Archer
4x01 Fugue and Riffs
Channel 5 have not only taken an age to show the new series of Archer, they've also switched its channel and, worst of all, taken the decision to dump it in the middle of the night. I guess it doesn't get the viewing figures or something, though I don't imagine 5* or 5USA's figures can be that great at the best of times. Anyway, it's an undeserved treatment, because it's still hilarious.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]
Cowboy Bebop
1x03 Honky Tonk Women
Law & Order: UK
7x04 Fatherly Love
Best episode of the series so far, said Radio Times, and they were right, with particularly remarkable performances from the girls playing the two 16-year-olds.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
Veronica Mars
2x07 Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner
You Saw Them Here First
Episode 2 (of 2)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
Thursday, 8 August 2013
Articles
The Final UK Cover Art For Solo Is Here!
by John Cox (from The Book Bond)
This news about the new James Bond novel was announced on August 1st, but somehow I missed it until last night. Personally, I think the cover looks great, and the dust jacket / underneath combo looks like it will work really well. The new Bond novels are pretty much the only things I buy in hardback, because I want to read them quickly, but work like this banishes any consideration of possibly switching to the ebook -- it's the kind of thing I want to collect.
Click the image above for a huge version. Also follow the link for more pack shots (albeit weirdly compressed and looking noisier than the real thing is likely to be), plus a long bit by the cover's designer on her thinking. It's quite fascinating. You can also see the US art there, which is alright but nowhere near as good.
Doctor Who StoryBundle - Pay What You Want Offer
by Marcus (from Doctor Who News)
Talking of ebooks, here's some Doctor Who ones at a bargain price! Put simply, you pay what you want and in exchange you get DRM-free copies of several Who-related ebooks.
Minimum amount is $3 (c.£2), which gets you fan memoir Dalek I Loved You (if you happen to have the original from 2008, this is an expanded '50th Anniversary Edition'), Barry Letts autobiography Who & Me, critical history of the Second Doctor TARDIS Eruditorum Volume 2, and recipe book Dining With The Doctor: An Unauthorized Whovian Cookbook. That last one has one recipe from every nuWho episode up until the end of series six, plus a bunch of extra ones for fish fingers & custard. Kinda scary...
However, if you choose to pay $10 (c.£6.66) or more you get all that plus VWORP!, "a key primer to the Doctor Who canon from 1963 through to the 2011 Xmas special, for both novices and experts alike", and The Best of TARDIS Eruditorum, "twenty-one of the best and most popular essays from Philip Sandifer's acclaimed blog", compiled exclusively for this bundle. I was going to do a price comparison with buying the other five as ebooks from Amazon, but only three are there... though even that adds up to £8.34.
Plus, as well as picking how much to pay, you can set what percentage goes to the authors and what to running StoryBundle; and you can choose to give 10% to charity too (they offer two appropriate options). The books can either be flat-out downloaded or, if you have a Kindle device/app, be sent directly there (so long as you're prepared to quickly fiddle with a few online settings first).
Do note that there's a time limit to this offer: the ability to buy the bundle expires in about 12 days. If ebooks interest you, they've done this before and I'm sure will again. A list of their previous offers can be perused here.
by John Cox (from The Book Bond)
This news about the new James Bond novel was announced on August 1st, but somehow I missed it until last night. Personally, I think the cover looks great, and the dust jacket / underneath combo looks like it will work really well. The new Bond novels are pretty much the only things I buy in hardback, because I want to read them quickly, but work like this banishes any consideration of possibly switching to the ebook -- it's the kind of thing I want to collect.
Click the image above for a huge version. Also follow the link for more pack shots (albeit weirdly compressed and looking noisier than the real thing is likely to be), plus a long bit by the cover's designer on her thinking. It's quite fascinating. You can also see the US art there, which is alright but nowhere near as good.
Doctor Who StoryBundle - Pay What You Want Offer
by Marcus (from Doctor Who News)
Talking of ebooks, here's some Doctor Who ones at a bargain price! Put simply, you pay what you want and in exchange you get DRM-free copies of several Who-related ebooks.
Minimum amount is $3 (c.£2), which gets you fan memoir Dalek I Loved You (if you happen to have the original from 2008, this is an expanded '50th Anniversary Edition'), Barry Letts autobiography Who & Me, critical history of the Second Doctor TARDIS Eruditorum Volume 2, and recipe book Dining With The Doctor: An Unauthorized Whovian Cookbook. That last one has one recipe from every nuWho episode up until the end of series six, plus a bunch of extra ones for fish fingers & custard. Kinda scary...
However, if you choose to pay $10 (c.£6.66) or more you get all that plus VWORP!, "a key primer to the Doctor Who canon from 1963 through to the 2011 Xmas special, for both novices and experts alike", and The Best of TARDIS Eruditorum, "twenty-one of the best and most popular essays from Philip Sandifer's acclaimed blog", compiled exclusively for this bundle. I was going to do a price comparison with buying the other five as ebooks from Amazon, but only three are there... though even that adds up to £8.34.
Plus, as well as picking how much to pay, you can set what percentage goes to the authors and what to running StoryBundle; and you can choose to give 10% to charity too (they offer two appropriate options). The books can either be flat-out downloaded or, if you have a Kindle device/app, be sent directly there (so long as you're prepared to quickly fiddle with a few online settings first).
Do note that there's a time limit to this offer: the ability to buy the bundle expires in about 12 days. If ebooks interest you, they've done this before and I'm sure will again. A list of their previous offers can be perused here.
Wednesday, 7 August 2013
TV
Cowboy Bebop
1x02 Stray Dog Strut
I think it's safe to say I'm going to like Ein...
Doctor Who
1x06 The Survivors
That was more like it! Bit of a nothing-y cliffhanger, but the rest was brilliant, especially the stuff with Susan running through the jungle -- tip-top direction there.
Dragons' Den
10x12 Episode 12 [season finale]
Had this one episode left over from last series. With the new one starting soon, it seemed about time!
Veronica Mars
2x06 Rat Saw God
I like VM, but this week they seemed to be having a competition to see who could mispronounce "Ibiza" most often in the space of 5 minutes, and for some reason they seemed to think you need an over-21 ID to go drinking in Europe! All a bit too... American.
Still, there was a Joss Whedon cameo, so that kinda made up for it.
1x02 Stray Dog Strut
I think it's safe to say I'm going to like Ein...
Doctor Who
1x06 The Survivors
That was more like it! Bit of a nothing-y cliffhanger, but the rest was brilliant, especially the stuff with Susan running through the jungle -- tip-top direction there.
Dragons' Den
10x12 Episode 12 [season finale]
Had this one episode left over from last series. With the new one starting soon, it seemed about time!
Veronica Mars
2x06 Rat Saw God
I like VM, but this week they seemed to be having a competition to see who could mispronounce "Ibiza" most often in the space of 5 minutes, and for some reason they seemed to think you need an over-21 ID to go drinking in Europe! All a bit too... American.
Still, there was a Joss Whedon cameo, so that kinda made up for it.
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
TV
The Americans
1x13 The Colonel [season finale]
Great music choices to open the premiere and close the finale!
I think across this season The Americans has grown from a show I liked into one I love. I'll really miss it now -- can't wait for season two!
[Watch it from 24th August on ITV Player.]
Cowboy Bebop
1x01 Asteroid Blues
I've long heard how good Cowboy Bebop is, but me being me I'm only getting round to it now. I've actually had a US DVD set for ages, but the recent release of a UK Blu-ray, with limited packaging and new-outside-Japan extras, was irresistible to me. I'm glad I did too, because a) it looks great in HD, and b) it's finally prompted me to watch the series, and on the evidence of episode one it is indeed excellent.
Normally I'd view something like this in clumps of two or three episodes, but it felt a bit too special just to plough through. Though that's no guarantee I'll show such self restraint in the future.
Horrible Histories
5x01 Episode 1
The final season! But there's another 11 episodes to go yet, so we'll leave the sadness for a while.
Starlings
2x04 Episode Four
1x13 The Colonel [season finale]
Great music choices to open the premiere and close the finale!
I think across this season The Americans has grown from a show I liked into one I love. I'll really miss it now -- can't wait for season two!
[Watch it from 24th August on ITV Player.]
Cowboy Bebop
1x01 Asteroid Blues
I've long heard how good Cowboy Bebop is, but me being me I'm only getting round to it now. I've actually had a US DVD set for ages, but the recent release of a UK Blu-ray, with limited packaging and new-outside-Japan extras, was irresistible to me. I'm glad I did too, because a) it looks great in HD, and b) it's finally prompted me to watch the series, and on the evidence of episode one it is indeed excellent.
Normally I'd view something like this in clumps of two or three episodes, but it felt a bit too special just to plough through. Though that's no guarantee I'll show such self restraint in the future.
Horrible Histories
5x01 Episode 1
The final season! But there's another 11 episodes to go yet, so we'll leave the sadness for a while.
Starlings
2x04 Episode Four
Monday, 5 August 2013
TV
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
4x02 (2/8/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
The Americans
1x12 The Oath
It's nice to have a penultimate episode that doesn't feel like "Part 1 of 2" these days. Nonetheless, it builds things up to a suitably tense/exciting point for nextweek's time's finale.
[Watch it from 17th August on ITV Player.]
Doctor Who
1x05 The Dead Planet
Beginning a 'season' of viewing to mark the show's 50th anniversary. 39 episodes of classic Who, 5 of nuWho, and the TV Movie, all precisely spaced out over the next 16 weeks to lead up to the 50th anniversary special as the season's climax. Very neat, if I do say so myself.
Much like last time (five years ago! God!), I'm joined on my viewing by a relative classic-Who-newbie (the same one, indeed), so I've tried to pick stories of interest for various reasons. Well, it's meant to be a celebration, so that makes sense regardless. I'll introduce them as we go.
So, my choice for the First Doctor is, I think, a fairly obvious one: his second serial, known now as The Daleks. Only right to celebrate them in the show's 50th year too, no? And how better than with their first story. Well, with a better story, maybe; but none more fitting. I have a dim memory of seeing The Daleks once before, years and years ago, late at night on UK Gold or something, so other than the familiarity of reading the novel, seeing the Cushing film, and generally reading tonnes about the serial down the years, it felt 'new' to me.
It also felt surprisingly slow. I don't think that's because I'm out of pace with '60s Who, because when I watched Reign of Terror in January I was fine with it, I just think writer Terry Nation needed to give things a bigger oomph. No wonder they were able to cut all seven episodes down to just 80 minutes for the movie. But you never know, maybe it all picks up once the Daleks arrive...
Miranda
1x06 Dog [season finale; 2nd watch]
4x02 (2/8/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
The Americans
1x12 The Oath
It's nice to have a penultimate episode that doesn't feel like "Part 1 of 2" these days. Nonetheless, it builds things up to a suitably tense/exciting point for next
[Watch it from 17th August on ITV Player.]
Doctor Who
1x05 The Dead Planet
Beginning a 'season' of viewing to mark the show's 50th anniversary. 39 episodes of classic Who, 5 of nuWho, and the TV Movie, all precisely spaced out over the next 16 weeks to lead up to the 50th anniversary special as the season's climax. Very neat, if I do say so myself.
Much like last time (five years ago! God!), I'm joined on my viewing by a relative classic-Who-newbie (the same one, indeed), so I've tried to pick stories of interest for various reasons. Well, it's meant to be a celebration, so that makes sense regardless. I'll introduce them as we go.
So, my choice for the First Doctor is, I think, a fairly obvious one: his second serial, known now as The Daleks. Only right to celebrate them in the show's 50th year too, no? And how better than with their first story. Well, with a better story, maybe; but none more fitting. I have a dim memory of seeing The Daleks once before, years and years ago, late at night on UK Gold or something, so other than the familiarity of reading the novel, seeing the Cushing film, and generally reading tonnes about the serial down the years, it felt 'new' to me.
It also felt surprisingly slow. I don't think that's because I'm out of pace with '60s Who, because when I watched Reign of Terror in January I was fine with it, I just think writer Terry Nation needed to give things a bigger oomph. No wonder they were able to cut all seven episodes down to just 80 minutes for the movie. But you never know, maybe it all picks up once the Daleks arrive...
Miranda
1x06 Dog [season finale; 2nd watch]
Sunday, 4 August 2013
TV
The Americans
1x11 Covert War
And now I'm ahead.
[Watch it from 10th August on ITV Player.]
Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor
Excellent news! And, thank God, they didn't cast another 20-something. Indeed, I believe Capaldi is technically the joint oldest Doctor ever. Win.
And, in case you've not seen it, the official image is to the right (if you want, you can click it to enlarge a bit; or you can find it super-large here).
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
The Last Leg
3x01 (31/7/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
Veronica Mars
2x05 Blast from the Past
1x11 Covert War
And now I'm ahead.
[Watch it from 10th August on ITV Player.]
Doctor Who Live: The Next DoctorExcellent news! And, thank God, they didn't cast another 20-something. Indeed, I believe Capaldi is technically the joint oldest Doctor ever. Win.
And, in case you've not seen it, the official image is to the right (if you want, you can click it to enlarge a bit; or you can find it super-large here).
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
The Last Leg
3x01 (31/7/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
Veronica Mars
2x05 Blast from the Past
this week on 100 Films
It's August (did you notice?), which means that the big news this week on 100 Films in a Year is the July update. This month's top 5: significant directors whose films I've never seen.
Back to regular business: two new reviews were published this week, including...
Animalympics (1980)
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
And also, new to the new blog were...
Kick-Ass (2010)
Right at Your Door (2006)
More next Sunday.
Back to regular business: two new reviews were published this week, including...
Animalympics (1980)
Originally commissioned as a pair of specials for US TV, Animalympics was repurposed by its makers as a feature film. You might be able to guess the plot from the title: various animals compete in an Animal Olympics. It’s a series of sketches, essentiallyRead more here.
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
Time has arguably blunted it slightly, however: a meeting of anti-American leaders is tinged by most since dying. Era-specific jokes are few, instead offering the usual Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker mix of slapstick, visual puns and wordplay.Read more here.
And also, new to the new blog were...
Kick-Ass (2010)
as Watchmen was to superhero comics, so Kick-Ass is to superhero films... it doesn’t “examine and deconstruct” quite as methodically — or, if you prefer, “as coldy” — as both Moore and Snyder did; but it still takes its cues as much, if not more, from fellow superhero films and TV seriesRead more here.
Right at Your Door (2006)
L.A. is hit by a series of ‘dirty bombs’ in this indie suspense thriller, that follows the story of what happens to one man in the suburbs, as well as the various people whose paths cross his.Read more here.
More next Sunday.
Saturday, 3 August 2013
TV
The Americans
1x10 Only You
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
Veronica Mars
2x04 Green-Eyed Monster
You Saw Them Here First
Episode 1 (of 2)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
1x10 Only You
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
Veronica Mars
2x04 Green-Eyed Monster
You Saw Them Here First
Episode 1 (of 2)
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
Films
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
[#63 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]
For my "What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" project. I think the first time I've watched one at a time other than right at the end of the month!
[#63 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]
For my "What Do You Mean You Haven't Seen...?" project. I think the first time I've watched one at a time other than right at the end of the month!
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Two additions this week: the first half of Cowboy Bebop looking beautiful on Blu-ray; and the beautifully packaged Fourth Doctor Time Capsule, complete with an early release of Terror of the Zygons.
Number of titles in collection: 1,587 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,169 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 418 [up 1]
Number of discs in collection: 3,958 [up 4]
Number of films in collection: 1,699 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,803 [up 17]
Number of short films in collection: 383 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Two additions this week: the first half of Cowboy Bebop looking beautiful on Blu-ray; and the beautifully packaged Fourth Doctor Time Capsule, complete with an early release of Terror of the Zygons.
Number of titles in collection: 1,587 [up 2]
Of which DVDs: 1,169 [up 1]
Of which Blu-rays: 418 [up 1]
Number of discs in collection: 3,958 [up 4]
Number of films in collection: 1,699 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 5,803 [up 17]
Number of short films in collection: 383 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 2 August 2013
TV
The Americans
1x09 Safe House
Finally caught up with ITV! Though they've another one on tomorrow, so, y'know.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
Law & Order: UK
7x03 Paternal
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
Suburgatory
2x03 Ryan's Song
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
Top Gear
20x05 (28/7/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
1x09 Safe House
Finally caught up with ITV! Though they've another one on tomorrow, so, y'know.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
Law & Order: UK
7x03 Paternal
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
Suburgatory
2x03 Ryan's Song
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
Top Gear
20x05 (28/7/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Thursday, 1 August 2013
TV
The Americans
1x08 Mutually Assured Destruction
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
Starlings
2x03 Episode Three
Veronica Mars
2x03 Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang
1x08 Mutually Assured Destruction
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
Starlings
2x03 Episode Three
Veronica Mars
2x03 Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang
Wednesday, 31 July 2013
TV
The Americans
1x07 Duty and Honor
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
Family Tree
1x03 The Austerity Games
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Veronica Mars
2x02 Driver Ed
1x07 Duty and Honor
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
Family Tree
1x03 The Austerity Games
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
Veronica Mars
2x02 Driver Ed
Tuesday, 30 July 2013
TV
The Americans
1x06 Trust Me
Getting close to ITV now...
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
The Good Life
4x08 Silly, But It's Fun... [Christmas special]
Veronica Mars
2x01 Normal is the Watchword
I'd heard season one was by far the best, but the second certainly kicks off to an intriguing start.
1x06 Trust Me
Getting close to ITV now...
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
The Good Life
4x08 Silly, But It's Fun... [Christmas special]
Veronica Mars
2x01 Normal is the Watchword
I'd heard season one was by far the best, but the second certainly kicks off to an intriguing start.
Articles
BBC Worldwide to include Widow on Series Seven Box Set
by Marcus (from Doctor Who News)
Well thank goodness for common sense! Though even while fixing a point of stupidity, they still come across as moronic:
Which previous specials had been released as a standalone product before being included in the subsequent box set? Only all of them. But hey, if something's gone down without complaint for six years in a row, why not do the complete opposite on the seventh?
Morons.
Oh, and it looks like the US set has quite a few more special features. The UK listing released so far wasn't as thoroughly broken down as that in fairness, but nonetheless there are several things there that aren't even hinted at being on the UK set. Boo, Worldwide -- BOO.
by Marcus (from Doctor Who News)
Well thank goodness for common sense! Though even while fixing a point of stupidity, they still come across as moronic:
Originally the decision was taken not to include this release on the box set as it had previously been released as a standalone product.
Which previous specials had been released as a standalone product before being included in the subsequent box set? Only all of them. But hey, if something's gone down without complaint for six years in a row, why not do the complete opposite on the seventh?
Morons.
Oh, and it looks like the US set has quite a few more special features. The UK listing released so far wasn't as thoroughly broken down as that in fairness, but nonetheless there are several things there that aren't even hinted at being on the UK set. Boo, Worldwide -- BOO.
Monday, 29 July 2013
TV
The Americans
1x05 COMINT
Family Tree
1x02 Treading the Boards
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
The Hoff's Best Film ...Ever!
1x05 The Hoff's Best Sci-Fi Film ...Ever!
After a month-long break, they resumed these while I was away -- and I nearly missed it! Now that would've been a tragedy.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Starlings
2x02 Episode Two
1x05 COMINT
Family Tree
1x02 Treading the Boards
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]
The Hoff's Best Film ...Ever!
1x05 The Hoff's Best Sci-Fi Film ...Ever!
After a month-long break, they resumed these while I was away -- and I nearly missed it! Now that would've been a tragedy.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Starlings
2x02 Episode Two
Sunday, 28 July 2013
TV
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
4x01 (26/7/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
The Americans
1x04 In Control
Once Upon a Time
2x05 The Doctor
See again my comments on origin episodes from last time. This time, it's that traditional fairytale character Dr. Frankenstein.
Suburgatory
2x02 The Witch of East Chatswin
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
4x01 (26/7/13 edition)
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
The Americans
1x04 In Control
Once Upon a Time
2x05 The Doctor
See again my comments on origin episodes from last time. This time, it's that traditional fairytale character Dr. Frankenstein.
Suburgatory
2x02 The Witch of East Chatswin
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]
Articles
Doctor Who - Complete Seventh Series boxset [UPDATE]
(from Blogtor Who)
Confirmation that the 'complete' series seven set will not include the 2011 Christmas special -- in the UK. The US set will get it just fine.
If you think this is moronic (which it is), you can let BBC Worldwide know that here.
(from Blogtor Who)
Confirmation that the 'complete' series seven set will not include the 2011 Christmas special -- in the UK. The US set will get it just fine.
If you think this is moronic (which it is), you can let BBC Worldwide know that here.
this fortnight on 100 Films
I was away last weekend (and there wasn't much to report anyway), so here's a look back at the last two weeks on 100 Films in a Year.
Firstly, earlier this week I was accepted as a member of the LAMB -- or, the Large Association of Movie Blogs, to give its full title. So that's nice, isn't it? Read more here.
Secondly (and finally), there was just one brand-new review published in the last fortnight...
Broken Arrow (1996)
More next Sunday.
Firstly, earlier this week I was accepted as a member of the LAMB -- or, the Large Association of Movie Blogs, to give its full title. So that's nice, isn't it? Read more here.
Secondly (and finally), there was just one brand-new review published in the last fortnight...
Broken Arrow (1996)
In his second Hollywood outing, Hong Kong action maestro John Woo (over-)directs his little heart out: there’s an endless array of slightly hilarious slow-mo, crash zooms, etc.Read more here.
More next Sunday.
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