Telly Watching

Almost halfway through the year and time for a list entry. 15 of the things I've watched on TV so far this year: -

I'm a sucker for the BBC's documentaries. Anyone who knocks the BBC or begrudges the license fee obviously don't watch their documentaries. Far better than the boring talking heads and endlessly repeated 3 action shots of their rivals, the photography is stunning (especially in HD) and the commentaries well presented.

Pixar do it again with this one borrowing a little from Conan Doyle's The Lost World and making a hero of a crotchetty old man.

Another BBC documentary series, stunning - will watch the repeats when they come round!

A super hero movie but just a touch dark this one. There's some seriously disturbed characters in this team and for me it showed the difference again between Marvel and DC comics. This one, based on DC leaves you wondering what special powers some of them had and why and how in particular one character's mask shifts and changes, yet once unmasked his face is perfectly normal... details, folks, details...

From the Marvel stable comes this one - talking of unstable characters... The Punisher isn't one of my favourite Marvel comics and I really only know him from his appearance in the Spider-Man and other series, but Ray Stevenson gives him the same character as he gave Pullo in HBO's Rome - violence first and ... well, not a lot after to be honest...

The cinema isn't always to be trusted with history, but this was an enjoyable piece of fluff as long as you keep that in mind.

I enjoyed this series which played out over ten weeks on Sky. Gritty, realistic and based on the real-life exploits of American Marines in the Pacific during the Second World War.

I never cease to wonder at the Americans' willingness to portray themselves as morons, particularly those supposed to be leaders, but forget that - the effects are to be savoured here and if you can ignore the fact that huge chunks of rock float in the sky, but water on them falls over the sides as waterfalls, then it's a visual feast and a decent yarn!

Die Hard as a comedy! Better than The Punisher!

Anyone who lived during the mid to late 1960s must surely love this film for its soundtrack alone. But the antics of the DJs (most of whom you can immediately identify as a real DJ of the time) are wonderful and it's funny, witty and poignant all at the same time.

One of the US unfunny "comedies". But it does have a rear view of a naked Aniston which just about managed to wake me up for a few seconds...

Our answer to America's willingess to portray its leaders as morons... We have real ones! I started calling this "Britain's Got Morons" only about two weeks in and it proved it week after week... Whether they are all in the contestants or in the voting public who voted for precosious kids and dogs doing parlour tricks, or in Piers and Amanda who voted through some of the most appalling singers ever to (dis)grace a stage I'm not sure.

From the Dreamworks stable, this was good! A young woman gets hit by a meteorite and as a result grows to gigantic stature and finds herself impounded by the military along with other freaks and results of scientific experiment and saves the day when aliens threaten the Earth. Favourite bit was the blue blob doing the Steve McQueen bit with a ball in his pen!

This probably should have come further up the list to be in chronological order, but was a repeat anyway! The Top Gear team in a challenge that must seriously have been a challenge. A superb extended special, filled with good fun, boyish humour and the odd spot of real danger.

Whilst loving fantasy as a genre, I've always found Terry Pratchett books quite hard to get into. This TV adaptation though, was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed it, all the improbable characters and situations added up to a brilliant romp through the Pratchett world.

Wonder what July - December will bring...?