TV

Argumental
3x10 (19/10/10 edition)
Poor Ben Miller -- he did really well and didn't win once.

Band of Brothers
Part Two Day of Days [2nd watch]

Merlin
3x07 The Castle of Fyrien
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
24x01 Episode 1
So Mark Ronson made for a pathetically weak host, which I suppose was to be expected. It just goes to show, reading aloud from an autocue requires more talent than you'd think. That Paul Foot guy was surprisingly good though.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Sarah Jane Adventures
4x03 The Vault of Secrets Part One
4x04 The Vault of Secrets Part Two
[Watch parts one and two, or a compilation of both, on iPlayer.]

Articles

PSP named UK's 'most returned gadget' by Mark Langshaw
(from Digital Spy)
With all the residual PlayStation hatred of a former N64 owner (not to mention GameCube, Gameboy Advance and DS), I'd just like to say... hahahahahahahahahaha! PSP sucks!

*ahem* I do apologise. Well, a bit. Not much though.

TV

Band of Brothers
Part One Currahee [2nd watch]
Despite owning it on DVD since its release, and now Blu-ray too (well, instead), I don't believe I've watched Band of Brothers since its original BBC Two broadcast. With 10 days 'til sort-of-sequel The Pacific is released on DVD & Blu-ray, it seems a good time to finally reacquaint myself with its predecessor.
It's still thoroughly excellent, even though (as I recall it) the best is yet to come. One notable thing, nine years after it was first shown: how many of the faces are now much more recognisable. It's an incredible cast.

House
7x03 Unwritten

The Mentalist
3x02 Cackle-Bladder Blood
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow
2x05 Bristol
So they're in Bristol, but they don't have Russell Howard on? What is the world coming to...
Though there's something even more troubling about this episode: Squeezing five comedians into the show's regular 45 minutes usually means we don't get to see enough of the good ones (equally, it means the poor ones are gone pretty quickly), but this edition is cut down to just 30 (for no apparent reason). It means everyone bar McIntyre is really rushed; ridiculously so, in fact. Why, people-who-do-such-things, why?
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

BBC confirms BBC One HD launch details by Andrew Laughlin
(from Digital Spy)
Hooray! With the existing BBC HD even more freed up to show stuff from the other channels, hopefully this will mean less instances of stuff not getting an HD simulcast. Sarah Jane in particular has been annoying me in this respect -- while CBBC and BBC One are showing two eps per week, on Monday/Tuesday and Wednesday/Thursday respectively, BBC HD is showing just one episode every Saturday. What? Why? Gits.

Director Norrington quits Crow remake by Simon Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)
I'd be lying if I said I'd been massively excited for this film, but the people involved and the 'new direction' talk had piqued my interest. So, this news is a shame.

Neil Gaiman drops Doctor Who hints by Morgan Jeffery
(from Digital Spy)
Beware spoilers, though I think Gaiman does a good job of genuinely teasing without giving away anything significant. In other words, it's more fuel for speculation (much more) without providing anything definitive.

Warner Bros confirms Hobbit cast by Christian Tobin
(from Digital Spy)
It's been the talk of the 'net today, but in case you missed it, nine of the leading roles in The Hobbit (in addition to the likes of Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis returning) have been confirmed. They're a mix of "brilliant!", "interesting..." and "I have no idea who that is".

Collection Count

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

And it's been doing so for a whole year!

Normally this would be the latest running time update (which is only logical -- I do it monthly, of course it would coincide with the anniversary), but I've expanded it rather for a sort-of-celebratory Statistic of the Week. More after the latest numbers...

...which this week see the Back to the Future trilogy hit Blu-ray. Gorgeous set, it is, and replaces my old DVDs. Plus two new DVDs and you get this:

Number of titles in collection: 1,226 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,103 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 123 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,007 [up 7]
Number of films in collection: 1,294 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 4,280 [up 60]

Statistic of the week:

In honour of Collection Count reaching its first anniversary, I've decided to see how much my collection has grown in the past year. Exciting stuff, eh?

So without further delay, in the last 12 months my collection has increased as follows...

Number of titles in collection: up 169 (15.99%)
Of which DVDs: up 79 (7.7%)
Of which Blu-rays: up 90 (272.7%)

Number of discs in collection: up 391 (14.95%)
Number of films in collection: up 200 (18.3%)
Number of TV episodes in collection: up 628 (17.2%)

Plus, in that first-ever post I included the first running time total. And so...

Total running time of collection (approx.):
212 days, 6 hours, and 58 minutes
-- up 32 days, 14 hours, and 5 minutes since last year! (That's 18.32%, fact fans.)

Well crikey. What a year, and all that.

See you next week for the start of Year 2, faithful reader.

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats
10x08 Science Special
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Dragons' Den
What Happened Next 3 James Caan
It's been nearly a month since I last watched this. Crikey. (I know that's not that interesting, but... surprised, I am.)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

How I Met Your Mother
5x22 Robots Vs. Wrestlers
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

TV

Law & Order: UK
3x06 Masquerade
L&O:UK just got recommissioned for another run of 13 episodes... which, thanks to the way they broadcast them, means series 5 & 6.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Mad Men
4x06 Waldorf Stories
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Mock the Week
9x12 (14/10/10 edition) [season finale]
Season-ending highlights/outtakes. Always surprisingly good.
(Skipped the last proper episode thanks to the frequently-useless people who control what goes up on Virgin Media's version of iPlayer. Fortunately, I've downloaded it from the online iPlayer for viewing at some point.)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Due South
1x01 Pilot Part 2 [2nd watch]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

House
7x02 Selfish
I somehow failed to note when I watched episode one of this season, which is a rather surprising oversight (I've now dropped it in somewhere that seems vaguely plausible). I thought I'd not made my comment on how they've finally changed the title sequence, something they've needed to do for years (ever since he took on a new team). Amusingly, they've done it in the cheapest way possible, dropping in new shots for the new cast names.

Whites
1x03 Episode 3
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

The Night Listener (2006)
[#108 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]

TV

Due South
1x01 Pilot Part 1 [2nd watch]
I used to love Due South when it first aired -- about 15 years ago now! It's always worrying revisiting something you once loved after so long. While it undeniably looks dated now, it's still good fun, and I'm sure will improve once it settles down into the series proper. BBC Two are repeating it weekdays at 1pm (though it seems to be constantly pre-empted by stuff this week), and making it available on iPlayer too.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss
Part 1 Frankenstein Goes to Hollywood
This has come under fire from some for not being a particularly complete history. Did they not actually watch it? Gatiss sets out his stall early on: this series both covers three specific eras of horror and is based around his personal predilections. However much the whole of horror cinema may owe to something like Nosferatu, it was a more-or-less isolated example, not part of a significant Horror movement. Besides which, the clue's in the title: it's A History of Horror, not The History of Horror. And, actually, a bloody good programme it was too.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Sarah Jane's Alien Files
1x01 Episode 1
I'm not certain to what degree this can be classed as "pointless". Essentially, it's a glorified way of recapping previous Sarah Jane Adventures stories: new scenes show Sarah Jane and Mr Smith creating a database of aliens, entering details they learnt from previous encounters. In practice, this mostly means a lightweight fact file and a couple of plot recaps. It's not even very thorough though: this edition covered the Trickster, an enemy Sarah Jane as encountered thrice (so far), but they only covered two stories. I fear my completist nature will see me watch the rest of the series, but I really shouldn't bother.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Spooks
9x04 Episode 4
"Should we discuss the illegal act of breaking into another country's embassy?" "Debate? What? No, just do it! Action action action!"
Oh Spooks, you used to be so good...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Story of England
Part 3 The Great Famine & The Black Death
Cheery.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

Snyder explains Sucker Punch 3D axe by Simon Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)
First Harry Potter 7 Part 1 drops its 3D, now Sucker Punch... The Hobbit next, please?

Steven Moffat teases Sherlock series two by Tara Fowler
(from Digital Spy)

"The critical words, I’d say, would be - Adler, Hound, Reichenbach," declared Moffat.

I can't think of three other words Mr Moffat could have chosen that would've gotten me more excited. Can't wait.

TV

Downton Abbey
1x04 Episode Four
Maggie Smith is beyond excellent.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Film 2010 with Claudia Winkleman
Episode 1 (13/10/10 edition)
So Film... is back, with its new host and its new team (or family, or multiplex, or whatever name they settle on). Personally, I rather liked it. Claudia Winkleman did a bang up job, devoid of her usual irritating presenting style, and having two critics (OK OK, one critic and one presenter/fan, but still) chatting rather than a straight review-to-camera was like the highly successful US At the Movies (aka Siskel & Ebert / Ebert & Roeper). Indeed, in many ways this format is superior to having just a sole critic.
As for the team... neat idea, though that Antonia immediately rubbed me up the wrong way. Don't think I'll get on with her opinions. The "8 year old blogger", on the other hand, seems a complete idiot. His Top 5 list was pathetic, his "I only like films that are about two years old, and that's OK" attitude was idiotic, and even the hosts were taking the mick out of him. He should be dispensed with forthwith.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

QI
8x05 H Animals (extended repeat)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
[#106 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
[#107 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]

Articles

McIntyre's Roadshow pips Piers chatshow by Paul Millar
(from Digital Spy)
Piers Morgan's ratings down! X Factor's ratings down! Strictly beat X Factor during the time they were head to head!
If it weren't for the fact that, at its peak last night, 49% of the viewing public were watching X Factor, I'd be a little proud.

Why I'm calling time on Screen Burn by Charlie Brooker
(from guardian.co.uk)
The always-grumpy, always-funny Charlie Brooker is stopping his Screen Burn column after 11 years. This seemed to cause a minor storm across twitter... evidently from people who missed the sentence where Brooker clearly says, "I'll be back later in the year with a new column, right here in these pages."

this week on 100 Films

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

The Damned United (2009)

I have no love for football. Quite the opposite, in fact. I’m not even entirely sure why I wound up watching this, to be honest. But I’m glad I did, because, even though it’s technically about football, The Damned United is a little bit brilliant. For one thing, it’s not actually about football, not really.

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

widely regarded as not just in the film series’ upper half, but as one of the best episodes the entire franchise has produced... It gets off to a flying start. The first 20 or 30 minutes in particular move at a rate of knots, churning through plot in a way no blockbuster would seem to dare these days. [There's none of] Trek’s renowned “sit around and consider what to do” talkiness.

Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

Rather than the broadly action-adventure style of other big contemporary sci-fi movies, this concerns a minor dispute over a survey mission to a single planet. Yawn, right? Actually, this is when Insurrection is at its best... the political wrangling kept me engaged. But then it begins an attempt to be all Exciting, at which point it begins to get dull, degenerating into a stock runaround and shoot-out

Film4 are showing the two Star Trek films tonight, at 6:40pm and 9pm respectively. They're preceded by the first Next Generation film, Star Trek: Generations, at 4:20pm, and followed by the crew's final film, Star Trek: Nemesis, at 11:05pm.

More next Sunday.

TV

Have I Got News For You
40x01 (14/10/10 edition; extended repeat)
As always, hooray for the return of HIGNFY! It should be on more often. And Benedict Cumberbatch made for a (surprisingly, I must say) excellent host.
Though, as a regular twitterer, and someone still in the 16-24 age demographic, I must express my dubiousness about them flashing up their hashtag unexplained at the start of the show. Weird.
[Watch the regular edition (again) on iPlayer. The extended repeat may or may not be available here later.]

Merlin
3x05 The Crystal Cave
3x06 The Changeling
A strong, darkly-themed episode followed by a lighter, sillier one. Such is Merlin's balance.
[Watch The Crystal Cave and The Changeling (again) on iPlayer.]

The Sarah Jane Adventures
4x01 The Nightmare Man Part One
4x02 The Nightmare Man Part Two
A strong return for the excellent children's Doctor Who spin-off, which I'm sure is far better than most kids' TV. Not surprised that Luke's been (semi-)written out of the series here though -- the actor has previously commented that he didn't really consider acting his career, and by now he must be reaching A-level/Uni age himself. Also a convenient way of getting rid of K9, who's only allowed to appear in so many episodes a year. But will they have a Luke-replacement, I wonder? Time will tell...
[Watch parts one and two, or a compilation of both, on iPlayer.]

TV

8 Out of 10 Cats
10x07 Scary Special
Someone should've told Channel 4 it wasn't Halloween for another three weeks...
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The Gadget Show
14x10 Episode 10
Just the bit on 3DTV. It was... basic...
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

The Mentalist
3x01 Red Sky at Night
Hooray for Five finally showing this not too far behind the US (only three weeks; their previous best was two months). Shame the producers wasted this pair of titles on something that was distinctly not a two-parter though.
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

The Rob Brydon Show
1x04 (8/10/10 edition)
I'm not deliberating only watching even-numbered episodes, it's just worked out that way because... oh, you don't care why. But it's good series, you should watch it.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Grindhouse (2007)
[#105 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]

Collection Count

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

A couple of new titles this week. Not much worthy of particular note, then. Other than landing on precisely 3,000 discs, which is both a milestone and a lovely round number. Not that it'll stop me from buying more.

Number of titles in collection: 1,224 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,102 [up 2]
Of which Blu-rays: 122 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,000 [up 4]
Number of films in collection: 1,293 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 4,220 [down 1]

Statistic of the week:

Number of weeks Collection Count has been running:
51

Yep, I know what you're thinking -- "51? But that's just one short of a year!" And you're right, it is. And next week, something of a celebration of the first anniversary.

See you then, faithful reader.

TV

Argumental
3x09 (12/10/10 edition)

How I Met Your Mother
5x21 Twin Beds
Tonight's episode! What is the world coming to?!
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Law & Order: UK
3x05 Survivor
Last week's episode. That's more like it.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]