TV

Romanzo Criminale
2x07 Episode 7
2x08 Episode 8

Non-Fiction

Bond on Set - Filming Skyfall by Greg Williams

The fourth Bond on Set book of behind-the-scenes photos by Williams, one of the series' set photographers. Not for everyone -- the only text comes in tiny scene-setting script extracts and picture credits -- but a great visual record of the film's production.

An interview with Williams for the official 007 website can be read here. One thing you learn in it is that "the first version of the book... 800 pages and it’s now 208 pages." Considering some are half empty (for artistic reasons, no doubt), you do feel that with some judicious re-arranging they could've fit more in if they'd wanted.

Comics

The Amazing Spider-Man #699.1 by Joe Keatinge (with Dan Slott), Valentine De Landro & Marco Checchetto

Entirely about Morbius the Living Vampire, entirely setup for the new Morbius: The Living Vampire series that began a couple of weeks ago, and so entirely a pointless aside as far as I'm concerned. Ho hum.


The Amazing Spider-Man #700 by Dan Slott & Humberto Ramos

The final ever issue! Until they inevitably relaunch it at some point, of course. And it's a bumper-length 104 pages! Finally, a comic that really feels worth their cover price... except because it's longer they've doubled that, naturally. But the whole thing is more than double the length of your regular comic (more like four or five times as long, in fact), so it still feels value for money. Why can't they do this every month?

(Incidentally, this was out December 26th. I actually received it a few days early but have only just got round to it. Why I'm bothering providing my views and summary three weeks late I don't really know, but hey-ho, keeps me happy.)

The contents kick off with a 52-page main story (that's about 2½ regular issues' worth). Here, Slott wraps up stuff he's been building for a very, very long time -- and in the process, justifies (in-story at least) why this is the final issue and why it's being (well, been) replaced by The Superior Spider-Man. This whole storyline has been remarkably controversial, often without justification, but this finale does warrant it. A bit, anyway -- I mean, it's just a story. And it's comics -- nothing's permanent. Still, I can see why some were aggrieved. Personally, I enjoyed it. Also good,, Ramos' cartoony art is a perfect fit for a book like Spidey. Hope the guy doing Superior is as good.

Following the main story, the issue has all sorts of other wonders up its sleeve. There's a whole 'nother issue's worth of back-ups: Spider-Dreams by J.M. DeMatteis and Giuseppe Camuncoli (a neatly constructed, fun tribute to the entire Spider-Man legacy) and Date Night by Jen Van Meter and Stephanie Buscema (retro-styled humorousness). There are galleries of #700's variant covers (there are lots) and the main covers for all 700 issues of the title (packed 100 to a page). There's a brief preview of all the Spidey books coming up, and a whopping seven pages of letters.

Bumper indeed.


Avenging Spider-Man #15.1 by Chris Yost & Paco Medina

Following on immediately from the end of ASM 700, this reads rather as you'd expect issue one of Superior to. I guess it's designed as a bridge, then, allowing the first issue of the new book to be completely new-reader friendly -- always the point of a #1 in the comics world.

TV

Charley Boorman's South African Adventure
Episode 1 (of 4)
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Death in Paradise
2x02 Episode 2
Death in Paradise feels like the kind of series that should have nice punny episode titles -- Nun's the Word or something. But no, it's just the UK-standard episode numbers. How dull.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Elementary
1x08 The Long Fuse
Some good twists in this episode. Better than your average Elementary.

Romanzo Criminale
2x06 Episode 6
There may still be four episodes left, but it definitely feels like the series is moving its pieces into position for the endgame -- because, equally, there are only four episodes left.

Articles

Why companies fail - the rise and fall of HMV
by Philip Beeching (from Philip Beeching: Social Marketing and Advertising Insight)

This was actually written last August, but is even more pertinent in light of recent events. It's also a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes from the man who "worked on the HMV advertising account for over 25 years".

My two favourite bits:

I said, "The three greatest threats to HMV are, online retailers, downloadable music and supermarkets discounting loss leader product". Suddenly I realised the MD had stopped the meeting and was visibly angry. "I have never heard such rubbish", he said, "I accept that supermarkets are a thorn in our side but not for the serious music, games or film buyer and as for the other two, I don't ever see them being a real threat, downloadable music is just a fad"

Oh dear. Also,

I got to know two young entrepreneurs from Jersey, Richard Goulding and Simon Perree who started the highly successful online games, music and video retailer, Play.com in 1998, and I remember them saying to me, "We were just waiting for HMV to turn their big guns on us but we just kept on going and getting bigger and bigger, and thinking they must be going to get their act together soon and come after us but they never did". I think this comment says it all.

Indeed it does.

TV

Spies of Warsaw
Part 1 (of 2)
I don't mind a (shall we say) thoughtfully paced spy thriller -- indeed, I loved Tinker Tailor (both versions) and, more recently, Restless -- but this one pushed it a bit, especially near the start. It's three hours across its two episodes, and one feels like two-and-a-half might've been a better length… but then how do you split that for TV? Just two might've been rushed. Though I suppose one can only know once you see the second half.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Yes, Prime Minister
2x08 The Tangled Web [series finale]
Finishing the old one just in time for the new reboot, which started this evening on Gold.

Films

Dredd (2012)
[#6 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

TV

John Bishop's Only Joking
1x01 Episode 1

Miranda
3x04 Je Regret Nothing
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Person of Interest
1x21 Many Happy Returns

Romanzo Criminale
2x04 Episode 4
2x05 Episode 5
Halfway...

TV

Romanzo Criminale
2x02 Episode 2
2x03 Episode 3

Stella
2x01 Episode 1
Is it really a year to the day since I started the first series? Time flies.

Films

Underdog (2007)
[#5 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

this week on 100 Films

My attempt to wrap up 2012 has begun, with two new reviews published to 100 Films in a Year this week...


Dirty Laundry (2012)

Considering it breaks both Marvel/Disney’s character copyright and WB’s music copyright, and thanks to starring Proper Actors & That it’s been relatively high-profile, it’s a miracle it’s still on YouTube after all this time. It’s a fairly effective depiction of a fan-favourite character, though, so long may it remain.

Read more here.


Rules of Engagement (2000)

most of the time it feels less like the film is aiming for ambiguity and more like it doesn’t know how to guide us well enough in what to feel. Important points aren’t appropriately established, others aren’t appropriately dealt with, and Mark Isham’s score toddles on regardless while important moments slip by.

Read more here.


Plus, new to the new blog...


Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

a great Christmastime film, requisitely magical and heart-warming. The court case finale (or "second half", more or less) is particularly enjoyable, not least The Bit With The Post Bags. I do like a good court room victory.

Read more here.


Stay (2005)

writer David Benioff sold the screenplay for $1.5 million, and it would be nice to agree with that buyer — there’s a good cast, a good director, some good ideas — but ultimately it’s 85 minutes that seem retrospectively pointless when the final ten do so little with them

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Arrow
1x05 Damaged

British Legends of Stage and Screen
1x08 Sir Ian McKellen [season finale]
I watched the one of these with Christopher Lee back in September (was it really so long ago?!), and they're very good profiles/autobiographical interviews. Apparently they're doing more, so that's nice.

Splash!
1x02 Heat 2
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]

Yes, Prime Minister
2x07 The National Education Service

Films

Django (1966)
[#4 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

With Tarantino's Django Unchained hitting UK cinemas next week, it seemed a good time to finally watch the '60s original, which I've had in my collection for a good 18 months or so. There's a UK BD of it out in just over a week, which I hope (for the sake of everyone who buys it) has a better transfer than this. If it does, I may even upgrade.

Articles

This Isn't the Petition Response You're Looking For
by Paul Shawcross (from We the People)

The witty yet educational official response from the White House to a petition requesting they "secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016."

Collection Count

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

I should've had three new things this week. Not a one has turned up. That's mainly down to Hut Group companies, as ever.

So:

Number of titles in collection: 1,522 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,146 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 376 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 3,836 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 1,601 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,700 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 374 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Elementary
1x07 One Way to Get Off


The Graham Norton Show
12x11 (4/1/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]


Live at the Apollo
8x03 Episode 3


Romanzo Criminale
2x01 Episode 1

I watched most of Romanzo Criminale's first series over a single week back in June. It shows how good it was that I'm shocked to find I watched it all so quickly -- it's a sprawling crime epic that in my memory goes on much longer than just one week. There's something in that about significance vs. actuality when it comes to memory.

Anyway, Sky Arts embarked on a repeat run of the second season last Saturday, and considering I've had the whole lot sat on my V+ box since it first aired months ago -- plus that it's seven months since I finished the first series -- it seemed like I really ought to get round to it.

Articles

Orwell, covered up
by Mark Sinclair (from Creative Review)

Penguin are re-releasing six George Orwell novels with new covers. The most interesting is Nineteen Eighty-Four, and this is a quick article about its creation (and the other five for good measure).

The new editions are out now -- here's the new 1984 on Amazon, for instance.

TV

Person of Interest
1x20 Matsya Nyaya

Room 101: Extra Storage
13x01 Episode 1
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Death in Paradise
2x01 Episode 1
Hurrah for the return of DiP, and in an even-better post-Christmas slot -- just when people need cheering up, rather than when they're all prepared for and happy about the winter months. Not that I ever feel the urge for sun & sand, but some do, so hopefully this second run of the light, fun detective drama will be even more successful.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Magazines

Doctor Who Magazine #456

I've never stopped buying DWM, but I haven't read a significant amount of an issue for months, perhaps even years (due to a particularly festive season, the preceding bagged Christmas issue remains unopened). Somewhere between a New Year's Resolution and It's The 50th Anniversary Goddammit, however, I have dived into this one and read it almost cover to cover.

This issue has a not-all-new-but-tweaked look for the 50th anniversary, appropriately tying into the not-all-new-but-tweaked stuff that permeated the Christmas special (titles, music, logo, TARDIS, Doctor, etc etc). Revving up for the anniversary, the issue includes a fairly thorough summary of the tonnes of merchandise I'll be spending a small fortune on this year (though it neglects to mention the recently-announced Puffin short stories (more here), which I therefore presume were being kept A Big Secret). Lots of it is rather exciting, even if I still dispute some of the choices for the anniversary collection of 11 tie-in novels. Big Finish are doing a helluva lot of stuff, while BBC Books seem to have missed a trick by not doing some kind of big behind-the-scenes book. On the one hand, they may just not have announced it yet (the article ends with a "and there's more to come" note); on the other, they've done a couple down the years so maybe there's no point; though, adjunct to that, the last I remember was for (I think) the 40th, so maybe an update of that to include the Ninth to Eleventh Doctors is the least we're due.

There's also the first part of a new comic strip, Hunters of the Burning Stone by regular DWM comic strippers Scott Gray and Martin Geraghty. This is set up elsewhere in the issue as being part season finale, part anniversary celebration (though at six parts it will be finished by the middle of the year, nowhere near the anniversary itself). I always feel like I should be reading DWM's strip, especially as it's only around 10 pages once per month, but again I haven't for years. This instalment doesn't do much to convince me otherwise to be honest, full as it is of dense because-we-can sci-fi-ness. Great final page though.