Collection Count

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

Number of titles in collection: 1,352 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,126 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 226 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 3,348 [up 5]
Number of films in collection: 1,427 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,005 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

No Ordinary Family
1x15 No Ordinary Powell
The Jim vs 'Jim' fight was good, and perhaps a couple of other bits were too, but otherwise this was an episode stuffed with stupidity. If you know there's a shapeshifter about, would you really trust anyone so readily? And would you except they're the real person off a few current-life details? And would you happily discuss your one and only weakness out in the open? Daftness. Which I suppose I should expect by now.

Pointless
4x40 (29/7/11 edition)
Or, Episode #150.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Torchwood: Miracle Day
4x04 Escape to L.A.
This season is improving with every episode, I think. Which is good, because I didn't think it started as well as people would've liked. It would be really nice if they sorted out the technical issues though -- every other US series looks fine on British TV, so what's with all the smearing/ghosting/etc? It bugs me.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

The Strange and Twisted Tale of...The Movie That Grossed $30.00 by Rob Brunner
(from EW.com)
You may have heard of this before: Zyzzyx Road, which was shown on one screen once a day in Texas for a week in 2006 for legal reasons, and only six people saw it. Around Christmas 2006 it was picked up on and laughed at; this article, from February 2007, discusses the true story behind the 'flop' -- note the "legal reasons" I mentioned, and that it was "shown" not released.
Anyway, you can read the article for all that; the reason I mention it is: this article is four-and-a-half years old and in it they're talking about a possible theatrical and/or DVD release for the film in the US -- as far as I'm aware, this still hasn't happened. (It's not available over here either.)

Masters of Cinema / Masters of Cinema - completely different, obviously!

MoC vs. Phaidon
(from Masters of Cinema)

DVD publisher Eureka Entertainment are currently battling it out with much-bigger-company Phaidon, a book publisher who have recently decided to name a series of books "The Masters of Cinema Series", which Eureka has been using as a brand name for DVDs and Blu-rays for about seven years.

The books in question were originally published in French under a completely different title, so it's not as if Phaidon have just done a simple translation job -- they've (possibly deliberately) just nicked someone else's established brand.

When alerted to this fact, Phaidon decided it didn't matter -- books and DVDs are different, they say. I'm sure they'd be delighted if someone started releasing a series of DVDs as "The Phaidon Collection" without asking; never mind the fact that Eureka regularly get requests for information about "their books" from both professional trade and regular consumers -- clearly there is crossover and confusion.

Unfortunately for Phaidon, the very audience for these arty/intellectual film books is rallying behind the original Masters of Cinema on twitter, where MoC are hoping to enact some kind of fan-led change of mind from the publisher (see #badPhaidon for more) without having to resort to expensive legal proceedings -- other legal avenues have already been explored and shot down by Phaidon. Eureka want to protect their brand, but it's clearly going to cost them and that's always bad for the consumer -- less cash to put into releases and all that.

That's more or less the state of it anyway, though this official statement on the MoC website explains it more clearly (and in more detail).

TV

Dexter
5x01 My Bad
The new (well, new to the UK -- it was on about a year ago in the States -- and, actually, is already about halfway through on FX over here) season of Dexter kicks off with a lot of having to deal with last season's shock twist/cliffhanger. Makes sense that it has to do so, but it makes for a slightly plodding and frustrating first episode. And with the FBI hanging around, it's clearly not done yet. Still, fingers crossed things pick up from here.

Pointless
4x39 (28/7/11 edition)
Ouch, that Bourne round result was killer! (He he he.)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Top Gear
17x06 (31/7/11 edition) [season finale]
As soon as it arrived, it's gone again. That's how it feels, anyway, even though it has been six weeks.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

Internet Explorer story was bogus
(from BBC News)

A story which suggested that users of Internet Explorer have a lower IQ than people who chose other browsers appears to have been an elaborate hoax.

It's probably true though, if they actually researched it.
Either way:

A number of media organisations, including the BBC, reported on the research

Oops! Now who's got a low IQ.
And just to compound the effect, they've for some reason posted this story twice. Oops!

Lost Alfred Hitchcock film found in New Zealand by Paul Chapman
(from The Telegraph)

"This is one of the most significant developments in memory for scholars, critics, and admirers of Hitchcock's extraordinary body of work."

It's not actually a film directed by Hitchcock though, but it was one for which he "wrote the scenario, designed the sets, edited the footage and served as assistant director". Interesting stuff.

TV

The Hour
1x02 Episode 2
This is apparently getting quite slagged off in the press, but I'm liking it. It's not perfect, but it has enough going for it to hold my attention.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

My Favourite Joke
Episode 2 (of 6)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Pointless
4x38 (27/7/11 edition)
Best. Round. Ever. (And make sure you keep watching 'til the end, it's worth it.)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

The Tudors
4x10 Death of a Monarchy [series finale]
And that's that, then. A decent finale, especially the last five or ten minutes; the vision with the horse and the skull-headed rider was particularly beautiful, I thought. The last few screens of text to let viewers know what happened was welcome, even if I imagine most British viewers were very aware of the fates of Henry's children; I'd be more interested to know what became of supporting characters like Wifey #6 or Edward Seymour. But I guess that's what Wikipedia is for.
The Tudors on the whole has been of variable quality -- just for one example, take how the first half of this season was a tad slow while the second seemed to rush through events -- but I will miss it a little bit. At least there's a raft of pretenders to the throne to perhaps fill the gap... even if one of them is already cancelled.

Comics

2000 AD #1742

There are magazines I read regularly that I don't bother to mention -- the Radio Times every week, DWM and SFX every month, among others. In the spirit of completeness I suppose I ought to, really, but they're a bit like articles: I don't mention every single one I read, just ones I feel are interesting enough to share or want to comment on.

You'd be forgiven for thinking 2000 AD had slotted in alongside the rest of these magazines, then... but because it's fiction (which I do a much better job of covering my experience of, be it TV or films or books) I've been intending to keep mentioning it... it's just that I haven't actually read it since last time I covered it (nearly three weeks ago). Busy busy me, I guess. Anyway, it's catch-up time -- hopefully I'll remember to read (and include) more issues over the coming days.

TV

Archer
2x13 Double Trouble [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Law & Order: UK
5x04 Tick Tock
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Pointless
4x36 (25/7/11 edition)
4x37 (26/7/11 edition)
[Watch the 26/7/11 edition (again) on iPlayer.]

Single-Handed
2x03 Between Two Fires Part 1
There's only been one fire so far... Tension! Maybe, or it could be metaphorical. Either way, I hope that nasty Costello gets his comeuppance soon, a la Driscoll Sr. in the first series.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

TV

Dragons' Den
9x01 Episode 1
After subjecting myself to an episode of the woeful US version, it's great to have the real Dragons' Den back. Even if new dragon Hilary Devey looks like a Doctor Who monster from the '80s, and her face looming from the shadows in the opening titles is liable to give people nightmares.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Robin Hood (1973)
[multipleth watch]

I can never remember how often I watched things as a child. Not just a precise number -- that's understandable; I was a kid, of course I wasn't counting -- but whether I watched something many times or just once and it made an indelible impression. There have been many films that I can remember with crystal clarity, but I'm certain I've only ever watched once, so any film I feel I must've seen multiple times I always wonder: did I, or did it just imprint itself?

This is, obviously, one of those films. Hence why I have invented the word "multipleth", whose meaning is hopefully clear.

(It's "multiple-th", not "multi-pleth".)

DVD Extras

Super: Behind the Scenes
Aside from the theatrical trailer, the only extra on the UK Super BD. As 19-minute making-ofs go it's decent: as this was an indie film we're not subjected to the usual low-quality, vacant, promotion-focused talking heads commonly found in these featurettes; you might even learn a few things about the production; it's still slightly padded with clips, mind. More disappointing is that a tonne of stuff on the US release is missing. If I can get my hands on the US Best Buy version, I will.

Music

5.1 Inception Soundtrack by Hans Zimmer
Finally had a flick through the Inception Blu-ray and one of the included extras is 39 minutes of Hans Zimmer's score, presented in 5.1 HD surround sound. It's really rather good. I may have to get round to buying the soundtrack now.

this week on 100 Films

Just 1 new review was posted to 100 Films in a Year again this week. It was...

Catfish (2010)

If you have any interest in the Internet and the way so many people now live their lives through it, with all the social networking it offers, and how that impacts back on their ‘real’ lives, then Catfish demands to be seen... As much as I loved The Social Network, this probably has more to say about the actual impact of Facebook on our lives than Fincher/Sorkin’s biopic does.

That's only two all month. Pathetic.

In about 11 hours you can see my summary of July's viewing, which is almost equally pathetic. It'll be available here then.

More, hopefully, next Sunday.

TV

Castle
1x07 Home is Where the Heart Stops
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Horrible Histories with Stephen Fry
1x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Just Good Friends
3x05 The Witness

Lee Mack's All Star Cast
1x06 (23/7/11 edition) [season finale]
(I know I've only got myself to blame for watching all of this, but) I do hope they don't bring it back.

Penn & Teller: Fool Us
1x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Films

Super (2010)
[#71 in 100 Films in a Year 2011]
Out on DVD & Blu-ray in the UK from Monday, at shockingly low prices for a new release.
Out in the US a week Tuesday, but with loads more extras, and more still if you get the Best Buy exclusive version. (On the off chance anyone reading this knows of somewhere I can get the Best Buy version shipped to the UK, please let me know. Thanks.)

Collection Count

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

Disarray this week, thanks to upgrading a two-disc DVD to a single-disc BD alongside a single-disc BD with two films. And a regular one-disc-one-film release, too.

Look, it's not that exciting, alright, but if you thoroughly considered the numbers properly without knowing all that it might look unusual, all right?

Number of titles in collection: 1,350 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,126 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 224 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 3,343 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,424 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,005 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

How I Met Your Mother
6x22 The Perfect Cocktail
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

My Favourite Joke
Episode 1 (of 6)
This would be better if they played the whole routine/sketch/what-have-you either before or after all the comedians' comments. It's fine if you're familiar with the thing they're discussing, but if you've never seen it before it's a chore trying to piece it together from the snippets they scatter about, and it lessens the impact in the process. Shame.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

No Ordinary Family
1x14 No Ordinary Double Standard

The Rob Brydon Show
2x01 Episode 1
I'm glad this is back -- I thought it would be too odd to attract the numbers -- but, thankfully, here it is.
Also, Nina Conti should be on telly more often.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Grand Designs Australia
1x03 Southport Heritage House
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

No Ordinary Family
1x13 No Ordinary Detention
Or No Ordinary Bottle Episode, as this is essentially three contrived-single-location stories smudged into one episode. Still, by NOF standards it was quite good. Shame they let British Villain Lady escape though.
(Technically it's not really a bottle episode -- plenty of guest actors and a couple of non-standard sets -- but, y'know, near enough.)

Single-Handed
2x02 The Lost Boys Part 2
Even better second half. Glad to see having to do three stories at once (the previous three were produced over several years) hasn't diminished the quality (yet, anyway).
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Torchwood: Miracle Day
4x03 Dead of Night
"It's fizzy in the UK and flat in the US." "Just about sums it up." A metaphor for the series itself, one wonders?
Ironically, those lines come in what I felt was the best episode of the season so far. Not close to Children of Earth level, true, but it's steadily improving.
The much-discussed sex scene cuts were unnoticeable, of course, but even more importantly, having seen the uncut version I can say we weren't missing anything; we still get everything that was going on -- the very definition of a pointless/gratuitous scene.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Tudors
4x09 Secrets of the Heart
What the hell just happened -- suddenly everyone looks about 20 years older! Well, most people -- they haven't bothered with some. Clearly time has jumped forward -- there's no mention of Henry's collapse last time, they've all decamped somewhere else -- but not by that much. And most of the aged make-up isn't that good anyway. I can only assume they ran out of money by this point.
Or maybe they were just too busy rushing through the story. After wasting so much time treading water or seen-it-before storylines in the first half of this final season, it's a shame they've had to speed through some decent plots as it draws to a close. Ah well, almost the whole thing's been a missed opportunity anyway.

TV

Law & Order: UK
5x03 Crush
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Top Gear
17x05 (24/7/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Tudors
4x08 As It Should Be
He won the battle! But now they're going to take the city back! And then he keeled over! The end must be nigh... especially as there are only two episodes left...