Tag: James Corden

Doctor Who Review – Series 6

Recently I began revisiting Matt Smith’s reign on Doctor Who, by taking a deep dive into Series 5 as part of my ongoing posts about the modern era of the show.

So now it’s time to move on to Series 6. With the previous series, new showrunner Steven Moffat had given the programme a big overhaul, and very successfully too. So this time around things are more settled. The 11th Doctor is again joined by the gorgeous Karen Gillan playing the feisty Amy Pond, along with Arthur Darvill in the role of her newly wedded husband Rory Williams. They make such an enjoyable trio with great chemistry between them, because they became such good friends off-camera when they started working on Series 5 together. You can see how much fun they have together in the Confidential documentaries as well.

We also see plenty more of Alex Kingston as River Song, and we finally discover who she really is. Her identity is revealed as a mid-season cliffhanger, as originally the series was split into two halves, with a 12-week gap between them. Such a break had never happened in the modern era before, so it was a bit frustrating at the time, especially given the big reveal. But at least the series can be watched all in one go now. Other mysteries from the previous series, about The Silence and the exploding Tardis, also continue to develop here, along with new story arcs about the Doctor’s death and Amy’s pregnancy.

So there’s plenty to get through in this post, in terms of the episodes and the various extra features as per usual, and once again I’ve compiled a playlist for the series with lots of clips and bonus material. I hope you enjoy!

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Doctor Who Review – Series 5

Now that the most recent series of Doctor Who is out of the way – and I’ve just updated that review with details of its Blu-ray steelbook release – and as there’s going to be a big gap until the next series while the BBC decide what to do, I’m going to continue rewatching the earlier series of the modern era.

I’ve already reviewed all of the series and spin-offs from Russell T Davies’ first stint as showrunner, so it’s time to move on to the fifth series overseen by Steven Moffat, which aired 15 years ago in 2010. Hard to believe it’s that old already.

With a new showrunner, Doctor, companions, Tardis and theme tune, this was another fresh start for the programme, and it worked really well. So I hope you enjoy my deep dive into it, and there are plenty of videos on my Series 5 playlist you can dig through too.

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Michael McIntyre – Stand-Up Comedy Reviews

Back in December, Michael McIntyre celebrated his 25th anniversary in stand-up comedy with a special show from his Macnificent tour on BBC One. So because I enjoyed that, I thought I’d rewatch his DVDs and his Netflix special to mark his big milestone, as well as celebrate the welcome return of his Big Show series on TV.

His routines regularly have me laughing out loud, due to the great humour he spins out from his observations and experiences, often about things that we take for granted in everyday life and can readily relate to. And he’s always chirpy and full of energy, occasionally even skipping around the stage, which has become a bit of a trademark of his unique style.

He’s ruder in his stand-up specials than on his family-friendly TV shows of course, with occasional strong language and sexual references, but he never gets really crude either, and doesn’t insult or offend anyone. It’s all light-hearted and fun, he’s a great storyteller, and he’s very good at doing callbacks to earlier jokes to tie everything together. Similarly on his Big Show, while he does play a lot of amusing pranks, it’s all done in good spirits and nobody comes to any harm, as he’s keen for everyone to enjoy themselves, and he does a lot of very nice things for well-deserving people too.

Ultimately, therefore, he always packs in plenty of material for his stand-up specials and his Big Show, he always ensures that everyone is having a good time, and he’s always very funny. So I hope you enjoy this little rundown of it all.

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July 2024 Favourites

Hello again, I hope you’re doing well. This has been a busy and enjoyable month for me, in particular because I got to see two theatre shows and eat at a restaurant for free, plus I enjoyed some more nice walks in the summer weather and have been immersed in the Olympics along with other things I’ve been watching.

The only downside was the fact that I had to have a telephone assessment for my Personal Independence Payments review, which they finally got around to a year after I sent the forms back. They would save so much time and money by not repeatedly reviewing people with incurable and lifelong conditions like mine, only asking us to request extra support if and when things change. But anyway, the assessment was very long, at nearly 2½ hours, of which I thankfully have a recording that they allowed me to capture. The lady I spoke to seemed very nice and was happy to listen to everything I had to say, but what she actually wrote down and how the DWP will judge it is a completely different kettle of fish of course. So we’ll see what happens, I’ll keep you posted.

Mind you, that issue is nothing compared to what some people are having to endure here in the UK right now. My heart goes out to everyone affected by the awful murders in Southport, along with the senseless violence by far-right thugs that has erupted in various cities since then. You cannot claim to have any genuine care about the country if you’re causing destruction, looting, assaulting the police, and attacking people purely because of their skin colour, religion, nationality, etc. That clearly isn’t protest, it’s just pure stupidity, criminality and racism. They don’t represent the UK, and they don’t realise they’ve been manipulated and radicalised into such behaviour by the misinformation being spread online that they blindly believe. It’s just crazy. I’m not going to discuss it in depth, as it’s a horrible topic and far more qualified people are already analysing it. It just might have seemed a bit odd or disrespectful if I hadn’t mentioned it at all, and I hope things settle down soon. Stay safe out there.

So with all that out of the way, let’s get on to the nicer and more fun things in this post and video, in which all opinions are my own and I’ve not been gifted or paid to feature anything here as usual. I hope you enjoy!

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January 2021 Favourites

Well, that month was a long year, wasn’t it? I thought January might be relatively quiet compared to December, but it was clearly very difficult for 2021 to get steady on its feet amongst the fallout from 2020, for reasons that we’re all too familiar with from the news.

January also marked a significant milestone for me, as it’s now 10 years since my father passed away. It’s amazing how quickly that time’s gone, when it inevitably dragged so much at first. And after all these years, not a day goes by when he doesn’t come to mind for one reason or another, he’s always present. I get my sense of humour from him, and he was always supportive and encouraging and fun to be around. That’s him you can see behind little me in the header image for this post. As I haven’t had any reason to take interesting photos myself lately, it seemed appropriate to use one of him on this occasion, and I dedicate this post to his memory.

And in the present, Captain Sir Tom Moore has very sadly passed away at the age of 100. He was one of the brightest lights of the pandemic, raising nearly £40 million for NHS charities, and his positive attitude to life filled us all with hope and motivation at a time when we really needed it the most. So he will be very dearly missed, and his charity foundation will undoubtedly continue to do lots of great work in his honour in the years to come. Condolences to all of his family and friends and everyone who came into contact with him. And thank you Captain Tom for everything you’ve done. We will walk on through the storm, with our heads up high and hope in our hearts, thanks to you. RIP.

Still, despite all of that, there is also much to be happy about. Green shoots of hope and positivity are breaking through, and I have some good news of my own to share in this post, along with the usual rundown of entertaining things that I’ve been enjoying. And none of it is sponsored or gifted as usual. So let’s crack on with it, and I hope you enjoy this month’s post and video!

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