The ABC has finally announced it will show Doctor Who, starting in May (I’m betting 7:30pm on Saturday or Sunday nights). Meanwhile a new study has shown Australians increasingly downloading TV programmes via the Net, and I think it correctly identifies the cause: viewer frustration with the time the networks take to broadcast overseas programs. ... [More]
It’s said that kids used to watch Doctor Who from behind the sofa. Well in our house, it’s not possible to get behind the sofa, so we have to make do. Jeremy watching the first of the new Doctor Who episodes. We watched the first episode of the new series. The special effects were pretty ... [More]
There was a terrific picture of (what’s left of) the Monty Python team in the newspaper on the weekend. I know there’ll probably be a collective groan from readers, but it inspired a brief dream overnight in which Terry Jones came around for tea, chatted with my mother about his TV appearances, and agreed to ... [More]
Okay, so you might expect me to say so in any case, but damn this trailer looks good… Now… could our ABC people please pull their fingers out and buy this new Doctor Who series please? DIVX 4.5Mb MPEG 11.8Mb (Special thanks to those brave souls who put this kind of stuff online for people ... [More]
Back in the late 80s and early 90s, when my interest in TV peaked, I spent some time procuring TV series well before their Australian debuts, courtesy of overseas contacts, twin VCRs and airmail. Thus I was able to see Red Dwarf series 4 and 5 only weeks after they aired on BBC2, albeit on ... [More]
Happened upon Star Wars: The Phantom Menace on TV while channel-flicking on Saturday night. You know, Frank Oz did the voice for Yoda. He also did Grover from Sesame Street. Have a listen to Yoda, and you can tell it’s the same guy. Just that Yoda is a bit more mellow. (When I pointed this ... [More]
(My regular Sunday photo will return when I’ve got organised enough to get this computer talking to the camera…) I love The Goodies. Along with many Australian Gen-Xers it was one of my favourite TV shows of the 70s (and repeats in the 80s). I’ve got loads of favourite episodes, some great memories. So when ... [More]
The Goodies name their favourite episodes (at least, of those released on DVD): After watching the shows again, all agree their favourite episodes are Earthanasia and The End in which the three spend their time together in confinement and without their often wild film excerpts. “Ironically they were brought about by the fact that we ... [More]
Things I did on the weekend: Tried out my sister’s new couch, which was altogether way too comfy. Recorded my recitation of 75 digits of pi to share with the world. Observed a truck pulling a trailer along the road with its indicators wired up wrong. The truck would indicate left as its trailer would ... [More]
Hmmmmmm. NBC is re-making the seminal Britcom The Office, and they’ve just put a preview on their web site. You can certainly tell it’s The Office, and I don’t think anybody who’s ever seen the original would look upon it favourably. But who knows, there could be a huge potential audience out there who haven’t ... [More]
How’s this for a sci-fi idea: a computer controlling a virtual reality world. People hook up to the computer and enter that world. But it seems real. In fact it’s so real you can get hurt or even killed in there. And it’s called “The Matrix.” What a concept. Not bad for 1976. Doctor Who: ... [More]
Tintin lovers, be sure to tune into SBS on Tuesday at 10pm to catch the acclaimed documentary Tintin & I. I heard of this one a while back, and was watching out for it in film festival programmes and overseas DVD releases, but to no avail… so it’ll be good to finally see it.