘Films Edgar Has Never Seen’ by Edgar Wright
(from edgar wright here)
Director Edgar Wright is scheduling a season of films he's never seen. Never mind that, though: the best part of this is where he talks about how it's OK to have not seen certain films for whatever reason, despite the one-upmanship common among film fans. "I am a firm believer that it’s never too late to enjoy a movie," he writes, "I see filling in the gaps in my film knowledge as a lifetime pursuit." Too true.

Sherlock meets Doctor Who trailer

This is exceptionally well put together...

TV

Perfect Couples
1x04 Perfect Health
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

QI
9x03 Imbroglio (XL edition)
[Watch QI XL (again) on iPlayer.]

Wilfred
1x04 Acceptance

Comics

Aquaman #1 by Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis
Another book I read digitally but now intend to buy in print and get at least an issue or two more of. More thoughts when I do my end-of-issue-1s wrap-up, soon (I know they're all out, but I haven't received all of mine yet). For some detailed thoughts, there's always CBR's review.

Daredevil #3 by Mark Waid & Paolo Rivera
Slightly damp squib of an ending. At least it explains who that villain is, but that means pages and pages of exposition-fuelled nattering. The final fight on a busy road sounds a good, visually dynamic idea, but I felt there was little sense of where the fight was taking place -- it may as well have been down an alley or something. Still, the closing pages, and the new setup for how Matt can defend people without being in court, work well. The CBR review has the complete opposite view on the book's two halves, however. I take their point about a sound-based villain being a perfect idea for a Daredevil story, but I didn't care for how he was used.
Also this issue, in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of 9/11 is a strip called Moment of Truth by Bill Jemas and Mark Bagley, based on the story of a Marvel employee's father, excerpted from a previous collection. It's a moving tale told without words. Great tribute.

Articles

The DC Comics New Reader Litmus Test: The New 52 Week 3 by Josie Campbell
(from Comic Book Resources)

Comparing their issues to watching only the first ten minutes of a television show, no one felt they received a fully rounded and complete story, and all were disappointed with how short their issues were.

And that, I think, is one of current comics' problems with appealing to new readers: they want a sizeable chunk of story for their $3-one-a-month. Not unreasonable, that. Considering how popular serialised TV shows are now, I don't think people would necessarily object to a story that didn't completely resolve in one issue, but I think they want to feel they got "an episode of TV" rather than "one sixth of an episode of TV".

(For the first two parts of this experiment, look here.)

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.

Absolutely no change this week, for the first time in exactly a year (must be something about this time of year, I guess).

Next week: some additions. Hopefully.

Number of titles in collection: 1,386 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,139 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 247 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 3,433 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 1,466 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,162 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Billy Connolly's Route 66
Episode 2 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Outnumbered
4x05 Episode 5
Twists! Cliffhangers! Not what you expect from Outnumbered, really... but it's still brilliant. And Karen may just be the best sitcom character ever. Her "oh Jesus" on seeing Angela was perfect.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
5x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Comics

Batgirl #1 by Gail Simone & Ardian Syaf
A book I've grabbed a bit later, because it's proved one of the best-selling and apparently-popular of DC's relaunch. Personally I didn't quite latch on to it. It felt a lot briefer than the other books I've read so far, for one thing -- the CBR review puts it best: "it feels like Batgirl #1 has barely gotten moving full steam ahead when we get to the cliffhanger". Exactly how I felt. Perhaps, however, that my chosen reading format was part of the problem: whereas I've read the rest (so far) in print, this was in digital, and I think I perhaps didn't savour the art and storytelling as much because of it.

Batwoman #1 by J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman
This one was scheduled to kick off long before the New 52 were announced (indeed, an issue #0 was published almost a year ago) and was highly anticipated. I'd also heard reports it was therefore hard to get into for new readers, presumably because it hadn't originally been intended as a complete jumping-on point. It's OK, though the backstory that's half-explained could do with greater explanation. Also read digitally; good enough that I'm going to re-buy and re-read in print, I think.

Articles

Dear DC Comics, by Michele Lee
(from Michele Lee)
There's been a lot of controversy surrounding the depiction of women in some of DC's relaunched comics. Here, a 7-year-old manages to get a better handle on what's wrong than the people at DC have (who just advised "look at a book's rating before buying"). It's certainly worth a read as a demonstration of how simple this is... yet DC seem unable to grasp it.

New 52 Pickup | Week 5 — decision time! by Steve Sunu
(from Robot 6 at Comic Book Resources)
The final summation of DC's 52 new #1s, ending with Sunu picking the 26 he'll buy #2 for. Except he only picks 25 -- the 26th is up to readers. Gasp!

Star Trek: The Next Generation is Coming to Blu-ray in 2012 by Angie Han
(from /Film)

In order to release the Blu-rays in high-definition, CBS dug up the original film negatives — over 25,000 reels — and edited them to match the original episodes precisely. Special effects were recreated, rather than upconverted from video tape. The end result will be all 178 episodes in high-definition 1080p, with 7.1 DTS Master Audio.

Crikey!

We will "save good television" say Doctor Who Confidential campaigners by Tim Glanfield
(from Radio Times)
RT interviews the anonymous person behind @SaveDWC.

TV

The A to Z of Crime
Episode 4 MNOP (of 6)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Pointless
5x20 (23/9/11 edition)
5x21 (26/9/11 edition)
Christ almighty that pair of cackling chatterboxes (in the second of these episodes) were annoying. Thank goodness they made it to the final so I don't have to suffer them again in the next episode! Never have I been so glad that just two people remembered an answer, or that a name the contestants misremembered turned out to be pointless. (I'm cruel, I know.)
[Watch the 23/9/11 and 26/9/11 editions (again) on iPlayer.]

Wilfred
1x03 Fear
Yeah, it may be five weeks since I last watched this (feels longer), but I hadn't forgotten it, no.

Articles

DC Comics: Bad at Math by David Willis
(from Shortpacked!)
Short comic that demonstrates why, for all its successes, some of the (controversial) moves in DC's New 52 are doing nothing at all to help the cause of boosting comic readership; indeed, they may be actively hindering it.

Doctor Who Confidential Axed by Dave Golder
(from SFX)
"Scrapped due to cost cutting measures. See, this is what happens when you moan about the license fee". Disappointing news. I know I've moaned about Confidential's quality, but overall it's a pretty good show. Plus, it makes up the vast majority of nuWho's DVD extras. What are we likely to get in its place? Nothing, I'd wager.
If you want to try to save it, there's @SaveDWC on twitter and a petition here.

In Defence of: Doomsday by Fergus Burke
(from The Movie Bit)
Not the Doctor Who episode, or one of any number of other things with that title, but the 2008 Neil Marshall film. As the article so rightly puts it, though Marshall's "film's rank fairly highly on the internet site Rotten Tomatoes, one is continuously shit on. Can you guess which?" Yes, this one. I've not seen it, but I do have it on DVD (story of my life), and this goes some way to reigniting my interest in seeing it.

The Wolverine script rewrite explained by Hugh Jackman by Mark Langshaw
(from Digital Spy)
To summarise: "We've got the best script we ever had, but a less-acclaimed director than the one we used to have is working on it now and he wants to put his own stamp on it."

TV

Mock the Week
10x09 (22/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x19 (22/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
[#81 in 100 Films in a Year 2011]

Comics

Batman #1 by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo
One of the few New 52 books to receive a resounding five stars from CBR, I'm not sure I was quite as taken with the book, but it does have a good setup (much more new-reader-friendly than Batman and Robin) and an intriguing plot.
Shame about the change of cover, though. The atmospheric original is on the left, the cartoony released one on the right. Click to enlarge.

Daredevil #2 by Mark Waid & Paolo Rivera
I would say CBR's 4-star review sums up most of my thoughts, though also note how may references it makes to past storylines -- potentially problematic for any new reader, and while I got by with much of it I had no idea I should/could have recognised the villain(s). Hopefully their pre-existence won't be too key to the story, then...

Articles

Doctor Who: The Complete Series Six Boxed Set confirmed for 21st November by Chuck Foster
(from Doctor Who News Page)
Only four audio commentaries this year? They're getting worse. I remember when the nuWho box sets were world-beaters: commentaries for every episode, Doctor Who Confidential Cut Downs, additional featurettes... Now we still get the shortened Confidentials, but they're quarter-length rather than half-length, a vastly reduced number of commentaries, no extra behind-the-scenes extras... We do get some new mini-episodes written by Moffat himself, but if they're anything like the online prequels or the two shorts on the previous box set, they're barely worth bothering with. Why not record more commentaries? How hard can it be to re-package some of the material from Confidential into extra featurettes in addition to the cut-down episodes? It just reeks of missed opportunities.
I do like those lenticular prints, though -- I hope there's a Blu-ray version too. Just a shame you have to get that nasty Silence-head cover to have them.

Photography and Contempt of Court by David Allen Green
(from New Statesman)
You may have heard the news story about the teenager jailed for two months simply for taking a photo in a courtroom. "A ridiculous overreaction!" was basically the tone of most reports. This, however, shows why you shouldn't believe everything you read: there's more to the story, and the sentence isn't so ludicrous after all.

TV

Ask Rhod Gilbert
2x01 Episode 1
I quite liked the first series of this, but really didn't expect to see it back, so that was a... surprise.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x18 (21/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Comics

Daredevil #1 by Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera & Marcos Martín
So distracted have I been by DC's new lot I've only just got round to the similarly-relaunched Daredevil, which you may remember I mentioned a couple of months ago when CBR gave it a 5-star review. Very good it was too, an excellent example of how to relaunch a book without doing an origin story, both establishing the basics of the character and summarising recent events succinctly enough that new readers get what's going on and (I presume) established readers don't get bored to tears from recappery. This approach to a relaunch is something some of DC's lot could do with, apparently.
(Also, see the audio version here. They've up to issue four now, but I've no idea if they kept this up.)

Resurrection Man #1 by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning & Fernando Dagnino
I'm saving up all my thoughts on the New 52s I'm reading for once I get to the end of the first month, so I'll say more on this then. But, for now, I really enjoyed this.

TV

Pointless
5x17 (20/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Spooks
10x01 Episode 1
And so the final series of Spooks begins… and it was actually rather good, though having watched Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy recently it did seem a tad overblown at times. They seem to be doing one of the Big Long Story seasons they've done occasionally over the years (or maybe it's just a two-parter, who knows), which makes sense with the reduced episode count (down to six for the first time since the first series) and the desire to wrap up Harry's story as this is The Final Season. It'll be interesting to see how much time and development the supporting cast get this year, then, especially as they're all either leftover characters who had little to do before or newbies who have a maximum shelf life of five more episodes.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
[#80 in 100 Films in a Year 2011]

this week on 100 Films

Just 1 new review was posted to 100 Films in a Year this week, and it was...

Night of the Demon (1957)

A horror movie in the old fashioned mode — creepy and uncanny, rather than aiming to make you constantly jump or turn your stomach with lashings of gore. A scene at a children’s party at Karswell’s house is particularly unsettling, the apparent jollity contrasting with the ominous winds and undercurrent of evil.

More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
32x12 Closing Time
32x12a The Prequel to The Wedding of River Song
That was an amiable enough episode, even if the Cybermen were underused (as ever in nuWho, I feel). I also thought the ending -- which was effectively a prequel to next week's finale -- was a bit overlong. It might've been neater to bung up the "Next Time" before cutting to all that stuff with River, and have that instead of a regular trailer. That would've been unusual, and I'd've liked it. Or they could've made it the above prequel, of course... but I'm sure they're very aware that only a relatively small number of dedicated fans will be watching that,
[Watch Closing Time (again) in HD on iPlayer, and The Prequel to The Wedding of River Song on the official site.]

Doctor Who Confidential
6x12 Open All Hours
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Dragons' Den
9x08 Episode 8
Giving away 79% of their company?! Madness. Probably a first as well.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Great British Bake Off
2x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Perfect Couples
1x03 Perfect Proposal
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Who Do You Think You Are?
8x02 JK Rowling
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

The Jonathan Ross Show
1x03 (17/9/11 edition)
Finally, a fully worthwhile line-up of guests. Unfortunately the ITV show being almost quarter-of-an-hour shorter than the old BBC one means they don't really get enough time (especially when so long was given over to Peter Kay mucking about).
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Outnumbered
4x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x16 (19/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
5x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.

After last week's flood, not much to report this week -- just one new release from last Monday (Attack the Block) and one early release from next Monday (Thor).

Number of titles in collection: 1,386 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,139 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 247 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 3,433 [up 4]
Number of films in collection: 1,466 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,162 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Horrible Histories Big Prom Party
This was, as you'd expect, brilliant fun. Shame they gutted the classical pieces to make it an hour long and super kid-friendly, but that's what you expect I guess.
The full programme for this Prom can be read here.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x15 (16/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

QI
9x02 International (XL edition)
Finally, an explanation of the QI scoring system! ...well, sort of.
(Incidentally, the British Comedy Guide episode guides I've started linking to for the main episode title are really rather good, not only listing the contents of the episode in full but also detailing them major differences between the regular and XL editions. In case you might be interested.)
[Watch QI XL (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

The DC Comics New Reader Litmus Test: The New 52
and
The DC Comics New Reader Litmus Test: Week 2
by Josie Campbell (from Comic Book Resources)

The whole point of The New 52 was to offer up a slate of #1 issues to attract new/lapsed readers to/back to the DCU. So what better way to test that than by showing all the issues to new readers, unfamiliar with comics. And what it shows is... a bit of a failure. One of the things DC was keen not to do was tell origin stories, feeling too often a re-launch meant telling the origin yet again. This survey seems to suggest they were right for well-known characters like Batman and Superman, but for all the rest (who are largely or completely unknown in popular culture), the move hasn't worked, with several newbies expressing that an origin would be better. DC's existing-reader-friendly idea of a "soft reboot" may work for current fans, but it's going to turn off newbies.

Still, in some respects one might argue this sample was flawed: it sounds like it picked on people who weren't necessarily interested in reading comics. (The second week improved the methodology, mind.) Now, that may not be true, but the people who are actually going to walk into a store and purchase these -- or, rather, DC are hoping they can attract into a store to purchase these -- are people who have an interest in reading comics, even if they've never actually read one. Would they be more susceptible to the books' charms than this lot? Or would the lack of background on unfamiliar characters still turn them off?

Either way, DC's sales have been strong, and so long as that keeps up I'm sure they're happy.

And in other comics-y articles...

New 52 Pickup | Week 4 by Steve Sunu
(from Robot 6 at Comic Book Resources)
Finally, a book I'm definitely getting that Sunu loves! (See below for more.)

Review of Batman #1 by Doug Zawisza
(from Comic Book Resources)
Five stars (out of five). Definitely looking forward to getting this one, then.

TV

Billy Connolly's Route 66
Episode 1 (of 4)
To be completely honest, this was much better than I was expecting it to be! Most entertaining and informative.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Pointless
5x14 (15/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
5x02 Episode 2
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Comics

Batman and Robin #1 by Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason
Week 3 of DC's New 52 is out today, so while I await mine in the post it's about time I read what I picked up last week. Yes, all one of, er, it. Though with Forbidden Planet (.com) adding second printings to their orderable titles, I've decided to belatedly grab a few more well-reviewed books from the first two weeks.

Articles

Has Doctor Who got too complicated? by Dan Martin
(from TV & Radio Blog at guardian.co.uk)
Conclusion: no, and if you think it has you're just not paying enough attention. Despite my summarising this is still worth a read as it's bolstered by a few wonderful quotes.
As usual, Douglas Adams was bang on the money: "it was Douglas Adams who said, as a script editor in 1979, that the challenge of Doctor Who was to make it simple enough for adults and complicated enough for children."

TV

The A to Z of Crime
Episode 3 HIJKL (of 6)
I'm amused by the super-reverence shown to Lynda La Plante, while effectively saying "she invented Law & Order... seven years after someone else already did".
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Mock the Week
10x08 (15/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x13 (14/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Comics

2000 AD #1747
So much for getting better/caught up. Must try harderer.
Anyway, this Prog's ECBT 2000AD reviews are here, here, here, here and here.

Articles

Doctor Who: The Wedding of River Song preview by Patrick Mulkern
(from Radio Times)
Be warned that this has spoilers for the opening few minutes, which sound absolutely bonkers and absolutely brilliant -- so good you might not want them spoiled. But no spoilers for the revelations and major plot points that follow... which sound incredibly intriguing. I wasn't convinced by the first half of this season, but I've been enjoying the second and I can't wait for this.

New 52 Pickup | Week 3 by Steve Sunu
(from Robot 6 at Comic Book Resources)
Ahead of new comics tomorrow (not that mine will turn up for a little while), I'm catching up on what Sunu had to say about last week's second batch of 13 new #1s. All things considered, they seem to be shaping up rather well... though he keeps putting the books I've chosen to buy "on the fence". Oops.

The Ten Things That the Forthcoming Star Wars Blu-rays Should Include. Revisited by Marcus Doidge
(from dvdactive)
Or: why, despite what some people claim now they have it (probably to justify to themselves shelling out £60/$80), this release is still a disappointment.

TV

Dragons' Den
9x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x11 (12/9/11 edition)
5x12 (13/9/11 edition)
[Watch the 13/9/11 edition (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Doctor Who Magazine's Editor Interviewed! by Jason Arnopp
(from How to Be a Journalist)
I found this very interesting. If you're not at all curious about how magazines are put together, however, I imagine there's little of interest here. Though one quote is telling about the mindset of some Who fans:

We also liaise with Steven Moffat - generally about our interviews, but never for reviews or opinion pieces

You just know some people claim he controls reviews.

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.

An absolute tonne of stuff this week, almost all of it Star Wars related, including the new Blu-rays of course. This delayed the update until today... not because of the post, for once (though it was later than it should have been), but because I was away for a few days and needed the time to account for it all once I got back. (This still only goes up to Saturday's post, however.)

Number of titles in collection: 1,384 [up 8]
Of which DVDs: 1,139 [up 4]
Of which Blu-rays: 245 [up 4]

Number of discs in collection: 3,429 [up 23]
Number of films in collection: 1,465 [up 12]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,175 [up 63]

The real accounting difficulty lies down here: it's time again for a running time update. Yay! So...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
247 days, 20 hours, and 29 minutes.
(Up 5 days, 8 hours, and 3 minutes from last month.)

That's a pretty big jump -- the third biggest ever, after the one covering last Christmas (the largest by almost 3½ days) and the one three months ago. Lovely. I might check later to see how it ranks in terms of other jumps (and update this, of course).

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Great British Bake Off
2x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Torchwood: Miracle Day
4x10 The Blood Line [season finale]
Much to my surprise, I actually really enjoyed that. Except for Jilly Kitzinger surviving -- what a missed opportunity for a reference to Danes' infamous "she should've run faster" -- and the mention of the families having a Plan B. Who wants them back, really? If Torchwood does get a fifth series (and, based on reaction to this one, it would be fairly lucky if it did), the less said about this one the better. We certainly don't want a sequel.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Holiday (1938)
[#79 in 100 Films in a Year 2011]

Comics

Detective Comics #1 by Tony S. Daniel
The first-ever relaunch for one of DC's two flagship titles (the other, Action Comics, also became one of The New 52 this month).
It was released almost two weeks ago, but for once this isn't my tardiness: it's taken this long for my mail-ordered copy to arrive. And now I await delivery of my comics from earlier this week -- I sense a pattern emerging...

Articles

Weekend Report: Lion King Reclaims Box Office Crown by Ray Subers
(from Box Office Mojo)

All three genuinely new releases combined to make less than the 3D re-release of The Lion King this weekend, reaffirming the Disney animated classic's continued popularity a whole 17 years after its initial run...

The first re-release to debut on top of the charts since Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi back in March 1997, The Lion King earned an estimated $29.3 million from 2,330 locations, which is the fifth-highest September opening ever.

Bad weekend for new releases, but it shows how phenomenally popular The Lion King is. And rightly so.

this week on 100 Films

2 new reviews were posted to 100 Films in a Year this week, and they were...

A Bunch of Amateurs (2008)

It’s thoroughly predictable — most viewers could probably map out the plot before the film even begins, so it’s certainly easy to guess what’s coming next as it trots along — but there’s also something reassuring about that predictability — it’s exactly the sort of Quaint British Movie you expect it to be. Some will find that insufferable; I’m sure there are some who find it absolutely lovely and it’s the only kind of film they ever want to watch.

The Day of the Locust (1975)

The magnificent riot at the end is a tour de force of cinema that single-handedly almost justifies that whole theme — it’s what happens when their frustrations at dreams not being realised overflows. It could be argued it makes an easy juxtaposition — of fans baying for stars at a premiere with a revenge-fuelled mob baying for blood — but it’s still a just one. It’s capped off by the way one turns into the other, and how that turns into a kind of apocalypse.

More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
32x11 The God Complex
I don't know if it's just my imagination, but the Moffat era seems to be marked by a lot more experimental episodes. It's not Invasion Of The Week or other familiar formats every episode; there's a lot more Different kind of stories. And that's a good thing, for a show with a format that famously can do anything. As for this particular one, I loved it. Well done on them keeping the ending a secret too.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Doctor Who Confidential
6x11 Heartbreak Hotel
Much, much better than the last episode. A good Doctor Who week all round then!
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Outnumbered
4x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Perfect Couples
1x02 Pilot
American sitcom-y shows often like to have witty formula episode titles -- see Scrubs, No Ordinary Family, etc. I don't know if we have Friends' The One With… to blame for that, or if it pre-dates even that. Anyway, Perfect Couples is no exception: they're all Perfect something. Sadly, it seems no one had the wit or forethought to call this a Perfect Pilot. Or maybe they just didn't want to seem cocky, I dunno.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Articles

Is 3D dead? This chart may hold the answer
(from Live for Films)
Clearly it's not dead yet -- the industry has too much invested into it in too long term a way to let it die off almost immediately -- but those numbers aren't looking healthy. If they don't start revising their strategies, and fast, it's going to become an irrelevant niche at best.

TV

The Jonathan Ross Show
1x02 (10/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

QI
9x01 I-Spy (XL edition)
[Watch QI XL (again) on iPlayer.]

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Part Six Smiley Sets a Trap
Part Seven Flushing Out the Mole [final episode]
I won't spoil the ending for anyone who's still not seen it or is waiting for the film (out today), but I guessed the mole correctly. Go me. Also, interesting -- and very like this intelligent, slow-paced series -- that the mole was revealed near the start of the final episode, with the rest dealing with the aftermath. Most series, both lesser and equal, would have pushed the Big Twist Revelation to the end and rushed through any after effects, but that's not in Tinker Tailor's style. Brilliant.

Articles

Columbia showcases impressive extended teaser for David Fincher's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Chris Eggertsen
(from HitFix)
As the tweet I saw promoting the article put it, "Extended Girl with the Dragon Tattoo teaser wows reporters, audiences". And it sounds brilliant too.

TV

Pointless
5x10 (9/9/11 edition)
A round on Star Wars, just before the Blu-rays came out! Coincidencetastic.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Part Four How It All Fits Together
Part Five Tinker Tailor
When I first started watching this, I commented (to myself, at least) that they don't make them like this any more. And while that's true to an extent, I think some dramas have actually become more like this. Not mainstream shows, which are of course more flash-bang than ever, but a good portion of American cable dramas and even some British shows. They might not feel so slow-paced, but the way they gradually meter out information and extend the arc plot over multiple episodes (often 12 or 13, not the mere 7 of Tinker Tailor) is closer to this feel. And, in much the same way, Tinker Tailor can be more satisfying viewed in several-episode chunks. It's very good, you know.

Articles

Doctor Who and the Shada Man by J.R. Southall
(from Starburst Magazine)
Lenthy, a bit rambling, and with sometimes terrible punctuation (especially considering this is meant to be a professional publication), but nonetheless interesting look at the newly-completed Shada that we still might never get to see.

In the Shadow of Saturn
(from Astronomy Picture of the Day)
This is a photograph of Saturn. A photograph! Incredible.

TV

The A to Z of Crime
Episode 2 EFG (of 6)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Mock the Week
10x07 (8/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
5x08 (7/9/11 edition)
5x09 (8/9/11 edition)
[Watch the 7/9/11 and 8/9/11 editions (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Pointless
5x07 (6/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Part Three Smiley Tracks the Mole

Films

Bringing Up Baby (1938)
[#78 in 100 Films in a Year 2011]

TV

Pointless
5x06 (5/9/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Part One Return to the Circus [2nd watch]
Part Two Tarr Tells His Story [2nd watch]
I was feeling a bit dozy when I watched this the first time, so as it's so complex a second go seemed appropriate. It's really very good y'know.

this week on 100 Films

Just 1 new review was posted to 100 Films in a Year this week, and it was...

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (3D) (2011)

I have no idea if this was a 3D post-conversion or shot for real, but it doesn’t matter — it’s dull. Either things are too dark to matter, or it just doesn’t pop in the way you’d like. A couple of sweeping scenery shots aside, it offers no benefit. 3D is a gimmick and all about spectacle, but it’s a gimmick On Stranger Tides doesn’t engage with, in the process showing it lacks spectacle.

More next Sunday.

TV

Doctor Who
32x10 The Girl Who Waited
An excellent episode, I thought. Technically this season's Doctor Lite one, and presumably quite low-budget too, but it never really showed in either case. Surprisingly good performance from Miss Gillen as older Amy, though for my money Arthur Darvill is still the absolute star of current Who.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Doctor Who Confidential
6x10 What Dreams May Come
Confidential is beginning to get a bit samey now, I think. Every episode is on set/location, covering more or less the same stuff. Yes, a behind the scenes series will always have that problem, but there's an awful lot of stuff they don't cover that they could. What about pre-production? More on the writing process, the design process, etc. Or post-production? There must be a tonne of interesting working in CGI, sound design, editing, etc. Of course the series has covered most or all of these things in the past, but it's also covered what it's like on set in the past -- every episode, in fact. Variety would be welcome.
And proper making-of variety, not the silly asides where we get to see one cast member learn to drive and another swim with sharks. What a waste of time.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Proms 2011
Prom 59 Hooray for Hollywood
Left this too late to point you in the direction of it on iPlayer, I'm afraid, but the programme can still be read here.

Articles

New 52 Pickup | Week 2 by Steve Sunu
(from Robot 6 at Comic Book Resources)
The first full week of The New 52 sees 13 titles released, and here's reviews of every last one. Not necessarily definitive (I've seen Batwing and Detective Comics highly praised elsewhere), but still an interesting project.

TV

Dragons' Den
9x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Jonathan Ross Show
1x01 (3/9/11 edition)
Some have apparently criticised this for being the same as his previous series. Really? What did you expect? I'm glad not too much has changed, as I'm sure are the rest of his numerous fans. Feels like it needs to bed in a little on ITV, but then maybe that was just the quality of the guests.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Outnumbered
4x02 Episode 2
Karen vs. a chugger? Brilliant.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Perfect Couples
1x01 Perfect Tens
New sitcom from the US... or, at least, new to E4 -- considering how late they began How I Met Your Mother this could be years old for all I know. Decent first episode (very oddly, the pilot airs as episode two), looks promising... though I see it's been cancelled already. Ah well.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Would I Lie To You?
5x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Doctor Who – Shada Completed by J.R. Southall
(from Starburst Magazine)
Ian Levine may be a controversial figure in Who fandom, but this is potentially great news. If only 2|entertain see sense and buy it for the inevitable DVD release.

Is it time for George Lucas to find a new force? by Alistair Harkness
(from living.scotsman.com)
On how Lucas' constant tinkering means fans have become the 'caretakers' of the original Star Wars trilogy, and other things like that.

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.

Just one new addition this week (it's Kung Fu Panda, which I managed to pick up for under £5, if you're curious). Always feels like a measly change not worth mentioning... but hey-ho, here it is anyway.

Number of titles in collection: 1,376 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 1,135 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 241 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,406 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,453 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,112 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Great British Bake Off
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Torchwood: Miracle Day
4x09 The Gathering
A little increase in quality this week, I thought. Which is good, because next it's The End. Be nice if it somehow included some revenge on that ratty little government man too. Though, as this A.V. Club review reminds us, it's still not all that good.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]