Da-ba-dee da-ba-die!
This colour scheme -- which I've just noticed -- seems to suit the site and/or me better. So here it is!
Monday, 6 October 2008
Sunday, 5 October 2008
TV
Big Cat Live
1x01 (5/10/08 edition)
The latest iteration of the BBC's long-running Big Cat... series. (I've just started from 1 with the numbering, 'cause that sorting got too much.)
By Any Means
Part 5 (of 6)
The Riches
2x07 The Lying King [series finale]
With the series now unfortunately cancelled, this is how it disappointingly ends -- not with a whimper, but with a multi-cliffhangered bang. Just as it gets really good, everything is frustratingly left hanging. I'm annoyed.
Secret Policeman's Ball '08
The blog had a live update of what was going on as it happened (the event itself was last night, Channel 4's TV broadcast tonight). Quite a bizarre idea for a gig of this nature, if you ask me. As for the content... Mitchell and Webb made a poor effort of their own, originally excellent sketch; Tim Minchin's song was very funny; but Eddie Izzard, closing the show, was comedy gold as ever -- the stand-out stand-up by a country mile.
1x01 (5/10/08 edition)
The latest iteration of the BBC's long-running Big Cat... series. (I've just started from 1 with the numbering, 'cause that sorting got too much.)
By Any Means
Part 5 (of 6)
The Riches
2x07 The Lying King [series finale]
With the series now unfortunately cancelled, this is how it disappointingly ends -- not with a whimper, but with a multi-cliffhangered bang. Just as it gets really good, everything is frustratingly left hanging. I'm annoyed.
Secret Policeman's Ball '08
The blog had a live update of what was going on as it happened (the event itself was last night, Channel 4's TV broadcast tonight). Quite a bizarre idea for a gig of this nature, if you ask me. As for the content... Mitchell and Webb made a poor effort of their own, originally excellent sketch; Tim Minchin's song was very funny; but Eddie Izzard, closing the show, was comedy gold as ever -- the stand-out stand-up by a country mile.
Articles
The 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time by Simon Braund, Glen Ferris, Ian Freer, Nev Pierce, Chris Hewitt, Dan Jolin, Ian Nathan, Kim Newman, Helen O'Hara, Olly Richards & Owen Willams
(from Empire #233, p.88-172)
Today: 50-21. More surprised -- primarily, the original Star Wars and all three Lord of the Rings films are outside the Top 20! No sign yet of the overrated Empire Strikes Back though...
(from Empire #233, p.88-172)
Today: 50-21. More surprised -- primarily, the original Star Wars and all three Lord of the Rings films are outside the Top 20! No sign yet of the overrated Empire Strikes Back though...
Saturday, 4 October 2008
TV
Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
15x05 (3/10/08 edition)
Parky! Yay!
Little Britain USA
1x01 Episode 1
Lucas and Walliams take some of their old character over the pond, and find some new ones there too. Despite the new setting and HBO funding (it airs nearly a week later over here, fact-fans), the style (and quality) of humour is unchanged.
Merlin
1x03 The Mark of Nimueh
I have to wonder if there's something in Nimueh and Morgana looking as if they could be twins...
The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
2x04 (4/10/08 edition)
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Part 3 (of 4)
Ah, Hardy -- as unrelentingly depressing as ever.
15x05 (3/10/08 edition)
Parky! Yay!
Little Britain USA
1x01 Episode 1
Lucas and Walliams take some of their old character over the pond, and find some new ones there too. Despite the new setting and HBO funding (it airs nearly a week later over here, fact-fans), the style (and quality) of humour is unchanged.
Merlin
1x03 The Mark of Nimueh
I have to wonder if there's something in Nimueh and Morgana looking as if they could be twins...
The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins
2x04 (4/10/08 edition)
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Part 3 (of 4)
Ah, Hardy -- as unrelentingly depressing as ever.
Friday, 3 October 2008
Music
Another Way to Die (video) by Jack White & Alicia Keys
OK, so it's been floating around on the net for days (especially after it received its US premiere on Monday), but rather than watching it in some crappy blocky streaming window I've held out til now to catch it on TV (where it premiered on Channel 4 under an hour ago). I say "held out" -- I'm hardly good at getting round to watching things. But still... It's all rather uninspired, to be honest, and feels like it could do with some clips from the film to give it a good kick up the arse. More so than any other theme, this one seems designed to fit with a title sequence, so it's a bit odd when attached to such a lacklustre video. I still like the song mind.
OK, so it's been floating around on the net for days (especially after it received its US premiere on Monday), but rather than watching it in some crappy blocky streaming window I've held out til now to catch it on TV (where it premiered on Channel 4 under an hour ago). I say "held out" -- I'm hardly good at getting round to watching things. But still... It's all rather uninspired, to be honest, and feels like it could do with some clips from the film to give it a good kick up the arse. More so than any other theme, this one seems designed to fit with a title sequence, so it's a bit odd when attached to such a lacklustre video. I still like the song mind.
Thursday, 2 October 2008
DVD Extras
Doctor Who: The Lost Season
(from Doctor Who: The Trial of a Time Lord)
Brief featurette about the abandoned plans for the original season 23. They're illustrated, and someone clearly had too much fun drawing Peri's chest.
Three of these missing stories were novelised, donchaknow, and I read them all about 10 or 11 years ago. Go me.
I love features like this, about 'lost' stories. There's one on the Survival DVD too, but I don't think I got round to watching it. Maybe I'll do that now...
(from Doctor Who: The Trial of a Time Lord)
Brief featurette about the abandoned plans for the original season 23. They're illustrated, and someone clearly had too much fun drawing Peri's chest.
Three of these missing stories were novelised, donchaknow, and I read them all about 10 or 11 years ago. Go me.
I love features like this, about 'lost' stories. There's one on the Survival DVD too, but I don't think I got round to watching it. Maybe I'll do that now...
Articles
The greatest magazine cover of all time
(from Radio Times)
Photo article showing the complex process by which RT created their "Vote Dalek!" cover in 2005, which was recently voted the greatest magazine cover of all time (hence the title). It received over a quarter of the vote apparently. Well deserved too, if you ask me.
The 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time by Simon Braund, Glen Ferris, Ian Freer, Nev Pierce, Chris Hewitt, Dan Jolin, Ian Nathan, Kim Newman, Helen O'Hara, Olly Richards & Owen Willams
(from Empire #233, p.88-172)
Today: 164-134. Yep, still going...
(from Radio Times)
Photo article showing the complex process by which RT created their "Vote Dalek!" cover in 2005, which was recently voted the greatest magazine cover of all time (hence the title). It received over a quarter of the vote apparently. Well deserved too, if you ask me.
The 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time by Simon Braund, Glen Ferris, Ian Freer, Nev Pierce, Chris Hewitt, Dan Jolin, Ian Nathan, Kim Newman, Helen O'Hara, Olly Richards & Owen Willams
(from Empire #233, p.88-172)
Today: 164-134. Yep, still going...
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
TV
Heroes
3x00 Countdown to the Premiere
3x01 The Second Coming
Not quite as mind-blowing an opening as some fans claimed at the time, this is still Heroes on good forms, with plenty of answers, twists, and new questions. The future glimpse of a city being destroyed is a bit too reminiscent of season one though.
(The countdown aired immediately prior to the 2-hour premiere in the US, and on BBC Three last Friday in the UK.)
Heroes Unmasked
3x01 Opening Pandora's Box
Now with new voiceover blokey, Santiago Cabrera. Nice that he's still connected with the show somehow.
3x00 Countdown to the Premiere
3x01 The Second Coming
Not quite as mind-blowing an opening as some fans claimed at the time, this is still Heroes on good forms, with plenty of answers, twists, and new questions. The future glimpse of a city being destroyed is a bit too reminiscent of season one though.
(The countdown aired immediately prior to the 2-hour premiere in the US, and on BBC Three last Friday in the UK.)
Heroes Unmasked
3x01 Opening Pandora's Box
Now with new voiceover blokey, Santiago Cabrera. Nice that he's still connected with the show somehow.
Articles
Review of Doctor Who: The Trial of a Time Lord DVD by James Gray
(from DVD Times)
Long, in-depth review of the latest classic Doctor Who DVD release, including an excellent summary of the problems surrounding this season. Now with only one "opening CGI shot" error. I have the box set (have since Saturday), but have yet to even unwrap it.
The 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time by Simon Braund, Glen Ferris, Ian Freer, Nev Pierce, Chris Hewitt, Dan Jolin, Ian Nathan, Kim Newman, Helen O'Hara, Olly Richards & Owen Willams
(from Empire #233, p.88-172)
Today: 211-165.
(from DVD Times)
Long, in-depth review of the latest classic Doctor Who DVD release, including an excellent summary of the problems surrounding this season. Now with only one "opening CGI shot" error. I have the box set (have since Saturday), but have yet to even unwrap it.
The 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time by Simon Braund, Glen Ferris, Ian Freer, Nev Pierce, Chris Hewitt, Dan Jolin, Ian Nathan, Kim Newman, Helen O'Hara, Olly Richards & Owen Willams
(from Empire #233, p.88-172)
Today: 211-165.
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
TV
Mutual Friends
1x06 Episode Six [season finale]
And hopefully "series finale" too, I must say. While I'm sure it was lots of fun to film -- Alexander Armstrong especially seems to be having a whale of a time, and they've all noted in interviews how much they've enjoyed it -- the wobbly plotting, leaps in logic, and underwritten female characters render it something of a failure. Of course, it'll all come down to ratings in the end.
The Tudors
2x10 Destiny and Fortune [season finale]
Yep, it's not on TV til Friday -- but that's the joy of downloads! You'd think everyone knows what's coming here -- this episode includes the final fate of Henry VIII's (or, as the Americans have it on their posters for this, "Henry 8") second wife -- but I heard of someone on daytime TV the other day hoping everything turns out OK for her. Oh dear oh dear. Still, The Tudors is renowned (amongst me, anyway) for not going anywhere fast, and after the flurry of events in the last two episodes it slows back down for this final installment.
The US broadcast (which I was watching here, of course) also included a trailer for the next season, cunningly edited from clips and soundbites from season two! It was quite impressive really.
1x06 Episode Six [season finale]
And hopefully "series finale" too, I must say. While I'm sure it was lots of fun to film -- Alexander Armstrong especially seems to be having a whale of a time, and they've all noted in interviews how much they've enjoyed it -- the wobbly plotting, leaps in logic, and underwritten female characters render it something of a failure. Of course, it'll all come down to ratings in the end.
The Tudors
2x10 Destiny and Fortune [season finale]
Yep, it's not on TV til Friday -- but that's the joy of downloads! You'd think everyone knows what's coming here -- this episode includes the final fate of Henry VIII's (or, as the Americans have it on their posters for this, "Henry 8") second wife -- but I heard of someone on daytime TV the other day hoping everything turns out OK for her. Oh dear oh dear. Still, The Tudors is renowned (amongst me, anyway) for not going anywhere fast, and after the flurry of events in the last two episodes it slows back down for this final installment.
The US broadcast (which I was watching here, of course) also included a trailer for the next season, cunningly edited from clips and soundbites from season two! It was quite impressive really.
Music
Monkey: Journey to the West by Damon Albarn
"The album is a natural development of art and music based on the opera of the same name which Albarn and Jamie Hewlett created with director Chen Shi-Zheng." It's an unusual piece of work, a mix of beautiful pieces, cool pieces, and the odd splash of drivel. It's easy to see why some -- mainly those who foolishly expected this to be Gorillaz's third album -- were disappointed. For those with a more open mind, however, it's definitely worth a listen. Track 21, Monkey Bee, is allegedly the theme for the BBC's Beijing Olympics coverage, but I think you'd be relatively hard pushed to recognise it in there.
"The album is a natural development of art and music based on the opera of the same name which Albarn and Jamie Hewlett created with director Chen Shi-Zheng." It's an unusual piece of work, a mix of beautiful pieces, cool pieces, and the odd splash of drivel. It's easy to see why some -- mainly those who foolishly expected this to be Gorillaz's third album -- were disappointed. For those with a more open mind, however, it's definitely worth a listen. Track 21, Monkey Bee, is allegedly the theme for the BBC's Beijing Olympics coverage, but I think you'd be relatively hard pushed to recognise it in there.
Monday, 29 September 2008
TV
Place of Execution
Part 2 (of 3)
The Sarah Jane Adventures Season 2 Cinema Trailer
"From the Makers of Doctor Who" -- never mind the Sontaran stomping around the trailer, there's this notice at the end, just in case you forgot. In my typical fashion, I've had this knocking around for weeks but only got round to watching it half an hour before the series started. "Oops."
The Sarah Jane Adventures
2x01 The Last Sontaran Part One
"She's back, and it's not about time cos that's the show it's spun off from."
The Tudors
2x09 The Act of Treason
Part 2 (of 3)
The Sarah Jane Adventures Season 2 Cinema Trailer
"From the Makers of Doctor Who" -- never mind the Sontaran stomping around the trailer, there's this notice at the end, just in case you forgot. In my typical fashion, I've had this knocking around for weeks but only got round to watching it half an hour before the series started. "Oops."
The Sarah Jane Adventures
2x01 The Last Sontaran Part One
"She's back, and it's not about time cos that's the show it's spun off from."
The Tudors
2x09 The Act of Treason
Sunday, 28 September 2008
TV
By Any Means
Part 4 (of 6)
Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
15x04 (26/9/08 edition)
Three out of four of Wossy's guests were British comedians who've effectively moved to the US -- practically a themed show! Certainly, an above average edition, even with Jamie Oliver and Keane playing their nothingy new single (how much longer can they trade off having a couple of good tracks on their first album?)
Poirot
11x03 Third Girl
According to TV.com, there's a fourth episode in Poirot's 11th series. According to the Radio Times, this is the last episode ITV are airing for now. It must be said, ITV do very very odd things with their scheduling of new episodes of Poirot and Marple.
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Part 2 (of 4)
Top Gear
11x04 (13/7/08 edition)
Hurrah for Dave!
Part 4 (of 6)
Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
15x04 (26/9/08 edition)
Three out of four of Wossy's guests were British comedians who've effectively moved to the US -- practically a themed show! Certainly, an above average edition, even with Jamie Oliver and Keane playing their nothingy new single (how much longer can they trade off having a couple of good tracks on their first album?)
Poirot
11x03 Third Girl
According to TV.com, there's a fourth episode in Poirot's 11th series. According to the Radio Times, this is the last episode ITV are airing for now. It must be said, ITV do very very odd things with their scheduling of new episodes of Poirot and Marple.
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Part 2 (of 4)
Top Gear
11x04 (13/7/08 edition)
Hurrah for Dave!
Articles
The 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time by Simon Braund, Glen Ferris, Ian Freer, Nev Pierce, Chris Hewitt, Dan Jolin, Ian Nathan, Kim Newman, Helen O'Hara, Olly Richards & Owen Willams
(from Empire #233, p.88-172)
Today: 449-300. (Or, "three times as much as yesterday, with twice as much as today still to go".)
(from Empire #233, p.88-172)
Today: 449-300. (Or, "three times as much as yesterday, with twice as much as today still to go".)
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