The Case of the Golden Idol
Chapter 2, Scene 3
Chapter 3, Scenes 1–3
Thursday, 17 April 2025
Wednesday, 16 April 2025
Games
The Case of the Golden Idol
Chapter 1, Scenes 1–3
Chapter 2, Scenes 1–2
I've wanted to play this for a while, but even when it's on sale it's never that cheap (and I've got such a backlog of games to get through, paying a high price seems daft) and I'm aware it's free with a Netflix subscription (but I don't normally have a Netflix subscription). Also, the Netflix version is only on mobile, and I feel like this would be better played on a desktop. But I do currently have a Netflix sub, and it's free, so I thought I may as well give it a go — if it's really good, I can always pay for the desktop version.
Well, so far, it's... fine. It's not that hard to play on a mobile, despite what some people say (I can see why desktop would be even easier, because clicking around with a mouse is quicker than tapping around with a finger, at least for me, but it works just fine). As for the game itself, it feels more like a puzzle game with graphics than a true point-and-click adventure, which it was sort of sold to me as. I mean, fundamentally, it's Murdle but with pictures instead of just words, and a more complicated elimination grid (masked by putting it into sentences).
I'll keep playing it. I'll aim to finish it (possibly very quickly: I've played for about an hour and a half and I'm almost halfway through. Unless it gets a lot harder (which, in fairness, it might), it looks like I could get through it much quicker than the average playtime reports suggest). Unless I get sick of it, I'll probably even go on to the sequel (also free with Netflix). But it's no Monkey Island or Grim Fandango or Broken Sword or whatever.
Chapter 1, Scenes 1–3
Chapter 2, Scenes 1–2
I've wanted to play this for a while, but even when it's on sale it's never that cheap (and I've got such a backlog of games to get through, paying a high price seems daft) and I'm aware it's free with a Netflix subscription (but I don't normally have a Netflix subscription). Also, the Netflix version is only on mobile, and I feel like this would be better played on a desktop. But I do currently have a Netflix sub, and it's free, so I thought I may as well give it a go — if it's really good, I can always pay for the desktop version.
Well, so far, it's... fine. It's not that hard to play on a mobile, despite what some people say (I can see why desktop would be even easier, because clicking around with a mouse is quicker than tapping around with a finger, at least for me, but it works just fine). As for the game itself, it feels more like a puzzle game with graphics than a true point-and-click adventure, which it was sort of sold to me as. I mean, fundamentally, it's Murdle but with pictures instead of just words, and a more complicated elimination grid (masked by putting it into sentences).
I'll keep playing it. I'll aim to finish it (possibly very quickly: I've played for about an hour and a half and I'm almost halfway through. Unless it gets a lot harder (which, in fairness, it might), it looks like I could get through it much quicker than the average playtime reports suggest). Unless I get sick of it, I'll probably even go on to the sequel (also free with Netflix). But it's no Monkey Island or Grim Fandango or Broken Sword or whatever.
Tuesday, 15 April 2025
Monday, 14 April 2025
TV
Friends
6x20 The One with Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E. [6th or so watch]
Leverage: Redemption
1x01 The Too Many Rembrandts Job
1x02 The Panamanian Monkey Job
Finally (as in: 16 months after I finished the original series) made a start on this Leverage sequel series. So far it's... admirably like good ol' fashioned TV. Y'know, kinda low-budget-looking and driven by stories of the week, rather than slick and over-budgeted and trying to be "a long movie". We need more TV that just behaves like TV.
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x06 Week 2: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
6x20 The One with Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E. [6th or so watch]
Leverage: Redemption
1x01 The Too Many Rembrandts Job
1x02 The Panamanian Monkey Job
Finally (as in: 16 months after I finished the original series) made a start on this Leverage sequel series. So far it's... admirably like good ol' fashioned TV. Y'know, kinda low-budget-looking and driven by stories of the week, rather than slick and over-budgeted and trying to be "a long movie". We need more TV that just behaves like TV.
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x06 Week 2: Monday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Sunday, 13 April 2025
TV
The Diplomat
2x05 Our Lady of Immaculate Deception
2x06 Dreadnought [season finale]
Friends
6x18 The One Where Ross Dates a Student [6th or so watch]
6x19 The One with Joey's Fridge [5th or so watch]
The Rookie
6x08 Punch Card
6x09 The Squeeze
6x10 Escape Plan [season finale]
2x05 Our Lady of Immaculate Deception
2x06 Dreadnought [season finale]
Friends
6x18 The One Where Ross Dates a Student [6th or so watch]
6x19 The One with Joey's Fridge [5th or so watch]
The Rookie
6x08 Punch Card
6x09 The Squeeze
6x10 Escape Plan [season finale]
Saturday, 12 April 2025
TV
The Diplomat
2x03 The Ides of March
2x04 The Other Army
Doctor Who
41x01 The Robot Revolution
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Friends
6x17 The One with Unagi [6th or so watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x03 Week 1: Wednesday
8x04 Week 1: Thursday
8x05 Week 1: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
6x06 Secrets and Lies
6x07 Crushed
2x03 The Ides of March
2x04 The Other Army
Doctor Who
41x01 The Robot Revolution
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Friends
6x17 The One with Unagi [6th or so watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x03 Week 1: Wednesday
8x04 Week 1: Thursday
8x05 Week 1: Friday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
The Rookie
6x06 Secrets and Lies
6x07 Crushed
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
A pretty low-key, straightforward update this week: just five new titles, mostly 4K, no upgrades or sidegrades or whatever. It should be like this more often.
Number of titles in collection: 3,517 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 985 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,532 [up 5]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 462 [up 4]
Number of discs in collection: 8,497 [up 8]
Number of films: 4,467 [up 5]
Number of additional cuts: 442 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 10,101 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,227 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
A pretty low-key, straightforward update this week: just five new titles, mostly 4K, no upgrades or sidegrades or whatever. It should be like this more often.
Number of titles in collection: 3,517 [up 5]
Of which DVDs: 985 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,532 [up 5]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 462 [up 4]
Number of discs in collection: 8,497 [up 8]
Number of films: 4,467 [up 5]
Number of additional cuts: 442 [up 2]
Number of TV episodes: 10,101 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,227 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 11 April 2025
TV
The Diplomat
2x01 When a Stranger Calls
2x02 St. Paul's
Friends
6x16 The One That Could Have Been Part 2 [5th or so watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x01 Week 1: Monday
8x02 Week 1: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
2x01 When a Stranger Calls
2x02 St. Paul's
Friends
6x16 The One That Could Have Been Part 2 [5th or so watch]
Richard Osman's House of Games
8x01 Week 1: Monday
8x02 Week 1: Tuesday
[Watch various episodes (again) on iPlayer.]
Videos
Critical Role
2x99 High Seas, High Stakes [3rd hour]
When I started this episode, I mentioned it was their last regular live one. It was also the last appearance of this set, because when the show returned from hiatus it was in a new socially-distanced format that lasted until the end of Campaign 2, and they got a shiny new set for Campaign 3. Said hiatus, due to Covid, was announced the Tuesday after this episode aired. There's a Wiki article about it here, but in short: the show eventually returned almost four months later. I don't intend to emulate that with a lengthy pause of my own, although this does feel like it would be an appropriate juncture to go check out some other one-shots and/or miniseries...
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
2x99 High Seas, High Stakes [3rd hour]
When I started this episode, I mentioned it was their last regular live one. It was also the last appearance of this set, because when the show returned from hiatus it was in a new socially-distanced format that lasted until the end of Campaign 2, and they got a shiny new set for Campaign 3. Said hiatus, due to Covid, was announced the Tuesday after this episode aired. There's a Wiki article about it here, but in short: the show eventually returned almost four months later. I don't intend to emulate that with a lengthy pause of my own, although this does feel like it would be an appropriate juncture to go check out some other one-shots and/or miniseries...
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Thursday, 10 April 2025
TV
Friends
6x14 The One Where Chandler Can't Cry [5th or so watch]
6x15 The One That Could Have Been Part 1 [5th or so watch]
6x14 The One Where Chandler Can't Cry [5th or so watch]
6x15 The One That Could Have Been Part 1 [5th or so watch]
Videos
Critical Role
2x99 High Seas, High Stakes [2nd hour]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
2x99 High Seas, High Stakes [2nd hour]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Wednesday, 9 April 2025
Videos
Critical Role
2x99 High Seas, High Stakes [1st hour]
Weird beginning to this episode: it's a big ol' party for their fifth anniversary, but they've also finally had to explicity acknowledge there's Something Going On In The World — i.e. Covid. Indeed, although they don't know it yet, this is the last-ever "broadcast live" regular edition of CR. After this they started pre-recording (because of the pandemic) and since have only returned to live broadcasts for one-shots and specials and that kinda thing. (More about their pandemic hiatus when I watch the second half / start the next episode.)
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
2x99 High Seas, High Stakes [1st hour]
Weird beginning to this episode: it's a big ol' party for their fifth anniversary, but they've also finally had to explicity acknowledge there's Something Going On In The World — i.e. Covid. Indeed, although they don't know it yet, this is the last-ever "broadcast live" regular edition of CR. After this they started pre-recording (because of the pandemic) and since have only returned to live broadcasts for one-shots and specials and that kinda thing. (More about their pandemic hiatus when I watch the second half / start the next episode.)
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Tuesday, 8 April 2025
Videos
Talks Machina
#145 'Dark Waters'
This is the last Talks for a while, thanks to a little ol' thing called the pandemic. They did get out one more episode of CR proper though, so more on their break when I watch that.
[Watch it (again) on Internet Archive.]
#145 'Dark Waters'
This is the last Talks for a while, thanks to a little ol' thing called the pandemic. They did get out one more episode of CR proper though, so more on their break when I watch that.
[Watch it (again) on Internet Archive.]
Monday, 7 April 2025
Comics
The Uncanny X-Men
#7 Raid on Graymalkin, Part Two: No Walls Can Hold Us! by Gail Simone, David Marquez & Edgar Salazar
#8 Raid on Graymalkin, Part Four: Finale by Gail Simone & Javier Garrón
X-Men
#8 Raid on Graymalkin Part 1 by Jed MacKay & Ryan Stegman
#9 Raid on Graymalkin Part 3 by Jed MacKay, Federico Vicentini & Ryan Stegman
Having made an effort to catch up for this crossover, I've now fallen a good few issues behind again. Ho hum, such are my reading habits. Anyway, obviously I read these in the appropriate order, I'm just logging them alphabetically.
#7 Raid on Graymalkin, Part Two: No Walls Can Hold Us! by Gail Simone, David Marquez & Edgar Salazar
#8 Raid on Graymalkin, Part Four: Finale by Gail Simone & Javier Garrón
X-Men
#8 Raid on Graymalkin Part 1 by Jed MacKay & Ryan Stegman
#9 Raid on Graymalkin Part 3 by Jed MacKay, Federico Vicentini & Ryan Stegman
Having made an effort to catch up for this crossover, I've now fallen a good few issues behind again. Ho hum, such are my reading habits. Anyway, obviously I read these in the appropriate order, I'm just logging them alphabetically.
Videos
Critical Role
2x98 Dark Waters [2nd half's 2nd half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
2x98 Dark Waters [2nd half's 2nd half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Sunday, 6 April 2025
Films
The Black Watch (1929)
[#35 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2025]
aka King of the Khyber Rifles
[#35 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2025]
aka King of the Khyber Rifles
Fiction
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
Pages 1–37
This epistolary novel is split into chapter-like sections (it alternates between the two characters, Red and Blue, finding letters they've left for each other, followed by said letter), but as they're not numbered or anything it's easier to track this with page numbers (never my favourite, because pages can differ between editions, but needs must).
Pages 1–37
This epistolary novel is split into chapter-like sections (it alternates between the two characters, Red and Blue, finding letters they've left for each other, followed by said letter), but as they're not numbered or anything it's easier to track this with page numbers (never my favourite, because pages can differ between editions, but needs must).
this week on 100Films.co.uk
Another quiet month at 100Films.co.uk — oops. But this week did bring the one thing I have stuck at: a monthly review...

...as well as its accompanying list of failures...

More next Sunday? One day there will be...

...as well as its accompanying list of failures...

More next Sunday? One day there will be...
Saturday, 5 April 2025
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