What Are You Currently Watching (on tv/dvd)?

[Ian]

Bergerac - Fires in the Fall. Very intriguing feature-length special of the popular detective series from 1986, with a decidedly supernatural bent and a very open-ended conclusion. Pretty good actually. Amusing to see a young Amanda Redman too. Doesn't look much different now tbh!

[Ian]

Started Buffy season 4 again. Can't believe this is 13/14 years old. Doesn't look it. Where the hell is the time going?!

[Ian]

X Files: Humbug. Seriously crackers season 2 classic (the first time the X-Files ever played for comedy) when a bizarre killer targets the residents of a town filled with circus freaks. Creepy, barking and VERY funny.


(The Dwarf motel manager, to Mulder): You'd be surprised how many women find my size intriguingly alluring.

Mulder (deadpan): You'd be surprised how many men do, too.

[DMt.]

The great danger of uh pulling off that kind of thing IRL, of course, is that you may then find yourself expected to follow through...

[Ian]

I'm not sure of the likelihood of me finding myself in that situation, but thanks for the warning.

[Ian]

Started two new shows last night, the supernatural French thriller series The Returned (which was excellent) and the French/UK serial killer mystery The Tunnel (which was pretty good, and definitely worth watching for Clemence Poesy, aka Fleur in Harry Potter* (yum). Most enjoyable.



*Suddenly the popularity of Hermione/Fleur femmeslash stories make so much sense.

[Ian]

Am hearing rumours (from the same people who correctly predicted the minisode) that as a result of the success of that little mini-episode, Paul McGann may be coming back to appear in a proper full episode of Doctor Who opposite Peter Capaldi next season.

[DMt.]

Started two new shows last night, the supernatural French thriller series The Returned (which was excellent)

Isn't it, though? Not only having Celine Sallette [who's studied dowdiness in the part can't quite disguise her inherent rrowr-factor], but also the two redhead 'sisters', little Swann Namboutin as Victor etc...

Waiting impatiently for the second series, fingers crossed that they're on top of the story arc...Sciamma is 'script advice', so I'm hopeful.

[Ian]

Yes, it was very good. Going to take my time with it, just one a week!

Watched an episode of the 80s crime drama Bulman this afternoon. I remember this from when I was a kid, and it's on DVD, but I didn't fancy paying for it when I haven't seen it for 26-28 years! Fortunately YT has literally one full episode on. Very good, I think I will get the DVD now!
And I seem to remember even as a kid rather fancying the (very cute) Siobhan Redmond before I even knew what that was, if you know what I mean. I always did have impeccable taste.

[Ian]

Buffy: The Initiative. Season 4 finally kicks into gear as the big arc plot of the season - the secret government unit hunting and experimenting on vampires/demons - starts to come into focus. The highlight of the episode, though, is the return of Spike - and what they do with him, in what has to be one of the smartest moves the show ever pulled. They loved Spike, but after having him as one of the major villains of season 2, they couldn't just keep bringing him back doing the same old thing, and they certainly couldn't him have as a regular (which he becomes from this episode on) if all he was going to was try to kill Buffy every week. The solution? Spike becomes a victim of the aforementioned government unit - and even though he eventually escapes, he does so to find that it is now impossible for him to kill, harm or even bite a living soul. It's a stroke of genuine genius - he's the same rat bastard we've come to secretly love, but as a threat, he has been utterly neutered - and it's an impotence metaphor that provides unexpected comic gold in the scene where he first tries to attack Willow.

Willow: Doesn't it happen to every vampire?
Spike: Not to me it doesn't!

[Ian]

Doctor Who - The Empty Child again last night for my Christmas treat. While there's a couple of Newseries-isms that grate and seem terribly out of place (especially in the light of their overuse ever since) this is a classic story, scary, funny and hugely atmospheric. Still the best 21st century Who story for me. "Are you my mummy?"

[Ian]

Doctor Who - The Time of the Doctor. The new Xmas special, and Smith's send-off.


What a load of complete s***e that was!

[fish]

There were a few moments, but mostly I thought it was trying to tie up lots of not existent loose ends.

...What a load of complete s***e that was!

I know you mean that in the nicest possible way.

[Ian]

I can only pray that Capaldi is going to get some better scripts than poor Smithy did!

Buffy: Hush. Otherwise known as "The One Where No One Talks". A spell of silence robs the people of Sunnydale of their voices, and when night falls, the Gentlemen are coming out to play... and no one can even scream for help. VERY scary (the Gentlemen are deliciously freaky with their steel teeth, rictus grins, silent-movie-mannerisms, floating above the ground as they give each other silent rounds of applause as they cut people's hearts out) and also frequently hilarious, this is not just one of the absolute best Buffy episodes, it's one of the best pieces of genre television ever. Awesome.

[fish]

..."The One Where No One Talks"...

And they saved so much on dialog writers too.