Articles

Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter (R1/US BD) in March by Dave Foster
(from DVD Times)
So, this isn't the UK release, but oh, look, Watchmen is most surely on its way now! Also very nice to note is the stylistic similarity between the cover for this and the also-recently-announced DVD/BD of The Complete Motion Comic -- hopefully the eventual release of the film (and the already-promised extended re-release) will also follow this design.

Watchmen: The End is Nigh
(from Wikipedia)
In other Watchmen news, some info on the video game (and as it's from Wikipedia, it'll always be up-to-date -- hurrah!)

Poem of the Week: Lenore

by Edgar Allan Poe

Yep, it's Poe again. However, there's a good reason. You may've noticed Lenore mentioned in last week's poem. Well, here's an earlier poem by Poe that may or may not bear some relation...

Ah, broken is the golden bowl! the spirit flown forever!
Let the bell toll! — a saintly soul floats on the Stygian river,
And, Guy De Vere, hast thou no tear? — weep now or never more!
See! on yon drear and rigid bier low lies thy love, Lenore!
Come! let the burial rite be read — the funeral song be sung! —
An anthem for the queenliest dead that ever died so young —
A dirge for her the doubly dead in that she died so young.

"Wretches! ye loved her for her wealth and hated her for her pride,
"And when she fell in feeble health, ye blessed her — that she died!
"How shall the ritual, then, be read? — the requiem how be sung
"By you — by yours, the evil eye, — by yours, the slanderous tongue
"That did to death the innocence that died, and died so young?"

Peccavimus; but rave not thus! and let a Sabbath song
Go up to God so solemnly the dead may feel no wrong!
The sweet Lenore hath "gone before," with Hope, that flew beside,
Leaving thee wild for the dear child that should have been thy bride —
For her, the fair and debonair, that now so lowly lies,
The life upon her yellow hair but not within her eyes —
The life still there, upon her hair — the death upon her eyes.

"Avaunt! to-night my heart is light. No dirge will I upraise,
"But waft the angel on her flight with a Pæan of old days!
"Let no bell toll! — lest her sweet soul, amid its hallowed mirth,
"Should catch the note, as it doth float — up from the damnéd Earth.
"To friends above, from fiends below, the indignant ghost is riven —
"From Hell unto a high estate far up within the Heaven —
"From moan and groan, to a golden throne, beside the King of Heaven."

Lenore was revised many times throughout Poe's life, and consequently there an unbelievably large number of variations out there. This, to the best of my knowledge, is his final version, published in August 1845. For the first, published February 1843, look here.

In fact, the very first version was published in 1831, as A Pæan, and is considered so different from the finished product that they're both usually published in anthologies.

You can learn even more about Lenore over at the ever-reliable Wikipedia.

TV

Broken Saints
Chapter 14 Harbingers

A Short Stay in Switzerland
To be brutally honest, it wasn't always the best-written drama. But Julie Walters' performance was brilliant, of course, and that coupled with the well-handled later scenes -- plus the fact that it's all true -- made for a powerful piece nonetheless. An important addition to the debate if nothing else.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films / Websites

Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective Official Site
Oh dear God no.
Surely this semi-ancient franchise doesn't need reviving at all, and certainly not in this horrendous form?! It's been fifteen years since the first film -- kids born after it was released are too old to watch this! Damn you for introducing younger impressionable youths to this, video and DVD! Damn you!

Articles

Doctor Who filming disrupted as double decker bus wrecked by Ben Leach, from Telegraph.co.uk
and
Doctor's double decker wrecker by Colin Robertson, from The Sun
It's an interesting story 'n' all (and you can see two pics of the extent of the damage here), but even more interesting are these two stories about it. Two very different papers, with very different audiences, and completely different authors, but the articles are almost identical -- and, by the end, they're virtually word-for-word the same.

Film Review of 2008 by Roger Keen
(from Video Vista)
"Hellboy II: The Golden Army... was a bit simplistic and comic-bookish". A comic book adaptation having a comic-bookish plot? My God, what's the world coming to?! (Don't bother reading the rest of the article, it's almost all that bad.)

K9 Production Latest by John Bowman
(from The Doctor Who News Page)
All the latest on the forthcoming non-BBC Doctor Who spin-off, now known simply as K9. It actually sounds almost promising...

Narnia To Take Off With Fox
(from Studio Briefing)
"Following Disney's decision not to co-finance the next Chronicles of Narnia feature, 20th Century Fox plans to partner with Walden Media to make the movie. Variety reported that the film, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, will have a production budget of $140 million -- far less than the $215 million that last year's Prince Caspian cost. Nevertheless, the Los Angeles Times commented today that while the budget is much lower than Caspian, "it's still a big gamble.""

New pornography laws 'could make comic books illegal', say campaigners by Jon Swaine
(from Telegraph.co.uk)
Sounds kinda silly -- and it is, a bit -- but it also has a point. Damn Government.

TV

Broken Saints
Chapter 13 Insertion
After another two week gap (thanks to work), it's on with the second half of the story... (Though, as mentioned previously, in length terms halfway is still a little way off.)
Still as pretentious as they come, but at least the story's moving now.

The Secret Life of Elephants
Part 3 (of 3)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Broadband Won't Replace HD Discs Soon, Says Report
(from Studio Briefing)
"Although many experts are predicting that the ability to 'rent' or buy movies via the Internet will result in the demise of DVDs and Blu-ray discs, new research... indicates that Blu-ray sales alone are expected to increase... to $2.9 billion. At the same time, cable video-on-demand and broadband will generate only $1.5 billion in revenue... The problem, experts agreed, is inherent in broadband services -- the virtual impossibility of delivering 1080p high-definition content to customers given the limitations of the Internet."
Said so. Not necessarily for those reasons (or those reasons alone), but I did say so.

TV

The Sandbaggers
2x06 Operation Kingmaker [season finale]
After last season's dramatic life-or-death finale this one might seem a little low-key and office-bound. But the political wrangling is in full force, and there's an awful lot at stake should Burnside lose (again).

Articles

The eight drivers behind Top Gear stunt driver The Stig's famous racing whites by Richard Simpson
(from Mail Online)
So last week one was (allegedly) revealed, then it was revealed there were actually four drivers, and now there are apparently eight -- and all named. And at no point has the journalist wondered if someone might be pulling his leg by this point -- especially as he writes for the Daily Mail?

The joke's on Ricky Gervais as he reveals his father 'may have been drunk' when he filled in his birth certificate
(from Mail Online)
And revealing even more than is comfortable, really.
And Christ, the Mail has overlong headlines, doesn't it?

Review of Tropic Thunder 3-disc Director's Cut DVD by James Gray
(from DVD Times)

This year's Best Picture Oscar nominees are: Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, and Slumdog Millionaire. How many of these movies have you seen? (poll results)
(from IMDb)
While the poll hasn't closed as of this posting, the majority of likely votes are in. Rather unsurprisingly, over 46% haven't seen any, while under 20% have even managed to see three or more.

Also, see the Tintin film press release here.

Tintin announcement

Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment Announce the January 26 Start of Principal Photography on the 3D Motion Capture Feature The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn Directed by Steven Spielberg and Starring Jamie Bell and Daniel Craig
(press release, published at CommanderBond.net)

Ah, press release titles! But oh so promising:

"The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot, Defiance) as Tintin, the intrepid young reporter whose relentless pursuit of a good story thrusts him into a world of high adventure, and Daniel Craig (Quantum of Solace, Defiance) as the nefarious Red Rackham."

Shame to lose young Thomas Sangster (Love Actually, Doctor Who: Human Nature/The Family of Blood) as Tintin, but there you go.

"Bell and Craig are joined by an international cast that includes Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Gad Elmaleh, Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook... screenplay by Steven Moffat [hurray!], Edgar Wright [surprise!] and Joe Cornish [well, I never...], is produced by Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy" -- all good also.

It "is the first in the series of 3D motion capture films based on the iconic character... and is due for release in 2011... The second feature in the series is scheduled to be directed by Jackson, with a potential for a third film as well."

It will be most intriguing to see if, as it's 3D mo-cap, they keep anything of the actors' features, or just turn them all into 3D versions of their comic counterparts (the latter might be an especially good idea for Pegg and Frost's characters...)

TV

Gilmore Girls
5x19 But I'm a Gilmore!

TV

Cracker
1x02 The Mad Woman in the Attic Part 2
Ah, proper intelligent drama. Despite what some people would have you believe, we do still get stuff this good on TV these days, it's just rare... as rare as it surely was back then, I'm certain.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

QI
6x05 France (extended edition)
"We've invaded Britain. LOL." "O.M.G."
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

ITV Stockwell drama draws just 1.4m by Neil Wilkes
(from Digital Spy)
"A one-off drama based on the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes pulled in just 1.4 million viewers to ITV1... Stockwell, recreating the controversial chain of events leading to de Menezes' death at Stockwell tube station in July 2005, pulled in just 1.39m... ITV was beaten by all other terrestrial channels over the period, including Five, which enjoyed an audience of 2.1m for Wesley Snipes thriller movie The Contractor." Ha, how pitiful! Clearly they misjudged people's interest there then.

New Skins pulls in 833,000 by Neil Wilkes
(from Digital Spy)
"The third series of the teen drama, which introduced an almost entirely new cast, averaged 665k [with] an additional 169k on E4+1. The figures are down around a third on the premiere of series two, which managed 1.06m and 237k... The first series premiered to 1.48m." Oh dear oh dear. Or, alternatively, oh yes oh yes!

Ross sparks new row with 'OAP sex joke' by Daniel Kilkelly
(from Digital Spy)
Note how DS report this fuss over nothing (no, it really really is this time), but haven't bothered to mention that:

Ross TV return is watched by 5.1m
(from BBC News)
Ha!
"Ross's last chat show in October before his suspension was watched by 3.74m."
Double ha!

TV

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

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

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

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

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

Articles

Sutherland: '24 movie may be set in UK' by Lara Martin
(from Digital Spy)
Says star Kiefer Sutherland, "we didn't have a really strong audience, it took us a long time to build in the States, whereas the show took off [in Britain] right away... It was the success of the show here in England that allowed us to continue working in the States, until we built up an audience... When we have talked about doing a film, which will take place after the series has finished, England has always been a part of that discussion." Whoo!
Also in this article: "The eighth and final season is scheduled to begin filming later this year." "Final"? Hadn't heard that before. I knew an eighth was commissioned, but that by no means it's "final" -- most US TV is commissioned year-by-year anyhow. As DS cites no sources, and they're hardly the world's (or even the country's) greatest journalists, I'll take this with a pinch of salt til I see confirmation.

Sachs's daughter blasts Jonathan Ross by Daniel Kilkelly
(from Digital Spy)
Sachs doesn't like Ross; but he's moved on. His family can't seem to let go. Please, your time in the limelight is over, so just sod off you stupid cow.

TV

Cracker
1x01 The Mad Woman in the Attic Part 1
I never really thought I'd be grateful for the existence of ITV3, but, thanks to them, I'm finally getting to see Cracker (having only previously caught the 2006 special).
Directed by Michael Winterbottom -- he who would go on to make the likes of Jude, 24 Hour Party People and 9 Songs -- it starts off looking much more like a film than a TV drama, which is especially exceptional for 1993. It's also engrossingly written, justifying all the praise that surrounds it, though in an age where every TV cop has some kind of emotional/home life issue, the amount of time spent focussing on Fitz's gambling/drinking/marriage is a bit irritating at times.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Gilmore Girls
5x17 Pulp Friction

Films

No Country For Old Men (2007)
[#5 in 100 Films in a Year 2009]
We watched most of this in a seminar today, making it from beginning to end in an hour and a half, including pauses for discussion -- and it's a two-hour film. As most will surely agree, this isn't the ideal way to first see a film, so I felt duty-bound to sit down and watch it properly this evening. (So I guess this is kinda "1.5 watches"...)
Reviews are shockingly behind at 100 Films, so lord only knows when this'll turn up there.

Poem of the Week: The Raven

by Edgar Allan Poe

Having skipped a week (oops; but I've been busy!), Poem of the Week is merrily back now (obviously). And it's also one week out of date, as watching Vincent last week made me want to post this.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor", I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door —
            Only this, and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; — vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow — sorrow for the lost Lenore —
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore —
            Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me — filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door —
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; —
            This it is, and nothing more."

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you" — here I opened wide the door; —
            Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore?"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!" —
            Merely this, and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice:
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore —
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; —
            'Tis the wind and nothing more."

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door —
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door —
            Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore.
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore —
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
            Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

Much I marveled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning — little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door —
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
            With such name as "Nevermore."

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered — not a feather then he fluttered —
Till I scarcely more than muttered, "other friends have flown before —
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before."
            Then the bird said, "Nevermore."

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore —
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
            Of 'Never — nevermore'."

But the Raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore —
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore
            Meant in croaking "Nevermore."

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er,
            She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee — by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite — respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
            Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! — prophet still, if bird or devil! —
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted —
On this home by horror haunted — tell me truly, I implore —
Is there — is there balm in Gilead? — tell me — tell me, I implore!"
            Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil — prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us — by that God we both adore —
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore —
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."
            Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend," I shrieked, upstarting —
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! — quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
            Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
            Shall be lifted — nevermore!

First published in January 1845. I can't say the following for most poems, but as this is Poe it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise: you can find a surprisingly detailed article on this piece at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (and font of all knowledge).

If you want, you can also hear the poem read (in two different versions) at Wikisource. However, I should point out that the first one has one of those slight-but-irritating voice impediments (and the accent to go with it), and the second is read by someone from Stuttgart. You may think the German accent goes well with the content, I don't know -- personally, I found it surprisingly apt... mostly... -- but it's worth nothing.

TV

Gilmore Girls
5x16 So... Good Talk

There's very little going on round these parts at the minute because I've been busy working on a big pile of essays for my Masters. Things should return to normal shortly however, with plenty of TV catching up to do.

Articles

24 writers use T-shirts to improve show by Ben Rawson-Jones
(from Digital Spy)
"I walked into the writers' room in the first month or two and they were all wearing T-shirts that said 'Season Six' on them just to remind themselves. So there was definitely a concerted effort to bring it back." Dear God, I hope they've succeeded. I'll find out once I can begin catching up -- five episodes to watch already!

C4, Five beat ITV, BBC in 9pm slot by Neil Wilkes
(from Digital Spy)
Well, I never!
One thing I particularly hate about Digital Spy is their insistence on using US-style headlines. You're British for Christ's sake! "C4 and Five beat ITV and BBC in 9pm slot", thank you very much.

Tarantino confirms new Kill Bill by Simon Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)
No, not Vol.3, but The Whole Bloody Affair -- and about time too!

U2 album cover called "rip-off" by Simon Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)
Bloody U2.

Oh, and the Oscar noms were announced today too. But I'm sure you didn't fail to miss that.