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

[Ian]

Thanks for the tip, snaps!

[Ian]

The Bill: Talk Out. A middle aged (bordering on elderly) couple arrive at Sun Hill to report a missing neighbour, but there's something about this seemingly benign old couple that Sgt Maitland finds oddly unsettling... Yup, it's a PJ Hammond episode again, which means the seemingly normal will be hiding something considerably more disturbing... and no ****! Creepy stuff.

[Ian]

Saw The Three Doctors last night. Don't know why, wasn't planning to, just threw it on at literally the last moment - and loved every minute of it! What a hoot of a story. Troughton steals the show, of course, an absolute blast of anarchic comic energy, and clearly having a grand old time upstaging Pertwee at every turn. Blissful fun.

[Ian]

The new series of Doctor Who starts next month on the 23rd, 24th here.

[fish]

YAY!!!!!

[Ian]

Let's hope it's better than last years.

[Ian]

The Avengers: Get-a-Way. When a member of a trio of assassins escapes from top secret prison, seemingly having vanished into thin air, and then commits an assassination, Steed is called in. When the second member does likewise, it's time to panic - because the third assassin says he'll be escaping soon too, and his target is Steed... Great ep. Have to say that I am so far (blasphemously) enjoying series 6/the Tara season just as much as the Emma Peel ones.

[DMt.]

<Gasp!> Heresy! Blasphemy!! BURN the apostate!!!

[Ian]

I thought someone would have to have that reaction.

[DMt.]

I sort of felt obliged to, somehow. Or at least my 10-year-old-Diana-Rigg-worshipping self did...damn these semi-autonomous subpersonalities!

[Ian]

The Bill. The introduction of Inspector (soon Chief Inspector) Cato. I remember him, he's a great character. Total asshole lol! I find it ironic mind that Burnside's comments make it explicit that he is intended to be the same "bald-headed bastard from Barton Street" we met a couple of years ago (played by the same actor) - but he's undergone a name change!

The New Avengers: Gnaws. Strange seismic activity in the sewers beneath Parliament see a couple of agents sent in to see what's afoot - and they don't come back. But it's not enemy agents down there, it's a man-eating giant rat! This is a fun, atmospheric little mini-monster movie with a cool ending. I like Steed's utter ruthlessness in chucking the rat-attractant all over the villain in order to get the rat to bypass Purdey and eat him instead! That was cold, man!

[Ian]

The New Avengers: Hostage. When Purdey is taken hostage, Steed has to apparently betray his own organization to try to get her back. I did like him nobbling Gambit when he tried to arrest him by kicking him in the unmentionables. "I did warn you I don't fight fair."

[fish]

Took a while to get into the new Dr Who episode last night on Channel 2.

Enjoyable enough but I'm still a bit undecided, though I'm sure I'll stick with it.

And Jenny is still amazingly cute.

[Ian]

I thought the first half hour was very weak, but the restaurant scene saw a) Capaldi settle down and b) the tone change to something a bit more serious, and I generally rather enjoyed the rest of it. Early days, but I liked it more than anything in the last series.

[DMt.]

I saw it too! Capaldi is evidently eating it up, and he brings a lot of high-art gravitas to the role, whether he's doing comic or tragic; I think it would have been good if the rest of the show had followed suit a little more [instead of playing with Hollywood action-movie, rom-com and CGI clichés] - because they've got the writers, the actors, and the facilities here to do a really shit-hot, narrative-character-and-plot-driven run of the Doc.

Imagine! One that's realistic and sober, that's actually not flashy or show-offy at all but still grips like a very gripping thing, without having to go FUN FUN FUN!! Yay kids!!! every other scene. Some of the writing, the restaurant dialogue as Ian says, was really very good, psychologically literate and also funny [Sherlock must've helped there] - but then it's back to Looney Tunes.

Oh, and I HATED the incidental music. It should probably be done by 14-year-old girls with samplers and bowed guitars instead.