TV

Would I Lie To You?
13x05 Episode 5
13x06 At Christmas
[Watch Episode 5 and At Christmas (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

University Challenge
Christmas 2019 Royal Holloway v Sussex
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Vienna Blood
1x02 Queen of the Night
[Watch the it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Gavin & Stacey
A Special Christmas [Christmas special]
Tidy.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Mrs Brown's Boys
A Wonderful Mammy [Christmas special]
Mrs Brown's Boys is only on at Christmas nowadays, which is probably for the best, because it's pretty much the only time I'd watch it.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

University Challenge
Christmas 2019 Liverpool v Hull
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

A lot less than usual for Christmas Day. I'll be catching up on stuff later.

University Challenge
Christmas 2019 Guildhall School of Music and Drama v UCL
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

QI
17x09 Quizmas [Christmas special]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

University Challenge
Christmas 2019 Birmingham City University v Wadham College, Oxford
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

The Goes Wrong Show
1x01 The Spirit of Christmas
Magnificently funny. So glad there are five more of these to look forward to.
[Watch it (again... and again and again, it's so good) on iPlayer.]

University Challenge
Christmas 2019 Leeds University v Clare College, Cambridge
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

TV

Have I Got News For You
58x10 (20/12/2019 edition) [season finale]
[Watch the it (again) on iPlayer.]

Vienna Blood
1x01 The Last Seance
I could offer comment, but I could just as easily point you to this (completely spoiler-filled) review from The Guardian. In short: bit predictable and formulaic with very little new (it owes a certain debt to Sherlock Holmes), but decently made and reasonably entertaining nonetheless.
[Watch the it (again) on iPlayer.]

this week on 100 Films

After several weeks of total silence, there were a couple of new posts on 100 Films in a Year this week.

First, a review of a certain major motion picture...


Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Remember those people who tried to crowdfund a shitty fanwank-filled remake of The Last Jedi? Turns out J.J. Abrams let them make Episode IX under his name instead…

Read more here.


Then, my last regular TV column of the year...





More (hopefully) next Sunday.

TV

Death on the Tyne
This sequel to 2017's Murder on the Blackpool Express sadly isn't as good. They made a third one this year (Dial M For Middlesbrough), so I hope that's better.
[Watch it (again) on UKTV Play.]

University Challenge
2019/20 Episode 21
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Films

Eighth Grade (2018)
[#148 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

Collection Count

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

Normally things dip into a lull here just before Christmas as I wait to see what I've got on the big day, but between some sales and new releases I've actually ended up with a solid number of additions this week.

Number of titles in collection: 2,272 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 1,124 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 1,148 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 37 [no change]

Number of discs in collection: 5,915 [up 9]
Number of films: 2,644 [up 7]
Number of TV episodes: 8,681 [no change]
Number of short films: 676 [up 1]

Next week's update will not only cover my Christmas haul, but will be a few days late so as to be fully end-of-year-y. See you then, faithful reader.

TV

Watchmen
1x09 See How They Fly [season finale]
Or possibly series finale, based on what cast and crew have been saying. It's been such a success, though, that I'm sure HBO will be hoping for more.

Films

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
[#147 in 100 Films in a Year 2019]

Oh dear. What a disappointment.

TV

The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco
1x05 Not Cricket
1x06 Iron in War

Films

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Edition (2003/2004)
[4th or so watch]
Rewatchathon 2019 #29

TV

Lucifer
3x06 Vegas with Some Radish
[Watch season 3 (again) on Prime Video.]

Not Going Out
10x02 Holiday Share
10x03 Facts of Life

Shetland
5x05 Episode 5
5x06 Episode 6 [season finale]

TV

Lucifer
3x05 Welcome Back, Charlotte Richards
[Watch season 3 (again) on Prime Video.]

Shetland
5x03 Episode 3
5x04 Episode 4

Films

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition (2002/2003)
[4th or so watch]
Rewatchathon 2019 #28

Unfortunately, I have to echo what I wrote last time. Some of the stuff in this film is so, so great (Helms Deep; most of the stuff with Rohan, actually; Gollum; Faramir; individual scenes, moments, and lines), but the overall film feels very, very long.

TV

Not Going Out
10x01 Parachute

Shetland
5x01 Episode 1
5x02 Episode 2

Films

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition (2001/2002)
[4th or so watch]
Rewatchathon 2019 #27

Can't believe it's been another four-and-a-half years since I watched this trilogy! I knew it'd been a while, but it doesn't feel like that long. Mad. Anyway, the important thing is it's still great.