Momentary Bursts of Enthusiasm

Karen Gillan in Radio Times

2012-01-17T20:30:00.000Z

Karen Gillan may be leaving Doctor Who later this year but its nice to know she'll still be on out TV screens. The new issue of the Radio Times features Karen on the cover as she is appearing on BBC4 in We'll Take Manhattan where she stars as Jean Shrimpton in 1962.

A good enough reason for me to get scanning...

My new blog

2012-01-16T23:06:00.001Z

I've set up my own website and put a wordpress blog on it. As time goes on I'll stick some blog posts up there. I expect I'll still post here though. Anyway, here's he blog address...

http://www.monobrowze.co.uk/blog/

Lara Pulver in Radio Times

2012-01-10T19:40:00.001Z

Lara Pulver and some other Sherlock actresses are interviewed in the new Radio Times.

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-01-10/sherlock-lara-pulver-and-the-shows-female-stars-confess-all

Daily Mail Lara Pulver Sherlock Nudity Hypocrisy Shock!

2012-01-03T19:58:00.001Z

You just gotta love the Dail Mail and it's ongoing obsession of looking for something to be annoyed or offended by the BBC. Today's paper included the shocking news that Lara Pulver was NUDE before the WATERSHED on Sunday night in the BBC's Sherlock.

And just to underline the SHOCKING NUDITY SHOCK what do they do?

They print two photos of Lara Pulver NAKED. Solely in the interests of journalistic integrity, you understand.

If readers want to be shocked then they can choose to follow the link below. Please note that the shocking nudity referenced above does not actually contain any NAUGHTY BITS.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2081486/Lara-Pulver-naked-Sherlock-Holmes-BBC-raunchy-pre-watershed-scenes.html

But why did they not run the story in Monday's edition? They must have been too shocked, perhaps.

It's a wonder they are not calling it Adlergate or something.

Shocking.

Sherlock 2.1 review

2012-01-02T18:27:00.001Z

The long awaited Sherlock series 2 has finally arrived. I do feel like just saying, 'yes it's very good , watch it'. But I shall attempt a little more detail.

The episode picks up with the cliffhanger ending from the last series. You know, Jim Morarity and the swimming pool? Well I had forgotten it ended like that. I don't think the show really needs a cliffhanger ending.

The new episode mainly concerns itself with introducing Lara Pulver's rather naughty version of 'the Woman', Irene Adler. She is in possession of a camera phone that contains lots of secrets that various intelligence agencies and terrorists would be willing to kill over. Sherlock takes on the job of getting his hands on the phone, supposedly to protect the reputation of the royal family.

However for once it looks like Sherlock has met his match. Irene Adler turns out to be a resourceful adversary who gets the upper (whip) hand, at one point drugging Sherlock to get her phone back.

The show continues to employ some wonderful visual flourishes to illustrate Sherlock's observations, wether it be someone coming into contact with 'three small dogs' or Watson having a 'new girlfriend'. However with Adler he is confused to find he can't read her at all, and we are presented with '??????'.

There's an excellent sequence that has Sherlock and Adler at the scene of another crime he was investigating, while in her living room, as the drugged Sherlock falls into bed. Yes, you really had to see it.

There's also a running gag about a personalised ring tone that Adler puts on Sherlock's phone that causes some amusement but also alerts us to his presence at unexpected moments.

Overall it's a very enjoyable opener to the new series.

Kelly Sotherton article to start the new year

2012-01-01T15:15:00.001Z

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-2080779/LONDON-2012-Kelly-Sotherton-targets-Olympic-heptathlon-comeback.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Another Lara Pulver Sherlock Promo Photo

2011-12-27T21:04:00.001Z

Found another Sherlock promo pic of Lara Pulver as Irene Adler in Sherlock Series 2.

http://adf.ly/4QbS7##CLICK##

Doctor Who and Downton Abbey Christmas episodes

2011-12-27T19:09:00.001Z

I keep putting off commenting on the Christmas Day episodes of the above shows. Well, here's my thoughts.

Doctor Who was a bit odd. I don't mean odd as in strange or weird as its normally strange and weird. I mean odd as the story was a bit more straightforward than what I've come to expect from Stephen Moffat. Then again, maybe I'm getting used to his stories.

In any event it concerned the doctor crashing to earth in 1938 in a borrowed space suit and being helped by a lady played by Claire Skinner. He promises to help her in return, all she has to do is wish. Yeah.

So it's 1941 and she's had a telegram to say her RAF husband is missing presumed dead. She and the kids end up at a big house in the country wher the doctor is playing the part of the caretaker.

To cut a long story slightly less long, one of the kids goes through a present to a snowy tree world and disappears while following a wooden tree person.

Ok, that is a bit weird, I'll grant you that.

The doctor and the other kid follow and then the mum follows them. It turns out they are on Androzani Major (in a bit of name-checking to the last Peter Davidson story) and the bad humans are about to kill the trees with acid rain and the tree souls take refuge in Claire Skinner who pilots a big globe thing through the time vortex back to earth. And it turns out her husband isn't dead as he follows her trough the vortex as well.

So that's all ok, it's fine, not bad, I think as I look at my watch.

Then it goes brilliant as Claire Skinner convinces the doctor to go tell his friends he's not dead. He arrives outside Amy Pond's house and knocks on her (TARDIS blue) door. Amy answers and they stare at each other for a bit.

'So, you’re not dead,' Amy says. 'And a happy New Year,' smiles the doctor, embarrassed. 'River told us,' Amy finally reveals.

Karen Gillan is in full Amy frown mode. Is brilliant. That couple of minutes of them standing at the door makes me realise how sad it will be when Karen leaves next year. Sniff.

So, on to Downton Abbey.

According to the tv listings the episode lasted 2 hours. It probably did but in some ways it seems to have lasted about a week. There must have been about 27 advert breaks in it. Ok, 27 is an exaggeration. It was probably only 24.

For such a long running time not much actually seemed to happen. The main plot thread concerned Mary's impending marriage to Iain Glen, that actor bloke with the cool voice. It turned out that he was blackmailing her to marry him. As long as they were to be wed he was preventing the scandal getting out. You know, the scandle about her and the Turkish gentleman who went and died in her bed?

She discovers her dad knew about it when he tells her not to marry Iain Glen. Then she tells Wet Matthew. You remember Wet Matthew? He's the one who was paralysed in the war and then 'got better'. He was the one engaged to that nice Miss Swire who made the deathbed plee that he should get together with cousin Mary in order to be happy. Which then prompted him to go off in a huff and say that he could never marry cousin Mary and never forgive himself, etc.

Well, guess what? He's forgiven himself and asked cousin Mary to marry him. Honestly, you can't rely on him to make up his mind at all.

What helped the episode immeasurably was the complete absence of Lady Sybil and the Irish chauffeur. Let me state that I have no problem with the actress ho plays Sybil as she is quite pretty, and I don't object to the character. But that story line where she and the Irish chauffeur hooked up after displaying zero chemistry felt like a crudely engineered plot development that was jammed into the script as an afterthought.

Some other stuff happened involving a dog, and Bates was found guilty for murder much to the other character's surprise. Bates and his wife became slightly more interesting characters as they had to do all their scenes together in prison, and him in period manacles.

So, a slightly longer post than intended.

Prometheus Trailer

2011-12-24T12:03:00.001Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sftuxbvGwiU

Nuff said.

Lara Pulver photo from Sherlock

2011-12-19T22:15:00.001Z

Nice high quality photo of her Pulverness that I found floating around the interweb.

http://hatimoon.tumblr.com/post/14460239440/lindcherry-lara-pulver-in-sherlock-a-scandal-in

What to watch on TV this Christmas

2011-12-18T12:32:00.000Z

Here's a few things that I will be watching on TV this Christmas.

On Christmas Day there is of course Doctor Who on BBC1 at 7pm. I expect there will be lots of running around and a soppy ending. Flying sharks will be unlikely this year. That's so 2010.

Later that evening there is a two-hour special of Downton Abbey. If there isn't anything better on I expect I'll give it a go while eating After Eights and Terrys Chocolate Orange segments.

(I'm still a bit miffed that they killed off the nice Miss Swire in the last episode. The poor thing had doomed written all over her the moment she turned up with Wet Matthew.)

Anyway. Back on the BBC from Tuesday 27 December to Thursday 29 December we have a new adaptation of Charles Dickens Great Expectations. Do we need another one so soon since the last one in 1999? Maybe not, but we're getting one and I'll be watching. Gillian Anderson (returning to Dickens after 2005's Bleak House) plays Miss Haversham. But here's a photo of Vanessa Kirby as Estella, mainly because she looks prettttyyyy.

Finally on New Years Day we can look forward to the return of Sherlock and the long awaited event that is Lara Pulver as Irene Adler. I expect I'll have something to write about that.

Two Missing Doctor Who Episodes Found

2011-12-12T19:16:00.001Z

During the summer I found myself getting into classic Doctor Who and in the process purchased numerous Target novels, video tapes and DVDs. Along the way I got an appreciation for just how frustrating it is that so many 1960s episodes are missing due to the BBCs policy of junking film copies and wiping video tapes.

Therefore I spotted what was some unexpected good news online this morning, namely the discovery of two more missing episodes of 1960s Doctor Who. It had been a number of years since an episode was discovered and the count of missing episodes now stands at 106.

The episodes discovered were from the William Hartnell story Galaxy Four and the Patrick Troughton story The Underwater Menace. Hopefully this will inspire film buffs to double-check their attics for episodes from The Power of the Daleks or The Wheel in Space!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16136521

Lara Pulver photos from Sherlock

2011-12-07T20:44:00.001Z

The BBC has released a couple of photos of Lara Pulver as Irene Adler from the forthcoming second series of Sherlock.

The new episodes are due in the new year, but just to confuse things the new Sherlock Holmes movie is also imminent.

The Killing II vs PanAm

2011-11-28T13:47:00.001Z

So what to watch on Saturday night?

On BBC4 we have the followup to critically acclaimed The Killing. Nordic angst, grisly murder, chunky jumpers, frowning. And a double-bill no less.

On BBC2 we have fluffy frothy pretty but empty Pan Am, Mad Men lite as it were. It's got pretty air hostesses in the 1960s wearing fetching blue uniforms. And a double-bill no less.

For the first night of The Killing I decided that it would get my vote. Bring on the murder and the frowning. I thought the first episode was pretty good. But half-way through the second one I found myself stuck in a political meeting and with a shock I realised I was bored. So I gave up on The Killing half-way through episode 2.

Then this weekend I decided to pick up with episode 3, get back in the game. Bring on the jumpers and the angst! Very quickly thereafter I found myself in another political meeting and I realised I was bored. I quickly turned over to BBC2 to watch Pan Am. Yes, it was fluffy and frothy and empty, but in a pleasant way. The girls were pretty and looked good in their blue uniforms. There was even some sort of spy plot involving Goran from ER.

So until there is a director's cut of The Killing with all the political meetings removed my vote will be with Pan Am.

Kelly Sotherton: I don't want to get to 60 and think 'if only'

2011-11-15T13:50:00.001Z

Another Kelly Sotherton article has appeared, this time in The Guardian. Hence me buying the paper during my lunch-break.

The British Olympian was told she would never compete again, slipped into depression and lost her funding, but now she has ambitions at London 2012 as well as Strictly Come Dancing.

Kelly Sotherton is taking nothing for granted but is planning to live off her savings and train through the winter at Birmingham's high performance centre.

"It's rubbish, really," Kelly Sotherton says, laughing defiantly at the fact that, last Sunday, she turned 35. Seven weeks since returning to training for the heptathlon, the gruelling multi-event discipline in which she once fractured her spine in between winning bronze medals at the Olympic Games and the world championships, Sotherton shrugs. "They're really cruel in athletics. As soon as you reach 35 they put a 'V' next to your name. V for veteran. Honestly.

You can read the whole article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/nov/14/kelly-sotherton-london-2012-olympics?newsfeed=true

Rebecca Hall in Radio Times

2011-11-08T20:09:00.000Z

I discovered that Rebecca Hall is in the new issue of the Radio Times so I bought a copy and scanned the pages.

The fact that Christina Ricci was on the cover in a 1960s air hostess uniform might have had something to do with me picking up the magazine in the first place...

Rebecca Hall in Telegraph Magazine 29 October 2011

2011-10-29T14:36:00.000+01:00

I spotted Rebecca Hall in today's Telegraph magazine so I picked up a copy and attempted some scans of the article which can be found below.

It's a while since I've seen Rebecca in a mag so it's nice to get an update on what she's been working on. Her next role is the lead in a 1920-set ghost story called The Awakening which is released in November.

Lara Pulver S Magazine 25 September 2011

2011-10-29T13:51:00.003+01:00

Lara Pulver appeared in the Sunday Express "S Magazine" back on 25 September 2011. I've only got around to doing the scans now. Here they are!

Downton Abbey sisters in Radio Times

2011-10-27T21:45:00.000+01:00

I know I was a little bit hard on Downton Abbey in my last post to this blog. However that didn't stop me from buying the new issue of the Radio Times that has a photo of the three Crawley sisters on the cover.

I'll be honest, I only bought it because there was a photo of the three Crawley sisters on the cover. I suspect it's largely to do with my strange and increasing attaction to the middle sister Edith.

Regardless of my motivations for buying said magazine here is a fairly good quality scan of the cover featuring Laura Carmichael, Jessica Brown Findlay and Michelle Dockery.

There are some actual words in an article about them inside the mag but I didn't bother scanning those.

I might tune in next Sunday night for a few minutes to see if Edith gets off with the Titanic guy.

Probably.

Kelly Sotherton returns to hepthalon

2011-10-27T20:53:00.003+01:00

Long time readers of this blog may recall that while I am not enthusiastic about sport I am slightly more enthusiastic about Kelly Sotherton. Last year she announced she was giving up the heptathlon.

On Monday the news broke that it seems she's had a change of heart. Wednesday's Telegraph newspaper had an interview with her and here's an excerpt.

London 2012 Olympics: heptathlete Kelly Sotherton aims to finish athletics career on a high despite losing funding

It remains one of the harshest verdicts ever bestowed by a coach on his own athlete. In 2004, an emerging British heptathlete named Kelly Sotherton won Olympic bronze in Athens. Yet the first thing that everyone remembers about that breakthrough result is Charles van Commenee denouncing her as “a wimp”.

You can read the whole article at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/8848910/London-2012-Olympics-heptathlete-Kelly-Sotherton-aims-to-finish-athletics-career-on-a-high-despite-losing-funding.html

Spooks vs Downton Abbey

2011-10-24T19:52:00.000+01:00

Both Spooks and Downton Abbey went head to head on Sunday nights so I had a decision to make: which one to watch "live"?

At first Downton won that battle. But as the episodes went on I was unsettled to discover that it was actually, whisper it, a little bit rubbish. Meanwhile I was enjoying the non-live episodes of Spooks a lot more than I thought I would.

After week 4 I did the "switch". Now Spooks would be watched live and I would get around to Downton later. Probably.

Episode 5 of Spooks was a pretty good one. The gang kidnapped a CIA guy because they reckoned he was up to no good. This called for some action with Lara Pulver hanging out of a car firing a gun. Her cheekbones were looking particularly lovely in that episode.

After the cliff-hanger ending (Harry captured by bad Americans!) I turned over to ITV1+1 (I think) to watch the later broadcast of Downton.

I lasted about 10 minutes before I turned the TV off in disgust. That was just after Mary dropped her cup of tea juxtaposed with Matthew going over the top.

I mean, really...

I came to the sudden conclusion that I didn't care about any of the characters (with the possible exception of the middle daughter Edith who I am finding strangely more attractive as time goes on). I don't care about Bates and his on-off wedding with the maid lady. I don't care about the Irish chauffeur and his working man speeches. I certainly don't care about Matthew and Mary

So I skipped the rest of episode 5.

The final Spooks was on last night and rather than run about through the streets of London trying to defuse a nuclear bomb it was actually a low-key finale set mainly in an abandoned military bunker. In fact it looks like it was filmed in an actual abandoned military bunker. If not the production designers did a great job dressing the set up wherever it was. It was a fitting cold war setting for the revelations that followed.

The episode did veer into melodrama at the end when the Russian guy killed his wife and then the Russian son went after Harry with a broken piece of glass in revenge. "There goes Ruth," I thought, and sure enough there was another name on the MI5 memorial wall by the end of the episode.

Oddly there was a "surprise" cameo with the guy who played Mr Darcey in the Keira Knightley movie returning to say about two lines of dialog.

Final Spooks over I gave Downton a try for 15 minutes. To be honest I found it a much more interesting experience watching the thing without having seen the previous episode. It appears that the footman (I can't remember his name) who fancied Daisy died, but not until he got married to her on his deathbed. There was a new maid to replace Amy Nuttall who now has a baby. She was doing The Acting at one point. Matthew was sulking in a wheelchair going on about being only half a man. I really wanted someone to slap him with a wet fish.

The most interesting bit involved the middle daughter Edith (who by now I am finding very attractive indeed) befriending some Canadian guy with a burned and bandaged head, who claimed to be the long-lost heir of Downton Abbey after getting amnesia on the Titanic disaster.

I mean you can't make this stuff up.

Oh wait, you can...

Doctor Who 'The Wedding of River Song'

2011-10-02T18:27:00.003+01:00

And so we arrive at episode 13 of series 6. It's 5:02pm on 22 April 2011.

And the problem is that it's always 5:02pm on 22 April 2011 because time has gone "wrong". All of history is happening at once, so Winston Churchill is the head of the Roman Empire and Charles Dickens is being interviewed on Breakfast TV about his next Christmas Special.

It's all because River Song didn't shoot the doctor in Utah. Two versions of history have come into existence and it's all a mess.

The doctor describes to Churchill how he made preparations for his forthcoming death in Utah. He met the disembodied head of the blue-skinned guy from a previous episode who explained that The Silence want to prevent the Doctor asking the question that must not be answered. And the blue head guy actually knows what the question is...

The Doctor in the messed-up universe meets up with Amy who is now some sort of special agent. (She introduces herself as "Pond, Amy Pond".) She and her fellow agents all wear the eye patch thing. It turns out it's an eye drive (probably spelt "iDrive") that lets the wearer remember seeing The Silence when they are not around. She takes the Doctor to an Egyptian pyramid that has Area 52 painted on the side. There lots of The Silence are being help captive. Only they've been biding their time, waiting for the Doctor.

On top of the pyramid the Doctor and River get married, mainly so he can whisper his name in her ear, Except the Doctor lies and is not his name he is whispering, but rather "Teselecta", the name of the time-traveling humanoid space ship that has a miniature crew inside it from episode 8.

We discover that he asked the Teselecta to make itself look like him so it gets shot and the Doctor lives and all is right with the universe.

So having typed all the above I am struck by the fact that (a) it's not a stand alone episode and (b) it all sounds a little bit silly. In fact it's the second time that Steven Moffat has ended a season in a "not real" universe. While entertaining enough it does leave me with the somewhat dissatisfied feeling that the season adds up to less than the sum of its parts. I applaud the intent to do a complicated time travel story across two seasons but perhaps it would be better to stick to a more stand-alone season in 2012.

The glimpse of the Dalek in the trailer was slightly misleading, I'm sure intentionally. One Dalek briefly appeared at the start of the episode.

It's nice to see the Brigadier get a mention. The Doctor is told that he passed away at his nursing home.

Oh, I forgot, the question that must not be asked:

Doctor who?

Doctor Who 'Closing Time'

2011-09-25T19:10:00.001+01:00

With Closing Time we reach the penultimate episode of series 6. The Doctor is on his farewell tour before the astronaut in the lake shoots him and he decides to pop by and see Craig from last years The Lodger.

Craig now has a baby son, Alfie, although the Doctor claims to 'speak baby' and that Alfie actually calls himself Stormageddon.

The lights are flickering in Colchester so the Doctor does the logical thing and gets a job in a department store, complete with name tag reading 'The Doctor'.

Along the way we get a glimpse of Amy and Rory in the shop when a little girl asks Amy for an autograph. The Doctor is watching from a distance and notices a big perfume advertisement using Amy's face, 'For the girl who is tired of waiting'.

The main plot involves Cybermen teleporting from their spaceship into the shop's lift where they grab unfortunate staff for the cyber conversion process. The Doctor deactivates the teleporter but the Cybermen keep coming. It turns out that the spaceship is not actually in space but is buried under the shop.

The Cybermen decide to use Craig as their new cyber leader but he hears the sound of the baby crying and his emotional feedback makes the Cybermen's heads blow up.

Yes, really.

This was an entertaining enough episode, but it's a pity to see the Cybermen appear so useless and unthreatening. I remember the thrill of watching Earthshock for the first time back in 1982. This was no Earthshock. It was nice to see the return of the cybermats though.

It's another stand-alone episode, although the last few minutes get interesting. As the doctor is about to embark on his last journey he sees three kids watching him. They know something is up and we hear voiceovers looking back describing what they saw.

Then we are with the newly qualified doctor River Song who has been researching the Doctor's last days. In walks the eyepatch lady accompanied by the silent scream aliens. It turns out that River is still under the control of The Silence and is placed in the space suit in preparation for next week's episode...

Speaking of which, is that a Dalek eyestalk I saw in the trailer?

Downton Abbey 2.1 and Spooks 10.1

2011-09-19T20:59:00.001+01:00

Last night saw the return of Downton Abbey on ITV and Spooks on BBC1.

Downton as expected turned out to be a solid piece of duvet tv. It ticked a lot of boxes for manufacturing some angst for most of the main characters. It is now 1916 and the Great War is raging in France.

The main event of the episode was the return of heir to Downton Abbey from the front. He turned up with a shock fiancee. The Michele Doherty character was doing some serious gazing-across-the-room acting. Later she is found doing some uncharacteristic praying by her bedside for his survival. They had a farewell scene at a train station as he returned to the front. Those are always good. I liked that he was all convinced he was not coming back from France, almost like they are setting him up for a shock exit? She insists on giving him her 'lucky' stuffed toy.

I expect that stuffed toy to be in the shops for Christmas.

I also liked the Penelope Wilton butler approaching the doctor as he tries to get out of being called up on account of his 'bad lungs'. He could have at least coughed.

And remember the nasty footman? He's now a stretcher bearer in the trenches and is desperate to get home. He holds a lit cigerate lighter above the trench in order to get his hand shot by an obliging German sniper. He sobs his thanks as the blood pumps from his ruined hand. I actually think the episode was quite successful in this sequence as they made me have sympathy for an unlikable character and made it quit believable that one would go those lengths to get out of the madness of the trenches.

The Bates story seemed a bit contrived to me though. One minute he's planing his future with the maid he's sweet on. The next minute his wife turns up. She was was a bit too much boo-hiss evil and was clearly added to the story just to split up Bates and his true love. He is forced to resign his position and leave in order to stop some scandal spreading and Hugh Bonniville's resulting whine about Bates leaving service didn't ring true.

In other developments the youngest daughter baked a cake and the Irish driver expressed his love for her.

I think I might like Amy Nuttal's new maid lady. Must be a redhead thing.

I'll be keeping my eyes out for any melodramatic bar of soap incidents.

Spooks was ok in a tired sort of way. The characters uncovered a plot to kill a Russian and Lara Pulver managed to shoot the assassin while wearing an evening gown. I expect that we will see her staring into a mirror a lot to signify that it's the first person she's killed. Her voice reminded me a bit of Eva Green.

Doctor Who 'The God Complex'

2011-09-18T19:33:00.001+01:00

A pretty good episode this week. The previews and reviews I read went a little more easy on the superlatives so my expectations were not unduly raised too high.

The Doctor once again promises Amy and Rory another exciting planet. Instead they materialise in what appears to be an hotel done out in 1980s decor

They soon encounter a group of people from Earth (and elsewhere) who have been gathered in the hotel for some reason. They appear to be compelled to open bedroom doors at random where they are faced with someone's greatest fear, e.g. a clown, a PE instructor, girls laughing at a stutter, the Weeping Angels, etc. Eventually they stumble upon their own fear and start to 'praise him'.

Him being a big monster bloke with horns who is wandering around the hotel looking for the person currently doing the praising. Whereupon they are dead.

So understandably the Doctor wants to get his chums out of danger. Along the way he works out that the monster doesn't want their fear, rather he feeds on their faith. The fear is just a way of exposing one's faith.

Amy is next to utter the dreaded 'praise him' and the Doctor finds the room with her fear: It's young Amelia sitting waiting for the doctor to return as promised. Amy's faith is in the Doctor so he he convinces Amy that she shouldn't have faith in him, that he only tool her along in the Tardis to impress her.

That pretty much defeats the monster bloke and the hotel is revealed to be a space prison. The unfortunates that ended up there were basically delivered as the monster's food.

The Doctor brings Amy and Rory back to Earth and gives them a house and a red sports car. It's goodbye as he's worried he'll get them killed.

So it appears to be goodbye Amy, at least for now. However given that the series finalie is almost upon us I would expect it to deal with the Silence, River Song, the astronaut in the lake that kills the Doctor, and that woman with the eyepatche thing. I think Amy needs to be back for all that.

Ah, but I have forgotten something. While exploring the hotel the Doctor opens the door to room 11. We don't sew what's inside but the Doctor says 'of course' and we hear what sounds like the Tardis cloister bell... Interesting.

Next week: the bloke from last years Lodger episode and Cybermen.

Lara Pulver in Daily Mail and elsewhere

2011-09-16T22:11:00.001+01:00

There's a few new articles about Lara Pulver appearing in Spooks.

First of all there's a nice big article in the center pages of today's Daily Mail newspaper.

You can read the article at www.dailymail.co.uk

There's a little piece at www.whatsontv.co.uk

From the Evening Standard...

Spooks star Lara Pulver has told of the "crazy adrenaline buzz" she got from holding a gun.
The actress was armed with a Walther PPK semi-automatic, the same gun used by James Bond, for a scene in the 10th and final series of Spooks, which starts on Sunday.
She described the weapon as "the girlie version, all silver and sexy but just as deadly as 007's".
Pulver, who plays Erin Watts in the BBC1 show, added: "It felt empowering in a very rude way."

www.thisislondon.co.uk

Finally there's an interview with Lara in the current issue of Reveal magazine. Which is a magazine I had never heard of up to a few minutes ago.

Lara Pulver Spooks interview

2011-09-13T17:35:00.005+01:00

I've just discovered this interview with Lara on a site called cultbox so I thought I would post it here.

Lara Pulver ('Spooks': Series 10) interview

Update, I found another interview: http://www.tvchoicemagazine.co.uk/interviewextra/lara-pulver-spooks

PS I've just realised that this is my 300th post to this blog thing.

Lara Pulver Spooks article in Total TV Guide

2011-09-13T15:51:00.001+01:00

Today is "new TV listings mag day" and I was hoping that the Radio Times would have a nice Lara Pulver article for me ahead of Spooks returning on Saturday.

However while the Radio Times and most other mags do have some Spooks content there is very little Lara-specific stuff going on.

Fortunately Total TV Guide (somewhere between the TV Times and Whats On TV in terms of quality) does provide us with a nice full-page photo of Lara looking very lovely indeed...

It would appear that she spends the episode in an evening dress running around with a gun. I can only assume there is yet another embassy siege with her colleagues being held hostage. Sounds good to me.

It is worth noting that all the TV guides are presently having a collective swoon of excitement with the return of Downton Abbey. The TV Times has even produced alternate Downton Abbey covers to collect and be passed on to future generations. The Radio Times has a foldy-out cover to fit in bigger picture of the stars, no doubt worth framing and hanging in the living room.

All well and good, but Spooks and Downton are on at the same time on Sunday. And my DVD Recorder has packed in. I may resort to recording on on good old VHS. Remember that?

Doctor Who 'The Girl Who Waited'

2011-09-11T18:51:00.001+01:00

I felt that last week's superlative-laden episode didn't quite live up to it's raised expectations. Then this week I noticed the preview writers were at it again, so I automatically lowered my expectations accordingly. However I'm happy to report that this week's episode is pretty decent and will probably be remembered as one of the more memorable instalments of this series.

The Doctor, Amy and Rory are off on holiday, so it appears that any pretense of looking for baby Melody/River has been well an truly jettisoned. When the Tardis materialises on the universe's second most popular holiday destination they are presented, not with glittering colonnades, but a sterile white featureless room. Rory and the Doctor enter another room by pressing a green anchor button. Amy has been lagging behind and presses a red waterfall button instead. She ends up in the same room but there's no Doctor or Rory.

It transpires that there are two time streams, one faster than the other with Amy in the fast stream. The reason given has to do with the planet being under quarantine from a virus that kills you in a day. Uninfected people could live out their lives in the fast stream and still have the company of their infected loved ones who stay in the slower stream. At least thats my interpertation. The Doctor seemed to suggest the opposite and I think that the point was poorly explained.

The Doctor promises to slip over to the fast stream to rescue Amy, however when he arrives he discovers that she has aged 36 years. Oops. She's not the same Amy after being left alone to fend for herself. Rory wants to go back and somehow rescue Amy when she first got trapped so she doesn't have to wait all that time. Understandably the older Amy wants to live and not vanish from existence.

And Doctor tells Rory that he must make a choice.

The old Amy make up is pretty well done and Karen Gillan does a good job playing the same character differently. At the episodes heart is the relationship between Rory and Amy with the doctor actually taking a bit of a back seat. The story doesn't shy away from having what is actually a bit of a downbeat ending. Credit to Arthur Darvill for taking the potential fifth wheel Rory and making him essential to the show.

On another note I quite enjoyed the white rooms which reminded me a little of the empty white space where the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe find themselves in The Mind Robber. And I've just realised both stories have mysterious white robots...

Lara Pulver in Spooks info from BBC

2011-09-07T22:47:00.001+01:00

The BBC press office has released some info on the upcoming final series of Spooks. Here's the little bit about Lara Pulver's character plus a tiny photo.

In the last ever series of acclaimed spy drama Spooks, the team has been left reeling by Lucas North's betrayal, and with Harry Pearce on gardening leave, Section D has a new leader. Erin Watts is acting head and she has brought Calum Reed with her, a brilliant officer and technical genius.

You can read the complete press release at www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/2011/wk38/images/206_spooks.jpg.

Hopefully the BBC will release a larger photo soon.

Doctor Who 'Night Terrors'

2011-09-06T10:31:00.001+01:00

I expected big things from episode 9 as some of the previews/reviews I had read about it were brimming with superlatives. There were suggestions that it was the best episode ever, or scariest episode ever. That immediately made me sit up and take notice. 'Better than Blink? Really? That good? Wow!'

No, it's not better than Blink, but I was silly for thinking it could be.

So we have a Mark Gatiss written stand-alone episode in a series that has pretty much steered clear from stand-alone episodes. Basically a little boy is scared of his bedroom wardrobe. And the little boy turns out to be an alien. And that's about it really apart from stuff where our heroes run around a dolls house and Amy gets turned into a wooden doll. But she gets better I am happy to say.

The guy from Outcasts who reminded me of Danny Dyer is in is as the alien boy's human dad.

Doctor Who 'Lets Kill Hitler'

2011-08-28T13:02:00.001+01:00

I managed not to write anything about the first seven spidodes of the current series but I'll hopefully be able to make an effort for the rest of the episodes.

But what an episode to begin with! Let's put it this way, this is not an episode to use as an introduction to the show.

The last episode shown was 'A Good Man Goes to War' where there was a cliffhanger of sorts. Amy's baby had been taken by The Silence to be used as a weapon and we discovered that Melody Pond = River Song so Alex Kingston was actually Amy and Rory's kid.

The new episode kicks off with the introduction of Amy's old childhood friend Mel who we have never met before. In an enterataining sequence we see her being a bit of a trouble-maker at school with young Amelia and Rory. She turns up with a gun and hijacks the Doctor and the Tardis, and forces the Doctor to take her to 1938 Berlin to kill Hitler.

This is where things get a little bit complicated.

Because also in 1938 we meet the miniaturised crew of a human-shaped space ship tha travel through time to punish war criminals. They are here for Hitler but get sidetracked when the Tardis delivers a better catch.

Mel gets shot and STARTS TO REGENERATE! Next thing we know Alex Kington is back.

Mel is Melody is River. 'You named your daughter after your daughter,' the Doctor tells Amy.

This River does not yet call herself River so we've gone right back to her first meeting with the Doctor. Probably.

And now things get complicated. Again. Because Mel/River tries to kill the doctor and ends up poisoning him with her lipstick. But that actually makes sense if we remember that The Silence took her and programmed her to do that.

In the end Mel/River uses up her regenerations to heal the Doctor, although we are reminded that he will get killed in Utah by the Astronaut in the lake.

So overall it was an entertaining episode that answers a few questions about the River Song saga, but obviously raises a few more. I expect it will be worth rewatching when the series is finished in a few weeks time.

Camelot, the once and future series

2011-08-07T16:17:00.001+01:00

Last night Channel 4 showed the final episode of Camelot Series 1. Which is also the last episode of Camelot ever, seeing as the second series was canceled.

Given that there is not much on TV during the summer I thought I'd give this a go. At first I was a bit "meh" about it but as the weeks went by I found myself enjoying the show a little more and then one day I realised that I was actually looking forward to the next episode.

The first episode opened with king Uther Pendragon getting poisoned by his shape-shifting daughter Morgan, played wonderfully by Eva Green, who thinks getting her hands on the crown is a done deal.

But Morgan didn't figure on Merlin (played by Joe Fiennes) coming up with a secret Pendragon offspring called Arthur. In the best Star Wars/Harry Potter tradition the infant Arthur had been spirited away to be brought up in secret and in safety by Sean Pertwee.

Merlin installs Arthur in the ruined castle of Camelot while Morgan glowers and plots from Castle Pendragon.

As this production comes from the people that gave us The Tudors you can be sure of the requisite amount of naughty bits, especially when Arthur and Guinevere head down to the beach for some quality time in the sand.

And this is a neat twist on the King Arthur legend which has Arthur being betrayed when his wife Guinevere hooks up with Lancelot. In this version it's Arthur doing the betraying as Guinevere is to wed Leonties who by all accounts is your trademarked Decent Chap.

I found the last few episodes particularly gripping. At one point Morgan captures Arthur's mother Igraine and shape-shifts to look like her so she can go plant some discord in Camelot. Claire Forlani did a great job playing Morgan pretending to be Igraine, even getting a little Eva Green inflection in her voice.

She lets slip to Leonties that Guinevere and Arthur were doing the naughty stuff and that manages to cause a lot of tension among Arthur and his knights as they go off to defend Bardon Pass from some bad men that Morgan sent to attack the fort.

And what of Arthur himself? Jamie Campbell Bower has been the recipient of a lot of criticism, mainly to the effect that he's "just not right for the part". But I think that's the whole point. We're seeing Arthur start from being a young guy who has grown up without much of a care in the world. He's told he has to be king and has to grow up fast.

There was a noticable transformation in Arthur in the last couple of episodes when he sent his men away from Bardon Pass while he stayed behind to single-handedly defend the fort out of guilt. I think if we had seen seasons two, three and four we would have seen more of a transformation.

But overall I'll miss Eva Green's Morgan the most, constantly scheming how to get the people to love her more than Arthur, willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to get her way.

Game of Thrones episode 1

2011-08-04T14:31:00.002+01:00

I finally got around to watching the first episode of Game of Thrones recently. This is the HBO epic fantasy drama that was made in Northern Ireland last year. It's a bit odd to think it was made where I live and not Vancouver or Prague. (I've read that some of season two was shot at Downhill Strand a week or two ago. That's just up the road from me.)

Anyway I enjoyed the first episode very much. There's not a lot of fantasy elements as such. To me it feels a litte more like Dune in the sense that you have different families, or houses as they are called, vying for power and influence. Sean Bean plays Lord Eddard Stark who guards the colder lands to the North on behalf of the king. The northern border is marked by the Wall, a vast man-made ice barrier that was built to keep something out.

There is a lot of back story to this tale. Some years previously the reigning Targaryen king was deposed and his family slaughtered. Across the sea Viserys Targaryen plots to be returned to the throne and marries his sister Daenerys off to the warlord Khal Drogo to gain an army. I felt very sorry for poor Daenerys as played by Emilia Clarke. I'm particularly interested in seeing how her story plays out.

The episode has a shocking ending but I won't give it away. Lets just say that some of the Lannister family are quite nasty people.

There are a few "naughty bits" in the episode, but it didn't feel like HBO were including them for the sake of it. It always felt important to the character and plot development.

I bought the tie-in edition of the novel a while back and finally got reading some of it. In fact I had pretty much read the material that was covered by the first episode. So what I'm going to try to do is read the book just ahead of each episode. I think I've covered the material of the second episode so I'll treat myself to watching it very soon!

Worth mentioning is the opening credits sequence. The music is memorable and the animation of the castles and landscape is pretty unique. Here's a youtube video but it doesn't really do it justice. You need to see it on a widescreen TV with the volume up.

Lara Pulver in Sherlock

2011-08-03T21:46:00.000+01:00

I'm happy to read that, as well as appearing in the upcoming series of Spooks, Lara Pulver will be appearing in the new series of the BBC's modern take on Sherlock Holmes.

She will be playing Irene Adler, a character that originally appeared in Conan Doyle's story A Scandal in Bohemia. If I recall correctly she has the distinction of managing to best Holmes. The first line of the story reads,

To Sherlock Holmes she is always THE woman.

I look forward to seeing how she is used in the new version.

Source: http://www.denofgeek.com/television/1002838/sherlock_series_2_casting_news.html

Captain America

2011-08-02T13:37:00.001+01:00

I finally went to see the new Captain America movie last night. initially I was a bit “meh” about a movie based on this character but as time went on I wanted to see this movie more and more, I think partly to do with the world war two setting.

Some spoilers may follow but I’ll try to keep them to a minimum

I have a general knowledge of the character but nowhere near as much on say spider-man or the x-men. But I knew enough to hope that the movie might end with Cap being frozen in ice with a view to him being thawed out in time for next year’s Avenger’s movie. So I was surprised and quite happy to see the opening scene set in the present with a team in the Arctic finding the wreckage of a mysterious aircraft frozen in the ice.

Then we go back to the 1940s and encounter Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt, a Nazi looking for a cosmic cube left behind by the gods. He is head of an organisation called Hydra and harnessing the energy of the cube through science will give him ultimate power to remake the world in his own image. When he finds the cube in Norway there is a nice little nod towards Raiders of the Lost Ark when Schmidt says “and the Fuhrer is too busy digging for trinkets in the desert”.

Then over to 1940s New York where we meet a very weedy Steve Rogers is trying to enlist, somewhat unsuccessfully given his long list of ailments. There’s a nice glimpse of the Marvel version of the period with the Expo display of future technologies and Howard Stark's flying car. I’m very intrigued how they did Chris Evans as a wimp. I’ll need to look it up. It’s extremely well done though.

Eventually Steve gets picked for the super soldier programme and gets turned into a taller and less weedy version. It’s now that we meet Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter who works for the research organisation behind the super soldier program. It’s nice to see her with an English accent because it give the SSR an allied component rather than being purely American.

While he wants to serve his country on the battlefield it is felt that Steve would be of more use in the propaganda war. Cure a very entertaining sequence with Cap on tour to raise money for war bonds in a cheesy costume. It’s mounted as a full musical number in the middle of a World War Two superhero move. Wonderful!

While on tour to troops in Europe Steve finds out his old friend Bucky has been captured by Hydra and with a little help from Peggy and Howard Stark he goes alone behind enemy lines to rescue them. I’m not sure why Schmidt is so quick to blow up his own base when the prisoners escape but I’ll overlook it. It’s now that Schmidt is revealed to be the Red Skull, Captain America’s nemesis.

Some of the prisoners cap frees become his team, a combination of the Howling Commandos and The Invaders from the comics. I know because I looked it up.

The action moves to an embattled London where our heroes plan to take out the Red Skull’s other bases. Here I have a couple of niggles. For example a newspaper headline reads “London burns”. I think the people of London would have noticed. Later a voice is heard on a loudspeaker telling citizens to stay indoors until the all clear. Surely they would have known about the all clear after however many years of war. But those are nitpicking niggles.

Without giving too much away the Red Skull and Captain America are fated to meet again on a large flying wing aircraft. (Another Raiders reference I wonder?)

I was a little disappointed by the music by Alan Silvestri. There was no identifiable “Captain America” theme and it was all fairly forgettable.

Overall I enjoyed the movie very much. I think it stands as one of the best Marvel movies so far.

If you sit through the end credits you will be rewarded with a tiny glimpse of a movie coming out next summer. Plus you get to hear the musical number again.

Lucy Brown in New Tricks

2011-06-29T15:19:00.000+01:00

Just a quick alert that Lucy Brown, formally of Primeval, is guest staring in New Tricks on Monday 4th July 2011 on BBC1.

http://www.locatetv.com/tv/new-tricks/season-8/7179173

Thanks to George for the alert.

Tron Legacy

2011-06-25T15:38:00.001+01:00

I saw Tron Legacy on DVD a few weeks ago and I've been meaning to post my thoughts on it.

I can't say I'm a giant fan of the original. I do remember seeing it in the cinema as a child and I can remember doodling light cycle races on the page of my school exercise book when I should have been paying more attention to what the teacher was saying.

The new movie appeared in cinemas at the end of 2010 and seemed to get a good number of mediocre reviews. Therefore when I popped the disk into the player I had low enough expectations.

The movie opens with a scene set in the 1980s with a younger computer generated Jeff Bridges aka Kevin Flynn telling his son Sam a story about his adventures in The Grid. I noted the Black Hole poster on the bedroom wall! Flynn leaves and is never seen again. Two decades later and Flynn's company is making lots of money from their operating system. It's making Sam rich but he isn't taking an active part in running the company.

As you will have seen in the trailers Alan Bradley, played again by Bruce Boxleitner, turns up with the news that he was paged from Kevin Flynn's old phone that has been disconnected for 20 years. Sam zooms off to check out the old Flynn video arcade and promptly gets zapped into The Grid.

At this point I have to say I do like the look of The Grid. Everything is shiny and glassy. No, not quite glassy, but there is a pleasing almost-translucent quality to all the surfaces.

Sam's quest sees him try to make it to the portal that will let him return to the real world. Along the way he takes part in the games, including I am glad to say, a light cycle race. He also meets the young computer generated Bridges character CLU who informs him "I am not your father" in a nice reversal of the famous line from The Empire Strikes Back. Later Olivia Wlide's Quorra takes him to meet the older Bridges who is indeed his dad and has been trapped in the Grid by his own creation.

I found I liked the relatively minor character Gem very much. She is one of the 'sirens' who gives Sam his Grid type outfit for the games. Later she appears again and takes Sam to meet Caster in the night club place. I liked that actress's performance as there is always a little half smile on her face that suggests 'I know more than you do'.

There are a few surprise reveals that are not too surprising, namely the true identities of Rinzler, Quorra and Zuse respectively. I saw them all coming but maybe a kid would find them surprising so that's ok.

And I enjoyed the movie very much. I'd certainly rate it a lot higher than the mediocre reviews. it held my attention throughout, I connected with the characters, was suitably amazed at the visuals and it's also worth noting that I really enjoyed the music soundtrack. It's also nice to see the original design of the light cycle appear.

Any negatives? Well I thought the CGI Bridges was good but there was something not quite right with the eyes. But then he's a CGI creation representing a computer program, not a human, so maybe that's ok too. otherwise it was pretty amazing to see what they can do with CGI now.

Overall I liked it and right away it went on my list of movies to buy on DVD.

X-Men: First Class review

2011-06-03T20:16:00.007+01:00

I may have mentioned it before, but I am a big fan of the X-Men movies, going back to 2001 when I rented the video (!) of the first movie. Actually I think I bought the DVD shortly after that. It was probably one of the first DVDs I did buy.

This week sees the release of the fourth (or fifth) X-Men movie and marks the return of Bryan Singer, the director of the first two, albeit in a producing capacity. It also marks the "return" of Matthew Vaughn who almost directed the third movie. Much has been written (or at least read by me) about the movie's 1960s setting, the new take on the Cuban Missile Crisis, the short production schedule and some deliberate nods towards a certain 1960s spy movie series.

So having finally seen the movie here are my initial thoughts, sans spoilers.

First of all I do have to mention the recreation of the opening scene of the first movie. It will be very interesting to watch the inevitable shot-by-shot comparison that will do doubt turn up on YouTube.

Much credit must be directed towards Misters McAvoy and Fassbender who did did great work playing Sirs Patrick and Ian. James McAvoy played the good professor in a way we have never seen him before, clearly making the most of the 1960s and a full head of hair.

Michael Fassbender as Erik went for it. The word that springs to mind is "intensity". There are a few scenes early in the movie that are gripping purely based on his performance and the sense of danger he exudes. Watch out for the scenes in the Swiss bank and the South American bar. And it's great to see Erik doing dangerous things with metal. At one point he finds an interesting use for a ship's anchor chain. If I have one complaint it is that I do think his Irish accent was becoming a bit pronounced near the end of the movie.

It's also great to see Charles and Erik become friends. In the original movie Erik and Charles do refer to each other as "old friend" on occasion. Here we see how their bond was formed and its nice that the chess games are referenced. Particular mention must be made of the "rage and serenity" scene.

However I do think the movie has a third lead, namely Jennifer Lawrence. This movie goes some way to make amends to Mystique by giving her more screen time after she was unceremoniously "cured" so early in the third movie. In a way the movie is as much about her as it is about Professor X and Magneto. We obviously know she'll end up joining Magneto but it's quite a revelation to see her first meeting with Charles and the bond that develops between them.

It was also nice to see Hank McCoy/Beast getting some screen time. Nicholas Hoult played him endearingly geeky.

In the previous movies the team used the X-Jet. Here they use a plane based on the SR-71 which is a nice nod to the comics and the period. I want to build that model kit now.

Kevin Bacon plays the villain of the piece, Sebastian Shaw, who has a link to what happened young Erik in 1944. He is perhaps the most villainous of all the bad guys we've seen in the movie series so far. January Jones played a suitably icy Emma Frost.

A couple of inconsistencies with the previous movies do now arise. In particular the first scene of X3 no longer fits into this continuity, but this is something I will happily ignore.

There were two surprise cameos from original cast members. One in particular had the audience in stitches.

So overall I enjoyed it and I will be hoping we will see a First Class series develop. If this is what they can do with a curtailed shooting schedule then I want to see what they can do with more time!

Lara Pulver joins Spooks cast

2011-04-02T00:28:00.000+01:00

This unexpected news just landed in my inbox.

Lara Pulver is to join the cast of the BBC's spy drama Spooks when it returns for it's tenth series later this year. She will apparently replace the Sophia Myles character who only joined the cast last year.

Her character is described as “ambitious, hungry and determined to make her mark”.

I'm quite a Lara fan after her appearance in Robin Hood in 2009 so I'm looking forward to seeing her in the new series.

Source: www.expressandstar.com

Let Me In

2011-03-26T20:56:00.001Z

I finally got to watch Let Me In on DVD during the week. This was a movie I was really looking forward to seeing after reading the novel Let the Right One In and watching the original Swedish adaptation at the end of 2010 .

I should say right from the start that I love the novel. You can read my thoughts on it on my "book blog" at http://bookswhatilike.blogspot.com/2010/11/let-right-one-in-by-john-ajvide.html
I was naturally curious as to what the hammer-produced American version would be like. Would they have ripped the soul out of the tale and released a trashy remake? Thankfully not. The new version is remarkably close to the story told in the book and the other movie. All the main plot developments are here. The action may have moved from Blackburg to Los Alamos in New Mexico but this is essentially the same story with the same characters.

Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Grace Moretz are perfect in their roles as twelve-year-old Owen and vampire Abby, also twelve, but she's been twelve "for a long time". Their loneliness and burgeoning friendship is perfectly captured. Atmospherically the move feels a lot more "real" than what normally gets labeled as a horror movie. The characters are completely believable and, as in the novel, I couldn't help but feel sympathy for each and every one of them. Even when the "father" is trying to kill people for their blood he's doing it out of love for Abby.

There are a few changes. For example there is a new scene set in a car with the "father" lying in wait for a victim, but it's very effective and tense.

There's another little moment that is new that essentially changes the back-story of how the "father" and Abby meet. At one point Owen finds photo-booth style photographs of Abby and a young boy with glasses. The implication is that Abby met the "father" when he was about the same age as Owen and suggests that Owen will take over the roll of "father".

As with the earlier movie the last shot is of Owen on a train with a large trunk, tapping out some Morse code. It manages to be chilling and hopeful at the same time.

In summary an excellent movie.

Gerry Anderson's UFO

2011-03-23T13:32:00.001Z

I'm quite a fan of science fiction so it's something of an anomaly that I'm only getting around to watching Gerry Anderson's series UFO now. This is a series that was made in 1969 and broadcast in 1970 and it was, I believe, the first of Anderson's shows to be made with actors rather than puppets.

I don't recall seeing this show as a kid, although I do have memories of owning a broken and battered Dinky UFO Interceptor toy. It was broadcast on the BBC a few years ago and I would have seen bits of it then, although not complete episodes.

Recently I bought the DVD box-sets and have been making my way through the early episodes.

The premise of the series is that Earth is under threat from aliens. A secret organisation called SHADO is set up to to combat the threat. There's an early-warning space station that alerts Moonbase, the first line of defence. If a UFO makes it past the Lunar interceptors and reaches Earth then other aircraft and ground vehicles respond.

Head of SHADO Ed Straker runs the secret organisation from a hidden base under a film studio and is played by Anderson regular Ed Bishop.

What is quite charming is that they've set the show in the far off futuristic year of... 1980! That's only a decade on from when the series was being made. In that time men have stopped wearing ties and lady astronauts have started wearing purple wigs. One nice detail they did get right was the use of cordless telephones.

Notable among the purple-haired ladies is Gabrielle Drake who plays lieutenant Gay Ellis. She would go on to appear in Crossroads among other things.

The show had fairly high production values and it's interesting to compare the quality of the colour images filmed on proper film stock with the grainy black and white Doctor Who episodes that survive from the same period. The makers also put some effort into the spacesuits and Lunar-surface sets for example.

A planned second series was canceled and the design work on a bigger Moonbase was apparently Incorporated into Anderson's next space epic, Space 1999.

Lara Pulver in Legacy Black Ops

2011-03-14T20:02:00.001Z

This evening I was checking out some new DVD releases and one caught my eye as I glanced at the cast list. The Idris Elba staring Legacy Black Ops includes among the cast an "introducing Lara Pulver" credit.

If you were reading this blog a couple of years ago you will have seen lots of Lara Pulver content as she was appearing in the the third series of the BBC's Robin Hood as Isabella. The last I knew she was in America appearing in musicals, so this DVD is a welcome surprise.

Here's the blurb from http://www.legacythemovie.co.uk/

Taking refuge in a shabby Brooklyn motel after narrowly surviving a failed mission in Eastern Europe, Black Ops soldier Malcolm Gray (Idris Elba) is torn between retribution and personal salvation as he broods over the legacy of his actions.

Haunted by his demons while holed up in his room, Malcolm ponders the ascent of his brother (Eamonn Walker), an ambitious senator with designs on the presidency in this dark and tense action thriller packed with stellar performances.

I checked out the trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkhJdjYKJxY) and I caught a glimpse of Lara near the start.

The movie seems to be a bit low budget and set all indoors but it might be good. I have a feeling I'll end up buying the DVD during the week. If so expect a review in due course.

Doctor Who 1984 (Peri flavoured)

2011-02-06T17:18:00.004Z

This weekend I picked up a cheap Doctor Who DVD from the end of the Peter Davidson era, The Caves of Androzani.

This is one of the storylines I would have seen bits of pieces of when it was originally broadcast back in 1984 without really following what was going on.

I think I made the effort of tuning in for the final episode of the story because it was Peter Davidson's last.

Revisiting it after more than 25 years I note three things:

One, the production values are probably worse than I remember. The underground dragon creature is a particular low point.

Two, it's quite a good little story with a fair amount of "which faction is working for who?" going on. There's Scottish gunrunners, soldiers, androids impersonating soldiers, a substance that gives eternal youth, political blackmail and assassination.

Three, Nicola Bryant as companion Peri is gorgeous. I dare say I am influenced by the 13 or 14 year old version of myself. But she is.

Early in the first episode she and the Doctor get stung by some webby alien egg thing they find in a cave. It turns out they have caught a bad case of "spectrox toxaemia" and poor Peri gets weaker and progressively more wheezy as the episodes progress. Meanwhile one of the the villains, the masked Sharaz Jek, captures Peri and wants to spend eternity gazing on her beauty. Fair enough.

"Peri, I don't fancy yours much."

Eventually the Doctor get some of the bat milk antidote and gives it all to Peri. He then succumbs to the disease and regenerates into Colin Baker.

Peri would go on to be the Colin Baker companion through nearly all of his tenure as the Doctor. Looking up the episode list I am reminded that in the space of the 1985 season she encounters Cybermen, Daleks, Sontarans and even meets Patrick Troughton's version of the Doctor in The Two Doctors. All while maintaining an American accent.

However I will jumping ahead to watch my other purchase from this weekend, 1986's The Trial of a Time Lord...

Claire Foy in Sunday Times Culture

2011-02-06T16:34:00.001Z

Today's Sunday Times Culture mag has an article about Claire Foy from Little Dorrit and Upstairs Downstairs. She's on TV tonight in Channel 4's Israel-set drama The Promise. Anyway, I thought it was a nice picture so I attempted a scan.

I'll make an effort to watch the first episode of The Promise even though it's a long one as it starts at 9pm and lasts until 10:45pm. But I'll give it a go because Claire is in it. She has become a sort of surrogate Ruth Wilson for me!

Emily Blunt in Sunday Times Style magazine

2011-02-06T16:21:00.000Z

Emily Blunt is on the cover of today's Sunday Times Style magazine. It's an odd photo but seeing as it's Emily I thought it worthy of a quick scan...

John Barry RIP

2011-01-31T20:25:00.001Z

I was sad to read today about the death of John Barry. He was responsible for the soundtracks for eleven of the first fifteen James Bond movies plus a bunch of other movies. I was listening to some of his stuff on YouTube and thought I'd put a few on here...

OHMSS is one of my favourite Bond movies, based on my favourite Fleming novel, featuring one of my favourite Barry soundtracks... You get the idea...

Here's a favourite piece of music from Moonraker to accompany the space battle near the end of the movie. It has some unmistakable Barry sounds.

Here's a track from his last Bond soundtrack, The Living Daylights. This music accompanied a sequence early in the movie where Bond helps a defector escape across the iron curtain.

The Black Hole was a Disney movie that came out in 1979 to cash in on the Star Wars SF craze. It ticks a lot of the usual boxes, e.g. cute robots, laser battles, etc. It also had a great cast including Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins and the voice of Roddy McDowell. However it had a very unexpected ending. I must have been eight or nine when I saw the movie in the cinema and to this day I'm still not sure what it means. Check out the creepy visuals along with Barry's magnificent score.

And I forgot he did a great score for Enigma, the move based on the Robert Harris novel. Now I want to watch it again...

X-Men: First Class

2011-01-26T20:06:00.000Z

As a kid I was never into the X-Men comics as Spider-man was more my thing. I knew who the main characters were but that was about it. However I am a big fan of the X-Men movies. It's the one superhero franchise that gets me excited.

I've been pretty much avoiding reading too much about the new movie, X-Men First Class, that is due out this summer. I knew that it had young Magneto and young Xavier but that was about it.

Last night I did allow myself to read the following Entertainment Weekly interview with the director, Matthew Vaughn, and the movie does sound interesting. For example I didn't know that it was set in the 1960s and the focus on Magneto's character looks promising.

Check out the article at http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/01/22/x-men-first-class-matthew-vaughn/

Just four-and-a-bit months to go!

Lucy Brown back in Primeval

2011-01-24T19:20:00.000Z

The reason I started watching Primeval when it was first on was the presence of Lucy Brown as Claudia/Jenny. After she left I still tuned in but it just wasn't the same.

I've only seen bits and pieces of the new series and have been pretty much giving it a miss. But I'll be keeping a close eye on the next episode as Lucy is back!

George got in touch with these photos he found on a Primeval site. Apparently she is in the next episode (number six) this coming Saturday 29 January 2011.

Photographic proof follows!

Outcasts on BBC

2011-01-18T23:32:00.001Z

Trailers for a new series called Outcasts have popped up on the BBC lately. It seems to be an expensive-looking science fiction series dealing with settlers from Earth starting over on a new world. There are a few familiar faces in the cast including Liam Cunningham, Hermione Norris and Jamie Bamber, formally of the remake of Battlestar Galactica and Law & Order UK.

Looking at the cast list I also noticed Amy Manson is in it. She played one of the pre-raphaelite models in 2009's entertaining Desperate Romantics. Although it took me a while to regonise her because in that she was a redhead and now she looks very different with dark hair.

It's nice to see the BBC doing some original science fiction. Lately I've been watching some Blakes 7 for the first time since it was on way back when. It got me thinking that the time is right for British TV to try something like that again.

By the way, Outcasts seems to be eight episodes long. I'm shocked! After Sherlock, Upstairs Downstairs and Zen I thought the BBC was only doing three episode series from now on!

There's some basic info and video clips at www.bbc.co.uk/outcasts

PS Here's a picture of Amy as she will not appear on an alien planet.

Alien prequel or not

2011-01-17T22:05:00.000Z

I decided to do a Alien prequel news search tonight and discovered that it's just been announced that the Alien prequel that Ridley Scott had been working on will no longer be an Alien prequel.

Huh?

It seems that they will be filming the script they have but severing the contunity with the existing movies. The new movie will be called Prometheus and will be released in March 2012.

I don't know if we can expect face-huggers or chest-bursters in the new movie but I do hope we're 'going on a bug hunt'.

Find out more here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jan/17/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-prometheus

Amy Pond in police uniform revisited

2011-01-15T16:28:00.000Z

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that there was an Amy Pond in police uniform action figure, but bemoaned the fact that it was only available with a Tardis and Doctor figure, setting you back almost £30.

Well, the toy people have seen sense and Amy is now available as part of the Pandorica wave of figures. Each figure in that wave comes with a side of the Pandorica cube containing a CD audio adventure from the Doctor's past adventures.

They sell for a considerable £9.99 each but at least it's an improvement from having to spend three times that.

Rebecca Hall in Harper's Bazaar

2011-01-08T15:32:00.000Z

It's a while since I've seen Rebecca Hall in a magazine so it was nice to spot her on the cover of the February 2011 issue of Harper's Bazaar.

Doctor Who 2010 Christmas Episode

2010-12-29T20:52:00.000Z

I will preface this review by saying that I've been constantly underwhelmed by the Christmas episodes since they started back in 2005 with The Christmas Invasion. Oh, they have their moments but overall there's lots of sound and thunder signifying nothing. I even skipped the one with David Morrissey as "The Next Doctor" completely.

So, can Stephen Moffet succeed where Russel T Davis failed, i.e. make me happy on Christmas Day?

Yes he can.

The first bit of the episode, say the first 20 minutes, was just bizarre and weird and... bizarrely weird. Now I like weird, but this took the cake. There were flying fish and sharks on some alien planet. I still don't know what was up with that.

But the flying shark was just a "MacGuffin" to get Katherine Jenkins thawed out to sing.

You see there's this planet that Michael Gambon seems to control and if you owe him money then he has a family member frozen as collateral. He's a bit mean and Scrooge-like. Along comes the doctor to ask him to turn off his cloud machine so the space liner that Amy and Rory are on can land without crashing. Gambon refuses.

But the doctor knows he's not all bad so he recovers a video recording that Gambon made as a child. Gambon is unimpressed so the Doctor decides to change his mind. Literally.

With the black and white recording projected on the wall of the room the doctor exits through the door and moments later appears in the kid's room in the recording.

Brilliant.

Cue adventures with flying sharks, one of which needs Katherine Jenkins to sing to it so they thaw her out. The Doctor and the young Gambon continue to thaw her out every Christmas Eve and have more adventures, meanwhile the audience notices that each time she goes back in the box a counter keeps subtracting 1. Eventually she tells young Gambon not to thaw her out anymore because she will only have one day left to live.

I don't want to regurgitate the whole plot but eventually the Doctor convinces older Gambon to help the space liner people and he is forced to thaw Katherine Jenkins out one last time, knowing it will be the last day they can spend together.

=sniff=

The only minus point is the paucity of Amy Pond content. She and Rory are hardly in the episode, although it does make sense to concentrate on the "Christmas Carol" story.

Then at the end of the episode we get a peek at the new series with lots of Arizona looking deserty stuff.

I smile.

Amy Pond in Police Uniform action figure

2010-12-29T20:23:00.000Z

I got word of this via some Forbidden Planet emails a few weeks ago but now it's out in the shops. Doctor Who fans can buy an Amy Pond in police uniform! Here's the visual proof:

Unfortinately you can't buy the figure alone, you have to spend neary thirty quid on a (non-electronic) Tardis and an Eleventh Doctor as well. nothing wrong with that, but what about those of us who just want Amy? =Sigh=

Upstairs Downstairs on BBC

2010-12-28T23:24:00.000Z

Ah, two posts in one night. What's going on?

So tonight saw the third and final episode of the new Upstairs Downstairs. It was quite nice being able to watch the episodes on consecutive nights but, as with Sherlock, you do wonder why they only made three episodes.

The original was on back in the 1970s and frankly I can't remember seeing any of it. I didn't have high hopes for this one as some of the reviews I had read called it a disappointment after Downton Abbey. However I have to say I enjoyed it.

In particular I like the setting. The 1930s were turbulent to say the least and giving the series a background consisting of the abdication crisis as well as the rise of European fascism makes a change from the usual period drama fare.

In particular episode two stands out. One scene has the chauffeur enter the kitchen wearing his Black Shirt uniform and we see the reaction it provokes from the other staff including the Jewish woman who was forced to flee Germany.

There can be a fine line between drama and melodrama. While I liked Downton Abbey I do feel it strayed over to the melodrama side of the line from time to time. I didn't get the same vibe from Upstairs Downstairs quite as much.

Clair Foy (from Little Dorrit) I thought was particularly good as Percy, dissatisfied with her role in society and becoming drawn to 'national socialism' without comprehending the consequences.

I enjoyed it and will watch any more they make. Just tone down the music a little, please.

Rufus Sewell in BBC's Zen

2010-12-28T23:02:00.001Z

I must not be paying attention to what's on TV lately. I was watching the last episode of Upstairs Downstairs tonight (more of which later) and a trailer came on for a new series that looked fairly interesting. Rufus Sewell is playing Michael Dibdin's Italian detective Zen in a series called, well, Zen.

It did give me a Quantum of Solace vibe for some reason. Hey, it even has Caterina Murino in it. (She played one of the girls in Casino Royale.)

In any event I like Rufus and I'll be checking out episode one on Sunday 2 January 2011.

Ruth Wilson at the British Independent Film Awards

2010-12-09T19:51:00.001Z

Ruth Wilson arriving at the British Independent Film Awards 2010 on 5 December 2010.

Ruth Wilson Satellite Awards nomination

2010-12-05T16:50:00.000Z

Ruth has revieved a nomination for best "Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television" for her part in the BBC's Luther.

The nominations in that category are as follows:

Claire Danes - "Temple Grandin"
Hope Davis - "The Special Relationship"
Judi Dench - "Return to Cranford"
Naomie Harris - "Small Island"
Ellie Kendrick - "The Diary of Anne Frank"
Winona Ryder - "When Love is Not Enough"
Ruth Wilson - "Luther"

The winners will be revealed on 19 December 2010.

The Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner dies

2010-11-29T20:51:00.001Z

Sad news today as it has been announced that director Irvin Kershner died. He directed Never Say Never Again and Robocop 2, but I know him best as the director of "My Favourite Movie Of All Time", also know as The Empire Strikes Back.

I consider myself lucky enough to have been around to see the Star Wars movies when they first appeared in cinemas and grew up watching them, reading the comics and of course playing with the toys. My favourite of the original three movies was always Empire.

Just recently I have been reading the 30th Anniversary The Making of the Empire Strikes Back book and it's crammed full of interviews with the cast and crew, conducted as the movie was being made. Throughout the book Kershner's contribution to the movie is clear.

The movie probably has such a following because it continues the original story instead of repeating it. The heroes get split up, Han gets captured and turned into an ice cube, Luke gets his hand cut off before Vader tells him something surprising. Plus Boba Fett. Plus the Battle of Hoth. Plus Yoda!

I could gush on for ages because that movie was such a pivotal part of my childhood.

Thanks Irvin.

Ruth Wilson At Emmys and Small Island wins

2010-11-25T21:11:00.000Z

Ruth was in attendance at the Emmy awards this week. Also Small Island wone and award for best mini-series. Here's a pic of Ruth.

Iron Man 2 actually quite good shock

2010-11-15T20:24:00.003Z

I thought I'd do another post tonight while I was at it.

I finally got to see Iron Man 2 on DVD after missing it in the cinemas. The reviews that came out at the time were a bit sniffy about it. "It's ok, not as good as the first one" seemed to be the general consensus.

With that in mind I watched the movie and thought, "hey, it's not bad." At the weekend I decided to watch it again and now I have realised it's actually a very solid Marvel adaptation and is much better than "just ok".

The first movie ended with Tony Stark revealing that he was Iron Man and the second movie begins with the US government quite believably wanting their hands on the Iron Man "Weapon". This is one of the main story treads throughout the movie.

Another major plot point is that using the suit is slowly killing Tony and his behaviour becomes more erratic. I'm not an expert on the Iron Man comics but I'm aware of the character's alcoholism and a story called "Demon in a Bottle". I guess this is the movie acknowledging the comics while staying kid-friendly.

Speaking of kid-friendly there is shameless piece of product placement...

Sam Rockwell is in danger of stealing the show as rival weapon manufacturer Justin Hammer who wants to sell Iron Man suits to the US military. His description of the "ex wife" missile is a highlight. Mickey Rourke is not bad as Russian Ivan Vanko, aka Whiplash.

And finally I get to see the Black Widow in action, as played by Scarlett Johansson. The Black Widow is one of my favourite Marvel characters so I would have liked to have heard just a tiny hint of a Russian accent but otherwise I have to admit Scarlett did a decent job playing the Widow as suitably bad-ass.

If there's a negative it's Sam Jackson's Nick Fury. He turns up halfway through and does his trademark Sam Jackson act, which is just a little jarring has he's playing against the relaxed and understated Robert Downey Jr who can do a lot with very little. Sam Jackson has to do a LOT with a LOT and it's out of place, frankly.

All in all an enjoyable movie. And to finish off here's a gratuitous look at the Black Widow poster.

Jane Eyre movie trailer

2010-11-15T19:48:00.006Z

Good Lord, has it really been a month since my last update?

Anyhow, the trailer for the new movie version for Jane Eyre staring Mia Wasikowska as Jane and Michael Fassbender as Rochester has turned up.

I had a look and it was a very odd experience watching it because they have used the same location for Thornfield as that used in the 2006 BBC adaptation staring Ruth Wilson. (Indeed it was also used for the 1995 movie.)

I have seen the 2006 version many times (understatement!) so it resulted in the new movie feeling like remake of the series rather than a new version of the book.

For example if you have seen the BBC version then you may recognise these gardens...

And also this staircase...

I'll give movie a chance. It looks like they have tried to make it cinematic and creepy. The girl looks the part but I wonder if she won't be acted off the screen by our memories of Ruth Wilson. What a thankless task following Ruth! Well, maybe Mia will be good.

Oh, and Judi Dench is in it as well.

Here's the trailer...

Lucy Liemann returns in Reggie Perrin series 2

2010-10-13T19:36:00.004+01:00

Just a quick alert that Reggie Perrin series 2 arrives on BBC1 on Thursday 14 October 2010. I'm glad to see that Lucy is in the cast list so I shall be interupting my viewing of Law & Order UK to watch it.

Series 1 was broadcast last year and was not the disaster I had been expecting so the new series will hopefully be worth a look.

And Lucy is in it.

Here's one of the screen caps I did last year to tide us over until tomorrow night.

Bigamist, writer, soldier, spy...the truth about Ruth Wilson's grandfather

2010-10-13T19:32:00.002+01:00

The London Evening Standard has an article about Ruth Wilson's grandfather...

The first that actress Ruth Wilson knew about her grandfather Alexander's career as a thriller writer, MI6 agent and serial bigamist was 10 years ago. “When I was 18 my granny let me read the first part of a memoir she'd written,” says the 28-year-old star of Luther and Jane Eyre.

Read the article at:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/article-23886966-bigamist-writer-soldier-spythe-truth-about-ruth-wilsons-grandfather.do

Idris Elba and Ruth Wilson Luther Interview

2010-10-04T19:50:00.004+01:00

www.collider.com/2010/10/02/idris-elba-ruth-wilson-interview-luther/ have an interview with Idris Elba and Ruth Wilson about crime drama Luther which premieres on BBC America on 17 October 2010. Here's a Ruth excerpt:

Ruth: When I first read it, it did resonate with me as a piece that was a bit similar to Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling, except it’s the other way around. That really appealed to me. You certainly don’t get many female roles like this. The relationship develops throughout the series. It starts off with her having committed a crime and Luther trying to pin her down for it. And, as the series goes on, it becomes a game of cat and mouse between the two of them. They actually realize they have an intellectual interest in each other, as well as a sexual chemistry. They are just fascinated by each other, so it’s a really interesting dynamic. She ends up helping and they become partners in crime a bit. It’s a fascinating dynamic between the two characters, and something that hadn’t really been explored that much on TV before. That’s why it was so appealing.

Follow the above link for more.

By the way I noticed links on that page about a prequel to The Thing so I'm off to investigate that!

Laura Vandervoort in V musings

2010-09-01T16:40:00.006+01:00

V has been put back in my mind thanks to SciFi Now Magazine who have put Laura Vandervoort on the cover of the latest issue.

I was surprised to read that the show has got a second season. I don't mean surprised as in it was a rubbish show, I mean surprised as in it's not bad but I thought everything got canceled nowadays.

Anyway it prompted me to watch the last four episodes of the twelve episode season. And they weren't bad. In fact they were pretty good. It's interesting to see how Laura's character Lisa becomes more important as the story progresses. In the last bunch of episodes she has a lot of screen time. It's also interesting to see her start to rebel against her mother Anna.

The show does suffer from some logic lapses, e.g. various humans seem able to walk around the mother-ship with ease, and why can't the lizards with their surveillance technology not find out that Chad Decker's Fifth Column "source" is the priest.

But then I recall how the human resistance in the old show were able to infiltrate the mother-ship at will and not get caught or escape easily.

Anyhow, I will be watching out for the second season when it arrives. Season 1 I believe is coming to Virgin 1 in the UK this month.

Also SciFi Now promise an interview with Jane Badler in the next issue, i.e. Diana from original V. I'll be buying that issue!

Luther to return (and Sherlock too)

2010-08-31T16:33:00.003+01:00

I've not found much detail but apparently the BBC's Luther will return in 2011 for "two hour-long specials". One would hope that Ruth Wilson will be returning as Alice Morgan. Note the use of the word "specials" as they can't very well call it a series with just two episodes.

Still, it's welcome news even if it's only two episodes.

Sherlock will also be returning for three more episodes.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11124783

Sherlock is also out on DVD. I'm tempted to buy it as it includes an un-broadcast pilot episode that according to the IMDb Zoe telford is in, whereas in the broadcast series she was introduced in the second episode and only makes a fleeting appearance in the third.

Imogen Poots in Centurion

2010-08-30T15:24:00.004+01:00

It's been a while since I updated the blog thing so I'll try to do some updates.

I rented Centurion a week or two ago on DVD. While not an amazing movie I thought it was not bad at all and I can see myself eventually buying it in the future. The movie tells the story of a handful of Roman soldiers who survived a massacre at the hands of Picts led by Olga Kurylenko (of Quantum of solace).

Imogen Poots popped up in the second half of the movie as an outcast Pict lady who helps the Romans. I was quite impressed by her and will be watching out for her future projects.

As an interesting aside the main Roman character was played by Michael Fassbender who is playing Rochester in the upcoming movie of Jane Eyre. Imogen Poots is playing Blanche Ingram in the same movie.

Imogen also appeared in 28 Weeks Later and the new TV remake of A Bouquet of Barbed Wire. She's also being connected to the new Spider-Man movie.

Here's an article from the Daily Mail website about her:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1306022/The-prospect-seduced-Michael-Douglas-quite-daunting--really-ease-The-world-according-British-actress-Imogen-Poots.html

That nice Zoe Telford

2010-08-04T20:18:00.002+01:00

So I was watching episode 2 of Sherlock last Sunday, the first episode of which I had enjoyed very much.

The second episode is ok, I thought, but it's no episode 1. However the nice lady doctor that Tim from The Office trys to get off with, played by Zoe Telford, did catch my eye.

I had to go and do the ususal hunt on the IMDB after the episode to see what else she has been in. It's a wonder I've don't remember seeing her in anything because she's been in Ashes to Ashes, Foyle's War, Collision, Law and Order UK, Afterlife, Teachers, The Palace and Criminal Justice to name just a few of her TV credits.

She was also in a thing called The Last Train that was on back in 1999. I remember watching that but I'm not sure I remember her character.

Oh, and she played Eva Braun opposite Robert Carlyle's Hitler!

Sherlock Episode 1 - "A Study in Pink"

2010-07-26T20:28:00.003+01:00

I somehow managed to catch the first episode of the BBC's new modern day version of Sherlock Holmes, titled simply Sherlock. It was really rather good.

Stephen Moffat, fresh from introducing us to the 11th Doctor Who, and Mark Gatiss have somehow managed to retain all of the essential elements of the character, most importantly his ability to extrapolate a life story from observations of the smallest details such as scratches on a mobile phone. I also particularly liked the way they showed his thought process visually such as the words "wet" and "dry" appearing as he examines the coat of a victim.

Mark Gatiss himself appears as Sherlock's "arch enemy". We all expect him to be Moriarty but of course he turns out to be Sherlock's brother Mycroft.

Nice to see other characters from the books appearing such as Inspector Lestrade and Mrs Hudson and also the setting of 221B Baker Street, although I don't remember Holmes and Watson flat sharing in the originals!

Honestly I saw the taxi connection quite early on, but that's probably due to watching Luther a couple of months ago. Phil "Shake me up Judy" Davis is on hand playing the taxi-driver with quiet malevolence.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman did fine jobs as Holmes and Watson and will be good company for the next two episodes.

Doctor Who "The Big Bang"

2010-06-28T18:52:00.003+01:00

Right. That was a busy episode.

I had assumed that the Doctor might be absent for a chunk of the running time seeing as he had been shut in the ultimate prison. Oh no. As it turns out all you need is some lovely circular time travel logic.

Future Doctor travels back in time (using River Song's vortex manipulator) and gives Plastic Rory his sonic screwdriver that will release the present Doctor. Then Amy is placed in the Pandorica as it's such a good prison not even death is an escape. It will keep her not-quite-dead until a sample of her living DNA can be found. Plastic Rory offers to stand guard over the box to keep Amy safe.

So now it's 1996 again. Seven year old Amelia is praying to Santa if he could send someone to fix the crack in her wall. There is a noise outside and she goes to the window and sees... Well nothing as it happens. In the sky there is the moon but no stars. We discover that this universe has the Earth in it and nothing else. The rest of the universe doesn't exist.

Amelia finds a museum leaflet telling her to visit the Pandorica exhibition. She does so and we also see a stone Dalek display in the museum. She presses her hand on the box and it opens having got the DNA it needs to revive adult Amy.

The Doctor appears and uses the vortex manipulator to go back and give Rory the sonic screwdriver and Amelia the museum leaflet. Sorted.

Except the light from the Pandorica revives one of the stone Daleks and it attacks. Plastic Rory appears in a museum security guard uniform. He has continued watching over Amy. The stone Dalek shoots a version of the doctor from 12 minutes in the future.

Yes, as Amy says, it's complicated.

On the roof of the museum they see what looks like the sun, except it is the Tardis exploding, the only thing keeping the earth from been wiped from existence like the rest of the universe. The doctor rescues River Song who has been caught in a time loop.

The Doctor does indeed get shot by the dalek. In a neat little scene River faces off against the Dalek and it asks for "Mercy!" Not likely.

The Doctor is placed in the Pandorica. He realises the light from it will interact with the Tardis explosion and create Bing Bang 2 that will restore the universe. The only problem is that he will be on the wrong side of the explosion and will disappear because everyone will forget he has existed.

He launches the Pandorica towards the exploding Tardis and sure enough the universe is put right. The Doctor finds himself rewinding back through time. When he gets to 1996 he finds Amelia sleeping in the garden where she was waiting for him to return. He tells her to remember him.

It is 2010 and Amy is getting married. She is surprised to find her parents alive but is not sure whey she is surprised. At the wedding reception she is handed River Song's blue Tardis "spoiler" book and find s herself crying because she is sad but can't remember why. Then she remembers the Doctor and stands up and shouts that her imaginary friend was real. Cue much embarrassment from the guests. Until the Tardis appears in their midst.

Later the Doctor wonders what caused the Tardis to malfunction in the first place but the phone rings with the promise of a new adventure in store. The episode ends with the Doctor, Amy and Rory setting off once more.

This summary really can't adequately describe what a clever scripe Steven Moffat has come up with. The mad thing is that it all makes sense as well as tying up the preceding 12 episodes together.

Good stuff.

Now, where can I get an Amy Pond action figure?

Emily Blunt in Culture

2010-06-26T15:41:00.002+01:00

Last Sunday Emily Blunt appered on the cover of the Sunday Times Culture magazine. I've done a quick scan of the cover but the large page size makes the article inside too awkward to scan.

Ruth Wilson on ITV's This Morning

2010-06-24T09:19:00.001+01:00

It looks like Ruth was on This Morning yesterday to talk about Through a Glass Darkly:

http://www.itv.com/lifestyle/thismorning/showbiz/ruthwilson/

Lucy Liemann in BBC's Rev

2010-06-20T17:40:00.002+01:00

Just noticed this a moment ago. Lucy Liemann of Reggie Perrin and Moving Wallpaper fame will be in the BBC's new sitcom Rev on 28 June 2010. It seems to be a sitcom about an urban vicarage and Tom Hollander is in it.

Doctor Who "The Pandorica Opens"

2010-06-20T17:09:00.005+01:00

Spoilers!

Well. How about that? This is the episode where it all starts happening and there are quite a few surprises along the way.

The start of the episode jumps around through time and manages to reference quite a few of the previous 11 episodes. It's 1890 and Van Gogh lies dying after completing his last painting. Now it's 1941 and Churchill tries to phone the Doctor to warn him of what the paining contains. Now it's 5145 and River Song takes the call. She leaves a message for the Doctor written on the oldest cliff in the universe with time coordinates of where to meet her. Now it's 102 AD and the Doctor and Amy arrive in Roman Britain. (Note, this River has yet to encounter the Weeping Angels from the episode earlier in this series!)

River shows the Doctor the painting of the Tardis exploding. They trace a signal to Stonehenge. Under Stonehenge they discover the Pandorica, a big box that was built as a prison for the most feared being in the universe. It's sending out signals announcing it's opening and the Doctor realises that every alien race will come for it. River confirms that Daleks, Cypermen and just about everyone else have arrived above Earth.

One of the Roman soldiers turns out to be Rory who is as a loss how to explain how he's been resurrected. Amy doesn't remember him but finds herself crying because she is happy.

River goes to fetch the Tardis but it takes off and arrives at Amy's house on 26/06/2010. Inside she finds Amy's childhood books on Roman Britain and Pandora's Box. She warns the Doctor that Amy's memories have been used to create a trap.

The Romans turn out to be the plastic Auton guys and capture the Doctor. Soon Daleks, Cyberman, Sontarians and lots of other Doctor Who aliens appear. They have formed an Alliance to defeat the Doctor because they know the Tardis will explode and destroy the universe.

The Pandorica opens. It is empty. They drag the Doctor towards his prison. He shouts that the Tardis will explode anyway and he is the only person who can stop it. They shut him inside anyway.

Auton Rory shoots Amy who appears to die.

The Tardis explodes with River inside it.

Around Earth all the galaxies disappear from existence.

Bloody Hell!

So what do we know about the concluding part? the Radio Times interview with Karen Gillan implied she was filming the new series this summer so I assume she survives. Also a promotional image for the next episode shows the Doctor with 7-year-old Amy so perhaps somehow he goes back to stop things from happening.

Very good episode. In particular I felt the music was of movie-quality and made good use of the "Matt Smith theme" that was introduced in this series.

I look forward to the conclusion.

Karen Gillan in Radio Times

2010-06-15T19:31:00.006+01:00

Sometimes the the people who put together the Radio Times make it very easy for me to decide to buy it. Take the new issue out today. Karen Gillan? On the cover? Four-page article inside? Sold!

They have an added bonus of some more Karen on their website:
http://www.radiotimes.com/content/features/galleries/karen-gillan/01/

Ruth Wilson article round-up

2010-06-14T19:52:00.002+01:00

Here's a couple of new Ruth Wilson articles. First from the Guardian website...

Ruth Wilson is about to star in a new stage adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's Through a Glass Darkly. She plays Karin – a schizophrenic on holiday with brother, father and husband. She also played psychopathic astrophysicist Alice in BBC1's Luther.

Is madness hard to act?

I think everyone is a bit mad. Actually, I am not sure that there is such a thing as madness. But I'd like the audience to question whether Karin is mad and ask whether her "madness" might also be her place of solace or freedom. I did a documentary drama once [The Doctor Who Hears Voices] about a girl who was bipolar. In preparation, I stayed with a psychologist and met lots of his clients and learned about their different voices and how they interpreted them. I realised that what is internal seems, to them, external. It was fascinating. I saw that there is a desperation and paranoia about the pressure of keeping this hidden from the world – and this exacerbates the condition. They are constantly distracted.

You are a chameleon as an actress, with a face that keeps changing – from earthy Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire to blonde Queenie in Small Island to plain Jane Eyre, the role for which you were nominated for a Bafta. No danger of being typecast then?

Appearance matters, but you do not have to look perfect. It is better if you don't. You have to be who you are. I have just dyed my hair from red to blackish brown and look completely different now – it feels great. People cannot put a label on me – which is good.

What part would you choose to play if you could be anyone?

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

What do you do to keep sane when not working?

I run. I swim. I go to films. My holidays are usually organised at the last minute. I've just been to Costa Rica and learned to surf. It was brilliant. I also like to spend time with my family. I've got lots of nephews and nieces.

I know you are close to your brother, Matt. Wasn't he fighting in Afghanistan?

He went there two years ago. As a family, it was really tough. My brother saw a friend of his die there. He was in the Territorial Army but had to join the regular army – the paratroopers. The equipment was useless. They had one helicopter. It was a nightmare. I have a big issue with the government about this. We should not be fighting wars we have not got the resources to fight. My brother returned deeply disheartened. Whenever I think of my brother, it stops me being self-indulgent about my career – at least I am not going to get shot.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2010/jun/13/ruth-wilson-theatre

And second here's an article with slightly different subject matter from the Telegraph:

Hailed as Britain's brightest new star in Hollywood, Alice Eve has, though, won
only disdain from one of her British peers.

Ruth Wilson, who appeared to great acclaim in a BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre, has criticised the 28-year-old daughter of the actors Trevor Eve and Sharon Maughan for exposing herself in Sex and the City 2, in which she plays a bra-less nanny.

“I wouldn’t want to be like her,” Wilson said at the Evian-sponsored Bafta television awards in London. “She has been all quiet here and then she suddenly pops up in Sex and the City and gets her t––– out.

“In her scenes, she runs towards the girls and her t––– are flopping about everywhere, and there’s another where her T-shirt gets wet and it goes see-through, showing everything.

“I would never do any nudity in a film. Why would I need to? It’s gratuitous and unnecessary. You don’t need to get naked to be recognised."

The Olivier award-winning actress, 28, plans to pursue a film career after completing her run in Through a Glass Darkly at the Almeida theatre in the capital.

She adds of Sex and the City 2: “It is a grotesque movie made by men for women; I don’t get why girls like it. Those four characters are rancid. You won’t find me doing a movie like that. I would rather go for more intelligent parts.”

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/7823375/Alice-Eve-is-censured-for-her-naked-ambition.html

Here's a gratuitous photo of Alice Eve.

The Wolfman DVD review

2010-06-13T15:26:00.004+01:00

I took a chance on buying The Wolfman DVD last night. When the movie came out in cinemas earlier in the year reviews seemed to be a bit mixed and along the lines of "it's all a bit silly". But like I said, I took a chance on the DVD. Probably because Emily Blunt is in it.

The plot in brief: It's 1891 and Benicio Del Toro is American actor Lawrence Talbot who is performing Hamlet in England. He hears that his brother is missing and then has been found dead so he returns to his family home at Blackmoor which is suitably windswept and Gothic. There he is reunited with his father Sir John Talbot played by Anthony Hopkins and his brother's fiancee Gwen played by Emily Blunt.

The local villagers think that his brother was killed by a bear kept at a nearby Gypsy encampment so Lawrence to investigate and... wait a minute, is that a full moon?

You can probably work out the rest but I have to say I enjoyed it. The movie looks great and I thought was well paced, plus Danny Elfman turns out his usual soundtrack. There's some good set pieces including an amusing/horrific scene in an asylum where a misguided psychiatrist is going to convince his patent that he won't turn into a werewolf when he sees the full moon. And I do like anything set in the late-Victorian period.

Plus there's a great cast. Apart from the previously mentioned cast members Art Malik turns out playing Singh, Hopkin's Indian manservant. Hugo Weaving turns up as inspector Abberline, fresh from the Ripper case and sporting his V for Vendetta accent. And did I see Max von Sydow in a tiny part on the train? I thought it was him but didn't see his name in the credits.

And just allow me to mention Emily Blunt again. Emily is great. She's probably too good for this movie but she still puts everything into it and acts her heart out in the final scene.

Note there are hardly any extras on the normal DVD, just some deleted scenes. All the making-of stuff is on the blu-ray. So be it.

Doctor Who "The Lodger"

2010-06-13T15:11:00.003+01:00

A harmless enough episode I suppose. Somethings wrong with the Tardis and it won't land properly. The Doctor is stuck on earth and has to work out what's keeping it (and Amy) from landing. He moves into a ground floor flat as a lodger because there is something very odd going on upstairs. People are being lured in off the street to "help" the occupant upstairs. And then they disappear.

So there's lots of comedy about the Doctor trying to fit in, play football, interrupt romantic moments, etc. All well and good but frankly I'm glad it didn't overstay it's welcome.

Eventually we get to what's going on upstairs. Quite a nice idea actually. There is no upstairs, it's another Tardis like ship camouflaged like an upstairs flat. It's stuck on Earth and is looking for a new pilot to continue its journey.

So danger averted the other time ship implodes and the top floor disappears from existence. No mention of who's ship it was which is either deliberate or an oversight.

Minor plot niggle, why didn't the Doctor just go and investigate upstairs as soon as he arrived?

And yes, I know I skipped writing anything about last week's episode. Frankly it was fairly weak and I couldn't work up any enthusiasm about it.

Rebecca Hall in Guardian Weekend magazine

2010-06-12T13:36:00.002+01:00

There's a Rebecca Hall article in the Guardian Weekend magazine today. I've done a quick scan of the cover and you can find it here:

You can find the "words" at www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/jun/12/rebecca-hall-interview

Luther episode 6

2010-06-10T19:42:00.002+01:00

The final episode of Luther aired this week and while it was an enjoyable conclusion to the series it's plot perhaps does not stand up to much scrutiny.

A few cards had been thrown up into the air at the end of episode 5, not least Luther going on the run after finding his wife's body, knowing he's the main suspect. He finds refuge in Alice Morgan's flat, saying he needs somewhere to think. She sees though this immediately and get him to admit he wants her help to get Ian Reed.

Thankfully Ruth's screen presence has been bumped up significantly in the last episode and Alice Morgan clearly is relishing the whole Bonnie and Clyde double-act with Luther.

As mentioned, there are a number of plot holes. Here's just a couple.

Why did Luther go to meet Reed when he knew there would be armed police and snipers ready to shoot him? If he wanted to get Reed's diamonds why not arrange the meet, and instead of turning up just phone or text to say "We've got the diamonds"? And how could he know his partner would be in a position to stop the sniper?

And how did Luther convince Mark to help him so quickly, especially when Alice has been holding a knife to his throat? There's a lot more plot holes where they came from.

By the episode's end Luther, Alice and Mark are standing over Reed's body with the sound of sirens approaching. One can't help wonder what will happen next. I do hope we find out.

Luther Episode 5

2010-06-04T19:48:00.003+01:00

Right, that's long enough for you to have seen the episode. If not beware of spoilers, although I won't spoil the big finale. At least not totally...

What a cracking episode.

It starts off as a typical episode of Luther. (Well, typical for Luther but very few other BBC dramas.) Some bad guys kidnap a man and his wife demanding diamonds that they know the man has. The make their point by cutting out the wife's tongue (mercifully off camera). The husband can't tell them where the diamonds are as his wife swallowed them to smuggle them out of the country and he's pretty convinced that the bad guys will cut her open to get them.

How's that for a set-up.

So the husband is released to get the diamonds and goes to the police station looking for Luther's partner Ian Reed. He gets Luther instead and they start looking for the bad guys.

Except.

Except Ian Reed it turns out is a dirty cop who is involved with some criminals who in turn are involved with this episode's bad guys. He's off trying to undo the damage, rescue the wife and not get caught.

And everything that can go wrong does, the body count rises and Luther finds out that Reed is involved. Reed goes to visit Zoe and asks her to phone Luther.

And then...

And then it all makes sense. All the scenes from the previous episodes where Luther smashes stuff and shouts and throws stuff around. The scene in the first episode where he goes to the ex-wife's house to punch Paul McGann and she calls the police. All of a sudden it all makes sense as Luther says "what have you done?" And you think to yourself "that's a bloody good cliffhanger and I did not see that coming."

I should note that Ruth Wilson is only in one scene of this episode but the preview of the next episode bodes well:

Luther: "Alice, I need you to help me."
Alice: "Where do we start?"

Ruth Wilson interview in the Telegraph

2010-06-02T19:53:00.004+01:00

Today's Telegraph newspaper has an interview with Ruth Wilson focusing mostly on the ongoing Luther on BBC1 and the upcoming Through a Glass Darkly.

Is it possible for an actor to be too good? There was a moment when it looked that way in Luther, the current BBC One cop drama (which ends next week). Idris Elba, playing a detective with anger issues, attempted in episode one to tease a confession from Ruth Wilson’s deliciously insane physicist. Though prime suspect in the murder of her parents, you wouldn’t have guessed it from the storm of tears she prettily conjured up in the interview room. Wilson, the scene told you, is a very good actress playing a very good actress - maybe too good for such a shameless slice of high-concept hokum.

“I’ve had more positive comments about that show that I’ve had about anything I’ve done,” she says - this a slightly bruised riposte to its negative reception. ”I love the fact that it’s bold and completely unrealistic. I just loved the tongue-in-cheek element about the dialogue and thought you could have a lot of fun playing with it. It was completely different to everything I’d read before.”

And I had to include this bit aboug her hair colour:

The features in question have been framed by striking bottle-red hair ever since Wilson went out to Namibia to film The Prisoner, in which she played a doctor. “I thought, she’s a bit of an odd character, a little bit on the edge, let’s
make her red. I loved it and I’ve kept it ever since.”

You can read the whole article at www.telegraph.co.uk

And I'll wait a day or two before posting my thoughts on Luther 5, just so I don't spoil anyone. :)

Doctor Who "Cold Blood"

2010-05-31T20:15:00.007+01:00

Just time for a few quick thoughts about last Saturday's episode. It was an entertaining follow-up to the first part with the threat of a human/Silurian war hanging over proceedings, especially when the lizard lady on the surface doesn't survive the human mother's questioning.

But the real "wow" moments of the episode come right at the end.

Firstly that "crack" reappears, the one that is a rip in the fabric of time and space, the one cause by some unimaginable release of energy.

The Doctor concludes that there must be some "shrapnel" from that explosion in the crack and reaches in. As he does so the other lizard lady (also played by Neve McIntosh) fires at the Doctor. Rory pushes the Doctor aside and get shot. The crack energy reaches out for Rory and the Doctor and Amy realise that he will be wiped from history and will hever have existed. Amy tearfully struggles to hold on to his memory but by the time the Tardis reaches the surface she has forgotten him.

And the other "wow" moment? It's a good one.

The Doctor unwraps the piece of shrapnel to discover it's a piece of the Tardis.

Oh. Dear.

Luther episode 4

2010-05-28T19:31:00.002+01:00

Another enjoyable episode of this show. This one features another serial killer who uses a taxi to catch his victims.

Early in the episode Luther is told that the serial killer he put in a coma (at the start of episode 1) has woken up. He goes to Alice to tell her he can't see her any more because his phone and email will be monitored. Alice doesn't take it very well.

Alice disguises herself as a doctor and manages to get the policeman guarding the serial killer to go to another ward. Then she smothers the killer so she and Luther can be together.

When Luther finds out he Smashes Stuff again. Brilliant.

She also breaks the news to Luther's ex-wife's boyfriend that the ex-wife is cheating on him (the boyfriend) with her ex-husband. Yes it's complicated.

Once again Ruth is great as Alice Morgan, coldly calculating and just on this side of barking mad.

As an added bonus here is a nice photo of Ruth from the new issue of the Radio Times.

Doctor Who "The Hungry Earth"

2010-05-23T19:47:00.004+01:00

I was a little lukewarm about the last couple of stories but I'm happy to say I enjoyed last night's episode very much.

The Doctor and gang arrive in 2020 Wales where a drilling project has passed 21 km under the earth. As a result something has been awoken. Amy get sucked into the earth in front of the Doctor's eyes and he's reduced to making vague promises about getting her back. Later after a creepy scene in a church graveyard where something is prowing around a small boy similarly vanishes. The Doctor realises he was the last one to see him and had absent-mindedly let the boy leave the church.

However the Doctor manages to capture his own "hostage" and it turns out to be a Silurian, a creature that I believe Jon Pertwee first encounted as the Third Doctor. These lizard people are interesting characters because they evolved on Earth millions of years before us ape-people came along and messed everything up. One could understand them being a bit annoyed at the apes running around on the surface.

Doctor Who makeup has improved greatly over the old show and the makeup on the lead Silurian lady is impressive. Speaking of which I noticed the actress who played said lizard lady was Neve McIntosh who played nurse Donna Rix in Bodies a few years back on BBC3. Talk about unrecognisable.

I also feld that there was more than a hint of the BBC's old Quatermass shows in this episode. In particular Quatermass and the Pit where an ancient alien spaceship is found buried under a London tube station. It was remade as a Hammer movie in the 1960s if you want to check it out.

A good episode and I look forward to the next part.

Felicity Jones The Chalet Girl and Cemetery Junction pictures

2010-05-23T12:14:00.002+01:00

The Chalet Girl

Cemetery Junction

Thanks to Enrique

Ruth Wilson, Here’s a face to remember

2010-05-23T12:06:00.003+01:00

And another Ruth Wilson article appears this weekend. This one focues on Luther, The Prisoner and her upcoming play Through a Glass Darkly.

Are you saying I might be a nutjob?” I had, in fact, been suggesting that Ruth Wilson is becoming something of a specialist at playing nutjobs. The term was a little brusque, perhaps, but, given her high-profile role as the flint-eyed psychotic Alice Morgan in BBC1’s Luther, as well as her forthcoming turn at the Almeida as an asylum-bound woman, it didn’t seem out of place. Even her Olivier-winning performance as Stella Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Donmar last year was a character surrounded by madness, if stoically unaffected herself. Some would argue there is even an element of madness in Jane Eyre, Wilson’s breakthrough television role four years ago.

Read the whole article at

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/stage/theatre/article7131150.ece

Black Widow 12 inch figure catches my eye

2010-05-22T20:45:00.004+01:00

I've mentioned before how Black Widow is one of my favourite Marvel comic characters. Well, I've discovered that Hot Toys are doing a 12 inch figure based on Scarlett Johansson in Iron Man 2 and she has caught my eye.

Here's the "blurb":

Iron Man 2 - Black Widow 12 inch Figure

The movie-accurate Black Widow collectible is specially crafted based on the image of Scarlett Johansson in the movie, highlighting the newly sculpted head, hair implantation, highly detailed costume and accessories.

* Authentic and detailed likeness of Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in the movie Iron Man 2
* Newly sculpted head with movie-accurate facial expression and make-up
* Real fabric hair implantation
* Newly developed female TrueType body
* Approximately 28 cm tall
* Over 28 points of articulations
* Two pairs of interchangeable gloved palms (one pair of relaxed palms; one pair for holding pistols)
* One extra right gloved palm for posing on waist
* Each piece of head sculpt is specially hand-painted
* One-piece tight dark blue coloured jumpsuit with one belt included
* One extra greyish black coloured belt with pouches and pistol holster
* One pair of leather-like greyish blue coloured platform boots with buckles
* Two pistols
* One pair of bracelets with multiple-bullet design
* Figure base with Black Widow nameplate and the movie logo

Expected 18th December 2010

All well and good. Except for the price; Forbidden Planet are listing it at £149.99!!! Just a wee bit out of my price range.

Royal Mail crushed my posters!

2010-05-22T20:31:00.004+01:00

In a diversion from my normal posts let me present this tale of woe. I ordered a couple of James Bond movie posters from a seller on ebay. They were packed well in a good sturdy poster tube but despite this Royal Mail somehow managed to crush the end of the tube. This resulted in my brand new posters being all creased down one side.

I took a few photos for my compensation claim and here are a few of them.

Licence to Kill came of worst.

Thunderball was not as bad but was still creased.

I'm not a happy camper about this. I want to get some replacements but it should be Royal Mail that has to pay for them so I put in a claim. I'll let you know how it goes.

Kelly Sotherton back injury

2010-05-22T20:22:00.004+01:00

Longtime readers of my blog thing will know of my admiration of all things related to Kelly Sotherton. I am sorry to read that she has a back injury and will not be competing this year.

Heptathlete Kelly Sotherton has been ruled out of the rest of the 2010 season with a back injury.

The 33-year-old, who won bronze at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, will miss the European Championships in Barcelona in July and the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October.

"I'm extremely disappointed not to compete this year," said Sotherton. "There are some great events coming up this summer and I wish my GB&NI teammates the best of luck. I fully intend to compete in 2011 and am working towards that."

Source: www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/

Oh well, hopefully she'll be all better for the 2012 Olympics...

Luther Episode 3

2010-05-19T19:49:00.002+01:00

Episode 3 and I'm really enjoying this show now. I do find myself looking forward to each new episode. This is largely due to Ruth Wilson's performance as Alice Morgan. I don't think you could find a role farther away from her Jane Eyre.

However be warned that this weeks episode contains some disturbing imagery. The lead bad guy is sick and twisted beyond what I've normally seen in UK cop shows. He's an occultist who has a thing about abducting young mothers and writing in their blood. Told you it was disturbing.

Very early in the episode the boyfriend of Luther's ex-wife is attacked by some girl hoodies. He suspects Luther was behind it but of course it is Alice Morgan who arranged it. She's enjoying pulling strings.

Luther is obviously trying to keep his mind on catching the mad occult guy and at one point goes to Alice to get an "insight" on what he should do. It's a scene obviously and deliberately reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs but rather than take place in an over-stylised movie dungeon it happen in a modern university computer lab. Alice advises Luther to "change the game". And he does.

At the end of the episode Luther and his ex hook up for some passionate smooching in an apartment with no curtains. Predictably Alice is watching from another building and I suspect she's not too happy.

It looks like things start to kick off next week.

Doctor Who "Amy's Choice"

2010-05-16T16:54:00.003+01:00

In this week's episode the Doctor, Amy and Rory are reunited five years in the future. Amy is heavily pregnant and Rory is sporting a hideous ponytail. And it might be best to avoid all the residents of the old folk's home.

And in this week's episode the Tardis looses power as it falls towards a "cold star" and the Doctor, Amy and Rory are reduced to wearing "Peruvian folk group" ponchos to keep warm.

Which one is real? It's important because, as Toby Jones says, if you die in a dream you wake up, whereas if you die in reality you, er, die.

Nothing Earth-shattering in this episode. The viewer knows at least one of the realities is fake so the sense of jeopardy is lessened. However the Doctor is forced to face his "friendships" with his companions and Amy is forced to realise how she feels about Rory.

Felicity Jones UHQ photoshoot link

2010-05-16T12:03:00.005+01:00

I just found a set of ultra high quality Felicity Jones images at wimheitinganl.wordpress.com

Here are two of the images that I have rezised. You can find the fill-size versions at the above link.

Felicity Jones Albatross news and Cheri premiere photos

2010-05-15T16:17:00.002+01:00

Thanks to Enrique for these Felicity Jones updates. First of all there's some news on her movie Albatross at www.screendaily.com

Cheri premiere photos

Bonus portrait

Ruth Wilson in JFK movie (maybe) and Luther episode 2

2010-05-12T20:05:00.003+01:00

Just a quick alert that www.imdb.com is reporting a potential Ruth project about JFK with her playing Jackie!

Now, on to Luther...

Last night's second episode was very interesting. Ruth wasn't in it as much as she was in the first episode because the story focused on Sean Pertwee's son assassinating police officers in revenge for his dad being locked up. However Alice Morgan was around and clearly up to no good. In one scene she's disguised as a hospital volunteer and chats to Luther on the phone while sitting next to the serial killer he put in a coma.

Later in the episode Luther's wife and boyfriend hear a noise downstairs and investigate. There's Alice at the kitchen table drinking a glass of wine and chirpily enquiring if Mrs Luther knew her husband put said serial killer in the coma. Zoe's silent rely speaks volumes and Alice happily lets herself out with a cheery goodbye.

My favourite moment in the episode was the scene at the end when Alice and Luther meet up on the bridge where they had a Dramatic Confrontation at the end of the previous episode. I think Luther's last line was something like "one cup of coffee doesn't make us friends" and off they went practically arm-in-arm! I guess no one else "gets" him and they've made a connection. Bless.

This is not your usual cop show...

Lara Pulver in True Blood

2010-05-12T19:46:00.003+01:00

A number of sites including digitalspy.co.uk are reporting the news that Lara Pulver will play the recurring role of Sookie’s fairy godmother Claudine in the third series of True Blood.

This is of interest to me as I became a big fan of Lara when she turned up in the third series of the BBC's Robin Hood this time last year playing Gisborne's sister Isabella.

I've not seen much of True Blood beyond the first couple of episodes, but I guess I'll be making an effort!

Doctor Who "The Vampires of Venice"

2010-05-09T12:18:00.006+01:00

In this week's installment we get exactly what it says on the tin, i.e. vampires in Venice. Sort of. It turns out they are alien fish people that are disguising themselves as humans.

I'm a bit in two minds about the episode. It was fairly enjoyable but I didn't feel much a threat from the fish people. I was also a little disappointed that the vampires didn't turn out to be, well, vampires. I had assumed the episode would be about a humanoid alien race with big teeth that were responsible for vampire legends. Oh well.

We did get a reason for why vampires cant be seen in mirrors. It's because their "perception filters" don't work on reflections. So now you know.

Good comic timing from Matt Smith, nice vampire ladies slinking around and a new companion Rory (Amy's fiancee) added to the mix for bickering possibilities are all positives.

My favourite moment in the episode was probably when the Doctor holds up what he thinks is his psychic paper to someone. It turns out to be his library card, complete with photo of William Hartnell!

Luther Episode 1

2010-05-05T19:18:00.004+01:00

Episode 1 of Luther was on BBC1 last night and seeing as Ruth Wilson was in it I made a special effort to watch it. Actually it did require a bit of extra effort as BBC1 Northern Ireland broadcast the episode almost two hours later than the rest of the country. This was because we in NI had the dubious pleasure of watching the Northern Ireland Leaders Debate.

Please note I use the words "pleasure", "leaders" and "debate" in the loosest possible sense of the words. But I digress...

On his first day back on the job Luther is given the task of investigating the murder of a husband and wife. The only witness is their daughter Alice Morgan played by Ruth Wilson.

Luther early on realises Alice must have committed the murders but he cannot prove anything. However he is sure that the chink in her armour is her intelligence and she will be too arrogant to stop letting something slip eventually. After she is released he confronts her in an attempt to try and provoke her. This in turn reveals his own arrogance at thinking he can outsmart her.

Ruth's character Alice promises to be an unwelcome presence in Luther's life in future episodes. Ruth as always is a revelation. Alice looks likes she is having too much fun and Ruth gives her a presence that puts me in mind of a cat lapping up a particularly delicious bowl of milk, especially when sparing with Luther.

To be honest not a lot happens in the first episode but I think it's very much a setting-the-scene type of episode and the series probably should be assessed as a whole. For example I wonder what Alice has in mind for the serial killer in the coma...

Writer Neil Cross wrote the following on the BBC website:

I love John Luther, naturally. But I also love unreservedly the character of Alice Morgan. In fact, on that first night out with the cast I seem to recall telling Ruth Wilson (who plays her) that in many ways I considered Alice to be the perfect woman. She looked at me, it has to be said, with a degree of horror.

Alice was a formidable role - chilly and flirtatious, murderous and vulnerable, high-minded and caustic, sometimes in the same sentence. But Ruth makes her absolutely real, and utterly riveting. There's a moment in episode four where she truly frightens me.

I was on set when Idris and Ruth filmed their first scene together. It was a spine-tingling event - but I don't think it's good for me to hang round on set, because that's just not where a writer belongs. So I made myself scarce and let them get on with their jobs.

Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/2010/04/introducing-luther-with-love-t.shtml

News on the first ratings can be seen here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/may/05/tv-ratings-luther-idris-elba

PS There was also a good scene where he kicks the crap out of an innocent door.