Thursday, 30 October 2008

TV

The Graham Norton Show
4x04 (23/10/08 edition, uncut repeat)
I had a funny comment about this, but I've completely forgotten it. Oh well.

Little Dorrit
Part 2 (of 14)

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
22x05 (30/10/08 edition)
Russell Brand "had been filmed for this week's edition, but because he is not allowed to appear on the [BBC], that show has been postponed. Instead an episode filmed for the following week that features [James Allan from] Glasvegas, along with James Corden and Germaine Greer, will air in its place." (Source: NME)

Films

My Quantum of Solace Film Season #6:
Casino Royale (2006)
[4th watch; #72a in 100 Films in a Year 2008]

Articles

Doctor Who: The runners and the riders
(from BBC News)
Several obvious choices here, but I'm not sure how convinced I am by any of them, especially considering most of their ages -- RTD has several times made the sensible point that over a certain age most actors would find the gruelling schedule too much. Sure, none of them are old, but (bar two, one of whom is very unlikely now) they're all got at least 6 years on David Tennant now, never mind when they'd start (in a year-ish) or finish (four years at least, one would hope). Still, s'always fun to speculate!

Neil Gaiman exclusive! Part 3 by Jayne Nelson
(from SFX)
The third part of SFX's Neil Gaiman interview (the clue's in the title), in which he discusses the possibility of him writing for Doctor Who, as well as some general thoughts on the series as a whole and what he might've done with it. Also includes a funny comment from Steven Moffat.

Preacher Set for the Big Screen by Dave Golder
(from SFX)
After years of films-almost-getting-made and TV-series-almost-getting-made, I won't believe this til it goes before the cameras. That said, the existence of adult comic adaptations like Watchmen could help things along, especially if that's a success.

The latest on Ross/Brand can be found here and, especially, here.

a typically intelligent perspective

Normally I'd just bung this in today's Articles post, but it makes too much sense, so here it is by itself:

Welcome to the Blander Broadcasting Corporation by Mark Lawson
(from guardian.co.uk)

"while there is no defence for the incident, there's cause to worry that the rumpus will prove damaging to larger parts of broadcasting than the careers of Brand and Ross. After each of the recent public controversies over BBC programme... broadcasters and producers at the BBC have noted a reduction in courage, a paranoia among managers about making another mistake... The making of editorial policy at the corporation consists largely of padlocking doors that have just opened... And so, inexorably, all shows will be forced to become safer and blander."

"...it's a terrible mistake to impose a single tone or set of guidelines on thousands of different shows. As society becomes increasingly fragmented - containing, for example, older people who never swear and younger ones who never stop swearing - universal rules become increasingly futile. The fact that only two of Brand's actual listeners are reported to have complained about the original broadcast reminds us that definitions of acceptability vary widely among audiences, and the BBC's ability to compete will be greatly reduced if all are held to the same standard."

"...It still seems improbable that the BBC will permanently remove one of its most popular broadcasters, and the fact that the programme was recorded rather than live will make it hard to argue the presenters were finally responsible. But, once a prime minister gives backing to a newspaper witch-hunt, the momentum for dismissal can become unstoppable... Were the BBC to now sack Ross, he would probably be rapidly taken on by commercial broadcasters, or even by the networks of Rupert Murdoch, whose newspapers have been calling for his head."

Too true.

suspensions, resignations, and iPlayer nonsense

Ross suspended for three months
(from BBC News)

A relatively sensible step, especially with it being these three months -- March to May wouldn't seem a long time, but October to January will seem an age, what with all the fuss of Christmas and New Year. Hopefully it'll be long enough for people to calm down and gain a sense of perspective.

However, I dislike the controller of Radio 2 resigning. I always hate it when people are forced to resign over something they weren't even involved in, just because they're the highest person in the chain. It's also a stupid concept -- she made a mistake (well, she didn't, but for the sake of argument...) which she could learn from and be careful not to do again; her replacement has made no such error, leaving them more open to do the same / something else more easily, unaware of the early signs of where things are headed.

Back to Ross: amusingly, if you search iPlayer for "Jonathan Ross" or "Film 2008" or what have you then any programme featuring him seems to have been pulled. However, search the BBC's site more generally, and they can still be found. (That doesn't guarantee they still work however, as episode 8 won't play for me. I'm just glad I got round to watching the Daniel Craig interview before the show was removed!)

It also seems all his shows have been entirely cancelled. While it's understandable that Friday Night With... has been cancelled (as it's very much "The Jonathan Ross Show") I hope they can find an alternate presenter for Film 2008 -- people don't watch that for Wossy, they watch it for info on films, and removing it because the regular present is suspended wouldn't be in viewers' interests.

As with this week's big Who news, this has finally managed to garner some moderately-prominent coverage on US sites like IMDb too.

extended David Tennant / Lizo Mzimba interview

David Tennant to Leave Doctor Who (did you know?)

A much extended version of the Lizo video interview from yesterday.

Also features a somewhat natty 50-second trailer for The Next Doctor, including glimpses of the Cybershades in action.

And also -- "Tennant Steps Down As Doctor Who" is the #1 news story on IMDb. IMDb! That's American!

Oh, and something else I forgot to mention: I'm having a good old laugh at all the people who took Tennant's throwaway comment that Moffat was his new boss (made on a series four commentary track heard by reviewers on advance copies -- that'll look especially outdated when the set eventually hits stores next month!) as confirmation he would definitely be in series five. Fools!

Wednesday, 29 October 2008

TV

National Television Awards 2008
Thankfully, the shock announcement of David Tennant's exit from Doctor Who overshadowed the rest of the ceremony, including the special achievement award going to... Simon Cowell. Simon Cowell?! Don't get me started.

Films

My Quantum of Solace Film Season #5:
The Invasion (2007)
[#72 in 100 Films in a Year 2008]

Non-Fiction

Story by Robert McKee
Chapter 8 (pages 189-207)

Music

12 minutes of Quantum of Solace (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by David Arnold
For a film that's meant to be relentlessly action-packed, this seemed quite a quiet score. Of course, that impression is seriously unbalanced by my listening to only 30-second samples from each track, thereby weighting a 40-second quiet piece on the same level as an 8-minute action cue (with a sample taken from (probably) the one quiet bit). Still, it all sounded suitably Bondian, with some nice foreign influences for the worldwide locations. Arnold even manages to work in some bits from the main theme, which I wasn't expecting this time round as he wasn't involved in its composition (unlike Casino Royale's). I look forward to hearing the score in full -- for the first time on the film (two days!), and then by itself later on.

Articles

Two huge pieces of news today, one of which has had its own posts (two of them!), the other... well, it's right below this... Oh, and a piece about Superman, which is great news (it makes me excited about a Superman project, which is impressive in and of itself) but is totally overshadowed by everything else. Oh well.

David Tennant quits as Doctor Who
and
David Tennant on Doctor Who exit by Lizo Mzimba
(from BBC News)
The main story on BBC News' entertainment page -- even topping the Brand/Ross story which, ironically, is the #1 story on the main news page. It's already confirmed that RTD will be writing his final story, based on these comments from the giant himself: "the Tenth Doctor still has five spectacular hours left! After which, I might drop an anvil on his head. Or maybe a piano. A radioactive piano. But we're planning the most enormous and spectacular ending, so keep watching." The video interview on the first story is transcribed in the second, but the video version contains a few extra comments.

Exclusive: Mark Millar Talks Superman by Dan Goodswen
(from Empire Online)
"Mark has been working... on a pitch for what he is calling the Magnum Opus of Superman stories. His idea is for an 8-hour saga, split into 3 films to be released a year apart, in a Lord of the Rings fashion... “It’s gonna be like Michael Corleone in the Godfather films, the entire story from beginning to end, you see where he starts, how he becomes who he becomes, and where that takes him... I want to start on Krypton, a thousand years ago, and end with Superman alone on Planet Earth, the last being left on the planet, as the yellow sun turns red and starts to supernova, and he loses his powers.""

Don't forget (as if you could) my thoughts on the Brand/Ross thing, to be found today at this location and this one.

Technology

Tell Your iPhone to Stop Opening iPhoto! by Michael Krol
(from michaelkrol.com)

"How do I stop iPhoto opening every time I connect my iPhone?" I asked Google, and it found this. Handy!

I don't know if any fellow iPhone and Mac users read this blog, but I found iPhoto's opening bloody irritating, and now the problem is quickly and simply solved. Much yaying round these parts.

(I'm going to be nitpicky now -- you don't tell you iPhone to stop opening iPhoto, you tell another application, so technically the title's wrong. Tsk.)

"Brand quits BBC over prank calls"

Brand quits BBC over prank calls
(from BBC News)

While I don't doubt his apology in the slightest, I do wonder if this resignation is a strategic move for the BBC. Brand has plenty of other avenues -- a Channel 4 show, standup, a movie career -- and was at the centre of the scandal, while Ross is 'Mr BBC', and I'm sure neither he nor BBC bosses want to have to fire him. Brand accepting responsibility and resigning also looks better than a weeks/months-long investigation/battle resulting in them having to kick him out. With one of them gone of their own volition, and -- importantly -- Sachs accepting their apology and not wishing to take matters further, this hopefully means Ross can be restored to the BBC, and sooner rather than later.

Another point:

4.2 million people watched Jonathan Ross' show last week. More will have watched it via the Saturday repeat, iPlayer, and plain old recording it. 3 million people regularly listen to his radio show.

0.01 million people's complaints have led to him being suspended.

I have no doubt some of those ratings would drop off in the wake of this massive overreaction, but I think many would be surprised how small the drop would be -- no doubt indicating the silent majority who realise how overblown this has become.

So, where do you think the public interest lies?

'It's been blown out of proportion'

Brand and Ross suspended by BBC
and
'It's been blown out of proportion'
(from BBC News)

"It's been blown out of proportion" sums it up for me. I think it's telling that young people can realise this, while older viewers go on complaining.

Get some perspective people.

Also, be sure to read this:

Open and shut case? by Rod McKenzie
(from BBC News: The Editors blog)

Tuesday, 28 October 2008

TV

Argumental
1x01 (27/10/08 edition)
It seems Dave do original programming now, and this is an unsurprising choice for them: it's a panel show, the sort of programme Dave shows on never-ending loops (along with Top Gear, of course). Luckily it's a brilliant one, more than deserving of being on a real channel. This edition includes a particularly good joke about The X-Factor that receives an entirely warranted standing ovation. Make sure to catch it if you can.

Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
15x08 (24/10/08 edition)
Daniel Craig! Hurrah! Despite his occasional flaws (fawning; poor jokes), I like Jonathan Ross.

Spooks
6x09 Isolated
The sheer volume of slow-mo used this season makes me wonder if every script ran under. This episode is one of the worst.

Films

My Quantum of Solace Film Season #3:
Hitman (2007)
[#70 in 100 Films in a Year 2008]
This may or may not be the "unrated edition" -- the file says it is -- but I can't find any details on what the differences are, so I don't imagine they can be significant.

My Quantum of Solace Film Season #4:
St Trinian's (2007)
[#71 in 100 Films in a Year 2008]

Non-Fiction

Story by Robert McKee
Chapter 7 (pages 154-180)
Chapter 8 (pages 181-189)

Magazines

Radio Times 1-7 November 2008
Investigations into who the Stig really is (Top Gear's back, you see), among other things. Well obviously -- there's a whole magazine to fill -- but I've forgotten it all. Ho hum.

SFX #176
Doctor Who is 45 (in four weeks), so SFX have celebrated with a great big feature in this ten-covered issue. Highlights include Russell T Davies having a natter about The Next Doctor (and giving away nothing new) and Stephen Fry -- "the Greatest Living Englishman" -- talking about the joy of An Unearthly Child's first broadcast. Elsewhere this issue, there's some other interesting stuff, but I've forgotten it all. Ho hum.

Articles

Battlefield - DVD by Steve Roberts
(from Doctor Who Restoration Team Website)
Two discs! Hurrah! "For the story's DVD debut, we decided to follow the successful Curse of Fenric model, presenting the story-as-transmitted on one disc and a movie-format extended edit with revised video effects and 5.1 audio on a second disc." The extras don't look as numerous as Fenric's, suggesting the second disc was added solely for the movie edit, but there's nothing to complain about in what's included.
Incidentally, this release completes Season 26 on DVD -- how long til we get a box set? Davros-style (i.e. repackaging releases with new extras) or Bred For War-style (i.e. just repackaging releases)? As I own them all already, I seriously hope for the latter.

See also the Jonathan Ross / Russell Brand / Andrew Sachs palava.

the Jonathan Ross / Russell Brand / Andrew Sachs palava

Ofcom to launch BBC Brand inquiry
(from BBC News)

This story's been dominating the news today, for no good reason really. ITV are taking extra delight in lambasting the BBC -- as they always do -- especially on their always-dreadful sensationalist news programmes (God Alastair Stewart's dreadful, isn't he?) Interestingly, a lot of the focus -- from ITV's perspective -- seems to fall on Jonathan Ross, even though it seems it was Russell Brand who did most of it. What's the betting ITV are just trying to force Wossy out of the BBC so they can sign him themselves?

I also hold no stock by the thousands of complaints made, most of them after the story became big news. None of these people listened to the show originally; none of them are its intended audience. If it hadn't been picked up by the media in this way they would never have known, they would never have cared, they would never have complained. Really, what right do they have to do it now? If Brand were fired, he would be replaced by someone targeted at a similar audience demographic... and all these people who forced his removal wouldn't listen to the new guy and still wouldn't care.

Incidentally, I sincerely hope Andrew Sachs -- clearly the wronged party, and deserving of an apology -- is in no way involved in all this fuss, and that it's a lot of people being misguidedly incensed on his behalf. Should he wind up backing the complainers, suing Brand/Ross, or generally overreacting in any other way, he'll quickly lose my sympathy.