TV

Charley Boorman's Extreme Frontiers
Episode 3 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
25x11 Episode 11
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

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

Cars (2006)

it’s a bit predictable, kinda like Pixar/any kids’ movie by numbers. Pixar are usually better than that. There may be one or two slight surprises along the way — mostly in aid of a Good Strong Moral Message for the kiddies — but at times it’s a bit thumb-twiddly as you wait for characters to reach the point they’re inevitably headed for.

Diner (1982)

Diner is like a series of vignettes. There’s a loose plot holding it all together — the aforementioned wedding — but it all plays like a series of connected subplots. It’s a “slice of life” kind of film, rather than a “big story” kinda film. That works for some viewers and not for others. For me, I enjoyed some of it and some of the amusing moments, but it all felt ultimately empty.

More next Sunday.

TV

Strictly Come Dancing
9x25 The Final Part 1
9x26 The Final Part 2 [season finale]
[Watch both parts (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

The British Comedy Awards 2011
Didn't agree with all the winners... but then there were a few that really exceptionally deserved it, and it was Good Fun All Round. Plus, a Harry Hill clip that actually made me laugh. First time for everything.
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Have I Got News For You
42x09 (16/12/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Live at the Apollo
7x06 Episode 6
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

QI
9x16 VG Part 1
I seem to have completely missed an episode of QI. Really don't know how. Annoyed about that now.
This was just a highlights show. Which was fine. It also included at least one clip from at least one episode that hasn't aired yet. Which was different.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Articles

Best And Worst Sci-Fi Movie Posters 2011 by Dave Golder
(from SFX)
You might not agree with every choices in either category (I certainly didn't), but it's a good reminder of the last year nonetheless.

Doctor Who: Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill to leave next series by Daniel Sperling
(from Digital Spy)
I know no one really believed it when they left toward the end of the last series, but the thing is kids probably did, and it was a good surprise, and more importantly it was a good, well-reasoned send off. How are they going to bring them back after the Doctor's resolve that he was messing up their lives? And how will they write them out again in a way that tops that? As much as I love Rory, it's a shame they've not just let them go.

Doctor Who: "The assumption that the audience is intelligent has paid off" says Steven Moffat by Tim Glanfield
(from Radio Times)
Yes indeed. Though to be honest, I preferred it before all these intricate multi-year timey-wimey plots. Self-contained one- and two-parters with maybe a big linking season finale for me, please.

Collection Count

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

This week, the number of films in my collection crosses the 1,500 mark. I dread to think how few of those I've actually watched...

Number of titles in collection: 1,411 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,143 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 268 [up 2]

Number of discs in collection: 3,508 [up 4]
Number of films in collection: 1,501 [up 3]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,335 [no change]

This week should be the latest running time update, but I'm 'on the road' at the minute so don't have access to that information. Instead, I've decided to bump it back a fortnight, thereby covering whatever I get for Christmas too. Shiny.

Before then -- see you next week, faithful reader.

Films

Enchanted (2007)
[2nd watch]
This was #80 on 100 Films way back in 2008, and obviously I hadn't watched it since. It's bloody great though.

Articles

Doctor Who Magazine's Christmas tribute to Radio Times by Paul Jones
(from Radio Times)
The new DWM, out today, takes as its cover inspiration a Christmas RT from the '20s. See the original and the homage at the link.

TV

Curiosity
1x03 Why is Sex Fun?
Based on this -- a big new flagship documentary with a different celebrity presenter for each episode and that kind of thing -- the Americans aren't half as good at making documentaries as we are. Sure, it's ultimately informative, but it's also repetitive, over-directed and inaccurately titled. Plus it has a dreadfully cheesy title card/ad break bumper; so bad I thought it was years old, but it seems it's brand new. Ugh.

Frozen Planet
Part 7 On Thin Ice [final episode]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Graham Norton Show
10x07 (9/12/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Have I Got News For You
42x08 (9/12/11 edition; extended repeat)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Live at the Apollo
7x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Onion News Network
1x03 Man-Horse Marriage

TV

Dave's One Night Stand
3x04 Stephen K Amos

The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson
3x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Life's Too Short
1x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
4x08 (23/3/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

A daily dose of sci-fi - Day 30

To finish we need a great tune for the end credits -
what's your favourite sci-fi theme?

This one really is very, very easy, and conforms to what I'm certain must have been a running theme...

Doctor Who

Whether it's the creepy electronic original, or one of the synth-tastic '80s versions, or the orchestral TV movie recording, or one of Murray Gold's bombastic modern renderings, the Doctor Who theme is always unbeatable. It can inspire dread or excitement as needed, and that scream into the cliffhanger... Ah, perfection!

Plus, it's easily singalongable. Who hasn't at some point oo-wee-oo'd?


That's it! The end! What a good note to end on (see what I did there?)

I've quit enjoyed this, even if I did struggle with a few answers. Maybe I should try to find another one...

Read about a daily dose of sci-fi, with links to the rest of the series, here.

TV

Argumental
4x06 Episode 6

Blue Peter
5/12/11 edition
For the making of the BBC One Christmas trail. Also, Ed Sheeran is clearly not cut out to be a presenter.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Charley Boorman's Extreme Frontiers
Episode 2 (of 4)
Most of it, anyway -- for some reason the copy on Virgin Media Catch Up died every time at the final ad break. I suppose I should just watch it online...
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Death in Paradise
1x07 Episode 7
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
25x10 Episode 10
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

A daily dose of sci-fi - Day 29

Best pre-1980s sci-fi

For this one I wanted something that was only pre-'80s -- so no Doctor Who (not even classic series only), no Star Wars or Star Trek, etc. Naturally cases could be made for all of these -- I could just have an era of Who, or the original Trek, or just Empire Strikes Back -- but I wanted to push for something different.

I don't know if "best" is quite the right word, and maybe I should've chosen this yesterday, but...

Flash Gordon serials

Larry "Buster" Crabbe starred in three of these cinema serials (the precursor of TV series, I suppose) in the '30s and '40s -- Flash Gordon, Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe. They used to show them on BBC One on Saturday mornings in the late '90s (God that makes it sound long ago), when I was in the early year(s) of secondary school, and my friends and I used to love them.

They're silly and schlocky, and notorious for those kinds of cliffhangers where everything seems impossible... and in next week's recap something completely different happens and everything's OK. Ah, an age before repeats or VHS or harddrive recorders or iPlayer. Or, apparently, memory.

These things aren't Great in the proper use of the word -- there's no revolutionary SF concepts or fantastic screenplays or beautiful performances to be found -- but they're damn good fun, full of scrapes and spills and primitive special effects. They're a joy.

And I don't think I've seen all of them. I've seen at least two, because I remember the serial changed on the Beeb and suddenly the lead female characters had swapped hair colours, which was most confusing. I have two on DVD -- I hope different ones -- but I'm not sure which two, because they go under so many different titles. Quick read of Wikipedia suggests I have the first and third; don't know which I saw on telly. Anyway, I must try to right this and see them all.


Read about a daily dose of sci-fi, with links to the rest of the series, here.

TV

Have I Got News For You
42x07 (2/12/11 edition; extended repeat)

How I Met Your Mother
7x06 Mystery vs. History
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Articles

Two Doctor Who episodes recovered! by Chuck Foster
(from Doctor Who News)
Headline says the salient point, really, though there's plenty more detail in the article. Indeed, there's an even more thorough article at the Radio Times.
This is obviously fantastic news -- I never expected any more episodes to be found, as the last discovery was back in 2004. Still 106 to go though...

A daily dose of sci-fi - Day 28

A great sci-fi B-movie

I haven't seen many B-movies, those cheap '40s/'50s/etc films knocked out during the studio era to fill out cinema schedules, notorious for their so-bad-they're-good-ness. I feel I should've seen more. But when there are so many good films to watch...

Anyway, this is a complete and utter cheat, but tough.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

It's a tribute to the B-movie rather than a B-movie in its own right, but that's the best I can do.

It's wonderful for all sorts of reasons, but as this is meant to be about B-movies I'll mention some of those elements, because it's littered with them right from the start. I mean, if you were in any doubt, the opening song highlights it: Science Fiction Double Feature. It's there in the name, never mind the lyrics.

Then there's the Ordinary American Small-Town Couple who Get Lost In The Woods At Night, going to the Big Mysterious Mansion for help, where they find it's Full Of Weirdos who are conducting A Crazy Scientific Experiment, and it all goes loopy and Changes Them Forever, and there's a climax with Ray Guns and Aliens Who Look Like Humans, and no doubt all kinds of other things where I could capitalise every first letter and make it look like a widely-acknowledged trend. (I can't be bothered to surf through all of tv tropes for the real ones, but I bet all of these -- and more -- are on there.)

So no, it's not a B-movie. But it's the best homage to them there is. And if you've never even seen a proper B-movie, it's still rollicking good fun.


Read about a daily dose of sci-fi, with links to the rest of the series, here.

this week on 100 Films

Just 1 new review was posted to 100 Films in a Year this week...

That Touch of Mink (1962)

a sex comedy… but being a film produced in ’60s America, no one comes close to using such language. But it’s unquestionably all about that. However, despite being all about a lewder side of life, tonally and visually it’s very light, fluffy and funny. It’s also briskly paced and constantly amusing

More (hopefully several more) next Sunday.

TV

Merlin
4x11 The Hunter's Heart
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
4x07 (22/3/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

A daily dose of sci-fi - Day 27

Who are the nastiest bad guys?

There are many different definitions of nasty in this context, I think. They could be cruel, they could be ugly, they could be just plain evil. But there's one, at least, that has all bases covered...

Xenomorphs

Have you seen an Alien film? Then this shouldn't really need explaining. These terrifying-looking creatures are experts at stalking you in darkened corridors, or just flat-out attacking you, or sticking something to your face that implants itself inside you so that a new one of them is born by bursting out of your chest...

And if you do, somehow, manage to damage them, they have acid for blood.

"Nasty" doesn't cover it.


Read about a daily dose of sci-fi, with links to the rest of the series, here.

TV

The Graham Norton Show
10x06 (2/12/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Pointless
4x06 (21/3/11 edition)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]