Year: 2010

US TV

Question of the week: are online ‘zombie’ spin-offs a good idea?

24 November 2010 Rob Buckley 3 Comments

Waterloo ROad

No, not literally zombies (although if you want…), so bear with me. This week, the BBC announced that Waterloo Road was going to get an online spin-off series. So far, so not very radical at all. But intriguingly, this series is going to feature popular characters who have already been written out of the series – the dead will walk again, hence ‘zombies’.

Now, Waterloo Road, since it’s set in a school, has a certain natural attrition rate, so it’s arguable that sometimes characters could possibly leave before their stories are over – after all, most people’s stories only start once they leave school.

But do you think this is a good idea for other shows? Doctor Who has already brought back former companion Sarah Jane Smith in her own TV series, so perhaps there’s room for other companions and characters to be revived this way. But does the likely reduced budget, run-time, writing staff et al mean such a project risks ruining these characters, cheapening them – and even potentially causing the main series to avoid giving characters more final endings so they can move to these spin-offs?

This week’s question of the week is therefore:

Are online ‘zombie’ spin-offs a good idea? And if they are, what series would you like to see having them?

As always, leave a comment with your answer or a link to your answer on your own blog

Tuesday’s Sitting Tennant (week 43, 2010)

23 November 2010 Rob Buckley 15 Comments

Erin C's Sitting Tennant

Erin C somehow managed to find this little gem of a Sitting Tennant to tickle your tastebuds with. Where do they come from?

  1. Erin C: 335
  2. Sister Chastity: 295
  3. Rullsenberg: 285
  4. Toby: 185
  5. Rachel: 90
  6. Sabine: 65
  7. Karen: 35
  8. dreamer-easy: 30
  9. Dawn: 10
  10. kellyann06: 5

By popular fiat, it seems that the returning Electric Dragon, fiery double entendres blowing fiercely from each nostril, wins last week’s points for best caption. Let’s see who wins this week!

  1. Marie: 250
  2. Rullsenberg: 235
  3. Toby: 205
  4. Electric Dragon: 170
  5. Dani: 110
  6. SK: 90
  7. Jane Henry: 70
  8. ecg: 50
  9. Rachel: 45
  10. Sabine: 25
  11. whogal, Joe B: 25
  12. Virpi: 20
  13. kellyann06, Sister Chastity, Alex, Paul Ebbs: 10
  14. George: 5

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 Tuesday 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 Tuesday’s Sitting Tennant photo, the best caption getting 10 points, everyone who contributes getting five points.