Comments for Watchification

Comment on Briefings - David Attenborough by Steve Bowbrick

Steve Bowbrick — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:43:40 +0000

That’s a real find, Mr Stone. Really fascinating to learn the origin of some of our most treasured institutions and the habits that sustain them. I found myself alternately loving and hating the old geezer.

Comment on Doctor Who: The Sontaran Strategem by Steve Bowbrick

Steve Bowbrick — Thu, 01 May 2008 09:52:52 +0000

It was brilliant wasn’t it? The script has to work so hard in these shows. There’s always a complicated emotional set-up: someone’s guilt, someone else’s unrequited love, some jealousy… Then there’s the episode’s main events: the aliens, the history, the location etc. So there’s this mighty rush to get everyone up to speed in the first five minutes - to do the kind of things you have half-an-hour for in a movie. Sometimes I think it all feels a bit compressed and mechanical but mostly I just marvel at it. I guess they just couldn’t squeeze it all into one show this time, though, what with Martha’s return and everything. I hate “To be continueds”

Comment on Wild: Otters by Steve Bowbrick

Steve Bowbrick — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:31:07 +0000

Imagine the family dinners in the future: “and you used to take me to that fucking cottage. With the fucking mice. And no gloves.”

Comment on Wild: Otters by beeker

beeker — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:15:00 +0000

I know. Poor Fred didn’t even get gloves.

Comment on Wild: Otters by Steve Bowbrick

Steve Bowbrick — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 08:44:46 +0000

Really brilliant. And the bit you didn’t mention was the slight tension in the father-child dynamic: “What are you doing man? You dropped the camera!”, “Daddy, it’s freezing cold!” If it ever occurs to me to take my kids to an unheated cottage in a Northern latitude for a week in the Winter I hope someone slaps some sense into me…

Comment on The Slammer, Episode 1 by Steve Bowbrick

Steve Bowbrick — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:02:37 +0000

Marvellous. My kids love The Slammer. The prison setting is great, the format is beautifully worked. Flawless telly. Also, I should point out that this is the first time in history that Speechification and Watchification are featuring kids’ shows at the same time!

Comment on Dan Cruickshank’s Adventures in Architecture: Death by Steve Bowbrick

Steve Bowbrick — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:23:44 +0000

I really like the random collision of kooky eccentric architectural historian Banham and golly gosh eccentric architectural historian Cruickshank. They don’t have much else in common, I suppose. Both great communicators, though…

Comment on Louis Theroux’s African Hunting Holiday by Dan Taylor

Dan Taylor — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:06:21 +0000

If you missed it, ‘Louis Theroux: Behind Bars’ documenting his two week stint in San Quentin prison, is well worth a watch.

Comment on Newsnight: the London Mayoral debate by Mike Hill

Mike Hill — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:56:07 +0000

Paxman certainly handled the whole debate very well, slipping in some corkers of questions to each of them, and putting them all in their places when needed. Pointless TV really as most of it was along the lines of “I’m going to be better than you nuh nuh ner ner nuh”, but hell, it was entertaining!

Comment on Later Live by Mike Hill

Mike Hill — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:46:04 +0000

I love watching Later, especially now there’s two shows a week! Even though the performers are the same, their re-performances are slightly different, plus with additional stuff added to the Friday extended show. There’s nothing better than going to the pub on a Friday night, grabbing a kebab to go home with and crashing on the sofa in front of Jools and his guest’s. My only gripe is that the live show should be longer…it’s all over far far too quickly!