Audio and radio play reviews

Review: Doctor Who – 125 – Paper Cuts

12 November 2009 Rob Buckley 10 Comments

Paper CutsCan I ask a quick question? How valuable are these reviews of Big Finish plays to people?

The reason I’m asking is that I’m rapidly running out of patience with them. There are far more misses than hits – which are only really relative hits – and they’re actually quite painful to listen to.

I might stick around for the Missing Stories, purely to listen to Nicola Bryant (ah, Peri, etc, etc), but if no one’s desperate to know whether these things are any good or not, I think I might give up on them once I’ve dispensed with the final Charley story (play number 126).

But on with Paper Cuts, a Sixth Doctor story by Marc “I never knowingly under-write” Platt set in (or rather near) the planet Draconia. If you cast your minds back to the years of Jon Pertwee, you may recall the Draconians, a reptilian race reminiscent of feudal Japan who appeared for all of one story.

Well, now they’re back, Colin Baker’s here to help them. Unfortunately, the Emperor is dead, and Charley isn’t quite herself.

Continue reading “Review: Doctor Who – 125 – Paper Cuts”

Random Acts

Random Acts of Ali Larter: Spraining her finger

12 November 2009 Rob Buckley 1 Comment

Ali sprained her finger this week, so couldn’t make it for Random Acts of Ali Larter, I’m afraid.

Ali's sprained her finger

So subbing for her instead, here’s a picture of a kitten.

A kitten

Oh. You actually wanted a picture of Ali? Well, okay. Here’s what I imagine she might look like right now with her sprained finger – if she were dressed as a cheerleader. Good enough?

Ali Larter dressed as a cheerleader

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“

Thursday’s “Hank and Dollhouse get yanked” news

12 November 2009 Rob Buckley Post a comment

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Question of the week: at what point does something stop being a spoiler?

11 November 2009 Rob Buckley 15 Comments

This week’s question was prompted by this ‘ere article over at Televisionary. In a sense, as well as being an interesting topic, it’s also one I’m interested in for this ‘ere blog, since I have a fairly reasonable policy, I think, but I’d like to know what you think of both the policy and your own views.

When does something stop being a spoiler?

My policy (spelt out longer in the comments at Televisionary) is that until a ‘safe time’ has elapsed, I’m not going to stick anything on the front page that could spoil, or mention it in the comments. I’m certainly not going to Tweet anything about it. My definition of ‘a safe time’ is a bit nebulous though. I’m still cloaking stuff about the Engrenages finale, which aired over a week in the UK and a year and a half ago in France. I’d probably feel safe to do it once a programme has aired in both the US and the UK.

I don’t know if there’s a correct answer, but I know I personally get hacked off when the results of the previous night’s The Apprentice get published in the papers the next day on the front page. I think at least 24 hours is generally a reasonable time to give before assuming everyone knows, just in case someone’s had the temerity to go out of an evening. I certainly think Tweeting without hashtags to at least give people the chance of filtering out things they don’t like should be illegal, and I’ve unfollowed a couple of people at least for spoiling certain programmes through live Tweeting or Tweeting directly after a programme has finished.

But what are your instincts? When does something stop being a spoiler? When is the onus on the reader/listener to go hide under a rock rather than the speaker/writer to be sensitive? Should blogs have different policies regarding spoilers than regular people who just want to talk about things they liked on television after they’ve seen them? In fact, should anyone have to have any sensitivity on the subject?

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

UK TV

Spiral (Engrenages) – season three. What’s happening?

11 November 2009 Rob Buckley 10 Comments

Well, after a bit of investigation, I’ve tracked down what’s happening with season three of Engrenages (Spiral), which has just finished its BBC4 run.

So season three is going to be 12 episodes long and it’s been shot in and around Paris (particularly the 19th arrondissement, and inside the Palais de Justice and the Hôtel Dieu) in two blocks: 25th June to the 2nd October this year was the first block, with the second block running from 12th October to the 29th January next year.

As for the plot, it’s going to “delve into the deranged mind” of a serial killer, the Butcher of Villette, who kills and mutilates young girls. The show will look at the difficulty of dealing with a high-profile media crime, where even the slightest mistake can have terrible consequences (I’m translating here, in case you couldn’t guess).

Interestingly, the BBC is assisting with the show, at least financially, so that should mean BBC4 should be picking up the third season at some point. As for who’s coming back from the cast, we have Caroline Proust (Laure), Audrey Fleurot (Karlsson), Grégory Fitoussi (Clement), Philippe Duclos (Roban), Thierry Godard (Gilou) and Fred Bianconi (Fromentin), at least. No word on Samy, I’m afraid.

I’ve dropped a line to the Beeb about air dates and whether they’re going to show it and I’ll let you know if/when they get back to me.