Month: March 2007

“Only five minutes to write this article” news for Thursday

22 March 2007 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

What can it all mean?

Doctor Who

  • Review of the first two episodes of the new series by OTT. Plus did you know sweet FA once went to a Star Trek convention dressed as Dax?
  • Review of the launch party
  • Clips available from the Weakest Link‘s Doctor Who special
  • And there’s more to come

Film

  • John Carpenter discusses the new Escape from New York prequel (it turns out)
  • Russell Crowe is making his directorial debut in features with a drama about surfers
  • Gordon Brown hits the evil film industry where it hurts, again
  • Batman will be in the Justice League movie
  • The Nancy Drew movie gets a sequel

Art

  • Rescued Francis Bacon art is up for auction

Theatre

  • Aaron Sorkin is creating a musical based on the Flaming Lips’ “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots”

British TV

  • The Apprentice will get re-packaged as a podcast [subscription required]

US TV

Technology

Succumbed to the iPod fever

21 March 2007 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

So I gave in and bought a new iPod.

My iPod’s been on the blink ever since I accidentally watered it. (I was aiming for the little Valentine’s rose bush my wife gave me. I hit the clickwheel of my iPod instead. No one ever said I was a good shot). I tried replacing the clickwheel with one I bought off eBay. But it still didn’t work out right and I can’t even get through the Lost podcast, these days, without the whole thing giving up.

So I bought a new iPod, capable of playing video.

This is cool in various ways, even if I am 18 months behind everyone else.

First, it means that backlog of videos can be cleared. Phew. I’ve Comedy Central’s Halfway Home, a couple of episodes of Life on Mars and Primeval, as well as the first episode of October Road to get through. My hour and a half commute every morning’s going to go a lot quicker now.

Then there’s the exciting “Export to iPod” function of my EyeTV software.

Continue reading “Succumbed to the iPod fever”

News

“Why are my feet so cold?” Wednesday news

21 March 2007 Rob Buckley 3 Comments

New Who

Ah, headlines no one but me will understand.

Doctor Who

Film

  • Tom Cruise’s UA has picked up Francis Ford Coppola’s first movie in 10 years. The Man will star in Bryan Singer’s WWII film
  • Sean Connery fancies coming back as Bond’s dad
  • Hellboy 2 begins shooting in May
  • Film rights to old Bruce Lee show The Green Hornet have been picked up again

British TV

  • Alan Sugar complains about how rubbish series two’s apprentices were [free registration required]



US TV

‘Who do you identify with?’ meme

20 March 2007 Rob Buckley 13 Comments

Okay, maybe that should have been “With whom do you identify?” but that’s veering towards poncy-ness.

Anyway, a while ago, Stu_N and I were having a discussion about whether children needed a character in a TV show with whom they could identify in order to watch and enjoy said show. He argued that they didn’t, citing the opinion of the inestimable Oliver Postgate (creator of untold numbers of wonderful children’s shows including Ivor the Engine and The Clangers).

My counter-argument was the somewhat weaker point that I thought he was right, but apparently teenage girls wouldn’t have watched the last couple of series of Doctor Who if it weren’t for the character of Rose – someone supposedly with whom they could identify – so maybe there were certain groups of people (maybe just teenagers) who need a central figure just like them in order to watch and enjoy the show. It’ll be interesting to see if the randy med student Martha Jones will pull in the crowds as well.

I was pondering that thought yesterday and I’ve decided to launch a pseudo-scientific investigation of it that will also be a meme. You see, off the top of my head, I can’t think of a single character on a TV show that I’ve ever enjoyed whom I identified with. Admired, maybe. Thought ‘What a great character’? Yes. But identified with? Can’t think of anyone. But I’ve still watched a load of tele.

So, the burning question/meme for today – and for who knows how much longer – is “Is there a character on a TV show that you’ve ever identified with?”. Clearly, it would be fun to run psychological tests on everyone to see what their self-esteem is like and correlate that with the results, but I’ve run out of virtual clipboards and pens.

Thus, leave your answer below or on your own blogs, if you will, and perhaps also your musings on this vital question of the day. The Earth’s fate depends on it.

Too much?