British In America

STAR TREK - Google Gadget

2007-01-17T20:29:00.000-05:00

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

2006-11-23T22:16:00.000-05:00

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?

2006-08-21T16:46:00.000-05:00

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

2006-08-13T10:01:00.000-05:00

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

2006-06-21T11:29:00.000-05:00

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?

2006-05-10T22:17:00.000-05:00

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

PLEO - Next Generation Robotic Pet

2006-04-12T18:02:00.000-05:00

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

2006-04-10T19:56:00.000-05:00

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

2006-04-04T09:06:00.000-05:00

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

2006-04-01T08:19:00.000-05:00

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.

CRICKET - Philadelphia International Cricket Festival

2006-03-24T16:16:00.000-05:00

I'd like to point out the upcoming Philadelphia International Cricket Festival which takes place the first weekend in May 2006. Browsing their site it's enlightening to discover what a hub of cricket Philadelphia has been over the years!

The Philadelphia International Cricket Festival is an annual event held in the Philadelphia area during the first weekend in May to promote cricket, friendship and community service through sporting contact.

Since its inception, it has grown into the paramount tourist Cricket Festival in the United States.

The beneficiary is the Inglis Foundation, a local charity that cares for those with physical disabilities.

RUGBY UNION - Philadelphia and Valley Forge area

2006-03-24T16:09:00.000-05:00

A member of the White Horse Rugby Club (Philadelphia, Valley Forge area PA) contacted me and told me that they're always on the look out for players. They are currently a Division III team, "so the lads in their 30s and 40s can still get a B-Team game". If you'd like to give this exciting, popular sport a try, head over and join them. I'm sure they'll be delighted to see you.

LOCH NESS MONSTER - Elephant theory in Nessie search

2006-03-24T09:27:00.000-05:00

The BBC recently reported on a new theory behind The Loch Ness Monster. Circus elephants taking a swim no less...

PODCAST ROUNDUP - Formula 1

2006-03-22T13:45:00.000-05:00

With two Formula 1 races now in the books for 2006, I thought I'd point you in the direction of two relevant podcasts that I enjoy listening to. The BBC Radio Five station has a new post-race podcast called "The Chequered Flag", and long-time British TV presenter Gareth Jones (Gaz Top) has a rather good motorsports podcast called "Gareth Jones On Speed" which is posted every month or so.

Over the winter, "On Speed" has been giving us lots of A1 Grand Prix news (Gareth is the pit-reporter for the A1 series so that's understandable). This excellent new motorsports series brings its inaugral season to a close this weekend in China, and is broadcast on the OLN Network in the USA.

MONTY PYTHON - Silly Walks Generator

2006-03-18T09:31:00.000-05:00

Here's a bit of silliness. A Monty Python Silly Walks Generator.

FORMULA 1 2006 - First race in Bahrain, this weekend!

2006-03-07T20:41:00.000-05:00

So, here we go again... The pinnacle of world motorsport, Formula One begins this weekend at the Bahrain International Circuit. Fernando Alonso and his Renault team will begin the defence of their titles against the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher and the McLarens of Kimi Raikkonen & Juan Pablo Montoya.

But this 18 race season has all the potential for a real mixed-up grid. New qualifying procedure, new teams, new driver combos, new engines, spanky new liveries ( McLaren's chrome is very nice, and I hear Torro Rosso's final livery will be a sight to behold ), and tyre changes are BACK. It's a shame the race in Belgium at Spa has been cancelled again, but hopefully it will be back in 2007.

There's a good Formula 1 team guide at SpeedTV.

First practice is Friday 10th March, 6am on Speed Channel. Qualifying follows on Saturday morning, also at 6am, and the race airs live on Sunday morning at 6am, with a rerun at 12:30pm.

LINDA SMITH

2006-03-03T19:25:00.000-05:00

It is with great sadness that I discovered today of the tragic death of comedienne Linda Smith. At the tragically young age of 48, she died of ovarian cancer.

Linda's wry sense of humour has been a favourite of mine for many years, and I always enjoyed her frequent appearances on television and radio. Shows like "Have I Got News For You" (TV), and radio shows such as "Just A Minute", "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue" and "The News Quiz" will miss her wit enormously in the future.

Only this morning (before I knew of her death), I was listening to an episode of "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue" and was belly laughing at her attempt to sing "one song to the tune of another". She would readily admit she wasn't much of a singer, but her attempts could bring tears to your eyes.

She will be sorely missed.

Here's the BBC report of her death, an obituary, and a tribute from Jeremy Hardy.

The BBC has just broadcast a special tribute episode of "The News Quiz" which you can listen to on their site.

Keep an eye on BBC7 for episode of "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue", "Just A Minute" and "The News Quiz", broadcast every week, and with Linda as semi-regular contestant on all of them.

DANCING WITH THE STARS - 57 years in the making

2006-02-26T22:03:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Drew Lachey and Cheryl Burke for winning tonights finale of ABC's "Dancing With The Stars". Any other result would have been daylight robbery - no offence Jerry!

The surprise hit of last summer has done very well in its second season, with contestants Drew Lachey and Stacy Keibler being the two to beat this time around. But, did you know...

This is all based on a British show from the BBC entitled "Strictly Come Dancing" (hence Bruno Tonioli's continued references to "five" series) which (as its title suggests) is a pseudo-continuation of one of the longest running television series of all time - "Come Dancing" which premiered on the BBC in 1949!

Created by Eric Morley, "Come Dancing" ran on and off until 1995, hosted by many different personalities over the years, including BBC Radio personality Terry Wogan, news reader Angela Rippon and travel broadcaster Judith Chalmers.

Incidentally, tune into Terry Wogan's daily radio show, and you're likely to hear the vocal tones of a certain "disembodied Englishman" (as described by Tom Bergeron last week). This is the dance announcer Alan Dedicoat, who appears on Wogan's daily show as one of the "Togs". He was most famous as the "voice of the balls" on the UK's National Lottery when it began in 1994.

DOCTOR WHO - SciFi Channel, March 17th, 2 hour premiere

2006-02-25T10:56:00.000-05:00

The US Sci-Fi Channel's Doctor Who website is now live, and very spanky it is too!

The show begins on March 17th, 9/8C with a two-episode premiere of "Rose" and "The End of the World".

Enjoy folks! Its a great show, lots of fun, and gets better as the series goes on. It really finds its feet with "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances".

You can see their first teaser trailer on the homepage.

THE HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY - Live On Stage, In Philadelphia

2006-02-25T09:57:00.000-05:00

Just like to promote a new stage version of Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", which is playing in Philadelphia until the end of March.

British comedy at its best! Curio Theatre brings Douglas Adams' modern classic radio script to life with mixed media fun and frolics. Combining original storyboard illustrations created by Nonthaporn and Ray Saunders, over 200 sound effects, and five live actors reading multiple characters, this production promises to be a unique theatrical experience!

It's playing at The Calvary Center (February 16 to March 4) and The Walnut Street Theatre Studio Five (March 8 to 26).

I have my tickets for this small production, and it should make for a different evening's entertainment. Looking forward to it!

MONKEY MAGIC

2006-02-23T21:53:00.000-05:00

Anyone remember Monkey, the cult Japanese TV classic from the 70s? The original version is available on Region 2 DVD (see left), but I can heartily recommend the CyberHome CH-DVD 300S Progressive-Scan DVD Player. It will play PAL and NTSC discs on US televsions and can be made into a Region FREE DVD player with an ultra-simple code. Beautiful, and a GREAT price! Works like a charm!

Here's BBC News with an article on the current remake...

An ambitious remake of Japan's most successful television drama Saiyuki (Monkey) is causing a stir across Asia.

The new version of the 1978 drama broke ratings records last month with one in three Japanese viewers tuning in.
[...]
Monkey purists may be disappointed by the new version. The opening scene of each old episode that retold the legend of his birth from a stone egg on a mountain has been dropped.

The scene where Monkey achieves immortality by gorging himself on 9,000-year-old peaches will also not be included.

A dubbed version of the original was shown in the UK on BBC Two in 1981.

Here's a Monkey Tribute site to the original version.

LOST vs DALEK - Video Battle

2006-02-20T12:36:00.000-05:00

Battle on! Same joke, two different TV shows, ABC's Lost and BBC's Doctor Who. Which video do you like best?

The Lost Song or The Dalek Song

KATHERINE LEGGE - British Rookie Eyes Honours on Champ Car Debut

2006-02-19T10:19:00.000-05:00

Good luck to female British racer Katherine Legge as she steps up to a full time Champ Car ride in 2006. Maybe she can do what Danica Patrick failed to do in the IRL last year, and win a race.

Katherine Legge has set her sights on rookie-of-the-year honors as she gets ready to become the first woman to have a full-time Champ Car ride when the 2006 season kicks off at Long Beach in two month's time.

Confirmed by PKV Racing last night to move up from Atlantics - her teammate's name remains a mystery - the 25-year old Briton is well aware of the massive task ahead of her, but isn't afraid to set the bar high.

SPEEDTV.com with the full story.

STEPTOE AND SON - Stage Show

2006-02-17T19:31:00.000-05:00

Here's the BBC News site with an article on the successful stage version of "Steptoe and Son" which is transferring to London for a nine-week run, before going on tour.

A stage play based on classic BBC sitcom Steptoe and Son is opening in London's West End.

Steptoe and Son In Murder At Oil Drum Lane, written by the series' creator Ray Galton, is set some years after the series has ended.

Son Harold has accidentally killed "dirty old man" Albert, but finds himself haunted by his father's ghost.

"Steptoe and Son" was a hugely successful BBC sitcom which ran from 1962 to 1974 and was the basis for America's "Sanford and Son".

As yet, the original British version is not available on DVD in the USA, although a double-pack of two cinema spin-off movies is available. They are a pale imitation of the original TV series, but not bad. Amazon.com has "Steptoe and Son/Steptoe and Son Ride Again" pretty cheap.

You can hear the original TV scripts though, adapted for radio, and beautifully performed by the series stars Harry H. Corbett and Wilfred Brambell, and broadcast every week on the BBC7 digital radio station. You can listen to this week's show here: Steptoe and Son - BBC7.

PUBLIC INFORMATION FILMS - Jimmy Saville, Rolf Harris and Darth Vadar...

2006-02-16T05:10:00.000-05:00

Every day this month, the BBC News Magazine is celebrating a classic Public Information film from the past 60 years. Oh the horror...

Here's Jimmy "Tops of the Pops" Saville with his "Clunk, Click, Every Trip" campaign. Yikes!

How about David "Darth Vadar" Prowse as the Green Cross Man in this road safety film.

And here's Jon Pertwee ("Doctor Who number 3") in another film from the Green Cross Code campaign. SPLINK!

Next, here's Bernard Cribbins narrating the "Tufty Club" film.

Finally, here's Rolf Harris with the classic "Teach Them To Swim" campaign!

I'll keep an eye on this site for any other gems that might pop up. (All current films are available from the drop-down on their site by the way)

HISTORIC TALE CONSTRUCTION SET

2006-02-13T09:19:00.000-05:00

Here's an interesting diversion. A Historic Tale Construction Kit that allows you to make your own Bayeux Tapestry type cartoons. Neat, if a little buggy.

A1 GRAND PRIX - Britain scores Indonesia Pole

2006-02-11T18:51:00.000-05:00

Marvellous. The Great Britain A1 Grand Prix team has scored its first pole position of this exciting new open-wheel racing series. The race takes place on Sunday and will be broadcast on the OLN Network next weekend.

A1 Team Great Britain has taken its first-ever pole position for tomorrow's sprint race at the Sentul Circuit. Robbie Kerr joins the list of four other drivers over three teams who have secured the front place on the grid for the Sprint race, putting them in prime position to battle for the all important Feature race pole.

This series has been a real revelation, really fast, competitive races with lots of great action. Each race has been better than the last. Lots of fun. Four races remain in the season, with Laguna Seca, California on March 12th.

As I said, the series is broadcast on the OLN network, and is also available to watch online at A1GP.com.

YOU COULDN'T MAKE THIS UP #1

2006-02-11T15:29:00.000-05:00

In the first of a new semi-regular feature, here's a story you just couldn't make up! A ship lost some of its containers of sneakers in heavy weather, and locals ran down to the beach to grab the booty... but....

Residents of Terschelling island rushed to get the trainers, but were faced with having to search for shoes that matched in size and design.

Police made no effort to stop people taking goods from containers that had broken open, reports say.

BBC News with the Full Story.

WAR OF THE WORLDS - Richard Burton 'joins Worlds stage cast'

2006-02-06T09:06:00.000-05:00

BBC News has an interesting piece of the upcoming stage production of Jeff Wayne's Muscial version of War Of The Worlds.

Legendary actor Richard Burton, who died in 1984, is to be resurrected in digital format for the stage version of Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds.

Burton, who was narrator on Wayne's original classic 70s album, will be seen as a 3D-image over the stage.

The original album recording of Burton's voice will then be synchronised so he appears to speak.

This is the first time the album has been made into a professional show and will play to near sold-out audiences.

I'd give my right-arm to see this show, because I've loved the fabulous album for about 20 years. But unless there's a US tour (unlikely) or a DVD (more likely), then I'll just have to enjoy my CD version again.

RICHARD BECKINSALE

2006-02-05T11:09:00.000-05:00

For those who don't know, the beautiful Kate Beckinsale, currently starring in Underworld:Evolution, is the daughter of much missed British comedy actor Richard Beckinsale. Richard died in 1979 at the tragically early age of 32. He was a marvellously talented comic performer, and starred in numerous 70s sitcoms that are still loved to this day. "Porridge", "Rising Damp" and "The Lovers" are the ones that are remembered most.

Recently released in the USA on DVD is Season 1 of "Rising Damp". Richard played Alan Moore is this series, alongside Leonard Rossiter (pictured right) as Rigsby.

He played prison inmate Lennie Godber in "Porridge" alongside the brilliant Ronnie Barker. Even though I have most of Porridge on VHS, I do hope for a Region 1 DVD release at some point. Great show, with a semi-decent sequel in "Going Straight".

It may have been the late Ronnie Barker who said, "Richard Beckinsale will never get old". We all remember him as the young man he was in those 70s sitcoms. He left a short, but marvellous legacy.

And starting on Wednesday, February 8th you can hear him in a 9 part radio sitcom, "Albert And Me", on the BBC digital radio station BBC7. Each episode will be available to listen again through their 7 day listen again schedule. Once February 8th is over, this link should get you right to the 2:30pm broadcast of "Albert And Me".

DOUGLAS ADAMS

2006-01-24T14:29:00.000-05:00

I was watching the DVD of Doctor Who - City Of Death yesterday and discovered a nice little Easter Egg on the second disc. It was an interview with writer Douglas Adams (Author of The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy and script-editor of Doctor Who in the late 70s) recounting a drunken stumble around Paris with the future director of Destiny Of The Daleks. Funny story.

I've been a Douglas Adams fan for as long as I can remember. It was a terrible shock when he died suddenly in 2001. I recently came across this touching video from Douglas' old Mac website, of his daughter Polly dancing along to a marvellous song entitled Rockstar. It nearly always brings a tear to my eye when I think how young she was when she lost her father. The video also features a brief cameo from Douglas Adams' friend John Cleese.

The song itself is by the Scottish singer songwriter Margo Buchanan. If you like the song, Rockstar is available for MP3 download right from her site.

My own Douglas Adams fan blog is entitled Another Chance To See, where I attempt to bring the stories of the "Last Chance To See" endangered animals up-to-date.

**NOTE** The Easter Eggs on most Doctor Who DVDs can easily be found by pressing the Left Arrow while you have a menu item highlighted. The screen will generally display a green Doctor Who logo which you can then select and view the Easter Egg. Most Doctor Who DVDs have at least one hidden in the menus somewhere. City Of Death had about 4, including this Douglas Adams interview!

THE PUFFY SHIRT

2006-01-19T17:05:00.000-05:00

HA! I've been working my way through some Seinfeld and Frasier DVDs that I got for Christmas, and I couldn't help but notice a striking similarity between Jerry's "Puffy Shirt", and Niles' pirate shirt from "A Midwinter Night's Dream".

Two of my favourite shows, so I'll forgive them...

HOUSE - Golden Globes - Congratulations Hugh Laurie...

2006-01-16T20:42:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to "House"'s Hugh Laurie for winning the best actor in a drama series at tonight's Golden Globes ceremony! The British actor gives a fantastic performance in this American series!

Fox's "House" is a great show, and after growing up in Britain watching Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry on Blackadder, Fry and Laurie, Jeeves and Wooster etc, its MARVELLOUS to have him over here entertaining me still.

Very well done Hugh Laurie! Magic!

DOCTOR WHO - US Broadcast on Sci-Fi Channel begins in March!

2006-01-12T21:54:00.000-05:00

Finally! The USA has a broadcaster for Doctor Who, the BBC smash hit of 2005. Check out the BBC's announcement celebration right now... FANTASTIC! The broadcast of the 13 part series will begin in March on the Sci-Fi Channel, pushing the DVD release back to July 4th.

SCI FI Channel and BBC Worldwide Americas announced today a major licensing deal for the first series of the latest Doctor Who adventures.

The 13-part drama is about a mysterious time-travelling adventurer known simply as "The Doctor" (Christopher Eccleston) and his companion, Rose Tyler (Billie Piper). The Doctor and Rose risk death and danger, battling aliens and monsters.

The deal, brokered by Lisa Hofer, Director Co-Production & Sales, BBC Worldwide Americas, grants SCI FI Channel the first run rights for series one with an option for series two. The award-winning series will premiere on SCI FI beginning in March, airing Friday nights at 9.00pm.

You can also hear Executive Producer Julie Gardner talking to BBC Radio Wales about the sale.

It's a great family entertainment series, and for anyone who enjoys Buffy or Harry Potter you should enjoy it enormously. I'm lucky enough to have seen the recent Chrsitmas special too, and I know that season 2 will be just as much fun. Can't wait!

GOOGLE - Curious British search results page

2006-01-11T19:42:00.000-05:00

I was searching Google this morning and saw this strange new search results format when I searched for British. After the top 3 listings, there's a horizontal rule followed by a suggested search for British Airways and the top 3 results from that search. Then, another horizontal rule, and my search results continue.

I'm assuming that British Airway's AdWords campaign somehow gets their top 3 results shoe-horned into my results list like this. Not sure I like it at all! Anyone seen any others like this? I tried the search with both my Personalized Search turned on and off, and it didn't make any difference. Please Google, don't clutter my search with things I'm really not interested in!

DOCTOR WHO - The Christmas Invasion

2006-01-08T10:28:00.000-05:00

Well, here I sit in NJ, some 2 weeks since Doctor Who, The Christmas Invasion blasted across television sets in the UK on Christmas Day, and I've still not seen it. Fortunately I know that there's a tape winging its way across the Atlantic as I speak, and it should arrive sometime next week. Thanks Dad!

I'm so looking forward to seeing what new Doctor David Tennant will do with the role. I think he's going to be great! My latest issue of Doctor Who magazine is already here, but I dare not open it yet for fear of spoilers! It's a great magazine, and is available in the US through Amazon.com's subscription service, although I've heard spotty reports about this service. My personal recommendation is just to give the subscription folks at Panini a call - from the USA, +44 870 055 1133. I do this every year to renew my subscription and they are always terribly helpful. I also understand that the Panini website now accepts overseas subscriptions.

The magazine will be covering the build up to Series 2 in great detail in the coming months, so now is the time to join the fun!

MRS TRELLIS of North Wales - Play Mornington Crescent...

2005-12-28T11:19:00.000-05:00

Here's a nice site, devoted to the mysterious and barking-mad Mrs Trellis of North Wales who does nothing but write strange letters and emails to Humphrey Lyttleton at the BBC Radio 4 show "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue".

The comedy panel game has been running some 30-odd years and still has regular series on BBC Radio 4. You can also catch archive editions EVERY WEEK on the marvellous BBC7 radio channel. You can stream them online, and if you have a product like Replay Radio you can record them and listen to them on your MP3 player at your leisure. Great fun. Some of the games are baffling for newcomers (Mornington Crescent for example), but others are so simple. I particularly like New Definitions which you can play online there. Simply come up with amusing new definitions for existing words or phrases.

Here's a few I like...
BLOWING HIS OWN TRUMPET - Contortionist's party trick
FRENCH WINDOWS - The reason that PC was so cheap...
SHEEPISH - The scent of a Welsh man after sex
PHILANDERER - Randy stamp collector
DOG EARED - Embarrasing facial disfigurement
TEAR-JERKER - Sad wanker

You get the idea...

CHARLEY'S WAR - First World War comic strip - Volume 2

2005-12-24T22:04:00.000-05:00

Delighted to report that volume two of Charley's War is now available from Amazon.com.

Volume One is still available (here's my post on Charley's War - Book 1), and book two takes up the story exactly where we left off, with 16 year old Charley Bourne, an underage soldier serving in the horrors of World War I. This book takes us through from 1 August-17 October 1916.

This is such a powerful, magnificently drawn story, I cannot recommend these books more! The attention to detail is extraordinary, and if you don't know much about the history of World War I, these books will be a real eye-opener.

And again, this Charley's War website is a great resource about the strip, with a history and samples of the fantastic artwork.

On a highly related note, I'll point you in the direction of BBC Radio 4's series called "Unearthing History". The first show is still available to listen online...

In the first of a new series of Unearthing Mysteries Aubrey Manning travels to Northern France where he goes deep underground beneath the battlefields of World War I to uncover the legacy of an underground war fought over 90 years ago.

Also, Britain's last surviving World War One veteran passed away recently. Prince Charles paid tribute to Alfred Anderson, who served with the 5th Battalion the Black Watch.

Born in 1896, he was in one of the first British contingents to serve on the Western Front.

Prince Charles, who knew the veteran, said: "I was very deeply saddened to hear that Alfred Anderson had died."

Mr Anderson was thought to have been the longest surviving veteran of the 1914 Christmas truce when British and German troops shook hands in no-man's-land.

ROYALTY - Charles 'considers name change'

2005-12-24T10:48:00.000-05:00

BBC News reports...

The Prince of Wales has reportedly considered using the name George when he becomes King.

He has discussed ditching the title Charles III because of associations with some of the bloodiest periods in the monarchy's history, The Times says.

A number of kings in the past have adopted one of their middle names on ascension to the throne.

A Clarence House spokesperson said a choice would not made until coronation and the report was "idle speculation".

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH - Sir David tackles climate change

2005-12-24T09:07:00.000-05:00

As well as presenting this year's Life In The Undergrowth about insects, David Attenborough still has an important series he wants to present before he considers hanging up his wellies. His last big nature series will be Life In Cold Blood, about the behaviour of reptiles and amphibians. But while filming Life In The Undergrowth, "he said he saw the consequences of global warming "again and again", and so is putting together a season of BBC programmes about climate change. The BBC News site has the full story.

BBC - Voices

2005-12-23T11:42:00.000-05:00

The BBC website has an interesting section entitled BBC - Voices which allows you to listen to conversations from around the country and get a real flavour of just how diverse our regional accents are. For such a small country it really is quite astonishing just how different people from the North, South, East and West of Britain sound. You have the Brummy accent from Birmingham, Geordie from Newcastle, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Cockney from London, Cornish, Yorkshire, Manchester, everyone sounds a little bit different.

PODCAST ROUNDUP

2005-12-17T10:09:00.000-05:00

Penguin books is now offering their own podcast, called (naturally enough) The Penguin Podcast. This Christmas they have a 5 part reading of Charles Dicken's "A Christmas Carol" read by the wonderful Geoffrey Palmer, of "As Time Goes By" and James Bond 007 movie fame.

A recent edition of the podcast (still available) features an interview with Charlie Higson on the re-creation of the James Bond character for the "Young Bond" series of books.

And Ricky Gervais of "The Office" fame, has now got his own podcasted show on the Guardian newspaper website. Click here for The Ricky Gervais podcast.

Episode 2 December 12 2005
In which Ricky, Steve and Karl discuss...
little people tormenting big cats and the market-testing of a Serbian sex machine. Karl muses on the blight of the charity mugger and the greater blight of talkative vagrants. There's an exposé of nudists' foibles, a discussion on erotic paraphernalia of the classic period and, as ever, more monkey news.

NEWS - Ramp creates power as cars pass

2005-12-16T15:41:00.000-05:00

The BBC News website has got a very interesting article on a new road ramp that generates power as cars pass over it. Very ingenious method of creating an alternative energy supply! I'll put one outside my house and never pay another electricity bill again!

Dorset inventor Peter Hughes' Electro-Kinetic Road Ramp creates around 10kW of power each time a car drives over its metal plates.

More than 200 local authorities had expressed an interest in ordering the £25,000 ramps to power their traffic lights and road signs, Mr Hughes said.

DOCTOR WHO - Watch Online! BBC Children In Need Special Episode

2005-11-23T20:56:00.006-05:00

Please add my Doctor Who Google Gadget to your Google homepage...

and please visit my Another Chance To See website, currently following the progress of Stephen Fry's brand new documentary series for 2009.
**THIS POST WAS WRITTEN IN 2005 - Apologies to those visitors looking for access to Children in Need 2008** Swing on over to the BBC Children In Need site and until November 25th you can watch the special mini-episode of Doctor Who broadcast last week during the telethon.

Billie Piper and David Tennant are starring in a special Doctor Who scene written exclusively for BBC Children in Need [by Russell T. Davies].

This mini-episode of Doctor Who bridges from the final episode of last series - "The Parting Of The Ways" - to the beginning of "The Christmas Invasion" due for broadcast on Christmas Day. The ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) has just regenerated, and companion Rose isn't quite sure what just happened. The scene is lots of fun, and David Tennant is going to make a fine tenth Doctor I'm sure!

The series will be released on DVD in North America on February 14th 2006, but if you can't wait that long, and your DVD player can handle PAL, you can already pick up the box set from Amazon.co.uk.

If you enjoy the special episode, please show your support to the worthy cause that is Children In Need, and Make A Donation.

Oh, and Happy Birthday to Doctor Who! Today is an astonishing 42 years since the very first episode was broadcast - "An Unearthly Child" starring William Hartnell.

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH names ape girl as his heir to TV jungle

2005-11-13T09:32:00.000-05:00

According to the Sunday Times Online...

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH, the doyen of television naturalists, has announced his retirement from major documentaries and named Charlotte Uhlenbroek, the 37-year-old primate specialist and presenter of Going Ape and Jungle, as a potential successor.

The broadcaster believes Uhlenbroek has the knowledge and skills required to take over as anchor of the BBC’s big-budget nature series.

Attenborough, who has been making natural history programmes since 1950 and will be 80 next year, believes Life in Cold Blood — an examination of reptiles and amphibians due to be shown by 2008 — will complete the most important part of his life’s work as a presenter of nature programmes. He may, however, continue to present one-off documentaries.

Charlotte Uhlenbroek has been seen recently on SkyOne's "Final Chance To Save", a rip-off of the great Douglas Adams book "Last Chance To See".

David Attenborough's penultimate series "Life in the Undergrowth" begins on the BBC this month, and should show up on Discovery Channel sometime in the new year.

HOUSE - Did Hugh Laurie slip up?

2005-11-09T19:17:00.000-05:00

Last night's episode of House (starring English actor Hugh Laurie) made me sit up, rewind, and check on something...

Whilst talking to his mother, Dr. Greg House said "I have time for a sandwich", and to my ears it sounded like he pronounced it "SAM-WIDGE", which is certainly how it comes out of my English mouth. I asked around at work, and every American I spoke to pronounced it "SAND-WITCH". I'm almost positive most of my English friends would say "SAN-WIDGE" or "SAM-WIDGE" like me.

So, I'd like to conduct a little poll. What do you think? Did Hugh Laurie let an English pronunciation pass his lips in his American accent? If you're non-British, do you say "SAND-WITCH?". If you're British, do you say "SAN-WIDGE" or "SAM-WIDGE"? Over to you...

Incidentally, Mavens Word of the Day has an explanation of this phenomenon...

Pronunciations such as "SAN-witch" (without the d) or the more extreme "SAM-witch" show the process of assimilation, when sounds change to become identical with or similar to nearby sounds. Though some assimilated pronunciations are perfectly standard (such as "GRAM-pa" for grandpa), these pronunciations for sandwich are usually looked on with disfavor.

Incidentally, my personal favourite sandwich? Grated cheddar cheese and Branston pickle on a nice crusty loaf. If you're lucky, you can sometimes hunt down Branston in the USA as "Branston Pickle Relish", as made by Crosse & Blackwell.

P.S. Word on the street is that Hugh Laurie has asked the producers of House to write a part for his best bud Stephen Fry. Here's hoping! Fry and Laurie work so well together, this would be great episode!

WINSTON CHURCHILL - To Table or not to Table... That is the question!

2005-11-08T20:21:00.000-05:00

Wikipedia has this excellent article on the differences between American and British English.

In his history of the Second World War, Winston Churchill records that differences in the interpretation of the verb "to table" caused an argument between British and American planners. The British wanted a matter tabled immediately because it was important, and the Americans insisted it should not be tabled at all because it was important. In British English, the term means "to discuss now" (the issue is brought to the table), whereas in American English it means "to defer" (the issue is left on the table).

Stuff likes this comes up every week for me. Being British in America can certainly throw you a googly once in a while (i.e, curveball).

I first read about this "table" issue when reading Winston Churchill's EXCELLENT six volume history of World War 2. If you have plenty of reading time, this is a fascinating insight from the very heart of the conflict. The first volume especially (The Gathering Storm) is a harrowing tale of how Germany re-armed and how Churchill was desperate to get back into office to tackle the problem. It was the basis of the recent BBC/HBO docudrama of the same name which I enjoyed very much. The film featured a rare post-retirement appearance from the much missed Ronnie Barker as Churchill's butler.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "American and British English differences".

THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST - 50th Anniversary Party

2005-10-22T09:08:00.000-05:00

The BBC reports on a big party being held in Copenhagen to celebrate 50 years of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Former Eurovision acts attending the Congratulations party include Dana International and Bucks Fizz.

Central to the event will be a public vote on the favourite Eurovision song from a shortlist of 14 - not all former winners of the competition.
[...]
The songs will be performed by the original artists or by other performers. The original video clips from when the songs were featured in the contest will also be shown.

Taking part in the event will be former UK winners Brotherhood of Man. They will be joined by two-time Eurovision winner Johnny Logan.

The 14 competing songs:
Nel blu, di pinto di blu (Volare) - Domenico Modugno - Italy, 1958
Poupée de cire, poupée de son - France Gall - Luxemburg, 1965
Congratulations - Cliff Richard - UK, 1968
Eres tu - Mocedades - Spain, 1973
Waterloo - Abba - Sweden, 1974
Save your kisses for me - Brotherhood of Man - UK, 1976
What's another year - Johnny Logan - Ireland, 1980
Ein bisschen Frieden - Nicole - Germany, 1982
Hold me now - Johnny Logan - Ireland, 1987
Ne partez pas sans moi - Céline Dion - Switzerland, 1988
Diva - Dana International - Israel, 1998
Fly on the wings of love - Olsen Brothers - Denmark, 2000
Everyway that I can - Sertab Erener - Turkey, 2003
My Number One - Helena Paparizou - Greece, 2005

The Eurovision Song Contest website has a multimedia lounge where you can view videos of all the songs as they were originally performed.

TELEVISION - Changing Their Tune

2005-10-16T15:54:00.000-05:00

Newsweek reports on that dying art... the good TV theme tune.

Show like Lost simply don't have one, advertisers seem to rule the roost!

Sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful ... skip? Forgive us for borrowing the "Gilligan's Island" theme, but what's being skipped these days is the TV theme song itself. Several new shows—"Invasion," "Out of Practice," "Threshold," "Rodney," "Surface"—have no opening song. Other programs like "Two and a Half Men" and "Alias," which originally had notable themes, rarely use them now. Why?

For me, British TV had some of the best themes going, and the Saturday schedule was defined by theme after theme. From Noel Edmonds Swap Shop, Grandstand, Basil Brush, Jim'll Fix It, Doctor Who, The Generation Game, the list goes on and on...

POT NOODLE? - Oldest noodles unearthed in China

2005-10-13T02:38:00.000-05:00

HA! The BBC reports on the world's oldest discovered noodles, recently unearthed in China.

The 50cm-long, yellow strands were found in a pot that had probably been buried during a catastrophic flood.

Radiocarbon dating of the material taken from the Lajia archaeological site on the Yellow River indicates the food was about 4,000 years old.

Pot Noodle anyone?

Author Helen Cresswell dies at 71

2005-10-12T19:52:00.000-05:00

BBC News reported recently on the death of one of my favourite childhood authors, Helen Cresswell, at age 71.

The writer died at her home in Eakring, in Nottinghamshire, on Monday night. She had been suffering from cancer for some time.

Ms Cresswell was best-known for her children's book Lizzie Dripping, about a girl and her witch friend, which was later made into a BBC TV series.

Her other books include The Bagthorpe Saga, Moondial, The Piemakers, The Bongleweed and Stonestruck.

Moondial and The Bagthorpe Saga were both favourites of mine, and the Lizzie Dripping TV series starred a young Tina Heath who went onto have a baby while being a Blue Peter presenter.

This was a fascinating insight for many youngsters, and was in the great tradition of Blue Peter. The original idea for having pets on the weekly magazine show was to allow non-pet-owning kids to feel like they did own a dog, cat or tortoise. Very admirable.

Incidentally, I notice ex-Blue Peter presenter Tim Vincent is presenting on Access Hollywood these days...

RONNIE BARKER

2005-10-04T11:28:00.000-05:00

Ronnie Barker, the superb comic actor, has died peacefully at age 76. The BBC has the news of his death, plus an extensive obituary.

I am deeply saddened by this news. I uttered a noticable "Oh No!" when I read it on the station platform this morning.

I was watching an episode of Porridge only the other day, my favourite episode in fact - "Happy Release". The episode features Blanco, as played by David Jason, refusing his parole because it would feel like he was admitting his guilt on the murder of his wife - he had been wrongly imprisoned. The tag line of the episode, and the look on Ronnie Barker's face (as Fletcher) is utterly priceless, and I won't spoil it here.

BRITISH LIBRARY - Turning The Pages

2005-09-22T19:13:00.000-05:00

The BBC is reporting on the wonderful site over at the British Library called "Turning The Pages".

The site allows you to view original manuscripts and almost feel like you're handling the books. Along with sketches by Leonardo DaVinci, and the early works of Jane Austen, the latest addtion to the site is Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures Underground", with an optional audio narration by Miriam Margolyes. Very interesting use of Macromedia Shockwave.

YES MINISTER

2005-09-03T08:19:00.000-05:00

BBC7 has just started re-airing the radio version of "Yes Minister", the classic 1980s BBC sitcom starring Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne. You can hear the show every Friday, and it is available to "Listen Again" whenever you want for a week following the broadcast.

"Yes Minister" was a favourite of then Conservative PM Margaret Thatcher during the 1980s, and went on to become "Yes Prime Minister" when Eddington's character Jim Hacker was elevated to the highest office. Beautifully written, this is very clever comedy of the highest calibre. Marvellous stuff.

The DVD box sets of the complete original television version of "Yes Minister" and "Yes Prime Minister" are still available at Amazon.com and both are superb examples of BBC comedy at its best. Recommended.

MICHAEL SHEARD - Grange Hill favourite Mr Bronson has died

2005-08-31T08:24:00.000-05:00

Sad news from the BBC. Grange Hill favourite Michael Sheard has died. Sheard was a superb character actor, appeared as Adolf Hitler many times, appeared in numerous episodes of Doctor Who, Blake's 7, and as Admiral Ozzel was strangled by Darth Vader in the Star Wars movie "The Empire Strikes Back".

But for anyone who grew up in the 1980s, he will always be remembered as the fearsome Mr Bronson from Grange Hill. A frightening character. I had a teacher like him when I was at school. Terrifying, but one of the best teachers we had.

Here's an interview with Michael about his role in Grange Hill, which includes some video of him in action.

"KENDALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"

DOCTOR WHO - The Cybermen are back!

2005-08-30T20:02:00.000-05:00

It's fairly common knowledge that the Cybermen are returning to Doctor Who in 2006. They'll be up against the 10th Doctor of David Tennant, some time in the spring.

But if you can't wait that long, you can catch the first episode of the Big Finish audio adventure Sword Of Orion starring the 8th Doctor (Paul McGann) on BBC7 beginning this Saturday (the final episode of Storm Warning is now playing). Each of the 4 episodes will be available for one week following the broadcast.

And Big Finish themselves are releasing a 4 CD series based on the Cybermen very soon, called (unsurprisingly) Cyberman. Check out their teaser video trailer. If the series is as good as their Dalek series it should prove to be a fascinating series.

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH - Life In The Undergrowth

2005-08-18T11:17:00.000-05:00

Over the years, the renowned British naturalist David Attenborough has presented numerous landmark TV series, beginning with the trilogy of "Life On Earth", "The Living Planet" and "The Trials Of Life". More recent series were "The Life Of Birds" and "The Life Of Mammals", and now he's been turning his eyes to bugs in "Life In The Undergrowth".

This autumn, BBC1 will showcase the series which focuses on the millions of species of insects of the world, and you can be sure that the Discovery Channel in America will be airing it fairly soon afterwards. One to watch out for sure!

This page at ScubaZoo has more information on this upcoming series, including some snapshots of David during the filming.

I've enjoyed David Attenborough's work for many years. Nature documentaries without his voice-over just aren't the same for me! Before he made "Life On Earth" of course, he'd been travelling the world and filming documentaries since the 1950s under the banner "Zoo Quest". The audio-books of these travels are excellent road-trip entertainment. Recommended!

TAGS: David Attenborough

MICHAEL PALIN - The Ultimate Globetrotter

2005-08-18T07:13:00.000-05:00

I'm delighted that the BBC is finally beginning to release the marvellous Michael Palin documentary travelogues here in the USA. Palin was a member of the Monty Python comedy group of course, but since 1988 he's been the heir to Alan Whicker's crown as the ultimate television traveller.

I fell in love with these fabulous series from the very beginning when he traced the route of the fictional Phileas Fogg in "Around The World In 80 Days". Jules Verne would have been proud. It was a fascinating trip, and his days on the dhow, crossing the Bay Of Bengal to India is an endearing episode. Palin's obvious emotion when having to leave the crew behind at Bombay was so touching.

The first DVD release is the latest series "Himalaya", chronicling his trip through that mountainous terrain.

In order, the main trips were:
Around The World In 80 Days - No aircraft, following Phileas Fogg as close as possible.
Pole To Pole - North to South pole, mostly down the 30 degrees longitude line.
Full Circle - An epic trip around the Pacific Rim.
Hemingway Adventure - A trip around the world to visit places visited by Ernest Hemingway.
Sahara - Through and around the massive African desert.
Himalaya - Exploring the lands touched by the Himalayan mountain range, including Mt. Everest of course.

With any luck, all of these specially extended DVD releases will appear on US shelves. This is prime-time television in Britain, and simply NOT something you're going to see on the big three of CBS, ABC and NBC. Why is that I wonder? If it's not entertainment, reality, sit-com or police/law/medical drama, it simply doesn't exist in prime-time over here.

To explore further, PalinsTravels.co.uk is a great official resource of maps, e-books and a thriving community of Michael Palin nuts.

BRITPOP - 10 years on

2005-08-14T20:04:00.000-05:00

The BBC is presenting a special series of features on the Birth Of Britpop, some ten years ago. They include links to profiles on the likes of Oasis, Blur, Elastica, Suede and Pulp.

With this backdrop, Blur - who had their first hit in 1991 amid the Madchester-inspired "baggy" craze - set off on their second US tour.

The 44-city trek was a depressing experience.

Bands who were not grunge were all but dismissed and Blur came to despise the disinterest and uniformity they encountered.

But the trip provoked a strong reaction.

It inspired the band, they said, to begin a mission to "get rid of grunge", "declare war on America" and make music that was identifiably English.

LIGHT SWITCHES

2005-08-13T14:00:00.000-05:00

Why are US light-switches (left), the opposite way round to British light-switches (right)?

I'll never understand that.

JUST A MINUTE

2005-08-11T18:43:00.000-05:00

Just A Minute, the long running radio comedy panel game, has been a favourite of mine for many many years.

The concept was devised by the late Ian Messiter, and the game is simply to "speak for one minute without Hesitation, Repetition or Deviating from the subject on the card". Its been running over 30 years now, and is still presented by Nicholas Parsons. The Just A Minute panel has featured a whole gallery of famous people, actors and comedians over the years. Favourites such as Kenneth Williams, Peter Jones, Derek Nimmo, Clement Freud, Paul Merton, Tony Hawks, Linda Smith, Wendy Richard, Julian Clary, and Graham Norton usually have me rolling with laughter.

And I'm enjoying it all the more often now, as I record it twice a week from the web, and pop it straight onto my MP3 player using a product called Replay Radio.

The current Radio 4 series is still playing, and can be played on demand at Just A Minute - Radio 4, and shows from the Just A Minute archive can be found every week on Just A Minute - BBC7.

If you're looking for an interesting and funny alternative for your IPod or MP3 player I can't recommend Just A Minute more. This is just one of many BBC Radio shows I enjoy EVERY WEEK on my Philadelphia commute. Replay Radio has been a revelation for me!

BBC RADIO 1 now on SIRIUS Satellite Radio

2005-08-10T17:22:00.000-05:00

BBC News is heralding the highly anticipated launch of BBC Radio 1 on Channel 97 of Sirius Satellite Radio.

BBC Radio 1 is being broadcast on the airwaves in the US after the station struck a deal with an American satellite radio broadcaster [Sirius Satellite Radio]. It is the first time US audiences can hear the station on the radio rather than via the internet.
[...]
A time lag is being used so Americans can listen to Chris Moyles' early morning show at breakfast time. Other shows, including Scott Mills' drivetime show, will be heard in the US at the relevant time.
[...]
Radio 1 controller Andy Parfitt has called the move "an important deal".

"The station's job is to discover and support great new British music and America is a huge music market," he said.

Here's the Sirius Satellite Radio page about the launch.

Here's the full BBC Radio 1 homepage with full list of DJs and shows. Let's hope the trend continues to other stations like Radio2, Radio4 and my personal favourite BBC7.

The "Best Of Moyles" is now also available as a Podcast RSS or MP3 file.

Radio 1 itself is also available for free over the Net in the BBC Radio Player.

CHARLEY'S WAR - First World War comic strip

2005-08-08T19:33:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading Charley's War, Volume 1, quite rightly described as one of the most important, emotionally affecting comic strips ever published. If you're into comic books (or even if you're NOT), this is something very special indeed. It depicts the story of 16 year-old Charley Bourne, who lies about his age in order to serve his King and country in the horrors of the First World War trenches. If you're not going to read a history book about World War One, then PLEASE read this wonderful book. It is an extremely powerful piece of work.

Charley's War, painstakingly researched by Pat Mills, and EXQUISITELY illustrated by Joe Colquhoun, is as different as it is possible to imagine from the likes of Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, X-Men, and all the other myriad of superhero comics from Marvel and D.C.

The strong characterization, and mesmerizingly detailed black and white artwork just draws you into the story. By the end of the volume it felt like I was watching a movie. I could feel the rain dripping down my neck, and could almost smell the stench of death wafting over the horrific landscape of the trenches. Charley joins up just a few weeks before the Battle Of The Somme, in which (if you can imagine) 60,000 British soldiers were killed or injured on the FIRST DAY ALONE.

I first read the later parts of this strip, as it was originally serialized in the Eagle comic of the 1980s, when Eagle absorbed the long-running Battle comic. Such comics have long been a part of a British childhood, and are very different to the single-character driven titles such as Superman, Batman and Spider-Man. Each issue would contain about 7 or 8 individual stories, playing out over several weeks. My comic was Eagle, where I read about Dan Dare, Doomlord, The Thirteenth Floor, The Tower King, and (when Battle was absorbed) Charley's War.

It was a delight to discover this reprinting of Charley's War, and this first volume chronicles Charley from 2 June 1916 to 1 August 1916. Volume 2 is due later this year and I'll be getting it immediately.

This Charley's War website is a great resource about the strip, with a history and samples of the fantastic artwork.

DOCTOR WHO - The Brand New Series

2005-08-07T18:04:00.000-05:00

For the British in America, many have been gnashing their teeth that the BBC's smash-hit resurrection of the time and space adventure series Doctor Who has not been picked up by a US channel yet. I'm fortunate enough to have my family in the UK record shows like this for me and send tapes winging across the Atlantic, so I've seen the 13 part series already. And bloody marvellous it was too.

For most Americans, Doctor Who IS the long-scarf-wearing, jelly-baby-eating, TARDIS-travelling fourth Doctor, aka Tom Baker. Shown on PBS stations for many many years, there's no doubt that the late 70s was the golden era for Doctor Who, and many of these adventures are already available on DVD of course.

The Talons Of Weng-Chiang is my absolute favourite from this era, a spooky Victorian London romp with ghouls in the cellar of a music hall theatre, opium fuelled Chinese Tongs, and a cockney cabby being murdered by a psychotic pig-brained ventriloquist dummy(!). The giant rats aren't particularly convincing, but hey-ho, I'm willing to suspend my disbelief, because that's part of the fun. This was all done on a 70s BBC budget of course!

As I said, the BBC brought the series back in 2005 with a huge fanfare, starring Christopher Eccleston as the ninth Doctor. The show has been given a much bigger budget than it ever had, along with modern special effects from The Mill. The 13 part series begins in London with the introduction of Rose Tyler, the new Doctor's companion. From there, the Doctor takes Rose off in the TARDIS (thankfully still an old 60s style Police Telephone Box). First stop is the year 5 billion, and then back to Earth to meet Charles Dickens. Next, aliens land in London for a couple of episodes, Rose goes back in time to meet her father while he was still alive, and then they head back to World War II for a couple of episodes set in the London Blitz. Oh yes, and the Daleks are back, better and meaner than ever. The end of the series was supposed to be a secret, but it was just too big to keep hushed up. If you can see the series BEFORE finding this secret out, good luck to you.

Until a US transmission or Region 1 DVD release is announced, you can pick up this new series from Amazon.co.uk, but you will need to have a region-free DVD player that will convert Region 2 PAL to NTSC, or you won't be able to watch it on your TV. You might be able to watch it on your computer though...

The series was a ratings triumph for the BBC, so two Christmas specials and two more 13 part series have already been commissioned. The second series has already started filming. For more information, I recommend the Official BBC Doctor Who site, and the top fan site Outpost Gallifrey.

I would also point out that since 2000, an independent company called Big Finish has been producing brand new Doctor Who episodes on audio CD. Officially licensed by the BBC, they've been mostly excellent in quality, and have featured Doctors number five, six, seven and eight. You can buy them directly from Big Finish in the UK, or Who North America in Indianapolis.

And now, you can "try before you buy", because the BBC's digital radio station BBC7 (available over the internet) has secured the rights to broadcast four of the Paul McGann eighth Doctor stories, and began with the first episode of Storm Warning. Each episode is available to "Listen Again" for a week after the broadcast, so you've still got six days to catch this first episode. Well worth checking out.

British radio is still very much alive with drama, comedy and documentaries, much of which died out years ago in the United States when "Old Time Radio" fizzled out in the fifties/sixties. I'll have more on the delights of British radio and the emergence of Podcasting next week.

GINGER BEER

2005-08-06T08:32:00.000-05:00

ZZING!! I grew up in Britain with Enid Blyton's Famous Five swigging back Ginger Pop at every available opportunity, and I always loved Ginger Beer too. Very much different to Ginger Ale (not a drop of Ginger in that these days anyway).

I was delighted to discover Goya makes a Ginger Beer over here, and WHAM! is it HOT!! Makes my lips burn, but I love it! Cheap too. About $0.50 a bottle at ShopRite last time I was in.

Crack one open today - you'll either love me or hate me, but I'm always interested in other people's opinion.

WAR OF THE WORLDS

2005-08-04T08:09:00.000-05:00

With the Tom Cruise version of War Of The Worlds doing a roaring trade at the movies, I went back to my own favourite version of this tale - the 1970s musical version by Jeff Wayne. What a treat this double album is, and is much more faithful to the original H G Wells book than the two Hollywood movies have been.

All the reviewers on Amazon agree with me that this is a fabulous audio-book/musical, and Amazon has samples of each track so you can hear some of it for yourself. With Richard Burton's beautiful speaking voice providing the narration, some great thumping instrumental tracks, and several songs sung by the likes of David Essex and Phil Lynott, this is an audio treat that should not be missed.

Parts of it seem a bit dated, but I don't care. I've enjoyed this for album 20 years, and will continue to do so. I'd love to get the new Collectors Edition but its just too much for my meagre budget just now.

War Of The Worlds Online is a great resource for all things WOTW, and they reveal there that work is underway on a CGI movie version of this Jeff Wayne musical. The test animation footage is very impressive, and I hope this movie gets completed.

OOH-LAAAAAH!!

LATE SUMMER NIGHTS

2005-07-31T14:59:00.000-05:00

Tell you what I miss about the summer in Britain. Late nights. And I mean still light at 10:45pm late nights. I remember playing football with my mates till 11pm when the dusk finally faded to black. I think I took that for granted when moving to the USA and a more southerly latititude. Oh well. Dark before 9pm sucks, but I suppose its easier to get the young kids to bed.

HOUSE - Hugh Laurie

2005-07-30T21:55:00.000-05:00

One of the runaway successes of last TV season was the Fox show "House" starring Hugh Laurie. In my household, we love his "clinic duty" especially, because it is just so damn funny. My wife knew that Hugh Laurie was a Brit, because being one myself, I was compelled to tell her of course. Having grown up on a diet of Blackadder, A Bit Of Fry and Laurie, Jeeves and Wooster and The Young Ones, I've known Hugh's work for a long long time. And I think he's pulled off the sarcastic American doctor wonderfully well.

US audiences agreed with me thankfully, and House will be returning for second season on Fox very soon. Can't wait!

And I can't say I was too surprised when some of my co-workers said they were enjoying the show too. I was DELIGHTED to explain to them that Hugh Laurie was British. They had no idea! I was somewhat astonished, but as I said, not really surprised. Up the Brits!

PS Little bit of trivia.... If you didn't know, Hugh took part in the famous Oxford Cambridge University Boat Race when he was a student.

BEANS ON TOAST

2005-07-28T21:48:00.000-05:00

For many Brits, THE classic light meal is "Beans On Toast", with the nation's favourite brand being Heinz Baked Beans. Hence the slogan "Beanz Meanz Heinz". I don't know exactly what it is about American versions though - I think they overdo it on the brown sugar, molasses or pork or something. Most brands are too sweet to my British palette. I've tried the US Heinz Baked Beans here several times, and although the "Vegetarian" are close, it's still not quite right.

So, where to find real British style beans? Well, you can pay through the nose and get them from one of the many online British Food distributors, but so far my best result is at the local Indian Supermarket of all places. Why an Indian Supermarket would carry them I don't know. Maybe its something to do with the old British Raj in India? The store I go to is Patel's Bazaar in Lindenwold, at the New Jersey end of the PATCO Speedline transit system. The store is on the White Horse Pike right across from the Lindenwold Station. Sells some very interesting produce.

Last time I was in they were selling the familiar green/blue cans for about $1.29. Sure, more expensive than US brands in the regular supermarkets, but it's the taste I know, and from time to time it's sure worth it.

So, onto the recipe... You will need...
BREAD (3 slices. White Italian is the closest to British taste I've found)
HEINZ BAKED BEANS (1 can - British style)

1) Toast Bread. (Butter is optional)
2) Gently heat beans in saucepan.
3) Toast on plate.
4) Beans on toast.
5) Nosh!

SMASHING!

This guy has the right idea, and clearly has had the same problem as me...