BLOGS
The Best...Bond villains
- Posted at 6:00pm
- 17 September 2008
- by AndrewDickson-RT
- 4 comments
Bond villains. They're usually mad, they're frequently bad, and they're always dangerous to know. In the 21 Bond movies to date, there have been 24 assorted psychopaths and geniuses, each with a dastardly and often earth-threatening scheme. Their one shared goal is the destruction of 007, and the messier his demise, the better. Here's my rundown of the best Bond villains depicted on screen:
5. Karl Stromberg
Appearing in the over-the-top The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Stromberg is best known for planning to destroy the world and build a new one underneath the sea. He doesn't get his hands dirty in the film, but looks effortlessly cool...
Russell T Davies champions potential new Doctor
- Posted at 3:08pm
- 17 September 2008
- by PaulJones-RT
- 22 comments
Does this look like the face of a Time Lord to you? Because it does to Doctor Who supremo Russell T Davies.
Davies brought the sci-fi show back to life in 2005, and made David Tennant a household name as The Doctor. Four series in, Davies is set to oversee a number of Doctor Who specials - presumably starring Tennant (but Who knows?) - before handing over the reins to Steven Moffat ahead of series five in 2010. But back in June of last year (according to emails serialised in The Times) Davies already had his eye on a post-Tennant future…
Little Britain - big in America?
- Posted at 5:21pm
- 16 September 2008
- by KimNewson-RT
- 4 comments
In less than a fortnight (on 28 September to be precise) Little Britain USA is unleashed over there, bringing, as Tom Baker's voiceover promises, "culture, class and dignity to America". Sure it does. And we'll be able to see it over here on BBC1 very soon after (before they break off diplomatic relations?).
For what is effectively the fourth LB series, but one made entirely in the States for the HBO channel, Matt Lucas and David Walliams have created new characters such as pumped up jocks Mark and Tom and astronaut Bing Gordyn ("the first man on the moon…with a moustache"), as well as relocating much-loved...
How BBC iPlayer and podcasts can mess with your mind
- Posted at 5:00pm
- 15 September 2008
- by DavidBrown-RT
- 5 comments
BBC iPlayer: it makes the unmissable, unmissable. Or in the case of BBC Radio 4's Quote Unquote, it makes the horrendous still tragically available. As a Radio 4 devotee, I have mixed feelings about the BBC's online catch-up service.
In Our Time has me sweating like a code-breaker at Bletchley Park hunched over an Enigma machine - I feel I'm only really understanding one word in four. So the opportunity to listen again or even download and take Melvyn on the Move gives me more chances to follow the argument. But breaking free of the Radio 4 schedule, instead of liberating me, has...
Choosing the best TV with built-in Freeview
- Posted at 4:35pm
- 13 September 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q Different set-top boxes work better than others in receiving a Freeview signal. This is easily rectified by changing boxes. It's a different story if you need to return a bulky, expensive television. How should one go about assessing a TV with a built-in Freeview decoder?
Richard Price, Boulton Moor, Derbyshire
A Over to a Freeview spokesperson: "Digital products differ in design, as manufacturers focus on different features to distinguish their boxes in a competitive market. But all Freeview products - digiboxes or integrated Freeview TVs - are tested to industry standards to ensure they deliver the service. A higher-priced product from a reputable brand will often...
Commentary-free sport via the red button
- Posted at 4:25pm
- 13 September 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
- 1 comment
Q What a joy it was to watch the Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies in Beijing without the commentary (via the red button). Will this facility now be available for football, snooker etc? They're currently viewed in our home with the sound turned down.
Jean Cove, Stevenage, Hertfordshire
A BBC Sport tell us that they plan to provide this option "occasionally" for live sports events - and may do so more often in future when BBCi incorporates an "audio switcher" function. But this will normally be on satellite and cable only, as was the case with the Olympics Opening Ceremony. It's harder to provide this service on...
US presidents on screen
- Posted at 4:02pm
- 12 September 2008
- by AndrewCollins-RT
- 3 comments
As the 56th US Presidential election looms, with its torrent of ticker tape, flags and hype, it seems a shame that for those of us without a US passport, the whole thing will be a mere spectator sport. We may as well just sit back and enjoy the show, which is precisely what it is.
Long before Barack Obama became the Democratic nominee, he was liberal Hollywood's candidate of choice, banking $1.3 million in donations at a Beverly Hills fundraiser attended by Steven Spielberg and Eddie Murphy, with George Clooney and Barbra Streisand sending cheques.
Meanwhile, Republican candidate John McCain held a recent glad-hander that saw James Caan...
Maestro and Soccer Aid
- Posted at 12:02pm
- 12 September 2008
- by DavidButcher-RT
- 4 comments
Will we ever grow tired of watching celebrities doing things they're not very good at? After ballroom dancing, performing circus tricks etc, we've now had Soccer Aid (7 September ITV1) and the Maestro finale (9 September BBC2) in the space of a few days. Soccer Aid, a charity game featuring showbiz stars and former football legends (plus Jamie Redknapp), was rich with moments that made you rub your eyes. I never thought I'd live to see Angus Deayton skinned by Luis Figo, or Alan Shearer heading a goal courtesy of a lovely cross from the McFly guitarist Danny Jones. It was priceless - and about five times more...
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
- Posted at 5:25pm
- 11 September 2008
- by AlisonGraham-RT
- 9 comments
My school years left me with many varied legacies, including an almost pathological adoration for clean, fresh stationery (ah, the smell of a crisp new notebook!) and passionate dislikes of turnip, cauliflower, prunes, cheese sauce and Thomas Hardy.
The latter really wasn't Hardy's fault, but being force-fed Far from the Madding Crowd at 14 just wasn't a good idea. Its many layers and subtle nuances were lost on a group of restive teens in an unpleasant comprehensive in a nasty part of northern England. The tale of a bucolic romance involving a manipulative beauty and her inability to choose the right bloke just didn't do it for us....
Big Brother: the Final
- Posted at 5:35pm
- 08 September 2008
- by PaulJones-RT
- 2 comments
Well, all in all I think that was a satisfactory outcome. Of the five finalists, the two most deserving were first and second, and in third place was Sara, who I've found extremely entertaining. Yes, you could argue it's a travesty that Rex made it to the final, but I suppose even I have a grudging acceptance that he created some necessary conflict. Either way, Rachel winning does a lot for my faith in the humanity of BB viewers.
Because, unlike some people, I think Rachel really is a nice person. I think she actually is the supportive friend she appears to be. I believe her...
When is the digital radio switchover?
- Posted at 4:20pm
- 06 September 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
- 1 comment
Q I'm a compulsive radio listener, with ancient analogue radios tuned to Radio 4 in every room of the house. But, it seems, not for long…soon, but nobody can tell me when, all my radios will be dead following the digital switchover. When is this likely to happen?
K Evans, Bull Bay, Anglesey
A No need to panic yet - the TV and radio switchovers are quite separate, and nobody can tell you when the analogue radio signal will be switched off because the plans aren't in place. In June, a Government working group described moving fully to digital as a "long-term plan", and suggested it be completed...
Why is there a time lapse between analogue and digital?
- Posted at 1:50pm
- 06 September 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q Perhaps sadly, I like my wristwatch to be correct to the second. But which final Radio 4 "pip" is the correct time? The one on analogue radio or the one via digital TV? There's a few seconds' difference.
Peter Ford, Frome, Somerset
A It's the analogue one - digital information takes a small amount of time to be encoded before broadcast, and then decoded by your digital receiver.
**
Do you have a question for Doctor Digital? Just get in touch using the form below.
...Tired of CGI
- Posted at 5:02pm
- 05 September 2008
- by AndrewCollins-RT
- 7 comments
The original King Kong, made in 1933, pioneered the use of stop-motion animation in its creation of the giant ape. Kong was indeed "the Eighth Wonder of the World" – and it was all done with metal, rubber, air bladders and rabbit fur. The New York Times called the film "a remarkable example of the most up-to-date camera tricks".
When Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson remade King Kong in 2005, he too used the "most up-to-date camera tricks" – but they now included the very latest computer technology. The result is that a large part of what you see on screen in this...
The Hairy Bakers
- Posted at 12:22pm
- 05 September 2008
- by AlisonGraham-RT
- 12 comments
The Hairy Bakers are like two dull uncles at a children's party. You know the type: ebullient to the point of embolism; tediously cheerful; and telling bad gags and doing tricks with a 50p piece, before hitting you over the head with a rolled paper. For fun.
I've sat through a couple of episodes of The Hairy Bakers, and both times I fully expected either Dave Myers or Simon King (like Ant and Dec, I don't know which is which and I don't care) to reach out of the screen and give me a playful whack across the ear before exhorting me to "get outside in the fresh air, it'll do...
The Children
- Posted at 11:50am
- 05 September 2008
- by AlisonGraham-RT
- 10 comments
An awful lot of attention has been focused on Lost in Austen, ITV1's middling fantasy drama about a 21st-century woman who steps through her bathroom door into her favourite novel, Pride and Prejudice.
Not that there's anything bad about Lost in Austen - it's frothy and has some smart lines, but it's a bit "meh" as Americans say, and it's obvious a mass audience hasn't been won over: viewing figures for Thursday's first episode weren't terribly good at 3.8 million (though Lost in Austen has the misfortune to be placed bang up against the BBC1 juggernaut Who Do You Think You Are?)
Anyway, my...
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