For All You Office UK fans...

And you wondered where David Brent got his pop star fantasies.



...and another:



When I first saw this clip I thought it was some kind of retro-contenting for some future Ricky Gervais TV series, but no, that's actually him from his old band Seona Dancing

He's actually quite good for the time.

Torchwood

There's a mild spoiler in here, so if you're gonna be a big baby about it, don't read this entry...

I was going to bitch and moan about the CBC not showing season 2 of Doctor Who, when I saw that they're actually on episode 3 of season 2. So much for paying attention to the network that will save us from all things American. Hey Tories, where's that privatization bill?

Considering that I just saw episode 1 of the Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood (through nefarious means) and in the end credits I believe I saw a CBC production credit - we should get it here in Canada in, oh, about 2 years...

How's the show? The problem I've always found with pilots is that they have to spend way too much time setting up characters, places, technology etc. and they do that here, too. If you've seen the second season of Doctor Who, you already know about Torchwood, if you've seen the first season, you already know about Captain Jack. Trying to keep them in the shadows as everyday normal non-alien hunting policewoman Eve Myles [love the Policewoman's hat! damn that's sexy!] tries to delve into the mystery took way too long for my taste - then again, my attention-span lasts about 20 minutes and this episode started to challenge it.

There are flashes of what this show could be- there's gore, same-sexiness (here's the spoiler! - rather than fight the behemoth whose girlfriend he just stole in a bar using Alien pheromones one intrepid Torchwood scientist simply doses himself again to make himself attractive to the girl's boyfriend as well and heads off with both of them - don't think we'll see that happen on Doctor Who) and a surprising bit of violence at the end that made me jump when it happened, even though I kinda expected it.

Next episode supposedly features alien sex gas.

Yes you read that correctly and yes that's enough to make me watch it.

So all in all, a good, if not original, start. Captain Jack will have to be more roguish in the next few episodes though - that whole "ooo, look at me, don't I look tragic and thoughtful" schtick won't work for very long and treads on Doctor Who's territory - there's only room for one tragic and thoughtful hero and Captain Jack better ditch that before he rejoins the Doctor in season 3 of Doctor Who.

Science Ninja Team Gatchaman!

...or for those of you who watched the bastardized translated version in 1978 on American television like I did: Battle of the Planets!

It looks like we'll be seeing a redo-ing


I remember thinking this show was so cool at the time (I was eight) - but I couldn't figure out why the enemies, who were obviously mortally wounded by bladed weapons (Mark's razor boomerang was the primary culprit here) always were said by that stupid robot 7-Zark-7 to be "recovering in the hospital" offscreen. I found out later that that damned robot was added after the fact to the Americanized version to kidify the show.



I HATED THAT DAMN ROBOT!



Will I be disappointed, as I have been by so many attempts to cash in on the memories of my youth? Or can you never go back without feeling let down?

This is Not a Rebel Song...

...this is Sunday, Bloody Sunday!

Caprica

OK Sci-Fi - I hate you for cancelling Farscape and you don't even know that I live on this plane of mortal existence, because I'm only an insignificant part of your secondary revenue stream from foreign sales of shows to the Space network but please for the love of God please fix what you did wrong with the second series finale of Battlestar Galactica before you dilute the writing staff with the spinoff.



Blah blah blah - in fifty years they all get nuked, so who cares?

And no, I'm not going to spoil the Canadian viewers about the season finale of BSG since they're about 5 episodes away (boy did it piss me off though...) If you're that desperate go find it on bittorrent or pop the cash to watch it on iTunes (sucker...)



Kind of sounds like Dynasty in space, doesn't it?

My favourite quote about this comes from a commenter over at slashdot:

---

Maybe I'm being too hasty here - if the rumours are true that NBC wanted to grab Galactica and put it on regular greasy, slimy, vacuous network TV - then this might be a brilliant move! Offer them the spinoff as sacrificial victim so that Galactica remains pure and on a science-fiction network where it will be appreciated and nurtured properly. Caprica can have all the bed-hopping, evil twin, amnesia-laced story lines...in space...that the chattering masses appreciate without infecting the mother show...

Same ol' Dirty Tricks!

This is too funny.

I wonder how many people took it seriously.

I haven't seen either movie (Crash is sitting on the PVR awaiting two hours of attention span that can be strung together sans children...) so I can't render a verdict either way, but the "for" and "against" hyperbole and conspiracy theories are quite entertaining. I mean the election bloggers haven't had anything to do since 2004...

After all it is only a movie.

As for the commentary that "red-states" prevented Brokeback from winning, are the judges who select the winners beholden to anyone in the red states?



Hardly a bastion of right-wing zealotry.

OK. I pose the question.

Which movie was better? Brokeback Mountain or Crash?

No conspiracy crap, homophobia, politics et al.

A straight up (no pun intended) decision as to which movie was better and why. I intend to see them both, so I have no vested interest either way.

Have at 'er!

Creepy Dads

Creepy



Super-mega creepy!



That sound you heard is the regular, normal Dad's of the world (I am one) having to stifle themselves from proclaiming what ought to be very very apparent: children are not to be viewed or considered in such a way by a parent and the parents who do say such things (in PUBLIC!! dear God, in PUBLIC!!) about their children ought to be watched...very...very...carefully.

Every father likes to think his little girl (or girls in my case) are the most beautiful examples of the human race ever blessed upon us. I could watch my little girls smile and play all day through.

But the creepy sex-talk from these dads sound like they're viewing their daughters the way a strip-bar patron might cat-call a dancer from Gyno-row.

Shame.

Battle Royale

There was a time where the term "foreign film" would send me screaming from the room...I'd always picture some long boring pretentious piece of existentialist crap that I would be forced to talk about over coffee afterward (God I'm glad that I'm not in the dating world anymore...Feigning interest in boring conversations for the hope of potential physical contact at the end of the night is so tiring...)

I think the Family Guy writers must've been tortured the same way by Foreign and Independant Cinema when they did the film "Lint" as a parody in one of their episodes - BTW I found a live action version here - ahhh, student cinema...

Well I've changed my tune in the last few years: There's no way in hell Battle Royale would ever be made here in North America...especially after Columbine. But I'd heard of this movie on several websites and decided to rent it. I wasn't disappointed.

Holy crap what a ride. And I love Chiaki Kuriyama



See that look in her eyes? She's about to neuter a guy who attempted to rape her because he made the mistake of scarring her face...Leg crossing time!

It was from this film that Quentin Tarantino decided to cast her as Go Go Yubari in Kill Bill Vol 1, where she played the only character that I thought was a good match for Uma Thurman's Bride (in the first movie - Darryl Hannah was totally convincing in Vol 2.)

I think that my attitude toward foreign films changed when I first saw Akira Kurosawa's Ran at the ripe ol' age of 22 - old enough to know something good when I saw it and young enough to be open to something new - coincidentally on IFC right now as I write this.

Think of a better King Lear than Shakespeare's King Lear and you'll get the idea.

I had more to say about the advantage of looking beyond Hollywood and even the English language for good quality films, but I have to go watch Ran again.

Great.

Another night of staying up 'til 2am watching samurai movies.

I'm going to have to go out and learn Japanese.

A Leaf on the Wind

Rue and I went to see Serenity this afternoon. A great movie that did not disappoint. In the spirit of things I decided to take a quiz that Rue took earlier.

In common with Wash, I do have a stunning wife that could probably kill people (no evidence of past events are in my possession)...

You scored as Hoban 'Wash' Washburne. The Pilot. You are a leaf on the wind, see how you soar. You have a good job, and a stunning wife who loves you (and can kill people). Life is good, which is why you can't help smiling. Now if you can just get people to actually listen to your opinion things would be perfect. Hoban 'Wash' Washburne 100% The Operative 88% Capt. Mal Reynolds 75% Jayne Cobb 75% Simon Tam 63% Zoe Alleyne Washburne 63% Kaylee Frye 63% River Tam 63% Inara Serra 56% Shepherd Derrial Book 31% Which Serenity character are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Let's shake some dust*

* a line spoken by Sampson, the carnival manager, every time the carnival moves on, from HBO's Carnivale...

From the futoncritic



Rhymes with clucking bell...

This is my favourite current show, which now appears to be headed to the dustbin of cancelled favourites such as Angel, Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, and my beloved Farscape (which series ending miniseries, The Peacekeeper Wars, didn't really satisfy me - it felt like something written by a devoted fan, not the original writers...)

Everytime there's a show on that actually makes you think and pay attention, you know that eventually it will fall too soon under the ax.

I really want to see a third season of this show. Just one more season to wrap stuff up...Please?