Comic Relief – Well Eye Never

March 2025 Favourites

Hey there, hope you’re doing alright, and welcome to my latest roundup. March has been a bit of a mixed month for me, what with losing our Virgin Media service for almost a week (thankfully now fixed), and hearing about the government’s plans to cut disability benefits (which I’ve talked at length about in a separate post).

But there have been good things too, as I saw a couple of my favourite entertainers live for the first time, and enjoyed a variety of bits and pieces at home. So I’m going to focus on all of that in this post and video, which is relatively short I know, but I hope you find it interesting as usual!

Doctor Who Review – Sarah Jane Adventures – Series 1-2

In my reviews from the modern era of Doctor Who so far, I’ve completed all of the series from Russell T Davies’ original tenure as showrunner, as well as the 60th anniversary specials and Season 1 we’ve had since his return. So before I move on to Matt Smith’s era under Steven Moffat, and to add a bit of variety, I want to watch and review the two spin-offs that began during Russell’s first period on the show as well.

So I’m going to start with The Sarah Jane Adventures, a children’s programme starring the late, great Elisabeth Sladen as investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith. It’s available on BBC iPlayer, but I’ve got the complete DVD boxset which I’ll be going through here. I didn’t see much of it when it originally aired, having dismissed it as a kids show in favour of the more adult Torchwood (which I plan to review after this), but watching it properly now, it really does hold up well. Many of the scenarios could easily have become Doctor Who stories.

Sarah Jane was one of the most beloved companions of the Doctor, because she was so warm, friendly, clever and fun, reflective of actress Elisabeth herself, so it was lovely that she was given her own series. She has a wonderful family around her, with her child companions, supercomputer Mr Smith and robot dog K9 all helping her to save the world. There’s also lots of exciting action, impressive special effects, good humour and an admirable roster of guest stars (including the Doctor on a couple of occasions).

In this post, therefore, I’ll be reviewing the first two series, including the relevant extras in the DVD set, plus some earlier programmes that add further context and a few other things I’ve seen online. Then in the next post I’ll look at Series 3-5. And I’ve also put together a big playlist of clips relating to Sarah Jane in Doctor Who and Series 1-2 of her spin-off series. So let’s dive in, and I hope you enjoy!

January & February 2024 Favourites

Welcome to my first Favourites post and video for this year! As I had a very busy Christmas that lasted until mid-January, it made sense to combine the latter half of that month with February for this roundup.

Recent weeks have been quite relaxed compared to the festive period, as hoped and expected, but there’s still quite a variety of bits and pieces to mention. These include an audio described gallery tour, a free meal, a special scenic view of the city, an important new audio play, things I’ve been watching that have been recommended by friends, and other entertainment I’ve enjoyed. Some of these items are PR-related, as indicated when appropriate, but all opinions are my own regardless. So I hope you enjoy!

Blackadder – 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Review

Last year marked the 40th anniversary of the classic historical sitcom Blackadder, and a new Complete Collection Blu-ray was released in December to mark the milestone. I was too busy to look through it at the time, but I finally got around to it recently, so this is my extensive review of the series and all the bonus material.

The show features the brilliant Rowan Atkinson in the title role of Edmund Blackadder, whose cynical and scheming nature causes him to look down on other people, especially his servant and inventor of ridiculous ‘cunning plans’ Baldrick, played by Tony Robinson. There’s also an impressive roster of co-stars and guest stars, most notably Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Tim McInnerny, Miranda Richardson & Rik Mayall, who all had multiple roles in the show.

All of the series and specials are set in different historical periods, so it always feels fresh and different. Each period is represented by exquisite costumes and beautiful sets, along with enjoyable variations of Howard Goodall’s theme tune. All of the episodes were written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, except for the first series where Richard had teamed up with Rowan instead. As great as Rowan is, bringing Ben on board really gave the series the shot in the arm it needed. And John Lloyd (best known for producing QI these days) was the producer for every episode except the pilot (which sadly isn’t in this set) and the millennium special.

Front cover of Blackadder The Complete Collection, 40th Anniversary Edition, with small text at the bottom saying that it's on Blu-ray for the first time, plus all new extras. An ornate gold border has a circle in each corner, with a photo of Blackadder from each of the 4 series.

Back cover of the Blackadder 40th anniversary Blu-ray set, with a brief description of the series, a list of the new extras, and credits for the series and specials.

Thanks to the sterling efforts of Richard Latto and his colleagues – who also compiled the excellent Young Ones Blu-ray in 2022 – the episodes have been remastered for this new Blu-ray edition, alongside all the old extras ported over from the previous Ultimate Edition DVD set (even though it’s not mentioned on the packaging), and a huge treasure trove of new bonus material as well. A lot of hard work has clearly gone into this collection, it’s very impressive.

So this is my review of the four series, the specials and the bonus material in the box set, as well as the pilot and documentary that were on Gold last year to celebrate the anniversary. As usual, I’m not sponsored or affiliated with anyone involved in the show or the Blu-ray production, and these are all my own opinions, so I hope you enjoy!

Doctor Who At 60 Review – The Whoniverse

For the final part of my trilogy celebrating the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who – following on from my reviews of the specials and radio shows – I’m diving into The Whoniverse on BBC iPlayer.

This treasure trove of televised time-travelling treats came as quite the surprise when it was launched by the BBC at the beginning of November. At its heart are over 800 episodes from the series, accompanied by several spin-offs, documentaries, other programmes and accessibility features, all for free (well, with no subscription required on top of your TV licence anyway).

So there’s a lot on offer, and I hope you enjoy my trawl through the various special programmes I’ve been watching. As always, none of this is sponsored by or affiliated with the BBC or anyone else connected with Doctor Who, and all opinions are my own.

Doctor Who Review – 2008-10 Specials

The 60th anniversary of Doctor Who is finally upon us, with an exciting trilogy of specials about to air, and a wealth of goodies to watch in the Whoniverse and peruse in the archives on the BBC website. It’s a great time to be a Whovian, that’s for sure.

But before I delve into all of that, I just need to squeeze in one more of my extensive review posts for the modern era. In recent months I’ve written at far too much length about Series 1, 2, 3 & 4, so it’s only right to wrap up this first batch of reviews with the specials from 2008 to 2010 that concluded David Tennant’s run as the 10th Doctor and Russell T Davies’ role as showrunner. Like many people, I was very sad when David left, so it was great to see him return for the 50th anniversary later on, and I’m looking forward to seeing him again in the imminent new trilogy for the 60th.

So in these 5 episodes, David gets a big send-off, alongside some great guest stars and the return of some familiar faces. I have the Blu-ray steelbook edition of this mini-series, so that’s what I’ll be going through here, including all of the extra features. And I’ll be mentioning some related items I’ve picked out online as well, which can be seen on my Youtube playlist for these specials. So I hope you enjoy!

[Note: This post was edited on 30 November 2023 to mention the new Whoniverse collection on iPlayer and the Series 1-4 & Specials box set.]

Doctor Who Review – Series 1

Doctor Who is one of Britain’s biggest cultural phenomenons and needs no introduction. With stories spanning all of time and space, encountering an infinite variety of locations, species and scenarios, and promoting the universal right and desire for everything to co-exist in peaceful harmony, along with the ability to regenerate the lead character using different actors, the series has a scope and versatility unlike any other. And the adventures, characters, drama, humour, special effects, music and other elements have all come together to make the show continuously exciting to watch.

Of course, everyone has their own favourite (and least favourite) Doctors, companions, enemies, stories, writers, showrunners, etc, even if we don’t all agree on which ones. For many Whovians, the first Doctor they watch becomes their favourite Doctor by default, because you form a special connection with the one who hooks you into the show to begin with. That won’t be the case for every fan, but it certainly is with me.

Christopher Eccleston is therefore my favourite Doctor, with David Tennant a tightly close second, while Billie Piper as Rose Tyler is my favourite companion, and Russell T Davies is my favourite showrunner. But I’ve continued to enjoy the show very much since they all departed, and I’m always happy to give new people a chance. Whilst every change takes a bit of time to bed in and get used to, I like seeing the show evolve with new faces, places and ideas, as it helps to keep it fresh and interesting. After all, it would get boring if it always stayed the same.

But it’s still a joy to see former stars returning too of course. And so this year, for the big 60th anniversary, I’m delighted to see David Tennant is back as the Doctor for a special trilogy. And it’s great to see Russell T Davies as showrunner once again, 18 years after his big revival of the show in 2005.

Therefore, given the special circumstances, and because I’m a huge fan of the modern era of the show, I figured it’s high time I try and do detailed reviews for each of the modern series, which I own on Blu-ray. It’s certainly a good excuse, as if one’s ever needed, to rewatch the episodes and extra features yet again. So for this post I’ll be going through the Series 1 Steelbook Edition Blu-ray, as well as mentioning the music soundtrack and a few relevant items online. I’ll never be able to mention absolutely everything to do with the show, nor would I want to. I just want to pick out the things that stand out to me, of which there are many in this first series.

I won’t complete all the series in time for the 60th anniversary of course, but I want to try and tick off the old Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant episodes by then if I can. And I fully intend to review the other Doctors beyond that as well. So we’ll see how far I get.

This first post is a particularly lengthy one, because I discuss how I got into the series, explore the 13 episodes and the various Blu-ray extras in depth, and express a lot of admiration for Christopher Eccleston as he was my first Doctor. And there’s an associated playlist on my Youtube channel with clips, music, interviews and other things relating to the series. So I hope you enjoy!

[Note: This post was edited in November 2023 to mention the new Whoniverse collection on iPlayer and the Series 1-4 & Specials box set.]

March 2023 Favourites

Hello again, and welcome to my next monthly roundup. Now that I’ve settled into my new job (for which I’ve had a nice gift and my hours have just increased from 22 to 25 per week), things are getting back to normal again.

So there are no major announcements about my life this time. And I haven’t been to any theatre shows or exhibitions this month, as I wasn’t able to make it to the Super Power Panto in the end. But I have used the first salary payment from my new job to book a few shows, in addition to a couple of things I already had in the diary, so the cultural side of things will pick up very soon.

All of which means this was a relatively relaxed month, but I can still mention some bits and pieces I did while out and about, and some entertainment that I watched at home. So I hope you enjoy my latest post and video update!

The Young Ones – 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Review

Once in every lifetime, comes a show like this. The anarchic sitcom The Young Ones crashed on to our screens in November 1982, followed by a second series in 1984. And for its 40th anniversary they’ve brought out a special Blu-ray edition of both series, which is the first time it’s been released in that format, so I eagerly snapped it up.

The episodes are uncut, and there’s a ton of bonus material that’s been unearthed and produced by Richard Latto, with lots of brand-new extras in addition to those carried over from the previous DVD. Some of the new material also gives credit to TV playout director John Hoare, who writes extensively researched articles about The Young Ones and other comedy shows on his Dirty Feed blog, which are genuinely fascinating to read.

So this lengthy post contains my reviews of the episodes and the bonus material in the set (which in short is awesome). And it isn’t sponsored or gifted, I’ve got no connection with anybody involved with the show, I’m just a big fan. I hope you enjoy!

March 2022 Favourites

Well, that’s more like it. March was a very busy month for me, as I’ve been getting out and about a great deal again. In particular, I’ve just had my first little getaway in well over 2 years, as I spent a week in Milton Keynes, where I attended an audio described musical and visited a few of their museums. Meanwhile back in London I went to another theatre show, had plenty of walks, and watched various TV shows and films as usual.

So there’s a lot to get through, and it won’t all be in this post. I’ve already written a separate detailed review for the play I went to in London, and I’m sharing dedicated posts about my Milton Keynes adventures too. So all of that stuff will just be summarised below, with relevant links added so you can find out more.

That said, however, my Favourites video accompanying this post includes an extensive vlog filmed during my Milton Keynes trip, which will give you a good insight into what I got up to. And in this post I still go into detail about the other entertainment I enjoyed back in London too. So there’s plenty to check out here, none of which is sponsored or gifted, and all opinions are my own. So I hope you enjoy!

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: