Episode 52: Christmas and K-9

In which your heroes look at this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special,  ‘The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe’. As well as the Aussie K-9 spin-off.

The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe” is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. First broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2011, it is the seventh Doctor Who Christmas special since the show’s revival in 2005. It was written by Steven Moffat and directed by Farren Blackburn.



K-9 is a British-Australian comedy-adventure series focusing on the adventures of the robot dog K-9 from the television show Doctor Who, achieved by mixing computer animation and live-action.  It is aimed at an audience of 11- to 15-year-olds. A single series of the programme was made in Brisbane, Australia, with co-production funding from Australia and the United KingdomIt aired in 2009 and 2010 on Network Ten in Australia, and on Disney XD in the UK, as well as being broadcast on other Disney XD channels in Europe.

The podcast is available from all good podcast services, such as but not limited to Amazon Music, PodchaserPlayer FM, Stitcher, and Apple Podcasts.

Check out our Youtube.

If you’d like to support the show, then please shop via our Amazon link. A small percentage goes our way, at no extra cost to you.

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Martyn – @BadWilf

Gerrod –@InGerrodsMind

Pete – @BeeblePete

Sam-@Sammichaelcomic

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Episode 51: Doctor Who-Genesis of the Daleks

In which Martyn, Gerrod and, Pete record in the same location for the first time. We discuss Genesis of the Daleks, then go off-topic.

Happy Merry New Year! 🎉

Genesis of the Daleks is the fourth serial of the twelfth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was written by Terry Nation and directed by David Maloney, and originally broadcast in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1975 on BBC1.

The podcast is available from all good podcast services, such as but not limited to Amazon Music, PodchaserPlayer FM, Stitcher, and Apple Podcasts.

Check out our Youtube.

If you’d like to support the show, then please shop via our Amazon link. A small percentage goes our way, at no extra cost to you.

Socials:

Twitter:

Martyn – @BadWilf

Gerrod –@InGerrodsMind

Pete – @BeeblePete

Sam-@Sammichaelcomic

Instagram:

Martyn-@BadWilf

We’d greatly appreciate it if you could take 5 seconds to fill out this survey.



DVD review: Micky Flanagan: The Out Out Tour

If you like stand up comedy then you can’t go wrong with this offering from Micky Flanagan.


The DVD includes a whole host of new material, as well as some of his older material, which includes the jokes “out-out” and asking for ketchup in a restaurant.
Flanagan’s charm is that he comes across as less of a performer and more as a friend, talking to a room full of friends. Which adds to his warmth and depth.

Micky went to a school, where driving a van was an ambition too far beyond the comprehension of the average student.
Micky is a skilful comedian and excels at observational humour. If you prefer your comedians safe, like Michael McIntyre, then this isn’t for you.

Micky Flanagan is a star in the making, it takes a serious amount of skill to turn the mundanity of watching a kettle boil, or running a bath into a laugh out loud stand-up routine, but he manages it effortlessly.



THOR Blu Ray review

Origin movies are incredibly difficult to get right, for every Spider-man there’s a Daredevil. Unfortunately Thor is more Matt Murdock, than Peter Parker.

The movie is a bit of a mess, the pacing is way off and they recycle the same gag, every three minutes. I could never escape the feeling that there were a few scenes missing.

The humans believe Thor’s story all too quickly and I would have liked to see more of Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman talking about Life, the universe and everything. Or at the very least convince me that there was something going on between them. I just didn’t believe in their romantic relationship. I believed they were friends, but nothing more. Some great characters were criminally underused, as a Marvel geek I was excited to see them in the movie, but I just got the feeling they were there for merchandising. It could be that their backstory was included in the missing scenes I spoke of earlier.

The cast is great, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Idris Elba as Heimdall and Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, all put it great performances. But a special mention must go to Tom Hiddleston, he plays Loki brilliantly. With villains, there is always a danger of over, or underacting. He turns in a great, believable performance.  Now whilst I have issues with the way certain characters are used, that doesn’t mean I thought they were miscast.



There are slight nods and references to other characters in the Marvel universe when Loki’s robot turns up on Earth the S.H.I.E.L.D agents ask “One of Stark’s?”.  This movie handles the future setups better Iron Man 2 did, the references don’t just feel like a checklist to pave the way for future Marvel films.

I’m hoping that Thor will work better as part of an ensemble team, in The Avengers. But, he has yet to win me over. It’s really a telling sign, when the 1:45 minute, the post-credit sequence made me more excited than the whole movie.

Special Features:

  • Commentary by director Kenneth Branagh
  • Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant
  • Featurettes
  • Road to the Avengers
  • Deleted Scenes with optional commentary
  • Teaser Trailer
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Avengers Animated Trailer

Thor is out now on DVD, Triple Play and Blu Ray



Spoiler-Free Review: Sherlock

I’ll admit to being sceptical when I first heard the news that Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat were adapting Sherlock for the 21st century. But, it worked. Sherlock was easily the best thing on the television in 2010.
Episode one picks up exactly where the last episode left our heroes, by the swimming pool with Moriarty and covered with sniper dots.

Some viewers will be disappointed by the resolution, but I loved it, it was bold, funny, cheeky and slightly outrageous. Moffat and Gattis know the online forums will be buzzing after this.
The relationship between Sherlock and Mrs Hudson is explored a little more and shows just how much they mean to each other. The already great cast has got a new addition in the form of Irene Adler, played by Lara Pulver. Pulver puts in a fantastic performance as Irene and provides the female counterpart to Sherlock.



This is a really great episode, the text effect is still being used but this time it’s accompanied by some excellent camera work to help give us a little bit more insight to just how Sherlock views the world. I’m going to stop now, as I don’t want to give anything away.
I’ve added some lines of dialogue underneath, don’t worry about spoilers, out of context they won’t give anything away

“Do you mind if I get that?”

“You have the rest of your life”

“Try not to punch him”

“How many times did he fall out the window?”.

“When I say run, run”.

“I knew what he liked”

“You always say the most horrible things”

“The iceman and the virgin”

Sherlock airs at 8:10 pm, New Years Day on BBC1

TV Review-The Borrowers

The Borrowers are Arriety Clock (Aisling Loftus) Pod (Christopher Eccleston) and Homily (Sharon Horgon) they are a family that lives under the floorboards of James Millman’s house. James is a boy is having a rough time. His mother has recently died and they’re in the middle of a recession, which has forced James and his father to move in with James’ Grandmother (Victoria Wood). The grandmother has contacted a Professor (Stephen Fry) and alerted him to the Borrowers presence, the family, are then forced to go on the run with a fellow Borrower and tour guide, Spiller (Robert Sheehan).

The great thing about this version of the Borrowers is that like Doctor Who, this is very much a family show. Adults will laugh at jokes that will go over the heads of kids, whilst the kids will laugh at the characters sliding down into the sewers. The casting is a masterstroke and it was great to see Stephen Fry in an acting role. He is a joy in this and for the most part, steals the show. Christopher Eccleston and Sharon Horgan also put in excellent performances. Eccleston is great as the overprotective father. The only let down here is Robert Sheehan, now it isn’t’ his performance, that’s fine. As always he gives 110% but the character of Spiller is just a child-friendly version of Misfits’ Nathan, I had hoped to see him in a more challenging role this soon after him leaving Misfits.



The one to look out for is Aisling Loftus her Wide-eyed naivety/ enthusiastic take on Arrietty is believable and sweet. I predict big things for her in the future.
This is essential Christmas TV and on at the perfect time, complex and exciting enough to keep the children interested and simple enough to keep the adults watching, after a taxing day of dinner and being woken up at 4 am to open the presents.

The Borrowers airs on Boxing Day, 7:30 pm on BBC1.

Film Review-Mission Impossible:Ghost Protocol

The IMF, implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, is forced to shut down, leaving Ethan Hunt and his new team to clear their organisation’s name by going rogue.

Director Brad Bird, known for his work on animated films, delivers his first live-action film, which is visually stunning and features breathtaking action scenes. The standout moment is undoubtedly when Tom Cruise scales the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa tower, in Dubai. Cruise’s performance is excellent, and he is joined by a talented cast, including Simon Pegg, who has been promoted to a co-starring role.

The film also includes industry in-jokes, such as Ethan Hunt’s code number being “A113,” a frequent Pixar in-joke based on one of the room numbers for the animation program at Cal Arts.

However, the storyline could have been better, and there are noticeable dips in certain parts of the film. Additionally, there are some errors that may distract viewers from the overall experience, such as the Nuclear Launch Device used by Hendricks having a Russian keyboard but an English interface screen. Despite these flaws, the film is worth watching and will mostly keep viewers entertained throughout.

For the full experience, it’s best to watch the film on an IMAX screen.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Inbetweeners Movie DVD review

For those unfamiliar with the hit E4 show, The ‘Inbetweeners’ are Will, Jay, Neil and Simon, four sixth form mates who are not popular, yet not completely social outcasts. After three hugely successful series, it’s time for a big-screen outing. The movie opens with Jay completely naked, wearing a pair of snorkels, whilst watching pornography and doing something with ham that I couldn’t possibly comment on. His mother walks in on him and passes the sad news that his grandfather has just died.  With Jay’s inheritance money, our heroes decide to book a holiday to the Island of Malia.



What follows isn’t original, but it is extremely funny. The main plot involves the guys trying to get laid, falling out, making up and maturing. The film is pant wettingly funny, from start to finish. There are far too many moments of genius here, to highlight any one scene in particular. Seeing as this has now become the highest-grossing British comedy of all time, I doubt this is the last we’ve seen of The Inbetweeners.

Special Features:

Includes over 2 hours of exclusive unseen material.

Disc 1 – Feature film, 5.1 audio, and subtitles

Disc 2 – Exclusive Special Features:

  • Making Of
  • Joe Thomas Dangerman
  • Things We Did Instead of Rehearsing
  • London Premiere
  • Skye Premiere
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Sims Parody
  • Bloopers

Review-Fight For The Remote: Episode 2

The Past/Present Predicament

Episode two starts with an argument, Jon and Alice have just had the dinner party that was mentioned in episode one. Jon has been less than the perfect boyfriend and Alice isn’t happy.  Jon at his sarcastic best criticises Alice’s friend’s new doctor boyfriend, with the great line “all those orphans with prosthetic arms and real hands, work that one out”.
The fall-out from the fight lasts a few days, the pair then turn to their friends for advice and the episode soon turns into a sweet and touching flashback. This is the origin of their relationship.



I won’t give away too much of the plot, but this is a brilliant episode. It’s full of pop culture references, from classic kids insults on a bus to Young Frankenstein.
What makes Fight for the remote so great is that Jon and Alice are so familiar to anyone who has been in a long-term relationship. The arguments and conversations feel authentic. The writers have truly managed to capture the mundanity of the long-term relationship; Alice summed it up best when she told Jon “I remember when we used to have a life and not just a Lovefilm account”.

I, erm had something in my eye when Jon made his romantic dash down the stairs.

Fight for the remote is available for download via the website or iTunes

Follow  The Fight For The Remote Cast On Twitter:

Ayesha Antoine

Andrew Hayden-Smith

Helen Oakleigh

TV Review-Life’s Too Short Episode 4

This episode starts with Warwick flat hunting with Cheryl, his assistant. The scene is a clever reference back to Extras that seems to have been overlooked by every other critic. But then, other critics are busy bashing Life’s too short, as this is Gervais’ year for a media bashing.

The Daily Mail recently had to print a retraction after massaging the viewing figures, they only reported the overnight figures, which given the way we watch TV nowadays, are completely redundant as they don’t include viewers who record it and watch it later or people who access it via the Iplayer. It is funny that they only do it with popular shows, you never see ‘Homes under the hammer down 100 viewers’.



Anyway, in Extras, Andy Millman tried to impress a journalist from the Guardian.  Andy asked his friend Maggie to pretend to be his assistant. Warwick is trying to impress the estate agent; into thinking, he is more important than he is. The estate agent is the same actress who played the journalist.  It’s a great scene, which again showcases Warwick’s excellent comic timing. Warwick has a real knack for physical comedy and I predict will win many awards next year.

Later in the episode, Warwick turns to Ricky and Steve when he finds out his wife is having more than a professional relationship, with their divorce lawyer.
While in their office, Warwick sits in on a skype chat between Ricky, Stephen and Steve Carroll. When Ricky badmouths Carroll after thinking he had quit Skype, things take a turn for the worse. Speaking as someone who has been in this situation, it felt just as authentic and just as awkward.
Now at the midway point, Life’s too short is turning in to one of the best sitcoms the year and you know what, I’m glad the mainstream media doesn’t like it.

Life’s too short airs on Thursdays at 9:30 pm, on BBC2