TV

BBC One Session: Duffy
Ah, accidental viewing! Her music is pleasant enough, but I'm not going to be rushing off to buy it. Originally shown in October, so features the first performance of her Bond theme-esque last single, Rain On Your Parade.

The Graham Norton Show
4x12 (18/12/08 edition, uncut repeat)
Hurrah for comedian guests helping make things funny! Less joy to be had from stupidly dressed Big Brother presenters however.

QI
6x02 Fire & Freezing [Christmas special]
Series "F" follows in January, also on BBC One.

Russell Brand's Ponderland
2x06 Christmas [Christmas special]

Articles

BBC Drama announces Sherlock, a new crime drama for BBC One
(from BBC Press Office)
Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss co-writing/creating a modern day take on Sherlock Holmes, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Watson? Best. Thing. Ever.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW! Doctor Who The Next Doctor by Dave Golder
(from SFX)
Sounds good to me!

Poem of the Day: The Burning Babe

by Robert Southwell

Obviously it's Christmas week, so I'm sure you're expecting no less than five Christmas-themed poems from Poem of the Day. So here's the first of them:

As I in hoary winter's night stood shivering in the snow,
Surprised I was with sudden heat which made my heart to glow;
And lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near,
A pretty babe all burning bright did in the air appear;
Who, though scorched with excessive heat, such floods of tears did shed,
As though his floods should quench his flames, which with his tears were fed.
"Alas," quoth he, "but newly born, in fiery heats I fry,
Yet none approach to warm their hearts, or feel my fire but I!
My faultless breast the furnace is, the fuel wounding thorns,
Love is the fire, and sighs the smoke, the ashes shame and scorns;
The fuel justice layeth on, and mercy blows the coals,
The metal in this furnace wrought are men's defiled souls,
For which, as now on fire I am to work them to their good,
So will I melt into a bath to wash them in my blood."
With this he vanished out of sight and swiftly shrunk away,
And straight I called unto mind that it was Christmas Day.

I tried to find a decent modern Christmas poem online and failed (most were about how great Christianity is and/or how bad atheism is), so I chose this distinctly odd one instead. Incidentally, talking of Christians, the author was a 16th Century saint who was hung, drawn and quartered as a traitor. This piece was first published posthumously in 1595.

TV

Britain's Got an Extra Pop Factor ...And Then Some!
'Part Three' of Peter Kay's excellent talent show spoof. Very funny with plenty of new material, though the damn recording cut out before the end and it's not be found online (yet). Dammit.

Heroes
3x10 The Eclipse Part 1
3x11 The Eclipse Part 2
Answers? Not really. But Volume Three is nearly over now, so it must be going somewhere. I hope.

Lark Rise to Candleford
2x01 Episode 1 (Christmas Special)
As genteel as ever, though with a nice bit of Victorian Christmas production design (the sheer volume of snow is quite astounding) and a surprising ghostly plot, perfectly suited to the setting (if not the series).

Outnumbered
2x06 Episode 6

Radio

Radio 1's Official Chart Show with Fearne & Reggie
So, disappointingly -- though not surprisingly -- The X Factor winner was number one. But the unprecedented success of the Buckley version means no one will ever remember the X Factor one without him in tow -- especially as the broadcast spent a good few minutes building up tension as to who had actually won -- so there's definitely a victory in that.

Christmas singles

It's your last chance! Do your duty -- stop The X Factor from being Christmas number one! Buy one -- or all (I did) -- of these!

Do not buy from Amazon -- it doesn't count toward the chart.

Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley
iTunes | 7digital | tunetribe | HMV
Backed by Facebook and Radio 1, this one stands the best chance.

Let's Not Fight This Christmas by Chris Difford & the Decorations
(aka The One Show Single)
iTunes | 7digital
Camp and silly, this is -- believe it or not -- the best one.

It's Christmas Time by Status Quo
iTunes | 7digital
Almost as good. These two would fit seamlessly on all those Christmas compilations.

Little Drummer Boy/ Peace on Earth by Bandaged
(aka Sir Terry Wogan & Aled Jones)
iTunes | 7digital
It's got Sir Terry Wogan on it -- that automatically makes it a contender for Best Ever.

Once Upon a Christmas Song by Peter Kay's Geraldine McQueen
iTunes | 7digital
Not as good as it could be, but hey, it might have a chance...

Joseph, Better You Than Me by the Killers featuring Elton John & Neil Tennant
iTunes

Fingers crossed...

TV

Have I Got News For You
36x09 (19/11/08 edition; extended repeat)
Hilarious, as usual.

Live at the Apollo
4x04 (19/12/08 edition)

The Sarah Jane Adventures
2x10 The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith Part Two
2x11 Enemy of the Bane Part One
It's good to know that kids still get some quality drama these days. In fact, I'd wager they don't know just how good they've got it.

Christmas singles

Stop The X Factor from being Christmas number one! Buy one -- or all (I did) -- of these!

Do not buy from Amazon -- it doesn't count toward the chart.

Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley
iTunes | 7digital | tunetribe | HMV
Backed by Facebook and Radio 1, this one stands the best chance.

Let's Not Fight This Christmas by Chris Difford & the Decorations
(aka The One Show Single)
iTunes | 7digital
Camp and silly, this is -- believe it or not -- the best one.

It's Christmas Time by Status Quo
iTunes | 7digital
Almost as good. These two would fit seamlessly on all those Christmas compilations.

Little Drummer Boy/ Peace on Earth by Bandaged
(aka Sir Terry Wogan & Aled Jones)
iTunes | 7digital
It's got Sir Terry Wogan on it -- that automatically makes it a contender for Best Ever.

Once Upon a Christmas Song by Peter Kay's Geraldine McQueen
iTunes | 7digital
Not as good as it could be, but hey, it might have a chance...

Joseph, Better You Than Me by the Killers featuring Elton John & Neil Tennant
iTunes

And I'll be posting this again tomorrow... and that'll be your last chance!

TV

Britain's Got the Pop Factor ...and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice
Part 1 The Final
Part 2 The Result
Finally got round to watching this, just as the follow-up episode was aired (watch that tomorrow probably). It was an absolutely hilarious, brilliant, spot-on spoof. Even better than I expected.

Lead Balloon
3x06 Mistake

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
22x12 A Moving Tribute [special]
I swear they've done this before with this title, but it's not listed as a repeat and it featured clips from the series just gone, so... Also, of bizarre and limited interest, it's billed as being "Episode 13" on iPlayer and all the electronic programme guides, but is actually the twelfth. Probably something to do with that Brand episode being skipped (for now) I should imagine.

Films

Scenes of a Sexual Nature (2006)
[#88 in 100 Films in a Year 2008]

Christmas singles

Stop The X Factor from being Christmas number one! Buy one -- or all (I did) -- of these!

Do not buy from Amazon -- it doesn't count toward the chart.

Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley
iTunes | 7digital | tunetribe | HMV
Backed by Facebook and Radio 1, this one stands the best chance.

Let's Not Fight This Christmas by Chris Difford & the Decorations
(aka The One Show Single)
iTunes | 7digital
Camp and silly, this is -- believe it or not -- the best one.

It's Christmas Time by Status Quo
iTunes | 7digital
Almost as good. These two would fit seamlessly on all those Christmas compilations.

Little Drummer Boy/ Peace on Earth by Bandaged
(aka Sir Terry Wogan & Aled Jones)
iTunes | 7digital
It's got Sir Terry Wogan on it -- that automatically makes it a contender for Best Ever.

Once Upon a Christmas Song by Peter Kay's Geraldine McQueen
iTunes | 7digital
Not as good as it could be, but hey, it might have a chance...

Joseph, Better You Than Me by the Killers featuring Elton John & Neil Tennant
iTunes

And I'll be posting this again tomorrow. And the day after... and that'll be your last chance!

Poem of the Day: The Trust Territory X

X. Song for the Siren
by Andy Brown

Today, Poem of the Day finishes its presentation of Andy Brown's 10-part poem, The Trust Territory, which has been published here on week days for the last two weeks. I think there's much to enjoy in each individual segment of this work, and even more so when all ten pieces are put together. Also, at least some parts of it are especially suited to this time of year.

Please see after today's piece for information on where to find the poem in print.

The rain is light. Light falls.
A handstroke of sun tans
the sky's western edge.

You sit in the meadow
by a solitary oak, your feet
dipped in a stream of fish

and frogs, your head among
a cloud of flies, crying;
tears that gleam like acorns.

The Trust Territory was originally published as a poetry chapbook, now out of print. It's currently available in Fall of the Rebel Angels: Poems 1996-2006 (find the best prices online here). The versions posted here are taken from the latter. From the author's acknowledgements for that volume: "Many [poems in this collection] appear as they were first published in individual volumes, others have been edited over the years and it is these final versions I wish to preserve."

Andy Brown's latest book is Goose Music, co-authored with John Burnside.

Please see here for information on Poem of the Day and copyright.

Films

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
[2nd watch]

DVD Extras

Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition
A beautiful tin containing four episodes of MST3K and some other goodies. It looks super-lovely. Unfortunately, it seems to be impossible to actually get the contents out of the tin... I'll let you know if I ever manage it.

Magazines

Empire #235
A really rubbish Review Of 2008 -- yes, everyone has a Top 10 Films list, but that's still the most exciting part and should not be relegated to an inconspicuous third of a page somewhere near the end. They used to do a nice Top 25, but this year it just looks like they couldn't be bothered.

SFX #178
Whoo, I read the new one! Very odd cover, incidentally, though it does have a Dollhouse preview.

Torchwood: The Official Magazine #12
A particularly weak issue, full of filler. It does have some info on season three however.

Christmas singles

Stop The X Factor from being Christmas number one! Buy one -- or all (I did) -- of these!

Do not buy from Amazon -- it doesn't count toward the chart.

Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley
iTunes | 7digital | tunetribe | HMV
Backed by Facebook and Radio 1, this one stands the best chance.

Let's Not Fight This Christmas by Chris Difford & the Decorations
(aka The One Show Single)
iTunes | 7digital
Camp and silly, this is -- believe it or not -- the best one.

It's Christmas Time by Status Quo
iTunes | 7digital
Almost as good. These two would fit seamlessly on all those Christmas compilations.

Little Drummer Boy/ Peace on Earth by Bandaged
(aka Sir Terry Wogan & Aled Jones)
iTunes | 7digital
It's got Sir Terry Wogan on it -- that automatically makes it a contender for Best Ever.

Once Upon a Christmas Song by Peter Kay's Geraldine McQueen
iTunes | 7digital
Not as good as it could be, but hey, it might have a chance...

Joseph, Better You Than Me by the Killers featuring Elton John & Neil Tennant
iTunes

And I'll be posting this again tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after...

Poem of the Day: The Trust Territory IX

IX. I stood before you...
by Andy Brown

This week, Poem of the Day is continuing to present Andy Brown's 10-part poem, The Trust Territory. The first five parts were published daily last week. I think there's much to enjoy in each individual segment of this work, and even more so when all ten pieces are put together. Also, at least some parts of it are especially suited to this time of year.

Please see after today's piece for information on where to find the poem in print.

I stood before you, lost for word,
the bunch behind my star-lit back.

'Silence, that's what flowers are,' you said,
'or rather, a man's way of silencing.'

The Trust Territory was originally published as a poetry chapbook, now out of print. It's currently available in Fall of the Rebel Angels: Poems 1996-2006 (find the best prices online here). The versions posted here are taken from the latter. From the author's acknowledgements for that volume: "Many [poems in this collection] appear as they were first published in individual volumes, others have been edited over the years and it is these final versions I wish to preserve."

Andy Brown's latest book is Goose Music, co-authored with John Burnside.

Please see here for information on Poem of the Day and copyright.

TV

On the third day of catch-up my TV showed to me...!

Merlin
1x13 Le Morte d'Arthur [season finale]
Oh what a clever title! Too clever for a prime time Saturday night family drama? I mean, will most viewers even know what it means, never mind the cultural reference?

The Royal Variety Performance 2008
I almost always watch this, but often have mixed feelings by the end of it. This year, however, it was a damn fine show, with too many highlights to list here. Hurrah!

Survivors [2008]
1x05 Episode 5

Wallander
1x03 One Step Behind [season finale]
Oh he's so glum. Though quite understandably in this episode, it must be said.

Articles

Hallelujah set to be a Christmas No 1 and 2 by Sam Jones
(from guardian.co.uk)
Hallelujah!

Will X Factor winner Alexandra be beaten to the Christmas No.1 by Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah? by Lizzie Smith
(from Mail Online)
Fingers crossed!

Christmas singles

Stop The X Factor from being Christmas number one! Buy one -- or all (I did) -- of these!

New today: Hallelujah is available from HMV! A new place to buy! Yay!

Do not buy it from Amazon -- it doesn't count toward the chart.

The Facebook group has almost hit 80,000 members as of writing this, and I should think will cross that by the end of the day. There's still hope!

Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley
iTunes | 7digital | tunetribe | HMV
Backed by Facebook and Radio 1, this one stands the best chance.

Let's Not Fight This Christmas by Chris Difford & the Decorations
(aka The One Show Single)
iTunes | 7digital
Camp and silly, this is -- believe it or not -- the best one.

It's Christmas Time by Status Quo
iTunes | 7digital
Almost as good. These two would fit seamlessly on all those Christmas compilations.

Little Drummer Boy/ Peace on Earth by Bandaged
(aka Sir Terry Wogan & Aled Jones)
iTunes | 7digital
It's got Sir Terry Wogan on it -- that automatically makes it a contender for Best Ever.

Once Upon a Christmas Song by Peter Kay's Geraldine McQueen
iTunes | 7digital
Not as good as it could be, but hey, it might have a chance...

Joseph, Better You Than Me by the Killers featuring Elton John & Neil Tennant
iTunes

And I'll be posting this again tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after...