Month: May 2010

Classic TV

Weird old title sequences: Children of the Stones (1977)

7 May 2010 Rob Buckley 7 Comments

Children of the Stones

Back in the 70s, kids TV was full of the weird and wonderful. Whether it was on ITV or BBC1/BBC2 (youngsters: we only had three channels back then), you could come home from school, turn on the TV and pretty much be guaranteed some mentalist of a commissioner had ordered up 25 minutes of LSD-fuelled lunacy that seven PhD students couldn’t decipher the plot of but which was sure-fire certain to scar you for the rest of your life.

We could go through the list without too much trouble for quite some time and still not be complete: The Tomorrow People, Ace of Wands, King of the Castle, Timeslip, Sky, Catweazle, The Feathered Serpent, Escape into Night, The Jensen Code, Raven, Into the Labyrinth, Michael Bentine’s Potty Time, Pipkins, Robert’s Robots, The Owl Service.

See what I mean? And I haven’t even started, really.

One of the most complicated, clever, “scare the sh*t out the kids”, yet hard-to-fathom shows was the seven-part serial Children of the Stones. This followed the adventures of astrophysicist Adam Brake (Gareth Thomas of Blakes 7) and his son Matthew after they arrive in the small village of Milbury, which is built in the middle of a megalithic stone circle. There they meet village squire and noted astronomer Hendrick (Iain Cuthbertson) and possibly the most well behaved bunch of kids in the world, almost all of whom are doing quite well in quantum mechanics at the village school.

As you do.

Yes, there is something rotten in the heart of this village Eden, and it’s not just the quantum mechanics. There are mysterious deaths, Matthew seems to have a psychic link with a mysterious painting, there’s the mysterious stone circle that somehow seems to prevent them leaving the village, there’s the mysterious housekeeper, there’s the mysterious personality changes of anyone who goes to dinner with Hendrick. You get the idea. It’s all very mysterious.

Cue the mysterious, weird and soul-chilling title sequence, followed by the first ten minutes of the first episode.

Continue reading “Weird old title sequences: Children of the Stones (1977)”

Sitting Tennant

Friday’s Hung Sitting Tennnant (week 18, 2010)

7 May 2010 Rob Buckley 3 Comments

Erin C's Sitting Tennant

Rachel's Sitting Tennant

Rullsenberg's Sitting Tennant

Sister Chastity's Sitting Tennant

Toby's Sitting Tennant

To get you through this time of turmoil and political stalemate, please find attached an emergency supply of David Tennant pictures designed to keep you calm and carry on with what you were doing.  

  1. Rullsenberg: 130
  2. Erin C: 110
  3. Sister Chastity, Toby: 100
  4. Rachel: 75
  5. Sabine: 60
  6. Karen: 35
  7. Dawn: 10

BTW, Krishna, after whispering the entire contents of the Bhagavad Gita in my ear before the final battle with the Kauravas, also mentioned that you shouldn’t forget Tuesday’s caption competition.

Got a picture of David Tennant sitting, lying down or in some indeterminate state in between? Then leave a link to it below or email me and if it’s judged suitable, it will appear in the “Sitting Tennant” gallery. Don’t forget to include your name in the filename so I don’t get mixed up about who sent it to me.

The best pic in the stash each week will appear on Monday and get ten points; the runners up will appear on Friday (one per person who sends one in) and get five points.

You can also enter the witty and amusing captions league table by commenting on Monday’s Sitting Tennant photo, the best caption getting 10 points, everyone who contributes getting five points.

Friday’s “well hung” news

7 May 2010 Rob Buckley Post a comment

Doctor Who

Film

Theater

  • Enron play closes on Broadway

British TV

US TV

UK TV

Review: Luther 1×1

6 May 2010 Rob Buckley 11 Comments

Luther

In the UK: Tuesdays, 9pm, BBC1/BBC HD

I know, I know. Reviewing a British TV programme that isn’t Doctor Who related. That’s odd for me, isn’t it?

But this one’s got Idris Elba in it! Woo hoo! He was in The Wire and Ultraviolet. Hopes, as they say, were raised, and I watched a British TV show.

All the same, my hopes weren’t that high as – and stop this if you’ve heard this one before – he plays a maverick policeman who doesn’t stick to the rules, has an unhappy personal life and whose bosses want him brought to book.

Suddenly, not quite so promising is it? Hell, let’s just call him Monkfish instead of Luther.

Continue reading “Review: Luther 1×1”

Random Acts

Random Acts of Ali Larter: Going to the White House with Fox News

6 May 2010 Rob Buckley 2 Comments

X 96Allie and malcom.JPG

This week, Ali Larter’s been going to the White House Correspondents Dinner as the guest of Fox News. No, I don’t know what’s going on there, although our Ali does like to watch YouTube clips of mentalists on Glenn Beck’s show, so maybe she was hoping for something similar to happen:

I don’t have any pictures of our Ali going to the White House, but look, here’s Scarlett Johansson going as the guest of the much more excusable Huffington Post.

Scarlett Johansson at the White House

And since this is “random acts”, here’s Ellen Degeneres scaring her with a giant bumblebee.

Scarlett Johansson being scared by a giant bumblebee

Have you seen Ali Larter acting randomly? If so, let us know and we’ll tell everyone about it in “Random Acts of Ali Larter“