TV

Channel 4's Comedy Gala
In aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Most of the show was very good too, but can anyone tell me just why Lee Evans is so popular? Some of his stuff is funny, other bits fail miserably, and other bits are just old; there are worse comedians, certainly, but why does he get such huge gigs -- and, here, headlines with double the time of anyone else + an award (albeit a rather daft one) -- when there are other much better, and arguably more prominent, funnymen (and women) out there? It baffles me.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Articles

Download 700+ Free Scifi Books Onto Your iPhone by Cyriaque Lamar
(from io9)
Always good. (And it's legal, of course.)

Pope's immunity could be challenged in Britain by Paisley Dodds
(from Mail Times at mail.com)
Interesting article discussing the possibility of this happening. Sounds unlikely, but we can but hope. You can sign a related petition here.

TV

Doctor Who
31x01 The Eleventh Hour
Fantastic start to the new series. It's beautifully shot -- incredibly movie-like, much more so than it has been before -- and wonderfully fast-paced, witty and exciting. Not sure on the new TARDIS set but I may be convinced; but the new theme is a too-busy mess and the new title sequence a little lacking, in my opinion: it's like the old one but with a more-complex vortex graphic and fewer unique moments (e.g. the time-freeze TARDIS-spin). I like the new episode title/credits font, and that someone's finally worked out how to make it different sizes in the post-titles opening credits, but it amuses me that, having gone HD, they've suddenly got massively bigger overall.
But these are silly fan-ish worries. The episode itself was wonderful -- the bit with all the previous Doctors, and #11 walking through the hologram, was simply glorious -- and the hints at the series arc highly intriguing. I'm unfeasibly excited for the rest of the season.
Job done.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Jonathan Creek
The Judas Tree [Easter special]
Hm. Well, that's not vintage Creek, is it.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

The Doctor Who Roadshow comes to Scotland by Jonathan Melville
(from ReelScotland)
I was in Edinburgh while this was going on. I missed it. To be honest, I'm quite glad I didn't bother taking the time to go.

The New TARDIS by Dave Golder
(from SFX)
Exec producers Steven Moffat and Piers Wenger chat a bit about the ethos behind the new TARDIS console room. Interesting.

Scott wants Robin Hood sequel by Simon Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)
Hm.

TV

Chris Moyles' Quiz Night
2x06 (2/4/10 edition)

Have I Got News For You
39x01 (1/4/10 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Don't be fooled by the hype: This crime against cinema is twisted, cynical, and revels in the abuse of childhood by Christopher Tookey
(from Mail Online)
The Mail's single-star review of the excellent Kick-Ass -- as usual with a Mail article, this is so ridiculous it's just funny. It affirms my long-held view that the lower-rated the Mail's review, the better the film. Still, it's worrying how some people think.

Dinner

The Kitchin

I don't normally highlight what I eat -- obviously -- but I think going to a Michelin-starred restaurant (especially for the first time) counts as a cultural experience.

It was very nice, thank you very much.

TV

Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
18x11 (2/4/10 edition)
Aaron Johnson was great in Kick-Ass (and, apparently, in Nowhere Boy), but he's certainly uncomfortable in interviews. Needs some kind of training I think, especially if he has to do the American press junket yet.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

This confounds my regular array of categories, but still, it counts...

City Sightseeing bus tour of Edinburgh

Collection Count

Collection Count is on its Easter holiday.

Wish you were here.

Films

Kick-Ass (2010)
[#39 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]
It was a review cliché even before the reviews were published, but it's still true: Kick-Ass kicks ass. See it.

Articles

10/40/70 #1: Starship Troopers by Nicholas Rombes
(from The Rumpus)
An intriguing new series of columns, this, best explained by its own introduction:

what if, instead of freely choosing which parts of the film to address, I select three different, arbitrary time codes (in this case and for future columns, the 10-minute, 40-minute, and 70-minute mark), freeze the frames, and use that as a guide to writing about the film

It's a little bit film-school pretentious at times, but it's an interesting enough idea to make it worth keeping an eye on.

First iPad Reviews Are In by Rosa Golijan
(from Gizmodo)
...and they're all shiny & good. Hurrah!

Films

Alice in Wonderland (2010)
[#38 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]
In 3D. Which is... fine.

Articles

Pullman defends new book The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
(from find-book.co.uk)

Pullman is no stranger to controversy. His previous books [depicted] the Catholic Church as a shady, corrupt establishment

What, he wrote the truth?

Articles

A to Z of Awesomeness by Neill Cameron
(from BuzzFeed)
The alphabet, comics style. Yay for D! And T! And others are good too.

The Most Ironic Signs Of All Time
(from The Huffington Post)
Hilariously funny. (Apart from 16, which is an old gag. Though at least that's funny if you've never seen it, whereas 17 is just fake. But otherwise.)

TV

Doctor Who [classic]
3x05 Mission to the Unknown [Loose Cannon reconstruction]
aka Dalek Cutaway... despite that never being on screen or anything. But this is essentially a Doctor-less precursor to the slightly-later epic story, The Daleks' Master Plan. The episode is lost, so this is a reconstruction from the original soundtrack and photos. More thorough information here.

Articles

Claudia Winkleman named as Jonathan Ross's successor on Film 2010 by Paul MacInnes
(from guardian.co.uk )
Well, now, I don't think anyone saw that coming. But maybe she can "prove [her] doubters wrong".

Matt Smith: 'I wrote Doctor Who stories' by Daniel Kilkelly
(from Digital Spy)
Are fans clamouring for them to be released or that Mr Smith shouldn't be so presumptuous as to think he can write fiction? God only knows, I can't be bothered to find out.

Steven Moffat Interview, Part One by Nick Setchfield
(from SFX)
Good interview about new-nuWho.

TV

The Bubble
1x06 (26/3/10 edition) [season finale]
"My David."
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Doctor Who [classic]
A Fix with Sontarans [Jim'll Fix It sketch]
The first thing-I've-never-seen I watched as part of #InsomniacWhovian! Shame it was so inauspicious... Hashtag: #AFixWithSontarans, of course.

Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
18x10 (26/3/10 edition)
With Matt Smith and an exclusive clip from Vampires in Venice.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Russell Howard's Good News
2x01 (25/3/10 edition)
Mr Howard's filthy news review returns. Completely forgot that they never put the extended version on iPlayer (boo!) so had to watch the shorter one.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Radio

Doctor Who Radio Trailer
Apparently exclusive to Paul O'Grady's Radio 2 show and only to be broadcast once -- Lord only knows why, it's hardly specific. On the other hand, it's a bit daft and lacking, so why play it again?
If you really want to hear it (without having to shuffle through all of this week's show looking for it), it's up at Blogtor Who.

this week on 100 Films

4 new reviews were posted to 100 Films in a Year this week, and they were...

Doctor Faustus (1967)

stylistically reminiscent of a Gothic Hammer Horror, which is either wholly inappropriate or an ingenious genre mash-up... There are repulsively horrific corpses, a harem of naked ladies, an array of special effects, plus a medieval-styled gothic atmosphere to all the sets and costumes

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

it’s about boxing, a subject I couldn’t care less about, and indeed I don’t think I’ve ever seen a boxing-centric film before. Unfortunately, Million Dollar Baby did nothing to allay my suspicions that I wouldn’t care less about those either.

Saturday Night Fever (1977)

From the posters on Tony’s walls, to the fashions, to how it’s shot, it seems to have been designed specifically to exude seventies-ness in a way few other things seem to. It feels natural, then, that some of its original elements have become shorthand definitions for the era: the Bee Gees music, the dancing, and in particular that pose.

Saw V (2008)

what Saw V suffers in backstory it makes up for with simplicity... A working knowledge of the preceding films is essential, true, but with that in hand one can actually follow the story easily this time. Indeed, one might even argue it’s too easy

More next Sunday.