TV

Doctor Who
33x16 The Time of the Doctor [Christmas special]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

John Bishop's Christmas Show
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Mrs Brown's Boys
Buckin' Mammy [Christmas special]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Would I Lie To You?
7x10 At Christmas [special]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

QI
11x14 Kris Kringle (XL edition)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Sherlock
3x00 Many Happy Returns
A seven-minute mini-episode released as a prequel/teaser to the third series, which begins on New Year's Day. Inessential but fun.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

QI
11x13 Kitchen Sink (XL edition)

Ruth Watson Means Business!
1x15 The Bridge Tea Rooms
In my little home town!
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

University Challenge
Christmas 2013, Episode 3 (of 10)
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

TV

The 12 Drinks of Christmas
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Only Connect
8x08 Oenophiles v Bakers
First two times I've ever watched non-celebrity Only Connect, and by some weird fluke all four of these teams will make the semifinals, and both losing teams in these episodes will be the finalists!
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

It's the final full week of the 100 Films Advent Calendar 2013, and the means seven brand-new reviews...


A Field in England (2013)

if you’re searching for any kind of mass acceptance you don’t do it with a black-and-white film about a few blokes in period dress running around a field doing weird, inexplicable things. Though you might top it off with a shoot-out that is arguably one of the year’s best action sequences, something Wheatley and co do do.

Read more here.


The Hitch-Hiker (1953)

it's directed by a woman, the first noir to be so. We live in an age where a woman has only recently managed to win the Best Director Oscar... Katherine Bigelow received additional praise in some quarters for taking said award while playing in the "men's world" of the action/war movie, but that's also what Lupino did here.

Read more here.


Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

O’Toole carries us through all this with the skill of a seasoned pro, and yet this was his first major role. No wonder it made him a star over night. He makes every tweak in Lawrence’s attitude plausible; sells both the supreme self-confidence and crushing tumbles to inadequacy. Whatever else is going on, he draws your attention

Read more here.


The Seventh Seal (1957)

A black and white Swedish movie in which a knight ponders the existence of God while playing chess with Death? Yep, here we have the stereotype of arthouse cinema. Let’s be honest, it lives up to most of those expectations.

Read more here.


Shanghai Noon (2000)

There are two reasons we come to a film like this: action and comedy. Some of Chan’s contributions to the former are entertaining, but they’re by no means his best work. Sadly, the latter isn’t that great either. The film works better for both its leads when they’re apart, and that defeats the object.

Read more here.


Shanghai Knights (2003)

as ever, it’s Chan’s action scenes that are the highlight. They’re inventive, exciting, funny, and the speed and dexterity with which they’re performed is often astounding. Those are definitely the reason to watch.

Read more here.


Sharknado (2013)

a defining film of 2013. The volume of conversation it generated, which achieved the near-impossibility of higher viewing figures for its repeats, is exceptional. So I was determined to give it its due in a full-length review. But I can’t be bothered — it doesn’t merit such attention.

Read more here.


That's all for now. More next Sunday.

TV

Only Connect
8x07 Lasletts v Board Gamers
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

University Challenge
Christmas 2013, Episode 1 (of 10)
Christmas 2013, Episode 2 (of 10)
[Watch episodes one and two (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Collection Count

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

As predicted, no new additions this week. Next week, though... that should be good.

Number of titles in collection: 1,644 [no change]
Of which DVDs: 1,198 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 446 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 4,079 [no change]
Number of films in collection: 1,749 [no change]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,052 [no change]
Number of short films in collection: 406 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.

TV

Friends
6x15 The One That Could Have Been Part 1 [4th or so watch]
6x16 The One That Could Have Been Part 2 [4th or so watch]

Hebburn
2x04 Stairway to Hebburn
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

The Matt Lucas Awards
3x00 The Matt Lucas Christmas Awards
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Person of Interest
2x09 C.O.D.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Poetry

Wenceslas: A Christmas Poem by Carol Ann Duffy,
illustrated by Stuart Kolakovic

Not convinced about the poem, but Kolakovic's illustrations are beautiful.

(You can read the poem, sans illustrations, on the Guardian's website.)

TV

Castle
3x12 Poof! You're Dead
About magic, not homosexuals.
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Friends
6x14 The One Where Chandler Can't Cry [4th or so watch]

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
27x13 Christmas Show [season finale]
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Films

Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
[#109 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

This is coming to Sky Movies/Now TV on Christmas Eve, so I intend to have a review up then.

Fiction

The Best of Times by Michael Morpurgo,
illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark

A Christmassy tale.

TV

Friends
6x13 The One with Rachel's Sister [4th or so watch]

Live at the Apollo
9x04 Episode 4
Apparently the broadcasts of Live at the Apollo have all been knocked back a week due to the Nelson Mandela tribute shown on Friday 6th... but they keep putting the ones that would have been on up on iPlayer, so I'm 'ahead'. Weird.
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Person of Interest
2x08 'Til Death
[Watch it (again) on Demand 5.]

Films

Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009)
[#108 in 100 Films in a Year 2013]

TV

Elementary
2x08 Blood is Thicker

Friends
6x12 The One with the Joke [4th or so watch]

TV

Arrow
2x08 The Scientist
Spin-off setup alert! I thought they did a pretty good job, though, and clearly it's a fairly slow-build setup rather than a backdoor pilot (that said, one of those was due later in the season, so...)

Have I Got News For You
46x09 (6/12/2013 edition; extended repeat)

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
27x11 Episode 11

TV

The British Comedy Awards 2013
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Friends
6x11 The One with the Apothecary Table [4th or so watch]

this week on 100 Films

The 100 Films Advent Calendar marches on this week, leading to seven new reviews again...


Fast & Furious (2009)

Some say this is the worst of the series, and I think I agree. 2 Fast 2 Furious has a stupid name and Tokyo Drift is almost a direct-to-DVD cheapo, but they embrace their trashy roots and are kinda fun. #4 takes itself too seriously as a revenge/drug-smuggling thriller.

Read more here.


Flight (2012)

After a decade locked away in motion-capture madness, Robert Zemeckis returned to the realms of the real with this Oscar-nominated drama... Cue a film that attempts a grown-up account of addiction, but fumbles it, in the process missing the more interesting story of the crash investigation.

Read more here.


G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)

If Team America: World Police had been made for children, it would be a lot like this.

If The Asylum made blockbusters instead of mockbusters, they would be a lot like this.

If Michael Bay were a less skilled director, his movies would be a lot like this.

Read more here.


Jack Reacher (2012)

an enthralling action-thriller with an unusual-these-days emphasis on the thriller part. There’s still a well-executed car chase, an epic punchy-shooty climax, and the odd spot of running and fighting along the way, but primarily this is a mystery that our heroes must wind their way through.

Read more here.


Lady of Deceit (1947) aka Born to Kill

Even today, it’s quite a nasty little work, although tastes have evolved to the point where “discriminating people” are likely to be attracted to it — though not purely for the violence. You’d imagine that would pale by today’s standards, but even now the opening double homicide is quite shocking

Read more here.


Real Steel (2011)

Once upon a time, Real Steel would have been rated PG, been aimed at 7- to 10-year-old boys, and would probably have been quite the success. In the current Hollywood moviemaking climate, however, it’s rated PG-13, consequently aimed at teenage boys and grown men who still have the tastes of teenage boys, and seems to be regularly slated in online comment sections. That’s a shame because, despite some corny and cheesy bits, it generally works.

Read more here.


Wolf (1994)

It’s about werewolves. But don’t go thinking this is like An American Werewolf in London or The Wolfman, and certainly don’t attach it to the modern Twilight-type werewolf saga — this is a supernatural movie For Adults. Not in the sense of there being excessive violence or sex or swearing or what have you, but, rather, because of the characters and their situations.

Read more here.


Plus, new to the new blog...


Friday the 13th Part III [3D] (1982)

They have a whale of a time shoving stuff out into the audience for almost no reason — just like the stereotype of 3D films, of course. That’s part of the fun of trashy 3D movies so I’m not criticising it, but what sadly doesn’t work is the ColorCode 3D system... It provides lovely depth to normal scenes, but as soon as something’s attempting to come out at you it fails.

Read more here.


More next Sunday.

TV

Atlantis
1x11 Hunger Pangs
[Watch it (again) in HD on iPlayer.]

Derren Brown: The Great Art Robbery
Well that was super. You know Derren's always going to have a few extra tricks up his sleeve, but then there are a couple more even beyond that...
[Watch it (again) on 4oD.]

Friends
6x10 The One with the Routine [5th or so watch]
Sometimes Friends titles pick on a bizarrely minor point; and sometimes, they're bang on.

Yonderland
1x03 Reformation

Collection Count

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

As noted last week, I was expecting one new addition this week and one next. But the freakishly slow Christmastime post seems to have suddenly sprung back to life, and next week's parcel dropped today... along with something else I ordered that should have taken until next week, making a grand total of three!

There'll be nothing next week, now. Well, almost certainly nothing...

Number of titles in collection: 1,644 [up 3]
Of which DVDs: 1,198 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 446 [up 3]

Number of discs in collection: 4,079 [up 5]
Number of films in collection: 1,749 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes in collection: 6,052 [up 22]
Number of short films in collection: 406 [no change]

See you next week, faithful reader.