STAR TREK - Google Gadget

I just created another Google Gadget for the Google Personalized Homepage.

Just like my Doctor Who gadget, it's a little widget that shows you which episodes of Star Trek were broadcast for the first time on any particular day of the year. It includes all television episodes and movie release dates, and will self-update on every day of the year.

Here's how it looks for January 27th...

Add the gadget to your Google Homepage right now by clicking the button below...
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DOCTOR WHO - Google Gadget

I just wrote my first Google Gadget for the Google Personalized Homepage.

It's a little widget that shows you which episodes of Doctor Who were broadcast for the first time on any particular day of the year. It includes all television, radio and webcast episodes, and will self-update on every day of the year.

Here's how it looked for November 23rd, the 43rd anniversary of Doctor Who's beginning...

Add the gadget to your Google Homepage right now by clicking the button below...

or go to Google's Gadget Directory here to see another preview.

** UPDATE ** Check out our new Star Trek version.

ZAP XEBRA - Del Boy's New Car?

I guess Del Boy Trotter has options if his trusty Reliant Robin ever gives up the goat. Check out the 3-wheeled Xebra electric car from the company that brought you the SmartCar. Whether I'd fancy driving on US roads in one of these is highly debatable. Too many trucks and SUVs to squash you flat.

In related news, Season 7 of the BBC sitcom "Only Fools and Horses" in which Del Boy Trotter appears hits the stores very soon. It's already available to pre-order at Amazon's usual healthy discount.

FRY AND LAURIE - US DVD Release

There's no doubt that BBC Worldwide has made a very shrewd marketing decision in releasing the DVDs of the "Fry and Laurie" (Season One and Season Two) on exactly the same day as Season 2 of Fox's "House" starring Hugh Laurie. Almost inevitable that they'll be paired up on the shelves of Borders and other DVD outlets.

Fry and Laurie was a very funny sketch show starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie that I remember very fondly. It will be very nice to see it again. I particularly remember a hilarious spoof of The Beatles "Hey Jude" with Hugh Laurie at the piano. Ah...., here it is....

DOCTOR WHO - The Invasion comes to DVD

Superb news from the BBC. The Patrick Troughton story "The Invasion" featuring the Cybermen is at last coming to DVD, but with a very exciting twist. The two "missing" episodes are being re-created in animated form by those talented folks down at Cosgrove Hall animation. Their animation will be overlayed with the original soundtrack which still exists. Truly marvellous!

Full details, and 30 second teaser trailer at the BBC Doctor Who site.

GOOGLE TRENDS - Tsunami?

How eerie is this? A Google Trends analysis for the search term "Tsunami".

PLEO - Next Generation Robotic Pet

Check this video out of Pleo, the smartest robotic pet ever. That's pretty cool looking. It appears Amazon is already accepting pre-orders for Pleo. Could be a fast seller I think.

THE FALL AND RISE OF REGINALD PERRIN - Teacher loses ‘farting’ chair case

Oh dear. This MSNBC story is about a British school Sue Storer who has lost her employment tribunal case against her school (Bedminster Down Secondary School) because they failed to replace her chair which "farted" whenver she sat down. Poor woman.

The character of C.J. in the BBC classic series "The Fall And Rise Of Reginal Perrin" would have loved that one I'm sure! I just wish this classic sitcom was available on Region 1 DVD, but Region Free DVD players are available in the US (see sidebar) so I'll just have to order one from Amazon.co.uk.

MR MEN BOOKS - Happy birthday to the Mr Men

The BBC reports on the 35th anniversary of the Mr Men books by Roger Hargreaves (and son). These charming books entertained me when I was small, just as they entertain my young son now.

Adam Hargreaves said: "I don't think they have dated at all.

"They are possibly not as contemporary as the new ones because there are technological differences out there that have changed the way the world looks, so they get incorporated in the new books, like mobile phones.

"The characters themselves have not dated because they don't sit in a particular time frame."

Adam would like to see the Mr Men franchise continue for another 35 years, breaking into new countries, particularly in the US where they have had a degree of success in the past but have not been heavily promoted.

Glad to do my bit Adam...

DOCTOR WHO - TARDISODES

For those of you enjoying Season 1 of the new Doctor Who on SciFi Channel in the USA... You might like to know that the official BBC Doctor Who website is now webcasting special one minute teasers (or TARDISODES) for Season 2 which begins in the UK on April 15th. The first one is set on the planet of New Earth.