TV

The Armstrong & Miller Show
3x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again), maybe, on iPlayer.]

QI
8x13 Holidays (extended repeat)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Royal Variety Performance 2010
While watching I thought this was on ITV last year (and I was right). Coming back to the Beeb seems to have upped the overall quality.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Ruth Jones' Christmas Cracker
Having been enjoyed by those of us who bothered to seek it out on BBC Wales last year, Ruth Jones' Christmas chat show gets a nationwide upgrade. Tidy.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Preview: Doctor Who: Shadows Of The Vashta Nerada by Matthew Reynolds
(from Digital Spy)
By "preview" they mean "somewhat spoilery full game review" (hey, this is Digital Spy -- if you're expecting solid accuracy, look elsewhere), but that only makes it more interesting. Sounds like these games are finally beginning to head in the right direction... maybe I'll bother to play the other three soon...

TV

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
24x09 Episode 9
The guest hosts seem to have been much more variable (or just plain bad) this series. See to that, please.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Top Gear
15x07 (21/12/10 edition) [season finale]
I thought this was Christmas Special Pt.1, not just New Series Ep.1 -- though the BBC website is saying it's the 7th episode of the last series (which ended in August), for some reason. Whichever way, it was still jolly entertaining, so that's nice.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

UK minister declares 'war' on Rupert Murdoch
(from mail.com)
Hurrah for Vince Cable; boo to the Telegraph for blowing it.

TV

David Suchet on the Orient Express
I've heard this called no more an extended advert for the Orient Express, which I think does it a disservice. It's a casually informative documentary that touches on the history of the service and does a nice job of conveying the feeling of what it might be like to travel on the famous train, for an audience who a largely unlikely to have the opportunity themselves. Suchet makes for a genial host too -- more such documentaries fronted by him wouldn't go amiss.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Miranda
2x05 Just Act Normal
An exceptionally exceptional episode, I thought. Neatly contained, occurring as it did in one location with three characters (more or less) and in real time, but still hilariously funny. Particularly noteworthy is the way it managed to spoof itself... but to say more would spoil it if you've not seen it. Which you should.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Articles

A Ghost Of Christmas Past
(from Musings of the Ghost Of 82)
Musing on the old days of desperately seeking films on TV or VHS, and how times have changed -- films are more readily accessible today, but is this actually a good thing? A most interesting article.

nothing.

nowt.

nada.

I did make a cocktail I'd never tried before, go out for lunch, and spent several hours on a train though, so I suppose that's experience.

this week on 100 Films

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

The Outrage (1964)

remake of Akira Kurosawa's classic Rashomon... the story is as fascinating as ever, not just for the fact it offers different versions of what happened but for what the protagonists feel the need to modify in their accounts -- after all, they're happy to confess to several crimes, so why obscure the facts in other ways.

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

The plot doesn't go anywhere fast. Attempts to liven it up with some action sequences often come off as tacked-on asides, while discussions about just who Picard's clone is and what he wants feel hollow -- of course he's a nasty piece of work, otherwise your film is completely villain-free!

More next Sunday (aka Boxing Day).

TV

Have I Got News For You
40x10 (17/12/10 edition; extended repeat)
Maybe not, then. Super!
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Strictly Come Dancing
8x25 The Final Part 1
8x26 The Final Part 2 [season finale]
[Watch both parts (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Rambo III (1988)
[#119 in 100 Films in a Year 2010]

Collection Count

Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.

Not much showing this week -- the pre-Christmas slump, where I buy very little in case someone decides to give it to me for Christmas. Plus gotta find money to buy presents from somewhere.

The next update is due on Christmas Eve, but as that's likely to have even less change than this one, I may put it off a day or two and cover my Christmas haul. I'm sure no one will complain.

Number of titles in collection: 1,247 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,095 [down 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 150 [up 1]

Number of discs in collection: 3,094 [up 1]
Number of films in collection: 1,320 [up 1]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 4,472 [no change]

Statistic of the week is having a little rest.

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

The Event
1x09 Your World to Take
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

The Graham Norton Show
8x07 (10/12/10 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson
2x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

QI
8x12 Horses and Hunting (extended repeat)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Robert's Web
1x03 (10/12/10 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

TV

Band of Brothers
Part Ten Points [2nd watch; final episode]
As I noted at the start, this is the first time I've watched Band of Brothers since it was on TV almost a decade ago. I'm pleased to report that it's still absolutely brilliant from beginning to end. Looks stunning on Blu-ray too.

Coronation Street
10/12/10 edition 1
10/12/10 edition 2
That's the end of their Big Dramatic Tram Crash Week, and so this is where I get off. Probably. That's the thing with soaps, isn't it -- the storylines never stop; you always want to know just what happens next...
[Watch it (again) at the above link.]

Due South
2x03 Witness [2nd watch]

Fiction

Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus
Chapter Three in which Rabbit organises almost everything
The Domesday Book? A Census? This is meant to be Winnie-the-Pooh!

TV

Coronation Street
9/12/10 edition
This is The Live One, by-the-by. Well staged.
[Watch it (again) at the above link.]

Live at the Apollo
6x03 (9/12/10 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Natural World
Panda Makers

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
24x08 Episode 8
Lee Mack's TV domination continues.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Fiction

A fine night and all's well... by Michael Morpurgo
Morpurgo provides a 'ghost' story for the Radio Times Christmas issue. I know this is a family magazine and so the story's going to be kid-friendly, but even still, this is a particularly toothless example. Yes, there's a ghost involved, but it's not even remotely spinetingly. Nor is it Christmassy, really. Oh well.

TV

Band of Brothers
Part Nine Why We Fight [2nd watch]

Due South
2x02 The Vault [2nd watch]
I'm labelling all of these "2nd watch" because I definitely watched Due South first time round, but I don't think I've actually recognised any of it yet. (Beyond the very basics of the show's setup, that is.) I guess my memory has wiped the mid-'90s pretty thoroughly, then.

The Mentalist
3x08 Ball of Fire
Nearly caught up with Five (and therefore, as of this Friday, the US).
[Watch it (again) on Demand Five.]

Sarah Jane's Alien Files
1x05 Episode 5
1x06 Episode 6 [season finale]
I've decided this is very good for wrapping presents in front of. For that reason, wish I hadn't left it so long that episodes three and four got deleted from iPlayer.

Fiction

Star Trek: Countdown by Mike Johnson, Tim Jones & David Messina
Number Four (of Four)
The last part rattles along, which is a not unwelcome change of pace. Impressively, it also manages to completely wrap up its own story while still providing background and setup for the film. Job nicely done, chaps.

Articles

Author Slams eBook Piracy, Son Outs Her As a Music Pirate by enigmax
(from TorrentFreak)
Headline says it all, really.

Roger Ebert: ‘There Are Only Two Meaningful Ratings: R and Not-R’ by Germain Lussier
(from /Film)
Insightful. Plus, the US film ratings system is often amusing.
Ebert's original piece, to be read before or after /Film's commentary on it, is here.

Toby Ord: Why I'm giving £1m to charity
(from BBC News Magazine)
This is just quite interesting. For instance: "When I was earning £14,000 as a student, I found I was in the richest 4% in the world, even adjusting for how much further money goes in developing countries. Giving away 10% of that, I found that I would still be in the top 5%." See?

The X Factor takes on the world by Sinead Garvan
(from BBC News)

Perhaps the most insightful - and damning - assessment of The X Factor comes from underground rap artist Dan Le Sac.

"It simply doesn't matter," he says... "I know Joe McElderry won last year, but I couldn't tell you who won the year before. We get rid of it. It recycles itself within a year."

TV

Band of Brothers
Part Eight The Last Patrol [2nd watch]
The roster of quite-recognisable young British actors in this seems never-ending. This episode, Primeval's Andrew Lee Potts joins the list.

Coronation Street
7/12/10 edition
8/12/10 edition
Whatever I think of soaps normally, there's no denying that this Big Dramatic Tram Crash Week has been incredibly well staged.
[Watch both episodes (again) at the above links.]

Doctors
12x160 The Living Gaylights
Doctors goes Bond-spoof-tastic. Not to everyone's taste, I imagine. You have to wonder what regular Doctors viewers thought if they tuned in without having seen any reviews...
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Due South
2x01 North [2nd watch]

Have I Got News For You
40x09 (9/12/10 edition; extended repeat)
I think this may be the last of the series (with next week's being a compilation). Boo.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

House
7x08 Small Sacrifices
That's it for House until the middle of January. Funny US scheduling antics...