Doctor Who: The New Adventures
Timewyrm: Revelation by Paul Cornell
Chapters 5–6
Wednesday, 11 June 2025
Games
Batman: Arkham Knight
It's over six months since I got my Luna controller — crikey, so long? Yeah, I've barely used it. To be honest, I didn't have the greatest experience with A Plague Tale — it was ok, but I've never really felt like going back to it. Things went better with Everything or Nothing, but I think my iffiness with the analogue sticks prevented me from revisiting it beyond the tutorial stages (I do still want to, though). And then I tried Final Fantasy VII, which... I sort of didn't get on with? The lack of free saving annoyed me, especially as I ended up having to play for hours when I didn't actually want to just to get to another save point. Maybe that's because I was still early in tutorial-esque bits and it gets better? It is a revered classic, after all.
Anyway, I finally whipped the controller out again today, to have a go at this Batman game that's currently available through Luna to regular Amazon Prime members (there's also an additional Luna+ sub that gets you even more, but I don't use it enough for that — evidently). This was the fourth in the series of 'Arkham' Batman games. I don't normally like I starting with the last, but this is the one that's free, so...
I ended up playing for about two hours — not because a lack of save points forced me to, but because I was actually enjoying it. I can certainly feel I'm out of practice at this type of gaming (aside from the aforementioned tests at the end of last year, I guess the last time I properly picked up a controller was pushing 20 years ago? Jesus, time flies...), but the game wasn't so punishing that I couldn't get somewhere (I did put it on 'easy' mode, but I feel no shame about that — like I said, I'm terribly out of practice. And, frankly, dying over and over and getting nowhere has never been part of the fun of gaming for me). Also, it looked pretty great. It's 10 years old, but when I haven't really played games since the GameCube / original Xbox (I did dabble with the Wii, but not enough give the amount of stuff I bought for it), I guess I feel the jump more! Imagine what I'd think of a new game...
Anyway, I can't promise I'll stick at this too much, because there are plenty of other demands on my free time (films, books, comics, podcasts, audio dramas, self-learning, card games, board games... eesh!), but I'm definitely more inclined to return now. The only possible downside is, the game is due to expire on Luna on the 1st of July — there's no way I'm going to play it enough to finish it by then. It's listed as being about 17 hours just for the main story, but I'm so out of practice that I suspect it will take me longer; and I'm always a completist, so the 31-hour-plus higher estimates seem more like it.
It's over six months since I got my Luna controller — crikey, so long? Yeah, I've barely used it. To be honest, I didn't have the greatest experience with A Plague Tale — it was ok, but I've never really felt like going back to it. Things went better with Everything or Nothing, but I think my iffiness with the analogue sticks prevented me from revisiting it beyond the tutorial stages (I do still want to, though). And then I tried Final Fantasy VII, which... I sort of didn't get on with? The lack of free saving annoyed me, especially as I ended up having to play for hours when I didn't actually want to just to get to another save point. Maybe that's because I was still early in tutorial-esque bits and it gets better? It is a revered classic, after all.
Anyway, I finally whipped the controller out again today, to have a go at this Batman game that's currently available through Luna to regular Amazon Prime members (there's also an additional Luna+ sub that gets you even more, but I don't use it enough for that — evidently). This was the fourth in the series of 'Arkham' Batman games. I don't normally like I starting with the last, but this is the one that's free, so...
I ended up playing for about two hours — not because a lack of save points forced me to, but because I was actually enjoying it. I can certainly feel I'm out of practice at this type of gaming (aside from the aforementioned tests at the end of last year, I guess the last time I properly picked up a controller was pushing 20 years ago? Jesus, time flies...), but the game wasn't so punishing that I couldn't get somewhere (I did put it on 'easy' mode, but I feel no shame about that — like I said, I'm terribly out of practice. And, frankly, dying over and over and getting nowhere has never been part of the fun of gaming for me). Also, it looked pretty great. It's 10 years old, but when I haven't really played games since the GameCube / original Xbox (I did dabble with the Wii, but not enough give the amount of stuff I bought for it), I guess I feel the jump more! Imagine what I'd think of a new game...
Anyway, I can't promise I'll stick at this too much, because there are plenty of other demands on my free time (films, books, comics, podcasts, audio dramas, self-learning, card games, board games... eesh!), but I'm definitely more inclined to return now. The only possible downside is, the game is due to expire on Luna on the 1st of July — there's no way I'm going to play it enough to finish it by then. It's listed as being about 17 hours just for the main story, but I'm so out of practice that I suspect it will take me longer; and I'm always a completist, so the 31-hour-plus higher estimates seem more like it.
Tuesday, 10 June 2025
Videos
Critical Role
2x107 Devoutness and Dicks [2nd half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
2x107 Devoutness and Dicks [2nd half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Monday, 9 June 2025
Videos
Critical Role
2x107 Devoutness and Dicks [1st half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
2x107 Devoutness and Dicks [1st half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Sunday, 8 June 2025
Films
The Untouchables (1987)
[#52 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2025]
"What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" 2025 #6
[#52 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2025]
"What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" 2025 #6
Podcasts
The Empire Spoiler Special Film Podcast
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One — The Live Spoiler Interview with Christopher McQuarrie
I didn't listen to this fifth and final part of Empire's epic deep dive into M:I-7 back when it came out because it took so bloody long to be released: it was recorded in July, Part Four came out in September, and this last instalment wasn't released until Christmas Day — that's almost four months later. The Empire spoiler podcast costs money — I would've wasted three or four months of sub fees just waiting for this to turn up. Anyway, I've just re-subbed to listen to the new Final Reckoning episode(s), so before that I've gone back for this one.
More importantly: what McQ has to say is fascinating and insightful, so this is as brilliant as usual.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One — The Live Spoiler Interview with Christopher McQuarrie
I didn't listen to this fifth and final part of Empire's epic deep dive into M:I-7 back when it came out because it took so bloody long to be released: it was recorded in July, Part Four came out in September, and this last instalment wasn't released until Christmas Day — that's almost four months later. The Empire spoiler podcast costs money — I would've wasted three or four months of sub fees just waiting for this to turn up. Anyway, I've just re-subbed to listen to the new Final Reckoning episode(s), so before that I've gone back for this one.
More importantly: what McQ has to say is fascinating and insightful, so this is as brilliant as usual.
Videos
Age of Umbra
Session Zero Creating Characters Matt Wants to Kill
You feel like a Session Zero should be a great tool for players, but probably not much fun to actually watch. Not so here — it's a delightful mix of learning about the background to the world of the miniseries (whether or not, and how much, that will also be covered in the series proper, who knows) and just getting to hang out with these guys. Yeah, I'm one of those people who enjoys that.
[Watch it (again) on YouTube or Beacon.]
Fireside Chat LIVE With Matthew Mercer and Elise Rezendes!
Answering questions about Daggerheart — or, quite often, not being able to answer them while clearly being excited for what they can't reveal yet.
[Watch it (again) on Beacon.]
Session Zero Creating Characters Matt Wants to Kill
You feel like a Session Zero should be a great tool for players, but probably not much fun to actually watch. Not so here — it's a delightful mix of learning about the background to the world of the miniseries (whether or not, and how much, that will also be covered in the series proper, who knows) and just getting to hang out with these guys. Yeah, I'm one of those people who enjoys that.
[Watch it (again) on YouTube or Beacon.]
Fireside Chat LIVE With Matthew Mercer and Elise Rezendes!
Answering questions about Daggerheart — or, quite often, not being able to answer them while clearly being excited for what they can't reveal yet.
[Watch it (again) on Beacon.]
this week on 100Films.co.uk
Continuing where last week left off, I completed my look back at May on 100Films.co.uk by listing my "failures"...
More next Sunday? One day it'll happen.
More next Sunday? One day it'll happen.
Saturday, 7 June 2025
TV
Doctor Who: Unleashed
3x09 20 Years of New Who in Wales [special]
A nice hour-long tribute to 20 years of nuWho.
(I'm numbering this as being in "Season 3" because I numbered the 60th anniversary specials episodes as Season 1 of Unleashed, which would mean Season 2 covered Season 1, and Season 3 covered Season 2, and this comes at the end of that season. Right?)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
3x09 20 Years of New Who in Wales [special]
A nice hour-long tribute to 20 years of nuWho.
(I'm numbering this as being in "Season 3" because I numbered the 60th anniversary specials episodes as Season 1 of Unleashed, which would mean Season 2 covered Season 1, and Season 3 covered Season 2, and this comes at the end of that season. Right?)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Comics
2000 AD
Prog 2393
Prog 2394
I fell out of the habit of reading 2000 AD regularly and now I haven't read an issue since September. Oops. That's a lot of catching-up to do (44 Progs, to be precise, including the bumper Christmas one; plus an issue of Judge Dredd Megazine thanks to a crossover). Well, I've done big catchups before, so I'm sure I'll achieve it again, eventually.
Prog 2393
Prog 2394
I fell out of the habit of reading 2000 AD regularly and now I haven't read an issue since September. Oops. That's a lot of catching-up to do (44 Progs, to be precise, including the bumper Christmas one; plus an issue of Judge Dredd Megazine thanks to a crossover). Well, I've done big catchups before, so I'm sure I'll achieve it again, eventually.
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
There are increases for every stat this week — yes, even DVDs(!) — as a handful of brand-new releases are accompanied by sale pickups. That DVD, incidentally, is one I've had my eye on purchasing (with no urgency, obviously) for 12 years. That's insane! Where does time go?!
Number of titles in collection: 3,554 [up 8]
Of which DVDs: 986 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,568 [up 7]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 473 [up 2]
Number of discs in collection: 8,559 [up 15]
Number of films: 4,510 [up 12]
Number of additional cuts: 444 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 10,152 [up 6]
Number of short films: 1,238 [up 1]
See you next week, faithful reader.
There are increases for every stat this week — yes, even DVDs(!) — as a handful of brand-new releases are accompanied by sale pickups. That DVD, incidentally, is one I've had my eye on purchasing (with no urgency, obviously) for 12 years. That's insane! Where does time go?!
Number of titles in collection: 3,554 [up 8]
Of which DVDs: 986 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,568 [up 7]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 473 [up 2]
Number of discs in collection: 8,559 [up 15]
Number of films: 4,510 [up 12]
Number of additional cuts: 444 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes: 10,152 [up 6]
Number of short films: 1,238 [up 1]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 6 June 2025
Thursday, 5 June 2025
Videos
Critical Role
2x106 A Fog Lifted [1st half]
With this episode, I’m three-quarters through Campaign 2 — the kind of milestone that has me thinking where I'll go next (not because I'm especially near the end — there's still 169 hours to go — but because, well, that end will come eventually).
CR recently started their Daggerheart-based Age of Umbra miniseries, which runs until the end of July; and by then they’ll have a backlog of live shows to share, which could well fill their August streaming calendar; so Campaign 4 almost certainly won’t start until September at the earliest; some believe it won't begin until 2026 now. Will I have finished Campaign 2 by then? September: probably not; especially as I plan to watch Age of Umbra (I would've started it already, but my free time was unexpectedly upended the past few weeks). The end of 2025: I really should have.
Either way, I’m increasingly certain my plan is to go straight from C2 to C4 (either when I finish C2 or overlapping with the end of it), and then possibly go back to C1 and/or C3 if (when?) once-a-week new episodes are not enough for my CR fix.
[Watch A Fog Lifted (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
2x106 A Fog Lifted [1st half]
With this episode, I’m three-quarters through Campaign 2 — the kind of milestone that has me thinking where I'll go next (not because I'm especially near the end — there's still 169 hours to go — but because, well, that end will come eventually).
CR recently started their Daggerheart-based Age of Umbra miniseries, which runs until the end of July; and by then they’ll have a backlog of live shows to share, which could well fill their August streaming calendar; so Campaign 4 almost certainly won’t start until September at the earliest; some believe it won't begin until 2026 now. Will I have finished Campaign 2 by then? September: probably not; especially as I plan to watch Age of Umbra (I would've started it already, but my free time was unexpectedly upended the past few weeks). The end of 2025: I really should have.
Either way, I’m increasingly certain my plan is to go straight from C2 to C4 (either when I finish C2 or overlapping with the end of it), and then possibly go back to C1 and/or C3 if (when?) once-a-week new episodes are not enough for my CR fix.
[Watch A Fog Lifted (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Tuesday, 3 June 2025
Sunday, 1 June 2025
TV
Friends
7x20 The One with Rachel's Big Kiss [6th or so watch]
7x21 The One with the Vows [6th or so watch]
7x22 The One with Chandler's Dad [5th or so watch]
7x23 The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding Part 1 [5th or so watch]
7x24 The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding Part 2 [season finale; 5th or so watch]
7x20 The One with Rachel's Big Kiss [6th or so watch]
7x21 The One with the Vows [6th or so watch]
7x22 The One with Chandler's Dad [5th or so watch]
7x23 The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding Part 1 [5th or so watch]
7x24 The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding Part 2 [season finale; 5th or so watch]
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