I am at heart an optimistic kind of guy. While I keep a watchful eye on the unpredictable vicissitudes of reality which have a habit of upending even the most Pollyanna-esque of apple carts, and acknowledge that all the Tony Robbins’ positivity in the world won’t protect me from Continue Reading
TV
“This is Jinsy” : all the quirk you could ask for
I am not sure which slow boat this series fell off on its way to the Antipodes but This is Jinsy, a comically absurd British sitcom whose pilot aired on 1 March 2010, has finally reached Australia via ABC 2 [an observant reader has noted it screened on UKTV Continue Reading
TV review: “The Snowmen” (Dr Who Christmas special 2012)
The first thing that must be said is that yes I am well aware this was a Christmas special and that yes, ideally reviewing it somewhere around, you know, Christmas would have been a jolly good idea. But surrounded as I was by noisy (though adorable) nieces and nephews, Continue Reading
The 5 big pop culture moments I can’t wait for in 2013
It’s a tricky thing predicting the future. H G Wells and Isaac Asimov, and reputedly even Nostradamus and The Bible have all taken a crack at it to varying degrees of success – and who exactly predicted we’d have flying cars by now? Yup that totally didn’t happen – Continue Reading
All hail the “Idiot box”: my top 5 favourite TV shows of 2012
I know. You’re thinking to yourself how on earth did I choose just five – five I tell you! Just five – TV shows to be deemed the favourites in a year where you couldn’t move for high quality sitcoms and dramas? How did I have the guts to Continue Reading
“Thunderbirds” fall silent: goodbye Gerry Anderson
Sad news today that Gerry Anderson, 83, legendary creator of Thunderbirds, died in his sleep overnight in the UK, after suffering from dementia for the last couple of years. Using a process called “Supermarionation”, he was also responsible for groundbreaking shows like Captain Scarlett and Joe 90, as well Continue Reading
Merry Christmas to all … and to all a good night (of TV/music/cinema/reading)
Merry Christmas everyone! I have had a wonderful year writing what feels like a million and one enthusiastic posts about pop culture and as I permit myself to relax a little (from blogging at least) while I race around the east coast of Australia visiting family for Christmas, I want Continue Reading
“Miranda” comes over all Christmassy: series 3 kicks off Boxing Day
Miranda is back people with a big, bold, funny Christmas special! OK it’s on Boxing Day (9pm BBC One, UK) and it’s not so much a festive-themed episode as simply scheduled around Christmas but it does mean the return of Miranda and the gang absent Clive (James Holmes, for Continue Reading
On the 12th day of Christmas … I pondered the enduring popularity of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens
It would be a rare person indeed who hasn’t read, seen, or even listened to, a version of Charles Dickens’ classic novel A Christmas Carol, which has remained wildly popular ever since its publication on 19 December, 1943, and which shows no sign of slipping off the zeitgeist radar any Continue Reading
On the 11th day of Christmas … I found TV shows and movies I love rendered in LEGO
Let’s hear it for tenuous links to Christmas! Yes I am basing the inclusion of the following highly imaginative recreations of TV shows and movies in LEGO on the fact that it is (a) Christmas and (b) it was at this very festive time that I was often given Continue Reading