Doctor Who: Redacted
1x02 Hysteria
This is released on Sundays but it's taking me 'til Fridays to get round to listening to them because... well, I'm not particularly enjoying it. Maybe it'll improve... but as I find most of the main characters quite irritating, that seems unlikely.
[Listen (again) on BBC Sounds.]
Friday, 29 April 2022
Thursday, 28 April 2022
Games
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
Completed Part One, on Mêlée Island. This section of the game dominates my memory of it, so it's kinda surprising to learn I'm only 35% of the way through. I've found it easy, too, because I remember all of the puzzles and their solutions. It'll be interesting to see if I find the rest harder, or if it all comes back to me as and when I get there.
Edit: After writing the above, I continued on a bit further, and soon had reached 57% complete. So, that's 22% done in 1/7th the time it took me to do the first 35%. However these percentages are calculated, it's clearly not time-based!
Completed Part One, on Mêlée Island. This section of the game dominates my memory of it, so it's kinda surprising to learn I'm only 35% of the way through. I've found it easy, too, because I remember all of the puzzles and their solutions. It'll be interesting to see if I find the rest harder, or if it all comes back to me as and when I get there.
Edit: After writing the above, I continued on a bit further, and soon had reached 57% complete. So, that's 22% done in 1/7th the time it took me to do the first 35%. However these percentages are calculated, it's clearly not time-based!
Wednesday, 27 April 2022
Games
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
Another hour-and-a-half’s play and I’m at 22%. I’ve gotta be honest, I’m not so much solving the puzzles as remembering them. But the Melee Island portion of the game is the bit I remember the most clearly by far, so it’ll be interesting to see if I still remember what to do later on — I could’ve told you a bunch of the Melee Island puzzles and their solutions before even starting to play the game, but I can remember very little of what comes later with such clarity.
Another hour-and-a-half’s play and I’m at 22%. I’ve gotta be honest, I’m not so much solving the puzzles as remembering them. But the Melee Island portion of the game is the bit I remember the most clearly by far, so it’ll be interesting to see if I still remember what to do later on — I could’ve told you a bunch of the Melee Island puzzles and their solutions before even starting to play the game, but I can remember very little of what comes later with such clarity.
Articles
Ron Gilbert’s Monkey Island Announcement Was a Joke ‘18 Years in the Making’
by Jay Peters (from The Verge)
In rare interview, Monkey Island designers tell Ars about long-awaited Return
by Kyle Orland (from Ars Technica)
Two more pieces about the forthcoming sixth Monkey Island game. The basic content is the same across all three interviews, because it's still early in the promotion cycle (they all share the same handful of screenshots, for example), but there are differing titbits in each if you're after all the information you can get.
Possibly the best quote from any of them comes at the end of the Verge piece, when Gilbert says:
by Jay Peters (from The Verge)
In rare interview, Monkey Island designers tell Ars about long-awaited Return
by Kyle Orland (from Ars Technica)
Two more pieces about the forthcoming sixth Monkey Island game. The basic content is the same across all three interviews, because it's still early in the promotion cycle (they all share the same handful of screenshots, for example), but there are differing titbits in each if you're after all the information you can get.
Possibly the best quote from any of them comes at the end of the Verge piece, when Gilbert says:
when we were bringing people on, and we’d talk to them, the minute I mentioned, “I’m making a new Monkey Island…,” one person literally started crying. They were so happy that this was happening.
Tuesday, 26 April 2022
Music
Loud Like Love
by Placebo
Being that one I mentioned I'd missed. I enjoyed this one a little more. Would probably benefit to listen to them both a couple more times.
by Placebo
Being that one I mentioned I'd missed. I enjoyed this one a little more. Would probably benefit to listen to them both a couple more times.
Monday, 25 April 2022
Games
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
I've been meaning to re-play this for years — decades, even — and the news of the new one has finally spurred me to do it. Well, there are up to five games to (re)play before it comes out! (The new one is going to pick up where #2 left off though, so 3 to 5 are hardly essentially; but I'd like to revisit them all — or visit for the first time, in the case of most of #5, as I only played the first of its five chapters.)
Anyway, according to the save game file I played for just under an hour and have completed 12% of the game so far.
I've been meaning to re-play this for years — decades, even — and the news of the new one has finally spurred me to do it. Well, there are up to five games to (re)play before it comes out! (The new one is going to pick up where #2 left off though, so 3 to 5 are hardly essentially; but I'd like to revisit them all — or visit for the first time, in the case of most of #5, as I only played the first of its five chapters.)
Anyway, according to the save game file I played for just under an hour and have completed 12% of the game so far.
Articles
Interview: Ron Gilbert, Dave Grossman – Return to Monkey Island
by Emily Morganti (from Adventure Gamers)
This piece has been out for over a week now, but I've only just found the time to dedicate to reading it. I wanted to make sure I took it in fully, because it's the first details — and screenshots! — about the new Monkey Island game (outside of what was revealed in its announcement trailer). Exciting stuff.
by Emily Morganti (from Adventure Gamers)
This piece has been out for over a week now, but I've only just found the time to dedicate to reading it. I wanted to make sure I took it in fully, because it's the first details — and screenshots! — about the new Monkey Island game (outside of what was revealed in its announcement trailer). Exciting stuff.
Sunday, 24 April 2022
TV
The RKO Story: Tales from Hollywood
Part 1 Birth of a Titan
A six-part series from 1987, currently being repeated on BBC Four, detailing the history of the film studio. I've seen a lot of RKO movies, and of course their ident is famous, but I know next to nothing about the studio itself, so hopefully this is going to fill in the blanks.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Would I Lie To You?
15x04 Episode 4
15x05 Episode 5
Here's the fun thing with stuff being on iPlayer for months/years now: these episodes aired back in January and February, but I can still easily catch up with them now, when I'm in the mood.
[Watch these episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Part 1 Birth of a Titan
A six-part series from 1987, currently being repeated on BBC Four, detailing the history of the film studio. I've seen a lot of RKO movies, and of course their ident is famous, but I know next to nothing about the studio itself, so hopefully this is going to fill in the blanks.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Would I Lie To You?
15x04 Episode 4
15x05 Episode 5
Here's the fun thing with stuff being on iPlayer for months/years now: these episodes aired back in January and February, but I can still easily catch up with them now, when I'm in the mood.
[Watch these episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Theatre
Hamlet
Starring Maxine Peake. I've been wanting to see this version for years, which possibly did it no favours; or maybe I just wasn't in the right mood today (I watched it because my Digital Theatre free trial was expiring rather than through any burning desire to spend 3 hours on Shakespeare this afternoon). Whatever the reason, I found this a bit of a slog; and though Peake is a great actress, to be sure, I found her interpretation a bit… shouty.
[Watch it (again) on Digital Theatre.]
Starring Maxine Peake. I've been wanting to see this version for years, which possibly did it no favours; or maybe I just wasn't in the right mood today (I watched it because my Digital Theatre free trial was expiring rather than through any burning desire to spend 3 hours on Shakespeare this afternoon). Whatever the reason, I found this a bit of a slog; and though Peake is a great actress, to be sure, I found her interpretation a bit… shouty.
[Watch it (again) on Digital Theatre.]
Saturday, 23 April 2022
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
A solid week this time, made up entirely of new releases — although one was delayed by shipping from the US so isn't really 'new' anymore, and two are actually out next week. What does it matter, eh?
Number of titles in collection: 2,818 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,055 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,763 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 167 [up 1]
Number of discs in collection: 7,033 [up 5]
Number of films: 3,359 [up 5]
Number of additional cuts: 257 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 9,268 [no change]
Number of short films: 957 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
A solid week this time, made up entirely of new releases — although one was delayed by shipping from the US so isn't really 'new' anymore, and two are actually out next week. What does it matter, eh?
Number of titles in collection: 2,818 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,055 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,763 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 167 [up 1]
Number of discs in collection: 7,033 [up 5]
Number of films: 3,359 [up 5]
Number of additional cuts: 257 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 9,268 [no change]
Number of short films: 957 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 22 April 2022
Audio Drama / Podcasts
Doctor Who: Redacted
1x01 SOS
This is an audio drama released as a podcast, which seemed to confuse some people initially. Well, that's people for you.
[Listen (again) on BBC Sounds.]
1x01 SOS
This is an audio drama released as a podcast, which seemed to confuse some people initially. Well, that's people for you.
[Listen (again) on BBC Sounds.]
Music
Never Let Me Go
by Placebo
Placebo's first album for eight years... not that I have the last one (I listened to them a lot when I was a teen in the '00s, but obviously wasn't paying attention by 2013). Anyway, this was... fine. Like, I didn't dislike listening to it, but nor did any track really stand out to me.
by Placebo
Placebo's first album for eight years... not that I have the last one (I listened to them a lot when I was a teen in the '00s, but obviously wasn't paying attention by 2013). Anyway, this was... fine. Like, I didn't dislike listening to it, but nor did any track really stand out to me.
Thursday, 21 April 2022
TV
Richard Osman's House of Games
5x123 Week 21: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
5x123 Week 21: Wednesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Wednesday, 20 April 2022
TV
The Crown
3x09 Imbroglio
3x10 Cri de Coeur [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]
Richard Osman's House of Games
5x121 Week 21: Monday
5x122 Week 21: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
3x09 Imbroglio
3x10 Cri de Coeur [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]
Richard Osman's House of Games
5x121 Week 21: Monday
5x122 Week 21: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Tuesday, 19 April 2022
TV
The Crown
3x07 Moondust
3x08 Dangling Man
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]
Richard Osman's House of Games
5x119 Week 20: Thursday
5x120 Week 20: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
3x07 Moondust
3x08 Dangling Man
[Watch it (again) on Netflix.]
Richard Osman's House of Games
5x119 Week 20: Thursday
5x120 Week 20: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
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