Review: Him and Her

Series 2, Episode 1

Him and Her has returned to BBC3 for a second series. I think it is one of the very few BBC3 shows that are actually worth watching.

It’s hard to explain what Him and Her is actually about. Essentially it is a show about nothing. Nothing really happens, but it’s extremely watchable and funny. The show is set entirely on one location and works all the better for it. The writer,  Stefan Golaszewski, has crafted something that stands heads and shoulders above other sitcoms. Him and Her is so realistic it is almost difficult to watch. It feels so authentic that you feel like a voyeur; you feel like you are in the room for those conversations and awkward pauses, you feel the unease of the characters on screen.



The main strength of the series is the chemistry between the two main characters, Steve and Becky, played by Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani. These two feel like a real couple. The supporting characters are a masterstroke: we have Becky’s sister, Laura (Kerry Howard), her fiancé Paul (Ricky Champ), an older friend Shelly (Camille Coduri). Joe Wilkinson once again constantly steals every scene he is in as Dan the oddball neighbour from upstairs.

The only thing left to say about this show is that the next series deserves to be on BBC2.

Him and Her airs on Tuesdays at 10:30 pm



Episode 48: The legacy of Sarah Jane Smith

Martyn is joined by David Montieth from Geeksyndicate, they discuss the legacy of the Sarah Jane Adventures.

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



Episode 47: Misfits and The Walking Dead

Martyn is joined by Paul from The Pharos Project and they discuss the series Misfits and The Walking Dead.

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



Episode 46: Doctor Who The Wedding of River Song

Your trio of heroes return and try to discuss the Doctor Who episode ‘The Wedding of River Song’ but mostly end up talking about their favourite Nu-Who companions.

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



Review-Disney on Ice World of Fantasy

On Saturday, my partner and I took our excited three-year-old son to Disney On Ice: World Of Fantasy. When we took our seats and the man on the PA System said “fifteen minutes” our son did a little dance. At the five minute announcement our son grinned – his excitement was palpable.



The theme was World Of Fantasy and it comprised abridged plots from the movies Cars, The Little Mermaid, Tinker Bell and Toy Story 3. The show also featured hosts Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy.

Technically speaking it was a masterpiece. The shows greatest achievement was the animatronic cars; they had blinking headlights for eyes and moving bumpers for mouths. You could see the people in the cars but it didn’t detract from their impact and I’m sure the little eyes watching did not notice this. The choreography from the whole cast was impressive as were the costumes and set designs. The opening of the Toy Story 3 piece – with the green army – was powerful. The set pieces were full of colour, magic and sparkle. It wasn’t just my son grinning like a happy child.

Worlds of Fantasy is on at Wembley until 30/11/11

www.wembley.co.uk

Eleventh Hour Commentary

Martyn gives up all pretence of retirement. He and Gerrod attempt their first audio commentary, for Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour. This will probably also be our last.

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



Episode 45: Entertainment Media Show

Martyn and Pete from Bad Wilf and, Chris from the Pharos Project talk to:

  • David Prowse (Star Wars, Hitchhiker’s, Tomorrow People)
  • Eve Myles (Torchwood)
  • Arthur Darvill (11th Doctor companion ‘Rory Williams’)
  • Paul McGann (8th Doctor)

EMS: collectormanialondon.com

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

@pharosproject

Instagram:

Martyn-@BadWilf

More pictures – most are courtesy of Tim Drury (Tim’s Flickr)

Dr Who talk
Dr Who talk
Barber, Moffett, Blackwood
Cosplayers
Cyberman
Martyn & Cyberman
Angel & Silcence
Angel & Silence
Future Amy
TARDIS headgear
TARDIS dress
Peg Doll
David Tennant
With Paul McGann
Classic Who talk
Kate O’Mara
Classic Who talk

Review-X-Men: First Class DVD

X-Men: First Class is a fantastic film that surpassed my expectations after the disappointment of X-Men 3 and the forgettable Wolverine. The story begins in 1944, with a young Erik in a Nazi concentration camp. His powers are discovered by Dr Schmidt (Kevin Bacon), who encourages him to unleash them in a brutal way. Meanwhile, a young Charles Xavier befriends young Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) when she’s caught stealing food disguised as his mother.

Fast forward to 1962, where Charles (James McAvoy) teams up with CIA agents to search for other mutants. During a mission, they encounter Erik (Michael Fassbender), who is still on the hunt for Schmidt, now a wealthy man named Sebastian Shaw. Shaw is assembling his own group of mutants to rise up against humans.

The acting is superb, with Fassbender and McAvoy delivering standout performances. However, the film does suffer slightly from having too many characters, making it challenging to give each one adequate screen time. Some of the mutants include Angel, Azreal, Banshee, Beast, Emma Frost, Darwin, Havok, and Riptide. Hugh Jackman also makes a cameo appearance as Wolverine.

There are some continuity issues that die-hard fans may notice, such as Xavier being left wheelchair-bound in this film, but walking unaided in the flashback opening of X-Men 3. Additionally, in the ’80s-set Wolverine, there’s a teenage Emma Frost, while in First Class, she’s a fully grown adult. The only significant flaw in the film is January Jones’s performance as Emma Frost, which falls short of expectations.

Despite these minor criticisms, the film is thoroughly enjoyable, and the standout performance of Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy/Beast is noteworthy. His American accent is convincing and natural.

Overall, X-Men: First Class is an excellent addition to the franchise, and I would welcome another film with this cast.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Review: Fresh Meat, Episode 1

Channel four recently ended their contract for syndication rights to ‘Friends’ which has freed up a bit of money for them to invest in home-grown comedies. The first of which, is ‘Fresh Meat.’



It’s written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, who are the creative team behind Channel 4’s ‘Peep Show.’

It focuses on six “Freshers” sharing a house together. The affable bunch are Vod (Zawe Ashton), Oregon (Charlotte Ritchie), Howard (Greg McHugh), Josie (Kimberley Nixon), Kingsley (Joe Thomas) and  JP (Jack Whitehall).

The characters are the stereotypes we’ve seen a thousand times before:

  • The wild-child with a chip on her shoulder (Vod).
  • The insecure girl who’ll change her opinion to please (Oregon).
  • The strange loner that that doesn’t really know he is strange (Howard).
  • The annoying toff that tries to be ‘street’ (JP).
  • The shy guy that can’t quite talk to girls (Kingsley) and
  • the small-town Welsh girl, fish out of water type (Josie).

Despite the stereotypical characters, there are some great moments: Howard begging a pub full of students for one-twentieth of people’s pint was genuinely funny. As was the post-sexual tension between JP and Josie.

The performances are great all round. The character of Oregon reminded me a lot of Daisy from ‘Spaced’ – I imagine that is exactly what Daisy was like at university.

The person who surprised me the most, however, was Jack Whitehall. Now, I’m not a Jack Whitehall fan; I don’t find him funny and, I’m not alone. To quote a friend, “He makes my piss boil.” But he worked well in this. Okay, he is playing a posh-cock so granted it isn’t much of a stretch for him, but he suits the narrative.

Even with the two-dimensional characters, I enjoyed ‘Fresh Meat.’ I think over time it will evolve into a decent comedy and a worthy replacement for Peep Show.

Fresh meat airs Wednesdays at 10 pm on Channel 4.



Audio Review-Fight for the Remote

Episode 1: The Oral Fixation Summation.

Fight for the remote is a new audio sitcom from Fantom Films.

Jon (Andrew Hayden-Smith) and Alice (Ayesha Antoine) are a couple in their late twenties living together in London. Alice is ambitious while Jon is happy with his place in life.



This sitcom will strike a chord with anyone in a long-term relationship. On a Friday night, I often have the pizza/kebab chat that Alice and Jon have near the start. At times I actually felt as if the writers, Julia Dawn and Mark Adams, had hidden a microphone in my living room and just transcribed what they heard.

Jon and Alice have friends that help guide them on their journey. Jon has married-Dave (Daniel King) as his sex-obsessed best friend (we all have one of those) and Alice has her man-chasing friend and work colleague Karen (co-director Helen Oakleigh). The performances are great all-round; even the supporting characters get really great lines. The cast was clearly having a great time whilst recording.

We’re introduced to Alice’s mother (Ellen Thomas) via telephone.  She’s a Hyacinth Bucket type that doesn’t believe Jon is good enough for her daughter and feels he is a bad influence that will lead her towards “partaking in the wacky-baccy.”

Happy Azziz (Neil D’Souza) is another great character. Azziz is the local newsagent/kebab shop owner that slightly oversteps the mark every time Jon and Alice visit him (“Happy pleasuring, my friends”). Camp Raymond (Keith Flood) is also great; he’s the inappropriate, permanently-drunk client of Alice.

The thing that makes Fight For The Remote so great is that it is so universally recognisable. Anybody with a live-in partner will instantly identify with the situations and characters; I saw a lot of myself in Jon.

The writers have managed to capture the essence of the long-term relationship perfectly. The script is sharp and well written. It effortlessly manages to bridge together the bigger issues and challenges that couple’s face with the smaller, more trivial subjects such as Deal or No Deal. From the title of the episode, you can guess it’s adult humour which deals with sex, frustration and love. Overall this is a genuinely funny comedy that deserves a lot of success.

Download this episode for free from Fantom Films.