Back in the eighties, a mate of mine went to see it with his workmates. When we met him up the pub a few days later, he told us the cast came on at the end to beg everyone in the audience not to divulge who the murderer was, after which, he cheerfully told us,So forty years later, the secret is mine, which has always meant I haven't felt too tempted to go and see it. Don't worry though guys, it goes with me to the grave I used to read a lot of Agatha Christie, but I hit about three bad ones in succession and it drove me away. I could still cheerfully reread The Murder of Roger Ackroyd though. Brilliant piece of detective fiction.
Just watched an episode of Mrs Brown's Boys all the way through for the first time. I know recycling is all the rage these days, but I didn't know that included jokes And not a sign that anybody in the audience had heard any of them before! Remarkable...
One up on me, then, never watched it. Have I Got News For You was a bit of a curate's egg. Paul Merton was quite funny, but Andy Hamilton hardly got a word in, which was disappointing, because he's very funny when he does, and Ian Hislop was too serious.
You could make a case for Hamilton replacing Hislop in my opinion. Andy Hamilton has a wit as sharp as Merton's. And you can't say that of many people. Maybe then Ian Hislop could be a new permanent host of the show.
Merton's the comedian Hislop's the political one, but he ran out of jokes last night. Strange considering the material Boris is gifting to him.
I think perhaps Boris is such an absolute buffoon, the man is beyond caricature. He is actually funnier himself than anybody attempting to lampoon him. And maybe Ian Hislop just had an off-evening. Happens to us all I expect.
Anyone else looking forward to the latest instalments of Worzel Gummidge? It's just a lovely little programme.
I find it interesting, in a kind of slightly off-key (unsettling would perhaps be too strong a word) sort of way. Credit to them for re-making it in a very different way from the old Jon Pertwee one. Not really a closely related comment, but I recall being properly scared of the character Catweazle when I watched that programme as a kid. But for some reason I carried on watching it. I believe the actor who played Catweazle also (later) played the Crowman in the old version of Worzel.
I saw a BBC article online the other day (sorry, cannot find the link for it now) saying there are now too many movies and TV series about Princess Diana, and wouldn't it be the decent thing to do just to leave her alone? I could not agree more
And I can't avoid a first comment about the current Doctor Who series; Though still afflicted by several shortcomings, I won't deny it is many shades darker than the last two series Jodie Whittaker was involved in. That episode last Sunday was quite a grind - the 'alternative' Crimean War battle depictions were unexpectedly gritty. No bad thing at all in my view, but many younger fans who have enjoyed the lightweight silliness of recent years may have been a bit unsettled. I'm hoping this darker theme continues and actually has a coherent climax, rather than just fading away.
SHOWBIZ, SHOWBIZ Meghan says Harry is loving the California lifestyle (of the extremely rich and privileged) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59341105 Yes dear. I expect most of us would enjoy the California lifestyle. But we weren't born into the Royal Family, with an entire silver cutlery set jammed up our backsides. Thus making us irresistibly attractive to ambitious gold diggers.
I normally like Frankie Boyle, but last night's show wasn't very funny. For one thing the guests weren't very good, and for another thing making fun of Boris and his government falls flat. The joke is Boris himself, and joking about a joke doesn't work.
I thought myself there were a few bum notes struck on Have I got News... three or four weeks back. A few too many laughs at the expense of the Tory MP who resigned after Boris tried to change the rules about his punishment for lobbying for cash (or whatever). OK, the guy did wrong and still hasn't admitted it. But his wife committed suicide for pity's sake. I'm not saying he should have been left completely alone, but I thought some of the comments about him were cruel.
4 episodes out of six shown now, and it's not really holding together. You can tell this 'arc' flux storyline was originally as many as ten 'stand alone' stories kind of stitched together into a six part tale. I'll give them credit for trying to change the feel of the show, but it has still disappeared up it's own rear end (again). My favourite character is the dog bloke. Some witty repartee there Fed up with those angels though. They were interesting about twice, over a decade ago. But they've appeared about 10 times now. In short, the series needs a total reboot as badly as it needed one in the late 1980's. I'd rather not wait nearly two decades again though. It has to go back to basics.
Watched DUNE last night. It was really good but it would be better if you had read the book and you knew from the beginning what was going on.
I read the book donkeys years ago. It does go on a bit, but is full of fascinating stuff about the history of events that movie adaptations can only touch on. I wonder why Frank Herbert's book The White Plague has never been turned into a movie. At least I assume it has not.
Just caught a few seconds of Top Gear while channel changing. I swear the blokes were reading their banter off an autocue. Didn't think I'd see anything worse than Dr Who this evening - but I was wrong
SPOTY 2021 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/sports-personality/59607666 Has to be Emma But who would you pick for runner-up? I'd go for Tyson Fury Not because I like him particularly, just because he isn't PC.
I heard yesterday that Emma Raducanu has tested positive for Coronavirus. Hopefully she will not suffer badly - though she did withdraw from this year's Wimbledon tournament with breathing difficulties, which might indicate she has an underlying health issue. And of course she won't now appear in person at the SPOTY awards on December 19th. Get well soon Emma
